Hospital coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health reporting: Lessons from validation of an automated surveillance tool to facilitate data collection.

A comparison of computer-extracted and facility-reported counts of hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients for public health reporting at 36 hospitals revealed 42% of days with matching counts between the data sources. Miscategorization of suspect cases was a primary driver of discordance. Clear reporting definitions and data validation facilitate emerging disease surveillance.

A targeted assessment for prevention strategy to decrease infections in Veterans Affairs acute-care medical centers.

Objective: A guideline for the prevention of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in 127 Veterans Health Administration acute-care facilities was implemented in July 2012. Beginning in 2015, a targeted assessment for prevention strategy was used to evaluate facilities for hospital-onset healthcare-facility-associated CDIs to focus prevention efforts where they might have the most impact in reaching a reduction goal of 30% nationwide.

Methods: We calculated standardized infection ratios (SIRs) and cumulative attributable differences (CADs) using a national data baseline.

Biomechanical Effects of Human Lumbar Discography: In Vitro Experiments and Their Finite Element Validation.

Study Design: An experimental and computational finite element analysis of human lumbar spine discography and its resulting effects on disk biomechanics.

Objective: To characterize the changes in stress and displacement of the human lumbar spine disks after puncture due to discography.

Summary Of Background Data: Discography of the intervertebral disk (IVD) may be used to diagnose pathology of the disk and determine whether it may be a source for chronic back pain.

Role for retinoid signaling in left-right asymmetric digestive organ morphogenesis.

The looping events that establish left-right asymmetries in the vertebrate gut tube are poorly understood. Retinoic acid signaling is known to impact left-right development in multiple embryonic contexts, although its role in asymmetric digestive organ morphogenesis is unknown. Here, we show that the genes for retinaldehyde dehydrogenase (RALDH2) and a retinoic acid hydroxylase (CYP26A1) are expressed in complementary patterns in the Xenopus gut during looping.