Melanoma toolkit for early detection for primary care clinicians: a 1-year follow-up on outcomes.

Introduction: Primary care providers or clinicians (PCPs) have the potential to assist dermatologists in screening patients at risk for skin cancer, but require training to appropriately identify higher-risk patients, perform skin checks, recognize and biopsy concerning lesions, interpret pathology results, document the exam, and bill for the service. Very few validated dermatology training programs exist for PCPs and those that are available focus primarily on one emphasis area, which results in variable efficacy and single-topic limited scope.

Methods: We have created a free, online, continuing education program (Melanoma Toolkit for Early Detection, MTED) that allows learners to choose from a variety of multimedia tools (image recognition, videos, written material, in-person seminars, self-tests, etc.

The skinny on skin: The role of skin-aware professionals in skin cancer surveillance.

Licensed nonmedical, skin-aware professionals (e.g., hairdressers, massage therapists, etc.

Utilizing a Virtual Reality Matrix in Medical Education.

Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging technology that has demonstrated incredible value within medical education. However, medical institutions adopting VR as a learning tool need to ensure that the immersive technology product they pick possesses standard usability criteria. The current literature is limited in defining what specific criteria institutions should look for, or how to select between various VR products.

Exploring the adoption of water quality trading as an alternative stormwater regulatory compliance strategy for land development projects: A case study for Roanoke, Virginia.

Urban stormwater runoff is a significant source of nutrient pollution that is very costly to treat. Water quality trading (WQT) is a market-based strategy that can be used to lower the costs associated with meeting stormwater quality regulations. While many WQT programs have experienced low participation, Virginia's program has seen high participation due to the inclusion of land developers and other regulated stormwater dischargers.

Neuropil Variation in the Prefrontal, Motor, and Visual Cortex of Six Felids.

Introduction: Felids have evolved a specialized suite of morphological adaptations for obligate carnivory. Although the musculoskeletal anatomy of the Felidae has been studied extensively, the comparative neuroanatomy of felids is relatively unexplored. Little is known about how variation in the cerebral anatomy of felids relates to species-specific differences in sociality, hunting strategy, or activity patterns.

Utility of tele-guidance for point-of-care ultrasound: a single center prospective diagnostic study.

Background: Point-of-care-ultrasound (POCUS) improves diagnostic accuracy and expedites lifesaving procedures. Remote areas disproportionately underuse ultrasound (US) due to a dearth of US trained professionals, imaging tools, and lack of quality assurance. Handheld US probes have been approved for diagnostic imaging but there have been limited studies examining their tele-guidance features.

Examining the Role of Estheticians in Skin Cancer Surveillance.

Background: Melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer are significant causes of mortality. Previous studies regarding skin cancer education in nonmedical professionals have shown increases in favorable attitudes and likelihood of approaching clients about concerning lesions with training. However, few studies have investigated the use of estheticians in skin cancer screening.

Methodological challenges and new perspectives of shifting vegetation phenology in eddy covariance data.

While numerous studies report shifts in vegetation phenology, in this regard eddy covariance (EC) data, despite its continuous high-frequency observations, still requires further exploration. Furthermore, there is no general consensus on optimal methodologies for data smoothing and extracting phenological transition dates (PTDs). Here, we revisit existing methodologies and present new prospects to investigate phenological changes in gross primary productivity (GPP) from EC measurements.

Melanoma literacy among the general population of three western US states.

Melanoma is a significant cause of cancer death, despite being detectable without specialized or invasive technologies. Understanding barriers to preventive behaviors such as skin self-examination (SSE) could help to define interventions for increasing the frequency of early detection. To determine melanoma knowledge and beliefs across three high-incidence US states, 15,000 surveys were sent to a population-representative sample.

Assessing and improving the outcomes of nonpoint source water quality trading policies in urban areas: A case study in Virginia.

Nonpoint source (NPS) water quality trading (WQT) is a market-based approach to improving water quality. Past work has shown that these programs could increase localized pollutant loadings, in part by exporting water quality controls from urban to rural areas. Virginia's NPS WQT program has enabled thousands of transactions and may provide a model for other programs, but its impacts on urban water quality have not been thoroughly assessed.

Biomechanical Comparison of Two Surgical Repair Techniques of the Distal Biceps Tendon.

Purpose: This study aimed to characterize the relationship between the distal biceps tendon force and the supination and flexion rotations during the initiation phase and to compare the functional efficiency of anatomic versus nonanatomic repairs.

Methods: Seven matched pairs of fresh-frozen cadaver arms were dissected to expose the humerus and elbow while preserving the biceps brachii, elbow joint capsule, and distal radioulnar soft tissue complex. For each pair, the distal biceps tendon was severed with a scalpel and then repaired with bone tunnels placed at either the anterior (anatomic) or the posterior (nonanatomic) aspect of the bicipital tuberosity on the proximal radius.

Assessing the Fate of Dissolved Organic Compounds in Landfill Leachate and Wastewater Treatment Systems.

Landfill leachate and municipal wastewater are major sources of chemical pollutants that contaminate our drinking water sources. Evaluating the dissolved organic chemical composition in wastewater treatment plants is therefore essential to understand how the discharge impacts the environment, wildlife, and human health. In this study, we utilized a nontargeted analysis method coupling liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to analyze chemical features at different points along two landfill leachate treatment plants (LLTPs) and two municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the Southeastern United States.

The structures that shape news consumption: Evidence from the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Researchers and practitioners increasingly believe that journalism must improve its relationship with audiences to increase the likelihood that people will consume and support news. In this paper, we argue that this assumption overlooks the importance of structural- and individual-level factors in shaping news audience behavior. Drawing on Giddens' theory of structuration, we suggest that, when it comes to the amount of time that people devote to news, consumers' choices are guided more by life circumstances than by news preferences.

Powassan Virus Induces Structural Changes in Human Neuronal Cells In Vitro and Murine Neurons In Vivo.

Powassan virus (POWV) is a tick-borne flavivirus (TBFV) that can cause severe encephalitis in humans with a case-fatality rate as high as 11%. Patients who survive severe encephalitic disease can develop long-term neurological sequelae that can be debilitating and life-long. In this study, we have sought to characterize a primary human fetal brain neural stem cell system (hNSC), which can be differentiated into neuron and astrocyte co-cultures, to serve as a translational in vitro system for infection with POWV and a comparative mosquito-borne flavivirus (MBFV), West Nile virus (WNV).

A complex genetic architecture underlies mandibular evolution in big mice from Gough Island.

Some of the most compelling examples of morphological evolution come from island populations. Alterations in the size and shape of the mandible have been repeatedly observed in murid rodents following island colonization. Despite this pattern and the significance of the mandible for dietary adaptation, the genetic basis of island-mainland divergence in mandibular form remains uninvestigated.

Herpes Zoster Presenting As Cutaneous Vasculitis in the Upper Extremity.

The varicella-zoster virus (VZV), a member of the Herpesviridae family (HHV-3), is the pathogen responsible for causing herpes zoster, the skin eruption known as shingles. This report describes a rare presentation of herpes zoster involving cutaneous vasculitis in the unilateral upper extremity in an immunocompetent patient. Histologic evaluation confirmed a diagnosis of leukocytoclastic vasculitis and yielded a positive VZV immunoperoxidase stain.

A remote sensing-based three-source energy balance model to improve global estimations of evapotranspiration in semi-arid tree-grass ecosystems.

It is well documented that energy balance and other remote sensing-based evapotranspiration (ET) models face greater uncertainty over water-limited tree-grass ecosystems (TGEs), representing nearly 1/6th of the global land surface. Their dual vegetation strata, the grass-dominated understory and tree-dominated overstory, make for distinct structural, physiological and phenological characteristics, which challenge models compared to more homogeneous and energy-limited ecosystems. Along with this, the contribution of grasses and trees to total transpiration (T), along with their different climatic drivers, is still largely unknown nor quantified in TGEs.

The three major axes of terrestrial ecosystem function.

The leaf economics spectrum and the global spectrum of plant forms and functions revealed fundamental axes of variation in plant traits, which represent different ecological strategies that are shaped by the evolutionary development of plant species. Ecosystem functions depend on environmental conditions and the traits of species that comprise the ecological communities. However, the axes of variation of ecosystem functions are largely unknown, which limits our understanding of how ecosystems respond as a whole to anthropogenic drivers, climate and environmental variability.

Virtual Reality after Surgery-A Method to Decrease Pain After Surgery in Pediatric Patients.

Background: Virtual Reality (VR) is used as an effective tool for distraction and as an adjunct for pain management. This study was conducted to compare VR to standard iPad use after surgery and examine its effect on pain score and opioid consumption.

Methods: This was a randomized controlled study, with stratification by surgery type, age group (7-12yo, 13-18yo) and gender.

Nonpoint Source Water Quality Trading outcomes: Landscape-scale patterns and integration with watershed management priorities.

Nonpoint source (NPS) water quality trading (WQT) has been lauded as a way to reduce water pollution while mitigating costs, but NPS WQT programs often do not account for cumulative landscape-scale impacts to hydrological and ecological processes. In this work, we parameterize the landscape-scale patterns of an emerging NPS WQT market in Virginia (n = 606 transactions) and describe potential tradeoffs and synergies. We also examine program outcomes in the context of Virginia's spatially-explicit conservation and restoration priorities, and discuss ways in which NPS WQT integrates or fails to integrate with these state-level watershed management goals.