From the Ground Up: Building and Implementing a Successful CHW/Promotor(a) Program for Cancer Screening, Training, Education, and Prevention.

In this practice note, we examine the implementation and impact of the Texas Cancer Screening, Training, Education, and Prevention (C-STEP) program, which aims to reduce cancer disparities in medically underserved and rural areas. The program utilizes community health workers (CHWs) or promotor(a)s to provide outreach, education, and early detection services for breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung cancers. C-STEP employs a multidisciplinary approach, partnering with the Center for Community Health Development National Community Health Worker Training Center to certify CHWs in cancer prevention and detection.

Persistent microbial infections and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis - an insight into pathogenesis.

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is characterized by chronic inflammation and scarring of the lungs, of which idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most devastating pathologic form. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis pathogenesis leads to loss of lung function and eventual death in 50% of patients, making it the leading cause of ILD-associated mortality worldwide. Persistent and subclinical microbial infections are implicated in the acute exacerbation of chronic lung diseases.

Estimating the Risk of Cardiovascular Events in U.S. Veterans Using the SMART Risk Score.

Background: Estimation of long-term risk for cardiovascular events using the SMART (Secondary Manifestations of Arterial Disease) risk score can be potentially valuable in devising risk mitigation strategies.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to apply the SMART risk score to compute the risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in the U.S.

The Moderating Role of Educational Attainment in the Association between Social Support and Depressive Symptoms among African Americans.

General social support is commonly studied as a psychosocial resource that improves African Americans' well-being; we know less about how varied indicators of social support influence African Americans' depressive symptoms. Further, it is unclear how social support affects depressive symptoms differently when considering the moderating role of education. Using the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) (n = 3,278), we examined (1) the association between educational attainment and depressive symptoms, (2) the association between social support and depressive symptoms, and (3) whether education moderates the social support-depressive symptoms relationship among African Americans.

Perceptions of Crime Severity and Stigma Toward Family Members Grieving the Loss of a Person to Incarceration.

Family members of incarcerated persons may experience grief related to the incarceration. We examined laypeople's perceptions of family members grieving the loss of an individual to incarceration. Participants ( = 1,095) were randomized to read vignettes that varied by grief trajectory (prolonged vs.

IAMSE Artificial Intelligence Meeting Survey: AI's Impact on Medical Education Faculty.

This report describes the results of an AI Needs Assessment survey conducted during the IAMSE Annual Meeting in June 2024. It assessed IAMSE members' use of AI, implementation challenges, their organization's AI initiatives, and internal and external resources needed for effective AI adoption. Although many respondents were comfortable with AI (53%), they reported substantial challenges in adopting AI at the personal and organizational levels.

Belzutifan plus cabozantinib as first-line treatment for patients with advanced clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (LITESPARK-003): an open-label, single-arm, phase 2 study.

Background: Belzutifan, a first-in-class HIF-2α inhibitor, has shown antitumour activity as monotherapy and in combination with cabozantinib in patients with previously treated advanced kidney cancer. The phase 2 LITESPARK-003 study was designed to determine the antitumour activity and safety of belzutifan in combination with cabozantinib in patients with advanced clear-cell renal cell carcinoma that was previously untreated (cohort 1) or previously treated with immunotherapy (cohort 2). Here, we report results from cohort 1 of this clinical trial.

Imagine, Discover, Inspire: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference of the Trisomy 21 Research Society.

Down syndrome (DS) or trisomy 21 (T21) is present in a significant number of children and adults around the world and is associated with cognitive and medical challenges. Through research, the T21 Research Society (T21RS), established in 2014, unites a worldwide community dedicated to understanding the impact of T21 on biological systems and improving the quality of life of people with DS across the lifespan. T21RS hosts an international conference every two years to support collaboration, dissemination, and information sharing for this goal.

Evidence for microbially-mediated tradeoffs between growth and defense throughout coral evolution.

Background: Evolutionary tradeoffs between life-history strategies are important in animal evolution. Because microbes can influence multiple aspects of host physiology, including growth rate and susceptibility to disease or stress, changes in animal-microbial symbioses have the potential to mediate life-history tradeoffs. Scleractinian corals provide a biodiverse, data-rich, and ecologically-relevant host system to explore this idea.

Updated Geriatrics Competencies for Graduating Medical Students: Training Physicians to Provide Age-Friendly Care.

Purpose: Medical student education in geriatrics is a critical need for every doctor-in-training as the population ages, with fewer than 7,000 geriatricians, and older patients, who now approach 20% of the U.S. population, having unique health care needs.

Post-acute sequela of COVID-19 infection in individuals with multiple sclerosis.

Background: Many common symptoms in post-acute sequelae following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (PASC) overlap with those of multiple sclerosis (MS). We examined symptoms and performance of the PASC score, developed in the general population, in MS based on infection history.

Methods: We surveyed North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) registry participants regarding infections and categorized participants based on infection history.

Interprofessional Education for Domestic Violence Safety Planning in Nursing and Social Work: A Scoping Review.

Rationale: Nurses and social workers in healthcare settings are positioned to identify abuse and contribute to improving the wellbeing of victims and their family members by screening for, providing safety education about, and reporting abuse when required by law.

Objective: The review aims to assess the current state of the simulation education for addressing the needs of domestic violence (DV) survivors to screen, assess, and intervene in DV cases in healthcare settings.

Method: A scoping review to map the peer-reviewed evidence on interprofessional education (IPE) was conducted by means of automated database search for nursing and social work students.

Modern biology of extrachromosomal DNA: A decade-long voyage of discovery.

Genomic instability is a hallmark of cancer and is a major driving force of tumorigenesis. A key manifestation of genomic instability is the formation of extrachromosomal DNAs (ecDNAs) - acentric, circular DNA molecules ranging from 50 kb to 5 Mb in size, distinct from chromosomes. Ontological studies have revealed that ecDNA serves as a carrier of oncogenes, immunoregulatory genes, and enhancers, capable of driving elevated transcription of its cargo genes and cancer heterogeneity, leading to rapid tumor evolution and therapy resistance.

Ego networks associated with e-cigarette use among college fraternity students: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: To use egocentric network analysis (ENA) to identify how the role of social networks relates to e-cigarette use among college fraternity members.

Participants: 212 fraternity members participated in this study.

Methods: Hierarchical logistic regression analyses assessed the relationship between egocentric network variables and ever use and current use of e-cigarettes.

Health disparities investigated in a primary care penicillin allergy removal pathway.

Unconfirmed penicillin allergies over time lead to poor health outcomes and increased health-care cost. Health disparities (HD) can create barriers in optimizing penicillin allergy care. The objective was to characterize HDs in our primary care-led amoxicillin challenge (PLAC) delabeling pathway within a universal coverage health care system.

Interpretation and classification of FBN1 variants associated with Marfan syndrome: consensus recommendations from the Clinical Genome Resource's FBN1 variant curation expert panel.

Background: In 2015, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) and the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) developed standardized variant curation guidelines for Mendelian disorders. Although these guidelines have been widely adopted, they are not gene- or disease-specific. To mitigate classification discrepancies, the Clinical Genome Resource FBN1 variant curation expert panel (VCEP) was established in 2018 to develop adaptations to the ACMG/AMP criteria for FBN1 in association with Marfan syndrome.