Learning ecosystem-scale dynamics from microbiome data with MDSINE2.

Although dynamical systems models are a powerful tool for analysing microbial ecosystems, challenges in learning these models from complex microbiome datasets and interpreting their outputs limit use. We introduce the Microbial Dynamical Systems Inference Engine 2 (MDSINE2), a Bayesian method that learns compact and interpretable ecosystems-scale dynamical systems models from microbiome timeseries data. Microbial dynamics are modelled as stochastic processes driven by interaction modules, or groups of microbes with similar interaction structure and responses to perturbations, and additionally, noise characteristics of data are modelled.

Bariatric Surgery and Incident Development of Obesity-Related Comorbidities.

Importance: As obesity rates rise in the US, managing associated metabolic comorbidities presents a growing burden to the health care system. While bariatric surgery has shown promise in mitigating established metabolic conditions, no large studies have quantified the risk of developing major obesity-related comorbidities after bariatric surgery.

Objective: To identify common metabolic phenotypes for patients eligible for bariatric surgery and to estimate crude and adjusted incidence rates of additional metabolic comorbidities associated with bariatric surgery compared with weight management program (WMP) alone.

Sustained Serotonergic Stimulation Platform for Peripheral Axonal Regeneration.

Purpose: Limitations remain in peripheral nerve injury treatments. Previous studies suggest that serotonergic signaling promotes nerve regeneration by facilitating reinnervation and modulating neuronal guidance. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of serotonergic peripheral neuroregeneration using Zolmitriptan, a serotonin receptor agonist.

Cost Comparison of Sports Medicine Procedures in Ambulatory Surgery Centers Versus Hospital Outpatient Departments for Medicare Recipients.

Background: Healthcare costs in the United States are rising in conjunction with an increased utilization of outpatient centers, particularly in sports medicine.

Purpose/hypothesis: The primary purpose of this study was to utilize Medicare data to compare the overall cost of sports medicine procedures performed in the ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and hospital outpatient department (HOPD) settings. The secondary purpose of this study was to compare facility fees, surgeon fees, Medicare payments, and patient payments between ASCs and HOPDs.