Decreasing Intraoperative Skin Damage in Prone-Position Surgeries.

Objective: To determine if subepidermal moisture (SEM) measures help detect and prevent intraoperative acquired pressure injuries (IAPIs) for prone-position surgery.

Methods: In this clinical trial of patients (n = 39 preintervention, n = 48 intervention, 100 historical control) undergoing prone-position surgery, researchers examined the use of multidimensionally flexible silicone foam (MFSF) dressings applied preoperatively to patients' face, chest, and iliac crests. Visual skin assessments and SEM measures were obtained preoperatively, postoperatively, and daily for up to 5 days or until discharge.

BUILDing Engaged Mentors: Examining the Efficacy of BUILD-led Mentor Training.

The practice of mentorship is a critical focus in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) disciplines. This quasi-experimental study investigated the efficacy of undergraduate mentor training in biomedical sciences programs in the NIH-funded Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) initiative comprised of research-rising institutions. We used data from the Higher Education Research Institute's Faculty Survey (2016-17 and 2019-20).

Harmonization of four biomarkers across nine nationally representative studies of older persons.

Introduction: A growing number of international population surveys have included measurement of biomarkers, but differ in the type of specimens collected, sample processing procedures, shipment protocols, and laboratory assay platforms. The purpose of this study is to harmonize biomarker data from nine nationally representative studies of people 50 years of age and over by adjusting for assay platforms and type of specimens for total cholesterol (total-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and C-reactive protein (CRP).

Methods: Sets of 24 identical serum, plasma, whole blood, and dried blood spot harmonization samples with known analyte levels were generated at a reference laboratory, shipped at -80°C to the respective study laboratories, and subsequently assayed following the study laboratory's protocol.

Everyday discrimination, emotion, and daily interactions during adolescence.

The present study examined whether everyday discrimination relates to the frequency of adolescents' positive and negative daily social interactions and whether these associations are driven by anger and positive emotion. Adolescents (N = 334) participated in a three-wave longitudinal study, in which they completed surveys regarding everyday discrimination, anger, and positive emotion, as well as 15 daily reports of conflict and getting along with friends and family. Higher everyday discrimination was related to more daily conflicts and fewer experiences of getting along with other people.

Gauging treatment impact: The development of exposure variables in a large-scale evaluation study.

While guidance on how to design rigorous evaluation studies abounds, prescriptive guidance on how to include critical process and context measures through the construction of exposure variables is lacking. Capturing nuanced intervention dosage information within a large-scale evaluation is particularly complex. The Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) initiative is part of the Diversity Program Consortium, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health.