MyCap: a flexible and configurable platform for mobilizing the participant voice.

This paper provides a description of the MyCap data collection platform, utilization metrics, and vignettes associated with use from diverse research institutions. MyCap is a participant-facing mobile application for survey data collection and the automated administration of active tasks (activities performed by participants using mobile device sensors under semi-controlled conditions). Launched in 2018, MyCap is a no-code solution for research teams conducting longitudinal studies, integrates tightly with REDCap and is available at no cost to research teams at academic, nonprofit, or government organizations.

Tackling the "so what" problem in scientific research: a systems-based approach to resource and publication tracking.

Peer-reviewed publications are one measure of scientific productivity. From a project, program, or institutional perspective, publication tracking provides the quantitative data necessary to guide the prudent stewardship of federal, foundation, and institutional investments by identifying the scientific return for the types of support provided. In this article, the authors describe the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research's (VICTR's) development and implementation of a semiautomated process through which publications are automatically detected in PubMed and adjudicated using a "just-in-time" workflow by a known pool of researchers (from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Meharry Medical College) who receive support from Vanderbilt's Clinical and Translational Science Award.

Cardiac tumors in a tertiary care cancer hospital: clinical features, echocardiographic findings, treatment and outcomes.

Cardiac tumors are a rare entity, comprised of tumors with diverse histology and natural history. We report the clinical characteristics, echocardiograhic findings, therapy and outcome of 59 patients with primary and metastatic cardiac tumors. Our institutional echocardiogram data base from 1993 through 2005 was reviewed to identify patients diagnosed with intra-cardiac tumor.

Preoperative microvascular dysfunction: a prospective, observational study expanding risk assessment strategies in major thoracic surgery.

Background: Brachial artery reactivity testing (BART)--a surrogate test of microvascular function--predicts cardiac risk in the nonsurgical population and associates it with adverse outcome after vascular surgery. This pilot study investigated BART-derived variables, including flow-mediated dilation (FMD), in preoperative risk stratification for major thoracic surgery.

Methods: After institutional review board approval, BART was performed in 63 patients before major thoracic surgery.

Management and outcomes of severe aortic stenosis in cancer patients.

Background: Aortic stenosis (AS) is the commonest native valve lesion, affecting 43% of all patients with valvular heart disease. The optimal treatment of severe AS in cancer patients is unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of aortic valve replacement (AVR) on survival of cancer patients with severe AS.