Johns Hopkins University

“At Some Point, You Have to Cut the Cord”: Physician Perceptions of NICU-to-PICU Transfers

OBJECTIVE: Patients undergoing nonemergent neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to pediatric ICU (PICU) transfer in the United States have complex medical needs and high relative mortality, but there are no best practices guiding these transfers. This qualitative study was designe...

Integrated proteomics and metabolomics for predicting cardiometabolic risk in pregnant women living with HIV: current evidence and future directions

INTRODUCTION: Pregnant women living with HIV (PWLWH) experience cardiometabolic risk across pregnancy and postpartum, including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), dyslipidemia, obesity, and later metabolic disease. This heterogenous bi...

MRI Characteristics of Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-Associated Disease

Importance Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) is a demyelinating disease distinct from multiple sclerosis (MS) and aquaporin-4 antibody-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (AQP4+NMOSD). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is central t...

Defining reversible binding rates in 1D systems dependent on diffusion, density, and excluded volume

Binding reactions in effectively one-dimensional systems, such as proteins diffusing along DNA or other filaments, pose a fundamental coarse-graining challenge because stochastic trajectories are recurrent in one dimension and, therefore, do not admit a unique, separation-indepen...

Exploring the Potential of Parent Report for Autism/Developmental Screening at the 18-Month Visit

PURPOSE: To develop optimal algorithms of parent-administered items to improve the detection of autism and other developmental disorders at the 18-month visit. METHODS: at scheduled 18-month pediatric visits via an online system. Ninety-six children with positive screens and 314...

Synergistic effects of cerebrovascular reactivity and gray matter volume on executive function in aging

Background Age-related impairments in cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) and gray matter volume (GMV) both contribute to cognitive decline, yet their regional interplay and joint impact on cognition remain unclear. Objective To investigate how CVR and GMV are coupled and interact r...

Brain Penetrant Calcium Channel Blockers Were Not Associated With Reduced Alcohol Consumption: Converging Results From Two Large Independent Cohort Studies Using Electronic Health Records

ABSTRACT Purpose Alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains a major public health problem, with few effective treatments. L‐type calcium channel blockers (LTCCBs) have genetic and preclinical support as potential treatments for AUD. Methods We evaluated whether brain penetrant (BP)‐LTCCB...

Administration of a phosphodiesterase 4B inhibitor reduces hippocampal neuronal cell death after global cerebral ischemia

Abstract Global cerebral ischemia (GCI) causes widespread neuronal injury, with hippocampal neurons being particularly vulnerable. This study examined whether post-GCI treatment with amlexanox (AMX), a phosphodiesterase 4B (PDE4B) inhibitor, reduces hippocampal neurodegeneration...

Measuring the association between women’s empowerment using SWPER index and utilization of maternal and newborn health services from pregnancy to postpartum in Nepal

Women’s empowerment is a global development priority that serves as both an independent goal and a critical determinant of maternal and newborn health (MNH) outcomes. This study aimed to assess the association between women’s empowerment and utilization of MNH services from pregn...

Assessing residual bias in real-world vaccine effectiveness studies: validating negative controls to avoid misleading results

Observational studies and randomized controlled trials demonstrate that vaccines protect against infections and severe outcomes, but real-world vaccine effectiveness estimates remain vulnerable to residual biases. Negative control outcomes can help detect and mitigate such biases...

Genetic and pharmacologic inhibition of Keap1 dampens the pro-fibrotic program in human hepatic stellate cells

Abstract The increasing prevalence of chronic liver diseases (CLDs) is a global health concern. CLDs can cause fibrosis, and there is an urgent need for antifibrotic agents. The primary driver of fibrogenesis, transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), activates hepatic stellate...

Firearm owners’ support for policies regulating firearms left in vehicles

Abstract Purpose Firearms stolen from vehicles are a leading source of gun theft in the US. In response, there has been growth in the number of proposed and enacted policies at the state and local levels. Yet firearm owners’ attitudes toward policies regulating firearms left in v...

Grief and Grievance: Lessons from Star Wars for US Foreign Policy

Abstract This essay examines Star Wars canon as a compelling representation of politicized grief and uses it to complicate how US-based political analysts and media, and specifically the US foreign policy establishment, connects emotion and grievance to contentious and violent po...

Cryo-EM structures of autoinhibited and RNA-activated ZNFX1 helicase

Abstract ZNFX1 is an RNA helicase that plays a critical role in host defense against viral infections. Recent studies further revealed that ZNFX1 harbors an unexpected RNA-ubiquitinating E3 ligase activity, raising fundamental questions about how RNA-binding activates this multif...

SN 2024iss: A Multiwavelength Exposé of a Type IIb Supernova with an Early-time Ultraviolet Spectrum and Shock-breakout Constraints

Abstract We present multiwavelength observations and analysis of SN 2024iss, a Type IIb supernova (SN IIb) located at ∼14 Mpc. The first Zwicky Transient Facility detection of SN 2024iss is ∼40 minutes after first light (one of the earliest detections of a SN IIb to date) and a H...

“…If the Doctor Didn't Suggest it, Then I Would Probably Push the Idea Farther in My Head.”: Centering the Diverse Voices of Black Women to Understand PrEP Awareness and Access in the United States South

CONTEXT: In Atlanta, Georgia Black women account for most of new HIV diagnoses among women and 30% of Black women may benefit from pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Yet their PrEP knowledge, awareness, and access are low. METHODS: This study centers the voices of an economically d...

Pathway to optical-cycle dynamic photonics: extreme electron temperatures in transparent conducting oxides

We theoretically demonstrate that transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) exhibit oscillatory and sign-reversing dynamic modulation in transmittance on the order of a few optical cycles under extreme electron temperatures, providing a possible explanation for TCO dynamics observed i...

Community priorities for programs using HIV molecular epidemiology: A best-worst scaling

Background: HIV molecular epidemiology (HIV-ME) uses genetic sequencing to study viral evolution, detect transmission clusters, and guide public health responses. Ethical, legal, and social implications of HIV-ME have been raised, yet quantitative evidence on community perspectiv...

Allocation of TSPO-PET signals to cellular and extracellular compartments in dependence of blood-brain barrier disruption in experimental glioblastoma

BACKGROUND: Translocator protein (TSPO)-PET imaging facilitates monitoring of glioblastoma in preclinical models and patients. However, specificity of TSPO-PET signals remains to be investigated. In this study, we aimed to decipher exact contributions of cellular and extracellula...

The Neutral Hydrogen Gas Content of Star-forming and Quiescent S0 Galaxies

Abstract Lenticular (or S0) galaxies that remain actively star-forming (SFS0s) are a unique transition population among galaxies. We investigated the HI (21cm) neutral hydrogen content of a sample of lenticular galaxies identified from within the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache...