Reducing emissions of atmospheric pollutants along major dry bulk and tanker routes through autonomous shipping.

The present study investigates the environmental benefits of phasing-in autonomous ships in global maritime transportation along major dry bulk and tanker routes using Bayesian probabilistic forecasting algorithm. The focus is on the simulations and calibrations on the navigational behavior of autonomous ships at both port and high-sea, as well as the potential emission abatement of atmospheric pollutants compared to the conventional fleet along the sailing routes. We use historical data on major international tanker and dry bulk trade routes to characterize the ship movements and trends in ship emission.

Assessment of COVID-19 pandemic effects on ship pollutant emissions in major international seaports.

This study aims to investigate the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic effects and associated restrictive rules on ship activities and pollutant emissions (CO, SO, NO, PM, CO, CH) in four major seaports, namely the Ports of Singapore, Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Hamburg. We used 2019 as the baseline year to show the business-as-usual emission and compared with the estimated quantity during the July 2020-July 2021 pandemic period. We also project future ship emissions from August 2021-August 2022 to illustrate two potential port congestion scenarios due to COVID-19.

Bloodstream Infections and Outcomes Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: A Single-Center Study.

This study investigated the single-center incidence and risk factors for bloodstream infections (BSIs) in 651 adults who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) between 2015 and 2019 and explored the impact of these BSIs on post-transplantation outcomes. Antibiotic prophylaxis with ciprofloxacin was given during the aplastic phase. Overall, the median patient age was 57 years, 79.

Anti-thymocyte globulin and post-transplant cyclophosphamide predisposes to inferior outcome when using cryopreserved stem cell grafts.

During 2020, the concurrent novel COVID-19 pandemic lead to widespread cryopreservation of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant grafts based on National Marrow Donor Program and European Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation recommendations, in order to secure grafts before the start of conditioning chemotherapy. We sought to examine the impact of this change in practice on patient outcomes. We analyzed the outcomes of 483 patients who received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) between August 2017 and August 2020, at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada, in the retrospective study, comparing the outcomes between those who received cryopreserved or fresh peripheral blood stem cell grafts.

Tumor dissociation of highly viable cell suspensions for single-cell omic analyses in mouse models of breast cancer.

Cell preparation with a high rate of viable cells is required to obtain reliable single-cell transcriptomic and epigenomic data. This protocol describes a technique for digestion and single-cell isolation from mouse mammary tumors to achieve ∼90% of viable cells, which can be subsequently processed in a diverse array of high-throughput single-cell "omic platforms," both in an unbiased manner or after selection of a specific cell population. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Valdes-Mora et al.

Nance-Horan Syndrome-like 1 protein negatively regulates Scar/WAVE-Arp2/3 activity and inhibits lamellipodia stability and cell migration.

Cell migration is important for development and its aberrant regulation contributes to many diseases. The Scar/WAVE complex is essential for Arp2/3 mediated lamellipodia formation during mesenchymal cell migration and several coinciding signals activate it. However, so far, no direct negative regulators are known.

Preoperative Factors Associated with Anesthesia Failure for Patients Undergoing Nonsurgical Root Canal Therapy: A National Dental Practice-Based Research Network Study.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to identify preoperative factors associated with local anesthesia failure.

Methods: The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (www.NationalDentalPBRN.

Identifying areas of improvement for cultural competence in pharmacy curricula: A multi-school study using the self-assessment of perceived level of cultural competence (SAPLCC) questionnaire.

Introduction: The implementation of culturally competent healthcare services has been considered a key strategy for the provision of patient-centered care; however, a need remains to address the requirements of teaching cultural competence, including identifying gaps, designing and evaluating curricula, and assessing students' progress toward program objectives. The objective of this study was to explore the applicability of the Self-Assessment of Perceived Level of Cultural Competence (SAPLCC) questionnaire in the identification of improvement areas in cultural competence content in pharmacy curricula.

Methods: This study used previously-collected SAPLCC data from student pharmacists at eight United States pharmacy schools.

CE: A Prone Positioning Protocol for Awake, Nonintubated Patients with COVID-19.

Prone positioning of critically ill patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome is an accepted therapy done to improve oxygenation and promote weaning from mechanical ventilation. But there is limited information regarding its use outside of the ICU. At one Boston hospital, the influx of patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 strained its resources, requiring sweeping systems changes and inspiring innovations in clinical care.

Mammary Tumor Organoid Culture in Non-Adhesive Alginate for Luminal Mechanics and High-Throughput Drug Screening.

Mammary tumor organoids have become a promising in vitro model for drug screening and personalized medicine. However, the dependency on the basement membrane extract (BME) as the growth matrices limits their comprehensive application. In this work, mouse mammary tumor organoids are established by encapsulating tumor pieces in non-adhesive alginate.

Scoping review: the empowerment of Alzheimer's Disease caregivers with mHealth applications.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative chronic diseases. As it progresses, patients become increasingly dependent, and their caregivers are burdened with the increasing demand for managing their care. Mobile health (mHealth) technology, such as smartphone applications, can support the need of these caregivers.

Regional and sociodemographic differences in average BMI among US children in the ECHO program.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the association of individual-level characteristics (sex, race/ethnicity, birth weight, maternal education) with child BMI within each US Census region and variation in child BMI by region.

Methods: This study used pooled data from 25 prospective cohort studies. Region of residence (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) was based on residential zip codes.

A novel strain of lumpy skin disease virus causes clinical disease in cattle in Hong Kong.

Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) is an emerging poxviral pathogen of cattle that is currently spreading throughout Asia. The disease situation is of high importance for farmers and policy makers in Asia. In October 2020, feral cattle in Hong Kong developed multi-focal cutaneous nodules consistent with lumpy skin disease (LSD).

Lower dose of ATG combined with post-transplant cyclophosphamide for HLA matched RIC alloHCT is associated with effective control of GVHD and less viral infections.

This study compares the outcomes before and after reducing the ATG dose from 4.5 to 2 mg/kg, in a combination of PTCy and CsA for GVHD prevention, in 250 patients treated with HLA matched RIC PB-alloHCT (70% received 4.5 mg/kg and 30% received 2 mg/kg).

AMP deamination is sufficient to replicate an atrophy-like metabolic phenotype in skeletal muscle.

Background: Skeletal muscle atrophy, whether caused by chronic disease, acute critical illness, disuse or aging, is characterized by tissue-specific decrease in oxidative capacity and broad alterations in metabolism that contribute to functional decline. However, the underlying mechanisms responsible for these metabolic changes are largely unknown. One of the most highly upregulated genes in atrophic muscle is AMP deaminase 3 (AMPD3: AMP → IMP + NH), which controls the content of intracellular adenine nucleotides (AdN; ATP + ADP + AMP).

Days out of Institution after Tracheostomy and Gastrostomy Placement in Critically Ill Older Adults.

Tracheostomy and gastrostomy tubes are frequently placed during critical illness for long-term life support, with most placed in older adults. Large knowledge gaps exist regarding outcomes expressed as most important to patients. To determine the number of days alive and out of institution (DAOIs) and mortality after tracheostomy and gastrostomy placement during critical illness and to evaluate associations between health states before critical illness and outcomes.

Report of the 2020-2021 Strategic Engagement Standing Committee.

For the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), strategic engagement is critical to the success of colleges and schools of pharmacy in expanding pharmacy and public health practice, meeting programmatic needs, and fulfilling institutional missions. The 2020-2021 Strategic Engagement Standing Committee was charged with identifying effective strategies to leverage the temporary expansion of pharmacist practice capabilities granted during the COVID-19 pandemic for sustained practice. The group was also tasked with looking at ways to partner with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), our medicine counterparts to develop a plan for collaborating with them to advance interprofessional practice.

Maternal corticosteroids and depression during gestation and decreased fetal heart rate variability.

Objective: Maternal depression during gestation is an adverse factor in fetal brain development that manifests in later childhood behavioral problems. Fetal heart rate variability (FHRV) mediated by parasympathetic input is a marker of gestational nervous system development. Biological mediators of adverse effects of maternal depression may involve the mother's corticosteroids; however, links between depression, corticosteroids, and early nervous system development remain inconclusive.

Interexaminer Agreement in the Radiologic Identification of Apical Periodontitis/Rarefying Osteitis in the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network PREDICT Endodontic Study.

Introduction: Periapical images are routinely made in endodontics to support diagnosis and treatment decisions, but conventional imaging may not readily demonstrate inflammatory changes. This study aims to quantify disagreement in the radiologic interpretation of apical periodontitis/rarefying osteitis between 2 expert examiners and to determine if differences exist based on anatomic location.

Methods: We used 1717 pretreatment periapical images made before orthograde endodontic treatment as part of the Predicting Outcomes of Root Canal Treatment (PREDICT) study conducted within the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.

Effect of pre-transplant JAK1/2 inhibitors and CD34 dose on transplant outcomes in myelofibrosis.

Allogeneic hematopoeitic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) is the only curative treatment for myelofibrosis (MF). We evaluate the impact of various factors on survival outcomes post-transplant in MF. Data of 89 consecutive MF patients (primary 47%) who underwent allo-HCT between 2005 and 2018 was evaluated.

Transitions of care at an ambulatory care clinic: An implementation science approach.

Background: Transitions of care (TOC) issues contribute to approximately 76% of preventable hospital readmissions. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) focus on improvement of quality of care through TOC services. Studies have not used both implementation science and patient input to develop a TOC program that fulfills CMS criteria and satisfies patients' reported needs.

Lottery-Based Incentive in Ohio and COVID-19 Vaccination Rates.

This study assesses changes in COVID-19 vaccination rates before and after the Ohio vaccine lottery announcement compared with national rates to control for the expansion of vaccine indications to adolescents.