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Interleukin 21 (IL-21) is a pleiotropic cytokine that is overproduced in multiple autoimmune settings. Provision of IL-21 from follicular helper T cells is an important component of T-cell help within germinal centers (GC), and the last few years have seen a resurgence of interest in IL-21 biology in the context of the GC environment. While it has been more than a decade since T cell-derived IL-21 was found to upregulate B-cell expression of the GC master transcription factor B-cell lymphoma 6 (Bcl-6) and to promote GC expansion, several recent studies have collectively delivered significant new insights into how this cytokine shapes GC B-cell selection, proliferation, and fate choice. It is now clear that IL-21 plays an important role in GC zonal polarization by contributing to light zone GC B-cell positive selection for dark zone entry as well as by promoting cyclin D3-dependent dark zone inertial cycling. While it has been established that IL-21 can contribute to the modulation of GC output by aiding the generation of antibody-secreting cells (ASC), recent studies have now revealed how IL-21 signal strength shapes the fate choice between GC cycle re-entry and ASC differentiation in vivo. Both provision of IL-21 and sensitivity to this cytokine are finely tuned within the GC environment, and dysregulation of this pathway in autoimmune settings could alter the threshold for germinal center B-cell selection and differentiation, potentially promoting autoreactive B-cell responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research uses a low-resolution infrared array sensor to address real-time human activity recognition while prioritizing the preservation of privacy. The proposed system captures thermal pixels that are represented as a human silhouette. With camera and image processing, it is easy to detect human activity, but that reduces privacy. This work proposes a novel human activity recognition system that uses interpolation and mathematical measures that are unobtrusive and do not involve machine learning. The proposed method directly and efficiently recognizes multiple human states in a real-time environment. This work also demonstrates the accuracy of the outcomes for various scenarios using traditional ML approaches. This low-resolution IR array sensor is effective and would be useful for activity recognition in homes and healthcare centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the transition toward the Internet of Everything (IOE), the prediction of energy consumed by household appliances has become a progressively more difficult topic to model. Even with advancements in data analytics and machine learning, several challenges remain to be addressed. Therefore, providing highly accurate and optimized models has become the primary research goal of many studies. This paper analyzes appliance energy consumption through a variety of machine learning-based strategies. Utilizing data recorded from a single-family home, input variables comprised internal temperatures and humidities, lighting consumption, and outdoor conditions including wind speed, visibility, and pressure. Various models were trained and evaluated: (a) multiple linear regression, (b) support vector regression, (c) random forest, (d) gradient boosting, (e) xgboost, and (f) the extra trees regressor. Both feature engineering and hyperparameter tuning methodologies were applied to not only extend existing features but also create new ones that provided improved model performance across all metrics: root mean square error (RMSE), coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute error (MAE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The best model (extra trees) was able to explain 99% of the variance in the training set and 66% in the testing set when using all the predictors. The results were compared with those obtained using a similar methodology. The objective of performing these actions was to show a unique perspective in simulating building performance through data-driven models, identifying how to maximize predictive performance through the use of machine learning-based strategies, as well as understanding the potential benefits of utilizing different models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess current treatment‐related outcomes for children with severe and moderate haemophilia A (cHA) in China. Methods: This cross‐section Patient Report Outcome (PRO) report collected PRO data of severe and moderate cHAs registered in the 'Hemophilia Home Care Center' database (http://web.bjxueyou.cn) between January 2021 and November 2022. Data included records of bleeding, activities, and concentrates consumption. All patients had a confirmed diagnosis of moderate or severe haemophilia A (FVIII: C ≤ 5%) and were < 18 years old. Results: Among 1038 analysable cases, 9.6% of children with inhibitors had a higher rate of intracranial haemorrhage, dropout school rate, and higher FVIII consumption than children without inhibitors. Among 100 children with inhibitors, 36 patients were treated without immune tolerance induction (ITI), 14 patients with irregular treatment and 50 patients received ITI. Children with ITI had a lower ABR (2.4 (0,6.6) vs. 13.4 (9.5, 26.6), p<.001) and AJBR (0 (0, 3.1) vs. 8.9 (1.6, 19.3), p <.001) compared to those without ITI. Among 938 children without inhibitors, 28.5% received on‐demand treatment and 71.5% received prophylaxis. Of 528 children with 1343.8 (1050.4, 2922.9)IU/kg/year median FVIII consumption, 43.0% received low‐dose, 43.2% received intermediate‐dose, and 13.8% received high‐dose regimen; these children with prophylaxis had a lower ABR (3.1 (0, 10.7) vs. 12.8 (2.4, 45.5), p <.001), AJBR (0.5 (0, 3.9) vs. 3.0 (0, 12.0), p <.001) and disability rate (9.0% vs.18.5%, p =.032) compared to children who received on‐demand treatment. Conclusion: The high rate of drop‐out of school and disability still present a huge gap to meet the needs in China. It is necessary to improve the level of medical accessibility and medicine affordability and strengthen the patient/parent's education in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence indicates that members of the marine bird research and management communities should view seabirds from the seabirds' perspective, as marine organisms, rather than the pervading view derived from human's interaction with the sea, i.e., as temporary visitors centered on home ports. By doing so, research results and management plans will be more realistic and effective. Seabirds themselves only temporarily visit land in their reproductive attempts, with most of their time otherwise spent at sea, as much as 90% in the lifetimes of some species. This is especially true among seabirds of the more productive stretches of water, such as eastern boundary currents, which as a rule have relatively few islands on which to nest as well as these waters typically being dominated by seasonal, non-breeding species. A case in point is the Pigeon Guillemot Cepphus columba of the California Current, a species/population that dwells in waters of the Pacific Northwest for most of the year, except for a quick migration south, then back north, for nesting. It ventures south to then have to compete with far more abundant species. The point is that protecting just seabird nesting islands, but ignoring marine issues within the whole of respective annual ranges, is often not a successful strategy, as exemplified to the extreme by the trend toward extinction of African Penguin Spheniscus demersus of the Benguela Current, where seabird species visitors are far more abundant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developed countries, renal replacement therapy (RRT) is available to any patient who needs it. Renal replacement therapy patients still believe that starting therapy means being tied to their home nephrology center, which prevents them from traveling. The role of specialists is to inform their patients that they can travel. Guidelines concerning the ways in which patients should be prepared for trips are available, but they are mainly based on expert opinion. Therefore, there is a need for extensive research to evaluate the safety of long-distance travel in the discussed patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An online survey of plant purchasers was conducted to ascertain the influence of plant benefits messaging on consumer behavior. Three plant attributes, including type of plant, price, and plant availability, were used to distinguish purchasing preferences. To assess plant purchasing behavior, participants viewed a list of 12 different plant types and selected those they had purchased in the past year. The 12 plant types included annuals, vegetables, herbs, perennials, flowering shrubs, evergreen shrubs, fruit trees, evergreen trees, shade trees, flowering plants, foliage plants, and succulents. The most common retail locations patronized for plant purchases were home improvement stores, closely followed by independent garden centers. Consumers were grouped according to eight different plant benefit messages that they were exposed to, including physical, emotional, cognitive, social, educational, environmental, financial, and aesthetic benefits. Although some of the groups (clusters) exhibited similar purchasing behaviors in terms of plant types purchased, price levels preferred, and their preference for rare, common, or moderately available plants, there were just enough differences among groups to be able to distinguish them from other groups. The plant benefits were obviously affecting purchasing behavior, but further study is needed to understand the underlying reasons more fully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multi-scale suitability analysis using big data (4.7 million suitability scores) is presented across a large spatial extent (1.076 million km2) to identify potential locations for new home-improvement retail stores. Suitability scores were generated for individual property parcels using criteria weights derived from surveyed retail-industry experts. To increase capacity for site selection, distributions of suitability scores were generated at census dissemination areas (populations 500-700; n = 19,963) and census metropolitan and agglomeration areas (core populations >10,000; n = 43). Analogues among metropolitan and agglomeration areas were generated and spatial clustering was used to identify groups of highly-suitable parcels within urban areas. Lastly, individual parcels can be interrogated for overall suitability or individual criteria scores. Our approach combines retail methods typically used in isolation (e.g. location quotient, Huff's model, network analysis) and demonstrates how a simple survey can be used to weight criteria. Results show that survey respondents were in general agreement and that top-line revenues were more critical to perceived location success than development and operational costs. Analysis of suitability scores found analogues and clusters of census metropolitan areas that coincide with store sales as well as clusters of highly suitable parcels predominantly located around major highways. In addition to identifying challenges and solutions to the presented research, we also describe future research directions that extend the presented static analysis to include processes like store closure and openings, competition, and land use change through the use of agent-based modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective mitigation of the impacts of invasive ship rats (Rattus rattus) requires a good understanding of their ecology, but this knowledge is very sparse for urban and peri-urban areas. We radiomarked ship rats in Wellington, New Zealand, to estimate detection parameters (σ, ε0, θ, and g0) that describe the process of an animal encountering a device (bait stations, chew cards and WaxTags) from a distance, and then approaching it and deciding whether to interact with it. We used this information in simulation models to estimate optimal device spacing for eradicating ship rats from Wellington, and for confirming eradication. Mean σ was 25.37 m (SD = 11.63), which equates to a circular home range of 1.21 ha. The mean nightly probability of an individual encountering a device at its home range center (ε0) was 0.38 (SD = 0.11), whereas the probability of interacting with the encountered device (θ) was 0.34 (SD = 0.12). The derived mean nightly probability of an individual interacting with a device at its home range center (g0) was 0.13 (SD = 0.08). Importantly, σ and g0 are intrinsically linked through a negative relationship, thus g0 should be derived from σ using a predictive model including individual variability. Simulations using this approach showed that bait stations deployed for about 500 days using a 25 m × 25 m grid consistently achieved eradication, and that a surveillance network of 3.25 chew cards ha−1 or 3.75 WaxTags ha−1 active for 14 nights would be required to confidently declare eradication. This density could be halved if the surveillance network was deployed for 28 nights or if the prior confidence in eradication was high (0.85). These recommendations take no account of differences in detection parameters between habitats. Therefore, if surveillance suggests that individuals are not encountering devices in certain habitats, device density should be adaptively revised. This approach applies to initiatives globally that aim to optimise eradication with limited funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

German retailers offer a large variety of accessories for pets. However, not all products are suitable for pet husbandry. Several articles can negatively influence the wellbeing of pets or cause injuries, but empirical studies that evaluate accessories for small pets under animal welfare aspects are rare. In the present study, we assessed articles manufactured or sold in Germany in the product categories pet cages, hay racks, running wheels, exercise balls, harnesses and leashes, tube systems, and hamster bedding. To do so, we searched 28 German websites, visited 50 pet shops and 13 home improvement and garden centers on site and afterwards examined the animal welfare compliance of the products according to various evaluation criteria. Most of the examined products were rated not suitable for pet husbandry and were animal-welfare-adverse. This result applies to 86.1% (n = 87) of the 101 assessed running wheel models, 82.7% (n = 172) of the 208 assessed pet cage models and 55.6% (n = 40) of the 72 assessed hay rack models. The articles in the product categories exercise balls, harnesses and leashes, tube systems, and hamster bedding were also found unsuitable due to animal welfare concerns. Furthermore, we found clear shortcomings regarding article declarations. In some cases, relevant product information (e.g., dimensions) were missing, or the presented information was too general (e.g., rodent cage). Improperly declared pet accessories make it difficult for pet owners to decide whether a product is suitable or unsuitable for the species they keep. A declaration duty for manufacturers of pet products could ensure that German retailers only offer properly declared pet accessories and facilitate the decision for pet owners to purchase products appropriate for the pets they keep. Furthermore, a voluntary product certification for manufacturers would allow retailers to check the animal welfare compliance of articles before including them in their assortment. If a product is unsuitable for pet husbandry because it does not meet the set requirements, it must be considered animal-welfare-adverse and removed from the assortment. As done for the Austrian "animal welfare label," an independent, qualified third party could do the certification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This is the first to investigating the association between built environment around workplace and different walking behaviors. • It assesses the non-linear association between environment and walking behaviors. • Built environment around workplace is crucial for higher walking levels, but built environment features tend to have distinctive associations with different walking behaviors. Considering that most working adults spend nearly half their waking time at work, creating a supportive built environment around workplaces could be a feasible approach to maintain adequate levels of physical activity. However, the extent to which the built environment around workplaces influences walking behaviors in working adults remains unclear. Using survey data of 1009 full-time employees in Shanghai, China, this study assessed the nonlinear relationships between the built environment characteristics around workplaces and three domains of walking behaviors (commuting, utilitarian, and recreational walking). Using gradient boosting decision trees, our results showed that the built environment around workplaces is crucial for higher levels of walking behaviors, but built environment features tended to have distinctive associations with different domains of walking behaviors. Specifically, the number of physical activity facilities was positively associated with all three domains of walking behaviors, while a high floor area ratio was negatively associated with different domains of walking behaviors to some extent. Furthermore, several built environment characteristics, such as land use entropy, street view greenery, distance from home to the city center, and distance between the city center and workplaces had distinctive associations with different domains of walking behaviors. The findings of this study could provide nuanced guidance for creating pedestrian-friendly environments around workplaces to promote walking behaviors and overall physical activity levels in the working population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a low-income housing urbanization is examined to analyze owner-made renovations to initial home designs. La Ciudad Jardín is a social interest housing (SIH) urbanization provided by the government that is located in a peripheral area of the city of Tunja (Colombia). The methodology applied focused on a quantitative empirical-analytical approach that was observational and descriptive. Data were collected by surveying 78 urbanization home-owners. The results showed that home-owners made home improvements: 29.49% revamped bathrooms and kitchens, 7.69% constructed walls, 28.21% renovated floors, 25.64% repaired electrical installations and water pipes, and 8.97% invested on internet services. It is concluded that the economic efforts made by owners improved their home's habitability and functionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Due to its widespread distribution and effects, type 2 diabetes is a frequently researched topic. However, the amount of information about type 2 diabetes in nursing homes residents is inadequate. The aim of this study is to elucidate on the frequency, treatments, comorbidities, and deaths of nursing home residents diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods: Type 2 diabetes was evaluated in 612 people accepted to nursing homes as residents between January 2005 and January 2013. Medical records, prescriptions, laboratory results, and comorbidities were evaluated statistically. Results: Approximately 26% (159) patients of the cohort had either preexisting type 2 diabetes during registration to nursing home or was diagnosed with it during the 8-year follow-up. The prevalence of DM was 25% in males and 26% in females. Average age was 75.7 ± 10.6 in diabetics and 76.7 ± 11.6 in non-diabetics. Hemoglobin, creatinine, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, and CRP values were not found to be different between the groups. Hypertension was diagnosed in 75% of diabetics versus 59% of non-diabetics, hyperlipidemia in 21% versus 7% (P <.01); however, atrial fibrillation was more common in non-diabetics (P =.022). There was no difference for survival rate between diabetic and non-diabetic groups (P =.743). Conclusion: Approximately 1 out of 4 nursing home residents were found to have diabetes, with females being more affected then males. The survival rates both at the diabetic and non-diabetic patients were detected similar. Glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and blood pressure values which can all impact survival should be closely watched from early on in the disease progress and their values should be optimized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dear Editor, Several articles published in IJO this year have unveiled a broad spectrum of telemedicine topics beginning from challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to reformations at primary, secondary, and tertiary eye care levels. Tele-ophthalmology via Vision Centers (VC) has emerged as the central focus of remedy in assuring safe and continuous delivery of eye care without compromising on the quality of treatment. Several eye care systems have tried different technological solutions and practice algorithms to combat current hurdles.[[1]],[[2]],[[3]],[[4]],[[5]],[[6]] Yet, the uncertainty about the prevailing COVID-19 eradication or similar pandemics in the future mandates healthcare systems to further expand from VC to home-telemedicine. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: Due to its widespread distribution and effects, type 2 diabetes is a frequently researched topic. However, the amount of information about type 2 diabetes in nursing homes residents is inadequate. The aim of this study is to elucidate on the frequency, treatments, comorbidities, and deaths of nursing home residents diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods: Type 2 diabetes was evaluated in 612 people accepted to nursing homes as residents between January 2005 and January 2013. Medical records, prescriptions, laboratory results, and comorbidities were evaluated statistically. Results: Approximately 26% (159) patients of the cohort had either preexisting type 2 diabetes during registration to nursing home or was diagnosed with it during the 8-year follow-up. The prevalence of DM was 25% in males and 26% in females. Average age was 75.7 ± 10.6 in diabetics and 76.7 ± 11.6 in non-diabetics. Hemoglobin, creatinine, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, and CRP values were not found to be different between the groups. Hypertension was diagnosed in 75% of diabetics versus 59% of non-diabetics, hyperlipidemia in 21% versus 7% (P <.01); however, atrial fibrillation was more common in non-diabetics (P =.022). There was no difference for survival rate between diabetic and non-diabetic groups (P =.743). Conclusion: Approximately 1 out of 4 nursing home residents were found to have diabetes, with females being more affected then males. The survival rates both at the diabetic and non-diabetic patients were detected similar. Glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and blood pressure values which can all impact survival should be closely watched from early on in the disease progress and their values should be optimized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the ecological and behavioral variation of primates is central to improving conservation strategies. Studies of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have shown marked behavioral variability across a wide range of habitats. By comparison, bonobos (Pan paniscus) occur mainly in continuous forest sites, and socioecological models explaining behavioral differences between the two species are based on the assumption that bonobo habitat is richer and more stable than chimpanzee habitats. The objective of this study was to assess bonobo ecology in a forest–savanna mosaic. We specifically explored 1) bonobo home range size, habitat use, and dietary composition; 2) forest fragmentation in a bonobo community's home range; and 3) seasonality of dietary diversity, habitat use, and spatial distribution. Using 2 years of observational data on location, habitat type, and dietary composition, we found that the bonobo community's home range size, density, and dietary diversity were similar to those observed in continuous forest sites. Bonobos used areas with lower forest fragmentation than the surrounding areas and preferentially spent time in forested habitats. During the dry season, bonobos consumed a lower diversity of fruit species, spent more time in sparse forest with Marantaceae understory, and were closer to the seasonal center of their home range than during the rainy season. Our results contribute to our understanding of behavioral variation in bonobos and suggest that forest–savanna mosaic is valuable to bonobo conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to investigate the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) level in children with cerebral palsy (CP) living at home or the rehabilitation center. The correlation of NLR with different severities of motor impairment was assessed. This was a single-center, cross-sectional, observational study. A total of 80 CP children who were either living at home (n=34) or at the rehabilitation center (n=46) were included. Demographic characteristics, anthropometric parameters and complete blood counts were recorded, and the NLR values were calculated. The severity of motor impairment was evaluated and categorized according to the Gross Motor Functional Classification System (GMFCS) level. The mean age of CP participants was 8.52±1.92 years. The percentage of children with CP who were malnourished (underweight, stunted and wasted) was higher amongst those at the rehabilitation center compared with those living at home. The mean NLR of children with CP in the rehabilitation center was significantly higher compared with the patients living at home (P=0.003). Participants from the rehabilitation center had severe motor impairment (GMFCS levels IV-V) and significantly higher NLR values than those with mild motor impairments (GMFCS levels II-III; P=0.006). However, there were no differences in NLR values in relation to severity of motor impairment in CP children living at home. CP children had some degree of neuroinflammation and systemic inflammation. NLR may be a potential simple inflammatory parameter that may be used to predict the severity of the motor impairment, particularly in CP children living at a rehabilitation center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• ECE engagement practices were linked to greater parent engagement at school and home. • ECE parent engagement practices were associated with school readiness through increases in the quantity of parent home engagement. • The quality of parent engagement in home learning activities consistently predicted children's kindergarten readiness, but was unrelated to parent school involvement or ECE engagement practices. This study examined how practices used by early childhood education (ECE) providers to engage parents (e.g., sending home information about the child), parent school involvement in ECE centers (e.g., volunteering, attending meetings) and parent engagement in home learning activities (e.g., reading, stimulating cognitive development) were linked to children's kindergarten academic readiness. Data were from four-year-old children enrolled in center-based ECE settings in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth Cohort (ECLS-B; N = 2250). Path analyses indicated that ECE parent engagement practices were linked to greater parent engagement in home and school settings. Further, ECE parent engagement practices were indirectly associated with kindergarten academic readiness through increases in the quantity of parent engagement in home learning activities. Connections between ECE and home engagement were strongest for families with low household incomes. These results suggest that facilitating ECE practices to promote parent engagement and increasing home learning activities may bolster children's school readiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the largest‐to‐date single‐center implementation of tele‐epilepsy. Beginning in 2017, all patients at a single tertiary care academic epilepsy center were offered the option to complete outpatient follow‐up visits via video‐conferencing using personal devices. A retrospective review of all patients who self‐selected virtual visits over nearly 3 years showed 2140 patients completed 3698 tele‐epilepsy visits, with 41% completing more than one visit during the study period. Based on the distance from the center to the home address, 26.7% of patients were local (≤50 miles), 30.5% were near regional (51‐150 miles), 20.1% were far regional (151‐270 miles), and 22.7% were remote (>270 miles), from 43 different states. An estimated 928 696 miles of travel was prevented, with a median travel distance saved of 124.5 miles (interquartile range = 45.0‐253.0). The mean visit time was 15.7 (±10.4) minutes. More than 90% of patients gave the visit and provider experience the maximum rating, with a nearly 60% response rate on the post‐visit survey. Virtual outpatient follow‐up care provides a convenient way to connect with epilepsy specialists and reduce the burden of care by cutting travel time. Our experience demonstrates that outpatient tele‐epilepsy is feasible, sustainable, and scalable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the adherence to clinical glaucoma treatment in patients that benefit from the Brazilian National Glaucoma Program and receive antiglaucomatous eye drops free of charge. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 255 patients that benefit from the Brazilian National Glaucoma Program (BNGP) and were assisted at the Altino Ventura Foundation (FAV), Pernambuco state, Brazil. The Morisky's Adhesion Scale (MAS) was used to evaluate adhesion profile to treatment. Patients with a Morisky's Adhesion score = 6 was considered adherent to treatment. The analyzed variables included sex, educational level, distance from home to the treatment center, number of eye drops used, time since the glaucoma diagnosis, patients' subjective classification of their quality of vision, and prevalence of other comorbidities. Results: A total of 255 patients [167 (65.4%) females] were included in this study with a mean age was 65.9 ± 13.8 years (range, 11-99 years). Adherence to clinical glaucoma treatment was seen in 155 patients (60.8%). Worse adherence to treatment was observed in female patients (p=0.034), with low education level (p=0.046), who presented other comorbidities (p=0.048), living in remote areas (p=0.038), judged their vision as satisfactory (p=0.046), and who were recently diagnosed with glaucoma (p=0.001). Conclusion: 40% of patients who benefited from the Brazilian National Glaucoma Program were not compliant to treatment. Low adhesion rate was mostly seen in female patients, socially vulnerable, living in remote areas, recently diagnosed with glaucoma, using fewer eyedrops, presenting other comorbidities, and in those that considering themselves of having a satisfactory vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides the first empirical evidence on the correlation between Time- Of-Use (TOU) electricity pricing and the adoption of energy efficient appliances and solar panels. We use household-level data in Phoenix, Arizona from an appliance saturation survey of about 16,000 customers conducted by a major electric utility. Our empirical results show that TOU consumers are associated with 27% higher likelihood to install solar panels but not more likely to adopt energy-efficient air conditioning based on the propensity score matching and coarsened exact matching methods. The findings highlight that policy makers could combine TOU and solar panels when implementing educational programs or when giving out financial incentives to consumers. Our results imply that TOU is associated with a similar impact of the incentive offered by $2,070~$10,472 tax credits or rebates on solar adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Radicava® (edaravone), approved for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2017, may be administered intravenously at clinic sites, infusion centers or at home. Objective: To gain insights into the utilization of Radicava® at 1 year post-launch. Methods: Radicava® usage data were collected, and a survey was conducted among 75 physicians. Adverse events (AEs) were identified from a post-marketing safety database from 8 August 2017 through 3 August 2018 (cutoff date). Results: As of 6 August 2018, 3007 ALS patients were treated with Radicava®. Survey results indicated that 43% of patients received infusions at home, 32% in a clinician's office, and 26% at a referred site. Infusions were administered mainly via implanted port. The most commonly reported AEs were drug ineffective, death (not specified), therapeutic response unexpected, asthenia, fatigue, gait disturbance, disease progression, muscular weakness, fall, and dyspnea. Conclusions: The first year of Radicava® availability to ALS patients in the US provided many key learnings that will help shape strategies for improved patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper informs practice in community‐based home visiting workforce development by describing the development and evaluation of a university‐based training certificate program for home visitors and supervisors. The Interactive Systems Framework for Dissemination and Implementation (ISF; Wandersman et al., 2008) guides our conceptualization and paper organization. The ISF describes the components involved in translating research findings into effective implementation of prevention programs. We describe implementation and lessons learned from seven development activities: (a) review of the literature, (b) survey of other training initiatives across the country, (c) focus groups with home visitors and supervisors, (d) consultation with individual home visitors, (e) creation of a state advisory board of home visiting providers and stakeholders, (f) evaluation of two pilot trainings, and (g) video development. We then present evaluation data from 49 home visitors and 23 supervisors who completed the training certificate program after the pilot trainings. Both home visitors and supervisors rated training satisfaction highly, reported significant increases in self‐efficacy related to the training topics, and reported extensive use of motivational communication techniques, which are the foundational skills of the training content. These and other favorable results reflect the benefits of building on advances in theory and science‐based practice and of involving providers and stakeholders repeatedly throughout the development process. Highlights: We developed a state‐wide training center for infant home visitors. Training content was developed through an iterative process of community partner feedback. Home visitors reported increases in self‐confidence following training in most competency areas. Participant evaluations of training are consistent with positive results from an RCT of training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a small, but significant, increase in community births (home and birth-center births) in the United States in recent years. The rate increased by 20% from 2004 to 2008, and another 59% from 2008 to 2012, though the overall rate is still low at less than 2%. Although the United States is not the only country with a large majority of births occurring in the hospital, there are other high-resource countries where home and birth-center birth are far more common and where community midwives (those attending births at home and in birth centers) are far more central to the provision of care. In many such countries, the differences in perinatal outcomes between hospital and community births are small, and there are lower rates of maternal morbidity in the community setting. In the United States, perinatal mortality appears to be higher for community births, though there has yet to be a national study comparing outcomes across settings that controls for planned place of birth. Rates of intervention, including cesarean delivery, are significantly higher in hospital births in the United States. Compared with the United States, countries that have higher rates of community births have better integrated systems with clearer national guidelines governing risk criteria and planned birth location, as well as transfer to higher levels of care. Differences in outcomes, systems, approaches, and client motivations are important to understand, because they are critical to the processes of person-centered care and to risk reduction across all birth settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional hemodialysis is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates, as well as a reduced quality of life. There is a growing interest in the provision of more intensive hemodialysis, due to associated benefits in terms of reduced cardiovascular morbidity, better regulation of mineral metabolism, as well as its impact on quality of life measures, fertility, and sleep. Nocturnal hemodialysis, both in center and at home, allows the delivery of more intensive hemodialysis. This review discusses the benefits of nocturnal hemodialysis and evaluates the evidence based on available literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author talks about encouraging emerging readers, and how learning to read independently is a daunting challenge, and quality books one of the tools librarians across the country are employing to help children master this critical milestone. Topics discussed include readers activities substantially more than expected based on children's prior behavior; and Fostering Readers' pilot project survey indicated of public library sessions attracted families new to the library.

• Tebipenem pivoxil hydrobromide is a novel oral carbapenem • Tebipenem is likely to be used in the outpatient setting, including in nursing homes • Tebipenem was highly active against Enterobacterales from outpatient centers in the United States Tebipenem is a potential option for the treatment of a range of infections because of its oral dosing coupled with the safety profile of the β-lactam antimicrobial class. To evaluate tebipenem in vitro activity against a challenge set of clinical Enterobacterales collected from outpatient and community settings. 618 Enterobacterales isolates were submitted by 11 geographically dispersed U.S medical centers that processed cultures from affiliated outpatient centers in 2022. Susceptibility tests for tebipenem and comparator agents were performed by broth microdilution. Extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL)-like isolates were identified phenotypically. Multidrug-resistant isolates were non-susceptible to ≥1 agent in ≥3 antimicrobial classes. Genotypic testing (CarbaR) was conducted on select isolates. Isolates (59% Escherichia coli) were recovered from patients seen predominantly in urology/nephrology (24%), nursing home/long-term care (21%), and ambulatory/primary care (21%) clinics. Comparator agent susceptibility rates against all isolates were as follows: levofloxacin (67.5%), amoxicillin/clavulanate (73.6%), cefixime (70.4%), cefpodoxime (70%), cephalexin (61.7%), ceftriaxone (74.4%), cefazolin (63.8%), ertapenem (97.6%), meropenem (99.7%), nitrofurantoin (64.9%), and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (70.9%). Overall, 90.3% (558/619) of isolates were inhibited at a tebipenem MIC of ≤0.125 mg/L (MIC 50/90 , 0.016/0.125 mg/L), including 85.7% inhibition of ESBL-phenotype isolates (n=161; MIC 50/90 , 0.03/0.25 mg/L), 86.3% of levofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim co-resistant isolates (n=95; MIC 50/90 , 0.016/0.25 mg/L) and 84.3% of multidrug-resistant isolates (n = 172; MIC 50/90 , 0.03/0.25 mg/L). Carbapenemase genes were observed in 2 ESBL-phenotype isolates with a tebipenem MIC of ≥0.5 mg/L. Relative to common oral comparators, these data demonstrate excellent tebipenem in vitro activity against Enterobacterales isolated from patients receiving care in outpatient settings, including urology clinics and nursing homes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]