Trajectories and patterns of US counties' policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: A sequence analysis approach.

Background: It is increasingly recognized that policies played a role in mitigating or exacerbating health inequities during the COVID-19 pandemic. While US counties were particularly active in policymaking, limited work has characterized geographic and temporal variation in pandemic-era policymaking at the local level, a prerequisite for later studies examining the health effects of these policies. This paper fills this gap by characterizing county-level COVID-19-related policy trajectories over time using a novel national policy database and innovative methods.

Sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened beverage consumption, physical activity and risk of type 2 diabetes in US adults.

Aims/hypothesis: A positive association between sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and diabetes risk has been shown, with inconsistent evidence between artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) and diabetes. Moreover, it is uncertain if physical activity can mitigate the negative effects of these beverages on diabetes development. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the independent and joint associations between SSB or ASB consumption and physical activity on the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Perspectives on integrating family planning and nutrition: a qualitative study of stakeholders.

Background: Limited information is available on the value of integrating family planning and nutrition services to improve related outcomes among women of reproductive age and effective approaches to achieve this. This study aimed to ascertain the perspectives and experiences of global and regional stakeholders about integrating family planning and nutrition services, examine facilitators and barriers and identify opportunities and considerations for integration.

Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews with 34 global and regional stakeholders in family planning, nutrition and related domains.

Treatment of cattle with ivermectin and its effect on dung degradation and larval abundance in a tropical savanna setting.

When ingested as part of a blood meal, the antiparasitic drug ivermectin kills mosquitoes, making it a candidate for mass drug administration (MDA) in humans and livestock to reduce malaria transmission. When administered to livestock, most ivermectin is excreted unmetabolized in the dung within 5 days post administration. Presence of ivermectin, has been shown to adversely affect dung colonizers and dung degradation in temperate settings; however, those findings may not apply to, tropical environment, where ivermectin MDA against malaria would occur.

Informative censoring in externally controlled clinical trials: a potential source of bias.

Background: Cancer researchers frequently consider the use of single-arm and randomized controlled clinical trial designs that leverage external data. The literature has reported extensively on how the use of external data can introduce bias through a variety of distortion mechanisms. In this article, we focus on a distortion mechanism that is often overlooked: informative censoring.

Gaining Insight into Operative Performance: Analysis of an Automated 360-Degree Feedback Tool Among Perioperative Staff.

Background: Surgery has seen limited adoption of 360-degree feedback tools, and no current tools evaluate intraoperative performance from a technical, nontechnical, or teaching skill perspective. We sought to evaluate the overall findings and perceived value of a novel 360-degree feedback tool for surgeons from their operating room colleagues.

Methods: The 'intraoperative 360' (i360) combined 3 previously validated scales of surgeon performance.

Selenoprotein O Promotes Melanoma Metastasis and Regulates Mitochondrial Complex II Activity.

Evolutionarily conserved selenoprotein O (SELENOO) catalyzes a post-translational protein modification known as AMPylation that is essential for the oxidative stress response in bacteria and yeast. Given that oxidative stress experienced in the blood limits survival of metastasizing melanoma cells, SELENOO might be able to impact metastatic potential. However, further work is needed to elucidate the substrates and functional relevance of the mammalian homologue of SELENOO.

The Predictive Role of Preoperative Malnutrition Assessment in Postoperative Outcomes of Patients Undergoing Surgery Due to Gastrointestinal Cancer: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study.

Malnutrition affects patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal cancers and contributes to poor postoperative outcomes, including increased complication rates, longer hospital stays, and higher mortality. Despite the availability of several malnutrition screening tools and prognostic scores, their effectiveness in predicting postoperative outcomes remains unclear. This study aimed to compare the predictive accuracy of Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA), Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM), Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI), and Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score for postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing surgery for colorectal, hepato-pancreato-biliary and upper gastrointestinal cancers.

Efficacy and Safety of Dupilumab in Children With Peanut Allergy: A Multicenter, Open-Label, Phase II Study.

Background: Peanut allergy is a potentially life-threatening food allergy in children. This study explored whether dupilumab, a human monoclonal immunoglobulin (Ig)G4 antibody that blocks the activity of interleukin (IL)-4/IL-13, improved safety and desensitization to peanut exposure in children with peanut allergy.

Methods: A Phase II, 24-week, multicenter, single-arm, open-label, proof-of-concept study was conducted in the USA and Canada (NCT03793608).

Detecting and Mitigating the Clever Hans Effect in Medical Imaging: A Scoping Review.

The Clever Hans effect occurs when machine learning models rely on spurious correlations instead of clinically relevant features and poses significant challenges to the development of reliable artificial intelligence (AI) systems in medical imaging. This scoping review provides an overview of methods for identifying and addressing the Clever Hans effect in medical imaging AI algorithms. A total of 173 papers published between 2010 and 2024 were reviewed, and 37 articles were selected for detailed analysis, with classification into two categories: detection and mitigation approaches.

Comparison of Race-neutral Versus Race-specific Spirometry Equations for Evaluation of Child Asthma.

Rationale: Race-based estimates of pulmonary function in children could influence the evaluation of asthma in children from racial and ethnic minoritized backgrounds.

Objectives: To determine if race-neutral (GLI-Global) versus race-specific (GLI-Race-Specific) reference equations differentially impact spirometry evaluation of childhood asthma.

Methods: The analysis included 8,719 children aged 5 to <12 years from 27 cohorts across the United States grouped by parent-reported race and ethnicity.

Evaluation of multiple breast cancer polygenic risk score panels in women of Latin American heritage.

Background: A substantial portion of the genetic predisposition for breast cancer is explained by multiple common genetic variants of relatively small effect. A subset of these variants, which have been identified mostly in individuals of European and Asian ancestry, have been combined to construct a polygenic risk score (PRS) to predict breast cancer risk, but the prediction accuracy of existing PRSs in Hispanic/Latinx individuals (H/L) remain relatively low. We assessed the performance of several existing PRS panels with and without addition of H/L specific variants among self-reported H/L women.

Development and internal validation of time-to-event risk prediction models for major medical complications within 30 days after elective colectomy.

Background: Patients undergoing colectomy are at risk of numerous major complications. However, existing binary risk stratification models do not predict when a patient may be at highest risks of each complication. Accurate prediction of the timing of complications facilitates targeted, resource-efficient monitoring.

Why do we need guidelines and why do they fail us?

Guidelines are powerful tools that support evidence-based care in a patient population that is increasingly complex and in systems that are rapidly evolving. When high quality guidelines are implemented well, they can improve patient outcomes, decrease clinician workload and even reduce disparities in care. Guidelines, however, are only as good as the evidence used to create them and are their effectiveness relies on the quality and completeness of their implementation.

Development of hyperdiploidy starts at an early age and takes a decade to complete.

Nearly half of multiple myeloma (MM) patients have hyperdiploidy (HMM) at diagnosis. Although HMM occurs early, the mutational processes before and after hyperdiploidy are still unclear. Here, we used 72 WGS samples from patients with HMM and identified pre and post HMM mutation to define the chronology of development of hyperdipoidy.

State-level disparities in cervical cancer prevention and outcomes in the U.S.: a modeling study.

Background: Despite HPV vaccines' availability for over a decade, coverage across the US varies. While some states have tried to increase HPV vaccination coverage, most model-based analyses focus on national impacts. We evaluated hypothetical changes in HPV vaccination coverage at the national and state levels for California, New York, and Texas using a mathematical model.

A trivalent mucosal vaccine encoding phylogenetically inferred ancestral RBD sequences confers pan-Sarbecovirus protection in mice.

The continued emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and the threat of future Sarbecovirus zoonoses have spurred the design of vaccines that can induce broad immunity against multiple coronaviruses. Here, we use computational methods to infer ancestral phylogenetic reconstructions of receptor binding domain (RBD) sequences across multiple Sarbecovirus clades and incorporate them into a multivalent adenoviral-vectored vaccine. Mice immunized with this pan-Sarbecovirus vaccine are protected in the upper and lower respiratory tracts against infection by historical and contemporary SARS-CoV-2 variants, SARS-CoV, and pre-emergent SHC014 and Pangolin/GD coronavirus strains.

A Video-Based Communication Intervention for Fecal Ostomy Surgery (CI-oSurg): Protocol for Open Pilot Testing to Improve Intervention Acceptability and Feasibility.

Background: Approximately 100,000 patients undergo fecal ostomy operations annually across the United States. This patient population experiences high surgical complication rates and poor biopsychosocial outcomes. Surgical teams are not trained to address the psychosocial needs that often arise during recovery after fecal ostomy surgery.

Total Arch vs Hemiarch Repair in Acute Type A Aortic Dissection: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Comparative Studies.

Background: We aimed to compare the short- and long-term outcomes of total arch replacement (TAR) vs hemiarch replacement (HAR) in the management of acute type A aortic dissection.

Methods: We searched the literature for studies directly comparing TAR to HAR in acute type A aortic dissection. Hazard ratios (HRs) were extracted from digitized Kaplan-Meier curves.

Placental methylation and pro-inflammatory protein levels in cord blood.

Introduction: The neonates' inflammatory response may in part be shaped during development by the placental epigenome, but evidence is scarce. We investigated the association between placental DNA methylation and pro-inflammatory proteins in cord blood.

Methods: A total of 249 mother-child dyads from the Harvard Epigenetic Birth Cohort were included in this study.

Determinants of utilization of infertility services by race and ethnicity in a state with a comprehensive infertility mandate.

Objective: To examine the association between sociodemographic factors and utilization of infertility services by race and ethnicity in a state with a comprehensive infertility mandate.

Design: Retrospective cohort.

Setting: Academic-affiliated fertility center.