Association between community assault and adverse renal outcomes among patients with crush injury in South Africa: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Civilians in South Africa experience a high incidence of crush injury, or traumatic rhabdomyolysis. Community assault (CA) is a common mechanism of crush injury in South Africa, where victims are assaulted by multiple persons using a variety of objects. A crush injury places patients at risk of renal dysfunction.

Prediction and Characterization of Genetically-Regulated Expression of Asthma Tissues from African-Ancestry Populations.

Background: Genetic control of gene expression in asthma-related tissues is not well-characterized, particularly for African-ancestry populations, limiting advancement in our understanding of the increased prevalence and severity of asthma in those populations.

Objective: To create novel transcriptome prediction models for asthma tissues (nasal epithelium and CD4+ T cells) and apply them in transcriptome-wide association study to discover candidate asthma genes.

Methods: We developed and validated gene expression prediction databases for unstimulated CD4+ T cells and nasal epithelium using an elastic net framework.

A Retrospective Review of Craniosynostosis Reconstruction at a Community Children's Hospital Compared With Academic Centers.

Background: Craniosynostosis repair is traditionally performed at high-volume academic centers with multidisciplinary teams. Access barriers in rural or suburban regions raise the question of whether comparable outcomes can be achieved and if this surgery can be performed safely in community settings.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and perioperative outcomes of cranial vault reconstruction for craniosynostosis performed at a community-based children's hospital and compare these outcomes to those reported at academic institutions.

Genome sequencing reveals the impact of pseudoexons in rare genetic disease.

Purpose: Advancements in sequencing technologies have significantly improved clinical genetic testing, yet the diagnostic yield remains around 30-40%. Emerging technologies are now being deployed to address the remaining diagnostic gap.

Methods: We tested whether short-read genome sequencing could increase the diagnostic yield in individuals enrolled into the UCI-GREGoR research study, who had suspected Mendelian conditions and prior inconclusive testing.

Machine learning predicts improvement of functional outcomes in spinal cord injury patients after inpatient rehabilitation.

Introduction: Spinal cord injury (SCI) presents a significant burden to patients, families, and the healthcare system. The ability to accurately predict functional outcomes for SCI patients is essential for optimizing rehabilitation strategies, guiding patient and family decision making, and improving patient care.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 589 SCI patients admitted to a single acute rehabilitation facility and used the dataset to train advanced machine learning algorithms to predict patients' rehabilitation outcomes.

Adherence thresholds for emtricitabine-tenofovir disoproxil fumarate preexposure prophylaxis against HIV acquisition in cisgender women: A randomized directly observed dosing study.

Background: Oral emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (F/TDF) preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) effectiveness against HIV acquisition highly depends on adherence. For men who have sex with men, a dosing study in the United States (US) population defined clinically meaningful tenofovir diphosphate (TFV-DP) thresholds in dried blood spots (DBS) based on the rounded 25th percentile for 2, 4, and 7 doses/week as 350, 700, and 1,250 fmol/punch. However, divergent efficacy results in the first generation randomized clinical trials of F/TDF PrEP among African women led to several hypotheses to question whether the pharmacology and adherence requirement for oral F/TDF PrEP may be different in cisgender women compared to what is already established for men.

Parent/caregiver perspectives of meaningful improvement in functional domains for people with CDKL5 deficiency disorder: a mixed-methods study.

Purpose: CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) is a rare developmental and epileptic encephalopathy. Greater understanding of the smallest meaningful improvements for individuals with CDD in clinical trials and practice is needed for a person-centred approach to treatment efficacy. This study explored how parent/caregivers of people with CDD understood meaningful improvements and described change for priority functional domains including communication, gross motor, fine motor, feeding.

Preoperative and Post-Rehabilitation Predictors of Gait Biomechanics Six Months After Total Knee Arthroplasty.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the preoperative predictors of gait biomechanics 6 months after unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA). There were 126 participants (age 64.4 ± 7.

Characterization of the clinical features, laboratory findings, and outcomes of human fascioliasis in a global network: a retrospective mutlicenter study.

Background: Fascioliasis, caused by and , is a neglected tropical disease that has significant medical and veterinary importance. This foodborne zoonotic trematodiases primarily affects poor rural populations in tropical and subtropical areas, where prevalence can be as high as 21%.

Objective: This study aims to characterize the clinical features, laboratory findings, and outcomes of fascioliasis in a real-world cohort.

A history of gastrectomy is a risk factor for choledocholithiasis in patients undergoing cholecystectomy: A single center retrospective study.

Aim: The incidence of cholelithiasis after gastrectomy is higher than that in the general population; however, the incidence and risk factors for choledocholithiasis have not been well reported. We aimed to assess the association between a history of gastrectomy and choledocholithiasis.

Methods: A total of 3025 patients who underwent cholecystectomy with or without choledocholithotomy between January 2006 and December 2020 at Kansai Medical University, Japan were included in this study.

Examining the Role of Sleep in Body Weight Regulation and Implications for Obesity Treatment: A Narrative Review.

Despite significant public health efforts to counter the obesity epidemic, approximately 50% of US adults will have obesity by 2030. The cornerstone of obesity treatment is a behavioral intervention promoting negative energy balance via a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. Behavioral treatment also requires additional support to promote adherence to these recommended lifestyle changes.

Cerebrospinal fluid draining lymphatics in health and disease: advances and controversies.

The meninges, consisting of the dura, arachnoid and pia mater that surround the brain and spinal cord, have been recognized from the earliest anatomical studies. First identified in 1787, lymphatic vessels in the dura are now receiving greater attention as their contribution to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) clearance in diverse neurological conditions is being investigated. New methods have increased the understanding of dural lymphatics, but much is still being learned about their heterogeneity, intracranial and extracranial connections, and factors that govern their functions and maintenance.

KMT2A-rearranged leukemia: from mechanism to drug development.

Gene rearrangements of the human MLL gene (also known as KMT2A) generate multiple fusion oncoproteins which cause leukemia with poor prognosis. MLL is an epigenetic regulator that reads and writes epigenetic information and has an evolutionarily conserved role maintaining expression of Homeotic (HOX) genes during embryonic development. Most MLL gene rearrangements found in leukemia generate a constitutively active version of the wild-type protein, which causes overexpression of HOX and other genes and leukemic transformation of normal hematopoietic progenitors.

Interferon-gamma 1b-induced gene expression alters neutrophil function in patients with chronic granulomatous disease.

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03548818.

A natural language processing pipeline for identifying pediatric long COVID symptoms and functional impacts in freeform clinical notes: a RECOVER study.

Objective: To develop a natural language processing (NLP) pipeline for unstructured electronic health record (EHR) data to identify symptoms and functional impacts associated with Long COVID in children.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed 48 287 outpatient progress notes from 10 618 pediatric patients from 12 institutions. We evaluated notes obtained 28 to 179 days after a COVID-19 diagnosis or positive test.

Enigmatic Roles of Complement Anaphylatoxin Signaling in Health and Disease.

Complement anaphylatoxins C3a and C5a are potent immunomodulators whose impact extends well beyond their traditional roles in innate immunity. Acting through G protein-coupled receptors C3aR, C5aR1, and C5aR2, these peptides take part in coordinating immune cell recruitment, vascular tone, and tissue remodeling. Yet their functions are deeply context-dependent: while they play essential roles in microbial clearance and immune coordination, their overactivation contributes to immunopathology in a wide range of diseases.

Pathotype-Specific Expression of Granzyme-Perforin Pathway Genes and Their Association With Clinical Disease Activity in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis and in a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease. We examined gene expression of five granzymes (GZMs), perforin (PRF-1), and serglycin (SRGN) from tissues derived from pathobiology of early arthritis cohort (PEAC) and phase 4 randomized controlled trial in anti-TNF inadequate responder patients with RA (R4RA). Information regarding gene expression of , , and in synovium and blood pathotypes and their correlations with disease activity scores with 28 joints (DAS28)-erythrocyte sedimentation rate and with DAS28-C-reactive protein in early RA (eRA) is lacking.

Impact of Caregiver Status on Academic Achievements and Family-Work Conflict: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of US Neurology Faculty.

Background And Objectives: With more women entering the medical workforce, caregiving challenges and family-work conflicts are of growing importance to today's neurologists. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of caregiver (CG) status on academic achievements in neurology, analyze the division of labor and time devoted to domestic responsibilities, and measure family-work conflict in US academic neurology faculty.

Methods: A total of 19 US neurology departments completed a survey on baseline demographics, academic achievements, CG status, division of domestic time and labor, and responses on a FWC scale.

Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and Risk of Gastrointestinal Bleeding: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used for pain and inflammation but are associated with gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. While this risk is well established, most studies evaluate NSAIDs as a homogenous class, limiting clinical decision-making based on individual agent safety. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to quantify the risk of GI bleeding associated with individual NSAIDs.

Phase 2C clinical trial of novel short-course regimens for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis: TBTC study 38/CRUSH-TB design.

Introduction: Preclinical and clinical study data show that combining bedaquiline (B or BDQ), moxifloxacin (M), and pyrazinamide (Z), known as BMZ, has potent antimicrobial activity that might shorten treatment duration for drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis.

Methods/design: We describe the design of Tuberculosis Trials Consortium (TBTC) Study 38/CRUSH-TB (NCT05766267), an open-label multicenter international randomized controlled phase 2C trial that compares two four-month regimens, BMZ plus rifabutin (Rb) (2BMZRb/2BMRb) or BMZ plus delamanid (D or DLM) (2BMZD/2BMD), with standard 6-months isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol (HRZE). All drugs are administered seven days per week, under direct observation, at least five days per week.

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.

Impact of intravenous iron or exogenous erythropoietin on hemoglobin mass, exercise performance, and acute mountain sickness during altitude acclimatization.

Chronic exposure to high altitude leads to increases in hemoglobin mass (Hbmass), which may improve exercise performance and decrease acute mountain sickness (AMS) symptoms. We evaluated the influence of intravenous iron or erythropoietin (EPO) treatment on Hbmass, exercise performance, and AMS during a 14-day exposure to 3094 m. Thirty-nine participants (12F) completed the study conducted in Eugene, Oregon (sea level (SL), 130 m) and Leadville, Colorado (3094 m).

Differential phagocytosis induces diverse macrophage activation states in malignant gliomas.

Background: Diffuse midline glioma (DMG) and glioblastoma (GBM) are aggressive brain tumors with limited treatment options. Macrophage phagocytosis is a complex, tightly regulated process governed by competing pro-phagocytic and anti-phagocytic signals. CD47-SIRPα signaling inhibits macrophage activity, while radiotherapy (RT) can enhance tumor immunogenicity.