A Transmissive X-ray Polarimeter Design For Hard X-ray Focusing Telescopes

The X-ray Timing and Polarization (XTP) is a mission concept for a future space borne X-ray observatory and is currently selected for early phase study. We present a new design of X-ray polarimeter based on the time projection gas chamber. The polarimeter, placed above the focal plane, has an additional rear window that allows hard X-rays to penetrate (a transmission of nearly 80% at 6 keV) through it and reach the detector on the focal plane. Such a design is to compensate the low detection efficiency of gas detectors, at a low cost of sensitivity, and can maximize the science return of multilayer hard X-ray telescopes without the risk of moving focal plane instruments. The sensitivity in terms of minimum detectable polarization, based on current instrument configuration, is expected to be 3% for a 1mCrab source given an observing time of 10^5 s. We present preliminary test results, including photoelectron tracks and modulation curves, using a test chamber and polarized X-ray sources in the lab

Telepsychiatry Adoption Across Hospitals in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Access to psychiatric care is critical for patients discharged from hospital psychiatric units to ensure continuity of care. When face-to-face follow-up is unavailable or undesirable, telepsychiatry becomes a promising alternative. This study aimed to investigate hospital- and county-level characteristics associated with telepsychiatry adoption. Methods: Cross-sectional national data of 3475 acute care hospitals were derived from the 2017 American Hospital Association Annual Survey. Generalized linear regression models were used to identify characteristics associated with telepsychiatry adoption. Results: About one-sixth (548 [15.8%]) of hospitals reported having telepsychiatry with a wide variation across states. Rural noncore hospitals were less likely to adopt telepsychiatry (8.3%) than hospitals in rural micropolitan (13.6%) and urban counties (19.4%). Hospitals with both outpatient and inpatient psychiatric care services (marginal difference [95% CI]: 16.0% [12.1% to 19.9%]) and hospitals only with outpatient psychiatric services (6.5% [3.7% to 9.4%]) were more likely to have telepsychiatry than hospitals with neither psychiatric services. Federal hospitals (48.9% [32.5 to 65.3%]), system-affiliated hospitals (3.9% [1.2% to 6.6%]), hospitals with larger bed size (Quartile IV vs. I: 6.2% [0.7% to 11.6%]), and hospitals with greater ratio of Medicaid inpatient days to total inpatient days (Quartile IV vs. I: 4.9% [0.3% to 9.4%]) were more likely to have telepsychiatry than their counterparts. Private non-profit hospitals (− 6.9% [− 11.7% to − 2.0%]) and hospitals in counties designated as whole mental health professional shortage areas (− 6.6% [− 12.7% to − 0.5%]) were less likely to have telepsychiatry. Conclusions: Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, telepsychiatry adoption in US hospitals was low with substantial variations by urban and rural status and by state in 2017. This raises concerns about access to psychiatric services and continuity of care for patients discharged from hospitals

Transfer Learning with Optimal Transportation and Frequency Mixup for EEG-based Motor Imagery Recognition

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Trust or money? Barriers to health and healthcare behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aimed to examine how trust in institutions and changes in household finances were associated with healthcare utilization and preventive behaviors during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened health disparities, ignited distrust in healthcare systems, and contributed to household economic shifts for many United States (US) residents. To examine these issues, we surveyed a nationally representative sample of US residents in July 2020 (n = 1,085) and May 2023 (n = 2,189). These repeated cross-sectional surveys enabled investigation of how trust in key stakeholders (e.g., federal government, the healthcare system) and household finances were linked with various types of healthcare utilization (e.g., annual preventive visits, receipt of pharmacy-based healthcare), preventive health care (e.g., influenza vaccination), and preventive behaviors (e.g., exercise, healthy eating). In 2023, the likelihoods of using some types of healthcare (annual health check and pharmacy-based healthcare) and engaging in preventive health behaviors increased relative to 2020. Improved household finances were associated with greater odds of healthy eating, exercising, and receiving annual preventive visits. Trust in the healthcare system was positively associated with all healthcare use types examined including preventive care such as influenza immunization and the individual prevention behavior of healthy eating but not exercise. Findings highlight the important role healthcare systems can have as trusted entities in potentially supporting healthcare utilization and prevention in the post-pandemic environment. Policy implications of these findings include increased efforts by payers and healthcare systems to facilitate positive health behaviors for US residents via specific strategies, such as making annual preventive health checks more accessible. At the same time, it is critical to support maintaining and building trust in healthcare systems to promote appropriate healthcare utilization

Transcriptomic analysis reveals transcription factors involved in vascular bundle development and tissue maturation in ginger rhizomes (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is an important vegetable with medicinal value. Rhizome development determines ginger yield and quality. However, little information is available about the molecular features underlying rhizome expansion and maturation. In this study, we investigated anatomy characteristics, lignin accumulation and transcriptome profiles during rhizome development. In young rhizomes, the vascular bundle (VB) was generated with only vessels in it, whereas in matured rhizomes, three to five layers of fibre bundle in the xylem were formed, resulting in VB enlargement. It indicates VB development favouring rhizome swelling. With rhizome matured, the lignin content was remarkably elevated, thus facilitating tissue lignification. To explore the regulators for rhizome development, nine libraries including ginger young rhizomes (GYR), growing rhizomes (GGR), and matured rhizomes (GMR) were established for RNA-Seq, a total of 1264 transcription factors (TFs) were identified. Among them, 35, 116, and 14 differentially expressed TFs were obtained between GYR and GGR, GYR and GMR, and GGR and GMR, respectively. These TFs were further divided into three categories. Among them, three ZobHLHs (homologs of Arabidopsis LHW and AtbHLH096) as well as one DIVARICATA homolog in ginger might play crucial roles in controlling VB development. Four ZoWRKYs and two ZoNACs might be potential regulators associated with rhizome maturation. Three ZoAP2/ERFs and one ZoARF might participate in rhizome development via hormone signalling. This result provides a molecular basis for rhizome expansion and maturation in ginger

Multilevel Determinants of Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Severe Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the USA: Protocol for a Concurrent Triangulation, Mixed-Methods Study

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has affected communities of colour the hardest. Non-Hispanic black and Hispanic pregnant women appear to have disproportionate SARS-CoV-2 infection and death rates. Methods and analysis We will use the socioecological framework and employ a concurrent triangulation, mixed-methods study design to achieve three specific aims: (1) examine the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on racial/ethnic disparities in severe maternal morbidity and mortality (SMMM); (2) explore how social contexts (eg, racial/ethnic residential segregation) have contributed to the widening of racial/ethnic disparities in SMMM during the pandemic and identify distinct mediating pathways through maternity care and mental health; and (3) determine the role of social contextual factors on racial/ethnic disparities in pregnancy-related morbidities using machine learning algorithms. We will leverage an existing South Carolina COVID-19 Cohort by creating a pregnancy cohort that links COVID-19 testing data, electronic health records (EHRs), vital records data, healthcare utilisation data and billing data for all births in South Carolina (SC) between 2018 and 2021 (\u3e200 000 births). We will also conduct similar analyses using EHR data from the National COVID-19 Cohort Collaborative including \u3e270 000 women who had a childbirth between 2018 and 2021 in the USA. We will use a convergent parallel design which includes a quantitative analysis of data from the 2018–2021 SC Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System (unweighted n\u3e2000) and in-depth interviews of 40 postpartum women and 10 maternal care providers to identify distinct mediating pathways. Ethics and dissemination The study was approved by institutional review boards at the University of SC (Pro00115169) and the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC IRB.21-030). Informed consent will be provided by the participants in the in-depth interviews. Study findings will be disseminated with key stakeholders including patients, presented at academic conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals

Uncovering the Complexity of Perinatal Polysubstance Use Disclosure Patterns on X: Mixed Methods Study

BACKGROUND: According to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, polysubstance use among pregnant women is prevalent, with 38.2% of those who consume alcohol also engaging in the use of one or more additional substances. However, the underlying mechanisms, contexts, and experiences of polysubstance use are unclear. Organic information is abundant on social media such as X (formerly Twitter). Traditional quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as natural language processing techniques, can be jointly used to derive insights into public opinions, sentiments, and clinical and public health policy implications. OBJECTIVE: Based on perinatal polysubstance use (PPU) data that we extracted on X from May 1, 2019, to October 31, 2021, we proposed two primary research questions: (1) What is the overall trend and sentiment of PPU discussions on X? (2) Are there any distinct patterns in the discussion trends of PPU-related tweets? If so, what are the implications for perinatal care and associated public health policies? METHODS: We used X\u27s application programming interface to extract \u3e6 million raw tweets worldwide containing ≥2 prenatal health- and substance-related keywords provided by our clinical team. After removing all non-English-language tweets, non-US tweets, and US tweets without disclosed geolocations, we obtained 4848 PPU-related US tweets. We then evaluated them using a mixed methods approach. The quantitative analysis applied frequency, trend analysis, and several natural language processing techniques such as sentiment analysis to derive statistics to preview the corpus. To further understand semantics and clinical insights among these tweets, we conducted an in-depth thematic content analysis with a random sample of 500 PPU-related tweets with a satisfying κ score of 0.7748 for intercoder reliability. RESULTS: Our quantitative analysis indicates the overall trends, bigram and trigram patterns, and negative sentiments were more dominant in PPU tweets (2490/4848, 51.36%) than in the non-PPU sample (1323/4848, 27.29%). Paired polysubstance use (4134/4848, 85.27%) was the most common, with the combination alcohol and drugs identified as the most mentioned. From the qualitative analysis, we identified 3 main themes: nonsubstance, single substance, and polysubstance, and 4 subthemes to contextualize the rationale of underlying PPU behaviors: lifestyle, perceptions of others\u27 drug use, legal implications, and public health. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified underexplored, emerging, and important topics related to perinatal PPU, with significant stigmas and legal ramifications discussed on X. Overall, public sentiments on PPU were mixed, encompassing negative (2490/4848, 51.36%), positive (1884/4848, 38.86%), and neutral (474/4848, 9.78%) sentiments. The leading substances in PPU were alcohol and drugs, and the normalization of PPU discussed on X is becoming more prevalent. Thus, this study provides valuable insights to further understand the complexity of PPU and its implications for public health practitioners and policy makers to provide proper access and support to individuals with PPU

Disclosure Patterns of Opioid Use Disorders in Perinatal Care During the Opioid Epidemic on X from 2019 to 2021: Thematic Analysis

BACKGROUND: In 2021, the United States experienced a 14% rise in fatal drug overdoses totaling 106,699 deaths, driven by harmful opioid use, particularly among individuals in the perinatal period who face increased risks associated with opioid use disorders (OUDs). Increased concerns about the impacts of escalating harmful opioid use among pregnant and postpartum persons are rising. Most of the current limited perinatal OUD studies were conducted using traditional methods, such as interviews and randomized controlled trials to understand OUD treatment, risk factors, and associated adverse effects. However, little is known about how social media data, such as X, formerly known as Twitter, can be leveraged to explore and identify broad perinatal OUD trends, disclosure and communication patterns, and public health surveillance about OUD in the perinatal period. OBJECTIVE: The objective is 3-fold: first, we aim to identify key themes and trends in perinatal OUD discussions on platform X. Second, we explore user engagement patterns, including replying and retweeting behaviors. Third, we investigate computational methods that could potentially streamline and scale the labor-intensive manual annotation effort. METHODS: We extracted 6 million raw perinatal-themed tweets posted by global X users during the opioid epidemic from May 2019 to October 2021. After data cleaning and sampling, we used 500 tweets related to OUD in the perinatal period by US X users for a thematic analysis using NVivo (Lumivero) software. RESULTS: Seven major themes emerged from our thematic analysis: (1) political views related to harmful opioid and other substance use, (2) perceptions of others\u27 substance use, (3) lived experiences of opioid and other substance use, (4) news reports or papers related to opioid and other substance use, (5) health care initiatives, (6) adverse effects on children\u27s health due to parental substance use, and (7) topics related to nonopioid substance use. Among these 7 themes, our user engagement analysis revealed that themes 4 and 5 received the highest average retweet counts, and theme 3 received the highest average tweet reply count. We further found that different computational methods excel in analyzing different themes. CONCLUSIONS: Social media platforms such as X can serve as a valuable tool for analyzing real-time discourse and exploring public perceptions, opinions, and behaviors related to maternal substance use, particularly, harmful opioid use in the perinatal period. More health promotion strategies can be carried out on social media platforms to provide educational support for the OUD perinatal population