Effect of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) on hospitalization among adults with COVID-19: An electronic health record-based target trial emulation from N3C.

Background: Nirmatrelvir with ritonavir (Paxlovid) is indicated for patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) who are at risk for progression to severe disease due to the presence of one or more risk factors. Millions of treatment courses have been prescribed in the United States alone. Paxlovid was highly effective at preventing hospitalization and death in clinical trials.

Familial sex trafficking in the United States: A scoping review guided by the Three Ps Framework to end human trafficking.

Background: Familial sex trafficking is a form of sex trafficking that involves a family member exchanging sex with a child, to someone else, for something of value. Due to its covert nature, human trafficking is severely under-reported, however, in 2021 over 10,500 sex trafficking survivors were reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline and the majority had a familial recruiter (33 %) (Polaris, 2022). To our knowledge, this is the first scoping review on familial sex trafficking.

Application of the Social Cognitive Theory amid food parenting practices of Black immigrant mothers in the US: A qualitative study.

Background: Children of Black immigrant parents living in the US are at elevated risk of being overweight or obese, thus increasing their risks of morbidity and mortality as they age. Parents play a crucial role in shaping their children's nutrition through their food parenting practices. The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) can explain Black immigrant mother's FPP and their children's dietary behavior.

Insights from an N3C RECOVER EHR-based cohort study characterizing SARS-CoV-2 reinfections and Long COVID.

Background: Although the COVID-19 pandemic has persisted for over 3 years, reinfections with SARS-CoV-2 are not well understood. We aim to characterize reinfection, understand development of Long COVID after reinfection, and compare severity of reinfection with initial infection.

Methods: We use an electronic health record study cohort of over 3 million patients from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative as part of the NIH Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery Initiative.

Enhancing post-traumatic stress disorder patient assessment: leveraging natural language processing for research of domain criteria identification using electronic medical records.

Background: Extracting research of domain criteria (RDoC) from high-risk populations like those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is crucial for positive mental health improvements and policy enhancements. The intricacies of collecting, integrating, and effectively leveraging clinical notes for this purpose introduce complexities.

Methods: In our study, we created a natural language processing (NLP) workflow to analyze electronic medical record (EMR) data and identify and extract research of domain criteria using a pre-trained transformer-based natural language model, all-mpnet-base-v2.

Availability of Certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners in Appalachian States.

Introduction: Sexual assault nurse examiners are crucial care providers in cases of sexual assault. However, it is not clear whether sexual assault nurse examiner availability differs throughout the 13 states that comprise the Appalachian region of the United States. Therefore, this cross-sectional analysis identified sexual assault nurse examiner availability in 13 states and determined differences in availability by both county-level Appalachian status and county-level rurality status.

Enhancing post-traumatic stress disorder patient assessment: Leveraging Natural Language Processing for Research of Domain Criteria Identification using electronic medical records.

Background: Extracting research of domain criteria (RDoC) from high-risk populations like those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is crucial for positive mental health improvements and policy enhancements. The intricacies of collecting, integrating, and effectively leveraging clinical notes for this purpose introduce complexities.

Methods: In our study, we created an NLP workflow to analyze electronic medical record (EMR) data, and identify and extract research of domain criteria using a pre-trained transformer-based natural language model, allmpnet-base-v2.

Effect of Paxlovid Treatment During Acute COVID-19 on Long COVID Onset: An EHR-Based Target Trial Emulation from the N3C and RECOVER Consortia.

Preventing and treating post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), commonly known as Long COVID, has become a public health priority. In this study, we examined whether treatment with Paxlovid in the acute phase of COVID-19 helps prevent the onset of PASC. We used electronic health records from the National Covid Cohort Collaborative (N3C) to define a cohort of 426,352 patients who had COVID-19 since April 1, 2022, and were eligible for Paxlovid treatment due to risk for progression to severe COVID-19.

DeepBiomarker2: Prediction of Alcohol and Substance Use Disorder Risk in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Patients Using Electronic Medical Records and Multiple Social Determinants of Health.

Prediction of high-risk events amongst patients with mental disorders is critical for personalized interventions. We developed DeepBiomarker2 by leveraging deep learning and natural language processing to analyze lab tests, medication use, diagnosis, social determinants of health (SDoH) parameters, and psychotherapy for outcome prediction. To increase the model's interpretability, we further refined our contribution analysis to identify key features by scaling with a factor from a reference feature.

Long COVID risk and pre-COVID vaccination in an EHR-based cohort study from the RECOVER program.

Long COVID, or complications arising from COVID-19 weeks after infection, has become a central concern for public health experts. The United States National Institutes of Health founded the RECOVER initiative to better understand long COVID. We used electronic health records available through the National COVID Cohort Collaborative to characterize the association between SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and long COVID diagnosis.

Effect of Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir (Paxlovid) on Hospitalization among Adults with COVID-19: an EHR-based Target Trial Emulation from N3C.

This study leverages electronic health record data in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative's (N3C) repository to investigate disparities in Paxlovid treatment and to emulate a target trial assessing its effectiveness in reducing COVID-19 hospitalization rates. From an eligible population of 632,822 COVID-19 patients seen at 33 clinical sites across the United States between December 23, 2021 and December 31, 2022, patients were matched across observed treatment groups, yielding an analytical sample of 410,642 patients. We estimate a 65% reduced odds of hospitalization among Paxlovid-treated patients within a 28-day follow-up period, and this effect did not vary by patient vaccination status.

Long COVID Risk and Pre-COVID Vaccination: An EHR-Based Cohort Study from the RECOVER Program.

Importance: Characterizing the effect of vaccination on long COVID allows for better healthcare recommendations.

Objective: To determine if, and to what degree, vaccination prior to COVID-19 is associated with eventual long COVID onset, among those a documented COVID-19 infection.

Design Settings And Participants: Retrospective cohort study of adults with evidence of COVID-19 between August 1, 2021 and January 31, 2022 based on electronic health records from eleven healthcare institutions taking part in the NIH Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative, a project of the National Covid Cohort Collaborative (N3C).

Recovery of respiratory function in mdx mice co-treated with neutralizing interleukin-6 receptor antibodies and urocortin-2.

Key Points: Impaired ventilatory capacity and diaphragm muscle weakness are prominent features of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, with strong evidence of attendant systemic and muscle inflammation. We performed a 2-week intervention in young wild-type and mdx mice, consisting of either injection of saline or co-administration of a neutralizing interleukin-6 receptor antibody (xIL-6R) and urocortin-2 (Ucn2), a corticotrophin releasing factor receptor 2 agonist. We examined breathing and diaphragm muscle form and function.

Restoration of pharyngeal dilator muscle force in dystrophin-deficient (mdx) mice following co-treatment with neutralizing interleukin-6 receptor antibodies and urocortin 2.

What is the central question of this study? We previously reported impaired upper airway dilator muscle function in the mdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Our aim was to assess the effect of blocking interleukin-6 receptor signalling and stimulating corticotrophin-releasing factor receptor 2 signalling on mdx sternohyoid muscle structure and function. What is the main finding and its importance? The interventional treatment had a positive inotropic effect on sternohyoid muscle force, restoring mechanical work and power to wild-type values, reduced myofibre central nucleation and preserved the myosin heavy chain type IIb fibre complement of mdx sternohyoid muscle.

Overcoming challenges in the palladium-catalyzed synthesis of electron deficient ortho-substituted aryl acetonitriles.

Highly electron deficient monoaryl, di-aryl and bis-diaryl acetonitriles were effectively synthesized using either a nucleophilic aromatic substitution (NAS) or a palladium-mediated coupling pathway. Synthesis of di-aryl acetonitriles most conveniently proceeded via NAS--palladium-mediated coupling was not required. This reaction, however, results in a product that is more acidic than the reactants.

Mixing characterisation of full-scale membrane bioreactors: CFD modelling with experimental validation.

Membrane Bioreactors (MBRs) have been successfully used in aerobic biological wastewater treatment to solve the perennial problem of effective solids-liquid separation. The optimisation of MBRs requires knowledge of the membrane fouling, biokinetics and mixing. However, research has mainly concentrated on the fouling and biokinetics (Ng and Kim, 2007).

Evaluation of membrane bioreactor performance via residence time distribution: effects of membrane configuration and mixing.

Unlike conventional wastewater treatment systems that have a single effluent discharge point, membrane bioreactors (MBR) may have multiple extraction points resulting from the location of the membrane element in the reactor. This leads to multiple residence time distributions for an MBR system. One method to characterise the mixing is based on the concept of residence time distribution (RTD).

Activation of arrestin: requirement of phosphorylation as the negative charge on residues in synthetic peptides from the carboxyl-terminal region of rhodopsin.

Purpose: To determine whether substitution of the potential phosphorylation sites of bovine rhodopsin's carboxyl-terminal region with the acidic residues aspartic acid, glutamic acid, or cysteic acid promotes the activation of arrestin.

Methods: Three peptide analogues of the 19-residue carboxyl-terminal region of rhodopsin (330-348) were synthesized: the fully phosphorylated peptide (7P-peptide), the peptide with all potential phosphorylation sites substituted with glutamic acid (7E-peptide), and the peptide with the phosphorylation sites substituted with cysteic acid (7Cya-peptide). The peptides were tested in assays in which the 7P-peptide had previously been shown to have an effect.

Rhodopsin's carboxyl-terminal threonines are required for wild-type arrestin-mediated quench of transducin activation in vitro.

Many recent reports have demonstrated that rhodopsin's carboxyl-terminal serine residues are the main targets for phosphorylation by rhodopsin kinase. Phosphorylation at the serines would therefore be expected to promote high-affinity arrestin binding. We have examined the roles of the carboxyl serine and threonine residues during arrestin-mediated deactivation of rhodopsin using an in vitro transducin activation assay.

Brain transcription factor gene expression, neurotransmitter levels, and novelty response behaviors: alterations during rat amphetamine withdrawal and following chronic injection stress.

Transcription factors are known to act as gene expression regulators, possibly linking extracellular stimuli to long-term modifications at the neuronal level. Such modifications may potentially underlie chronic psychostimulant- and stress-induced behavioral alterations. This study illustrates how a 2 week, twice daily 7.