The Risk Information and Skin-cancer Education for Undergraduate Prevention (RISE-UP) Study: Protocol for a Trial of Personalized Sun Protection Interventions for Skin Cancer Prevention among Undergraduate Students.

Background: Addressing the increasing incidence of skin cancer among young adults is a priority. The objective of the Risk Information and Skin-cancer Education for Undergraduate Prevention (RISE-UP) study is to identify personalized intervention components to prevent sunburn, a clinically significant outcome highly associated with skin cancer, in college students.

Methods: Guided by the Elaboration Likelihood Model, the study will use Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) methodology to test three intervention components (ultraviolet photography, MC1R genetic testing, and action planning) each with two levels (yes v.

Health Insurance Literacy Improvements Among Recently Diagnosed Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer: Results From a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: Adolescents and young adults (AYAs; age 18-39 years) with cancer report needing support with health insurance. We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a virtual health insurance navigation intervention (HIAYA CHAT) to improve health insurance literacy (HIL), awareness of Affordable Care Act (ACA) protections, financial toxicity, and stress.

Materials And Methods: HIAYA CHAT is a four-session navigator delivered program; it includes psychoeducation on insurance, navigating one's plan, insurance-related laws, and managing costs.

Evaluation of novel candidate filtration markers from a global metabolomic discovery for glomerular filtration rate estimation.

Creatinine and cystatin-C are recommended for estimating glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) but accuracy is suboptimal. Here, using untargeted metabolomics data, we sought to identify candidate filtration markers for a new targeted assay using a novel approach based on their maximal joint association with measured GFR (mGFR) and with flexibility to consider their biological properties. We analyzed metabolites measured in seven diverse studies encompasing 2,851 participants on the Metabolon H4 platform that had Pearson correlations with log mGFR and used a stepwise approach to develop models to < -0.

Adipose Tissue Distribution and Body Mass Index (BMI) Correlation With Daily Image-Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) Shifts of Abdominal Radiation Therapy Patients.

Purpose There are several studies suggesting a correlation between image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) setup errors and body mass index (BMI). However, abdominal fat content has visceral and subcutaneous components, which may affect setup errors differently. This study aims to analyze a potential workflow for characterizing adipose content and distribution in the region of the target that would allow a quickly calculated metric of abdominal fat content to stratify these patients.

Variability in Excess Lobectomy Billing Among US Thoracic Surgeons.

Background: Transparency in physician billing practices in the United States is lacking. Often, charges may vary substantially between providers and excess charges may be passed on to the patient. In this study, we evaluate Medicare charges and payments for minimally invasive lobectomy to obtain a sense of national billing practices and evaluate for predictors of higher charges.

Variation in Treatment Charges and Reimbursement Among Individual Thoracic Surgeons.

Background: Health care use and costs have undergone an increase in public scrutiny. Other specialties have evaluated practice patterns of their most highly reimbursed surgeons and found unique billing and procedure overuse. In this study, we evaluate Medicare payments to general thoracic surgeons and evaluate those with the highest reimbursements.

Response to high dose ipilimumab plus temozolomide after progression on standard or low dose ipilimumab in advanced melanoma: a retrospective analysis.

Background: Despite advancements in checkpoint inhibitor-based immunotherapy, patients with advanced melanoma who have progressed on standard dose ipilimumab (Ipi) + nivolumab continue to have poor prognosis. Several studies support a dose-response activity of Ipi, and one promising combination is Ipi 10mg/kg (Ipi10) + temozolomide (TMZ).

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of patients with advanced melanoma treated with Ipi10+TMZ in the immunotherapy refractory/resistant setting (n = 6), using similar patients treated with Ipi3+TMZ (n = 6) as comparison.

Tailored visuals, implementation interventions, and sun safe behavior: A longitudinal message experiment.

Objective: One way to communicate skin cancer risk is through ultraviolet (UV) photographs, which can depict the target person (tailored visual) or someone else (stock visual). There is a need for more longitudinal research examining the relative impact of tailored UV photographs compared with other message interventions that could increase sun safe behaviors.

Method: Students 14-18 years of age ( = 654) at eleven high schools in Utah were recruited to participate in a longitudinal experiment (assessments: pretest, posttest, 1 month follow-up) comparing the relative persuasive impact of receiving either (a) stock and tailored UV photographs or (b) stock UV photographs and an implementation intervention on outdoor tanning behavior.

Improving Antibiotic Stewardship for Diarrheal Disease With Probability-Based Electronic Clinical Decision Support: A Randomized Crossover Trial.

Importance: Inappropriate use of antibiotics for diarrheal illness can result in adverse effects and increase in antimicrobial resistance.

Objective: To determine whether the diarrheal etiology prediction (DEP) algorithm, which uses patient-specific and location-specific features to estimate the probability that diarrhea etiology is exclusively viral, impacts antibiotic prescriptions in patients with acute diarrhea.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A randomized crossover study was conducted to evaluate the DEP incorporated into a smartphone-based electronic clinical decision-support (eCDS) tool.

HIAYA CHAT study protocol: a randomized controlled trial of a health insurance education intervention for newly diagnosed adolescent and young adult cancer patients.

Background: For adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients aged 18 to 39 years, health insurance literacy is crucial for an effective use of the health care system. AYAs often face high out-of-pocket costs or have unmet health care needs due to costs. Improving health insurance literacy could help AYAs obtain appropriate and affordable health care.

Mental health disorders are more common in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma and may negatively impact overall survival.

Background: Long-term mental health outcomes were characterized in patients who were diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and risk factors for the development of mental health disorders were identified.

Methods: Patients who were diagnosed with HL between 1997 and 2014 were identified in the Utah Cancer Registry. Each patient was matched with up to five individuals from a general population cohort identified within the Utah Population Database, a unique source of linked records that includes patient and demographic data.

Trends and factors affecting approach choice to pulmonary resection.

Background: The development of an advanced robotic platform in 2014 led to increased adoption of minimally invasive (MI) approaches in thoracic surgery. Due to dataset reporting lag, a comprehensive assessment of trends in thoracic approaches has not been analyzed to date.

Methods: We queried the National Cancer Database (NCDB) for patients with Stage I-III who underwent lung resection from 2010 to 2018.

A Veterans' Healthcare Administration (VHA) antibiotic stewardship intervention to improve outpatient antibiotic use for acute respiratory infections: A cost-effectiveness analysis.

Objectives: The provides a framework to improve antibiotic use, but cost-effectiveness data on implementation of outpatient antibiotic stewardship interventions are limited. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of Core Element implementation in the outpatient setting.

Methods: An economic simulation model from the health-system perspective was developed for patients presenting to outpatient settings with uncomplicated acute respiratory tract infections (ARI).

Colchicine effectiveness in symptom and inflammation modification in knee osteoarthritis (COLKOA): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Despite the high prevalence and global impact of knee osteoarthritis (KOA), current treatments are palliative. No disease modifying anti-osteoarthritic drug (DMOAD) has been approved. We recently demonstrated significant involvement of uric acid and activation of the innate immune response in osteoarthritis (OA) pathology and progression, suggesting that traditional gout therapy may be beneficial for OA.

Bayesian semiparametric predictive modeling with applications in dose-response prediction.

A framework is proposed for making quality predictions in situations for which only systematically inaccurate data are available. The predictions are based on the systematically inaccurate data, complete data from similar situations, and expert knowledge. The proposed predictive model is well suited to functional data and is computationally simple, fast, and stable.

An Approach to Constructing Nested Space-Filling Designs for Multi-Fidelity Computer Experiments.

Multi-fidelity computer experiments are widely used in many engineering and scientific fields. Nested space-filling designs (NSFDs) are suitable for conducting such experiments. Two classes of NSFDs are currently available.

A Statistical Approach to Thermal Management of Data Centers Under Steady State and System Perturbations.

Temperature control for a large data center is both important and expensive. On the one hand, many of the components produce a great deal of heat, and on the other hand, many of the components require temperatures below a fairly low threshold for reliable operation. A statistical framework is proposed within which the behavior of a large cooling system can be modeled and forecast under both steady state and perturbations.

Correlation of MRI findings with clinical findings of trochanteric pain syndrome.

Objective: Greater trochanter pain syndrome due to tendinopathy or bursitis is a common cause of hip pain. The previously reported magnetic resonance (MR) findings of trochanteric tendinopathy and bursitis are peritrochanteric fluid and abductor tendon abnormality. We have often noted peritrochanteric high T2 signal in patients without trochanteric symptoms.