Publisher Correction: npj Cardiovascular Health, volume 1, missing Data Availability statements
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Deep learning to predict cardiovascular mortality from aortic disease in heavy smokers
Aortic angiopathy is a common manifestation of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and may serve as a surrogate marker of CVD burden. While the maximum aortic diameter is the primary prognostic measure, the potential of other features to improve risk prediction remains uncertain. This study developed a deep learning framework to automatically quantify thoracic aortic disease features and assessed their prognostic value in predicting CVD mortality among heavy smokers. Using non-contrast chest CTs from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), aortic features quantified included maximum diameter, volume, and calcification burden. Among 24,770 participants, 440 CVD deaths occurred over a mean 6.3-year follow-up. Aortic calcifications and volume were independently associated with CVD mortality, even after adjusting for traditional risk factors and coronary artery calcifications. These findings suggest that deep learning-derived aortic features could improve CVD risk prediction in high-risk populations, enabling more personalized prevention strategies.
International consensus guidelines on the implementation and monitoring of vosoritide therapy in individuals with achondroplasia
Achondroplasia is the most common genetic form of short-limbed skeletal dysplasia (dwarfism). Clinical manifestations and complications can affect individuals across the lifespan, including the need for adaptations for activities of daily living, which can affect quality of life. Current international guidelines focus on symptomatic management, with little discussion regarding potential medication, as therapeutic options were limited at the time of their publication. Vosoritide is the first pharmacological, precision treatment for achondroplasia; it was approved for use in 2021, creating a need for vosoritide treatment guidelines to support clinicians. An international collaborative of leading experts and patient advocates was formed to develop this Consensus Statement. The group developed the guideline scope and topics during a hybrid meeting in November 2023; guideline statements were subsequently ratified via Delphi methodology using a predefined consensus threshold. These statements provide recommendations across the treatment pathway, from starting treatment with vosoritide through ongoing monitoring and evaluation, to stopping vosoritide and ongoing monitoring following cessation. These guidelines recommend a minimum set of requirements and a practical framework for professionals and health services worldwide regarding the use of vosoritide to treat infants, children and young people with achondroplasia. This Consensus Statement is a supplement to already established consensus guidelines for management and care of individuals with achondroplasia.
Editorial: Breaking the silence – the launch of npj Acoustics
Introduction Sound “is one of the subtilest pieces of nature” wrote Francis Bacon in his Sylva Sylvarum in 16271. More than two centuries later Hermann…
Development of quality indicators for hypertension management at the primary health care level in South Africa
Despite many quality initiatives at the primary health care (PHC) level, little is known about the actual quality of care of patients diagnosed with hypertension in South Africa. This study aimed to develop quality indicators for hypertension management at the PHC level to improve the quality of care and patient outcomes. The RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method, comprising two rounds, was used to develop clear, appropriate, and feasible evidence-based quality indicators for hypertension. In Round 1, a 9-point scale was used by a panel of 11 members to rate clarity and appropriateness of 102 hypertension quality indicator statements, grouped under 9 dimensions of quality hypertension management, using an online MS Excel® spreadsheet. In Round 2, 9 of the same panellists discussed all indicators and rated their appropriateness and feasibility during a remote online, interactive face-to-face MS Teams® meeting. Statements rated ≥7–9 with agreement were defined as either appropriate or feasible. The panel rated 46 hypertension quality indicator statements ≥7–9 with agreement for the appropriate and feasible measurement of the management of hypertension: monitoring (n = 16), review (n = 5), lifestyle advice (n = 9), tests (n = 7), intermediate outcomes (n = 6), referrals (n = 2) and practice/facility structures (n = 1). No indicator statements were rated both appropriate and feasible for measuring blood pressure levels and treatment. If applied, these indicators would improve monitoring and management of patients with hypertension, patient outcomes, and data quality in South Africa and result in more efficient use of scarce resources. This study can be replicable for improving care of other non-communicable diseases across Africa.
Interracial contact shapes racial bias in the learning of person-knowledge
During impression formation, perceptual cues facilitate social categorization while person-knowledge can promote individuation and enhance person memory. Although there is extensive literature on the cross-race recognition deficit, observed when racial ingroup faces are recognized more than outgroup faces, it is unclear whether a similar deficit exists when recalling individuating information about outgroup members. To better understand how perceived race can bias person memory, the present study examined how self-identified White perceivers’ interracial contact impacts learning of perceptual cues and person-knowledge about perceived Black and White others over five sessions of training. While person-knowledge facilitated face recognition accuracy for low-contact perceivers, face recognition accuracy did not differ for high-contact perceivers based on person-knowledge availability. The results indicate a bias towards better recall of ingroup person knowledge, which decreased for high-contact perceivers across the five-day training but simultaneously increased for low-contact perceivers. Overall, the elimination of racial bias in recall of person-knowledge among high-contact perceivers amid a persistent cross-race deficit in face recognition suggests that contact may have a greater impact on the recall of person-knowledge than on face recognition.
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