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Yves Paul Vincent Mbous,1 Zasim Azhar Siddiqui,1 Murtuza Bharmal,2 Traci LeMasters,1 Joanna Kolodney,3 George A Kelley,4 Khalid M Kamal,1 Usha Sambamoorthi5 1School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA; 2AstraZeneca Oncology Outcomes Research, AstraZeneca, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; 3School of Medicine, Department of Hematology/Oncology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA; 4School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA; 5College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacotherapy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USACorrespondence: Khalid M Kamal, School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, West Virginia University, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center [North], P.O. Box 9510, Morgantown, WV, USA, Tel +1 304-293-1652, Email kkamal@hsc.wvu.eduObjective: To evaluate chronic conditions as leading predictors of economic burden over time among older adults with incident primary Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC) using machine learning methods.Methods: We used a retrospective cohort of older adults (age ≥ 67 years) diagnosed with MCC between 2009 and 2019. For these elderly MCC patients, we derived three phases (pre-diagnosis, during-treatment, and post-treatment) anchored around cancer diagnosis date. All three phases had 12 months baseline and 12-months follow-up periods. Chronic conditions were identified in baseline and follow-up periods, whereas annual total and out-of-pocket (OOP) healthcare expenditures were measured during the 12-month follow-up. XGBoost regression models and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) methods were used to identify leading predictors and their associations with economic burden.Results: Congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic kidney disease (CKD) and depression had the highest average incremental total expenditures during pre-diagnosis, treatment, and post-treatment phases, respectively ($25,004, $24,221, and $16,277 (CHF); $22,524, $19,350, $20,556 (CKD); and $21,645, $22,055, $18,350 (depression)), whereas the average incremental OOP expenditures during the same periods were $3703, $3,013, $2,442 (CHF); $2,457, $2,518, $2,914 (CKD); and $3,278, $2,322, $2,783 (depression). Except for hypertension and HIV, all chronic conditions had higher expenditures compared to those without the chronic conditions. Predictive models across each of phases of care indicated that CHF, CKD, and heart diseases were among the top 10 leading predictors; however, their feature importance ranking declined over time. Although depression was one of the leading drivers of expenditures in unadjusted descriptive models, it was not among the top 10 predictors.Conclusion: Among older adults with MCC, cardiac and renal conditions were the leading drivers of total expenditures and OOP expenditures. Our findings suggest that managing cardiac and renal conditions may be important for cost containment efforts.Keywords: Merkel cell carcinoma, healthcare expenditures, chronic conditions, XGBoost, SHAP, SEER-Medicare

ABSTRACT Objective The lack of consensus on the benefits and harms of standard therapies, including surgery (SRx), radiotherapy (RTx), chemotherapy (CTx), and their combinations among early‐stage MCC, prompted this study. Methods A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized and non‐randomized studies published between January 01, 1972, and January 31, 2023, and having overall survival (OS), local recurrence (LR), regional recurrence (RR), disease‐specific survival (DSS), and/or disease‐free survival (DFS) as outcomes was conducted using the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed (NCBI), Scopus (ELSEVIER), and Web of Science (CLAVIRATE) databases. Hazard ratios (HRs) and their variances were pooled using the inverse variance heterogeneity model. Results Forty‐nine studies representing 46,215 participants were included in the meta‐analysis. A statistically significant improvement in OS was observed for groups administered adjuvant RTx (SRx + RTx) compared to SRx only (HR = 0.78, 95% CI, 0.62–0.99), albeit with statistically significant heterogeneity (Q = 532.30, p

Laser guide stars in astronomical adaptive optics systems have the focus anisoplanatism problem, especially for telescopes larger than 4 m in diameter. The Projected Pupil Plane Pattern (PPPP) offers an alternative solution by projecting a collimated laser beam across the telescope’s entire pupil. One significant challenge is dealing with gain-related issues, necessitating the use of two beam profiles obtained simultaneously from two different distances from the telescope pupil. In this work, we explore the integration of a convolutional neural network (CNN) with experimental data emulating PPPP. We investigate how CNNs can significantly simplify the PPPP design by enabling operation with a single beam profile. These results permit the development of the PPPP concept to use a single beam profile without distance-gain degeneracy. In this work, it is shown that a 10% residual error can be achieved for test data randomly chosen over the SNR range of 4 to 12.

The incidence of both out-of-hospital and in-hospital cardiac arrest increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Patient survival and neurologic outcome after both out-of-hospital and in-hospital cardiac arrest were reduced. Direct effects of the COVID-19 illness combined with indirect effects of the pandemic on patient's behavior and health care systems contributed to these changes. Understanding the potential factors offers the opportunity to improve future response and save lives.

Purpose of reviewMultivessel coronary artery disease, defined as significant stenosis in two or more major coronary arteries, is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The diagnosis and treatment of multivessel disease have evolved in the PCI era from solely a visual estimation of ischemic risk to a functional evaluation during angiography. This review summarizes the evidence and discusses the commonly used methods of multivessel coronary artery stenosis physiologic assessment.Recent findingsWhile FFR remains the gold standard in coronary physiologic assessment, several pressure-wire-based non-hyperemic indices of functional stenosis have been developed and validated as well as wire-free angiographically derived quantitative flow ratio. Identifying and treating functionally significant coronary atherosclerotic lesions reduce symptoms and major adverse cardiovascular events. Coronary physiologic assessment in multivessel disease minimizes the observer bias in visual estimates of stenosis, changes clinical management, and improves patient outcomes.

BackgroundRacialized populations in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Higher vaccine hesitancy has been reported among racial and ethnic minorities in some of these countries. In the United Kingdom, for example, higher vaccine hesitancy has been observed among the South Asian population and Black compared with the White population, and this has been attributed to lack of trust in government due to historical and ongoing racism and discrimination. ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess vaccine receipt by ethnicity and its relationship with mistrust among ethnic groups in British Columbia (BC), Canada. MethodsWe included adults ≥18 years of age who participated in the BC COVID-19 Population Mixing Patterns Survey (BC-Mix) from March 8, 2021, to August 8, 2022. The survey included questions about vaccine receipt and beliefs based on a behavioral framework. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between mistrust in vaccines and vaccine receipt among ethnic groups. ResultsThe analysis included 25,640 adults. Overall, 76.7% (22,010/28,696) of respondents reported having received at least 1 dose of COVID-19 vaccines (Chinese=86.1%, South Asian=79.6%, White=75.5%, and other ethnicity=73.2%). Overall, 13.7% (3513/25,640) of respondents reported mistrust of COVID-19 vaccines (Chinese=7.1%, South Asian=8.2%, White=15.4%, and other ethnicity=15.2%). In the multivariable model (adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, educational attainment, and household size), mistrust was associated with a 93% reduced odds of vaccine receipt (adjusted odds ratio 0.07, 95% CI 0.06-0.08). In the models stratified by ethnicity, mistrust was associated with 81%, 92%, 94%, and 95% reduced odds of vaccine receipt among South Asian, Chinese, White, and other ethnicities, respectively. Indecision, whether to trust the vaccine or not, was significantly associated with a 70% and 78% reduced odds of vaccine receipt among those who identified as White and of other ethnic groups, respectively. ConclusionsVaccine receipt among those who identified as South Asian and Chinese in BC was higher than that among the White population. Vaccine mistrust was associated with a lower odds of vaccine receipt in all ethnicities, but it had a lower effect on vaccine receipt among the South Asian and Chinese populations. Future research needs to focus on sources of mistrust to better understand its potential influence on vaccine receipt among visible minorities in Canada.

Exogenous supplementation with ketone beverages has been shown to reduce plasma glucose levels during acute nutritional ketosis. It remains to be investigated whether growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15)—an anorexigenic hormone—is involved in this process. The aim was to investigate the effect of a ketone ester beverage delivering β-hydroxybutyrate (KEβHB) on plasma levels of GDF-15, as well as assess the influence of eating behaviour on it. The study was a randomised controlled trial (registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03889210). Individuals were given a KEβHB beverage or placebo in a cross-over fashion. Blood samples were collected at baseline, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 min after ingestion. Eating behaviour was assessed using the three-factor eating questionnaire. GDF-15 levels were not significantly different (p = 0.503) after the KEβHB beverage compared with the placebo. This finding remained consistent across the cognitive restraint, emotional eating, and uncontrolled eating domains. Changes in the anorexigenic hormone GDF-15, irrespective of eating behaviour, do not appear to play a major role in the glucose-lowering effect of exogenous ketones.

BackgroundSouth Asians have disproportionately high rates of cardiovascular disease. Dyslipidemia, a contributing factor, may be influenced by lifestyle, which can vary by religious beliefs. Little is known about South Asian religions and associations with dyslipidemia.MethodsCross-sectional analyses of the MASALA study (n = 889). We examined the associations between religious affiliation and cholesterol levels using multivariate linear regression models. We determined whether smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, and dietary pattern mediated these associations.ResultsMean LDL was 112 ± 32 mg/dL, median HDL was 48 mg/dL (IQR:40-57), and median triglycerides was 118 mg/dL (IQR:88-157). Muslims had higher LDL and triglycerides, and lower HDL, while participants with no religious affiliation had lower LDL and higher HDL. The difference in HDL between Muslims and those with no religious affiliation was partly explained by alcohol consumption.ConclusionsReligion-specific tailoring of interventions designed to promote healthy lifestyle to reduce cholesterol among South Asians may be useful.

A comprehensive literature review revealed cultural beliefs, societal obligations, and gender roles within the South Asian community to be indirect contributors to the health of South Asian immigrants (SAIs). Health professionals need to increase their work with SAI communities to change less beneficial cultural elements such as misconceptions about health and exercise, and lack of communication when using alternative medicines. Community engaged efforts and continuing medical education are both needed to improve the health of the South Asian immigrant population in a culturally appropriate manner.

Background & aimsBoth liver disease (LD) and pancreatitis pose substantial burdens. There have been no general population-based studies on frequency of LD after an episode of pancreatitis. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of LD in a population-based cohort of patients following pancreatitis.MethodsNationwide data on the general population of nearly 3 million people were used to identify retrospectively diagnoses of acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis (CP), LD and cirrhosis from 1998 to 2016. Acute pancreatitis was categorised as first (FAP) or recurrent (RAP) episode. Number of pancreatitis recurrences prior to LD diagnosis was determined.ResultsA total of 20,931 pancreatitis patients were included, of which 874 developed LD following pancreatitis. The incidence of LD in FAP was 115.59 (95% confidence interval 102.19-128.98), in RAP - 217.63 (95% confidence interval 173.31-261.94), and in CP - 539.43 (95% confidence interval 494.72-584.13) patients per 100,000 pancreatitis patients per year. There was a significant increase in the probability of LD with increasing number of pancreatitis recurrences and, for the same number of pancreatitis recurrences, LD was significantly more frequent after CP than RAP (hazard ratio 1.666 (95% confidence interval 1.322-2.098; p =

Abstract Background Ketone monoester β-hydroxybutyrate (KEβHB) ingestion has emerged as an effective method of inducing acute ketosis. Although evidence suggests that KEβHB can offer several therapeutic benefits, whether KEβHB affects lipid profile is still unknown. Aims The primary aim was to study the effect of KEβHB on plasma lipid profile in individuals with prediabetes. The secondary aim was to investigate the role of saturated fat intake in that effect. Methods This study was a randomized controlled trial with cross-over design. Following an overnight fast, 18 adults (six women and 12 men) with prediabetes (diagnosed based on the American Diabetes Association criteria) ingested a single dose of KEβHB drink or placebo drink. Blood samples were collected every 30 min, from baseline to 150 min. Outcome variables included changes in total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, remnant cholesterol, triglycerides, and the triglycerides to HDL cholesterol ratio. The area under the curve (AUC) over 150 min was calculated for each outcome following ingestion of the drinks. Habitual saturated fat intake was ascertained using the EPIC-Norfolk food frequency questionnaire. Results Significant elevation of blood β-hydroxybutyrate from 0.2 mmol/L to 3.5 mmol/L (p

Abstract Background Vector mosquito biting intensity is an important measure to understand malaria transmission. Human landing catch (HLC) is an effective but labour-intensive, expensive, and potentially hazardous entomological surveillance tool. The Centres for Disease Control light trap (CDC-LT) and the human decoy trap (HDT) are exposure-free alternatives. This study compared the CDC-LT and HDT against HLC for measuring Anop heles biting in rural Tanzania and assessed their suitability as HLC proxies. Methods Indoor mosquito surveys using HLC and CDC-LT and outdoor surveys using HLC and HDT were conducted in 2017 and in 2019 in Ulanga, Tanzania in 19 villages, with one trap/house/night. Species composition, sporozoite rates and density/trap/night were compared. Aggregating the data by village and month, the Bland–Altman approach was used to assess agreement between trap types. Results Overall, 66,807 Anopheles funestus and 14,606 Anopheles arabiensis adult females were caught with 6,013 CDC-LT, 339 indoor-HLC, 136 HDT and 195 outdoor-HLC collections. Indoors, CDC-LT caught fewer An. arabiensis (Adjusted rate ratio [Adj.RR] = 0.35, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.27–0.46, p