Adhesion pathway proteins and risk of atrial fibrillation in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Background: The cellular adhesion pathway has been suggested as playing an important role in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, prior studies that have investigated the role of adhesion pathway proteins in risk of AF have been limited in the number of proteins that were studied and in the ethnic and racial diversity of the study population. Therefore we aimed to study the associations of fifteen adhesion pathway proteins with incident AF in a large, diverse population.

Predictors of Age at Juice Introduction and Associations with Subsequent Beverage Intake in Early and Middle Childhood.

Background: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that if parents choose to introduce juice, they wait until ≥12 months, citing concerns of obesity and dental caries.

Objectives: We sought to identify correlates of early juice introduction (<6 months) and determine whether early introduction establishes a pattern of sugary beverage intake in childhood.

Methods: Upstate KIDS is a prospective birth cohort study with follow-up through 7 years (n = 4989).

Procedural Competency in Academic Emergency Medicine Attending Physicians: How Is Competency Maintained and Evaluated by Academic Institutions in the US?

Introduction There have been numerous studies examining the minimum graduation requirements for resident training of procedural skills within Emergency Medicine programs; however, how academic medical centers in the United States maintain Emergency Medicine attending procedural skill competency has not been explored. Objectives The aim of this study was to examine the processes in place to evaluate and track the procedural skills practices of Emergency Medicine attending physicians at academic institutions in the US. Methods An exploratory cross-sectional survey was sent to all 39 ACGME-accredited Emergency Medicine programs in the US through a REDCap survey in 2020.

Developmental outcomes in small-for-gestational age twins using a singleton vs twin birthweight reference.

Background: Limited data exist about the potential developmental delays in appropriately grown twins; furthermore, twins may be at higher risk of developmental delay than singletons. Small-for-gestational age is a risk factor for developmental delay and is based on singleton birthweight references, which may misclassify small-for-gestational age in a subset of appropriately grown twins.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the risk of developmental delay in twins classified as small-for-gestational age according to the twin and singleton birthweight references (<10th percentile).

Transposable element annotation in non-model species: The benefits of species-specific repeat libraries using semi-automated EDTA and DeepTE de novo pipelines.

Transposable elements (TEs) are significant genomic components which can be detected either through sequence homology against existing databases or de novo, with the latter potentially reducing the risk of underestimating TE abundance. Here, we describe the semi-automated generation of a de novo TE library using the newly developed EDTA pipeline and DeepTE classifier in a non-model teleost (Corydoras fulleri). Using both genomic and transcriptomic data, we assess this de novo pipeline's performance across four TE based metrics: (i) abundance, (ii) composition, (iii) fragmentation, and (iv) age distributions.

Protein inter-residue contact and distance prediction by coupling complementary coevolution features with deep residual networks in CASP14.

This article reports and analyzes the results of protein contact and distance prediction by our methods in the 14th Critical Assessment of techniques for protein Structure Prediction (CASP14). A new deep learning-based contact/distance predictor was employed based on the ensemble of two complementary coevolution features coupling with deep residual networks. We also improved our multiple sequence alignment (MSA) generation protocol with wholesale meta-genome sequence databases.

Folding non-homologous proteins by coupling deep-learning contact maps with I-TASSER assembly simulations.

Structure prediction for proteins lacking homologous templates in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) remains a significant unsolved problem. We developed a protocol, C-I-TASSER, to integrate interresidue contact maps from deep neural-network learning with the cutting-edge I-TASSER fragment assembly simulations. Large-scale benchmark tests showed that C-I-TASSER can fold more than twice the number of non-homologous proteins than the I-TASSER, which does not use contacts.

Protein structure prediction using deep learning distance and hydrogen-bonding restraints in CASP14.

In this article, we report 3D structure prediction results by two of our best server groups ("Zhang-Server" and "QUARK") in CASP14. These two servers were built based on the D-I-TASSER and D-QUARK algorithms, which integrated four newly developed components into the classical protein folding pipelines, I-TASSER and QUARK, respectively. The new components include: (a) a new multiple sequence alignment (MSA) collection tool, DeepMSA2, which is extended from the DeepMSA program; (b) a contact-based domain boundary prediction algorithm, FUpred, to detect protein domain boundaries; (c) a residual convolutional neural network-based method, DeepPotential, to predict multiple spatial restraints by co-evolutionary features derived from the MSA; and (d) optimized spatial restraint energy potentials to guide the structure assembly simulations.

More than half of front-line healthcare workers unknowingly used an N95/P2 mask without adequate airborne protection: An audit in a tertiary institution.

Front-line staff routinely exposed to aerosol-generating procedures are at a particularly high risk of transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. We aimed to assess the adequacy of respiratory protection provided by available N95/P2 masks to staff routinely exposed to aerosol-generating procedures. We performed a prospective audit of fit-testing results.

Updated Pathway to Micro-elimination of Hepatitis C Virus in the Hemodialysis Population.

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection continues to be transmitted to hemodialysis (HD) patients within HD facilities globally. The goal of the World Health Organization to micro-eliminate HCV infection from the HD population by the year 2030 is not on target to be achieved. Obstacles to eliminate HCV in HD settings remain daunting due to a complex system created by a confluence of guidelines, legislation, regulation, and economics.

The Validity, Reliability, and Responsiveness of the International Hip Outcome Tool-33 (iHOT-33) in Patients With Hip and Groin Pain Treated Without Surgery.

Background: The International Hip Outcome Tool-33 (iHOT-33) was developed to evaluate patients seeking surgery for hip and/or groin (hip/groin) pain and may not be appropriate for those seeking nonsurgical treatment.

Purpose: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the iHOT-33 total (iHOT-Total) score and all subscale scores in adults with hip/groin pain who were not seeking surgery.

Study Design: Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 3.

Energy efficiency and biological interactions define the core microbiome of deep oligotrophic groundwater.

While oligotrophic deep groundwaters host active microbes attuned to the low-end of the bioenergetics spectrum, the ecological constraints on microbial niches in these ecosystems and their consequences for microbiome convergence are unknown. Here, we provide a genome-resolved, integrated omics analysis comparing archaeal and bacterial communities in disconnected fracture fluids of the Fennoscandian Shield in Europe. Leveraging a dataset that combines metagenomes, single cell genomes, and metatranscriptomes, we show that groundwaters flowing in similar lithologies offer fixed niches that are occupied by a common core microbiome.

Cost Utility of cognition-enhancing interventions for individuals with first-episode psychosis: a naturalistic evaluation.

Background: Although effective treatments are available to address the cognitive deficits experienced by individuals with first-episode psychosis, provision of such treatments within Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) programs is rare. One factor that may contribute to this is uncertainty about the cost implications of providing cognitive-enhancing treatments within the American mental healthcare system. The aim of this study is to complete a naturalistic evaluation of the cost utility of incorporating two different cognitive-enhancing interventions within an American CSC program.

Patient education improves pain and function in people with knee osteoarthritis with better effects when combined with exercise therapy: a systematic review.

Question: Is patient education effective as a standalone intervention or combined with other interventions for people with knee osteoarthritis?

Design: Systematic review of randomised controlled trials. MEDLINE, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL and Web of Science were searched from inception to April 2020. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool was used for included studies, and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) was used to interpret certainty of results.

Growth Rates of Infants Randomized to Continuous Positive Airway Pressure or Intubation After Extremely Preterm Birth.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of early treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on nutritional intake and in-hospital growth rates of extremely preterm (EPT) infants.

Study Design: EPT infants (24-27 weeks of gestation) enrolled in the Surfactant Positive Airway Pressure and Pulse Oximetry Trial (SUPPORT) were included. EPT infants who died before 36 weeks of postmenstrual age (PMA) were excluded.

Results of the First GNAO1-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders Caregiver Survey.

Background: We sought to expand our knowledge of the clinical spectrum of GNAO1-related neurodevelopmental disorders through a caregiver survey reviewing medical and developmental history and development of epilepsy and movement disorders.

Methods: An online survey was administered to caregivers of individuals diagnosed with GNAO1 pathogenic variants.

Results: Eighty-two surveys were completed.

Questions in Psychiatry (QuiP): Is staging bipolar disorder possible? If so, where to begin?

The prospect of staging psychiatric disorders has been a source of ongoing controversy since the idea was first proposed in the early 1990s, based on the staging models used for cancer. More recently, several staging models have been proposed for bipolar disorder; however, as yet there is no consensus as to which model (or composite) is best, and there is no substantive evidence in support of any one of the models. The fundamental problem is that, unlike cancer, the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder is essentially unknown.