G-tube contrast check: Transition from fluoroscopy to abdominal radiographs.

Background: Reports of radiographic exam evaluation for G-tube malposition in children are limited.

Objective: Evaluate effectiveness of a new 2-view abdominal radiograph exam protocol instituted to provide 24/7 coverage at 2 affiliated hospitals and replace the prior fluoroscopic G-tube contrast check exam.

Materials And Methods: G-tube radiographic exams performed between December 2019 and May 2022 at 2 affiliated hospitals were identified and retrospective chart review was performed to delineate exam test yield, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity.

The genomic and phylogenetic characterization of lytic PAK bacteriophages BL4, BL6, and BL7 collected from aquatic samples.

Environmental phages infecting PAK, an opportunistic pathogen, were isolated from playa lakes in Lubbock, TX. We present the genome sequence of three lytic bacteriophages. Upon analysis of sequence similarity, we identified the viruses as a part of an unclassified species within the genus in the class.

Road Traffic Emissions Lead to Much Enhanced New Particle Formation through Increased Growth Rates.

New particle formation (NPF) is a major source of atmospheric aerosol particles, including cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), by number globally. Previous research has highlighted that NPF is less frequent but more intense at roadsides compared to urban background. Here, we closely examine NPF at both background and roadside sites in urban Central Europe.

The genome sequences of lytic bacteriophages BL1, BL2, and BL3 isolated from the environment.

We isolated three environmental phages that infect PAO1, an opportunistic pathogen, from Playa Lakes in Lubbock, TX. We report the genome sequences of isolated lytic bacteriophages BL1, BL2, and BL3. Sequence similarity analysis revealed that the viruses belonged to an unclassified species in the genus within .

Accounting for super-, plateau- and mesa-rate burning by lead and copper-based ballistic modifiers in double-base propellants: a computational study.

We present a first-principles computational study to understand the action of lead and copper-based ballistic modifiers in the combustion of double-base propellants (DBPs). We show that lead oxide clusters are easily broken down upon addition of small amounts of carbon and the resulting graphitic matrix, dispersed with weakly bound and exposed Pb sites, acts as a Lewis acid to bind small molecule Lewis bases such as NO and CHO that form in the combustion flame. This accounts for super-rate burning, where the fuel burn rate is enhanced.

Estimates of Future New Particle Formation under Different Emission Scenarios in Beijing.

New particle formation (NPF) is a leading source of particulate matter by number and a contributor to particle mass during haze events. Reductions in emissions of air pollutants, many of which are NPF precursors, are expected in the move toward carbon neutrality or net-zero. Expected changes to pollutant emissions are used to investigate future changes to NPF processes, in comparison to a simulation of current conditions.

Maternal Obesity during Pregnancy is Associated with Lower Cortical Thickness in the Neonate Brain.

Background And Purpose: Recent studies have suggested that maternal obesity during pregnancy is associated with differences in neurodevelopmental outcomes in children. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationships between maternal obesity during pregnancy and neonatal brain cortical development.

Materials And Methods: Forty-four healthy women (28 normal-weight, 16 obese) were prospectively recruited at <10 weeks' gestation, and their healthy full-term neonates (23 boys, 21 girls) underwent brain MR imaging.

Turning a threat into an opportunity: British American Tobacco's weakening of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.

Background: Previous research has outlined transnational tobacco company (TTC) efforts to undermine implementation of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (Protocol) and evidence of ongoing TTC complicity in the illicit tobacco trade (ITT). However, the industry's views on the Protocol and role in its development are not well understood.

Methods: Systematic searching and analysis of leaked documents-approximately 15 000 from British American Tobacco (BAT) and 35 from Philip Morris International, triangulated via searches of online resources and interviews with five stakeholders across academia, international organisations, governments, civil society and the private sector.

COVID-19 Mortality Among American Indian and Alaska Native Persons - 14 States, January-June 2020.

American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons experienced disproportionate mortality during the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic (1,2). Concerns of a similar trend during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to the formation of a workgroup* to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 deaths in the AI/AN population. As of December 2, 2020, CDC has reported 2,689 COVID-19-associated deaths among non-Hispanic AI/AN persons in the United States.

Maternal Anxiety and Depression during Late Pregnancy and Newborn Brain White Matter Development.

Background And Purpose: Anxiety and depression during pregnancy have been associated with an increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring. We aimed to study the in utero effects of maternal anxiety and depression on early brain development.

Materials And Methods: Pregnant women were recruited at ∼36 weeks of gestation for this prospective study.

Epilepsy and Electroencephalographic Abnormalities in SATB2-Associated Syndrome.

Background: Seizures are an under-reported feature of the SATB2-associated syndrome phenotype. We describe the electroencephalographic findings and seizure semiology and treatment in a population of individuals with SATB2-associated syndrome.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of 101 individuals with SATB2-associated syndrome who were reported to have had a previous electroencephalographic study to identify those who had at least one reported abnormal result.

Illicit tobacco trade is 'booming': UK newspaper coverage of data funded by transnational tobacco companies.

Background: Transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) have heavily publicised their argument that standardised tobacco packaging will increase the illicit tobacco trade. Leaked Philip Morris International (PMI) documents suggest that the company may have intended to use third parties to promulgate this argument in the UK.

Methods: We examined articles in UK newspapers (1 April 2013 to 31 March 2015) from LexisNexis for presence and nature of tobacco industry data.

Silent left ventricular apical ballooning and Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in an Australian intensive care unit.

Aims: Recent reports have shown a high incidence of silent left ventricular apical ballooning (LVAB) in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting with potential implications for safe use of inotropes and vasopressors. We examined the incidence, predictors, and associated outcomes of LVAB in patients in a contemporary tertiary Australian ICU.

Methods And Results: In a prospective cohort study, patients were screened within 24 h of admission to the ICU and enrolled if they were deemed critically unwell based on mechanical ventilation, administration of >5 mg/min of noradrenaline, or need for renal replacement therapy.

Diffusion Tensor MRI of White Matter of Healthy Full-term Newborns: Relationship to Neurodevelopmental Outcomes.

Background It is well known that white matter injuries observed at birth are associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes later in life. Whether white matter developmental variations in healthy newborns are also associated with changes in later neurodevelopment remains to be established. Purpose To evaluate whether developmental variations of white matter microstructures identified by MRI correlate with neurodevelopmental outcomes in healthy full-term infants.

Maternal Adiposity Influences Neonatal Brain Functional Connectivity.

The neural mechanisms associated with obesity have been extensively studied, but the impact of maternal obesity on fetal and neonatal brain development remains poorly understood. In this study of full-term neonates, we aimed to detect potential neonatal functional connectivity alterations associated with maternal adiposity, quantified via body-mass-index (BMI) and body-fat-mass (BFM) percentage, based on seed-based and graph theoretical analysis using resting-state fMRI data. Our results revealed significant neonatal functional connectivity alterations in all four functional domains that are implicated in adult obesity: sensory cue processing, reward processing, cognitive control, and motor control.

Cesarean Delivery Impacts Infant Brain Development.

Background And Purpose: The cesarean delivery rate has increased globally in the past few decades. Neurodevelopmental outcomes associated with cesarean delivery are still unclear. This study investigated whether cesarean delivery has any effect on the brain development of offspring.

A Standardized Small Sided Game Can Be Used to Monitor Neuromuscular Fatigue in Professional A-League Football Players.

Training and competition load can cause neuromuscular fatigue (NMF) and modified movement strategy such as an increase in the contribution of the medio-lateral [PlayerLoad(%)] and decrease in the % vertical [PlayerLoad(%)] vectors, to total PlayerLoad (accelerometer derived measurement in vertical, medio-lateral, and anterior-posterior planes) in matches. NMF assessment involves expensive equipment, however, given the modification of match movement strategy with NMF, this may be present in a standardized drill. The aim of this study was to determine the utility of a small sided game (SSG) for the measurement of NMF.

Effects of Training and Competition Load on Neuromuscular Recovery, Testosterone, Cortisol, and Match Performance During a Season of Professional Football.

Training load and other measures potentially related to match performance are routinely monitored in team-sport athletes. The aim of this research was to examine the effect of training load on such measures and on match performance during a season of professional football. Training load was measured daily as session duration times perceived exertion in 23 A-League football players.

Tobacco industry's elaborate attempts to control a global track and trace system and fundamentally undermine the Illicit Trade Protocol.

Background: The Illicit Trade Protocol (ITP) requires a global track and trace (T&T) system to reduce tobacco smuggling. Given the tobacco industry's (TI) historical involvement in tobacco smuggling, it stipulates that T&T 'shall not be performed by or delegated to the tobacco industry'. This paper explores the rationale for & nature of the TI's effors to influence the ITP & its T&T system.

Trump and the GOP agenda: implications for retirement policy.

This commentary provides background on the current state of American retirement, highlights recent efforts to reform retirement policy, and predicts what to expect under President Donald Trump. Retirement has not been a major focus of national policy makers in recent years. Early actions during the Trump administration to undo Obama administration policies may make it more difficult for individuals to save for retirement.

Normal Variability of Weekly Musculoskeletal Screening Scores and the Influence of Training Load across an Australian Football League Season.

The sit and reach test (S&R), dorsiflexion lunge test (DLT), and adductor squeeze test (AST) are commonly used in weekly musculoskeletal screening for athlete monitoring and injury prevention purposes. The aim of this study was to determine the normal week to week variability of the test scores, individual differences in variability, and the effects of training load on the scores. Forty-four elite Australian rules footballers from one club completed the weekly screening tests on day 2 or 3 post-main training (pre-season) or post-match (in-season) over a 10 month season.

Proposal of a Global Training Load Measure Predicting Match Performance in an Elite Team Sport.

The use of external and internal load is an important aspect of monitoring systems in team sport. The aim of this study was to validate a novel measure of training load by quantifying the training-performance relationship of elite Australian footballers. The primary training measure of each of 36 players was weekly load derived from a weighted combination of Global Positioning System (GPS) data and perceived wellness over a 24-week season.

Gestational Age at Birth and Brain White Matter Development in Term-Born Infants and Children.

Background And Purpose: Studies on infants and children born preterm have shown that adequate gestational length is critical for brain white matter development. Less is known regarding how variations in gestational age at birth in term infants and children affect white matter development, which was evaluated in this study.

Materials And Methods: Using DTI tract-based spatial statistics methods, we evaluated white matter microstructures in 2 groups of term-born (≥37 weeks of gestation) healthy subjects: 2-week-old infants ( = 44) and 8-year-old children ( = 63).