Delivering opioid use disorder treatment among American Indian and Alaska Native adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: Facilitators and barriers to care.

Background: American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities experienced a disproportionate increase in opioid-related fatal and non-fatal poisonings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to treatment, such as medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), became even more critical, although research among this population is limited. We completed qualitative interviews with substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers (i.

Upper gastrointestinal symptoms and Gulf War Illness in a clinical cohort of US veterans: a retrospective, cross-sectional study.

Objective: Approximately 30% of the 700 000 US Gulf War Veterans (GWVs) report symptoms collectively termed Gulf War Illness (GWI), a multisymptom illness of uncertain pathophysiology. Prior studies in GWI focus on overlap with irritable bowel syndrome. This study examines the associations between upper gastrointestinal (UGI) symptoms, GWI and specialty GI care.

A multimodal approach to assess a liposomal carrier's biodistribution, stability, and clearance.

Liposomal carriers, used for site-specific drug delivery, are being investigated for diagnostic approaches by replacing the therapeutic with an imaging contrast agent, exploring potential for selective treatment planning. There remains a critical need to improve assessment of biodistribution, stability, and clearance kinetics of liposomal carriers. This pilot study presents a multimodal approach in which liposome-encapsulated J-aggregated indocyanine green (ICG) dye (Lipo-JICG) is imaged with high spatial resolution using both photoacoustic (PA) imaging, to assess the absorbance characteristics of JICG and monomeric ICG, and cryofluorescence tomography (CFT), to measure ICG fluorescence.

Disease burden and health-related outcomes of patients discharged from hospital following a COPD exacerbation in the United States.

Background: Evidence on trajectory of readmission rates post-hospitalization for COPD exacerbations and combined cardiopulmonary risk in the U.S. is sparse.

33 Unresolved Questions in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.

Significant advances in science and engineering often emerge at the intersections of disciplines. Nanoscience and nanotechnology are inherently interdisciplinary, uniting researchers from chemistry, physics, biology, medicine, materials science, and engineering. This convergence has fostered novel ways of thinking and enabled the development of materials, tools, and technologies that have transformed both basic and applied research, as well as how we address critical societal challenges.

Mast Cell Leukemia: Comprehensive Review of Literature With Current Insights and Updates on Management.

Mast cell leukemia (MCL) is an exceedingly rare and aggressive variant of systemic mastocytosis (SM). MCL is classified as primary, occurring without prior mast cell (MC) disorders or secondary, from a pre-existing SM, and acute aggressive form with C-findings that indicate organ damage or chronic indolent form without organ damage. Of the cases, 60-65% are aleukemic with < 10% circulating MCs in the peripheral blood, and the rest of the cases are leukemic with > 10% MCs.

A comparative analysis of gender and racial disparities in acute necrotizing pancreatitis outcomes: Insights from the national inpatient sample database.

Background/objectives: Acute Necrotizing pancreatitis (NP), a severe form of pancreatitis, carries high morbidity and mortality, with outcomes influenced by patient demographics. While prior research highlights disparities in gastrointestinal diseases, the impact of race and gender on NP outcomes remains underexplored. This study evaluates the influence of these demographic factors on in-hospital mortality, complications, length of stay (LOS), and hospitalization costs.

Doxycycline for Pneumonia: Expanding Treatment Horizons Through a Case Series and Narrative Review.

pneumonia is a significant cause of community-acquired pneumonia that often requires timely and effective treatment. While fluoroquinolones and macrolides are the recommended first-line therapies, doxycycline offers an alternative with favorable pharmacokinetics, safety, and minimal drug-drug interactions. We describe three hospitalized patients with pneumonia who received doxycycline monotherapy.

Sex based relative expression of estrogen receptors and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in liver affects hepatitis C virus viral pathogenesis.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a global health concern, representing the second most common cause of malignancy-related mortality in the world. The primary cause of HCC in the United States is chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Clinical observations have established sex-based differences in HCV infection with the disease progressing more severely and more rapidly in males and postmenopausal females compared to premenopausal females, suggesting that estrogens and their receptors may play an important role in hepatic defenses and development of HCV-mediated HCC.

COVID-19 Pandemic Exposure and Toddler Behavioral Health in the ECHO Program.

Importance: Studies suggest developmental concerns for infants born during the COVID-19 pandemic, but evidence on its impact on toddler behavioral and emotional well-being remains limited.

Objective: To assess whether birth timing relative to the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with toddler internalizing and externalizing problems.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective cohort study utilized Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) cohort data collected between September 27, 2009, and July 21, 2023.

"Severe lower extremity pain in a patient with diabetes".

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most prominent comorbidities in the United States and other developed nations, affecting approximately 21 million Americans (Selvin et al., 2014 [1]). A significant portion of diabetic individuals struggle with glycemic control, leading to numerous associated medical complications.

Extracellular vesicle proteomic expression is influenced by mining tenure in former uranium miners.

Background: Chronic exposure to uranium (U) rich environments poses significant health risks, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects remain poorly understood. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-bound vesicles that transfer multiple biomolecules between cells and can regulate cellular function.

Objective: To determine whether U-mining tenure is associated with specific alterations in serum-derived EV proteomic and plasma cytokine profiles among former U-miners, and to assess the potential of EV-derived proteins as robust biomarkers of chronic U-exposure relative to canonical cytokines.

Problem Identification and Needs Assessment for a Universal Surgical Simulation Educational Fellowship Curriculum.

Objective: Simulation-based training is a critical adjunct to clinical medicine, and it has grown exponentially in academic and community healthcare settings in recent decades. The expansion is multifactorial, and the proliferation has resulted in the need for well-informed, well-trained simulation educators and leaders. The increased demand has driven the growth of accredited surgical simulation fellowships and formal surgical education qualifications.

Expulsion rates 12 months after early versus interval postpartum intrauterine device placement: a randomized trial.

Objective: The early postpartum period, 2 to 4 weeks postpartum, is an optimal time for intrauterine device (IUD) initiation; placement can be co-located with early postpartum or infant visits. We aimed to compare expulsion rates at 12 months postpartum for IUDs placed early compared to the standard interval 6-week visit.

Study Design: This is a randomized controlled trial conducted at four U.

Variations in Religious Development by Sexual Orientation: Results from a Nationally Representative U.S. Sample.

We compared religious development from early adolescence to middle adulthood between sexual orientations. Data were from Waves I-V of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) restricted data sets using participants from the self-weighting core sample who had complete data for predictors and covariates (=10,879 at Wave I; ages 12-21). Time-varying effect modeling examined changes in religious affiliation (any affiliation vs no affiliation), importance, attendance, and prayer across ages 12 to 41 as a function of sexual orientation in adulthood (heterosexual, 86.

Demographics, Trends, and Cardiovascular Mortality in Kaposi Sarcoma Patients in the United States: An Analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database.

Background: Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a vascular neoplasm caused by human herpesvirus-8. There is a paucity of data on the cause of death in patients with KS, especially the proportion of cardiovascular mortality. This study aimed to provide annual trends, demographic analysis, and cause of death analysis of KS in the United States.

Changes in Dissolved Natural Organic Matter Composition Induced by Reaction with U(VI) at Acidic and Neutral pH.

Understanding oxidized uranium [U(VI)] reactions with natural organic matter (NOM) is necessary to predict the solubility and mobility of U and NOM in waters from organically rich geologic uranium deposits influenced by natural and anthropogenic processes. Here, we investigated the changes in the chemical composition of NOM resulting from its reaction with U(VI) under acidic and neutral pH under controlled laboratory conditions. We employed a multianalytical approach, including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS).

Glycocalyx-targeted therapy prevents age-related muscle loss and declines in maximal exercise capacity.

Age-related declines in cardiovascular function contribute to reduced physical capacity, both of which are independent predictors of mortality. We have previously demonstrated that glycocalyx-targeted therapy with Endocalyx™ that contains high-molecular-weight hyaluronan (HMW-HA) improves cardiovascular health in old age, raising the possibility that HMW-HA also plays a role in age-related physical dysfunction. Here, we first demonstrate that tamoxifen-inducible deletion of , which produces HMW-HA, leads to glycocalyx depletion, decreases exercise capacity, and impairs skeletal muscle respiratory capacity.

First-trimester medication abortion: anemia and blood loss.

Purpose Of Review: Although ample evidence demonstrates the safety and effectiveness of medication abortion, its safety in individuals with anemia is not well understood; modern literature describing quantitative blood loss from medication abortion is limited. As medication abortion is increasingly utilized, reviewing current guidelines and literature related to anemia and blood loss from medication abortion may help inform practice and future research.

Recent Findings: Guidelines have not established a safe minimum level of starting hemoglobin for medication abortion or a single standard for the provision of medication abortion in the setting of anemia.

Neurometabolomic impacts of wood smoke and protective benefits of anti-aging therapeutics in aged female C57BL/6J mice.

Background: Wildland fires in the United States have increased in frequency and scale over the past 30 years exposing millions of people to hazardous air pollutants. Among others, aging individuals are particularly vulnerable to the effects of wildfire smoke. In this study, we assessed the neurobiological impacts of wood smoke (WS) on aged mice and the potential of anti-aging therapeutics to mitigate these impacts.

Deciphering Mutational Effects on Inducible NO Synthase Conformational Dynamics via Quantitative Cross-Linking Mass Spectrometry and AlphaFold2 Subsampling.

Mammalian nitric oxide synthases (NOSs) are flavo-hemoproteins that rely on dynamic interdomain interactions for activity. Calmodulin (CaM) facilitates specific, interdomain FMN-heme interactions that enable inter-subunit FMN-heme electron transfer essential for nitric oxide biosynthesis. Our quantitative cross-linking mass spectrometry (qXL MS) results demonstrate that the abundance of inter-subunit cross-links correlates with CaM-induced formation of the docked FMN/heme complex in neuronal NOS [Jiang et al.

Emergent microtubule properties in a model of filament turnover and nucleation.

Microtubules (MTs) are dynamic protein filaments essential for intracellular organization and transport, particularly in long-lived cells such as neurons. The plus and minus ends of neuronal MTs switch between growth and shrinking phases, and the nucleation of new filaments is believed to be regulated in both healthy and injury conditions. We propose stochastic and deterministic mathematical models to investigate the impact of filament nucleation and length-regulation mechanisms on emergent properties such as MT lengths and numbers in living cells.

Design and rationale of the SMaRRT-HD study: A pragmatic, randomized trial of symptom monitoring for individuals receiving maintenance hemodialysis.

Individuals with hemodialysis-dependent kidney failure often suffer from numerous symptoms that contribute to poor patient outcomes. The Symptom Monitoring in Renal Replacement Therapy-Hemodialysis (SMaRRT-HD) Study is a pragmatic randomized trial of monitoring and follow-up of symptoms for individuals receiving maintenance hemodialysis. The trial uses an effectiveness-implementation hybrid design with randomization at the clinic level to compare the effectiveness of once monthly symptom monitoring with supported clinician follow-up via an electronic patient-reported outcome measure (ePROM) system called SMaRRT-HD compared to routine symptom monitoring without supported follow-up (Usual Care) to improve patient-reported and biomedical outcomes over a 12-month intervention period.