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Clin Transplant 2021 Jun 21. Epub 2021 Jun 21.

Cardiovascular Outcomes Research Laboratories (CORELAB), Division of Cardiac Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

The effect of the 2018 adult heart allocation policy change at an institution-level remains unclear. The present study assessed the impact of the policy change by transplant center volume. The United Network for Organ Sharing database was queried for all adults undergoing isolated heart transplantation from November 2016 to September 2020. Read More

Neuroepidemiology 2021 Jun 21:1-11. Epub 2021 Jun 21.

Formerly Employed by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc., Jersey City, New Jersey, USA.

Background: Various methodologies have been reported to assess the real-world epidemiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the United States. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence, incidence, and geographical distribution of ALS using administrative claims data and to model future trends in ALS epidemiology.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of deidentified administrative claims data for >100 million patients, using 2 separate databases (IBM MarketScan Research Databases and Symphony Health Integrated DataVerse [IDV]), to identify patients with ALS. Read More

Environ Int 2021 Jun 18;156:106706. Epub 2021 Jun 18.

Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Shenzhen Research Institute of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China. Electronic address:

Background: Several studies reported that long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) was associated with an increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It remains unclear whether reduced PM can decrease the risk of COPD development.

Objective: To investigate the associations of dynamic changes (including deterioration and improvement) in long-term exposure to ambient PM with changes in lung function and the incidence of COPD. Read More

Mar Pollut Bull 2021 Jun 18;170:112626. Epub 2021 Jun 18.

School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, 700032, India. Electronic address:

Intertidal microbial communities occur as biofilms or microphytobenthos (MPB) which are sediment-attached assemblages of bacteria, protozoa, fungi, algae, diatoms embedded in extracellular polymeric substances. Despite their global occurrence, they have not been reviewed in light of their structural and functional characteristics. This paper reviews the importance of such microbial communities and their importance in carbon dioxide sequestration as well as pollutant bioremediation. Read More

Prev Vet Med 2021 Jun 6;193:105407. Epub 2021 Jun 6.

Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.

Leptospirosis is an important global zoonotic disease that affects a wide range of mammalian species. Canine leptospirosis outbreaks have been reported after metereological events such as flooding (eg. in Brazil and the United States of America) suggesting an environmental association, but there has been no such study in Great Britain (GB). Read More

Sci Total Environ 2021 Jun 9;792:148321. Epub 2021 Jun 9.

United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Public Health and Environmental Systems Division, Research Triangle Park, 109 TW Alexander Drive, Durham, NC 27709, USA.

We present results of a multiyear study of the Everglades (Florida, USA) detailing how differences in environmental variables can alter mercury concentrations in the food web. About 1000 random locations throughout the freshwater Everglades marsh have been sampled for the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Everglades Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program ("REMAP") since 1995. REMAP sampling is synoptic and multimedia, including an abundant prey fish (eastern mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki) as an indicator of mercury bioaccumulation. Read More

Waste Manag 2021 Jun 18;131:177-186. Epub 2021 Jun 18.

Department of Environmental Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi 67132, Greece. Electronic address:

Plant protection products (pesticides) are used throughout the world in the form of various types, such as insecticides, fungicides, herbicides etc. High Density Polyethylene is the principal material that those containers are made of. The aim of the study was to determine the factors that statistically affect the generation of the resulting wasted plastic pesticide containers after pesticide application. Read More

Accid Anal Prev 2021 Jun 18;159:106227. Epub 2021 Jun 18.

Health Systems Research Center, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Objective: To evaluate advancements in the prevention of road traffic injuries (RTI) in Mexico in the context of the United Nation's Decade of Action for Road Safety.

Methods: An analysis of the trend and age-period-cohort effects of RTI mortality from 1999 to 2018 was conducted. Mortality figures were age-standardized using the direct method and population estimates of 2018 as the standard. Read More

Public Health 2021 Jun 18;196:62-68. Epub 2021 Jun 18.

Laboratory of Cancer Epidemiology, National Cancer Institute, P. Baublio 3B, LT-08406, Vilnius, Lithuania. Electronic address:

Objectives: Lithuania has among the highest mortality rates for upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) and stomach cancer in Europe. The aim of this study was to analyze trends during the period 1987-2016 in Lithuania, evaluating the effect of birth-cohort, period, and age.

Study Design: Observational time trends study. Read More

J Environ Manage 2021 Jun 18;295:113068. Epub 2021 Jun 18.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2130 SW 5th Avenue, Portland, OR, USA.

Sediment transport, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen were evaluated during six consecutive water years (2013-2018) of drawdowns of a flood control reservoir in the upper Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA. The drawdowns were conducted to allow volitional passage of endangered juvenile chinook salmon through the dam's regulating outlets by lowering the reservoir elevation to a point where the historical streambed was exposed and transported water and sediment through the reservoir dam. Sediment loads during the drawdown were highest in the first year of monitoring, with a computed value of 40,200 metric tons over a 5-day drawdown, followed by 5 years of lower sediment loads and lower sediment transport rates, suggesting that much of the stored sediment within the reservoir thalweg was transported out of the reservoir in the early years of the consecutive drawdowns. Read More

World Neurosurg 2021 Jun 18. Epub 2021 Jun 18.

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Neurological Surgery, Miami, Florida, USA; Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Health System, Miami, Florida, USA. Electronic address:

Introduction: Adult craniopharyngiomas are low-grade tumors of the pituitary infundibulum that can be locally aggressive and frequently present with profound visual deficits and endocrinopathies. Surgical resection remains the preferred initial treatment for these lesions and recently endoscopic endonasal approaches (EEAs) have become increasingly utilized. However, minimal data exists comparing these techniques to traditional transcranial (TC) methods. Read More

Annu Rev Biochem 2021 Jun;90:503-505

Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; email:

This volume of the contains three reviews on membrane channel proteins: the first by Szczot et al., titled The Form and Function of PIEZO2; the second by Ruprecht & Kunji, titled Structural Mechanism of Transport of Mitochondrial Carriers; and the third by McIlwain et al., titled Membrane Exporters of Fluoride Ion. Read More

Artif Organs 2021 Jun 21. Epub 2021 Jun 21.

Laboratorio di Tecnologia Medica, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.

Although total hip arthroplasty (THA) has shown successful results, instability remains a major complication. In recent years, dual mobility cups (DMC) have gained interest among clinicians thanks to its low rate of dislocation and good clinical results. The main aim of this work was to describe the accuracy of data on DMC from national and regional joint registries (JRs) and the available worldwide literature. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 Jun 21;15(6):e0009464. Epub 2021 Jun 21.

The Centre for Snakebite Research & Interventions, Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Background: Snakebite has become better recognized as a significant cause of death and disability in Sub-Saharan Africa, but the health economic consequences to victims and health infrastructures serving them remain poorly understood. This information gap is important as it provides an evidence-base guiding national and international health policy decision making on the most cost-effective interventions to better manage snakebite. Here, we assessed hospital-based data to estimate the health economic burden of snakebite in three regions of Burkina Faso (Centre-Ouest, Hauts Bassins and Sud-Ouest). Read More

Annu Rev Nutr 2021 Jun 21. Epub 2021 Jun 21.

Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA; email:

As ultraprocessed foods (i.e., foods composed of mostly cheap industrial sources of dietary energy and nutrients plus additives) have become more abundant in our food supply, rates of obesity and diet-related disease have increased simultaneously. Read More

Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 2021 Jun 21. Epub 2021 Jun 21.

Molecular Cancer Research Group, Department of Medical Biology, University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway; email:

Selective autophagy is the lysosomal degradation of specific intracellular components sequestered into autophagosomes, late endosomes, or lysosomes through the activity of selective autophagy receptors (SARs). SARs interact with autophagy-related (ATG)8 family proteins via sequence motifs called LC3-interacting region (LIR) motifs in vertebrates and Atg8-interacting motifs (AIMs) in yeast and plants. SARs can be divided into two broad groups: soluble or membrane bound. Read More

Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 2021 Jun 21. Epub 2021 Jun 21.

Program in Cell Biology, Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G0A4, Canada; email:

Recent observations indicate that, rather than being an all-or-none response, phagocytosis is finely tuned by a host of developmental and environmental factors. The expression of key phagocytic determinants is regulated via transcriptional and epigenetic means that confer memory on the process. Membrane traffic, the cytoskeleton, and inside-out signaling control the activation of phagocytic receptors and their ability to access their targets. Read More

J Int AIDS Soc 2021 Jun;24(6):e25683

Institute of HIV Research and Innovation, Bangkok, Thailand.

Introduction: Transgender women (TGW) need a specific package of primary care services usually not available in the publicly funded healthcare system. In addition, little is known about HIV and syphilis prevalence and incidence in clinic-based samples of TGW. Here we evaluate the uptake of a transgender-specific package of primary care services by TGW in Bangkok, Thailand and assess HIV and syphilis prevalence and incidence among them. Read More

World J Surg 2021 Jun 21. Epub 2021 Jun 21.

Department of Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

Background: The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery (LCoGS) recommended an annual surgical rate at which low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) could achieve most of the population-wide benefits of surgery. However, condition-specific guidelines were not proposed. To inform rates of surgery for cancer, we sought to assess the current met and unmet need for oncologic surgery in Ghana. Read More

Environ Technol 2021 Jun 21:1-31. Epub 2021 Jun 21.

Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, 71 Chou-Shan Rd., Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.

In the present study, electro-coagulation (EC) with stainless steel (SS) electrodes has been used as a pretreatment process before the reverse osmosis (RO) for the biologically treated distillery spent wash. The optimized operating parameters (pH, time, current, and electrode distance) for the EC process were obtained from the previous study. EC treated wastewater was further used as a feed for the RO system. Read More

Plant Dis 2021 Jun 21. Epub 2021 Jun 21.

Harbin, China;

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is an important cucurbit crop in China. During September 2020, an unknown leaf spot disease was observed on watermelon in two greenhouses (640m2 per greenhouse) of Sangzi town, Jizhou district, in Tianjin, China (117°10'E, 39°55'N), where approximately 10% of plants were infected. Disease symptoms began as small, circular, brown spots on leaves. Read More

J Neuromuscul Dis 2021 Jun 17. Epub 2021 Jun 17.

Children's National Medical Center, Department of Biostatistics, Washington DC, USA.

Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a rare x-linked recessive genetic disorder affecting 1 in every 5000-10000 [1, 2]. This disease leads to a variable but progressive sequential pattern of muscle weakness that eventually leads to loss of important functional milestones such as the ability to walk. With promising drugs in development to ameliorate the effects of muscle weakness, these treatments must be associated with a clinically meaningful functional change. Read More

J Ment Health Policy Econ 2021 Jun;24(2):47-59

1540 Garden Terrace Suite 410, Charlotte NC, 28203, USA,

Background: Schizophrenia is one of 15 major causes of disability worldwide and is responsible for more than USD 150 billion in annual healthcare costs in the United States. Although the burden of schizophrenia as measured by healthcare resource utilization (HRU) is known to be considerable, data generally come from claims databases or healthcare systems/payors representing only a subset of patients, such as Medicare/Medicaid recipients. A broader understanding of HRU across the schizophrenia patient population would help identify underserved groups and inform strategies for improving healthcare delivery. Read More

J Pharm Pract 2021 Jun 21:8971900211026644. Epub 2021 Jun 21.

306709Howard University College of Pharmacy, Clinical Administrative & Pharmacy Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a hematological disorder that primarily affects individuals of African descent from sub-Saharan Africa and along the mediterranean. The main complications leading to hospitalizations include vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs) and acute chest syndrome (ACS). Therefore, the main objective of this paper was to identify and evaluate evidence-based management and prevention of VOCs in patients with SCD. Read More

J Am Heart Assoc 2021 Jun 19:e019300. Epub 2021 Jun 19.

Department of Internal Medicine Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital Cheonan Korea.

Background The relationship between vascular calcification and chronic kidney disease is well known. However, whether vascular calcification affects renal function deterioration remains unclear. We investigated whether kidney function deteriorated more rapidly in individuals with higher vascular calcification indicated by the coronary artery calcium score (CACS). Read More

Diabetes Ther 2021 Jun 20. Epub 2021 Jun 20.

Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Meiji Pharmaceutical University, Tokyo , Japan.

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between timing of the first physician visit after detection of an abnormal glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) value at routine annual check and the time to antidiabetic treatment prescription; and understand treatment patterns in patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: This retrospective, longitudinal, observational cohort study examined data from JMDC Inc., an administrative claims database. Read More

Eur Heart J Acute Cardiovasc Care 2021 Jun 21. Epub 2021 Jun 21.

Department of Cardiology, Clinical Center of Serbia, 26 Visegradska, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.

Aims: Previous studies indicated that a chronic total occlusion (CTO) in a non-infarct-related artery is linked to higher mortality mainly in the acute setting in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Our aim was to assess the temporal distribution of mortality risk associated with non-culprit CTO over years after STEMI.

Methods And Results: The study included 8679 STEMI patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Read More

Int J Cardiol Heart Vasc 2021 Jun 7;34:100812. Epub 2021 Jun 7.

The Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology Saint Louis University Hospital, MO, USA.

Objectives: We aimed to examine the contemporary trends and regional variations in premature mortality due to heart failure across the U.S. from 1999 to 2018. Read More

Front Vet Sci 2021 2;8:678419. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

Kyeema Foundation, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.

Village poultry commonly suffer significant disease related losses and a plethora of biosecurity measures is widely advocated as a means to reduce morbidity and mortality. This paper uses a household economy perspective to assess some "economic" considerations determining biosecurity investments of village poultry keepers. It draws on the 2012/13 Tanzania National Panel Survey (TZ-NPS), which covered 1,228 poultry-keeping households. Read More

Front Public Health 2021 4;9:673698. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

The Second Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.

Discrete choice experiment (DCE) as a tool that can measure medical stakeholders' preferences especially patients recently has been increasingly applied in health care. The aim of this study was to examine the hotspots and trends of the application of DCE in health care and to provide reference and direction for further development of DCE in the future. A bibliometric method was implemented using the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection for the period from the database established to December 8, 2020. Read More