Publications by authors named "Sterling M"

Background: Inflammation plays a key role in the development of heart failure (HF), and diet is a known modifiable factor that modulates systemic inflammation. The dietary inflammatory score (DIS) is a tool to quantify the inflammatory components of diet. We sought to determine whether the DIS is associated with incident HF events.

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Background: Increased burden of socially determined vulnerabilities (SDV), which include nonmedical conditions that contribute to patient health, is associated with incident heart failure (HF). Mediators of this association have not been examined. We aimed to determine if a healthy lifestyle mediates the association between SDV and HF.

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Background: Social risk factors are linked to adverse health outcomes, but their total impact on long-term quality of life is obscure. We hypothesized that a higher burden of social risk factors is associated with greater decline in quality of life over 10 years.

Methods: We examined associations between social risk factors count and decline >5 points in (i) physical component summary, and (ii) mental component summary scores from the Short Form-12 among Black and White participants in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study (n = 14 401).

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Objectives: Our study investigates unionization trends among direct care workers (DCWs) in the United States and examines the association between unionization and their wealth outcomes.

Design: This is a cross-sectional study using data from the Current Population Survey and Annual Social and Economic Supplement from 2009 to 2023.

Setting And Participants: Our study is based on US representative household surveys.

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Purpose: To evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of a consumer co-designed telehealth intervention which aimed to reduce claimant distress by providing pain management strategies, informational and social support to people who had made a compensation claim following road traffic musculoskeletal injury.

Methods: Eleven claimant participants who were at risk of a poor outcome completed the intervention in a one-on-one setting with the same clinician delivering the program across all sessions.They were interviewed about their experience (acceptability and feasibility including the use of telehealth).

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We present a genome assembly from an individual male (the Delicate; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Noctuidae). The genome sequence is 726.7 megabases in span.

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To reduce morbidity and mortality rates of cardiovascular disease, an urgent need exists to improve cardiovascular health among US adults. In 2022, the American Heart Association issued Life's Essential 8, which identifies and defines 8 health behaviors and factors that, when optimized through a combination of primary prevention, risk factor management, and effective treatments, can promote ideal cardiovascular health. Because of its central role in patient care across the life span, primary care is in a strategic position to promote Life's Essential 8 and improve cardiovascular health in the United States.

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  • Fewer than 20% of heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction receive all recommended treatments, highlighting the need to investigate disparities based on race, sex, and social factors for effective care.
  • A study analyzed data from the American Heart Association's registry to evaluate how these disparities affect the optimization of quadruple therapy in heart failure patients between July 2021 and September 2023.
  • Results showed that while Black and Hispanic patients had slightly higher therapy scores compared to non-Hispanic Whites, females performed better than males, and those without private insurance faced significantly lower optimization scores.
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Developmental trajectories for neck disability after whiplash injury have been identified. Their relationship to cold and mechanical sensitivity trajectories is not known. We aimed to (1) identify recovery trajectories of cold and mechanical sensitivity, (2) explore their codevelopment with disability trajectories, (3) identify predictors of sensitivity trajectories, and (4) explore codevelopment of cold and mechanical sensitivity trajectories.

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To (1) investigate whether different labels for neck pain after a motor vehicle crash (MVC) influenced recovery expectations and management beliefs, (2) explore reasons for low recovery expectations and greater likelihood for lodging a claim, and (3) explore the moderating effect of neck pain history and sociodemographic characteristics. Online randomized experiment with nested qualitative content analysis. We randomized 2229 participants from the general population (mean age: 46.

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  • The study focuses on improving care transitions for heart failure patients by implementing an intervention called I-TRANSFER-HF, which combines early home health care (HHC) nurse visits with outpatient medical follow-up to reduce hospital readmissions.
  • It employs a Hybrid Type 1, stepped wedge randomized trial design, involving multiple hospital and home health agency (HHA) pairs across the US, to measure the effectiveness of the intervention on readmission rates and patient outcomes.
  • Additionally, the study aims to understand the factors affecting the implementation of I-TRANSFER-HF through qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research 2.0 to guide the analysis.
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  • The study aimed to explore how well people accepted specialist musculoskeletal care within a new treatment pathway for common conditions like low back pain and knee osteoarthritis.
  • Using interviews and quantitative measures, researchers analyzed experiences from 29 participants who were at risk of poor outcomes from the intervention.
  • Key findings highlighted that most participants reported satisfaction and positive changes in their physical and mental health, with themes emerging around expectations, the quality of care, and the effectiveness of the care pathway, although some concerns about perceived effectiveness were noted.
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Objectives: To meet a growing demand for direct care workers (DCWs) in the United States, structural, organizational, and policy-related solutions are needed. Unionization of the workforce may be one such mechanism; however, its impact on outcomes remains poorly understood. To examine the impact of unionization on DCWs' financial well-being and employment attitudes, as well as patient outcomes.

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  • - Cognitive impairment is prevalent in adults with heart failure (HF) and can lead to worse health outcomes, but the specific pattern of cognitive decline following a first HF hospitalization had not been thoroughly studied.
  • - In a study involving nearly 24,000 participants aged 45 and older, those who experienced HF hospitalization showed a more rapid decline in overall cognitive function (measured by the Six-Item Screener) over five years compared to those without HF hospitalization, even after accounting for other factors.
  • - However, this faster cognitive decline was not observed in specific memory tasks (Word List Learning and Delayed Recall), suggesting that while general cognitive health is affected by HF hospitalization, certain cognitive domains may remain relatively stable.
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  • TLRs (Toll-like receptors) start immune responses by using TIR (Toll/IL-1R) domains, but some bacteria have their own TIR proteins to evade immune detection.
  • Initial studies on a bacterial TIR from Acinetobacter baumannii revealed structural insights but didn't clarify how it binds NAD, leading to further investigation.
  • A collaborative research project involving undergraduates aimed to identify key amino acids for the NADase activity of TIR domains from A. baumannii and E. coli, providing new insights into their function and reaffirming the effectiveness of student-led research experiences.
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  • Intravenous fluids are crucial for managing acute kidney injury (AKI) after sepsis, but they can lead to fluid overload, prompting a need for a restrictive fluid strategy for certain patients.
  • A machine learning algorithm was developed and validated to identify sepsis patients with AKI who would benefit from receiving less than 500mL of fluids within 24 hours.
  • The algorithm suggested that 88.2% of patients in the validation cohort would benefit from a restrictive fluid approach, leading to higher rates of early and sustained AKI reversal and lower major adverse kidney events compared to those receiving more fluids.
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Objectives: This study examines the perspectives of key stakeholders in home health toward Medicare's Home Health Value Based Purchasing (HHVBP) program, piloted among home health agencies (HHAs) in 9 states from 2016 to 2021, and based on initial performance, was expanded to the remaining 41 (nonpilot) states in January 2023.

Design: We conducted semistructured interviews wherein we inquired participants' views toward and experiences with HHVBP. We used convenience and purposive sampling to obtain diversity in HHA size, geography, and quality.

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Background: Population studies show that musculoskeletal conditions are a leading contributor to the total burden of healthy life lost, second only to cancer and with a similar burden to cardiovascular disease. Prioritizing the delivery of effective treatments is necessary, and with the ubiquity of consumer smart devices, the use of digital health interventions is increasing. Messaging is popular and easy to use and has been studied for a range of health-related uses, including health promotion, encouragement of behavior change, and monitoring of disease progression.

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  • - A genome assembly was created for the Heart Moth, an individual female from the Noctuidae family, measuring 936.7 megabases.
  • - The genome is organized into 31 chromosomal pseudomolecules, which include the Z sex chromosome, in addition to an assembled mitochondrial genome of 15.29 kilobases.
  • - The gene annotation process on Ensembl identified a total of 19,564 protein-coding genes within this genome assembly.
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Background: Self-care for adults with hypertension includes adherence to lifestyle behaviors and medication. For unpaid caregivers with hypertension, the burden of family caregiving may adversely impact self-care. We examined the association between caregiver strain and hypertension self-care among caregivers with hypertension.

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