Clinical Utility of Remote Camera Video Head Impulse Testing Children Less Than 3 Years.

The purpose of this case report is to highlight both the feasibility and clinical utility of remote camera video head impulse testing (vHIT) in children <3 years. Five cases are described where remote camera vHIT was used to quantify ear specific semicircular function in children at risk for vestibular dysfunction. Remote camera vHIT is a helpful clinical tool for quantifying ear specific semicircular function in children between 6 and 31 months.

The effects of standing foot-transmitted vibration on self-reported discomfort ratings.

Background: Occupational foot-transmitted vibration (FTV) exposure is common in industries like mining, construction, and agriculture, often leading to acute and chronic injuries. Vibration assessments require technical expertise and equipment which can be costly for employers to perform. Alternatively, researchers have observed that self-reported discomfort can be used as an effective indicator of injury risk.

Factors Associated with Maternal Morbidity among Black Women in the United States.

Objective:  Non-Hispanic Black people (NHBP) have a three-fold higher rate of maternal mortality compared to other racial groups. Racial disparities in maternal morbidity are well-described; however, there are substantial differences in cultural, economic, and social determinants of health among racial groups. We thus sought to study the at-risk, non-Hispanic Black population as its own cohort to identify factors most associated with severe maternal morbidity (SMM).

Influence of social determinants of health on breastfeeding intent in the United States.

Background: Breastfeeding rates in the United States are suboptimal despite public health recommendations that infants are fed breastmilk for their first year of life. This study aimed to characterize the influence of social determinants of health on intended breastfeeding duration.

Methods: This case-control study analyzed breastfeeding intent in 421 postpartum women.

Transcriptomic approach to uncover dynamic events in the development of mid-season sunburn in apple fruit.

Apples grown in high heat, high light, and low humidity environments are at risk for sun injury disorders like sunburn and associated crop losses. Understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying sunburn will support improvement of mitigation strategies and breeding for more resilient varieties. Numerous studies have highlighted key biochemical processes involved in sun injury, such as the phenylpropanoid and reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathways, demonstrating both enzyme activities and expression of related genes in response to sunburn conditions.

Impact of new labor management guidelines on Cesarean rates among low-risk births at New York City hospitals: A controlled interrupted time series analysis.

Purpose: To examine the impact of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (ACOG-SMFM) 2014 recommendations for preventing unnecessary primary Cesareans.

Methods: In a population-based cohort of births in New York City from 2012 to 2016, we used controlled interrupted time series analyses to estimate changes in age-standardized Cesarean rates among nulliparous, term, singleton vertex (NTSV) deliveries.

Results: Among 192,405 NTSV births across 40 hospitals, the age-standardized NTSV Cesarean rate decreased after the ACOG-SMFM recommendations from 25.

Variation and racial/ethnic disparities in Cesarean delivery at New York City hospitals: the contribution of hospital-level factors.

Purpose: We aimed to quantify general and specific contextual effects associated with Cesarean delivery at New York City hospitals, overall and by maternal race/ethnicity.

Methods: Among 127,449 singleton, nulliparous births at New York City hospitals from 2015 to 2017, we used multilevel logistic regression to examine the association of hospital characteristics (public/private ownership, teaching status and delivery caseloads) with Cesarean delivery, overall, and by maternal race/ethnicity. We estimated the intra-class correlation to examine general contextual effects and 80% interval odds ratios (IOR) and percentage of opposed odds ratios (POOR) to examine specific contextual effects.

The Dizzy Child.

Dizziness occurs in children with an estimated prevalence of 0.45% to 15.0%.

Regional comparison of self-reported late pregnancy cigarette smoking to mass spectrometry analysis.

Objective: To report a more accurate prevalence estimate of late pregnancy nicotine exposures.

Study Design: A cross-sectional study during a 2-month period in 2019. Participants were women delivering in any of the six county maternity hospitals who consented to universal drug testing at the time of delivery as part of routine hospital admission.

Emergency department utilization of case-managed patients following benign gynecologic surgery.

Background: Case management has been shown to reduce the amount of unnecessary emergency department visits among Medicaid or uninsured patients. This study aims to determine whether case management is associated with decreased unnecessary emergency department visits among benign gynecology surgical patients in the first 30 days following surgery.

Results: Out of 875 patients, there were a total of 58 return visits to the emergency department within 30 days and only 6 readmissions.

Clinical Practice Guideline: Ménière's Disease Executive Summary.

Objective: Ménière's disease (MD) is a clinical condition defined by spontaneous vertigo attacks (each lasting 20 minutes to 12 hours) with documented low- to midfrequency sensorineural hearing loss in the affected ear before, during, or after one of the episodes of vertigo. It also presents with fluctuating aural symptoms (hearing loss, tinnitus, or ear fullness) in the affected ear. The underlying etiology of MD is not completely clear, yet it has been associated with inner ear fluid volume increases, culminating in episodic ear symptoms (vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness).

Clinical Practice Guideline: Ménière's Disease.

Objective: Ménière's disease (MD) is a clinical condition defined by spontaneous vertigo attacks (each lasting 20 minutes to 12 hours) with documented low- to midfrequency sensorineural hearing loss in the affected ear before, during, or after one of the episodes of vertigo. It also presents with fluctuating aural symptoms (hearing loss, tinnitus, or ear fullness) in the affected ear. The underlying etiology of MD is not completely clear, yet it has been associated with inner ear fluid (endolymph) volume increases, culminating in episodic ear symptoms (vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness).

Genomics of sorghum local adaptation to a parasitic plant.

Host-parasite coevolution can maintain high levels of genetic diversity in traits involved in species interactions. In many systems, host traits exploited by parasites are constrained by use in other functions, leading to complex selective pressures across space and time. Here, we study genome-wide variation in the staple crop (L.

Convergent horizontal gene transfer and cross-talk of mobile nucleic acids in parasitic plants.

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT), the movement and genomic integration of DNA across species boundaries, is commonly associated with bacteria and other microorganisms, but functional HGT (fHGT) is increasingly being recognized in heterotrophic parasitic plants that obtain their nutrients and water from their host plants through direct haustorial feeding. Here, in the holoparasitic stem parasite Cuscuta, we identify 108 transcribed and probably functional HGT events in Cuscuta campestris and related species, plus 42 additional regions with host-derived transposon, pseudogene and non-coding sequences. Surprisingly, 18 Cuscuta fHGTs were acquired from the same gene families by independent HGT events in Orobanchaceae parasites, and the majority are highly expressed in the haustorial feeding structures in both lineages.

Matrix Metalloproteinase-9-Dependent Release of IL-1 by Human Eosinophils.

Asthma is often associated with airway eosinophilia, and therapies targeting eosinophils are now available to treat severe eosinophilic asthma. Eosinophilic asthma is often due to a type-2 immune response and production of IL-5, which leads to eosinophilopiesis and recruitment of mature eosinophils in the airways. A concomitant type-2 and type-17 response has been reported in some individuals.

Randomized Controlled Pilot Study of Video Self-assessment for Resident Mastoidectomy Training.

A prospective randomized controlled pilot study was performed to determine if video self-assessment improves competency in mastoidectomy and to assess interrater agreement between expert and resident evaluations of recorded mastoidectomy. Sixteen otolaryngology residents were recorded while performing cadaveric mastoidectomy and randomized into video self-assessment and control groups. All residents performed a second recorded mastoidectomy.

Vestibular Testing: Patient Perceptions, Morbidity, and Opportunity Costs.

Objective: To characterize patient tolerance and nonmonetary cost burdens of vestibular testing. Rigorously acquired data are essential for patient counseling and to determine if proposed additions/modifications to current protocols improve quality, experience, and efficiencies of care.

Study Design: Prospective observational study.

Characterization of Siglec-8 Expression on Lavage Cells after Segmental Lung Allergen Challenge.

Background: Siglec-8 is present at a high level on human blood eosinophils and low level on blood basophils. Engagement of Siglec-8 on blood eosinophils causes its internalization and results in death. Siglec-8 is a potential therapeutic target in eosinophilic asthma.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Tuning Fork Tests for Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review.

Objective (1) To determine the diagnostic accuracy of tuning fork tests (TFTs; Weber and Rinne) for assessment of hearing loss as compared with standard audiometry. (2) To identify the audiometric threshold at which TFTs transition from normal to abnormal, thus indicating the presence of hearing loss. Data Sources PubMed, Ovid Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Scopus and manual bibliographic searches.

Tablet-based Screening for Hearing Loss: Feasibility of Testing in Nonspecialty Locations.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of audiometric screening with tablet-based applications in typical clinic locations: examination room and clinic waiting area.

Study Design: A randomized prospective study.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Effect of beach management policies on recreational water quality.

When beach water monitoring programs identify poor water quality, the causes are frequently unknown. We hypothesize that management policies play an important role in the frequency of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) exceedances (enterococci and fecal coliform) at recreational beaches. To test this hypothesis we implemented an innovative approach utilizing large amounts of monitoring data (n > 150,000 measurements per FIB) to determine associations between the frequency of contaminant exceedances and beach management practices.

Utilization of Nerve Integrity Monitor for Promontory Stimulation Testing Prior to Cochlear Implant.

Objective: To demonstrate the feasibility of a nerve integrity monitor as a tool for promontory stimulation testing in patients with profound sensorineural hearing loss considering cochlear implantation.

Patients: Adult patients considered for cochlear implantation with no auditory response on audiometric testing INTERVENTION:: Promontory stimulation testing using the nerve integrity monitor.

Main Outcome Measure: By using a facial nerve stimulator and the nerve integrity monitor, transtympanic promontory stimulation testing was performed to assess auditory nerve function and determine candidacy for cochlear implantation.

Mepolizumab Attenuates Airway Eosinophil Numbers, but Not Their Functional Phenotype, in Asthma.

Rationale: Mepolizumab, an IL-5-blocking antibody, reduces exacerbations in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma. Mepolizumab arrests eosinophil maturation; however, the functional phenotype of eosinophils that persist in the blood and airway after administration of IL-5 neutralizing antibodies has not been reported.

Objectives: To determine the effect of anti-IL-5 antibody on the numbers and phenotypes of allergen-induced circulating and airway eosinophils.