Long-Term Follow-Up of Cerebral Aneurysms Completely Occluded at 6 Months After Intervention with the Woven EndoBridge (WEB) Device: a Retrospective Multicenter Observational Study.

The Woven EndoBridge (WEB) device has been widely used to treat intracranial wide neck bifurcation aneurysms. Initial studies have demonstrated that approximately 90% of patients have same or improved long-term aneurysm occlusion after the initial 6-month follow up. The aim of this study is to assess the long-term follow-up in aneurysms that have achieved complete occlusion at 6 months.

Engineering magic number Au and Au cage structures using electron withdrawing atoms.

Gold cages are a subset of gold nanoparticles and these structures are of major interest due to their favourable physiochemical properties. In order for these structures to be useful in applications, they must be chemically stable. The objective of this research is to transform non-magic number cage structures into magic number cage structures by the addition of electron-withdrawing groups on the cages.

Complex Morphologic Analysis of Cerebral Aneurysms Through the Novel Use of Fractal Dimension as a Predictor of Rupture Status: A Proof of Concept Study.

Background: Aneurysm morphology has been correlated with rupture. Previous reports identified several morphologic indices that predict rupture status, but they measure only specific qualities of the morphology of an aneurysm in a semiquantitative fashion. Fractal analysis is a geometric technique whereby the overall complexity of a shape is quantified through the calculation of a fractal dimension (FD).

Long-Term Remission With Low-Dose Rituximab in Myasthenia Gravis: A Retrospective Study.

Objetive: Rituximab (RTX) is a therapeutic option, for patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) not responding to conventional immunosuppressive treatment. In this cohort, we evaluated long-term efficacy of RTX in the treatment of refractory generalized MG.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed in adult patients with refractory generalized MG and at least 24 months of follow-up, between January/2015 and October/2021.

Bilateral facial palsy with paresthesias, variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome following COVID-19 vaccine: A case series of 9 patients.

Several cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) associated with COVID-19 vaccination have been reported, including the rare subtype known as Bilateral Facial Palsy with paresthesias (BFP). To date, it is not known whether a causal relationship may exist between the two. We report 9 cases of BFP in patients vaccinated against COVID-19 in the previous month.

Cultivating "Webside Manner" at the UME-GME Transition Point During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Novel Virtual Telemedicine Curriculum.

Background: Telemedicine use in the US has continued to grow over the past few years with the development of new technology and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to a growing need for formal training in telemedicine for clinicians in order to improve communication skills and provide better patient outcomes.

Methods: A self-directed, five-unit online curriculum focused on telemedicine essentials was developed through discussions among Pediatric clinical educators and adapted from literature in telemedicine education.

Defining Normal Ranges of Skeletal Muscle Area and Skeletal Muscle Index in Children on CT Using an Automated Deep Learning Pipeline: Implications for Sarcopenia Diagnosis.

Skeletal muscle area (SMA), representing skeletal muscle cross-sectional area at the L3 vertebral level, and skeletal muscle index (SMI), representing height-normalized SMA, can serve as markers of sarcopenia. Normal SMA and SMI values have been reported primarily in adults. The purpose of this study was to use an automated deep learning (DL) pipeline for muscle segmentation on abdominal CT to define normative age- and sex-based values for pediatric muscle cross-sectional area as a guide for diagnosis of sarcopenia in children.

Treatment-related fluctuations in Guillain-Barré syndrome​: clinical features and predictors of recurrence.

Background: A treatment-related fluctuation (TRF) in a patient with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is defined as clinical deterioration within two months of symptom onset following previous stabilization or improvements with treatment.

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and factors that could increase the risk of relapse of GBS in patients with and without TRFs.

Methods: Retrospective review of medical records of patients (>18 years) with GBS evaluated between January/2006 and July/2019.

Dyskeratosis congenita and a rare brain abscess.

Dyskeratosis congenita is a rare inheritable disease which causes peculiar dermatological features and bone marrow failure with an increased risk of severe infections and neoplasia. Actinomyces spp. is part of the oral cavity flora.

Automated Segmentation of Abdominal Skeletal Muscle on Pediatric CT Scans Using Deep Learning.

Purpose: To automate skeletal muscle segmentation in a pediatric population using convolutional neural networks that identify and segment the L3 level at CT.

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective study, two sets of U-Net-based models were developed to identify the L3 level in the sagittal plane and segment the skeletal muscle from the corresponding axial image. For model development, 370 patients (sampled uniformly across age group from 0 to 18 years and including both sexes) were selected between January 2009 and January 2019, and ground truth L3 location and skeletal muscle segmentation were manually defined.

Vasculitic Peripheral Neuropathy, Differences Between Systemic and Non-Systemic Etiologies: A Case Series and Biopsy Report.

Background: Vasculitic peripheral neuropathy (VPN) is caused by vessel inflammation leading to peripheral nerve injury of acute-to-subacute onset. When VPN occurs in the context of systemic disease it is classified as Systemic Vasculitic Neuropathy (SVN) and as Non-Systemic Vasculitic Neuropathy (NSVN) when restricted to the nerves.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the clinical characteristics, biopsy findings and disease outcome in patients with VPN.

Blunt cerebrovascular injury in the geriatric population.

Objective: Blunt cerebrovascular injury (BCVI) is associated with high rates of neurological morbidity and mortality. The detection and management of BCVI has improved with advances in imaging and sensitive screening protocols. Few studies have explored how these injuries specifically affect the geriatric population.

Effects of chronic exposure to a pharmaceutical mixture on the three-spined stickleback (gasterosteus aculeatus) population dynamics in lotic mesocosms.

Pharmaceutical substances are ubiquitous in the aquatic environment and their concentration levels typically range from ng/L up to several μg/L. Furthermore, as those compounds are designed to be highly biologically active, assessing their impacts on non-target organisms is important. Here, we conducted a mesocosm experiment testing a mixture of five pharmaceuticals (diclofenac, carbamazepine, irbesartan, acetaminophen and naproxen) on fish, three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).

Do transportation network companies decrease or increase congestion?

This research examines whether transportation network companies (TNCs), such as Uber and Lyft, live up to their stated vision of reducing congestion in major cities. Existing research has produced conflicting results and has been hampered by a lack of data. Using data scraped from the application programming interfaces of two TNCs, combined with observed travel time data, we find that contrary to their vision, TNCs are the biggest contributor to growing traffic congestion in San Francisco.

Gastroenterology issues in schizophrenia: why the gut matters.

Genetic and environmental studies implicate immune pathologies in schizophrenia. The body's largest immune organ is the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Historical associations of GI conditions with mental illnesses predate the introduction of antipsychotics.

Limits on gravitational-wave emission from selected pulsars using LIGO data.

We place direct upper limits on the amplitude of gravitational waves from 28 isolated radio pulsars by a coherent multidetector analysis of the data collected during the second science run of the LIGO interferometric detectors. These are the first direct upper limits for 26 of the 28 pulsars. We use coordinated radio observations for the first time to build radio-guided phase templates for the expected gravitational-wave signals.

Errors in medical practice: identification, classification and steps towards reduction.

We present a new taxonomy of medical errors, with emphasis on human errors. We illustrate errors due to medication, errors due to diagnosis, errors due to hospital treatment procedures, and errors related to clerical procedures. We also discuss a database of 143 papers on medical errors which we have developed.

Alveolar bone response in an experimental model of renal failure and periodontal disease: a histomorphometric and histochemical study.

Background: Chronic destructive periodontal disease is characterized by gingival inflammation, periodontal pocket formation, and bacterial plaque that lead to alveolar bone destruction. Polymorphonuclear neutrophil leukocytes (PMNs) are the first line of defense against infection caused by dental plaque bacteria. Renal patients present functional abnormalities of PMN, including impaired chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and intracellular killing of bacteria.

Human errors in medical practice: systematic classification and reduction with automated information systems.

We review the general nature of human error(s) in complex systems and then focus on issues raised by Institute of Medicine report in 1999. From this background we classify and categorize error(s) in medical practice, including medication, procedures, diagnosis, and clerical error(s). We also review the potential role of software and technology applications in reducing the rate and nature of error(s).