Formative and validation human factors studies of a new disposable prefilled injection device for subcutaneous delivery of acthar gel (repository corticotropin injection).

Background: The administration of repository corticotropin injection (Acthar Gel) via a single-dose prefilled injector (SelfJect) is intended to provide a simple, ergonomic alternative to traditional injection. Iterative human factors (HF) studies were conducted to identify potential use deviations and ensure appropriate device use.

Research Design And Methods: This article presents seven formative studies, a validation study (with prior pilot validation studies), and a supplemental validation study with participants including lay users, patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers.

Applying artificial neural network in predicting sepsis mortality in the emergency department based on clinical features and complete blood count parameters.

A complete blood count (CBC) is routinely ordered for emergency department (ED) patients with infections. Certain parameters, such as the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), might have prognostic value. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of the presenting CBC parameters combined with clinical variables in predicting 30-day mortality in adult ED patients with infections using an artificial neural network (ANN).

Lullaby: A Novel Algorithm to Extract Fetal QRS in Real Time Using Periodic Trend Feature.

Fetal heart rate (fHR) is an important indicator for monitoring of fetal cardiac health and development. The widely-used method based on ultrasound, however, is not continuous and often requires an expert to perform; thus, it is mostly used in clinics during checkups. The advances in wearable technology have paved the way for home assessment of fHR via the extraction of the mother's abdominal electrocardiogram (ECG) acquired by novel patches.

Pulmonary Glomus Tumor.

Glomus tumors, which account for less than 2% of soft tissue tumors, are a rare benign soft tissue neoplasm. They originated from neuro-myo-arterial glomus tissue whose primary function is regulation of the body temperature. This tissue is commonly located in the dermis or subcutis in the subungual region; however, it can be extracutaneous such as in bones, the genitourinary tract, the gastrointestinal tract, and the respiratory tract.

Vaccine-preventable hospitalisations in adult mental health service users: a population study.

Background: Vaccine-preventable conditions cause preventable illness and may increase mortality in people living with mental illness. We examined how risks of hospitalisation for a wide range of vaccine-preventable conditions varied by age and sex among mental health (MH) service users.

Methods: Linked population data from New South Wales (NSW), Australia were used to identify vaccine-preventable hospitalisations (VPH) for 19 conditions from 2015 to 2020.

Randomized Open Investigation Determining Steroid Dose in Severe COVID-19: The ROIDS-Dose Clinical Trial.

Introduction Treatment with dexamethasone reduces mortality in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia requiring supplemental oxygen, but the optimal dose has not been determined. Objective To determine whether weight-based dexamethasone of 0.2 mg/kg is superior to 6 mg daily in reducing 28-day mortality in patients with COVID-19 and hypoxemia.

The "Mellanby effect" in alcoholised e-scooter drivers.

Purpose: Several studies tried to discuss and clarify the so-called Mellanby effect: Similar blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) supposedly lead to more signs of impairment in the phase of alcohol resorption than elimination. To assess this effect for alcoholised e-scooter driving, results of a real-driving fitness study were subanalysed.

Methods: Sixteen subjects (9 females; 7 males) who completed runs at comparable BACs in the phases of alcohol resorption and elimination were chosen to assess a possible "Mellanby effect".

A Novel ECG Denoising Scheme Using the Ensemble Kalman Filter.

Monitoring of electrocardiogram (ECG) provides vital information as well as any cardiovascular anomalies. Recent advances in the technology of wearable electronics have enabled compact devices to acquire personal physiological signals in the home setting; however, signals are usually contaminated with high level noise. Thus, an efficient ECG filtering scheme is a dire need.

Blood Flow Restriction Therapy for 2 Weeks Prior to Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Did Not Impact Quadriceps Strength Compared to Standard Therapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of a 2-week home-based blood flow restriction (BFR) prehabiliation program on quadriceps strength and patient-reported outcomes prior to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.

Methods: Patients presenting with an ACL tear were randomized into two groups, BFR and control, at their initial clinic visit. Quadriceps strength was measured using a handheld dynamometer in order to calculate peak force, average force, and time to peak force during seated leg extension at the initial clinic visit and repeated on the day of surgery.

A TCR mimic CAR T cell specific for NDC80 is broadly reactive with solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.

Target identification for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies remains challenging due to the limited repertoire of tumor-specific surface proteins. Intracellular proteins presented in the context of cell surface HLA provide a wide pool of potential antigens targetable through T-cell receptor mimic antibodies. Mass spectrometry (MS) of HLA ligands from 8 hematologic and nonhematologic cancer cell lines identified a shared, non-immunogenic, HLA-A*02-restricted ligand (ALNEQIARL) derived from the kinetochore-associated NDC80 gene.

Fetal Electrocardiogram Extraction from the Mother's Abdominal Signal Using the Ensemble Kalman Filter.

Fetal electrocardiogram (fECG) assessment is essential throughout pregnancy to monitor the wellbeing and development of the fetus, and to possibly diagnose potential congenital heart defects. Due to the high noise incorporated in the abdominal ECG (aECG) signals, the extraction of fECG has been challenging. And it is even a lot more difficult for fECG extraction if only one channel of aECG is provided, i.

A Low-Cost, 3D-Printed Biosensor for Rapid Detection of .

Detection of bacterial pathogens is significant in the fields of food safety, medicine, and public health, just to name a few. If bacterial pathogens are not properly identified and treated promptly, they can lead to morbidity and mortality, also possibly contribute to antimicrobial resistance. Current bacterial detection methodologies rely solely on laboratory-based techniques, which are limited by long turnaround detection times, expensive costs, and risks of inadequate accuracy; also, the work requires trained specialists.

Enhanced Antioxidant Effects of the Anti-Inflammatory Compound Probucol When Released from Mesoporous Silica Particles.

Brain endothelial cells mediate the function and integrity of the blood brain barrier (BBB) by restricting its permeability and exposure to potential toxins. However, these cells are highly susceptible to cellular damage caused by oxidative stress and inflammation. Consequent disruption to the integrity of the BBB can lead to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases.

Evaluation of tree-based statistical learning methods for constructing genetic risk scores.

Background: Genetic risk scores (GRS) summarize genetic features such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a single statistic with respect to a given trait. So far, GRS are typically built using generalized linear models or regularized extensions. However, these linear methods are usually not able to incorporate gene-gene interactions or non-linear SNP-response relationships.

E-scooter driving under the acute influence of alcohol-a real-driving fitness study.

Purpose: To assess the effects of alcohol on the ability to drive an e-scooter, driving tests reflecting real-life situations accompanied by medical examinations focusing on balance were conducted at different blood alcohol concentrations (BACs).

Methods: Fifty-seven subjects who consumed alcohol (28 female, 29 male) and 6 consistently sober subjects (3 female, 3 male) participated in the study. Alcohol was administered on a fixed schedule, and the individual drinking quantity was individually calculated in advance using the Widmark formula.

Revisiting the effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment in depression, again.

Following on from the publication of the Royal Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry Mood Disorder Clinical Practice Guidelines (2020) and criticisms of how these aberrantly addressed repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment of depression, questions have continued to be raised in the journal about this treatment by a small group of authors, whose views we contend do not reflect the broad acceptance of this treatment nationally and internationally. In fact, the evidence supporting the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment in depression is unambiguous and substantial, consisting of an extensive series of clinical trials supported by multiple meta-analyses, network meta-analysis and umbrella reviews. Importantly, the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment in depression has also been subject to a series of health economic analyses.

Development of a Home-based Fetal Electrocardiogram (ECG) Monitoring System.

We develop a novel wearable fetal electrocardiogram (fECG) monitoring system consisting of an abdominal patch that communicates with a smart device. The system has two main components: the fetal patch and the monitoring app. The fetal patch has electronics and recording electrodes fabricated on a hybrid flexible-rigid platform while the Android app is developed for a wide range of applications.

Formative Study on the Wearability and Usability of a Large-Volume Patch Injector.

Background: The subcutaneous self-administration of biologics using a single large-volume bolus dose requires novel large-volume patch injectors. However, the usability and wearability of such on-body devices has rarely been investigated thus far. Therefore, this formative simulated use experiment studies the overall handling and acceptability in terms of the size and weight of a novel 10 mL large-volume patch injector device platform.

A novel wireless ECG system for prolonged monitoring of multiple zebrafish for heart disease and drug screening studies.

Zebrafish and their mutant lines have been extensively used in cardiovascular studies. In the current study, the novel system, Zebra II, is presented for prolonged electrocardiogram (ECG) acquisition and analysis for multiple zebrafish within controllable working environments. The Zebra II is composed of a perfusion system, apparatuses, sensors, and an in-house electronic system.

Renal manifestations of syphilis.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by spirochaete Treponema pallidum. The incidence of syphilis is rising across the globe. It has been described in the literature as a great imitator due to the vast range of clinical manifestations that can occur in the disease.

Investigation of Methods to Extract Fetal Electrocardiogram from the Mother's Abdominal Signal in Practical Scenarios.

Monitoring of fetal electrocardiogram (fECG) would provide useful information about fetal wellbeing as well as any abnormal development during pregnancy. Recent advances in flexible electronics and wearable technologies have enabled compact devices to acquire personal physiological signals in the home setting, including those of expectant mothers. However, the high noise level in the daily life renders long-entrenched challenges to extract fECG from the combined fetal/maternal ECG signal recorded in the abdominal area of the mother.

Deep learning-based framework for cardiac function assessment in embryonic zebrafish from heart beating videos.

Zebrafish is a powerful and widely-used model system for a host of biological investigations, including cardiovascular studies and genetic screening. Zebrafish are readily assessable during developmental stages; however, the current methods for quantifying and monitoring cardiac functions mainly involve tedious manual work and inconsistent estimations. In this paper, we developed and validated a Zebrafish Automatic Cardiovascular Assessment Framework (ZACAF) based on a U-net deep learning model for automated assessment of cardiovascular indices, such as ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) from microscopic videos of wildtype and cardiomyopathy mutant zebrafish embryos.