Indicators of rigor in dissertation research.

In a previous article, we focused on dissertation research related to rigor and the central role of rigor in Ph.D. dissertation research (Goodman et al.

Higher socioeconomic status is associated with greater rates of surgical resource utilization prior to spine fusion surgery.

Background Context: Previous research has demonstrated an association between socioeconomic status (SES) and patient health, specifically noting that patients of lower SES have poor health outcomes. Understanding how social factors, including socioeconomic status (SES), relate to disparities in health outcomes is critical to closing gaps in equitable care to patients. While several studies have examined the effect of SES on postoperative spine outcomes, there is limited spine literature evaluating SES in the context of barriers to spine care.

Temporal change in minimum mortality temperature under changing climate: A multicountry multicommunity observational study spanning 1986-2015.

Background: The minimum mortality temperature (MMT) or MMT percentile (MMTP) is an indicator of population susceptibility to nonoptimum temperatures. MMT and MMTP change over time; however, the changing directions show region-wide heterogeneity. We examined the heterogeneity of temporal changes in MMT and MMTP across multiple communities and in multiple countries.

Views and Uses of Sepsis Digital Alerts in National Health Service Trusts in England: Qualitative Study With Health Care Professionals.

Background: Sepsis is a common cause of serious illness and death. Sepsis management remains challenging and suboptimal. To support rapid sepsis diagnosis and treatment, screening tools have been embedded into hospital digital systems to appear as digital alerts.

Temperature-mortality associations by age and cause: a multi-country multi-city study.

Background: Heterogeneity in temperature-mortality relationships across locations may partly result from differences in the demographic structure of populations and their cause-specific vulnerabilities. Here we conduct the largest epidemiological study to date on the association between ambient temperature and mortality by age and cause using data from 532 cities in 33 countries.

Methods: We collected daily temperature and mortality data from each country.

The effect of lumbar medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy on cobb angle progression in individuals with adult scoliosis compared to natural history: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Lumbar radiofrequency neurotomy (LRFN) effectively alleviates zygapophyseal joint-mediated pain by coagulating medial branch nerves to disrupt nociceptive signaling pathways. The concomitant denervation of multifidus fibers has led to concern that LRFN may increase segmental instability and accelerate degenerative changes in patients with certain pre-existing spinal pathologies. There is a paucity of literature evaluating whether LRFN increases the progression of spinal curvature in patients with adult scoliosis.

Lactococcus lactis MA5 is a potential autochthonous probiotic for nutrient digestibility enhancement and bacterial pathogen inhibition in hybrid catfish (Ictalurus punctatus × I. furcatus).

With the emergence of diseases, the U.S. catfish industry is under challenge.

Distress, Pain, and Nausea on Postoperative Days 1 and 14 in Women Recovering From Breast-Conserving Surgery: A Repeated-Measures Study.

Objectives: To determine the incidence and trajectory of distress, pain, and nausea and vomiting at postoperative day (POD) 1 and at POD 14 following breast-conserving surgery.

Sample & Setting: 75 women aged 18 years or older receiving breast-conserving surgery with sentinel lymph node biopsy for treatment of early-stage primary breast cancer at an ambulatory surgery center.

Methods & Variables: This prospective, repeated-measures study assessed distress, pain, and nausea and vomiting using the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Thermometer and Problem List on POD 1 and POD 14.

The effectiveness of selection in a species affects the direction of amino acid frequency evolution.

Nearly neutral theory predicts that species with higher effective population size ( ) are better able to purge slightly deleterious mutations. We compare evolution in high- vs. low- vertebrates to reveal which amino acid frequencies are subject to subtle selective preferences.

Global, regional, and national burden of heatwave-related mortality from 1990 to 2019: A three-stage modelling study.

Background: The regional disparity of heatwave-related mortality over a long period has not been sufficiently assessed across the globe, impeding the localisation of adaptation planning and risk management towards climate change. We quantified the global mortality burden associated with heatwaves at a spatial resolution of 0.5°×0.

Chronic Health Conditions and Longitudinal Employment in Survivors of Childhood Cancer.

Importance: Employment is an important factor in quality of life and provides social and economic support. Longitudinal data on employment and associations with chronic health conditions for adult survivors of childhood cancer are lacking.

Objective: To evaluate longitudinal trends in employment among survivors of childhood cancer.

Impact of risk-based therapy on late morbidity and mortality in neuroblastoma survivors: a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Background: Early efforts at risk-adapted therapy for neuroblastoma are predicted to result in differential late effects; the magnitude of these differences has not been well described.

Methods: Late mortality, subsequent malignant neoplasms (SMNs), and severe/life-threatening chronic health conditions (CHCs), graded according to CTCAE v4.03, were assessed among 5-year Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) survivors of neuroblastoma diagnosed 1987-1999.

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa's major land uses.

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species' population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate 'intactness scores': the remaining proportion of an 'intact' reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region's major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.

Global, regional, and national burden of mortality associated with cold spells during 2000-19: a three-stage modelling study.

Background: Exposure to cold spells is associated with mortality. However, little is known about the global mortality burden of cold spells.

Methods: A three-stage meta-analytical method was used to estimate the global mortality burden associated with cold spells by means of a time series dataset of 1960 locations across 59 countries (or regions).

Significance of Facet Fluid Index in Anterior Cervical Degenerative Spondylolisthesis.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: To correlate cervical facet fluid characteristics to radiographic spondylolisthesis, determine if facet fluid is associated with instability in cervical degenerative spondylolisthesis, and examine whether vertebral levels with certain facet fluid characteristics and spondylolisthesis are more likely to be operated on.

Overview Of Literature: The relationship between facet fluid and lumbar spondylolisthesis is well-documented; however, there is a paucity of literature investigating facet fluid in degenerative cervical spondylolisthesis.

The Impact of Socioeconomic Status on the Presence of Advance Care Planning Documents in Patients With Acute Cervical Spinal Cord Injury.

Introduction: Patients presenting with spinal cord injury (SCI) often times have notable deficits or polytrauma and may require urgent decision making for early management. However, their presentation may affect decision-making ability. Although advance care planning (ACP) may help guide spine surgeons as to patient preferences, the rate at which they are available and disparities in ACP completion are still not understood.

Influence of probiotic and prebiotic supplementation on intestinal microbiota and resistance to Edwardsiella ictaluri infection in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) following florfenicol administration.

Enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC), caused by the gram-negative enteric bacteria Edwardsiella ictaluri, is a significant threat to catfish aquaculture in the southeastern United States. Antibiotic intervention can reduce mortality; however, antibiotic use results in an imbalance, or dysbiosis, of the gut microbiota, which may increase susceptibility of otherwise healthy fish to enteric infections. Herein, recovery of the intestinal microbiota and survivability of channel catfish in response to ESC challenge was evaluated following a 10-day course of florfenicol and subsequent probiotic or prebiotic supplementation.