Exploring the association between secondhand smoke exposure and hearing loss among U.S. nonsmokers.

Objective: Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure has been implicated as a risk factor for hearing loss. However, there is a relative paucity of inconsistent findings with limited frequency-specific details. The goal of this study is to better characterize the relationship between SHS exposure and hearing loss among adult nonsmokers in the U.

Prevalence and multiple predictors of left atrial low voltage in paroxysmal and non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation patients undergoing ablation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Aims: In the left atrium (LA), low voltage areas (LVAs) detected at electroanatomic mapping in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are considered expression of atrial cardiomyopathy (AtCM). This meta-analysis aims at assessing the prevalence and predictors of LVAs in a larger AF population undergoing catheter ablation.

Methods: Studies comparing patients undergoing LA ablation with vs.

Minimally Invasive Surgery vs Medical Management Alone for Intracerebral Hemorrhage: The MIND Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: It remains uncertain whether surgical evacuation improves functional outcomes in patients with supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

Objective: To compare the safety and efficacy of minimally invasive surgery with the Artemis Neuro Evacuation Device to guideline-based medical management alone for spontaneous supratentorial ICH.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The MIND open-label, multicenter randomized clinical trial randomized patients with spontaneous supratentorial ICH in a 2:1 ratio to either minimally invasive surgery or medical management alone.

Contemporary Techniques in Femoral Osteoplasty.

Hip arthroscopy has a steep learning curve with femoral osteoplasty being one of the most challenging technical aspects of the procedure. The authors discuss a methodical system of preoperative templating and intraoperative fluoroscopic evaluation to ensure adequacy of resection and correction of impingement. There have been multiple methods developed to help aid surgeons in intraoperative decision making during cam correction.

Understanding the Existence of a Na Dimer in a High-Spin State.

The recent observation of a high-spin Na dimer formed on the surface of liquid helium nanodroplets raises some fundamental questions, as the ground state of Na is known to have zero spin. Is it protected against spontaneous dissociation? What is its binding energy and interatomic distance? Is it stable at a higher temperature? Using calculations based on density functional theory (with and without long-range interaction) and coupled cluster methods, CCSD(T), we show that the bonding in the high-spin Na dimer is governed by van der Waals interaction with binding energy (bond length) varying between -0.030 eV (5.

Statin Therapy and Portal Pressure Reduction in Cirrhosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background And Aims: Portal hypertension is the principal driver of cirrhosis decompensation, leading to heightened morbidity and mortality. While non-selective beta-blockers (NSBBs) remain the standard of care, up to 45% of patients fail to achieve sufficient portal pressure reduction. Statins have gained attention as a potential therapeutic agent for portal hypertension.

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.

Multiplexed Single-Molecule Detection of Nucleic Acid Biomarkers with a Distance-Tuned Single FRET Pair.

Biomarkers have gained tremendous attention in recent years, as they offer reliable detection of diseases such as cancers and other health conditions. However, with the recent realization that one biomarker can be associated with more than one disease (cross-talk), there is a significant shift toward simultaneous monitoring of more than one biomarker to increase the accuracy of diagnosis. Despite a sizable effort made over the last several years, multiplexing using the common techniques including surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), microarrays, RT-qPCR, nanostring, fluorescence, and others requires target amplification, target labeling, or the use of additional probes/actuators, and hence, these requirements complicate the experiments and data analyses.

Temporal and spatial patterns of xylazine and medetomidine detected in the DEA's National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS) reports.

Xylazine and medetomidine are α-adrenergic receptor agonists and sedatives that have recently emerged as adulterants in the U.S. illicit drug supply, complicating public health monitoring and response.

Interleukin-6 in Cardiogenic Shock.

Purpose Of Review: Cardiogenic shock (CS) is one of the leading causes of mortality in patients with acute cardiac disease, and systemic inflammation plays a critical role in its pathophysiology. This review explores the role of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in CS, with a focus on its biological pathways, prognostic value, and potential as a therapeutic target, highlighting the importance of addressing inflammation in this context.

Recent Findings: Recent evidence highlights systemic inflammation implied in CS progression.

Modeling the Effects of Temperature and Resource Quality on the Outcome of Competition Between Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus and the Resulting Risk of Vector-Borne Disease.

The community composition of vectors and hosts plays a critical role in determining risk of vector-borne disease transmission. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, two mosquito species that both transmit the viruses that cause dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, share habitat requirements and compete for resources at the larval stage. Ae.

MYH6-Cre Insertion Accelerates Cardiac Phenotype in Dystrophic D2-mdx Mice.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive muscular degenerative disease that is recessively inherited through the X chromosome. Various mutations in the dystrophin gene lead to noticeable muscle weakness. The effects on skeletal and cardiac tissue result in progressive immobility and cardiac dysfunction, respectively.

A monotone single index model for spatially referenced multistate current status data.

Assessment of multistate disease progression is commonplace in biomedical research, such as in periodontal disease (PD). However, the presence of multistate current status endpoints, where only a single snapshot of each subject's progression through disease states is available at a random inspection time after a known starting state, complicates the inferential framework. In addition, these endpoints can be clustered, and spatially associated, where a group of proximally located teeth (within subjects) may experience similar PD status, compared to those distally located.

Insomnia Symptoms and Self-Regulated Eating Behavior in Hispanic Emerging Adults: An Exploration of Acculturative Stress.

: Research regarding the relationship between insomnia symptoms and self-regulated eating behaviors in Hispanic populations is limited, particularly that pertaining to emerging adulthood (18-25 years old) and the potential role of cultural factors. The present study explored the association between insomnia symptoms and self-regulated eating behaviors in a Hispanic emerging adult sample, as well as the role of acculturative stress. : Participants who identified as Hispanic between the ages of 18-25 years old and were English-speaking completed an online survey assessing insomnia symptoms, self-regulated eating behavior, and acculturative stress.

Antidepressant Use and Incidence and Progression of Age-Related Macular Degeneration in a National United States Database.

Objective: To evaluate the association between antidepressant use and the risk of developing non-exudative and exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD), as well as the progression from non-exudative to exudative AMD, in patients using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), or tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs).

Design: Retrospective clinical cohort study.

Subjects: Patients aged ≥40 years identified from the TriNetX database (October 2004-October 2023).

Venous Thromboembolism after Coronary Artery Bypass Increases Healthcare Costs: A Propensity Score Matched Analysis.

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) after cardiac surgery is rare but may increase hospital resource utilization. We sought to determine the cost associated with development of VTE in patients undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods: Society of Thoracic Surgeons data was identified for all patients undergoing isolated CABG between 2010-2020.

'How Did That Make You Feel?' Latinas' Use of Genetic Counseling and Testing for Hereditary Cancer Risk After Watching a Culturally Targeted Video and Receiving Patient Navigation.

Objective: Culturally targeted narrative education is a promising approach to cancer prevention and control. This study evaluates the uptake of genetic counseling and testing (GCT) in Latinas at risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancers (HBOC) after watching a culturally targeted narrative video and being navigated to GCT services.

Methods: Latina women at increased risk for HBOC were recruited through community-based organizations.

Nerve Tape Is an Effective Tool for Small Nerve Repair.

Background: Microsuture (MS) neurorrhaphy is the standard for repairing small-diameter nerves, but functional recovery is suboptimal due to technical challenges. Nerve Tape (NT), a sutureless nerve repair device, is designed to make nerve coaptation simple and precise. Here, we assess NT on the 1-mm rat sciatic nerve as a model of digital and small sensory nerves.

Relations between caregiver messages about conflict management, youth beliefs about fighting, and firearm carrying, in an urban low-income community.

Objective: Caregiver socialization is an important component of youth behavior development, yet little research has considered whether caregiver messages about use of fighting and nonviolent conflict resolution may be related to youths' beliefs about fighting and subsequent firearm carriage. This study examined the extent to which youths' beliefs about fighting moderated the relation between caregiver messages about how to manage conflict and youth firearm carrying.

Method: Participants were 254 youth (ages 12-17; 56% female; 88% African American) drawn from a larger community-based study of positive youth development and youth violence prevention in a low-income urban area.

Germline BRCA2 Mutation and Lynch Syndrome in a Patient With Multiple Primary Malignancies.

Deficiency in genes leads to impediment in DNA repair and is associated with an increased lifetime risk of breast, ovarian, prostate, and pancreatic cancer and melanoma. Lynch syndrome is caused by inherited mutations in genes responsible for DNA mismatch repair, with resultant increase in lifetime risk of colorectal, endometrial, ovarian, stomach, urinary, pancreatic, and CNS malignancies. Here, we present a patient with a rare coexistence of both and mutation in the setting of metastatic pancreatic and prostate cancer.

Characterization of the mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic position of the Varied Solitaire (Passeriformes: Turdidae).

The Varied Solitaire ( Nelson, 1912) is a near-threatened bird species, endemic to the highlands of eastern Panama and the Colombian border. In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of . The mitogenome exhibits a typical avian structure with a slight AT bias and a control region.

Radial-specific catheters for neuroendovascular procedures: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Despite a radial-first approach in many neurointerventions, there are no systematic reviews and meta-analysis which comprehensively assess radial-specific catheter for neuroendovascular procedures. A systematic literature search was conducted through four electronic databases based on PRISMA 2020 guideline. Risk of bias was assessed employing Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool.