ATF4 and mTOR regulate metabolic reprogramming in TGF-β-treated lung fibroblasts.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a fatal disease characterized by the TGF-β-dependent activation of lung fibroblasts, leading to excessive deposition of collagen proteins and progressive replacement of healthy lung with scar tissue. We and others have shown that fibroblast activation is supported by metabolic reprogramming, including the upregulation of the synthesis of glycine, the most abundant amino acid found in collagen protein. How fibroblast metabolic reprogramming is regulated downstream of TGF-β is incompletely understood.

A Six-Year Follow-Up of Bloodstream Infections in Hemodialysis Facilities in the United States, National Healthcare Safety Network, 2020.

Background: Approximately 500,000 people in the United States undergoing hemodialysis are at risk of bloodstream infections (BSIs). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network conducts surveillance for BSIs among outpatient hemodialysis facilities in the United States. Quality improvement initiatives encourage these facilities to adopt evidence-based interventions to decrease the incidence of BSI in patients.

An Update From the National Healthcare Safety Network on Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs in the United States, 2014-2021.

Background: In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs (ASPs) and began monitoring uptake through the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Annual Hospital Survey. In 2019, CDC updated the Core Elements and in 2022 released the Priorities for Hospital Core Element Implementation. We describe Core Element uptake from 2014 to 2021, provide a snapshot of specific ASP practices in acute care hospitals in 2021, and describe how we plan to monitor stewardship moving forward.

Intrusive Traumatic Re-Experiencing Domain: Functional Connectivity Feature Classification by the ENIGMA PTSD Consortium.

Background: Intrusive traumatic re-experiencing domain (ITRED) was recently introduced as a novel perspective on posttraumatic psychopathology, proposing to focus research of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on the unique symptoms of intrusive and involuntary re-experiencing of the trauma, namely, intrusive memories, nightmares, and flashbacks. The aim of the present study was to explore ITRED from a neural network connectivity perspective.

Methods: Data were collected from 9 sites taking part in the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) PTSD Consortium ( 584) and included itemized PTSD symptom scores and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) data.

Vital Signs: Health Disparities in Hemodialysis-Associated Staphylococcus aureus Bloodstream Infections - United States, 2017-2020.

Introduction: Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). ESKD patients on dialysis are at increased risk for Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections, but racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities associated with this outcome are not well described.

Methods: Surveillance data from the 2020 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and the 2017-2020 Emerging Infections Program (EIP) were used to describe bloodstream infections among patients on hemodialysis (hemodialysis patients) and were linked to population-based data sources (CDC/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry [ATSDR] Social Vulnerability Index [SVI], United States Renal Data System [USRDS], and U.

Vital Signs: Health Disparities in Hemodialysis-Associated Staphylococcus aureus Bloodstream Infections - United States, 2017-2020.

Introduction: Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). ESKD patients on dialysis are at increased risk for Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections, but racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities associated with this outcome are not well described.

Methods: Surveillance data from the 2020 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and the 2017-2020 Emerging Infections Program (EIP) were used to describe bloodstream infections among patients on hemodialysis (hemodialysis patients) and were linked to population-based data sources (CDC/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry [ATSDR] Social Vulnerability Index [SVI], United States Renal Data System [USRDS], and U.

First peripheral drug-eluting stent clinical results from China: 1-year outcomes of the Zilver PTX China study.

Purpose: The benefit of using the Zilver PTX drug-eluting stent (DES) in superficial femoral artery (SFA) lesions has been demonstrated in multiple clinical studies. This prospective, multicenter study evaluated the 1-year safety and effectiveness of the DES for the treatment of femoropopliteal lesions in a Chinese patient population.

Methods: Patients with a single or restenotic SFA lesion ≤140 mm and a Rutherford classification of 2 to 4 were treated with the DES.

Prevalence, increase and predictors of family violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, using modern machine learning approaches.

Background: We are facing an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is causing detrimental effects on mental health, including disturbing consequences on child maltreatment and intimate partner violence.

Methods: We sought to identify predictors of child maltreatment and intimate partner violence from 380 participants (mean age 36.67 ± 10.

A comparison of methods to harmonize cortical thickness measurements across scanners and sites.

Results of neuroimaging datasets aggregated from multiple sites may be biased by site-specific profiles in participants' demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as MRI acquisition protocols and scanning platforms. We compared the impact of four different harmonization methods on results obtained from analyses of cortical thickness data: (1) linear mixed-effects model (LME) that models site-specific random intercepts (LME), (2) LME that models both site-specific random intercepts and age-related random slopes (LME), (3) ComBat, and (4) ComBat with a generalized additive model (ComBat-GAM). Our test case for comparing harmonization methods was cortical thickness data aggregated from 29 sites, which included 1,340 cases with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (6.

Remodeling of the Cortical Structural Connectome in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Results From the ENIGMA-PGC Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Consortium.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is accompanied by disrupted cortical neuroanatomy. We investigated alteration in covariance of structural networks associated with PTSD in regions that demonstrate the case-control differences in cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA).

Methods: Neuroimaging and clinical data were aggregated from 29 research sites in >1300 PTSD cases and >2000 trauma-exposed control subjects (ages 6.

The impact of preoperative imaging on wait times, surgical approach and overall survival in endometrioid endometrial cancers.

Objectives: Routine preoperative axial imaging studies (CT/MRI) are not recommended for endometrioid endometrial cancer as they are unlikely to change management and may delay surgery. This study evaluated the association of receiving preoperative imaging on various outcomes.

Methods: A population-based cohort of Endometrioid Endometrial Cancer cases from 2006 to 2016 were identified from the Cancer Registry in Ontario, Canada.

National Healthcare Safety Network 2018 Baseline Neonatal Standardized Antimicrobial Administration Ratios.

Background: The microbiologic etiologies, clinical manifestations, and antimicrobial treatment of neonatal infections differ substantially from infections in adult and pediatric patient populations. In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed neonatal-specific (Standardized Antimicrobial Administration Ratios SAARs), a set of risk-adjusted antimicrobial use metrics that hospitals participating in the National Healthcare Safety Network's (NHSN's) antimicrobial use surveillance can use in their antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs).

Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with the Vermont Oxford Network, identified eligible patient care locations, defined SAAR agent categories, and implemented neonatal-specific NHSN Annual Hospital Survey questions to gather hospital-level data necessary for risk adjustment.

Association between prevalence of laboratory-identified infection (CDI) and antibiotic treatment for CDI in US acute-care hospitals, 2019.

Objective: To evaluate hospital-level variation in using first-line antibiotics for infection (CDI) based on the burden of laboratory-identified (LabID) CDI.

Methods: Using data on hospital-level LabID CDI events and antimicrobial use (AU) for CDI (oral/rectal vancomycin or fidaxomicin) submitted to the National Healthcare Safety Network in 2019, we assessed the association between hospital-level CDI prevalence (per 100 patient admissions) and rate of CDI AU (days of therapy per 1,000 days present) to generate a predicted value of AU based on CDI prevalence and CDI test type using negative binomial regression. The ratio of the observed to predicted AU was then used to identify hospitals with extreme discordance between CDI prevalence and CDI AU, defined as hospitals with a ratio outside of the intervigintile range.

Reimagining the Introductory Math Curriculum for Life Sciences Students.

Calculus is typically one of the first college courses encountered by science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. Calculus often presents major challenges affecting STEM student persistence, particularly for students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM. For life sciences majors, calculus courses may not offer content that is relevant to biological systems or connect with students' interests in biology.

Association between end-of-life cancer care and immigrant status: a retrospective cohort study in Ontario, Canada.

Objective: To compare recent immigrants and long-term residents in Ontario, Canada, on established health service quality indicators of end-of-life cancer care.

Design: Retrospective, population-based cohort study of cancer decedents between 2004 and 2015.

Setting: Ontario, Canada.

The use of imaging in endometrial cancer prior to potential surgery: Are guidelines being followed?

Objectives: Clinical practice guidelines recommend against routine preoperative axial imaging studies (CT/MRI) for endometrial cancer, except for cases of locally advanced disease or aggressive histologies. This study utilized population-based data to evaluate the use of preoperative imaging and factors associated with its use.

Methods: A population-based cohort of women diagnosed with endometrial cancer from 2006 to 2016 were identified from the Ontario Cancer Registry in Ontario, Canada.

Assessment of the Appropriateness of Antimicrobial Use in US Hospitals.

Importance: Hospital antimicrobial consumption data are widely available; however, large-scale assessments of the quality of antimicrobial use in US hospitals are limited.

Objective: To evaluate the appropriateness of antimicrobial use for hospitalized patients treated for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) or urinary tract infection (UTI) present at admission or for patients who had received fluoroquinolone or intravenous vancomycin treatment.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study included data from a prevalence survey of hospitalized patients in 10 Emerging Infections Program sites.

Impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on US Hospitals and Patients, April-July 2020.

Objective: The rapid spread of severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) throughout key regions of the United States in early 2020 placed a premium on timely, national surveillance of hospital patient censuses. To meet that need, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), the nation's largest hospital surveillance system, launched a module for collecting hospital coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) data. We present time-series estimates of the critical hospital capacity indicators from April 1 to July 14, 2020.

Long-Term Effectiveness of a Drug-Eluting Stent for Femoropopliteal In-Stent Restenosis: Subanalysis of the Zilver PTX Japan Post-Market Surveillance Study.

Purpose: To present a subgroup analysis of patients from a large real-world study evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the Zilver PTX drug-eluting stent (DES) for treating femoropopliteal in-stent restenosis (ISR).

Materials And Methods: This study examined patients enrolled in the Zilver PTX Japan Post-Market Surveillance Study ( identifier NCT02254837), a prospective, multicenter registry of 904 symptomatic patients with 1082 femoropopliteal lesions treated with the DES at 95 institutions in Japan. Five-year outcomes, including mortality, stent radiography, freedom from target lesion revascularization (TLR), and clinical benefit, were evaluated for 177 patients (mean age 74.

Prediction Model for Freedom from TLR from a Multi-study Analysis of Long-Term Results with the Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent.

Purpose: Develop a prediction model to determine the impact of patient and lesion factors on freedom from target lesion revascularization (ffTLR) for patients who are candidates for Zilver PTX drug-eluting stent (DES) treatment for femoropopliteal lesions.

Methods: Patient factors, lesion characteristics, and TLR results from five global studies were utilized for model development. Factors potentially associated with TLR (sex, age, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, renal disease, smoking status, Rutherford classification, lesion length, reference vessel diameter (RVD), popliteal involvement, total occlusion, calcification severity, prior interventions, and number of runoff vessels) were analyzed in a Cox proportional hazards model.

TGF-β Promotes Metabolic Reprogramming in Lung Fibroblasts via mTORC1-dependent ATF4 Activation.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a fatal interstitial lung disease characterized by the TGF-β (transforming growth factor-β)-dependent differentiation of lung fibroblasts into myofibroblasts, which leads to excessive deposition of collagen proteins and progressive scarring. We have previously shown that synthesis of collagen by myofibroblasts requires synthesis of glycine, the most abundant amino acid found in collagen protein. TGF-β upregulates the expression of the enzymes of the serine-glycine synthesis pathway in lung fibroblasts; however, the transcriptional and signaling regulators of this pathway remain incompletely understood.

Creating inclusive classrooms by engaging STEM faculty in culturally responsive teaching workshops.

Background: As higher education institutions strive to effectively support an increasingly diverse student body, they will be called upon to provide their faculty with tools to teach more inclusively, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classrooms where recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented and disadvantaged groups present long-standing challenges. Pedagogical training approaches to creating inclusive classrooms involve interventions that raise awareness of student and instructor social identities and explore barriers to learning, such as implicit bias, microaggressions, stereotype threat, and fixed mindset. Such efforts should focus on embracing diversity as an asset leveraged to benefit all students in their learning.