The Efficacy of Liposomal Bupivacaine in Regional Nerve Blocks for Below Knee Amputations.

Postamputation pain is highly prevalent. Opioids are often utilized postoperatively; however, they have significant side effects. Liposomal bupivacaine (LB) was introduced to extend nerve blocks from hours into days.

Public health preparedness and response competency model methodology.

Objective: The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act calls for establishing a competency-based training program to train public health practitioners. To inform such training, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of Schools of Public Health managed groups of experts to produce a competency model which could function as a national standard of behaviorally based, observable skills for the public health workforce to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from all hazards.

Design: A systematic review of existing competency models generated a competency model of proposed domains and competencies.

First assessment of pollutant exposure in two balaenopterid whale populations sampled in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway.

Pollutant concentrations are poorly known for the largest animals on Earth, blue whales Balaenoptera musculus and fin whales Balaenoptera physalus. In this study, concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were determined in blubber biopsies and stable isotope values for nitrogen (δN) and carbon (δC) were measured using skin biopsies for 18 blue whales and 12 fin whales sampled in waters surrounding the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway. The samples were collected in summer during the period 2014-2018.

Safety of one-stage conversion surgery after failed gastric band: our experience and review of the literature.

The laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (AGB) has fallen out of favor due to poor long-term weight loss and frequent complications. Many patients stand to benefit from elective conversion of AGB to more durable procedures such as sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). Whether it is safer to perform this conversion in one or two stages, however, remains controversial.