bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sarcopenia Is a Risk Factor for Postoperative Complications Among Older Adults With Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Minawala Ria , Kim Michelle , Delau Olivia , Ghiasian Ghoncheh , McKenney Anna Sophia , Da Luz Moreira Andre , Chodosh Joshua , McAdams-DeMarco Mara , Segev Dorry L , Adhikari Samrachana , Dodson John , Shaukat Aasma , Dane Bari , Faye Adam S
Published: August 2024

Background

Sarcopenia has been associated with adverse postoperative outcomes in older age cohorts, but has not been assessed in older adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Further, current assessments of sarcopenia among all aged individuals with IBD have used various measures of muscle mass as well as cutoffs to define its presence, leading to heterogeneous findings.

Methods

In this single-institution, multihospital retrospective study, we identified all patients aged 60 years and older with IBD who underwent disease-related intestinal resection between 2012 and 2022. Skeletal Muscle Index (SMI) and Total Psoas Index (TPI) were measured at the superior L3 endplate on preoperative computed tomography scans and compared through receiver operating characteristic curve. We then performed multivariable logistic regression to assess risk factors associated with an adverse 30-day postoperative outcome. Our primary outcome included a 30-day composite of postoperative mortality and complications, including infection, bleeding, cardiac event, cerebrovascular accident, acute kidney injury, venous thromboembolism, reoperation, all-cause rehospitalization, and need for intensive care unit-level care.

Results

A total of 120 individuals were included. Overall, 52% were female, 40% had ulcerative colitis, 60% had Crohn’s disease, and median age at time of surgery was 70 years (interquartile range: 65-75). Forty percent of older adults had an adverse 30-day postoperative outcome, including infection (23%), readmission (17%), acute kidney injury (13%), bleeding (13%), intensive care unit admission (10%), cardiac event (8%), venous thromboembolism (7%), reoperation (6%), mortality (5%), and cerebrovascular accident (2%). When evaluating the predictive performance of SMI vs TPI for an adverse 30-day postoperative event, SMI had a significantly higher area under the curve of 0.66 (95% CI, 0.56-0.76) as compared to 0.58 (95% CI, 0.48-0.69) for TPI (P = .02). On multivariable logistic regression, prior IBD-related surgery (adjusted odds ratio [adjOR] 6.46, 95% CI, 1.85-22.51) and preoperative sepsis (adjOR 5.74, 95% CI, 1.36-24.17) significantly increased the odds of adverse postoperative outcomes, whereas increasing SMI was associated with a decreased risk of an adverse postoperative outcome (adjOR 0.88, 95% CI, 0.82-0.94).

Conclusions

Sarcopenia, as measured by SMI, is associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications among older adults with IBD. Measurement of SMI from preoperative imaging can help risk stratify older adults with IBD undergoing intestinal resection.
Cerebrospinal Fluid Cytokines and Chemokines Involved in Cytotoxic Cell Function and Risk of Acute 14-Day Mortality in Persons with Advanced HIV and Cryptococcal Meningitis
Authors: Okafor Elizabeth C , Mukaremera Liliane , Hullsiek Kathy H , Engen Nicole , Tugume Lillian , Ssebambulidde Kenneth , Musubire Abdu K , Nuwagira Edwin , Mpoza Edward , Williams Darlisha A , Muzoora Conrad , Rhein Joshua , Meya David B , Nielsen Kirsten , Boulware David R
Published: August 2024

Background

The role of the immune response in acute mortality of cryptococcal meningitis remains unclear.

Methods

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 337 Ugandans with first-episode cryptococcal meningitis was collected. CSF cytokines and chemokines were quantified and compared by 14-day survival, stratification by quartiles, and logistical regression to determine association with acute mortality.

Results

Eighty-four (24.9%) participants died by day 14. Persons who survived to day 14 had higher levels of proinflammatory macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-3β and interferon (IFN)-β and cytotoxicity-associated granzyme B and inteferon gamma-induced protein (IP)-10 compared to those who died (P < .05 for each). Logistic regression analysis revealed that per 2-fold increase in proinflammatory interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1α, MIP-1β, MIP-3β, and IFN-β and cytotoxicity-associated IL-12, tumor necrosis factor–α, granzyme-B, and IP-10 CSF concentrations, the risk of acute 14-day mortality decreased. Similar biomarkers were implicated when stratified by quartiles and further identified that lower concentrations of anti-inflammatory IL-10 and IL-13 were associated with 14-day mortality (P < .05 for each).

Conclusions

Proinflammatory and cytotoxicity-associated cytokine and chemokine responses in the CSF decrease the risk of acute 14-day mortality. These data suggest that a cytotoxic immune environment in the CSF could potentially improve acute survival. Further research on cytotoxic cells is crucial to improve understanding of innate and adaptive immune responses in cryptococcal meningitis.
Fungal endophytes Fusarium solani SGGF14 and Alternaria tenuissima SGGF21 enhance the glycyrrhizin production by modulating its key biosynthetic genes in licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.)
Authors: Majidi Mehdi , Mirjalili Mohammad Hossein , Farzaneh Mohsen , Rezadoost Hassan
Published: August 2024

Aims

To identify promising fungal endophytes that are able to produce glycyrrhizin and enhance it in licorice and the mechanisms involved.

Methods and results

Fifteen fungal endophytes were isolated from Glycyrrhiza glabra L. rhizomes among which SGGF14 and SGGF21 isolates were found to produce glycyrrhizin by 4.29 and 2.58 µg g−1 dry weight in the first generation of their culture. These isolates were identified as Fusarium solani and Alternaria tenuissima, respectively, based on morphological characteristics and sequence analysis of internal transcribed spacer, TEF1, ATPase, and CAL regions. Subsequently, G. glabra plants were inoculated with these fungal isolates to examine their effect on glycyrrhizin production, plant growth parameters and the expression of key genes involved in glycyrrhizin pathway: SQS1, SQS2, bAS, CAS, LUS, CYP88D6, and CYP72A154. Endophytes were able to enhance glycyrrhizin content by 133%–171% in the plants. Natural control (NC) plants, harboring all natural endophytes, had better growth compared to SGGF14- and SGGF21-inoculated and endophyte-free (EF) plants. Expression of SQS1, SQS2, CYP88D6, and CYP72A154 was upregulated by inoculation with endophytes. LUS and CAS were downregulated after endophyte inoculation. Expression of bAS was higher in SGGF21-inoculated plants when compared with NC, EF, and SGGF14-inoculated plants.

Conclusions

Two selected fungal endophytes of G. glabra can produce glycyrrhizin and enhance glycyrrhizin content in planta by modulating the expression of key genes in glycyrrhizin biosynthetic pathway.
Predicting physical functioning status in older adults: insights from wrist accelerometer sensors and derived digital biomarkers of physical activity
Authors: Fan Lingjie , Zhao Junhan , Hu Yao , Zhang Junjie , Wang Xiyue , Wang Fengyi , Wu Mengyi , Lin Tao
Published: August 2024

Objective

Conventional physical activity (PA) metrics derived from wearable sensors may not capture the cumulative, transitions from sedentary to active, and multidimensional patterns of PA, limiting the ability to predict physical function impairment (PFI) in older adults. This study aims to identify unique temporal patterns and develop novel digital biomarkers from wrist accelerometer data for predicting PFI and its subtypes using explainable artificial intelligence techniques.

Materials and Methods

Wrist accelerometer streaming data from 747 participants in the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) were used to calculate 231 PA features through time-series analysis techniques—Tsfresh. Predictive models for PFI and its subtypes (walking, balance, and extremity strength) were developed using 6 machine learning (ML) algorithms with hyperparameter optimization. The SHapley Additive exPlanations method was employed to interpret the ML models and rank the importance of input features.

Results

Temporal analysis revealed peak PA differences between PFI and healthy controls from 9:00 to 11:00 am. The best-performing model (Gradient boosting Tree) achieved an area under the curve score of 85.93%, accuracy of 81.52%, sensitivity of 77.03%, and specificity of 87.50% when combining wrist accelerometer streaming data (WAPAS) features with demographic data.

Discussion

The novel digital biomarkers, including change quantiles, Fourier transform (FFT) coefficients, and Aggregated (AGG) Linear Trend, outperformed traditional PA metrics in predicting PFI. These findings highlight the importance of capturing the multidimensional nature of PA patterns for PFI.

Conclusion

This study investigates the potential of wrist accelerometer digital biomarkers in predicting PFI and its subtypes in older adults. Integrated PFI monitoring systems with digital biomarkers would improve the current state of remote PFI surveillance.
A GIS software-based method to identify public health data belonging to address-defined communities
Authors: Lam Amanda M , Singletary Mariana C , Cullen Theresa
Published: August 2024

Objective

This communication presents the results of defining a tribal health jurisdiction by a combination of tribal affiliation (TA) and case address.

Materials and Methods

Through a county-tribal partnership, Geographic Information System (GIS) software and custom code were used to extract tribal data from county data by identifying reservation addresses in county extracts of COVID-19 case records from December 30, 2019, to December 31, 2022 (n = 374 653) and COVID-19 vaccination records from December 1, 2020, to April 18, 2023 (n = 2 355 058).

Results

The tool identified 1.91 times as many case records and 3.76 times as many vaccination records as filtering by TA alone.

Discussion and Conclusion

This method of identifying communities by patient address, in combination with TA and enrollment, can help tribal health jurisdictions attain equitable access to public health data, when done in partnership with a data sharing agreement. This methodology has potential applications for other populations underrepresented in public health and clinical research.
Determination of Total Aflatoxins in Polished Rice by Liquid Chromatography–Fluorescence Detection with Multifunctional Column Cleanup and Precolumn Derivatization: Single-Laboratory and Inter-Laboratory Validation Studies
Authors: Yoshinari Tomoya , Watanabe Takahiro , Takeuchi Toshihiko , Ohnishi Takahiro
Published: August 2024

Background

Aflatoxins (AFs) are toxic metabolites produced by Aspergillus spp. Because AFs are potent carcinogens in humans and animals, many countries have set regulatory limits for AFs in foods to prevent dietary exposure. From a global food safety perspective, in 2023, the Codex Alimentarius Commission established the maximum level (ML) of total AFs in certain cereals and cereal-based products, including polished rice. Therefore, validated analytical methods for AFs detection are necessary.

Objective

In this study, an HPLC–fluorescence method coupled with multifunctional column cleanup and trifluoroacetic acid derivatization was developed for the determination of AF levels in polished rice.

Methods

Our method was validated in a single-laboratory study using AF-spiked materials, followed by an inter-laboratory validation study. Twelve laboratories participated in the inter-laboratory validation study, and five polished rice test samples artificially contaminated with AFs were analyzed.

Results

In a single-laboratory study, the ranges of mean recoveries of AF B1, B2, G1, G2, and total AFs were 101, 100–103, 93–96, 95–98, and 97–99%, respectively. The RSDs for within-day and between-day variations were all ≤4.4%. In the inter-laboratory validation study, the RSDs for repeatability and reproducibility were from 0.7 to 2.7% and 3.3 to 8.9% for all analytes, respectively.

Conclusion

In response to the Codex ML and method performance criteria for AFs in polished rice, an analytical method based on HPLC–fluorescence detection was developed. All method performance parameters estimated from the test results of the single-laboratory and inter-laboratory validation studies met the criteria required by the Codex.

Highlights

Single- and inter-laboratory studies for the validation of an analytical method for AF level determination in polished rice were successfully performed. This analytical method will be suitable to determine AF levels around the Codex ML set for polished rice.
Muscle, season, sex, and carcass weight affected pork texture, collagen characteristics, and intramuscular fat content
Authors: Li Xiying , Ha Minh , Warner Robyn D , Lealiifano Amy , Hewitt Robert J E , D’Souza Darryl N , Trezona Megan , Dunshea Frank R
Published: August 2024

In this study, pigs from 3 supply chains were slaughtered in an Australian summer and winter (n = 20 for each supply chain). The pigs were from 2 sexes (female and castrated male) and 2 carcass weight groups (high: 95.0 to 100.0 kg and low: 75.0 to 80.0 kg). From each carcass, the Biceps femoris (BF), Longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL), and Triceps brachii (TB) were excised at 24 h postmortem, vacuum packed, frozen at 24-48 h and transported to the lab. Cooking loss, Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF) and texture profile analysis (adhesiveness, chewiness, cohesiveness, hardness, resilience, and springiness) were measured in LTL and BF. pH, collagen content, and solubility and intramuscular fat (IMF) content were determined for all muscles. Results showed that BF was tougher than LTL, and winter samples were tougher than summer ones (P < 0.05). The TB had higher pH, collagen, and IMF content than BF and LTL (P < 0.05). Collagen solubility was higher in castrated male and winter samples. pH, collagen solubility, and IMF content were significantly (P < 0.05) related to chewiness and hardness in pork BF and LTL. pH and IMF were also related to cooking loss, while collagen solubility and IMF were related to WBSF (P < 0.05). The relationships of pH and IMF with pork texture were predominantly driven by the LTL, while the relationships between collagen solubility and texture were predominantly driven by the BF. Collagen solubility and IMF of pork BF and TB were related to those of LTL, but the correlations were not strong enough for prediction. Pork texture and chemical components were affected by muscle, seasons, sex and carcass weight. pH, collagen solubility, and IMF-affected pork texture.
Outcomes of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography performed in the AM versus PM: does procedural timing matter?
Authors: Sabrie Nasruddin , Gimpaya Nikko , Khalaf Kareem , Deeb Maya , Mhalawi Wedad , Meleka Michael , Tham Daniel C , Mokhtar Ahmed H , Na Caleb , Abal Sophia P , Malipatil Sharan B , Gupta Sarang , Jugnundan Sechiv , Chopra Deiya , Khan Rishad , Calo Natalia C , Teshima Christopher W , May Gary R , Mosko Jeffrey D , Grover Samir C
Published: August 2024

Background

ERCP is a technically demanding procedure that carries a high cumulative adverse event (AE) rate of >10%. Identifying risk factors for adverse events is paramount. Procedure timing, as a surrogate for endoscopist fatigue, has been shown to influence key quality metrics in colonoscopy, but data on this relationship in ERCP is sparse.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of ERCP procedures performed by 5 experienced staff endoscopists, with or without advanced endoscopy fellow (AEF) involvement, from January 1, 2010 to December 1, 2020 at St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, a regional referral center for therapeutic endoscopy. The primary outcome was the difference in rate of selective deep, duct canulation between AM and PM procedures.

Results

A total of 5672 ERCP procedures were eligible for inclusion. 2793 (49.2%) procedures were performed in the AM and 2879 procedures (50.8%) were performed in the PM. We found no significant difference in the rate of selective ductal cannulation between AM and PM procedures in the unadjusted (82.8% AM vs. 83.1% P-value = .79) or adjusted (OR = 0.98, 95% CI, 0.85-1.12, P-value = .72) analyses. We found no significant difference in the mean procedural duration or rate of perforation between AM and PM procedures. The rate of immediate bleeding was slightly higher in the AM cohort.

Conclusion

In our single-center retrospective study, ERCP quality, including selective cannulation rates and immediate adverse events were not significantly different in procedures performed in the morning compared to those performed in the afternoon.
Sexually divergent selection, allometric constraints, and the evolution of sexual dimorphism in cichlids from Lake Tanganyika
Authors: Tsuboi Masahito , Takahashi Tetsumi
Published: August 2024

The evolution of sexual dimorphism is widely acknowledged as a manifestation of sex-specific genetic architecture. Although empirical studies suggested that sexual dimorphism evolves as a joint consequence of constraints arising from genetic architecture and sexually divergent selection, it remains unclear whether and how these established microevolutionary processes scale up to the macroevolutionary patterns of sexual dimorphism among taxa. Here, we studied how sexual selection and parental care drive sexual dimorphism in cichlid fishes from Lake Tanganyika. We found that male–male competition, female choice, and maternal mouthbrooding are associated with sexual dimorphism in body length, body colour, and head length, respectively, despite strong allometric relationships between body length and head length. Within-species (static) allometry of head length on body length evolved as sex-specific responses to mouthbrooding, where females evolved higher intercepts while males evolved steeper slopes. Thus, selection to increase mouth size in mouthbrooders may have broken down and reorganized the pattern of allometric constraints that are inherently strong and concordant between sexes. Furthermore, sex-specific responses to mouthbrooding left a remarkably clear signature on the macroevolutionary pattern, resulting in a decoupling of co-evolution in parameters of static allometries between sexes observed exclusively within maternal mouthbrooders. Our study provides multiple lines of evidence that are consistent with the idea that macroevolutionary patterns of sexual dimorphism in Lake Tanganyika cichlids result from sexually divergent selection. Our approach illustrates that an examination of within-population phenotypic variance in the phylogenetic comparative framework may facilitate nuanced understandings of how macroevolutionary patterns are generated by underlying microevolutionary processes.
Socially plastic responses in females are robust to evolutionary manipulations of adult sex ratio and adult nutrition
Authors: McConnell Nathan , Haerty Wilfried , Gage Matthew J G , Chapman Tracey
Published: August 2024

Socially plastic behaviours are widespread among animals and can have a significant impact on fitness. Here, we investigated whether the socially plastic responses of female Drosophila melanogaster can evolve in predictable ways following long-term manipulation of adult sex ratio and adult nutrient availability. Previous reports show that female D. melanogaster respond plastically to their same-sex social environment and lay significantly fewer eggs after mating when previously exposed to other females. In this study, we tested 2 hypotheses, using females drawn from lines with an evolutionary history of exposure to variation in adult sex ratio (male-biased, female-biased or equal sex ratio) and adult nutritional environment (high or low quality). The first was that a history of elevated competition in female-biased regimes would select for increased plastic fecundity responses in comparison to females from other lines. The second was that these responses would also be magnified under poor nutritional resource regimes. Neither hypothesis was supported. Instead, we found that plastic fecundity responses were retained in females from all lines and did not differ significantly across any of them. The lack of differences does not appear to be due to insufficient selection, as we did observe significant evolutionary responses in virgin egg-laying patterns according to sex ratio and nutritional regime. The lack of variation in the magnitude of predicted plasticity is consistent with the idea that the costs of maintaining plasticity are low, benefits high, and that plasticity itself can be relatively hard wired.
Elastic reverse time migration using an efficient and accurate adaptive variable grid discretization method
Authors: Yang Xiujin , Huang Jianping , Shen Yi , Chen Liang
Published: August 2024

The conventional reverse time migration utilizes regularly sampled computational grids to simulate wave propagation. Selecting the appropriate grid sampling is important for computational accuracy and efficiency. In general, the uniform-size grid cannot represent the complexity of the geology well. The grid may appear sparse in the low-velocity zone, especially in shallow depths where dispersion may occur. Conversely, it may appear excessively dense in the high-velocity zone, such as at greater depths or within a salt body, which results in higher computational memory and time consumption. To overcome these issues, we developed an efficient and accurate adaptive variable grid discretization method that automatically selects the vertical grid size based on the velocity, depth, and dominant frequency of the wavelet in elastic medium. Then we reformulated the elastic equations based on the adaptive variable grid by introducing a mapping relationship. To test the effectiveness, accuracy, and efficiency of the equation, we implemented it to both the forward propagation and migration of elastic wavefield. Synthetic numerical examples demonstrate that our proposed method can achieve elastic wavefield separation and no significant dispersion phenomenon. The multi-component imaging accuracy of reverse time migration is nearly equivalent to the traditional method, while significantly improving computational efficiency and saving storage space.
Self-reported preoperative anxiety and depression associated with worse patient-reported outcomes for periacetabular osteotomy and hip arthroscopy surgery
Authors: Richey Ann E , Segovia Nicole , Hastings Katherine , Klemt Christian , Pun Stephanie Y
Published: August 2024

Adverse mental health status has been linked to less successful surgical outcomes across several orthopaedic subspecialties. Mental health represents a modifiable risk factor that can be optimized preoperatively to maximize outcomes for hip preservation surgery. This study examines the relationship between preoperative mental health status and preoperative and postoperative outcomes for adolescent and adult patients undergoing hip preservation surgery. A prospectively enrolled registry of patients undergoing periacetabular osteotomy or hip arthroscopy at a single institution between 2013 and 2021 was retrospectively reviewed to collect demographics and outcomes before and after surgery. We identified patients self-reporting anxiety/depression or no anxiety/depression preoperatively based on responses to the EuroQol-5D anxiety/depression dimension and compared their preoperative and postoperative Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores (HOOSs) using multivariable linear models and multivariable mixed effects models. Seventy-three patients were included, 40 patients with no anxiety/depression and 33 patients with anxiety/depression. Patients with anxiety/depression had worse preoperative HOOS pain (b = −12.5, P = .029), function in daily living (b = −12.0, P = .045), function in sports and recreational activities (b = −15.1, P = .030), and quality of life (b = −16.3, P = .005) as compared to patients with no anxiety/depression. Patients with anxiety/depression had worse postoperative HOOS compared to patients with no anxiety/depression, but these associations were not statistically significant after adjusting for preoperative HOOS. There were no significant differences between both groups for percent achieving minimal clinically important difference. Patients who reported anxiety/depression preoperatively had worse preoperative pain and function before hip preservation surgery, with both groups achieving similar levels of clinical effectiveness.
A real-world survey on expensive drugs used as first-line chemotherapy in patients with HER2-negative unresectable advanced/recurrent gastric cancer in the stomach cancer study group of the Japan clinical oncology group
Authors: Nishina Tomohiro , Boku Narikazu , Kurokawa Yukinori , Sasaki Keita , Machida Ryunosuke , Yoshikawa Takaki
Published: August 2024

Background

Molecular-targeted drugs and immune checkpoint inhibitors have been developed for various malignant diseases, thereby improving clinical outcomes. However, these drugs are expensive, and few studies have assessed their actual use and costs in Japan. This study aimed to survey the use and costs of first-line chemotherapy for advanced/recurrent gastric cancer (AGC) in real-world settings.

Methods

The survey included patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor type2 (HER2)-negative AGC who initiated first-line chemotherapy from January 2022 to December 2022 at the participating 92 institutions in the Japan Clinical Oncology Group. Data on the regimens were collected using Google Forms. A regimen that costs >500 000 Japanese yen (JPY) per month was defined as expensive.

Results

Data on chemotherapy regimens were collected from 2173 patients at all 92 institutions between March 2023 and May 2023. We analyzed 2113 patients who underwent the chemotherapy with recommended regimens and conditionally recommended regimens according to the Japanese Gastric Cancer Treatment Guidelines sixth edition. The expensive regimens were triplet chemotherapy with fluoropyrimidine (S-1 or capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil/levofolinate), oxaliplatin, and nivolumab. Their monthly costs ranged from 767 648 to 771 046 JPY. Nivolumab-containing regimens cost more than 20 times the price of conventional chemotherapy with fluoropyrimidine and oxaliplatin. These regimens were used in 1416 (67%) of 2113 patients: in 71% of patients aged ≤74 years and in 59% of patients aged ≥75 years.

Conclusion

The regimens with >20-fold cost of conventional chemotherapy were used as first-line chemotherapy in two-thirds of patients and more than half even in the elderly population with HER2-negative AGC. This finding is important for future health economic studies on drug cost-efficacy.
Impact of the FIGO2023 staging system on endometrial cancer in Japan: differences between next-generation sequencing and simplified surrogate marker analysis
Authors: Nara Ryoken , Furusawa Akiko , Hiraki Tsubasa , Takahashi Nobutaka , Hatakeyama Keiichi , Urakami Kenichi , Hirashima Yasuyuki , Yamaguchi Ken
Published: August 2024

Background

The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) revised the staging system of endometrial cancer in 2023. In this study, we aimed to determine stage transitions and prognosis of endometrial cancer using FIGO2008, FIGO2023 without molecular classification (FIGO2023), and FIGO2023 with molecular classification (FIGO2023m).

Methods

Eighty-three patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer who underwent surgery and next-generation sequencing (NGS) molecular profiling as part of the Project HOPE cohort study were enrolled. Each case was staged according to the FIGO2008 and FIGO2023 criteria, and we evaluated changes in stage and disease-specific survival (DSS). Molecular classification based on NGS was performed to evaluate FIGO2023m, and the concordance rate with immunohistochemical marker analysis was assessed.

Results

Transitioning from FIGO2008 to FIGO2023 resulted in the restaging of 18 cases. Conversely, transitioning from FIGO2008 to FIGO2023m led to the restaging of 15 cases. The concordance rate between FIGO2023 and FIGO2023m staging was 96.4%. With FIGO2023m, the 5-year DSS was 97.6% for stage I (95% confidence interval [CI] 83.9–99.7), 83.3% for stage II (95% CI 56.8–94.3), 100% for stage III (95% CI NA), and 25.0% for stage IV (95% CI 0.9–66.5). Discrepancies in disease staging due to discordance between simplified surrogate marker analysis and NGS evaluation occurred in two cases.

Conclusions

The revision of the staging system from FIGO2008 to FIGO2023 and FIGO2023m resulted in the restaging of several cases, with significant changes between stages I and II.
Leukemia inhibitory factor drives transcriptional programs that promote lipid accumulation and M2 polarization in macrophages
Authors: Chaparro Visnu , Leroux Louis-Philippe , Lebourg Aurore , Chagneau Sophie , Graber Tyson E , Alain Tommy , Jaramillo Maritza
Published: August 2024

Leukemia inhibitory factor, a member of the interleukin-6 cytokine family, plays a central role in homeostasis and disease. Interestingly, some of the pleiotropic effects of leukemia inhibitory factor have been attributed to the modulation of macrophage functions although the molecular underpinnings have not been explored at a genome-wide scale. Herein, we investigated leukemia inhibitory factor–driven transcriptional changes in murine bone marrow–derived macrophages by RNA sequencing. In silico analyses revealed a selective and time-dependent remodeling of macrophage gene expression programs associated with lipid metabolism and cell activation. Accordingly, a subset of leukemia inhibitory factor–upregulated transcripts related to cholesterol metabolism and lipid internalization was validated by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. This was accompanied by a leukemia inhibitory factor–enhanced capacity for lipid accumulation in macrophages upon incubation with oxidized low-density lipoprotein. Mechanistically, leukemia inhibitory factor triggered the phosphorylation (Y705 and S727) and nuclear translocation of the transcription factor STAT3 in bone marrow–derived macrophages. Consistent with this, ingenuity pathway analysis identified STAT3 as an upstream regulator of a subset of transcripts, including Il4ra, in leukemia inhibitory factor–treated macrophages. Notably, leukemia inhibitory factor priming enhanced bone marrow–derived macrophage responses to interleukin-4-mediated M2 polarization (i.e. increased arginase activity and accumulation of transcripts encoding for M2 markers). Conversely, leukemia inhibitory factor stimulation had no significant effect in bone marrow–derived macrophage responses to M1-polarizing stimuli (interferon-γ and lipopolysaccharide). Thus, our study provides insight into the transcriptional landscape of leukemia inhibitory factor–treated macrophages, shedding light on its role in lipid metabolism and M2 polarization responses. A better understanding of the regulatory mechanisms governing leukemia inhibitory factor–driven changes might help informing novel therapeutic approaches aiming to reprogram macrophage phenotypes in diseased states (e.g. cancer, atherosclerosis, and infection).
Adiposity assessed close to diagnosis and prostate cancer prognosis in the EPIC study
Authors: Cariolou Margarita , Christakoudi Sofia , Gunter Marc J , Key Tim , Pérez-Cornago Aurora , Travis Ruth , Zamora-Ros Raul , Petersen Kristina Elin T , Tjønneland Anne , Weiderpass Elisabete , Kaaks Rudolf , Seibold Petra , Inan-Eroglu Elif , Schulze Matthias B , Masala Giovanna , Agnoli Claudia , Tumino Rosario , Di Girolamo Chiara , Aizpurua Amaia , Rodriguez-Barranco Miguel , Santiuste Carmen , Guevara Marcela , Aune Dagfinn , Chan Doris S M , Muller David C , Tsilidis Konstantinos K
Published: August 2024

Background

Adiposity has been characterized as a modifiable risk factor for prostate cancer. Its association with outcomes after prostate cancer diagnosis, however, must be better understood, and more evidence is needed to facilitate the development of lifestyle guidance for patients with prostate cancer.

Methods

We investigated the associations between adiposity indices close to prostate cancer diagnosis (up to 2 years before or up to 5 years after diagnosis) and mortality in 1968 men of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort. Men were followed up for a median of 9.5 years. Cox proportional hazards models were adjusted for age and year of diagnosis, disease stage and grade, and smoking history and stratified by country.

Results

Each 5-unit increment in prediagnosis or postdiagnosis body mass index combined was associated with a 30% higher rate of all-cause mortality and a 49% higher rate of prostate cancer–specific mortality. Similarly, each 5-unit increment in prediagnosis body mass index was associated with a 35% higher rate of all-cause mortality and a 51% higher rate of prostate cancer–specific mortality. The associations were less strong for postdiagnosis body mass index, with a lower number of men in analyses. Less clear positive associations were shown for waist circumference, hip circumference, and waist to hip ratio, but data were limited.

Conclusions

Elevated levels of adiposity close to prostate cancer diagnosis could lead to higher risk of mortality; therefore, men are encouraged to maintain a healthy weight. Additional research is needed to confirm whether excessive adiposity after prostate cancer diagnosis could worsen prognosis.
Mediated risks through rose-tinted glasses? Exploring barriers and boosters to critical deconstructions of mediated risk behavior by Dutch adolescents
Authors: Sadza Anne , Daalmans Serena , Rozendaal Esther , Buijzen Moniek
Published: August 2024

Given the potential for media portrayals to affect adolescents’ cognitions regarding risk behaviors and the importance of message interpretation processes, this study investigates how adolescents give meaning to media portrayals of risk behavior (e.g., alcohol, smoking, drugs, sex, and reckless behavior) and which factors play a role within this process through 7 focus groups followed by 50 individual interviews with adolescents. Findings indicate adolescents are far from passive consumers of media portrayals of risk behavior. Participants expressed awareness of the ubiquity and symbolism with which risk behaviors are portrayed in popular media and were mostly adept at deconstructing the images portrayed. However, this did not always translate to critical responses. An interplay of real-life experiences and message characteristics informed judgments about media portrayals of risk behavior. Contributing factors to critical and media-literate deconstructions are distilled in the form of barriers and boosters, and suggestions for media literacy interventions are formulated.
A surgical resection of giant perianal mass secondary to complex anal fistula: a case report
Authors: Fan Yu , Yu Zhun , Xu Cuizhu , Wang Jiali , Hu Ting
Published: August 2024

In complex anal fistula, the patient’s anus has multiple internal or external openings. The closure of the external opening can be broken again in other trips and another external opening. It is one of the refractory diseases in the field of anorectal surgery. In the treatment of a high recurrence rate, poor functional protection and other problems, surgical treatment such as incision and retention of sphincter hanging line, incision and suture internal opening drainage, fistula removal, and suture were used for different situations. After the failure of surgical treatment, it becomes chronic anal fistula or become cancerous tumor. In this case, the patient had a long time of illness, the mass was huge, the color was black, and it was suspected to be a secondary malignant tumor. This situation is extremely rare in clinical treatment. In our hospital, a case of complex anal fistula secondary to perianal huge tumor was found, and good therapeutic effect was achieved after complex anal fistula resection and tumor resection. In this case, the patient had complex anal fistula for about 5 years without timely treatment, and the perianal mass was rare and huge. It is shown by ultrasonography the secondary malignant tumor, which was extremely rare in clinical treatment. During the operation, it was found that three fistulas at the root of the tumor were connected with one of the anal fistulas. From the appearance, the tumor seems to have a malignant tendency. After surgical resection, the pathology was suppurative inflammation and granulation tissue hyperplasia. The patients recovered well after follow-up and did not relapse. This case report provides case reference and reference for clinical treatment of anorectal diseases.
Use of ICG dye for urinary tract identification during robotic peritoneal window creation for a post-kidney transplant lymphocele
Authors: Arammash Mohammad , Arammash Hosam , Syed Shareef
Published: August 2024

Minimally invasive surgical creation of a peritoneal window for the treatment of lymphoceles post-kidney transplant is an effective procedure that comes with an elevated risk of iatrogenic injury to the urinary tract. Here, we present indocyanine green dye injection through a ureteral stent for intraoperative identification and avoidance of the transplant collecting system during peritoneal window creation. The procedure was successful and allowed for the resolution of the lymphocele without complication.
A rare case of gastric schwannoma mimicking GIST: diagnostic and therapeutic approach
Authors: Sawafta Ahmed , Awashra Ameer , Sawaftah Zaid , Odah Ali Bani , Khatib Amer , Dababat Huthayfa , Yasin Anas , Khamaysa Jehad , Daraghmeh Muath
Published: August 2024

Gastric schwannomas are rare, benign neurogenic tumors originating from Schwann cells within the gastrointestinal tract, comprising only 0.2% of all gastric tumors. This report presents the case of a 32-year-old female patient who experienced severe periumbilical pain, nausea, and vomiting, ultimately diagnosed with gastric schwannoma. Initial imaging and endoscopic evaluations suggested a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), but postoperative histopathological analysis confirmed schwannoma, showing S-100 positivity and negativity for CD117, DOG-1, SMA, Desmin, and CD34. The patient underwent successful central gastrectomy with negative surgical margins and no metastasis. Despite a postoperative complication of small bowel obstruction, which was managed conservatively, the patient remained symptom-free with no recurrence over the follow-up period. This case underscores the importance of differential diagnosis, distinguishing schwannomas from GISTs and other submucosal lesions through thorough histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses, and highlights the efficacy of complete surgical resection in preventing recurrence.
Phospholamban Cardiomyopathy Leading to Advanced Heart Failure in an Active Duty Service Member
Authors: Choi Ryan , Geis Robert N , Shin Satoshi , Oakley Luke , Choi Anthony , Wessman Dylan
Published: August 2024

A phospholamban mutation is a rare genetic cause of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Our case describes a young service member who presented with advanced heart failure and was found to have a familial DCM from an autosomal dominant phospholamban mutation. He ultimately underwent a successful heart transplant just 23 days after his initial presentation. This case highlights the importance of genetic screening and surveillance for patients with a family history of DCM, and it identifies a gap in medical standards for military accession.
Nitric Oxide as an Efficient Antimicrobial Treatment for Second-Degree Burn Wounds
Authors: Davis Stephen C , Gil Joel , Solis Michael
Published: August 2024

Introduction

Nitric oxide (NO) is a lipophilic gas with potent antimicrobial activity. Several in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated the broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity of NO-releasing compounds against bacteria, viruses, and parasites. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of topical NO formations with sustained release on microbial reduction in wounds.

Materials and Methods

Swine was used as the preclinical animal model because of the similarities of porcine skin to human skin. Second-degree burn wounds were created in 3 pigs and then inoculated with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter baumannii, or Candida albicans and covered with polyurethane film dressings to create biofilms. After 48 hours, wounds were then treated daily and then recovered for the bacterial burden assessments. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS statistics 27 using one-way ANOVA.

Results

All treatments significantly reduced (P ≤ .05) the bacterial counts between assessment days 4 and 7. Wounds treated with the NVN4000 (1.8%) exhibited greater than 99.7% bacterial reduction on days 4 and 7. Significant differences (P ≤ .05) were observed in wounds treated with NVN4000 (1.8%) compared to silver sulfadiazine.

Conclusions

These studies demonstrate that topical NO-releasing formulations effectively reduce the microbial burden of several microorganisms and exhibit superior antimicrobial efficacy compared to silver sulfadiazine in the porcine wound model.
Structural properties of subgroups of stars associated with open clusters
Authors: Gregorio-Hetem Jane , Hetem Annibal
Published: August 2024

Recent studies have identified star clusters with multiple components based on accurate spatial distributions and/or proper motions from Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3), utilizing diverse diagnostics to gain an understanding of subgroup evolution. These findings motivated us to search for subgroups among the objects examined in our previous work, which employed fractal statistics. The present study considers seven open clusters that exhibit significant dispersion in age and/or proper motion distributions, suggesting that they are not single clusters. In order to characterize the stellar groups, we calculate the membership probability using Bayesian multidimensional analysis by fitting the observed proper motion distribution of the candidates. A probability distribution is also used to determine the distance of the cluster, which is obtained from the mean value of the distance modes. The photometry from Gaia DR3 is compared with evolutionary models to estimate the cluster age and total mass. In our sample, double components are found only for Markarian 38 and NGC 2659. The other five clusters are confirmed as being single. The structural parameters, such as $\mathcal {Q}$, $\Lambda _{\rm MSR}$, and $\Sigma _{\rm LDR}$, are compared with results from N-body simulations to investigate how the morphology of the stellar clustering evolves. The new results, for a more complete sample of cluster members, provide a better definition of the distribution type (central concentration or substructured region) inferred from the $\overline{m} - \overline{s}$ plot.
Gravitational interactions of binary systems in the massive planetesimal disc
Authors: López María C , Brunini A
Published: August 2024

The prevalence of binary systems within our Solar system has become a common phenomenon, with over 500 systems identified. However, the connection that exists between the different dynamic mechanisms that give rise to their intricate orbital structure and the durability of these systems over time continues to be the subject of intense research. Encouraged by several works indicating that the number of binaries would have been much greater at the beginning of the outer Solar system, in our study we delve into the dynamical evolution of binary objects within the primordial populations of the massive disc of planetesimals between 15 and 30 au. By concentrating specifically on gravitational disturbances caused by neighbouring bodies, the research aims to investigate the effects on orbital dynamics resulting from the presence of binary objects to different extents within the studied populations. The results of our experiments indicate that populations with different binary fractions would not engender significantly divergent changes in the orbits of the study objects after 100 Myr of evolution. The survival of these systems, only considering a scenario of encounters and collisions between neighbours, would not have occurred in large quantities, being even lower in the outermost regions of the disc (25–30 au).
FLORAH: a generative model for halo assembly histories
Authors: Nguyen Tri , Modi Chirag , Yung L Y Aaron , Somerville Rachel S
Published: August 2024

The mass assembly history (MAH) of dark matter haloes plays a crucial role in shaping the formation and evolution of galaxies. MAHs are used extensively in semi-analytic and empirical models of galaxy formation, yet current analytic methods to generate them are inaccurate and unable to capture their relationship with the halo internal structure and large-scale environment. This paper introduces florah (FLOw-based Recurrent model for Assembly Histories), a machine-learning framework for generating assembly histories of ensembles of dark matter haloes. We train florah on the assembly histories from the Gadget at Ultra-high Redshift with Extra Fine Time-steps and vsmdplN-body simulations and demonstrate its ability to recover key properties such as the time evolution of mass and concentration. We obtain similar results for the galaxy stellar mass versus halo mass relation and its residuals when we run the Santa Cruz semi-analytic model on florah-generated assembly histories and halo formation histories extracted from an N-body simulation. We further show that florah also reproduces the dependence of clustering on properties other than mass (assembly bias), which is not captured by other analytic methods. By combining multiple networks trained on a suite of simulations with different redshift ranges and mass resolutions, we are able to construct accurate main progenitor branches with a wide dynamic mass range from $z=0$ up to an ultra-high redshift $z \approx 20$, currently far beyond that of a single N-body simulation. florah is the first step towards a machine learning-based framework for planting full merger trees; this will enable the exploration of different galaxy formation scenarios with great computational efficiency at unprecedented accuracy.
SNAD catalogue of M-dwarf flares from the Zwicky Transient Facility
Authors: Voloshina A S , Lavrukhina A D , Pruzhinskaya M V , Malanchev K L , Ishida E E O , Krushinsky V V , Aleo P D , Gangler E , Kornilov M V , Korolev V S , Russeil E , Semenikhin T A , Sreejith S , Volnova A A ,   (The SNAD team)
Published: August 2024

Most of the stars in the Universe are M spectral class dwarfs, which are known to be the source of bright and frequent stellar flares. In this paper, we propose new approaches to discover M-dwarf flares in ground-based photometric surveys. We employ two approaches: a modification of a traditional method of parametric fit search and a machine learning algorithm based on active anomaly detection. The algorithms are applied to Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) data release 8, which includes the data from the ZTF high-cadence survey, allowing us to reveal flares lasting from minutes to hours. We analyse over 35 million ZTF light curves and visually scrutinize 1168 candidates suggested by the algorithms to filter out artefacts, occultations of a star by an asteroid, and other types of known variable objects. The result of this analysis is the largest catalogue of ZTF flaring stars to date, representing 134 flares with amplitudes ranging from −0.2 to −4.6 mag, including repeated flares. Using Pan-STARRS DR2 colours, we assign a spectral subclass to each object in the sample. For 13 flares with well-sampled light curves and available geometric distances from Gaia DR3, we estimate the bolometric energy. This research shows that the proposed methods combined with the ZTF’s cadence strategy are suitable for identifying M-dwarf flares and other fast transients, allowing for the extraction of significant astrophysical information from their light curves.