Oncologic Anthropology and the African Diaspora: Twenty-Year Anniversary Report, International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes (ICSBCS).

The International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes (ICSBCS) has played a vital role in defining and overcoming many inequities that exist in breast cancer treatment and outcome on a global basis through capacity-building programs that improve the management of breast cancer patients across the African diaspora. ICSBCS activities also fill critical gaps in disparities research related to the genetics of ancestry. Over the past 20 years, ICSBCS teams have spearheaded landmark studies documenting the relevance of genetic African ancestry to breast cancer risk, while also improving the quality of care delivered to patients in diverse communities.

Family History of Prostate, Breast, Ovarian, and/or Pancreatic Cancer and Associations with Grade Reclassification in a Large Prostate Cancer Active Surveillance Cohort.

Background And Objective: The effect of family history (FH) on prostate cancer active surveillance outcomes is unknown. Our objective is to evaluate FH of prostate, breast, ovarian, and/or pancreatic cancer in a large prospective active surveillance cohort.

Methods: Patients with recorded FH data (N = 1421) were selected.

Clinical outcomes of Hydrus Microstent implantation for open-angle glaucoma: Results from a large academic center.

Purpose: To assess the clinical outcomes of Hydrus Microstent implantation with cataract extraction for the treatment of open angle glaucoma (OAG) over a maximum of 4 years.

Design: Retrospective, single-center, single-arm, longitudinal cohort study.

Subjects: 308 patients (464 eyes) with OAG who underwent Hydrus Microstent implantation with cataract extraction between February 2019 and December 2021, followed for a median (interquartile range, IQR) of 2.

Mesenchymal progenitor cells in perivascular niches: forerunners of mesenchymal stem cells and players in tissue scarring and regeneration.

The walls of all embryonic, foetal, and adult blood vessels contain mesodermal progenitors, distributed as pericytes in capillaries and micro vessels, and fibroblastic cells in the tunica adventitia of larger veins and arteries. Following dissociation, selection by flow cytometry, and culture, those perivascular cells turn into bona fide mesenchymal stem cells of which they possess all attributes. In vivo, the adventitial cellular niche supports several spatially-organized subsets of mesodermal progenitors biased toward either osteo-, adipo-, or fibrogenesis, and dominated by more primitive, multi-lineage stem-like cells.

Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: Association with child behavior in the environmental influences on child health outcomes (ECHO) Cohort.

Background: Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may adversely impact child neurodevelopment; however, epidemiologic findings remain inconclusive because of small sample sizes, limited exposure variability, and differing neurodevelopmental measures. We aimed to investigate the relationship between prenatal PFAS exposure and child behavior.

Methods: We pooled data from nine study sites in the nationwide Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort.

Surgical invasiveness, reoperation, and preoperative depression are predictive of super-utilization in adult spinal deformity surgery.

Purpose: A subset of adult spinal deformity (ASD) patients undergoing corrective surgery receive a disproportionate level of medical resources and incur greater costs. We examined the characteristics of such super-utilizers of health care resources among ASD patients.

Methods: This prospective, multicenter study analyzed data from ASD patients with > 4 levels of spinal fusion and a minimum 2-year follow-up.

ssDNA and ssRNA Promote Phase Condensation of SAMHD1.

SAMHD1 (SAM domain and HD domain-containing protein 1) is a deoxynucleoside triphosphate triphosphohydrolase (dNTPase) with functions in viral restriction, R-loop resolution, DNA repair, telomere maintenance, ssRNA homeostasis, and regulation of self-nucleic acids. As a dNTPase, SAMHD1 functions as an allosterically activated tetramer, where binding of GTP to the A1 activator site of each monomer initiates dNTP-dependent tetramerization. cEM structures reveal that the nucleic-acid-related functions of SAMHD1 involve binding of guanine residues to the A1 site, leading to oligomeric forms that appear as beads-on-a-string on single-stranded RNA and DNA.

Unveiling the Origin of Morphological Instability in Topologically Complex Electrocatalytic Nanostructures.

Coarsening and degradation phenomena in metals have largely focused on thermally driven processes, such as bulk and surface diffusion. However, dramatic coarsening has been reported in high-surface-area, nanometer-sized Pt-based catalysts during potential cycling in an electrolyte at room temperature─a temperature too low for the process to be explained purely by surface mobility values measured in both vacuum and electrolytes (∼10 and ∼10 cm/s, respectively). This morphological evolution must be due to a different mechanism for mass transport that is sensitive to electrochemical conditions (e.

A robust pleiotropy method with applications to lipid traits and to inflammatory bowel disease subtypes with sample overlap.

Pleiotropy, the phenomenon where a genetic region confers risk to multiple traits, is widely observed, even among seemingly unrelated traits. Knowledge of pleiotropy can improve understanding of biological mechanisms of diseases/traits, and can potentially guide identification of molecular targets or help predict side-effects in drug development. However, statistical approaches for identifying pleiotropy genome-wide are limited, particularly for two correlated traits or case-control traits with unknown sample overlap or for disease traits from family studies.

Precision in Spinal Cord Injury Research: A Novel Electromagnetic Impactor for a Consistent Porcine Model.

Purpose: Replicating spinal cord injury (SCI) in large animals is necessary for evaluating translational therapeutics, yet there is currently no commercial, standardized device for inducing SCI. We present the fabrication and testing of a custom impactor device for producing repeatable contusion SCI in porcine models.

Methods: The device was built, and mechanical modeling was utilized for calibration.

Pragmatic trial evaluating a randomly allocated Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program outreach and enrolment assistance programme in Michigan: study protocol.

Introduction: Low-income adults with disabilities experience disproportionately high rates of food insecurity and preventable healthcare utilisation. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can reduce food insecurity and improve health, but there are accessibility gaps in the SNAP enrolment process. Existing outreach and enrolment assistance programmes have been shown to boost SNAP enrolment, but their health effects are understudied.

Adverse Effects of Health Plan Prior Authorization on Clinical Effectiveness and Patient Outcomes: A Systematic Review.

Prior authorization requirements by health insurance plans have become a barrier to healthcare delivery in the United States in terms of clinical efficiency, patient and provider experience. Surveyed physicians report associations with care delays, reduced clinical effectiveness and compromised patient outcomes. In this systematic review, we synthesized the published evidence regarding harmful effects of prior authorization on disease management and patient outcomes.

Generation of an induced pluripotent stem cell line, JHUi008-A, from a healthy female donor.

The use of well characterized human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) is essential for developmental studies and disease modeling. Here, we report the generation of a normal, female line of hiPSCs following reprogramming of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) derived from a healthy female donor using Sendai virus technology. This line, which has been extensively employed for the in vitro study of mesoderm-derived cardiomyocytes, is available and registered in the Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Registry (hPSCreg).

Electric field-induced modulation of mechanical behavior in polyelectrolyte materials: A multiscale molecular dynamics study.

Polymers with multifunctional capabilities are increasingly important for emerging technologies, particularly in applications requiring electro-responsive behavior. Polyelectrolytes, which are charged polymers, are promising candidates for electrically triggered actuators, artificial muscles, biomedicine, and flexible electronics, where modulation of mechanical properties is crucial for maintaining structural integrity and performance. This study employs molecular dynamics simulations to explore how electric fields influence the mechanical behavior of polyelectrolytes.

Scaling up antenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation in Africa: A unified call for action.

Maternal undernutrition in Africa remains a public health challenge, contributing to negative pregnancy outcomes, neonatal mortality, and perpetuating intergenerational cycles of poor health. Antenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS), a cost-effective intervention recognized for its potential to improve maternal and neonatal health, reduces risks of low birth weight, preterm birth, small for gestational age, and stillbirth while offering a $37 return for every $1 invested. Despite its benefits, MMS adoption across African countries remains suboptimal.

Craving for opioid and cannabis use among adults with chronic pain: Insights from a 30-day ecological momentary assessment study.

Background: Craving is an aversive state and risk factor for progression to nonmedical substance use. The aims of this secondary analysis of Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) data were 1) to test whether craving was elevated on days of co-use of opioids and cannabis, and 2) to examine pain, pain catastrophizing, affect, and stress as risk factors for current and next-moment craving, among patients with chronic pain.

Methods: Adults with chronic pain (N = 46) who used both opioids and cannabis were recruited online and completed a 30-day EMA study, consisting of four momentary surveys per day that assessed opioids and cannabis craving, use, pain and pain catastrophizing, affect, and stress.

Medical gender affirmation appears protective against problematic substance use among transgender women and transfeminine adults: Findings from The LITE Study.

Objective: To estimate the association between medical and legal gender affirmation with problematic substance use among transfeminine adults.

Methods: Data from a longitudinal cohort (The LITE Study) were analyzed (n = 1186). Participants were enrolled between March 2018 and August 2020 and followed for 2 years.

A novel peptidoglycan deacetylase modulates daughter cell separation in E. coli.

Peptidoglycan hydrolases facilitate bacterial cell wall growth by creating space for insertion of new material and allowing physical separation of daughter cells. In Escherichia coli, three peptidoglycan amidases, AmiA, AmiB and AmiC, cleave septal peptidoglycan during cell division. The LytM-domain proteins EnvC, NlpD and ActS activate these amidases either from inside the cell or the outer membrane: EnvC binds to the cytoplasmic membrane-anchored divisome components FtsEX, while NlpD and ActS are outer membrane-anchored lipoproteins.

Inverse Relationship Between Halophilic Growth and Cell Integrity Under Extremely Chaotropic Conditions.

Concentrated magnesium chloride brines are extreme environments that are inhospitable to life on Earth. The ionic strength of these brines significantly depresses water activity and concomitantly exerts significant chaotropic stress. Although these brines are largely considered sterile, the well-known preservative effects of magnesium chloride on certain biomolecules, such as DNA, confound life detection approaches and efforts to constrain precisely the habitable window of life on Earth.