Mechanically compliant locking plates for diaphyseal fracture fixation: A biomechanical study.

Axial micromotion between bone fragments can stimulate callus formation and fracture healing. In this study, we propose a novel mechanically compliant locking plate which achieves up to 0.6 mm of interfragmentary motion as flexures machined into the plate elastically deflect under physiological load.

Examining Social Identities of Patient Diversity Through Cases Presented in a Therapeutics Course Series.

In pharmacy education, considerable debate surrounds the decision about whether didactic cases should include social identities, such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, spirituality, nationality, and socioeconomic status. In considering what and how much of these identities to include, the first step could be to measure their current inclusion. This study aimed to quantify the presence of these social identities in cases presented to student pharmacists in a three-semester course series.

Incidence of a negative hidden curriculum, cynicism, and burnout within pharmacy resident education: A nationwide survey.

Introduction: The term "hidden curriculum" (HC) is a set of ethical, moral, and value-based teachings communicated in a non-explicit manner. Recent literature has described increasing awareness of the prevalence of the HC and potential negative impact on medical learners; however, this information is lacking in pharmacy resident education. Consequently, we conducted a survey study of United States pharmacy residents to learn their perceptions concerning the HC in pharmacy residency training.

Possible dulaglutide-associated cholecystitis with safe continuation post cholecystectomy.

Purpose: Possible dulaglutide-induced cholecystitis, with successful resumption of dulaglutide after cholecystectomy, is discussed.

Summary: A 72-year-old White man was started on dulaglutide for outpatient management of type 2 diabetes, in addition to his existing antihyperglycemic regimen of metformin, glipizide, pioglitazone, and insulin glargine. His glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) concentration improved from 8.

Possible apixaban-induced leukocytoclastic vasculitis.

Purpose: The development of leukocytoclastic vasculitis (LCV) during apixaban therapy in a female patient being treated for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is reported.

Summary: A 74-year-old Caucasian woman weighing 102 kg presented to a walk-in clinic with complaints of mild pain and swelling in her left leg for 2 weeks. She was diagnosed as having left lower-extremity DVT.

Baby Boomers and Birth Certificates: Early-Life Socioeconomic Status and Cancer Risk in Adulthood.

Background: Early-life socioeconomic status (SES) may play a role in cancer risk in adulthood. However, measuring SES retrospectively presents challenges. Parental occupation on the birth certificate is a novel method of ascertaining early-life SES that has not been applied in cancer epidemiology.

Evolution of postural diversity in primates as reflected by the size and shape of the medial tibial facet of the talus.

Objectives: Comprehensive quantification of the shape and proportions of the medial tibial facet (MTF) of the talus (=astragalus) has been lacking for Primates and their closest relatives. In this study, aspects of MTF form were quantified and employed to test hypotheses about their functional and phylogenetic significance. The following hypotheses influence perceptions of primate evolutionary history but are due for more rigorous assessment: 1) A relatively large MTF distinguishes "prosimians" (strepsirrhines and tarsiers) from anthropoids and non-primate euarchontans; 2) the distinctive form of the "prosimian" MTF is a correlate of locomotor tendencies that emphasize use of vertical and small diameter supports in conjunction with inverted, abducted foot postures; and 3) the "prosimian" MTF form arose along the primate stem lineage and was present in the euprimate common ancestor.

Use of low-dose prothrombin complex concentrate before lumbar puncture.

Purpose: The use of an off-label dose of four-factor prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) for International Normalized Ratio (INR) reversal in a patient before a diagnostic lumbar puncture is reported.

Summary: A 57-year-old, 122-kg man arrived at the hospital with a possible diagnosis of meningitis and had an INR of >3 while on warfarin therapy. The patient initiated warfarin therapy in 2009 due to recurrent deep vein thrombosis.

Rural - urban inequalities in late-stage breast cancer: spatial and social dimensions of risk and access.

Rural - urban inequalities in health and access to health care have long been of concern in health-policy formulation. Understanding these inequalities is critically important in efforts to plan a more effective geographical distribution of public health resources and programs. Socially and ethnically diverse populations are likely to exhibit different rural - urban gradients in health and well-being because of their varying experiences of place environments, yet little is known about the interplay between social and spatial inequalities.

Adenosine acts through A2 receptors to inhibit IL-2-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT5 in T lymphocytes: role of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate and phosphatases.

Adenosine is a purine nucleoside with immunosuppressive activity that acts through cell surface receptors (A(1), A(2a), A(2b), A(3)) on responsive cells such as T lymphocytes. IL-2 is a major T cell growth and survival factor that is responsible for inducing Jak1, Jak3, and STAT5 phosphorylation, as well as causing STAT5 to translocate to the nucleus and bind regulatory elements in the genome. In this study, we show that adenosine suppressed IL-2-dependent proliferation of CTLL-2 T cells by inhibiting STAT5a/b tyrosine phosphorylation that is associated with IL-2R signaling without affecting IL-2-induced phosphorylation of Jak1 or Jak3.

Adenosine inhibits activation-induced T cell expression of CD2 and CD28 co-stimulatory molecules: role of interleukin-2 and cyclic AMP signaling pathways.

Adenosine is an immunosuppressive molecule that is associated with the microenvironment of solid tumors. Mouse T cells activated with anti-CD3 antibody in the presence of adenosine with or without coformycin (to prevent adenosine breakdown by adenosine deaminase) exhibited decreased tyrosine phosphorylation of some intracellular proteins and were inhibited in their ability to proliferate and synthesize interleukin (IL)-2. In addition, adenosine interfered with activation-induced expression of the co-stimulatory molecules CD2 and CD28.

Development of an interleukin-12-deficient mouse model that is permissive for colonization by a motile KE26695 strain of Helicobacter pylori.

The identification of genes associated with colonization and persistence of Helicobacter pylori in the gastric mucosa has been limited by the lack of robust animal models that support infection by strains whose genomes have been completely sequenced. Here we report that an interleukin-12 (IL-12)-deficient mouse (IL-12(-/-) p40 subunit knockout in C57BL/6 mouse) is permissive for infection by a motile variant (KE88-3887) of The Institute For Genomic Research-sequenced strain (KE26695) of H. pylori.

Activation-induced expression of cell surface CD28 on mouse T lymphocytes is inhibited by cyclosporine A.

T-cell activation requires both T-cell receptor signaling and a costimulatory signal provided by CD28 which enhances and prolongs interleukin-2 (IL-2) production. To determine the effect of cyclosporine A (CsA) on constitutive and activation-induced CD28 expression, mouse T cells were exposed to CsA (0.1 microM) in the absence or presence of anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody (mAb).

Adenosine acts through an A3 receptor to prevent the induction of murine anti-CD3-activated killer T cells.

Adenosine, a purine nucleoside found at high levels in solid tumors, is able to suppress the recognition/adhesion and effector phases of killer lymphocyte-mediated tumor cell destruction. Here, we demonstrate that adenosine, at concentrations that are typically present in the extracellular fluid of solid tumors, exerts a profound inhibitory effect on the induction of mouse cytotoxic T cells, without substantially affecting T-cell viability. T-cell proliferation in response to mitogenic anti-CD3 antibody was impaired in the presence of 10 microM adenosine (plus coformycin to inhibit endogenous adenosine deaminase).