Attix free-air chamber correction factors computed using EGSnrc.

Background: A cylindrical free-air chamber, the Attix FAC, is used for absolute air-kerma measurements of low-energy photon beams at the University of Wisconsin Medical Radiation Research Center. Correction factors for air-kerma measurements of specific beams were determined in the 1990s. In order to measure air-kerma rates of beams in development, new correction factors must be computed.

Circulating Tumor DNA as a Marker of Recurrence Risk in Stage III Colorectal Cancer: The α-CORRECT Study.

Background And Objectives: Identification of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients at high risk of recurrence could be of substantial clinical use. We evaluated the association of ctDNA status, using a tumor-informed assay, with recurrence-free survival (RFS).

Methods: Stage III CRC patients were enrolled between 2016 and 2020.

Acceptability and Feasibility of Self-Collected Dried Blood Spot Specimens for Viral Load Monitoring among Rural Older People Living with HIV.

Self-collected dried blood spot (DBS) samples may be useful in monitoring viral load (VL) in research studies or clinically given that they eliminate the need for participants to travel to study sites or laboratories. Despite this, little information exists about monitoring VL using DBS self-collected at home, and no information exists on DBS for this use among older rural people living with HIV (PLH), a population that could benefit from self-collection given difficulty accessing care. We report on the feasibility and acceptability of self-collected DBS samples, DBS VL results, concordance between self-reported and DBS VL, and factors associated with DBS detectable VL in a rural Southern U.

Anastomotic Leak after Esophagectomy - Analysis of the STS General Thoracic Surgery Database.

Background: Anastomotic leak after esophagectomy is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. We sought to identify the prevalence of anastomotic leak, stratified by operative approach and disease etiology, as well as risk factors for leak.

Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis using the STS General Thoracic Surgery Database was conducted on patients who underwent esophagectomy with gastric reconstruction between 2009-2021.

How likely is it that a virus or bacteria is causing a patient's symptoms? A new approach to interpret the outcome from multi-pathogen PCR.

Background: Whether a detected virus or bacteria is a pathogen that may require treatment, or is merely a commensal 'passenger', remains confusing for many infections. This confusion is likely to increase with the wider use of multi-pathogen PCR.

Objectives: To propose a new statistical procedure to analyse and present data from case-control studies clarifying the probability of causality.

ISCT MSC committee statement on the US FDA approval of allogenic bone-marrow mesenchymal stromal cells.

The December 2024 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Mesoblast's Ryoncil (remestemcel-L-rknd)-allogeneic bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC(M)) therapy-in pediatric acute steroid-refractory graft-versus-host-disease finally ended a long-lasting drought on approved MSC clinical products in the United States. While other jurisdictions-including Europe, Japan, India, and South Korea-have marketed autologous or allogeneic MSC products, the United States has lagged in its approval. The sponsor's significant efforts and investments, working closely with the FDA addressing concerns regarding clinical efficacy and consistent MSC potency through an iterative process that spanned several years, was rewarded with this landmark approval.

Depression symptom severity and behavioral impairment in school-going adolescents in Uganda.

Background: During adolescence, a critical developmental phase, cognitive, psychological, and social states interact with the environment to influence behaviors like decision-making and social interactions. Depressive symptoms are more prevalent in adolescents than in other age groups which may affect socio-emotional and behavioral development including academic achievement. Here, we determined the association between depression symptom severity and behavioral impairment among adolescents enrolled in secondary schools of Eastern and Central Uganda.

Residual nitrite and nitrate in processed meats and meat analogues in the United States.

Residual nitrite (NO) and nitrate (NO) have been widely studied in the past few decades for their function to improve processed meat quality and their impact on human health. In this study we examined how the residual nitrite and nitrate (NO) content of major classes of processed meats products (n = 1132) produced locally from three regions (East Coast, Midwest and West Coast) and plant protein-based meat analogues (n = 53) available at retail in the United States was influenced by their composition, processing, and geographical attributes. We also conducted time-dependent depletion studies and observed different patterns of NO depletion and conversion during processing and storage and correlated them with product quality.

Liquid-based encapsulation for implantable bioelectronics across broad pH environments.

Wearable and implantable bioelectronics that can interface for extended periods with highly mobile organs and tissues across a broad pH range would be useful for various applications in basic biomedical research and clinical medicine. The encapsulation of these systems, however, presents a major challenge, as such devices require superior barrier performance against water and ion penetration in challenging pH environments while also maintaining flexibility and stretchability to match the physical properties of the surrounding tissue. Current encapsulation materials are often limited to near-neutral pH conditions, restricting their application range.

High-resolution fleezers reveal duplex opening and stepwise assembly by an oligomer of the DEAD-box helicase Ded1p.

DEAD-box RNA-dependent ATPases are ubiquitous in all domains of life where they bind and remodel RNA and RNA-protein complexes. DEAD-box ATPases with helicase activity unwind RNA duplexes by local opening of helical regions without directional movement through the duplexes and some of these enzymes, including Ded1p from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, oligomerize to effectively unwind RNA duplexes. Whether and how DEAD-box helicases coordinate oligomerization and unwinding is not known and it is unclear how many base pairs are actively opened.

Pathology of Pulmonary Vascular Disease with Radiologic Correlation.

Pulmonary hypertensive changes are commonly seen by the surgical pathologist, but the majority represents secondary changes due to some process extrinsic to the lung. Some primary, or idiopathic, vascular diseases result in unique pathologic changes including the plexiform lesion and venous hypertensive changes. Thromboembolic disease also shows unique pathologic features.

Implementation of An Advance Care Planning Intervention in Dialysis Clinics.

Rationale & Objective: Sharing Patient's Illness Representations to Increase Trust (SPIRIT) is an evidence-based advance care planning intervention targeting dialysis patients and their surrogate decision-makers. To address SPIRIT's implementation potential, we report on a process evaluation in our recently completed five-state cluster-randomized trial.

Study Design: A descriptive study of implementation within a randomized clinical trial.

Dual targeting PPARα and NPC1L1 metabolic vulnerabilities blocks tumorigenesis.

Dysregulated lipid metabolism is linked to tumor progression. In this study, we identified Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1) as a downstream effector of PKM2. In breast cancer cells, PKM2 knockout (KO) enhanced NPC1L1 expression while downregulating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) signaling pathway.

The Landscape of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Pediatric Kidney Transplantation.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is increasing in prevalence due to the growing opioid epidemic; however, its impact on pediatric kidney transplantation is unknown. This study compared kidney transplant outcomes between HCV-positive and propensity-score-weighted HCV-negative pediatric recipients. It also examined HCV-positive kidney utilization for pediatric transplantation in the United States.

Clinical and intracranial electrophysiological signatures of post-operative and post-ictal delirium.

Objectives: (1) Gain insight into the mechanisms of postoperative delirium (POD). (2) Determine mechanistic overlap with post-ictal delirium (PID). Epilepsy patients undergoing intracranial electrophysiological monitoring can experience both POD and PID, and thus are suitable subjects for these investigations.

Ensuring Medical Device Safety: The Role of Standards Organizations and Regulatory Bodies.

Medical devices significantly enhance healthcare by integrating advanced technology to improve patient outcomes. Ensuring their safety and reliability requires a delicate balance between innovation and rigorous oversight, managed through the collaborative efforts of standards development organizations, standards accrediting organizations, and regulatory agencies such as the U.S.

Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) Modeling of Chiral CCR2 Antagonists with a Multidimensional Space of Novel Chirality Descriptors.

The development of chirality descriptors for quantitative chirality structure-activity relationship (QCSAR) modeling has always attracted attention, owing to the importance of chiral molecules in pharmaceutical, agriculture, food, and fragrance industries, and environmental toxicology. The utility of a multidimensional space of novel relative chirality indices (RCIs) in the QCSAR modeling of twenty CCR2 antagonists is reported upon in this paper. The numerical characterization of chirality by the RCI approach gives a large pool of chirality descriptors with different degrees of mutual correlation (the correlation coefficient among the computed descriptors varied from 0.

High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablation for Primary or Salvage Prostate Cancer Therapy: Initial Outcomes in the Veteran Healthcare Setting.

High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) provides comparable oncologic, erectile, and urinary outcomes to standard-of-care options for localized prostate cancer. This study reports the largest United States series of HIFU in veterans for both primary and salvage therapies. We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of 43 veterans treated at the Michael E.

Enhancing Radiation Therapy Response in Prostate Cancer Through Metabolic Modulation by Mito-Lonidamine: A H and P Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study.

Radiation therapy (RT) is the cornerstone treatment for prostate cancer; however, it frequently induces gastrointestinal and genitourinary toxicities that substantially diminish the patients' quality of life. While many individuals experience transient side effects, a subset endures persistent, long-term complications. A promising strategy to mitigate these toxicities involves enhancing tumor radiosensitivity, potentially allowing for lower radiation doses.

Functional and Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: Cognitive Tests and Plasma Neurofilament Light Chain Levels.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory, autoimmune, and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system. The disease can manifest and progress with both physical and cognitive symptoms, affecting the patient's daily activities. The aim of our study was to investigate the correlation between functional status, cognitive functions, and neurofilament light chain levels in plasma in MS patients.

Identifying Genetic Predisposition to Dozer Lamb Syndrome: A Semi-Lethal Muscle Weakness Disease in Sheep.

Background: Lamb health is crucial for producers; however, the percentage of lambs that die before weaning is still 15-20%. One factor that can contribute to lamb deaths is congenital diseases. A novel semi-lethal disease has been identified in newborn Polypay lambs and termed dozer lamb syndrome.