Novel left ventricular mechanical index in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Ventricular interdependence plays an important role in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). It can decrease left ventricular (LV) longitudinal strain (LVLS) and lead to a leftward displacement ("transverse shortening") of the interventricular septum (sTS). For this study, we hypothesized the ratio of LVLS/sTS would be a sensitive marker of systolic ventricular interactions in PAH.

Using selection models to assess sensitivity to publication bias: A tutorial and call for more routine use.

In meta-analyses, it is critical to assess the extent to which publication bias might have compromised the results. Classical methods based on the funnel plot, including Egger's test and Trim-and-Fill, have become the de facto default methods to do so, with a large majority of recent meta-analyses in top medical journals (85%) assessing for publication bias exclusively using these methods. However, these classical funnel plot methods have important limitations when used as the sole means of assessing publication bias: they essentially assume that the publication process favors large point estimates for small studies and does not affect the largest studies, and they can perform poorly when effects are heterogeneous.

Time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (TR-ARPES) of TMDC monolayers and bilayers.

Many unique properties in two-dimensional (2D) materials and their heterostructures rely on charge excitation, scattering, transfer, and relaxation dynamics across different points in the momentum space. Understanding these dynamics is crucial in both the fundamental study of 2D physics and their incorporation in optoelectronic and quantum devices. A direct method to probe charge carrier dynamics with momentum resolution is time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (TR-ARPES).

Sound-guided assessment and localization of pulmonary air leak.

Pulmonary air leak is the most common complication of lung surgery, with air leaks that persist longer than 5 days representing a major source of post-surgery morbidity. Clinical management of air leaks is challenging due to limited methods to precisely locate and assess leaks. Here, we present a sound-guided methodology that enables rapid quantitative assessment and precise localization of air leaks by analyzing the distinct sounds generated as the air escapes through defective lung tissue.

A cross-sectional study comparing the inflammatory profile of menstrual effluent vs. peripheral blood.

Background And Aims: Cytokine profiles of peripheral blood and other bodily fluids provide diagnostic indicators for assessing inflammatory processes. Menstrual effluent may provide a noninvasive source of biological material for monitoring cytokine levels in blood and in endometrial tissues. This pilot study investigated the potential of measuring cytokines in menstrual effluent, and compared the cytokine profiles of menstrual versus peripheral blood.

Influence of patient-specific factors when comparing multifidus fat infiltration between chronic low back pain patients and asymptomatic controls.

Introduction: Many studies have attempted to link multifidus (MF) fat infiltration with muscle quality and chronic low back pain (cLBP), but there is no consensus on these relationships.

Methods: In this cross-sectional cohort study, 39 cLBP patients and 18 asymptomatic controls were included. The MF muscle was manually segmented at each lumbar disc level and fat fraction (FF) measurements were taken from the corresponding advanced imaging water-fat images.

Implementation of a "Patient Blood Management" program in medium sized hospitals: Results of a survey among German hemotherapists.

Background And Aims: Germany uses more blood transfusions than the majority of other countries. The objective of this study was to detect the degree of Patient Blood Management (PBM) implementation within Germany and to identify obstacles to establishing PBM programs.

Methods: An electronical questionnaire containing 21 questions and 4 topics was sent in 2018 to the members of the German interdisciplinary hemotherapy (IAKH) society in Germany.

Recent tPA administration can cause pseudo-hyperargininemia and may mimic arginase deficiency or arginine supplementation.

Individuals suspected of or diagnosed with a rare disorder, including inherited metabolic disorders (IMD), often need frequent and/or urgent vascular access for blood draws and treatment, making central indwelling catheters commonly used devices in this patient population. These indwelling catheters are prone to thrombosis, limiting vascular access. This complication is frequently resolved with the use of altepase, a recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (tPA).

Implementation experience and initial assessment of a rural women's health training program in support of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a learning health system.

Introduction: The increasing number of women Veterans receiving health care from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has spurred the need for more women's health primary care providers (PCPs) and nurses, including in rural areas nationwide. Here we report on the implementation of a women's health rural workforce training program, demonstrate initial evidence of its effectiveness within VHA as a Learning Health System, and present lessons learned and implications for other workforce training programs.

Methods: The Women's Health Primary Care Mini-Residency for Rural Providers and Nurses (Rural WH-MR) is a mobile VHA training initiative adapted from a national training model.

Trust in COVID-19 public health information.

Understanding the factors that influence trust in public health information is critical for designing successful public health campaigns during pandemics such as COVID-19. We present findings from a cross-sectional survey of 454 US adults-243 older (65+) and 211 younger (18-64) adults-who responded to questionnaires on human values, trust in COVID-19 information sources, attention to information quality, self-efficacy, and factual knowledge about COVID-19. Path analysis showed that trust in direct personal contacts ( = 0.

Reliably obtaining white light from layered halide perovskites at room temperature.

The recent observation of broadband white-light emission from the inorganic sheets of certain layered lead-bromide perovskites has instigated a multitude of studies on this unusual phenomenon. However, the vast majority of layered bromide perovskites have flat (001) inorganic sheets and display a narrow photoluminescence at room temperature. A handful of heavily distorted (001) perovskites display broad emission, but to date, there is no method of predicting which perovskites will produce white light at room temperature prior to screening different organic molecules that can template 2D perovskites and crystallizing and analyzing the material.

Charting the landscape of the environmental exposome.

The exposome depicts the total exposures in the lifetime of an organism. Human exposome comprises exposures from environmental and humanistic sources. Biological, chemical, and physical environmental exposures pose potential health threats, especially to susceptible populations.

Midfacial development and the wisdom of teeth: A case series.

The alignment of third molars has largely been overlooked by orthodontists. Since difficulties arise during their eruption, a plethora of surgical procedures is advocated for their management, including prophylactic extraction. This case series describes the use of midfacial development in 4 patients and illustrates successful patterns of third molar eruption.

Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute GoDeep: A meta-registry merging deep phenotyping datafrom international PH reference centers.

The Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute GoDeep meta-registry is a collaboration of pulmonary hypertension (PH) reference centers across the globe. Merging worldwide PH data in a central meta-registry to allow advanced analysis of the heterogeneity of PH and its groups/subgroups on a worldwide geographical, ethnical, and etiological landscape (ClinTrial. gov NCT05329714).

Elucidating tricuspid Doppler signal interpolation and its implication for assessing pulmonary hypertension.

Doppler echocardiography plays a central role in the assessment of pulmonary hypertension (PAH). We aim to improve quality assessment of systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (SPAP) by applying a cubic polynomial interpolation to digitized tricuspid regurgitation (TR) waveforms. Patients with PAH and advanced lung disease were divided into three cohorts: a derivation cohort ( = 44), a validation cohort ( = 71), an outlier cohort ( = 26), and a non-PAH cohort ( = 44).

Enzyme-photo-coupled catalysis in gas-sprayed microdroplets.

Enzyme-photo-coupled catalysis produces fine chemicals by combining the high selectivity of an enzyme with the green energy input of sunlight. Operating a large-scale system, however, remains challenging because of the significant loss of enzyme activity caused by continuous illumination and the difficulty in utilizing solar energy with high efficiency at large scale. We present a large-scale enzyme-photo-coupled catalysis system based on gas-sprayed microdroplets.

Prediction of patient outcomes through social determinants of health: The Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry (PHAR) evaluation.

Outcomes of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) may be associated with social determinants of health (SDOH) and other baseline patient characteristics. At present, there is no prognostic model to predict important patient outcomes in PAH based on SDOH. Utilizing information from the Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry (PHAR), we derive a model (PHAR Evaluation or PHARE) to predict an important composite patient outcomes based on SDOH and other patient characteristics.

Gelation and yielding behavior of polymer-nanoparticle hydrogels.

Polymer-nanoparticle hydrogels are a unique class of self-assembled, shear-thinning, yield-stress fluids that have demonstrated potential utility in many impactful applications. Here, we present a thorough analysis of the gelation and yielding behavior of these materials with respect to the polymer and nanoparticle component stoichiometry. Through comprehensive rheological and diffusion studies, we reveal insights into the structural dynamics of the polymer nanoparticle network that identify that stoichiometry plays a key role in gelation and yielding, ultimately enabling the development of hydrogel formulations with unique shear-thinning and yield-stress behaviors.

Biomarker derived risk scores predict venous thromboembolism and major bleeding among patients with COVID-19.

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk is increased in patients with COVID-19 infection. Understanding which patients are likely to develop VTE may inform pharmacologic VTE prophylaxis decision making. The hospital-associated venous thromboembolism-Intermountain Risk Score (HA-VTE IMRS) and the hospital-associated major bleeding-Intermountain Risk Score (HA-MB IMRS) are risk scores predictive of VTE and bleeding that were derived from only patient age and data found in the complete blood count (CBC) and basic metabolic panel (BMP).

Abnormal platelet aggregation in pediatric pulmonary hypertension.

Endogenous prostacyclin stimulates pulmonary vasodilation and inhibits platelet aggregation. For the synthetic analog treprostinil, used in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH), conflicting, anecdotal evidence exists regarding its effects on clinically relevant platelet function. This study investigated whether treprostinil therapy results in inhibition of platelet aggregation in pediatric PH patients.

Infantile ischemic stroke secondary to profound arteriopathy.

Pediatric arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) is an uncommon emergency department (ED) presentation. We share the case of a 4-month-old female with a chief complaint of irritability and difficulty feeding. During ED evaluation, she developed lateral gaze deviation, tongue deviation, and rhythmic leg movements.

First Plant Cell Atlas symposium report.

The Plant Cell Atlas (PCA) community hosted a virtual symposium on December 9 and 10, 2021 on single cell and spatial omics technologies. The conference gathered almost 500 academic, industry, and government leaders to identify the needs and directions of the PCA community and to explore how establishing a data synthesis center would address these needs and accelerate progress. This report details the presentations and discussions focused on the possibility of a data synthesis center for a PCA and the expected impacts of such a center on advancing science and technology globally.

Sex and race visual representation in emergency medicine textbooks and the hidden curriculum.

Introduction: In addition to formal training, informal training often occurs through a hidden curriculum. As the hidden curriculum shapes the knowledge and values held by learners, we must consider its role in implicit bias. One example is through the selection of images used in formal instruction.