Opponent control of reinforcement by striatal dopamine and serotonin.

The neuromodulators dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5HT) powerfully regulate associative learning. Similarities in the activity and connectivity of these neuromodulatory systems have inspired competing models of how DA and 5HT interact to drive the formation of new associations. However, these hypotheses have not been tested directly because it has not been possible to interrogate and manipulate multiple neuromodulatory systems in a single subject.

5-HT receptors in the nucleus accumbens constrain the rewarding effects of MDMA.

MDMA is a promising adjunct to psychotherapy and has well-known abuse liability, although less than other amphetamine analogs. While the reinforcing dopamine (DA)-releasing properties of MDMA are on par with methamphetamine (METH), MDMA is a far more potent serotonin (5-HT) releaser, via the 5-HT transporter (SERT). MDMA-mediated 5-HT release in a major reward center, the nucleus accumbens (NAc), drives prosocial behaviors via 5-HTR activation.

Brain Metastases from Esophageal Cancer: A Retrospective Review from a Single Institution.

Background: Patients with brain metastases (BrMs) from esophageal cancer have poor prognosis, the incidence of which is expected to rise due to improved survival from the primary tumor and increased neuroimaging. We aimed to identify patient and esophageal cancer characteristics associated with shorter survival in patients with BrMs and, secondly, to compare the prognosis of patients with HER2 overexpression.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients with BrMs from esophageal cancer at a single institution from 2008-2021.

Gender Differences in Electronic Health Record Usage Among Surgeons.

Importance: Understanding gender differences in electronic health record (EHR) use among surgeons is crucial for addressing potential disparities in workload, compensation, and physician well-being.

Objective: To investigate gender differences in EHR usage patterns.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study examined data from an EHR system (Epic Signal) at a single academic hospital from January to December 2022.

Socioeconomic disparities in lumbar fusion rates were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare access and utilization throughout the US, with variable impact on patients of different socioeconomic status (SES) and race. We characterize pre-pandemic and pandemic demographic and SES trends of lumbar fusion patients in the US.

Methods: Adults undergoing first-time lumbar fusion 1/1/2004-3/31/2021 were assessed in Clinformatics® Data Mart for patient age, geographical location, gender, race, education level, net worth, and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI).

Striatal dopamine integrates cost, benefit, and motivation.

Striatal dopamine (DA) release has long been linked to reward processing, but it remains controversial whether DA release reflects costs or benefits and how these signals vary with motivation. Here, we measure DA release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and dorsolateral striatum (DLS) while independently varying costs and benefits and apply behavioral economic principles to determine a mouse's level of motivation. We reveal that DA release in both structures incorporates both reward magnitude and sunk cost.

Demographic and Socioeconomic Trends in Cervical Fusion Utilization from 2004 Through 2021 and the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Cervical fusion rates increased in the U.S. exponentially 1990-2014, but trends leading up to/during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been fully evaluated by patient socioeconomic status (SES).

Socioeconomic Influence on Cervical Fusion Outcomes.

Study Design: A retrospective observational study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare postoperative outcomes following cervical fusion based on socioeconomic status (SES) variables including race, education, net worth, and homeownership status.

Summary Of Background Data: Previous studies have demonstrated the effects of patient race and income on outcomes following cervical fusion procedures.

Socioeconomic Effects on Lumbar Fusion Outcomes.

Background: Recent studies suggest that socioeconomic status (SES) influences outcomes after spinal fusion. The influence of SES on postoperative outcomes is increasingly relevant as rates of lumbar fusion rise.

Objective: To determine the influence of SES variables including race, education, net worth, and homeownership on postoperative outcomes.

Evidence-based surgery for laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is frequently performed for acute cholecystitis and symptomatic cholelithiasis. Considerable variation in the execution of key steps of the operation remains. We conducted a systematic review of evidence regarding best practices for critical intraoperative steps for laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Practical Computer Vision Application to Compute Total Body Surface Area Burn: Reappraising a Fundamental Burn Injury Formula in the Modern Era.

Importance: Critical burn management decisions rely on accurate percent total body surface area (%TBSA) burn estimation. Existing %TBSA burn estimation models (eg, Lund-Browder chart and rule of nines) were derived from a linear formula and a limited number of individuals a century ago and do not reflect the range of body habitus of the modern population.

Objective: To develop a practical %TBSA burn estimation tool that accounts for exact burn injury pattern, sex, and body habitus.

Scoping review of traumatic hemothorax: Evidence and knowledge gaps, from diagnosis to chest tube removal.

Background: Traumatic hemothorax is a common injury that invites diagnostic and management strategy debates. Evidence-based management has been associated with improved care efficiency. However, the literature abounds with long-debated, re-emerging, and new questions.

Shape-Shifting Peptide Nanomaterials: Surface Asymmetry Enables pH-Dependent Formation and Interconversion of Collagen Tubes and Sheets.

The fabrication of dynamic, transformable biomaterials that respond to environmental cues represents a significant step forward in the development of synthetic materials that rival their highly functional, natural counterparts. Here, we describe the design and synthesis of crystalline supramolecular architectures from charge-complementary heteromeric pairs of collagen-mimetic peptides (CMPs). Under appropriate conditions, CMP pairs spontaneously assemble into either 1D ultraporous (pore diameter >100 nm) tubes or 2D bilayer nanosheets due to the structural asymmetry that arises from heteromeric self-association.

Seeded Heteroepitaxial Growth of Crystallizable Collagen Triple Helices: Engineering Multifunctional Two-Dimensional Core-Shell Nanostructures.

Engineering free-standing 2D nanomaterials with compositional, spatial, and functional control across size regimes from the nano- to mesoscale represents a significant challenge. Herein, we demonstrate a straightforward strategy for the thermodynamically controlled fabrication of multicomponent sectored nanosheets in which each sector can be chemically and spatially addressed independently and orthogonally. Collagen triple helices, comprising collagen-mimetic peptides (CMPs), are employed as molecularly programmable crystallizable units.

2D Crystal Engineering of Nanosheets Assembled from Helical Peptide Building Blocks.

The successful integration of 2D nanomaterials into functional devices hinges on developing fabrication methods that afford hierarchical control across length scales of the entire assembly. We demonstrate structural control over a class of crystalline 2D nanosheets assembled from collagen triple helices. By lengthening the triple helix unit through sequential additions of Pro-Hyp-Gly triads, we achieved sub-angstrom tuning over the 2D lattice.