Design, creation, and use of the Test Us Bank (TUB) COVID-19 sample biorepository.

Shortly after the first case of SARS-CoV-2 was diagnosed a public health emergency (PHE) was declared and a multi-agency response was initiated within the US federal government to create and propagate testing capacity. As part of this response, an unprecedented program designated Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Tech was established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to facilitate the development of point-of-care tests for the COVID-19. The RADx Tech Clinical Studies Core (CSC), located at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (UMass Chan), with partnering academic, private, and non-governmental organizations around the country, was tasked with developing clinical studies to support this work.

Assessing price sensitivity in dental education and implications on student diversity.

Increasingly, the price of professional school is seen as a potential deterrent for interested students. Data collected by the American Dental Association (ADA) from the 66 U.S.

The Psychiatrist as Leader-Teacher: Promoting Learning Beyond Residency.

In today's fast-paced, data-saturated, zero-tolerance practice environment, psychiatrists and other health care providers are expected to maintain clinical, fiscal, and administrative competence. The authors present a unique type of psychiatric leader—the leader-teacher—who incorporates teaching of these elements into day-to-day practice, enhancing lifelong learning for credentialed staff and increasing their confidence in managing complex clinical and administrative issues. Particular emphasis is placed on leader-teachers working in military environments.

Prevention of Defective Placentation and Pregnancy Loss by Blocking Innate Immune Pathways in a Syngeneic Model of Placental Insufficiency.

Defective placentation and subsequent placental insufficiency lead to maternal and fetal adverse pregnancy outcome, but their pathologic mechanisms are unclear, and treatment remains elusive. The mildly hypertensive BPH/5 mouse recapitulates many features of human adverse pregnancy outcome, with pregnancies characterized by fetal loss, growth restriction, abnormal placental development, and defects in maternal decidual arteries. Using this model, we show that recruitment of neutrophils triggered by complement activation at the maternal/fetal interface leads to elevation in local TNF-α levels, reduction of the essential angiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor, and, ultimately, abnormal placentation and fetal death.

Identification of chemosensory receptor genes in Manduca sexta and knockdown by RNA interference.

Background: Insects detect environmental chemicals via a large and rapidly evolving family of chemosensory receptor proteins. Although our understanding of the molecular genetic basis for Drosophila chemoreception has increased enormously in the last decade, similar understanding in other insects remains limited. The tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, has long been an important model for insect chemosensation, particularly from ecological, behavioral, and physiological standpoints.

Performance of children with autism spectrum disorder on advanced theory of mind tasks.

Although a number of advanced theory of mind tasks have been developed, there is sparse information on whether performance on different tasks is associated. The study examined the performance of 20 high-functioning 6- to 12-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder and 20 controls on three high-level theory of mind tasks: Strange Stories, Cartoons and the children's version of the Eyes task. The pattern of findings suggests that the three tasks may share differing, non-specific, information-processing requirements in addition to tapping any putative mentalizing ability.

An expert system for performance-based direct delivery of published clinical evidence.

Objective: To develop a system for clinical performance improvement through rule-based analysis of medical practice patterns and individualized distribution of published scientific evidence.

Methods: The Quality Feedback Expert System (QFES) was developed by applying a Level-5 expert system shell to generate clinical direct reports for performance improvement. The system comprises three data and knowledge bases: 1) a knowledge base of measurable clinical practice parameters; 2) a practice pattern database of provider-specific numbers of patients and clinical activities; and 3) a management rule base comprising "redline rules" that identify providers whose practice styles vary significantly.

A decision-support system for the analysis of clinical practice patterns.

Several studies documented substantial variation in medical practice patterns, but physicians often do not have adequate information on the cumulative clinical and financial effects of their decisions. The purpose of developing an expert system for the analysis of clinical practice patterns was to assist providers in analyzing and improving the process and outcome of patient care. The developed QFES (Quality Feedback Expert System) helps users in the definition and evaluation of measurable quality improvement objectives.

Characteristics of children of alcoholics: putative risk factors, substance use and abuse, and psychopathology.

A sample of 253 children of alcoholics (COAs) and 237 children of nonalcoholics (non-COAs) were compared on alcohol and drug use, psychopathology, cognitive ability, and personality. COAs reported more alcohol and drug problems, stronger alcohol expectancies, higher levels of behavioral undercontrol and neuroticism, and more psychiatric distress in relation to non-COAs. They also evidenced lower academic achievement and less verbal ability than non-COAs.

A randomized controlled evaluation of an educational program in adults with high psychosocial risk of morbidity.

This clinical trial tested the efficacy of a psychosocial intervention in a panel of white adults with a high level of recent stressful life changes and weak social supports. One hundred seventy users of three family practices were randomly assigned to receive a six-month educational program provided by a nurse practitioner or to a control group. Outcome variables were assessed over a 12-month follow-up period by mailed questionnaires and validated when possible by review of medical records.

Common response patterns of medical students in interviews of hospitalized patients.

Sixty-eight interviews of hospitalized patients by freshmen medical students were examined for common response patterns. Response profiles were constructed for each medical student and subjected to cluster analysis. Four common response patterns were identified: Questioning Facilitators, Declaring Facilitators, Elaborators, and Prompters.

Evaluation of a health status measure in adults with high psychosocial risk.

The 63-item Duke UNC Health Profile assesses four dimensions of health status: presence of symptoms, physical function, social function, and emotional function. This instrument was developed for use in primary care research. We have tested its value in a primary care setting among individuals with suspected increased risk of health problems.

Social supports and stress as predictors of illness.

The incidence and pattern of self-reported illness were studied over a six-month period in panels of 292 women and 188 men categorized by their experience of stressful life changes and their perceived supportive relationships. Men and women with more than average stressful changes had a risk of illness 1.6 and 1.

Energy balance and regulation of body weight after intestinal bypass surgery in rats.

This study evaluated the possibility that intestinal bypass surgery alters energy balance and regulation of body weight. In two sets of experiments, male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent bypass or sham bypass surgery. In experiment 1, half of each group was overfed and half was underfed.

Appetite suppressant activity in plasma of rats after intestinal bypass surgery.

Male Sprague-Dawley rats with a jejunoileal bypass ate 32% less in the 1st h of refeeding after an overnight fast than did sham-bypass rats. Fasted recipients injected intraperitoneally with 6-7 ml of bypass plasma also ate 32% less (P less than 0.001) during the 1st h of refeeding than did recipients of sham-bypass plasma, but subsequent intake was not significantly different.

Altered dietary preference for fat and sucrose after intestinal bypass surgery in rats.

We studied changes in dietary preference for sucrose and fat before and after intestinal bypass surgery or sham bypass surgery in Sprague-Dawley rats. During 6-d test periods before and after surgery, rats were offered both ground regular rat chow (chow) and ground chow adulterated with 20 percent fat as vegetable oil (Expt 1) or ground chow adulterated with 25 percent sucrose (Expt 2). A control group was fed only ground chow throughout (Expt 3).