Inpatient service utilization amongst infants diagnosed with Respiratory Syncytial Virus infection (RSV) in the United States.

Introduction: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of hospitalization among US infants. Characterizing service utilization during infant RSV hospitalizations may provide important information for prioritizing resources and interventions.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the procedures and services received by infants hospitalized during their first RSV episode in their first RSV season, in addition to what proportion of infants died during this hospitalization.

Cardiovascular Risk Prediction Scores in Type 1 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: The extent of the performance and utility of scores for the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in persons with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) largely remains unclear.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to synthesize data on the performance of CVD risk scores in people living with T1DM.

Methods: This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Endothelial Cpt1a Inhibits Neonatal Hyperoxia-Induced Pulmonary Vascular Remodeling by Repressing Endothelial-Mesenchymal Transition.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) increases the mortality of preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). There are no curative therapies for this disease. Lung endothelial carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a (Cpt1a), the rate-limiting enzyme of the carnitine shuttle system, is reduced in a rodent model of BPD.

IL-1β-driven NF-κB transcription of ACE2 as a Mechanism of Macrophage Infection by SARS-CoV-2.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by infection with the enveloped RNA betacoronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, led to a global pandemic involving over 7 million deaths. Macrophage inflammatory responses impact COVID-19 severity; however, it is unclear whether macrophages are infected by SARS-CoV-2. We sought to identify mechanisms regulating macrophage expression of ACE2, the primary receptor for SARS-CoV-2, and to determine if macrophages are susceptible to productive infection.

Updated, detailed scoring of the activities measure for upper limb amputation (AM-ULA).

Background: The Activities Measure for Upper Limb Amputation (AM-ULA), an activity measure for prosthesis users, uses a complex grading rubric to assign a single score to task performance which may limit responsiveness.

Purpose: To enhance AM-ULA responsiveness by exploring a scoring that uses multiple grading elements.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Deployment to bases with open burn pits and mortality of US Military Veterans.

Introduction: Five million US Veterans had possible exposure to open burn pits used for waste disposal through service in Iraq (2003-2011) and Afghanistan (2001-2014). Burn pits generate toxic exposures that may be associated with adverse health outcomes. We examined all-cause and cause-specific mortality in relation to deployment to bases with open burn pits.

Service Utilization and Consumer-Reported Unmet Needs in Medicaid Home- and Community-Based Services for Older Adults.

Home- and community-based services (HCBS) are increasingly favored over nursing home care by older consumers and by policymakers. Consumer-reported unmet service needs in HCBS are important service quality and person-centeredness indicators. Yet, we know little about consumer-reported unmet needs among HCBS users.

Medically Tailored Meals in Heart Failure: A Systematic Review of the Literature, 2013-2023.

Background: Dietary interventions have potential to improve symptoms and outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF), but there are barriers to eating nutrient-dense diets. One strategy to address challenges is to provide medically tailored meals (MTMs), fully prepared meals that align with an individual's nutritional needs. In this systematic review, we examined clinical outcomes of studies that provided MTMs to patients with HF.

Involvement of USP7 in aggravating Kawasaki disease by promoting TGFβ2 signaling mediated endothelial-mesenchymal transition and coronary artery remodeling.

Kawasaki disease (KD), characterized by systematic vasculitis, is a leading cause of pediatric heart disease. Although recent studies have highlighted the critical role of deubiquitinases in vascular pathophysiology, their specific contribution to KD remains largely unknown. Herein, we investigated the function of the deubiquitinase USP7 in both KD patients and a CAWS-induced KD murine model.

Effects of optimism and stage of change on alcohol use and problems among sexual minority men with HIV participating in a brief motivational interviewing intervention.

Introduction: Disseminating effective alcohol interventions for sexual minority men (SMM) with HIV remains a crucial public health endeavor. Motivational interviewing (MI) interventions are an established approach to reducing alcohol use, yet more research is needed to determine predictors of MI treatment outcomes and underlying mechanisms related to sustained behavior change among SMM with HIV. This pre-registered secondary analysis tested whether action-related stage of change mediated effects of a MI intervention on future alcohol use and problems among SMM with HIV, and whether individual differences in trait optimism moderated these associations.

Geographic Variation in Prosthesis Prescription Disparities Between White and Black Veterans After Major Lower Limb Amputation: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis.

Objective: To examine racial disparities in lower limb prosthesis (LLP) prescription practices between White and Black veterans across different geographic levels within the United States Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and explore how racial disparities in LLP prescription practices differ by amputation level.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: VHA facilities across the United States.

ACG Clinical Guideline: Treatment of Helicobacter pylori Infection.

Helicobacter pylori is a prevalent, global infectious disease that causes dyspepsia, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric cancer. The American College of Gastroenterology commissioned this clinical practice guideline (CPG) to inform the evidence-based management of patients with H. pylori infection in North America.

Project G-SPACE: protocol for exploring the influence of green space on sleep and mental health among children.

Background: The prevention of pediatric mental health disorders is a growing health priority in the United States. While exposure to green space, such as outdoor vegetation, has been linked with improved mental health outcomes in children, little is known about the impact of green space on children's sleep. Sleep has many benefits, but the factors affecting both sleep and mental health as they relate to green space exposure are not well understood in children.

The Impact of a Guardianship Social Worker on Inpatient Time-To-Guardianship and Costs: Preliminary Findings.

Unrepresented patients who lack decision-making capacity can remain in hospitals for weeks awaiting guardianship and subsequent discharge, resulting in medically unnecessary and costly extended stays. The guardianship process is complicated and requires collaboration between the medical and legal systems. The Rocky Mountain Regional Veteran Affairs Medical Center created a guardianship social worker position to improve the guardianship process by developing subject matter expertise, infrastructure, and standardized procedures.

Racial disparities in prosthesis use, satisfaction, and physical function in upper limb amputation and the impact of veteran status.

Background: Prior research found that Black veterans with upper limb amputation (ULA) reported greater disability and need for assistance compared to White veterans. The extent to which racial disparities in outcomes exist outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs has not been explored.

Objective: To examine racial disparities in physical function and prosthesis satisfaction among individuals with ULA and assess the potential moderating role of veteran status.

Distinct comorbidity phenotypes among post-9/11 Veterans with epilepsy are linked to diverging outcomes and mortality risks.

Objective: To investigate phenotypes of comorbidity before and after an epilepsy diagnosis in a national cohort of post-9/11 Service Members and Veterans and explore phenotypic associations with mortality.

Methods: Among a longitudinal cohort of Service Members and Veterans receiving care in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) from 2002 to 2018, annual diagnoses for 26 conditions associated with epilepsy were collected over 5 years, ranging from 2 years prior to 2 years after the year of first epilepsy diagnosis. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify probabilistic comorbidity phenotypes with distinct health trajectories.

Insomnia treatment effects on negative emotionality among veterans in treatment for alcohol use disorder.

Background: Insomnia symptoms are pervasive and persistent in alcohol use disorder (AUD), though little is known about the mechanisms that underlie this association. We previously found that cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) reduced alcohol-related problems among veterans by improving insomnia severity (NCT03806491). In this planned secondary analysis of the same clinical trial data, we tested negative emotionality as one potential mechanism to explain this effect.

Measuring instability in chronic human intracortical neural recordings towards stable, long-term brain-computer interfaces.

Intracortical brain-computer interfaces (iBCIs) enable people with tetraplegia to gain intuitive cursor control from movement intentions. To translate to practical use, iBCIs should provide reliable performance for extended periods of time. However, performance begins to degrade as the relationship between kinematic intention and recorded neural activity shifts compared to when the decoder was initially trained.

Impact of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease on Sepsis Inpatient Outcomes: A Nationwide Sample Analysis (2000-2019).

Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) are reported to have an increased risk of developing severe infections, leading to hospitalizations with sepsis. However, data regarding the impact of comorbid NAFLD on in-hospital outcomes of patients with sepsis is scarce. This nationwide retrospective observational study using discharge data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS), Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality included 21,057,911 adult patients who were admitted to hospitals in the United States between 2000 and 2019 with a primary discharge diagnosis of sepsis.

Within-episode relations among simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use and continued drinking: The role of momentary subjective responses, craving, and drinking context.

Background: Simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use is associated with riskier daily drinking. However, little research has tested momentary mechanisms through which simultaneous use predicts continued drinking during acute drinking episodes. The current study tested whether simultaneous use moments predicted within-episode increases in subjective responses, craving, and continued drinking, and whether these relations were potentiated in social versus solitary settings.