The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Lived Experience of Diverse Older Adults Living Alone With Cognitive Impairment.

Background And Objectives: Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults with cognitive impairment living alone (an estimated 4.3 million individuals in the United States) were at high risk for negative health outcomes. There is an urgent need to learn how this population is managing during the pandemic.

Genetic risk factors for endometriosis near estrogen receptor 1 and coexpression of genes in this region in endometrium.

The etiology and pathogenesis of endometriosis are complex with both genetic and environmental factors contributing to disease risk. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified multiple signals in the estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) region associated with endometriosis and other reproductive traits and diseases. In addition, candidate gene association studies identified signals in the ESR1 region associated with endometriosis risk suggesting genetic regulation of genes in this region may be important for reproductive health.

The Total Costs of Seismic Retrofits: State of the Art.

This article presents the current state-of-practice with respect to quantifying the total cost to retrofit an existing building. In particular, we combine quantitative, qualitative, and heuristic data to provide a taxonomy for understanding the direct and indirect costs associated with seismic risk mitigation. Much of the literature to date has focused on estimating retrofit costs, the costs of retrofitting the structural elements of a building.

Air quality and synergistic health effects of ozone and nitrogen oxides in response to China's integrated air quality control policies during 2015-2019.

O pollution had been worsening in mainland China in the past decade, posing significant human health challenges. The NO control would trigger increasing O concentrations in response to a series of released China emission reduction policies. This study used sensitivity analysis methodology to explore the effectiveness of integrated sectoral emission control policies that have been expanded throughout China.

Brownian dynamics simulations of sphere clusters in optical tweezers.

Computationally modeling the behavior of wavelength-sized non-spherical particles in optical tweezers can give insight into the existence and stability of trapping equilibria as well as the optical manipulation of such particles more broadly. Here, we report Brownian dynamics simulations of non-spherical particles that account for detailed optical, hydrodynamic, and thermal interactions. We use a T-matrix formalism to calculate the optical forces and torques exerted by focused laser beams on clusters of wavelength-sized spheres, and we incorporate detailed diffusion tensors that capture the anisotropic Brownian motion of the clusters.

Impacts of urbanization and long-term meteorological variations on global PM and its associated health burden.

PM pollution has adverse health effects on humans. Urbanization and long-term meteorological variations play important roles in influencing the PM concentration and its associated health effects. Our results indicate that the urbanization process can enhance the PM concentration globally.

Controversy over smoking in COVID-19-A real world experience in New York city.

Data are conflicting regarding the impact of tobacco smoking in people with pneumonia due to SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19). We performed a retrospective multicentre cohort study of 9991 consecutive patients hospitalized in a major New York academic center between March 7th and June 5th, 2020 with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. The clinical outcomes assessed included risk of hospitalization, in-hospital mortality, risk of intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and need for mechanical ventilation among smokers (current and former).

Palliative care in critically ill COVID-19 patients: the early New York City experience.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic in the USA has been accompanied by high rates of mortality and an unprecedented need for palliative care delivery. Little is known about the use of palliative care services in intensive care unit (ICU) settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of critically ill COVID-19 patients requiring ICU admission, between 7 March and 14 April 2020 to two academic teaching hospitals in New York City.

The demise of islet allotransplantation in the United States: A call for an urgent regulatory update.

Islet allotransplantation in the United States (US) is facing an imminent demise. Despite nearly three decades of progress in the field, an archaic regulatory framework has stymied US clinical practice. Current regulations do not reflect the state-of-the-art in clinical or technical practices.

Autonomous motivation explains interprofessional education outcomes.

Objectives: In response to the observations that interprofessional education (IPE) is seemingly atheoretical or under-theorised, this quantitative research seeks to uncover students' motivational mechanisms which could explain their behavioural and collaborative outcomes using self-determination theory (SDT). While SDT has been studied in various contexts, its applicability to IPE remains underexplored. This study aims to integrate a new perspective in understanding students' motivation in IPE by exploring how the fulfilment of a need for sense of autonomy, competence and relatedness is linked to desirable IPE outcomes.

Further expanding the clinical phenotype in Bainbridge-Ropers syndrome and dissecting genotype-phenotype correlation in the ASXL3 mutational cluster regions.

Bainbridge-Ropers syndrome (BRPS) [OMIM#615485] is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by delayed psychomotor development with generalized hypotonia, intellectual disability with poor or absent speech, feeding difficulties, growth failure, specific craniofacial and minor skeletal features. It was firstly reported in 2013 by Bainbridge et al., who observed a group of individuals sharing overlapping features with Bohring-Opitz syndrome which were caused by pathogenic variant in ASXL1, who indeed carried truncating mutations in ASXL3.

Actionable secondary findings in 1116 Hong Kong Chinese based on exome sequencing data.

The use of exome and genome sequencing has increased rapidly nowadays. After primary analysis, further analysis can be performed to identify secondary findings that offer medical benefit for patient care. Multiple studies have been performed to evaluate secondary findings in different ethnicities.

"I didn't know you were such a good cook": Photos as a tool for primary care clinician-patient communication.

Objectives: To examine audio-recorded primary care interactions with patient-initiated photo sharing around food and diet choices.

Methods: Data were 13 audio recordings of primary care visits with English-, Chinese-, or Spanish-speaking patients 60+ with two or more chronic conditions. Patients and clinicians completed pre-intervention surveys and some training on photo-taking / photo-sharing discussion.

Prenatal and postnatal diagnosis of Schuurs-Hoeijmakers syndrome: Case series and review of the literature.

Schuurs-Hoeijmakers syndrome (SHS) is a rare syndrome involving a de novo variant in the PACS1 gene on chromosome 11q13. There are 36 individuals published in the literature so far, mostly diagnosed postnatally (34/36) after recognizing the typical facial features co-occurring with developmental delay, intellectual disability, and multiple malformations. Herein, we present one prenatal and 15 postnatal cases with the recurrent heterozygous pathogenic variant NM_018026.

ALT Levels for Asians With Metabolic Diseases: A Meta-analysis of 86 Studies With Individual Patient Data Validation.

The current alanine aminotransferase (ALT) upper limit of normal was defined using selected healthy Caucasian blood donors. Given the global rise in obesity and different body habitus in Asians, we aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis combined with bootstrap modeling and individual patient data validation to estimate the ALT upper threshold for Asians, including the overweight and diabetics. We included studies from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane database searches that identified individuals without known liver diseases (i.

HBV RNA Profiles in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Under Different Disease Phases and Antiviral Therapy.

Background And Aims: Large-scale comprehensive studies on HBV RNA in chronic hepatitis B are lacking. We aimed to study the HBV RNA profile and its correlation with other viral markers in patients with chronic hepatitis B who are treatment-naïve and patients receiving nucleos(t)ide analogues (NA).

Approach And Results: Biomarkers, including HBV RNA and hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg), were measured in 388 patients.

Phenotypic Changes of PD-1 and GITR in T Cells Are Associated With Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Seroclearance.

Background: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) possess hepatitis B virus (HBV)-specific immunoregulatory effects in chronic HBV infection. The role of Tregs in spontaneous seroclearance of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) remains to be determined.

Methods: We recruited treatment-naive chronic HBV patients achieving spontaneous HBsAg seroclearance (experimental group) and matched HBsAg-positive controls.

Incidence, Factors, and Patient-Level Data for Spontaneous HBsAg Seroclearance: A Cohort Study of 11,264 Patients.

Introduction: Spontaneous hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroclearance, the functional cure of hepatitis B infection, occurs rarely. Prior original studies are limited by insufficient sample size and/or follow-up, and recent meta-analyses are limited by inclusion of only study-level data and lack of adjustment for confounders to investigate HBsAg seroclearance rates in most relevant subgroups. Using a cohort with detailed individual patient data, we estimated spontaneous HBsAg seroclearance rates through patient and virologic characteristics.

A Predictive Modeling Approach to Estimating Seismic Retrofit Costs.

This paper presents a methodology for estimating seismic retrofit costs from historical data. In particular, historical retrofit cost data from FEMA 156 is used to build a generalized linear model (GLM) to predict retrofit costs as a function of building characteristics. While not as accurate as an engineering professional's estimate, this methodology is easy to apply to generate quick estimates and is especially useful for decision makers with large building portfolios.

Clinical predictors of donor antibody titre and correlation with recipient antibody response in a COVID-19 convalescent plasma clinical trial.

Background: Convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19 relies on transfer of anti-viral antibody from donors to recipients via plasma transfusion. The relationship between clinical characteristics and antibody response to COVID-19 is not well defined. We investigated predictors of convalescent antibody production and quantified recipient antibody response in a convalescent plasma therapy clinical trial.

Analysis of Survival Benefits of Living Versus Deceased Donor Liver Transplant in High Model for End-Stage Liver Disease and Hepatorenal Syndrome.

Background And Aims: Previous recommendations suggested living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) should not be considered for patients with Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) > 25 and hepatorenal syndrome (HRS).

Approach And Results: Patients who were listed with MELD > 25 from 2008 to 2017 were analyzed with intention-to-treat (ITT) basis retrospectively. Patients who had a potential live donor were analyzed as ITT-LDLT, whereas those who had none belonged to ITT-deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) group.