A Pilot Study Examining Stress and Obesity among Employees at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU): Does Job Satisfaction Matter?

Objective: To evaluate the potential of using specific biopsychosocial instruments in capturing data on the relationship between stress and obesity and determine if job satisfaction influences the effect estimate.

Participants: Fifty-three Black employees at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU).

Methods: Logistic regression analyses were used to determine associations.

Association of Residency Applicants' Hobbies and Subsequent Technical Proficiency Ratings as General Surgery Chief Residents: A Multi-Institutional Study.

Objective: To determine whether participation in certain hobbies (e.g., participation in sports, playing musical instruments, or other hobbies requiring fine motor skills), preresidency, are associated with higher technical skills ratings at the time of residency graduation.

Real-world evaluation of the Lucira Check-It COVID-19 loop-mediated amplification (LAMP) test.

In hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, laboratory testing was important to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmissions, while facilitating patient flow in the emergency department and pre-operative settings, and allowing for the safe return to work of exposed healthcare workers. Delayed test results from laboratory nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) posed a barrier to maximizing efficient patient flow and minimizing staffing shortages. This quality improvement project sought to evaluate the analytical and clinical performance of the Lucira Check-It COVID-19 Test, a point-of-care test that used NAAT technology, in the perioperative setting, emergency department, and community testing sites.

How might bacteriophages shape biological invasions?

Invasions by eukaryotes dependent on environmentally acquired bacterial mutualists are often limited by the ability of bacterial partners to survive and establish free-living populations. Focusing on the model legume-rhizobium mutualism, we apply invasion biology hypotheses to explain how bacteriophages can impact the competitiveness of introduced bacterial mutualists. Predicting how phage-bacteria interactions affect invading eukaryotic hosts requires knowing the eco-evolutionary constraints of introduced and native microbial communities, as well as their differences in abundance and diversity.

Impact of Automated Reminder Calls in a Safety-Net Setting on Surgical Clinic No-Show Rates.

In surgical clinics, missed appointments may lead to delayed diagnosis and postponed surgical intervention. Automated reminder calls (robocalls) have replaced live staff phone calls in many systems as a cost-saving measure. This study aims to evaluate whether robocalls reduced the outpatient appointment no-show rate for surgical patients in a county hospital.