Breastfeeding Disparities During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Race/Ethnicity, Age, Education, and Insurance Payor.

Background: There are well-documented disparities in rates of continued breastfeeding. Existing research regarding breastfeeding during COVID-19 has raised concerns that the pandemic may have exacerbated these disparities.

Research Aims: The aim of this research was first to quantify disparities in any breastfeeding associated with the maternal factors of race/ethnicity, age, insurance payor, and zip code rates of education in North Carolina.

Response of sleep slow oscillations to acoustic stimulation is evidenced by distinctive synchronization processes.

Closed-loop acoustic stimulation (CLAS) during sleep has shown to boost slow wave (SW) amplitude and spindle power. Moreover, sleep SW have been classified based on different processes of neuronal synchronization. Thus, different types of SW events may have distinct functional roles and be differentially affected by external stimuli.

Auditory closed-loop stimulation on sleep slow oscillations using in-ear EEG sensors.

Acoustic stimulation synchronized to slow oscillations in scalp electroencephalograms has been shown to enhance sleep features, which makes it promising in boosting cognitive functions as well as in the treatment of some sleep disturbances. Nevertheless, scalp electrode sensors are resource intensive and poorly tolerated by sleeping patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential usability of in-the-ear electroencephalography to implement auditory closed-loop stimulation during sleep.

Race and prevalence of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tubes in patients with advanced dementia.

Objective: Millions of Americans may face hard decisions when it comes to providing nutrition for their loved ones with advanced dementia. This study aimed to ascertain whether there is a difference in feeding tube placement between White and Black patients with advanced dementia and whether this potential difference varied by patient's other demographic and clinical characteristics.

Method: This is a retrospective, observational study conducted at Novant Health, a 15-hospital system in the southeastern United States.

Entrainment and synchronization of brain oscillations to auditory stimulations.

Oscillations of neural excitability shape sensory, motor or cognitive processes. Furthermore, a large body of research demonstrates that intrinsic oscillations are entrained by external rhythms, allowing a simple and efficient way to enhance human brain functions. As an external stimulation source, repeating acoustic stimuli have been shown to provide a possible pacing signal for modulating the electrical activity recorded by the electroencephalogram (EEG).