Relative Effectiveness of MF59 Adjuvanted Trivalent Influenza Vaccine vs Nonadjuvanted Vaccines During the 2019-2020 Influenza Season.

Background: Age-related immunosenescence may impair the immune response to vaccination in older adults. Adjuvanted influenza vaccines are designed to overcome immune senescence in older adults. This study estimated the relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of MF59-adjuvanted trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (aIIV3) vs egg-derived quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV4e) and high-dose trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (HD-IIV3) in preventing influenza-related medical encounters in the 2019-2020 US season.

Relative Effectiveness of Adjuvanted Trivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccine Versus Egg-derived Quadrivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccines and High-dose Trivalent Influenza Vaccine in Preventing Influenza-related Medical Encounters in US Adults ≥ 65 Years During the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 Influenza Seasons.

Background: The effectiveness of standard, egg-derived quadrivalent influenza vaccines (IIV4) may be reduced in adults ≥65 years of age, largely because of immunosenescence. An MF59-adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (aIIV3) and a high-dose trivalent influenza vaccine (HD-IIV3) offer older adults enhanced protection versus standard vaccines. This study compared the relative effectiveness of aIIV3 with IIV4 and HD-IIV3 in preventing influenza-related medical encounters over 2 US influenza seasons.

Relative Effectiveness of the Cell-derived Inactivated Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine Versus Egg-derived Inactivated Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccines in Preventing Influenza-related Medical Encounters During the 2018-2019 Influenza Season in the United States.

Background: The cell-propagated inactivated quadrivalent influenza vaccine (ccIIV4) may offer improved protection in seasons where egg-derived influenza viruses undergo mutations that affect antigenicity. This study estimated the relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of ccIIV4 versus egg-derived inactivated quadrivalent influenza vaccine (eIIV4) in preventing influenza-related medical encounters in the 2018-2019 US season.

Methods: A dataset linking primary care electronic medical records with medical claims data was used to conduct a retrospective cohort study among individuals ≥ 4 years old vaccinated with ccIIV4 or eIIV4 during the 2018-2019 season.

Glycemic Control Among Patients Newly Prescribed IDegLira Across Prior Therapy Group in US Real-World Practice.

Introduction: IDegLira is a fixed-ratio combination of insulin degludec and liraglutide indicated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We report the first real-world study describing change in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) among US patients who initiated IDegLira. The aim of the study was to observe and describe changes in glycemic control and weight in patients initiating IDegLira in real-world clinical practice.

Separation of microbial oil produced by Mortierella isabellina using polymeric membranes.

The objective of this work was to concentrate, through a membrane separation process, the fatty acids from oil/solvent mixture. The oil was obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction from freeze-dried cells of Mortierella isabellina. The concentration of the fatty acids was investigated using flat-sheet polymer membranes of ultrafiltration and nanofiltration.

Small molecule inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 enhances bone marrow progenitor cell function and angiogenesis in diabetic wounds.

In diabetes, stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) expression and progenitor cell recruitment are reduced. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibits SDF-1 expression and progenitor cell recruitment. Here we examined the impact of the DPP-4 inhibitor, MK0626, on progenitor cell kinetics in the context of wound healing.

Learning How to Ask: Women and Negotiation.

Women are less likely to reach top-level leadership positions, and more likely to leave academic positions, than men, and are likely to earn less money than men. Women are also less likely to initiate a negotiation-a process that is crucial for professional advancement. This reluctance to ask hinders their advancement and can have long-lasting consequences-both financial and professional.

Double-Chamber Tissue Expanders Optimize Lower Pole Expansion in Immediate Breast Reconstruction Requiring Adjuvant Radiation Therapy.

Introduction: Tissue expander-based reconstruction in the irradiated breast has been associated with significant complications, including infection, skin breakdown and implant extrusion, and poor aesthetic outcome. These complications may be attributed to inadequate lower pole expansion causing increased pressure on the suture line. Achieving and maintaining adequate lower pole expansion in the reconstructed breast requiring adjuvant radiation therapy may reduce the pressure/strain on the suture line and preserve the natural appearance of the breast.

Fibroblast-Specific Deletion of Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1 Critically Impairs Murine Cutaneous Neovascularization and Wound Healing.

Background: Diabetes and aging are known risk factors for impaired neovascularization in response to ischemic insult, resulting in chronic wounds, and poor outcomes following myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular injury. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, has been identified as a critical regulator of the response to ischemic injury and is dysfunctional in diabetic and elderly patients. To better understand the role of this master hypoxia regulator within cutaneous tissue, the authors generated and evaluated a fibroblast-specific HIF-1α knockout mouse model.

Complications of common hand and wrist surgery procedures: flexor and extensor tendon surgery.

Orthopaedic and hand surgeons frequently treat disorders of the flexor and extensor tendon systems. Common conditions, such as trigger finger, de Quervain tenosynovitis, extensor tendon injury, and zone II flexor tendon injury, can be challenging to treat. Complications that limit normal hand function still occur despite advances in surgical techniques and therapy protocols.

Essential hand surgery procedures for mastery by graduating plastic surgery residents: a survey of program directors.

Background: This study was designed to establish the essential hand surgery procedures that should be mastered by graduating plastic surgery residents. This framework can then be used as a guideline for developing Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill to teach technical skills in hand surgery.

Methods: Ten expert hand surgeons were surveyed regarding the essential hand surgery procedures that should be mastered by graduating plastic surgery residents.

Essential hand surgery procedures for mastery by graduating orthopedic surgery residents: a survey of program directors.

Purpose: To establish the essential hand surgery procedures that should be mastered by graduating orthopedic surgery residents. This framework can then be used as a guideline for developing an Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill to teach and document technical skill in hand surgery.

Methods: A select group of 10 expert hand surgeons was surveyed regarding the essential hand surgery procedures that should be mastered by graduating orthopedic surgery residents.

The p25 subunit of the dynactin complex is required for dynein-early endosome interaction.

Cytoplasmic dynein transports various cellular cargoes including early endosomes, but how dynein is linked to early endosomes is unclear. We find that the Aspergillus nidulans orthologue of the p25 subunit of dynactin is critical for dynein-mediated early endosome movement but not for dynein-mediated nuclear distribution. In the absence of NUDF/LIS1, p25 deletion abolished the localization of dynein-dynactin to the hyphal tip where early endosomes abnormally accumulate but did not prevent dynein-dynactin localization to microtubule plus ends.

Robotic single-incision transabdominal and transvaginal surgery: initial experience with intersecting robotic arms.

Background: Single-incision laparoscopic and natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) are technically challenging methods. Robotics might have the potential to overcome such hurdles with computer technology.

Methods: The da Vinci Standard and S System (Intuitive, Sunnyvale, USA) were used in human cadavers and pigs to perform single-incision transabdominal and transvaginal surgery.

Endothelial differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells: effects of endothelial cell growth supplement and shear force.

Background: Adipose tissue is a readily available source of multipotent adult stem cells for use in tissue engineering/regenerative medicine. Various growth factors have been used to stimulate acquisition of endothelial characteristics by adipose-derived stem cells (ASC). Herein we study the effects of endothelial cell growth supplement (ECGS) and physiological shear force on the differentiation of ASC into endothelial cells.

Transrectal endoscopic retrorectal access (TERA): a novel NOTES approach to the peritoneal cavity.

Background: As the field of natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) expands, new access sites are being investigated. One access site to the peritoneal cavity, which has not been the subject of much investigation, is transrectal access. The aim of this article is to describe a new method to peritoneal access: transrectal endoscopic retrorectal access (TERA).

Hatching of Echinostoma trivolvis miracidia in response to snail host and non-host chemical cues.

Environmental cues are used by many organisms to time life history transitions and can be important for trematode host location. However, while much is understood about how larval trematodes locate hosts, much less is known about the potential role of host cues in the timing of trematode egg development and hatching. We addressed the potential role of host chemical cues in mediating hatching of Echinostoma trivolvis miracidia by comparing hatching in response to cues from the first intermediate host (the snail Planorbella trivolvis), a non-host snail (the snail Goniobasis proxima), and a non-host invertebrate (earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris).

Development of a tissue-engineered bypass graft seeded with stem cells.

The gold standard conduit for bypass of diseased small-diameter arteries remains autologous vascular tissue. In the absence of such tissue, patients are offered bypass with prosthetic material, with far less durable results. Vascular tissue engineering, the creation of a vascular conduit by seeding a tubular scaffold with various cells, may offer an alternative approach to this difficult situation.