Predictive Modeling for Clostridioides difficile Infection: Current State of the Science, Clinical Applications, and Future Directions.

Despite 2 decades of effort, there is a lack of clinically deployed models for predicting incident, severe, or recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). This review outlines the promise of machine learning and biomarker-augmented models for targeted prevention and treatment, but also emphasizes the challenges of real-world deployment-namely integration into clinical workflows and governance. Moving forward, progress will depend on translational biomarker development, pragmatic modeling pipelines, and continuous monitoring.

Dendritic Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles as Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines: Mechanisms and Optimization Strategies.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are ubiquitously secreted nanoparticles that modulate the activities of recipient cells either through the transfer of bioactive cargo or by surface receptor-mediated signalling. EVs derived from dendritic cells are increasingly recognised as promising platforms for therapeutic cancer vaccines, owing to their immunostimulatory cargo, their capacity to transfer preformed peptide-major histocompatibility complexes to antigen-presenting cells, and their ability, in some cases, to directly activate cognate T cells. Despite encouraging preclinical results, EV-based cancer vaccines have demonstrated limited clinical efficacy, constrained by suboptimal immunogenicity, poor lymphoid targeting, and suppression within the tumour microenvironment.

Bending the curve: Modeling the impact of reducing risk factors for noncommunicable diseases to control future health expenditures in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Addressing the World Health Organization's noncommunicable disease (NCD) "best buys" is key to reducing the disease burden in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Yet, the potential impact of addressing NCD risk factors on current health expenditures (CHE) in LAC countries is unknown. This study uses both Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data and administrative information to model the impact of addressing four risk factors on CHE trends for 24 LAC countries.

Topic modeling-based prediction of software defects and root cause using BERTopic, and multioutput classifier.

The occurrence of software defects remains a major obstacle in software engineering, resulting in costly debugging and maintenance efforts. This study introduces a new angle for software defect prediction (SDP), utilizing advanced natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) techniques. In this work, the proposed methodology, BERT-MOC, combines the power of BERTopic, a transformer-based topic modeling technique, with a multioutput classifier to predict software defects and the root cause (reason) of defects.

Miniature bioreactor arrays for modeling functional and structural dysbiosis in inflammatory bowel disease.

Alterations in the gut microbiota, known as gut dysbiosis, are associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). There is a need for model systems that can recapitulate the IBD gut microbiome to better understand the mechanistic impact of differences in microbiota composition and its functional consequences in a controlled laboratory setting. To this end, we introduced fecal samples from patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), as well as from healthy control subjects, to miniature bioreactor arrays (MBRAs) and analyzed the microbial communities over time.

Guiding Clostridioides difficile Infection Prevention Efforts in a Hospital Setting With AI.

Importance: Increasingly, artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to develop models that can identify patients at high risk for adverse outcomes. However, the clinical impact of these models remains largely unrealized.

Objective: To evaluate the association of an AI-guided infection prevention bundle with Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) incidence in a hospital setting.

A Two-Stage Phase 2, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Ec-18 in Altering the Severity and Course of Oral Mucositis Secondary to Chemoradiation Therapy for Squamous Cell Cancers of the Head and Neck.

Background: Oral mucositis (OM) remains a significant toxicity of concomitant chemoradiation (CRT) for head and neck cancer (HNC). This trial assessed the safety and efficacy of EC-18, an innate immune response mitigator, in attenuating severe OM (SOM) in HNC patients being treated with CRT.

Methods: This was a two-stage, Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-institutional trial.

Current Approaches to Treat and Prevent Recurrence of Clostridioides difficile.

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) and recurrent CDI (rCDI) are significant causes of morbidity and mortality. The microbiome plays a significant role in the body's defense against CDI and rCDI. Antibiotics can cause significant injury to the microbiome which leads to an increased risk of CDI and rCDI.

Future health expenditures and its determinants in Latin America and the Caribbean: a multi-country projection study.

Background: Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have experienced important demographic, epidemiological, economic, and policy developments that raise concerns about their ability to afford health expenditures in the future. This paper forecasts how current health expenditures (CHE) in LAC countries will change over the next 30 years and identifies key drivers of health expenditure growth.

Methods: A statistical model to forecast CHE based on changing disease burden, economic growth, technology, and demography was developed.

Characteristics, Treatment, and Survival of Male Breast Cancer: A 21-year Retrospective Analysis at a Community Academic Institute in Central Illinois.

Male breast cancer is an uncommon disease, representing a fraction of all breast cancer diagnoses. This study examines the characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of males with breast cancer at a community academic institute in central Illinois. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of male patients with breast cancer treated between 2000 and 2021.

The role of demographic and epidemiologic transitions on growing health expenditures in Latin America and the Caribbean: a descriptive study.

Background: Many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have undergone significant economic, demographic, and epidemiological changes. We examined the role of these factors on the growth of health expenditures in several LAC countries.

Methods: Demographic data, disease prevalence, and proportion of current health expenditure (CHE) per capita, by expenditure type, were obtained for several LAC countries.

Evaluation of Yograj Guggulu, Ashwagandha Churna and Narayana Taila in management of Osteoarthritis Knee: A study in tribal dominant community.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent joint disease and a major cause of joint impairment and physical debility, common in elderly, women and laborious workers. The available non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are being prescribed to manage the condition; however, newly discovered alternatives are looked upon by the practitioners. Thus, the study was aimed to provide an effective and safer alternative through Ayurveda for the management of OA.

Predicting Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias in Patients With Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction Improvement Following Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy.

Background: Patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy with a defibrillator (CRT-D) often experience improvements in the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). This study aimed to identify predictors of ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VTA) in patients with CRT-D devices and LVEF improvement beyond guideline recommendations for a defibrillator.

Methods: Patients randomized to the CRT-D arm of the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial With Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy trial who improved their LVEF to > 35% at 12 months following CRT-D implant were included in this analysis (N = 651).

Health financing interventions and hypertension control: a narrative review and hypothetical model.

Financial incentives have been used extensively in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to improve health and service coverage. Little is known about their effectiveness in improving hypertension outcomes. We conducted a narrative literature review to document features of select supply-side (pay-for-performance, capitation) and demand-side [conditional cash transfers (CCT), vouchers] financing interventions focused on improving hypertension outcomes in primary care settings.

AI-augmented Biophysical modeling in thermoplasmonics for real-time monitoring and diagnosis of human tissue infections.

Identifying tissue infections from the body still poses an unprecedented challenge in society. Conventional diagnostic procedures are time-consuming and lack a real-time monitoring mode. This study proposes a system with an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted Thermoplasmonics scheme that has a 57.

Comparison of Scapulohumeral rhythm in individuals with and without Forward Shoulder Posture.

Background: Forward Shoulder Posture (FSP) is one of the most common postural deviations of the upper back, which may affect the scapulohumeral rhythm (SHR). This study aimed to investigate changes in scapulohumeral rhythm during scapular plane shoulder abduction between individuals with and without FSP.

Methods: A cross sectional study with two group comparison.

Defining Fulminant Infections: Assessing the Utility of Hypotension as a Diagnostic Criterion.

Background: Fulminant infection (FCDI) is associated with a 30%-40% mortality rate. Guideline definitions for FCDI severity classification include ileus, megacolon, shock, or hypotension. However, no hypotension definition is provided, making application of the definition challenging.

Neonatal and Home-Based PT Improves Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Preterm Infants-A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Purpose: Investigate the effect of structured neonatal physical therapy program (SNP) on neurodevelopmental outcomes of moderate and late preterm (MLP) infants.

Methods: Sixty MLP infants were randomly allocated to usual care (UC) or SNP. A previous publication reported the effect of neonatal component of SNP at hospital discharge.

Why Symptoms Linger in Quiescent Crohn's Disease: Investigating the Impact of Sulfidogenic Microbes and Sulfur Metabolic Pathways.

Introduction: Even in the absence of inflammation, persistent symptoms in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) are prevalent and worsen quality of life. We previously demonstrated enrichment in sulfidogenic microbes in quiescent Crohn's disease patients with (qCD + S) vs without persistent GI symptoms (qCD-S). Thus, we hypothesized that sulfur metabolic pathways would be enriched in stool while differentially abundant microbes would be associated with important sulfur metabolic pathways in qCD + S.

From Chaos to Clarity? The Quest for Effective Probiotics in Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea.

Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) frequently complicates treatment of infections. A recent randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial tested a proprietary probiotic mixture and found that it reduced the incidence of AAD by 16%. This is encouraging for patients, but future progress on probiotics for AAD and other conditions depends on transparency around strain selection, probiotic design guided by preclinical mechanistic studies, and rigorously conducted human studies.

Genetic insight into the relationship between inflammatory bowel disease and infection.

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at increased risk of infection (CDI). Herein, we aimed to determine if genetic risk contributes to this observed association. We carried out a genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis in the Michigan Genomics Initiative and the United Kingdom Biobank for CDI based on ICD codes and meta-analyzed these results with similar publicly accessible GWAS summary statistics from Finngen.

Why Symptoms Linger in Quiescent Crohn's Disease: Investigating the Impact of Sulfidogenic Microbes and Sulfur Metabolic Pathways.

Introduction: Even in the absence of inflammation, persistent symptoms in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) are prevalent and worsen quality of life. We previously demonstrated enrichment in sulfidogenic microbes in quiescent Crohn's disease patients with ( ) vs. without persistent GI symptoms ( ).