Blood Culture Use in Medical and Surgical Intensive Care Units and Wards.

Importance: Blood culture (BC) use benchmarks in US hospitals have not been defined.

Objective: To characterize BC use in adult intensive care units (ICUs) and wards in US hospitals.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A retrospective cross-sectional study of BC use in adult medical ICUs, medical-surgical ICUs, medical wards, and medical-surgical wards from acute care hospitals from the 4 US geographic regions was conducted.

Cannabinoid-based Pharmacology for the Management of Substance Use Disorders.

In the last two decades, the endocannabinoid system has emerged as a crucial modulator of motivation and emotional processing. Due to its widespread neuroanatomical distribution and characteristic retrograde signaling nature, cannabinoid type I receptors and their endogenous ligands finely orchestrate somatic and axon terminal activity of dopamine neurons. Owing to these unique features, this signaling system is a promising pharmacological target to ameliorate dopamine-mediated drug-seeking behaviors while circumventing the adverse side effects of, for instance, dopaminergic antagonists.

Comparing the Introduction and Implementation of Noninvasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) in Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States: An Integrative Review.

Previous studies suggest that NIPT's implementation differed widely across countries but offer limited insight into what shaped these differences. To address this gap, we conducted an in-depth analysis of how NIPT was incorporated into prenatal care in the US, the Netherlands, and Japan-countries with similar economic status-to identify actionable lessons. We conducted an integrative literature review on the process of introducing and implementing NIPT, stakeholders' roles, documented considerations in the decision to introduce NIPT, implementation choices, and NIPT uptake.

General Kernel Machine Methods for Multi-Omics Integration and Genome-Wide Association Testing With Related Individuals.

Integrating multi-omics data may help researchers understand the genetic underpinnings of complex traits and diseases. However, the best ways to integrate multi-omics data and use them to address pressing scientific questions remain a challenge. One important and topical problem is how to assess the aggregate effect of multiple genomic data types (e.

Assessing Clinical Improvement of Infants Hospitalized for Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Related Critical Illness.

Background: Pediatric respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-related acute lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) commonly requires hospitalization. The Clinical Progression Scale Pediatrics (CPS-Ped) measures level of respiratory support and degree of hypoxia across a range of disease severity, but it has not been applied in infants hospitalized with severe RSV-LRTI.

Methods: We analyzed data from a prospective surveillance registry of infants hospitalized for RSV-related complications across 39 U.

"A place to call home": A process of liberation for Rohingya Refugees in the United States.

This study explores the experiences of Rohingya refugees in the United States following their forced migration and years as stateless refugees. Qualitative strengths-based phenomenological analysis was applied to individual interviews with eight key informants, all identified as Rohingya refugees. Interviews focused on experience and meaning-making concerning the complexities of Rohingya identity and belonging, rights and liberation in the United States, and the impact of generational, gender, and migration patterns.

The Relationship between Body Mass Index and Level of Response to Alcohol Across the Spectrum of Alcohol Use: Total Body Water and Beyond.

Background: A low level of response (LR) to alcohol is a known risk factor for alcohol use disorder (AUD). Although higher total body water (TBW) is associated with lower blood alcohol concentrations and reduced responses following alcohol consumption, the relationship between morphometric measures such as body mass index (BMI) and LR is less clear. This study aimed to examine the relationship between BMI and LR to alcohol, and the contribution of TBW to this relationship.

Primary Effusion Lymphoma Prognostic Score (PEL-PS): A Validated International Prognostic Score in HIV-Associated Primary Effusion Lymphoma.

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is an HIV-associated B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) caused by Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV). There is no validated prognostic model in PEL, and prognosis is thought to be poor compared to other HIV-associated NHL. We derived the PEL-Prognostic score (PEL-PS) from an international real-world training set of 59 patients with HIV-associated PEL who received first-line anthracycline-containing chemotherapy from the HIV and AIDS Malignancy Branch at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the United States and the National Center for HIV Malignancy at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital (CWH) in England from 2000 to 2022.

Managing Expectations: Understanding Parents' Perceptions of Their Child's Serious Illness.

Parenting a seriously ill child is complex and emotionally intense. To further develop Hinds and colleagues' Good Parent themes: "Keeping a Positive Outlook" and "Keeping a Realistic Outlook," we reviewed grounded theories published in English language journals from January 2006 to April 2021 identifying 18 studies with relevant results. Parents' efforts to keep a positive outlook included cognitive (e.

Mortality and Function After Hip Fracture or Pneumonia in People With and Without Dementia.

Background: The extent to which disruptive surgical or medical events impact mortality and function is critical for anticipatory planning and informing goal-aligned care.

Methods: Using Health and Retirement Study data (2008-2018), we employed propensity score matching to compare the impact of hospitalization for hip fracture (a surgical event) or pneumonia (a medical event) among people with dementia to two groups: (1) people with dementia who did not experience these events; and (2) people without dementia who experienced an event. Dementia status was determined using validated cognitive assessments (Hurd method); hip fracture and pneumonia were identified from Medicare claims.

Trends in Osteoporosis Drug Therapy Receipt Among Commercial and Medicare Advantage Enrollees in the United States, 2011-2022.

Context: A national assessment of osteoporosis drug therapy (ODT) use can inform the extent of underdiagnosis and undertreatment of osteoporosis.

Objective: The aim was to describe trends in ODT use by age, sex, fragility fracture, and documented osteoporosis.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of patient-quarter observations for adults aged ≥50 years with commercial or Medicare Advantage health insurance in the OptumLabs Data Warehouse between 2011 and 2022.

Impact of Financial Toxicity on the Health-Related Quality of Life and Financial Well-Being of Cancer Patients and Survivors: A Comparative Study of the United Kingdom and United States.

Background: This study investigated and compared the impact of financial toxicity (FT) on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and financial well-being of cancer patients and survivors in the United Kingdom (UK) and United States (US).

Methods: UK & US participants (n = 600) completed an online questionnaire that consisted of a validated FT instrument (COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity-COST), a standardised HRQoL instrument (EQ-5D-5L) and questions related to their financial well-being. Tobit regression models and descriptive statistics plus χ tests were used to analyse the association between FT and (i) HRQoL whilst controlling for sociodemographic characteristics; and (ii) financial well-being.

CD137 agonism enhances anti-PD1 induced activation of expanded CD8 T cell clones in a neoadjuvant pancreatic cancer clinical trial.

Successful pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) immunotherapy requires therapeutic combinations that induce quality T cells. Tumor microenvironment (TME) analysis following therapeutic interventions can identify response mechanisms, informing design of effective combinations. We provide a reference single-cell dataset from tumor-infiltrating leukocytes (TILs) from a human neoadjuvant clinical trial comparing the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-secreting allogeneic PDAC vaccine GVAX alone, in combination with anti-PD1 or with both anti-PD1 and CD137 agonist.

Enhancing prosthetic hand control: A synergistic multi-channel electroencephalogram.

Electromyogram (EMG) has been a fundamental approach for prosthetic hand control. However it is limited by the functionality of residual muscles and muscle fatigue. Currently, exploring temporal shifts in brain networks and accurately classifying noninvasive electroencephalogram (EEG) for prosthetic hand control remains challenging.

Visual Acuity, Full-field Stimulus Thresholds, and Electroretinography for 4 Years in The Rate of Progression of USH2A-related Retinal Degeneration (RUSH2A) Study.

Purpose: To describe progression of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), full-field stimulus thresholds (FST), and electroretinography (ERG) over 4 years in the -related Retinal Degeneration study and to assess their suitability as clinical trial endpoints.

Design: Prospective natural history study.

Participants: Participants (n = 105) with biallelic disease-causing sequence variants in USH2A and BCVA letter scores of ≥54 were included.

Phase transition in magic with random quantum circuits.

Magic is a property of quantum states that enables universal fault-tolerant quantum computing using simple sets of gate operations. Understanding the mechanisms by which magic is created or destroyed is, therefore, a crucial step towards efficient and practical fault-tolerant computation. We observe that a random stabilizer code subject to coherent errors exhibits a phase transition in magic, which we characterize through analytic, numeric and experimental probes.

Data-integration with pseudoweights and survey-calibration: application to developing US-representative lung cancer risk models for use in screening.

Accurate cancer risk estimation is crucial to clinical decision-making, such as identifying high-risk people for screening. However, most existing cancer risk models incorporate data from epidemiologic studies, which usually cannot represent the target population. While population-based health surveys are ideal for making inference to the target population, they typically do not collect time-to-cancer incidence data.

Dense-core vesicles contain exosomes in secretory cells.

Dense-core vesicles (DCVs) are found in various types of cells, such as neurons, pancreatic β-cells, and chromaffin cells. These vesicles release transmitters, peptides, and hormones to regulate diverse functions, such as the stress response, immune response, behavior, and blood glucose levels. In traditional electron microscopy after chemical fixation, it is often reported that the dense cores occupy a portion of the vesicle towards the center and are surrounded by a clear halo.

Hierarchical Biogenic-Based Thermal Insulation Foam.

Biogenic-based foam, renowned for its sustainable and eco-friendly properties, is emerging as a promising thermal insulating material with the potential to significantly enhance energy efficiency and sustainability in building applications. However, its relatively high thermal conductivity, large-pore configurations, and energy-intensive manufacturing processes hinder its widespread use. Here, we report on the scalable, one-pot synthesis of biogenic foams achieved by integrating recycled paper pulp and in situ nanoporous silica formation, resulting in a hierarchical structure comprising both micropores and nanopores.

Rapid identification of bacterial select agents using loop-mediated isothermal amplification.

Background: Point of need diagnostics provide efficient testing capability for remote or austere locations, decreasing the time to answer by minimizing travel or sample transport requirements. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is an appealing technology for point-of-need diagnostics due to its rapid analysis time and minimal instrumentation requirements.

Methods: Here, we designed and optimized nine LAMP assays that are sensitive and specific to targeted bacterial select agents including Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis, Yersinia pestis, and Brucella spp.

Targeted dual biologic therapy for erythroderma of unknown etiology guided by high-parameter peripheral blood immunophenotyping.

Erythroderma is a severe and heterogeneous inflammatory skin condition with little guidance on the approach to management in cases of unknown etiology. To guide therapeutic selection, we sought to create an immunophenotyping platform able to identify aberrant cell populations and cytokines in subtypes of erythroderma. We performed high-parameter flow cytometry on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and whole blood of a patient with refractory idiopathic erythroderma, erythrodermic patients with Sézary syndrome and pityriasis rubra pilaris, and healthy controls.

A multi-model study to inform the United States' 2035 NDC.

In 2025, countries are expected to submit a third round of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that outline emission reduction goals for 2035. These new NDCs will be important for global alignment with the Paris Agreement's long-term goals. Setting an ambitious and plausible 2035 NDC in the United States (US) could be crucial in motivating high levels of ambition globally.

Factors Associated With Prolonged Venous Transit in Large Vessel Occlusion Acute Ischemic Strokes.

Background And Purpose: Prolonged venous transit (PVT), derived from computed tomography perfusion (CTP) time-to-maximum (T) maps, reflects compromised venous outflow (VO) in acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion (AIS-LVO). Poor VO is associated with worse clinical outcomes, but pre-treatment markers predictive of PVT are not well described.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 189 patients with anterior circulation AIS-LVO who underwent baseline CT evaluation, including non-contrast CT, CT angiography, and CTP.