Publications by authors named "DeWitt D"

Introduction: The objective of this scoping review is to identify interventions to promote well-being that have been tried or proven effective to prevent or address burnout in rural health care professionals and trainees (HCPTs). Secondarily, we aimed to identify potentially applicable and feasible well-being interventions that could help rural HCPTs.

Methods And Analysis: We used PRISMA guidelines to conduct a scoping review of peer-reviewed English language studies, from all countries, published in core health sciences databases.

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  • Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the humeral capitellum is a complex and rare condition, often treated with fresh osteochondral allograft transplantation (FOCAT), which has recently gained popularity over traditional methods like debridement and microfracture due to better outcomes.* -
  • This study analyzed 35 patients, mostly athletes (like baseball players and gymnasts), who underwent FOCAT from 2006 to 2022, with notable improvement in pain and function scores following the procedure.* -
  • The findings indicated a successful long-term impact of FOCAT, with a significant enhancement in patients' quality of life and reduced pain over an average follow-up of nearly 93
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Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells require cysteine for growth and productivity in fed-batch cultures. In intensified processes, supplementation of cysteine at high concentrations is a challenge due to its limited solubility and instability in solution. Methionine can be converted to cysteine (CYS) but key enzymes, cystathionine beta-synthase (Cbs) and cystathionine gamma-lyase (Cth), are not active in CHO cells resulting in accumulation of an intermediate, homocysteine (HCY), in cell culture milieu.

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Background: Glutamatergic synapse dysfunction is believed to underlie the development of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Intellectual Disability (ID) in many individuals. However, identification of genetic markers that contribute to synaptic dysfunction in these individuals is notoriously difficult. Based on genomic analysis, structural modeling, and functional data, we recently established the involvement of the TRIO-RAC1 pathway in ASD and ID.

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Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships (LICs) prioritise longitudinal relationships with faculty, patients, and place. Research shows that LICs benefit students and faculty, but most medical schools have limited LIC programmes. This is likely due to perceptions that LICs are more costly and complex than traditional block rotations (TBRs).

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  • Opioid pain management is tricky, and health students need to work together to help patients with chronic pain, which led to creating a special online learning session.
  • During the online session, students worked in teams to interview a patient who was still taking opioids for pain from a car accident, even though it wasn’t helping.
  • Over 750 students from different health programs took part, and they felt more confident in their knowledge and skills, enjoying the online format.
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Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) are highly prevalent among adults with persistent pain. Yet, standard competencies for integrating pain and SUD content are lacking across health science student curricula. Additionally, pharmacotherapies to treat SUDs are underutilized.

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  • The study investigates recovery from chronic traumatic brain injury (cTBI) using advanced data science methods to analyze large-scale data on gene expression and behavioral outcomes in a preclinical model involving rats.
  • Behavioral measures included assessments of locomotor coordination and cognitive functions over recovery periods, while gene expression data analyzed 45,610 genes from brain samples.
  • The study used non-linear principal components analyses (NL-PCA) to correlate gene-behavior associations, revealing significant links between stress/inflammatory responses and various behavioral performance metrics.
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Purpose: We characterize the performance of a dualsided position-sensitive sparse sensor (DS-PS3) array detector for positron emission tomography (PET). The DS-PS3 detector is designed as a high performance, cost effective PET detector for organ-specific imaging systems (e.g.

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Cardiothoracic intensive care unit (CICU) nurses have shared the role and responsibility for ventilator-weaning to expedite decision-making in patient care. However, the actions taken are based on individual's unstructured training experience as there is no clinical practice guideline (CPG) for nurses in Malaysia. Hence, this study aims to design a CPG for the process of weaning from mechanical ventilation (MV) for a structured nursing training in a CICU at the National Heart Institute (, IJN) Malaysia.

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The release of excess glutamate following traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in glutamate excitotoxicity and metabolic energy failure. Endogenous mechanisms for reducing glutamate concentration in the brain parenchyma following TBI are poorly understood. Using multiple mass spectrometry approaches, we examined TBI-induced changes to glutamate metabolism.

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A genome-inspired route to aptamer discovery that expands the sequence space beyond that available in traditional, combinatorial selection approaches is investigated for discovery of DNA-protein interactions in cancer. These interactions could then serve as the basis for new DNA aptamers to cancer-related proteins. The genome-inspired approach uses specific DNA sequences from the human genome to capture proteins from biological protein pools.

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The current study examines the public's perception on the mitigation of COVID-19 risk and knowledge of disease symptoms among older adults in nursing homes, with the intention to address gaps in knowledge using mobile technologies. An online survey questionnaire was completed by 611 adults residing in Malaysia. The four domains, derived from factor analysis, affirmed the supportive perception among the public (score range = 4.

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  • A new radiographic sign called the "Empty Merchant Sign" is introduced for diagnosing acute patellar tendon ruptures (APTR) and its accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity are evaluated.
  • A study involving 50 trainees and non-trainees analyzed their ability to diagnose four knee conditions using lateral and Merchant radiographs before and after a tutorial on the Empty Merchant Sign.
  • Results showed that post-tutorial, the Empty Merchant Sign had superior specificity and positive predictive value compared to lateral view, and accuracy improved significantly for all participants, indicating that even with minimal training, clinicians can effectively identify this sign.
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Context: Physicians who migrate globally face a daunting series of time-consuming, labor- and resource-intensive procedures to prove their clinical competency before being allowed to practice medicine in a new country.

Issues: In this commentary, we describe licensing barriers faced by physician-migrants based on the authors' experiences, and reflect also on rapidly implemented measures to address COVID-19 pandemic related workforce shortages. We offer recommendations for potential reductions in bureaucratic regulatory barriers that prohibit mobilization of international medical graduate talent.

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  • The study compares two methods of patellar tendon repair—transosseous technique and suture anchor repair—analyzing their clinical outcomes in 361 patients over a decade.
  • Results showed that while both techniques had similar demographics and complication rates, anchor repairs had a significantly lower rerupture rate (0% vs. 7.5%).
  • The findings provide evidence for the advantages of suture anchor repairs but indicate no difference in recovery time between the two methods.
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Background: Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (UCLR) has allowed the return of overhead athletes to throwing sports. We describe a new double suspensory (DS) technique using a single tunnel in the ulna and humerus, achieving fixation with adjustable loop buttons.

Methods: Inclusion criteria included skeletally mature baseball players with clinical and magnetic resonance imaging diagnosis of UCL insufficiency who failed a trial of structured nonoperative treatment.

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Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signals through its high affinity receptor Tropomyosin receptor kinase-B (TrkB) to regulate neuronal development, synapse formation and plasticity. In rodents, genetic disruption of Bdnf and TrkB leads to weight gain and a spectrum of neurobehavioural phenotypes. Here, we functionally characterised a de novo missense variant in BDNF and seven rare variants in TrkB identified in a large cohort of people with severe, childhood-onset obesity.

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This perspective proposes one way to ensure enough doctors, nurses, and pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic: Enable graduating students to start internship early at their own medical school.

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High-throughput sequencing technologies could improve diagnosis and classification of TBI subgroups. Because recent studies showed that circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) may serve as noninvasive markers of TBI, we performed miRNA-seq to study TBI-induced changes in rat hippocampal miRNAs up to one year post-injury. We used miRNA PCR arrays to interrogate differences in serum miRNAs using two rat models of TBI (controlled cortical impact [CCI] and fluid percussion injury [FPI]).

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Background: Sepsis is one of the most frequent causes of death in the intensive care unit. Host vascular hypo-responsiveness to vasopressors during septic shock is one of the challenging problems. This study tested the hypothesis that adjunct therapy with peroxynitrite decomposition catalyst (WW-85) would reduce arginine vasopressin (AVP) requirements during sepsis resuscitation, using ovine sepsis model.

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Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) are frequently diagnosed with depression. Together, these two leading causes of death and disability significantly contribute to the global burden of healthcare costs. However, there are no drug treatments for TBI and antidepressants are considered off-label for depression in patients with TBI.

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