Predicting Clinician Fixations on Glaucoma OCT Reports via CNN-Based Saliency Prediction Methods.

To predict physician fixations specifically on ophthalmology optical coherence tomography (OCT) reports from eye tracking data using CNN based saliency prediction methods in order to aid in the education of ophthalmologists and ophthalmologists-in-training. Fifteen ophthalmologists were recruited to each examine 20 randomly selected OCT reports and evaluate the likelihood of glaucoma for each report on a scale of 0-100. Eye movements were collected using a Pupil Labs Core eye-tracker.

DR5 disulfide bonding as a sensor and effector of protein folding stress.

New agents are needed that selectively kill cancer cells without harming normal tissues. The TRAIL ligand and its receptors, DR5 and DR4, exhibit cancer-selective toxicity, but TRAIL analogs or agonistic antibodies targeting these receptors have not received FDA approval for cancer therapy. Small molecules for activating DR5 or DR4 independently of protein ligands may bypass some of the pharmacological limitations of these protein drugs.

Deep Learning Enables Reduced Gadolinium Dose for Contrast-Enhanced Blood-Brain Barrier Opening.

Focused ultrasound (FUS) can be used to open the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and MRI with contrast agents can detect that opening. However, repeated use of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) presents safety concerns to patients. This study is the first to propose the idea of modeling a volume transfer constant (Ktrans) through deep learning to reduce the dosage of contrast agents.

Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: The Role of Medical Students.

Unlabelled: We conducted a survey study at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to assess COVID-19 vaccine attitudes and behaviors among medical students. Almost all respondents (96.5%,  = 222) believed vaccines were effective and reported being asked about the COVID-19 vaccine by family members (79.

Segmentation with Residual Attention U-Net and an Edge-Enhancement Approach Preserves Cell Shape Features.

The ability to extrapolate gene expression dynamics in living single cells requires robust cell segmentation, and one of the challenges is the amorphous or irregularly shaped cell boundaries. To address this issue, we modified the U-Net architecture to segment cells in fluorescence widefield microscopy images and quantitatively evaluated its performance. We also proposed a novel loss function approach that emphasizes the segmentation accuracy on cell boundaries and encourages shape feature preservation.

Irreversible Electroporation Balloon Therapy for Palliative Treatment of Obstructive Urethral Transitional Cell Carcinoma in Dogs.

Progression of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) in dogs often leads to urinary obstruction. This observational pilot study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of irreversible electroporation (IRE) balloon therapy for the palliative treatment of TCC with partial urethral obstruction. Three client-owned dogs diagnosed with TCC causing partial urethral obstruction were enrolled.

Social Determinants, Risk Factors, and Needs: A New Paradigm for Medical Education.

COVID-19 and the escalation of racism and bias that has come in its wake have had a devastating impact on health professions students. In addition to academic challenges and personal health risks, aspects of students' lives that have often gone unnoticed or inadequately addressed have come to light. Financial constraints that impact access to housing and food, neighborhood safety in light of the spike in hate crimes, and the bias inherent in the continuum from premedical education to undergraduate and graduate medical education are some examples.

A Rapid Single-Cell Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Workflow for Bloodstream Infections.

Bloodstream infections are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The rapid initiation of effective antibiotic treatment is critical for patients with bloodstream infections. However, the diagnosis of bloodborne pathogens is largely complicated by the matrix effect of blood and the lengthy blood tube culture procedure.

Irreversible electroporation augments checkpoint immunotherapy in prostate cancer and promotes tumor antigen-specific tissue-resident memory CD8+ T cells.

Memory CD8+ T cells populate non-lymphoid tissues (NLTs) following pathogen infection, but little is known about the establishment of endogenous tumor-specific tissue-resident memory T cells (T) during cancer immunotherapy. Using a transplantable mouse model of prostate carcinoma, here we report that tumor challenge leads to expansion of naïve neoantigen-specific CD8+ T cells and formation of a small population of non-recirculating T in several NLTs. Primary tumor destruction by irreversible electroporation (IRE), followed by anti-CTLA-4 immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI), promotes robust expansion of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells in blood, tumor, and NLTs.

Combination of irreversible electroporation with sustained release of a synthetic membranolytic polymer for enhanced cancer cell killing.

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is used clinically as a focal therapy to ablate solid tumors. A critical disadvantage of IRE as a monotherapy for cancer is the inability of ablating large tumors, because the electric field strength required is often too high to be safe. Previous reports indicate that cells exposed to certain cationic small molecules and surfactants are more vulnerable to IRE at lower electric field strengths.

Involving service users to identify research priorities in a UK forensic mental health service.

Aims And Method: Patient and public involvement (PPI) is a priority for health research. PPI improves the relevance and quality of research. The study aimed to involve service users in identifying research priorities for the service.

Perinatal encephalopathy, the syndrome of intracranial hypertension and associated diagnostic labels in the Commonwealth of Independent States: a systematic review.

Background: The WHO reports excessive rates of ill-defined neurological diagnoses and ineffective and potentially harmful drug treatments in children in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Collectively termed perinatal encephalopathy and the syndrome of intracranial hypertension (PE-SIH), these diagnoses are important contributors to perceived childhood morbidity and disability in the CIS. A systematic compilation of information on PE-SIH is lacking.

Validation of the International Guide for Monitoring Child Development demonstrates good sensitivity and specificity in four diverse countries.

Aim: It is of critical importance to have internationally constructed tools to address early childhood development. The aim of this second phase of a two-phase study was to examine the sensitivity and specificity of the Guide for Monitoring Child Development (GMCD) in identifying developmental delay in four diverse countries.

Methods: The first phase of this 2011-2015 back-to-back study included 4949 children up to 42 months of age from primary healthcare centres in Argentina, India, South Africa and Turkey.

Similarities and differences in child development from birth to age 3 years by sex and across four countries: a cross-sectional, observational study.

Background: Knowledge about typical development is of fundamental importance for understanding and promoting child health and development. We aimed to ascertain when healthy children in four culturally and linguistically different countries attain developmental milestones and to identify similarities and differences across sexes and countries.

Methods: In this cross-sectional, observational study, we recruited children aged 0-42 months and their caregivers between March 3, 2011, and May 18, 2015, at 22 health clinics in Argentina, India, South Africa, and Turkey.

Physical and Chemical Enhancement of and Adaptive Resistance to Irreversible Electroporation of Pancreatic Cancer.

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) can be used to treat cancer by electrical pulses, with advantages over traditional thermal approaches. Here we assess for the first time the IRE response of pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer, both in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrate that both established and primary cancer cell lines can be destroyed by IRE, but with differential susceptibility and thresholds.

Video Game Intervention for Sexual Risk Reduction in Minority Adolescents: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disproportionately impacts minority youth. Interventions to decrease HIV sexual risk are needed.

Objective: We hypothesized that an engaging theory-based digital health intervention in the form of an interactive video game would improve sexual health outcomes in adolescents.

Assessment of Neurodevelopment, Nutrition, and Inflammation From Fetal Life to Adolescence in Low-Resource Settings.

Efforts to improve child neurodevelopment are critical to health, equity, and sustainable development, particularly in low-resource settings in the United States and globally. The colliding epidemics of food insecurity, infectious diseases, and noncommunicable diseases interact and impact neurodevelopment. Understanding the complex relationships between nutrition, inflammation, and neurodevelopment can inform clinical and public health interventions to improve outcomes.

Repeated computerized cognitive testing: Performance shifts and test-retest reliability in healthy young adults.

Many longitudinal studies entail repeated computerized cognitive testing. However, few of the measures frequently employed for assessing cognitive changes have been examined for within- and between-day retest effects over multiple time points. To address gaps in the repeated cognitive assessment literature, in the current study 20 male undergraduate students completed a computerized cognitive battery 6 times over 3 testing days, each 1 week apart.

Effects of low dose ibogaine on subjective mood state and psychological performance.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Root bark from Tabernanthe iboga has been used traditionally in West Africa as a psychoactive substance in religious rituals. In smaller doses it is reported anecdotally to have stimulant properties.

Aim Of The Study: To evaluate the influence of a single 20mg ibogaine dose on psychological variables reflecting subjective mood state and a range of cognitive functions.

Barriers to early prenatal care in South Africa.

Objective: To understand the barriers delaying early prenatal care for women in South Africa.

Methods: A mixed-methods study was conducted at a center in Pretoria.

Results: Following interviews with 21 women at a prenatal clinic in Pretoria, a quantitative survey was completed by 204 postpartum women.

Early diagnosis is critical to ensure good outcomes in HIV-infected children: outlining barriers to care.

HIV-infected children require early initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to ensure good outcomes. The aim was to investigate missed opportunities in childhood HIV diagnosis leading to delayed ART initiation. Baseline data were reviewed of all children aged <15 years referred over a 1-year period for ART initiation to the Kalafong Hospital HIV services in Gauteng, South Africa.

Characterization of Pebax angioplasty balloon surfaces with AFM, SEM, TEM, and SAXS.

In the medical device industry, angioplasty balloons have been widely used in the less invasive treatment of heart disease by expanding and relieving clogged structures in various arterial segments. However, new applications using thin coatings on the balloon surface have been explored to enhance therapeutic value in the delivery of pharmaceuticals (drug-elution) or control thermal energy output (RF ablation). In this study, angioplasty balloon materials comprised of poly(ether-block-amide) (Pebax) were investigated via atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to characterize physical properties at the balloon surface that may affect coating adhesion.

Hyperferritinemia and markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in the cord blood of HIV-exposed, uninfected (HEU) infants.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate markers of iron status and inflammation/oxidative stress in maternal and cord blood (CB) of HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women as potential mechanisms for poor outcomes among HIV-exposed, uninfected (HEU) infants.

Methods: Maternal venous blood and CB specimens were obtained from 87 pregnant women (45 HIV-infected and 42 HIV-uninfected) enrolled at Kalafong Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa. Iron status [serum iron, ferritin and transferrin concentrations, transferrin saturation, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) concentration and the sTfR/log ferritin (sTfR/F) index], antenatal exposure to inflammation (CB C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 concentrations and haptoglobin switch-on status) and oxidative stress [total radical trapping ability of CB plasma (TRAP) and chronic oxidative stress (soluble receptor of advanced glycation end-products (sRAGE) concentration] were assessed in laboratory studies.

A randomized clinical trial of an intervention to promote resilience in young children of HIV-positive mothers in South Africa.

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of an intervention designed to promote resilience in young children living with their HIV-positive mothers.

Design/methods: HIV-positive women attending clinics in Tshwane, South Africa, and their children, aged 6-10 years, were randomized to the intervention (I) or standard care (S). The intervention consisted of 24 weekly group sessions led by community care workers.

Patient-centered assessment of cognitive symptoms of depression.

Objective: To identify and explore concepts important to patients with cognitive symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD) and adapt an existing patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure to assess these symptoms.

Methods: Four focus groups were conducted with MDD patients (n = 33) to elicit relevant concepts and determine whether one of several PRO scales could be used to assess cognitive symptoms of depression. Following selection and minor modification of the Perceived Deficits Questionnaire (PDQ), cognitive debriefing interviews were conducted with additional patients (n = 17) to further refine and adapt this measure for use in MDD.