Deep learning estimation of proton stopping power with photon-counting computed tomography: a virtual study.

Purpose: Proton radiation therapy may achieve precise dose delivery to the tumor while sparing non-cancerous surrounding tissue, owing to the distinct Bragg peaks of protons. Aligning the high-dose region with the tumor requires accurate estimates of the proton stopping power ratio (SPR) of patient tissues, commonly derived from computed tomography (CT) image data. Photon-counting detectors for CT have demonstrated advantages over their energy-integrating counterparts, such as improved quantitative imaging, higher spatial resolution, and filtering of electronic noise.

Maternal Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: An Interrupted Time-series Analysis.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent policy responses aimed at curbing disease spread and reducing economic fallout, had far-reaching consequences for maternal health. There has been little research to our knowledge on enduring disruptions to maternal health trends beyond the early pandemic and limited understanding of how these impacted pre-existing disparities in maternal health.

Methods: We leveraged rigorous interrupted time-series methods and US National Center for Health Statistics Vital Statistics Birth Data Files of all live births for 2015-2021 (N = 24,653,848).

Individual and regional differences in the effects of school racial segregation on Black students' health.

Background: School racial segregation in the US has risen steadily since the 1990s, propelled by Supreme Court decisions rolling back the legacy of . Quasi-experimental research has shown this resegregation harms Black students' health. However, whether individual or family characteristics (e.

Medicaid Expansion and Perinatal Health Outcomes: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Objective: There has been little evidence of the impact of preventive services during pregnancy covered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on birthing parent and infant outcomes. To address this gap, this study examines the association between Medicaid expansion under the ACA and birthing parent and infant outcomes of low-income pregnant people.

Methods: This study used individual-level data from the 2004-2017 annual waves of the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS).

Out-of-Equilibrium Mechanical Disruption of β-Amyloid-Like Fibers using Light-Driven Molecular Motors.

Artificial molecular motors have the potential to generate mechanical work on their environment by producing autonomous unidirectional motions when supplied with a source of energy. However, the harnessing of this mechanical work to subsequently activate various endoenergetic processes that can be useful in materials science remains elusive. Here, it is shown that by integrating a light-driven rotary motor through hydrogen bonds in a β-amyloid-like structure forming supramolecular hydrogels, the mechanical work generated during the constant rotation of the molecular machine under UV irradiation is sufficient to disrupt the β-amyloid fibers and to trigger a gel-to-sol transition at macroscopic scale.

Investigation of the Impact of Defective Ultrasound Transducers on Clinical Image Quality in Grayscale 2-D Still Images.

Objective: There are several studies that show high defect rates of transducers in clinical use. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether image quality and the risk for misdiagnosis is affected by using defective transducers.

Methods: Four defective transducers with varying degrees of defect severity, still in clinical use, were selected.

Impact of polymorphism in oleogels of -palmitoyl-L-phenylalanine.

Gels of edible oils, also called oleogels, are developed as alternative products of solid fats to limit the uptake of saturated and -unsaturated fats and lower the associated risk of coronary disease. The gelation of oils can be achieved with a low molecular weight organogelator (LMWO), a compound that self-assembles at low concentrations in a solid 3D network and provides the mixture its solid-like behavior. We have studied -palmitoyl-L-phenylalanine (Palm-Phe), an endogenous compound ( naturally present in the human body) as a model LMWO of rapeseed oil.

The Pent-Up Demand for Breastfeeding Among US Women: Trends After COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place.

To estimate changes in national breastfeeding trends immediately before and after COVID-19‒related workplace closures in early 2020. The implementation of shelter-in-place policies in early 2020, when 90% of people in the United States were urged to remain at home, represents a unique natural experiment to assess the pent-up demand for breastfeeding among US women that may be stymied by the lack of a national paid leave policy. We used the 2017-2020 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (n = 118 139) to estimate changes in breastfeeding practices for births occurring before and after shelter-in-place policies were implemented in the United States.

Matrix stiffness controls megakaryocyte adhesion, fibronectin fibrillogenesis, and proplatelet formation through Itgβ3.

Megakaryocytes (MKs) are the precursor cells of platelets, located in the bone marrow (BM). Once mature, they extend elongated projections named proplatelets through sinusoid vessels, emerging from the marrow stroma into the circulating blood. Not all signals from the microenvironment that regulate proplatelet formation are understood, particularly those from the BM biomechanics.

Predictors of WIC uptake among low-income pregnant individuals: a longitudinal nationwide analysis.

Background: Nutrition during pregnancy is important for maternal and infant health. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides nutritional support for low-income pregnant and postpartum individuals and children under the age of 5 y. However, WIC participation was in decline in the decade leading up to 2019.

The effect of the 2009 revised U.S. guidelines for gestational weight gain on maternal and infant health: a quasi-experimental study.

Background: Excess gestational weight gain (GWG) has adverse short- and long-term effects on the health of mothers and infants. In 2009, the US Institute of Medicine revised its guidelines for GWG and reduced the recommended GWG for women who are obese. There is limited evidence on whether these revised guidelines affected GWG and downstream maternal and infant outcomes.

Some Remarkable Rheological and Conducting Properties of Hybrid PVC Thermoreversible Gels/Organogels.

We report on investigations into the rheological properties of organogels prepared from triarylamine trisamide (TATA) and oligo phenylene vinylene (OPVOH) molecules in binary organogel gels and in ternary thermoreversible networks with poly vinyl chloride (PVC). In the case of OPVOH, we show that the modulus of the ternary gel is simply the sum of the modulus of each binary gel, corresponding to the so-called Voigt upper limit. In contrast, TATA/PVC ternary gels generally exceed the Voigt upper limit.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and birth outcomes in California: a quasi-experimental study.

Background: The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program provides temporary relief from deportation and work permits for previously undocumented immigrants who arrived as children. DACA faced direct threats under the Trump administration. There is select evidence of the short-term impacts of DACA on population health, including on birth outcomes, but limited understanding of the long-term impacts.

The effect of the 2009 WIC revision on maternal and child health: A quasi-experimental study.

Background: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is the largest U.S. nutrition program for low-income pregnant women.

School racial segregation and long-term cardiovascular health among Black adults in the US: A quasi-experimental study.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) disproportionately affects Black adults in the United States. This is increasingly acknowledged to be due to inequitable distribution of health-promoting resources. One potential contributor is inequities in educational opportunities, although it is unclear what aspects of education are most salient.

Palmitoylethanolamide gels edible oils.

Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is an endogenous compound with no adverse effect for oral intakes of a gram per day. We show that PEA gels edible oils at concentrations as low as 0.5 wt%.

Investigation of an Organogel by Micro-Differential Scanning Calorimetry: Quantitative Relationship between the Shapes of the Thermograms and the Phase Diagram.

The phase diagrams of organogels are necessary for applications and fundamental aspects, for instance to understand their thermodynamics. Differential scanning calorimetry is one of the techniques implemented to map these diagrams. The thermograms of organogels upon heating show broad endotherms, increasing gradually to a maximum, at a temperature Tmax, and decreasing back to the baseline, sometimes 10 °C above.

Synthesis of -Functionalized 1,4-Cubanedicarboxylate Derivatives through Photochemical Chlorocarbonylation.

The cubane ring has received intense attention as a 3D benzene isostere and scaffold. Mono- and 1,4-disubstituted cubanes are well-described. Here we report a practical procedure for a direct radical-mediated chlorocarbonylation process initially reported by Bashir-Hashemi, to access a range of 2-substituted 1,4-cubanedicarboxylic ester derivatives.

How does income affect mental health and health behaviours? A quasi-experimental study of the earned income tax credit.

Background: Although research has repeatedly demonstrated the association between poverty, mental health, and health behaviours, there is limited evidence on the effects of interventions to improve these outcomes by addressing poverty directly. Moreover, most prior studies are often confounded by unobserved characteristics of individuals, making it difficult to inform possible interventions. We addressed this gap in the literature by leveraging quasi-random variation in the earned income tax credit (EITC)-the largest US poverty alleviation programme for families with children-to examine the effects on overall health, psychological distress, smoking, and alcohol consumption.

Gel-to-gel non-variant transition of an organogel caused by polymorphism from nanotubes to crystallites.

An amide based gelator forms gels in trans-decalin. Below concentrations of 1 wt% the gels melt at temperatures varying with concentration. Above a concentration of 1 wt%, upon heating, the gel transforms into an opaque gel at an invariant temperature, and melts at higher temperature.

The effects of state earned income tax credits on mental health and health behaviors: A quasi-experimental study.

The earned income tax credit (EITC) is the largest U.S. poverty alleviation program for families with children, and state EITC policies provide a modest supplement to the federal program.

Discovery of a Series of Pyrazinone RORγ Antagonists and Identification of the Clinical Candidate BI 730357.

The interleukin (IL)-23/T helper (Th)17 axis plays a critical role in autoimmune diseases, and there is an increasing number of biologic therapies that target IL-23 and IL-17. The transcription factor retinoic acid receptor-related orphan nuclear receptor γt (RORγt) is important for the activation and differentiation of Th17 cells and thus is an attractive pharmacologic target for the treatment of Th17-mediated diseases. A novel series of pyrazinone RORγ antagonists was discovered through hybridization of two distinct screening hits and scaffold hopping.

Association of US state policy orientation with adverse birth outcomes: a longitudinal analysis.

Background: The current US context is marked by extreme right-left partisanship, which means that state policies tend to bundle together and are not experienced in isolation. While prior work has leveraged abrupt shifts in single policies to examine the effects of state policy on birth outcomes, we examined a holistic measure that captures political polarisation.

Methods: Data were drawn from national birth certificates for 2003-2017 (N=56 770 470).

Screen-Printed Ferroelectric P(VDF-TrFE)--PbTiO and P(VDF-TrFE)--NaBiTiO Nanocomposites for Selective Temperature and Pressure Sensing.

Piezo- and pyroelectricity is an intrinsically combined material property for all ferroelectric materials. While the pyroelectric coefficients of most ferroelectric ceramics and polymers have the same sign, their piezoelectric coefficients have opposite ones. On this basis, we can create a polymer-ceramic nanocomposite material where either the piezo- or the pyroelectric effect is suppressed by a selective poling of the single constituents, a concept that was shown for composite pellets in the late 1990s.

Short-term effects of the earned income tax credit on mental health and health behaviors.

Poverty has consistently been linked to poor mental health and risky health behaviors, yet few studies evaluate the effectiveness of programs and policies to address these outcomes by targeting poverty itself. We test the hypothesis that the earned income tax credit (EITC)-the largest U.S.