Healthcare utilization and costs of Veterans Health Administration patients with schizophrenia treated with paliperidone palmitate long-acting injection or oral atypical antipsychotics.

Objective: This study aimed to compare real world healthcare costs and resource utilization between patients with schizophrenia treated with paliperidone palmitate long-acting injection (PP) and oral atypical antipsychotics (OAT).

Methods: Patients (18-64 years) were selected from the Veterans Health Administration dataset (1 July 2007-31 May 2012). Patients with 2+ claims for PP or 2+ claims for the same OAT comprised the two study cohorts with the first prescription date designated as the index date.

Accuracy of double Maddox rod with induced hypertropia in normal subjects.

Background And Purpose: The double Maddox rod is a commonly used instrument to test for cyclotorsion in the clinical setting. This paper assesses the ability of patients without torsional complaint to accurately demonstrate torsional status with varying degrees of induced hypertropia as tested by double Maddox rod.

Methods: Thirty-seven orthophoric subjects underwent double Maddox rod testing with vertical prism of 3(Δ), 10(Δ), 16(Δ), 20(Δ), and 30(Δ).

Starting dialysis at eGFR >5 ml/min per1.73 m(2): are we barking up the wrong tree?

Although the goal glomerular filtration rate (GFR) for chronic dialysis initiation is currently above 5 ml/min per 1.73 m(2), there is no convincing evidence that patients will benefit from this approach. With close follow-up of advanced chronic kidney disease patients, aiming to start dialysis at an estimated GFR (eGFR) less than 5 ml/min per 1.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection surveillance: National Healthcare Safety Network's laboratory-identified event reporting versus traditional laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection surveillance.

Hospitals must report cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection (BSI) using a new laboratory-identified (LabID) event reporting module. BSI rates obtained using LabID differ from rates of BSI obtained from traditional surveillance (concordance of healthcare facility-onset cases, 61%-76%) because definitions used to report LabID events are inconsistent with traditional BSI definitions.

MYC activates stem-like cell potential in hepatocarcinoma by a p53-dependent mechanism.

Activation of c-MYC is an oncogenic hallmark of many cancers, including liver cancer, and is associated with a variety of adverse prognostic characteristics. Despite a causative role during malignant transformation and progression in hepatocarcinogenesis, consequences of c-MYC activation for the biology of hepatic cancer stem cells (CSC) are undefined. Here, distinct levels of c-MYC overexpression were established by using two dose-dependent tetracycline-inducible systems in four hepatoma cell lines with different p53 mutational status.

INCLEN Diagnostic Tool for Neuromotor Impairments (INDT-NMI) for primary care physician: development and validation.

Objective: To develop and validate a diagnostic tool for use by primary care physicians for diagnosing neuro-motor impairment among 2-9 year old children in primary care settings.

Study Design: Modified Delphi technique involving national (n=49) and international (n=6) experts was used for development of INDT-NMI. The tool was then validated through a cross sectional study.

INCLEN Diagnostic Tool for Epilepsy (INDT-EPI) for primary care physicians: development and validation.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a new diagnostic instrument for epilepsy - INCLEN Diagnostic Tool for Epilepsy (INDT-EPI) - with evaluation by expert pediatric neurologists.

Study Design: Evaluation of diagnostic test.

Setting: Tertiary care pediatric referral centers in India.

INCLEN diagnostic tool for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (INDT-ADHD): development and validation.

Objective: To develop and validate INCLEN Diagnostic Tool for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (INDT-ADHD).

Design: Diagnostic test evaluation by cross sectional design.

Setting: Tertiary care pediatric centers.

INCLEN Diagnostic Tool for Autism Spectrum Disorder (INDT-ASD): development and validation.

Objective: To develop and validate INCLEN Diagnostic Tool for Autism Spectrum Disorder (INDT-ASD).

Design: Diagnostic test evaluation by cross sectional design.

Setting: Four tertiary pediatric neurology centers in Delhi and Thiruvanthapuram, India.

Predicting in-hospital death among patients injured in traffic crashes in Saudi Arabia.

Introduction: Traffic-related injuries are a major cause of premature death in developing countries. Saudi Arabia has struggled with high rates of traffic-related deaths for decades, yet little is known about health outcomes of motor vehicle victims seeking medical care. This study aims to develop and validate a model to predict in-hospital death among patients admitted to a large-urban trauma centre in Saudi Arabia for treatment following traffic-related crashes.

"Moving and losing": A pilot study incorporating physical activity to decrease obesity in the pediatric population.

Objective: This study was developed as a pilot study to determine if targeted interventions regarding increasing physical activity level through the use of pedometers and fitness DVDs would result in a decrease in BMI in overweight or obese children.

Methods: 24 children aged 4-17 taking part in "Moving and Losing" were randomized to (1) Control Group; (2) Pedometer Group; (3) DVD Group; (4) Pedometer + DVD Group and asked to complete self-report physical activity logs at visit one and two. Baseline, midpoint, and endpoint weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI) were measured for outcome variables.

Recruitment of women in the National Children's Study Initial Vanguard Study.

The initial Vanguard Study of the National Children's Study was conducted during 2009-2010 in 7 locations in the United States. A goal was to evaluate the feasibility and yield of a household-based sampling design to recruit pregnant women. A multistage area probability sampling design was used to identify study locations (generally, counties) that were subsequently divided into smaller geographical units, termed segments.

Antifungal catheter lock therapy for the management of a persistent Candida albicans bloodstream infection in an adult receiving hemodialysis.

Antifungal catheter lock therapy (AfLT) with liposomal amphotericin B has been used in the treatment of pediatric central line infections caused by Candida species; however, reports describing the use of liposomal amphotericin B lock therapy in the adult hemodialysis patient population are lacking. Management of central line-associated candidemia with systemic therapy alone is often challenging due to the propensity of Candida species to form biofilms on foreign bodies. We describe a 64-year-old woman who was receiving hemodialysis 3 times/week and was hospitalized with persistent fungemia.

Surveying the surveillance: surgical site infections excluded by the January 2013 updated surveillance definitions.

The updated 2013 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Healthcare Safety Network definitions for surgical site infections (SSIs) reduced the duration of prolonged surveillance from 1 year to 90 days and defined which procedure types require prolonged surveillance. Applying the updated 2013 SSI definitions to cases analyzed using the pre-2013 surveillance definitions excluded 10% of previously identified SSIs.

Factors that influence physicians' and medical students' confidence in counseling patients about physical activity.

Less than half of US adults and two-thirds of US high school students do not meet current US guidelines for physical activity. We examined which factors promoted physicians' and medical students' confidence in counseling patients about physical activity. We established an online exercise survey targeting attending physicians, resident and fellow physicians, and medical students to determine their current level of physical activity and confidence in counseling patients about physical activity.

Population attributable fractions for three perinatal risk factors for autism spectrum disorders, 2002 and 2008 autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network.

Purpose: Numerous studies establish associations between adverse perinatal outcomes/complications and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There has been little assessment of population attributable fractions (PAFs).

Methods: We estimated average ASD PAFs for preterm birth (PTB), small for gestational age (SGA), and Cesarean delivery (CD) in a U.

Selected persistent organic pollutants in human placental tissue from the United States.

Emerging and legacy environmental pollutants such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticide metabolite DDE are found in human placenta, indicating prenatal exposure, but data from the United States are sparse. We sought to determine concentrations of these compounds in human placentae as part of a formative research project conducted by the National Children's Study Placenta Consortium. A total of 169 tissue specimens were collected at different time points post delivery from 43 human placentae at three U.

Potential impact of DSM-5 criteria on autism spectrum disorder prevalence estimates.

Importance: The DSM-5 contains revised diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from the DSM-IV-TR. Potential impacts of the new criteria on ASD prevalence are unclear.

Objective: To assess potential effects of the DSM-5 ASD criteria on ASD prevalence estimation by retrospectively applying the new criteria to population-based surveillance data collected for previous ASD prevalence estimation.

Epigenetic reprogramming modulates malignant properties of human liver cancer.

Unlabelled: Reversal of DNA hypermethylation and associated gene silencing is an emerging cancer therapy approach. Here we addressed the impact of epigenetic alterations and cellular context on functional and transcriptional reprogramming of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Our strategy employed a 3-day treatment of established and primary human HCC-derived cell lines grown as a monolayer at various cell densities with the DNMT1 inhibitor zebularine (ZEB) followed by a 3D culture to identify cells endowed with self-renewal potential.

Diabetic ketoalkalosis in children and adults.

Objectives: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) with metabolic alkalosis (diabetic ketoalkalosis [DKALK]) in adults has been described in the literature, but not in the pediatric population. The discordance in the change in the anion gap (AG) and the bicarbonate is depicted by an elevated delta ratio (DR; rise in AG/drop in bicarbonate), which is normally approximately 1. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether DKALK occurs in the pediatric population, as has been seen previously in the adult population.

In-hospital mortality among patients injured in motor vehicle crashes in a Saudi Arabian hospital relative to large U.S. trauma centers.

Background: Traffic-related fatalities are a leading cause of premature death worldwide. According to the 2012 report , traffic injuries ranked 8th as a cause of death in 2010, compared to 10th in 1990. Saudi Arabia is estimated to have an overall traffic fatality rate more than double that of the U.

High-peak-power, high-energy, high-average-power pulsed fiber laser system with versatile pulse duration and shape.

We present a pulsed fiber laser system with average power up to 265 W, pulse energy up to 10.6 mJ, pulse duration adjustable in the range 500 ps-500 ns, repetition rate fully controllable from single-shot operation up to 1 MHz, and the ability to control peak power independently of pulse energy. The system has a compact, all-spliced construction.

Development of a highly sensitive and specific blastomycosis antibody enzyme immunoassay using Blastomyces dermatitidis surface protein BAD-1.

Serologic tests for antibodies to Blastomyces dermatitidis are not thought to be useful for the diagnosis of blastomycosis, in part due to the low sensitivity of immunodiffusion and complement fixation. Earlier studies have shown that the enzyme immunoassay improves the sensitivity of antibody detection for the diagnosis of blastomycosis. Microplates coated with the B.