Corticosterone, lactate, and circulating leukocyte responses of free-ranging cottonmouth snakes (Agkistrodon piscivorus) vary with the duration and nature of the acute stressor.

Exposure to acute stressors can induce multiple physiological changes in vertebrates such as altering circulating hormone and enzyme levels as well as leukocyte counts, and interactions between endocrine and immune function may produce suites of physiological changes following acute stress. Previously, we showed that presence of human observers elicited only a weak elevation of plasma corticosterone levels in cottonmouths. Additional variables, however, must be considered to understand if changes in physiological parameters are highly generalized or vary among sexes or with context.

A Report on the Innovative University of Colorado Community Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship.

Predictive health services modeling signals a shortage of board-certified Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM) physicians. This article introduces the Community Hospice and Palliative Medicine (CHPM) Fellowship, an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Advancing Innovation in Residency Education (AIRE) project designed to enable mid-career physicians (at least five years out from residency or fellowship) to achieve eligibility for board certification in HPM. From 2020 to 2023, 24 fellows have completed or are currently participating in the CHPM fellowship which is evaluated using the Kirkpatrick model.

Diagnosis of superficial endometriosis on transvaginal ultrasound by visualization of peritoneum of pouch of Douglas.

Objective: Around 80% of women with endometriosis have superficial endometriosis (SE) rather than ovarian or deep endometriosis (DE). However, to date, advances in non-invasive, imaging-based diagnosis have been limited to DE or ovarian disease. The objective of this study was to determine whether we can detect SE on transvaginal ultrasound scan (TVS) by assessing the peritoneum of the pouch of Douglas (POD).

Understanding the Relationships Between Health Care Providers' Moral Distress and Patients' Quality of Death.

Moral distress is a commonly recognized phenomenon among health care providers; however, the experience of moral distress by staff caring for patients who die during an acute care hospital stay has not been previously examined. It also remains unclear how the quality of a death may impact moral distress among these providers. We sought to understand levels of moral distress experienced by intern physicians and nurses who provided care during a patient's final 48 hours of life, and how the perceived quality of death impacted moral distress.