Modality-level obstacles and initiatives to improve representation in fetal, infant, and toddler neuroimaging research samples.

Fetal, infant, and toddler (FIT) neuroimaging researchers study early brain development to gain insights into neurodevelopmental processes and identify early markers of neurobiological vulnerabilities to target for intervention. However, the field has historically excluded people from global majority countries and from marginalized communities in FIT neuroimaging research. Inclusive and representative samples are essential for generalizing findings across neuroimaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging, magnetoencephalography, electroencephalography, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, and cranial ultrasonography.

Does smoking status affect baseline symptom severity and patient-reported outcomes and satisfaction in patients with cervical myelopathy at 24 months? A Quality Outcomes Database study.

Objective: It is not clear whether smoking impacts patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). The aim of this study was to explore the impact of smoking status on baseline symptom severity and the rate of achieving satisfaction and the minimal clinically important differences (MCIDs) for PROs in patients with CSM.

Methods: This study was an analysis of the prospective Quality Outcomes Database CSM module.

Managing Childhood and Adolescent Atopic Dermatitis in Primary Care: A US Expert Group Consensus.

Objective: This expert-led consensus aims to provide primary care providers (PCPs) with recommendations for the care of atopic dermatitis (AD) in patients aged <18 years. The first point of contact for diagnosis and management of AD is often a PCP, and appropriate, coordinated care between PCPs and AD specialists is essential to optimizing care.

Study Design: A systematic literature review was conducted followed by expert-led development of 25 consensus management recommendations relevant to 4 key themes in AD management: defining control, current and emerging treatments, referral care pathways, and patient-caregiver experience.

Prevalence of Serious Bacterial Infection in Young Infants with Hypothermia with Positive Respiratory Pathogen Testing.

Objectives: We sought to compare the prevalence of serious bacterial infections (SBI; urinary tract infection, bacteremia, and/or meningitis) and invasive bacterial infections (IBI; bacteremia and/or meningitis) among infants with hypothermia with positive vs negative respiratory pathogen testing.

Study Design: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study of infants ≤90 days presenting to an emergency department or directly admitted to a hospital from September 1, 2016, to May 5, 2021, with reported or documented hypothermia (≤36°C). Positive respiratory pathogen testing included positive single or multiplex nucleic acid amplification testing.

Adopting Technological Innovations to Enhance Disaster Event Response.

The convergence of medical and technological developments has continued to transform the delivery of medical care in disaster environments, incorporating advances from telecommunications to physiologic monitoring, artificial intelligence, and computer vision. However, unless the interconnected nature of these developments is conceptualized with a proper framework, there is a risk of overlooking applications, developing silos, and limiting interoperability between innovations. To develop such a framework, this piece integrated a review of current literature, expert insights, and global market trends to propose 4 categories of innovations: (1) Enabling Technologies, (2) Signal Acquisition, (3) Data Utilization, and (4) Applications.

Intracranial Calcification Detection; a Comparison Between Micro-CT, Conventional CT and Ultra-high-resolution Photon-Counting Detector CT.

Rationale And Objectives: To evaluate the performance of photon-counting detector CT (PCD-CT) in identifying and quantifying intracranial calcifications compared to conventional energy-integrating CT (EID-CT), utilizing micro-CT (µCT) as benchmark.

Method: Thirty cross-sectional histopathological samples of the intracranial arteries were scanned using PCD-CT, EID-CT and µCT. Scans were optimized for µCT for maximum image quality, while clinical protocols were followed for PCD-CT and EID-CT.

Estimating nosocomial transmission of micro-organisms in hospital settings using patient records and culture data.

Pathogenic bacteria are a major threat to patient health in hospitals. Here we leverage electronic health records from a major New York City hospital system collected during 2020-2021 to support simulation inference of nosocomial transmission and pathogenic bacteria detection using an agent-based model (ABM). The ABM uses these data to inform simulation of importation from the community, nosocomial transmission, and patient spontaneous decolonization of bacteria.

Effects of lung expansion on global and regional pulmonary blood volume in a sheep model of acute lung injury.

Background: Pulmonary capillary blood volume is a major determinant of lung gas transport efficiency, and also potentially related to ventilator-induced lung injury. Yet, knowledge on how lung expansion influences pulmonary blood volume in injured lungs is scant. We hypothesize that lung expansion produced by positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) modulates the global and regional spatial distribution of pulmonary blood volume.

Oncologic Outcomes with De-Escalation of Axillary Surgery After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: Results from > 1500 Patients on the I-SPY2 Clinical Trial.

Introduction: The desire to reduce patient morbidity has led to de-escalation of axillary surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for breast cancer; however, the impact of such de-escalation on oncologic outcomes is unknown.

Methods: We evaluated the relationship between axillary surgery type (sentinel lymph node [SLN] only vs. axillary lymph node dissection [ALND]) and 5-year outcomes in I-SPY2 trial patients from 2011 to 2022 who completed NAC and surgery.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Periconceptional Disease Activity, and Risk of Major Congenital Anomalies: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Introduction: It is uncertain whether the risk of major congenital anomalies (mCAs) is increased in children of women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods: We aimed to determine the risk of mCAs in a Swedish nationwide cohort of 13,131 singleton live births from 1997 to 2020 to women with IBD and 61,909 matched children to women without IBD from the general population. We additionally examined mCAs according to periconceptional histological inflammation (vs remission: 1,124 and 646 births, respectively) or clinically active IBD (vs quiescent: 3,380 and 6,603 births, respectively).

Acral Melanoma in Skin of Color: Current Insights and Future Directions: A Narrative Review.

Acral melanoma (AM), also known as acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM), is a rare subtype of melanoma that predominantly occurs on the palms, soles, and nail beds (Figure 1) [...

Heart Failure and Worsening Renal Function: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Impact on Hospital Readmissions in an Urban Minority Population.

: Heart failure (HF) often leads to worsening renal function (WRF), negatively impacting patient outcomes. This study aims to examine the incidence of WRF in HF patients, identify its risk factors, and assess its effect on readmissions. : This retrospective analysis included 297 HF patients admitted to Harlem Hospital Center between January 2019 and December 2021.

Pilot Randomized Trial of an Educational Intervention About Immunotherapy for Patients With Advanced Cancer and Their Caregivers.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are widely used cancer drugs. We developed "UPLIFT," a video and question prompt list (QPL) intervention to educate patients about ICI risks and benefits.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of UPLIFT versus usual care among 130 adults initiating ICIs and caregivers.

β-ionone facilitates airway smooth muscle relaxation via extraocular Opsin-3 light receptor activation.

Recent studies have linked deficiencies in β-carotene ingestion and its metabolites with an increased risk and severity of asthma exacerbations. We demonstrate that β-ionone, a β-carotene metabolite, dose-dependently relaxes upper and lower airways using wire myography of tracheal rings and phase-contrast microscopy of precision-cut lung slices (PCLSs). We demonstrate that β-ionone-induced relaxation is mediated through extraocular opsin-3 (OPN3) receptor activation via pharmacological competitive inhibition with chromophore 9-cis retinal, and through the decreased relaxation demonstrated in Opn3-null PCLSs.

Host Response Stratification in Malarial and Non-malarial Sepsis: A Prospective, Multicenter Analysis From Uganda.

Objectives: Globally, the burden of sepsis is highest in malaria endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa. The influence of malaria on biological heterogeneity inherent to sepsis in this setting is poorly understood. We sought to determine shared and distinct features of the host response in malarial and non-malarial sepsis in sub-Saharan Africa.

Validity of one-time assessments for identifying prodromal Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down syndrome.

Introduction: New Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatments have created an urgent need for accurate early diagnosis of high-risk adults with Down syndrome (DS), distinguishing prodromal DS-AD symptoms from lifelong cognitive impairments. Often, clinicians will need to evaluate dementia status during a single assessment, and here we describe empirically supported methods effective under such circumstances.

Methods: Archived data collected between 1987 and 2017 included longitudinal findings for 144 individuals maintaining cognitive stability and 126 developing prodromal DS-AD.

Antibiotic Use and Risk of Microscopic Colitis in Older Adults: A Nationwide Self-Controlled Case Series Study.

Background: Several drugs have been linked to the risk of microscopic colitis (MC), a condition characterised by watery, non-bloody diarrhoea. Antibiotics can induce similar symptoms, but their connection to MC remains unclear.

Aim: To investigate the antibiotic-related risks of MC in adults aged 65 years and older.

Squamous cell cancers of the aero-upper digestive tract: A unified perspective on biology, genetics, and therapy.

Squamous cell cancers (SCCs) of the head and neck, esophagus, and lung, referred to as aero-upper digestive SCCs, are prevalent in the United States and worldwide. Their incidence and mortality are projected to increase at alarming rates, posing diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic challenges. These SCCs share certain epigenetic, genomic, and genetic alterations, immunologic properties, environmental exposures, as well as lifestyle and nutritional risk factors, which may underscore common complex gene-environmental interactions across them.

Human-Centered Design to Create an Emergency Care Action Plan for Children With Medical Complexity.

Human-centered design (HCD) is rooted in building trust with end users by developing empathetic understanding of key partners' needs, continuous engagement, and iterative solution creation and refinement. One of the core tenets of HCD in health care is that consistent end-user engagement will result in better health outcomes. Children with medical complexity (CMC), a subset of children and youth with special health care needs, are characterized by multiple chronic health care conditions and high health care use, including emergency department visits.

Update on neonatal and infantile onset epilepsies.

Purpose Of Review: Neonatal and infantile epilepsies represent a diverse group of disorders with significant neurodevelopmental impact, necessitating early diagnosis, and tailored treatment. Recent advancements in genetic research, phenotyping, and therapeutic development have reshaped the understanding and management of these conditions, making this review both timely and relevant.

Recent Findings: Next-generation sequencing has emerged as a cornerstone for diagnosing neonatal and infantile epilepsies, offering high diagnostic yields and enabling identification of etiology-specific phenotypes.