Inequity in Washington state covid-19-related crowdfunding.

The first seven months of the US COVID-19 pandemic saw a massive increase in COVID-19-related crowdfunding campaigns. Despite their popularity, these campaigns were rarely successful in reaching their monetary goals, with nearly 40% of them not receiving a single donation. Previous research has indicated that crowdfunding has increased inequities and disparities in wealth, and this study set out to examine the situation in Washington State, an area greatly divided socio-economically, culturally, and geographically.

Radiological cervical foraminal stenosis severity and morphology as a predictor of pre-operative function and functional surgical outcome.

Background: Cervical foraminal stenosis on MRI may be assessed using the Kim, modified Kim or Siller methods. This study aimed to investigate which morphological features of cervical foraminal stenosis in patients with cervical radiculopathy correlated best with pre-operative and post-operative surgical outcome following Anterior Cervical Discectomy (ACD) or a Posterior Cervical Foraminotomy (PCF).

Methods: Pre-operative MRIs of adults with cervical radiculopathy were assessed by six raters.

Consistency of Radiological Grading of Cervical Foraminal Stenosis.

Background: The degree of cervical foraminal stenosis on MRI scans may be measured and categorised using the Kim or modified Kim methods. These grading scales have not previously been validated in a cohort of patients awaiting surgery.

Objectives: To establish the normal foraminal and root diameters as well as the consistency of inter and intra-rater grading using the Kim and modified Kim grading systems in pre-operative surgical patients.

Medical Crowdfunding and Disparities in Health Care Access in the United States, 2016‒2020.

To assess whether medical crowdfunding use and outcomes are aligned with health financing needs in the United States. We collected data on 437 596 US medical GoFundMe campaigns between 2016 and 2020. In addition to summarizing trends in campaign initiation and earnings, we used state- and county-level data to assess whether crowdfunding usage and earnings were higher in areas with greater medical debt, uninsured populations, and poverty.

Crowdfunding as a response to COVID-19: Increasing inequities at a time of crisis.

During the first seven months of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 175,000 crowdfunding campaigns were established in the US for coronavirus-related needs using the platform GoFundMe. Though charitable crowdfunding has been popular in recent years, the widespread creation of COVID-19 related campaigns points to potential shifts in how the platform is being used, and the volume of needs users have brought to the site during a profound economic, social, and epidemiological crisis. This study offers a systematic examination of the scope and impacts of COVID-19 related crowdfunding in the early months of the pandemic and assesses how existing social and health inequities shaped crowdfunding use and outcomes.

Do Optic Canal Dimensions Measured on CT Influence the Degree of Papilloedema and Visual Dysfunction in Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension?

A recent study found that increased optic canal area on magnetic resonance imaging was associated with worse papilloedema in idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). We repeated this study using more accurate computerized tomography derived measurements. Optic canal dimensions were measured from 42 IIH patients and 24 controls.

Silent cerebral infarction and cognitive function following TAVI: an observational two-centre UK comparison of the first-generation CoreValve and second-generation Lotus valve.

Objective: To compare the incidence of silent cerebral infarction and impact on cognitive function following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) with the first-generation CoreValve (Medtronic, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) and second-generation Lotus valve (Boston Scientific, Natick Massachusetts, USA).

Design: A prospective observational study comprising a 1.5 T cerebral MRI scan, performed preoperatively and immediately following TAVI, and neurocognitive assessments performed at baseline, 30 days and 1 year follow-up.

Pituitary tumour apoplexy within prolactinomas in children: a more aggressive condition?

Objectives: To evaluate clinical presentations, diagnosis and management of paediatric patients presenting with pituitary apoplexy.

Methods: A retrospective case series describing a cohort of paediatric patients presenting with this condition from 2010-2016 to a tertiary referral children's hospital in the United Kingdom.

Results: Pituitary apoplexy is a rare condition that seems to have a higher relative incidence in children than adults.

Brain-injured Survivors of Monochorionic Twin Pregnancies Complicated by Single Intrauterine Death: MR Findings in a Multicenter Study.

Purpose To describe and classify the range of brain injuries present at prenatal, in-utero magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in co-twin survivors of monochorionic (MC) twin pregnancies complicated by single intrauterine death (SIUD). Materials and Methods This retrospective, observational study from six tertiary fetal medicine centers that perform tertiary-level prenatal in-utero MR studies reviewed cases in which prenatal in-utero MR imaging had shown a brain injury in a surviving co-twin of a twin pregnancy with a MC component complicated by SIUD. Results Forty-two surviving MC twins were described.

Multiple sclerosis update: use of MRI for early diagnosis, disease monitoring and assessment of treatment related complications.

MRI has long been established as the most sensitive in vivo technique for detecting multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions. The 2010 revisions of the McDonald Criteria have simplified imaging criteria, such that a diagnosis of MS can be made on a single contrast-enhanced MRI scan in the appropriate clinical context. New disease-modifying therapies have proven effective in reducing relapse rate and severity.

Consequence of cerebral embolism after transcatheter aortic valve implantation compared with contemporary surgical aortic valve replacement: effect on health-related quality of life.

Background: Incidence of cerebral microinfarcts is higher after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) compared with surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). It is unknown whether these lesions persist and what direct impact they have on health-related quality of life. The objective was to identify predictors of cerebral microinfarction and measure their effect on health-related quality of life during 6 months after TAVI when compared with SAVR.

Ancillary study management systems: a review of needs.

Background: The valuable clinical data, specimens, and assay results collected during a primary clinical trial or observational study can enable researchers to answer additional, pressing questions with relatively small investments in new measurements. However, management of such follow-on, "ancillary" studies is complex. It requires coordinating across institutions, sites, repositories, and approval boards, as well as distributing, integrating, and analyzing diverse data types.

Installation and use of LabKey Server for proteomics.

LabKey Server (formerly CPAS, the Computational Proteomics Analysis System) provides a Web-based platform for mining data from liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) proteomic experiments. This open source platform supports systematic proteomic analyses and secure data management, integration, and sharing. LabKey Server incorporates several tools currently used in proteomic analysis, including the X! Tandem search engine, the ProteoWizard toolkit, and the PeptideProphet and ProteinProphet data mining tools.

LabKey Server NAb: a tool for analyzing, visualizing and sharing results from neutralizing antibody assays.

Background: Multiple types of assays allow sensitive detection of virus-specific neutralizing antibodies. For example, the extent of antibody neutralization of HIV-1, SIV and SHIV can be measured in the TZM-bl cell line through the degree of luciferase reporter gene expression after infection. In the past, neutralization curves and titers for this standard assay have been calculated using an Excel macro.

LabKey Server: an open source platform for scientific data integration, analysis and collaboration.

Background: Broad-based collaborations are becoming increasingly common among disease researchers. For example, the Global HIV Enterprise has united cross-disciplinary consortia to speed progress towards HIV vaccines through coordinated research across the boundaries of institutions, continents and specialties. New, end-to-end software tools for data and specimen management are necessary to achieve the ambitious goals of such alliances.

A mouse model repository for cancer biomarker discovery.

Early detection of cancer using biomarkers obtained from blood or other easily accessible tissues would have a significant impact on reducing cancer mortality. However, identifying new blood-based biomarkers has been hindered by the dynamic complexity of the human plasma proteome, confounded by genetic and environmental variability, and the scarcity of high quality controlled samples. In this report, we discuss a new paradigm for biomarker discovery through the use of mouse models.

The Functional Genomics Experiment model (FuGE): an extensible framework for standards in functional genomics.

The Functional Genomics Experiment data model (FuGE) has been developed to facilitate convergence of data standards for high-throughput, comprehensive analyses in biology. FuGE models the components of an experimental activity that are common across different technologies, including protocols, samples and data. FuGE provides a foundation for describing entire laboratory workflows and for the development of new data formats.

A suite of algorithms for the comprehensive analysis of complex protein mixtures using high-resolution LC-MS.

Motivation: Comparing two or more complex protein mixtures using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) requires multiple analysis steps to locate and quantitate natural peptides within a single experiment and to align and normalize findings across multiple experiments.

Results: We describe msInspect, an open-source application comprising algorithms and visualization tools for the analysis of multiple LC-MS experimental measurements. The platform integrates novel algorithms for detecting signatures of natural peptides within a single LC-MS measurement and combines multiple experimental measurements into a peptide array, which may then be mined using analysis tools traditionally applied to genomic array analysis.

Computational Proteomics Analysis System (CPAS): an extensible, open-source analytic system for evaluating and publishing proteomic data and high throughput biological experiments.

The open-source Computational Proteomics Analysis System (CPAS) contains an entire data analysis and management pipeline for Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) proteomics, including experiment annotation, protein database searching and sequence management, and mining LC-MS/MS peptide and protein identifications. CPAS architecture and features, such as a general experiment annotation component, installation software, and data security management, make it useful for collaborative projects across geographical locations and for proteomics laboratories without substantial computational support.