Publications by authors named "Whitney R"

Introduction: This study investigated low-density scalp electrical source imaging of the ictal onset zone and interictal spike ripple high-frequency oscillation networks using source coherence maps in the pediatric epilepsy surgical workup. Intracranial monitoring, the gold standard for determining epileptogenic zones, has limited spatial sampling. Source coherence analysis presents a promising new non-invasive technique.

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Sudden deaths in infants and children represent a profound and tragic event that continues to challenge researchers despite extensive investigation over several decades. The predominant phenotype, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), has evolved into the broader category of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID). In older children, a less understood phenomenon known as sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) has garnered attention.

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Background: In 2022, the US Department of Health and Human Services released the first National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers, identifying actions for both government and the private sector. One of the major goals is to expand data, research, and evidence-based practices to support family caregivers. While IT tools are widely deployed in health care settings, they are rarely available at scale in community agencies.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aims to investigate peripartum maternal outcomes in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by comparing their experiences to those without autoimmune diseases using electronic health records.
  • Results showed longer hospital stays and higher rates of infections and blood transfusions for women with SLE, with significant differences in various outcomes based on SLE status, age, and race.
  • A postpartum flare rate of 32% was observed in women with SLE, indicating that maternal health is notably impacted during the peripartum period, highlighting the need for specialized care.
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Drawing on Kolb's experiential learning theory, this article offers practical and ready-to-use ideas that can be implemented into trainings to transform them into interactive experiences for students. By blending practical exercises with the power of theory, trainers can harness their creative ideas to craft dynamic training sessions that not only teach but inspire, bringing concepts to life in ways that stick and resonate long after the training ends.

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Left ventricular assist devices can improve survival rates and quality of life for individuals with advanced heart failure. However, complications and repeated hospitalizations are common. Palliative care involvement is required before and after left ventricular assist device placement.

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Objective: We systematically reviewed the existing literature on the efficacy of corpus callosotomy (CC) in children and adults with refractory epileptic spasms (ES) and analyzed clinical determinants of seizure outcomes.

Methods: The Preferred Report Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Guidelines (PRISMA) were followed. We systematically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases up to December 2023 for original research articles on using CC to treat refractory ES.

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Objectives: Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) remains an important cause of acute seizures, morbidity, and mortality in children. We aimed to assess the clinical and electrographic seizure burden in children with AHT and to explore predictors of morbidity and mortality.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of all children admitted with AHT who underwent continuous electroencephalographic monitoring (cEEG) between January 1st, 2015, and April 15th, 2021.

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Purpose: Infantile epileptic spasms syndrome (IESS) is associated with abnormal neuronal networks during a critical period of synaptogenesis and brain plasticity. Hypsarrhythmia is a visual EEG biomarker used to diagnose IESS, assess response to treatment, and monitor relapse. Computational EEG biomarkers hold promise in providing unbiased, reliable, and objective criteria for clinical management.

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Febrile seizures account for 2 to 14% of all childhood seizures, and one-third of febrile seizures are complex febrile seizures. Despite this, there is a lack of clinical equipoise in the diagnosis and management of complex febrile seizures and this results in significant practice variability amongst physicians. Although febrile seizures are generally noted to be benign phenomenon, complex febrile seizures carry the risk of subsequent epilepsy.

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One way to incorporate evidence-based teaching into healthcare education is through backward design, a pedagogical design process that starts with creating learning outcomes, then moves to assessments, followed by content creation. This study uses backward design as a framework to present an applied experience of evidence-based teaching in the design and refinement of an introductory drug information course presented in the first year of a traditional 4-year PharmD curriculum. In addition to backward design, evidence-based teaching methods included scaffolding, pass-fail grading standards, formative assessments, flipped classroom, and gamification.

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Objective: To compare changes in cognitive trajectories after stroke between younger (18-64) and older (65+) adults, accounting for pre-stroke cognitive trajectories.

Materials And Methods: Pooled cohort study using individual participant data from 3 US cohorts (1971-2019), the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities Study (ARIC), Framingham Offspring Study (FOS), and REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke Study (REGARDS). Linear mixed effect models evaluated the association between age and the initial change (intercept) and rate of change (slope) in cognition after compared to before stroke.

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Article Synopsis
  • Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a genetic disorder caused by mutations in the TSC1 and TSC2 genes, leading to benign tumors and associated neuropsychiatric disorders and epilepsy, with TSC2 mutations usually resulting in more severe symptoms.
  • A study was conducted on a 13-year-old patient and three family members with a specific TSC2 variant (R905Q), revealing a range of symptoms from severe epilepsy to mild dermatological features, highlighting the variant's unusual milder effects in some cases.
  • The findings suggest the need for genetic testing in individuals with severe epilepsy, as the TSC2 R905Q variant can present without typical neurological signs, and it also underscores the significance of
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Objective: To determine if librarian collaboration was associated with improved database search quality, search reproducibility, and systematic review reporting in otolaryngology systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, PubMed was queried for systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in otolaryngology journals in 2010, 2015, and 2021. Two researchers independently extracted data.

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Objective: To determine whether gamifying librarian-led literature searching instruction improved student performance on an authentic literature searching assessment. Secondary objectives included determination of effect on email requests for assistance and student confidence in literature searching abilities.

Methods: Literature searching in PubMed is taught by a librarian to first-year pharmacy students in a drug information course over a 2-week period.

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Nanotube porins form transmembrane nanomaterial-derived scaffolds that mimic the geometry and functionality of biological membrane channels. We report synthesis, transport properties, and osmotic energy harvesting performance of another member of the nanotube porin family: boron nitride nanotube porins (BNNTPs). Cryo-transmission electron microscopy imaging, liposome transport assays, and DNA translocation experiments show that BNNTPs reconstitute into lipid membranes to form functional channels of ~2-nm diameter.

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Background: High blood pressure (BP) increases recurrent stroke risk.

Methods And Results: We assessed hypertension prevalence, treatment, control, medication adherence, and predictors of uncontrolled BP 90 days after ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke among 561 Mexican American and non-Hispanic White (NHW) survivors of stroke from the BASIC (Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi) cohort from 2011 to 2014. Uncontrolled BP was defined as average BP ≥140/90 mm Hg at 90 days poststroke.

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Background: A concern before 2020, physician burnout worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little empirical data are available on pandemic workplace support interventions or their influence on burnout. We surveyed a national sample of frontline physicians on burnout and workplace support during the pandemic.

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Background: It is unclear how post-stroke cognitive trajectories differ by stroke type and ischemic stroke subtype. We studied associations between stroke types (ischemic, hemorrhagic), ischemic stroke subtypes (cardioembolic, large artery atherosclerotic, lacunar/small vessel, cryptogenic/other determined etiology), and post-stroke cognitive decline.

Methods: This pooled cohort analysis from four US cohort studies (1971-2019) identified 1,143 dementia-free individuals with acute stroke during follow-up: 1,061 (92.

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An effective time-dependent Hamiltonian can be implemented by making a quantum system fly through an inhomogeneous potential, realizing, for example, a quantum gate on its internal degrees of freedom. However, flying systems have a spatial spread that will generically entangle the internal and spatial degrees of freedom, leading to decoherence in the internal state dynamics, even in the absence of any external reservoir. We provide formulas valid at all times for the dynamics, fidelity, and change of entropy for ballistic particles with small spatial spreads, quantified by Δx.

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With the advent of high-throughput sequencing and computational methods, genetic testing has become an integral part of contemporary clinical practice, particularly in epilepsy. The toolbox for genetic testing has evolved from conventional chromosomal microarray and epilepsy gene panels to state-of-the-art sequencing techniques in the modern genomic era. Beyond its potential for therapeutic benefits through precision medicine, optimizing the choice of antiseizure medications, or exploring nonpharmacological therapeutic modalities, genetic testing carries substantial diagnostic, prognostic, and personal implications.

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Background: The large and increasing number of adults living with dementia is a pressing societal priority, which may be partially mitigated through improved population-level blood pressure (BP) control. We explored how tighter population-level BP control affects the incidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events and dementia.

Methods: Using an open-source ASCVD and dementia simulation analysis platform, the Michigan Chronic Disease Simulation Model, we evaluated how optimal implementation of 2 BP treatments based on the Eighth Joint National Committee recommendations and SPRINT (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial) protocol would influence population-level ASCVD events, global cognitive performance, and all-cause dementia.

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Introduction: Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) is the leading epilepsy-related cause of death, affecting approximately 1 per 1,000 individuals with epilepsy per year. Genetic variants that affect autonomic function, such as genes associated with cardiac arrhythmias, may predispose people with epilepsy to greater risk of both sudden cardiac death and SUDEP. Advances in next generation sequencing allow for the exploration of gene variants as potential biomarkers.

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Strategies to prevent or delay Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) are urgently needed, and blood pressure (BP) management is a promising strategy. Yet the effects of different BP control strategies across the life course on AD/ADRD are unknown. Randomized trials may be infeasible due to prolonged follow-up and large sample sizes.

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Importance: Stroke risk varies by systolic blood pressure (SBP), race, and ethnicity. The association between cumulative mean SBP and incident stroke type is unclear, and whether this association differs by race and ethnicity remains unknown.

Objective: To examine the association between cumulative mean SBP and first incident stroke among 3 major stroke types-ischemic stroke (IS), intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)-and explore how these associations vary by race and ethnicity.

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