University of Pennsylvania

The Childhood Liver Disease Research Network's prospective characterization of pediatric primary sclerosing cholangitis.

BACKGROUND: Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare biliary fibrosing disease that leads to significant morbidity and the need for liver transplantation. The Childhood Liver Disease Research Network is conducting a prospective, observational longitudinal study to define th...

Consensus-based clinical and research recommendations for use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in the context of eating disorders: a modified Delphi study.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), initially developed for type 2 diabetes management and later expanded to obesity treatment, have shown preliminary efficacy in reducing binge eating episodes. However, the appetite-suppressing and weight-loss effects of GLP-1R...

Hospital Variation in Labor After Cesarean and Vaginal Birth After Cesarean in Massachusetts, 2012-2022.

OBJECTIVE: To examine variation in labor after cesarean and vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) across hospitals and to assess the role of hospital characteristics in explaining this variation. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study using data from the Massachusetts Pregn...

Evaluating the Reliability, Accuracy, and Readability of ChatGPT-3.5 and GPT-4 in Providing Patient Education Related to Glenohumeral Joint Osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVES: Chatbots have been increasingly recognized as modern tools that provide patients with reliable health-related information. This study aimed to evaluate and compare ChatGPT-3.5 and GPT-4's ability to answer glenohumeral osteoarthritis-related questions. METHODS: Fiftee...

Raman Spectroscopy at Metal Interfaces: A Numerical Study of the Strong Coupling Regime

Abstract We investigate how proximity to a metal nanostructure, particularly to a flat mirror or a cavity confined between two mirrors, affects the vibronic structure of the Raman scattering signals. We find that such proximity, particularly for the strong-coupling situation enco...

Comprehensive profiling of brain dynamics during anesthesia across phylogeny

Abstract The behavioral effects of anesthetics are highly conserved across species, hinting at shared and fundamental underlying mechanisms. Here we compile a dataset of multiscale neural activity during wakefulness and anesthesia, encompassing human, macaque, marmoset, mouse, ze...

Rheumatoid arthritis, frailty, and outcomes of surgical hospitalizations: A national population‐based analysis

OBJECTIVE: Hospitalization, particularly for surgery, represents a period of heightened stress. We evaluated how frailty attenuates the association of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with negative health outcomes after elective non-cardiac surgery. METHODS: We conducted a cross-section...

Epigenome-Wide Association Study of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Identifies Central Role for Inflammatory Pathways

BACKGROUND: Epigenetic mechanisms underlying susceptibility to abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) remain poorly understood. Identifying causal DNA methylation markers for AAA can elucidate the regulatory processes that drive aneurysm formation and accelerate translational applicatio...

Persisting perceptual abnormalities in psychedelic users are associated with conditioned hallucinations and impaired sensory processing

Abstract Serotonergic psychedelics (SP) are increasingly used in clinical research and naturalistic settings, but their psychotic-like side effects, including persisting perceptual abnormalities (PPAs), are poorly understood. Psychosis-associated hallucinations are associated wit...

Comparative analysis of endoscopic endonasal far-medial, far-lateral transcondylar and combined approaches to the foramen magnum region: volumetric analysis and quantitative insights on surgical exposure and maneuverability

Abstract Background Surgical access to the anterior craniovertebral junction (CVJ) and foramen magnum region remains technically challenging due to dense neurovascular anatomy and limited working corridors. Although the far-lateral transcondylar and endoscopic far-medial approach...

The Mader model of muscle energy metabolism simulates key metabolic exercise phenomena

Energy metabolism matches adenosine triphosphate (ATP) resynthesis to hydrolysis even during abrupt transitions such as exercise onset. In 1984, Alois Mader proposed a mechanistic model that captures this regulation through 33 coupled differential equations linking oxidative phos...

Free Radical Multiphase Chemistry on Tropospheric Photoreactive Particles

Abstract Gas-phase and multiphase reactions of free radicals play pivotal roles in tropospheric chemistry. Recent studies indicate that photoinduced multiphase reactions serve as a potential source of free radicals rather than a traditional sink. To accurately evaluate their envi...

Brain Penetrant Calcium Channel Blockers Were Not Associated With Reduced Alcohol Consumption: Converging Results From Two Large Independent Cohort Studies Using Electronic Health Records

ABSTRACT Purpose Alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains a major public health problem, with few effective treatments. L‐type calcium channel blockers (LTCCBs) have genetic and preclinical support as potential treatments for AUD. Methods We evaluated whether brain penetrant (BP)‐LTCCB...

Nascent Extracellular Matrix Converts Biomaterial Cues into Cell Fate Decisions

ABSTRACT Hydrogels serve as powerful models for investigating cell‐extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions. While chemical modifications are routinely used to tune hydrogel properties, it remains unclear whether these modifications mediate cell fate. Previous work has shown that...

A novel, minimally invasive diagnostic test for KIT exon 11 internal tandem duplications in canine cutaneous mast cell tumours II: proof-of-principle applications

Abstract Background The clinical management of canine cutaneous mast cell tumour (cMCT) presents challenges. Treatment decisions are often informed by histopathological and molecular analysis of excisional biopsy samples, however, these may not always be available. Furthermore, c...

Distal humeral physeal separation: radiographic findings in infants and toddlers

Abstract Background Distal humeral physeal separation is an uncommon but frequently misdiagnosed injury of the immature elbow in infants and toddlers that carries a strong association with non-accidental trauma; its largely unossified anatomy makes radiographic diagnosis challeng...

Assessing residual bias in real-world vaccine effectiveness studies: validating negative controls to avoid misleading results

Observational studies and randomized controlled trials demonstrate that vaccines protect against infections and severe outcomes, but real-world vaccine effectiveness estimates remain vulnerable to residual biases. Negative control outcomes can help detect and mitigate such biases...

Immunotherapy-Related Cardiac Arrythmias: Incidence, Pathobiology, Risk Factors and Management

Abstract Purpose of Review Immunotherapies have revolutionized treatment strategies for cancer patients, improving the prognosis in many populations with advanced malignancies. Immune check point inhibitors (ICI) and Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy are being increa...

ERVmancer: a phylogeny-guided framework for decoding human endogenous retrovirus regulatory mechanisms in health and disease

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs), remnants of ancient infections, comprise approximately 8% of the human genome and influence development, immunity, and cancer. Their repetitive sequences complicate short-read analysis because reads often cannot be assigned to individual loc...

Cross-population genome-wide meta-analysis identifies pancreatic cancer susceptibility loci and etiologic pathways

Abstract Background Pancreatic cancer is a fatal malignancy influenced by genetic, metabolic, and lifestyle factors. We aimed to identify susceptibility loci and clarify associated genes, biological pathways, and potential etiologic factors. Methods We performed a cross-populatio...