Comparison of Postoperative Antibiotic Protocols for Pediatric Complicated Appendicitis: A Western Pediatric Surgery Research Consortium Study.

Background: There is no consensus on the appropriate duration of postoperative antibiotics for complicated appendicitis in children. Commonly used antibiotic endpoints include normalization of white blood cell count (WBC) or completion of a minimum number of prespecified treatment days. We compared clinical outcomes resulting from varying postoperative antibiotic protocols for complicated appendicitis in children.

The Quality of Veterans Healthcare Administration Cardiovascular Care.

A total of 9 million veterans receive care in a unique healthcare system, the Veterans Healthcare Administration (VHA), with nearly 50% reporting at least one cardiovascular disease. Despite evidence for high quality of health care in the VHA, more veteran care is being moved to the non-VHA community. An assumption of this shift in care is that the quality of non-VHA care is at least comparable to VHA care.

Lost ecosystem service costs and impact fees: Modelling scenarios for oil and gas development on U.S. public land.

The U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management regulates oil and gas development on 23 million acres of U.

Proceedings of the 2024 Santa Fe Bone Symposium: Update on the Management of Osteoporosis and Rare Bone Diseases.

The 24 Annual Santa Fe Bone Symposium (SFBS) was held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, on August 2-3, 2024. This was a "hybrid" meeting, with in-person and real-time remote participants representing a broad range of geographical locations and medical disciplines. The focus was on new developments in the care of patients with osteoporosis, other metabolic bone diseases, and inherited skeletal disorders.

Larval development and parasitism of emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) in Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia) and European olive (Olea europaea): implications for the West Coast invasion.

The invasive emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) (EAB) has been devastating North American ash (Fraxinus spp.) resources for over 2 decades. In its native range, EAB attacks and kills primarily stressed ash trees.

New onset refractory status epilepticus: Long-term outcomes beyond seizures.

We propose and prioritize important outcome domains that should be considered for future research investigating long-term outcomes (LTO) after new onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE). The study was led by the international NORSE Institute LTO Working Group. First, literature describing the LTO of NORSE survivors was identified using a PubMed search and summarized to identify knowledge gaps.

Innovative Insurance to Improve US Patient Access to Cell and Gene Therapy.

Unlabelled: Policy Points Cell and gene therapies (CGTs) offer treatment for rare and oftentimes deadly disease, but their prices are high, and payers may seek to limit spending. Total annual costs of covering all existing and expected CGTs for the entire US population 2023-2035 to amount to less than $20 per person and concentrate in commercial and state Medicaid plans. Reinsurance fees add to expected costs.

Seascape Genomics of Red Abalone: Limited Range-Wide Population Structure and Evidence for Local Adaptation.

Characterising patterns of genetic diversity including evidence of local adaptation is relevant for predicting and managing species recovering from overexploitation in the face of climate change. Red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) is a species of conservation concern due to recent declines from overharvesting, disease and climate change, resulting in the closure of commercial and recreational fisheries. Using whole-genome resequencing data from 23 populations spanning their entire range (southern Oregon, USA, to Baja California, MEX) we investigated patterns of population connectivity and genotype-environment associations that would reveal local adaptation across the mosaic of coastal environments that define the California Current System (CCS).

Population Genomics Reveals Local Adaptation Related to Temperature Variation in Two Stream Frog Species: Implications for Vulnerability to Climate Warming.

Identifying populations at highest risk from climate change is a critical component of conservation efforts. However, vulnerability assessments are usually applied at the species level, even though intraspecific variation in exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity play a crucial role in determining vulnerability. Genomic data can inform intraspecific vulnerability by identifying signatures of local adaptation that reflect population-level variation in sensitivity and adaptive capacity.

Mobile health clinics in a rural setting: a cost analysis and time motion study of La Clínica in Oregon, United States.

Background: Mobile Health Clinics (MHCs) are an alternate form of healthcare delivery that may ameliorate current rural-urban health disparities in chronic diseases and have downstream impacts on the health system by reducing costs. Evaluations of providers' time allocation on MHCs are scarce, hindering knowledge transfer related to MHC implementation strategies.

Methods: Retrospective economic cost was assessed using business ledgers and expert assessments in 2023 US Dollar (USD) from 2022 to 2023.

Methods for modeling gestational weight gain: empirical application using electronic health record data from a safety net population.

Background: Understanding the risks and effects of gestational weight gain (GWG) is a prominent area of perinatal research but approaches for quantifying GWG are evolving and remain underdeveloped, especially in clinical settings for underserved demographic subgroups. To fill this gap, we demonstrated and compared six GWG metrics across pre-pregnancy BMI classifications: total GWG, trimester-specific linear rate of GWG, adherence to total and trimester-specific recommendations, area under the curve, and GWG for gestational age z-scores.

Methods: We used clinical data on 44,801 pregnant people from community-based health care organizations with extensive longitudinal measures and substantial representation of understudied subgroups.

"They Make It So Hard on You": How Rurality Shapes Veterans' Health Experiences When Managing Gulf War Illness.

Background: Gulf War illness (GWI) is characterized by multiple, persistent symptoms (e.g., fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, concentration problems, and gastrointestinal disorders) across more than one body system that are severe enough to interfere with daily functioning.

Liquid-infused nanostructured composite as a high-performance thermal interface material for effective cooling.

Effective heat dissipation remains a grand challenge for energy-dense devices and systems. As heterogeneous integration becomes increasingly inevitable in electronics, thermal resistance at interfaces has emerged as a critical bottleneck for thermal management. However, existing thermal interface solutions are constrained by either high thermal resistance or poor reliability.

Human P2X4 receptor gating is modulated by a stable cytoplasmic cap and a unique allosteric pocket.

P2X receptors (P2XRs) are adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP)-gated ion channels comprising homomeric and heteromeric trimers of seven subtypes (P2X1-P2X7) that confer different rates of desensitization. The helical recoil model of P2XR desensitization proposes stability of the cytoplasmic cap sets the rate of desensitization, but timing of its formation is unclear for slow-desensitizing P2XRs. We report cryo-electron microscopy structures of full-length wild-type human P2X4 receptor in apo closed, antagonist-bound inhibited, and ATP-bound desensitized states.

Unequal Access and Overall Scarcity of Apical Suspension in Native Tissue Prolapse Repair.

Importance: Evaluation of racial and ethnic differences in apical suspension during prolapse repair is crucial for equitable gynecological care.

Objective: The objective was to assess racial and ethnic disparities in apical suspension during native tissue prolapse repair.

Study Design: We analyzed data from the 2019 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample and Nationwide Ambulatory Surgery Sample, using Current Procedural Terminology and International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, codes.

Accuracy and Performance Characteristics of Administrative Codes for the Diagnosis of Autoinflammatory Syndromes: A Discovery and Validation Study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate and validate the accuracy and performance characteristics of administrative codes in diagnosing autoinflammatory syndromes (AISs).

Methods: We identified potential AIS patients from the electronic medical records at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics and the Stead Family Children's Hospital using a screening filter based on the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes and interleukin-1 antagonists. Diagnostic criteria for adult-onset Still disease, systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Behçet disease (BD), familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS), and SAPHO (synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis, and osteitis) syndrome and chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis (SAPHO-CNO) were reviewed for each patient.

Thought-Feeling Accuracy in Person Perception and Metaperception: An Integrative Perspective.

People often want to know what their interaction partners are thinking. How accurate are they, what information do they use, what predicts how accurate they will be, and does accuracy matter? We organize our review of thought-feeling accuracy, defined as the accuracy of individuals' judgments about the content of another person's thoughts and feelings in live interaction, around these questions. At the same time, we argue that often people are especially interested in what others are thinking about them, such that research on the accuracy of individuals' metaperceptions regarding others' views of them is highly relevant to understanding thought-feeling accuracy more broadly construed.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest Associated with Hemodialysis: A Community-Based Study.

Background: Individuals with end-stage renal disease may be at increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) associated with dialysis therapy. However, community-based studies with comprehensive adjudication of SCA are lacking.

Methods: We conducted a community-based study using a case-case study design in a US population of ≈1 million.

Adjusting for bias due to measurement error in functional quantile regression models with error-prone functional and scalar covariates.

Wearable devices enable the continuous monitoring of physical activity (PA) but generate complex functional data with poorly characterized errors. Most work on functional data views the data as smooth, latent curves obtained at discrete time intervals with some random noise with mean zero and constant variance. Viewing this noise as homoscedastic and independent ignores potential serial correlations.

Virtual assessment of internal rotation in reverse shoulder arthroplasty based on statistical shape models of scapular size.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess impingement-free internal rotation (IR) in a virtual reverse shoulder arthroplasty simulation using a Statistical Shape Model based on scapula size.

Methods: A database of over 10,000 scapulae utilized for preoperative planning for shoulder arthroplasty was analyzed with a Statistical Shape Model to obtain 5 scapula sizes including the mean and 2 standard deviations. For each scapula model, one glenosphere size (33-42 mm) was selected as the best fit based on consensus among 3 shoulder surgeons.

Outcome Measures to Evaluate Functional Recovery in Survivors of Respiratory Failure: A Scoping Review.

Background: Respiratory failure is a life-threatening condition affecting millions of individuals in the United States annually. Survivors experience persistent functional impairments, decreased quality of life, and cognitive impairments. However, no established standard exists for measuring functional recovery among survivors of respiratory failure.

Seasonal productivity of the equatorial Atlantic shaped by distinct wind-driven processes.

The eastern equatorial Atlantic hosts a productive marine ecosystem that depends on upward supply of nitrate, the primary limiting nutrient in this region. The annual productivity peak, indicated by elevated surface chlorophyll levels, occurs in the Northern Hemisphere summer, roughly coinciding with strengthened easterly winds. For enhanced productivity in the equatorial Atlantic, nitrate-rich water must rise into the turbulent layer above the Equatorial Undercurrent.

An Observational Study to Determine the Prevalence of COVID-19 Among Hospitalized Patients With Multidrug-Resistant Enterobacterales Infections and Clinical Outcomes, 10 US Sites, 2020--2022.

Background: We investigated hospitalized carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) and extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) cases with and without COVID-19, as identified through Emerging Infections Program surveillance in 10 sites from 2020 to 2022.

Methods: We defined a CRE case as the first isolation of , complex, , , , or resistant to any carbapenem. We defined an ESBL-E case as the first isolation of , , or resistant to any third-generation cephalosporin and nonresistant to all carbapenems tested.