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Héctor A Velásquez García,1,2 Carolyn C Gotay,1 Christine M Wilson,3 Caroline A Lohrisch,4 Agnes S Lai,2 Kristan J Aronson,5 John J Spinelli1,21School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; 2Population Oncology, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, Canada; 3Screening Mammography Program, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, Canada; 4Department of Medical Oncology, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, Canada; 5Department of Public Health Sciences and Division of Cancer Care and Epidemiology, Cancer Research Institute, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, CanadaCorrespondence: Héctor A Velásquez GarcíaPopulation Oncology, BC Cancer, 8 th floor, 686 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1G1, CanadaTel +1604 877 6068Fax +1 604 877 6212Email hector.velasquezgarcia@alumni.ubc.caPurpose: Mammographic density is an important breast cancer risk factor, although it is not clear whether the association differs across breast cancer tumor subtypes. We examined the association between indicators of mammographic density and breast cancer risk by tumor subtype among postmenopausal women by investigating heterogeneity across tumor characteristics.Methods: Mammographic density measures were determined for 477 breast cancer cases and 588 controls, all postmenopausal, in Vancouver, British Columbia, using digitized screening mammograms and Cumulus software. Mammographic dense (DA), non-dense (NDA), and percent dense (PDA) areas were treated as continuous covariates and categorized into quartiles according to the distribution in controls. For cases only, tests for heterogeneity between tumor subtypes were assessed by multinomial logistic regression. Associations between mammographic density and breast cancer risk were modeled for each subtype separately through unconditional logistic regression.Results: Heterogeneity was apparent for the association of PDA with tumor size (p-heterogeneity=0.04). Risk did not differ across the other assessed tumor characteristics (p-heterogeneity values >0.05).Conclusion: These findings do not provide strong evidence that mammographic density parameters differentially affect specific breast cancer tumor characteristics.Keywords: mammographic density, breast cancer, tumor characteristics, heterogeneity, multinomial logistic regression

Context: The Zambian Ministry of Health provides pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) at primary care clinics in Lusaka, where, despite scale-up of perinatal prevention efforts, many children are already infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).Objective: To report early clinical and immunologic outcomes of children enrolled in the pediatric treatment program.Design, Setting, and Patients: Open cohort assessment using routinely collected clinical and outcome data from an electronic medical record system in use at 18 government primary health facilities in Lusaka, Zambia. Care was provided primarily by nurses and clinical officers ("physician extenders" akin to physician assistants in the United States). Patients were children (<16 years of age) presenting for HIV care between May 1, 2004, and June 29, 2007.Intervention: Three-drug ART (zidovudine or stavudine plus lamivudine plus nevirapine or efavirenz) for children who met national treatment criteria.Main Outcome Measures: Survival, weight gain, CD4 cell count, and hemoglobin response.Results: After enrollment of 4975 children into HIV care, 2938 (59.1%) started ART. Of those initiating ART, the median age was 81 months (interquartile range, 36-125), 1531 (52.1%) were female, and 2087 (72.4%) with World Health Organization stage information were in stage III or IV. At the time of analysis, 158 children (5.4%) had withdrawn from care and 382 (13.0%) were at least 30 days late for follow-up. Of the remaining 2398 children receiving ART, 198 (8.3%) died over 3018 child-years of follow-up (mortality rate, 6.6 deaths per 100 child-years; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.7-7.5); of these deaths, 112 (56.6%) occurred within 90 days of therapy initiation (early mortality rate, 17.4/100 child-years; post-90-day mortality rate, 2.9/100 child-years). Mortality was associated with CD4 cell depletion, lower weight-for-age, younger age, and anemia in multivariate analysis. The mean CD4 cell percentage at ART initiation among the 1561 children who had at least 1 repeat measurement was 12.9% (95% CI, 12.5%-13.3%) and increased to 23.7% (95% CI, 23.1%-24.3%) at 6 months, 27.0% (95% CI, 26.3%-27.6%) at 12 months, 28.0% (95% CI, 27.2%-28.8%) at 18 months, and 28.4% (95% CI, 27.4%-29.4%) at 24 months.Conclusions: Care provided by clinicians such as nurses and clinical officers can result in good outcomes for HIV-infected children in primary health care settings in sub-Saharan Africa. Mortality during the first 90 days of therapy is high, pointing to a need for earlier intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the prevalence of primary human immunodeficiency type 1 (HIV-1) drug resistance among recently infected youth in the United States. Of the 55 subjects studied, major mutations conferring HIV drug resistance were present in 10 (18%). Eight (15%) had nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) mutations, with the majority (6) having the K103N mutation; 2 (4%) had nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) mutations; and 2 (4%) had protease inhibitor (PI) mutations. Phenotypic drug resistance was present in 12 (22%) subjects: 10 (18%) for NNRTIs, 2 (4%) for NRTIs, and 3 (5.5%) for PIs. The prevalence of primary HIV-1 drug resistance, particularly to NNRTIs, in this group of recently infected youth was high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cancer rehabilitation and exercise oncology (CR/EO) have documented benefits for people living with and beyond cancer. The authors examined proximity to CR/EO programs across the United States with respect to population density, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and cancer incidence and mortality rates., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022-2023. Online searches were initiated to identify CR/EO programs. Geocoding was used to obtain latitudinal and longitudinal geospatial coordinates. Demographic data were abstracted from the 2020 5-year American Community Survey. Cancer incidence and mortality data were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. US 2013 Rural-Urban Continuum Code (RUCC) classification was used to define counties as either urban (RUCC 1-3) or rural (RUCC 4-9). Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between being far from a program and census-tract level factors., Results: In total, 2133 CR/EO programs were identified nationwide. The distance from a program increased with decreasing population density: rural tracts were 17.68 ± 0.24 miles farther from a program compared with urban tracts (p < .001). Program proximity decreased as the neighborhood deprivation index increased (p < .001). Exercise oncology programs were less common than cancer rehabilitation programs in tracts with a larger proportion of minority residents (p < .001)., Conclusions: Prior research has documented that underrepresented populations have worse cancer-related symptoms and higher cancer mortality. Herein, the authors document their findings that these same populations are less likely to have proximity to CR/EO programs, which are associated with improved cancer-related symptoms and cancer mortality outcomes. To realize the positive outcomes from CR/EO programming, efforts must focus on supporting expanded programming and sustainable payment for these services., (© 2024 The Author(s). Cancer published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Cancer Society.)

Background: The integration of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) concepts throughout the curriculum is imperative to the preparation of advanced-practice nurses to deliver person-centered care. This article describes the design and evaluation of one institution's faculty-developed DEI competencies for graduate nursing students., Method: A task force of faculty and content experts utilized a modified Delphi approach in the development of DEI-focused competencies related to advanced-level nursing education. A literature review, a faculty survey, and content experts were employed in the modified Delphi approach., Results: Creation of interdisciplinary faculty-lead graduate nursing DEI curricular competencies included an overview, identification of three domains, eight competencies with associated key elements, and a glossary clarifying nine essential DEI terms., Conclusion: The development of DEI competencies for graduate nursing programs is feasible and an important strategy for preparing students with the values and skills to address the ongoing embedded structural inequalities in health care. [ J Nurs Educ . 2024;63(X):XXX-XXX.] .

Introduction Traditionally, physical therapist (PT) services do not commence until an injury, fall, or health issue has already occurred although there is increasing evidence that preventative programs administered by PTs may decrease the fall risk among elderly individuals. The purpose of this study was to examine billing, reimbursement, and administrative outcomes of the previously established and investigated prevention-based screening and intervention HOP-UP-PT (Home-based Older Persons Upstreaming Prevention-Physical Therapy) program delivered by a physical therapist in the home of older adults after being referred by a community partner. A randomized controlled trial of the HOP-UP-PT program demonstrated an 8-fold reduction in falls for participants at moderate and high fall risk compared to those who did not participate in the program. Methods A prospective observational study was performed to examine administrative and payment outcomes of HOP-UP-PT participation. Participants were referred into the HOP-UP-PT program via a local community center. Physician authorization for physical therapy participation was obtained for each participant as required for payment under United States' Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines. The HOP-UP-PT program is preventative physical therapy delivered in the person's home with five in person visits (approximately one per month) followed by a monthly telehealth visit and a final in-person visit. Interventions included a balance program, home safety recommendations, health coaching, and addressing individual risks of falling or becoming homebound. A retrospective analysis was performed on the administrative and insurance payment data from this study which was then analyzed descriptively. Results Six participants with four different insurances completed the 7-month program (mean age=77 years) in 2021. The physical therapy visits were submitted to the participants' Medicare Part B plan. One participant's physical therapy visits were not submitted for payment as the health system did not have an active agreement with that health insurer. Due to the unclear status of telehealth visits in 2021, these services were not submitted to the insurance company for payment. All other PT visits were paid by the insurance companies. The mean amount paid for the initial evaluation code was $102.83 and the mean payment for the ~15 minute treatment codes was $25.90 per unit. Initial pilot data demonstrated a potential for a 4.2% positive operating margin when considering salary costs and travel. The mean delay from the initial referral into the HOP-UP-PT program until the physician provided written authorization for physical therapy was 69.7 days. Conclusion This study demonstrated initial evidence that payment for prevention-focused outpatient physical therapist services delivered in the home was feasible, however delays and costs in procuring physician authorization was a substantial barrier to prevention-focused physical therapy. A 4.2% operating margin demonstrated that, when efficiently operated, similar programs are likely to be viable. Furthermore, if telehealth services would have been paid, the operating margin was estimated to increase to 32%. Physical therapists are highly qualified to deliver efficient, effective preventative services which has the potential to reduce falls and institutionalization and subsequent healthcare cost savings., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Henry Ford Health System Institutional Review Board and Oakland University Institutional Review Board issued approval Henry Ford: IRB # 13704, Oakland University: FY 2020-199. This study was approved by the Henry Ford Health System Institutional Review Board and the Oakland University Institutional Review Board. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: This study was funded by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund Healthy Aging Grant in 2018. Financial relationships: Chris Wilson and Sara Arena declare(s) employment from HOP-UP-PT, LLC. Authors CW and SA are co-principals in the commercial organization HOP-UP-PT, LLC. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Wilson et al.)

Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by an expansion of CAG trinucleotide repeat in the HTT gene; the exact pathogenesis of HD currently remains unclear. One of the promising directions in the study of HDs is to determine the molecular mechanism underlying the development and role of microRNAs (miRNAs). This study aimed to identify the profile of miRNAs in an HD human cell line model as diagnostic biomarkers for HD. To study HD, the human SH-SY5Y HD cell model is based on the expression of two different forms: pEGFP-Q23 and pEGFP-Q74 of HTT. The expression of Htt protein was confirmed using aggregation assays combined with immunofluorescence and Western blotting methods. miRNA levels were measured in SH-SY5Y neuronal cell model samples stably expressing Q23 and Q74 using the extraction-free HTG EdgeSeq protocol. A total of 2083 miRNAs were detected, and 354 (top 18 miRNAs) miRNAs were significantly differentially expressed (DE) ( p  < 0.05) in Q23 and Q74 cell lines. A majority of the miRNAs were downregulated in the HD cell model. Moreover, we revealed that six DE miRNAs target seven genes ( ATN1, GEMIN4, EFNA5 , CSMD2, CREBBP, ATXN1, and B3GNT ) that play important roles in neurodegenerative disorders and showed significant expression differences in mutant Htt (Q74) when compared to wild-type Htt (Q23) using RT-qPCR ( p  < 0.05 and 0.01). We demonstrated the most important DE miRNA-mRNA profiles, interaction binding sites, and their related pathways in HD using experimental and bioinformatics methods. This will allow the development of novel diagnostic strategies and provide alternative therapeutic routes for treating HD., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2024 Belkozhayev, Niyazova, Kamal, Ivashchenko, Sharipov and Wilson.)

Introduction: Integration of exercise into standard oncology care requires a highly skilled workforce of exercise professionals; however, competency requirements have not kept pace with advancements in the field. Therefore, the aim of this study was to obtain consensus on core competencies required for an exercise professional to be qualified to work with adults undergoing active cancer treatment., Materials and Methods: A three-round modified electronic Delphi process was used. In Round 1, an international group of 64 exercise oncology stakeholders (i.e., exercise oncology professionals (n = 29), clinical referrers (n = 21), and people with lived experience (n = 14)) responded to open-ended prompts eliciting perspectives regarding competencies needed for an exercise oncology professional to work with adults receiving active cancer treatment. Subsequently, only exercise oncology professionals participated, ranking the importance of competencies. In Round 2, professionals received summary feedback, ranked new competencies generated from open-ended responses, and reranked competencies not reaching consensus. In the final round, professionals finalized consensus ranking and rated frequency and mastery level for each., Results: Consensus was reached on 103 core competencies required for exercise professionals to be qualified to deliver care to adults undergoing active cancer treatment. The core competencies represent 10 content areas and reflect the needs of clinical referrers and people with lived experience of receiving cancer treatment., Conclusions: The core competencies identified reflect significant advancements in the field of exercise oncology. Results will underpin the development of education, certification, and employment requirements for exercise oncology professionals, providing a critical step toward achieving routine integration of exercise into standard oncology care., (© 2024 The Author(s). Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Emergency preparedness initiatives are a Medicare condition of participation in home healthcare, yet limited evidence on the impact of associated programming is available. The purpose of this exploratory pilot study was to examine the outcomes of an individualized emergency preparedness educational program provided by a physical therapist (PT) in the homes of older adults. The investigators recruited older adults (n = 30) using convenience sampling. An emergency preparedness education module was developed. Demographics, functional and environmental outcome measures, a pre- and post-education confidence survey, and learning outcomes were ascertained and analyzed. Participants reported being female (n = 23), 70 to 79 years (n = 15), and 19 individuals reported 35 different lifetime emergency events. Hearing and vision impairments, inability to change a battery or navigate stairs, and environmental deficits including clutter and poor lighting were identified. Closing bedroom doors at nighttime, functioning carbon monoxide and smoke detectors, creating an evacuation plan, and assembling first aid kits were learning outcomes. Trends toward increased confidence were identified, with statistically significant improvements in the ability to respond to a fire (P = .01), a heat wave (P = .03), and to crawl on hands and knees (P = .05) identified. This study provides emerging evidence that PTs have a role in improving an older adult's confidence to prepare for and respond to an emergency event., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Sortilin is an important regulator with potential tumour-suppressor function by limiting EGFR signalling. In this study, we undertook a comprehensive expression analysis of sortilin transcript variants and the DNA methylation status of their corresponding promoters in human non-small cell carcinomas (NSCLCs). RNA/DNA was extracted from 81 NSCLC samples and paired normal tissue. mRNA expression was measured by qPCR and DNA methylation determined by pyrosequencing. BigDye-terminator sequencing was used to confirm exon-8 alternative splicing. Results demonstrated that both SORT1A and SORT1B variants were downregulated in lung tumours. The SORT1A/SORT1B expression ratio was higher in tumours compared to normal tissue. SORT1B promoter hypermethylation was detected in lung tumours compared to normal lung (median difference 14%, Mann-Whitney test p = 10 -6 ). Interestingly, SORT1B is hypermethylated in white blood cells, but a small and very consistent drop in methylation (6%, p = 10 -15 ) was observed in the lung cancer cases compared to control subjects. We demonstrate that the SORT1B exon-8 splice variation, reported in sequence databases, is also a feature of SORT1A. The significantly altered quantitative and qualitative characteristics of sortilin mRNA in NSCLC indicate a significant involvement in tumour pathogenesis and may have significant impact for its utility as a predictive marker in lung cancer management.

Multiplexed genetic perturbations are critical for testing functional interactions among coding or non-coding genetic elements. Compared to double-stranded DNA cutting, repressive chromatin formation using CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) avoids genotoxicity and is more effective for perturbing non-coding regulatory elements in pooled assays. However, current CRISPRi pooled screening approaches are limited to targeting one to three genomic sites per cell. We engineer an Acidaminococcus Cas12a (AsCas12a) variant, multiplexed transcriptional interference AsCas12a (multiAsCas12a), that incorporates R1226A, a mutation that stabilizes the ribonucleoprotein-DNA complex via DNA nicking. The multiAsCas12a-KRAB fusion improves CRISPRi activity over DNase-dead AsCas12a-KRAB fusions, often rescuing the activities of lentivirally delivered CRISPR RNAs (crRNA) that are inactive when used with the latter. multiAsCas12a-KRAB supports CRISPRi using 6-plex crRNA arrays in high-throughput pooled screens. Using multiAsCas12a-KRAB, we discover enhancer elements and dissect the combinatorial function of cis-regulatory elements in human cells. These results instantiate a group testing framework for efficiently surveying numerous combinations of chromatin perturbations for biological discovery and engineering., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

High fall rates among older adults in combination with prolonged time on the floor after a fall have created an urgent need to preventatively address fall recovery strategies. The purpose of this study is to describe the outcomes of a novel safe fall recovery (SFR) educational module provided by physical therapists to older adults in their homes. A pre- and post-test descriptive study used a convenience sample to recruit 30 adults (≥65 years). A baseline assessment and SFR in-home education were provided. Pre- and post-education measures included the Steps for Safe Fall Recovery (Steps for SFR) tool, the Activity Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, and a fall confidence survey. The Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test determined significance (P < .05). Participants were age 77.2 (6.8) years and 20 females. Eight reported a fall during the prior year. Statistically significant improvements were identified in the Steps to SFR tool (P = .001), the ABC scale (P = .004), and the fall recovery confidence survey (P = .001). Integration of an SFR educational intervention delivered to an older adult population in their home demonstrated improved safety and confidence to recover from a fall., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The recently-discovered high-entropy oxides (HEO's) offer a paradoxical combination of crystalline arrangement and high disorder. They differ qualitatively from established paradigms for disordered solids such as glasses and alloys. In these latter systems, it is well known that disorder induces localised vibrational excitations. In this article, we explore the possibility of disorder-induced localisation in Mg 0.2 Co 0.2 Ni 0.2 Cu 0.2 Zn 0.2 O, the prototypical HEO with rock-salt structure. To describe phononic excitations, we model the interatomic potentials for the cation-oxygen interactions by fitting to the physical properties of the parent binary oxides. We validate our model against the experimentally determined crystal structure and optical conductivity. The resulting phonon spectrum shows wave-like propagating modes at low energies and localised modes at high energies. Localisation is reflected in signatures such as participation ratio and correlation amplitude. Finally, we argue that mass disorder can be increased to enhance localisation. We consider a hypothetical material, high-entropy telluride-oxide, where tellurium atoms are admixed into the anion sublattice. This shows a larger localised fraction, with additional localised modes appearing in the middle of the spectrum. Our results demonstrate that HEO's are a promising platform to study Anderson localisation of phonons., (© 2024 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

Superconducting quantum circuits are a natural platform for quantum simulations of a wide variety of important lattice models describing topological phenomena, spanning condensed matter and high-energy physics. One such model is the bosonic analog of the well-known fermionic Kitaev chain, a 1D tight-binding model with both nearest-neighbor hopping and pairing terms. Despite being fully Hermitian, the bosonic Kitaev chain exhibits a number of striking features associated with non-Hermitian systems, including chiral transport and a dramatic sensitivity to boundary conditions known as the non-Hermitian skin effect. Here, using a multimode superconducting parametric cavity, we implement the bosonic Kitaev chain in synthetic dimensions. The lattice sites are mapped to frequency modes of the cavity, and the in situ tunable complex hopping and pairing terms are created by parametric pumping at the mode-difference and mode-sum frequencies, respectively. We experimentally demonstrate important precursors of nontrivial topology and the non-Hermitian skin effect in the bosonic Kitaev chain, including chiral transport, quadrature wavefunction localization, and sensitivity to boundary conditions. Our experiment is an important first step towards exploring genuine many-body non-Hermitian quantum dynamics., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Care for those with life-limiting cancer heavily involves family caregivers who may experience significant physical and emotional burden. The purpose of this study was to test the impact of Symptom Care at Home (SCH), an automated digital family caregiver coaching intervention, during home hospice, when compared to usual hospice care (UC) on the primary outcome of overall caregiver burden. Secondary outcomes included Caregiver Burden at weeks 1 and 8, Mood and Vitality subscales, overall moderate-to-severe caregiving symptoms, and sixth month spouse/partner bereavement outcomes., Methods: Using a randomized, multisite, nonblinded controlled trial, 332 cancer family caregivers were enrolled and analyzed (159 SCH vs. 173 UC). Caregivers were primarily White (92%), female (69%), and spouse caregivers (53%). Caregivers provided daily reports on severity levels (0-10 scale) for their anxiety, depressed mood, fatigue, disturbed sleep, and caregiving interference with normal activities. These scores combined constituted the Caregiver Burden primary outcome. Based on reported symptoms, SCH caregivers received automated, tailored coaching about improving their well-being. Reports of moderate-to-severe caregiving symptoms also triggered hospice nurse notification. Secondary outcomes of Mood and Vitality were subcomponents of the Caregiver Burden score. A combined bereavement adjustment tool captured sixth month bereavement., Results: The SCH intervention reduced overall Caregiver Burden compared to UC (p < .001), with a 38% reduction at 8 weeks and a medium-to-large effect size (d = .61). SCH caregivers experienced less (p < .001) disruption in both Mood and Vitality. There were higher levels of moderate-to-severe caregiving symptoms overtime in UC (OR, 2.722). All SCH caregivers benefited regardless of caregiver: sex, caregiver relationship, age, patient diagnosis and family income. SCH spouse/partner caregivers achieved better sixth month bereavement adjustment than UC (p < .007)., Conclusions: The SCH intervention significantly decreased caregiving burden over UC and supports the maintenance of family caregiver mood and vitality throughout caregiving with extended benefit into bereavement., (© 2023 American Cancer Society.)

Exposure to blast overpressure has been a pervasive feature of combat-related injuries. Studies exploring the neurological correlates of repeated low-level blast exposure in career "breachers" demonstrated higher levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and interleukin (IL)-6 and decreases in IL-10 within brain-derived extracellular vesicles (BDEVs). The current pilot study was initiated in partnership with the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to explore whether neuroinflammation is seen within special operators with prior blast exposure. Data were analyzed from 18 service members (SMs), inclusive of 9 blast-exposed special operators with an extensive career history of repeated blast exposures and 9 controls matched by age and duration of service. Neuroinflammation was assessed utilizing positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with [ 18 F]DPA-714. Serum was acquired to assess inflammatory biomarkers within whole serum and BDEVs. The Blast Exposure Threshold Survey (BETS) was acquired to determine blast history. Both self-report and neurocognitive measures were acquired to assess cognition. Similarity-driven Multi-view Linear Reconstruction (SiMLR) was used for joint analysis of acquired data. Analysis of BDEVs indicated significant positive associations with a generalized blast exposure value (GBEV) derived from the BETS. SiMLR-based analyses of neuroimaging demonstrated exposure-related relationships between GBEV, PET-neuroinflammation, cortical thickness, and volume loss within special operators. Affected brain networks included regions associated with memory retrieval and executive functioning, as well as visual and heteromodal processing. Post hoc assessments of cognitive measures failed to demonstrate significant associations with GBEV. This emerging evidence suggests neuroinflammation may be a key feature of the brain response to blast exposure over a career in operational personnel. The common thread of neuroinflammation observed in blast-exposed populations requires further study.

Background: Adherence and retention concerns raise questions about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in young men who have sex with men (YMSM)., Methods: Using an adolescent-focused simulation model, we compared annual HIV screening alone with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine-based oral PrEP with every 3-month HIV screening in YMSM (aged 15-24) at increased risk of HIV. Data derived from published sources included: age-stratified HIV incidence/100 person-years (PY) on- or off-PrEP (0.6-10.1 or 0.4-6.4), PrEP retention at 6 years (28%), transmissions by HIV RNA level (0.0-78.4/100PY) and annual costs of antiretroviral therapy ($32 000-69 000), HIV care ($3100-34 600), and PrEP program/generic drug ($900/360). Outcomes included transmissions (percent of cohort infected), quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), costs ($), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios ($/QALY). We explored the sensitivity of findings to variation in HIV incidence and drug prices., Results: Compared with annual screening alone, PrEP would increase QALYs (9.58 to 9.67), reduce new infections (37% to 30%), and decrease costs (by $5000) over 10 years. PrEP would remain cost-saving for HIV incidence off-PrEP ≥5.1/100PY or annual PrEP price ≤$1200. Over a lifetime horizon, PrEP would be cost-saving for HIV incidence off-PrEP ≥1.0/100PY, across all retention assumptions examined. PrEP would not be cost-effective at HIV incidence ≤0.1/100PY, regardless of drug price, due to programmatic costs., Conclusions: In US YMSM at increased risk of HIV, generic oral PrEP and every-3-month screening would be cost-saving compared with annual screening alone, even with high discontinuation and low adherence, over a range of HIV incidences., Competing Interests: Potential conflicts of interest. M. C. W. reports consulting fees from Quadrant Health Economics for health economics consulting unrelated to the content of this manuscript. R. J. L. reports personal consulting fees from Gilead Sciences and Merck. All other authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America.)

The 1983-1984 mortality event of the long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum reduced their population by up to 99% and was accompanied by a phase shift from coral dominated to algal dominated reefs in the Caribbean. Modest rebounds of D. antillarum populations in the Caribbean have been noted, and here we document the impacts of two major hurricanes (2017, Irma and Maria) and the 2022 disease outbreak on populations of D. antillarum found by targeted surveys in the urchin zone at nine fringing reef and three mangrove sites on St. John, USVI. D. antillarum populations at the reef sites had declined by 66% five months after the hurricanes but showed significant recovery just one year later. The impact of recent disease on these populations was much more profound, with all reef populations exhibiting a significant decline (96.4% overall). Fifteen months after the disease was first noted, D. antillarum at reef sites exhibited a modest yet significant recovery (15% pre-disease density). D. antillarum populations in mangrove sites were impacted by the hurricanes but exhibited much higher density than reef sites after the disease outbreak, suggesting that at D. antillarum in some locations may be less vulnerable to disease., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Godard et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: The Patient Cloud ePRO app was adopted by the National Cancer Institute National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) to facilitate capturing electronic patient-reported (ePRO) outcome data, but use has been low. The study objectives were to test whether a patient-targeted ePRO educational resource (ePRO-E) would increase ePRO intent (number of users) and improve data quality (high quality: ≥80% of the required surveys submitted) within an ongoing NCTN study., Methods: The ePRO-E intervention, a patient-targeted educational resource (written material and 6-minute animated YouTube video), was designed to address ePRO barriers. ePRO intent and data quality were compared between 2 groups (N = 69): a historical control group and a prospectively recruited intervention group exposed to ePRO-E. Covariates included technology attitudes, age, sex, education, socioeconomic status, and comorbidity., Results: Intervention group ePRO intent (78.8%) was statistically significantly higher than historical control group intent (47.1%) (P = .03). Patients choosing ePRO versus paper surveys had more positive and higher technology attitudes scores (P = .03). The odds of choosing ePRO were 4.7 times higher (95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 1.2 to 17.8) (P = .02) among intervention group patients and 5.2 times higher (95% CI = 1.3 to 21.6) (P = .02) among patients with high technology attitudes scores, after controlling for covariates. However, the 80% submission rate (percentage submitting ≥80% of required surveys) in the ePRO group (30.6%) was statistically significantly lower than in the paper group (57.9%) (P = .05)., Conclusions: ePRO-E exposure increased ePRO intent. High technology attitudes scores were associated with ePRO selection. Since the ePRO survey submission rate was low, additional strategies are needed to promote high-quality data submission., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Introduction Technology literacy is the ability to comfortably understand, use, and navigate digital devices. It is considered a "super social determinant of health", and yet 39% of adults aged 65+ report not using a smartphone, and 25% of seniors still lack internet access. The purpose of this study was to examine the applicability of a physical therapist-delivered clinical assessment tool related to technological literacy and to identify relationships between technology utilization and perceptions related to sociodemographic factors in community-dwelling older adults. Methods A prospective mixed-methods observational-descriptive study where physical therapists (PTs) administered a newly designed technology literacy algorithm to older adults and evaluated the results of the algorithm. A convenience sample of 30 participants aged 65 and older was evaluated for their technology literacy. The exclusion criteria were if the person had a vision deficit, lived in a nursing home or extended care facility, was unable to fluently read and understand the English language, or was not willing to have an in-home visit by a licensed PT. After informed consent was obtained, the participant completed a Past Experience with Technology Questionnaire assessing participant confidence with technology usage and a demographic questionnaire. A PT data collector visited participants' homes and administered a novel technology literacy algorithm. The PTs also provided subjective feedback after patient visits as to their perceptions of the algorithm. Inferential statistics were performed for key variables, including a Kruskal-Wallis test being utilized for variables with three or more levels and a two-sample Wilcoxon test being utilized for variables with two levels. The binary results were evaluated with chi-squared tests. Trends in distribution and measures of central tendency were analyzed for demographic data. Statistical significance was set at P<0.05 with a confidence interval of 95%. Results Participants (n=30) were evenly distributed with regard to age, and 66% of people had a college degree. Most were female, of the white race, and retired. There were statistically significant relationships between older age and decreased comfort level with using the internet (P=0.30) and sending messages (P=0.31), with individuals 80+ years old having a mean confidence of 6.78 out of 10. A statistically significant relationship was also found between higher income and increased confidence in browsing the internet (P = 0.07). Most qualitative data from physical therapist experiences included positive trends such as ease of use, efficiency, and confidence instilled. Constructive feedback included a lack of resources to assist with more advanced technology-related needs and recommendations to refine the algorithm when advanced needs were identified. Conclusion Technology literacy is a vital component of accessing health and medical care and maximizing the quality of that care, especially in the older adult population. The tools created may assist clinicians with identifying and addressing issues related to technology in older adults. This may help a patient navigate health issues that require the use of technology in their home. This study provided evidence that a PT-administered algorithm may be feasible to address technology literacy issues in the homes of older adults., Competing Interests: The authors have declared financial relationships, which are detailed in the next section., (Copyright © 2023, Wilson et al.)

A striking question from a woman with ovarian cancer leads a nurse to pursue both practice and research., (Copyright © 2023 AWHONN. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Prioritizing patient values-who/what matters most-is central to palliative care and critical to treatment decision making. Yet which factors are most important to family caregivers in these decisions remains understudied. Using data from a U.S. national survey of cancer caregivers (N = 1661), we examined differences in factors considered very important by caregivers when partnering with patients in cancer treatment decision making by cancer stage and caregiver sociodemographics. Fifteen factors were rated on a 4-point Likert-scale from 'very unimportant' to 'very important.' Descriptive statistics were used to characterize caregiver factors and tabulate proportions of importance for each. Generalized linear mixed effect modeling was used to examine the importance of factors by cancer stage, and chi-square analyses were performed to determine associations between caregiver sociodemographics and the five most commonly endorsed factors: quality of life (69%), physical well-being (68%), length of life (66%), emotional well-being (63%), and opinions/feelings of oncology team (59%). Significant associations (all p 's < 0.05) of small magnitude were found between the most endorsed factors and caregiver age, race, gender, and ethnicity, most especially 'opinions/feelings of the oncology team'. Future work is needed to determine the best timing and approach for eliciting and effectively incorporating caregiver values and preferences into shared treatment decision making.

The provision of trauma-informed care (TIC) is the clinical standard when caring for patients who have experienced sexual trauma. TIC encompasses five core principles (safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness, and empow.