Hierarchically Promoted Light Harvesting and Management in Photothermal Solar Steam Generation.

Solar steam generation (SSG) presents a promising approach to addressing the global water crisis. Central to SSG is solar photothermal conversion that requires efficient light harvesting and management. Hierarchical structures with multi-scale light management are therefore crucial for SSG.

Perceptions of reproductive risk among women with epilepsy of childbearing age.

Background: Having children or planning to have children may raise many questions for women with epilepsy. Seizures and antiseizure medications (ASMs) impact contraception, fetal/early childhood development, and maternal health. Little is known regarding patients' perspectives about reproductive risk and how those perspectives influence reproductive decision-making.

Billed advance care planning visits may be occurring among older adults with high risk of mortality.

Context: Advance care planning (ACP) is a process that helps people prepare to make decisions about their future medical care.

Objectives: We sought to understand who was received billed ACP visits and measure the association with health care utilization, cost, and mortality.

Methods: We used a randomly sampled 20 % cohort of Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries' files to conduct a retrospective cohort study.

Engagement in mHealth-Prompted Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring Among Participants Recruited From a Safety-Net Emergency Department: Secondary Analysis of the Reach Out Trial.

Background: Hypertension, a key modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, is more prevalent among Black and low-income individuals. To address this health disparity, leveraging safety-net emergency departments for scalable mobile health (mHealth) interventions, specifically using text messaging for self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) monitoring, presents a promising strategy. This study investigates patterns of engagement, associated factors, and the impact of engagement on lowering blood pressure (BP) in an underserved population.

Highly Biocompatible Antibacterial Hydrogel for Wearable Sensing of Macro and Microscale Human Body Motions.

Flexible electronics, like electronic skin (e-skin), rely on stretchable conductive materials that integrate diverse components to enhance mechanical, electrical, and interfacial properties. However, poor biocompatibility, bacterial infections, and limited compatibility of functional additives within polymer matrices hinder healthcare sensors' performance. This study addresses these challenges by developing an antibacterial hydrogel using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), konjac glucomannan (KGM), borax (B), and flower-shaped silver nanoparticles (F-AgNPs), referred as PKB/F-AgNPs hydrogel.

Exploring the Acceptability and Feasibility of Remote Blood Pressure Measurements and Cognition Assessments Among Participants Recruited From a Safety-Net Emergency Department (Reach Out Cognition): Nonrandomized Mobile Health Trial.

Background: Hypertension is a prevalent cardiovascular risk factor disproportionately affecting Black Americans, who also experience a higher incidence of Alzheimer disease and Alzheimer disease-related dementias. Monitoring blood pressure (BP) and cognition may be important strategies in reducing these disparities.

Objective: The objective of the Reach Out Cognition study was to explore the feasibility and acceptability of remote cognitive and BP assessments in a predominantly Black, low-income population.

Defect Engineering Strategy for Superior Integration of Metal-Organic Framework and Halide Perovskite as a Fluorescence Sensing Material.

Combining halide perovskite quantum dots (QDs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) material is challenging when the QDs' size is larger than the MOFs' nanopores. Here, we adopted a simple defect engineering approach to increase the size of zeolitic imidazolate framework 90 (ZIF-90)'s pores size to better load CHNHPbBr perovskite QDs. This defect structure effect can be easily achieved by adjusting the metal-to-ligand ratio throughout the ZIF-90 synthesis process.

Hospital variation of outcomes in status epilepticus.

Objective: Understanding factors driving variation in status epilepticus outcomes would be critical to improve care. We evaluated the degree to which patient and hospital characteristics explained hospital-to-hospital variability in intubation and postacute outcomes.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries admitted with status epilepticus between 2009 and 2019.

Correction: Community-Led, Cross-Sector Partnership of Housing and Health Care to Promote Aging in Place (Unite Health Project): Protocol for a Prospective Observational Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/47855.].

Multiresponsive Self-Healing Lanthanide Fluorescent Hydrogel for Smart Textiles.

Lanthanide organometallic complexes exhibit strong luminescence characteristics, owing to their antenna effects. The f-d energy level transition causes this phenomenon, which occurs when ligands and the external electrons of lanthanide metals coordinate. Based on this phenomenon, we used two lanthanide metals, europium (Eu) and terbium (Tb), in the present study as the metal center for iminodiacetic acid ligands.

Patient Travel Distance to Neurologist Visits.

Background And Objectives: The density of neurologists within a given geographic region varies greatly across the United States. We aimed to measure patient travel distance and travel time to neurologist visits, across neurologic conditions and subspecialties. Our secondary goal was to identify factors associated with long-distance travel for neurologic care.

Prescription Opioid Initiation for Neuropathy, Headache, and Low Back Pain: A US Population-based Medicare Study.

Neuropathy, headache, and low back pain (LBP) are common conditions requiring pain management. Yet little is known regarding whether access to specialists impacts opioid prescribing. We aimed to identify factors associated with opioid initiation among opioid-naïve older adults and evaluate how access to particular specialists impacts prescribing.

Predictors of referral for long-term EEG monitoring for Medicare beneficiaries with drug-resistant epilepsy.

Objective: For people with drug-resistant epilepsy, the use of epilepsy surgery is low despite favorable odds of seizure freedom. To better understand surgery utilization, we explored factors associated with inpatient long-term EEG monitoring (LTM), the first step of the presurgical pathway.

Methods: Using 2001-2018 Medicare files, we identified patients with incident drug-resistant epilepsy using validated criteria of ≥2 distinct antiseizure medication (ASM) prescriptions and ≥1 drug-resistant epilepsy encounter among patients with ≥2 years pre- and ≥1 year post-diagnosis Medicare enrollment.

Association of the Stroke Ready Community-Based Participatory Research Intervention With Incidence of Acute Stroke Thrombolysis in Flint, Michigan.

Importance: Acute stroke treatment rates in the US lag behind those in other high-income nations.

Objective: To assess whether a hospital emergency department (ED) and community intervention was associated with an increased proportion of patients with stroke receiving thrombolysis.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This nonrandomized controlled trial of the Stroke Ready intervention took place in Flint, Michigan, from October 2017 to March 2020.

Community-Led, Cross-Sector Partnership of Housing and Health Care to Promote Aging in Place (Unite Health Project): Protocol for a Prospective Observational Study.

Background: For many older Americans, aging in place is their preferred living arrangement. Minoritized and socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults are up to 3 times more likely to experience disability than other groups, which increases their likelihood of being unable to age in place. Bold ideas to facilitate aging in place, particularly among vulnerable populations, are needed.

Reach Out Emergency Department: A Randomized Factorial Trial to Determine the Optimal Mobile Health Components to Reduce Blood Pressure.

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) strategies initiated in safety-net Emergency Departments may be one approach to address the US hypertension epidemic, but the optimal mHealth components or dose are unknown.

Methods: Reach Out is an mHealth, health theory-based, 2×2×2 factorial trial among hypertensive patients evaluated in a safety-net Emergency Department in Flint, Michigan. Reach Out consisted of 3 mHealth components, each with 2 doses: (1) healthy behavior text messaging (yes versus no), (2) prompted self-measured blood pressure (BP) monitoring and feedback (weekly versus daily), and (3) facilitated primary care provider appointment scheduling and transportation (yes versus no).

Sociodemographic and Geographic Variation in Access to Neuro-Ophthalmologists in the United States.

Background: Neuro-ophthalmologists have expertise in rare and complex disorders, but the ability of patients to access neuro-ophthalmic care has not been examined at a nationwide level.

Methods: Using the 2020 directory of all 502 members of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society as a reference, we found the practice locations of 461 confirmed practicing members and converted each street address to latitude and longitude coordinates. We calculated the travel distance and time from each census tract to the nearest practice location and calculated population-weighted averages by state, region, and other prespecified factors.

A Validated Method to Identify Neuro-Ophthalmologists in a Large Administrative Claims Database.

Background: Validated methods to identify neuro-ophthalmologists in administrative data do not exist. The development of such method will facilitate research on the quality of neuro-ophthalmic care and health care utilization for patients with neuro-ophthalmic conditions in the United States.

Methods: Using nationally representative, 20% sample from Medicare carrier files from 2018, we identified all neurologists and ophthalmologists billing at least 1 office-based evaluation and management (E/M) outpatient visit claim in 2018.

National End-of-Life-Treatment Preferences are Stable Over Time: National Health and Aging Trends Study.

Context: Advance Care Planning is a process of understanding and sharing preferences regarding future medical care.

Objective: To explore individual and national stability of end-of-life treatment preferences among a sample of older adults.

Methods: National Health and Aging Trends Study is a nationally representative sample of older adults.

Evaluation of Topical and Subconjunctival Injection of Hyaluronic Acid-Coated Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery to Posterior Eye.

Posterior eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, are difficult to treat due to ineffective drug delivery to affected areas. Intravitreal injection is the primary method for posterior eye drug delivery; however, it is usually accompanied by complications. Therefore, an effective and non-invasive method is required.

Changes in the Use of Brand Name and Generic Medications and Total Prescription Cost Among Medicare Beneficiaries With Epilepsy.

Background And Objective: To characterize trends in antiseizure medication (ASM) fills and total prescription costs in people with epilepsy.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of beneficiaries with epilepsy (ASM, plus codes) in a 20% random Medicare sample, with continuous Fee-For-Service coverage (Parts A, B, and D) in 2008-2018. We summed the number of pill days and costs (adjusted to 2018 dollars) per person-year for each ASM.