54 to 0.74), and five Laws' filter features were correlated with TOLLIP-2 (rs5743905) mutations (AUC 0.53 to 0.70). None of the features analyzed were found to be correlated with MUC5B mutations. First-order and fractal features demonstrated the greatest discrimination between KM curves. Conclusions A radiomics approach for the correlation of patient genetic mutations with image texture features has potential as a biomarker. These features also may serve as prognostic indicators using a survival curve modeling approach in which the combination of radiomic features and genetic mutations provides an enhanced understanding of the interaction between imaging phenotype and patient genotype on the progression and treatment of IPF.
  empyema thoracis (pleural empyema) is an uncommon manifestation of invasive candidiasis, for which optimal treatment is unknown.
 
  This is a retrospective study of patients with 
  empyema at 2 academic medical centers from September 2006 through December 2015.
 
  We identified 81 patients with 
  empyema (median age, 62 years; 68% men). Sixty-five percent of patients underwent surgery or an invasive intervention of the thorax or abdomen within the preceding 90 days. 
  empyema originated from intrathoracic (51%) or intra-abdominal sources (20%), spontaneous esophageal rupture (12%), pleural space manipulation (9%), and pneumonia (6%).  https://www.selleckchem.com/  Eighty-four percent and 41% of patients were intensive care unit residents and in septic shock, respectively, within 3 days of diagnosis. Causative species were 
  (65%), 
  (26%), 
  (11%), 
  (4%), 
  (2%), and 
  (1%). Bacteria were recovered from empyemas in 51% of patients. Concurrent candidemia was diagnosed in only 2% of patients. Management included pleural drainage and antifungal treatment in 98% and 85% of patients, respectively. Mortality at 100 days was 27%, and it was highest for cases stemming from esophageal rupture (67%). Spontaneous esophageal rupture and echinocandin rather than fluconazole treatment were independent risk factors for death at 100 days (
  = .003 and .04, respectively); receipt of antifungal therapy was an independent predictor of survival (
  = .046).
 
  empyema mortality rates were lower than reported previously. Optimal management included pleural drainage and fluconazole treatment. Superiority of fluconazole over echinocandins against 
  empyema needs to be confirmed in future studies.
 Candida empyema mortality rates were lower than reported previously. Optimal management included pleural drainage and fluconazole treatment. Superiority of fluconazole over echinocandins against Candida empyema needs to be confirmed in future studies.
  National guidelines recommend that sexually active people with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH) who are men who have sex with men (MSM) be tested for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection at least annually. Hepatitis C virus testing rates vary by race/ethnicity in the general population, but limited data are available for PWH.
 
  We analyzed medical records data from MSM in the HIV Outpatient Study at 9 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) clinics from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2019. We excluded observation time after documented past or current HCV infection. We evaluated HCV antibody testing in each calendar year among HCV-seronegative MSM, and we assessed testing correlates by generalized estimating equation analyses.
 
  Of 1829 eligible MSM who were PWH, 1174 (64.2%) were non-Hispanic/Latino white (NHW), 402 (22.0%) non-Hispanic black (NHB), 187 (10.2%) Hispanic/Latino, and 66 (3.6%) of other race/ethnicity. Most were ≥40 years old (68.9%), privately insured (64.5%), with CD4 cell count/mm
  (CD4) ≥350 (77.0%), and with HIV viral load <200 copies/mL (76.9%). During 2011-2019, 1205 (65.9%) had ≥1 HCV antibody test and average annual HCV percentage tested was 30.3% (from 33.8% for NHB to 28.5% for NHW; 
  < .001). Multivariable factors positively associated (
  < .05) with HCV testing included more recent HIV diagnosis, public insurance, lower CD4, prior chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, or hepatitis B virus diagnoses, and elevated liver enzyme levels, but not race/ethnicity.
 
  Although we found no disparities by race/ethnicity in HCV testing, low overall HCV testing rates indicate suboptimal uptake of recommended HCV testing among MSM in HIV care.
 Although we found no disparities by race/ethnicity in HCV testing, low overall HCV testing rates indicate suboptimal uptake of recommended HCV testing among MSM in HIV care.
  The efficacy of nucleot(s)ide analogs (NAs) and pegylated interferon (PegIFN) combination therapy for hepatitis B e antigen-positive (HBeAg
  ) patients is still controversial. Whether PegIFN and entecavir (ETV) combination therapy could provide a greater benefit for HBeAg
  patients was assessed.
 
  Treatment-naïve HBeAg
  patients initiated on PegIFN alfa-2a (PegIFNα-2a) for 24 weeks without early response (early response HBsAg <1500 IU/mL and hepatitis B virus [HBV] DNA <10
  copies/mL) were recruited in the current study. Among total of 94 patients, 51 were continued on PegIFNα-2a monotherapy, and 43 were offered PegIFNα-2a and ETV combined therapy.
 
  Better outcomes in response to the combined therapy, compared with that of the monotherapy, were demonstrated, including more HBsAg decline and loss and HBV DNA decline and HBeAg clearance. Importantly, the patients with HBsAg levels between 1500 and 20
  000 IU/mL initially or between 5000 and 20
  000 IU/mL after 24 weeks of PegIFNα-2a benefitted more from the combined therapy, compared with those on monotherapy.
 
  Combined therapy of PegIFNα-2a and ETV is more efficacious for HBeAg
  patients without early response to PegIFN monotherapy, and HBsAg levels are a good predictor of treatment outcomes.
 Combined therapy of PegIFNα-2a and ETV is more efficacious for HBeAg+ patients without early response to PegIFN monotherapy, and HBsAg levels are a good predictor of treatment outcomes.Three-dimensional (3D) printing of biodegradable polymers has rapidly become a popular approach to create scaffolds for tissue engineering. This technique enables fabrication of complex architectures and layer-by-layer spatial control of multiple components with high resolution. The resulting scaffolds can also present distinct chemical groups or bioactive cues on the surface to guide cell behavior. However, surface functionalization often includes one or more post-fabrication processing steps, which typically produce biomaterials with homogeneously distributed chemistries that fail to mimic the biochemical organization found in native tissues. As an alternative, our laboratory developed a novel method that combines solvent-cast 3D printing with peptide-polymer conjugates to spatially present multiple biochemical cues in a single scaffold without requiring post-fabrication modification. Here, we describe a detailed, stepwise protocol to fabricate peptide-functionalized scaffolds and characterize their physical architecture and biochemical spatial organization.