Hepatitis C Treatment in Kentucky Medicaid Recipients with Concurrent Opioid Use Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections and injection drug use have concurrently increased in the last decade. Evidence supports simultaneously treating chronic HCV and opioid use disorder (OUD) with medication. Kentucky is a hard-hit state for both conditions that has undertaken policy and practice efforts to increase access to both types of medications.

Racial/ethnic differences in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 in children and adolescents in the United States.

Racial/ethnic differences are associated with the symptoms and conditions of post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) in adults. These differences may exist among children and warrant further exploration. We conducted a retrospective cohort study with difference-in-differences analyzes to assess these differences in children and adolescents under the age of 21.

Metagenome-informed metaproteomics of the human gut microbiome, host, and dietary exposome uncovers signatures of health and inflammatory bowel disease.

Host-microbiome-dietary interactions play crucial roles in regulating human health, yet their direct functional assessment remains challenging. We adopted metagenome-informed metaproteomics (MIM), in mice and humans, to non-invasively explore species-level microbiome-host interactions during commensal and pathogen colonization, nutritional modification, and antibiotic-induced perturbation. Simultaneously, fecal MIM accurately characterized the nutritional exposure landscape in multiple clinical and dietary contexts.

Use of patient portals to disclose STI test histories to sex partners among U.S. men who have sex with men: A call for research and guidance.

Background: This study investigates the use of patient portals for disclosing sexually transmitted infection (STI) test result histories to sexual partners among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States.

Methods: Using data from the 2022-2023 American Men's Internet Survey, this cross-sectional analysis examined demographic, behavioral, and healthcare-related factors associated with MSM's utilization of patient portals for sharing STI test results. Participants ( = 2601) were surveyed on portal use, STI testing frequency, and partner disclosure practices.

Characteristics of Invasive Pneumococcal Diseases Cases Among U.S. Children With Hematologic Malignancies Before and After Introduction of Thirteen-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, 2005-2019.

Background: Children with hematologic malignancies (HMs) are at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). Data on long-term IPD trends in U.S.

Bat Viral Shedding: A Review of Seasonal Patterns and Risk Factors.

Bats act as reservoirs for a variety of zoonotic viruses, sometimes leading to spillover into humans and potential risks of global transmission. Viral shedding from bats is an essential prerequisite to bat-to-human viral transmission and understanding the timing and intensity of viral shedding from bats is critical to mitigate spillover risks. However, there are limited investigations on bats' seasonal viral shedding patterns and their related risk factors.

Assessing the State of Published Research Concerning COVID-19 and Transgender and Nonbinary People in the United States via a Scoping Review: Lessons Learned for Future Public Health Crises.

Transgender and nonbinary people (TNB) experienced a disproportionate burden of poor health and socioeconomic outcomes resulting from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, largely driven by increased vulnerability due to pervasive structural discrimination. To characterize the extent and nature of TNB inclusivity within COVID-19 research, we conducted a scoping review of studies published in English from 2019-2022 reporting COVID-19 pandemic impacts on TNB individuals in the United States. We searched PubMed (PubMed.

The Story behind the Science: On the discovery of respiratory syncytial virus.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was discovered in 1956 by the laboratory of Robert Chanock after its isolation from children with upper respiratory infections. Here, we review the events leading to its discovery including its prior isolation as chimpanzee coryza virus and its subsequent association with human disease.

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.

Specialty choice among final-year medical students and house officers in Nigeria: implications for anaesthesia practice - a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Nigeria's doctor shortage is worsening with mass exodus and imbalanced specialty distribution. Anaesthesia faces particularly critical shortages. Medical graduate specialty choices have a vital impact on the workforce and are essential for healthcare planning.

Global linear accelerator requirements and personalised country recommendations: a cross-sectional, population-based study.

Background: The Linear Accelerator Shortage Index (LSI) is a practical tool for prioritising the deployment of linear accelerators (LINACs) in various regions within a country. The LSI reflects the ratio of LINAC demand to current availability. The aim of this study was to use the LSI to predict global LINAC needs and classify countries according to the degree of radiotherapy shortage (LINAC shortage grade).

Local context review by single institutional review boards: Results from a modified Delphi process.

Introduction: Local context is the most common concern regarding use of a single institutional review board (sIRB). Yet what "local context" constitutes remains underspecified. Developing a shared understanding of the goals of local context review, the categories of information that should be considered, as well as the types of studies for which sIRB review may be inappropriate, are critical for ensuring that sIRB review provides adequate protections for human subjects.

Evaluating the biomedical and behavioural drivers of HIV-1 incidence decline in adolescent girls and young women in Uganda: A mathematical modelling study.

Background: Recent declines in HIV incidence among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Africa are often attributed to the expansion of biomedical interventions such as antiretroviral therapy and voluntary medical male circumcision. However, changes in sexual behaviour may also play a critical role. Understanding the relative contributions of these factors is essential for developing strategies to sustain and further reduce HIV transmission.

Characteristics of nursing homes with high rates of invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections.

Background: Nursing home residents experience a large burden of invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. Data are limited regarding nursing home characteristics associated with differences in facility-level invasive MRSA rates.

Methods: We analyzed 2011-2015 data from CDC's Emerging Infections Program (EIP) active population- and laboratory-based surveillance for invasive MRSA cases within seven states.

Update to the PRISMA guidelines for network meta-analyses and scoping reviews and development of guidelines for rapid reviews: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: The objective of this scoping review is to develop a list of items for potential inclusion in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guidelines for network meta-analysis (NMA), scoping reviews (ScRs), and rapid reviews (RRs).

Introduction: The PRISMA extensions for NMA and ScRs were published in 2015 and 2018. However, since then, their methodologies and innovations, including automation, have evolved.

#natural, #vegan, #healing: A Content Analysis of Health Content Among Instagram Posts Focused on Cannabis Edibles.

Background: Despite limited scientific evidence, public perceptions of cannabis as health enhancing are significant. As food products, cannabis edibles (edibles), may also leverage food-related associations that convey health. Social media is a prominent and influential source of largely unregulated cannabis information and a potential place to correct misinformation.

Estimating target population treatment effects in meta-analysis with individual participant-level data.

Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials is commonly used to evaluate treatments and inform policy decisions because it provides comprehensive summaries of all available evidence. However, meta-analyses are limited to draw population inference of treatment effects because they usually do not define target populations of interest specifically, and results of the individual randomized controlled trials in those meta-analyses may not generalize to the target populations. To leverage evidence from multiple randomized controlled trials in the generalizability context, we bridge the ideas from meta-analysis and causal inference.

Self-Directed Violence Among Black Young Adults with Negative Police Experiences.

The current study assessed associations between negative experiences with police and self-directed violence (SDV) among a United States (US) sample of Black young adults ages 18-29 reporting lifetime police stops. Data come from the "INtervening on Self-Harm and Policing to Increase Racial Equity" (INSPIRE) survey (N = 672) and were collected between December 2023 and March 2024. This high-risk sample exhibited elevated rates of self-harm ideation or NSSI (27.

Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity at any Dose Reduces All-Cause Dementia Risk Regardless of Frailty Status.

Objectives: Reaching the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) recommendations of 150 min/wk is difficult for older adults, particularly among those living with frailty and its associated risk of dementia. We examined the dose-response relationship between MVPA and dementia risk among at-risk persons living with and without frailty enrolled in the UK Biobank study.

Design: Survival analysis within a prospective cohort study.

Merits of the social return on investment methodology for assessing the value of palliative care programmes.

Despite the widely accepted benefits of palliative care for individuals with serious illnesses and their families, the utilisation of this approach remains low. Although an increased use of palliative care services can increase the value of health-care spending by providing comprehensive wraparound services to support care, the economic evidence required to implement, promote, and engage in palliative care models on a wide scale eludes the affected individuals, health-care providers, payers, and policy makers. This gap in evidence is partly owing to the methodological limitations of standard value-assessment frameworks, which do not capture important societal dimensions of the value generated by palliative care.

Lineage-dependence of the neuroblastoma surfaceome defines tumor cell state-dependent and independent immunotherapeutic targets.

Background: Neuroblastoma is a heterogeneous disease with adrenergic (ADRN)- and therapy resistant mesenchymal (MES)-like cells driven by distinct transcription factor networks. Here, we investigate the expression of immunotherapeutic targets in each neuroblastoma subtype and propose pan-neuroblastoma and cell state specific targetable cell-surface proteins.

Methods: We characterized cell lines, patient-derived xenografts, and patient samples as ADRN-dominant or MES-dominant to define subtype-specific and pan-neuroblastoma gene sets.

Functional variants in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene are associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer.

Background: Individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF; a recessive disorder) have an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Evidence suggests individuals with a single CFTR variant may also have increased CRC risk.

Methods: Using population-based studies (GECCO, CORECT, CCFR, and ARIC; 53 785 CRC cases and 58 010 controls), we tested for an association between the most common CFTR variant (Phe508del) and CRC risk.