Patterns of Genetic Diversity Within Three California Quail Species Are Best Explained by Climate and Landscape Changes.

Many North American game animals experienced severe population declines during the 19th century due to market hunting. However, estimates of the timing and magnitude of these declines often rely on anecdotal evidence, which makes it difficult to understand the lasting impacts of hunting pressures versus climate or landscape changes on the genetic diversity of contemporary populations. Historical reports suggest the California quail (Callipepla californica) suffered more significant hunting pressure in the late 19th century relative to either Gambel's (Callipepla gambelii) or mountain quail (Oreortyx pictus).

Mirvetuximab soravtansine in the ovarian cancer treatment landscape: influence of prior taxane exposure on outcomes.

Objective: To evaluate prescribing patterns, toxicities, and outcomes among patients receiving mirvetuximab for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer with high folate receptor alpha expression treated with mirvetuximab at a single institution (2018-2023). Patients were categorized based on treatment immediately preceding mirvetuximab: the taxane group received taxane treatment; the non-taxane group received other therapy.

Associations between comorbid conditions with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease by race-ethnicity and sex based on NACC data.

Introduction: We investigated the associations between diabetes (type 2), hypertension and hypercholesterolemia with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnoses by race-ethnicity and sex.

Methods: Data (n = 22,950) were derived via the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between each comorbid condition and MCI and AD.

Significant Pathology in Young Infants Presenting With Hypothermia: A Multicenter Study.

Objective: Hypothermia in young infants is often attributed to immature thermoregulation but may be the harbinger of significant pathology. We aimed to determine the prevalence and type of significant pathology in young infants aged 90 days or younger presenting with hypothermia (≤36.0 °C) and explore associations between this outcome and presenting characteristics and evaluation.

Non-Sedated Intrauterine Device Experiences Among Transgender and Cisgender Adolescents and Young Adults in the Outpatient Setting.

Study Objectives: This study compares the demographic characteristics and experiences of three different groups of adolescent and young adults (AYAs) seeking non-sedated intrauterine device (IUD) insertion in the outpatient setting: (1) cisgender individuals, (2) transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals receiving gender-affirming testosterone therapy, and (3) TGD individuals not receiving gender-affirming testosterone therapy.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included AYAs age 13 to 21 years seeking IUD insertion. Data were obtained from the electronic health record via a pre-existing, multi-institutional shared quality improvement (QI) collaborative.

Intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy and risk of limb complications in individuals with diabetic eye disease.

Aims: To evaluate the association between intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy and lower extremity complications in diabetic eye disease (DED), and compare risks among ranibizumab, aflibercept, and bevacizumab.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used a U.S.

Accelerated Patient-specific Non-Cartesian MRI Reconstruction using Implicit Neural Representations.

Purpose: Accelerating MR acquisition is essential for image guided therapeutic applications. Compressed sensing (CS) has been developed to minimize image artifacts in accelerated scans, but the required iterative reconstruction is computationally complex and difficult to generalize. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs)/Transformers-based deep learning (DL) methods emerged as a faster alternative but face challenges in modeling continuous k-space, a problem amplified with non-Cartesian sampling commonly used in accelerated acquisition.

Choroidal Vascularity Index as a marker of health and disease: Systematic review and meta-Analyses.

The Choroidal Vascularity Index (CVI), derived from optical coherence tomography (OCT), has emerged as a potential biomarker for detecting vascular changes. Understanding its variability across physiological states, ocular conditions, and systemic diseases is crucial for its integration into clinical practice. We evaluated variations in CVI across different physiological states (e.

Treatment and Referral of Youth with Opioid Addiction in the Pediatric Emergency Department: A Pilot Study.

Background: Fatal opioid overdoses have increased among adolescents. Emergency Departments (EDs) are critical access points for connecting adults with opioid use disorder (OUD) to medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Whether this is feasible in pediatric patients is unknown.

Adverse events associated with COVID-19 vaccination or diagnosis among pregnant and non-pregnant women in the United States, 2021-2022.

Objectives: To quantify the incidence of adverse events given COVID-19 vaccination and COVID-19 diagnosis in women of reproductive age; to examine pregnancy as a potential risk modifier.

Methods: An exposure-matched cohort study of >1 million women, 11 December 2020-30 September 2022, United States. COVID-19 vaccination, COVID-19 diagnoses, and medically-attended adverse events - including immunologic, neurologic, cerebrovascular, thromboembolic, cardiovascular, respiratory, thrombocytopenic and coagulative events - were identified from inpatient and outpatient medical claims.

Social cognition training improves recognition of individual emotions in schizophrenia disorder.

Impaired recognition of angry, fearful, and emotionless (i.e., neutral) faces is associated with poor social functioning among individuals with schizophrenia disorder (SZ).

Soil drivers of fungal, bacterial and plant diversity in contaminated Southern Californian sites: Implications for dryland bioremediation.

This exploratory study surveyed seven contaminated brownfields and Superfund sites in Southern California to identify locally adapted species tolerant of mixed organic and metal contamination under arid and semi-arid conditions. Five novel native plants, including Brickellia californica, Baccharis salicifolia, Baccharis sarothroides, Eriogonum fasciculatum, and Heterotheca grandiflora were identified as hyperaccumulators of copper (Cu), alongside a non-native species from the Asteraceae family, Helminthotheca echioides. Additional metal-accumulating plants (including native plants) for lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), and nickel (Ni) were identified, and warrant further evaluation for their phytoremediation potential.

Scoping Review of Operative Management of Thoracic Malignancies in Patients With Psychiatric Comorbidities.

Introduction: Psychiatric comorbidities are increasingly recognized in patients with thoracic malignancies. We undertook this scoping review to characterize the management of thoracic malignancies in patients with psychiatric illness and uncover any disparities in operative treatment or perioperative outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a scoping review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Intracranial calcifications in congenital viral infections: mechanisms and cellular roles.

Intracranial calcifications (ICCs) are a characteristic neuropathological feature of several congenital viral infections, including Zika virus (ZIKV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). These lesions are linked to severe neurodevelopmental outcomes, such as microcephaly, epilepsy, and cognitive deficits, yet the mechanisms underlying their formation and resolution remain unclear. ICCs are thought to arise from an imbalance in osteogenic and osteolytic signaling in the developing brain.

The epidemiology, clinical burden, and prevention of intrauterine adhesions (IUAs) related to surgically induced endometrial trauma: a systematic literature review and selective meta-analyses.

Background: Reproductive-age women with intrauterine adhesions (IUAs) following uterine surgery may be asymptomatic or may experience light or absent menstruation, infertility, preterm delivery, and/or peripartum hemorrhage. Understanding procedure- and technique-specific risks and the available evidence on the impact of surgical adjuvants is essential to the design of future research.

Objective And Rationale: While many systematic reviews have been published, most deal with singular aspects of the problem.

Protocol for live-cell calcium imaging of human lung microvascular endothelial vessel-on-a-chip model.

Calcium signaling is crucial for endothelial cell homeostasis. Alterations in intracellular calcium levels due to shear stress are linked to vascular dysfunction and diseases. Here, we present a protocol to perform live calcium imaging by using a live calcium indicator on human lung endothelial cells subjected to shear stress in a commercially available microfluidic device (Ibidi Luer VI).

Artificial Intelligence Automation of Echocardiographic Measurements.

Background: Accurate measurement of echocardiographic parameters is crucial for the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease and tracking of change over time; however, manual assessment requires time-consuming effort and can be imprecise. Artificial intelligence has the potential to reduce clinician burden by automating the time-intensive task of comprehensive measurement of echocardiographic parameters.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate open-sourced deep learning semantic segmentation models for the automated measurement of 18 anatomic and Doppler measurements in echocardiography.

Multicellular tumor-stromal interactions recapitulate aspects of therapeutic response and human oncogenic signaling in a 3D disease model for H3K27M-altered DIPG.

It has become evident from decades of clinical trials that multimodal therapeutic approaches with focus on cell intrinsic and microenvironmental cues are needed to improve understanding and treat the rare, inoperable, and ultimately fatal diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), now categorized as a diffuse midline glioma. In this study we report the development and characterization of an in vitro system utilizing 3D Tumor Tissue Analogs (TTA), designed to replicate the intricate DIPG microenvironment. The innate ability of fluorescently labeled human brain endothelial cells, microglia, and patient-derived DIPG cell lines to self-assemble has been exploited to generate multicellular 3D TTAs that mimic tissue-like microstructures, enabling an in- depth exploration of the spatio-temporal dynamics between neoplastic and stromal cells.

Human cardiac organoids for disease modeling and drug discovery.

Cardiac organoids are 3D self-assembling structures that recapitulate some of the functional, structural, and cellular aspects of the developing heart. Cardiac organoid modeling has overcome many of the limitations of current cardiac modeling systems by providing a human-relevant, multicellular, spatially advanced model that can replicate early key developmental stages of human cardiogenesis. Recent advancements in cardiac organoid modeling have enabled further understanding of cardiogenesis, cardiovascular disease, and drug-induced cardiotoxicity.

Rationale and Design of the Comparative Effectiveness of ICD Versus Non-ICD Therapy in Contemporary Heart Failure Patients at a Low Risk for Arrhythmic Death (CONTEMP-ICD) trial.

Background: Current recommendations for a prophylactic (primary prevention) implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in patients with both ischemic and non-ischemic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) originate from clinical trials conducted in selected patients over 20 years ago that showed an overall statistically significant survival benefit associated with a primary prevention ICD in the range of 23%-34%. The recent introduction of angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors [ARNI] and sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors [SGLT2i]) was shown to further reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients with HFrEF. Thus, there is an unmet need appropriately designed comparative effectiveness clinical trials aimed to reassess the survival benefit of a primary prevention ICD in contemporary patients with HFrEF.

Predicting Treatment Response in Retinal Vein Occlusions Using Baseline Optical Coherence Tomography Biomarkers: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review examines the prognostic value of baseline optical coherence tomography (OCT) biomarkers in predicting visual acuity (VA) outcomes for eyes with macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusions (RVO) treated with anti-VEGF therapies, steroids, laser photocoagulation, or combination treatments. VA predictions at 6, 12, and 24 months post-treatment were assessed using a narrative synthesis approach and vote counting based on effect direction relative to a minimal clinically important difference. Certainty of evidence was evaluated using GRADE guidelines.

Biopsychosocial and Environmental Factors that Impact Brain-Gut-Microbiome Interactions in Obesity.

Background: Despite significant advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis of obesity and influencing factors, its prevalence continues to increase at an alarming rate. Social determinants of health (SDOH) encompass a broad range of psychosocial and environmental factors, including economic stability, education, access to healthcare, social support, isolation, neighborhood disadvantage, discrimination, early life adversity, and stress, all of which have been recognized to significantly increase the risk of obesity.

Aim: This review aims to elucidate the intricate relationship between SDOH and biological mechanisms related to the brain-gut-microbiome (BGM) system that lead to altered eating behaviors and obesity.

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.