Challenges and Opportunities of Vision Screening and Refractive Error Management for Underserved Children in the United States.

Uncorrected refractive error is a key cause of childhood visual impairment in the United States. As pediatric vision issues are often asymptomatic, vision screenings are essential to identify children's eye problems. Despite the importance of vision for children's health, well-being, and academic achievement, challenges remain in ensuring that children have equitable access to vision screenings and follow-up eye care.

KaMLs for Predicting Protein p Values and Ionization States: Are Trees All You Need?

Despite its importance in understanding biology and computer-aided drug discovery, the accurate prediction of protein ionization states remains a formidable challenge. Physics-based approaches struggle to capture the small, competing contributions in the complex protein environment, while machine learning (ML) is hampered by the scarcity of experimental data. Here, we report the development of p ML (KaML) models based on decision trees and graph attention networks (GAT), exploiting physicochemical understanding and a new experiment p database (PKAD-3) enriched with highly shifted p's.

Modelling a pathological GSX2 variant that selectively alters DNA binding reveals hypomorphic mouse basal ganglia and hindbrain defects.

Gsx2 is a homeodomain transcription factor critical for development of the ventral telencephalon and hindbrain of the mouse. Loss of Gsx2 function results in severe basal ganglia dysgenesis as well as defects in the nucleus tractus solitarius (nTS) of the hindbrain together with respiratory failure at birth. De Mori et al.

Emergent Carotid Stenting During Thrombectomy in Tandem Occlusions Secondary to Dissection: A STOP-CAD Secondary Study.

The optimal endovascular management of cervical carotid dissection causing tandem occlusion remains uncertain. We investigated the impact of emergent carotid stenting during endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in patients with tandem occlusion secondary to cervical carotid artery dissection. This was a secondary analysis of patients treated with EVT for AIS due to occlusive carotid artery dissection and tandem occlusion included in the retrospective international Antithrombotic Treatment for Stroke Prevention in Cervical Artery Dissection (STOP-CAD) study.

Non-Traumatic Intracranial Hemorrhage and Risk of Incident Dementia in U.S. Medicare Beneficiaries.

To study the risk of incident dementia after a non-traumatic intracranial hemorrhage in a diverse US population, and evaluate if this risk is different for the subtypes of intracranial hemorrhage. We performed a retrospective cohort study using both inpatient and outpatient claims data on Medicare beneficiaries between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2018. The exposure was a new diagnosis of non-traumatic intracranial hemorrhage, defined as a composite of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and subdural hemorrhage (SDH).

Transforming Early Stroke Care Through Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit Rendezvous With Rural Emergency Medical Services.

Background: Mobile stroke units, also sometimes called Mobile Stroke Treatment Units (MSTUs) are changing the paradigm of acute stroke care and are considered to be an extension of the time is brain concept. Of the <20 active Mobile Stroke Programs in the United States, most are rooted in urban settings. In July 2023, the first MSTU in Florida was launched in Alachua County, implementing a unique and innovative rendezvous process with rural emergency medical services (EMS).

Validation of a Novel MRI Biomarker of Infarct Severity to Predict Functional Outcome After Endovascular Thrombectomy.

Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) dramatically improves clinical outcomes, but the final infarct volume (FIV) on MRI only accounts for a minority of the treatment effect. An imaging biomarker that more strongly correlates with post-EVT functional outcome would be helpful for clinical prognosis and serve as a surrogate outcome measure in trials of EVT-adjuvant therapies. Here, we aimed to validate a novel MRI-based metric, infarct density, which leverages post-EVT apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) as a marker of infarct severity.

Impaired Resting State Functional Connectivity in CADASIL Mutant Mice.

Cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy, subcortical infarcts, and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is the most prevalent monogenic inherited cause of cerebral small-vessel disease. Despite its prevalence, there is currently no proven therapy to prevent or reverse the progression of the disease. This study aimed to characterize the functional integrity of long white matter tracts in CADASIL transgenic mice, both with and without focal white matter lesions in the corpus callosum added on, utilizing optical resting-state functional connectivity imaging alongside behavioral examinations.

Trends in Dupilumab-Related Payments to Physicians Across Five Specialties.

Background: Dupilumab was first approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2017 for atopic dermatitis and has since been approved for many other indications. The use of dupilumab has grown, but industry payments to physicians have yet to be explored.

Objective: The study objective is to characterize the change in payments by pharmaceutical companies to physicians for dupilumab-related promotional activities.

Ten-Year Trends in Last Known Well to Arrival Time in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients: 2014 to 2023.

Background: Many national initiatives focus on promoting early hospital arrival of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) because treatment effectiveness is time-dependent. However, several studies reported time-delays in hospital arrival, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our purpose was to evaluate the 10-year trends in last known well to arrival (LKWA) time and assess disparities in patients with AIS.

US general population food allergy treatment preferences: a discrete choice experiment.

Objective: To quantify treatment preferences for food allergy management options (oral immunotherapy, biologic therapy, and allergen avoidance), overall and by sociodemographic strata.

Methods: A US general population (≥13 years) discrete choice experiment (DCE) conducted comprised of 12 treatment-feature focused DCE choice sets; the Intolerance of Uncertainty─12 Scale (IUS-12); and clinical/demographic questions. Conditional logistic regression analyses were conducted overall and by age, income, urbanization, educational attainment, food and other sociodemographic factors, and presented as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Clinical Utility of Zuranolone for Postpartum Depression: A Narrative Review.

Peripartum depression (PPD) affects approximately one in every eight birthing individuals. Despite a high prevalence, PPD is underdiagnosed and undertreated. Several PPD treatment options exist including psychotherapies, conventional serotonergic-based antidepressants and alternative and integrative medicine approaches.

Global Epidemiology and Implications of I148M Variant in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background & Aims: rs738409 variant is a risk factor for onset and progression of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). We aimed to assess its global prevalence, clinical and histological characteristics, and long-term outcomes in patients with MASLD.

Methods: PubMed and Embase databases were searched until December 30, 2023, for observational studies on genotyped adults with MASLD.

Trends in the prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease in the United States, 1999-2018.

Background: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is an escalating public health concern in the United States, linked with significant morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Despite known risk factors like age, hypertension, and diabetes, comprehensive studies examining temporal trends in CKD prevalence are scarce. This study aims to analyze these trends using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Evolution of artificial intelligence in healthcare: a 30-year bibliometric study.

Introduction: In recent years, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, including machine learning, deep learning, and large language models, has significantly supported clinical work. Concurrently, the integration of artificial intelligence with the medical field has garnered increasing attention from medical experts. This study undertakes a dynamic and longitudinal bibliometric analysis of AI publications within the healthcare sector over the past three decades to investigate the current status and trends of the fusion between medicine and artificial intelligence.

Therapeutic benefits of glycerol in dry eye disease.

Dry eye disease (DED) is one of the most commonly diagnosed eye disorders, with a prevalence ranging from 5 to 50%, depending on the geographic location. DED is a multifactorial disorder of the tears and ocular surface, which results in symptoms of discomfort, visual disturbance, and tear film instability with potential damage to the ocular surface. It is also accompanied by increased osmolarity of the tear film and inflammation of the surface of the eye.

Acute kidney injury and ANCA positivity in a patient treated with glecaprevir/pibrentasvir: a case report.

Background: Glecaprevir/pibrentasvir is an effective antiviral therapy for hepatitis C virus infection and is generally regarded safe in patients with renal impairment. However, renal complications are a notable, albeit rare, concern.

Case Presentation: We report a case of acute kidney injury in a man in his 50s with chronic hepatitis C virus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, morbid obesity, a history of heroin dependence, and untreated type 2 diabetes mellitus.

A scoping review and expert consensus on digital determinants of health.

Objective: To map how social, commercial, political and digital determinants of health have changed or emerged during the recent digital transformation of society and to identify priority areas for policy action.

Methods: We systematically searched MEDLINE, Embase and Web of Science on 24 September 2023, to identify eligible reviews published in 2018 and later. To ensure we included the most recent literature, we supplemented our review with non-systematic searches in PubMed® and Google Scholar, along with records identified by subject matter experts.

Digitalization of health care in low- and middle-income countries.

The rising incidence of noncommunicable diseases, combined with the costs of mitigating climate change, sovereign debt and regional conflicts, is undermining global health security and threatening progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals of the United Nations. The negative impact of these polycrises is disproportionately borne by low- and middle-income countries, which have the highest disease burden and lowest health-care spending. Health digitalization is emerging as a promising countermeasure, accelerated by artificial intelligence (AI) software and quantum computing hardware.

Artificial intelligence, recessionary pressures and population health.

Economic and labour policies have a considerable influence on health and well-being through direct financial impacts, and by shaping social and physical environments. Strong economies are important for public health investment and employment, yet the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to reshape economies, presenting challenges beyond mere temporary market disruption. Generative AI can perform non-routine cognitive tasks, previously unattainable though traditional automation, creating new efficiencies.

Fixed start method for repetitive project scheduling with simulated annealing.

This research deals with the high project completion variability by presenting a new method to decrease such variability in repetitive construction projects. To achieve this, a Fixed Start Method (FSM) -where the starts of each activity with a high level of probabilistic confidence for the planned project duration are fixed- was applied, where the high level of probabilistic confidence obtained was optimized with the use of the metaheuristic algorithm called Simulated Annealing (SA). This procedure evaluated the project completion in a case study based on the coefficient of variance (COV) of the resulting standard deviation, mean, and temperature selected for the SA.

Treatment approaches in advanced penile cancer: targeted therapies and immunotherapy.

Penile cancer is a rare genitourinary malignancy which can be treated with surgery or radiation for localized disease, but often requires systemic treatment with chemotherapy for recurrent or metastatic disease. With the emergence of immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapies for specific genomic aberrations in the treatment of over a dozen other cancers, recent studies have sought to identify therapies other than chemotherapy in treating this uncommon cancer. Several ongoing trials involving immune checkpoint inhibitors, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and antibody drug conjugates are attempting to identify additional therapies.

Influence of Acquisition Parameters on Silver Sulfide Nanoparticle Contrast in Photon-Counting Digital Mammography: A Phantom Study.

Photon-counting mammography is an emerging modality that allows for spectral imaging and provides a differentiation of material compositions. The development of photon-counting mammography-specific contrast agents has yet to be explored. In this study, the contrast, sensitivity, and organ dose between silver sulfide nanoparticles (AgS-NPs) and a clinically approved iodinated agent (iopamidol) were investigated using a contrast-embedded gradient ramp phantom and a prototype scanner.