Chondronecrosis of the cricoid treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy: A case series.

We present two cases of cricoid chondronecrosis treated with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) therapy. Both patients presented with biphasic stridor and dyspnea several weeks after an intubation event. Tracheostomy was ultimately performed for airway protection, followed by antibiotic treatment and outpatient HBO2 therapy. Both patients were decannulated within six months of presentation and after at least 20 HBO2 therapy sessions. Despite a small sample size, our findings are consistent with data supporting HBO2 therapy's effects on tissue edema, neovascularization, and HBO2 potentiation of antibiotic treatment and leukocyte function. We suggest HBO2 therapy may have accelerated airway decannulation by way of infection resolution as well as the revitalization of upper airway tissues, ultimately renewing the structural integrity of the larynx. When presented with this rare but significant clinical challenge, physicians should be aware of the potential benefits of HBO2 therapy.

Pushing the Frontiers of Cancer Research: Highlights from the Frontiers in Cancer Science Conference 2023.

The 15th annual Frontiers in Cancer Science (FCS) conference gathered scientific experts who shared the latest research converging upon several themes of cancer biology. These themes included the dysregulation of metabolism, cell death, and other signaling processes in cancer cells; using patient "omics" datasets and single-cell and spatial approaches to investigate heterogeneity, understand therapy resistance, and identify targets; innovative strategies for inhibiting tumors, including rational drug combinations and improved drug delivery mechanisms; and advances in models that can facilitate screening for cancer vulnerabilities and drug testing. We hope the insights from this meeting will stimulate further progress in the field.

Dietary Patterns, Food Intake and Health: New Evidence from Epidemiological and Genetic Studies.

Our special issue gathered 11 articles in the field of nutritional epidemiology, some of which applied newly developed statistical methods to make causal inference [...].

Shaping research for people living with co-existing mental and physical health conditions: A research priority setting initiative from the United Kingdom.

INTRODUCTION: Those with severe and enduring mental ill health are at greater risk of long-term physical health conditions and have a reduced life expectancy as a result. Multiple factors compound this health inequality, and the need for setting research priorities in this area is highlighted with physical and mental healthcare services being separate, and limited multimorbidity research. METHODS: The aim of this exercise was to work in partnership with healthcare professionals and carers, family, friends and individuals with lived experience of both mental and physical health conditions, to set research priorities to help people with mental health conditions to look after their physical health. The exercise was guided by the James Lind Alliance approach. For this, a steering group was set up, two surveys were completed and a final priority workshop was conducted. RESULTS: This priority setting exercise guided by people's needs and lived experience has produced a set of well-defined research topics. Initially, 555 research questions were suggested in the first survey, which were refined to 54 questions for the second survey. A priority setting workshop was then conducted to get the final 10 priorities. CONCLUSIONS: Taking these topics forward to improve services and treatment for both mental and physical ill health may in turn improve physical health and lessen the reduced life expectancy of those living with mental ill health. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: This work was completed in collaboration with people who have lived experience of mental ill health and physical health conditions, as well as carers, family and friends. Their contribution has been significant for this work from piloting surveys, amending language used and educating the researchers and contributing to this paper. The initial work was completed with a steering group and continued with surveys and workshops.

Masculinities and sexual and reproductive health and rights: a global research priority setting exercise.

Engaging men and boys in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and doing so in a way that challenges harmful masculinities, is both neglected and vital for improving the SRHR of both women and men. To address this gap, WHO commissioned a global research priority setting exercise on masculinities and SRHR. The exercise adapted the quantitative child health and nutrition research initiative priority setting method by combining it with qualitative methods. Influenced by feminist and decolonial perspectives, over 200 diverse stakeholders from 60 countries across all WHO regions participated. The exercise forges a collaborative research agenda emphasising four key areas: gender-transformative approaches to men's and boys' engagement in SRHR, applied research to deliver services addressing diversity in SRHR among men and women and to generate gender-equality, research designs to support participation of target audiences and reach to policy makers, and research addressing the priorities of those in low-income and middle-income countries.

Utilization and quality of palliative care in patients with hematological and solid cancers: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Palliative care (PC) contributes to improved end-of-life care for patients with hematologic malignancies (HM) and solid tumors (ST) by addressing physical and psychological symptoms and spiritual needs. Research on PC in HM vs. ST patients is fragmented and suggests less use. METHODS: We analyzed claims data of all deceased members of a large German health insurance provider for the year before death. First, we analyzed the frequency and the beginning of different types of PC and compared patients with HM vs. ST. Second, we analyzed the adjusted impact of PC use on several end-of-life quality outcomes in patients with HM vs. ST. We performed simple and multiple (logistic) regression analysis, adjusted for relevant covariates, and standardized for age and sex. RESULTS: Of the 222,493 deceased cancer patients from 2016 to 2020, we included 209,321 in the first analysis and 165,020 in the second analysis. Patients with HM vs. ST received PC less often (40.4 vs. 55.6%) and later (34 vs. 50 days before death). PC use significantly improved all six quality indicators for good end-of-life care. HM patients had worse rates in five of the six indicators compared with ST patients. Interaction terms revealed that patients with ST derived greater benefit from PC in five of six quality indicators than those with HM. CONCLUSION: The data highlight the need to integrate PC more often, earlier, and more effectively into the care of patients with HM.

Teaching Zebrafish Development in a STEM-Based Science Camp for Middle School Students.

Zebrafish have been used as an education tool for students of all ages and can be used in many learning environments to teach different fields of science. In this study, we focus on the biology of zebrafish. We describe an educational program within a weeklong science camp for students between 12 and 14 years old. The methodology described is based on running annual science camps over an 11-year period. In these camps, students learnt about the developmental stages of zebrafish, as well as general zebrafish biology, husbandry, ecology, behavior, and reproduction. This article describes how to provide students and educators with an educational program to explore, discover, and contribute to the ever-evolving landscape of biological understanding through active and visual learning. We describe the methodology, the evaluation, revisions to our program over time, and future directions for expansion.

[Research and development strategy of new traditional Chinese medicine drugs for syndromes based on human use experience].

Chinese drug registration laws and regulations have always reserved a place for the new traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) drugs for syndromes, but so far no such new drugs have been approved for registration. This paper expounded on the relevant policies, regulations, and technologies of new TCM drugs for syndromes in China and pointed out that the application of the animal model of TCM syndromes to carry out pharmacodynamics research and clinical efficacy evaluation criteria of TCM syndromes were the main technical difficulties in the research and development of new TCM drugs for syndromes. Not all syndromes are suitable for developing new drugs, and the indications for new TCM drugs should be constant syndromes. Among the three research and development models of simple syndrome, syndrome-unified disease, and combined disease and syndrome, the research and development model of combined disease and syndrome is recommended. Clinical positioning is the key to new TCM drugs for syndromes. It is encouraged to conduct high-quality human use experience studies to determine the clinical positioning of new TCM drugs for syndromes, as well as the target population, dose, course of treatment, and initial therapeutic and safety, and apply for exemption from non-clinical effectiveness studies. Clinical trials of new TCM drugs for syndromes should take the target symptoms or signs as the main efficacy index and the efficacy of TCM syndromes as the secondary efficacy index. Clinical research program design should implement the "patient-centered" concept and introduce clinical outcome evaluation indicators. In the clinical safety evaluation, special conditions such as characteristic syndromes and changes should be considered. With the construction of the human use experience technology system and the promotion of the TCM registration and evaluation evidence system featuring the "combination of TCM theory, human use experience, and clinical trials", it is believed that many high-quality new TCM drugs for syndromes will be developed in the future.

A paradigm shift in cancer research based on integrative multi-omics approaches: glutaminase serves as a pioneering cuproptosis-related gene in pan-cancer.

BACKGROUND: Cuproptosis is a newly identified form of unprogrammed cell death. As a pivotal metabolic regulator, glutaminase (GLS) has recently been discovered to be linked to cuproptosis. Despite this discovery, the oncogenic functions and mechanisms of GLS in various cancers are still not fully understood. METHODS: In this study, a comprehensive omics analysis was performed to investigate the differential expression levels, diagnostic and prognostic potential, correlation with tumor immune infiltration, genetic alterations, and drug sensitivity of GLS across multiple malignancies. RESULTS: Our findings revealed unique expression patterns of GLS across various cancer types and molecular subtypes of carcinomas, underscoring its pivotal role primarily in energy and nutrition metabolism. Additionally, GLS showed remarkable diagnostic and prognostic performance in specific cancers, suggesting its potential as a promising biomarker for cancer detection and prognosis. Furthermore, we focused on uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) and developed a novel prognostic model associated with GLS, indicating a close correlation between GLS and UCEC. Moreover, our exploration into immune infiltration, genetic heterogeneity, tumor stemness, and drug sensitivity provided novel insights and directions for future research and laid the foundation for high-quality verification. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our study is the first comprehensive investigation of the biological and clinical significance of GLS in pan-cancer. In our study, GLS was identified as a promising biomarker for UCEC, providing valuable evidence and a potential target for anti-tumor therapy. Overall, our findings shed light on the multifaceted functions of GLS in cancer and offer new avenues for further research.

Using the National Cancer Plan to Drive Innovation in Cancer Research.

SUMMARY: The NCI director presents her vision of the National Cancer Plan as an integrated framework that can help drive innovation in cancer research to speed progress toward ending cancer as we know it.

SuperCellCyto: enabling efficient analysis of large scale cytometry datasets.

Advancements in cytometry technologies have enabled quantification of up to 50 proteins across millions of cells at single cell resolution. Analysis of cytometry data routinely involves tasks such as data integration, clustering, and dimensionality reduction. While numerous tools exist, many require extensive run times when processing large cytometry data containing millions of cells. Existing solutions, such as random subsampling, are inadequate as they risk excluding rare cell subsets. To address this, we propose SuperCellCyto, an R package that builds on the SuperCell tool which groups highly similar cells into supercells. SuperCellCyto is available on GitHub ( https://github.com/phipsonlab/SuperCellCyto ) and Zenodo ( https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10521294 ).

Maternal human papillomavirus infection and the risk of congenital malformations: A nationwide population-based cohort study.

Previous research has explored theories regarding the vertical transmission of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and its association with adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes. However, the impact of maternal HPV infection on congenital anomalies (CAs) in offspring remains relatively understudied. We conducted a population-based cohort study linking the Taiwan Birth Registry, Taiwan Death Registry, and National Health Insurance Research Database, in which newborns born in Taiwan between 2009 and 2015 were included. We established a maternal HPV infection cohort comprising 37 807 newborns and matched them with a comparison group of 151 228 newborns at a 1:4 ratio based on index year, age, and sex. The study examined a composite outcome and subgroups of different types of congenital malformations. Differences in cumulative incidence of CAs were assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazard regressions. No significant association was found between HPV infection and the broad spectrum of CAs (aHR: 1.04, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.98-1.10; log-rank test p = 0.14). However, we observed a 19% increased risk of musculoskeletal CAs in the maternal HPV infection group (aHR: 1.19; 95% CI: 1.05-1.34) compared to those without maternal HPV exposure. Other factors, including the type of HPV (aHR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.16-2.63), the timing of exposure (during or before pregnancy), and maternal age (aHR for <30 years: 1.02, 95% CI: 0.94-1.1; aHR for 30-39 years: 1.05, 95% CI: 0.99-1.11; aHR for ≥40 years: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.67-1.17), did not significantly affect the risk for any CA. In conclusion, gestation detection of HPV infection was associated with musculoskeletal CAs but not other major CAs. Prospective studies are warranted to elucidate the necessity of prenatal screening in populations at risk.

Associations between 47 anthropometric markers derived from a body scanner and relative fat-free mass in a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Low relative fat free mass (FFM) is associated with a greater risk of chronic diseases and mortality. Unfortunately, FFM is currently not being measured regularly to allow for individuals therapy. OBJECTIVE: One reason why FFM is not being used may be related to additional equipment and resources, thus we aimed to identify easily accessible anthropometric markers related with FFM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed data of 1,593 individuals (784 women; 49.2%, age range 28-88 years) enrolled in the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP-TREND 1). Forty-seven anthropometric markers were derived from a 3D optical body-scanner. FFM was assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis (FFMBIA) or air displacement plethysmography (FFMADP). In sex-stratified linear regression models, FFM was regressed on anthropometric measurements adjusted for body height and age. Anthropometric markers were ranked according to the coefficient of determination (R2) derived from these regression models. RESULTS: Circumferences of high hip, belly, middle hip, waist and high waist showed the strongest inverse associations with FFM. These relations were stronger in females than in males. Associations of anthropometric markers with FFMAPD were greater compared to FFMBIA. CONCLUSION: Anthropometric measures were more strongly associated with FFMADP compared to FFMBIA. Anthropometric markers like circumferences of the high or middle hip, belly or waist may be appropriate surrogates for FFM to aid in individualized therapy. Given that the identified markers are representative of visceral adipose tissue, the connection between whole body strength as surrogate for FFM and fat mass should be explored in more detail.

Fire acupuncture for plaque psoriasis case series.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical efficacy of fire acupuncture (FA) on plaque psoriasis (PP), exploring its suitable syndrome types, in order to achieve better therapeutic effects, accelerate the possibility of psoriasis skin lesion recovery, and provide assistance for clinical treatment. METHODS: A total of 8 patients with PP aged between 18 and 60 years were recruited and treated with FA once a week, and the lesion area and severity index (PASI), visual analog scale and pruritus were measured before, 2, 4 and 8 weeks after treatment and at the follow-up period (week 12), respectively. Visual analog scale, and dermoscopy were used for assessment. RESULTS: All patients showed improvement in pruritus after 1 FA treatment, and lesions were reduced to varying degrees after 2 weeks. Except for patients 5 and 8, who only achieved effective results due to severe disease, all other patients with psoriasis achieved significant results at 8 weeks after treatment. CONCLUSION: FA can significantly control the development of lesions, reduce the symptoms of PP lesions and pruritus, and help prevent psoriasis recurrence.