A Multi-Institutional Natural Language Processing Pipeline to Extract Performance Status From Electronic Health Records.

Purpose: Performance status (PS), an essential indicator of patients' functional abilities, is often documented in clinical notes of patients with cancer. The use of natural language processing (NLP) in extracting PS from electronic medical records (EMRs) has shown promise in enhancing clinical decision-making, patient monitoring, and research studies. We designed and validated a multi-institute NLP pipeline to automatically extract performance status from free-text patient notes.

Interaction of sleep and emotion across the menstrual cycle.

Menstruating individuals experience an increased risk for sleep and affective disorders, attributed in part to monthly oscillations in sex hormones. Emotional functioning and sleep continuity worsens during the perimenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle. This study examined the interactive effects of sleep, menstrual phase, and emotion in healthy women.

Radioembolization plus Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy Compared with Radioembolization plus Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Therapy for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Purpose: To investigate if combination therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) and yttrium-90 (Y) radioembolization results in superior outcomes than those yielded by tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy and Y for the treatment of intermediate- to advanced-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: A retrospective review of patients presented at an institutional multidisciplinary liver tumor board between January 1, 2012 and August 1, 2023 was conducted. In total, 44 patients with HCC who underwent Y 4 weeks within initiation of ICI or TKI therapy were included.

Sleep duration, sleep quality, and weapon carrying in a sample of adolescents from Texas.

Objectives: Studies are beginning to document an association between sleep duration and a range of adolescent delinquent behaviors, including weapon carrying. However, little is known about whether and to what extent sleep quality - another dimension of sleep for healthy adolescent functioning - is associated with weapon carrying. We address this gap in knowledge by evaluating the role of restless sleep and sleep duration in adolescent weapon carrying.

AlphaFold predicts novel human proteins with knots.

The fact that proteins can have their chain formed in a knot is known for almost 30 years. However, as they are not common, only a fraction of such proteins is available in the Protein Data Bank. It was not possible to assess their importance and versatility up until now because we did not have access to the whole proteome of an organism, let alone a human one.

Fertility after Transcatheter Arterial Embolization for Obstetric Hemorrhage: An Urban Health Care System Observational Study.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate pregnancy rate, pregnancy outcomes, and resumption of menses after transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) for obstetric hemorrhage (OH).

Study Design: Sixty-seven patients who underwent TAE for OH from 2006 to 2020 within an urban, multihospital health care system were identified retrospectively. Selected patients were interviewed by phone to complete a survey with a primary outcome of self-reported pregnancy in those seeking pregnancy.

Leveraging the virtual learning environment to enhance medical student engagement with interventional radiology.

Purpose: To evaluate medical student engagement with Interventional Radiology (IR) before and after a virtual elective course.

Methods: The elective was nine, one-hour lectures over ten weeks. An anonymous pre and post-course survey was administered to students.

The Pre-Adaptation of a Stroke-Specific Self-Management Program Among Older Adults.

Managing multimorbidity as aging stroke patients is complex; standard self-management programs necessitate adaptations. We used visual analytics to examine complex relationships among aging stroke survivors' comorbidities. These findings informed pre-adaptation of a component of the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program.

Sentiment Analysis of Insomnia-Related Tweets via a Combination of Transformers Using Dempster-Shafer Theory: Pre- and Peri-COVID-19 Pandemic Retrospective Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed additional stress on population health that may result in a change of sleeping behavior.

Objective: In this study, we hypothesized that using natural language processing to explore social media would help with assessing the mental health conditions of people experiencing insomnia after the outbreak of COVID-19.

Methods: We designed a retrospective study that used public social media content from Twitter.

Mortality Patterns Associated with Central Sleep Apnea among Veterans: A Large, Retrospective, Longitudinal Report.

Central sleep apnea (CSA) is associated with high mortality. Current knowledge stems from studies with limited sample size (fewer than 100 subjects) and in homogeneous populations such as heart failure (HF). To address this knowledge gap, we compared the mortality pattern and time to death between the CSA and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients in the large Veterans Health Administration patient population using the big data analytic approach.

Validation of a Natural Language Processing Algorithm for the Extraction of the Sleep Parameters from the Polysomnography Reports.

Background: There is a need to better understand the association between sleep and chronic diseases. In this study we developed a natural language processing (NLP) algorithm to mine polysomnography (PSG) free-text notes from electronic medical records (EMR) and evaluated the performance. Methods: Using the Veterans Health Administration EMR, we identified 46,093 PSG studies using CPT code 95,810 from 1 October 2000−30 September 2019.

Sleep During Pregnancy.

Purpose Of Review: This article will provide a brief review of most recent findings of sleep, insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome during pregnancy.

Recent Findings: Recent meta-analyses have found that 38.2% of pregnant women experience insomnia, 15% experience obstructive sleep apnea, and 20% experience restless leg syndrome.

Association between Sleep Quality and Mental Health among Patients at a Post-COVID-19 Recovery Clinic.

A growing body of research documents the persistence of physical and neuropsychiatric symptoms following the resolution of acute COVID-19 infection. To the best of our knowledge, no published study has examined the interaction between insomnia and mental health. Accordingly, we proposed to examine new diagnoses of insomnia, and referrals to pulmonary and sleep medicine clinics for treatment of sleep disorders, in patients presenting to one post-acute COVID-19 recovery clinic.

Radiation segmentectomy for curative intent of unresectable very early to early stage hepatocellular carcinoma (RASER): a single-centre, single-arm study.

Background: Unresectable solitary very early to early stage hepatocellular carcinoma is managed with ablation for curative intent. Radiation segmentectomy is a treatment option that delivers radioactive yttrium (Y)-bound microspheres transarterially to a segment of liver. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of radiation segmentectomy in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma deemed unfavourable for ablation.

Longitudinal Analysis Evaluating Self-Reported CPAP Use for OSA during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Continuous positive airway pressure therapy (CPAP) is a highly effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), but CPAP adherence remains suboptimal. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered sleep medicine services and aspects of daily living for sleep medicine patients, which may further compromise CPAP adherence. Sleep medicine patients were distributed an online survey at baseline and six months later (January-May 2021).

Improvements in sleep quality and fatigue are associated with improvements in functional recovery following hospitalization in older adults.

Study Objectives: Poor sleep quality, a frequent problem in older adults, has been shown to be associated with reduced physical function and wellbeing. However, little is known about the relationship between sleep quality and the recovery of physical function following hospitalization. Thus, we conducted this study to examine the association between sleep quality and functional recovery after an acute hospitalization in community dwelling older adults.

Menstrual regularity and bleeding is associated with sleep duration, sleep quality and fatigue in a community sample.

Female menstrual health and its relationship with sleep is an understudied subject. The aim of this investigation was to determine the association between the two in a community sample. Data were obtained from n = 579 menstruating females who participated in the Sleep and Health Activity, Diet, Environment, and Socialization (SHADES) study, a community-based sample of adults aged 22-60 years.

Comparative analysis of the absorbed dose in the heart and anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery (LAD) in patients with left-sided breast cancer who received radiotherapy using 3D-CRT, IMRT and VMAT techniques.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the absorbed dose distributions within the heart and lad in patients with left-sided breast cancer who underwent radiotherapy using 3D-CRT, IMRT and VMAT techniques.

Methods: The treatment plans of 11 patients with left-sided breast cancer were analyzed. All of the patients were irradiated in our facility with DIBH 3D-CRT.

Non-pharmacological sleep interventions for pediatric cancer patients and survivors: a systematic review protocol.

Background: Sleep disturbances constitute a common complication in pediatric cancer patients and survivors and are frequently severe enough to warrant treatment. Suboptimal sleep has been associated with decreased emotional well-being and cognitive functioning and increased behavioral problems. Standardized guidelines for non-pharmacological sleep interventions for adults with cancer exist, but no standard of care intervention or standard guidelines are available to guide such intervention in pediatric cancer patients and survivors.