Ultrasonography of the distal limbs in Nellore and Girolando calves 8 to 12 months of age.

Background: Ultrasonography can be used anywhere and allows rapid, noninvasive differentiation of soft tissue structures of the musculoskeletal system. The objectives of this study were to describe the ultrasonographic appearance of the structures of the metacarpo-/metatarsophalangeal and the interphalangeal joints, the appearance of the growth plates of the distal metacarpus/metatarsus and of the proximal phalanx and to measure the cross-sectional dimensions of the DDFT and SDFT in Nellore and Girolando calves eight to 12 months of age.

Results: In the longitudinal dorsal view the common digital extensor tendon and the digital extensor tendon were depicted as echogenic parallel fiber bundles located directly under the skin.

Incentive structure in team-based learning: graded versus ungraded Group Application exercises.

Purpose: Previous studies on team-based learning (TBL) in medical education demonstrated improved learner engagement, learner satisfaction, and academic performance; however, a paucity of information exists on modifications of the incentive structure of "traditional" TBL practices. The current study investigates the impact of modification to conventional Group Application exercises by examining student preference and student perceptions of TBL outcomes when Group Application exercises are excluded from TBL grades.

Methods: During the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years, 175 students (95.

Analysis of the BRAF V600E mutation in primary cutaneous melanoma.

BRAF V600E is the most common mutation in cutaneous melanomas, and has been described in 30-72% of such cases. This mutation results in the substitution of valine for glutamic acid at position 600 of the BRAF protein, which consequently becomes constitutively activated. The present study investigated the BRAF V600E mutation frequency and its clinical implications in a group of 77 primary cutaneous melanoma patients treated in a cancer reference center in Brazil.

Medical students with low self-efficacy bolstered by calling to medical speciality.

This study was performed to understand the degree to which medical students' self-efficacy (SE) moderates the influence of calling on students' speciality commitment, emphasizing the need to understand variables that predict primary care specialization. The researchers hypothesized that students who perceived their career as a calling would be more committed to their speciality, especially when students had high SE. Medical students (Years 1-4; N = 152) completed an online survey to rate their calling, speciality commitment, and SE.

Annual ryegrass-associated bacteria with potential for plant growth promotion.

Annual ryegrass is a fast-growing cool-season grass broadly present in the Portuguese "montado", a typically Mediterranean agro-forestry-pastoral ecosystem. A culture-dependent approach was used to investigate natural associations of this crop with potentially beneficial bacteria, aiming to identify strains suitable for biofertilization purposes. Annual ryegrass seedlings were used to trap bacteria from three different soils in laboratory conditions.

Acyl-ghrelin and obestatin plasma levels in different stages of chronic kidney disease.

Objective: This study assessed acyl-ghrelin and obestatin plasma levels in nondialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hemodialysis (HD) patients compared with healthy volunteers.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Renal Vida Clinic (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Renal Nutrition Ambulatory (Niterói, Brazil).

Subjects: Sixty-four subjects were studied: 29 HD patients (55.

Training mode's influences on the relationships between training-load models during basketball conditioning.

Purpose: To compare perceptual and physiological training-load responses during various basketball training modes.

Methods: Eight semiprofessional male basketball players (age 26.3 ± 6.

Early dietary treated patients with phenylketonuria can achieve normal growth and body composition.

Background: In the past, overtreatment may have resulted in growth impairment in patients with phenylketonuria.

Objective: The paper aims to investigate height and body composition in early treated patients with phenylketonuria who were diagnosed between 1981 and 2008.

Design: A cross-sectional study of 89 patients with phenylketonuria and 78 controls aged (mean ± SD, in years) 14.

Correlation of cephalometric and anthropometric measures with obstructive sleep apnea severity.

Introduction:  Patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) often have associated changes in craniofacial morphology and distribution of body fat, either alone or in combination.

Aim:  To correlate cephalometric and anthropometric measures with OSAHS severity by using the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI).

Method:  A retrospective cephalometry study of 93 patients with OSAHS was conducted from July 2010 to July 2012.

Normal sonographic anatomy of the abdomen of coatis (Nasua nasua Linnaeus 1766).

Background: The use of ultrasound in veterinary medicine is widespread as a diagnostic supplement in the clinical routine of small animals, but there are few reports in wild animals. The objective of this study was to describe the anatomy, topography and abdominal sonographic features of coatis.

Results: The urinary bladder wall measured 0.

International women physicians' perspectives on choosing an academic medicine career.

Unlabelled: Concerns about recruiting physicians into academic careers is an international issue. A qualitative study with United States (US) women physicians revealed insights into how, when, and why physicians choose an academic career in medicine. The current study explored international women physicians' perspectives on their career choice of academic medicine and determined if different themes emerged.

Medical student interest in academic medical careers: a multi-institutional study.

Little is known about how medical students view academic medicine. This multi-institutional study explored student perceptions of this career path. During 2009-2010, third- and fourth-year students at three United States medical schools completed a 30-item online survey.

Speciality interests and career calling to medicine among first-year medical students.

The construct of calling has recently been applied to the vocation of medicine. We explored whether medical students endorse the presence of a calling or a search for a calling and how calling related to initial speciality interest. 574 first-year medical students (84 % response rate) were administered the Brief Calling Survey and indicated their speciality interest.

Inhibition of formation of α-synuclein inclusions by mannosylglycerate in a yeast model of Parkinson's disease.

Background: Protein aggregation in the brain is a central hallmark in many neurodegenerative diseases. In Parkinson's disease, α-synuclein (α-Syn) is the major component of the intraneuronal inclusions found in the brains of patients. Current therapeutics is merely symptomatic, and there is a pressing need for developing novel therapies.

Effect of kinesio taping on jumping and balance in athletes: a crossover randomized controlled trial.

The purpose of this crossover randomized controlled trial was to verify the effect of Kinesio Taping (KT) applied to the triceps surae with the aim to improve muscle performance during vertical jump (VJ), horizontal jump (HJ), and dynamic balance (DB) in healthy college athletes. The participants were 20 athletes (11 men) who competed in 4 different sports modalities (track and field, handball, volleyball, and soccer). Participants had a mean age of 22.

Relative importance of driving force and electrostatic interactions in the reduction of multihaem cytochromes by small molecules.

Multihaem cytochromes are essential to the energetics of organisms capable of bioremediation and energy production. The haems in several of these cytochromes have been discriminated thermodynamically and their individual rates of reduction by small electron donors were characterized. The kinetic characterization of individual haems used the Marcus theory of electron transfer and assumed that the rates of reduction of each haem by sodium dithionite depend only on the driving force, while electrostatic interactions were neglected.

Measuring cognitive outcomes in a pre-clinical bioethics course.

Medical schools universally accept the idea that bioethics courses are essential components of education, but few studies which measure outcomes (i.e., knowledge or retention) have demonstrated their educational value in the literature.

Dietary treatment in phenylketonuria does not lead to increased risk of obesity or metabolic syndrome.

Background: Little is known about the consequences of the special energy enriched diet used to treat patients with phenylketonuria (PKU) in terms of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) development.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity, and its consequences in terms of body composition and MetSyn in early treated patients with PKU compared to controls.

Design: A sample of 89 patients with PKU (3-30 y; 14.

Postinterview communication between military residency applicants and training programs.

Purpose: Each year military medical students participate in a separate, military match culminating with the Joint Services Graduate Medical Education Selection Board (JSGMESB). Prior studies have explored postinterview communication that occurs during the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), but not during the JSGMESB. We examined the frequency and nature of communication during the JSGMESB and compared it with the NRMP.

Development of emotional intelligence in a team-based learning internal medicine clerkship.

Background: Although increasing number of articles have been published on team-based learning (TBL), none has explored team emotional intelligence.

Aim: We extend the literature by examining changes in team emotional intelligence during a third year clerkship where TBL is a primary instructional strategy. We hypothesized that team emotional intelligence will change in a positive direction (i.

The prevalence and nature of postinterview communications between residency programs and applicants during the match.

Purpose: To examine the frequency and nature of postinterview communications between programs and applicants during the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Main Residency Match.

Method: The authors surveyed senior medical students at seven U.S.

Differences in synthesis and absorption of cholesterol of two effective lipid-lowering therapies.

Effective statin therapy is associated with a marked reduction of cardiovascular events. However, the explanation for full benefits obtained for LDL cholesterol targets by combined lipid-lowering therapy is controversial. Our study compared the effects of two equally effective lipid-lowering strategies on markers of cholesterol synthesis and absorption.

DXA, bioelectrical impedance, ultrasonography and biometry for the estimation of fat and lean mass in cats during weight loss.

Background: Few equations have been developed in veterinary medicine compared to human medicine to predict body composition. The present study was done to evaluate the influence of weight loss on biometry (BIO), bioimpedance analysis (BIA) and ultrasonography (US) in cats, proposing equations to estimate fat (FM) and lean (LM) body mass, as compared to dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as the referenced method. For this were used 16 gonadectomized obese cats (8 males and 8 females) in a weight loss program.

Psychiatry and emergency medicine: medical student and physician attitudes toward homeless persons.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to explore changes in medical students' attitudes toward homeless persons during the Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine clerkships. Simultaneously, this study explored attitudes toward homeless persons held by Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine residents and faculty in an attempt to uncover the "hidden curriculum" in medical education, in which values are communicated from teacher to student outside of the formal instruction.

Method: A group of 79 students on Psychiatry and 66 on Emergency Medicine clerkships were surveyed at the beginning and end of their rotation regarding their attitudes toward homeless persons by use of the Health Professionals' Attitudes Toward the Homeless Inventory (HPATHI).