Transorbital Alternating Current Stimulation in a Double-Masked Randomized Clinical Trial: Visual Functional Effect and Quality of Life.

Purpose: To determine the efficacy and safety of repetitive transorbital alternating current stimulation (rtACS) treatment by assessing vision-related quality of life and visual function outcome in subjects treated with rtACS versus sham-control.

Study Design: Double masked, randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial (NCT03188042).

Subjects: Sixteen subjects with moderate-to-advanced glaucoma (visual field [VF] mean deviation [MD] ≤-6.

Disease characteristics of NMOSD and their relationship with disease burden: Observations from a large single-center cohort.

Objective: To assess the demographic, clinical, and outcome data in patients with NMOSD across a single-center adult cohort and find out associations, if any, with the disease burden.

Background: Neuromyelitis Optica spectrum disorder is an autoimmune condition with unpredictable course and relapses. The clinical and economic burden of NMOSD has been studied less.

Rural houselessness among people who use drugs in the United States: Results from the National Rural Opioid Initiative.

Background: Over the last two decades, houselessness and drug-related epidemics both have expanded from urban to rural regions across the United States (US). However, our understanding of the relationship between rural houselessness, drug use, and drug-related harms has not kept pace. The current study addresses this gap by describing houselessness among a large cohort of people who use drugs (PWUD) from rural communities across 10 states.

Embracing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA): Cultivating understanding internally to foster external change.

Context: Healthcare institutions acknowledge the value of diverse workforces for enhancing programs and meeting the varied needs of individuals with Spinal Cord Injury. This survey conducted at the 2023 Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professions (ASCIP) conference assesses healthcare professionals' views on workplace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and their support for integrating related educational content in future events.

Methods: : The survey was distributed digitally to ASCIP attendees, ensuring anonymity and voluntary participation.

Global Genotype by Environment Prediction Competition Reveals That Diverse Modeling Strategies Can Deliver Satisfactory Maize Yield Estimates.

Predicting phenotypes from a combination of genetic and environmental factors is a grand challenge of modern biology. Slight improvements in this area have the potential to save lives, improve food and fuel security, permit better care of the planet, and create other positive outcomes. In 2022 and 2023 the first open-to-the-public Genomes to Fields (G2F) initiative Genotype by Environment (GxE) prediction competition was held using a large dataset including genomic variation, phenotype and weather measurements and field management notes, gathered by the project over nine years.

Multi-institutional report of trastuzumab deruxtecan and stereotactic radiosurgery for HER2 positive and HER2-low breast cancer brain metastases.

Trastuzumab-deruxtecan (T-DXd) has demonstrated intracranial efficacy; however, safety and efficacy data remains limited with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). A multi-institutional review was performed with HER2+ or HER2-low metastatic breast cancer treated with T-DXd and SRS for active brain metastases. We identified 215 lesions treated over 48 SRS courses in 34 patients.

Severe Hemorrhagic Cholecystitis in the Absence of Common Predisposing Factors.

Hemorrhagic cholecystitis is a rare and potentially life-threatening complication of acute cholecystitis. It lacks specific diagnostic and management guidelines due to its rarity. We present the case of a 70-year-old male with no typical risk factors who developed hemorrhagic cholecystitis.

Changing Trends of Excess Self-protective Behavior, and Association with Belief in Prevention Myths During the COVID-19 Epidemic in China: A Panel Study.

This prospective observational study examined changing trends of excess self-protective behavior (EPB), and their association with perceived risk, perceived severity, and irrational beliefs about prevention during the Chinese COVID-19 epidemic. Participants were recruited for an online panel survey. There are 150 participants for the baseline and 102 for the final survey.

Red Blood Cell Transfusion Practices.

Context.—: Opportunities to improve transfusion safety occur at lower hemoglobin (Hgb) thresholds and single-unit transfusions. Efforts to improve compliance with transfusion guidelines and single-unit transfusion practices reduce transfusions and lead to improved outcomes.

Tumor-derived extracellular vesicles disrupt the blood-brain barrier endothelium following high-frequency irreversible electroporation.

High-frequency irreversible electroporation (H-FIRE), a nonthermal brain tumor ablation therapeutic, generates a central tumor ablation zone while transiently disrupting the peritumoral blood-brain barrier (BBB). We hypothesized that bystander effects of H-FIRE tumor cell ablation, mediated by small tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (sTDEV), disrupt the BBB endothelium. Monolayers of bEnd.

Horseshoe Retinal Tear Minutes After Use of a New Pilocarpine Formulation in a Presbyopic, Emmetropic Man.

To examine the risks associated with the use of pilocarpine hydrochloride 1.25% ophthalmic solution prescribed for presbyopia. The adverse ocular events reported after the use of pilocarpine were compared with the symptoms experienced by a 62-year-old presbyopic man shortly after taking pilocarpine.

Biological and prognostic relevance of epigenetic regulatory genes in high-grade gliomas.

Background: High-grade gliomas (HGGs) are the most aggressive type of gliomas and have the poorest outcomes. Chromatin remodeling (CR) genes have been implicated in multiple oncogenic pathways in numerous cancer types. In gliomagenesis, CR genes have been implicated in regulating the stemness of glioma cells, the tumor microenvironment (TME), and resistance to therapies.

The Acari Hypothesis, V: deciphering allergenicity.

The Acari Hypothesis posits that acarians, i.e., mites and ticks, are operative agents of allergy.

Survey of Bariatric Surgeon Calibration Tube Use in Sleeve Gastrectomy.

Purpose: The study objective was to identify variations in calibration tube use during sleeve gastrectomy and understand elements of ideal calibration tube performance.

Materials And Methods: A survey was distributed via email and social media to bariatric surgeons, who were asked to rate the performance of their current calibration tube and an ideal calibration tube for five technical milestones involving visualization, positioning, suction capability, and sleeve sizing. Data was analyzed using descriptive and bivariate analyses including chi-square, Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

Prolonged intracranial catheter dwell time exacerbates penumbral stress and worsens stroke thrombectomy outcomes.

Background: The duration of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is a negative predictor of outcomes in acute ischemic stroke (AIS), yet the precise mechanisms are unclear. We investigated whether the placement of large-bore catheters intracranially reduces blood flow to the ischemic penumbra and diminishes the efficacy of MT.

Methods: We investigated the impact of different catheter sizes on flow through the intracranial circulation using an in vitro model.

Incidence of Uveitis Following Initiation of Prostaglandin Analogs Versus Other Glaucoma Medications: A Study from the SOURCE Repository.

Purpose: To evaluate the risk of incidence rates of uveitis among patients starting topical glaucoma therapy.

Design: Retrospective database study utilizing the Sight Outcomes Research Collaborative (SOURCE) Ophthalmology Data Repository.

Participants: Adult glaucoma patients who were recently started on topical glaucoma therapy.

Mediator kinase inhibitors suppress triple-negative breast cancer growth and extend tumor suppression by mTOR and AKT inhibitors.

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are treated primarily by chemotherapy and lack clinically validated therapeutic targets. In particular, inhibitors of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, abnormally activated in many breast cancers, failed to achieve clinical efficacy in TNBC due to the development of adaptive drug resistance, which is largely driven by the transcriptomic plasticity of TNBC. Expression of CDK8/19 Mediator kinases that control transcriptional reprogramming correlates with relapse-free survival and treatment failure in breast cancer patients, including TNBC.