The Association of County-Level Presidential Election Outcome and COVID-19 Mortality in Colorado, 2020-2022.

Context: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic occurred during a time of political tension in the United States. County-level political environment may have been influential in COVID-19 outcomes.

Objective: This study examined the association between county-level political environment and age-adjusted COVID-19 mortality rates from 2020 to 2022.

Consensus Recommendations for Studies of Outflow Facility and Intraocular Pressure Regulation Using Ex Vivo Perfusion Approaches.

Intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation is the primary risk factor and currently the main treatable factor for progression of glaucomatous optic neuropathy. In addition to direct clinical and living animal in vivo studies, ex vivo perfusion of anterior segments and whole eyes is a key technique for studying conventional outflow function as it is responsible for IOP regulation. We present well-tested experimental details, protocols, considerations, advantages, and limitations of several ex vivo model systems for studying IOP regulation.

Disrupted uromodulin trafficking is rescued by targeting TMED cargo receptors.

The trafficking dynamics of uromodulin (UMOD), the most abundant protein in human urine, play a critical role in the pathogenesis of kidney disease. Monoallelic mutations in the UMOD gene cause autosomal dominant tubulointerstitial kidney disease (ADTKD-UMOD), an incurable genetic disorder that leads to kidney failure. The disease is caused by the intracellular entrapment of mutant UMOD in kidney epithelial cells, but the precise mechanisms mediating disrupted UMOD trafficking remain elusive.

Windows of Susceptibility to Air Pollution During and Surrounding Pregnancy in Relation to Longitudinal Maternal Measures of Adiposity and Lipid Profiles.

Pregnancy is a critical window for long-term metabolic programming of fetal effects stemming from airborne particulate matter ≤2.5μm (PM ) exposure. Yet, little is known about long-term metabolic effects of PM exposure during and surrounding pregnancy in mothers.

Expert Consultation: Factors Influencing End-of-Life Decision-Making for Dairy Cattle Across the United States Supply Chain.

The end-of-life (i.e., on-farm euthanasia and culling, including fitness for transport to slaughter) of a dairy cow or calf is preceded by a series of decisions often influenced by many complex factors.

The Youth Fitness International Test (YFIT) battery for monitoring and surveillance among children and adolescents: A modified Delphi consensus project with 169 experts from 50 countries and territories.

Background: Physical fitness in childhood and adolescence is associated with a variety of health outcomes and is a powerful marker of current and future health. However, inconsistencies in tests and protocols limit international monitoring and surveillance. The objective of the study was to seek international consensus on a proposed, evidence-informed, Youth Fitness International Test (YFIT) battery and protocols for health monitoring and surveillance in children and adolescents aged 6-18 years.

Detecting new erosions in rheumatoid arthritis over one year - Radiography and high-resolution computed tomography of finger joints.

Objective: To compare the number of new erosions in two metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints over one year assessed by high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) and conventional radiography (CR). Furthermore, to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of erosive progression by CR with HR-pQCT as the reference standard.

Methods: Paired sets of image data were available from patients with RA (n=310), who underwent HR-pQCT and CR, including the 2nd and 3rd MCP joints only of the dominant hand at baseline and at the one-year follow-up.

Day-to-Day Fluctuation in Micronutrient Content in Human Milk Relative to Maternal Diet.

Background/objectives: The impact of daily variations in habitual maternal intake on human milk (HM) composition has been poorly studied. We aimed to investigate the associations between day-to-day fluctuation in the micronutrient concentration in HM and daily maternal diet.

Methods: To this end, an observational longitudinal study was carried out.

Nanotubules and Cellular Communication in Trabecular Meshwork Cells.

Glaucoma causes dysfunction to tissues located in the anterior and posterior eye. In the anterior eye, the trabecular meshwork (TM) is the site of pathogenesis, where decreased TM cell numbers and alterations to the amount and composition of extracellular matrix hinder outflow of aqueous humor fluid from the anterior chamber. This causes intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation.

Eating in the Absence of Hunger Is a Stable Predictor of Adiposity Gains in Middle Childhood.

Background: Eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) is a behavioral phenotype of pediatric obesity characterized by the consumption of palatable foods beyond hunger. Studies in children have identified EAH to be stable over time, but findings are unclear on whether it predicts the development of adiposity, particularly in middle childhood, a period of increased autonomy over food choices.

Objectives: We hypothesized that EAH would remain stable and be associated with increased adiposity over a ≥1-y prospective study in 7-8-y old children without obesity.

spconfShiny: An R Shiny application for calculating the spatial scale of smoothing splines for point data.

Epidemiological analyses of environmental exposures often benefit from including spatial splines in models to account for confounding by spatial location. Understanding how the number of splines relates to physical spatial differences is not always intuitive and can be context-dependent. To address this, we developed a R Shiny application, spconfShiny, that provides a user-friendly platform to calculate an effective bandwidth metric that quantifies the relationship between spatial splines and the range of implied spatial smoothing.

Evolving patterns of intracranial hemorrhage in advanced therapies in patients with acute pulmonary embolism.

Background: Dissecting trends and contributing risk factors for intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) in patients treated for acute pulmonary embolism (PE) may allow for a better patient selection for existing and emerging treatment options.

Methods: The German nationwide inpatient sample was screened for patients admitted due to PE 2005-2020. Hospitalizations were stratified for the occurrence of ICH; risk factors for ICH and temporal trends were investigated.

Intensive care treatment in acute pulmonary embolism in Germany, 2016 to 2020: a nationwide inpatient database study.

Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a potentially life-threatening condition. Admission and treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) is an important element in critically ill PE patients.

Objectives: We aimed to identify risk factors for ICU admission and differences in patient profiles regarding risk factors and comorbidities between PE patients who had to be admitted to an ICU and those who were treated in a normal ward without ICU.

Atrial Adaptations in Athletes Heart.

Background: Intensive training efforts are associated with hemodynamic changes accompanied by increases in cardiac output and stroke volume related to higher peak oxygen consumption and better athletic performance during exercise. These hemodynamic changes induce an enlargement of cardiac chambers, but also of the atria and may result in an athletes' heart (AH). Data from large studies about atrial enlargement in AH are sparse.

[Pulmonary embolism: outpatient treatment and follow-up].

Despite declining numbers - older people in particular - often die from pulmonary embolism. A rapid assessment of the risk in the event of a suspected embolism, the exclusion of comorbidities and the appropriate therapy are the focus of the current guidelines. Early and subsequent outpatient treatment of a patient with acute PE generally requires 3 criteria: low risk of early complications, the absence of serious comorbidities and the highest possible safety at home and, in the event of a complication, rapid access to acute care in the hospital.

Burden of disease in Germany attributed to ambient particulate matter pollution : Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

Introduction: Ambient fine particulate matter pollution with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers (PM) is a significant risk factor for chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), leading to a substantial disease burden, decreased quality of life, and deaths globally. This study aimed to investigate the disease and mortality burdens attributed to PM in Germany in 2019.