Education Research: Trends of Neurology Clerkships in the United States Amidst a Global Pandemic.

Background And Objectives: To report a 2022 survey of US medical school neurology clerkship directors (CDs) and to compare the results with those of similar surveys conducted in 2005, 2012, and 2017.

Methods: An American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Consortium of Neurology Clerkship Directors (CNCD) workgroup developed the survey sent to all neurology CDs listed in the AAN CNCD database. Comparisons were made with 2005, 2012, and 2017 surveys.

Enhancing cancer radiotherapy efficacy using NanOx, a novel oxygenating perfluorocarbon nanoemulsion that reverses tumour hypoxia.

Radiotherapy is used to treat over 50 % of cancer patients. It is often used in combination with surgery, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, for cancers of the breast, lung, oesophagus, and rectum. Ionising radiation predominantly exerts its anti-cancer effect through both direct DNA damage and indirectly via water radiolysis and the production of reactive oxygen species.

Particulate hexavalent chromium inhibits global transcription of genes in DNA repair pathways, particularly targeting homologous recombination repair, base excision repair, mismatch repair and microhomology-mediated end-joining.

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a human lung carcinogen with widespread exposure. How Cr(VI) causes cancer is poorly understood, but chromosome instability plays a central role. Inhibition of DNA repair pathways leads to chromosome instability; however, despite the importance of these pathways in the mechanism of Cr(VI)-induced lung carcinogenesis, there are no data considering in-depth analysis on the transcriptional changes of genes involved in them.

Pharmacology of boldine: summary of the field and update on recent advances.

Over the past decade, boldine, a naturally occurring alkaloid found in several plant species including the Chilean Boldo tree, has garnered attention for its efficacy in rodent models of human disease. Some of the properties that have been attributed to boldine include antioxidant activities, neuroprotective and analgesic actions, hepatoprotective effects, anti-inflammatory actions, cardioprotective effects and anticancer potential. Compelling data now indicates that boldine blocks connexin (Cx) hemichannels (HCs) and that many if not all of its effects in rodent models of injury and disease are due to CxHC blockade.

A pilot study of the role of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in response to exercise-augmented exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is implicated in extinction learning, which is a primary mechanism of exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Brief aerobic exercise has been shown to promote BDNF release and augment extinction learning. On the premise that the Val allele of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism facilitates greater release of BDNF, this study examined the extent to which the Val allele of the BDNF polymorphism predicted treatment response in PTSD patients who underwent exposure therapy combined with aerobic exercise or passive stretching.

Neuroprotective Strategies and Cell-Based Biomarkers for Manganese-Induced Toxicity in Human Neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) Cells.

Manganese (Mn) is an essential heavy metal in the human body, while excess leads to neurotoxicity, as observed in this study, where 100 µM of was administered to the human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cell model of dopaminergic neurons in neurodegenerative diseases. We quantitated pathway and gene changes in homeostatic cell-based adaptations to exposure. Utilizing the Gene Expression Omnibus, we accessed the GSE70845 dataset as a microarray of SH-SY5Y cells published by Gandhi et al.

A Qualitative Study of Facilitators, Barriers, and Gender Disparities in Academic Neurology.

Background And Objectives: To understand the challenges and facilitators of a successful academic neurology research career broadly and to identify gender-based disparities specifically.

Methods: In 2019, participants self-identifying as researchers, preregistered for the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting, ≥7 years out of residency, and authors of ≥1 AAN meeting abstract submission (2006-2009) were selected to participate in the qualitative study (purposeful sampling strategy). To increase diversity, 15 participants were invited by members involved in the AAN until interviews were complete.

A Spectroscopic and Computational Evaluation of Uranyl Oxo Engagement with Transition Metal Cations.

We report the synthesis and characterization of five novel Cd/UO heterometallic complexes that feature Cd-oxo distances ranging from 78 to 171% of the sum of the van der Waals radii for these atoms. This work marks an extension of our previously reported Pb/UO and Ag/UO complexes, yet with much more pronounced structural and spectroscopic effects resulting from Cd-oxo interactions. We observe a major shift in the U═O symmetric stretch and significant uranyl bond length asymmetry.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy vs Mindfulness in Treatment of Prolonged Grief Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Although grief-focused cognitive behavior therapies are the most empirically supported treatment for prolonged grief disorder, many people find this treatment difficult. A viable alternative for treatment is mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

Objective: To examine the relative efficacies of grief-focused cognitive behavior therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to reduce prolonged grief disorder severity.

Unveiling the link between chronic pain and misuse of opioids and cannabis.

Over 50 million Americans endure chronic pain where many do not receive adequate treatment and self-medicate to manage their pain by taking substances like opioids and cannabis. Research has shown high comorbidity between chronic pain and substance use disorders (SUD) and these disorders share many common neurobiological underpinnings, including hypodopaminergic transmission. Drugs commonly used for self-medication such as opioids and cannabis relieve emotional, bothersome components of pain as well as negative emotional affect that perpetuates misuse and increases the risk of progressing towards drug abuse.

Systematic Study of Solid-State U(VI) Photoreactivity: Long-Lived Radicalization and Electron Transfer in Uranyl Tetrachloride.

Reported are the syntheses, structural characterizations, and luminescence properties of three novel [UOCl] bearing compounds containing substituted 1,1'-dialkyl-4,4'-bipyridinum dications (i.e., viologens).

Structural, Spectroscopic, and Computational Analysis of Halogen- and Hydrogen-Bonding Effects within a Series of Uranyl Fluorides with 4-Halopyridinium.

Reported are the syntheses and characterization of five compounds containing one-dimensional uranyl fluoride chains charge balanced by 4-X-pyridinium (X = H, F, Cl, Br, I) cations. Structural analysis reveals molecular assembly via noncovalent interactions in the second coordination sphere with the X···O interaction distances ranging from 2.987(7) to 3.

Orbital Engineering Mediated by Cation Conjugation in Luminescent Uranyl-Organic Hybrid Materials.

A series of compounds of the form [HAr] [UO X ] is reported here, wherein Ar is systematically varied between pyridine (1-X), quinoline (2-X), acridine (3-X), 2,5-dimethylpyrazine (4-X), quinoxaline (5-X), and phenazine (6-X), and X=Cl or Br. With greater conjugation in the organic cation, a larger quenching in uranyl luminescence is observed in the solid state. Supporting our luminescence experiments with computation, we map out the potential energy diagrams for the singlet and triplet states of both the [HAr] cations and [UO Cl ] anion in the crystalline state, and of the assembly.

Red cell exchange for rapid leukoreduction in adults with hyperleukocytosis and leukostasis.

We show that red cell exchange (RCE) treats hyperleukocytosis in acute leukemia. RCE provided similar leukoreduction to standard therapeutic leukoreduction and could be superior in patients with severe anemia or monocytic leukemias or when requiring rapid treatment.

Recruitment of participants with pancreatic cancer to a mixed media study for optimal recruitment in an Australasian survey of pancreatic enzyme replacement.

Background: Pancreatic cancer is relatively rare and aggressive, with digestion and malabsorption issues often leading to significant weight loss. Recruitment of people with this malignancy into studies can be challenging, and innovative methods need to be explored to improve recruitment rates.

Aim: To describe a mixed media methodology and the outcomes used to recruit patients to participate in a binational survey.

Utility of all-pyrazole heteroscorpionates in f-element chemistry.

Since their discovery in 1966, scorpionate ligands have been utilized to make coordination compounds for a variety of applications such as: studying organometallic reactions, biomimetic complexes, light-emitting materials and single-ion magnets. The recent development of a solvent-free pyrazole substitution chemistry has yielded the quantitative synthesis of asymmetrically functionalized all-pyrazole heteroscorpionate ligands. In this frontier article, we highlight the utility of all-pyrazole heteroscorpionates, specifically, nitro-trispyrazolylborates, in f-element chemistry.

Neuroinflammation drives sex-dependent effects on pain and negative affect in a murine model of repeated mild traumatic brain injury.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 75% of reported cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are mild, where chronic pain and depression are 2 of the most common symptoms. In this study, we used a murine model of repeated mild TBI to characterize the associated pain hypersensitivity and affective-like behavior and to what extent microglial reactivity contributes to these behavioral phenotypes. Male and female C57BL/6J mice underwent sham or repeated mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI) and were tested for up to 9 weeks postinjury, where an anti-inflammatory/neuroprotective drug (minocycline) was introduced at 5 weeks postinjury in the drinking water.

Bullet Fragment Retrieval During Intramedullary Nailing: A Report of 2 Cases.

Case: Two young adult patients, 22 and 27 years, who sustained ballistic long bone fractures, presented for incarcerated, retained metallic fragments in the medullary canal, which blocked fixation. Owing to the presence and location of the fragments, each case required a bullectomy (removal of the metallic fragment) before intramedullary nail fixation because the projectile impeded the appropriate insertion of the intramedullary rod and, in one case, induced fracture malalignment. Attempts at removal using conventional tools did not provide adequate length or grasp of the retained projectile, necessitating the use of the novel technique.

Iron Responsiveness to Lysosomal Disruption: A Novel Pathway to Alzheimer's Disease.

Familial Alzheimer's disease (fAD) mutations in the amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) enhance brain AβPP C-Terminal Fragment (CTF) levels to inhibit lysosomal v-ATPase. Consequent disrupted acidification of the endolysosomal pathway may trigger brain iron deficiencies and mitochondrial dysfunction. The iron responsive element (IRE) in the 5'Untranslated-region of AβPP mRNA should be factored into this cycle where reduced bioavailable Fe-II would decrease IRE-dependent AβPP translation and levels of APP-CTFβ in a cycle to adaptively restore iron homeostasis while increases of transferrin-receptors is evident.