Transient, Image-Guided Gel-Dissection for Percutaneous Thermal Ablation.

Image-guided tumor ablative therapies are mainstay cancer treatment options but often require intra-procedural protective tissue displacement to reduce the risk of collateral damage to neighboring organs. Standard of care strategies, such as hydrodissection (fluidic injection), are limited by rapid diffusion of fluid and poor retention time, risking injury to adjacent organs, increasing cancer recurrence rates from incomplete tumor ablations, and limiting patient qualification. Herein, a "gel-dissection" technique is developed, leveraging injectable hydrogels for longer-lasting, shapeable, and transient tissue separation to empower clinicans with improved ablation operation windows and greater control.

Successful outcomes for patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis despite civil unrest and COVID-19 in Haiti.

Globally, treatment outcomes for people with multi-drug/rifampin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB) are sub-optimal, with MDR/RR-TB programs further weakened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in Haiti, by severe civil unrest. We assessed the impact of these disruptions on treatment outcomes at GHESKIO, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. We conducted a retrospective analysis including all adults (age ≥18 years) who initiated MDR/RR-TB treatment at GHESKIO from 2010 to 2020.

Racial disparities in emergency medicine: Implementation of a novel educational module in the emergency medicine clerkship.

Objectives: Despite decades of literature recognizing racial disparities (RDs) in emergency medicine (EM), published curricula dedicated to addressing them are sparse. We present details of our novel RD curriculum for EM clerkships and its educational outcomes.

Methods: We created a 30-min interactive didactic module on the topic designed for third- and fourth-year medical students enrolled in our EM clerkships.

Time to Culture Conversion of Bedaquiline and High-Dose Isoniazid for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis.

Patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis who received regimens containing high-dose isoniazid (INH) had similar time to culture conversion and treatment outcomes as patients who received regimens with bedaquiline. INH is an inexpensive and safe medication that may contribute additive efficacy in combination regimens.

The Man Who Mistook a Hat for His Wife: Case Report of Aortic Dissection Presenting With Acute Hyperfamiliarity for Faces.

Acute aortic dissection is a challenging diagnosis for emergency physicians because of its high mortality and wide range of clinical presentations. We report a case of a previously healthy man who presented with hyperfamiliarity for faces syndrome as the predominant symptom of a large type A aortic dissection diagnosed by computed tomography angiography in the emergency department. Different elements of his presentation suggested possible other diagnoses, including transient global amnesia and transient ischemic attack.

A student-led interprofessional virtual outreach program for people with HIV during the Covid-19 pandemic: a pilot program at an academic medical center in Boston.

Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic caused an abrupt disruption in clinical care and medical education, putting patients at increased risk for social stressors and displacing medical students from traditional clerkships. The pandemic also exposed the need for virtual tools to supplement clinical care and an opportunity to create meaningful roles for learners.

Methods: An interdisciplinary group designed a student-led virtual outreach program for patients with HIV whose care was limited by the pandemic.

Plugging the Leaky Pipeline: The Role of Peer Mentorship for Increasing Diversity.

I arrived to my shift early, nervous about caring for critically ill patients as a first-year fellow. I sat in the workroom alone, paralyzed, not sure how to preround despite being months into fellowship. The senior fellow appeared minutes before sign-out; fresh, knowledgeable, and calm, despite her busy night and lack of sleep.

Curriculum Vitae Workshops: Promoting Transparency in Alpha Omega Alpha While Serving Student Needs.

Objective: To promote equity in the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (AOA) selection process, clear and timely communication of eligibility criteria is needed. Herein, the authors describe and assess the effectiveness of a novel method for improving transparency in the AOA selection process while also teaching students key professional development skills.

Methods: The authors hosted curriculum vitae (CV) workshops for interested medical students.

Type II Endoleak Nidus Volume on Arterial and Delayed Phases of Initial CT Angiography after Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair Predicts Persistent Endoleak and Aneurysm Sac Enlargement.

Purpose: To evaluate type II endoleak nidus volume (ENV) in the arterial phase (ENV) and delayed phase (ENV) of the first postoperative CT angiography (CTA) as a predictor of persistent endoleak and aneurysm sac enlargement at follow-up CTA in patients with endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Materials And Methods: Ninety-three patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 72 years ± 8; range, 56-88 years) with EVAR and type II endoleak were included in a single-institution retrospective study conducted between March 1, 2005, and December 31, 2018. ENV, ENV, change of volume (ENV), and percentage of ENV and ENV in aneurysm sac volume (ASV) (ENV/ASV%, ENV/ASV%, respectively) were measured on first postoperative CTA images.

Creating an Open-Access Educational Radiology Website for Medical Students: A Guide for Radiology Educators.

Rationale And Objectives: Studies of medical school clerkship websites have reported efficient time management, resource utilization, and hands-on activities. We built a website devoted to medical student education in radiology to address student, educator, and school curricular needs and surveyed students to assess their satisfaction with the site.

Materials And Methods: The website was created using an easily-recalled name, no-cost institutional software, and no-cost enterprise-level university hardware.

A Simulation-Based Prospective Cohort Study on Teaching Best Practices in Firearms Safety.

Background: Gun violence in the United States is a significant public health concern. The high rate of weapons carriage by Americans places medical providers at risk for exposure to firearms in the workplace and provides an opportunity for patient safety counseling. Few curricular interventions have been published on teaching firearms safety principles to medical providers.

The Efficacy of Novel Commercial Tourniquet Designs for Extremity Hemorrhage Control: Implications for Spontaneous Responder Every Day Carry.

Introduction: Tourniquets (TQs) save lives. Although military-approved TQs appear more effective than improvised TQs in controlling exsanguinating extremity hemorrhage, their bulk may preclude every day carry (EDC) by civilian lay-providers, limiting availability during emergencies.

Study Objective: The purpose of the current study was to compare the efficacy of three novel commercial TQ designs to a military-approved TQ.

A new approach for IR spectra matching using normalized local change.

Spectra matching is widely used in various applications including the search for a spectrum of an unknown compound in an existing spectral database and quality control by means of comparing the spectra of products with standards. In this article, we present a new approach for calculating the similarities of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of organic compounds. Our method, named normalized local change (NLC) approach, incrementally calculates the spectral similarity based on the local spectral shapes.

Beyond Cervical Length: Association between Postcerclage Transvaginal Ultrasound Parameters and Preterm Birth.

Objective: To assess the value of transvaginal ultrasound parameters after cerclage placement in estimating the risk of spontaneous preterm birth.

Study Design: This is a retrospective cohort at a single tertiary care center from 2013 to 2016. Women carrying a singleton, nonanomalous fetus with cerclage in situ and at least one postcerclage transvaginal ultrasound from 16 to 25 weeks' gestation were included.

Understanding science teachers' implementations of integrated STEM curricular units through a phenomenological multiple case study.

Background: Current reforms in K-12 STEM education call for integration between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Such integration of STEM disciplines at the K-12 level offers students an opportunity to experience learning in real-world, multidisciplinary contexts; however, there is little reported research about teachers' experiences in engaging in integrated STEM instruction. The purpose of this phenomenological multiple case study is to understand nine science teachers' first-time experiences in implementing integrated STEM curricular units in their middle school physical science classrooms.

Iodate and nitrate transformation by Agrobacterium/Rhizobium related strain DVZ35 isolated from contaminated Hanford groundwater.

Nitrate and radioiodine (I) contamination is widespread in groundwater underneath the Central Plateau of the Hanford Site. I, a byproduct of nuclear fission, is of concern due to a 15.7 million year half-life, and toxicity.

Microbial bioproducts from cheese whey through fermentation with wastewater sludge Clostridium isolates.

We demonstrated the production of hydrogen, ethanol, and a variety of acids by several Clostridium species using cheese whey as substrate. These species were isolated from the anaerobic sediments of a municipal wastewater stabilization pond. Eight isolates were obtained and all were classified taxonomically as Clostridium spp.

Effect of coagulant/flocculants on bioproducts from microalgae.

The potential of microalgae as a source of sustainable energy, nutritional supplements and specialized chemicals necessitates a thorough evaluation of the methods of harvesting microalgae with regards to the bioproduct(s) desired. This research assessed the effect of coagulation, flocculation, and centrifugation on the wet lipid extraction procedure, which fractionated microalgae into hydrolyzed biomass for fermentation into acetone, butanol, and ethanol, an aqueous phase as growth media for genetically engineered Escherichia coli, and a lipid fraction for the production of biodiesel. Biomass harvested by cationic starches, alum, and centrifugation produced 30, 19, and 22.

Monitoring microbial diversity of bioreactors using metagenomic approaches.

With the rapid development of molecular techniques, particularly 'omics' technologies, the field of microbial ecology is growing rapidly. The applications of next generation sequencing have allowed researchers to produce massive amounts of genetic data on individual microbes, providing information about microbial communities and their interactions through in situ and in vitro measurements. The ability to identify novel microbes, functions, and enzymes, along with developing an understanding of microbial interactions and functions, is necessary for efficient production of useful and high value products in bioreactors.

A simple technique to measure the magnetic susceptibility of liquids.

A novel technique for measuring the magnetic susceptibility of liquids with modest applied magnetic fields (order of 0.25 T) is presented. The deformation of the liquid surface by a magnetic field is determined by a laser bounce or optical lever technique.

Acetone, butanol, and ethanol production from wastewater algae.

Acetone, butanol, and ethanol (ABE) fermentation by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 using wastewater algae biomass as a carbon source was demonstrated. Algae from the Logan City Wastewater Lagoon system grow naturally at high rates providing an abundant source of renewable algal biomass. Batch fermentations were performed with 10% algae as feedstock.

Thermostable and Alkalistable Xylanases Produced by the Thermophilic Bacterium Anoxybacillus flavithermus TWXYL3.

With the rising cost and finite supply of fossil energy, there is an increasing economic incentive for the development of clean, efficient, and renewable domestic energy. The activities of microorganisms offer the potential conversion of lignocellulosic materials into fermentable sugars, usable for downstream fermentation processes. Strain TWXYL3, a thermophilic facultative anaerobe, was discovered in the Alvord Basin hydrothermal system in Oregon, USA.

Characterization of a Methanogenic Community within an Algal Fed Anaerobic Digester.

The microbial diversity and metabolic potential of a methanogenic consortium residing in a 3785-liter anaerobic digester, fed with wastewater algae, was analyzed using 454 pyrosequencing technology. DNA was extracted from anaerobic sludge material and used in metagenomic analysis through PCR amplification of the methyl-coenzyme M reductase α subunit (mcrA) gene using primer sets ML, MCR, and ME. The majority of annotated mcrA sequences were assigned taxonomically to the genera Methanosaeta in the order Methanosarcinales.