The impact of western versus agrarian diet consumption on gut microbiome composition and immune dysfunction in people living with HIV in rural and urban Zimbabwe.

Background: People living with HIV (PLWH) suffer from chronic inflammation even with effective antiretroviral therapy (ART). A high-fat, low-fiber western-type diet has been linked with inflammation, in part through gut microbiome changes. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a region with high HIV burden, urbanization has been linked with a shift from traditional agrarian towards westernized diets, and with changes in food security.

Who Gets Referred? Disparities in Access to Specialist Care for Hyperparathyroidism.

Introduction: Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is associated with significant patient morbidity, including increased risk of fractures, nephrolithiasis, and cardiovascular events. Parathyroidectomy remains an underutilized therapy, particularly among historically disadvantaged populations. We sought to better understand the association social determinants, as measured by neighborhood advantage, have on particular steps of the diagnostic and treatment pathway for PHPT to better identify targets for intervention.

Unveiling the Silent Threat: Disparities in Adrenal Incidentaloma Management.

Introduction: Adrenal incidentalomas are increasingly detected, yet infrequently evaluated for hormonal excess. We investigated if patient neighborhood disadvantage is associated with the rate of workup of adrenal nodules.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of chest and abdomen CT scans between January 1, 2021, and January 6, 2022, at a single tertiary care center in adults with an incidentally found adrenal mass.

Novel radiographic stem version predictor from anterior-posterior radiographs.

Background: Implant orientation has been linked to postoperative outcomes and is frequently assessed on radiographs. However, the projection of the three-dimensional joint and implant structure to a two-dimensional radiograph complicates its assessment. The main objective of this study was to demonstrate a novel method for evaluating radiographic stem version, in a manner robust to multiaxial rotations, particularly AP tilt and flexion.

Modulatory and protective effects of prolyl hydroxylase domain inhibitors in the central nervous system.

Oxygen is essential for all mammalian species, with complex organs such as the brain requiring a large and steady supply to function. During times of low or inadequate oxygen supply (hypoxia), adaptation is required in order to continue to function. Hypoxia inducible factors (HIF) are transcription factors which are activated during hypoxia and upregulate protective genes.

An (un)answered cry for help: a qualitative study exploring the subjective meaning of eating disorders in the context of transgenerational trauma.

Background: Current research on the transmission of trauma and eating disorders across generations is limited. However, quantitative studies suggest that the influence of parents' and grandparents' eating disorders and their prior exposure to trauma are associated with the development of eating disorders in future generations. Qualitative research exploring personal accounts of the impact of transgenerational trauma on the development of eating disorders has been largely unexplored.

Synchronous motion of the Easter mantle plume and the East Pacific Rise.

The Easter mantle plume has produced one of the longest hotspot tracks in the Pacific Ocean. While previous studies have focused on the eastern side extending across the Nazca Plate, we use Ar/Ar isotopic and geochemical data to investigate the less explored western side around the Easter Microplate. We propose a dynamic model in which a deeper (600 km-depth), less buoyant mantle exerts a westward force on the East Pacific Rise (EPR), while a more buoyant plume region drives Easter hotspot volcanism and a localised acceleration in seafloor spreading.

Emc1 is essential for vision and zebrafish photoreceptor outer segment morphogenesis.

Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) are a rare group of eye disorders characterized by progressive dysfunction and degeneration of retinal cells. In this study, we characterized the raifteirí (raf) zebrafish, a novel model of inherited blindness, identified through an unbiased ENU mutagenesis screen. A mutation in the largest subunit of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein complex, emc1 was subsequently identified as the causative raf mutation.

EXPLANA: A user-friendly workflow for EXPLoratory ANAlysis and feature selection in cross-sectional and longitudinal microbiome studies.

Motivation: Longitudinal microbiome studies (LMS) are increasingly common but have analytic challenges including non-independent data requiring mixed-effects models and large amounts of data that motivate exploratory analysis to identify factors related to outcome variables. Although change analysis (i.e.

Modelling radiobiology.

Radiotherapy has played an essential role in cancer treatment for over a century, and remains one of the best-studied methods of cancer treatment. Because of its close links with the physical sciences, it has been the subject of extensive quantitative mathematical modelling, but a complete understanding of the mechanisms of radiotherapy has remained elusive. In part this is because of the complexity and range of scales involved in radiotherapy-from physical radiation interactions occurring over nanometres to evolution of patient responses over months and years.

An integrated metaproteomics workflow for studying host-microbe dynamics in bronchoalveolar lavage samples applied to cystic fibrosis disease.

Airway microbiota are known to contribute to lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis (CF), but their contributions to pathogenesis are still unclear. To improve our understanding of host-microbe interactions, we have developed an integrated analytical and bioinformatic mass spectrometry (MS)-based metaproteomics workflow to analyze clinical bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples from people with airway disease. Proteins from BAL cellular pellets were processed and pooled together in groups categorized by disease status (CF vs.

Deciphering HIV-associated inflammation: microbiome's influence and experimental insights.

Purpose Of Review: To review novel experimental approaches for studying host:microbe interactions and their role in intestinal and systemic inflammation in people living with HIV (PLWH).

Recent Findings: Inflammation in PLWH is impacted by interactions between the microbiome, the intestinal epithelium, and immune cells. This complex interplay is not fully understood and requires a variety of analytical techniques to study.

Metabolomics analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid predicts unique features of the lower airway in pediatric cystic fibrosis.

Background: Progressive, obstructive lung disease resulting from chronic infection and inflammation is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in persons with cystic fibrosis (PWCF). Metabolomics and next -generation sequencing (NGS) of airway secretions can allow for better understanding of cystic fibrosis (CF) pathophysiology. In this study, global metabolomic profiling on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) obtained from pediatric PWCF and disease controls (DCs) was performed and compared to lower airway microbiota, inflammation, and lung function.

Payer-Negotiated Price Variation and Relationship to Surgical Outcomes for the Most Common Cancers at NCI-Designated Cancer Centers.

Background: Federal rules mandate that hospitals publish payer-specific negotiated prices for all services. Little is known about variation in payer-negotiated prices for surgical oncology services or their relationship to clinical outcomes. We assessed variation in payer-negotiated prices associated with surgical care for common cancers at National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers and determined the effect of increasing payer-negotiated prices on the odds of morbidity and mortality.

Benchmarking proton RBE models.

To biologically optimise proton therapy, models which can accurately predict variations in proton relative biological effectiveness (RBE) are essential. Current phenomenological models show large disagreements in RBE predictions, due to different model assumptions and differences in the data to which they were fit. In this work, thirteen RBE models were benchmarked against a comprehensive proton RBE dataset to evaluate predictions when all models are fit using the same data and fitting techniques, and to assess the statistical robustness of the models.

Slower speed of blood pressure recovery after standing is associated with accelerated brain aging: Evidence from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA).

Background: Impaired recovery of blood pressure (BP) in response to standing up is a prevalent condition in older individuals. We evaluated the relationship between the early recovery of hemodynamic responses to standing and brain health in adults over 50.

Methods: Participants from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) (n=411; age 67.

A micro-fabricated device (microICSI) improves porcine blastocyst development and procedural efficiency for both porcine intracytoplasmic sperm injection and human microinjection.

Purpose: Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) imparts physical stress on the oolemma of the oocyte and remains among the most technically demanding skills to master, with success rates related to experience and expertise. ICSI is also time-consuming and requires workflow management in the laboratory. This study presents a device designed to reduce the pressure on the oocyte during injection and investigates if this improves embryo development in a porcine model.

The effects of prolyl hydroxylase inhibition during and post, hypoxia, oxygen glucose deprivation and oxidative stress, in isolated rat hippocampal slices.

The contributions of hypoxia and oxidative stress to the pathophysiology of acute ischemic stroke are well established and can lead to disruptions in synaptic signaling. Hypoxia and oxidative stress lead to the neurotoxic overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the stabilization of hypoxia inducible factors (HIF). Compounds such as prolyl-4-hydroxylase domain enzyme inhibitors (PHDIs) have been shown to have a preconditioning and neuroprotective effect against ischemic insults such as hypoxia, anoxia, oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) or HO.

Validation of In Vitro Trained Transcriptomic Radiosensitivity Signatures in Clinical Cohorts.

Transcriptomic personalisation of radiation therapy has gained considerable interest in recent years. However, independent model testing on in vitro data has shown poor performance. In this work, we assess the reproducibility in clinical applications of radiosensitivity signatures.

Association between statin therapy dose intensity and radiation cardiotoxicity in non-small cell lung cancer: Results from the NI-HEART study.

Introduction: Radiation cardiotoxicity is a dose-limiting toxicity and major survivorship issue for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) completing curative-intent radiotherapy, however patients' cardiovascular baseline is not routinely optimised prior to treatment. In this study we examined the impact of statin therapy on overall survival and post-radiotherapy cardiac events.

Methods: Patients treated between 2015-2020 at a regional center were identified.

An Electrophysiological and Proteomic Analysis of the Effects of the Superoxide Dismutase Mimetic, MnTMPyP, on Synaptic Signalling Post-Ischemia in Isolated Rat Hippocampal Slices.

Metabolic stress and the increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are two main contributors to neuronal damage and synaptic plasticity in acute ischemic stroke. The superoxide scavenger MnTMPyP has been previously reported to have a neuroprotective effect in organotypic hippocampal slices and to modulate synaptic transmission after in vitro hypoxia and oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). However, the mechanisms involved in the effect of this scavenger remain elusive.

A pulmonary vein atlas for radiotherapy planning.

Background And Purpose: Cardiac arrhythmia is a recognised potential complication of thoracic radiotherapy, but the responsible cardiac substructures for arrhythmogenesis have not been identified. Arrhythmogenic tissue is commonly located in the pulmonary veins (PVs) of cardiology patients with arrhythmia, however these structures are not currently considered organs-at-risk during radiotherapy planning. A standardised approach to their delineation was developed and evaluated.