Role of the National Health Service Corps in Delivering Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Underserved Communities.

Objective: To help address the opioid epidemic, the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration expanded the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) to include two new loan repayment programs (LRPs)-the Substance Use Disorder LRP and the Rural Community LRP-to supplement the existing standard LRP.

Initiatives to Reduce Maternal Mortality and Severe Maternal Morbidity in the United States : A Narrative Review.

Maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity are critical health issues in the United States, with unacceptably high rates and racial, ethnic, and geographic disparities. Various factors contribute to these adverse maternal health outcomes, ranging from patient-level to health system-level factors. Furthermore, a majority of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.

MicroRNA-138 Inhibits Osteogenic Differentiation and Mineralization of Human Dedifferentiated Chondrocytes by Regulating RhoC and the Actin Cytoskeleton.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to play critical roles in many cellular processes including those regulating skeletal development and homeostasis. A previous study from our group identified differentially expressed miRNAs in the developing human growth plate. Among those more highly expressed in hypertrophic chondrocytes compared to progenitor chondrocytes was miR-138, therefore suggesting a possible role for this miRNA in regulating chondrogenesis and/or endochondral ossification.

Obstetricians and gynecologists' opinions about the Affordable Care Act and their expectations about how it will impact their practice.

As the primary healthcare providers for women, obstetrician-gynecologists' (OB/GYNs) experiences with and opinions about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are important to understand. An online survey was sent to 1000 randomly selected OB/GYNs who were members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in 2014. Of those, 523 opened the email and 163 responded (31% participation rate).

Surgical Techniques at Cesarean Delivery: A U.S. Survey.

 To assess the frequency of surgical techniques at cesarean delivery (CD) among U.S. obstetricians.

Assessing Abnormal Uterine Bleeding: Are Physicians Taking a Meaningful Clinical History?

Introduction: Women with abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) report significant reductions in quality of life (QOL), which can be attributed in many cases to the fear of embarrassing episodes of bleeding. We performed this study to determine whether or not during clinical encounters physicians addressed the impact of AUB on patient-reported QOL.

Materials And Methods: Between October 2008 and May 2009, we conducted a cross-sectional study of members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Screening and Treatment for Iron Deficiency Anemia in Women: Results of a Survey of Obstetrician-Gynecologists.

Objective To better understand the knowledge, attitudes and practices of obstetrician-gynecologists with respect to screening and treatment for iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Methods A total of 1,200 Fellows and Junior Fellows of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists were invited to participate in a survey on blood disorders. Respondents completed a questionnaire regarding their patient population, screening and treatment practices for IDA, and general knowledge about IDA and its risk factors.

miR-483 targets SMAD4 to suppress chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can regulate cellular differentiation processes by modulating multiple pathways simultaneously. Previous studies to analyze in vivo miRNA expression patterns in developing human limb cartilage tissue identified significant downregulation of miR-483 in hypertrophic chondrocytes relative to proliferating and differentiated chondrocytes. To test the function of miR-483 during chondrogenesis, lentiviral strategies were used to overexpress miR-483 during in vitro chondrogenesis of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs).

Survey of Obstetrician-Gynecologists in the United States About Taeniasis and Cysticercosis.

An estimated 50 million persons worldwide are infected with cysticerci, the larval forms of the Taenia solium tapeworm. Neurocysticercosis can cause seizures, epilepsy, and hydrocephalus, and fatal cases have been reported in the United States in immigrants and in travelers returning from endemic countries. Pregnant women with symptomatic neurocysticercosis present treatment challenges, whereas those with the adult tapeworm infection (i.

Emerging roles for long noncoding RNAs in skeletal biology and disease.

Normal skeletal development requires tight coordination of transcriptional networks, signaling pathways, and biomechanical cues, and many of these pathways are dysregulated in pathological conditions affecting cartilage and bone. Recently, a significant role has been identified for long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in developing and maintaining cellular phenotypes, and improvements in sequencing technologies have led to the identification of thousands of lncRNAs across diverse cell types, including the cells within cartilage and bone. It is clear that lncRNAs play critical roles in regulating gene expression.

Base J represses genes at the end of polycistronic gene clusters in Leishmania major by promoting RNAP II termination.

The genomes of kinetoplastids are organized into polycistronic gene clusters that are flanked by the modified DNA base J. Previous work has established a role of base J in promoting RNA polymerase II termination in Leishmania spp. where the loss of J leads to termination defects and transcription into adjacent gene clusters.

The Double Disparity Facing Rural Local Health Departments.

Residents of rural jurisdictions face significant health challenges, including some of the highest rates of risky health behaviors and worst health outcomes of any group in the country. Rural communities are served by smaller local health departments (LHDs) that are more understaffed and underfunded than their suburban and urban peers. As a result of history and current need, rural LHDs are more likely than their urban peers to be providers of direct health services, leading to relatively lower levels of population-focused activities.

Clinicians' awareness of the Affordable Care Act mandate to provide comprehensive tobacco cessation treatment for pregnant women covered by Medicaid.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires states to provide tobacco-cessation services without cost-sharing for pregnant traditional Medicaid-beneficiaries effective October 2010. It is unknown the extent to which obstetricians-gynecologists are aware of the Medicaid tobacco-cessation benefit. We sought to examine the awareness of the Medicaid tobacco-cessation benefit in a national sample of obstetricians-gynecologists and assessed whether reimbursement would influence their tobacco cessation practice.

Comparing physicians personal prevention practices and their recommendations to patients.

Background: Hypothetical choice studies suggest that physicians often take more risk for themselves than on their patient's behalf.

Objective: To examine if physicians recommend more screening tests than they personally undergo in the real-world context of breast cancer screening.

Design: Within-subjects survey.

Obstetrician-Gynecologists' Practices, Statistical Literacy, and Risk Communication with Regard to Sexually Transmitted Infections.

In order to best care for women, obstetrician-gynecologists (ob-gyns) must be able to diagnose and treat sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as well as effectively communicate risks regarding STIs. This article provides a narrative review of studies primarily conducted by the Research Department at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, about missed opportunities for STI risk communication. Missed opportunities include the omission or partial completion of STI risk assessment and counseling, failure to offer screening or testing, lack of follow-up on STI testing/vaccination refusals, and a failure to comply with existing guidelines.

Obstetrician and gynecologists' population-based screening practices.

Background: The ability to obtain genetic information can now be accomplished in far greater detail, and more quickly than in the past. It is important to understand obstetrician-gynecologists' (ob-gyns) screening practices as these changes occur.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey was performed by mailing paper surveys to Fellows of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and a subset of Fellows who belong to the Collaborative Ambulatory Research Network (CARN).

Obstetrician-gynecologists' knowledge of sickle cell disease screening and management.

Background: Although obstetrician/gynecologists (OB/GYNs) play an important role in sickle cell disease (SCD) screening and patient care, there is little information on knowledge of SCD or sickle cell trait (SCT) or related practices in this provider group. Our objective was to assess SCD screening and prenatal management practices among OB/GYNs.

Methods: Twelve hundred Fellows and Junior Fellows of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (the College)a were invited to complete a mailed survey, of which half (n = 600) belonged to the Collaborative Ambulatory Research Network.

Survey of obstetrician-gynecologists in the United States about toxoplasmosis: 2012 update.

Purpose: Toxoplasmosis, caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, can have serious impacts on fetal development in the setting of acute maternal primary infection. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) sought to determine current knowledge, practices, opinions, and educational preferences regarding T. gondii infection in pregnancy among ACOG members practicing prenatal care.

Screening practices and attitudes of obstetricians-gynecologists toward new and emerging tobacco products.

Objective: We examined screening practices and attitudes of obstetricians-gynecologists toward the use of noncombustible tobacco products (chewing tobacco, snuff/snus, electronic cigarettes, and dissolvables) during pregnancy.

Study Design: The authors mailed a survey in 2012 to 1024 members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, including Collaborative Ambulatory Research Network (CARN) and non-CARN members. Stratified random selection was used to generate CARN and non-CARN samples.

Obstetrician-gynecologists and contraception: practice and opinions about the use of IUDs in nulliparous women, adolescents and other patient populations.

Objectives: Use of intrauterine devices (IUDs) by US women is low despite their suitability for most women of reproductive age and in a variety of clinical contexts. This study examined obstetrician-gynecologists' practices and opinions about the use of IUDs in adolescents, nulliparous women and other patient groups, as well as for emergency contraception.

Design: A survey questionnaire was sent to a computer-generated sample of 3000 fellows who were reflective of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (College) membership.

Obstetrician-gynecologists and contraception: long-acting reversible contraception practices and education.

Objectives: Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) - the copper and levonorgestrel intrauterine devices (IUDs) and the single-rod implant - are safe and effective but account for a small proportion of contraceptive use by US women. This study examined obstetrician-gynecologists' knowledge, training, practice and beliefs regarding LARC methods.

Design: A survey questionnaire was mailed to 3000 Fellows of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Statistical literacy of obstetrics-gynecology residents.

Background: Residents' ability to interpret statistics is important for scholarly pursuits and understanding evidence-based medicine. Yet there is limited research assessing residents' statistical literacy and their training in statistics.

Methods: In 2011 we surveyed US obstetrics-gynecology residents participating in the Council for Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology In-Training Examination about their statistical literacy and statistical literacy training.

Smoking cessation during pregnancy and postpartum: practice patterns among obstetrician-gynecologists.

Objectives: To assess current obstetrician-gynecologist (ob-gyn) practice patterns related to the management of and barriers to smoking cessation during pregnancy and postpartum.

Methods: A smoking cessation questionnaire was mailed to 1024 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Fellows in 2012. χ(2) analyses were used to assess for categorical differences between groups, Pearson r was used to conduct correlational analysis, and analysis of variance was used to assess for mean differences between groups.

Obstetrician-gynecologists' knowledge and opinions about the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) committee, the Women's Health Amendment, and the Affordable Care Act: national study after the release of the USPSTF 2009 Breast Cancer Screening Recommendation Statement.

Objective: Investigate the knowledge and opinions of obstetrician and gynecologists (ob-gyns) regarding the USPSTF committee and statement, and to assess their reactions to healthcare legislation.

Methods: A national cross-sectional survey study of ob-gyns was conducted six months after a controversial USPSTF recommendation statement was released in November 2009. Ob-gyns' opinions about the Women's Health Amendment (WHA) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were also assessed.

Kinetoplastid-specific histone variant functions are conserved in Leishmania major.

Regions of transcription initiation and termination in kinetoplastid protists lack known eukaryotic promoter and terminator elements, although epigenetic marks such as histone variants and the modified DNA base J have been localized to these regions in Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi, and/or Leishmania major. Phenotypes of base J mutants vary significantly across trypanosomatids, implying divergence in the epigenetic networks governing transcription during evolution. Here, we demonstrate that the histone variants H2A.