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The safety and efficacy of sofosbuvir–velpatasvir in children aged 3–17 years with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection of any genotype were evaluated. In this Phase 2, multicenter, open‐label study, patients received once daily for 12 weeks either sofosbuvir–velpatasvir 400/100 mg tablet (12–17 years), 200/50 mg low dose tablet or oral granules (3–11 years and ≥17 kg), or 150/37.5 mg oral granules (3–5 years and <17 kg). The efficacy endpoint was sustained virologic response 12 weeks after therapy (SVR12). Dose appropriateness was confirmed by intensive pharmacokinetics in each age group. Among 216 patients treated, 76% had HCV genotype 1% and 12% had genotype 3. Rates of SVR12 were 83% (34/41) among 3–5‐year‐olds, 93% (68/73) among 6–11‐year‐olds, and 95% (97/102) among 12–17‐year‐olds. Only two patients experienced virologic failure. The most common adverse events were headache, fatigue, and nausea in 12–17‐year‐olds; vomiting, cough, and headache in 6–11‐year‐olds; and vomiting in 3–5‐year‐olds. Three patients discontinued treatment because of adverse events. Four patients had serious adverse events; all except auditory hallucination (n= 1) were considered unrelated to study drug. Exposures of sofosbuvir, its metabolite GS‐331007, and velpatasvir were comparable to those in adults in prior Phase 2/3 studies. Population pharmacokinetic simulations supported weight‐based dosing for children in this age range. The pangenotypic regimen of sofosbuvir–velpatasvir is highly effective and safe in treating children 3–17 years with chronic HCV infection. For treating chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, the combination antiviral regimen sofosbuvir–velpatasvir is highly effective in treating adults with any HCV genotype.In children, the safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of sofosbuvir–velpatasvir had not been evaluated. For treating chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, the combination antiviral regimen sofosbuvir–velpatasvir is highly effective in treating adults with any HCV genotype. In children, the safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of sofosbuvir–velpatasvir had not been evaluated. In 216 children aged 3–17 years with chronic HCV infection, sofosbuvir–velpatasvir given once daily for 12 weeks had a cure rate of 92%.Rates of cure were 95% among 12–17‐year‐olds (97/102), 93% in 6–11‐year‐olds (68/73), and 83% in 3–5‐year‐olds (34/41).Overall, sofosbuvir–velpatasvir was well tolerated in both tablet and granule formulations; 1.4% (3/216) of participants discontinued because of an adverse event. Pharmacokinetic simulations supported weight‐based dosing for children. In 216 children aged 3–17 years with chronic HCV infection, sofosbuvir–velpatasvir given once daily for 12 weeks had a cure rate of 92%. Rates of cure were 95% among 12–17‐year‐olds (97/102), 93% in 6–11‐year‐olds (68/73), and 83% in 3–5‐year‐olds (34/41). Overall, sofosbuvir–velpatasvir was well tolerated in both tablet and granule formulations; 1.4% (3/216) of participants discontinued because of an adverse event. Pharmacokinetic simulations supported weight‐based dosing for children.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of chronic liver disease worldwide, with more than three million viraemic adolescents and children. Treatment of adults with HCV infection and HCV‐related liver disease has advanced considerably thanks to development and improvements in therapy. Direct‐acting antiviral regimens are safe and effective. Three regimens with pangenotypic activity (glecaprevir/pibrentasvir, sofosbuvir/velpatasvir and sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir) and three regimens with genotype‐specific activity (sofosbuvir/ribavirin, sofosbuvir/ledipasvir and elbasvir/grazoprevir) have been approved with age‐specific limitation for treatment of children with chronic hepatitis C by the European Medicines Agency and the United States Food and Drug Administration. The World Health Organization has set the ambitious target to eliminate hepatitis C as a major public health threat by 2030 and based its actions against HCV on the large use of direct acting antivirals. These updated European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition recommendations on treatment of hepatitis C describe the optimal therapeutic management of adolescents and children with HCV infection including specific indications for those living in resource‐limited settings. Direct‐acting antiviral drug regimens are highly effective and safe for treatment of adults, adolescents and children with chronic hepatitis C.Two combination regimens with pangenotypic activity (sofosbuvir/velpatasvir and glecaprevir/pibrentasvir) and two with genotype‐specific activity (sofosbuvir/ledipasvir and sofosbuvir plus ribavirin) have been approved by both the European Medicines Agency and the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in adolescents and children aged 3 years and older with chronic hepatitis C. Direct‐acting antiviral drug regimens are highly effective and safe for treatment of adults, adolescents and children with chronic hepatitis C. Two combination regimens with pangenotypic activity (sofosbuvir/velpatasvir and glecaprevir/pibrentasvir) and two with genotype‐specific activity (sofosbuvir/ledipasvir and sofosbuvir plus ribavirin) have been approved by both the European Medicines Agency and the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in adolescents and children aged 3 years and older with chronic hepatitis C. We recommend treatment using direct‐acting antiviral regimens for all adolescents and children 3 years of age and above with chronic hepatitis C, regardless of stage of disease.Pangenotypic and genotype‐specific direct‐acting antiviral regimens are equally recommended for treatment.Pangenotypic, ribavirin‐free and regimens with the shortest treatment duration are preferrable when available.Sofosbuvir plus daclatasvir may be considered for adolescents and children with chronic hepatitis C in resource‐limited settings, as it is highly effective and widely available as low‐cost generic formulations. We recommend treatment using direct‐acting antiviral regimens for all adolescents and children 3 years of age and above with chronic hepatitis C, regardless of stage of disease. Pangenotypic and genotype‐specific direct‐acting antiviral regimens are equally recommended for treatment. Pangenotypic, ribavirin‐free and regimens with the shortest treatment duration are preferrable when available. Sofosbuvir plus daclatasvir may be considered for adolescents and children with chronic hepatitis C in resource‐limited settings, as it is highly effective and widely available as low‐cost generic formulations.

Predictive maintenance (PdM) is a hot topic in the field of manufacturing. However, its industry-wide realization lacks accepted integration concepts. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular, tend to postpone PdM initiatives, primarily due to the high costs and effort of creating interoperability with established as well as in-use machines. PdM requires machine data to be proactively maintained. Therefore, in-use machines without integrated sensors must be replaced or cost-intensively upgraded. Furthermore, it is not advisable to invest in upgrades of existing machines, as they are cost-intensive, and their remaining lifespan is unknown as well as difficult to predict. One promising approach to applying PdM to these kinds of machines is the use of retail smartphones. With up to 16 sensors onboard, they offer an opportunity to cost-effectively collect required data without being tied to a single machine. Following a design science research approach, we present a reference software architecture consisting of a mobile and server application and reference processes for smartphone-enabled PdM to provide a lightweight approach, especially for SMEs. Together with five manufacturers and a software developer, we demonstrated and evaluated our artifacts using the software prototypes in a real-world setting.

ABSTRACTAnchored on Dowling and Pfeffer’s (1975) Legitimacy Theory, this thematic content analysis paper purports to understand the ontology of various social responsibility-driven initiatives of chefs in various countries. Specifically, YouTube videos and online news published by major search engines were content analysed. Interestingly, a concept dubbed as The Anatomy of a Caring Chef during the COVID-19 Pandemic, consisting of three constructs of chefs as the Community Supporter, Community Leverager, and Community Enabler, emergedthat offers an interesting portrait of global chefs’ corporate social responsibility in this challenging times. The implications of the study’s findings to the food industry, limitations, and recommendations were also discussed.

Congenital portosystemic shunts (CPSS) are rare vascular malformations. We describe presentations, complications, associations, and outcomes of CPSS at Boston Children's Hospital (BCH). This was a retrospective review of children with CPSS at BCH from 2000 to 2020. Twenty‐nine patients had CPSS (17 girls): 14 extrahepatic (EH) and 15 intrahepatic (IH). At diagnosis, 15 were ⩽5 days, 7 <1 year, and 7 >1 year (range 1–19). Median follow‐up duration was 5.2 years (interquartile range [IQR] 1.6–10.9) in EH and 2.2 years (0.2–4.2) in IH CPSS. The most common presentation was antenatal ultrasound 13 (45%) followed by hyperammonemia 10 (34%), whereas 6 (21%) were asymptomatic. Complications were noted in 17 (12/14 EH vs 6/15 IH, P = 0.008). Associated anomalies were present in 25 (14/14 EH vs 11/15 IH, P = 0.10). Spontaneous closure was observed in 8 (28%) patients with IH CPSS, all <12 months of age. Ten patients underwent shunt closure 3 (30%) by interventional radiology (IR) and 5 (50%) by surgery, whereas 2 (20%) required both. After therapeutic closure; 8 had improvement, 1 had portal hypertension, and 1 had sepsis and thrombosis. The remaining 11 patients, 8 (42%) were followed without closure: 6 of 8 (75%) EH versus 2 of 11 (18%) IH (P= 0.02), 2 lost follow‐up and 1 with complicated EH CPSS died, unsuitable for therapeutic closure. CPSS may be asymptomatic or present with complications. Spontaneous closure of IH shunts may occur in infancy, thus therapeutic closure may be deferred until age ≥ 2 years. IR and surgical closure of CPSS are associated with improvement in the majority of cases.

Similar to biological macromolecules such as DNA and proteins, the precise control over the monomer position in sequence-defined polymers is of paramount importance for tuning their structures and properties toward achieving specific functions. Here, we apply molecular network analysis on three-dimensional structures issued from molecular dynamics simulations to decipher how the chain organization of trifunctional catalytic oligomers is influenced by the oligomer sequence and the length of oligo(ethylene oxide) spacers. Our findings demonstrate that the tuning of their primary structures is crucial for favoring cooperative interactions between the catalytic units and thus higher catalytic activities. This combined approach can assist in establishing structure–property relationships, leading to a more rational design of sequence-defined catalytic oligomers via computational chemistry.

Die Technologien Augmented Reality (AR) und Virtual Reality (VR), die mit dem Überbegriff Extended Reality (XR) zusammengefasst werden, beeinflussen die Möglichkeiten der Kommunikation und Kollaboration grundlegend. Sie können intuitiv als Schnittstelle diverser Informationsquellen genutzt werden und bieten neue Arten der Informationsdarstellung. Extended-Reality-Systeme (XRS) bauen auf diesen beiden Technologien, AR und VR, auf und haben großes Potenzial für ein breites Spektrum an Anwendungsfällen, insbesondere für Kollaborationen.

This article proposes a new approach to study the temperature dependence of the structural and mechanical changes occurring at the Curie point at the surface of ferroelectric polymers. For this purpose, we used a secondary ion mass spectrometer equipped with a gas cluster ion beam. The intensities of the backscattered Arn+clusters were measured upon 10 keV Ar3000+bombardment of a series of P(VDF-ran-TrFE) copolymer thin films and used to calculate the breaking ratios Ar2+/(Ar2++ Ar3+) and Ar2+/(Ar2++ Ar4+). The temperature dependences of the breaking ratios prove to be sensitive to the changes in the structural and physical properties of the polymer surfaces. The experiments reveal the transition temperature TT(related to the bulk glass-transition temperature Tg) and the Curie temperature (Tc), indicating the ferroelectric to paraelectric transition in P(VDF-ran-TrFE) polymers. The results agree well with our DSC measurements and with mechanical measurements from the literature, showing that the surface Curie transition remains close to the bulk value in these copolymers. The developed approach was named gas cluster ion scattering spectrometry (GCISS), in reference to the well-known technique of ion scattering spectrometry. GCISS proves to be a versatile approach for the local measurement of structural changes occurring in polymer thin films.

Imparting hydrophobicity to solid acid catalysts is critical to regulating their performances by allowing the creation of a less polar environment and improved partitioning of the reactants. Here we present different approaches for the preparation of silica-based catalysts comprising sulfonic acid (−SO3H) sites and hydrophobic decyl (−C10) chains by either simultaneous or sequential postfunctionalization of an azide-functionalized mesoporous silica platform. This set of hybrid bifunctional catalysts is compared in the model esterification of octanol with acetic acid, and the influence of the preparation methods together with the resulting site spatial distribution is discussed. In parallel, we show that pairing the two functional groups affords a maximum synergistic effect compared to more traditional mixed catalysts with random distributions of acid and hydrophobic functions.

Cell culture on microcarriers emerges as an alternative of two-dimensional culture to produce large cell doses, which are required for cell-based therapies. Herein, we report a versatile and easy solvent-free greener fabrication process to prepare microcarriers based on a biosourced and compostable polymer. The preparation of the microcarrier core, which is based on poly(L-lactide) crystallization from a polymer blend, allows us to easily tune the density, porosity, and size of the microparticles. A bioadhesive coating based on biopolymers, devoid of animal protein and optimized to improve cell adhesion, is then successfully deposited on the surface of the microcarriers. The ability of these new microcarriers to expand human adipose-derived stromal cells with good yield, in semistatic and dynamic conditions, is demonstrated. Finally, bead-to-bead cell transfer is shown to increase the yield of cell production without having to stop the culture. These microcarriers are therefore a promising and efficient green alternative to currently existing systems.

Understanding the wetting properties of chemically modified inorganic surfaces with random nanoscale topographies is of fundamental importance for diverse applications. This issue has hitherto continuously been the subject of considerable controversies. Herein, we report a thorough investigation of the wettability–topography–chemistry balance for a nanostructured surface with random topography, the main challenge being decoupling topography from surface chemistry. For this purpose, we use a superficially nanostructured aluminum substrate chemically modified by fatty acid monolayers. From atomic force microscopic data, we extract a variety of parameters describing the surface topography by means of variogram calculations, a method originally developed by geostatisticians to explore large surfaces. Moreover, by using log and power transforms, we establish a consistent relationship relating wettability, topography, and surface chemistry. Interestingly, we demonstrate that the water contact angle comprises a contribution due to the surface composition, originating from hydrophobization through alkyl chains, and a contribution due to the surface topography, particularly its stochastic feature. This model is valid in the Wenzel region; it provides guidelines for tuning the wetting properties of inorganic surfaces with random nanoscale topographies.

In addition to mesenchymal stem cells, adipose-derived stem/stromal cells (ASCs) are an attractive source for a large variety of cell-based therapies. One of their most important potential applications is related to the regeneration of bone tissue thanks to their capacity to differentiate in bone cells. However, this requires a proper control of their osteogenic differentiation, which depends not only on the initial characteristics of harvested cells but also on the conditions used for their culture. In this review, we first briefly describe the preclinical and clinical trials using ASCs for bone regeneration and present the quantitative parameters used to characterize the osteogenic differentiation of ASCs. We then focus on the soluble factors influencing the osteogenic differentiation of ACS, including the steroid hormones and various growth factors, notably the most osteoinductive ones, the bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs).Impact statementAdipose-derived stromal/stem cells are reviewed for their use in bone regeneration.

The outbreak of vaping-related acute lung injury in the United States, named EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use associated acute lung injury), has reignited concerns about the health effects of vaping. Initial case reports of vaping-related lung injury date back to 2012, but the ongoing outbreak of EVALI began in the summer of 2019 and has been implicated in 2,807 cases and 68 deaths as of this writing. Review of the scientific literature revealed 216 patient cases that spanned 41 reports of parenchymal lung injury attributed to vaping. In this review, we detail the clinical, radiographic, and pathologic patterns of lung injury that are attributable to vaping and provide an overview of the scientific literature to date on the effects of vaping on respiratory health. Tetrahydrocannabinol was the most commonly vaped substance, and vitamin E acetate was found in BAL specimens from many affected individuals. However, no specific component or contaminant has been identified conclusively to date as the cause for the injury. Patients present with cough, dyspnea, constitutional symptoms, and GI symptoms. Radiologic and histopathologic findings demonstrate a spectrum of nonspecific acute injury patterns. A high index of suspicion combined with a good history are the keys to an accurate diagnosis. Treatment is supportive; the mortality rate is low, and most patients recover. Corticosteroids have been used with apparent success in patients with severe disease, but more rigorous studies are needed to clarify their role in the treatment of vaping-related lung injury.

The computational detection of R-peaks in an electrocardiogram (ECG) is particularly important for assessing vital signs in ambulatory settings. Algorithmic approaches are mainly open source and available for research purposes, primarily in the Python environment on stationary computers. This motivates the need for more support of mobile environments and their particular demands, such as context awareness and their limited computational resources.

We present a joint experimental and theoretical study of the structural and charge-transport properties of a liquid-crystalline α,ω-disubstituted oligothiophene derivative for application in organic field-effect transistors. The structural properties of the crystalline and smectic phases are investigated by atomic force microscopy, X-ray reflectometry, and X-ray diffraction. To complement these data, molecular mechanics calculations together with the simulation of X-ray diffraction spectra were performed to determine the relative positions of the molecules in the unit cell. The electrical characteristics of field-effect transistors based on the oligothiophene derivative were measured and compared in the crystalline and smectic phases. Although the silanation of the SiO2gate dielectric promoted a marked improvement in the charge-carrier mobilities in the crystalline phase, the expected suppression of grain boundaries in the liquid-crystalline phase was not unambiguously evidenced. The experimental results were further complemented by a detailed theoretical analysis of the electronic couplings governing the charge-transport properties on the molecular scale.

Numerically exact nonadiabatic eigenfunctions are computed for a two-dimensional conical intersection with circular symmetry, for which a pseudorotation quantum number is conserved and all eigenstates are doubly degenerate. In the calculations reported here, the conical intersection is submerged, with energy below the zero point level. The complete real-valued vibrational-electronic eigenfunctions are visualized using Hunter’s exact factorization for the total vibrational amplitude factor and color for the electronic factor. The zero-point levels have nonzero amplitude at the conical intersection. Nodes in the degenerate nonadiabatic eigenfunctions are classified as accidental if they can be moved or removed by a change in degenerate basis and as essential if they cannot. An integer electronic index defines the order of the nodes for nonadiabatic eigenfunctions by simple closed counterclockwise line integrals. Higher eigenstates can have accidental conical nodes around the conical intersection and essential nodes of varying circular orders at the conical intersection. The signs of the essential nodes are all opposite the sign of the conical intersection and the signed node orders obey sum rules. Even for submerged conical intersections, the appearance of the exact eigenstates motivates use of signed, half-odd-integral, pseudorotation quantum numbers j. Essential nodes of absolute order (|j| – 1/2) are located on the conical intersection for |j| greater than or equal to 3/2. The eigenfunctions around essential first order nodes are right circular cones with their vertex at the conical intersection.

Variceal hemorrhage (VH) is a serious complication of portal hypertension (PH). We evaluated the feasibility, safety, and clinical impact of esophageal capsule endoscopy (ECE) in pediatric and young adult patients with known or suspected PH. Children and young adults with PH at Boston Children's Hospital (2005–2017) were offered ECE for variceal screening or surveillance. Patient histories, ECE findings, and clinical outcomes were reviewed retrospectively. One hundred and forty-nine ECE studies were performed in 98 patients (57.1% male patients) using 3 ECE devices for variceal screening (66.5%) or surveillance (33.5%). Three readers interpreted the studies (88.3%, 10.3%, and 1.4%, respectively). Median age was 16 years (IQR 13.7–18.5). One hundred and three ECE studies involved patients <18 years (69.1%). Fifteen patients (29 ECE studies) had a gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding (GIB) history, 5 in the preceding 12 months. Sixty-two ECE studies (44.9%) detected varices: 59 esophageal (40 small, 19 medium/large), 17 gastric, 6 duodenal. Other findings included: portal gastropathy (25, 18.1%), esophagitis (20, 14.5%), ulcers (5, 3.6%), erosions (31, 22.5%), heterotopic tissue (13, 9.4%), blood flecks (23, 16.7%), and mucosal scars (17, 12.3%). There were 2 transient capsule retentions and no major adverse events. ECE led to follow-up EGD in 11 (7 variceal banding) and medication initiation in 12 (4 proton-pump inhibitor, 7 nonselective beta blocker, 2 other) cases. Four patients had GIB within 12 months of ECE. ECE is a feasible alternative to EGD for screening and surveillance of esophageal varices in children and young adults.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of chronic liver disease and associated morbidity and mortality worldwide. Short-course, oral, curative, direct-acting antiviral regimens have transformed treatment for HCV infection. Since the 2016 launch of the first global strategy towards elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, the predominant focus of the global response has been on the treatment of adults, who bear the greatest burden of morbidity and mortality of HCV-related chronic liver disease. Compared with adults, there has been little attention paid to addressing the response to HCV in children and adolescents, in part because of the scarcity of data to inform specific paediatric management practices and policy. In this Series paper, we summarise knowledge on the epidemiology, natural history, and treatment of chronic HCV infection in adolescents and children, and we highlight key differences from infection acquired in adulthood. The estimated global prevalence and burden of HCV infection in children aged 1–19 years is 0·15%, corresponding to 3·5 million people (95% CI 3·1–3·9 million). HCV infection is usually asymptomatic during childhood, and cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma are rare. Sofosbuvir with ledipasvir and sofosbuvir with ribavirin have received regulatory approval and guidelines recommend their use in adolescents aged 12 years and older with HCV infection. In April, 2019, glecaprevir with pibrentasvir also received regulatory approval for adolescents aged 12–17 years. Key actions to address the current policy gaps and achieve treatment scale-up that is comparable to that in adults include: establishment of a campaign on access to testing and treatment that is targeted at children and adolescents; fast-track evaluation of pan-genotypic regimens; and accelerated approval of paediatric formulations. Research gaps that need to be addressed include: age-specific prevalence studies of HCV viraemia in priority countries; further validation of non-invasive tests for staging of liver disease in children; and establishment of paediatric treatment registries and international consortia to promote collaborative research agendas.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major cause of acute and chronic liver disease and associated morbidity and mortality worldwide. Vertical (mother-to-child) and horizontal early childhood transmission are the main routes of HBV transmission and are responsible for most chronic infections, including among adults who bear the greatest burden of morbidity and mortality. Universal hepatitis B immunisation at birth and in infancy is the key strategy for global elimination of HBV infection, and has been highly effective in reducing new vertical infections. However, global progress in scale-up of HBV testing and treatment has been slow in adults and children. In this Series paper, we summarise knowledge on the epidemiology, natural history, and treatment of chronic HBV infection in adolescents and children, and we highlight key differences from HBV infection in adults. The estimated global prevalence of HBV infection in children aged 5 years or younger is 1·3%. Most children are in the high-replication, low-inflammation phase of infection, with normal or only slightly raised aminotransferases; cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma are rare. Although entecavir is approved and recommended for children aged 2–17 years, and tenofovir for those aged 12–18 years, a conservative approach to treatment initiation in children is recommended. Key actions to address current policy gaps include: validation of non-invasive tests for liver disease staging; additional immunopathogenesis studies in children with HBV infection; long-term follow-up of children on nucleoside or nucleotide analogue regimens to inform guidance on when to start treatment; evaluation of different treatment strategies for children with high rates of HBV replication; and establishment of paediatric treatment registries and international consortia to promote collaborative research.

Oleylamine is widely used in nanomaterial and metal-halide perovskite synthesis. Impurities in commercially available oleylamine reagents are identified, purification procedures are explained, beneficial effects on lead chloride/oleylamine mixtures are documented, and impacts on materials synthesis are discussed. Suspensions of 0.12 mole fraction PbCl2, PbBr2, and PbI2in purified, dried, and filtered oleylamine were found to form clear solutions upon heating to 100 °C. The infrared, Raman, and NMR spectra of oleylamine and a common transimpurity present in  literature reference IR spectra are presented.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the hepatotoxicity of statins, as determined by serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), in children and adolescents with dyslipidemia in real-world clinical practice. Clinical and laboratory data were prospectively collected between September 2010 and March 2014. We compared ALT levels between patients prescribed versus not prescribed 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins), and then compared ALT before and after initiation of statins. Over the 3.5-year observation period, there were 2704 ALT measurements among 943 patients. The mean age was 14 years; 54% were boys, 47% obese, and 208 patients were treated with statins. Median follow-up after first ALT was 18 months. The mean (SD) ALT in statin and non-statin users was 23 (20) U/L and 28 (28) U/L, respectively. In models adjusted for age, sex, and race, ALT was 2.1 U/L (95% CI 0.1 to 4.4; P= 0.04) lower among statin users, which was attenuated after adjustment for weight category. Patients started on statins during the observation period did not demonstrate an increase in ALT over time (ALT 0.9 U/L [95% confidence interval -5.2 to 3.4] increase per year; P= 0.7). In our study population, we did not observe a higher burden of ALT elevations among pediatric patients on statins as compared to those with dyslipidemia who are not on statins, supporting the hepatic safety of statin use in childhood.

Federated learning (FL) enables the optimization of machine learning models on distributed clients without sharing local data. The integration of FL into a mobile environment is becoming more feasible due to increasing on-device processing capabilities. However, there is limited open-source support for the iOS platform.

Background:Thrombophilia diagnosis can often be a convoluted process involving collection and analysis of clinical data, specialized laboratory testing, and high-level decision-making. This is inherently subjective due to differences in the clinical practice philosophy of each individual practitioner and can vary depending on institutional guidelines and available resources. Patient care and clinical outcomes may be affected as a result, which in turn provides a potential opportunity for optimization of thrombophilia diagnosis using AI.

The remarkable photonic and photochemical properties of colloidal quantum dots (QD) depend critically on the dynamics of carrier interactions and relaxation. Despite their importance, a quantitative experimental evaluation of these processes has proven elusive due to the inherent challenge of exactly separating single-exciton and multiexciton dynamics, whose spectroscopic signatures overlap in time, spectrum, and excitation fluence. Here, we measure pump-fluence-dependent absolute pump–probe transients of indium arsenide QDs, refreshing the sample using beam scanning to limit repetitive excitation. Focusing on the low fluence limit near the onset of biexciton formation, excitation conditions were precisely controlled and characterized by averaging Poisson-distributed excitation statistics over all three spatial dimensions of the pump and probe beam spatial profiles to determine the average excitation probability. A saturation model is developed to uniquely decompose the pump–probe signal into single-exciton and biexciton signals. This method harnesses the distinct pump-fluence scaling of absolute pump–probe signals from singly and doubly excited QDs without any assumptions regarding the relative time scales or amplitudes of single-exciton and biexciton signals. Probing in the bulklike region of the QD absorption spectrum, the signal from biexcitons is found to be 1.8 times the signal from single excitons at T= 0, consistent with the conventionally assumed factor of 2 within the 95% confidence intervals. The biexciton signal contains the same hot-carrier relaxation dynamics as that from single excitons, but signal from a second exciton additionally exhibits a 26 ps exponential decay attributed to Auger recombination.