Rationale and design of a randomized controlled clinical trial of a resilience-building intervention in adults with congenital heart disease.

Background: Adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) are at risk for lower quality of life (QOL) and psychological health. Behavioral interventions to meet their psychosocial needs are lacking. The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of implementing the Promoting Resilience in Stress Management (PRISM) intervention in ACHD and its efficacy in increasing resilience in this population.

Benzodiazepine Prescription Patterns After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in U.S. Military Service Members.

Introduction: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) and clinical recommendations (CRs) are developed to aide and guide providers in treating a variety of conditions, including traumatic brain injury (TBI). There is little knowledge on the impact that CPGs and CRs have on provider practice. One TBI recommendation that was able to be tracked in medical record codes was the use of benzodiazepines (BZD).

Occurrence of premature battery depletion in a large multicentre registry of subcutaneous cardioverter-defibrillator patients.

Aims: Subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (S-ICDs) have become established in preventing sudden cardiac death, with some advantages over transvenous defibrillator systems, including a lower incidence of lead failures. Despite technological advancements, S-ICD carriers may suffer from significant complications, such as premature battery depletion (PBD), that led to an advisory for nearly 40 000 patients. This multicentre study evaluated the incidence of PBD in a large set of S-ICD patients.

Incidence, implications, and management of sense-B-noise failure in subcutaneous cardioverter-defibrillator patients: insights from a large multicentre registry.

Aims: Subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (S-ICDs) offer potentially distinct advantages over transvenous defibrillator systems. Recent randomized trials showed significantly lower lead failure rates than transvenous ICD. Still, S-ICDs remain associated with the risk of inappropriate shocks (IAS).

Key Psychosocial Health Outcomes and Association With Resilience Among Patients With Adult Congenital Heart Disease.

Background: Adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) can negatively impact quality of life (QOL). Strengthening resilience may improve this and other psychosocial outcomes important for living a meaningful life.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe resilience and key psychosocial health outcomes in ACHD and evaluate the associations between resilience and these outcomes.

Clinical Protocol for Selecting Intracardiac or Transesophageal Echocardiography-Guided Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion.

Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) has emerged as an alternative to transesophageal echo (TEE) to guide left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO). We established a protocol to select patients appropriate for ICE guidance. Patients who underwent LAAO with the Watchman or Watchman FLX device (Boston Scientific, Marlborough, Massachusetts) from January 2018 to March 2022 at a large United States center were included.

Myofiber hypertrophy adaptations following 6 weeks of low-load resistance training with blood flow restriction in untrained males and females.

The effects of low-load resistance training with blood flow restriction (BFR) on hypertrophy of type I/II myofibers remains unclear, especially in females. The purpose of the present study is to examine changes in type I/II myofiber cross-sectional area (fCSA) and muscle CSA (mCSA) of the vastus lateralis (VL) from before (Pre) to after (Post) 6 wk of high-load resistance training (HL; = 15, 8 females) and low-load resistance training with BFR ( = 16, 8 females). Mixed-effects models were used to analyze fCSA with group (HL, BFR), sex (M, F), fiber type (I, II), and time (Pre, Post) included as factors.

Trends in Traumatic Brain Injury Among U.S. Service Members Deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2002-2016.

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major health issue for service members deployed and is more common in recent conflicts; however, a thorough understanding of risk factors and trends is not well described. This study aims to characterize the epidemiology of TBI in U.S.

Predictive value of interatrial block on electrocardiogram among obese patients undergoing atrial fibrillation ablation.

Background: Determine a predictive value of interatrial block (IAB) on atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation outcomes in obese patients.

Methods: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for 205 consecutive patients with body mass indices (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m who underwent initial AF ablation. Evidence of partial IAB defined as P-wave duration (PWD) ≥ 120 ms and advanced IAB with PWD ≥ 120 ms and biphasic or negative P-wave in inferior leads was examined from sinus electrocardiograms (ECGs) within 1-year pre-ablation.

Clusters of conditions among US service members diagnosed with mild TBI from 2017 through 2019.

Background: Many US Military Service Members (SMs) newly diagnosed with mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) may exhibit a range of symptoms and comorbidities, making for a complex patient profile that challenges clinicians and healthcare administrators. This study used clustering techniques to determine if conditions co-occurred as clusters among those newly injured with mTBI and up to one year post-injury.

Methods: We measured the co-occurrence of 41 conditions among SMs diagnosed with mTBI within the acute phase, one or three months post-mTBI diagnosis, and chronic phase, one year post-mTBI diagnosis.

COVID-19 impact on adults with congenital heart disease self-perceived vulnerability and coping.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses risk for worsened quality of life in patients with adult congenital heart disease. In a qualitative thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted July 2020 to August 2021, we examined the pandemic's impact on participants' (N = 25) experiences with self-perception and coping. All had moderate or complex disease; median age 32 years.

Notch, Numb and Numb-like responses to exercise-induced muscle damage in human skeletal muscle.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? Do Notch, Numb and Numb-like expression change in human skeletal muscle after exercise-induced muscle damage? What are the main finding and its importance? Notch gene expression trends toward an increase in response to an acute bout of exercise-induced muscle damage, while Numb and Numb-like expression does not change. These results suggest that human skeletal muscle response to exercise-induced muscle damage is dynamic and may differ from Drosophila and rodent models. Furthermore, the timing of muscle biopsies, training status and muscle damage protocols should be considered.

The management and rehabilitation of post-acute mild traumatic brain injury.

Description: In June 2021, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.

Epidemiology, patterns of care and outcomes of traumatic brain injury in deployed military settings: Implications for future military operations.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is prevalent and highly morbid among Service Members. A better understanding of TBI epidemiology, outcomes, and care patterns in deployed settings could inform potential approaches to improve TBI diagnosis and management.

Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis of Service Members who sustained a TBI in deployed settings between 2001 and 2018 was conducted.

AHA/ACC vs ESC Guidelines for Management of Adults With Congenital Heart Disease: JACC Guideline Comparison.

The American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology published practice guidelines for the management of adult congenital heart disease in 2018 and the European Society of Cardiology published analogous guidelines in 2020. Although there are broad areas of consensus between the 2 documents, there are important differences that impact patient management. This review discusses key areas of agreement and disagreement between the 2 guidelines, with discussion of possible reasons for disagreement and potential implications.

Disruption of mitochondrial complex I induces progressive parkinsonism.

Loss of functional mitochondrial complex I (MCI) in the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra is a hallmark of Parkinson's disease. Yet, whether this change contributes to Parkinson's disease pathogenesis is unclear. Here we used intersectional genetics to disrupt the function of MCI in mouse dopaminergic neurons.

Prevalence of Comorbidities in Active and Reserve Service Members Pre and Post Traumatic Brain Injury, 2017-2019.

Objective: To understand the prevalence of comorbidities associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients among active and reserve service members in the U.S. Military.

High particle counts in neonatal parenteral nutrition solutions with added cysteine: Relationship to crystal formation and effect of filtration on cysteine content.

Background: Parenteral nutrition(PN) solutions containing calcium gluconate and cysteine have elevated particle counts when analyzed using laser light obscuration (LO) as recommended by the United States Pharmacopeia. It is unclear whether increased particle formation in these solutions results in decreased availability of cysteine to neonatal patients due to filtration.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to measure cysteine concentrations in neonatal PN solutions before and after filtration as well as analyze precipitates on filters.

Estimating Repeat Traumatic Brain Injury in the U.S. Military, 2015-2017.

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant health issue among deployed and non-deployed U.S. military service members (SMs).

Double Porphyrin Cage Compounds.

The synthesis and characterization of double porphyrin cage compounds are described. They consist of two porphyrins that are each attached to a diphenylglycoluril-based clip molecule via four ethyleneoxy spacers, and are linked together by a single alkyl chain using "click"-chemistry. Following a newly developed multistep synthesis procedure we report three of these double porphyrin cages, linked by spacers of different lengths, i.