Induced pluripotent stem cells for the study of cardiovascular disease.

Groundbreaking advances in stem cell research have led to techniques for the creation of human cardiomyocytes from cells procured from a variety of sources, including a simple skin biopsy. Since the advent of this technology, most research has focused on utilizing these cells for therapeutic purposes. However, recent studies have demonstrated that stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes generated from patients with inherited cardiovascular disorders recapitulate key phenotypic features of disease in vitro.

Factors related to strabismus decompensation after a period of prolonged postoperative stability.

Purpose: To identify factors associated with late decompensation of horizontal strabismus after a period of prolonged (>12 months) postoperative stability.

Methods: Charts from all pediatric horizontal strabismus surgical cases from 1999 to 2009 were reviewed. Patients with a distance or near alignment of <10(Δ) at the first visit >12 months following surgery were included.

Ocular surface squamous neoplasia: a survey of changes in the standard of care from 2003 to 2012.

Purpose: To evaluate the current standard of care of ophthalmologists who are likely to encounter ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) in their practices and to compare this with data gathered in 2003.

Methods: Invitations to a web-based survey were sent to members of the Ocular Microbiology and Immunology Group. In addition, the survey was posted to the Cornea Society Listserv, Keranet.

Septin 9 amplification and isoform-specific expression in peritumoral and tumor breast tissue.

Septins are a large family of GTP-binding proteins abnormally expressed in many solid tumors. Septin 9 (SEPT9) in particular has been found overexpressed in diverse human tumors including breast, head and neck, ovarian, endometrial, kidney, and pancreatic cancer. Although we previously reported SEPT9 amplification in breast cancer, we now show specifically that high-grade breast carcinomas, the subtype with worst clinical outcome, exhibit a significant increase in SEPT9 copy number when compared with other tumor grades.

Presenting concerns of veterans entering treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Patient-centered care involves engaging patients as partners in establishing treatment priorities. No prior studies have examined what specific problems veterans hope to address when they enter posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment. Veterans starting outpatient (n = 216) and residential (n = 812) PTSD treatment in 2 multisite care management trials specified (open-ended) the 2 or 3 problems that they most wanted to improve through treatment.

Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) scale: a multinational review.

The Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) scale is a 29-item questionnaire measuring self-stigma among persons with psychiatric disorders. It was developed with substantial consumer input and has been widely used, but its psychometric qualities have not been comprehensively evaluated across multiple versions. Here we review the 55 known versions, and provide the 47 available versions, including: Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese (Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong), Croatian, Dutch, English (USA, South Africa), Estonian, Farsi, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Lithuanian, Lugandan, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Samoan, Slovenian, Spanish (Spain), Swahili, Swedish, Tongan, Turkish, Urdu, and Yoruba, and qualitative English and Swahili versions, as well as versions for depression, schizophrenia, substance abuse, eating disorders, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, leprosy, smoking, parents and caregivers of people with mental illness, and ethnicity.

Improving on-time start of day and end of day for a pediatric surgical service.

Background And Objective: In multicase pediatric ear, nose, and throat operating rooms (ORs), brief delays in early case start times often produce a cascading effect of lengthy delays by the end of the day and can often lead to patient, family, and staff dissatisfaction and increased labor costs due to unplanned overtime. We sought to improve actual end of day relative to scheduled end of day from 40% to 60%.

Methods: Key drivers of the process included case scheduling, ordering of sedative medications, and nurse availability in the post anesthesia care unit to receive the patient from the anesthesia provider.