A descriptive examination of rurality in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Cohort: Implications, illustrations, and future directions.

Purpose: The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort has enrolled over 60,000 children to examine how early environmental factors (broadly defined) are associated with key child health outcomes. The ECHO Cohort may be well-positioned to contribute to our understanding of rural environments and contexts, which has implications for rural health disparities research. The present study examined the outcome of child obesity to not only illustrate the suitability of ECHO Cohort data for these purposes but also determine how various definitions of rural and urban populations impact the presentation of findings and their interpretation.

Shared Decision-Making in Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: Understanding Surgeon and Patient Perspectives Regarding When It Is Time for Surgery.

Background: Although total hip and total knee arthroplasty are highly successful operations, the decision of whether and when to undergo surgery is highly subjective and discretionary, and specific guidelines regarding readiness for surgery remain elusive. The nature of these decisions underscores the importance of shared decision-making, which is founded on the concept that patients substantially contribute to determining their own readiness for surgery. The OPTION survey was developed as a conversation aid to facilitate shared decision-making in the context of total joint arthroplasty.

Shape of the Doppler Sonographic Systolic Blood Flow Profile of the Pulmonary Artery of Healthy Racing Pigeons and the Influence of Anesthesia.

There is scant information available about the blood flow of the pulmonary artery in avian cardiology. In human medicine, the shape of the Doppler sonographic blood flow profile of the pulmonary artery can be used to access the pressure conditions of the right heart. With this background, this study focused on the examination of the acceleration and deceleration phase of the pulsed-wave Doppler flow profile of the pulmonary artery of healthy racing pigeons.

Electrochemical Method for the Design of New Possible Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a technique that employs strong magnetic fields and radio frequencies to generate detailed images of the body's interior. In oncology patients, gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) are frequently administered to enhance the visualization of tumors. Those contrast agents are gadolinium chelates, characterized by high stability that prevents the release of the toxic gadolinium ion into the body.

The Reproducibility and Reliability of Insulin Sensitivity and Secretion Indices in Children and Adolescents.

Context: Insulin sensitivity and secretion indices can be useful tools in understanding insulin homeostasis in children at risk for diabetes. There have been few studies examining the reproducibility of these measures in pediatrics.

Objective: To determine whether fasting or oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)-derived insulin measures would be more reproducible and whether there would be differences based on weight, sex, race, and pubertal status.

Proactive Management of Lactation in the Birth Hospital to Ensure Long-Term Milk Production and Sustainable Breastfeeding.

Individuals who are at risk of not achieving a full milk supply are often overlooked in scientific literature. There is available guidance to help establish an adequate milk supply for healthy individuals experiencing a physiologic labor and birth, and there are robust recommendations for the lactating parents of small, sick, and preterm newborns to ensure that these newborns can receive human milk. Missing from the literature are clinical practice guidelines that address the preexisting health, pregnancy, birth, or newborn-related risk factors for suboptimal lactation.

Pathology Findings and In-Life Correlates in the Nonclinical Development of Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV)-Based Retinal Gene Therapies.

Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based vectors are the most frequently used platform for retinal gene therapy. Initially explored for the treatment of loss-of-function mutations underpinning many inherited retinal diseases, AAV-based ocular gene therapies are increasingly used to transduce endogenous cells to produce therapeutic proteins, thus producing site-specific biofactories. Relatively invasive ocular routes of administration (ROA) mean prominent procedure-related in-life, and histopathological findings may be observed with some regularity.

WATCH: A Workflow to Assess Treatment Effect Heterogeneity in Drug Development for Clinical Trial Sponsors.

This article proposes a Workflow for Assessing Treatment effeCt Heterogeneity (WATCH) in clinical drug development targeted at clinical trial sponsors. WATCH is designed to address the challenges of investigating treatment effect heterogeneity (TEH) in randomized clinical trials, where sample size and multiplicity limit the reliability of findings. The proposed workflow includes four steps: analysis planning, initial data analysis and analysis dataset creation, TEH exploration, and multidisciplinary assessment.

Bacterial growth temperature as a horizontally acquired polygenic trait.

Evolutionary events leading to organismal preference for a specific growth temperature, as well as genes whose products are needed for a proper function at that temperature, are poorly understood. Using 64 bacteria from phylum Thermotogota as a model system, we examined how optimal growth temperature changed throughout Thermotogota history. We inferred that Thermotogota's last common ancestor was a thermophile and that some Thermotogota evolved the mesophilic and hyperthermophilic lifestyles secondarily.

Patterns of initial treatment and subsequent care escalation among medicare beneficiaries with neck pain: a retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: To compare long-term care escalation encounters among three care patterns for new episodes of neck pain among Medicare beneficiaries.

Methods: We examined Medicare claims spanning a four-year period for beneficiaries with new episodes of neck pain beginning in 2019. All patients were continuously enrolled under Medicare parts A, B, and D and aged 65-99 years.

Neural correlates of audiovisual integration in schizophrenia - an ERP study.

Introduction: Multisensory integration (MSI) enhances perception by combining information from different sensory modalities. In schizophrenia, individuals often exhibit impaired audiovisual processing, resulting in broader temporal binding windows (TBWs) which appear to be associated with symptom severity. Since the underlying mechanisms of these aberrations are not yet fully understood, the present study aims to investigate multisensory processing in schizophrenia in more detail.

Emerging cancer therapies: targeting physiological networks and cellular bioelectrical differences with non-thermal systemic electromagnetic fields in the human body - a comprehensive review.

A steadily increasing number of publications support the concept of physiological networks, and how cellular bioelectrical properties drive cell proliferation and cell synchronization. All cells, especially cancer cells, are known to possess characteristic electrical properties critical for physiological behavior, with major differences between normal and cancer cell counterparts. This opportunity can be explored as a novel treatment modality in Oncology.

Mechanistic Insight into the Formation and Deposition of Conductive, Layered Metal-Organic Framework Nanocrystals.

This paper describes the use of the layered conductive metal-organic framework (MOF) (nickel)-(hexahydroxytriphenylene) [Ni(HHTP)] as a model system for understanding the process of self-assembly within this class of materials. We confirm and quantify experimentally the role of the oxidant in the synthetic process. Monitoring the deposition of Ni(HHTP) with infrared spectroscopy revealed that MOF formation is characterized by an initial induction period, followed by linear growth with respect to time.

Comparative assessment of the transduction efficiency and safety associated with the delivery of AAV9-GFP vector via lumbar puncture to cynomolgus macaques with and without anti-AAV9 pre-existing antibodies.

Administration of AAV-based gene therapies into the intra-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) compartments via routes such as lumbar puncture (LP) has been implemented as an alternative to intravenous dosing to target the CNS regions. This route enables lower doses, decreases systemic toxicity, and circumvents intravascular pre-existing anti-AAV antibodies. In this study, AAV9-GFP vectors were administered via LP to juvenile cynomolgus macaques with and without pre-existing serum anti-AAV9 antibodies at a 5.

Keeping up with Recent Developments in Immunodeficiency.

Inborn Errors of Immunity are a rapidly expanding group of monogenetic disorders affecting the immune system. Advancements in genetic testing and functional validation studies have accelerated the pace of IEI gene discovery and mechanism of disease, particularly in the past five years. To keep up with this rapid expansion, the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) Expert Committee has periodically, since 1999, released updated IEI classifications with corresponding genotypic and phenotypic catalogues with its most recent update in 2022.

Humoral correlate of vaccine-mediated protection from tuberculosis identified in humans and non-human primates.

Development of an effective tuberculosis (TB) vaccine has been challenged by incomplete understanding of specific factors that provide protection against (Mtb) and the lack of a known correlate of protection (CoP). Using a combination of samples from a vaccine showing efficacy (DarDar [NCT00052195]) and Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG)-immunized humans and nonhuman primates (NHP), we identify a humoral CoP that translates across species and vaccine regimens. Antibodies specific to the DarDar vaccine strain () sonicate (MOS) correlate with protection from the efficacy endpoint of definite TB.

How do we engage with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in blood donation and research? Reflections from the Assessing Donor Variability and New Concepts in Eligibility study.

Background: The Assessing Donor Variability and New Concepts in Eligibility (ADVANCE) study was a multicenter cross-organizational collaboration to collect data to inform possible changes in blood donor selection criteria for men who have sex with men. Multiple recruitment approaches were used, and these may be applicable to current efforts in LGBTQ+ community engagement to recruit new blood donors.

Methods: Fieldwork for ADVANCE was a partnership between blood collection organizations (BCOs) and LGBTQ+ community organizations.

Just the Tip of the Iceberg: a Brief Report of the Tip-of-the-Tongue Score as an Embedded Validity Indicator for the Children's Auditory and Visual Naming Tests.

Objective: Explore the tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) scores from the Children's Auditory and Visual Naming Tests (cANT, cVNT) as embedded validity indicators (EVIs).

Method: A retrospective design of 98 consecutively referred youth aged 6-15 years (M = 11.28, SD = 2.

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean Version 5.0.

Knowledge about seafloor depth, or bathymetry, is crucial for various marine activities, including scientific research, offshore industry, safety of navigation, and ocean exploration. Mapping the central Arctic Ocean is challenging due to the presence of perennial sea ice, which limits data collection to icebreakers, submarines, and drifting ice stations. The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) was initiated in 1997 with the goal of updating the Arctic Ocean bathymetric portrayal.

Synergic Integration of the miRNome, Machine Learning and Bioinformatics for the Identification of Potential Disease-Modifying Agents in Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Introduction: Understanding the diverse pathogenetic pathways in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is crucial for improving outcomes. microRNA (miRNA) profiling is a promising strategy for elucidating these mechanisms.

Objective: To characterize the pathogenetic pathways linked to OSA through the integration of miRNA profiles, machine learning (ML) and bioinformatics.

Evolving Food Allergy Clinical Trials to Become More Patient-Centered.

The current FDA paradigm may not fully capture important patient-centered outcomes or measure a primary outcome that is truly meaningful to patients. Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) are standardized tools measuring the patient's experience in food allergy clinical trials, which can help support shared decision-making (SDM) and further our understanding of treatment impact. Food allergy PROMs include quality of life (QoL), health state utility (HSU), severity, and self-efficacy measures.

Frailty as an independent risk factor for prolonged postoperative length of stay: A retrospective analysis of 2015-2019 ACS NSQIP data.

Background: Frailty, a syndrome of decreased resilience to physiologic stress, has been associated with increased postoperative length of stay (LOS) for specific procedures. Yet, the literature lacks large-scale analyses examining the relationship between frailty and LOS across surgical procedure.

Study Design: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients aged 65+ undergoing inpatient surgery including emergency procedures between 2015 and 2019 using American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) data.

The Discovery of Head Direction Cells: A Personal Account.

This article is my recollection of events surrounding the discovery of head direction (HD) cells by Jim Ranck in 1984 and the first journal publications 6 years later. Ranck first described the fundamental properties of HD cells qualitatively in a Society for Neuroscience abstract (1984) and in the proceedings to a conference. Ranck, however, was convinced by Bob Muller, a faculty colleague in the lab, to delay writing up Jim's discovery until they developed a two-spot video tracking system, which would enable proper quantitative analyses.

Borrowing regulatory capacity in middle-income countries during public health crises: Brazil, regulatory reliance, and the politics of COVD-19 vaccine regulation.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the critical role of states' regulatory capacities. Countries had to authorize novel vaccine technologies in the context of scientific uncertainty and political pressure, issues particularly acute in middle-income countries (MICs) less familiar with the procedures needed to streamline regulatory processes during a crisis. How did regulatory agencies in countries still building their regulatory capacities expedite the authorization of new COVID-19 vaccines to combat the pandemic? How did they navigate political pressures to expedite vaccine approval while maintaining safety and efficacy standards? We explore these questions through the case of Brazil, which has one of Latin America's most highly-regarded regulatory authorities, but was subject to acute political conflicts.