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Objectives: Despite recommendations to increase the uptake of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, trends in CRC screening vary with sociodemographic status. We aimed to evaluate trends in CRC screening in the US population and subpopulations. Methods: A total of 1,082,924 participants aged 50 to 75 from five cycles (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020) of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were involved. Multivariable logistic regression models were performed to evaluate linear trends in CRC screening utilization from 2012 to 2018. Rao-Scott chi-square tests were used to assess the differences in CRC screening utilization between 2018 and 2020. Results: The estimated percentage reporting up-to-date with CRC screening increased significantly (P for trend <0.001), from 62.8% (95% CI, 62.4%−63.2%) in 2012 to 66.7% (95% CI, 66.3%−67.2%) in 2018 and 70.4% (95% CI, 69.8%−71.0%) in 2020, in accordance with 2008 US Preventive Services Task Force recommendations. Trends followed similar patterns in most subgroups, although with different magnitudes in several subgroups, primarily those underweight showed a stable percentage over time (P for trend = 0.170). In 2020, 72.4% of participants reported they were up to date with CRC screening, including the utilization of stool DNA tests and virtual colonoscopy. Colonoscopy was the most commonly used test in 2020 (64.5%), followed by FOBT (12.6%), stool DNA test (5.8%), sigmoidoscopy (3.8%), and virtual colonoscopy (2.7%). Conclusions: In this nationally representative survey of the US population from 2012 through 2020, the percentage reporting up to date with CRC screening has increased, but not equally among all subgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is one of the rising problems in the contemporary society with growing incidences of end-stage HF. While heart transplantation (HT) is the gold standard treatment for endstage HF, its availability is limited by the lack of heart donors. As a consequence, left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are becoming key therapies as bridge to transplant (BTT) strategy to improve survival and outcomes. Areas covered: A significant advancement for wider applications of LVADs as BTT was facilitated by the introduction of miniaturized pumps such as the HVAD (HeartWare®, Medtronic, MN, USA), allowing intrapericardial implants and less-invasive approaches. In this review article, we describe the technical features of the HVAD and its outcomes in terms of efficacy and safety when implanted as BTT strategy. Moreover, we discuss the postoperative results of HT in HVAD recipients and its application in the pediatric population. Expert opinion: It has been demonstrated that the HVAD positively influences the survival of end-stage HF patients awaiting HT, with an acceptable rate of adverse events. Due to its reduced size, it is particularly suitable for LVAD implantations through lateral thoracotomy and in patients with small thoracic dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we show that affiliation among potential bidders' private information (either private signals or entry costs) leads to affiliation among their entry decisions. We propose a test for affiliation among potential bidders' private information based on the implication of affiliation on the entry behavior, which is general and widely applicable to various scenarios. The test is implemented using the simulation based method. We then apply our method to timber sales in the Oregon Department of Forestry and find a small but strongly significant level of affiliation among all timber companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, animal proteins are being replaced by plant-based proteins worldwide. Artificial meat and eggs made from plant-based proteins have been widely commercialized, especially in developed countries such as the United States. However, the traditional wet separation can damage the isolated proteins as well as have a negative impact on the environment. Therefore, there is a growing research interest in developing alternative methods, such as dry separation, for high quality plant protein separation. Electrostatic separation, a dry technology based on the different triboelectric charging properties of materials, has been used for plant protein separation in recent years. This review summarizes the technical issues that need to be considered, from material preparation to equipment construction, for electrostatic separation. Moreover, the separation efficiency, energy consumption, combination with other separation methods, the functionality of the resulting protein concentrates, and prospects for electrostatic separation are also reviewed here. Factors influencing the outcomes of electrostatic separation include the pretreatment of materials, design of the electrostatic separator, and process parameters. The separation efficiency of electrostatic separation can be further improved by cyclic separation or a combination of electrostatic separation with other methods. However, although the proteins obtained by electrostatic separation maintain their native functional properties, they are affected by the presence of other components such as phenolics or starch. Thus, electrostatic separation has several limitations that need to be addressed before it can be used widely. [Display omitted] • Proper pretreatment of plant material before electrostatic separation is important. • Overcharging and aggregation of particles need to be avoided during separation. • The design from tribocharging unit to separation bin affects the separation results. • Cycling one or combining multiple separation methods improves protein enrichment. • Functionality of dry separated proteins is influenced by components such as starch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular health (CVH) is closely associated with various noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and comorbidity; however, the influence of CVH on NCD multimorbidity was not fully elucidated. We aimed to examine the association between CVH using Life's Essential 8 (LE8) and NCD multimorbidity among adults, males, and females in the United States, conducting a cross-sectional analysis using data involving 24,445 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2007 to 2018. LE8 was categorized into low, moderate, and high CVH groups. Multivariate logistic regressions and restricted cubic spline regressions were used to estimate the association between LE8 and NCD multimorbidity. Overall, 6162 participants had NCD multimorbidity, of which 1168 (43.5%), 4343 (25.9%), and 651 (13.4%) had low, moderate, and high CVH, separately. After multivariable adjustment, LE8 was negatively associated with NCD multimorbidity among adults (odds ratio (OR) for per 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in LE8 and 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.67 (0.64, 0.69)), and the top 3 NCDs associated with CVH were emphysema, congestive heart failure, stroke, and the dose-response relationships between LE8 and NCD multimorbidity were observed among adults (overall P < 0.001). Similar patterns were also identified among males and females. Higher CVH measured by the LE8 score was associated with lower odds of NCD multimorbidity among adults, males, and females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We sought to evaluate the association between visceral adiposity index (VAI) and the incidence of gallstones and the age at first gallstone surgery in adults in the United States., Methods: We selected individuals from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database from 2017 to 2020 and evaluated the association between VAI and gallstone incidence and age at first gallstone surgery using logistic regression analysis, subgroup analysis, and dose-response curves., Results: A total of 7,409 participants aged >20 years were included in our study; 767 had a self-reported history of gallstones. After adjustment for all confounding factors, for each unit of VAI after Ln conversion, gallstone prevalence increased by 31% (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.17, 1.48), while the first gallstone surgery was 1.97 years earlier (β = -1.97, 95% CI: -3.35, -0.42). The dose-response curves showed a positive correlation between VAI and gallstone prevalence. There was a negative correlation between increased VAI and age at first gallstone surgery., Conclusion: A higher VAI is positively associated with the prevalence of gallstones and may lead to an earlier age at first gallstone surgery. This is worthy of attention, although causality cannot be established., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Zhang, Ding, Yang, Wang, Tong, Cheng and Zhang.)

Objectives: Multimorbidity of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has brought enormous challenges to public health, becoming a major medical burden. However, the patterns, temporal trends, and all-cause mortality associated with NCD multimorbidity over time have not been well described in the United States., Methods: All adult participants were sourced from nationally representative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In total, 55,081 participants were included in trend analysis, and 38,977 participants were included in Cox regression., Results: The 5 NCDs with the largest increases over the study period were diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, liver conditions, and cancer. The estimated prevalence of multimorbidity increased with age, especially for middle-aged participants with 5 or more NCDs; in general, the prevalence of NCD multimorbidity was higher among females than males. Participants with 5 or more NCDs were at 4.49 times the risk of all-cause mortality of participants without any diseases. Significant interactions were found between multimorbidity and age group (p for interaction <0.001), race/ethnicity (p for interaction<0.001), and educational attainment (p for interaction=0.010)., Conclusions: The prevalence of multiple NCDs significantly increased from 1999 to 2018. Those with 5 or more NCDs had the highest risk of all-cause mortality, especially among the young population. The data reported by this study could serve as a reference for additional NCD research.