Functional principal component analysis with informative observation times.

Functional principal component analysis has been shown to be invaluable for revealing variation modes of longitudinal outcomes, which serve as important building blocks for forecasting and model building. Decades of research have advanced methods for functional principal component analysis, often assuming independence between the observation times and longitudinal outcomes. Yet such assumptions are fragile in real-world settings where observation times may be driven by outcome-related processes.

Analyzing Potential Non-Ignorable Selection Bias in an Off-Wave Mail Survey Implemented in a Long-Standing Panel Study.

Typical design-based methods for weighting probability samples rely on several assumptions, including the random selection of sampled units according to known probabilities of selection and ignorable unit nonresponse. If any of these assumptions are not met, weighting methods that account for the probabilities of selection, nonresponse, and calibration may not fully account for the potential selection bias in a given sample, which could produce misleading population estimates. This analysis investigates possible selection bias in the 2019 Health Survey Mailer (HSM), a sub-study of the longitudinal Health and Retirement Study (HRS).

On the Perception of Moral Standing to Blame.

Is everyone equally justified in blaming another's moral transgression? Across five studies (four pre-registered; total = 1,316 American participants), we investigated the perception of -the appropriateness and legitimacy for someone to blame a moral wrongdoing. We propose and provide evidence for a moral commitment hypothesis-a blamer is perceived to have low moral standing to blame a moral transgressor if the blamer demonstrates weak commitment to that moral rule. As hypothesized, we found that when blamers did not have the chance or relevant experience to demonstrate good commitment to a moral rule, participants generally believed that they had high moral standing to blame.

MT-Keyboard: A Bayesian Model-assisted Interval Design to Account for Toxicity Grades and Types for Phase I Trials.

Conventionally, dose finding trials are based on dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) that only captures the most severe toxicities, e.g., treatment related grade 3 or higher toxicity according to the NCI Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events.

Smoke-free hospitality environments and cognitive health: A population-based study in the United States.

Introduction: Cigarette smoking is among the largest risk factors for cognitive decline in later life. This study examines the associations between hospitality smoke-free coverage in the US and the prevalence of self-rated cognitive function decline and disparities therein.

Methods: I use the repeated cross-sectional Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance data collected between 2017 and 2022 from a sample of Americans 45 years and older and estimate logistic regression models predicting self-rated cognitive function decline by calculated smoke-free hospitality coverage in restaurants and bars.

Epidemiological, economic and humanistic burden of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in Europe: A systematic literature review.

Introduction: High-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is a premalignant lesion of the cervix caused by persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which can lead to cervical cancer. Despite ongoing primary prevention efforts, considerable burden of illness remains. This study assessed the epidemiological, economic, and humanistic burden associated with high-grade CIN among adult women in Europe.

Comparison of percutaneous coronary intervention vs coronary artery bypass graft for left main coronary artery disease in patients with prior cerebrovascular disease: A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression.

Background: Previous studies suggest similar cardiovascular (CV) benefits for either percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) in patients with left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD). However, limited data exist on the influence of prior cerebrovascular disease (CEVD). Thus, we aim to compare the CV outcomes in patients with LMCAD and prior CEVD, undergoing either PCI or CABG.

The burden of group A (GAS) infections: The challenge continues in the twenty-first century.

is a Gram-positive bacterium, also known as Group A (GAS), that has become a significant threat to the healthcare system, infecting more than 18 million people and resulting in more than 500,000 deaths annually worldwide. GAS infection rates decreased gradually during the 20th century in Western countries, largely due to improved living conditions and access to antibiotics. However, post-COVID-19, the situation has led to a steep increase in GAS infection rates in Europe, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, which triggers a global concern.

Millimeter-scale radioluminescent power for electronic sensors.

The storage and generation of electrical energy at the mm-scale is a core roadblock to realizing many untethered miniature systems, including industrial, environmental, and medically implanted sensors. We describe the potential to address the sensor energy requirement in a two-step process by first converting alpha radiation into light, which can then be translated into electrical power through a photovoltaic harvester circuit protected by a clear sealant. Different phosphorescent and scintillating materials were mixed with the alpha-emitter Th-227, and the conversion efficiency of europium-doped yttrium oxide was the highest at around 2%.

Development and application of a non-targeted analysis method using GC-MS and LC-MS for identifying chemical contaminants in drinking water via point-of-use filters.

While many chemicals are regulated and routinely monitored in drinking water, they represent just a portion of all contaminants that may be present. Typical drinking water analyses involve sampling one liter or less of water, which could lead to trace level contaminants going undetected. In this study, a method was developed for using point-of-use activated carbon block drinking water filters as sampling devices.

A faunal inventory of methane seeps on the Pacific margin of Costa Rica.

The methane seeps on the Pacific margin of Costa Rica support extensive animal diversity and offer insights into deep-sea biogeography. During five expeditions between 2009 and 2019, we conducted intensive faunal sampling via 63 submersible dives to 11 localities at depths of 300-3600 m. Based on these expeditions and published literature, we compiled voucher specimens, images, and 274 newly published DNA sequences to present a taxonomic inventory of macrofaunal and megafaunal diversity with a focus on invertebrates.

MiMICRI: Towards Domain-centered Counterfactual Explanations of Cardiovascular Image Classification Models.

The recent prevalence of publicly accessible, large medical imaging datasets has led to a proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) models for cardiovascular image classification and analysis. At the same time, the potentially significant impacts of these models have motivated the development of a range of explainable AI (XAI) methods that aim to explain model predictions given certain image inputs. However, many of these methods are not developed or evaluated with domain experts, and explanations are not contextualized in terms of medical expertise or domain knowledge.

Fibromuscular Dysplasia Clinical Phenotype Manifesting as a Distal Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection in a Middle-Aged Man.

Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is a non-atherosclerotic, non-inflammatory vascular disease of medium-sized arteries that causes abnormal cellular growth in arterial walls and most commonly affects young to middle-aged women (20-50 years of age). While FMD often involves the renal arteries, it can affect any arterial bed. FMD has a characteristic angiographic appearance of a "string of beads.

Retraction: Silent Myocardial Infarction: A Case Report.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.7759/cureus.43906.

The role of dentate status and dental caries on diabetes-related complications: a hospital-based cross-sectional study.

This study explored the role of dentate status and dental caries on diabetes-related complications among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A hospital-based cross-sectional design was applied to collect data on diabetic patients attending integrated services for non-communicable diseases and oral health at a public hospital in Thailand. Diabetic complication outcomes included diabetic eye and foot complications and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Second-line treatment patterns and outcomes in advanced HCC after progression on atezolizumab/bevacizumab.

Background & Aims: Atezolizumab/bevacizumab (A/B) is now a standard first-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the optimal second-line regimen is not known. We evaluated real-world treatment patterns and outcomes to investigate factors associated with post-progression survival (PPS).

Methods: In this multicenter, international, retrospective study, we examined clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with advanced HCC who progressed on first-line A/B.

Modeling and correction of protein conformational disease in iPSC-derived neurons through personalized base editing.

Altered protein conformation can cause incurable neurodegenerative disorders. Mutations in , the gene encoding neuroserpin, can alter protein conformation resulting in cytotoxic aggregation leading to neuronal death. Familial encephalopathy with neuroserpin inclusion bodies (FENIB) is a rare autosomal dominant progressive myoclonic epilepsy that progresses to dementia and premature death.

Psychological effects of mould and damp in the home: scoping review.

People spend a substantial amount of time at home, so it is important that homes are safe, healthy environments. Damp and mould represent common housing problems but little is known about their potential psychological effects. This scoping review explores existing literature on the relationship between household damp/mould and psychological wellbeing.

Achievement of guideline-based lipid goals among very-high-risk patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes: results in 213,380 individuals from the cvMOBIUS2 registry.

Objective: Lowering lipid to reach guideline-indicated goals significantly reduces cardiovascular outcomes in very-high-risk (VHR) patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and type 2 diabetes (DM2). How well VHR patients currently achieve these goals in community practice is unknown.

Methods: VHR patients with ASCVD and DM2 were identified across 14 US healthcare systems using electronic health records between 1/1/2021-12/31/2022.

A rare case of double pituitary prolactinomas: the diagnostic application of intraoperative ultrasonography and DNA methylation markers.

The aim of this study is to describe the management and evolution of a patient with the rare condition of double lactotroph tumors and assess the role of intraoperative ultrasonography (IOUS) for their detection and methylation-based liquid biopsy for their diagnosis and monitoring. A 29-year-old woman diagnosed with double lactotroph tumors through hormonal and MRI workup underwent surgical resection due to cabergoline intolerance. To detect a tumor missing through visual inspection, IOUS was performed.

Effects of tributyltin on placental and reproductive abnormalities in offspring.

Tributyltin (TBT) is an organotin compound and a common persistent environmental pollutant with endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) actions. It can accumulate in the environment at various concentrations throughout the food chain in the ecosystem, posing a risk to human health, especially during critical periods such as gestation and fetal and offspring development. In this review, we report the results of studies describing the consequences of TBT exposure on placental and reproductive parameters in offspring of both sexes.

Evaluating the diagnostic utility of the flexion-compression test for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Background: We sought to determine the diagnostic utility of the flexion-compression (F-C) test for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Using electrodiagnostic testing as the gold standard, we hypothesized that the F-C test would be a better diagnostic test for CTS as compared to the wrist flexion (Phalen's) or palmar compression (Durkan's) tests alone.

Methods: We studied patients who presented with and without CTS symptoms, designated as study and control group patients, respectively.

Using machine and deep learning to predict short-term complications following trigger digit release surgery.

Background: Trigger finger is a common disorder of the hand characterized by pain and locking of the digits during flexion or extension. In cases refractory to nonoperative management, surgical release of the A1 pulley can be performed. This study evaluates the ability of machine learning (ML) techniques to predict short-term complications following trigger digit release surgery.

A retrospective comparison of absorbable versus non-absorbable sutures for elective hand surgery wound closures.

Background: Suture selection in elective hand surgery closures has traditionally been non-absorbable sutures (NAS) rather than absorbable sutures (AS). The goal of this study was to evaluate absorbable versus non-absorbable closures of various primary elective hand procedures. Our group hypothesized that no differences in major short-term outcomes would exist.