Ambulatory care for individuals dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

Introduction: Individuals dually eligible for insurance through both Medicaid and Medicare ("duals") have more comorbidities, higher costs, and poorer outcomes compared to other groups. Unfortunately, policy and care redesign initiatives suffer from limited knowledge about ambulatory care patterns among duals.

Methods: Using 2022 Medicare fee-for-service claims and other sources of clinician and geographic data, we described care patterns for ambulatory services among dual vs non-duals.

Human serum albumin-based cryogels as a biomimetic platform for 3D co-culture and drug-induced liver injury prediction.

Nonclinical toxicity testing in rodent and nonrodent models often fails to predict human pharmacological responses, and the reliance on poorly characterized biomaterials hinders clinical translation in drug development. To address these limitations, we engineered a human serum albumin methacryloyl (HSAMA) cryogel system incorporating key liver extracellular matrix (ECM) components, collagen I (C) and fibronectin (F), to mimic the liver's architectural complexity. By co-culturing HepG2 and HUVECs within the HSAMA-CF cryogel, we created a three-dimensional, large-pore scaffold that facilitates critical hepatocyte-endothelial cell interactions essential for liver function and drug metabolism.

Variation, Overlap, and Stability in Defining Safety Net Hospitals.

Importance: The lack of universally accepted definitions for safety net hospitals (SNHs) has made it difficult to effectively design policies to support these hospitals and the populations they serve.

Objective: To evaluate the overlap, variation, and consistency across different definitions for SNH status.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective cohort study used a hospital year-level dataset on short-term acute care US hospitals from 2014 to 2022.

The effects of different training programs on sleep and academic performance of senior high school boy students: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To explore the effects of different physical training programs on the sleep of boy students in a senior high school, and to provide a reference for effectively improving the sleep level of students in a senior high school, as well as optimizing the physical training program.

Methods: 77 boys in 11th grade of a senior high school were randomly divided into four groups: Group I (traditional training), Group II (strength training), Group III (HIIT training), and Group IV (strength +HIIT training). At the points before and after the intervention, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and examination scores were measured as indicators of the sleep health and academic performance of students in senior high school, and the intervention effects of different schemes were compared.

Ginseng exosomes modulate M1/M2 polarisation by activating autophagy and target IKK/IкB/NF-кB to alleviate inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Exosomes are involved in intercellular communication and regulation of the inflammatory microenvironment. In a previous study, we demonstrated that fresh ginseng exosomes (GEs) alleviated inflammatory bowel disease. However, the precise mechanism by which GEs activate the immune system and subsequently inhibit the formation of intestinal inflammatory microenvironment remains unknown.

Hyperglycemia-responsive nitric oxide-releasing biohybrid cryogels with cascade enzyme catalysis for enhanced healing of infected diabetic wounds.

Diabetic wound infections are a frequent complication for diabetic patients, and conventional treatment for combating diabetic wound infections relies on antibiotics. However, the misuse and overuse of antibiotics have led to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, making these infections challenging to treat. Thus, there is an urgent need for alternative strategies to effectively manage diabetic wound infections.

Early Effects of the ESRD Treatment Choices Model on Kidney Transplant Waitlist Additions.

Key Points: The ESRD Treatment Choices model did not lead to an increase in kidney transplant waitlisting. The COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on kidney transplant waitlist additions. Financial incentives alone, in the short term, did not lead to a substantial effect on kidney transplant waitlisting practices.

Arginine-loaded globular BSAMA/fibrous GelMA biohybrid cryogels with multifunctional features and enhanced healing for soft gingival tissue regeneration.

Mucogingival surgery has been widely used in soft gingival tissue augmentation in which autografts are predominantly employed. However, the autografts face grand challenges, such as scarcity of palatal donor tissue and postoperative discomfort. Therefore, development of alternative soft tissue substitutes has been an imperative need.

Association between mandatory bundled payments and changes in socioeconomic disparities for joint replacement outcomes.

Objective: To determine whether mandatory participation by hospitals in bundled payments for lower extremity joint replacement (LEJR) was associated with changes in outcome disparities for patients dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

Data Sources And Study Setting: We used Medicare claims data for beneficiaries undergoing LEJR in the United States between 2011 and 2017.

Study Design: We conducted a retrospective observational study using a differences-in-differences method to compare changes in outcome disparities between dual-eligible and non-dual eligible beneficiaries after hospital participation in the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) program.

Interaction of Ca and Fe in co-precipitation process induced by Virgibacillus dokdonensis and its application.

Biomineralization has garnered significant attention in the field of wastewater treatment due to its notable cost reduction compared to conventional methods. The reinjection water from oilfields containing an exceedingly high concentration of calcium and ferric ions will pose a major hazard in production. However, the utilization of biomineralization for precipitating these ions has been scarcely investigated due to limited tolerance among halophiles towards such extreme conditions.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Led To A Large Decline In Physician Gross Revenue Across All Specialties In 2020.

US health care use declined during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Although utilization is known to have recovered in 2021 and 2022, it is unknown how revenue in 2020-22 varied by physician specialty and practice setting. This study linked medical claims from a large national federation of commercial health plans to physician and practice data to estimate pandemic-associated impacts on physician revenue (defined as payments to eligible physicians) by specialty and practice characteristics.

Co-removal and recycling of Ba and Ca in hypersaline wastewater based on the microbially induced carbonate precipitation technique: Overlooked Ba in extracellular and intracellular vaterite.

This study investigates the co-precipitation of calcium and barium ions in hypersaline wastewater under the action of Bacillus licheniformis using microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) technology, as well as the bactericidal properties of the biomineralized product vaterite. The changes in carbonic anhydrase activity, pH, carbonate and bicarbonate concentrations in different biomineralization systems were negatively correlated with variations in metal ion concentrations, while the changes in polysaccharides and protein contents in bacterial extracellular polymers were positively correlated with variations in barium concentrations. In the mixed calcium and barium systems, the harvested minerals were vaterite containing barium.

Effect of Ba on the biomineralization of Ca and Mg ions induced by Bacillus licheniformis.

The effect of barium ions on the biomineralization of calcium and magnesium ions is often overlooked when utilizing microbial-induced carbonate precipitation technology for removing barium, calcium, and magnesium ions from oilfield wastewater. In this study, Bacillus licheniformis was used to bio-precipitate calcium, magnesium, and barium ions. The effects of barium ions on the physiological and biochemical characteristics of bacteria, as well as the components of extracellular polymers and mineral characteristics, were also studied in systems containing coexisting barium, calcium, and magnesium ions.

Mn recycling in hypersaline wastewater: unnoticed intracellular biomineralization and pre-cultivation of immobilized bacteria.

Microbially induced manganese carbonate precipitation has been utilized for the treatment of wastewater containing manganese. In this study, Virgibacillus dokdonensis was used to remove manganese ions from an environment containing 5% NaCl. The results showed a significant decrease in carbonic anhydrase activity and concentrations of carbonate and bicarbonate ions with increasing manganese ion concentrations.

Combating Obesity: Harnessing the Synergy of Postbiotics and Prebiotics for Enhanced Lipid Excretion and Microbiota Regulation.

Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease that can be induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) and predisposes to a variety of complications. In recent years, various bioactive substances, such as probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics, have been widely discussed because of their good anti-lipid and anti-inflammatory activities. In this paper, soybean protein isolate was used as a substrate to prepare the postbiotic.

Spending patterns among commercially insured individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: To describe trends in US health care spending in a large, national, and commercially insured population during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study of commercially insured members enrolled between May 1, 2018, and December 31, 2021.

Methods: The study utilized a population-based sample of continuously enrolled members in a geographically diverse federation of Blue Cross Blue Shield plans across the United States.

MAPKAPK5-AS1/miR-515-5p/CAB39 Axis Contributes to Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Cell Proliferation and Migration.

Several studies have elucidated the pivotal function that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) exerted on the initiation and development of various human carcinomas, encompassing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In spite of the fact that lncRNA MAPKAPK5 antisense RNA 1 (MAPKAPK5-AS1) has already been investigated by researchers and confirmed to play oncogenic roles in colorectal cancer, the underlying regulatory function of MAPKAPK5-AS1 in NSCLC cells still remain unclear. In our research, we found that MAPKAPK5-AS1 was expressed at high levels in NSCLC cells.

Identification of Novel Biomarkers for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Promoted by Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Background: We sought to find new biomarkers for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) caused by chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH).

Methods: The AAA mice model was created using Ang II. The mice were divided into normoxic and CIH groups.

Quantitative transcriptomic and proteomic analyses reveal the potential maintenance mechanism of female adult reproductive diapause in Chrysoperla nipponensis.

Background: The green lacewing Chrysoperla nipponensis is an important natural enemy of many insect pests and exhibits reproductive diapause to overwinter. Our previous studies showed that adult C. nipponensis enters reproductive diapause under a short-day photoperiod.

Association between Depression, Anxiety Symptoms and Gut Microbiota in Chinese Elderly with Functional Constipation.

Unlabelled: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between anxiety, depression, and gut microbiota in elderly patients with FC.

Methods: in this cross-sectional study, a total of 198 elderly participants (85 male and 113 female) aged over 60 years were recruited. The study was conducted in Changsha city, China.