Invited African-American Radiation Oncology Grand Rounds Speakers: DEI or Die?

Background: Invitations for grand rounds are typically used to evaluate faculty promotion in Radiation Oncology. To shed light on potential barriers to career progression, we conducted a study examining the racial and gender demographics of invited speakers and the inclusion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related talks among African-American radiation oncology speakers.

Materials And Methods: Radiation oncology programs in the US were contacted to obtain a list of speakers invited to their institution along with their topics presented between January 2021 and December 2022.

"I realized I was not alone": A mixed-methods investigation of the implementation of Ubuntu groups to reduce burnout and social isolation in an allopathic medical School in the Southeastern United States.

Purpose/background: Healthcare providers experience higher rates of workplace burnout, a reality highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, small groups, inspired by South African philosophy, , were introduced to decrease burnout and social isolation and build community and belonging. This study examines how participation in these groups can impact these measures.

Measurement of CO in Water from an Ultraviolet Oxidizer for a Space-Worthy Wastewater Recovery System Using Raman Spectroscopy.

NASA has been developing and testing a water recovery system for over two decades to minimize the amount of water required for long duration human space missions. A key system component is the total organic carbon analyzer (TOCA) that determines if the recovered water is below the toxicology-defined health limit of 5 mg/L TOC and is safe to drink. The TOCA is composed of a liquid phase loop and a gas phase loop.

Comparing Protection of Remote Limb with Resveratrol Preconditioning following Rodent Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

Background: Preventing delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) remains an important therapeutic target. Preconditioning stimulates multiple endogenous protective mechanisms and may be a suitable treatment for DCI following SAH. We here compare remote limb conditioning with resveratrol conditioning in a clinically relevant SAH model.

AbsorbaSeal™ 5.6.7F vascular closure device: A good laboratory practice chronic study evaluating safety and efficacy in a healthy porcine model.

Objectives: Vascular closure devices (VCDs) are widely used for arteriotomy closure after percutaneous catheter-based procedures. In comparison to manual compression, VCDs have been associated with shorter time to hemostasis, shorter time to ambulation, and also decreased length of stay. Complexity of deployment, lack of immediate hemostasis, and residual deformity of the arterial wall remain as limitations of current VCDs.

Periodontitis, Porphyromonas, and the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis.

Epidemiological data indicate a link between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontal disease (PD). In vitro and in vivo studies have sought to dissect potential mechanisms by which PD may contribute to initiation and progression of RA. However, these are both multifactorial, chronic diseases, and their complex etiologies and pathogenesis themselves remain incompletely understood.

Monochorionic diamniotic triplet pregnancy with prenatal diagnosis of cord entanglement.

Background: Monozygotic monochorionic triplet pregnancies in which triplets share an amniotic cavity (di- or monoamniotic) are very rare. In addition to the other risks of high-order multiple pregnancy, such triplets are at risk for cord entanglement and therefore cord accident and intrauterine demise.

Case: A 32-year-old primigravid woman was found on ultrasound at 25 to 26 weeks' gestation to have a monochorionic diamniotic triplet pregnancy, a short dilated cervix, one fetus with biometry < 10th centile, and cord entanglement.

Review of subspeciality training in obstetrics and gynaecology.

Subspeciality training in obstetrics and gynaecology in the United Kingdom was introduced more than 25 years ago following a report published by a working party of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in 1982. There are now over 400 accredited subspecialists and over 150 approved subspeciality training programmes. It is timely to consider whether there are sufficient or too many subspeciality training programmes and whether some of the training resource should be directed towards delivery of advanced training skills modules (ATSMs).

Unguarded tricuspid valvar orifice in the fetus.

The unguarded tricuspid valve is uncommon. We describe herein a fetus with a grossly dilated right ventricle and atrium, with severe tricuspid and pulmonary valvar regurgitation. The right ventricle was akinetic, and no tricuspid tissue or valvar apparatus was identified.

Diagnosis and outcome of dextrocardia diagnosed in the fetus.

A retrospective review of 5,539 fetal echocardiograms over a 22-year period revealed 85 cases of dextrocardia. In primary dextrocardia (46 cases), the incidence of situs solitus, inversus, and ambiguous, was similar and associated with a high incidence of complex cardiac malformations in situs solitus and situs ambiguous. Secondary dextrocardia (39 cases) was due to intrathoracic displacement and, when caused by diaphragmatic hernia, was associated with cardiac malformations in 31% of cases.

Parents' perspectives on decision making after antenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease.

Objective: To discover and describe how prospective parents make decisions when they learn of their baby's congenital heart disease (CHD) during pregnancy, and to provide professionals with direction for their interactions with these families.

Design And Method: Qualitative analysis informed by symbolic interactionism.

Setting: A tertiary care women's health center that provided referral services for a province with a population of 4 million.

RETIRED: The use of first trimester ultrasound.

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Screening for fetal well-being in a high-risk pregnant population comparing the nonstress test with umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of two different modes of antepartum fetal testing to screen for the presence of peripartum morbidity, as measured by the cesarean delivery rate for fetal distress in labor.

Study Design: Over a 36-month period, all patients who were referred to the Fetal Assessment Unit at BC Women's Hospital because of a perceived increased fetal antepartum risk at a gestational age of > or =32 weeks of gestation were approached to participate in this study. Fetal surveillance of these women was allocated randomly to either umbilical artery Doppler ultrasound testing or nonstress testing as a screening test for fetal well-being.

Outcomes of planned home births versus planned hospital births after regulation of midwifery in British Columbia.

Background: The choice to give birth at home with a regulated midwife in attendance became available to expectant women in British Columbia in 1998. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety of home birth by comparing perinatal outcomes for planned home births attended by regulated midwives with those for planned hospital births.

Methods: We compared the outcomes of 862 planned home births attended by midwives with those of planned hospital births attended by either midwives (n = 571) or physicians (n = 743).

Renal-coloboma syndrome: prenatal detection and clinical spectrum in a large family.

Renal-coloboma syndrome includes abnormalities in the urogenital and ocular systems as its primary manifestations, although it can be associated with abnormalities in other systems as well. This syndrome is caused by mutations in the PAX2 gene and is transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait. We report a family in which at least 7 members have manifestations of renal-coloboma syndrome, including two in whom renal disease was diagnosed prenatally by ultrasound examination.

Identification of arterio-venous anastomoses in vivo in monochorionic twin pregnancies: preliminary report.

Objective: To determine whether it is possible to identify in vivo placental arterio-venous anastomoses (AVAs) by color Doppler flow mapping.

Methods: Three monochorionic twin pregnancies (one with and two without twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome) underwent placental mapping by color Doppler ultrasound. Placental vessels along the chorionic plate were recorded together with the direction of blood flow and their location in relation to the cord insertions and to superficial arterio-arterial anastomoses.

Induction of labour: a continuous quality improvement and peer review program to improve the quality of care.

This article describes a program developed to improve the process of planned induction of labour and to reduce the rates of inappropriate induction. The setting is a tertiary-care maternity hospital in urban Vancouver, BC, in which 7000 deliveries take place annually. Approximately 65% of these can be considered primary care; the remainder are secondary- or tertiary-level cases.

Multifetal pregnancy reduction and selective termination: the Canadian experience.

Objective: To describe the experience of two Canadian referral centres with multifetal pregnancy reduction (MFPR) and selective termination (ST).

Methods: Retrospective chart review of all MFPR and ST procedures during the periods from January 1, 1990, to December 31, 1997 (Vancouver), and from September 1, 1995, to December 31, 1997 (Toronto). Outstanding outcome data were obtained by telephone.

Outcome of fetuses diagnosed with atrioventricular septal defect.

Objective: To quantify the association of prenatally diagnosed atrioventricular septal defect with Down syndrome and to evaluate its impact on obstetric and neonatal outcomes.

Methods: Charts of 42 cases of atrioventricular septal defect diagnosed by fetal echocardiography from July 1985 to July 1997 were reviewed for prenatal history and outcome data (pregnancy outcome, pathologic confirmation, postnatal echocardiographic findings, and neonatal outcome). Statistical analysis was done using Fisher exact test and odds ratios.

Effectiveness of primary level antenatal screening for severe congenital heart disease: a population-based assessment.

The four-chamber view of the fetal heart has been advocated as an effective antenatal screen for severe forms of congenital heart disease (CHD). To evaluate the sensitivity of this test at a primary care level, a retrospective review was undertaken for the period 1988 to 1992 of ultrasonograms of fetuses referred for fetal echocardiography, mothers of neonates referred for cardiac assessment, and perinatal deaths attributed to CHD. The study centers serve a population base of 3.

Antenatal invasive and noninvasive management of alloimmune thrombocytopenia.

The outcome analysis of 10 pregnancies at risk for neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT) is presented. An experimental protocol of cordocentesis and maternal administration of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is compared to a control group of older untreated affected siblings. The outcome in pregnancies treated with IVIG shows improved fetal platelet count in 70% and no intraventricular hemorrhage.

Prenatal spinal evaluation and functional outcome of patients born with myelomeningocele: information for improved prenatal counselling and outcome prediction.

Objective: Prenatal ultrasonography can localize the level of the spinal cord malformation, allowing prediction of the potential postnatal neurological deficit and functional prognosis.

Methods: This study has two evaluations: (a) a retrospective prenatal review of 26 fetuses with spinal dysraphism (1987-1991), and (b) a follow-up descriptive study of patients (1971-1981) who underwent closure of the spinal lesion and ventricular shunting in the neonatal period.

Results: Prenatal ultrasound evaluation enabled the accurate definition of the last intact vertebral level which allows separation of fetuses into three functional groups (last intact level L2, L3-4, L5-sacral).