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Sci Total Environ 2022 Aug 12:157992. Epub 2022 Aug 12.

State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address:

The mangrove ecosystem is an important CO sink with an extraordinarily high primary productivity. However, it is vulnerable to the impact of climate warming and eutrophication. While there has been extensive research on plant growth and greenhouse gas emission in mangrove ecosystems, microbial communities, the primary biogeochemical cycling drivers, are much less understood. Read More

Pharmacol Res 2022 Aug 12:106396. Epub 2022 Aug 12.

Division of Endocrinology, ASST Fatebenefratelli-Sacco, Milan, Italy; Nephrology Division, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; International Center for T1D, Pediatric Clinical Research Center Romeo ed Enrica Invernizzi, DIBIC, Università di Milano, Italy. Electronic address:

Background And Aims: Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) may have important benefits for the elderly with type 2 diabetes (T2D), however some safety concerns still limit their use in patients over 70 years of age. The SOLD study (SGLT2i in Older Diabetic patients) is a multicenter study, aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of SGLT2i in the older diabetic patients in a real-life setting.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed a population of 739 adults (mean age 75. Read More

Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2022 Aug 15:e0080222. Epub 2022 Aug 15.

Respiratory Disease Branch, National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Preventiongrid.416738.f, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

All known group A streptococci [GAS] are susceptible to β-lactam antibiotics. We recently identified an invasive GAS (iGAS) variant (/PBP2x-T553K) with unusually high minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for ampicillin and amoxicillin, although clinically susceptible to β-lactams. We aimed to quantitate PBP2x variants, small changes in β-lactam MICs, and lineages within contemporary population-based iGAS. Read More

Elife 2022 Aug 15;11. Epub 2022 Aug 15.

Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.

The spiking activity of populations of cortical neurons is well described by the dynamics of a small number of population-wide covariance patterns, the 'latent dynamics'. These latent dynamics are largely driven by the same correlated synaptic currents across the circuit that determine the generation of local field potentials (LFP). Yet, the relationship between latent dynamics and LFPs remains largely unexplored. Read More

Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2022 Aug 13:48674221114597. Epub 2022 Aug 13.

Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Objectives: Apathy is a common symptom in dementia, though can be difficult to distinguish from depression due to shared features and frequent co-occurrence. As such, a significant limitation of much previous research on apathy is the failure to control for depression. The current study sought to address this by examining the trajectory and clinical correlates of apathy after controlling for depression. Read More

Eur J Orthod 2022 Aug 15. Epub 2022 Aug 15.

Centre for Research and Development, Uppsala University/Region Gävleborg, Gävle, Sweden.

Background: Retention after orthodontic treatment is still a challenge and more evidence about post-treatment stability and patients' perceptions of different retention strategies is needed.

Objectives: This trial compares removable vacuum-formed retainers (VFR) with bonded cuspid-to-cuspid retainers (CTC) after 5 years of retention.

Trial Design: A single centre two-arm parallel-group randomized controlled trial. Read More

Front Public Health 2022 27;10:938228. Epub 2022 Jul 27.

School of Ophthalmology and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.

Aims: To investigate the sex-specific global burden of neonatal preterm birth (NPB) vision impairment by year, age, and socioeconomic status using years lived with disability (YLDs).

Methods: The global, regional, and national sex-specific YLD numbers, crude YLD rates, and age-standardized YLD rates of NPB-related moderate and severe vision loss and blindness were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Wilcoxon test and linear regression were used to investigate the relationship between sex difference in age-standardized YLD rates and the Human Development Index (HDI). Read More

Front Behav Neurosci 2022 29;16:931636. Epub 2022 Jul 29.

Department of Neurology, Waikato Hospital, Hamilton, New Zealand.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disorder with limited treatment options. Substantial evidence implicates mitochondria dysfunction in brain and skeletal muscle in the pathogenesis of HD. Metabolic strategies, such as fasting and ketogenic diets, theoretically enhance brain and muscle metabolism and mitochondria function, which may improve the clinical symptoms of HD. Read More

Front Psychol 2022 29;13:939333. Epub 2022 Jul 29.

Department of Ideology and Politics, Guangxi Art School, Guangxi, China.

Research into second language teacher identity has experienced a shift in recent years from a cognitive perspective to social constructionist orientation. The existing research in Chinese language literature in relation to Foreign Language (CFL) teachers' identity shift is principally in relation to the change of social, cultural, and institutional contexts. Built on the current literature, this research asks: "How might teachers' self-images or self-conceptualizations be renegotiated when they are located within their own mainstream cultural and educational system, yet comprised of students from various cultural backgrounds?" The data were collected from a group of CFL teachers in a South China university. Read More

Front Psychol 2022 28;13:906898. Epub 2022 Jul 28.

Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Srinakharinwirot University, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand.

It is unclear whether the decline in executive function (EF) and perceptual-motor function (PMF) found in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the result of a normal aging process or due to MCI. This study aimed to determine age-related and MCI-related cognitive impairments of the EF and PMF. The EF and PMF were investigated across four groups of 240 participants, 60 in each group, including early adult, middle adult, older adult, and older adult with probable MCI. Read More

Front Pediatr 2022 28;10:903872. Epub 2022 Jul 28.

Cell Therapy and Transplant Section, Division of Pediatric Oncology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States.

Background: Congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia (CAMT) is a rare platelet production disorder caused mainly by loss of function biallelic mutations in myeloproliferative leukemia virus oncogene (), the gene encoding the thrombopoietin receptor (TPOR). Patients with -mutant CAMT are not only at risk for life-threatening bleeding events, but many affected individuals will also ultimately develop bone marrow aplasia owing to the absence of thrombopoietin/TPOR signaling required for maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells. Curative allogeneic stem cell transplant for patients with CAMT has historically used myeloablative conditioning; however, given the inherent stem cell defect in -mutant CAMT, a less intensive regimen may prove equally effective with reduced morbidity, particularly in patients with evolving aplasia. Read More

Front Pediatr 2022 27;10:909176. Epub 2022 Jul 27.

Department of Pediatrics, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.

Antimicrobial polypeptides (APPs) are part of the innate immune system, but their specific role in the context of preterm birth is not yet understood. The aim of this investigation was to determine the systemic expression of APPs, i.e. Read More

Front Immunol 2022 29;13:918887. Epub 2022 Jul 29.

Kidney transplant Unit. Nephrology Department. Vall d'Hebron Hospital Universitari, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

Emerging data suggest that costimulation blockade with belatacept effectively controls humoral alloimmune responses. However, whether this effect may be deleterious for protective anti-infectious immunity remains poorly understood. We performed a mechanistic exploratory study in 23 kidney transplant recipients receiving either the calcineurin-inhibitor tacrolimus (Tac, n=14) or belatacept (n=9) evaluating different cellular immune responses after influenza vaccination such as activated T follicular Helper (Tfh), plasmablasts and H1N1 hemagglutinin (HA)-specific memory B cells (HAmBC) by flow-cytometry, and anti-influenza antibodies by hemagglutination inhibition test (HI), at baseline and days 10, 30 and 90 post-vaccination. Read More

Front Immunol 2022 25;13:929946. Epub 2022 Jul 25.

Department of Nephrology, Transplant Centre, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Prague, Czechia.

BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) often reactivates after kidney transplantation, causing BKPyV-associated nephropathy (BKPyVAN) in 1%-10% of cases with a potential detrimental effect on allograft survival. Kidney transplant recipients are regularly screened for BKPyV DNA in plasma. As this strategy may not always reduce the risk of BKPyVAN, other predictive markers are needed. Read More

Kidney Int Rep 2022 Aug 30;7(8):1878-1886. Epub 2022 May 30.

Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.

Introduction: Primary focal segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS) is a rare, likely immune-mediated disease. Rituximab (RTX) may play a role in management, although data in adults are scanty.

Methods: We collected cases of RTX-treated primary FSGS within the Italian Society of Nephrology Immunopathology Working Group and explored response rate (24-hour proteinuria <3. Read More

Kidney Int Rep 2022 Aug 26;7(8):1831-1841. Epub 2022 May 26.

Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA.

Introduction: Patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and persistent proteinuria are at risk of progression to kidney failure. Atacicept is a novel B-cell-targeted immunomodulator, shown to reduce immunoglobulin levels in patients with autoimmune diseases.

Methods: JANUS (NCT02808429) was a phase II study that assessed the safety, pharmacodynamic effects, and efficacy of atacicept in patients with IgAN and proteinuria ≥1 g/d or 0. Read More

Rev Bras Ortop (Sao Paulo) 2022 Aug 30;57(4):552-559. Epub 2020 Sep 30.

Amgen Biotecnologia do Brasil Ltda, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.

 The present study intends to describe the profile of hospitalization and ambulatory rehabilitation of patients ≥ 50 years old due to hip fracture in the Brazilian Public Health System (SUS, in the Portuguese acronym).  This is a cross-sectional study of patients hospitalized due to hip fracture in the SUS between 2008 and 2017. Data included 441,787 hip fracture-related hospitalizations from the hospitalization database of the department of informatics of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SIH/DATASUS, in the Portuguese acronym), and data of patients who underwent rehabilitation from the ambulatory database of the department of informatics of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SIA/DATASUS, in the Portuguese acronym. Read More

Environ Biol Fishes 2022 Aug 5:1-15. Epub 2022 Aug 5.

Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI USA.

Atlantic Bonefish () are economically important due to their popularity with recreational anglers. In the State of Florida, USA, bonefish population numbers declined by approximately 60% between the 1990s and 2015. Habitat loss, water quality impairment, chemical inputs, and other anthropogenic factors have been implicated as causes, but the role of pathogens has been largely overlooked, especially with respect to viruses. Read More

Front Oncol 2022 29;12:899811. Epub 2022 Jul 29.

Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.

The existence of tumor heterogeneity is widely recognized; however, heterogeneity of the antitumor response in multiple tumor nodules in the same patient has not been reported. Sintilimab, a monoclonal antiprogrammed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1) antibody, was used to treat patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the present study, we report a case of therapeutic heterogeneity in relapsed HCC with lung metastases. Read More

Front Oncol 2022 29;12:935310. Epub 2022 Jul 29.

University of Kansas, Kansas City, KS, United States.

Purpose/objectives: Although ample intermediate-term prostate stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) outcomes have been reported, 10-year results remain relatively sparse.

Materials/methods: Eighteen institutions enrolled 259 low- and intermediate-risk patients. Median follow-up is 5. Read More

Cornea 2022 Aug 11. Epub 2022 Aug 11.

Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess long-term stability and outcomes of femtosecond astigmatic keratotomy (FSAK) after treatment of high postkeratoplasty astigmatism.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients who underwent FSAK for high astigmatism (≥4 D) after penetrating keratoplasty or deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty. Main outcome measures were corneal astigmatism, uncorrected visual acuity, and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 1 month and 1, 5, and 10 years. Read More

Cornea 2022 Aug 11. Epub 2022 Aug 11.

Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to present the rates of rejection from 2018 to 2021 and evaluate the purported association between COVID-19 vaccination and corneal graft rejection.

Methods: Cases of corneal graft rejection diagnosed between January 2018 and December 2021 were reviewed. The conditional Poisson regression model of the self-controlled case series method was used to estimate the incidence risk ratio of graft rejection after COVID-19 vaccination risk period compared with the control period. Read More

Cereb Cortex 2022 Aug 13. Epub 2022 Aug 13.

Central Integration of Pain (Neuropain Lab) - Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS, UMR5292, Université Claude Bernard, 69677 Bron cedex, France.

Activation of the spinothalamic system does not always result in a subjective pain perception. While the cerebral network processing nociception is relatively well known, the one underlying its transition to conscious pain remains poorly described. We used intracranial electroencephalography in epileptic patients to investigate whether the amplitudes and functional connectivity of posterior and anterior insulae (PI and AI) and amygdala differ according to the subjective reports to laser stimuli delivered at a constant intensity set at nociceptive threshold. Read More

Mult Scler Relat Disord 2022 Aug 6;67:104094. Epub 2022 Aug 6.

Jacobs Multiple Sclerosis Center, Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, NY, USA.

Background: Ocrelizumab is an effective treatment for relapsing and primary-progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the effect of ocrelizumab on leptomeningeal (LM) inflammation is unknown.

Objective: To investigate whether ocrelizumab reduces LM inflammation by reducing the exposure to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected B cells in relapsing-remitting (RR) MS. Read More

Am J Emerg Med 2022 Aug 8;60:134-139. Epub 2022 Aug 8.

Division of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, 1500 E. Medical Center Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a rare, but serious, risk of assisted reproductive technologies. In severe cases, patients may present to the emergency department (ED) for assessment, treatment of related complications, and even in-patient admission. Significant effort has been made to reduce the incidence and complications of OHSS; however, it is unknown if these strategies have decreased patient presentation for treatment in the ED. Read More

Pulmonology 2022 Aug 10. Epub 2022 Aug 10.

Servicio de Neumología-Unidad de Investigación, Hospital Universitario La Candelaria, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.

Background: In COPD, the bronchial epithelium shows a pathologically activated Wnt pathway. Sclerostin (SOST) is a secreted glycoprotein that is associated with bone metabolism and blocks the Wnt pathway. We hypothesized that low sclerostin levels might be associated with lung function and COPD exacerbations in patients. Read More

Osteoarthritis Cartilage 2022 Aug 9. Epub 2022 Aug 9.

Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia; Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science (AIMSS). Victoria University, University of Melbourne and Western Health, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address:

Objective: Time spent waiting for access to orthopaedic specialist health services has been suggested to result in increased pain in individuals with osteoarthritis (OA). We assessed whether time spent on an orthopaedic waiting list resulted in a detrimental effect on pain outcome measures in patients with knee or hip OA.

Methods: We searched Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE and EBSCOhost databases from inception until September 2021. Read More

Atherosclerosis 2022 Jul 16;356:18-27. Epub 2022 Jul 16.

Department of Medicine, University of Turku and Division of Medicine, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.

Background And Aims: Lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) is a causal risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and its levels are under strict genetic control. Therefore, it is hypothesized that the concentration of Lp(a) remains stable throughout life. Finns have lower Lp(a) levels than central Europeans, but it is unknown whether there are differences within Finland, especially between the eastern and western parts of the country with known genetic duality and persistent differences in cardiovascular disease rates. Read More

PLoS One 2022 12;17(8):e0272706. Epub 2022 Aug 12.

Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.

The COVID pandemic disrupted health care spending and utilization, and the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), Medicare's largest value-based payment model with 11.2 million assigned beneficiaries, was no exception. Despite COVID, the 513 accountable care organizations (ACO) in MSSP returned a program record $1. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2022 Aug;101(32):e29950

Department of Radiology, Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital, Yokohama, Japan.

We aimed to investigate if Computed tomography (CT) attenuation values can help improve the identification of age-related changes in the thymus. We assessed CT images of 405 patients aged 0 to 80 years. We measured the area of the anterior mediastinum at the level of the carina and its average CT attenuation value. Read More