Elevating diversity, inclusion, and health equity in Pediatric Heart Network Scholars grant funding: unique opportunities and lessons learned.

There is a growing awareness that diversity, health equity, and inclusion play a significant role in improving patient outcomes and advancing knowledge. The Pediatric Heart Network launched an initiative to incorporate diversity, health equity, and inclusion into its 2021 Scholar Award Funding Opportunity Announcement. This manuscript describes the process of incorporating diversity, health equity, and inclusion into the Pediatric Heart Network Scholar Award and the lessons learned.

Home-ics: how experiences of the home impact biology and child neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Studies on the -omics of child neurodevelopmental outcomes, e.g. genome, epigenome, microbiome, metabolome, and brain connectome aim to enable data-driven precision health to improve these outcomes, or deliver the right intervention, to the right child, at the right time.

Unstable right ventricular hypertension in pulmonary atresia and intact ventricular septum: a case report.

Arterial oxygen saturation in single ventricle patients is dependent on systemic cardiac output. Here, we describe a case of a newborn with single ventricle physiology and an unusual mechanism to explain poor cardiac output and cyanosis. This case highlights the importance of identifying and considering ventricular morphology and ventricular-ventricular interactions to understand clinical challenges.

Cytokine Storm Syndrome Associated with Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

The cytokine storm syndrome (CSS) associated with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) has widely been referred to as macrophage activation syndrome (MAS). In this chapter, we use the term sJIA-associated CSS (sJIA-CSS) when referring to this syndrome and use the term MAS when referencing publications that specifically report on sJIA-associated MAS.

Headaches in Children After Transcatheter Device Closure of Atrial Septal Defects: A Single-Centre Experience.

Background: Transcatheter device closure (TDC) is the most common treatment for isolated atrial septal defects in children. In the adult population, the incidence of new-onset migraine headache after TDC is well recognized and is estimated at 15%. New-onset headache after paediatric TDC has not been well described.

Acidification of α-granules in megakaryocytes by vacuolar-type adenosine triphosphatase is essential for organelle biogenesis.

Background: Platelets coordinate blood coagulation at sites of vascular injury and play fundamental roles in a wide variety of (patho)physiological processes. Key to many platelet functions is the transport and secretion of proteins packaged within α-granules, organelles produced by platelet precursor megakaryocytes. Prominent among α-granule cargo are fibrinogen endocytosed from plasma and endogenously synthesized von Willebrand factor.

Patient factors associated with novel EAR-Q appearance, psychosocial, and social scales: A cross-sectional study and regression analysis.

Introduction: The EAR-Q is a rigorously validated patient-reported outcome measure, which evaluates ear appearance and health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with congenital or acquired ear conditions. The aim of this study was to conduct an exploratory analysis to examine the factors associated with EAR-Q appearance and HRQL scale scores.

Methods: In this study, 862 participants, aged 8-29 years, with congenital or acquired ear conditions, completed the EAR-Q as part of an international field-test study.

Maternal tadalafil treatment does not increase uterine artery blood flow or oxygen delivery in the pregnant ewe.

Increasing placental perfusion (PP) could improve outcomes of growth-restricted fetuses. One way of increasing PP may be by using phosphodiesterase (PDE)-5 inhibitors, which induce vasodilatation of vascular beds. We used a combination of clinically relevant magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to characterize the impact that tadalafil infusion has on maternal, placental and fetal circulations.

Two for One: Merging Continuing Professional Development and Faculty Development in the CATE Curriculum for Pharmacy Preceptors.

Background: Continuing professional development (CPD) and faculty development (FD) are not traditionally combined, although there is evidence that integrating them enhances knowledge acquisition.

Objective: To explore preceptors' perceptions and the effectiveness of CATE (Clinical And Teaching Education), an education model that blends clinical content with the application of that clinical knowledge through a specified teaching technique.

Methods: Thirty-five hospital and community pharmacy preceptors from the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, participated in CATE, which consisted of a 2-hour synchronous, online workshop integrating clinical content about depression with the "One-Minute Preceptor" (OMP) teaching skill.

Human platelets contain a pool of free zinc in dense granules.

Background: Activated platelets release procoagulant factors that include Ca and Zn. Releasable Ca stores have been identified in platelet dense granules and the dense tubular system, but similar stores of free Zn have not been identified.

Objectives: Guided by studies of platelet Ca, we employed minimally disruptive methods to identify and localize concentrated free Zn in human platelets.

Why study human embryo development?

Understanding the processes and mechanisms underlying early human embryo development has become an increasingly active and important area of research. It has potential for insights into important clinical issues such as early pregnancy loss, origins of congenital anomalies and developmental origins of adult disease, as well as fundamental insights into human biology. Improved culture systems for preimplantation embryos, combined with the new tools of single cell genomics and live imaging, are providing new insights into the similarities and differences between human and mouse development.

The Relationship Between Choroidal Abnormalities and Visual Outcomes in Pediatric Patients With NF1-Associated Optic Pathway Gliomas.

Background: Choroidal abnormalities (CAs) visualized on near-infrared reflectance (NIR) imaging are a new diagnostic criterion for neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), but the association between the presence of CAs and visual function remains unknown. This study evaluated the relationship between visual acuity (VA) with the presence, number, or total area of CAs visualized by NIR in children with NF1-associated optic pathway gliomas (NF1-OPGs).

Methods: Patients (<18 years) enrolled in a prospective longitudinal study of children with NF1-associated OPGs from 3 institutions were eligible if they had optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the macula (Heidelberg Spectralis) with ≥1 year of follow-up.

Capturing the Range of Disease Involvement in Localized Scleroderma: The Localized Scleroderma Total Severity Scale.

Objective: Juvenile localized scleroderma (jLS) is a chronic autoimmune disease commonly associated with poor outcomes, including contractures, hemiatrophy, uveitis, and seizures. Despite improvements in treatment, >25% of patients with jLS have functional impairment. To improve patient evaluation, our workgroup developed the Localized scleroderma Total Severity Scale (LoTSS), an overall disease severity measure.

Fifteen Years of Spinal Fusion Outcomes in Children With Cerebral Palsy: Are We Getting Better?

Study Design: Retrospective multicenter study.

Objective: We reviewed 15-year trends in operative factors, radiographic and quality of life outcomes, and complication rates in children with cerebral palsy (CP)-related scoliosis who underwent spinal fusion.

Summary Of Background Data: Over the past two decades, significant efforts have been made to decrease complications and improve outcomes of this population.

Improving autism identification and support for individuals assigned female at birth: clinical suggestions and research priorities.

Emerging evidence suggests that the higher prevalence of autism in individuals who are assigned male than assigned female at birth results from both biological factors and identification biases. Autistic individuals who are assigned female at birth (AFAB) and those who are gender diverse experience health disparities and clinical inequity, including late or missed diagnosis and inadequate support. In this Viewpoint, an international panel of clinicians, scientists, and community members with lived experiences of autism reviewed the challenges in identifying autism in individuals who are AFAB and proposed clinical and research directions to promote the health, development, and wellbeing of autistic AFAB individuals.

Examining the validity of the use of ratio IQs in psychological assessments.

Intelligence tests are amongst the most used psychological assessments, both in research and clinical settings. To avoid missing data points, for participants who cannot complete Intelligence tests normed for their age, ratio IQ scores (RIQ) are routinely computed and used as a proxy of IQ. Here, we use the case of autism to examine the validity of this widely used, yet never scientifically validated, practice.

Change in Health-Related Quality of Life in Youth with Chronic Hepatitis B Living in North America: A 5-Year Cohort Study.

Background: Greater hepatitis-related symptomology is associated with lower health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) among untreated youth with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). How HRQoL changes over time in this population is unknown.

Methods: Children from 7 hepatology centers in North America positive for hepatitis B surface antigen, not taking anti-viral therapy, were enrolled in the Hepatitis B Research Network.

Association of Neonatal Midazolam Exposure With Hippocampal Growth and Working Memory Performance in Children Born Preterm.

Background And Objectives: Early exposure to analgesics and sedatives is a key concern for later learning disorders in children. The hippocampus, a key region for learning and memory, may be selectively affected by exposure to benzodiazepines that are commonly used for sedation, particularly in the neonatal period. In this prospective cohort study, the long-term association of neonatal midazolam exposure, a widely used benzodiazepine in neonatal intensive care, with school age hippocampal growth was examined.