The landscape of microbial associations in human cancer.

Oncomicrobes are estimated to cause 15% of cancers worldwide. When cancer whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data are collected, the microbes present are also sequenced, allowing the investigation of potential etiological and clinical associations. Interrogating the microbial community for 8908 patients encompassing 22 cancer types from the Genomics England WGS dataset revealed that only colorectal tumors exhibited unmistakably distinct microbial communities that can reliably be used to distinguish anatomical site [positive predictive value (PPV) = 0.

The Impact of Endurance Exercise on Routine Laboratory Parameters in Young Trained Individuals.

: Endurance effort aims to improve aerobic capacity. During physical exertion, fluid shifts from intravascular to interstitial spaces, affecting potential conclusions from laboratory test results. The study aimed to assess the effects of endurance exercise on clinical interpretations of routine laboratory hematological and biochemical diagnostic tests.

Association of Genetically Predicted Activity of AMP Deaminase 1 with Clinical and Biochemical Parameters in Diabetic Individuals with Coronary Artery Disease.

Some reports indicated the association of rs17602729 and rs34526199 functional polymorphisms of the gene encoding adenosine monophosphate deaminase 1 (AMPD1) with the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) and/or its intermediate phenotype. Therefore, the aim of our study was to analyze the association of both polymorphisms with the predisposition to disease and both clinical and biochemical phenotypes but solely in diabetic individuals with CAD. The study group consisted of 196 adult diabetic individuals with CAD, and the control group comprised 200 healthy newborns.

Customized Endoscopic Male Forehead/Eyebrow Lift.

Background: Higher hairline, thicker/heavier skin, and stronger eyebrow depressor muscles make the male forehead/eyebrow lift (FEL) challenging.

Objectives: The aim is to demonstrate senior author's 20-year experience with customized endoscopic FEL techniques in male subjects.

Methods: This is a surgical technique demonstration and chart review study on consecutive male subjects with customized endoscopic FEL (2007-2022).

Hyperammonaemia during allogeneic stem cell transplantation: distinct aetiology, importance of recognition and proposed treatment algorithm.

Hyperammonaemia during stem cell transplant is a distinct biochemical and clinical entity. It has a different pathological driver from other common forms of hyperammonaemia. Early recognition of this pathology and an understanding of its biochemical, pathological and microbiological aspects inform an aggressive management algorithm.

Orbital and ocular adnexal histiocytic tumors; a multidisciplinary literature review.

Purpose: To review and update the clinical presentation, pathology, treatment strategies, and follow-up of the orbital and ocular adnexal histiocytic tumors.

Methods: The review included the publications in English literature up to January 2024.

Results: Out of 263 screened publications, 73 studies on Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), juvenile and adult onset xanthogranuloma (JXG, AOXG), Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD), Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD), and histiocytic sarcoma (HS) were included.

Factors Affecting the Choice of Cosmetic Forehead and/or Eyebrow Lift Technique: An Oculofacial Plastic Surgeon's Perspective.

Background: Many different endoscopic and non-endoscopic techniques for forehead and/or eyebrow lift exist, but to date there has been little research on what factors drive technique selection.

Objectives: To compare frequency of different forehead and/or eyebrow lift techniques between sexes, analyze factors affecting technique selection, and present an algorithm for technique selection.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of consecutive cosmetic patients who underwent direct eyebrow lift (DEL) or forehead/eyebrow lift (FEL) by a single surgeon between 2007 and 2022.

Meibomian Gland Loss and Dysfunction in Mild versus Moderate-Severe Thyroid Eye Disease.

Purpose: To compare meibomian gland (MG) loss and MG dysfunction (MGD) in patients with mild versus moderate-severe thyroid eye disease (TED).

Methods: Consecutive patients with TED and no other causes of dry eye disease underwent meibography and meiboscore of each eyelid were graded as 0 (no MG loss), 1 (<33% loss), 2 (33%-66% loss), and 3 (>66% loss), with a total score of 0-6. MG expression score (0-3), eyelid margin signs of MGD, lipid layer thickness (LLT), ocular surface disease index (OSDI), tear secretion, noninvasive tear break-up time (NITBUT), and tear meniscus height (TMH) were also assessed by a masked observer.

Association analysis of ADRB3:rs4994 with urodynamic outcome, six months after a single intra-detrusor injection of botulinum toxin, in women with overactive bladder.

Background: Intra-detrusor injection of botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A) is recommended as a possible treatment for patients with overactive bladder (OAB) in whom first-line therapies have failed. The c.190T > C (rs4994) polymorphism in the gene encoding the beta-3 adrenergic receptor (ADRB3) has been suggested to be associated with predisposition to OAB or with response to OAB treatment via a cholinergic muscarinic receptor antagonist.

No Association of Polymorphisms in the Genes Encoding Interleukin-6 and Interleukin-6 Receptor Subunit Alpha with the Risk of Keloids in Polish Patients.

A keloid is a benign fibroproliferative hypertrophy of scar tissue that extends outside the original wound and invades adjacent healthy skin. Keloid formation is thought to be a complex process including overactivity of the interleukin-6 signaling pathway and genetic susceptibility. The aim of the study was to investigate possible associations between rs1800797, rs1800796, and rs1800795 polymorphisms in the promoter of the gene encoding interleukin-6 and the rs2228145 polymorphism in the gene encoding the interleukin-6 receptor subunit alpha with the predisposition to keloids in Polish patients.

Levodopa reduces consumption of multiple classes of addictive substances in rats.

Dopamine transmission is implicated in aberrant behaviors associated with substance use disorders. Previous research revealed a causal link between excessive drug consumption and the loss of dopamine signaling to stimuli associated with psychostimulant use. The emerging change in dopamine signaling is specific to stimuli associated with the substance rather than the pharmacological properties of the drug itself.

rs67047829 genotypes of ERV3-1/ZNF117 are associated with lower body mass index in the Polish population.

There is now substantial evidence that zinc-finger proteins are implicated in adiposity. Aims were to datamine for high-frequency (near-neutral selection) pretermination-codon (PTC) single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; n = 141) from a database with > 550,000 variants and analyze possible association with body mass index in a large Polish sample (n = 5757). BMI was regressed (males/females together or separately) against genetic models.

Solitary fibrous tumor of the orbit in a 1-year-old patient: a case report.

Solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) are rare neoplasms of mesenchymal origin. While the mean age of presentation is 58 years old, we report the case of the youngest documented patient with an SFT of the orbit. A 13-month-old child was evaluated for eyelid asymmetry and then referred to the oculoplastic service.

Association of the rs3039851 Insertion/Deletion in the Gene , Which Encodes the Regulatory Calcineurin Subunit B Type 1, with Left Ventricular Mass in Polish Full-Term Newborns.

Background: The five base-pair (bp) insertion/deletion (rs3039851) polymorphism in the gene, which encodes calcineurin subunit B type 1, has been found to be associated with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in hypertensive patients and in athletes. The aim of this study is to analyze the possible association between :rs3039851 polymorphism and left ventricular mass (LVM) in full-term healthy newborns.

Methods: The study group consisted of 162 consecutive, full-term, healthy newborns.

In outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19, low-dose fluvoxamine did not reduce time to sustained recovery.

McCarthy MW, Naggie S, Boulware DR, et al. JAMA. 2023;329:296-305.

Sexually dimorphic development of the mesolimbic dopamine system is associated with nuanced sensitivity to adolescent alcohol use.

Alcohol use remains a major public health concern and is especially prevalent during adolescence. Adolescent alcohol use has been linked to several behavioral abnormalities in later life, including increased risk taking and impulsivity. Accordingly, when modeled in animals, male rats that had moderate alcohol consumption during adolescence exhibit multiple effects in adulthood, including increased risk taking, altered incentive learning, and greater release of dopamine in the mesolimbic pathway.

Empirical investigations into Kruskal-Wallis power studies utilizing Bernstein fits, simulations and medical study datasets.

Bernstein fits implemented into R allow another route for Kruskal-Wallis power-study tool development. Monte-Carlo Kruskal-Wallis power studies were compared with measured power, a Monte-Carlo ANOVA equivalent and with an analytical method, with or without normalization, using four simulated runs, each with 60-100 populations (each population with N = 30,000 from a set of Pearson-type ranges): random selection gave 6300 samples analyzed for predictive power. Three medical-study datasets (Dialysis/systolic blood pressure; Diabetes/sleep-hours; Marital-status/high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol) were also analyzed.

Combining Molecular Subtypes with Multivariable Clinical Models Has the Potential to Improve Prediction of Treatment Outcomes in Prostate Cancer at Diagnosis.

Clinical management of prostate cancer is challenging because of its highly variable natural history and so there is a need for improved predictors of outcome in non-metastatic men at the time of diagnosis. In this study we calculated the model score from the leading clinical multivariable model, PREDICT prostate, and the poor prognosis DESNT molecular subtype, in a combined expression and clinical dataset that were taken from malignant tissue at prostatectomy (n = 359). Both PREDICT score (p < 0.