Quality Measures Research Articles

Accelerated High-Resolution Deep Learning Reconstruction Turbo Spin Echo MRI of the Knee at 7 T.

The aim of this study was to compare the image quality of 7 T turbo spin echo (TSE) knee images acquired with varying factors of parallel-imaging acceleration reconstructed with deep learning (DL)-based and conventional algorithms. This was a prospective single-center study. Twenty-three healthy volunteers underwent 7 T knee magnetic resonance imaging. Two-, 3-, and 4-fold accelerated high-resolution fat-signal-suppressing proton density (PD-fs) and T1-weighted coronal 2D TSE acquisitions with an encoded voxel volume of 0.31 × 0.31 × 1.5 mm3 were acquired. Each set of raw data was reconstructed with a DL-based and a conventional Generalized Autocalibrating Partially Parallel Acquisition (GRAPPA) algorithm. Three readers rated image contrast, sharpness, artifacts, noise, and overall quality. Friedman analysis of variance and the Wilcoxon signed rank test were used for comparison of image quality criteria. The mean age of the participants was 32.0 ± 8.1 years (15 male, 8 female). Acquisition times at 4-fold acceleration were 4 minutes 15 seconds (PD-fs, Supplemental Video is available at http://links.lww.com/RLI/A938) and 3 minutes 9 seconds (T1, Supplemental Video available at http://links.lww.com/RLI/A939). At 4-fold acceleration, image contrast, sharpness, noise, and overall quality of images reconstructed with the DL-based algorithm were significantly better rated than the corresponding GRAPPA reconstructions (P < 0.001). Four-fold accelerated DL-reconstructed images scored significantly better than 2- to 3-fold GRAPPA-reconstructed images with regards to image contrast, sharpness, noise, and overall quality (P ≤ 0.031). Image contrast of PD-fs images at 2-fold acceleration (P = 0.087), image noise of T1-weighted images at 2-fold acceleration (P = 0.180), and image artifacts for both sequences at 2- and 3-fold acceleration (P ≥ 0.102) of GRAPPA reconstructions were not rated differently than those of 4-fold accelerated DL-reconstructed images. Furthermore, no significant difference was observed for all image quality measures among 2-fold, 3-fold, and 4-fold accelerated DL reconstructions (P ≥ 0.082). This study explored the technical potential of DL-based image reconstruction in accelerated 2D TSE acquisitions of the knee at 7 T. DL reconstruction significantly improved a variety of image quality measures of high-resolution TSE images acquired with a 4-fold parallel-imaging acceleration compared with a conventional reconstruction algorithm.

Strawberry field trial in Australia demonstrates improvements to fruit yield and quality control conformity, from application of two biostimulant complexes

ABSTRACT Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) is a popular fruit consumed for its desirable flavour, aroma and colour and is considered a functional food due to its antioxidant properties. Noting the need for farmers to increase productivity to meet increasing consumer demands, this study aimed to explore the potential of biostimulants to enhance strawberry cultivation. Herein, a field trial was conducted on a commercial strawberry farm, wherein 1944 strawberry plants received fertigation supplementation with either a control solution (nutrients only) or nutrients combined with one of two biostimulant complexes (BCs). Biostimulant complex 1 (BC1) was composed of molasses, Aloe vera extract and fish-hydrolysate, and biostimulant complex 2 (BC2) was composed of potassium silicate and potassium phosphite. Results indicated that BC1 maintained total yields but increased the sellable proportion and decreased the proportion of waste. In contrast, BC2 increased total yields with both sellable yields and waste increased. No significant changes were observed for indicators of consumer preference (flavour, aroma and fruit colour), however, on-average large increases were observed to indicators of fruit antioxidant properties (phenolic and flavonoid content). Accordingly, these results support the utilisation of biostimulants as a strategy to improve strawberry on-farm productivity without compromising consumer quality measures.

Pharmaceuticalization and Care Coordination in New York City Outpatient Mental Health

ABSTRACT US government quality measures prioritize pharmaceuticalization and care coordination to promote patient treatment adherence. How these measures affect outpatient mental health service delivery and patient-provider communication where psychiatrists and nonphysicians collaborate is understudied. Analyzing 500 hours of participant-observation, 117 appointments, and 98 interviews with 45 new patients and providers, I show that psychiatrists and social workers coordinated care by encouraging medications and seeing two mental health providers as the default treatment, irrespective of patient preferences. Ethnographic perspectives crucially account for models of service delivery and provider behaviors in researching treatment adherence.

Assessment of spatio-temporal characteristics of groundwater quality at Khordha District, India

Groundwater is the major basis for drinking in various parts of our country. However, it gets contaminated by the toxic materials found in rocks, because of which it becomes unfit for various domestic and irrigation purposes. In present study, the groundwater quality and its availability for various purposes were examined by the parameters such as pH, DO, EC, TDS, temperature, salinity, Alkalinity, Total hardness, calcium hardness, magnesium hardness, chloride, fluoride, nitrate and phosphate during the post monsoonseason of 2022 and pre monsoon season of 2023 from 49 sampling locations. The above mentioned parameters were used for assessing appropriateness of groundwater for irrigation and domestic purposes by comparing them with the Bureau of Indian standards (BIS). The results revealed that groundwater shows wide variations among various parameters between two seasons during 2022–23. Obtained results show that water used for potable purposes by people in various parts of study area doesn’t meet necessary standards.In some of the sampling locations, it is found that the water exhibits very poor quality or unfit maybe for one season or both seasons. Analysis of parameters is done for calculating correlation coefficient of specified parameters. Strong linear relationships, both positive and negative, were found between several pairs of water quality measures according to their research.

Factors Influencing Data Quality in Electronic Health Record Systems in 50 Health Facilities in Rwanda and the Role of Clinical Alerts: Cross-Sectional Observational Study.

Electronic health records (EHRs) play an increasingly important role in delivering HIV care in low- and middle-income countries. The data collected are used for direct clinical care, quality improvement, program monitoring, public health interventions, and research. Despite widespread EHR use for HIV care in African countries, challenges remain, especially in collecting high-quality data. We aimed to assess data completeness, accuracy, and timeliness compared to paper-based records, and factors influencing data quality in a large-scale EHR deployment in Rwanda. We randomly selected 50 health facilities (HFs) using OpenMRS, an EHR system that supports HIV care in Rwanda, and performed a data quality evaluation. All HFs were part of a larger randomized controlled trial, with 25 HFs receiving an enhanced EHR with clinical decision support systems. Trained data collectors visited the 50 HFs to collect 28 variables from the paper charts and the EHR system using the Open Data Kit app. We measured data completeness, timeliness, and the degree of matching of the data in paper and EHR records, and calculated concordance scores. Factors potentially affecting data quality were drawn from a previous survey of users in the 50 HFs. We randomly selected 3467 patient records, reviewing both paper and EHR copies (194,152 total data items). Data completeness was >85% threshold for all data elements except viral load (VL) results, second-line, and third-line drug regimens. Matching scores for data values were close to or >85% threshold, except for dates, particularly for drug pickups and VL. The mean data concordance was 10.2 (SD 1.28) for 15 (68%) variables. HF and user factors (eg, years of EHR use, technology experience, EHR availability and uptime, and intervention status) were tested for correlation with data quality measures. EHR system availability and uptime was positively correlated with concordance, whereas users' experience with technology was negatively correlated with concordance. The alerts for missing VL results implemented at 11 intervention HFs showed clear evidence of improving timeliness and completeness of initially low matching of VL results in the EHRs and paper records (11.9%-26.7%; P<.001). Similar effects were seen on the completeness of the recording of medication pickups (18.7%-32.6%; P<.001). The EHR records in the 50 HFs generally had high levels of completeness except for VL results. Matching results were close to or >85% threshold for nondate variables. Higher EHR stability and uptime, and alerts for entering VL both strongly improved data quality. Most data were considered fit for purpose, but more regular data quality assessments, training, and technical improvements in EHR forms, data reports, and alerts are recommended. The application of quality improvement techniques described in this study should benefit a wide range of HFs and data uses for clinical care, public health, and disease surveillance.

Beyond the school building: Examining the association between out-of-school factors and multidimensional school grades

Many states report school performance grades as a way to inform the public about school quality. However, past research has shown that when these grades drew largely on proficiency-based measures, they served to capture variation in school and community demographics rather than school quality. We extend this literature by examining whether a multidimensional measure of school quality such as those required under the Every Student Succeeds Act is less confounded by out-of-school factors than the proficiency measures that characterized previous generations of accountability. Drawing on school accountability grades from Florida combined with school and community demographic data, we find that more than half the variation in multidimensional measures of school quality can be explained by observable school- and county-level factors outside the school’s locus of control. Together, our findings show that even school grades that draw on multiple measures misattribute the contribution of demographics and socioeconomics to school quality—but subcomponents based on learning gains perform better than those based on proficiency. We conclude with policy implications and recommend that states focus public reporting on school quality measures driven less by out-of-school factors and more by the school’s true contribution to student outcomes.

Estimating an EQ-5D-Y-3L Value Set for Brazil.

The EQ-5D-Y-3L is a generic measure of health-related quality of life in children and adolescents. Although the Brazilian-Portuguese EQ-5D-Y-3L version is available, there is no value set for it, hampering its use in economic evaluations. This study aimed to elicit a Brazilian EQ-5D-Y-3L value set based on preferences of the general adult population. Two independent samples of adults participated in an online discrete choice experiment (DCE) survey and a composite time trade-off (cTTO) face-to-face interview. The framing was "considering your views for a 10-year-old child". DCE data were analyzed using a mixed-logit model. The 243 DCE predicted values were mapped into the observed 28 cTTO values using linear and non-linear mapping approaches with and without intercept. Mapping approaches' performance was assessed to estimate the most valid method to rescale DCE predicted values using the model fit (R2), Akaike Information Criteria (AIC), root mean squared error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE). A representative sample of 1376 Brazilian adults participated (DCE, 1152; cTTO, 211). The linear mapping without intercept (R2 = 96%; AIC, - 44; RMSE, 0.0803; MAE, - 0.0479) outperformed the non-linear without intercept (R2 = 98%; AIC, - 63; RMSE, 0.1385; MAE, - 0.1320). Utilities ranged from 1 (full health) to - 0.0059 (the worst health state). Highest weights were assigned to having pain or discomfort (pain/discomfort), followed by walking about (mobility), looking after myself (self-care), doing usual activities (usual activities), and feeling worried, sad, or unhappy (anxiety/depression). This study elicited the Brazilian EQ-5D-Y-3L value set using a mixed-logit DCE model with a power parameter based on a linear mapping without intercept, which can be used to estimate the quality-adjusted life-years for economic evaluations of health technologies targeting the Brazilian youth population.

Indigenous people doing citizen science to assess water quality using the BMWP in rivers of an arid semi-arid biosphere reserve in Mexico

Arid and semi-arid areas are among the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. The Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve (TCBR), in southeastern Mexico, is an arid and semi-arid area with high biological diversity and human settlements of eight ethnic groups. Two rivers drain the reserve, Río Grande (RG) and Río Salado (RS), which are not subject to water quality monitoring by government agencies; however, measures of water quality of these rivers are needed to focus conservation actions on this resource. This work aimed to test the effectiveness of participatory water quality monitoring with the participation of three actors: Reserve management leaders, local communities, and academics, to monitoring water quality in the rivers of the TCBR. Ninety-two residents were trained to carry out water quality biomonitoring using the Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) index calibrated for the reserve. The BMWP uses macroinvertebrate families to display numerical and categorical water quality scores. Additionally, the Water Quality Index (WQI) was assessed and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of the riparian zones was estimated in each study site. The mean WQI scores were 69.24 for RS (no treatment necessary for most crops and necessary treatment for public water supply) and 75.16 for RG (minor purification for crops requiring high-quality water and necessary treatment for public water supply). The BMWP showed five water quality categories (Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor), showing higher water quality scores in the upper portion of the basins and capable of discriminating study sites with lower scores close to human settlements. At one study site, data from participatory monitoring impelled actions taken to address a pollution source and influenced policy focus, reaching the maximum level of participatory-based monitoring. This led to avoid the discharge of wastewater into the river to conserve and protect the water resource. WQI is closely related to BMWP; however, the latter was far more sensitive to detecting areas affected by domestic water discharges. The NDVI presented low values for the TCBR, being lower in RS (the driest area). Although the NDVI showed a weak relationship with BMWP values, areas with higher NDVI values generally achieved higher BMWP values. The results of this study highlight the high sensitivity of the BMWP to detect several water quality conditions in the rivers running through the TCBR when compared to WQI. In addition, the usefulness of biomonitoring using the BMWP index was evident, as well as the importance of the participation of local inhabitants contributing to the knowledge of water quality in biosphere reserves and carrying out timely measures that allow the rivers in these reserves to be maintained in good condition.

Import Competition, Quality Upgrading, and Exporting: Evidence from the Peruvian Apparel Industry

Abstract This paper studies quality upgrading to escape competition from low-wage countries and proposes a new channel that does not rely on access to new inputs or markets. Informed by Peruvian apparel firms’ response to China’s WTO accession, I introduce factor specificity in a multi-product-firm model. Profitability losses due to competition in low-quality segments induce firms to reallocate specific factors to produce high-quality varieties for high-income countries. Gains from this channel are large. Using an observed quality measure, I show that import competition substantially increases domestic firms’ exports and high-quality export shares. Firms also reduce prices, resulting in additional welfare gains.

Greenhouse production of baby leaf vegetables using rainbow trout wastewater in a high-tech vertical decoupled aquaponic system

IntroductionAquaponics is an integrated food production system that links recirculating aquaculture with hydroponics, leading to higher water use efficiency than conventional food production systems while also saving on fertilizers. In the present study, baby lettuce and baby rocket plants cultivated hydroponically in a deep water culture system using wastewater from rainbow trout were evaluated as part of a vertical decoupled aquaponic system.Materials and methodsMore specifically, three different nutrient solutions were supplied: a) using fish wastewater only (designated as Fish); b) fish wastewater enriched with synthetic fertilizers (Mix); and c) a typical nutrient solution (Hoagland) as the control. Both lettuce and rocket plants were monitored in these nutrient solutions and in two different substrates, peat and perlite, as an organic and an inert substrate, respectively. The purpose of this study was to assess a vertical decoupled aquaponic system with regard to the resource use efficiency, such as water, land, and energy, while evaluating plant cultivation in the different treatments in terms of yield, growth, nitrate concentration on the leaf tissue, and foliar analysis. The photosynthetic rate and leaf color indices were also considered in the plant evaluation.ResultsThe Mix–Peat treatment was the most efficient growing combination in terms of land and water use efficiency, with approximately 7% better land use efficiency while using 38% less water and 10% less fertilizer than Hoagland–Peat. Moreover, lettuce plants had the highest yield in the Mix–Peat treatment, at 2,497 g m−2, which was approximately 6% higher than that of Hoagland–Peat while not being inferior in the quality measures. On the other hand, the yield of rocket was significantly higher in the Hoagland–Peat treatment, being 18% higher than that of Mix–Peat and 30% higher than that of Fish–Peat. Overall, the study confirmed that aquaponic systems could lead to higher water use efficiency and savings in fertilizers without undermining the yield and quality of lettuce, while the vertical arrangement developed within the scope of this study can increase the land useefficiency of the system.

Perceptual point cloud qality assessment for immersive metaverse experience

Perceptual quality assessment for point cloud is critical for immersive metaverse experience and is a challenging task. Firstly, because point cloud is formed by unstructured 3D points that makes the topology more complex. Second, the quality impairment generally involves both geometric attributes and color properties, where the measurement of the geometric distortion becomes more complex. We proposed a perceptual point cloud quality assessment model that follows the perceptual features of Human Visual System (HVS) and the intrinsic characteristics of the point cloud. The point cloud is first pre-processed to extract the geometric skeleton keypoints with graph filtering-based re-sampling, and local neighboring regions around the geometric skeleton keypoints are constructed by K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) clustering. For geometric distortion, the Point Feature Histogram (PFH) is extracted as the feature descriptor, and the Earth Mover's Distance (EMD) between the PFHs of the corresponding local neighboring regions in the reference and the distorted point clouds is calculated as the geometric quality measurement. For color distortion, the statistical moments between the corresponding local neighboring regions are computed as the color quality measurement. Finally, the global perceptual quality assessment model is obtained as the linear weighting aggregation of the geometric and color quality measurement. The experimental results on extensive datasets show that the proposed method achieves the leading performance as compared to the state-of-the-art methods with less computing time. Meanwhile, the experimental results also demonstrate the robustness of the proposed method across various distortion types. The source codes are available at https://github.com/llsurreal919/PointCloudQualityAssessment.

Treatment outcomes in the inpatient management of severe functional neurological disorder: a retrospective cohort study

BackgroundFunctional neurological disorder (FND) is a heterogeneous condition; severe forms can be disabling. Multidisciplinary treatment and rehabilitation are recommended for severe FND, but there remains a lack of evidence for...

Associations between pain, function and quality of life after total hip arthroplasty

ObjectivesThis study investigated patient reported outcomes, and associations with improvement in quality of life 12-months after total hip arthroplasty (THA).Materials and methods: ParticipantsAdults (n = 433) undergoing THA for osteoarthritis between January 2017 and October 2020 in a large publicly funded tertiary hospital in New Zealand. Participants completed patient reported outcome measures of pain, function and quality of life (QOL) preoperatively, 6- and 12-months following THA. ResultsClinically significant changes in domains of pain and function were associated with improved QOL, even when pre-operation scores were controlled for. The largest gains in all three domains occurred in the pre-to 6-month post-operation period. Baseline demographic variables such as gender and comorbidities were not associated with change in QOL pre-to post-operation. However, although modest, age at surgery was negatively correlated with change in QOL. ConclusionsTHA contributes to substantial improvements in QOL, pain and function outcomes, and although possibly tempered by age, these relationships are likely to be inter-related and mutually reinforcing. Future QOL outcomes research should also consider the impacts on QOL improvement of other aspects of functioning such as psychological and social wellbeing.

On the ability of the SF-6D to capture the consequences of chronic illnesses on subjective well-being: Evidence from France

Using cross-sectional data from a representative sample of the French population (the 2008 Disability Health survey), this paper examines whether the SF-6D, a widely used preference-based measure of health-related quality of life in economic evaluations, fully captures the variation in subjective well-being (SWB) due to chronic illnesses. We conduct a mediation analysis to disentangle the direct and indirect, through the SF-6D, effects of various chronic conditions on SWB (happiness). Our results show that the SF-6D reflects changes in happiness due to most illnesses except mental illness. Changes in SWB mediated by the SF-6D account for 74% of the total effect. The variation unexplained by the SF-6D is significant and increases substantially in the presence of multimorbidity when a chronic illness is combined with anxiety or depression. Overall, our results suggest that the SF-6D incompletely captures the subjective experience of chronically ill patients, especially those with comorbid conditions.

Response to Building the Future of Infectious Diseases: A Call to Action for Quality Improvement Research and Measurement

Response to Building the Future of Infectious Diseases: A Call to Action for Quality Improvement Research and Measurement

Evidence for Reproductive Health Effects Following Exposures to Hydraulic Fracturing Chemical Mixtures.

Unconventional oil and natural gas (UOG) operations have emerged over the last four decades to transform oil and gas production in the United States and globally by unlocking previously inaccessible hydrocarbon deposits. UOG development utilizes many compounds associated with conventional oil and gas, as well as some specific to UOG extraction, particularly during hydraulic fracturing (HF). While research is increasing on UOG chemicals and their mixtures, this review discusses the current evidence for reproductive toxicity following exposures to UOG/HF mixtures. These complex chemical mixtures have been demonstrated to interact with numerous mechanisms known to influence reproductive health. A growing number of environmental and controlled laboratory testing studies have reported adverse reproductive health effects in animals exposed to various UOG chemical mixtures. An expanding body of epidemiological literature has assessed adverse birth outcomes, although none has directly examined reproductive measures such as time to pregnancy, semen quality, and other direct measures of fertility. The existing literature provides moderate evidence for decreased birth weights, increased risk of small for gestational age and/or preterm birth, increased congenital abnormalities, and increased infant mortality, though importantly, studies are widely variable in methods used. Most studies utilized distance from UOG operations as an exposure proxy and did not measure actual chemical exposures experienced by those living near these operations. As such, while there is growing evidence for effects on births in these regions and good mechanistic evidence for reproductive toxicity, there is much research still needed to make firm conclusions about UOG development and reproductive health.

Nurse-Sensitive Indicators as Predictors of Trauma Patient Discharge Disposition.

About 3.5 million trauma patients are hospitalized every year, but 35%-40% require further care after discharge. Nurses' ability to affect discharge disposition by minimizing the occurrence of nurse-sensitive indicators (catheter-associated urinary tract infection [CAUTI], central line-associated bloodstream infection [CLABSI], and hospital-acquired pressure injury [HAPI]) is unknown. These indicators may serve as surrogate measures of quality nursing care. The purpose of this study was to determine whether nursing care, as represented by three nurse-sensitive indicators (CAUTI, CLABSI, and HAPI), predicts discharge disposition in trauma patients. This study was a secondary analysis of the 2021 National Trauma Data Bank. We performed logistic regression analyses to determine the predictive effects of CAUTI, CLABSI, and HAPI on discharge disposition, controlling for participant characteristics. A total of n =29,642 patients were included, of which n =21,469 (72%) were male, n =16,404 (64%) were White, with a mean (SD) age of 44 (14.5) and mean (SD) Injury Severity Score of 23.2 (12.5). We created four models to test nurse-sensitive indicators, both individually and compositely, as predictors. While CAUTI and HAPI increased the odds of discharge to further care by 1.4-1.5 and 2.1 times, respectively, CLABSI was not a statistically significant predictor. Both CAUTI and HAPI are statistically significant predictors of discharge to further care for patients after traumatic injury. High-quality nursing care to prevent iatrogenic complications can improve trauma patients' long-term outcomes.

Relationship Between Sleep Quality and Quality of Life: Analysis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Survivors.

We analyzed the correlation between the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) subcategories (sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance, sleep medications, and daytime dysfunction) and a comprehensive measure of quality of life (QOL), the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) items, in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to determine the components that require intervention to improve QOL. A total of 75 patients with recurrent HCC admitted to our hospital between May 2021 and May 2023 were included in this study. The QOL score was used for the SF-36 items, and the sleep disorder score was used for PSQI questionnaires. Correlations were found between sleep quality, sleep disturbance, and SF-36 for all QOL items and between sleep onset time and SF-36 for six QOL items: bodily pain, mental health, physical functioning, role-emotional, role-physical, and vitality. Correlations between daytime dysfunction and SF-36 were found for all QOL items, except for physical functioning. No correlation was found between sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep medications, and SF-36 for any QOL item. Sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and sleep medications may not contribute to QOL improvement in patients with HCC and sleep disturbances. Factors that improve sleep quality and sleep difficulty may contribute to QOL improvement. Therapeutic interventions aimed at improving general health and social functioning for sleep latency and physical functioning for daytime arousal difficulty are required.

Improvement in Measures of Quality of Life and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Severe Alopecia Areata Achieving Sustained Scalp Hair Regrowth with Baricitinib.

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease associated with high rates of emotional and psychosocial distress. The analysis reported here describes the evolution of measures assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and symptoms of anxiety and depression up to week 104 in patients who achieved sustained scalp hair regrowth during treatment with baricitinib in the BRAVE-AA phase III trials. This post-hoc analysis included data from the double-blind, parallel-group, randomized, placebo-controlled phase III trials BRAVE-AA1 (ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT03570749) and BRAVE-AA2 (ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT03899259). Adults with severe AA (defined as a Severity of Alopecia Tool [SALT] score ≥ 50) randomized to baricitinib 4 mg or baricitinib 2 mg at baseline who achieved SALT score ≤ 20 by week 36 and maintained SALT score ≤ 20 through week 104 on the same dose of baricitinib were included in this analysis of integrated data. Scalp hair regrowth (SALT score) and improvements in Skindex-16 AA Scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) domain scores were analyzed over the 104-week period using descriptive statistics. In total, 131 patients (88 on baricitinib 4 mg and 43 on baricitinib 2 mg) were included in this analysis. Across the two groups, the mean age (standard deviation) was 37.2 years (12.7), and 84 (64.1%) patients were female. The interquartile range) for time to achieve a SALT score ≤ 20 for patients treated with baricitinib 4 mg and baricitinib 2 mg was 13.1 and 19.6 weeks, respectively. By week 104, 91% (baricitinib 2 mg) and 96% (baricitinib 4 mg) of patients had achieved a SALT score ≤ 10 on baricitinib treatment. In both groups, progressive improvements in the Skindex-16 AA and HADS domain scores were observed up to week 104. This analysis of adults with severe AA treated with baricitinib revealed that achievement of sustained clinically meaningful scalp hair regrowth (SALT score ≤ 20) was associated with improvements in both measures of HRQoL and symptoms of anxiety and depression up to week 104.

Using ChatGPT for Kidney Transplantation: Perceived Information Quality by Race and Education Levels.

Kidney transplantation is a complex process requiring extensive preparation and ongoing monitoring. Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots hold potential for providing accessible health information, but our understanding of their role in offering health advice for kidney transplantation and how individuals assess such advice remains limited. This study investigates how individuals evaluate ChatGPT's responses to kidney transplantation questions in terms of information quality and empathy, focusing on potential differences across race/ethnicity and educational backgrounds. We collected Reddit posts (N=4624) regarding kidney transplantation and selected 86 questions to represent typical clinician inquiries. These questions were used as input prompts for ChatGPT. A total of 565 participants assessed ChatGPT's responses through online surveys, rating information quality and empathy using Likert scales. Multilevel analyses (N=2825) show that there is a significant interaction between race/ethnicity and education levels in various measures related to perceived information quality, but not perceived empathy of ChatGPT's responses: accuracy (p<0.05); authenticity (p<0.01); believability (p<0.05); informativeness (p=0.053); usefulness (p<0.05); recognizing users' feelings (p=0.70) and understanding feelings and situations (p=0.65). Among non-White individuals, higher education levels predicted higher perceived quality of ChatGPT's responses across all information quality measures. Notably, this trend was reversed for White individuals, where higher education levels led to lower perceived information quality. Our results highlight the importance of developing AI tools sensitive to diverse communication styles and information needs.