Background: Iterative design and modification are used to manufacture lower limb prosthetic sockets that meet users' needs while also fulfilling safety and mobility criteria. Greater understanding of the expectations of prosthesis users regarding prosthetic fit as well as their experiences at the time of socket fitting is needed.
Objectives: Describe lower limb prosthesis user perceptions and experiences of socket comfort and discomfort during their last fitting and compare this to their expectations for a perfectly fitting socket and their satisfaction with the socket they had fitted.
Air quality management benefits from an in-depth understanding of the emissions associated with, and composition of, local PM concentrations. Here, we investigate the changing role of biomass burning emissions to North American PM exposure by combining multiple satellite-, ground-, and simulation-based data sets biweekly at a 0.01° × 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAltered activity of major immunoregulatory pathways has been reported in major depressive disorder (MDD) and is thought to underlie the elevations in circulating inflammatory mediators present in a subgroup of patients. However, the drivers of these changes in gene expression remain unclear. One potential modulator of immune function is viral infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCD8 T cells are critical mediators of antitumor immunity but differentiate into a dysfunctional state, known as T cell exhaustion, after persistent T cell receptor stimulation in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Exhausted T (T) cells are characterized by upregulation of coinhibitory molecules and reduced polyfunctionality. T cells in the TME experience an immunosuppressive metabolic environment via reduced levels of nutrients and oxygen and a buildup of lactic acid.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRotator cuff tears are common in an aging population. Thus far, primary repairs have shown high re-tear rates suggesting the need for improved healing modalities. Current augmentations of rotator cuff repairs include synthetic and biological scaffolds, surgical bone marrow venting, and infusing the repair with a variety of stem cells and growth factors aimed at restoring the native cellular structure and function of the repaired tissue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Inguinal vascular surgical site infections (VSSI) and infected prosthetic grafts remain a critical problem in vascular surgery. Prior clinical reports suggest antibiotic-impregnated beads may be used to attempt salvage of the graft and improve outcomes, especially if explant would result in major amputation or mortality. Described is our institutional experience managing inguinal VSSI using bioabsorbable, antibiotic-impregnated beads compared to inguinal VSSI managed with debridement alone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCare-planning is vital to the delivery of timely, person-centred, safe and effective care. Despite the understanding of the benefits of person-centred care-plan in both services, occupational therapists (OTs) within our forensic and rehabilitation services had difficulties in inputting into patient care-plan an efficient and person-centred manner.The OT team developed a Quality Improvement (QI) project to improve the efficiency of the OT process to create more time for care-planning and improve person-centredness of OT input into care-plans to 82% in the forensic services and rehabilitation services by December 2023.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThree amylin receptors (AMYRs) mediate the metabolic actions of the peptide hormone amylin and are drug targets for diabetes and obesity. AMYR, AMYR, and AMYR are heterodimers consisting of the G protein-coupled calcitonin receptor (CTR) paired with a RAMP1, -2, or -3 accessory subunit, respectively, which increases amylin potency. Little is known about AMYR subunit interactions and their role in signaling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVisual perspective taking (VPT) generates a shared frame of reference for understanding how the world appears to others. Whilst greater cognitive and neurophysiological demands are associated with increasing angular distance between the self and other is well documented, accompanying attentional characteristics are not currently understood. Furthermore, although age and group status have been shown to impact task performance, other important cues, such as the relationship between agents and objects, have not been manipulated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: To investigate the perspectives of people accessing a general medical practitioner (GP)-optometry model of collaborative care that was established to increase access to diabetes eye care.
Methods: Qualitative study of patient barriers and facilitators to accessing primary diabetes eye care located in a metropolitan area in Australia. One-on-one interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed using a determinant framework on patient-centred access to health care.
Background Context: Cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) has become an increasingly popular alternative to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, offering benefits such as motion preservation and reduced risk of adjacent segment disease. Despite its advantages, understanding the economic implications associated with varying patient and hospital factors remains critical.
Purpose: To evaluate how hospital size, geographic region, and patient-specific variables influence charges associated with the primary admission period following CDA.
Unlabelled: Dissemination and Implementation science is dedicated to increasing the speed of evidence-based research translated into practice as guided by one or multiple D&I theories, models, and frameworks. The Dissemination and Implementation Models in Health Research and Practice web tool guides users on how to plan, select, combine, adapt, use, and assess theories, models, and frameworks. This paper describes usability testing to update the web tool.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To assess effectiveness of selective lymphatic duct embolization (SLDE) for treatment of thoracic lymphatic flow disorders, performed to maintain patency of the thoracic duct (TD), compared with that of TD embolization (TDE).
Materials And Methods: Records of 39 patients (mean age, 7.6 years [SD ± 7.
Case: A 46-year-old man presented with continued pain after distal biceps repair. On revision surgery, he was found to have entrapment of the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve (LABCN). After nerve transection, relocation to its native course, and subsequent repair, the patient experienced complete resolution of his preoperative symptomatology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact that obesity, smoking, and older age have on 30-day postoperative complications, reoperations, and readmissions of patients undergoing arthroscopic meniscectomy or meniscus repair.
Materials And Methods: The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database was queried to identify meniscus surgeries and operative outcomes between 2008 and 2016. Controlled regression analysis was then performed to evaluate for an association between obesity, age, and smoking and these outcomes.
Glucokinase activators (GKAs) have been developed as blood glucose lowering drugs for type 2 diabetes. Despite good short-term efficacy, several GKAs showed a decline in efficacy chronically during clinical trials. The underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Subst Use Addict Treat
November 2024
Introduction: To guide improvements in treatment for pregnant persons with substance use disorders within the criminal legal system, treatment programs must first determine the primary substances of concern for this population. The objective of this study is to compare trends in specific substance use upon admission to treatment in pregnancy, based upon whether referrals originated from the criminal legal system or from another referral source.
Methods: This research accessed data on perinatal substance use (1995-2021) and referral sources from the Treatment Episode Data Set-Admissions (TEDS-A).
Background: Infection with the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii leads to the formation of lifelong cysts in neurons that can have devastating consequences in the immunocompromised. In the immunocompetent individual, anti-parasitic effector mechanisms and a balanced immune response characterized by pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine production establishes an asymptomatic infection that rarely leads to neurological symptoms. Several mechanisms are known to play a role in this successful immune response in the brain including T cell production of IFNγ and IL-10 and the involvement of CNS resident cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious work suggests that sometimes the more people value happiness, the less happy they are. For whom and why is this the case? To answer these questions, we examined a model of happiness pursuit that disentangles two previously conflated individual differences related to valuing happiness. The first individual difference operates at the strength of the value itself and involves viewing happiness as a very important goal (i.
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