Computer scientists urge a fundamental shift in how problems are formulated in reinforcement learning for healthcare

Dr. Michael Golding, a professor in the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, studies how alcohol exposure may alter biological signals in sperm in ways that affect offspring development and metabolism.  

Through a new $2.9 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and supported by Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Golding and his team will expand their research into how parental alcohol exposure may contribute to chronic disease, accelerated aging and developmental disorders in offspring.

Resistance to antimicrobial agents is rising among human infections with Escherichia coli bacteria that produce the Shiga toxin, responsible for the majority of severe illnesses linked to E. coli, according to a study analyzing data from nearly 2,000 infections in the United States between 2010 and 2021. The increase in resistance points to a need for antibiotic stewardship in the food production chain as well as in human health.

About The Study: The results of this cohort study suggest that simply smartphone acquisition at age 13 was not associated with depression or with obesity, but was associated with insufficient sleep at age 14; however, the amount of smartphone use was associated with higher odds of all 3 outcomes. Behavioral interventions like limiting smartphone time and keeping smartphones out of bedrooms at night may protect adolescents from potential adverse health outcomes. Findings offer insights to guide caregivers on adolescent smartphone use and inform policies aimed at protecting youth, such as delaying smartphone acquisition until age 13. 

Researchers found postoperative delirium was strongly associated with long-term cognitive decline and the effect was not explained by rehospitalizations, highlighting the long-term impact of delirium on brain health

 

Researchers found postoperative delirium was strongly associated with long-term cognitive decline and the effect was not explained by rehospitalizations, highlighting the long-term impact of delirium on brain health.

A new report in the American Journal of Human Genetics describes a novel disorder caused by biallelic loss-of-function variants in the TMEM63B gene, which results in severe lung disease. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and collaborating institutions in Asia and Europe explain how this disorder presented in five individuals from four unrelated families.