A Randomized, Controlled Trial of In-Hospital Use of Virtual Reality to Reduce Preoperative Anxiety Prior to Cardiac Surgery.

Objective: To study the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) in reducing anxiety levels in patients undergoing first-time sternotomy for cardiac surgery.

Patients And Methods: A total of 100 adult patients scheduled for cardiac surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA, was recruited from April 19, 2022, to October 12, 2022. Before surgery, patients wore a physiological monitor to record vital signs.

Demystifying the art of isotope-enabled hydrological and climate modelling.

Over the last 20 years, we have dramatically improved hydrometeorological data including isotopes, but are we making the most of this data? Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in the water molecule (stable water isotopes - SWI) are well known tracers of the global hydrological cycle producing critical climate science. Despite this, stable water isotopes are not explicitly included in influential climate reports (e.g.

Enhanced Accumulation and Penetration of Magnetic Nanoclusters in Tumors Using an 8-Magnet Halbach Array Leads to Improved Cancer Treatment.

Nanoparticles have gained attention as drug delivery vehicles for cancer treatment, but often struggle with poor tumor accumulation and penetration. Single external magnets can enhance magnetic nanoparticle delivery but are limited to superficial tumors due to the rapid decline in the magnetic field strength with distance. We previously showed that a 2-magnet device could extend targeting to greater tissue depths.

Resolution of selective fetal growth restriction after laser surgery for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome can be predicted by predisease growth discordance.

Objective: To determine if the resolution of fetal growth discordance after laser surgery in pregnancies with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) and coexisting selective fetal growth restriction (sFGR) can be predicted by estimated fetal weight (EFW) discordance recorded prior to the development of TTTS (pre-TTTS).

Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on monochorionic twins with concurrent TTTS and sFGR that underwent laser surgery and had available growth ultrasound records from a pre-TTTS ultrasound evaluation. Maternal demographics, pregnancy characteristics and birth outcomes were compared between three outcome groups: double twin survival with resolved sFGR determined by birth weight discordance (BWD) < 20%; double twin survival with ongoing sFGR determined by BWD ≥ 20%; and single or double fetal demise after laser surgery.