Sociodemographic predictors of imaging utilization in children with right lower quadrant pain.

Background: Inequities in health care access lead to inequities in outcome. In recent years, health outcome disparities have been documented in children with acute appendicitis and sociodemographic predictors of imaging utilization have not been adequately assessed.

Objective: The purpose of our study is to assess sociodemographic predictors for the diagnostic imaging of children with right lower quadrant (RLQ) pain.

Hospital Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts: Perspectives of Patient and Family Advisors.

Background And Objectives: Patient and family advisory councils are common within children's hospitals. However, lack of diversity among patient and family advisors (PFAs) may result in exclusion of crucial perspectives and perpetuate inequities. We sought to understand PFA perspectives on how children's hospitals should approach: (1) recruitment and support of PFAs from groups at greater risk of health inequities; and (2) development of meaningful partnerships with PFAs or patient and family advisory councils on institutional diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

Hydrogel-based photobioreactor for Solid-State cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris.

Solid-state cultivation is a promising technology for algal biomass production, achieving high productivities without the need for dewatering. However, such systems have suffered from high evaporation, and capital costs. Here is described a hydrogel photobioreactor (hPBR) with the aim of reducing water demand in solid-state cultivations.

Establishing a Pediatric Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Research Review Process.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) research is increasing, and there is a need for a more standardized approach for methodological and ethical review of this research. A supplemental review process for EDI-related human subject research protocols was developed and implemented at a pediatric academic medical center (AMC). The goal was to ensure that current EDI research principles are consistently used and that the research aligns with the AMC's declaration on EDI.

Sociodemographic factors and Child Opportunity Index disparities associated with missed care opportunities in pediatric patients with lymphoma and leukemia referred for FDG-PET/CT.

Background: Little data exists on the association of missed care opportunities (MCOs) in children referred for nuclear medicine/nuclear oncology imaging examinations and socioeconomic disparities.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of MCOs in children with lymphoma/leukemia scheduled for fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) and the impact of sociodemographic factors and Child Opportunity Index (COI).

Materials And Methods: Retrospective analysis of MCOs in children with lymphoma/leukemia scheduled for FDG-PET/CT (2012 to 2022) was performed.

Effects of Sociodemographic and Child Opportunity Index on Pediatric Plastic and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical Volume Trends in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused disruptions to pediatric surgical care. Although surgical capacity has returned to the prepandemic state, barriers to surgical access may still exist for children who are medically underserved. We assessed pediatric plastic and oral and maxillofacial surgical volumes by sociodemographic characteristics before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Race, Ethnicity, and Ancestry in Clinical Pathways: A Framework for Evaluation.

Clinical algorithms, or "pathways," promote the delivery of medical care that is consistent and equitable. Race, ethnicity, and/or ancestry terms are sometimes included in these types of guidelines, but it is unclear if this is appropriate for clinical decision-making. At our institution, we developed and applied a structured framework to determine whether race, ethnicity, or ancestry terms identified in our clinical pathways library should be retained, modified, or removed.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Genetic Engineering of Green Microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (AMT) serves as a widely employed tool for manipulating plant genomes. However, A. tumefaciens exhibit the capacity for gene transfer to a diverse array of species.

Production of Astaxanthin Using CBFD1/HFBD1 from and the Isopentenol Utilization Pathway in .

Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant and is used extensively as an animal feed additive and nutraceutical product. Here, we report the use of the β-carotene hydroxylase (CBFD1) and the β-carotene ketolase (HBFD1) from , a flowering plant, to produce astaxanthin in equipped with the β-carotene pathway and an over-expressed 4-methylerythritol-phosphate (MEP) pathway or the isopentenol utilization pathway (IUP). Introduction of the over-expressed MEP pathway and the IUP resulted in a 3.

Reporting and Representation of Participant Race and Ethnicity in National Institutes of Health-Funded Pediatric Clinical Trials.

Importance: Enrolling racially and ethnically diverse pediatric research participants is critical to ensuring equitable access to health advances and generalizability of research findings.

Objectives: To examine the reporting of race and ethnicity for National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded pediatric clinical trials and to assess the representation of pediatric participants from different racial and ethnic groups compared with distributions in the US population.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study included NIH-funded pediatric (ages 0-17 years) trials with grant funding completed between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019, and trial results reported as of June 30, 2022.

Child Opportunity Index Disparities in Pediatric Surgical Encounters During the Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic.

Objective: Surgical encounters decreased during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and may have been deferred more in children with impeded health care access related to social/community risk factors. We compared surgery trends before and during the pandemic by Child Opportunity Index (COI).

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 321,998 elective surgical encounters of children ages 0-to-18 years in 44 US children's hospitals from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2021.

Racial and ethnic disparities in common inpatient safety outcomes in a children's hospital cohort.

Background: Emerging evidence has shown racial and ethnic disparities in rates of harm for hospitalised children. Previous work has also demonstrated how highly heterogeneous approaches to collection of race and ethnicity data pose challenges to population-level analyses. This work aims to both create an approach to aggregating safety data from multiple hospitals by race and ethnicity and apply the approach to the examination of potential disparities in high-frequency harm conditions.

Moving from Vaccine Hesitancy to Acceptance: Engaging Underrepresented Employees in a Pediatric Academic Medical Center.

Unlabelled: Underrepresented populations historically underserved by the healthcare system and/or marginalized by systematic policies regionally and nationally were particularly vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. While vaccine hesitancy has been described among hospital employees, the employees' experiences from an underrepresented population cohort have not been reported. We, therefore, sought to understand employees' vaccine experiences, hesitancy, and ways to enhance ongoing COVID-19 vaccine education and communication to build a hospital-wide culture of vaccine acceptance.

Childbearing and Family Leave Policies for Physicians at US Children's Hospitals.

The objective of this study was to examine the childbirth and parental leave policies for physicians at children's hospitals. We obtained institutional policies from 15 hospitals in 2021. The median duration of full salaried leave was 8 weeks (range, 2-12 weeks).

Understanding Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Differences in the Ambulatory Care Experience.

Background And Objective: Racial and ethnic and socioeconomic differences in patient experience are prevalent and can negatively impact health outcomes. Our objective was to examine differences in family experience of care in the pediatric ambulatory setting.

Methods: We conducted interviews with parents of patients from different demographic groups who had received care at 1 of 3 clinics at a quaternary children's hospital.

Examining racial and ethnic disparities in adult emergency department patient visits for concussion in the United States.

Background: Racial and ethnic differences in emergency department (ED) visits have been reported among adolescent patients but are unsubstantiated among adults. Therefore, our purpose in this study was to examine the relationship between race/ethnicity and adult ED visits for concussions, their injury mechanisms, and computed tomography (CT) scan use among a nationally representative sample.

Methods: We used the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey database from 2010-2015 to examine 63,725 adult (20-45 years old) patient visits, representing an estimated 310.

Production of recombinant and therapeutic proteins in microalgae.

Microalgae is emerging as a promising platform for the production of recombinant proteins of therapeutic importance. Since microalgae are safe for oral consumption and some microalgal species can form extracellular vesicles, they can potentially be used as edible vaccines or drug-delivery vehicles in addition to their status as naturally rich sources of nutraceutical bioproducts. This article focuses on recent advances in the field of recombinant protein production in microalgae, and developments toward the use of microalgae as a vehicle for drug delivery.

Vitamin D Toxicity from an Unusual and Unexpected Source: A Report of 2 Cases.

Introduction: Hypervitaminosis D is a relatively uncommon etiology of hypercalcemia. Toxicity is usually caused by very high doses, mostly secondary to erroneous prescription or administration of vitamin D, and less commonly, contaminated foods or manufacturing errors of vitamin D-containing supplements.

Case Presentation: A 16-year-old male, previously healthy, presented with 2-week history of nonspecific symptoms (fatigue, gastrointestinal complaints).

Racial and ethnic disparities in pediatric magnetic resonance imaging missed care opportunities.

Background: Imaging missed care opportunities (MCOs), previously referred to as "no shows," impact timely patient diagnosis and treatment and can exacerbate health care disparities. Understanding factors associated with imaging MCOs could help advance pediatric health equity.

Objective: To assess racial/ethnic differences in pediatric MR imaging MCOs and whether health system and socioeconomic factors, represented by a geography-based Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), influence racial/ethnic differences.

Diversity, equity and inclusion: a survey of pediatric radiology fellowship graduates from 1996 to 2020.

Background: Understanding the sociodemographic diversity and the experiences of trainees is imperative for developing an inclusive pediatric radiology workforce and improving patient outcomes.

Objective: To describe the sociodemographics of a pediatric radiology fellowship program over 25 years and examine potential associations with (a) a trainee's sense of inclusion and belonging during training and (b) graduates' ultimate choice/type of practice, progression to positions of leadership and mentorship of others.

Materials And Methods: We designed and administered an online survey of sociodemographic diversity to graduates of one of the largest pediatric radiology fellowship programs in North America who graduated over the last 25 years.

Increasing Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Nursing Workforce: One Pediatric Hospital's Strategic Approach.

Background: The 2021 Future of Nursing Report 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity recognizes increasing racial and ethnic diversity in nursing as an imperative to achieving health equity.

Practice Initiatives: Over a 3-year period, nursing and human resource leaders at Boston Children's Hospital, a tertiary care, 454-bed pediatric academic medical center in Massachusetts, developed, implemented, and evaluated specific strategies to increase racial and ethnic diversity in recruitment and hiring of the nursing workforce. These specific strategies focused on cultivating partnerships, building relationships with candidates, and supporting transition into practice.