Effect of bilirubin on visuocortical development in preterm infants.

Objective: To determine if visuocortical development in premature infants with high bilirubin levels is more adversely affected than that in full-term infants.

Study Design: 57 preterm infants were managed using institutional guidelines for hyperbilirubinemia. At 12-months corrected age, Vernier acuity, contrast sensitivity, and grating acuity measured using the sweep visual evoked potential (sVEP) were correlated to total serum/plasma bilirubin (TSB) levels in the first week of life.

Diffuse functional and structural abnormalities in fibrosis: Potential structural basis for sustaining atrial fibrillation.

Background: Structural remodeling has been associated with increased incidence of atrial fibrillation, but how fibrotic regions allow atrial fibrillation to be sustained remains unclear.

Objective: With a novel transgenic goat model, we evaluated structural and functional differences between structurally remodeled and healthy regions of the atria.

Methods: A novel transgenic goat model with cardiac-specific overexpression of transforming growth factor β1 was used.

Evaluation of risk prediction scores for adults hospitalized with COVID-19 in a highly-vaccinated population, Aotearoa New Zealand 2022.

Objectives: COVID-19 severity prediction scores need further validation due to evolving COVID-19 illness. We evaluated existing COVID-19 risk prediction scores in Aotearoa New Zealand, including for Māori and Pacific peoples who have been inequitably affected by COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study in adults hospitalized with COVID-19 from January to May 2022, including all Māori and Pacific patients, and every second non-Māori, non-Pacific (NMNP) patient to achieve equal analytic power by ethnic grouping.

Evaluation of five methods for the interpolation of bad leads in the solution of the inverse electrocardiography problem.

This study aims to assess the sensitivity of epicardial potential-based electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) to the removal or interpolation of bad leads.We utilized experimental data from two distinct centers. Langendorff-perfused pig (= 2) and dog (= 2) hearts were suspended in a human torso-shaped tank and paced from the ventricles.

COVID-19-related hospitalizations among Aotearoa, New Zealand children during the Omicron era of SARS-CoV-2.

Objectives: This multicenter cohort study describes Aotearoa New Zealand children hospitalized during the country's first wave of sustained SARS-CoV-2 transmission, Omicron variant.

Methods: Children younger than 16 years, hospitalized for >6 hours with COVID-19 across New Zealand from January to May 2022 were included. Admissions for all Māori and Pacific and every second non-Maori non-Pacific children were selected to support equal explanatory power for ethnic grouping.