Gastroesophageal reflux disease is associated with a more severe interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis in the EUSTAR cohort.

Objectives: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is frequent in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and could predict progression of interstitial lung disease (ILD). We aimed to analyse (1) the prevalence of GERD among SSc-ILD patients, (2) its association with disease characteristics and (3) predictive factors for ILD progression in SSc-ILD patients with GERD.

Methods: SSc patients from the EUSTAR database with ILD were included.

Diagnostic Test Characteristics of Ultrasound-Based Hydronephrosis for Chronic Kidney Disease in Children and Adolescents With Myelomeningocele: Results From the UMPIRE and NSBPR Cohort Studies.

Purpose: Renal ultrasounds are performed in patients with myelomeningocele to screen for markers of kidney health, including hydronephrosis. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of hydronephrosis to screen for low kidney function defined by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

Materials And Methods: We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study using data from 2 cohorts of children and youth with myelomeningocele.

Epitope-focused immunogens targeting the hepatitis C virus glycoproteins induce broadly neutralizing antibodies.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes ~290,000 annual human deaths despite the highly effective antiviral treatment available. Several viral immune evasion mechanisms have hampered the development of an effective vaccine against HCV, among them the remarkable conformational flexibility within neutralization epitopes in the HCV antigens. Here, we report the design of epitope-focused immunogens displaying two distinct HCV cross-neutralization epitopes.

Physical medicine and rehabilitation clerkships in medical school: A valuable and integrated addition to the advanced clerkships.

The medical specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) focuses on quality of life, function, ability, and interdisciplinary care. PM&R clerkships are uniquely qualified to teach medical students about rehabilitation and the spectrum of postacute care, medical knowledge, and medical decision making related to health care affecting people with disabilities, health care disparities affecting people with disabilities, and the communication and teamwork strategies to provide a patient-centered approach to optimize function and outcomes. PM&R clerkships can be used to fulfill stakeholder and governing body requirements, such as medical knowledge, rehabilitation, critical judgment, health disparities, ethics, communication, teamwork, and patient-centered medical care, in order to maintain accreditation and provide a high-quality education This review provides both a rationale for a medical student clerkship in PM&R and an effective example of such an experience that has been implemented during medical school training.

In vitro proteolysis mirrors intact muscle maturation in beef carcasses.

An in vitro assay was developed to study protease activity during the maturation of beef postmortem. Myofibrils were purified from the semitendinosus and used as a sentinel for assessing the activity of endogenous proteases in longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) and the extensor carpi radialis (ER) over time postmortem in beef carcasses. Samples were collected from each muscle at 0, 1, 2, 7, and 14 d of aging and snap frozen.