Reflection function, reflectance, and area function measurements in ears of children and adults.

The main experiment concerned time-domain measurements of the acoustical reflection function (RF) of the human ear in adults and children (aged 5 to 8 years) using a probe inserted into the ear canal. This RF was used to calculate the area function of the ear canal versus distance along its centerline. Acoustical reflectance was calculated in the frequency domain from the RF, as was the difference in sound pressure level near the tympanic membrane relative to the probe tip.

The effect of non-immersive virtual reality radiographic positioning simulation on first-year radiography students' image evaluation performance.

Introduction: Optimal radiographic image quality is critical because it affects the accuracy of the reporter's interpretation. Radiographers have an ethical obligation to obtain quality diagnostic images while protecting patients from unnecessary radiation, including minimizing rejected and repeated images. Repeated imaging due to positioning errors have increased in recent years.

A Prospective Multimodal Education Intervention for Providers Does Not Increase Hepatic Encephalopathy Treatment Rates.

Background: Over 50% of hospitalizations from hepatic encephalopathy (HE) are preventable, but patients often do not receive medical treatment.

Aims: To use a multimodal education intervention (MMEI) to increase HE treatment rates and to evaluate (1) trends in HE treatment, (2) predictors of receiving treatment, and (3) the impact of treatment on hospitalization outcomes.

Methods: Prospective single-center cohort study of patients hospitalized with HE from April 1, 2020-September 30, 2022.

Enhancing walking performance in patients with peripheral arterial disease: An intervention with ankle-foot orthosis.

Lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a cardiovascular condition manifesting from narrowed or blocked arteries supplying the legs. Gait is impaired in patients with PAD. Recent evidence suggests that walking with carbon fiber ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) can improve patient mobility and delay claudication time.

Comparing bullying to ACEs in the national survey of children's health: Examining 2016-2019 prevalence trends among children and adolescents.

Objectives: To estimate adverse childhood experience (ACE) prevalence among children and adolescents aged 6-17 years in the United States, to examine factors influencing the prevalence of ACEs over the time period 2016-2019, and to examine the difference in bullying trends compared to ACEs in the NSCH.

Participants And Setting: The National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) is a cross-sectional survey. Participants included respondents who completed the separate surveys for ages 6-11 and 12-17 from 2016 to 2019.

Rural-urban otolaryngologic observational workforce analysis: The state of Nebraska.

Objective: To analyze the rural-urban access to otolaryngology (OHNS) care within the state of Nebraska.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: Counties in Nebraska were categorized into rural versus urban status based upon the 2013 National Center for Health Statistics urban-rural classification scheme with I indicating most urban and VI indicating most rural.

Mortality Increased Among Hospitalized Patients with Cirrhosis Before and Following Different Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted patient care and worsened the morbidity and mortality of some chronic diseases. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospitalizations and outcomes in patients with cirrhosis both before and during different time periods of the pandemic has not been evaluated.

Aims: Describe characteristics of hospitalized patients with cirrhosis and evaluate inpatient mortality and 30-day readmission before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robotic-Assisted Bariatric Surgery Is Associated with Increased Postoperative Complications Compared to Laparoscopic: a Nationwide Readmissions Database Study.

Purpose: Robotic-assisted (RA) bariatric surgery has been increasingly used without consistent benefit over a laparoscopic approach (LA). We compared intra- and post-operative complications and 30- and 90-day all-cause readmissions between RA and LA using the Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD).

Materials And Methods: We identified hospitalizations with adult patients who underwent RA or LA bariatric surgery from 2010 to 2019.

On High-Dimensional Covariate Adjustment for Estimating Causal Effects in Randomized Trials with Survival Outcomes.

The purpose of this work is to improve the efficiency in estimating the average causal effect (ACE) on the survival scale where right-censoring exists and high-dimensional covariate information is available. We propose new estimators using regularized survival regression and survival Random Forest (RF) to adjust for the high-dimensional covariate to improve efficiency. We study the behavior of the adjusted estimators under mild assumptions and show theoretical guarantees that the proposed estimators are more efficient than the unadjusted ones asymptotically when using RF for the adjustment.

An investigation of stress and anxiety among health professions students in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Early studies during the COVID-19 pandemic identify the dissonance between feeling anxious about contracting the illness and the innate desire to serve the sick, as a main stressor for students.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to better understand psychological stress and self-reported wellness of Physician Assistant (PA), Physical Therapy (PT), dental, and medical students during the early portions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We utilized the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) together with additional questions to assess self-perceived stress, anxiety, and wellness of healthcare students.

The Link Between Medicaid Expansion and School Absenteeism: Evidence From the Southern United States.

Background: Parental Medicaid eligibility has been shown to be linked to positive academic and school outcomes for children. However, the impact of adult Medicaid expansion on children's school absenteeism is largely unexplored in the literature. The aim of this study was to examine whether Medicaid expansion for adults under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), affected school absenteeism of children.

Endothelial cell-derived pro-fibrotic factors increase TGF-β1 expression by smooth muscle cells in response to cycles of hypoxia-hyperoxia.

Background: The vascular pathology of peripheral artery disease (PAD) encompasses abnormal microvascular architecture and fibrosis in response to ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) cycles. We aimed to investigate the mechanisms by which pathological changes in the microvasculature direct fibrosis in the context of I/R.

Methods: Primary human aortic endothelial cells (ECs) were cultured under cycles of normoxia-hypoxia (NH) or normoxia-hypoxia-hyperoxia (NHH) to mimic I/R.

Higher Readmission Rates After Hip Fracture Among Patients With Vestibular Disorders.

Objective: Falls in older adults are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Patients with vestibular disorders may have an increased risk. The purpose of this study was to examine the outcomes among patients with underlying vestibular disorders who have hip fractures and identify predictors of increased morbidity and mortality.

Concentrations of fat-soluble nutrients and blood inflammatory compounds in mother-infant dyads at birth.

Background: Perinatal inflammation adversely affects health. Therefore, aims of this IRB-approved study are: (1) compare inflammatory compounds within and between maternal and umbilical cord blood samples at the time of delivery, (2) assess relationships between inflammatory compounds in maternal and cord blood with birth characteristics/outcomes, and (3) assess relationships between blood and placental fat-soluble nutrients with blood levels of individual inflammatory compounds.

Methods: Mother-infant dyads were enrolled (n = 152) for collection of birth data and biological samples of maternal blood, umbilical cord blood, and placental tissue.

POISSON COKRIGING AS A GENERALIZED LINEAR MIXED MODEL.

It is often of interest to predict spatially correlated count outcomes that follow a Poisson distribution. For example, in the environmental sciences we may want to predict pollen counts using temperature or precipitation data as auxiliary variables. To predict a Poisson outcome variable in the presence of an auxiliary variable, Poisson cokriging as a Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) is proposed.

Derivation and validation of a multivariable model, the alcohol withdrawal triage tool (AWTT), for predicting severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome.

Background: Alcohol withdrawal and its consequences are a common concern for the large numbers of patients who present to emergency departments (EDs) with alcohol use disorders. While the majority of patients who go on to develop alcohol withdrawal experience only mild symptoms, a small proportion will experience seizures or delirium tremens. The aim of this study was to develop a tool to predict the need for hospital admission in patients at risk for alcohol withdrawal using only objective criteria that are typically available during the course of an ED visit.

Screening for cognitive impairment in older adults with hematological malignancies using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and neuropsychological testing.

Objectives: The primary objective of the current study is to describe the prevalence and profile of cognitive domains affected in older adults with hematological malignancies evaluated for hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and neuropsychological tests. The secondary objective is to determine if a specific MoCA cut-off score would correlate with the identification of cognitive impairment detected by neuropsychological tests. This would facilitate interpretation of cognitive screening and referral of patients who would likely need further neuropsychological testing.

Patient and system factors associated with unassisted and injurious falls in hospitals: an observational study.

Background: Unassisted falls are more likely to result in injury than assisted falls. However, little is known about risk factors for falling unassisted. Furthermore, rural hospitals, which care for a high proportion of older adults, are underrepresented in research on hospital falls.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients increase medio-lateral stability and limit changes in antero-posterior stability to curb energy expenditure.

Background: A relationship exists between step width and energy expenditure, yet the contribution of dynamic stability to energy expenditure is not completely understood. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients' energy expenditure is increased due to airway obstruction. Further, they have a higher prevalence of falls and balance deficits compared to controls.

The impact of post-fall huddles on repeat fall rates and perceptions of safety culture: a quasi-experimental evaluation of a patient safety demonstration project.

Background: Conducting post-fall huddles is considered an integral component of a fall-risk-reduction program. However, there is no evidence linking post-fall huddles to patient outcomes or perceptions of teamwork and safety culture. The purpose of this study is to determine associations between conducting post-fall huddles and repeat fall rates and between post-fall huddle participation and perceptions of teamwork and safety culture.

Association of electronic cigarette vaping and subsequent smoking relapse among former smokers.

Background: Former combustible cigarette smokers who vape e-cigarettes after quitting smoking may experience health benefits if post-quit vaping prevents smoking relapse.

Methods: Former combustible cigarette smokers aged >18 that were recent (quit ≤ 12 months) or long-term (quit > 12 months) quitters at baseline were re-surveyed at 1-year follow-up in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) U.S.

The impact of travel time on colorectal cancer stage at diagnosis in a privately insured population.

Background: Rural residents are less likely to receive screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) than urban residents. However, the mechanisms underlying this disparity, especially among people aged 50-64 years old with private health insurance, are not well understood. We examined the impact of travel time on stage at CRC diagnosis.

Stride-time variability is related to sensorimotor cortical activation during forward and backward walking.

Previous research has used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to show that motor areas of the cortex are activated more while walking backward compared to walking forward. It is also known that head movement creates motion artifacts in fNIRS data. The aim of this study was to investigate cortical activation during forward and backward walking, while also measuring head movement.