Maternal education and prenatal smoking associations with adolescent executive function are substantially confounded by genetics.

Twin studies have suggested extremely high estimates of heritability for adolescent executive function, with no substantial contributions from shared environment. However, developmental psychology research has found significant correlations between executive function outcomes and elements of the environment that would be shared in twins. It is unclear whether these seemingly contradictory findings are best explained by genetic confounding in developmental studies or limitations in twin studies, which can potentially underestimate shared environment.

Implementation of patient-reported outcome dashboards within the electronic health record to support shared decision-making in serious chronic illness.

Background: Attending to patient-reported outcomes (PROs) using data visualisation dashboards could enhance shared decision-making (SDM) and care delivery for serious chronic illnesses. However, few studies have evaluated real-world strategies and resulting implementation outcomes of PRO dashboards.

Method: From June 2020 to January 2022, we implemented an electronic health record (EHR)-integrated PRO dashboard for advanced cancer and chronic kidney disease.

Hypoxia Compromises the Differentiation of Human Osteosarcoma Cells to CAR-R, a Hydroxylated Derivative of Lithocholic Acid and Potent Agonist of the Vitamin D Receptor.

The active metabolite of vitamin D3, calcitriol (1,25D), is widely recognised for its direct anti-proliferative and pro-differentiation effects. However, 1,25D is calcaemic, which restricts its clinical use for cancer treatment. Non-calcaemic agonists of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) could be better candidates for cancer treatment.

Adjunctive Fresh Frozen Plasma Versus Adjunctive Cryoprecipitate in Cardiac Surgery Patients Receiving Platelets for Perioperative Bleeding.

Objective(s): This study was designed to assess the relative association between adjunctive fresh frozen plasma (FFP) or adjunctive cryoprecipitate and morbidity and mortality in cardiac surgery patients receiving platelets for perioperative bleeding.

Design: Retrospective cohort study using inverse probability of treatment weighting with entropy balancing.

Setting: Multi-institutional study of 58 centers using the Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons National Cardiac Surgery Database from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2021.

Understanding and Addressing Mental Health Disparities and Stigma in Serious Illness and Palliative Care.

Patients receiving palliative care experience stigma associated with their illness, personal identity, and healthcare utilization. These stigmas can occur at any stage of the disease process. Varying stigmas combine to cause palliative care patients to feel misunderstood, contribute to treatment barriers, and further negative stereotypes held by clinicians.

The Influence of Melanoma Extracellular Vesicles on Benign Melanocytes: A Role for PRAME in Modulation of the Tumor Microenvironment.

Melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer with a high tendency for metastasis and resistance to conventional therapies. This study explores the role of preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma (PRAME), a cancer-testis antigen, in melanoma progression, focusing on its function in melanoma-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) and its impact on benign melanocytes. We show that PRAME is highly expressed in melanoma cell lines, tissues, and patient plasma and is present in EVs.

Personality Feedback With Tailored Self-Care Recommendations Improves Self-Efficacy for Cancer Management: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To test whether a personality feedback intervention improves three domains of cancer self-management: self-awareness, self-efficacy, and positive affect.

Methods: From 11/2020-02/2021, 372 adults diagnosed with cancer participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an intervention that entailed reading a brief personality-related excerpt during an online survey. Eligibility included self-reported age ≥ 18 years, current or past cancer diagnosis, and ability to read English.

Vocabulary Composition Shapes Language Development in Children With Cochlear Implants.

Although vocabulary size is thought to index children's language abilities, an increasing body of work suggests that regularities in children's vocabulary composition, particularly the proportion of shape-based nouns (e.g., cup), support language development.

Multilingualism impacts children's executive function and core autism symptoms.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with marked heterogeneity in executive function (EF) abilities. EF components including inhibition and shifting are related to ASD core symptoms such as perspective taking, social communication, and repetitive behavior. Recent research suggests that multilingualism may have a beneficial impact on EF abilities, especially in children with ASD.

Autosomal recessive -related disorder: comprehensive analysis of phenotypic variability and genetic mutations.

A newly identified subtype of hereditary axonal motor neuropathy, characterized by early proximal limb involvement, has been discovered in a cohort of 34 individuals with biallelic variants in von Willebrand factor A domain-containing 1 (). This study further delineates the disease characteristics in a cohort of 20 individuals diagnosed through genome or exome sequencing, incorporating neurophysiological, laboratory and imaging data, along with data from previously reported cases across three different studies. Newly reported clinical features include hypermobility/hyperlaxity, axial weakness, dysmorphic signs, asymmetric presentation, dystonic features and, notably, upper motor neuron signs.

Bereaved family members' perspectives of their organ donation decision at 3 months post death of the donor-eligible patient in critical care: A dual-method study.

Background: Offering organ donation is part of routine end-of-life care in critical care. Families describe feeling emotionally overwhelmed, which reduces their ability to understand complex medical information necessary to make informed decisions about organ donation. Late decisional regret is more common among families who decline donation.

Discovery of Truncated Cyclic Peptides Targeting an Induced-Fit Pocket on PCSK9.

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) regulates plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels by promoting hepatic LDL receptor (LDL-R) degradation. We previously identified and optimized 13-mer cyclic peptides that bind to a novel, induced-fit pocket adjacent to the binding interface of PCSK9 and LDL-R and effectively disrupted the PCSK9/LDL-R protein-protein interaction (PPI) both in vitro and in vivo. However this series of large cyclic peptides required charged groups for function and lacked oral bioavailability in rodents.

Lake-centred sedentary lifestyle of early Tibetan Plateau Indigenous populations at high elevation 4,400 years ago.

The onset of sedentism on the Tibetan Plateau is often presumed to be associated with the dispersal of agriculture or farmers from archaeological sites located in the low elevation margins of the plateau. Previous studies of the plateau assumed that all foragers were probably mobile, but few systematic excavations at forager sites have been conducted to inform us about their settlement patterns. Here we report the world's highest elevation sedentary way of living exhibited by the Mabu Co site at 4,446 metres above sea level, deep in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau 4,400-4,000 years ago.

Qualitative Exploration of the "Guilt Gap" Among Physician-Faculty with Caregiving Responsibilities.

Differences in time commitments and resources contribute to the difficulties of work-life integration for many physician-scientists, particularly for women with family caregiving responsibilities. Understanding the challenges faced by this population is critical for the retention of these critical members of the workforce. We conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with recipients of the 2017 Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's Fund to Retain Clinical Scientists (FRCS) and reviewed application narratives from the 2020 award recipients.

Capturing the Heterogeneity of Word Learners by Analyzing Persons.

Accurately capturing children's word learning abilities is critical for advancing our understanding of language development. Researchers have demonstrated that utilizing more complex statistical methods, such as mixed-effects regression and hierarchical linear modeling, can lead to a more complete understanding of the variability observed within children's word learning abilities. In the current paper, we demonstrate how a person-centered approach to data analysis can provide additional insights into the heterogeneity of word learning ability among children while also aiding researchers' efforts to draw individual-level conclusions.

Implementing a Photodocumentation Program.

The widespread availability of smart devices has facilitated the use of medical photography, yet photodocumentation workflows are seldom implemented in healthcare organizations due to integration challenges with electronic health records (EHR) and standard clinical workflows. This manuscript details the implementation of a comprehensive photodocumentation workflow across all phases of care at a large healthcare organization, emphasizing efficiency and patient safety. From November 2018 to December 2023, healthcare workers at our institution uploaded nearly 32,000 photodocuments spanning 54 medical specialties.

Over-the-counter analgesic-related exposure and toxicity in pediatrics.

Background: Analgesics are one of the most commonly purchased and used over-the-counter (OTC) medication classes from pharmacies in the United States. Drug toxicity is a leading cause of injury death in the United States. Limited studies, if any, have examined the impact of specific OTC medication toxicities in the pediatric population.

Reproductive neuroendocrine defects programmed by prenatal testosterone treatment between gestational days 60-90 are amplified by postnatal obesity in sheep.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the leading cause of anovulatory infertility in women of reproductive age, and obesity can increase the severity and development of the PCOS phenotype. Prenatal testosterone (T) treatment between gestational days 30-90 advanced puberty and disrupted the reproductive and metabolic phenotype in female sheep, recapitulating attributes of women with PCOS, with postnatal obesity amplifying its severity. On the other hand, prenatal T treatment from gestational days 60-90 led to a much milder phenotype.

Exploring the Relationship Among Financial Hardship, Anxiety, and Depression in Patients With Cancer: A Longitudinal Study.

Purpose: Financial hardship (FH) is a complex issue in cancer care, affecting material conditions, well-being, and coping behaviors. This study aimed to longitudinally examine FH, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and their associations while incorporating social determinants of health and health care cost covariates in a sample of patients diagnosed with cancer.

Methods: This prospective, longitudinal cohort study analyzed data from 2,305 participants from the Northwestern University Improving the Management of Symptoms during and following Cancer Treatment trial.

Putting the child in the driver's seat: Insights into language development from children's interactions in preschool classrooms.

Children's own language production has a role in structuring the language of their conversation partners and influences their own development. Children's active participation in their own language development is most apparent in the rich body of work investigating language in natural environments. The advent of automated measures of vocalizations and movement have made such in situ research increasingly feasible.