Mock Board Exam Writing Groups in Physician Assistant Education: A Method to Enhance Curriculum and Mentor Junior Faculty.

Ensuring students are prepared for the Physician Assistant National Certification Exam (PANCE) is an institutional priority for all physician assistant programs. While many factors predicting PANCE performance have been investigated, exploration and discussions of interventions to improve PANCE performance are limited. Repeated exposure to board-style questions has been shown to improve board scores in similar populations.

The Role of CCL Chemokines in Experimental Staphylococcus aureus Endophthalmitis.

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) and CCL3 impact retinal function decline and inflammation during Staphylococcus aureus endophthalmitis.

Methods: Experimental endophthalmitis was initiated by intravitreal injection of 5000 colony-forming units of S. aureus into the eyes of C57BL/6J, CCL2-/-, or CCL3-/- mice.

Virulence-related genotypic differences among ocular and gastrointestinal isolates and the relationship to endophthalmitis pathogenesis.

Background: can cause self-limiting gastrointestinal infections, but when infecting the eye, can cause rapid and irreversible blindness. This study investigated whether clinical ocular and gastrointestinal isolates differed in terms of virulence-related genotypes and endophthalmitis virulence.

Methods: Twenty-eight ocular, gastrointestinal, and laboratory reference isolates were evaluated.

The Role of C-X-C Chemokines in Staphylococcus aureus Endophthalmitis.

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that the C-X-C chemokines CXCL1, CXCL2, and CXCL10 contribute to inflammation during Staphylococcus aureus endophthalmitis.

Methods: S. aureus endophthalmitis was induced by intravitreal injection of 5000 colony forming units of S.

Roles of CCL2 and CCL3 in intraocular inflammation during Bacillus endophthalmitis.

Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) endophthalmitis is a vision-threatening bacterial infection. Uncontrolled inflammatory responses are the hallmark of this disease which cause irreversible damage to the retina.

Emergency Critical Skills Training for Pre-clinical Physician Assistant Students: Mixed Method Comparison of Training Method.

Introduction: The fast-paced nature of physician assistant (PA) programs warrants an emphasis on high-fidelity, critical care skills training. Generally, manikins or task trainers are used for training and assessing. Soft-preserved cadavers provide a high-fidelity model to teach high-acuity, low-opportunity procedures; however, their effectiveness in PA pre-clinical training is not well understood.

C-X-C Chemokines Influence Intraocular Inflammation During Bacillus Endophthalmitis.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the C-X-C chemokines CXCL2 and CXCL10 as potential anti-inflammatory targets for Bacillus endophthalmitis.

Methods: Bacillus endophthalmitis was induced in C57BL/6J, CXCL2-/-, and CXCL10-/- mice. At specific times postinfection, eyes were analyzed for Bacillus, retinal function, and inflammation.

Immune Inhibitor A Metalloproteases Contribute to Virulence in Endophthalmitis.

Endophthalmitis is a devastating infection that can cause blindness. Over half of endophthalmitis cases result in significant loss of useful vision. produces many virulence factors that may contribute to retinal damage and robust inflammation.

The virulome in endophthalmitis.

is recognized as a causative agent of gastrointestinal syndromes, but can also cause a devastating form of intraocular infection known as endophthalmitis. We have previously reported that the PlcR/PapR master virulence factor regulator system regulates intraocular virulence, and that the S-layer protein (SlpA) contributes to the severity of endophthalmitis. To better understand the role of other virulence genes in endophthalmitis, expression of a subset of factors was measured at the midpoint of disease progression in a murine model of endophthalmitis by RNA-Seq.

Intravitreal Injection and Quantitation of Infection Parameters in a Mouse Model of Bacterial Endophthalmitis.

Intraocular bacterial infections are a danger to the vision. Researchers use animal models to investigate the host and bacterial factors and immune response pathways associated with infection to identify viable therapeutic targets and to test drugs to prevent blindness. The intravitreal injection technique is used to inject organisms, drugs, or other substances directly into the vitreous cavity in the posterior segment of the eye.

Innate Immune Interference Attenuates Inflammation In Bacillus Endophthalmitis.

Purpose: To explore the consequences of innate interference on intraocular inflammatory responses during Bacillus endophthalmitis.

Methods: Bacillus endophthalmitis was induced in mice. Innate immune pathway activation was interfered by injecting S layer protein-deficient (∆slpA) B.

Expression of Virulence-Related Genes in an Ocular Infection-Related Environment.

produces many factors linked to pathogenesis and is recognized for causing gastrointestinal toxemia and infections. also causes a fulminant and often blinding intraocular infection called endophthalmitis. We reported that the PlcR/PapR system regulates intraocular virulence, but the specific factors that contribute to virulence in the eye remain elusive.

S-Layer-Mediated Innate Interactions During Endophthalmitis.

endophthalmitis is a severe intraocular infection. Hallmarks of endophthalmitis include robust inflammation and rapid loss of vision. We reported that the absence of surface layer protein (SLP) significantly blunted endophthalmitis severity.

S-layer Impacts the Virulence of Bacillus in Endophthalmitis.

Purpose: Bacillus causes a sight-threating infection of the posterior segment of the eye. The robust intraocular inflammatory response in this disease is likely activated via host innate receptor interactions with components of the Bacillus cell envelope. S-layer proteins (SLPs) of some Gram-positive pathogens contribute to the pathogenesis of certain infections.

An Eye on Toxins: Roles in Ocular Damage and Inflammation.

is a common pathogen of the eye, capable of infecting external tissues such as the tear duct, conjunctiva, and the cornea, as well the inner and more delicate anterior and posterior chambers. produces numerous toxins and enzymes capable of causing profound damage to tissues and organs, as well as modulating the immune response to these infections. Unfortunately, in the context of ocular infections, this can mean blindness for the patient.

Targets of immunomodulation in bacterial endophthalmitis.

Bacterial infection of the posterior segment of the eye (endophthalmitis) leads to a robust host response that often results in irreversible damage to the layers of the retina, significant vision loss, and in some patients, enucleation of the globe. While a great deal of effort has gone into understanding the role of bacterial virulence factors in disease initiation and propagation, it is becoming increasingly clear that the host response to infection plays a major role in causing the damage associated with endophthalmitis. Researchers have identified the host receptors which detect infecting organisms and initiate the cascade of events that result in inflammation.

Disarming Pore-Forming Toxins with Biomimetic Nanosponges in Intraocular Infections.

Intraocular infections are prevalent after traumatic injuries or after common ocular surgeries. Infections cause inflammation that can damage the retina and architecture of the eye, often resulting in poor visual outcomes. Severe cases may result in blindness or require enucleation of the eye.

TLR4 modulates inflammatory gene targets in the retina during Bacillus cereus endophthalmitis.

Background: Endophthalmitis is a serious intraocular infection that frequently results in significant inflammation and vision loss. Because current therapeutics are often unsuccessful in mitigating damaging inflammation during endophthalmitis, more rational targets are needed. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) recognize specific motifs on invading pathogens and initiate the innate inflammatory response.

A Novel Biomimetic Nanosponge Protects the Retina from the Cytolysin.

Intraocular infections are a potentially blinding complication of common ocular surgeries and traumatic eye injuries. Bacterial toxins synthesized in the eye can damage intraocular tissue, often resulting in poor visual outcomes. causes blinding infections and is responsible for 8 to 17% of postoperative endophthalmitis cases.

The role of pili in Bacillus cereus intraocular infection.

Bacterial endophthalmitis is a potentially blinding intraocular infection. The bacterium Bacillus cereus causes a devastating form of this disease which progresses rapidly, resulting in significant inflammation and loss of vision within a few days. The outer surface of B.

Bloodstream-To-Eye Infections Are Facilitated by Outer Blood-Retinal Barrier Dysfunction.

The blood-retinal barrier (BRB) functions to maintain the immune privilege of the eye, which is necessary for normal vision. The outer BRB is formed by tightly-associated retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells which limit transport within the retinal environment, maintaining retinal function and viability. Retinal microvascular complications and RPE dysfunction resulting from diabetes and diabetic retinopathy cause permeability changes in the BRB that compromise barrier function.

Adolescent transition: Ordinary People (1980), Fly Away Home (1996), and (500) Days Of Summer (2009).

Five important transitional tasks of adolescent development are (i) taming the upsurge of desires and impulses, both sexual and aggressive, into constructive and creative directions; (ii) establishing independence from infantile family ties (while maintaining some involvement with the family of origin); (iii) reconciling self-preoccupations with social attachments; (iv) reworking identifications, especially sexual; and (v) establishing romantic attachments and solidifying ongoing stable love relationships. These tasks are illustrated with the help of three movies, namely Ordinary People, Fly Away Home, and (500) Days of Summer.

Successful mourning: maternal loss and grieving by proxy in Fly Away Home.

Fly Away Home is a captivating movie which beautifully portrays how profound losses can result in successful mourning. Movies can have lasting appeal when they convey universal themes such as loss and restitution in ways that not only illustrate underlying psychoanalytic processes but also confirm, clarify, or contradict them. A review of the literature on mourning reveals a preponderance of extrapolations from examples of unsuccessful grieving, resulting in an emphasis on a pathological perspective of an otherwise natural process.