Association of Male Sex With Worse Right Ventricular Function and Survival in Pulmonary Hypertension in the Redefining Pulmonary Hypertension Through Pulmonary Vascular Disease Phenomics Cohort.

Background: Sex-based differences are important in the development and progression of pulmonary arterial hypertension. However, it is not established whether these differences are generalizable to all forms of pulmonary hypertension (PH).

Research Question: What are the sex-based differences in right ventricle (RV) function and transplant-free survival in patients with PH from the Redefining Pulmonary Hypertension Through Pulmonary Vascular Disease Phenomics (PVDOMICS) cohort?

Study Design And Methods: Patients with PH enrolled in the PVDOMICS cohort study underwent right heart catheterization, cardiac MRI, and echocardiography.

Development and Validation of a Diagnostic Algorithm for Down Syndrome Using Birth Certificate and International Classification of Diseases Codes.

Objective: We aimed to develop an algorithm that accurately identifies children with Down syndrome (DS) using administrative data.

Methods: We identified a cohort of children born between 2000 and 2017, enrolled in the Tennessee Medicaid Program (TennCare), who either had DS coded on their birth certificate or had a diagnosis listed using an International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code (suspected DS), and who received care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a comprehensive academic medical center, in the United States. Children with suspected DS were defined as having DS if they had (a) karyotype-confirmed DS indicated on their birth certificate; (b) karyotype-pending DS indicated on their birth certificate (or just DS if test type was not specified) and at least two healthcare encounters for DS during the first 6 years of life; or (c) at least three healthcare encounters for DS, with the first and last encounter separated by at least 30 days, during the first six years of life.

Carnitine consumption and effect of oral supplementation in human pulmonary arterial hypertension: A pilot study.

Carnitine is required to transport fatty acid across the mitochondrial membrane to undergo beta oxidation. In addition to disorders of fatty acid metabolism, a relative carnitine deficiency has been reported in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Here we performed an observational study in which food and supplement consumption were collected in an observation period followed by open label administration of a carnitine supplement to determine feasibility of increasing plasma carnitine levels in humans PAH.

Growth modulation response in vertebral body tethering depends primarily on magnitude of concave vertebral body growth.

Purpose: There is variability in clinical outcomes with vertebral body tethering (VBT) partly due to a limited understanding of the growth modulation (GM) response. We used the largest sample of patients with 3D spine reconstructions to characterize the vertebra and disc morphologic changes that accompany growth modulation during the first two years following VBT.

Methods: A multicenter registry was used to identify idiopathic scoliosis patients who underwent VBT with 2 years of follow-up.

Correction: Linking bacterial enterotoxins and alpha defensin 5 expansion in the Crohn's colitis: A new insight into the etiopathogenetic and differentiation triggers driving colonic inflammatory bowel disease.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

User-Centered Design and Implementation of an Interoperable FHIR Application for Pediatric Pneumonia Prognostication in a Randomized Trial.

Objectives:  To support a pragmatic, electronic health record (EHR)-based randomized controlled trial, we applied user-centered design (UCD) principles, evidence-based risk communication strategies, and interoperable software architecture to design, test, and deploy a prognostic tool for children in emergency departments (EDs) with pneumonia.

Methods:  Risk for severe in-hospital outcomes was estimated using a validated ordinal logistic regression model to classify pneumonia severity. To render the results usable for ED clinicians, we created an integrated SMART on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) web application built for interoperable use in two pediatric EDs using different EHR vendors: Epic and Cerner.

Associations between Smoking and Smoking Cessation during Pregnancy and Newborn Metabolite Concentrations: Findings from PRAMS and INSPIRE Birth Cohorts.

Newborn metabolite perturbations may identify potential biomarkers or mechanisms underlying adverse, smoking-related childhood health outcomes. We assessed associations between third-trimester smoking and newborn metabolite concentrations using the Tennessee Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS, 2009-2019) as the discovery cohort and INSPIRE (2012-2014) as the replication cohort. Children were linked to newborn screening metabolic data (33 metabolites).

Multi-Level Optimization for Data-Driven Camera-LiDAR Calibration in Data Collection Vehicles.

Accurately calibrating camera-LiDAR systems is crucial for achieving effective data fusion, particularly in data collection vehicles. Data-driven calibration methods have gained prominence over target-based methods due to their superior adaptability to diverse environments. However, current data-driven calibration methods are susceptible to suboptimal initialization parameters, which can significantly impact the accuracy and efficiency of the calibration process.

Electronic cigarette use during pregnancy and the risk of adverse birth outcomes: A cross-sectional surveillance study of the US Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) population.

Background: Research on health effects and potential harms of electronic cigarette (EC) use during pregnancy is limited. We sought to determine the risks of pregnancy EC use on pregnancy-related adverse birth outcomes and assess whether quitting ECs reduces the risks.

Methods: Women with singleton live births who participated in the US Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) survey study 2016-2020 were classified into four mutually exclusive groups, by their use of ECs and combustible cigarettes (CCs) during pregnancy: non-use, EC only use, CC only use, and dual use.

Validation of Childhood Pneumonia Prognostic Models for Use in Emergency Care Settings.

Background: Unwarranted variation in disposition decisions exist among children with pneumonia. We validated three prognostic models for predicting pneumonia severity among children in the emergency department (ED) and hospital.

Methods: We performed a two-center, prospective study of children 6 months to <18 years presenting to the ED with pneumonia from January 2014 to May 2019.

Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multi-center trial of the clinical and biological effects of anti-CD14 treatment in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Background: Severe COVID-19 is associated with innate immunopathology, and CD14, a proximal activator of innate immunity, has been suggested as a potential therapeutic target.

Methods: We conducted the COVID-19 anti-CD14 Treatment Trial (CaTT), a Phase II randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at 5 US-sites between April 12, 2021 and November 30, 2021 (NCT04391309). Hospitalized adults with COVID-19 requiring supplemental oxygen (<30 LPM) were randomized 1:1 to receive 4 daily doses of intravenous IC14, an anti-CD14 monoclonal antibody, or placebo.

Effect of the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist liraglutide, compared to caloric restriction, on appetite, dietary intake, body fat distribution and cardiometabolic biomarkers: A randomized trial in adults with obesity and prediabetes.

Aims: To investigate the hypothesis that weight loss with the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) liraglutide alone would lead to a greater reduction in the proportion of fat to lean tissue mass when compared to caloric restriction (CR) alone, as well as when compared to treatment with sitagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, that also enhances GLP-1 activity - to determine the independent effects of each treatment.

Methods: A total of 88 adults with obesity and prediabetes were randomized to 14 weeks of intervention with CR (-390 kcal/d), liraglutide (1.8 mg/d), or the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor sitagliptin (100 mg/d) as a weight-neutral comparator.

Bradykinin B receptor blockade and intradialytic hypotension.

Introduction: Intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is a common clinical complication and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). The pathogenesis of IDH has been attributed to the rapid reduction of plasma volume during hemodialysis and the inadequate compensatory mechanisms in response to hypovolemia, such as the lack of vasoconstriction. This may be due to the increased production of vasodilators, such as bradykinin.

Antibiotic clinical decision support for pneumonia in the ED: A randomized trial.

Background: Electronic health record-based clinical decision support (CDS) is a promising antibiotic stewardship strategy. Few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of antibiotic CDS in the pediatric emergency department (ED).

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of antibiotic CDS vs.

Slow breathing for reducing stress: The effect of extending exhale.

Introduction: Slow breathing techniques are commonly used to reduce stress. While it is believed by mind-body practitioners that extending the exhale time relative to inhale increases relaxation, this has not been demonstrated.

Methods: We conducted a 12-week randomized, single-blinded trial among 100 participants to compare if yoga-based slow breathing with an exhale greater inhale versus an exhale equals inhale produces measurable differences in physiological and psychological stress among healthy adults.

Measures of Admission Immunocoagulopathy as an Indicator for In-Hospital Mortality in Patients with Necrotizing Fasciitis: A Retrospective Study.

Unlabelled: Necrotizing fasciitis is a rapidly progressive infection with a high mortality rate. Pathogens evade the host containment and bactericidal mechanisms by hijacking the coagulation and inflammation signaling pathways, leading to their rapid dissemination, thrombosis, organ dysfunction, and death. This study examines the hypothesis that measures of immunocoagulopathy upon admission could aid in the identification of patients with necrotizing fasciitis at high risk for in-hospital mortality.