The Impact of Financial Coverage on Hearing Aid Utilization Rates Within the Military Health System.

Objectives: To investigate hearing aid utilization rates among populations with varying hearing aid insurance benefits.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed. A total of 377 patients were included in the study after being identified through consecutive, hearing loss-related otology clinic visits.

Treatment of antebrachial deformities secondary to premature closure of the distal radial physis using circular external skeletal fixation and distraction osteogenesis in skeletally immature dogs.

Objective: To report clinical outcomes of skeletally immature dogs with antebrachial deformities secondary to premature closure of the distal radial physis (PCDRP) treated with angular corrections and distraction osteogenesis using circular external skeletal fixation (CESF).

Study Design: Retrospective multi-institutional case series.

Animals: A total of 12 client-owned dogs with premature distal radial physeal closure.

Improving estimation efficiency for survival data analysis by integrating a coarsened time-to-event outcome from an external study.

In the era of big data, increasing availability of data makes combining different data sources to obtain more accurate estimations a popular topic. However, the development of data integration is often hindered by the heterogeneity in data forms across studies. In this paper, we focus on a case in survival analysis where we have primary study data with a continuous time-to-event outcome and complete covariate measurements, while the data from an external study contain an outcome observed at regular intervals, and only a subset of covariates is measured.

TYK2:p.Pro1104Ala Variant Protects Against Autoimmunity by Modulating Immune Cell Levels.

The TYK2:p.Pro1104Ala (rs34536443) hypomorph variant has been associated with protection against numerous autoimmune disorders. Thus, its mechanism of action becomes of great interest.

Measuring the size of oil droplets in a flow cytometer using Mie resonances: A possible size calibration ladder for 0.5-6 μm.

An emulsion of silicone oil droplets in aqueous buffer produces a distinctive series of peaks or resonances in the side scatter histogram in a flow cytometer. As many as 12 peaks are observed in the violet-side scatter channel at 405 nm, with half that number observed in the blue side scatter channel at 488 nm. Using the index of refraction of the oil and buffer, the wavelength of light, and the collection angle and gain of the instrument, we assign the peaks to specific diameters at which Mie resonances occur.

The influence of rurality on self-reported physical therapy utilization among patients with severe chronic back pain in the United States.

Purpose: To examine the association of rurality and physical therapy utilization among a nationally representative sample of individuals with severe chronic back pain.

Methods: This study utilized a publicly available dataset from the 2019 National Health Information Survey (Adult Sample). Individuals with severe chronic back pain were identified based on survey items examining respondents' pain frequency and location.

Larger Perfusion Mismatch Volume Is Associated With Longer Hospital Length of Stay in Medium Vessel Occlusion Stroke.

Background And Purpose: Prolonged length of stay (LOS) following a stroke is associated with unfavorable clinical outcomes. Factors predicting LOS in medium vessel occlusion (MeVO), impacting up to 40% of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) cases, remain underexplored. This study aims to investigate the predictors of LOS in AIS-MeVO.

Education Research: Making a Tweetorial Fly: Features of Educational Social Media Posts Associated With High Sharing and Engagement.

Background And Objectives: Social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) are increasingly used in medical education. Characteristics of tweetorials (threaded teaching posts) associated with higher degrees of engagement are unknown. We sought to understand features of neurology-themed tweetorials associated with high sharing and engagement.

Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplements for Sarcopenia in Liver Cirrhosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Sarcopenia, a key aspect of malnutrition in liver cirrhosis (LC), affects 30-70% of LC patients. Given the inconsistent results from RCTs on branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) for treating sarcopenia in LC, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of BCAAs for sarcopenia management in LC patients.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis synthesizing evidence from RCTs obtained from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science from inception to April 2024.

Social vulnerability index associated with higher COVID-19 seroprevalence in Nigeria.

Social vulnerability has been shown to be a strong predictor of disparities in health outcomes. A common approach to estimating social vulnerability is using a composite index, such as the social vulnerability index (SVI), which combines multiple factors corresponding to key social determinants of health. Lawal and Osayomi created an SVI to explore key social determinants of health-related COVID-19 infection among the Nigerian population.

Barriers to Adherence with Clinic Visits in Patients with Uveitis.

Purpose: To assess the patient barriers to adherence with appointment follow-up in patients with ocular inflammatory disorders across the United States.

Methods: This was a multicenter study of adult and pediatric patients at the Wilmer Eye Institute, University of Texas at Austin, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Veterans Administration Hospital, and Washington University of St. Louis.

Enhanced detection of glutamate via transverse relaxation encoding with narrowband decoupling in the human brain.

Purpose: This study aims to improve the detection of glutamate (Glu) concentration and T using an enhanced transverse relaxation encoding with narrowband decoupling (TREND) technique.

Methods: A new editing pulse was designed to simultaneously invert both Glu H3 spins (2.12 ppm and 2.

Learning-based motion artifact correction in the Z-spectral domain for chemical exchange saturation transfer MRI.

Purpose: To develop and evaluate a physics-driven, saturation contrast-aware, deep-learning-based framework for motion artifact correction in CEST MRI.

Methods: A neural network was designed to correct motion artifacts directly from a Z-spectrum frequency (Ω) domain rather than an image spatial domain. Motion artifacts were simulated by modeling 3D rigid-body motion and readout-related motion during k-space sampling.

CESTsimu: An open-source GUI for spectral and spatial CEST simulation.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to create a user-friendly CEST simulation tool with a GUI for both spectral (1D Z-spectra) and spatial (2D phantom) CEST experiments, making the CEST simulation easier to perform.

Methods: CESTsimu was developed using MATLAB App Designer. It consists of three modules: Saturation Settings, Exchange Settings, and Phantom Settings.

Exploring the prevalence of gout among underrepresented low socioeconomic status type 2 diabetes populations.

Background: Underserved and underrepresented populations often lack access to affordable, quality healthcare, educational resources, and nutritious foods, all of which contribute to increased risk of Type 2 Diabetes and gout. Type 2 Diabetes is a condition characterized by the denaturation of the insulin receptors, due to chronically high blood glucose levels, leading to impaired regulation of blood sugar. Gout is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting joints in the lower limbs, marked by elevated serum urate levels and the accumulation of uric acid crystals in synovial fluid, causing painful flare-ups that significantly impact quality of life.

Revitalizing interphase in all-solid-state Li metal batteries by electrophile reduction.

All-solid-state lithium metal batteries promise high levels of safety and energy density, but their practical realization is limited by low Li reversibility, limited cell loading and demand for high-temperature and high-pressure operation, stemming from solid-state electrolyte (SSE) low-voltage reduction and high-voltage decomposition, and from lithium dendrite growth. Here we concurrently address these challenges by reporting that a family of reductive electrophiles gain electrons and cations from metal-nucleophile materials (here a Li sulfide SSE) upon contact to undergo electrochemical reduction and form interphase layers (named solid reductive-electrophile interphase) on material surfaces. The solid reductive-electrophile interphase is electron blocking and lithiophobic, prevents SSE reduction, suppresses Li dendrites and supports high-voltage cathodes.

Construction and iterative redesign of synXVI a 903 kb synthetic Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome.

The Sc2.0 global consortium to design and construct a synthetic genome based on the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome commenced in 2006, comprising 16 synthetic chromosomes and a new-to-nature tRNA neochromosome. In this paper we describe assembly and debugging of the 902,994-bp synthetic Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome synXVI of the Sc2.

A novel frameshift variant in the gene is associated with recessive oculodentodigital dysplasia.

Background: Oculodentodigital dysplasia (ODDD) is a rare syndrome that causes a constellation of facial, ophthalmic, dental, and limb abnormalities. Variants in the gap junction alpha-1 () gene have been described in patients with ODDD. Hereby we present the ocular manifestations in a patient with recessive ODDD due to a novel homozygous frameshift variant in .

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.

Pan-tumor analysis to investigate the obesity paradox in immune checkpoint blockade.

Background: Obesity is a risk factor for developing cancer but is also associated with improved outcomes after treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), a phenomenon called the obesity paradox. To interrogate mechanisms of divergent immune responses in obese and non-obese patients, we examined the relationship among obesity status, clinical responses, and immune profiles from a diverse, pan-tumor cohort of patients treated with ICI-based therapy.

Methods: From June 2021 to March 2023, we prospectively collected serial peripheral blood samples from patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors who received ICI as standard of care at Johns Hopkins.