bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Vision Loss in an Infantryman With Complex Hearing Loss: Case Report and Review of Susac Syndrome
Authors: Lambert Lester H , Kernan Caroline J , Hartmann Kathryn M , O’Connell Stephen R , Powell Brittany E 
Published: January 2025

ABSTRACT
Susac syndrome can resemble various disorders resulting in a delayed or missed diagnosis and subsequent delays in treatment. Here, we present how successful consideration of patient history, symptoms, and ancillary testing led to prompt diagnosis and treatment of Susac syndrome by ophthalmologists. A 27-year-old active duty infantryman presented with sudden vision loss in the right eye during strenuous exercise after experiencing similar symptoms in the left eye 5 months earlier. The patient’s medical history was notable for mixed conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, confounded by a history of concussions, syncope, frequent ear infections, tympanic membrane perforation requiring tympanoplasty, and loud noise exposures. Identification of branch retinal artery occlusions on fluorescein angiography and low-to-mid frequency hearing loss confirmed the diagnosis of Susac syndrome. The patient was immediately treated with high-dose oral prednisone and subsequently transitioned to rituximab infusions to preserve vision. Susac syndrome should be considered when a patient presents with vision loss, hearing deficits, and or cognitive changes, even if symptoms are separated by time and seemingly attributed to more common causes.
A skin-inspired durable de-icing surface with boosting interfacial cracks
Authors: Yang Qiucheng , Yang Jinlong , Hu Yuhao , Niu Xiaopeng , Liu Zhenda , Zou Jian , Guo Junchang , Xiong Hao , Gu Xingshi , Yang Li , Yu Fanfei , Zhu Shunpeng , Ye Ming , Yi Xian , Deng Xu 
Published: January 2025

ABSTRACT
Fracture-based interfacial breakage has shown promise in efficiently removing ice accretion. Here, intrigued by the response of human skin to stress-induced deformation, we present a strategy to design tough-skin de-icing surfaces (TSDSs) that actively manipulate crack-induced ice-substrate interfacial breakage during ice removal. This design leverages the surface instability of thin films to generate extensive wrinkling at the ice-substrate interface, which serves as crack initiation sites. We demonstrate efficient ice shedding by creating wrinkles at two length scales: macro-wrinkles for actively initiating the cracks at the rim of the ice and micro-wrinkles for further promoting the stress concentration at the ice-substrate interface. The TSDS (τ &lt; 10 kPa) displays excellent durability and weather resistance, achieving a large-area ice-self-shedding effect solely through gravity. The universality of the proposed mechanism is verified on multiple materials and potential applications. This design concept offers valuable insights into the creation of durable de-icing materials with enhanced ice-shedding properties.
Barriers and Facilitators to Video Telehealth Use in Low-Income Hispanic Patients
Authors: Peterson Devan J. , de Haro Cristina M. , Kilgore David B. , Sorkin Dara H. , Gago-Masague Sergio , Billimek John 
Published: January 2025

Background and Objectives:
As telehealth grows in ubiquity, it is important to understand the barriers and facilitators to telehealth utilization in historically marginalized populations. This study utilizes the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to assess correlates of the intention to utilize video consultations among low-income Hispanic patients.

Methods:
This cross-sectional observational study included participants (N = 138) recruited from a federally qualified health center affiliated with a large university health system. Components of the TPB were assessed using an in-person survey. Participant survey responses were analyzed using multiple logistic regression to identify correlates of participants’ intention to utilize video consultations.

Results:
Multiple logistic regression revealed subjective norms (adjusted odds ratio (aOR [95% CI]) = 3.29 [1.66, 6.52], P = .001) as the only significant correlate of participants’ intention to utilize video consultations. Attitudes toward video consultations (aOR [95% CI] = 1.32 [0.60, 2.89], P = .49) and perceived behavioral control (1.72 [0.89, 3.32], P = .11) did not independently correlate with behavioral intention.

Conclusions:
Ratings of subjective norms were independently correlated with intention to utilize video consultations among low-income, predominantly Spanish-speaking Hispanic adults. These results suggest a potentially central role of relational influences in determining telehealth engagement in this population.
Association between hormone therapy and glioma risk in US women: a cancer screening trial
Authors: Pan Jinyu , Shao Chuan , Xu Chao , Zhang Gang , Jiang Haotian , Tang Tao , Tang Hui , Wu Nan 
Published: January 2025

Abstract

Objective
Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors in adults, and the role of hormone therapy (HT) in their development remains controversial. This study with a cohort design aimed to investigate the association between HT use and glioma risk using the data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial.

Methods
We analyzed data from 75,335 women, aged 50-78, who were enrolled between 1993 and 2001. The median follow-up period was 11.82 years. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the relationship between HT use and glioma risk, adjusting for various potential confounders.

Results
Over the follow-up period, 101 participants were diagnosed with glioma. After adjusting for relevant variables, there was no significant association between HT use and glioma risk (HR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.75-1.81). Similarly, no significant associations were found when considering HT status or duration of use. However, in subgroup analysis by education, marital status, body mass index, oral contraceptive, hysterectomy, ovariectomy, ever been pregnant, age at menarche, and age at menopause, we found that a significant positive association was only observed in the group with at least college graduate (HR, 3.00; 95% CI, 1.02-8.84). The interaction effect for education was not significant (P = 0.056)

Conclusions
Our findings suggest no overall link between HT use and glioma risk. Further research is needed to confirm these results.
Adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma following curative resection: A randomized, open-label, phase 3 trial
Authors: Ma Tao , Bai Xueli , Zhang Qi , Chen Wen , Huang Kaiquan , Qian Tao , Xu Yongzi , Sun Peiwei , Chen Yiwen , Xiao Wenbo , Sun Ke , Gao Shunliang , Liang Tingbo 
Published: January 2025

Background and Aims:
The role of adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for HCC following curative resection remains controversial. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of postoperative adjuvant TACE in patients with HCC​​​​​.

Approach and Results:
In this randomized phase 3 trial, histologically confirmed patients with HCC (American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM stage I and II) were randomly assigned (1:1) to adjuvant TACE or observation groups. The primary endpoint was recurrence-free survival (RFS) in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population. The secondary endpoints included overall survival and safety. A total of 332 patients (ITT population) were randomly assigned to the TACE group (n=166) or the observation group (n=166) between March 2014 and June 2021. The RFS was comparable between the 2 groups from the ITT population (median, both unreached; HR, 0.88; 95% CI: 0.62–1.24; p=0.468). The RFS rates at 1, 3, and 5 years were 87.3% (95% CI: 81.2–91.5), 70.7% (95% CI: 63.0–77.0), and 60.6% (95% CI: 51.9–68.3) in the adjuvant TACE group and 84.8% (95% CI: 78.3–89.5), 69.3% (95% CI: 61.6–75.8), and 58.1% (95% CI: 49.5–65.8) in the observation group, respectively. The overall survival was comparable between the TACE group and the observation group in the ITT population (median, both unreached, HR, 1.06; 95% CI: 0.63–1.76; p=0.838). There was no grade ≥ 3 adverse event or treatment-related death in either group.

Conclusions:
Postoperative adjuvant TACE was not associated with prolonged RFS or overall survival in patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM stage I or II HCC.
Refractive Changes and Corneal Thickness in Healthy Mountaineers at High Altitude: The Korzhenevskoi Experience (7105 m)
Authors: Panthier Christophe , Fabro Filippo , Debellemanière Guillaume , Gatinel Damien 
Published: January 2025

Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of hypoxia and hypobaric conditions on refraction and central corneal thickness on healthy corneas during an ascent without oxygen supplementation above 7000 m (23 000 ft).

Methods:
Twelve multinational mountaineers were included in a prospective observational cohort study during an expedition to the Korzhenevskoi Peak (7105 m). The two patients excluded from the study had a history with keratoconus or were current wearers of rigid contact lenses. None had a history of refractive surgery or ocular disease. The central corneal thickness (CCT), the oxygen saturation, and the refraction have been recorded for each patient using portable equipment. The highest measurement has been taken at 6356 m of altitude which is the highest ophthalmologic measurement ever done.

Results:
Longitudinal analysis revealed a significant increase of CCT during altitude exposure (CCTbaseline = 542± 36 μm; CCTC3 = 633 ± 30 μm) due to stromal edema reversible upon descent. The amount of decrease in oxygen saturation paralleled the increase in CCT. The refraction measurements showed a myopic shift (−1.14D) with the altitude (RBaseline = −0.41 ±2.25D; RC3 = −1.55 ± 2.41D P < 0.05).

Conclusions:
Significant stromal edema was found during exposure to high altitude in healthy mountaineers. This is due to hypoxia and decreased atmospheric pressure leading to a deficiency of adenosine triphosphate. A significant and clinically relevant myopic shift, due to the stroma edema, appears above 6500 m which can explained the blurry far vision in high altitude for mountaineers without oxygen supplementation.
The Effect of Autologous Serum Tears 50% on the Ocular Surface of Patients With Severe Dry Eye Disease due to Sjogren Syndrome: A Prospective, Double-Blind, Randomized, Controlled, Contralateral Eye Study
Authors: Bachtalia Konstantina , Plakitsi Athina , Voudouri Adamantia , Terzidou Chryssa , Dalianis Georgios , Kopsinis Gerasimos , Palioura Sotiria 
Published: January 2025

Purpose:
To assess the impact of autologous serum (AS) tears at a 50% concentration on the ocular surface of patients with refractory dry eye disease (DED) because of Sjogren syndrome.

Methods:
Twenty eyes of ten patients with severe immune-mediated DED were contralaterally randomized to receive either AS tears 50% or artificial tears between June 2021 and May 2023. Changes in tear stability, ocular surface staining, and in the morphology of the corneal sub-basal nerves were evaluated before treatment and at 1, 2, and 3 months after treatment using objective tests for DED and confocal microscopy. The microbiological safety of the used AS tears 50% was investigated using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry.

Results:
The AS tears 50% group exhibited significant improvements in tear break-up time, Schirmer test scores, visual acuity, and confocal microscopy parameters of corneal nerve health at the 3-month follow-up (P < 0.05). Corneal nerve regeneration correlated with increased tear stability and decreased ocular surface staining. Microbiological analysis identified Gram-negative bacteria in the postuse AS tears, highlighting the need for meticulous handling and storage practices.

Conclusions:
Treatment with AS tears at a 50% concentration markedly enhances ocular surface health, tear stability, and visual acuity, affirming the regenerative effects on corneal nerves in severe DED. The findings advocate for the therapeutic potential of higher-concentration AS tears in DED management, albeit with strict protocols to mitigate contamination risks and ensure patient safety.
Injury induced endotheliopathy: overview, diagnosis, and management
Authors: Rehani Chavi , Abdullah Sarah , Kozar Rosemary Ann 
Published: January 2025

Purpose of review
This review aims to examine recent advances in the understanding of injury-induced endotheliopathy and therapeutics to mitigate its development in critically injured patients.

Recent findings
Clinical studies have clearly demonstrated that syndecan-1 ectodomains can be found in circulation after various types of trauma and injury and correlates with worse outcomes. As the mechanisms of endotheliopathy are better understood, pathologic hyperadhesive forms of von Willebrand factor, along with a relative deficiency of its cleaving enzyme, a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type I motifs, member 13 (ADAMTS13), have emerged as additional biomarkers. Therapeutics to date have focused primarily on the protective effects of fresh frozen plasma and its constituents to restore the glycocalyx. Human recombinant ADAMTS13 holds promise, as do synthetic variants of heparan sulfate and activated protein C, although all data to date are preclinical.

Summary
Injury-induced endotheliopathy represents an important pathologic response to trauma. Key biomarkers, such as syndecan-1, can aid in the diagnosis, but testing is not yet available clinically. As the mechanisms of endotheliopathy are better understood, therapeutics are being identified and show promise. To date, plasma has been the most widely studied; however, like all therapeutics for injury-induced endotheliopathy, it has primarily been studied in the preclinical setting.
Developmental Venous Anomaly
Authors: Ngam Pei Ing , Anzai Yoshimi , Minoshima Satoshi 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Developmental venous anomaly (DVA) is a common benign brain vascular malformation, typically asymptomatic, with intervention required when complications arise. We present the case of a 63-year-old man with mild cognitive decline whose brain FDG PET showed decreased uptake not only at the site of DVA, but in the extended surrounding parenchyma where MRI showed no parenchymal abnormalities. DVAs arise from developmental irregularities in the embryonic venous system, but likely affecting a greater extent of the surrounding parenchymal functions. These findings highlight the clinical significance of DVAs and their effects on the parenchymal function seen on FDG PET albeit normal parenchyma on structural imaging.
Metastatic Lung Lesion Changes in Follow-up Chest CT
Authors: Kenneth Portal Neta , Rochman Shalom , Szeskin Adi , Lederman Richard , Sosna Jacob , Joskowicz Leo 
Published: January 2025

Purpose:
Radiological follow-up of oncology patients requires the detection of metastatic lung lesions and the quantitative analysis of their changes in longitudinal imaging studies. Our aim was to evaluate SimU-Net, a novel deep learning method for the automatic analysis of metastatic lung lesions and their temporal changes in pairs of chest CT scans.

Materials and Methods:
SimU-Net is a simultaneous multichannel 3D U-Net model trained on pairs of registered prior and current scans of a patient. It is part of a fully automatic pipeline for the detection, segmentation, matching, and classification of metastatic lung lesions in longitudinal chest CT scans. A data set of 5040 metastatic lung lesions in 344 pairs of 208 prior and current chest CT scans from 79 patients was used for training/validation (173 scans, 65 patients) and testing (35 scans, 14 patients) of a standalone 3D U-Net models and 3 simultaneous SimU-Net models. Outcome measures were the lesion detection and segmentation precision, recall, Dice score, average symmetric surface distance (ASSD), lesion matching, and classification of lesion changes from computed versus manual ground-truth annotations by an expert radiologist.

Results:
SimU-Net achieved a mean lesion detection recall and precision of 0.93±0.13 and 0.79±0.24 and a mean lesion segmentation Dice and ASSD of 0.84±0.09 and 0.33±0.22 mm. These results outperformed the standalone 3D U-Net model by 9.4% in the recall, 2.4% in Dice, and 15.4% in ASSD, with a minor 3.6% decrease in precision. The SimU-Net pipeline achieved perfect precision and recall (1.0±0.0) for lesion matching and classification of lesion changes.

Conclusions:
Simultaneous deep learning analysis of metastatic lung lesions in prior and current chest CT scans with SimU-Net yields superior accuracy compared with individual analysis of each scan. Implementation of SimU-Net in the radiological workflow may enhance efficiency by automatically computing key metrics used to evaluate metastatic lung lesions and their temporal changes.
Endoscopic Dacryocystorhinostomy in Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction With and Without Dacryocystitis: A Comparative Study
Authors: Wei Jinfei , Li Xinyu , Zhou Guangming , Wu Wencan , Yu Bo 
Published: January 2025

Aim:
This research was designed to make a comparison of the treatment outcomes of endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (En-DCR) in nasolacrimal duct obstruction (NLDO) with and without chronic dacryocystitis.

Methods:
NLDO (obstruction group) and chronic dacryocystitis (dacryocystitis group) patients treated with En-DCR in the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from March 2021 to February 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. According to CT dacryocystography, patients in each group were assigned into the high obstruction group (obstruction located in the lacrimal sac) and the low obstruction group (obstruction located at or below the junction of the nasolacrimal duct and dacryocystis). The surgery outcomes of patients in the 2 groups were compared 12 months postoperation.

Results:
One hundred four patients (104 eyes: obstruction group: 49 eyes; dacryocystitis group: 55 eyes) were recruited. Patients with high obstruction accounted for 61.2% in the obstruction group and 32.7% in the dacryocystitis group. There were significantly more high obstruction patients in the obstruction group versus the dacryocystitis group (P<0.05). At 12 months postoperative follow-up, the total anatomic and functional success rate was 83.7% and 80.8%, respectively. Higher anatomic success rate (90.9%) and functional success rate (89.1%) were noted in the dacryocystitis group versus the obstruction group (75.5% and 71.4%, respectively, P<0.05).

Conclusions:
The obstruction site is higher in the obstruction group in comparison to that in the dacryocystitis group. En-DCR is effective in the treatment of NLDO and chronic dacryocystitis, and its efficacy on chronic dacryocystitis is better than that on NLDO.
Why wasn’t mirabegron chosen for the first year of the CMS negotiation program?
Authors: CADISH Lauren A. , SHEPHERD Jonathan P. 
Published: January 2025

Abstract

Importance: The most used overactive bladder (OAB) medications are anticholinergics, which professional societies recommend avoiding in older patients given dementia risk. Cost prevents patients from switching to preferred beta-3 agonists. Mirabegron was the only beta-3 agonist eligible for the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS) 2023 Drug Negotiation Program (DNP). While mirabegron’s price would be markedly reduced by inclusion in the DNP, only ten drugs were chosen in its first year.

Objectives: We sought to explain mirabegron’s absence from CMS’s 2023 DNP and estimate the percentage of anticholinergic to mirabegron conversions needed to merit DNP inclusion.

Study design: We modeled CMS's 2023 selection process using publicly available dashboards from 2017-2021. Among the 20 costliest drugs, we excluded ineligible drugs and categorized the remainder as DNP chosen/not chosen. For drugs not chosen, we used price inflation and beneficiary utilization trends to project total 2023 costs.

Results: In 2021, mirabegron was the 14th most costly drug overall—9th when excluding ineligibles—and the only top-20 drug eligible but not selected for the 2023 DNP. We estimated mirabegron to be 96.7% the cost of the 10th most costly drug. Switching 1.2% of 2021 anticholinergic prescriptions to mirabegron would have led to DNP inclusion, presenting an interesting dilemma where more patients would use mirabegron if it were cheaper, but insufficient patients used it for DNP inclusion to make it cheaper.

Conclusions: Mirabegron came exceedingly close to DNP selection in 2023, and its future inclusion in the DNP would likely herald a massive shift of Medicare patients away from anticholinergics.
High-throughput Mucus Microrheology for Phenotyping and Disease Modeling
Authors: Ling Feng , Sahin Ayse Tugce , Miller Naranjo Bernardo , Aime Stefano , Roth Doris , Tepho Niels , Vendrame Andrea S. , Emken Ellen , Kiechle Marion , Tesfaigzi Yohannes , Lieleg Oliver , Nawroth Janna 
Published: January 2025

AbstractMucus plays an integral role for the barrier function of many epithelial tissues. In the human airways, mucus is constantly secreted to capture inhaled microbes and pollutants and cleared away through concerted ciliary motion. Many important respiratory diseases exhibit altered mucus flowability and impaired clearance, contributing to respiratory distress and increased risk of infections. Understanding how mucus rheology changes during disease progression and in response to treatments is thus of great interest for subtyping patients and tailoring treatments, probing disease mechanisms, and tailoring therapies; however, basic research of mucus rheology is greatly hampered by the lack of scalable and user-friendly rheometry assays for the small volumes of mucus typically produced by in vitro respiratory models and in clinical ex vivo settings. To address this challenge, we developed a streamlined, high-throughput protocol leveraging Differential Dynamic Microscopy (DDM) to reliably measure the frequency-dependent microrheology of minuscule (3–10µL) mucus samples using standard epifluorescence microscopy. Our method does not require time-consuming user-interventions common in particle tracking routines and measures microrheology at the time scale of mucus relaxation (1-20s), hence greatly reducing assay time. We demonstrate the successful application of our method in mucus samples harvested from state-of-the-art air-liquid-interface (ALI) human respiratory cultures to assess mucus rheology in airway disease models and different culture conditions. To show that our approach equally applies to other types and sources of human mucus, we also validated our method with clinical samples of cervical mucus. We envision that our method can be seamlessly adopted by non-expert users, without the need for specialized equipment or extensive training, to study diseases and their treatments in the respiratory, intestinal, reproductive and other mucosal organ systems. This advancement opens up new avenues for large-scale studies, providing new insights into the role of mucus rheology which was previously limited by data accessibility and resource constraints.