Measuring health sciences students' attitudes toward persons with disabilities: Is one scale better than another?

Negative attitudes toward persons with disabilities (PWDs) can lead to stigmatization and exclusion, underscoring the need for effective tools to measure and address such attitudes in educational settings. This study compares the psychometric properties of two scales used to assess attitudes toward PWDs among health science learners: the Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons with Disabilities (MAS) and the Attitudes and Perspectives Toward Persons with Disabilities Scale (APPD). This research examines the internal consistency, factor stability, factor replicability, and convergent validity of these scales across different measurement occasions using data from second-year Medical (n = 102) and Doctor of Physical Therapy (n = 39) students.

The economic burden of diabetes in spinal fusion surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: This study aimed at comparing the costs of spinal fusion surgery between patients with and without diabetes.

Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search of four databases was conducted. A meta-analysis was performed on comparative studies examining diabetic versus non-diabetic adults undergoing cervical/lumbar fusion in terms of cost.

Physicians-in-training and advanced practice providers perceptions in managing perioperative obstructive sleep apnea: a multi-institutional survey.

Study Objectives: Physicians-in-training (residents, fellows) and Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) receive limited education on sleep disorders, including obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). They often assess patients first. We aimed to understand their views on OSA and screening for OSA in the perioperative period.

True Grit: The Tale of American Integrated Plastic Surgery Residency Applicants.

Introduction: Selecting candidates for plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS) residency is complex, involving academic metrics and intrinsic personal qualities. "Grit"-perseverance and passion for long-term goals may be one of these valued qualities. This study investigates how grit scores relate to securing a PRS residency, hypothesizing that higher grit correlates with greater matching success.

Guidelines for the standardization of pre-analytical variables for salivary biomarker studies in Alzheimer's disease research: An updated review and consensus of the Salivary Biomarkers for Dementia Research Working Group.

There is a pressing need for accessible biomarkers with high diagnostic accuracy for Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis to facilitate widespread screening, particularly in underserved groups. Saliva is an emerging specimen for measuring AD biomarkers, with distinct contexts of use that could complement blood and cerebrospinal fluid and detect various analytes. An interdisciplinary, international group of AD and related dementias (ADRD) researchers convened and performed a narrative review of published studies on salivary AD biomarkers.

Life-Space Mobility Is Related to Loneliness Among Living-Alone Older Adults: Longitudinal Analysis With Motion Sensor Data.

Background: Life-space mobility can be a behavioral indicator of loneliness. This study examined the association between life-space mobility measured with motion sensors and weekly vs. annually reported loneliness.

Total Serum Immunoglobulin E in a Cohort of Children with Food Allergy.

Background: Total serum immunoglobulin E (TsIgE) has not been examined in children with food allergy.

Objective: Evaluate associations of TsIgE with patient, household, environmental and community-level characteristics among children with food allergy.

Method: Linear mixed effect models of data from 398 Black and/or African American (B/AA) and White and/or European American (W/EA) children with allergist-diagnosed food allergy from the multi-center, observational cohort FORWARD; TsIgE in kU/L was the primary outcome measure.

Factor analysis and clustering of motor and psychiatric dimensions in idiopathic blepharospasm.

Introduction: Idiopathic blepharospasm is a clinically heterogeneous form of focal dystonia, also associated with psychiatric symptoms. The identification of the most relevant sets of motor and psychiatric manifestations may help better understand the specific phenomenology of the condition and delineate blepharospasm subtypes more accurately.

Methods: Patients with idiopathic blepharospasm were from the Dystonia Coalition project.

Demographic Profiles, Etiological Spectrum, and Anatomical Locations of the Post-Hepatic Obstructive Jaundice in Adult Population in Hadhramout Region in Yemen.

Background: Obstructive jaundice is a common health challenge in daily clinical practice caused by a heterogeneous group of benign and malignant conditions in or around extrahepatic bile ducts. This study aimed to investigate the causes of obstructive jaundice, analyze the age and sex distribution, and report the locations of obstruction.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of electronic records of patients diagnosed with obstructive jaundice in the Hadhramout region in Yemen.

Early Life Stress, DNA Methylation of NR3C1 and HSD11B2, and Oral Feeding Skill Development in Preterm Infants: A Pilot Study.

Background: Early life stress exposure in preterm infants may alter DNA methylation of NR3C1 and HSD11B2, disrupting neurobehaviors needed for oral feeding (PO) skill development.

Purpose: To (1) examine the feasibility of the study protocol; (2) describe early life stress, DNA methylation of NR3C1 and HSD11B2, and PO skill development; and (3) explore the association between DNA methylation of NR3C1 and HSD11B2 and infant characteristics, early life stress, and PO skill development.

Method: We employed a longitudinal descriptive pilot study (N = 10).

ChatGPT-4 Turbo and Meta's LLaMA 3.1: A Relative Analysis of Answering Radiology Text-Based Questions.

Aims And Objectives: This study aimed to compare the accuracy of two AI models - OpenAI's GPT-4 Turbo (San Francisco, CA) and Meta's LLaMA 3.1 (Menlo Park, CA) - when answering a standardized set of pediatric radiology questions. The primary objective was to evaluate the overall accuracy of each model, while the secondary objective was to assess their performance within subsections.

Next generation brain health: transforming global research and public health to promote prevention of dementia and reduce its risk in young adult populations.

Efforts to prevent dementia can benefit from precision interventions delivered to the right population at the right time; that is, when the potential to reduce risk is the highest. Young adults (aged 18-39 years) are a neglected population in dementia research and policy making despite being highly exposed to several known modifiable risk factors. The risk and protective factors that have the biggest effect on dementia outcomes in young adulthood, and how these associations differ across regions and groups, still remain unclear.

Change in Postpartum Visit and Contraception Rates Pre-COVID-19 to Post-Lockdown in Six U.S. Federally Qualified Health Centers.

Postpartum care, including contraception, benefits maternal health and decreases mortality, which increased in the United States with COVID-19. Pandemic disruptions to postpartum health care access in vulnerable populations are not well understood. We utilize electronic health record (EHR) data for prenatal patients ( = 2,265) at six urban Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) from one year prepandemic (January 1, 2019) through one year after the first stay-at-home orders ("lockdown") (March 31, 2021).

Durlobactam in combination with β-lactams to combat .

() presents significant clinical challenges. This study evaluated the synergistic effects of a β-lactam and β-lactamase inhibitor combination against and explored the underlying mechanisms. Synergy was assessed through MIC tests and time-kill studies, and binding affinities of nine β-lactams and BLIs to eight target receptors (L,D-transpeptidases [LDT] 1-5, D,D-carboxypeptidase, penicillin-binding protein [PBP] B, and PBP-lipo) were assessed using mass spectrometry and kinetic studies.

Performance of study partner reports in a non-demented at-risk sample.

Introduction: The Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Scale is a gold standard for staging impairment in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias (ADRD). The Quick Dementia Rating System (QDRS) offers similar results in 3 to 5 minutes without a trained clinician. This study aimed to (1) investigate concordance between comparably derived QDRS and CDR global scores, (2) examine item-level QDRS/CDR agreement, and (3) compare sample characteristics and cognitive performance across QDRS/CDR global concordant/discordant groups.

Restorative Justice Practices as a Foundation for Medical Education Innovation.

Background: Restorative justice (RJ) is an ethical lens that places emphasis on a community's connection and proliferative impact of actions, promoting communication and establishing methods for accountability. RJ practices can be applied on a spectrum, including proactive community-building practices, community discussions in response to an event, and restorative conferences addressing specific incidences of harm. This article describes an intervention that utilized RJ community-building practices within a medical education environment and evaluates its acceptability and feasibility.

Can Machine Learning Identify Patients Who are Appropriate for Outpatient Open Reduction and Internal Fixation of Distal Radius Fractures?

Purpose: This study aimed to identify which patients were "unsafe" for outpatient surgery patients and determine the most predictive demographic and clinical factors contributing to postoperative risk following open reduction internal fixation for distal radius fractures.

Methods: Adult patients (aged ≥18 years) who presented with distal radius fracture and underwent open reduction internal fixation were identified using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database for years 2016 to 2021. Patients who were deemed "unsafe" therefore contraindicated for outpatient open reduction internal fixation of distal radius fracture if they required admission (length of stay of one or more days) or experienced any complication or required readmission within 7 days of the index operation.

Effects of vagus nerve stimulation on daily function and quality of life in markedly treatment-resistant major depression: Findings from a one-year, randomized, sham-controlled trial.

Background: Depression treatments aim to minimize symptom burden and optimize quality of life (QoL) and psychosocial function.

Objective: Compare the effects of adjunctive versus sham vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on QoL and function in markedly treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

Methods: In this multicenter, double-blind, sham-controlled trial, 493 adults with TRD and ≥4 adequate but unsuccessful antidepressant treatment trials (current episode) were randomized to active (n = 249) or sham (n = 244) VNS (plus treatment as usual) over a 12-month observation period.

Pediatric to Adult Care Transition in the Hospital Context (PATCH) Tool: A Novel Tool to Assess Pediatric Institutional Guidelines for Inpatient Care of Adults.

Objective: The growing number of adults with childhood onset chronic conditions (COCC) is reflected in the increase of adult-aged admissions to pediatric institutions. Despite national bodies advising pediatric institutions to have a pediatric to adult health care transition (HCT) policy, little guidance is available on if or how to include inpatient care. We sought to create a framework-based Pediatric to Adult Transitional Care in the Hospital Context (PATCH) tool to assess how inpatient care of adults is addressed in pediatric institutional guidelines or policies (hereafter guidelines) as a first step towards informing future PATCH guideline development.