Early-life menstrual characteristics and gestational diabetes in a large US cohort.

Background: Associations between early-life menstrual cycle characteristics (MCC) and gestational diabetes (GDM) remain unclear.

Objectives: To evaluate associations between early-life MCCs and GDM in first pregnancy, across pregnancies and its recurrence.

Methods: This analysis included participants from a US-based digital cohort enrolled between 11/2019 and 9/2023 who provided consent, completed relevant surveys, were without diabetes and aged ≥18 at first pregnancy (n = 30,473).

Accuracy of Screening Tests for the Diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infections in Young Children.

Background: The objective of this study was to compare the accuracy of available tests for pyuria, including newer automated tests, and to examine the implications of requiring them for the diagnosis of urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Methods: We included children between 1 and 36 months of age undergoing bladder catheterization for suspected UTIs who presented to 1 of 3 pediatric centers. Using a positive urine culture result as the reference standard, we compared the sensitivity of 5 modalities for assessing pyuria at the cutoffs most often used clinically for detecting children with a positive culture result: leukocyte esterase on a dipstick, white blood cell (WBC) count on manual microscopy with and without using a hemocytometer, automated WBC enumeration using flow cytometry, and automated WBC enumeration using digital imaging with particle recognition.

Experiences and impact of moral injury in human trafficking survivors: a qualitative study.

Background: Research in recent years has increasingly highlighted the relationship between exposure to potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) and poor mental health outcomes. Human trafficking survivors often report exposure to many traumatic and PMIEs and given the complexities of trafficking exploitation, survivors may be especially vulnerable to moral injury. Despite this, no research has investigated experiences of PMIEs and moral injury in human trafficking survivors.

Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome in Patients Affected by Jansen-de Vries Syndrome: Results From an International Survey.

Jansen-de Vries syndrome (JdVS) is an autosomal dominant neurodevelopmental disorder with intellectual disability and gastrointestinal (GI) abnormalities, including recurrent vomiting. This study aimed to understand the frequency and severity of GI symptoms in JdVS patients and to investigate the potential association with cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS), which has not been previously reported. An international online survey assessed the prevalence and features of CVS and GI disorders in JdVS patients using Rome IV Criteria.

Biofunctionalized gelatin hydrogels support development and maturation of iPSC-derived cortical organoids.

Human neural organoid models have become an important tool for studying neurobiology. However, improving the representativeness of neural cell populations in such organoids remains a major effort. In this work, we compared Matrigel, a commercially available matrix, to a neural cadherin (N-cadherin) peptide-functionalized gelatin methacryloyl hydrogel (termed GelMA-Cad) for culturing cortical neural organoids.

Trends in sensor-based health metrics during and after pregnancy: descriptive data from the apple women's health study.

Background: While it is known that vital signs and behaviors change during pregnancy, there is limited data on timing and scale of changes for sensor-derived health metrics across pregnancy and postpartum. Wearable technology provides an opportunity to understand physiologic and behavioral changes across pregnancy with greater detail, more frequent measurements, and improved accuracy. The aim of this study is to describe changes in physiologic and behavioral sensor-based health metrics during pregnancy and postpartum in the Apple Women's Health Study (AWHS) and their relationship to demographic factors.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of fast electron heating in solid-density matter via XFEL.

High-intensity, short-pulse lasers are crucial for generating energetic electrons that produce high-energy-density (HED) states in matter, offering potential applications in igniting dense fusion fuels for fast ignition laser fusion. High-density targets heated by these electrons exhibit spatially non-uniform and highly transient conditions, which have been challenging to characterize due to limitations in diagnostics that provide simultaneous high spatial and temporal resolution. Here, we employ an X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) to achieve spatiotemporally resolved measurements at sub-micron and femtosecond scales on a solid-density copper foil heated by laser-driven fast electrons.

Pharmacokinetic Factors Associated With Early Meropenem Target Attainment in Pediatric Severe Sepsis.

Objectives: To determine the frequency of early meropenem concentration target attainment (TA) in critically ill children with severe sepsis; to explore clinical, therapeutic, and pharmacokinetic factors associated with TA; and to assess how fluid resuscitation and volume status relate to early TA.

Design: Retrospective analysis of prospective observational cohort study.

Setting: PICU in a single academic quaternary care children's hospital.

Targeting Rural Adolescent Pregnancy: Modifiable Protective Factors and Contraceptive Use.

Purpose: Rural adolescent pregnancy is a serious public health issue, largely due to low contraceptive use. Existing data focuses on urban populations. Using a positive youth development framework, we examine associations between modifiable protective factors and birth control use in a rural population.

Influence of Medical Mistrust on Prevention Behavior and Decision-Making Among Minoritized Youth and Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Medical mistrust (MM) is seen as a barrier to assessing healthcare needs and addressing health disparities; however, limited literature has focused on assessing MM for vulnerable populations, especially racial/ethnic minority and sexual/gender minority youth and young adults (YYA).

Methods: Between February 2021 and March 2022, we conducted the Youth and Young Adults COVID-19 Study, a prospective cohort of minoritized YYA aged 14 to 24 years (n = 1027), within the United States and its territories. Participants were recruited through a combination of paid social media ads, outreach with organizations serving marginalized youth, and an existing registry, targeting racial and ethnic minority and LGBTQ + youth for a study on COVID-19 health behaviors.

Identifying optimal dosing strategies for meropenem in the paediatric intensive care unit through modelling and simulation.

Background: Meropenem, a β-lactam antibiotic commonly prescribed for severe infections, poses dosing challenges in critically ill patients due to highly variable pharmacokinetics.

Objectives: We sought to develop a population pharmacokinetic model of meropenem for critically ill paediatric and young adult patients.

Patients And Methods: Paediatric intensive care unit patients receiving meropenem 20-40 mg/kg every 8 h as a 30 min infusion were prospectively followed for clinical data collection and scavenged opportunistic plasma sampling.

The phenotype of MEGF8-related Carpenter syndrome (CRPT2) is refined through the identification of eight new patients.

Carpenter syndrome (CRPTS) is a rare autosomal recessive condition caused by biallelic variants in genes that encode negative regulators of hedgehog signalling (RAB23 [CRPT1] or, more rarely, MEGF8 [CRPT2]), and is characterised by craniosynostosis, polysyndactyly, and other congenital abnormalities. We describe a further six families comprising eight individuals with MEGF8-associated CRPT2, increasing the total number of reported cases to fifteen, and refine the phenotype of CRPT2 compared to CRPT1. The core features of craniosynostosis, polysyndactyly and (in males) cryptorchidism are almost universal in both CRPT1 and CRPT2.

PARP2 promotes Break Induced Replication-mediated telomere fragility in response to replication stress.

PARP2 is a DNA-dependent ADP-ribosyl transferase (ARTs) enzyme with Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation activity that is triggered by DNA breaks. It plays a role in the Base Excision Repair pathway, where it has overlapping functions with PARP1. However, additional roles for PARP2 have emerged in the response of cells to replication stress.

Pediatric Trauma Care Disparities: Association of Race and Sex With High Acuity Trauma Hospital Admissions.

Introduction: For adult trauma patients, the likelihood of receiving treatment at a hospital properly equipped for trauma care can vary by race and sex. This study examines whether a pediatric patient's race/ethnicity and sex are associated with treatment at a high acuity trauma hospital (HATH).

Materials And Methods: Using the 2017 National Inpatient Sample, we identified pediatric trauma patients ( ≤16 y) using International Classification of Diseases-10 codes.

Fully Automated Versions of Clinically Validated Nephrometry Scores Demonstrate Superior Predictive Utility versus Human Scores.

Objective: To automate the generation of three validated nephrometry scoring systems on preoperative computerised tomography (CT) scans by developing artificial intelligence (AI)-based image processing methods. Subsequently, we aimed to evaluate the ability of these scores to predict meaningful pathological and perioperative outcomes.

Patients And Methods: A total of 300 patients with preoperative CT with early arterial contrast phase were identified from a cohort of 544 consecutive patients undergoing surgical extirpation for suspected renal cancer.

The acceptability of Songs of Love for youth living with chronic pain.

Objectives: Music is helpful to young people in healthcare contexts, but less is known about the acceptability of music-based interventions for youth living at home with chronic pain who may be struggling to attend school and participate in social activities. The Songs of Love (SOL) foundation is a national nonprofit organization that creates free, personalized, original songs for youth facing health challenges. The aims of this study were (1) to assess acceptability of SOL from the perspective of youth with chronic pain receiving a song and singer-songwriters who created the songs, and (2) to explore the role of music more generally in the lives of young people living with pain.