Oxytocin levels in response to CRH administration in hypopituitarism and hypothalamic damage: a randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled trial.

Increasing evidence supports the presence of oxytocin deficiency (OXT-D) in patients with hypopituitarism and hypothalamic damage (HHD), that might be associated with neuropsychological deficits and sexual dysfunction, leading to worse quality of life (QoL). Therefore, identifying a provocative test to diagnose an OXT-D will be important. Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) is a candidate for such a test as it increases oxytocin secretion in animal models.

Spatial variability and context-dependence of fouling communities in recreational marinas: A study in the Western Mediterranean with a focus on non-indigenous species (NIS).

Fouling communities were studied in twenty-six recreational marinas located along the continental and island coasts of Tuscany as well as Corsica (Western Mediterranean), focusing on the occurrence of non-indigenous species (NIS), in order to assess the variability of these assemblages at different spatial scales. Among the 560 taxa identified, 32 were alien or cryptogenic, with six new records for the study area. Results of this survey showed remarkable spatial variability of fouling community structure and NIS assemblage i) between marinas located on the mainland with respect to those on the islands (sectors), ii) among marinas within the same sector, and iii) among areas within the most of marinas.

Physician Tenure and Clinical Productivity for Internal and External Hires: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: New employees generally demonstrate lower productivity than experienced colleagues in non-healthcare sectors, but there is limited evidence on how tenure affects physician productivity.

Objective: To evaluate the association between tenure and clinical productivity for attending physicians in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and explore whether this relationship differs by prior VHA residency or fellowship training.

Design: Retrospective cohort evaluation.

Loss of Heterozygosity (LOH) Affecting HLA Genes in Breast Cancer: Clinical Relevance and Therapeutic Opportunities.

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class-I molecules (or Human Leucocyte Antigen class-I) play a key role in adaptive immunity against cancer. They present specific tumor neoantigens to cytotoxic T cells and provoke an antitumor cytotoxic response. The total or partial loss of HLA molecules can inhibit the immune system's ability to detect and destroy cancer cells.

Veterans May Be Seeing Lower-Quality Clinicians In The VHA Community Care Network.

With the rapid expansion of veterans' access to community care under the Veterans Affairs Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (VA MISSION) Act of 2018, ensuring that veterans receive high-quality community care has become a national priority. Using Veterans Health Administration (VHA) data and Medicare performance scores, we assessed how clinicians' performance on quality measures differed between those who treated veterans within the VHA Community Care Network and those who did not. We found that in 2022, 66.