False positive urine amphetamine immunoassay due to solriamfetol.

Solriamfetol is a schedule IV-controlled substance used to treat excessive daytime sleepiness resulting from narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnea. We present a patient prescribed solriamfetol who tested positive for amphetamines on a routine urinary toxicology screen despite patient denial of illicit drug use, raising the possibility of a false positive amphetamine screen. Spiking studies were performed on negative urine, and different concentrations of solriamfetol drug on 2 different amphetamine assays: the commonly used Beckman Emit® II Plus Amphetamines Assay, and the Citrine™ Triple Quad™ MS/MS Systems.

Divergent Rabies Virus Variant of Probable Bat Origin in 2 Gray Foxes, New Mexico, USA.

In the Western Hemisphere, bat-associated rabies viruses (RABVs) have established independent transmission cycles in multiple mammal hosts, forming genetically distinct lineages. In New Mexico, USA, skunks, bats, and gray foxes are rabies reservoir hosts and represent a public health risk because of encounters with humans. During 2015 and 2019, two previously undescribed RABVs were detected in 2 gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) in Lincoln County, New Mexico.

Is transperineal prostate biopsy more accurate than transrectal biopsy in determining final Gleason score and clinical risk category? A comparative analysis.

Objectives: To assess the degree of upgrading and increase in clinical risk category of transperineal template biopsy (TTB) compared with transrectal ultrasonography-guided prostate biopsy (TRUSB). Upgrading of TRUSB Gleason grade and sum after radical prostatectomy (RP) is well recognised. TTB may offer a more thorough mapping of the prostate than TRUSB, as well as a more accurate assessment of the tumour.

An EMMPRIN-γ-catenin-Nm23 complex drives ATP production and actomyosin contractility at endothelial junctions.

Cell-cell adhesions are important sites through which cells experience and resist forces. In endothelial cells, these forces regulate junction dynamics and determine endothelial barrier strength. We identify the Ig superfamily member EMMPRIN (also known as basigin) as a coordinator of forces at endothelial junctions.

Substrates with engineered step changes in rigidity induce traction force polarity and durotaxis.

Rigidity sensing plays a fundamental role in multiple cell functions ranging from migration, to proliferation and differentiation. During migration, single cells have been reported to preferentially move toward more rigid regions of a substrate in a process termed . could contribute to cell migration in wound healing and gastrulation, where local gradients in tissue rigidity have been described.

Fluid shear stress on endothelial cells modulates mechanical tension across VE-cadherin and PECAM-1.

Fluid shear stress (FSS) from blood flow acting on the endothelium critically regulates vascular morphogenesis, blood pressure, and atherosclerosis. FSS applied to endothelial cells (ECs) triggers signaling events including opening of ion channels, activation of signaling pathways, and changes in gene expression. Elucidating how ECs sense flow is important for understanding both normal vascular function and disease.

Activation of beta 1 but not beta 3 integrin increases cell traction forces.

Cell-generated traction forces induce integrin activation, leading to focal adhesion growth and cell spreading. It remains unknown, however, whether integrin activation feeds back to impact the generation of cytoskeletal tension. Here, we used elastomeric micropost arrays to measure cellular traction forces in wildtype and integrin-null cells.

Engineered materials and the cellular microenvironment: a strengthening interface between cell biology and bioengineering.

Cells constantly probe and respond to a myriad of cues that are present in their local surroundings. The effects of soluble cues are relatively straightforward to manipulate, yet teasing apart how cells transduce signals from the extracellular matrix and neighboring cells has proven to be challenging due to the spatially and mechanically complex adhesive interactions. Over the years, advances in the engineering of biocompatible materials have enabled innovative ways to study adhesion-mediated cell functions, and numerous insights have elucidated the significance of the cellular microenvironment.

A microfluidic imaging chamber for the direct observation of chemotactic transmigration.

To study the roles of nonmuscle myosin II (NM-II) during invasive cell migration, microfluidic migration chambers have been designed and fabricated using photo- and soft-lithography microfabrication techniques. The chamber consists of two channels separated by a vertical barrier with multiple bays of pores with widths varying from 6 microm to 16 microm, and lengths varying from 25 microm to 50 microm. The cells are plated in the channel on one side of the barrier while a chemoattractant is flowed through the channel on the other side of the barrier.

Multiple regulatory steps control mammalian nonmuscle myosin II assembly in live cells.

To better understand the mechanism controlling nonmuscle myosin II (NM-II) assembly in mammalian cells, mutant NM-IIA constructs were created to allow tests in live cells of two widely studied models for filament assembly control. A GFP-NM-IIA construct lacking the RLC binding domain (DeltaIQ2) destabilizes the 10S sequestered monomer state and results in a severe defect in recycling monomers during spreading, and from the posterior to the leading edge during polarized migration. A GFP-NM-IIA construct lacking the nonhelical tailpiece (Deltatailpiece) is competent for leading edge assembly, but overassembles, suggesting defects in disassembly from lamellae subsequent to initial recruitment.

Steroid avoidance in renal transplant patients maintained on a cyclosporine-based protocol.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of steroid avoidance, as compared with our pre-existing protocol that contained steroids, on renal allograft and patient survival. Secondary outcomes included body weight, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and infection.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective chart review of the results of steroid avoidance was performed in 169 patients who had undergone renal transplant between January 2000 and March 2002 and had received an immunosuppression regimen of cyclosporine, mycophenolate mofetil, and prednisone; and 148 patients who had undergone transplant between November 2002 and November 2004 who had received induction immunosuppression with a steroid taper by postoperative day 4 and were maintained on cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil.

Cellular fate of truncated slow skeletal muscle troponin T produced by Glu180 nonsense mutation in amish nemaline myopathy.

A nonsense mutation at codon Glu180 in exon 11 of slow skeletal muscle troponin T (TnT) gene (TNNT1) causes an autosomal-recessive inherited nemaline myopathy. We previously reported the absence of intact or prematurely terminated slow TnT polypeptide in Amish nemaline myopathy (ANM) patient muscle. The present study further investigates the expression and fate of mutant slow TnT in muscle cells.

Placenta previa: preponderance of male sex at birth.

To determine the relation between placenta previa and male sex at birth, the authors conducted two types of analysis: 1) a historical cohort analysis of singleton live births in New Jersey hospitals during 1989-1992 (N = 447,963); and 2) a meta-analysis of previously published studies on the subject. For the cohort analysis, subject mother-infant dyads were identified from linked birth certificate and maternal and infant hospital claims data. The infant's sex for mothers with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, code of 641.

Longitudinal analysis of the impact of a level 1 trauma center designation at a university hospital.

Background: There have been no quantitative, longitudinal studies on the effect of Level 1 Trauma Center (TC) designation on a facility. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of such designation.

Study Design: In September 1990, a 416-bed core affiliate hospital of the state medical school system was state-designated as the Level 1 TC for 6 counties.

Infant and maternal outcomes in the pregnancies of asthmatic women.

We examined the relationship between infant and maternal outcomes and asthma complicating pregnancy, using historical cohort analysis of singleton live deliveries in New Jersey hospitals between 1989 and 1992 (n = 447,963). Subject mother-infant dyads were identified from linked birth certificate and maternal and newborn hospital claims data. Women with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnosis code (493) for asthma (n = 2,289) were compared with a fourfold larger randomly selected control sample (n = 9,156) from the remaining pool of women.

Maternal asthma and transient tachypnea of the newborn.

Objective: To examine the relationship between transient tachypnea of the newborn and asthma complicating pregnancy.

Design: Historical cohort analysis. Setting.

Repeat pediatric visits to a general emergency department.

Study Objective: To determine the rate of repeat visits among children cared for in a general emergency department and associated demographic and clinical variables.

Methods: We carried out a chart review of patients seen in the ED of a general hospital serving both inner-city and suburban populations. Our subjects were all children younger than 18 years seen in the study ED between July 1, 1992, and June 30, 1993 (N = 4,276).

Confusion and nausea in a man who appeared to be drunk.

A 51-year-old man with no significant medical history presented to the emergency department with acute onset of confusion, nausea, and vomiting. He denied ethanol abuse and was not taking any medications.

Renal transplantation at Allegheny General Hospital with special reference to the use of extreme-age cadaveric donors.

We report our experience with 25 living-donor and 427 cadaveric-donor kidneys followed for over 6 years. Patient survival exceeds 90% at 5 years for all recipients. Overall one-year and 5-year graft survival rates were 82.

Signal transduction in human B cells during aging: alterations in stimulus-induced phosphorylations of tyrosine and serine/threonine substrates and in cytosolic calcium responsiveness.

Protein phosphorylation is considered an early cellular mechanism of signal transduction by surface immunoglobulins (sIg) and other receptors of B cells. Using intact human peripheral blood B cells of young subjects labeled with orthophosphate, increased phosphorylation levels of serine/threonine and tyrosine substrates were demonstrated on indicator phosphoproteins corresponding to the CD20 isoforms and microtubule-associated protein 2 kinase after cross-linking sIg and costimulation with phorbol diesters. By contrast, stimulated B cells from certain elderly subjects displayed substantial alterations in the phosphorylation patterns of serine/threonine or tyrosine indicator phosphoproteins.

Isolated systolic hypertension in the elderly: results of a statewide survey of clinical practice in New Jersey.

Unlabelled: PURPOSE AND SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The advisability of treating isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) in the elderly is a matter of debate. We therefore surveyed current clinical practices for ISH among members of the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Physicians-New Jersey Chapter (n = 1,514). To our knowledge, no such survey focusing on ISH had previously been reported.

Display of small-area variation in health-related data: a methodology using resistant statistics.

Health care planning requires characterization of the population to be served. Examination of available demographic and epidemiologic data is one early step in this process. However, aggregate data for the entire geographic area of concern often fail to reveal important differences among geographically defined sub-populations--differences that influence the form an effective delivery system should take.

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate in healthy North Nigerian university students.

The technique recommended by the International committee for Standardization in Haematology (ICSH) was utilized for determination of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in 'healthy' young Nigerian students living in the northern part of the country. Ninety-five point eight percent of a sample of 188 cases showed values within the Westergren norm for the first hour viz. 2.