Feedback Loops Shape Oxidative and Immune Interactions in Hepatic Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a dual role as both essential signaling molecules and harmful mediators of damage. Imbalances in the redox state of the liver can overwhelm antioxidant defenses and promote mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative damage, and inflammation. Complex feedback loops between ROS and immune signaling pathways are a hallmark of pathological liver conditions, such as hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI).

Association of nasal surgery with olfactory function among older adults.

Background/purpose: Olfactory Dysfunction (OD) is a prevalent condition that commonly presents in the older adult population. Various factors have been shown to contribute to OD, such as neurodegenerative disease, older age, and smoking status; however, the influence of nasal surgery on olfactory function is not well delineated. This study seeks to explore the potential effect of nose surgery on olfactory function.

Systemic Hormonal Contraceptive Use and Rhinitis Among Adult Women: An All of Us Database Analysis.

Objectives: The role of sex hormones in the pathogenesis of allergic and inflammatory conditions such as rhinitis has been receiving increased attention, with evidence supporting an inflammation-modulating role of estrogen and progesterone in the nasal mucosa. However, the specific influence of hormonal contraceptives in rhinitis has been sparsely studied. As such, we sought to investigate the association of systemic hormonal contraceptives with both allergic (AR) and nonallergic rhinitis (NAR) using a national data set of adults in the United States.

Trend Toward Vaginal Versus Cesarean Deliveries in Pregnant Patients with Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms in the 2010s: A Nationwide Inpatient Analysis.

Objective: The safety of spontaneous vaginal delivery in pregnant patients with known unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) has been supported by increasing evidence over the past 2 decades. However, the extent to which this increased evidence has since influenced changes, if any, in actual clinical practice, has yet to be studied.

Methods: Using the 2012 to 2020 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, trends in vaginal versus caesarian delivery among mothers with UIAs were assessed in temporal fashion and compared to overall trends in delivery modality during the same period.

Association of Menopause and Rhinitis Among Adult Women in the United States: Findings from the All of Us Research Program.

Objective: The inflammatory role of female hormones has been garnering increased attention in the literature. Studies suggest a link between estrogen and inflammatory conditions of the airways and nasal mucosa. However, there remains a paucity of literature regarding the associations of hormones with rhinitis.

Clinicopathologic Study of 28 Cases of Tubulocystic Renal Cell Carcinoma: Is It Time to Reclassify It as a Tubulocystic Renal Cell Tumor?

Tubulocystic renal cell carcinoma (TC-RCC) is uncommon and is defined by exclusive tubulocystic growth. Its clinicopathology is still evolving. Twenty-eight cases of so-defined TC-RCC were studied for clinicopathology as well as, in some cases, immunohistochemistry.

Prompt engineering to increase GPT3.5's performance on the Plastic Surgery In-Service Exams.

This study assesses ChatGPT's (GPT-3.5) performance on the 2021 ASPS Plastic Surgery In-Service Examination using prompt modifications and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG). ChatGPT was instructed to act as a "resident," "attending," or "medical student," and RAG utilized a curated vector database for context.

Sex-based differences in severity of chronic rhinosinusitis as reported by SNOT-22 scores.

Objectives: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a widely prevalent condition, however its degree of severity according to sex requires further study. The literature shows that sex-based differences exist in the severity of asthma and allergic airway disease in the population. These findings point to a potential hormonal cause for this difference, but there is no study suggesting the role of sex in CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP).

Association of prior military service with olfactory function among older adults.

Objective: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is a condition primarily affecting older adults. Several factors have been implicated in OD, such as age, socioeconomic status, and neurodegenerative disease; however, the effect of military service still requires additional investigation. Here, we aim to determine if there is an association between prior military service and OD among older adults.

The Coming Age of Antisense Oligos for the Treatment of Hepatic Ischemia/Reperfusion (IRI) and Other Liver Disorders: Role of Oxidative Stress and Potential Antioxidant Effect.

Imbalances in the redox state of the liver arise during metabolic processes, inflammatory injuries, and proliferative liver disorders. Acute exposure to intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) results from high levels of oxidative stress (OxS) that occur in response to hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) and metabolic diseases of the liver. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) are an emerging class of gene expression modulators that target RNA molecules by Watson-Crick binding specificity, leading to RNA degradation, splicing modulation, and/or translation interference.

Association of alcohol use with olfactory function among older adults.

Background/purpose: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) has been recognized as an early biomarker for neurodegenerative diseases. Identifying behaviors that increase the risk of OD is crucial for early recognition of neurogenerative diseases. Alcohol consumption can potentially impact olfaction through its neurotoxic effects.

Reducing Sample Size While Improving Equity in Vaccine Clinical Trials: A Machine Learning-Based Recruitment Methodology with Application to Improving Trials of Hepatitis C Virus Vaccines in People Who Inject Drugs.

Despite the availability of direct-acting antivirals that cure individuals infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), developing a vaccine is critically needed in achieving HCV elimination. HCV vaccine trials have been performed in populations with high incidence of new HCV infection such as people who inject drugs (PWID). Developing strategies of optimal recruitment of PWID for HCV vaccine trials could reduce sample size, follow-up costs and disparities in enrollment.

Depressive symptoms are associated with immunological failure among HIV-positive patients in Vietnam.

As the lives of people living with HIV (PLWH) become increasingly normalized, more focus is being given to the associated comorbidities of HIV, including those related to mental health such as depression. This study aims to evaluate the correlation between depressive symptoms and HIV outcomes in Vietnam through the measurement of CD4 cell count. A mixed design was utilized, in which both a longitudinal assessment of CD4 cell counts and a cross-sectional survey of depressive symptoms were conducted on 481 patients in the Bach Mai and Ha Dong HIV clinics (Hanoi, Vietnam).

Cannabis Abuse and Perioperative Complications After Treatment of Intracranial Aneurysms: A Nationwide Analysis.

Objective: In the present retrospective cohort analysis, we examined the differences in baseline characteristics and peri- and postoperative outcomes stratified by 3 groups: cannabis abuse or dependence versus none, surgical versus endovascular treatment, and unruptured and ruptured intracranial aneurysms.

Methods: A study population of 26,868 patients was defined using the 2009-2016 National Inpatient Sample database. The baseline characteristics were compared between the cannabis and no-cannabis groups, and the traits that differed significantly were factored into the multivariate analysis using 1:1 propensity score matching.

Distribution of Paycheck Protection Program to otolaryngology practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted physician practices in many ways with some ENT clinics reporting around a 50% drop in completed scheduled ENT visits during the first wave of the pandemic compared to 2019.

Aims: This study surveyed first round PPP loan disbursement to otolaryngology practices in the United States in response to COVID-19.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using publicly available data published on PPP by the SBA.

Suppression of Nestin reveals a critical role for p38-EGFR pathway in neural progenitor cell proliferation.

The expression of intermediate filament Nestin is necessary for the neural progenitor cells (NPCs) to maintain stemness, but the underlying cellular and molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that Nestin is required for the self-renew of NPCs through activating MAPK and EGFR pathways. Knockdown of Nestin by shRNA inhibited cell cycle progression and proliferation in mouse NPCs.

Curettage and cryosurgery for low-grade cartilage tumors is associated with low recurrence and high function.

Background: Chondrosarcomas of bone traditionally have been treated by wide or radical excision, procedures that may result in considerable lifelong disability. Grade 1 chondrosarcomas have little or no metastatic potential and are often difficult to distinguish from painful benign enchondromas. Curettage with adjuvant cryosurgery has been proposed as an alternative therapy for Grade 1 chondrosarcomas given the generally better function after the procedure.

OP-1 (BMP-7) stimulates osteoprogenitor cell differentiation in the presence of polymethylmethacrylate particles.

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) particles have been shown to inhibit the differentiation, proliferation, and mineralization of osteoprogenitor cells in vitro. In this study, we investigated the effects of OP-1 (BMP-7) on the osteogenesis of MC3T3-E1 osteoprogenitor cells exposed to PMMA particles in vitro. MC3T3-E1 cells challenged with PMMA particles on the 1st day of differentiation in osteogenic culture showed a significant dose-dependent decrease in mineralization and alkaline phosphatase expression over a 20-day culture period.

Polymethylmethacrylate particle exposure causes changes in p38 MAPK and TGF-beta signaling in differentiating MC3T3-E1 cells.

Periprosthetic osteolysis of joint replacements caused by wear debris is a significant complication of joint replacements. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) particles have been shown to inhibit osteogenic differentiation, but the molecular mechanism has not been previously determined. In this study, we exposed differentiating MC3T3-E1 preostoblast cells to PMMA particles and determined the changes that occurred with respect to p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity and the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathways.

Polymethylmethacrylate particles impair osteoprogenitor viability and expression of osteogenic transcription factors Runx2, osterix, and Dlx5.

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) particles have been shown to inhibit the differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells, but the mechanism of this inhibitory effect has not been investigated. We hypothesize that the inhibitory effects of PMMA particles involve impairment of osteoprogenitor viability and direct inhibition of transcription factors that regulate osteogenesis. We challenged MC3T3-E1 osteoprogenitors with PMMA particles and examined the effects of these materials on osteoprogenitor viability and expression of transcription factors Runx2, osterix, Dlx5, and Msx2.

Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene wear debris inhibits osteoprogenitor proliferation and differentiation in vitro.

Polyethylene wear debris induces progressive osteolysis by increasing bone degradation and suppressing bone formation. Polyethylene particles inhibit the function of mature osteoblasts, but whether polyethylene particles also interfere with the proliferation and differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells is unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) particles on the osteogenic activity of primary murine bone marrow osteoprogenitors and MC3T3-E1 preosteoblastic cells in vitro.

Polymethylmethacrylate particles inhibit osteoblastic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 osteoprogenitor cells.

Orthopedic wear debris has been implicated as a significant inhibitory factor of osteoblast differentiation. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) particles have been previously shown to inhibit the differentiation of osteoprogenitors in heterogeneous murine marrow stromal cell cultures, but the effect of PMMA particles on pure osteoprogenitor populations remains unknown. In this study, we challenged murine MC3T3-E1 osteoprogenitor cells with PMMA particles during their initial differentiation in osteogenic medium.