A family-based behavioral group obesity randomized control feasibility trial across a clinical trials network: a focus on contact hours.

Objective: This ancillary study's purpose is to describe the relationship between dose of treatment and body mass index (BMI) outcomes in a tele-behavioral health program delivered in the IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network to children and their families living in rural communities.

Methods: Participants randomized to the intervention were able to receive 26 contact hours (15 hr of group sessions and 11 hr of individual sessions) of material focused on nutrition, physical activity, and behavioral caregiver training delivered via interactive televideo. Dose of the intervention received by child/caregiver dyads (n = 52) from rural areas was measured as contact hours.

The effect of physical exercise and cognition-orientated interventions on post-stroke cognitive function: Protocol for an overview of reviews.

Background: Strokes are becoming more common, and with improving survival rates, the prevalence of stroke survivors has increased. Almost half of chronic stroke survivors are cognitively impaired, and healthcare services are struggling to manage these patients, leaving some feeling "abandoned". Several systematic reviews have investigated the effect of physical exercise and cognition-orientated interventions on post-stroke cognitive impairment, and have produced conflicting findings, making it difficult for clinicians and guideline producers to make evidence-based decisions.

Simultaneous Unbinned Differential Cross-Section Measurement of Twenty-Four Z+jets Kinematic Observables with the ATLAS Detector.

Z boson events at the Large Hadron Collider can be selected with high purity and are sensitive to a diverse range of QCD phenomena. As a result, these events are often used to probe the nature of the strong force, improve Monte Carlo event generators, and search for deviations from standard model predictions. All previous measurements of Z boson production characterize the event properties using a small number of observables and present the results as differential cross sections in predetermined bins.

Tranexamic dosing for major joint arthroplasty in adult patients with chronic kidney disease: A pharmacokinetic study and new dosing regimen.

Background: Tranexamic acid is an anti-fibrinolytic agent routinely used during hip and knee joint replacement surgery to minimize bleeding. Chronic kidney disease is a common chronic health problem seen among adults requiring major arthroplasty surgery. Tranexamic acid is renally cleared and may accumulate in chronic kidney disease.

EZH2 inhibition enhances the activity of Carboplatin in aggressive-variant prostate cancer cell lines.

Background: Aggressive Variant Prostate Cancers (AVPCs) are incurable malignancies. Platinum-based chemotherapies are used for the palliative treatment of AVPC. The Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) promotes prostate cancer progression histone H3 Lysine 27 tri-methylation (H3K27me3).

Experiences at recovery community centers predict holistic recovery outcomes: a daily diary assessment of RCC helpfulness, meaningfulness, and recovery identity.

Introduction: Recovery community centers (RCCs) offer various support services to people in addiction recovery, such as hosting mutual help meetings and sober social activities and providing employment support and recovery coaching. To date, very little is known about RCCs and their relationship with recovery outcomes, as well as how RCCs may vary in helpfulness from visit to visit. This study used a daily diary approach to assess the intraindividual variation of daily RCC helpfulness, and whether RCC helpfulness predicted the holistic recovery indices of daily meaningfulness and recovery identity.

Joint TITE-CRM: A Design for Dose Finding Studies for Therapies with Late-Onset Safety and Activity Outcomes.

In Phase I/II dose-finding trials, the objective is to find the Optimal Biological Dose (OBD), a dose that is both safe and shows sufficient activity that maximizes some optimality criterion based on safety and activity. In cancer, treatment is typically given over several cycles, complicating the identification of the OBD as both toxicity and activity outcomes may occur at any point throughout the follow up of multiple cycles. In this work we present and assess the Joint TITE-CRM, a model-based design for late onset toxicities and activity based on the well-known TITE-CRM.

Leveraging Model Master Files for Long-Acting Injectables.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Research on Complex Generics (CRCG) hosted a public workshop on May 2-3, 2024, titled "Considerations and Potential Regulatory Applications for a Model Master File (Lachaine et al Can J Psychiatry.

Ecological and demographic drivers of kin-directed cooperation in a social bird: Insights from a long-term study.

The evolution of sociality is one of the major evolutionary transitions in the history of life and a key step in this transition is the occurrence of kin associations. Yet, the question of what demographic processes and environmental factors generate kin-structured populations and drive kin-directed cooperation remains open. In this review, we synthesise 30 years of studies of the long-tailed tit Aegithalos caudatus, which has a kin-selected cooperative breeding system with redirected help: failed breeders may help to raise offspring of conspecifics, typically relatives, breeding nearby.

Current trends in shoulder arthroplasty - Are the trends backed by evidence?

Shoulder arthroplasty is the third most common joint replacement performed worldwide and remains a rapidly innovative area for improvement in patient care. This article explores the evidence surrounding current trends aiming to improve patient outcome in all forms of shoulder arthroplasty.

Exploring variation in the six-month review for stroke survivors: a national survey of current practice in England.

Background: The Six-Month Review (6MR) was introduced in the United Kingdom to provide a holistic, systematic review of the ongoing needs faced by stroke survivors. However, a theoretical underpinning regarding how it should work is lacking, potentially leading to wide variation in service provision. This study aimed to understand the current degree of variation in 6MR delivery across England and explore the potential driving factors.

Understanding how, for whom and under what circumstances telecare can support independence in community-dwelling older adults: a realist review.

Background: There is substantial interest among policy makers in using telecare to support independence in older adults. However, research on how telecare can be most beneficial in promoting independence is limited. This realist review aimed to understand the contexts in which telecare can support independence and for whom, to aid older people in remaining at home.

Interplay between Two Structure Types in the Incommensurately Modulated ATaSe Compounds (A = Rb, Cs).

Incommensurately modulated crystals are a rare class of materials that are notoriously difficult to characterize properly. We have synthesized two new incommensurately modulated compounds, RbTaSe and CsTaSe, based on the MQ (M = Nb, Ta; Q = S, Se) unit using high-temperature solid-state synthesis. Using superspace crystallography in combination with second harmonic generation measurements, we confirmed both materials to be noncentrosymmetric, falling into the superspace group 1(αβγ)0, while the basic cell suggests 2/.

Quantification of micro- and nano-plastics in atmospheric fine particles by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with chromatographic peak reconstruction.

The effects of micro- and nano-plastics (MNPs) on human health are of global concern because MNPs are ubiquitous, persistent, and potentially toxic, particularly when bound to atmospheric fine particles (PM). Traditional quantitative analysis of MNPs by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) is often inaccurate because of false positive signals caused by similar polymers and organic compounds. In this study, a reliable analytical strategy combining HNO digestion and chromatographic peak reconstruction was developed to improve the precision of pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of multiple MNPs bound to PM.

Alternative approaches for monitoring and evaluation of lymphatic filariasis following mass drug treatment with ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine and albendazole in East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea.

Background: WHO recommends two annual rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) with ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine, and albendazole (IDA) for lymphatic filariasis (LF) elimination in treatment naïve areas that are not co-endemic for onchocerciasis such as Papua New Guinea (PNG). Whether two rounds of MDA are necessary or sufficient and the optimal sampling strategies and endpoints for stopping MDA remain undefined.

Methods And Findings: Two cross-sectional studies were conducted at baseline (N = 49 clusters or villages) and 12 months after mass drug administration (MDA) with IDA (N = 47 villages) to assess lymphatic filariasis (LF) by circulating filarial antigenemia (CFA) and microfilariae (Mf).

A Technical Evaluation of Plasma Proteomics Technologies.

Plasma proteomic technologies are rapidly evolving and of critical importance to the field of biomedical research. Here we report a technical evaluation of six notable plasma proteomic technologies - unenriched (Neat), Acid depletion, PreOmics ENRICHplus, Mag-Net, Seer Proteograph XT, Olink Explore HT. The methods were compared on proteomic depth, reproducibility, linearity, tolerance to lipid interference, and limit of detection/quantification.

Case report: Potential physiological sources of the late response in epidural spinal recordings induced by spinal cord stimulation during intraoperative neuromonitoring.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the sources of later response in epidural spinal recordings (ESRs) obtained from implanted leads during spinal cord stimulation, a topic has not been widely studied in previous research.

Methods: Two patients with lower back and lower extremity pain underwent SCS implantation with intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM). The timing of extracted peaks in ESRs and intramuscular electromyography (EMG) recordings were analyzed and compared to a Monte Carlo simulation for synchronization analysis.

Understanding the opioid syndemic in North Carolina: A novel approach to modeling and identifying factors.

The opioid epidemic is a significant public health challenge in North Carolina, but limited data restrict our understanding of its complexity. Examining trends and relationships among different outcomes believed to reflect opioid misuse provides an alternative perspective to understand the opioid epidemic. We use a Bayesian dynamic spatial factor model to capture the interrelated dynamics within six different county-level outcomes, such as illicit opioid overdose deaths, emergency department visits related to drug overdose, treatment counts for opioid use disorder, patients receiving prescriptions for buprenorphine, and newly diagnosed cases of acute and chronic hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus.

Extreme migratory connectivity and apparent mirroring of non-breeding grounds conditions in a severely declining breeding population of an Afro-Palearctic migratory bird.

Understanding the distribution of breeding populations of migratory animals in the non-breeding period (migratory connectivity) is important for understanding their response to environmental change. High connectivity (low non-breeding population dispersion) may lower resilience to climate change and increase vulnerability to habitat loss within their range. Very high levels of connectivity are reportedly rare, but this conclusion may be limited by methodology.

Plant root carbon inputs drive methane production in tropical peatlands.

Tropical peatlands are carbon-dense ecosystems that are significant sources of atmospheric methane (CH). Recent work has demonstrated the importance of trees as an emission pathway for CH from the peat to the atmosphere. However, there remain questions over the processes of CH production in these systems and how they relate to substrate supply.

Healthcare exceptionalism: should healthcare be treated differently when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions?

Healthcare systems produce significant greenhouse gas emissions, raising an important question: should healthcare be treated like any other polluter when it comes to reducing its emissions, or is healthcare special because of its essential societal role? On one hand, reducing emissions is critical to combat climate change. On the other, healthcare depends on emissions to deliver vital services. The resulting tension surrounds an idea of healthcare exceptionalism and leads to the question I consider in this paper: to what extent (if any) should the valuable goals of healthcare form an exception to the burdens of reducing greenhouse gas emissions? The goals of this paper are twofold.

Estimating prevalence of opioid misuse in North Carolina counties from 2016-2021: An integrated abundance model approach.

Background: The overdose epidemic remains largely driven by opioids, but county-level prevalence of opioid misuse is unknown. Without this information, public health and policy responses are limited by a lack of knowledge on the scope of the problem.

Methods: Using an integrated abundance model, we estimate annual county-level prevalence of opioid misuse for counties in North Carolina from 2016 to 2021.

Hemispheric difference of adaptation lifetime in human auditory cortex measured with MEG.

Adaptation is the attenuation of a neuronal response when a stimulus is repeatedly presented. The phenomenon has been linked to sensory memory, but its exact neuronal mechanisms are under debate. One defining feature of adaptation is its lifetime, that is, the timespan over which the attenuating effect of previous stimulation persists.

The Infant and Toddler Curiosity Questionnaire: A Validated Caregiver-Report Measure of Curiosity in Children From 5 to 24 Months.

Humans are curious. Especially children are known for their drive to explore and learn, which is crucial for developing in and navigating through our complex world. Naturally, some children may be more curious than others, leading to differences in how they structure their own learning experiences, subsequently impacting their developmental trajectories.