Validation of Risk Prediction Models for Pneumothorax and Intercostal Catheter Insertion Following CT-Guided Lung Biopsy.

Background: CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy is the primary method for diagnosing lung lesions. Widely accepted validated risk prediction models are yet to be developed. A recently published study conducted at Grampians Health Services (GHS) developed two risk prediction models for predicting pneumothorax and intercostal catheter (ICC) insertion.

Working With the Strategy Master-Dr Michael Silverstein MD, MPH [1945-2024].

offers a short memorial statement noting the January 2, 2024, death of Dr Michael Silverstein, an internationally known leader in the field of occupational health and safety. Dr Silverstein spent 53 years specializing in the fields of occupational medicine, public health, and general preventive medicine. He was the Assistant Director for Occupational Health and Safety with the United Automobile Workers Union for 15 years.

Divergent Molecular Pathways for Toxicity of Selected Mutant C9ORF72-derived Dipeptide Repeats.

Expansion of a hexanucleotide repeat in a noncoding region of the C9ORF72 gene is responsible for a significant fraction of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) cases, but mechanisms linking mutant gene products to neuronal toxicity remain debatable. Pathogenesis was proposed to involve the production of toxic RNA species and/or accumulation of toxic dipeptide repeats (DPRs) but distinguishing between these mechanisms has been challenging. In this study, we first use complementary model systems for analyzing pathogenesis in adult-onset neurodegenerative diseases to characterize the pathogenicity of DPRs produced by Repeat Associated Non-ATG translation of C9ORF72 in specific cellular compartments: isolated axoplasm and giant synapse from the squid.

Creating the Pick's disease International Consortium: Association study of H2 haplotype with risk of Pick's disease.

Background: Pick's disease (PiD) is a rare and predominantly sporadic form of frontotemporal dementia that is classified as a primary tauopathy. PiD is pathologically defined by argyrophilic inclusion Pick bodies and ballooned neurons in the frontal and temporal brain lobes. PiD is characterised by the presence of Pick bodies which are formed from aggregated, hyperphosphorylated, 3-repeat tau proteins, encoded by the gene.

Burnout, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Among Resident Physicians 18 Months Into the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Burnout among resident physicians has been an area of concern that predates the COVID-19 pandemic. With the significant turmoil during the pandemic, this study examined resident physicians' burnout, depression, anxiety, and stress as well as the benefits of engaging in activities related to wellness, mindfulness, or mental wellbeing.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 298 residents from 13 residency programs sponsored by the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita was conducted in October and November 2021.

Integrating peer support services into primary care-based OUD treatment: Lessons from the Penn integrated model.

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a major public health emergency in the United States. In 2020, 2.7 million individuals had an OUD.

Regional variability and genotypic and pharmacodynamic effects on PrP concentration in the CNS.

Prion protein (PrP) concentration controls the kinetics of prion replication and is a genetically and pharmacologically validated therapeutic target for prion disease. In order to evaluate PrP concentration as a pharmacodynamic biomarker and assess its contribution to known prion disease risk factors, we developed and validated a plate-based immunoassay reactive for PrP across 6 species of interest and applicable to brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). PrP concentration varied dramatically across different brain regions in mice, cynomolgus macaques, and humans.

BMAA, Methylmercury, and Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration in Dolphins: A Natural Model of Toxin Exposure.

Dolphins are well-regarded sentinels for toxin exposure and can bioaccumulate a cyanotoxin called β--methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA) that has been linked to human neurodegenerative disease. The same dolphins also possessed hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD), suggesting a possible association between toxin exposure and neuropathology. However, the mechanisms of neurodegeneration in dolphins and the impact cyanotoxins have on these processes are unknown.

To Post or Not to Post: Does Applicants' Social Media Affect Family Medicine Resident Recruitment?

Background And Objectives: Current literature on review of applicant social media (SoMe) content for resident recruitment is scarce. With the recent increase in the use of privacy settings, and the cost of the recruitment process, the aim of this study was to describe the practice and outcomes of review of applicant SoMe in resident recruitment and its association with program director or program characteristics.

Methods: This study was part of the 2020 Council of Academic Family Medicine's Educational Research Alliance (CERA) annual survey of family medicine residency program directors (PDs) in the United States.

Tau molecular diversity contributes to clinical heterogeneity in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) causes unrelenting, progressive cognitive impairments, but its course is heterogeneous, with a broad range of rates of cognitive decline. The spread of tau aggregates (neurofibrillary tangles) across the cerebral cortex parallels symptom severity. We hypothesized that the kinetics of tau spread may vary if the properties of the propagating tau proteins vary across individuals.

Assessment of Machine Learning vs Standard Prediction Rules for Predicting Hospital Readmissions.

Importance: Hospital readmissions are associated with patient harm and expense. Ways to prevent hospital readmissions have focused on identifying patients at greatest risk using prediction scores.

Objective: To identify the type of score that best predicts hospital readmissions.

Synaptic Tau Seeding Precedes Tau Pathology in Human Alzheimer's Disease Brain.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is defined by the presence of intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) composed of hyperphosphorylated tau aggregates as well as extracellular amyloid-beta plaques. The presence and spread of tau pathology through the brain is classified by Braak stages and thought to correlate with the progression of AD. Several and studies have examined the ability of tau pathology to move from one neuron to the next, suggesting a "prion-like" spread of tau aggregates may be an underlying cause of Braak tau staging in AD.

Tau reduction in the presence of amyloid-β prevents tau pathology and neuronal death in vivo.

Several studies have now supported the use of a tau lowering agent as a possible therapy in the treatment of tauopathy disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. In human Alzheimer's disease, however, concurrent amyloid-β deposition appears to synergize and accelerate tau pathological changes. Thus far, tau reduction strategies that have been tested in vivo have been examined in the setting of tau pathology without confounding amyloid-β deposition.

Atrial fibrillation: Effective strategies using the latest tools.

Direct oral anticoagulants or warfarin? Rate or rhythm control? Here's how to determine which strategies to pursue and when.

Effects of social, economic, and labor policies on occupational health disparities.

Background: This article introduces some key labor, economic, and social policies that historically and currently impact occupational health disparities in the United States.

Methods: We conducted a broad review of the peer-reviewed and gray literature on the effects of social, economic, and labor policies on occupational health disparities.

Results: Many populations such as tipped workers, public employees, immigrant workers, and misclassified workers are not protected by current laws and policies, including worker's compensation or Occupational Safety and Health Administration enforcement of standards.

Transient expression of myofibroblast-like cells in rat rib fracture callus.

Background And Purpose: We have previously shown that early fracture callus of rat rib has viscoelastic and contractile properties resembling those of smooth muscle. The cells responsible for this contractility have been hypothesized to be myofibroblast-like in nature. In soft-tissue healing, force generated by contraction of myofibroblasts promotes healing.

α(1) adrenergic receptor agonist, phenylephrine, actively contracts early rat rib fracture callus ex vivo.

Early, soft fracture callus that links fracture ends together is smooth muscle-like in nature. We aimed to determine if early fracture callus could be induced to contract and relax ex vivo by similar pathways to smooth muscle, that is, contraction via α(1) adrenergic receptor (α(1) AR) activation with phenylephrine (PE) and relaxation via β(2) adrenergic receptor (β(2) AR) stimulation with terbutaline. A sensitive force transducer quantified 7 day rat rib fracture callus responses in modified Krebs-Henseliet (KH) solutions.

Differential base stacking interactions induced by trimethylene interstrand DNA cross-links in the 5'-CpG-3' and 5'-GpC-3' sequence contexts.

Synthetically derived trimethylene interstrand DNA cross-links have been used as surrogates for the native cross-links that arise from the 1,N(2)-deoxyguanosine adducts derived from alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes. The native enal-mediated cross-linking occurs in the 5'-CpG-3' sequence context but not in the 5'-GpC-3' sequence context. The ability of the native enal-derived 1,N(2)-dG adducts to induce interstrand DNA cross-links in the 5'-CpG-3' sequence as opposed to the 5'-GpC-3' sequence is attributed to the destabilization of the DNA duplex in the latter sequence context.