Real-World Use of Ruxolitinib Cream: Safety Analysis at 1 Year.

Background: Ruxolitinib cream is the first topical Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor approved in the United States (US) for the treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis and nonsegmental vitiligo. A postmarketing study with oral tofacitinib, approved for rheumatoid arthritis, triggered class warnings for JAK inhibitors, including risk of serious infections, mortality, malignancy, major adverse cardiovascular events, and thrombosis. Because ruxolitinib cream is indicated for inflammatory conditions, it is subject to the same warnings as oral JAK inhibitors in the US.

Accessibility of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace websites.

Background: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandated that creation of online health insurance websites to ease the complex process of shopping for and enrolling into coverage. Ensuring that these sites are not only available but also meet digital accessibility standards is important so that individuals with disabilities are able to access healthcare services and efficiently obtain insurance coverage.

Method: We evaluated each of the marketplace sites in 2020 to assess whether they are digitally accessible.

Internal Operational Metrics and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare Quality Ratings.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has made several refinements to their model for calculating hospital quality star ratings (Hospital Compare) amidst criticism and evidence of bias against some institutions. We argue that the CMS model does align with important internal quality metrics and encourage a measured approach to redesign, potentially using categorizations or tiers, rather than a complete abandonment of the ratings system. We find that institutional characteristics (available resources, average severity of illness, and academic affiliation) are associated with internal quality metrics related to patient flow.

Targeting TGF-β for treatment of osteogenesis imperfecta.

BACKGROUNDCurrently, there is no disease-specific therapy for osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). Preclinical studies demonstrate that excessive TGF-β signaling is a pathogenic mechanism in OI. Here, we evaluated TGF-β signaling in children with OI and conducted a phase I clinical trial of TGF-β inhibition in adults with OI.

Gridded daily weather data for North America with comprehensive uncertainty quantification.

Access to daily high-resolution gridded surface weather data based on direct observations and over long time periods is essential for many studies and applications including vegetation, wildlife, soil health, hydrological modelling, and as driver data in Earth system models. We present Daymet V4, a 40-year daily meteorological dataset on a 1 km grid for North America, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, providing temperature, precipitation, shortwave radiation, vapor pressure, snow water equivalent, and day length. The dataset includes an objective quantification of uncertainty based on strict cross-validation analysis for temperature and precipitation results.

Using a Social Capital Framework to Explore a Broker's Role in Small Employer Wellness Program Uptake and Implementation.

Purpose: Small employers, while motivated to implement wellness programs, often lack knowledge and resources to do so. As a result, these firms rely on external decision-making support from insurance brokers. The objective of this study was to analyze brokers' familiarity with wellness programs and to characterize their role and interactions with small employers.

Measles, mumps, and rubella virus vaccine (M-M-R™II): a review of 32 years of clinical and postmarketing experience.

M-M-R™II (measles, mumps, and rubella virus vaccine live; Merck, Sharp, & Dohme Corp.) is indicated for simultaneous vaccination against measles, mumps, and rubella in individuals ≥ 12 months of age. Before the vaccine era, these viruses infected most exposed individuals, with subsequent morbidity and mortality.

Gene expression profiling in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.

Rationale: Chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) is a common and disabling lung disease for which there are few therapeutic options.

Objectives: We reasoned that gene expression profiling of COPD lungs could reveal previously unidentified disease pathways.

Methods: Forty-eight human lung samples were obtained from tissue resected from five nonsmokers, 21 GOLD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) stage 0, 9 GOLD stage 1, 10 GOLD stage 2, and 3 GOLD stage 3 patients.