Comparison of Alcohol Septal Ablation with Mavacamten in Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is associated with significant morbidity due to left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction. While alcohol septal ablation (ASA) is an established interventional treatment, mavacamten, a novel cardiac myosin inhibitor, has emerged as a non-invasive pharmacological alternative. Understanding the comparative efficacy of these two treatments is important for optimizing patient care.

Development of evidence-based standards for inpatient physiotherapy services: a systematic review and content analysis of clinical practice guidelines.

Objective: Performance standards are critical to service design and quality improvement. There are no published standards defining the care inpatients should receive from physiotherapists in Aotearoa New Zealand. This study aims to explore the potential of using clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) to develop a set of evidence-based standards for physiotherapy in inpatient settings.

Modification in ICU design may influence circadian serum cholinesterase activities: a proof-of-concept pilot study.

Background: Deficits in cholinergic function are assumed to cause cognitive decline. Studies have demonstrated that changes in serum cholinesterase activities are associated with a higher incidence of delirium in critically ill patients. Additionally, basic research indicates that the cholinergic and circadian systems are interconnected, with each system influencing the functionality of the other.

Optimizing Mainstreaming of Genetic Testing in Parallel With Ovarian and Endometrial Cancer Tumor Testing: How Do We Maximize Our Impact?

Purpose: Although germline genetic testing (GT) is recommended for all patients with ovarian cancer (OC) and some patients with endometrial cancer (EC), uptake remains low with multiple barriers. Our center performs GT in parallel with somatic testing via a targeted sequencing assay (MSK-IMPACT) and initiates testing in oncology clinics (mainstreaming). We sought to optimize our GT processes for OC/EC.

Systematic treatment and management of postpartum hypertension using remote patient monitoring.

Objective: To describe postpartum visit attendance and postpartum blood pressure control among patients enrolled in a remote patient monitoring program and compare these outcomes by race.

Study Design: A prospective cohort study of postpartum patients with a diagnosis of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy at the University of Chicago between October 2021 and April 2022. All patients received remote patient monitoring as routine care but consented separately for the use of their data.

The application of a tool for supporting shared decision making in primiparous women during early labour - a descriptive survey of obstetric health care professionals' opinion.

Background: Interventions in maternity health care settings often need to be studied within everyday clinical work and with the contributions of the staff. Therefore, the health care workers on-site play an important role for research success. This explains why it is necessary not only to focus on the outcomes of the research project itself, but also to study the whole process.

Integrating cancer into crisis: a global vision for action from WHO and partners.

More than a billion people live in fragile, conflict-affected, and vulnerable settings requiring humanitarian support, where cancer is a substantial health issue. Despite its substantial effect on populations, cancer care remains underprioritised in emergency preparedness and response frameworks and humanitarian operational planning. This Policy Review summarises the perspectives and actionable recommendations from the First Global High-Level Technical Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases in Humanitarian Settings, with a focus on cancer.

Downstream effects of observational threat learning: Generalization and reversal learning across development.

Observational threat learning is a complex social learning process through which typical and atypical fears develop. While studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of observational learning for the acquisition and extinction of threat, the intricacies of this learning process and how it varies across development have been less explored. To this end, we examined the extent to which children, adolescents, and adults generalized threat responses following observational threat learning.

An Asynchronous Chemistry-in-biology Intervention Improves Student Content Knowledge and Performance in Introductory Biology.

Introductory biology is a gateway course for majors and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Despite the importance of chemistry content knowledge for understanding biology, the relationship between chemistry knowledge and prior coursework and biology course performance is understudied. We used an opportunity gap framework to investigate the extent to which there were opportunity gaps in prior chemistry coursework and knowledge and associated these gaps with subsequent equity gaps in student performance on introductory biology assessments.

Health and economic impact of the 21-Valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (V116) for adults in Japan: A delta price approach.

Introduction: This study analyzed the health and economic impact of the 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (V116) and the 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV20), as well as their relative cost-effectiveness, in Japanese adults aged 65 years using a delta pricing approach.

Methods: A Markov model was employed to simulate the movement of the Japanese population among 4 health states: healthy, pneumococcal disease (consisting of invasive pneumococcal disease [IPD] with or without meningitis and non-bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia [NBPP]), post-meningitis sequelae (PMS), and death. The model was populated with publicly available demographic and epidemiologic data, stratified by risk level.

BioStructNet: Structure-Based Network with Transfer Learning for Predicting Biocatalyst Functions.

Enzyme-substrate interactions are essential to both biological processes and industrial applications. Advanced machine learning techniques have significantly accelerated biocatalysis research, revolutionizing the prediction of biocatalytic activities and facilitating the discovery of novel biocatalysts. However, the limited availability of data for specific enzyme functions, such as conversion efficiency and stereoselectivity, presents challenges for prediction accuracy.

Diaci v3.0: chromosome-level assembly, de novo transcriptome, and manual annotation of Diaphorina citri, insect vector of Huanglongbing.

Background: Diaphorina citri is an insect vector of "Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus" (CLas), the gram-negative bacterial pathogen associated with citrus greening disease. Control measures rely on pesticides with negative impacts on the environment, natural ecosystems, and human and animal health. In contrast, gene-targeting methods have the potential to specifically target the vector species and/or reduce pathogen transmission.

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy and Female Sexual Dysfunction.

The pelvic floor muscles, integral to urinary, bowel, and sexual function, can cause various symptoms when impaired, including pelvic pain, bowel and bladder dysfunction, incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and sexual dysfunction. This chapter explores pelvic floor anatomy, symptoms, and associated diagnoses. It provides screening tools for OBGYNs to use in practice, language to help address patient fears around sexual dysfunction, and emphasizes the role of pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy in treating these conditions.

Facilitators and Barriers to Increasing Equity in Cystic Fibrosis Newborn Screening Algorithms.

Background: Newborn screening (NBS) for cystic fibrosis (CF) was universally implemented in the United States in 2010 to improve disease outcomes. Despite universal screening, disparities in outcomes currently exist between people with CF (PwCF) with Black/African, Asian, Indigenous, and Latino/Hispanic ancestry in comparison to PwCF of European ancestry. This is in part because CFTR panels used for newborn screening are often based on variants common in European ancestries leading to higher rates of false negatives for PwCF from minoritized racial and ethnic groups.

Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for adolescents with treatment-resistant depression: Behavioral and neural correlates of clinical improvement.

Background: Affective bias toward negativity is associated with depression and may represent a promising treatment target. Stimulating the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) with deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (dTMS) could lead to shifts in affective bias. The current study examined behavioral and neural correlates of affective bias in the context of dTMS in adolescents with treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

Mixed Conducting Oxide Coating for Lithium Batteries.

Thin, uniform, and conformal coatings on the active electrode materials are gaining more importance to mitigate degradation mechanisms in lithium-ion batteries. To avoid polarization of the electrode, mixed conductors are of crucial importance. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is employed in this work to provide superior uniformity, conformality, and the ability to precisely control the stoichiometry and thickness of the desired coating materials.

Radiation Myelitis Risk After Hypofractionated Spine Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy.

Importance: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for spinal metastases improves symptomatic outcomes and local control compared to conventional radiotherapy. Treatment failure most often occurs within the epidural space, where dose is constrained by the risk of radiation myelitis (RM). Current constraints designed to prevent RM after spine SBRT are derived from limited data.

A Prospective, Randomized, Noninferiority Study to Evaluate the Safety and Effectiveness of Steerable Ureteroscopic Renal Evacuation Compared with Standard Ureteroscopy: 30-Day Results of the ASPIRE Study.

We report the first multicenter, prospective, randomized noninferiority controlled trial of steerable ureteroscopic renal evacuation (SURE) for nephrolithiasis treatment. Candidates for laser lithotripsy ≥18 years with ≥1 renal stone ≥7 mm and 7-20 mm stone burden were randomized 1:1 SURE ureteroscopy (URS). SURE was performed using the CVAC Aspiration System, a novel steerable irrigation-aspiration catheter.

SGLT2-Inhibition in Patients With Alport Syndrome.

Introduction: Large-scale trials showed positive outcomes of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) in adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Whether the use of SGLT2i is safe and effective in patients with the common hereditary CKD Alport syndrome (AS) has not yet been investigated specifically in larger cohorts.

Methods: This observational, multicenter, international study (NCT02378805) assessed 112 patients with AS after start of SGLT2i.

The NExT trial: Protocol for a two-phase randomized controlled trial testing transcranial magnetic stimulation to augment exposure therapy for youth with OCD.

Background: Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP) is a first-line treatment for OCD, but even when combined with first-line medications it is insufficiently effective for approximately half of patients. Compulsivity in OCD is thought to arise from an imbalance of two distinct neural circuits associated with specific subregions of striatum. Targeted modulation of these circuits via key cortical nodes (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex [dlPFC] or presupplementary motor area [pSMA]) has the potential to improve ERP efficacy by decreasing compulsions during therapy.

Development of a psychometrically valid and reliable measure of primary care providers' willingness to engage with value based payments and innovations in care coordination.

Background: Most approaches to healthcare reform envision an enhanced role for primary care providers, supported by innovative payment methodology and improved resources. However, there are currently no instruments to measure providers' ability and willingness to work with existing tools provided by payers, such as Accountable Care Organizations (ACO). In this study, we develop and psychometrically test a new instrument to measure provider engagement with ACOs.

Mortality and cancer incidence in the UK glass reinforced plastics manufacturing industry: a cohort study.

Objectives: According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, styrene is probably carcinogenic for lymphohaematopoietic neoplasms, with insufficient evidence for other cancer sites. We compared mortality and cancer incidence (for the first time) in a UK cohort occupationally exposed to high levels of styrene to that of the general population of England and Wales.

Methods: The follow-up for mortality ran from 1969 to 2022, while the follow-up for cancer incidence ran from 1971 to 2020.

Efficacy and Safety of Budesonide Orodispersible Tablets for Eosinophilic Esophagitis up to 3 Years: an Open-Label Extension Study.

Background And Aims: Budesonide orodispersible tablets (BOT) have been shown to be safe and effective in phase 3 double-blind trials of induction and 48-week maintenance therapy of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). We now analyzed the long-term efficacy and safety of BOT in a 96-week open-label extension (OLE) study.

Methods: All EoE patients in the 48-week double-blind maintenance study were eligible to receive BOT treatment for up to 96 weeks.

Communicating on Vaccine Benefit-Risk Ratios: A Discrete-Choice Experiment among Health Care Professionals and the General Population in France.

Background: We explored preferences around the benefit-risk ratio (BRR) of vaccination among the general adult population and health care sector workers (HCSWs). We estimated preference weights and expected vaccine uptake for different BRR levels for a vaccine recommended during an infectious disease emergence. In addition, we explored how far qualitative information about disease severity, epidemiological context, and indirect protection interacts with these preferences.