Using Machine Learning to Identify and Investigate Moderators of Alcohol Use Intervention Effects in Meta-Analyses.

Aims: To illustrate a machine learning-based approach for identifying and investigating moderators of alcohol use intervention effects in aggregate-data meta-analysis.

Methods: We illustrated the machine learning technique of random forest modeling using data from an ongoing meta-analysis of brief substance use interventions implemented in general healthcare settings. A subset of 40 trials testing brief alcohol interventions (BAIs) was used; these trials provided 344 estimates of post-intervention effects on participants' alcohol use as well as data on 20 potential moderators of intervention effects.

Endoscopic lithotripsy for Bouveret syndrome complicated by small bowel obstruction secondary to gallstone fragments.

Bouveret syndrome is a rare complication of cholecystitis, in which impaction of a gallstone creates a cholecystoduodenal fistula leading to gastric outlet obstruction. We report a case of a 90-year-old female who presented with nausea and vomiting on a background of previous necrotic cholecystitis managed conservatively. Computed tomography of the abdomen demonstrated a large gallstone impacted in the third part of the duodenum leading to gastric outlet obstruction.

Differentiation of bipolar disorder versus borderline personality disorder: A machine learning approach.

Background: Differentiation of bipolar disorder (BP) from borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a common diagnostic dilemma. We undertook a machine learning (ML) approach to distinguish the conditions.

Methods: Participants meeting DSM criteria for BP or BPD were compared on measures examining cognitive and behavioral BPD constructs, emotion regulation strategies, and parental behaviors during childhood.

Disparities in H1N1 Vaccination Rates: a Systematic Review and Evidence Synthesis to Inform COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts.

Background: Data suggest that there were disparities in H1N1 vaccine uptake, and these may inform COVID-19 vaccination efforts. We conducted a systematic review to evaluate disparities in H1N1 vaccine uptake, factors contributing to disparities, and interventions to reduce them.

Methods: We searched English-language articles in MEDLINE ALL, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from database inception through May 8, 2020.

Testimonial Injustice: Linguistic Bias in the Medical Records of Black Patients and Women.

Background: Black Americans and women report feeling doubted or dismissed by health professionals.

Objective: To identify linguistic mechanisms by which physicians communicate disbelief of patients in medical records and then to explore racial and gender differences in the use of such language.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Management of acute Achilles tendon ruptures: a survey of Army orthopaedic surgeons.

Background: Despite the literature on acute Achilles tendon ruptures, there remains a lack of consensus regarding the optimal treatment. The purpose of this survey study was to investigate treatment preferences among Army orthopaedic surgeons when presented with a standardized case of an acute Achilles rupture and determine if surgeon factors correlated with treatment preference.

Methods: A hypothetical case of a 37-year-old male with history, physical exam, and imaging consistent with an Achilles rupture was sent to board-certified Army orthopaedic surgeons to determine their preferred management.

Mental health screening amongst police officers: factors associated with under-reporting of symptoms.

Background: Mental health screening in the workplace aims to identify employees who are becoming symptomatic, in order to provide timely support and evidence-based interventions to those affected. Given the stigma associated with mental illness, accurate disclosure of mental health symptoms cannot be assumed. The present study sought to investigate factors associated with the accurate reporting of mental health symptoms amongst police officers.

Annual prevalence, characteristics, and outcomes of intensive care patients with skin or soft tissue infections in Australia and New Zealand: A retrospective cohort study between 2006-2017.

Background: There are limited published data on the epidemiology of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. This study intended to describe the annual prevalence, characteristics, and outcomes of critically ill adult patients admitted to the ICU for an SSTI.

Methods: This was a registry-based retrospective cohort study, using data submitted to the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database for all admissions with SSTI between 2006 and 2017.

Essential components of midwifery ethics education: results of a Delphi study.

Objective: Ethical dilemmas are an inevitable part of a midwife's experience in clinical care. Midwifery educational programs have an obligation to provide students the opportunities to acquire the skills and knowledge to recognize and negotiate ethical dilemmas. Implementation of strategies for imparting ethical competencies and clinical ethics decision-making skills in formal midwifery curricula have been challenging and inconsistent.

Shared decision-making and the implementation of treatment recommendations for depression.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between shared decision-making (SDM) and the implementation of treatment recommendations amongst outpatients at a specialist Depression Clinic.

Methods: A total of 110 adult outpatients in a specialist Depression Clinic in Sydney, Australia, completed an online survey examining their experiences of shared decision-making (SDM) during their psychiatrist consultation and the extent to which they later implemented Depression Clinic treatment recommendations.

Results: The odds of implementing treatment recommendations were over four times higher in patients who reported a high level of SDM in their consultation, compared to those who reported a low level of SDM.

Next-Generation Androgen Receptor-Signaling Inhibitors for Prostate Cancer: Considerations for Older Patients.

Prostate cancer is common, particularly in older patients, as the risk of getting prostate cancer increases with age. Cancer therapy brings unique challenges in older patients, as this population is vulnerable to many side effects and drug interactions, and they have varying degrees of frailty, which may limit the use of these therapies. The US FDA has recently approved several novel next-generation hormonal therapies for patients with various stages of prostate cancer, giving patients more treatment options.

Frequency of pertinent MRI abnormalities of the sacroiliac joints of patients without spondyloarthropathies: a systematic review of the literature.

Introduction: MRI criteria are central to the diagnosis of non-radiographic axial spondyloarthropathy (nr-axSpA). The cardinal feature of nr-axSpa is inflammatory low back pain, which may be difficult to distinguish from highly prevalent non-specific low back pain. This study aims to determine the frequency of relevant MRI findings in the sacroiliac joints (SIJ) of patients without Spondyloarthropathy (SpA), and therefore estimate the specificity of MRI scans for SpA.

The active workplace study: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial with sedentary workers.

Objectives: Sedentary behavior is pervasive in the workplace and is harmful to health. Research on the effectiveness of comprehensive workplace interventions to reduce sedentary behavior and improve worker health and safety is crucial as sedentary jobs become more common.

Methods: We developed a Total Worker Health intervention targeting sedentary behavior in call centers, and are evaluating intervention effectiveness in a randomized controlled trial.

Diet quality and a traditional dietary pattern predict lean mass in Australian women: Longitudinal data from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study.

Low muscle mass is associated with reduced independence and increased risk for falls and fractures. Identification of modifiable risk factors for low muscle mass is thus imperative. This study aimed to examine the longitudinal relationship between both diet quality and patterns and lean mass in Australian women.

Adherence to Positive Airway Pressure Therapy in Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome.

Because of the prevalence of extreme obesity in the United States, there has been an increase in prevalence of obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS). There is limited information on the characteristics and pattern of positive airway pressure (PAP) adherence in patients with OHS compared with eucapnic patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This article discusses in detail the impact of PAP therapy on outcomes in patients with OHS, compares adherence between continuous PAP and noninvasive ventilation in OHS, and compares PAP adherence in patients with OHS to patients with moderate to severe OSA enrolled in clinical trials designed to improve CPAP adherence.

Differences in the bacteriome of swab, saliva, and tissue biopsies in oral cancer.

Microbial dysbiosis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of oral cancer. We analyzed the compositional and metabolic profile of the bacteriome in three specific niches in oral cancer patients along with controls using 16SrRNA sequencing (Illumina Miseq) and DADA2 software. We found major differences between patients and control subjects.

Associations of Residential Brownness and Greenness with Fasting Glucose in Young Healthy Adults Living in the Desert.

Evolutionary psychology theories propose that contact with green, natural environments may benefit physical health, but little comparable evidence exists for brown, natural environments, such as the desert. In this study, we examined the association between "brownness" and "greenness" with fasting glucose among young residents of El Paso, Texas. We defined brownness as the surface not covered by vegetation or impervious land within Euclidian buffers around participants' homes.

Thyroid hormone and thyromimetics inhibit myelin and axonal degeneration and oligodendrocyte loss in EAE.

We have previously demonstrated that thyromimetics stimulate oligodendrocyte precursor cell differentiation and promote remyelination in murine demyelination models. We investigated whether a thyroid receptor-beta selective thyromimetic, sobetirome (Sob), and its CNS-targeted prodrug, Sob-AM2, could prevent myelin and axonal degeneration in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Compared to controls, EAE mice receiving triiodothyronine (T3, 0.

Consensus and development of document for management of stabilized acute decompensated heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in India.

Aim: Ensuring adherence to guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) is an effective strategy to reduce mortality and readmission rates for heart failure (HF). Use of a checklist is one of the best tools to ensure GDMT. The aim was to develop a consensus document with a robust checklist for stabilized acute decompensated HF patients with reduced ejection fraction.

An Evidence-Based Walking Program in Oregon Communities: Step It Up! Survivors.

Physical activity can help mitigate the long-term symptoms and side effects of cancer and its treatment, but most cancer survivors are not active enough to achieve these benefits. An evidence-based strategy to promote physical activity among adults is a community group-based walking program. However, many evidence-based programs do not achieve intended population health outcomes because of the challenges of real-world implementation.

Rab6 regulates recycling and retrograde trafficking of MR1 molecules.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are an innate-like T cell subset important in the early response to bacterial and viral lung pathogens. MAIT cells recognize bacterial small molecule metabolites presented on the Class I-like molecule MR1. As with other Class I and Class II molecules, MR1 can likely sample ligands in the intracellular environment through multiple cellular pathways.

Genetic polymorphisms in early-onset myocardial infarction in a sample of Iraqi patients: a pilot study.

Objectives: Early-onset myocardial infarction constitutes nearly one third of cases of myocardial infarction among Iraqis, which is rather higher than the proportions reported in many Western countries. Thus this study was initiated to investigate the role of some genetic polymorphisms, as well as acquired risk factors in this condition.

Results: A total of 102 Iraqi patients with first myocardial infarction aged 50 years, and 77 matched controls were enrolled.

Sex differences in EAE reveal common and distinct cellular and molecular components.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is commonly used as an animal model for evaluating clinical, histological and immunological processes potentially relevant to the human disease multiple sclerosis (MS), for which the mode of disease induction remains largely unknown. An important caveat for interpreting EAE processes in mice is the inflammatory effect of immunization with myelin peptides emulsified in Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA), often followed by additional injections of pertussis toxin (Ptx) in some strains to induce EAE. The current study evaluated clinical, histological, cellular (spleen), and chemokine-driven processes in spinal cords of male vs.