Publications by authors named "Ames S"

Importance: High emergency department (ED) pediatric readiness is associated with improved survival among children receiving emergency care, but state and national costs to reach high ED readiness and the resulting number of lives that may be saved are unknown.

Objective: To estimate the state and national annual costs of raising all EDs to high pediatric readiness and the resulting number of pediatric lives that may be saved each year.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study used data from EDs in 50 US states and the District of Columbia from 2012 through 2022.

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  • This study explored the relationship between current human milk feeding (HMF) and infant immune biomarker profiles in a cohort of 605 infants from Canada.
  • Results indicated that infants currently receiving HMF had higher levels of specific immune-related biomarkers compared to those who weren't.
  • The findings suggest that HMF status is important for immune development, but the duration and exclusivity of HMF did not significantly correlate with the biomarkers measured.
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The quality of emergency department (ED) care for children in the US is highly variable. The National Pediatric Readiness Project aims to improve survival for children receiving emergency services. We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of increasing ED pediatric readiness, using a decision-analytic simulation model.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how changes in pediatric readiness in emergency departments (EDs) at US trauma centers from 2013 to 2021 relate to the mortality rates of injured children.
  • It used the weighted Pediatric Readiness Score (wPRS) to categorize EDs into four readiness change groups, allowing for a comparison of outcomes based on their level of readiness.
  • Results showed that higher ED pediatric readiness is linked to fewer pediatric deaths, emphasizing the importance of improved emergency care for children in trauma settings.
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Ultrastructural studies of contusive spinal cord injury (SCI) in mammals have shown that the most prominent acute changes in white matter are periaxonal swelling and separation of myelin away from their axon, axonal swelling, and axonal spheroid formation. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms that cause periaxonal swelling and the functional consequences are poorly understood. We hypothesized that periaxonal swelling and loss of connectivity between the axo-myelinic interface impedes neurological recovery by disrupting conduction velocity, and glial to axonal trophic support resulting in axonal swelling and spheroid formation.

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  • A study focused on understanding the causes and timing of deaths among children needing emergency care was conducted, aiming to improve interventions.
  • The research involved over 546,000 children across six states from 2012 to 2017, highlighting that 2.2% of injured children and 1.4% of medically ill children died within a year.
  • Most deaths occurred in emergency departments or hospitals, with major causes being motor vehicle collisions and infant-related conditions, suggesting that enhancing emergency care could improve pediatric outcomes.
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Objectives: To describe family healthcare burden and health resource utilization in pediatric survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) at 3 and 9 months.

Design: Secondary analysis of a prospective multisite cohort study.

Setting: Eight academic PICUs in the United States (2019-2020).

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Aim: To qualitatively assess the impact of disability-based discrimination in healthcare on the parents of children with medical complexity (CMC).

Method: In this qualitative study, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with the parents of CMC. Data collection and analysis occurred iteratively; constant comparison methods were used to identify themes describing the impact of disability-based discrimination in pediatric healthcare on the parents of CMC.

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Purpose: Loneliness may compromise health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes and the immunological impacts of loneliness via neuroendocrinological mechanisms likely have consequences for patients who have undergone a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

Research Approach And Measures: Loneliness (pre-transplant), immunological recovery (Day 30, Day 100, 1-year post-transplant), and HRQOL (Day 100, 1 year) were measured in a sample of 205 patients completing a HSCT (127 autologous, 78 allogenic).

Results: Greater levels of pre-transplant loneliness predicted poorer HRQOL at Day 100 and 1-year follow-up.

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Aim: The aim of study was to investigate whether depression and anxiety symptoms and illness perception prior to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) predict health related quality of life (HRQOL) at Day 100 and 1 year following HSCT.

Methods: A total of 205 patients who underwent HSCT (N = 127 autologous transplants, N = 78 allogeneic transplants) were included in this prospective study. Baseline assessment was assessed prior to transplantation and post HSCT data were collected at Day 100 and 1 year.

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  • Presentation to emergency departments (EDs) with high pediatric readiness has been linked to better survival rates in children; however, the equity of these benefits across different racial and ethnic groups remains uncertain.
  • A cohort study across 586 EDs from 2012 to 2017 analyzed over 633,000 children, focusing on in-hospital mortality rates among various races and ethnicities experiencing traumatic injuries or acute medical emergencies.
  • The study found that while overall mortality rates were low, it highlighted disparities in outcomes among different racial groups, raising concerns about the equitable application of pediatric readiness protocols in emergency care settings.
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Background/aims: The goal of this study was to determine the influence of high-fat high-sugar diet (Western diet) on intestinal function and subsequently to determine if there were any beneficial effects of exercise, genistein (a naturally occurring phytoestrogen) or both, on the intestine.

Methods: We measured transepithelial short circuit current (I), across freshly isolated segments of jejunum from male and female C57Bl/6J mice randomly assigned to one of the following groups for the 12-week study duration: high-fat high-sugar diet (HFS), HFS with genistein (Gen), HFS with exercise (Ex), or HFS with both genistein and exercise (Gen+Ex) and compared them to lean controls. Genistein concentration was 600 mg genistein/kg diet.

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The formation of axonal spheroid is a common feature following spinal cord injury. To further understand the source of Ca that mediates axonal spheroid formation, we used our previously characterized ex vivo mouse spinal cord model that allows precise perturbation of extracellular Ca. We performed two-photon excitation imaging of spinal cords isolated from Thy1 transgenic mice and applied the lipophilic dye, Nile red, to record dynamic changes in dorsal column axons and their myelin sheaths respectively.

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Background And Objectives: Disability-based discrimination in health care can lead to low quality of care, limited access to care, and negative health consequences. Yet, little is known regarding the experiences of disability-based discrimination in health care for children with medical complexity and disability. An understanding of disability-based discrimination in pediatrics is needed to drive change and improve care.

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Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first six months of life, but many infants receive pumped milk, formula, donor human milk, or other nutritional sources during this critical period. Substantive evidence shows early nutrition influences development of the microbiome and immune system, affecting lifelong health. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear and the nuances of human milk feeding are rarely considered.

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Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) can indicate changes in structure and/or concentration of the most abundant proteins in a biological sample via heat denaturation curves (HDCs). In blood serum for example, HDC changes result from either concentration changes or altered thermal stabilities for 7-10 proteins and has previously been shown capable of differentiating between sick and healthy human subjects. Here, we compare HDCs and proteomic profiles of 50 patients experiencing joint-inflammatory symptoms, 27 of which were clinically diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

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Background: Women residents are underrepresented in orthopaedic surgery. The causes of the deficit of women in orthopaedic surgery are multifactorial, but by identifying the perceptions of women in orthopaedic residency training and comparing them with the perceptions of men, we can improve our understanding of ways to enhance the recruitment of qualified and diverse candidates.

Questions/purposes: (1) What differences exist in the perceived experiences of residents identifying as women and men regarding professional, social, and personal interactions during residency training? (2) Are there differences in the percentage of women and men residents who have experienced harassment or discrimination in preresidency interviews, and are there differences in the type of harassment or discrimination experienced?

Methods: A survey was generated using Academy of Critical Care: Development, Evaluation, and Methodology guidelines.

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Objectives: Children with chronic critical illness (CCI) are hypothesized to be a high-risk patient population with persistent multiple organ dysfunction and functional morbidities resulting in recurrent or prolonged critical care; however, it is unclear how CCI should be defined. The aim of this scoping review was to evaluate the existing literature for case definitions of pediatric CCI and case definitions of prolonged PICU admission and to explore the methodologies used to derive these definitions.

Data Sources: Four electronic databases (Ovid Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and Web of Science) from inception to March 3, 2021.

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Importance: Emergency departments (EDs) with high pediatric readiness (coordination, personnel, quality improvement, safety, policies, and equipment) are associated with lower mortality among children with critical illness and those admitted to trauma centers, but the benefit among children with more diverse clinical conditions is unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the association between ED pediatric readiness, in-hospital mortality, and 1-year mortality among injured and medically ill children receiving emergency care in 11 states.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This is a retrospective cohort study of children receiving emergency care at 983 EDs in 11 states from January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2017, with follow-up for a subset of children through December 31, 2018.

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Objective: We used machine learning to identify the highest impact components of emergency department (ED) pediatric readiness for predicting in-hospital survival among children cared for in US trauma centers.

Background: ED pediatric readiness is associated with improved short-term and long-term survival among injured children and part of the national verification criteria for US trauma centers. However, the components of ED pediatric readiness most predictive of survival are unknown.

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Neuronal ryanodine receptors (RyR) release calcium from internal stores and play a key role in synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory. Dysregulation of RyR function contributes to neurodegeneration and negatively impacts neurological recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the individual role of RyR isoforms and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood.

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The steady-state isometric force produced by skeletal muscle after active shortening and stretching is depressed and enhanced, respectively, compared with purely isometric force produced at corresponding final lengths and at the same level of activation. One hypothesis proposed to account for these force depression (FD) and force enhancement (FE) properties is a change in cross-bridge cycling kinetics. The rate of cross-bridge attachment (f) and/or cross-bridge detachment (g) may be altered following active shortening and active stretching, leading to FD and FE, respectively.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study highlights how trauma centers with strong emergency department (ED) pediatric readiness lead to improved survival rates for injured children.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 555 trauma centers to identify specific components of pediatric readiness that correlate with better outcomes.
  • Key factors linked to better-than-expected survival included the presence of a pediatric triage tool, a quality improvement process, a disaster plan, and designated pediatric emergency care coordinators.
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Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) technology is now a mature machine learning tool, becoming integrated in the digitisation processes of libraries and archives, speeding up the transcription of primary sources and facilitating full text searching and analysis of historic texts at scale. However, research into how HTR is changing our information environment is scant. This paper presents a systematic literature review regarding how researchers are using one particular HTR platform, Transkribus, to indicate the domains where HTR is applied, the approach taken, and how the technology is understood.

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Objectives: To describe health-related quality of life (HRQL) and functional outcomes in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and to determine risk factors associated with poor outcome defined as death or severe reduction in HRQL at 28 days or ICU discharge.

Design: Prospective multisite cohort-outcome study conducted between 2019 and 2020.

Setting: Eight academic PICUs in the United States.

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