Exploring Organizational Digital Readiness to Offer Youth E-Mentoring.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted many youth mentoring programs to offer digital services (e-mentoring). The sustained success of these efforts depended, in large part, on organizations' digital readiness. Although there are established, broad measures of digital readiness, mentoring organizations have unique requirements for readiness that have not been previously measured.

Effects of Gender and Country of Training on Perceived Access to Opportunities for Neurosurgical Research and Gender-Concordant Mentorship.

Background: The current neurosurgical workforce is not large enough to address the significant burden of neurosurgical disease worldwide, and women are under-represented in this surgical specialty. However, trainee opportunities are particularly scarce in lower- and middle-income countries, where the burden of neurosurgical disease is high. Thus, the primary aim of this study was to assess the effects of gender and country on perceived access to neurosurgical research and mentorship opportunities.

Development of an algorithm for analysis of routes: Case studies using novice and older drivers.

Introduction: This study addresses the lack of methods to quantify driver familiarity with roadways, which poses a higher risk of crashes.

Method: We present a new approach to assessing driving route diversity and familiarity using data from the DrivingApp, a smartphone-based research tool that collects trip-level information, including driving exposure and global positioning system (GPS) data, from young novice drivers (15-19 years old) to older drivers (67-78 years old). Using these data, we developed a GPS data-based algorithm to analyze the uniqueness of driving routes.

Protocol for Cerebellar Stimulation for Aphasia Rehabilitation (CeSAR): A randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial.

In this randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial of Cerebellar Stimulation for Aphasia Rehabilitation (CeSAR), we will determine the effectiveness of cathodal tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation) to the right cerebellum for the treatment of chronic aphasia (>6 months post stroke). We will test the hypothesis that cerebellar tDCS in combination with an evidenced-based anomia treatment (semantic feature analysis, SFA) will be associated with greater improvement in naming untrained pictures (as measured by the change in Philadelphia Picture Naming Test), 1-week post-treatment, compared to sham plus SFA. We will also evaluate the effects of cerebellar tDCS on naming trained items as well as the effects on functional communication, content, efficiency, and word-retrieval of picture description, and quality of life.

Deaths of despair-associated mortality rates globally: a 2000-2019 sex-specific disparities analysis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore sex-specific disparities in rates of deaths of despair across 183 countries from 2000 to 2019.

Study Design: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional population-level data.

Methods: Data were obtained from the World Health Organization Health Inequality Data Repository.

The association of COVID-19 vaccination and menstrual health: A period-tracking app-based cohort study.

Background: In initial COVID-19 clinical trials, menstrual health was not formally monitored, yet anecdotal reports of menstruation changes surfaced on social media. This study aims to assess the association between COVID-19 vaccines and menstruation using Clue, a period-tracking application.

Study Design: A survey assessing demographics, menstrual health, stress levels, and COVID-19 vaccination was sent to Clue users between 12/7/2021 and 2/9/2022.

Advancing Transportation Equity and Safety Through Autonomous Vehicles.

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death in the United States, and disproportionately impact communities of color. Replacing human control with automated vehicles (AVs) holds the potential to reduce crashes and save lives. The benefits of AVs, including automated shuttles, buses, or cars could extend beyond safety to include improvements in congestion, reductions in emissions, and increased access to mobility, particularly for vulnerable populations.

Overweight and obese women's symptoms, knowledge, and preferences regarding endometrial biopsy for endometrial cancer detection: A threshold technique survey.

Background: The incidence of endometrial cancer (EC) in the United States continues to rise, driven mainly by the obesity epidemic. We sought to determine overweight and obese women's cancer risk knowledge and preferences regarding diagnostic endometrial biopsy (EMB) for EC detection.

Methods: An online survey was administered to overweight and obese women without EC recruited through the electronic medical record's online patient portal.

Actigraphy methodology in the Kids Mod PAH trial: Physical activity as a functional endpoint in pediatric clinical trials.

Pulmonary vasodilator treatment can improve hemodynamics, right ventricular function, symptoms, and survival in pediatric pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, clinical trial data are lacking due to many constraints. One major limitation is the lack of relevant trial endpoints reflective of hemodynamics or functional status in patients in whom standard exercise testing is impractical, unreliable, or not reproducible.

Corneal Transplant Rejection Postvaccination Among Medicare Beneficiaries.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the incidence of corneal graft rejection after COVID and influenza vaccination.

Methods: Patients 65 years or older undergoing penetrating keratoplasty or endothelial keratoplasty any time between 2016 and 2021 followed by COVID or influenza vaccination in 2021 among the 100% Medicare Fee-For-Service database were included. Demographic and ocular history characteristics of patients with (cases) and without graft rejection (controls) were compared using the χ 2 test.

Circumscribed Masses on Breast MRI: Can MRI Features Guide Management?

Objective: Management of circumscribed breast masses seen on MRI is largely extrapolated from mammography and US data with limited MRI-specific data available. This study aimed to assess clinical and MRI imaging features of malignant circumscribed breast masses.

Methods: In this IRB-approved retrospective study, breast MRIs performed between April 1, 2008, and August 30, 2020, containing circumscribed masses, excluding multiple bilateral circumscribed masses, were reviewed.

Protocol for Cerebellar Stimulation for Aphasia Rehabilitation (CeSAR): A randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial.

In this randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial of Cerebellar Stimulation for Aphasia Rehabilitation (CeSAR), we will determine the effectiveness of cathodal tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation) to the right cerebellum for the treatment of chronic aphasia (>6 months post stroke). We will test the hypothesis that cerebellar tDCS in combination with an evidenced-based anomia treatment (semantic feature analysis, SFA) will be associated with greater improvement in naming untrained pictures (as measured by the change in Philadelphia Picture Naming Test), 1-week post treatment, compared to sham plus SFA. We will also evaluate the effects of cerebellar tDCS on naming trained items as well as the effects on functional communication, content, efficiency, and word-retrieval of picture description, and quality of life.

Revisiting the Plasmodium sporozoite inoculum and elucidating the efficiency with which malaria parasites progress through the mosquito.

Malaria is initiated when infected anopheline mosquitoes inoculate sporozoites as they probe for blood. It is thought that all infected mosquitoes are equivalent in terms of their infectious potential, with parasite burden having no role in transmission success. In this study, using mosquitoes harboring the entire range of salivary gland sporozoite loads observed in the field, we demonstrate a strong and highly significant correlation between mosquito parasite burden and inoculum size.

Gender diversity at spine surgery academic conferences: a 15-year investigation.

Background Context: Enhancing gender diversity at academic conferences is critical for advancing women's representation and career trajectories in spine surgery.

Purpose: To discover trends in women's representation at major spine conferences over a 15-year period.

Study Design/setting: Conference records from the 2007-2021 annual meetings of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, North American Spine Society, and Scoliosis Research Society (SRS).

The CryoPop study: Screening for high-grade cervical dysplasia in Karnataka, India.

Objective: To describe our experience of screening with visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and colposcopy to identify women with high-grade precancerous cervical lesions who were candidates for cryotherapy. Women were screened to determine eligibility for a clinical trial testing the safety and efficacy of a new, simple and inexpensive cryotherapy device (CryoPop®) targeted for use in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Kids Mod PAH trial: A multicenter trial comparing mono- versus duo-therapy for initial treatment of pediatric pulmonary hypertension.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a significant health problem that contributes to high morbidity and mortality in diverse cardiac, pulmonary, and systemic diseases in children. Evidence-based advances in PH care have been challenged by a paucity of quality endpoints for assessing clinical course and the lack of robust clinical trial data to guide pharmacologic therapies in children. While the landmark adult AMBITION trial demonstrated the benefit of up-front combination PH therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil, it remains unknown whether upfront combination therapy leads to more rapid and sustained clinical benefits in children with various categories of PH.

Association of Long-Term, New-Onset, and Postsurgical Diabetes With Survival in Patients With Resectable Pancreatic Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a poor prognosis. Identifying modifiable risk factors, such as diabetes, is crucial. In the context of PDAC diagnosis, diabetes manifests as long-term (LTD), new-onset (NOD), or postsurgical (PSD) phenotypes.

A clustered randomized control trial to assess feasibility, acceptability, and impact of implementing the birth companion intervention package in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria: study protocol.

Background: A birth companion is a simple and low-cost intervention that can improve both maternal and newborn health outcomes. The evidence that birth companionship improves labor outcomes and experiences of care has been available for many years. Global and national policies exist in support of birth companions.

Impact of Consolidative Radiation on Overall and Progression-Free Survival in Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Metastatic Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcoma.

Purpose: To determine the association between consolidative radiation (RT) and survival in children, adolescents, and young adults with metastatic sarcoma.

Methods And Materials: Eligibility criteria included patients aged ≤39 years with newly diagnosed metastatic bone or soft tissue sarcoma who completed local control of the primary tumor without disease progression. Consolidative RT was defined as RT to all known sites of metastatic disease.

Can a Smartphone Application Be Used to Measure Practice Driving Behavior During the Learner Permit Period? A Step Toward Performance-Based Licensing.

Introduction: Supervised practice during the learner stage of graduated driver licensing is required in all U.S. states and some international jurisdictions.

Dissemination and Implementation of a Community Health Worker Intervention for Disparities in Palliative Care (DeCIDE PC): a study protocol for a hybrid type 1 randomized controlled trial.

Background: There are persistent racial and ethnic health disparities in end-of-life health outcomes in the United States. African American patients are less likely than White patients to access palliative care, enroll in hospice care, have documented goals of care discussions with their healthcare providers, receive adequate symptom control, or die at home. We developed Community Health Worker Intervention for Disparities in Palliative Care (DeCIDE PC) to address these disparities.

Gastrointestinal syndromes preceding a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease: testing Braak's hypothesis using a nationwide database for comparison with Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular diseases.

Objective: Braak's hypothesis states that Parkinson's disease (PD) originates in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and similar associations have been established for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cerebrovascular diseases (CVD). We aimed to determine the incidence of GI syndromes and interventions preceding PD compared with negative controls (NCs), AD and CVD.

Design: We performed a combined case-control and cohort study using TriNetX, a US based nationwide medical record network.