Space radiation research with heavy ions at HIMAC.

The HIMAC (Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba) was originally designed principally for carbon ion therapy, but heavy ion research projects in medicine, physics, chemistry and biology have been conducted under a collaborative research framework since 1994. One major application is space radiation research. The radiation in space of greatest interest for human space exploration consists of energetic protons and heavy ions which can affect the health of space crew and lead to the failure of electronic devices.

Using tele-paramedicine to conduct in-home fall risk reduction after emergency department discharge: Preliminary data.

Background: Older adults discharged from our emergency department (ED) do not receive comprehensive fall risk evaluations. We conducted a quality improvement project using an existing Community Tele-Paramedicine (CTP) program to perform in-home fall risk assessment and mitigation after ED discharge.

Methods: High falls-risk patients, as defined by STEADI score >4, were referred for a CTP home visit by community paramedics supervised virtually by emergency physicians.

Student, Staff and Faculty Experience with a Medical School Racial and Sociopolitical Trauma Protocol: A Mixed Methods Study.

 Medical students experience racial and sociopolitical trauma that disrupts their learning and wellbeing.  University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine students advocated for a systems approach to responding to traumatic events. Students partnered with educators to introduce an innovative protocol that affords short-term flexibility in curricular expectations (e.

Secondary proton buildup in space radiation shielding.

The risk posed by prolonged exposure to space radiation represents a significant obstacle to long-duration human space exploration. Of the ion species present in the galactic cosmic ray spectrum, relativistic protons are the most abundant and as such are a relevant point of interest with regard to the radiation protection of space crews involved in future long-term missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. This work compared the shielding effectiveness of a number of standard and composite materials relevant to the design and development of future spacecraft or planetary surface habitats.

Predictors of willingness to receive updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 booster vaccines among a convenience sample in Minnesota.

Objectives: To determine factors associated with intention to receive recommended COVID-19 booster vaccines in 2023-2024.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 1,256 individuals at Minnesota State and County fairs was conducted to assess their intention to receive a COVID-19 booster vaccine in the coming year if recommended. The association between booster intention and multiple factors believed to influence willingness to receive the vaccine, including perceived vaccine safety, perceived risk of COVID-19, public health knowledge, fear of future pandemics, and political affiliation, were analyzed using ordinal logistic regression and adjusted odds ratios (aOR).

Housing Insecurity and Other Syndemic Factors Experienced by Black and Latina Cisgender Women in Austin, Texas: A Qualitative Study.

Austin, Texas emerged as one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. over the past decade.

The neutron dose equivalent rate measurements by R3DR/R2 spectrometers on the international space station.

The data from two Bulgarian-German instruments with the basic name "Radiation Risk Radiometer-Dosimeter" (R3D) are discussed. The R3DR instrument worked inside the ESA EXPOSE-R facility (2009-2010), while R3DR2 worked inside the ESA EXPOSE-R2 facility (2014-2016). Both were outside the Russian Zvezda module on the International Space Station (ISS).

Multidisciplinary Care in Heart Failure Services.

The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/Heart Failure Society of American 2022 guidelines for heart failure (HF) recommend a multidisciplinary team approach for patients with HF. The multidisciplinary HF team-based approach decreases the hospitalization rate for HF and health care costs and improves adherence to self-care and the use of guideline-directed medical therapy. This article proposes the optimal multidisciplinary team structure and each team member's delineated role to achieve institutional goals and metrics for HF care.

Telemedicine Use by Older Adults in a COVID-19 Epicenter.

Background: In early 2020, New York City was the epicenter of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the United States. Older adults were at especially high risk. Telemedicine (TM) was used to shift care from overburdened emergency departments (EDs) to provide health care to a community in lockdown.

Monte Carlo simulation of semiconductor-based detector in mixed radiation field in the atmosphere.

Calculation of radiation protection quantities in tissue equivalent material from measurements using semiconductor detectors requires correction factors for conversion of the measured values in the semiconductor material to the tissue equivalent material. This approach has been used many times in aircraft and for space dosimetry. In this paper, we present the results of Monte Carlo simulations which reveal the need to take into account both the radiation field and the detector material when performing the conversion of measured values to radiation protection quantities.

Integrative analysis of drug response and clinical outcome in acute myeloid leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of myeloid-lineage cells with limited therapeutic options. We previously combined ex vivo drug sensitivity with genomic, transcriptomic, and clinical annotations for a large cohort of AML patients, which facilitated discovery of functional genomic correlates. Here, we present a dataset that has been harmonized with our initial report to yield a cumulative cohort of 805 patients (942 specimens).

Proton pump inhibitor induced subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus: Clinical characteristics and outcomes.

Background: There is a growing literature reporting the association between proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use and subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE).

Aims: To compare the clinical characteristics of a cohort of patients with PPI-induced SCLE, their clinical course and treatment with a control group of primary SCLE patients not exposed to PPI.

Methods: We conducted a matched case-control study in a tertiary referral setting at the Louise Coote Lupus Unit.

Immunobullous disease.

Immunobullous diseases are blistering cutaneous disorders that are caused by pathogenic antibodies binding to protein targets within the skin. There are a range of immunobullous disorders with characteristic morphology that relates to the structural properties of the target protein. In this article we will describe the pathogenesis, clinical features and treatment of the most common immunobullous disorders.

Development of an Electronic Exchange of Medical Documentation for Power Mobility Devices.

Objectives: Power mobility devices (PMDs) such as power wheelchairs and scooters are crucial for mobility, self-care, employment, and leisure activities. The documentation process for insurance coverage is complex and requires communication and document delivery among multiple stakeholders. The objective of this project was to develop an electronic submission process for medical documentation of PMDs submitted for prior authorization to a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) and implement a standardized means of communication between providers and payers.

A pilot study examining the use of ultrasound to measure sarcopenia, frailty and fall in older patients.

Introduction: The importance of this study is to devise an efficient tool for assessing frailty in the ED. The goals of this study are 1) to correlate ultrasonographic (US) measurements of muscle thickness in older ED patients with frailty and 2) to correlate US-measured sarcopenia with falls, subsequent hospitalizations and ED revisits.

Methods: Participants were conveniently sampled from a single ED in this prospective cohort pilot study of patients aged 65 or older.

Improving Asthma Conditions for Children and Adolescents by Expanding the Statewide Learning Collaborative Model Through Health Homes.

Background And Objectives: Asthma is one of the most common diseases among children in the United States. Increasing provider adherence to national asthma guidelines and connecting patients to Health Homes can increase optimal asthma care. The objectives of this article are to report the results of an asthma learning collaborative and explore the role of Health Homes in contributing to its success.

Shielding effectiveness: A weighted figure of merit for space radiation shielding.

The risk to space crew health and safety posed by exposure to space radiation is regarded as a significant obstacle to future human exploration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Engineers developing future spacecraft or planetary surface habitats can benefit from detailed knowledge of a broad range of possible materials that could provide improved protection to space crews from the deleterious effects of prolonged exposure to the space radiation environment. As one step towards providing this knowledge base, we have developed an empirical weighted figure of merit, referred to as shielding effectiveness, that quantifies the ability of a candidate material to shield space crews from the space radiation environment.

Production of [N]ammonia from [C]methanol on a 7.5 MeV cyclotron using C(p, n)N reaction: Detection of myocardial infarction in a mouse model.

[N]Ammonia is commonly produced using O(p, α)N reaction but one of the limiting factor of this reaction is the relatively small nuclear cross-section at proton energies of <10 MeV. An alternative production method using C(p, n)N reaction, which has a higher nuclear cross-section at low proton energies, is more suitable for a preclinical PET imaging facility equipped with a <10 MeV cyclotron. Here, we report a novel method to produce [N]ammonia from [C]methanol for preclinical use on a 7.

Ratiometric Phosphorescent Silver Sensor: Detection and Quantification of Free Silver Ions within Silver Nanoparticles.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have well-known antibacterial properties that have stimulated their widespread production and usage, which nonetheless concomitantly raises concerns regarding their release into the environment. Understanding the toxicity of AgNPs to biological systems, the environment, and the role that each silver species (Ag ions vs AgNPs) plays in that toxicity has received significant attention. One of the critical objectives of this research is the development of a reliable method that can sense and differentiate free silver ions from AgNPs and is able to characterize silver ions leaching from nanosilver.