Variability in Liver Size Measurements Using Different View Angles in Ultrasound Imaging.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare liver size measurements in different conventional B-mode ultrasound image (US) field views using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurement as a reference.

Methods: After receiving Institutional Review Board approval and informed consent, three operators measured the largest sagittal and transverse dimensions of adult livers on three US image field views (90°, 120°, and 140°) with a single curvilinear transducer. We analyzed the differences in liver size across three image field views using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and examined the correlations between MRI and ultrasound measurements using Spearman regression.

Young widowhood: A qualitative study of sexuality after partner loss.

Partner loss deprives young widows of physical contact, emotional intimacy, and the fulfillment of sexual desire. Although disenfranchised and oppressed, sexuality is a core piece of women's identity, and sexual bereavement may compel widows to reconstruct their sexual identities. This existential phenomenological study seeks to illuminate the sexual loss and coping of young widows aged 45 and under.

Does the clopidogrel CYP2C19 genotype assay predict postprocedure stenosis in cerebral aneurysms treated with a flow diverter?

Objective: Flow diverters have emerged as a popular modality for treating cerebral aneurysms but require dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after placement. Clopidogrel is a common choice but is a prodrug that some patients may not convert into an active metabolite. The CYP2C19 genotype assay is used to predict activation speed; however, limited data exist showcasing whether this genotype accurately predicts postprocedure complications after flow diversion treatment of cerebral aneurysms.

Commentary on Ultrasound Instruction in Undergraduate Medical Education: Perspective from Two Students.

Background: Ultrasound integration in undergraduate medical education (UME) has been a focused endeavor in recent years. According to the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, more than a third of all US medical schools have adopted a focused ultrasound training program for medical students. Medical student perspectives on best practices in ultrasound education are lacking in the literature.

Gender Disparities in Aortoiliac Revascularization in Patients with Aortoiliac Occlusive Disease.

Background: Gender disparities have been previously reported in aortic aneurysm and critical limb ischemia outcomes; however, limited info is known about disparities in aortoiliac occlusive disease. We sought to characterize potential disparities in this specific population.

Material And Methods: Patients who underwent aortobifemoral bypass and aortic thromboendarterectomy (Current Procedural Terminology codes 35646 and 35331) between 2012 and 2019 were identified in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database.

An integrated comparative physiology and molecular approach pinpoints mediators of breath-hold capacity in dolphins.

Background And Objectives: Ischemic events, such as ischemic heart disease and stroke, are the number one cause of death globally. Ischemia prevents blood, carrying essential nutrients and oxygen, from reaching tissues, leading to cell and tissue death, and eventual organ failure. While humans are relatively intolerant to ischemic events, other species, such as marine mammals, have evolved a unique tolerance to chronic ischemia/reperfusion during apneic diving.

Dynamic body acceleration as a proxy to predict the cost of locomotion in bottlenose dolphins.

Estimates of the energetic costs of locomotion (COL) at different activity levels are necessary to answer fundamental eco-physiological questions and to understand the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance to marine mammals. We combined estimates of energetic costs derived from breath-by-breath respirometry with measurements of overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) from biologging tags to validate ODBA as a proxy for COL in trained common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). We measured resting metabolic rate (RMR); mean individual RMR was 0.

Creating an Ultrasound Scholarly Concentration Program for Medical Students.

Introduction: Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) is increasingly prevalent and standardized in undergraduate medical education (UME); however, roughly 25% of United States medical schools lack an ultrasound curriculum. One of the commonly cited barriers to ultrasound training in UME is faculty time resources. Here, we describe an ultrasound scholarly concentration program (SCP) designed to provide medical students with ultrasound opportunities in clinical and scholarly domains, while reducing the need for extensive faculty resources.

Total energy expenditure of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) of different ages.

Marine mammals are thought to have an energetically expensive lifestyle because endothermy is costly in marine environments. However, measurements of total energy expenditure (TEE; kcal day-1) are available only for a limited number of marine mammals, because large body size and inaccessible habitats make TEE measurements expensive and difficult to obtain for many taxa. We measured TEE in 10 adult common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) living in natural seawater lagoons at two facilities (Dolphin Research Center and Dolphin Quest) using the doubly labeled water method.

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia and submersion bradycardia in bottlenose dolphins ().

Among the many factors that influence the cardiovascular adjustments of marine mammals is the act of respiration at the surface, which facilitates rapid gas exchange and tissue re-perfusion between dives. We measured heart rate () in six adult male bottlenose dolphins () spontaneously breathing at the surface to quantify the relationship between respiration and , and compared this with during submerged breath-holds. We found that dolphins exhibit a pronounced respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) during surface breathing, resulting in a rapid increase in after a breath followed by a gradual decrease over the following 15-20 s to a steady that is maintained until the following breath.

Spindle Cell Sarcoma of the Paraspinal Musculature with Late Pulmonary Metastases.

BACKGROUND Sarcomas account for less than 1% of all cancers. Spindle cell sarcomas are a rare form of soft tissue sarcomas classified as undifferentiated/unclassified based on their histomorphology. These tumors have a propensity for local recurrence and distant metastases are frequently found in the lungs.

Large Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma of the Posterior Thigh.

BACKGROUND Sarcomas account for less than 1% of all cancers. Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma, formerly called Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma, is a rare subtype identified by a lack specific immunohistochemical markers for a specific lineage of differentiation. These soft tissue tumors are aggressive and rapidly enlarge.

Resting Metabolic Rate and Lung Function in Wild Offshore Common Bottlenose Dolphins, , Near Bermuda.

Diving mammals have evolved a suite of physiological adaptations to manage respiratory gases during extended breath-hold dives. To test the hypothesis that offshore bottlenose dolphins have evolved physiological adaptations to improve their ability for extended deep dives and as protection for lung barotrauma, we investigated the lung function and respiratory physiology of four wild common bottlenose dolphins () near the island of Bermuda. We measured blood hematocrit (Hct, %), resting metabolic rate (RMR, l O ⋅ min), tidal volume (, l), respiratory frequency (, breaths ⋅ min), respiratory flow (l ⋅ min), and dynamic lung compliance (, l ⋅ cmHO) in air and in water, and compared measurements with published results from coastal, shallow-diving dolphins.

Chemoreception drives plastic consumption in a hard coral.

The drivers behind microplastic (up to 5mm in diameter) consumption by animals are uncertain and impacts on foundational species are poorly understood. We investigated consumption of weathered, unfouled, biofouled, pre-production and microbe-free National Institute of Standards plastic by a scleractinian coral that relies on chemosensory cues for feeding. Experiment one found that corals ingested many plastic types while mostly ignoring organic-free sand, suggesting that plastic contains phagostimulents.

Production of random DNA oligomers for scalable DNA computing.

While remarkably complex networks of connected DNA molecules can form from a relatively small number of distinct oligomer strands, a large computational space created by DNA reactions would ultimately require the use of many distinct DNA strands. The automatic synthesis of this many distinct strands is economically prohibitive. We present here a new approach to producing distinct DNA oligomers based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of a few random template sequences.