Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Breastfeeding Continuation Among U.S. Hispanic Mothers: Identification of Mechanisms.

We examined the extent to which social, maternal, and infant factors and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) domains-attitudes, perceived control, and subjective norms-mediate the relationship between maternal race and ethnicity and birth country, and breastfeeding continuation. A nationally representative cohort of 2,810 mothers with self-reported race, ethnicity, and birth country was used. Main outcomes included any and exclusive breastfeeding at 2-6 months of infant age.

Is American Joint Replacement Registry Data Representative of National Data? A Comparative Analysis.

Introduction: The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) is the largest registry of total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA and TKA) procedures performed in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine whether AJRR data are representative of the national experience with hip and knee arthroplasty as represented in the National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample (NIS).

Methods: All patients undergoing a THA or TKA procedure between 2012 to 2018 (AJRR) and 2012 to 2016 (NIS) were identified.

Secure Messaging Through PositiveLinks: Examination of Electronic Communication in a Clinic-Affiliated Smartphone App for Patients Living with HIV.

Secure messaging between patients and their health care team can facilitate chronic care management. PositiveLinks (PL) is a clinic-affiliated smartphone application designed for patients living with HIV that includes a secure messaging feature for patients, PL staff, and clinic providers to communicate. Our aim was to examine the content and function of messaging within PL.

Rituximab as treatment for anti-MuSK myasthenia gravis: Multicenter blinded prospective review.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of rituximab in treatment of anti-muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) myasthenia gravis (MG).

Methods: This was a multicenter, blinded, prospective review, comparing anti-MuSK-positive patients with MG treated with rituximab to those not treated with rituximab. The primary clinical endpoint was the Myasthenia Gravis Status and Treatment Intensity (MGSTI), a novel outcome that combines the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) postintervention status (PIS) and the number and dosages of other immunosuppressant therapies used.

Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in Atherosclerosis.

The historical view of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in atherosclerosis is that aberrant proliferation of VSMCs promotes plaque formation, but that VSMCs in advanced plaques are entirely beneficial, for example preventing rupture of the fibrous cap. However, this view has been based on ideas that there is a homogenous population of VSMCs within the plaque, that can be identified separate from other plaque cells (particularly macrophages) using standard VSMC and macrophage immunohistochemical markers. More recent genetic lineage tracing studies have shown that VSMC phenotypic switching results in less-differentiated forms that lack VSMC markers including macrophage-like cells, and this switching directly promotes atherosclerosis.

Antibiotic Regimen after a Total Abdominal Colectomy with Ileostomy for Fulminant Clostridium difficile Colitis: A Multi-Institutional Study.

Background: Fulminant Clostridium difficile colitis (fCDC) is a highly lethal disease with mortality rates ranging between 12% and 80%. Although often these patients require a total abdominal colectomy (TAC) with ileostomy, there is no established management protocol for post-operative antibiotics. In this study we aim to make some recommendations for post-operative antibiotic usage, while describing the practice across different institutions.

Genome-wide association study of intracranial aneurysm identifies a new association on chromosome 7.

Background And Purpose: Common variants have been identified using genome-wide association studies which contribute to intracranial aneurysms (IA) susceptibility. However, it is clear that the variants identified to date do not account for the estimated genetic contribution to disease risk.

Methods: Initial analysis was performed in a discovery sample of 2617 IA cases and 2548 controls of white ancestry.

Otoprotective properties of mannitol against gentamicin induced hair cell loss.

Background: Gentamicin is a widely used antibiotic, which causes hearing loss because of destruction of auditory hair cells. Mannitol has been shown to have cytoprotective properties in the cochlea both in vitro and in vivo. Mannitol has been shown to be safe in concentrations up to 100 mM in organ of Corti explants.

Crohn's colitis and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.

A 17 year old girl with active Crohn's colitis developed idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura that was managed with intravenous immune globulins and cyclosporin A. The possible association between Crohn's disease and immune thrombocytopenia is explored.

Empirical Groupings of Perceptions of Alcohol Use Among Alcohol Dependent Persons: A Cluster Analysis of the Alcohol Use Inventory (AUI) Scales.

Scales of the Alcohol Use Inventory (AUI) for 217 consecutive admissions (174 men, 43 women; 178 white, 39 black) to a substance abuse treatment program were cluster analyzed to empirically identify patterns of subjective perceptions regarding benefits of use, deleterious consequences of use, and styles of use. Five groupings emerged which were cross-validated by randomly splitting the total sample in half and applying the K-Means procedure to each half. Differences among these groups were found on age, education, and the personality and symptom scales of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (MCMI-II).