Repeatability of Myelin and Myelin Water Quantification Using Short-TR Adiabatic Inversion-Recovery Sequences.

Myelin and myelin water (MW) behavior is becoming increasingly relevant in their role in neurodegenerative diseases. Myelin proton fraction (MPF) and myelin water fraction (MWF) measured with short-TR adiabatic inversion-recovery (STAIR) sequences are potential biomarkers of myelin and MW, respectively, but their repeatabilities are unknown. This study aims to evaluate the repeatability of MPF and MWF measured with the STAIR ultrashort echo time (STAIR-UTE) and STAIR short echo time (STAIR-STE) sequences, respectively.

Potentially Inappropriate Medications, Frailty, and Outcomes in Patients With Cancer Managed in a National Health Care System.

Background: Previous studies have operationalized the NCCN list of high-risk medications in older adults into a measurable tool known as the Geriatric Oncology Potentially Inappropriate Medications (GO-PIMs) scale. The current study aims to evaluate the ability of GO-PIMs to identify high-risk medications and their impact on patients with both solid and liquid tumors managed in a large national health care system.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study using data from the national Veterans Affairs (VA) Cancer Registry and electronic health records, including all veterans newly diagnosed with a solid or liquid malignancy from 2000 to 2022.

Skin temperature adapted physiological strain index (aPSI) predicts exertional heat illness.

Objective: Exertional heat illness (EHI) remains a challenge for those that exercise in hot and humid environments. Physiological status monitoring is an attractive method for assessing EHI risk and a critical component of recommended layered risk management approaches. While there is consensus that some combination of core body temperature, mean skin temperature, heart rate (HR), and hydration provide an indication of heat strain, a field-feasible metric that correlates to EHI incidence has not been identified.

Energy minima and ordering in ferromagnets with static randomness.

Energy minimization at T=0 and Monte Carlo simulations at T>0 have been performed on 2D and 3D random-field (RF) and random-anisotropy (RA) models of up to 150 million classical spins. The results suggest that 3D RA models magnetically order on lowering temperature, contrary to the theoretical predictions based on the Imry-Ma argument. If RA is weaker than the exchange, the system is free from singularities (hedgehogs in the Heisenberg model and vortex lines in the xy model).

Relevancy Aware Cascaded Generative Adversarial Network for LSO-transmission Image Denoising in CT-less PET.

Achieving high-quality PET imaging while minimizing scan time and patient radiation dose presents significant challenges, particularly in the absence of CT-based attenuation maps. Joint reconstruction algorithms, such as MLAA and MLACF, partially address these challenges but often result in noisy and less reliable images. Denoising these images is critical for enhancing diagnostic accuracy.

Performance evaluation of a multiplexing circuit combined with ASIC readout for cost-effective brain PET imaging.

A key challenge in PET systems is collecting large amount of data with the most accurate information-time, energy, and position-to produce high-resolution images while limiting the number of channels to reduce costs and improve data collection efficiency. The new Ultra-High-performance Brain (UHB) scanner under development aims to tackle this issue, using a semi-monolithic detector that combines pixelated arrays and monolithic designs, along with signal multiplexing techniques. Approach.

Searching for the QCD dark-matter axion.

Proposed half a century ago, the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) axion explains the lack of charge and parity violation in the strong interactions and is a compelling candidate for cold dark matter. The last decade has seen the rapid improvement in the sensitivity and range of axion experiments, as well as developments in theory regarding consequences of axion dark matter. We review here the astrophysical searches and theoretical progress regarding the QCD axion.

Design of an Automated Mobile Phone-Based Reminder and Incentive System: Application in a Quasi-Randomized Controlled Trial to Improve the Timeliness of Childhood Vaccinations in Tanzania.

Background: The global penetration of mobile phones has offered novel opportunities for communicating health-related information to individuals. A low-cost system that facilitates autonomous communication with individuals via mobile phones holds potential for expanding the reach of health messaging in settings with human resource and infrastructure limitations.

Objective: We sought to design a flexible, low-code system using open-source software that could be adapted to different contexts and technical environments and accommodate a wide range of automation needs.

Morally offensive scientific findings activate cognitive chicanery.

We document a mutually reinforcing set of belief-system defenses-cognitive chicanery-that transform "morally wrong" scientific claims into "empirically wrong" claims. Five experiments (four preregistered, N = 7040) show that when participants read identical abstracts that varied only in the sociomoral desirability of the conclusions, morally offended participants were likelier to (1) dismiss the writing as incomprehensible (motivated confusion); (2) deny the empirical status of the research question (motivated postmodernism); (3) endorse claims inspired by Schopenhauer's stratagems (The Art of Being Right) and the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA's) strategies for citizen-saboteurs; and (4) endorse a set of contradictory complaints, including that sample sizes are too small and that anecdotes are more informative than data, that the researchers are both unintelligent and crafty manipulators, and that the findings are both preposterous and old news. These patterns are consistent with motivated cognition, in which individuals seize on easy strategies for neutralizing disturbing knowledge claims, minimizing the need to update beliefs.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of mechanistic loneliness interventions for older adults.

The current study aimed to evaluate specific mechanisms of interventions to improve loneliness among older adults. EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO databases were searched for articles published through June 2024. We selected randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that sought to improve loneliness in older adults, were published in English, and used previously published measures to assess loneliness.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Content on TikTok: Cross-Sectional Analysis of Popular #PTSD Posts.

Background: TikTok became an increasingly popular platform for mental health discussions during a major global stressor (COVID-19 pandemic). On TikTok, content assumed to promote user engagement is delivered in a hyperindividually curated manner through a proprietary algorithm. Mental health providers have raised concerns about TikTok's potential role in promoting inaccurate self-diagnoses, pathologizing normal behaviors, and fostering new-onset symptoms after exposure to illness-related content, such as tic-like movements linked to conversion or factitious disorders.

"A Different World": A Qualitative Exploration of the Learning Environment for Residents on Pediatric Surgery Rotations.

Objective: This study aimed to characterize the learning environment for general surgery residents on pediatric surgery rotations across the United States, focusing on common educational challenges, and to identify best practices and interventions that can successfully address these challenges. By conducting this needs assessment, our goal was to help promote a shared understanding between residents and educators on pediatric surgical rotations and highlight opportunities to enhance the learning environment.

Design: General surgery residents and pediatric surgical attendings, advanced practice providers (APPs), and fellows were recruited via purposive and snowball sampling to participate in semi-structured interviews.

Examining the contributions of demographic variables to vaccination uptake among the U.S. aged 50.

Vaccine uptake for five conditions harmful to older adults (seasonal influenza, pneumococcus infections, shingles, Covid-19, and pertussis) falls short of universal coverage, and discrepancies further emerge by gender, race, and vaccine target. Drawing on a cross-sectional nationally representative survey of 2623 U.S.

Feasibility of using a clinical measure of depression severity to assess treatment impact on total cost of care.

Objective: Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ9) has become a commonly used clinical measure of depression severity. This study therefore seeks to determine whether reductions in PHQ9 scores (i.e.

Hydrogen sulfide inhibits recruitment of monocyte-derived tumor associated macrophages in glioblastoma by downregulating CXCL12.

Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) directly contribute to the dismal prognosis of glioblastoma by preventing anti-tumor immunity and promoting tumor invasion and angiogenesis. Inhibiting TAM infiltration is a potential therapeutic strategy in glioblastoma, with several chemokine antagonists in early clinical development. Hydrogen sulfide, a gasotransmitter that regulates microglial accumulation in a wide range of CNS diseases, may be a novel therapeutic target to prevent TAM recruitment in glioblastoma.

Worldwide researches on broiler breeders: A 25-year bibliometric review.

The poultry industry plays a key role in meeting global protein needs amid changing demographics and lifestyles, and is constantly growing and evolving. Genetic selection and optimization of broiler breeder flocks have been key drivers of growth, making the maintenance of their health and performance essential both for chick production and for the long-term sustainability of the industry. Despite the high importance of broiler breeder flocks, no systematic bibliometric study has yet been conducted that specifically focuses on research in this area.

Controlled formation of characteristic aroma compounds induced by added seasonings during electromagnetic cooking of braised pork: Weakened lipid oxidation and accelerated Maillard reaction.

This study investigated the formation of characteristic aroma compounds in braised pork during electromagnetic cooking, focusing on the effect of added seasonings on lipid oxidation and the Maillard reaction. The accelerated lipid oxidation led to a rapid increase in the levels of most characteristic aldehydes, 1-octen-3-ol, and 2-pentylfuran during the temperature-rising stage (S0-S2) and the simmering stage (S3-S4) in braised pork. However, the addition of seasonings inhibited polyunsaturated fatty acid oxidation, reducing the levels of these lipid-derived aroma compounds during the sauce thickening stage (S5).

Algorithmic decision-making in health care: Evidence from post-acute care in Medicare Advantage.

Health insurers use predictive algorithms to determine the necessary level of care and deny services they deem unnecessary. Using a difference-in-differences design, I study the partnership of a large Medicare Advantage insurer with a firm that uses a predictive algorithm to aid post-acute care coverage decisions. This partnership led to an immediate and sustained 13 percent decline in the length of skilled nursing facility stays.

Trends in cell collection and apheresis practices: Insights from a cross-sectional study on the use of Spectra Optia in collection and transplant centers.

Background: This study, conducted among collection and transplant centers in France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (USA), aimed to better understand current trends, challenges, and future directions in cell collection and apheresis practices, focusing on the Spectra Optia™ Apheresis System.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from July to November 2023 among facilities using the Spectra Optia™ Apheresis System, which could also be using other comparable cell collection technologies, with expertise in cell collection and therapeutics. Respondents completed an online questionnaire.

Toward ecological forecasting of West Nile virus in Florida: Insights from two decades of sentinel chicken surveillance.

West Nile Virus (WNV) is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the United States, yet transmission activity remains difficult to predict. The present study used 20 years of digitized WNV seroconversion data from 526 sentinel chicken coops across Florida to develop spatiotemporal models with landscape and climate variables to predict WNV seroconversion at monthly and seasonal timescales. We found several environmental predictors hypothesized to impact WNV transmission were important at both timescales.

Colorimetric capnography adjunct during prehospital needle decompression of tension pneumothorax improves decompression success and reduces need for repeat prehospital decompression.

Background: Tension pneumothorax is not uncommon. Effective Decompression of tension pneumothorax is lifesaving. Current guidelines recommend needle decompression (ND) as the initial decompression procedure.

Assessment of seasonality in antimicrobial susceptibility testing and resistance of urinary Escherichia coli from dogs and cats in the United States (2019 - 2022).

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant global health challenge, impacting humans, animals, and the environment. Dogs and cats are vulnerable to urinary tract infections (UTIs), mostly caused by antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli, necessitating antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) for optimal treatment. This study investigated and evaluated the seasonality of AST and AMR in urinary E.

Slow binocular reading during rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) in children with amblyopia and the role of fixation instability.

Children with amblyopia read slower than their peers during binocular viewing. Ocular motor dysfunction typical of amblyopia may cause slow reading. It is unclear whether this is due to fixation instability or increased forward saccades.

Chia seed mucilage biosorbent synergism with hydrophobic iron (III)-natural phenolic nanoparticles for dispersive solid-phase extraction of tetracycline residues in milk and honey samples before HPLC analysis.

This study utilized the synergistic effectiveness of chia seed mucilage and iron (III)-natural phenolic nanoparticles as biosorbents for the first time in the dispersive solid-phase extraction (DSPE) of oxytetracycline, tetracycline, chlortetracycline, and doxycycline followed by HPLC-UV quantification. An in-situ iron (III)-natural phenolic solid adsorbent was created using natural phenolics found in the copper pod tree bark. An ultrasonic-assisted extraction was performed to enhance the extraction efficiency of DSPE-based biosorbents.

Antifungal profile of menadione tethered to 1H-1,2,3-triazolyl-selenoester: synthesis, in vitro and in silico analyses.

Invasive Candidiasis infections are a clinical challenge, with limited effective therapeutic agents and increasing resistance. The discovery of new antifungal agents is urgently required. Here, we developed a new series of 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (Menadione) Tethered to 1H-1,2,3-triazolyl-selenoester in good yields, which exhibit antifungal potential activity against Candida species.