Prenatal exposure to particulates and anthropometry through 9 years of age in a birth cohort.

Background: Previous research observed links between prenatal air pollution and risk of childhood obesity but the timing of the exposure is understudied.

Aim: We examined prenatal particulate matter (PM, PM) exposure and child anthropometry.

Materials & Methods: Children's body mass index z-scores (zBMI) at 0-3 (N = 4370) and 7-9 (n = 1191) years were derived from reported anthropometry at paediatric visits.

Propensity Score Analysis of Possible Medication Effects on Outcomes in Patients With Systemic Right Ventricles.

Background: Patients with systemic right ventricle (SRV), either d-transposition of the great arteries following an atrial switch procedure or congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries, develop severe right ventricular dysfunction, prompting appropriate medical therapy. However, the efficacy of beta-blockers and angiotensin receptor blockers or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) in SRV patients is unproven.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of ACEI/ARB and beta-blockers on outcomes in SRV patients after accounting for likely cofounders affecting their use.

Perceptions of Patients With Stroke Regarding an Immersive Virtual Reality-Based Exercise System for Upper Limb Rehabilitation: Questionnaire and Interview Study.

Background: With substantial resources allocated to develop virtual reality (VR)-based rehabilitation exercise programs for poststroke motor rehabilitation, it is important to understand how patients with stroke perceive these technology-driven approaches, as their perceptions can determine acceptance and adherence.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the perceptions of patients with stroke regarding an immersive VR-based exercise system developed to deliver shoulder, elbow, forearm, wrist, and reaching exercises.

Methods: A questionnaire was used to assess the perceptions of 21 inpatients who had experienced stroke (mean time from stroke onset: 37.

Validity evidence for endoscopic ultrasound competency assessment tools: Systematic review.

Competent endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) performance requires a combination of technical, cognitive, and non-technical skills. Direct observation assessment tools can be employed to enhance learning and ascertain clinical competence; however, there is a need to systematically evaluate validity evidence supporting their use. We aimed to evaluate the validity evidence of competency assessment tools for EUS and examine their educational utility.

Finerenone attenuates downregulation of the kidney GLP-1 receptor and glucagon receptor and cardiac GIP receptor in mice with comorbid diabetes.

Background: Several new treatments have recently been shown to have heart and kidney protective benefits in people with diabetes. Because these treatments were developed in parallel, it is unclear how the different molecular pathways affected by the therapies may overlap. Here, we examined the effects of the mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist finerenone in mice with comorbid diabetes, focusing on the regulation of expression of the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R), gastric inhibitory polypeptide receptor (GIPR) and glucagon receptor (GCGR), which are targets of approved or investigational therapies in diabetes.

Oral antimicrobial options for vancomycin-resistant isolates in urine culture.

Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the susceptibility profiles of vancomycin-resistant isolates in urine culture to create an antibiogram to guide selection of oral antimicrobials in British Columbia (BC), Canada.

Methods: An audit was conducted on all urine cultures reported from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2023, in LifeLabs BC microbiology laboratories. species in urine were routinely tested with ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, nitrofurantoin, tetracycline, and vancomycin.

Mixed-phenotype leukemia with TCF3::ZNF384 fusion presenting as an isolated mediastinal mass.

Acute leukemia with TCF3::ZNF384 is a distinct type of acute leukemia that present most commonly as B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia or mixed-phenotype acute leukemia (B/myeloid). We report the first case of TCF3::ZNF384 mixed-phenotype leukemia presenting as isolated extramedullary disease in the mediastinum. Diagnosis using RNA-sequencing and whole genome sequencing on the primary issue is illustrated.

People consistently view elections and civil liberties as key components of democracy.

How do people around the world define democracy? Answering this question is critical as countries face democratic backsliding and authoritarian governments promote alternative notions of democracy. Indeed, some scholars argue that people from different backgrounds understand democracy differently. By contrast, we discovered very consistent views about what constitutes a "democratic" country from conjoint survey experiments conducted in Egypt, India, Italy, Japan, Thailand, and the United States.

Modeling Control of Supercoiling Dynamics and Transcription Using DNA-Binding Proteins.

Nearly all natural and synthetic gene networks rely on the fundamental process of transcription to enact biological feedback, genetic programs, and living circuitry. In this work, we investigate the efficacy of controlling transcription using a new biophysical mechanism, control of localized supercoiling near a gene of interest. We postulate a basic reaction network model for describing the general phenomenon of transcription and introduce a separate set of equations to describe the dynamics of supercoiling.

Do maternal and paternal education protect against developmental delays?

Background: Parental education is linked to child development and wellbeing, but unique and combined contributions of maternal and paternal education have rarely been studied.

Aims: This study assessed the individual and joint associations of maternal and paternal education on children's odds of a probable developmental delay.

Methods And Procedures: Mothers (N = 3566) from the Upstate KIDS cohort study reported on theirs and the father's highest level of education and completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaires up to 7 times when the child was 4- to 36-months-old.

Five days of inpatient scoliosis-specific exercises improve preoperative spinal flexibility and facilitate curve correction of patients with rigid idiopathic scoliosis.

Preoperative spine flexibility plays a key role in the intraoperative treatment course of severe scoliosis. In this cohort study, we examined the effects of 5 day inpatient scoliosis-specific exercise (SSE) on the spinal flexibility of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis before surgery. A total of 65 patients were analyzed.

Differences in alcohol-related variables between individuals who engage in food and alcohol disturbance (FAD) behaviors and those who only use alcohol: The role of FAD motives.

Objective: Food and alcohol disturbance (FAD) is the use of any compensatory behavior (e.g., skipping meals) within the context of a drinking episode.

A global overview of health system financing and available infrastructure and oversight for kidney care.

Background: Governance, health financing, and service delivery are critical elements of health systems for provision of robust and sustainable chronic disease care. We leveraged the third iteration of the International Society of Nephrology Global Kidney Health Atlas (ISN-GKHA) to evaluate oversight and financing for kidney care worldwide.

Methods: A survey was administered to stakeholders from countries affiliated with the ISN from July to September 2022.

Place-Based Opportunity and Well Child Visit Attendance in Early Childhood.

Background: Lower neighborhood opportunity, measured by the Child Opportunity Index [COI], is associated with increased pediatric morbidity, but is less frequently used to examine longitudinal well child care. We aimed to evaluate associations between the COI and well child visit [WCV] attendance from birth - <36 months of age.

Methods: The Upstate KIDS population-based birth cohort includes children born 2008-2010 in New York state.

Age of Juice Introduction and Cardiometabolic Outcomes in Middle Childhood.

Background: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends juice introduction after 12 months of age. Juice consumption has been linked to childhood obesity and cardiometabolic risk.

Objectives: To examine the prospective relationship between the age of juice introduction and primary and secondary cardiometabolic outcomes in middle childhood.

Risk of Seizure Aggravation after COVID-19 Vaccinations in Patients with Epilepsy.

Although Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations are generally recommended for persons with epilepsy (PwE), a significant vaccination gap remains due to patient concerns over the risk of post-vaccination seizure aggravation (PVSA). In this single-centre, retrospective cohort study, we aimed to determine the early (7-day) and delayed (30-day) risk of PVSA, and to identify clinical predictors of PVSA among PwE. Adult epilepsy patients aged ≥18 years without a history of COVID-19 infection were recruited from a specialty epilepsy clinic in early 2022.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation bridging for chemotherapy in obstructing mediastinal mass after cardiopulmonary arrest.

Background: In a sedated patient, airway compression by a large mediastinal mass can cause acute fatal cardiopulmonary arrest. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been investigated to protect the airway and provided cardiopulmonary stability. The use of ECMO in the management of mediastinal masses was reported, however, the management complicated by cardiopulmonary arrest is poorly documented.