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Golden Corral, a restaurant chain based in Raleigh, North Carolina, is testing a new concept called Homeward Kitchen. Homeward Kitchen offers a simpler alternative to family dining with options for drive-thru, carry-out, delivery, and dine-in. The menu includes breakfast items, salads, sandwiches, and Golden Corral staples like pot roast and fried chicken. The company believes there is potential for 500 Homeward Kitchen locations across the country, which could generate an additional $1.5 billion in revenue. The concept is being tweaked based on customer feedback, with potential changes including adding more healthy options and improving the ordering process. The first few Homeward Kitchen locations will be placed in the Carolinas and Virginia to closely monitor their performance. [Extracted from the article]

The article informs that legendary painter and designer Bob Timberlake is returning to the furniture business, striking deals with Archbold Furniture and Carolina Customer Leather to manufacture bedroom, dining room, and office furniture, emphasizing his commitment to American craftsmanship. The topics include Timberlake's past success with his "American Home" line, his previous licensing agreements, and his careful selection process for new manufacturing partners.

Introduction:The human brain shows modest traits of sexual dimorphism, with the female brain, on average, 10% smaller than the male brain. These differences do not imply a lowered cognitive performance, but suggest a more optimal brain organization in women. Here we evaluate the patterns of functional connectivity (FC) in women and men from the Connectomics of Brain Aging and Dementia sample.Methods:We used phase locking values to calculate FC from the magnetoencephalography time series in a sample of 138 old adults (87 females and 51 males). We compared the FC patterns between sexes, with the intention of detecting regions with different levels of connectivity.Results:We found a frontal cluster, involving anterior cingulate and the medial frontal lobe, where women showed higher FC values than men. Involved connections included the following: (1) medial parietal areas, such as posterior cingulate cortices and precunei; (2) right insula; and (3) medium cingulate and paracingulate cortices. Moreover, these differences persisted when considering only cognitively intact individuals, but not when considering only cognitively impaired individuals.Discussion:Increased anteroposterior FC has been identified as a biomarker for increased risk of developing cognitive impairment or dementia. In our study, cognitively intact women showed higher levels of FC than their male counterparts. This result suggests that neurodegenerative processes could be taking place in these women, but the changes are undetected by current diagnosis tools. FC, as measured here, might be valuable for early identification of this neurodegeneration.

According to an article in Business North Carolina, there have been numerous layoffs in North Carolina over the past year, with 30 businesses announcing layoffs that have impacted around 3,800 workers. In 2023, over 7,000 workers in manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing were affected by mass layoffs. The state requires companies to notify the government when they plan to close a facility or conduct mass layoffs. The list of layoffs includes a variety of industries, with the textile and furniture sectors being particularly hard hit. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction:The evolving treatment landscape for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and complexities of regulations and reimbursement present challenges to community oncologists. Clinical pathways are tools to optimize care, but information on their value in the real world is limited. This retrospective study assessed treatment patterns and clinical outcomes in patients with stage I–III NSCLC pre- and post-pathways implementation at Tennessee Oncology, a large, community-based oncology practice in the USA. Methods & Materials:Chart data were abstracted for adults diagnosed with stage I–III NSCLC who received systemic treatment. Patients were divided into pre-pathways (treatment initiation 2014–2015) and post-pathways (treatment initiation 2016–2018) cohorts. Patient characteristics, treatment patterns and outcomes were summarized descriptively. Kaplan–Meier curves were used to assess time-dependent outcomes, and log-rank test was used to compare the cohorts. Results:291 patients were included (stage I–II: 38 pre-pathways, 55 post-pathways; stage III: 105 pre-pathways, 93 post-pathways). Duration on first-line (1L) therapy was similar for stage I–II patients pre- and post-pathways (median 1.9 months vs 2.1 months; p = 0.75), but increased for stage III patients post-pathways (2.1 months vs 1.4 months pre-pathways; p < 0.01). Achievement of a complete or partial response with 1L therapy was similar post-pathways among stage I–stage –IIII patients (60.0% vs 55.2% pre-pathways), but increased for stage III patients (56.0% vs 35.2% pre-pathways). Conclusion:Given that improvements in rates of treatment response post-pathways occurred only for patients diagnosed with stage III NSCLC, among whom immunotherapy uptake increased post-pathways, such improvements may be attributable to evolving practices in cancer care, including advances in treatment and care delivery, rather than clinical pathways implementation. Further research is warranted to assess the impact of clinical pathways in the current treatment era, given that immunotherapy has now become the standard of care in NSCLC.

WHEN I STARTED OUT AS A SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY JOURNALIST in 1995, Google and Facebook didn't exist, the human genome hadn't yet been fully sequenced and phones were for talking to other people. As a side effect of my work, I developed a belief that most world-changing innovations come from small, early stage companies. But I dismissed that as a special case attributable to an autocratic genius (Steve Jobs) whose style for creating disruptive products was to assemble small "skunk-works" innovation teams inside the company. [Extracted from the article]

We present a novel approach to endovascular thrombectomy using the Penumbra Indigo® Aspiration System with balloon assistance for a thromboembolic occlusion to the tibioperoneal trunk and tibial arteries causing acute limb ischemia. This technique allows for effective suction thrombectomy of distal vessels into a shorter, large-diameter aspiration catheter, thereby overcoming the limitations of the longer but smaller aspiration catheters.