Real-world healthcare utilization and costs of peripheral nerve stimulation with a micro-IPG system.

Aim: To characterize real-world healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs in adults with chronic pain of peripheral nerve origin treated with peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) using the micro-implantable pulse generator (IPG).

Materials & Methods: This retrospective observational study (9/1/19-1/31/23) linked patients from the Nalu medical database to the OM1 Real-World Data Cloud (RWDC). Eligible patients received the micro-IPG implant for PNS, were identifiable in both databases, and had ≥ 12 months of RWDC pre/post-implantation claims data.

Assessing the impact of the iPeer2Peer program for adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a mixed-methods randomized controlled trial.

Background: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is a chronic pediatric illness, whereby youth experience physical, emotional and psychosocial challenges that result in reduced health related quality of life (HRQL). Peer mentoring has been shown to improve disease self-management in adults with chronic conditions, with mixed results in younger populations. Building on our pilot work - which supported the feasibility and initial effectiveness of the iPeer2Peer program - the objective of this study was to assess the clinical effectiveness of the program in youth with JIA through a waitlist randomized controlled trial.

A Bayesian latent class approach to causal inference with longitudinal data.

Bayesian methods are becoming increasingly in demand in clinical and public health comparative effectiveness research. Limited literature has explored parametric Bayesian causal approaches to handle time-dependent treatment and time-dependent covariates. In this article, building on to the work on Bayesian g-computation, we propose a fully Bayesian causal approach, implemented using latent confounder classes which represent the patient's disease and health status.

Association Between Standard Gait Measures and Anterior Quadriceps Muscle Thickness as Measured by Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS).

Gait parameters and sarcopenia both predict falls risk among older adults. Our objective was to evaluate whether fast, easy-to-obtain measures of anterior thigh muscle by point of care ultrasound (POCUS) are significantly associated with standard gait measures. All subjects were referred from ambulatory geriatric medicine clinics at an academic center.

Frailty, Body Composition, and Glycemic Control in Older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes.

The relationship between frailty and glycemic control in older adults with diabetes remains uncertain, mainly due to the fact that previous studies have not accounted for measures of body composition. In older adults with diabetes, we examined the association between three types of frailty measures and glycemic control, while accounting for fat-free mass (FFM) and waist circumference (WC). Eighty older adults (age ≥65, 27 women and 53 men, mean age 80.

Exploring hypnotist trance: the experiences of skilled practitioners.

Milton Erickson first conceptualized the hypnotist trance (HT) as a unique psychological state developed in clinicians during hypnosis sessions. This qualitative study aimed to investigates HT through the experiences of 12 skilled Clinician Hypnosis Specialists (CHS). Data were collected via semi-structured face-to-face interviews, exploring participants' attitudes toward HT, its impact on their practice, and their strategies for developing and regulating it.

Mining for Gems: Early Detection of Calcinosis in Juvenile Dermatomyositis Using Low-Dose Computed Tomography.

Calcinosis, a common complication in juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM), affects up to 40% of patients and can be associated with uncontrolled disease activity and morbidity.A 9-year-old female with a 17-month history of JDM presented with worsened bilateral knee pain.

2023 Inaugural Healthcare Delivery Science: Innovation and Partnerships for Health Equity Research (DESCIPHER) Symposium.

Introduction: This article provides an overview of presentations and discussions from the inaugural Healthcare Delivery Science: Innovation and Partnerships for Health Equity Research (DESCIPHER) Symposium.

Methods: The symposium brought together esteemed experts from various disciplines to explore models for translating evidence-based interventions into practice.

Results: The symposium highlighted the importance of disruptive innovation in healthcare, the need for multi-stakeholder engagement, and the significance of family and community involvement in healthcare interventions.

White adipocytes in subcutaneous fat depots require KLF15 for maintenance in preclinical models.

Healthy adipose tissue is essential for normal physiology. There are 2 broad types of adipose tissue depots: brown adipose tissue (BAT), which contains adipocytes poised to burn energy through thermogenesis, and white adipose tissue (WAT), which contains adipocytes that store lipids. However, within those types of adipose, adipocytes possess depot and cell-specific properties that have important implications.

Uncovering the spin ordering in magic-angle graphene via edge state equilibration.

The flat bands in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) provide an especially rich arena to investigate interaction-driven ground states. While progress has been made in identifying the correlated insulators and their excitations at commensurate moiré filling factors, the spin-valley polarizations of the topological states that emerge at high magnetic field remain unknown. Here we introduce a technique based on twist-decoupled van der Waals layers that enables measurement of their electronic band structure and-by studying the backscattering between counter-propagating edge states-the determination of the relative spin polarization of their edge modes.

Implementation of a Novel Prehospital Clinical Decision Tool and ECG Transmission for STEMI Significantly Reduces Door-to-Balloon Time and Sex-Based Disparities.

Background: An important method employed to reduce door to balloon time (DTBT) for ST segment elevation Myocardial Infarctions (STEMIs) is a prehospital MI alert. The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the effects of an educational intervention using a novel decision support method of STEMI notification and prehospital electrocardiogram (ECG) transmission on DTBT.

Methods: An ongoing database (April 4, 2000 - present) is maintained to track STEMI alerts.

Relationship of Fatigue, Pain Interference, and Physical Disability in Children Newly Diagnosed With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

Objective: Our objectives were to quantify the relationships among fatigue, pain interference, and physical disability in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and to test whether fatigue mediates the relationship between pain interference and physical disability in JIA.

Methods: Patients enrolled within three months of JIA diagnosis in the Canadian Alliance of Pediatric Rheumatology Investigators (CAPRI) Registry between February 2017 and May 2023 were included. Their parents completed the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System fatigue and pain interference short proxy questionnaires and the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index at registry enrollment.

Mapping twist-tuned multiband topology in bilayer WSe.

Semiconductor moiré superlattices have been shown to host a wide array of interaction-driven ground states. However, twisted homobilayers have been difficult to study in the limit of large moiré wavelengths, where interactions are most dominant. In this study, we conducted local electronic compressibility measurements of twisted bilayer WSe (tWSe) at small twist angles.

Repurposing mebendazole against triple-negative breast cancer CNS metastasis.

Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) often metastasizes to the central nervous system (CNS) and has the highest propensity among breast cancer subtypes to develop leptomeningeal disease (LMD). LMD is a spread of cancer into leptomeningeal space that speeds up the disease progression and severely aggravates the prognosis. LMD has limited treatment options.

Characteristics of Homeless Temporarily-Housed in Project RoomKey During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: People experiencing unsheltered homelessness (PEUH) have higher disease burden yet limited access to healthcare. COVID-19 introduced even greater risk for PEUH aged 65+ years with an underlying chronic health condition and were temporarily housed in hotels/motels for Project RoomKey (PRK). This study aimed to characterize a PRK cohort who received primary care from a street medicine program.

Repurposing mebendazole against triple-negative breast cancer leptomeningeal disease.

Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype that often metastasizes to the brain. Leptomeningeal disease (LMD), a devastating brain metastasis common in TNBC, has limited treatment options. We sought to test whether the common anti-helminthic drug mebendazole (MBZ) may be effective against murine TNBC LMD.

Highly parallelizable electronic transport calculations in periodic rhodium and copper nanostructures.

We extend the highly-parallelizable open-source electronic transport code TRANSEC (Feldman2014B035445;https://gitlab.com/computational-physics2/transec/) to perform real-space atomic-scale electronic transport calculations with periodic boundary conditions in the lateral dimensions. We demonstrate the use of TRANSEC in periodic Cu and Rh bulk structures and in large periodic Rh point contacts, in preparation to perform calculations of reflection probability across Rh grain boundaries.

Disease activity trajectories in juvenile dermatomyositis from childhood to adulthood.

Objectives: To assess whether there are identifiable subgroups of disease activity trajectory in a population of JDM patients-followed throughout childhood and into adulthood-and determine factors that predict those trajectory groupings.

Methods: This is a retrospective, longitudinal inception cohort of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, largely JDM. We sought to identify baseline factors that predict membership into different groups (latent classes) of disease activity trajectory.

Outcomes of BRCA pre-implantation genetic testing according to the parental mutation origin: a cohort study.

Background: The process of gamete formation and early embryonic development involves rapid DNA replication, chromosome segregation and cell division. These processes may be affected by mutations in the BRCA1/2 genes. The aim of this study was to evaluate BRCA mutation inheritance and its effect on early embryonic development according to the parental origin of the mutation.

Quick, Effective Screening Tasks Identify Children With Medical Conditions or Disabilities Needing Physical Literacy Support.

Purpose: This study evaluated screening tasks able to identify children with medical conditions or disabilities who may benefit from physical literacy.

Method: Children completed ≤20 screening tasks during their clinic visit and then the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (2nd edition) at a separate visit. Total Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy scores <30th percentile were categorized as potentially needing physical literacy support.

Teaching Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes Self-Compassion (TADS) to Reduce Diabetes Distress: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Adolescents living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) often experience diabetes distress (DD), a construct distinct from depression or anxiety that refers to the negative emotions that arise from living with and managing diabetes. Self-compassion, which involves being open to one's own suffering and treating oneself with the same care one would show to loved ones, is associated with better psychological and clinical outcomes among individuals with T1D. Self-compassion is a skill that can be taught and therefore represents an opportunity for intervention.

The new face of cystic fibrosis in the era of population genetic carrier screening.

Background: Population genetic carrier screening (PGCS) for cystic fibrosis (CF) has been offered to couples in Israel since 1999 and was included in a fully subsidized national program in 2008. We evaluated the impact of PGCS on CF incidence, genetic and clinical features.

Methods: This was a retrospective national study.

Glucocorticoid signaling and the impact of high-fat diet on adipogenesis in vivo.

Our research used glucocorticoids as a medically relevant molecular probe to identify a previously unrecognized ADAMTS1-PTN-Wnt pathway. We elucidated the role of this pathway in regulating adipose precursor cell (APC) behavior to either proliferate or differentiate in response to systemic cues, such as elevated caloric intake. Further, our studies identified the non-muscle myosin protein MYH9 as a key target of this pathway to modulate adipogenesis in vivo.