Graphical Model Selection to Infer the Partial Correlation Network of Allelic Effects in Genomic Prediction With an Application in Dairy Cattle.

We addressed genomic prediction accounting for partial correlation of marker effects, which entails the estimation of the partial correlation network/graph (PCN) and the precision matrix of an unobservable m-dimensional random variable. To this end, we developed a set of statistical models and methods by extending the canonical model selection problem in Gaussian concentration, and directed acyclic graph models. Our frequentist formulations combined existing methods with the EM algorithm and were termed Glasso-EM, Concord-EM and CSCS-EM, whereas our Bayesian formulations corresponded to hierarchical models termed Bayes G-Sel and Bayes DAG-Sel.

Assessing longitudinal prenatal knowledge and skills retention among community birth attendants enrolled in a novel school.

Objective: Guatemala has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in Central America. A total of 60% of births in Guatemala are attended by traditional Mayan birth attendants, or comadronas. Their prevalence in these communities makes them a valuable resource to bridge home births with safe prenatal care.

Hospital Safety-Net Burden is Associated with Perioperative Outcomes in Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Multistate Retrospective Analysis, 2015-2020.

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a widely performed surgical procedure in the United States, but disparities in THA outcomes related to hospital-level factors, such as safety-net burden, are underexplored. This study expands on previous research by analyzing multicenter, multistate data from 2015 to 2020 to investigate the impact of hospital safety-net burden-defined as the proportion of services billed to Medicaid and uninsured patients-on THA outcomes. This study is a retrospective analysis using data from the State Inpatient Databases for Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Washington, New Jersey, and North Carolina.

Sublethal changes to coral metabolism in response to deoxygenation.

Coastal deoxygenation poses a critical threat to tropical coral reefs. Dissolved oxygen (DO) depletion can cause hypoxia-induced stress and mortality for scleractinian corals. Coral hypoxic responses are species-specific and likely modulated by the duration and severity of low-DO conditions, although the physiological mechanisms driving hypoxia tolerance are not fully understood.

The Effectiveness of Pressure Injury Prevention Education for Patient Care Technicians in an Adult Acute Care Setting: A Quality Improvement Project.

Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine whether hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) could be prevented by implementing an educational tool kit for patient care technicians (PCTs).

Participants And Setting: Data were collected from 24 PCTs and 43 patients in a 26-bed inpatient adult acute care unit at an academic medical center in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

Approach: Outcome data were collected over an 8-week period from September to November 2021.

The Melanocyte and Nerve Fiber Cross-Talk, Facilitated Also by Semaphorin-4A, Enhances UV-B-Induced Melanogenesis.

Epidermal melanocytes form synaptic-like contacts with cutaneous nerve fibers, but the functional outcome of these connections remains elusive. In this pilot study we used our fully humanized re-innervated skin organ culture model to investigate melanocyte-nerve fiber interactions in UV-B-induced melanogenesis. UV-B-irradiation significantly enhanced melanin content and tyrosinase activity in re-innervated skin compared to non-innervated controls, indicating that neuronal presence is essential for exacerbating pigmentation upon UV-B irradiation in long-term culture.

Treatment of antebrachial deformities secondary to premature closure of the distal radial physis using circular external skeletal fixation and distraction osteogenesis in skeletally immature dogs.

Objective: To report clinical outcomes of skeletally immature dogs with antebrachial deformities secondary to premature closure of the distal radial physis (PCDRP) treated with angular corrections and distraction osteogenesis using circular external skeletal fixation (CESF).

Study Design: Retrospective multi-institutional case series.

Animals: A total of 12 client-owned dogs with premature distal radial physeal closure.

Management of Clinically Node-Negative Salivary Gland Cancer: Observation, Neck Dissection, or Neck Irradiation?

Introduction: Salivary gland malignancies are heterogeneous tumors with highly variable outcomes. Elective neck management options include observation, neck dissection (ND), and neck irradiation (NI). We sought to compare outcomes of cN0 salivary gland cancer by elective neck management.

Comparative Effectiveness of Calcium-Channel Blockers, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme/Angiotensin Receptor Blockers and Diuretics on Cardiovascular Events Likelihood in Hypertensive African-American and Non-Hispanic Caucasians: A Retrospective Study Across HCA Healthcare.

Background: Hypertension, a leading global risk factor for mortality and disability, disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities. Our study investigates the association between the type of prior antihypertensive medication use and the likelihood of cardiovascular events (CVE) and assesses whether the patient's race influences this relationship.

Methods: A retrospective study of 14 836 hypertension cases aged ≥ 40 years was conducted using data from HCA Healthcare between 2017 and 2023.

The influence of rurality on self-reported physical therapy utilization among patients with severe chronic back pain in the United States.

Purpose: To examine the association of rurality and physical therapy utilization among a nationally representative sample of individuals with severe chronic back pain.

Methods: This study utilized a publicly available dataset from the 2019 National Health Information Survey (Adult Sample). Individuals with severe chronic back pain were identified based on survey items examining respondents' pain frequency and location.

Assessing fecal contamination from human and environmental sources using as an indicator in rural eastern Ethiopian households-a cross-sectional study from the EXCAM project.

Introduction: Enteric pathogens are a leading causes of diarrheal deaths in low-and middle-income countries. The Exposure Assessment of Infections in Rural Ethiopia (EXCAM) project, aims to identify potential sources of bacteria in the genus and, more generally, fecal contamination of infants during the first 1.5 years of life using as indicator.

Therapeutic effects of platelet-derived extracellular vesicles on viral myocarditis correlate with biomolecular content.

Introduction: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) can potently inhibit inflammation yet there is a lack of understanding about the impact of donor characteristics on the efficacy of EVs. The goal of this study was to determine whether the sex and age of donor platelet-derived EVs (PEV) affected their ability to inhibit viral myocarditis.

Methods: PEV, isolated from men and women of all ages, was compared to PEV obtained from women under 50 years of age, which we termed premenopausal PEV (pmPEV).

Acute Pancreatitis Caused by Tirzepatide.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, including tirzepatide (Mounjaro), are widely used to manage type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. While gastrointestinal side effects are common, acute pancreatitis remains a rare but significant complication. Limited evidence exists on the risks associated with switching between GLP-1 agonists, emphasizing the need for clinical awareness.

Re-optimizing the Time Frame for Classifying Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis: An Unmet Need.

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a rare and complex form of stroke, representing a small percentage of all stroke cases. The disease's clinical presentation is highly variable, involving a wide range of medical specialists due to its diverse manifestations. Over the past decade, significant advancements in understanding CVT have been made, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent vaccination efforts.

The effects of warming on loggerhead turtle nesting counts.

Global trends in marine turtle nesting numbers vary by region, influenced by environmental or anthropogenic factors. Our study investigates the potential role of past temperature fluctuations on these trends, particularly whether warmer beaches are linked to increased nesting due to higher female production (since sea turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination). We selected the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) due to its wide distribution, strong philopatry and vulnerability to environmental changes.

Oxy-inflammation in hyperbaric oxygen therapy applications.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a non-invasive method of O2 delivery that induces systemic hyperoxia. Hyperbaric chamber consists of a pressure vessel and a compressed breathing gas supply, which can regulate internal pressure. The chamber delivers 100% O2 to patients according to predetermined protocols and is monitored by trained personnel.

Linezolid Dosing and Pharmacokinetics in North American Patients with Tuberculosis.

Introduction: Linezolid is recommended in treatment regimens for rifampin- or multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. However, considerable pharmacokinetic variability exists, and long-term use is limited by adverse effects. This study evaluates the pharmacokinetics of linezolid in patients with tuberculosis from an international therapeutic drug monitoring service.

Correlation of King-Devick Test and Helmet Impact Exposures Over a Youth Football Season.

Background: The cumulative effect of repetitive subconcussive head impacts on neurocognitive function during youth contact sports remains largely unknown. There is a paucity of literature evaluating cumulative helmet forces over a season and their correlation with preseason and postseason cognitive performance tasks such as the King-Devick test (KDT).

Hypothesis: Higher helmet forces recorded throughout a 10-week, 10-game youth football season would correlate with slower performance on postseason KDT.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: State-of-the-science update and narrative review.

Objective: The long-recognized association of brain injury with increased risk of dementia has undergone significant refinement and more detailed study in recent decades. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a specific neurodegenerative tauopathy related to prior exposure to repetitive head impacts (RHI). We aim to contextualize CTE within a historical perspective and among emerging data which highlights the scientific and conceptual evolution of CTE-related research in parallel with the broader field of neurodegenerative disease and dementia.

What Matters Most for Long-Acting Antiretroviral Therapy? A Best-Worst Scaling Discrete Choice Experiment.

Introduction: Florida remains a high-incidence, high-prevalence setting for HIV. Long-acting (LA) antiretroviral therapies (ART) could improve HIV-related outcomes and reduce transmission. This study identifies preferred LA ART characteristics and classes of preference among people with HIV (PWH) in Florida.

Chronic Offending and Its Relation to Homicide in a Large, Prospective Brazilian Birth Cohort.

Background: Many studies have found that a small group of chronic offenders is responsible for the majority of crimes and tend to be particularly violent. However, there is a major lack of evidence on chronic offending in low- and middle-income countries; understanding these patterns is especially important in settings with very high levels of serious violence, such as Brazil.

Aims: To identify the extent that crime is concentrated in chronic offenders and linked to violence and homicide in a Brazilian cohort.

Associations of time to the operating room on outcomes in odontogenic infection.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there were correlations between the length of time from hospital admission to surgical intervention and the frequency of complications in patients with odontogenic infections. While odontogenic infection is well studied in terms of interventions and outcomes, less is known about hospital utilization and resource burden of odontogenic infection with respect to timeliness to intervention. A retrospective cohort analysis was used to examine correlations between time from admission to surgical intervention and clinical outcomes.

A comprehensive overview of FFRG and IHCC allograft cartilages in revision rhinoplasty: a systematic review.

Background: This study aims to compare the complications and satisfaction associated with favorable allografts, Fresh Frozen Rib Graft (FFRG) and Irradiated Homologous Costal Cartilage (IHCC), in revision rhinoplasty.

Methods: The PRISMA guidelines were adhered to in the conduct of this systematic review. No limitations were applied to the types of studies included.