Face Off: 3D-Printed Masks as a Cost-Effective and Reusable Alternative to N95 Respirators: A Feasibility Study.

Background: One of the best methods for protection against respiratory diseases is the use of an N95 mask. Supply shortages have demonstrated a significant need for effective alternatives to N95 masks. Benefits of 3D-printed respirators over N95s include reduced cost and ease of production, widespread availability, reusability/sterilizability, and customizability.

The Anesthesiologist as Translational Scientist.

Translational science seeks to accelerate the multi-step process by which scientific discoveries are transformed into therapies that can improve the health of individuals and their communities. To facilitate crossing the traditional boundaries between basic and clinical research for instance, a systematic understanding of the scientific and operational principles that underlie each step of the translational cycle is developed to identify and address barriers to translation. Skills required by translational scientists, such as being systems thinkers and process innovators, overlap with those of anesthesiologists, and therefore, it is no surprise that anesthesiologists have contributed to this field.

Suppression of cigarette smoke induced MMP1 expression by selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors.

Globally, COPD remains a major cause of disability and death. In the United States alone, it is estimated that approximately 14 million people suffer from the disease. Given the high disease burden and requirement for chronic, long-term medical care associated with COPD, it is essential that new disease modifying agents are developed to complement the symptomatic therapeutics currently available.

Attenuation of pulmonary injury by an inhaled MMP inhibitor in the endotoxin lung injury model.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by pulmonary edema and poor gas exchange resulting from severe inflammatory lung injury. Neutrophilic infiltration and increased pulmonary vascular permeability are hallmarks of early ARDS and precipitate a self-perpetuating cascade of inflammatory signaling. The biochemical processes initiating these events remain unclear.

Multimodality molecular imaging of the alveolar-capillary barrier in lung disease using albumin based optical and PET tracers.

Inflammatory changes caused by viruses, bacteria, exposure to toxins, commonly used drugs and even surgical intervention have the potential of causing abnormal epithelial permeability, which is manifest as infiltrative processes on computed tomography (CT), including the widespread infiltrates seen in COVID-19 pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We utilized a previously published mouse model of ARDS, intranasal delivery of LPS, to induce the alveolar-capillary barrier permeability seen in lung disease. We intravenously injected mice with Cy7 or 68-Gallium (Ga) labeled mouse albumin and imaged using optical imaging (OI)/CT and PET.

A critical role for ABC transporters in persistent lung inflammation in the development of emphysema after smoke exposure.

Macrophage infiltration is common to both emphysema and atherosclerosis, and cigarette smoke down-regulates the macrophage cholesterol efflux transporter ATP binding cassette (ABC)A1. This decreased cholesterol efflux results in lipid-laden macrophages. We hypothesize that cigarette smoke adversely affects cholesterol transport via an ABCA1-dependent mechanism in macrophages, enhancing TLR4/myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (Myd88) signaling and resulting in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) up-regulation and exacerbation of pulmonary inflammation.

MyOncofertility.org: a web-based patient education resource supporting decision making under severe emotional and cognitive overload.

Kristin, a 38-year-old female with breast cancer, was scheduled to begin treatment a week after receiving her diagnosis. Although she was in a four-year-long relationship, she had never thought about having kids. Kristin was told that embryo banking (IVF) was the best option for fertility preservation, and she had to decide immediately if she wanted biological children in order to start an egg-retrieval cycle.

Reduced blockade by extracellular Mg(2+) is permissive to NMDA receptor activation in cerebellar granule neurons that model a migratory phenotype.

NMDA receptors (NMDAR) contribute to neuronal development throughout the CNS. However, their mode(s) of activation preceding synaptic maturation is unclear, as they are not co-localized with alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate receptors (AMPARs) which normally provide sufficient depolarization to relieve voltage-dependent blockade by Mg(2+). We used cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) cultured at a near-physiological KCl concentration to examine maturation-dependent changes in NMDAR responses.