Insecticides may facilitate the escape of weeds from biological control.

Background: Preventative pesticide seed treatments (hereafter preventative pest management or PPM) are common corn and soybean treatments, and often include both fungicides and neonicotinoid insecticides. While PPM is intended to protect crops from soil-borne pathogens and early season insect pests, these seed treatments may have detrimental effects on biological control of weed seeds by insects.

Methods: Here, in two 3-year corn-soy rotations in Pennsylvania USA, we investigated a PPM approach to insect management compared to an integrated pest management approach (IPM) and a "no (insect) pest management" (NPM) control.

Seizures and premature death in mice with targeted Kv1.1 deficiency in corticolimbic circuits.

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the leading cause of epilepsy-related death, likely stemming from seizure activity disrupting vital brain centres controlling heart and breathing function. However, understanding of SUDEP's anatomical basis and mechanisms remains limited, hampering risk evaluation and prevention strategies. Prior studies using a neuron-specific conditional knockout mouse model of SUDEP identified the primary importance of brain-driven mechanisms contributing to sudden death and cardiorespiratory dysregulation; yet, the underlying neurocircuits have not been identified.

Motivators and Barriers to Seeking Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Among Adolescents: A Qualitative Study.

Background: The prevalence of severe obesity among adolescents has increased the use of metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) as a therapeutic option. Understanding factors influencing adolescent MBS choice and the support needed to undergo MBS is crucial for improving health outcomes. This study examines the motivations and support needs of a diverse sample of adolescents seeking MBS via the patient voice.

Evaluating the effects, implementation experience and political economy of primary healthcare facility autonomy reforms within counties in Kenya: a mixed methods study protocol.

Introduction: There is a growing emphasis on improving primary health care services and granting frontline service providers more decision-making autonomy. In October 2023, Kenya enacted legislation mandating nationwide facility autonomy. There is limited understanding of the effects of health facility autonomy on primary health care (PHC) facilities performance.

Current and potential contributions of large-scale food fortification to meeting micronutrient requirements in Senegal: a modelling study using household food consumption data.

Introduction: Micronutrient deficiencies are common among women of reproductive age (WRA) and children in Senegal. Large-scale food fortification (LSFF) can help fill gaps in dietary intakes.

Methods: We used household food consumption data to model the contributions of existing LSFF programs (vitamin A-fortified refined oil and iron and folic acid-fortified wheat flour) and the potential contributions of expanding these programs to meeting the micronutrient requirements of WRA (15-49 years) and children (6-59 months).

Developing emergency medical care policy across Kenya: A framework for policy development.

Background And Objectives: The Kenya Emergency Medical Care (EMC) Policy 2020-2030 was created to guide the advancement of EMC throughout Kenya. This report describes and maps the ongoing EMC policy development process across Kenya's 47 counties, serving as a real-world example of EMC policy development within a decentralized healthcare system in a low-or middle-income country (LMIC).

Methods: This report evaluates the development of county-specific EMC policies using the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) six stages for policy development: 1) problem identification, 2) agenda setting, 3) policy design, 4) approval, 5) implementation, and 6) monitoring and evaluation.

Patient and Family Experience: Targets for Improvements in Care and Communication in the ICU.

This process improvement project sought to further explore the experience of patients and family members within an intensive care unit (ICU) hospital setting to develop specific interventions that can be executed to provide better patient-centered outcome. We surveyed 103 family members using the satisfaction with care subscale of Family Satisfaction with the ICU survey (FS-ICU) (validated ICU experience survey). 103 patients also completed FS-ICU subscale with a modification to make it applicable to patients.

Recruiting and Engaging Virtual Patient and Family Advisors for Rapid, Robust Feedback to Support a Large, Geographically Dispersed Clinical Practice.

A large clinical practice group sought to create a unique Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) recruitment and engagement model to support shifts in advisor expectations and support a medical group spread out across a large geographic area by providing rapid, custom patient and family feedback for quality, safety, and experience improvement. Patients are actively recruited through an online, automated application process linked to our patient surveys. Within 6 months of automated recruitment, the PFAC grew to over 200 members representing all clinical specialties and a variety of patient demographics, skills, and experiences.

Synthesis of Glycosylphosphatidylinositol Analogues with an Unnatural -D-Glucosamine-(1→6)--Inositol Motif.

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors contain a unique α-D-glucosamine-(1→6)--inositol [αGlcN(1,6)Ins] motif in their conserved core structure. To facilitate investigations of the functional roles of this structural motif, two GPI analogues containing unnatural βGlcN(1,6)Ins, instead of αGlcN(1,6)Ins, and an alkyne group at different positions of the GPI core were designed and synthesized. To this end, an orthogonally protected pseudopentasaccharide derivative of GPIs with the βGlcN(1,6)Ins motif was convergently constructed via [3+2] glycosylation and used as the common intermediate to prepare both GPI analogues by streamlined synthetic protocols.

Medical researchers' perception of sharing of metadata from case report forms.

Introduction: Publishing medical metadata stored in case report forms (CRFs) is a prerequisite for the development of a learning health system (LHS) by fostering reuse of metadata and standardization in health research. The aim of our study was to investigate medical researchers' (MRs) willingness to share CRFs, to identify reasons for and against CRF sharing, and to determine if and under which conditions MRs might consider sharing CRF metadata via a public registry.

Methods: We examined CRF data sharing commitments for 1842 interventional trials registered on the German Clinical Trials Registry (DRKS) from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021.

System-failing creativity in health care.

Introduction: Health care professionals often generate novel solutions to solve problems during day-to-day patient care. However, less is known about generating novel and useful (i.e.

Learning health system research as a catalyst for promoting physician wellness: EHR InBasket Spring cleaning and team-based compassion practice.

Introduction: Addressing physician burnout is critical for healthcare systems. As electronic health record (EHR) workload and teamwork have been identified as major contributing factors to physician well-being, we aimed to mitigate burnout through EHR-based interventions and a compassion team practice (CTP), targeting EHR workload and team cohesion.

Methods: A modified stepped wedge-clustered randomized trial was conducted, involving specialties with heavy InBasket workloads.

Lessons for a learning health system: Effectively communicating to patients about research with their health information and biospecimens.

Introduction: Sharing patient health information and biospecimens can improve health outcomes and accelerate breakthroughs in medical research. But patients generally lack understanding of how their clinical data and biospecimens are used or commercialized for research. In this mixed methods project, we assessed the impact of communication materials on patient understanding, attitudes, and perceptions.

Creating pragmatic, rapid-cycle, evidence-based innovation: The Kaiser Permanente Northern California Delivery Science and Applied Research (DARE) program.

Introduction: Ongoing crises in the quality, affordability, sustainability, value, and equity of U.S. healthcare call for rapid, massive-scale innovations across multiple specialties.

Validating a novel measure for assessing patient openness and concerns about using artificial intelligence in healthcare.

Objectives: Patient engagement is critical for the effective development and use of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled tools in learning health systems (LHSs). We adapted a previously validated measure from pediatrics to assess adults' openness and concerns about the use of AI in their healthcare.

Study Design: Cross-sectional survey.

The Complete Inpatient Record Using Comprehensive Electronic Data (CIRCE) project: A team-based approach to clinically validated, research-ready electronic health record data.

Introduction: The rapid adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems has resulted in extensive archives of data relevant to clinical research, hospital operations, and the development of learning health systems. However, EHR data are not frequently available, cleaned, standardized, validated, and ready for use by stakeholders. We describe an in-progress effort to overcome these challenges with cooperative, systematic data extraction and validation.

Using a participatory approach to identify priorities to advance LHS implementation at an academic medical center.

Introduction: Like many other academic medical centers, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) aspires to adopt learning health system (LHS) principles and practices more fully. Applying LHS principles establishes a culture where clinical and operational practices constantly generate questions and leverage information technology (IT) and methodological expertise to facilitate systematic evaluation of care delivery, health outcomes, and the effects of improvement initiatives. Despite the potential benefits, differences in priorities, timelines, and expectations spanning an academic medical center's clinical care, administrative operations, and research arms create barriers to adopting and implementing an LHS.

Linking and GenBank to the National Clinical Cohort Collaborative.

Objective: This project demonstrates the feasibility of connecting medical imaging data and features, SARS-CoV-2 genome variants, with clinical data in the National Clinical Cohort Collaborative (N3C) repository to accelerate integrative research on detection, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19-related morbidities. The N3C curated a rich collection of aggregated and de-identified electronic health records (EHR) data of over 18 million patients, including 7.5 million COVID-positive patients, seen at hospitals across the United States.

Using gaming to prepare health professional students to practice systems thinking.

Background: Healthcare professionals face numerous challenges regarding the delivery of care. Creating solutions to these challenges is imperative to improve the quality and safety of care to positively impact patient outcomes. However, health professional students rarely receive formal training regarding systems thinking during didactic components of their professional training.

The power of personas: Exploring an innovative model for understanding stakeholder perspectives in an oncology learning health network.

Introduction: Learning health networks (LHNs) improve clinical outcomes by applying core tenets of continuous quality improvements (QI) to reach community-defined outcomes, data-sharing, and empowered interdisciplinary teams including patients and caregivers. LHNs provide an ideal environment for the rapid adoption of evidence-based guidelines and translation of research and best practices at scale. When an LHN is established, it is critical to understand the needs of all stakeholders.

Early Identification of Poorly Performing Implants in Michigan With the Example of the Vanguard XP.

Background: Arthroplasty registries play a critical role in improving the quality of care and performing post-market surveillance of medical devices. We report the Michigan Arthroplasty Registry Collaborative Quality Initiative (MARCQI) findings specific to the Biomet Vanguard XP bicruciate-retaining total knee implant.

Methods: Data were collected from MARCQI's 2019 report (February 15, 2012, through December 31, 2018).

Total Hip Arthroplasty for Avascular Necrosis in a Patient With Hemophilia B.

Avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head accounts for up to 10% of all total hip arthroplasties performed annually. Typically associated with intravascular coagulation, AVN is extremely rare in patients with bleeding disorders such as hemophilia B. In this report, we describe the therapeutic management of a 46-year-old male with hemophilia B, presenting with chronic left hip pain and AVN of the femoral head.

Patient-Reported Outcomes in Robotic-Assisted vs Manual Cementless Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Background: Robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty (RA-TKA) was introduced to provide surgeons with virtual preoperative planning and intraoperative information to achieve the desired surgical goals in an effort to improve patient outcomes. The purpose of this study was to compare clinical outcomes and patient-reported outcome measures following primary TKA using RA-TKA vs manual instrumentation.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort review study comparing 393 primary RA-TKAs vs 312 manual TKAs at a minimum 2-year follow-up.

Robotic-Assistance in Total Hip Arthroplasty Is Associated With Decreased Dislocation Rates.

Background: As the use of robotics in total hip arthroplasty (THA) continues to gain popularity, differences in clinical outcomes when compared to manual techniques have remained unclear. This study aimed to compare postoperative complications between patients undergoing robotic-assisted techniques and manual THA for primary osteoarthritis at 90 days, 1 year, and 2 years.

Methods: Using an all-payer national database, we identified 405,048 patients who underwent either robotic-assisted or manual THA for primary osteoarthritis.

Synovial Fistula Associated With Total Knee Replacement Aseptic Loosening and Polyethylene Wear.

Synovial fistula of the knee occurs when a defect in the joint capsule creates a connection between skin, bursa, and a near tissue, manifesting as an opening with continuous draining fluid or a cyst. This is a case of an 80-year-old male who developed a synovial fistula with cystic presentation 6 years after the primary total knee arthroplasty. Management included a total knee arthroplasty revision surgery with intraoperative identification of the fistula with methylene blue, and using a gelatin-thrombin matrix for closure.