Rapid Fabrication of Polyvinyl Alcohol Hydrogel Foams With Encapsulated Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Chronic Wound Treatment.

Chronic wounds present a major healthcare challenge around the world, and significant hurdles remain in their effective treatment due to limitations in accessible treatment options. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with multifunctional differentiation and modulatory properties have been delivered to chronic wounds to enhance closure but have limited engraftment when delivered without a scaffold. In this study, hybrid porous hydrogel foams composed of modified polyvinyl alcohol and gelatin were developed that are suitable for rapid and facile MSC encapsulation, fully degradable, and supportive of wound healing.

Sexual dimorphism in lipidomic changes in maternal blood and placenta associated with obesity and gestational diabetes: A discovery study.

Introduction: The placenta uses lipids and other nutrients to support its own metabolism hence impacting the type and amount of these substrates available to the growing fetus. Maternal obesity and gestational diabetes (GDM) can disrupt placental lipid metabolism and thus lead to altered fetal growth contributing to adverse pregnancy outcomes and developmentally programing the offspring for disease in later life. Understanding obesity and GDM driven changes in placental lipid metabolism is thus important.

Underutilization of Influenza Antiviral Treatment Among Children and Adolescents at Higher Risk for Influenza-Associated Complications - United States, 2023-2024.

Annually, tens of thousands of U.S. children and adolescents are hospitalized with seasonal influenza virus infection.

Burden of Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Associated Hospitalizations in US Adults, October 2016 to September 2023.

Importance: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection can cause severe illness in adults. However, there is considerable uncertainty in the burden of RSV-associated hospitalizations among adults prior to RSV vaccine introduction.

Objective: To describe the demographic characteristics of adults hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed RSV and to estimate annual rates and numbers of RSV-associated hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and in-hospital deaths.

Assessing and attending to psychosocial concerns in genetic counseling: Proposing the BATHE method.

The process of identifying and responding to patients' social, emotional, and psychological concerns is a required skill for training and practicing genetic counselors. Patients' health outcomes are improved when genetic counselors attend to these "psychosocial" concerns. Still, the process of eliciting, assessing, and attending to patients' psychosocial concerns in the genetic counseling setting is not well defined in the literature nor is it performed consistently.

Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza-Associated Hospitalizations Among Children and Adults - Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network, United States, 2010-2023.

Problem/condition: Seasonal influenza accounts for 9.3 million-41 million illnesses, 100,000-710,000 hospitalizations, and 4,900-51,000 deaths annually in the United States. Since 2003, the Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network (FluSurv-NET) has been conducting population-based surveillance for laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations in the United States, including weekly rate estimations and descriptions of clinical characteristics and outcomes for hospitalized patients.

The Effect of Spinning Babies Education on Confidence in Implementing Techniques and Knowledge Regarding Safety Related to Labor Positioning Among Birth Professionals.

In order to support labor and delivery nurses' desire for education regarding labor positioning, we hosted an 8-hour class presenting the Spinning Babies class for birth professionals. Labor and delivery nurses and certified nurse midwives (CNMs; = 109) from three hospitals participated in a study evaluating the effect of the Spinning Babies class on their confidence in implementing techniques and knowledge regarding safety related to labor positioning. After the class, participants demonstrated significant improvement in scores related to the variables of interest.

Disparities Between Rural and Urban Communities: Response to 18 Months of Diet and Exercise Versus Control for Knee Osteoarthritis and Overweight or Obesity.

Objective: The study objective was to determine whether the clinical response of older adults with knee osteoarthritis and overweight or obesity to 18 months of diet and exercise (D + E) or attention control (C) interventions differed between participants from rural versus urban communities.

Methods: Participants were 823 older adults (mean age, 64.6 years; 77% women) with knee osteoarthritis and overweight or obesity who resided in rural (n = 410) and urban (n = 413) counties in North Carolina.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in Children along the US‒Mexico Border, 2017-2023.

Rocky mountain spotted fever (RMSF) causes significant illness and death in children. Although historically rare in California, USA, RMSF is endemic in areas of northern Mexico that border California. We describe 7 children with RMSF who were hospitalized at a tertiary pediatric referral center in California during 2017-2023.

Oral health-related quality of life among oropharyngeal cancer survivors.

Objectives: The incidence of oropharyngeal cancer continues to rise in the United States, yet studies on the quality of life (QoL) of oropharyngeal cancer patients are limited. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the impact of oral health on the QoL in oropharyngeal cancer survivors.

Materials And Methods: Oropharyngeal cancer survivors with a confirmed cancer diagnosis from 1996 to 2016 were sampled from the Utah Cancer Registry.

Risk of cardiovascular disease among head and neck cancer survivors: A population-based matched cohort study.

Background: In the United States, approximately 63,000 Americans develop head and neck cancer (HNC) annually. Our study aims were to investigate cardiovascular complications and risk factors for development of CVD among HNC survivors.

Methods: Utilizing the Utah Populations Database, a total of 1,901 HNC patients diagnosed and 7,796 birth year, sex, and birth state matched individuals from the general population were identified.

Vanillic acid-based pro-coagulant hemostatic shape memory polymer foams with antimicrobial properties against drug-resistant bacteria.

Uncontrolled bleeding is the primary cause of trauma-related death. For patients that are brought to the hospital in time to receive treatment, there is a great risk of contracting drug-resistant bacterial wound infections. Therefore, low-cost hemostatic agents with procoagulant and antibacterial properties are essential to reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with traumatic wounds.

Changes in maternal blood and placental lipidomic profile in obesity and gestational diabetes: Evidence for sexual dimorphism.

Introduction: Obesity and gestational diabetes (GDM) are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and program the offspring for cardiometabolic disease in a sexually dimorphic manner. The placenta transfers lipids to the fetus and uses these substrates to support its own metabolism impacting the amount of substrate available to the growing fetus.

Methods: We collected maternal plasma and placental villous tissue following elective cesarean section at term from women who were lean (pre-pregnancy BMI 18.

A Nurse-Driven Plan to Diminish First-Case Operating Room Delays.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the use of a nurse-driven plan to describe factors associated with delays in the 1st case on time start within the operating room.

Methods: A posttest-only quasi-experiment was conducted to examine the effect of designating specific time periods for steps in the preoperative process on 1st case operating delays. Rationale for delays was also examined.

Evaluating the Accuracy of ChatGPT in Common Patient Questions Regarding HPV+ Oropharyngeal Carcinoma.

Objectives: Large language model (LLM)-based chatbots such as ChatGPT have been publicly available and increasingly utilized by the general public since late 2022. This study sought to investigate ChatGPT responses to common patient questions regarding Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) positive oropharyngeal cancer (OPC).

Methods: This was a prospective, multi-institutional study, with data collected from high volume institutions that perform >50 transoral robotic surgery cases per year.

Recurrence Patterns of Advanced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe risk factors and recurrence patterns that can guide the creation of evidence-based surveillance guidelines for advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Study Design: This was a single-institution retrospective case series.

Setting: High-volume academic head and neck surgical oncology practice.

Relationships Among Mode of Birth, Onset of Labor, and Bishop Score.

Objective: To investigate mode of birth in relation to onset of labor and Bishop score.

Design: Retrospective observational cohort design.

Setting: A 434-bed Magnet redesignated community hospital.

Challenges in IBD Research 2024: Novel Technologies.

Novel technology is one of the five focus areas of the Challenges in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Research 2024 document. Building off the Challenges in IBD Research 2019 document, the Foundation aims to provide a comprehensive overview of current gaps in IBD research and deliver actionable approaches to address them with a focus on how these gaps can lead to advancements in interception, remission, and restoration for these diseases. The document is the result of a multidisciplinary collaboration from scientists, clinicians, patients, and funders and represents a valuable resource for patient-centric research prioritization.