Percutaneous Vegetectomy for Infective Endocarditis in a Nonsurgical Candidate.

Background: Surgical management is recommended for infective endocarditis (IE) when there is right heart failure due to severe tricuspid regurgitation, recurrent septic pulmonary emboli, persistent bacteremia, and large tricuspid valve vegetations (≥20 mm). However, sternotomy comes with strict eligibility limitations, including poor functional status, respiratory failure, and recent intravenous drug use.

Case Summary: A 55-year-old woman with a history of intravenous drug use was diagnosed with persistent bacteremia in the setting of tricuspid valve endocarditis.

How Early Does Anosognosia Begin in Huntington's Disease?

Background: Individuals with Huntington's disease (HD) commonly experience anosognosia, a lack of awareness of disease-specific deficits. However, how early anosognosia begins in the course of HD remains unclear.

Objective: To characterize the onset of anosognosia in HD by exploring its presence/absence at various stages of disease.

COVID-19 Pandemic Experiences and Hazardous Alcohol Use: Findings of Higher and Lower Risk in a Heavy-Drinking Midwestern State.

This study assessed whether COVID-19 pandemic experiences were associated with excessive alcohol use during the first year of the pandemic in Iowa, a heavy-drinking midwestern US state. We analyzed survey data from 4047 adult residents of Iowa collected in August 2020, focusing on three pandemic-related stressors (e.g.

Dysphagia in Huntington's Disease: An Evaluation of Swallowing Disturbance across the HD-ISS Staging Spectrum.

Background: The onset and pattern of progression of swallowing impairment in HD remain poorly understood. The Swallowing Disturbance Questionnaire (SDQ) has proven useful in assessing dysphagia across various neurological conditions, but its use in HD remains largely unexplored.

Objectives: To evaluate swallowing difficulties in HD using the SDQ and Huntington's Disease Integrated Staging System.

Electroceutical enhancement of self-compassion training using transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation: results from a preregistered fully factorial randomized controlled trial.

Background: Physiological signals conveyed by the vagus nerve may generate quiescent psychological states conducive to contemplative practices. This suggests that vagal neurostimulation could interact with contemplative psychotherapies (e.g.

Assessing compassionate abilities: Translation and psychometric properties of the Italian version of the compassionate engagement and action scales (CEAS).

This study aimed to develop the Italian version of the Compassionate Engagement and Action Scales (CEAS) and examine its validity and reliability among Italian-speaking adults. A total of 374 (mean age = 23.11) Italian speaking participants took part in the study.

VEGF signaling promotes blastema growth and proliferation of vascular and non-vascular cells during axolotl limb regeneration.

Salamanders are capable of regenerating whole limbs throughout life, a feat that is unmatched by other tetrapods. Limb regeneration is dependent upon the formation of a blastema containing progenitor cells which give rise to most tissues of the regenerated limb. Many signaling pathways, including FGF, BMP and Wnt, are required for regeneration, but the role of VEGF signaling during salamander limb regeneration is not well understood, particularly outside of angiogenesis.

The development of the Polish version of the Compassionate Engagement and Action Scales.

Compassion has been a subject of extensive scientific research for over two decades. There is clear evidence that our capacity for compassion evolved out of care motivation. Like all motivations it is operated via stimulus response algorithms.

Optimized toolkit for the manipulation of immortalized axolotl fibroblasts.

The axolotl salamander model has broad utility for regeneration studies, but this model is limited by a lack of efficient cell-culture-based tools. The Axolotl Limb-1 (AL-1) fibroblast line, the only available immortalized axolotl cell line, was first published over 20 years ago, but many established molecular biology techniques, such as lipofectamine transfection, CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis, and antibiotic selection, work poorly or remain untested in AL-1 cells. Innovating technologies to manipulate AL-1 cells in culture and study their behavior following transplantation into the axolotl will complement in-vivo studies, decrease the number of animals used, and enable the faster, more streamlined investigation of regenerative biology questions.

Hoping and waiting for rescue: Concepts, scale development and process.

Background: It is clinically recognised that some people find it difficult to engage with, or commit to, self-help for life difficulties. This may be due to various reasons such as experiences of helplessness, feeling overwhelmed and lacking skills, and low confidence in the process. Another reason can be beliefs of 'needing others' to bring change about; that they are not able to do it for themselves and are 'hoping and waiting' for others to 'rescue' them.

Continuous Mechanical Suction Use During Chronic Total Occlusion Revascularization.

Chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is high risk compared to non-CTO PCI. Iatrogenic coronary artery hematoma formation is a common occurrence during CTO PCI, impairing true lumen visualization. We describe the use of a continuous mechanical suction (CMS) device in 2 applications in which it was used for successful subintimal hematoma decompression and distal vessel re-entry.

Developing nurse and midwife centred rostering principles using co-design: a mixed-methods study.

Background: Current nursing and midwifery rosters are based on guidelines which may no longer adequately meet the needs of health services or staff and often result in decreased job satisfaction, poor health and wellbeing, and high turnover. Little is known about the rostering needs and preferences of contemporary nurses and midwives in Australia. The aim of this study was to identify the rostering concerns, needs and preferences of nurses and midwives, and co-design acceptable, equitable and feasible rostering principles.

The prefrontal cortex, but not the medial temporal lobe, is associated with episodic memory in middle-aged persons with HIV.

Objective: Identifying persons with HIV (PWH) at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is complicated because memory deficits are common in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) and a defining feature of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI; a precursor to AD). Recognition memory deficits may be useful in differentiating these etiologies. Therefore, neuroimaging correlates of different memory deficits (i.

A useful cognitive motor dual task paradigm in prodromal and manifest Huntington's disease.

Introduction: Individuals with Huntington's disease (HD) experience increased difficulty with balance throughout disease progression. Adding a simultaneous cognitive task to a balance assessment, referred to as a dual task (DT) paradigm, may have a deleterious effect on balance, which can be expressed in terms of a Dual Task Cost (DTC), relative to a single task (ST) condition. The aim of this study is to explore whether a cognitive-motor DT paradigm uncovers balance deficits in prodromal (Pro-HD) and manifest HD, compared to healthy adults (HA).

Left Circumflex Fistula After Watchman Implantation: A Case Report of Left Atrial Appendage Closure Complication.

Left atrial appendage closure devices reduce the risk of stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation while avoiding the risks associated with therapeutic anticoagulation. This significant value comes with additional unique risks associated with device implantation or surgical closure. We discuss an uncommon complication of Watchman device (Boston Scientific) implantation wherein an asymptomatic fistulous connection developed between the left atrial appendage and the left circumflex artery.

E-cigarettes in college: Associations between mental health and e-cigarette use with other substances.

Introduction: College students are a priority population for substance use prevention, and other studies have reported associations between mental health and e-cigarette use. This study described the association of mental health to e-cigarette and other substance use (ECIG+ use) among US college students.

Methods: We used Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 National College Health Assessment data among undergraduate students aged 18-24 years (n=55654) at 138 institutions.

Threat, safety, safeness and social safeness 30 years on: Fundamental dimensions and distinctions for mental health and well-being.

In 1993, the British Journal of Clinical Psychology published my paper titled 'Defence and safety: Their function in social behaviour and psychopathology'. The paper highlights that to understand people's sensitivity to threat, we also need to understand their ability to identify what is safe. This paper offers an update on these concepts, highlighting distinctions that were implicit but not clearly defined at the time.

"Everybody needs to find the best path for them": Insights into recovery strategies of people who have not used specialty treatment for alcohol use disorder.

Background: Most people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) do not use treatment services, yet the majority ultimately resolve their AUD. As the phenomenon of untreated recovery remains poorly understood, we investigated the strategies used for recovery without treatment.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 65 adults (27 women, 37 White) with resolved AUD and no history of using specialty services (e.

Quadri-Chamber Thrombi and Impending Paradoxical Embolism: Thrombus in Transit Through Patent Foramen Ovale.

Thrombus-in-transit through patent foramen ovale (PFO) is an extremely rare diagnosis that can often be associated with pulmonary embolism. Currently, data exists to guide management options; however, there is no medical consensus with regard to the optimal treatment strategy for thrombus-in-transit through PFO.

Exploring bradyphrenia in Huntington's disease using the computerized test of information processing (CTiP).

Background: Bradyphrenia, best thought of as the mental equivalent of bradykinesia, has been described in several disorders of the brain including Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia; however, little is known about this phenomenon in Huntington's Disease (HD).

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of bradyphrenia in HD using the Computerized Test of Information Processing (CTiP), an easy to administer and objective task that assesses cognitive processing speed with increasing task complexity.

Methods: This study included 211 participants: Huntington's Disease Integrated Staging System (HD-ISS) Stage 0 [n = 28], Stage 1 [n = 30], Stage 2 [n = 48] and Stage 3 [n = 48], and healthy controls (HC) [n = 57].

The Association Between State Characteristics and Latinx People's Treated Hypertension in Established and New Latinx Destination States: A Multilevel Analysis.

This study sought to quantify the contributions of state-level factors including income inequality, state's legislature political control, and Medicaid expansion in new and established Latinx destination states on Latinx individuals' treated hypertension. Mixed-effects logistic regression analyses were conducted to analyze 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 7524 Latinx adults nested within 39 states. Overall, 70% reported being pharmacologically treated for hypertension, and 66% resided in established destination states.

Pulse pressure and APOE ε4 dose interact to affect cerebral blood flow in older adults without dementia.

This study assessed whether the effect of vascular risk on cerebral blood flow (CBF) varies by gene dose of apolipoprotein (APOE) ε4 alleles. 144 older adults without dementia from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative underwent arterial spin labeling and T1-weighted MRI, APOE genotyping, fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), lumbar puncture, and blood pressure (BP) assessment. Vascular risk was assessed using pulse pressure (systolic BP - diastolic BP).

Social rank and compassion: How insecure striving, social safeness and fears of compassion mediate the relationship between masculinity, depression and anxiety.

Objective: Traditional masculinity norms displayed by men attempt to signal a dominance or 'toughness' to others; however, traditional masculine norms are associated with a range of mental health difficulties, including depression and anxiety. Based on social rank theory, we tested the mediating role of insecure striving, social safeness and fears of compassion on the relationship between masculinity, anxiety and depression. We also examined whether compassionate goals were negatively correlated with masculine norm adherence.