Interactive effects between extreme temperatures and PM on cause-specific mortality in thirteen U.S. states.

The extent and robustness of the interaction between exposures to heat and ambient PM is unclear and little is known of the interaction between exposures to cold and ambient PM. Clarifying these interactions, if any, is crucial due to the omnipresence of PM in the atmosphere and increasing scope and frequency of extreme temperature events. To investigate both of these interactions, we merged 6 073 575 individual-level mortality records from thirteen states spanning seventeen years with 1 km daily PM predictions from sophisticated prediction model and 1 km meteorology from Daymet V4.

Correction: Quality of life in adults with Down syndrome: A mixed methods systematic review.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Reducing biases in the criminal legal system: A perspective from expected utility.

Objective: Racial biases exist in almost every aspect of the criminal legal system, resulting in disparities across all stages of legal procedures-before, during, and after a legal procedure. Building on expected utility theory, we propose an expected utility framework to organize and quantify racial disparities in legal procedures.

Hypotheses: Corresponding to the parameteres involved in estimating expected utility, we hypothesized that racial biases would occur at different stages of legal procedures.

A Retrospective, Longitudinal Registry Study on the Long-Term Durability of Ivacaftor Treatment in People with Cystic Fibrosis.

Introduction: Ivacaftor (IVA) has been shown to change the trajectory of cystic fibrosis (CF) disease progression by slowing the rate of lung function decline in clinical studies. Long-term real-world data help to confirm the durability of this response.

Methods: This non-interventional, longitudinal study used data from the US CF Foundation Patient Registry to describe the annualized rate of change in lung function in people with CF receiving IVA.

Long-term impact of ivacaftor on mortality rate and health outcomes in people with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Ivacaftor (IVA) has been shown to improve lung function and other clinical outcomes in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). A decade of real-world IVA availability has enabled the examination of long-term outcomes with this treatment. This retrospective, longitudinal cohort study investigated the impact of IVA on mortality rate and health outcomes among people with CF in the US.

Point-of-Care Ultrasound in the Emergency Department: Training, Perceptions, Applications, and Barriers from Different Healthcare Professionals.

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a valuable tool that assists in diagnosis and management of patients in the emergency department (ED) while being cost-efficient and without the use of ionizing radiation. To discern the opinions and perceptions of ED staff about POCUS applications and barriers, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of employees of 12 EDs in North Texas.

Methods: Participants completed a 20-item online survey about POCUS with questions pertaining to four domains: (1) employee and training information, (2) perceived benefits, (3) common applications, and (4) barriers to use.

Impact of age at ivacaftor initiation on pulmonary outcomes among people with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Ivacaftor (IVA) improves lung function and other extrapulmonary outcomes in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). However, the effect of initiating IVA at earlier versus later ages has not been studied.

Methods: We conducted an observational cohort study of people in the US CF Foundation Patient Registry aged ≥6 years with ≥1 CF transmembrane conductance regulator-gating mutation to compare the effects of initiating IVA at earlier ages on per cent predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s (ppFEV) and pulmonary exacerbation (PEx) outcomes.

Grouped mixtures of air pollutants and seasonal temperature anomalies and cardiovascular hospitalizations among U.S. Residents.

Background: Air pollution is a recognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Temperature is also linked to CVD, with a primary focus on acute effects. Despite the close relationship between air pollution and temperature, their health effects are often examined separately, potentially overlooking their synergistic effects.

Validating the Modified McGill Thyroid Nodule Score for Assessment of Preoperative Risk of Pediatric Thyroid Malignancy.

Objective: The McGill Thyroid Nodule Score (MTNS) is a preoperative tool used to predict the risk for well-differentiated thyroid cancer in adults. It was developed by a multidisciplinary team using established evidence-based risk factors for thyroid cancer. The modified McGill Thyroid Nodule Score (mMTNS) was developed to predict malignancy risk in children.

Accelerating the development of genetically engineered cellular therapies: a framework for extrapolating data across related products.

Background: Significant advancements have been made in the field of cellular therapy as anti-cancer treatments, with the approval of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies and the development of other genetically engineered cellular therapies. CAR-T cell therapies have demonstrated remarkable clinical outcomes in various hematological malignancies, establishing their potential to change the current cancer treatment paradigm. Due to the increasing importance of genetically engineered cellular therapies in the oncology treatment landscape, implementing strategies to expedite development and evidence generation for the next generation of cellular therapy products can have a positive impact on patients.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ocular trauma in American infants and toddlers.

Purpose: To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on infant and toddler ocular trauma in the United States.

Methods: This retrospective analysis of ocular injury data for children ≤3 years of age focused on epidemiologic trends in pediatric ocular injuries in the United States caused by consumer products from 2017 to 2021 and compared differences between pre-pandemic (2017-2019) and pandemic (2020-2021) time periods. Data were collected from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, which includes emergency department visits caused by consumer product-related injuries from a nationally representative sample of hospitals.

Regional impact of multidrug-resistant organism prevention bundles implemented by facility type: A modeling study.

Background: Emerging multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), can spread rapidly in a region. Facilities that care for high-acuity patients with longer stays may have a disproportionate impact on this spread.

Objective: We assessed the impact of implementing preventive interventions, directed at a subset of facilities, on regional prevalence.

Individualised neoantigen therapy mRNA-4157 (V940) plus pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab monotherapy in resected melanoma (KEYNOTE-942): a randomised, phase 2b study.

Background: Checkpoint inhibitors are standard adjuvant treatment for stage IIB-IV resected melanoma, but many patients recur. Our study aimed to evaluate whether mRNA-4157 (V940), a novel mRNA-based individualised neoantigen therapy, combined with pembrolizumab, improved recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival versus pembrolizumab monotherapy in resected high-risk melanoma.

Methods: We did an open-label, randomised, phase 2b, adjuvant study of mRNA-4157 plus pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab monotherapy in patients, enrolled from sites in the USA and Australia, with completely resected high-risk cutaneous melanoma.

Automatic Segmentation of the Paediatric Femoral Head.

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a developmental deformity occurring in 0.1-3.4% of infants.

Evaluation of the US COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub for informing pandemic response under uncertainty.

Our ability to forecast epidemics far into the future is constrained by the many complexities of disease systems. Realistic longer-term projections may, however, be possible under well-defined scenarios that specify the future state of critical epidemic drivers. Since December 2020, the U.

Replacing mechanical protection with colorful faces-twice: parallel evolution of the non-operculate marine worm-snail genera es (Guettard, 1770) and n. gen. (Gastropoda: Vermetidae).

Vermetid worm-snails are sessile and irregularly coiled marine mollusks common in warmer nearshore and coral reef environments that are subject to high predation pressures by fish. Often cryptic, some have evolved sturdy shells or long columellar muscles allowing quick withdrawal into better protected parts of the shell tube, and most have variously developed opercula that protect and seal the shell aperture trapdoor-like. Members of (previously: ) lack such opercular protection.

Healthcare lobbying and campaign finance activities of vision-related professional societies, 2015 to 2022.

Purpose: To compare the lobbying expenditures and political action committee (PAC) campaign finance activities of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), and American Optometric Association (AOA) from 2015 to 2022.

Methods: Financial data were collected from the Federal Election Commission and OpenSecrets database. Analysis was performed to characterize and compare financial activity among the organizations.

Modelling counterfactual incidence during the transition towards culture-independent diagnostic testing.

Background: Culture-independent diagnostic testing (CIDT) provides rapid results to clinicians and is quickly displacing traditional detection methods. Increased CIDT use and sensitivity likely result in higher case detection but might also obscure infection trends. Severe illness outcomes, such as hospitalization and death, are likely less affected by changes in testing practices and can be used as indicators of the expected case incidence trend had testing methods not changed.

Advanced IoT Pressure Monitoring System for Real-Time Landfill Gas Management.

This research presents a novel stand-alone device for the autonomous measurement of gas pressure levels on an active landfill site, which enables the real-time monitoring of gas dynamics and supports the early detection of critical events. The developed device employs advanced sensing technologies and wireless communication capabilities, enabling remote data transmission and access via the Internet. Through extensive field experiments, we demonstrate the high sampling rate of the device and its ability to detect significant events related to gas generation dynamics in landfills, such as flare shutdowns or blockages that could lead to hazardous conditions.

Extramural US Federal Research Grants For Health Outcomes Associated With Climate Change Inadequate, Too Narrow In Focus.

Climate change causes and exacerbates disease, creates and worsens health disparities, disrupts health care delivery, and imposes a significant disease burden in the US and globally. Critical knowledge gaps hinder an evidence-based response and are perpetuated by scarce federal research funds. We identified and described extramural US federal research funding (that is, grants provided to organizations and institutions outside of federal agencies) that both addressed health outcomes associated with climate change and was awarded between 2010 and 2020.

Ultimate Black Hole Recoil: What is the Maximum High-Energy Collision Kick?

We performed a series of 1381 full numerical simulations of high energy collision of black holes to search for the maximum recoil velocity after their merger. We consider equal mass binaries with opposite spins pointing along their orbital plane and perform a search of spin orientations, impact parameters, and initial linear momenta to find the maximum recoil for a given spin magnitude s. This spin sequence for s=0.