Psychometric Evaluation of the Scleroderma Skin Questionnaire: A Novel Patient Reported Outcome for Skin Disease in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis.

Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Scleroderma Skin Questionnaire (SSQ), a novel patient-reported outcome (PRO) to assess systemic sclerosis (SSc) related skin symptoms.

Methods: The SSQ was administered to 799 adults (mean age 52.7; 82% female) enrolled in the SSc Collaborative National Quality and Efficacy Registry (CONQUER).

Harmful Marketing: An Overlooked Social Determinant of Health.

This paper reviews evidence about the impact of marketing on ill health. We summarize evidence that marketing practices in six industries (tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceutical, processed food, firearm, and fossil fuel) are causal influences on the occurrence of injury, disease, and premature death. For each industry, we provide a brief overview on the extent of harmful marketing, efforts from each industry to obscure or otherwise conceal the impact of their marketing strategies, and efforts to counter the impact of harmful marketing in these industries.

Patient perspectives on educational needs in scleroderma-interstitial lung disease.

Background: Systemic sclerosis is a chronic and rare connective tissue disease with multiorgan effects, including interstitial lung disease (ILD). Navigating systemic sclerosis-interstitial lung disease presents a challenge for patients due to the gaps in patient education, which can impact patient health and quality of life. This study utilized the nominal group technique to identify priority knowledge gaps among patients with systemic sclerosis-interstitial lung disease and inform future educational interventions and research.

Geospatial modeling of near subsurface temperatures of the contiguous United States for assessment of materials degradation.

Understanding subsurface temperature variations is crucial for assessing material degradation in underground structures. This study maps subsurface temperatures across the contiguous United States for depths from 50 to 3500 m, comparing linear interpolation, gradient boosting (LightGBM), neural networks, and a novel hybrid approach combining linear interpolation with LightGBM. Results reveal heterogeneous temperature patterns both horizontally and vertically.