Overuse of corticosteroids in patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) between 2011 and 2017 in the United States.

Corticosteroids (CSs) are standard first-line therapy for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Prolonged exposure is associated with substantial toxicity; thus guidelines recommend avoidance of prolonged CS treatment and early use of second-line therapies. However, real-world evidence on ITP treatment patterns remains limited.

Convolutional neural network-based single-shot speckle tracking for x-ray phase-contrast imaging.

X-ray phase-contrast imaging offers enhanced sensitivity for weakly-attenuating materials, such as breast and brain tissue, but has yet to be widely implemented clinically due to high coherence requirements and expensive x-ray optics. Speckle-based phase contrast imaging has been proposed as an affordable and simple alternative; however, obtaining high-quality phase-contrast images requires accurate tracking of sample-induced speckle pattern modulations. This study introduced a convolutional neural network to accurately retrieve sub-pixel displacement fields from pairs of reference (i.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Cardiac Surveillance Evaluation of Patients Treated With Anthracycline-Based Chemotherapy.

Background Anthracyclines remain a key treatment for many malignancies but can increase the risk of heart failure or cardiomyopathy. Specific guidelines recommend echocardiography and serum cardiac biomarkers such as BNP (B-type natriuretic peptide) or NT-proBNP (N-terminal proBNP) evaluation before and 6 to 12 months after treatment. Our objective was to evaluate associations between racial and ethnic groups in cardiac surveillance of survivors of cancer after exposure to anthracyclines.

Association of Home Monitoring and Unanticipated Interstage Readmissions in Infants With Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.

Background The impact of home monitoring on unanticipated interstage readmissions in infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome has not been previously studied. We sought to examine the association of our institution's Infant Single Ventricle Management and Monitoring Program (ISVMP) with readmission frequency, cumulative readmission days, and readmission illness severity and to identify patient-level risk factors for readmission. Methods and Results We performed a retrospective single-center cohort study comparing infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome enrolled in ISVMP (December 2010-December 2019) to historical controls (January 2007-November 2010).

State and Federal Legislators' Responses on Social Media to the Mental Health and Burnout of Health Care Workers Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic: Natural Language Processing and Sentiment Analysis.

Background: Burnout and the mental health burden of the COVID-19 pandemic have disproportionately impacted health care workers. The links between state policies, federal regulations, COVID-19 case counts, strains on health care systems, and the mental health of health care workers continue to evolve. The language used by state and federal legislators in public-facing venues such as social media is important, as it impacts public opinion and behavior, and it also reflects current policy-leader opinions and planned legislation.

Such a fun-guy! Is this or ?

Histoplasmosis is a neglected mycosis with high mortality in immunocompromised individuals. The diagnosis can be delayed due to nonspecific clinical manifestations and similar morphology with other organisms. A high index of suspicion is required.

Computational Design of Peptides for Biomaterials Applications.

Computer-aided molecular design and protein engineering emerge as promising and active subjects in bioengineering and biotechnological applications. On one hand, due to the advancing computing power in the past decade, modeling toolkits and force fields have been put to use for accurate multiscale modeling of biomolecules including lipid, protein, carbohydrate, and nucleic acids. On the other hand, machine learning emerges as a revolutionary data analysis tool that promises to leverage physicochemical properties and structural information obtained from modeling in order to build quantitative protein structure-function relationships.

A systematic review of measures of gender and biological sex: Exploring candidates for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) research.

Background: Gender and biological sex are social and structural determinants of health and umbrella concepts encompassing many distinct attributes. This systematic review summarizes measures of gender and biological sex published in the biomedical literature. The goal was to identify measures that may be useful to researchers studying Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease related dementias (AD/ADRD).

Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Inequities in Access to Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion.

Background Inequitable access to high-technology therapeutics may perpetuate inequities in care. We examined the characteristics of US hospitals that did and did not establish left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) programs, the patient populations those hospitals served, and the associations between zip code-level racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic composition and rates of LAAO among Medicare beneficiaries living within large metropolitan areas with LAAO programs. Methods and Results We conducted cross-sectional analyses of Medicare fee-for-service claims for beneficiaries aged 66 years or older between 2016 and 2019.

Krüppel-Like Factors Orchestrate Endothelial Gene Expression Through Redundant and Non-Redundant Enhancer Networks.

Background Proper function of endothelial cells is critical for vascular integrity and organismal survival. Studies over the past 2 decades have identified 2 members of the KLF (Krüppel-like factor) family of proteins, KLF2 and KLF4, as nodal regulators of endothelial function. Strikingly, inducible postnatal deletion of both KLF2 and KLF4 resulted in widespread vascular leak, coagulopathy, and rapid death.

Hetnet connectivity search provides rapid insights into how two biomedical entities are related.

Hetnets, short for "heterogeneous networks", contain multiple node and relationship types and offer a way to encode biomedical knowledge. One such example, Hetionet connects 11 types of nodes - including genes, diseases, drugs, pathways, and anatomical structures - with over 2 million edges of 24 types. Previous work has demonstrated that supervised machine learning methods applied to such networks can identify drug repurposing opportunities.

Color Vision in Blue Cone Monochromacy: Outcome Measures for a Clinical Trial.

Purpose: Blue cone monochromacy (BCM) is an X-linked retinopathy due to mutations in the OPN1LW/OPN1MW gene cluster. Symptoms include reduced visual acuity and disturbed color vision. We studied BCM color vision to determine outcome measures for future clinical trials.

Phage-resistant mutations impact bacteria susceptibility to future phage infections and antibiotic response.

Bacteriophage (phage) therapy in combination with antibiotic treatment serves as a potential strategy to overcome the continued rise in antibiotic resistance across bacterial pathogens. Understanding the impacts of evolutionary and ecological processes to the phage-antibiotic-resistance dynamic could advance the development of such combinatorial therapy. We tested whether the acquisition of mutations conferring phage resistance may have antagonistically pleiotropic consequences for antibiotic resistance.

Assessing experiences of racism among Black and White patients in the emergency department.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the differences in patient-reported experiences related to emergency department (ED) care using a post-discharge text messaging survey.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of patients discharged from the ED using an automated text messaging platform to assess patient experience and impact of race on ED care. The study was conducted for 7 weeks between August 6 and September 24, 2021.

Higher literacy is associated with better white matter integrity and cognition in middle age.

Introduction: Literacy can be a better measure of quality of education. Its association with brain health in midlife has not been thoroughly investigated.

Methods: We studied, cross-sectionally, 616 middle-aged adults (mean age of 55.

Multiple Keratoacanthomas Following Moderna Messenger RNA-1273 COVID-19 Vaccination Resolved With 5-Fluorouracil Treatment: Case Report.

Cutaneous reactions have been commonly associated with the Moderna messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine. Among the reported cutaneous side effects, there have not been any associations reported yet regarding keratoacanthoma development after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination. We report a novel case of an 86-year-old man who experienced an eruption of multiple keratoacanthomas 2 weeks after inoculation with the Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine that resolved following treatment with intralesional 5-fluorouracil.

Supplementing a widely available weight loss program with gamified inhibitory control training: A randomized pilot study.

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that targeting self-regulatory processes may improve obesity treatment outcomes. Incorporating gamification principles in inhibitory control training may promote sustained training adherence and resulting benefits. This pilot study evaluated the preliminary efficacy of supplementing an evidence-based weight management program (WW) with sustained gamified inhibitory control training (PolyRules!) on change in Body Mass Index (BMI) among adults with overweight/obesity.

Use of the O-Z flap as an alternative to free tissue transfer for reconstruction of large scalp defects.

Objective: The reconstruction of large scalp defects poses both functional and cosmetic challenges. While free tissue transfer remains the standard for defects larger than 30 cm, prolonged anesthesia and postoperative complications remain significant limitations. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of O-Z flaps for the reconstruction of large scalp defects and to describe the techniques employed.

Reconstitution of human adrenocortical specification and steroidogenesis using induced pluripotent stem cells.

The mechanisms leading to adrenal cortex development and steroid synthesis in humans remain poorly understood due to the paucity of model systems. Herein, we recapitulate human fetal adrenal cortex specification processes through stepwise induction of human-induced pluripotent stem cells through posterior intermediate mesoderm-like and adrenocortical progenitor-like states to ultimately generate fetal zone adrenal-cortex-like cells (FZLCs), as evidenced by histomorphological, ultrastructural, and transcriptome features and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-independent Δ5 steroid biosynthesis. Furthermore, FZLC generation is promoted by SHH and inhibited by NOTCH, ACTIVIN, and WNT signaling, and steroid synthesis is amplified by ACTH/PKA signaling and blocked by inhibitors of Δ5 steroid synthesis enzymes.

Systematic review of school-based tobacco prevention programs for the adolescents in India from 2000 to 2020.

In India, 14.6% of adolescents are currently using tobacco in any form and tobacco control is a major public health challenge. The objective of this systematic review is to analyze all the existing literature and evaluate the effectiveness of school-based tobacco use prevention programs for adolescents in India.

Genetics of BAG3: A Paradigm for Developing Precision Therapies for Dilated Cardiomyopathies.

Nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy is a common form of heart muscle disease in which genetic factors play a critical etiological role. In this regard, both rare disease-causing mutations and common disease-susceptible variants, in the Bcl-2-associated athanogene 3 () gene have been reported, highlighting the critical role of in cardiomyocytes and in the development of dilated cardiomyopathy. The phenotypic effects of the mutations help investigators understand the structure and function of the gene.

SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-based vaccines in the Aicardi Goutières Syndrome.

Aicardi Goutières Syndrome (AGS) is an autoinflammatory disorder resulting in sustained interferon activation through defects in nucleic acid modification and sensing pathways. Thus, mRNA-based vaccination used against SARS-CoV-2, raise disease-specific safety concerns. To assess interferon signaling, we tested mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in AGS whole blood samples.