Expanded roles and divergent regulation of FAMA in Brachypodium and Arabidopsis stomatal development.

Stomata, cellular valves found on the surfaces of aerial plant tissues, present a paradigm for studying cell fate and patterning in plants. A highly conserved core set of related basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors regulates stomatal development across diverse species. We characterized BdFAMA in the temperate grass Brachypodium distachyon and found this late-acting transcription factor was necessary and sufficient for specifying stomatal guard cell fate, and unexpectedly, could also induce the recruitment of subsidiary cells in the absence of its paralogue, BdMUTE.

Combined Medicine-Pediatrics Fellowships: A Guide for Fellowship Directors and Residents.

Dual training in Internal Medicine-Pediatrics (MedPeds) was recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties in 1967. Residents complete 24 months each in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and are board-eligible for both at the conclusion of training. Graduates are eligible for fellowships in either or both fields.

Rheumatology Milestones 2.0: A Roadmap for Competency-Based Medical Training of Rheumatology Fellows in the 21st Century.

Objective: Since 2014, rheumatology fellows have been assessed not only based on their ability to provide patient care and possession of medical knowledge but also on their skill in serving as patient advocates, navigators of health systems, and members of a health care team. Such assessments have been carried out through the use of competency-based milestones from the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). However, a needs assessment has demonstrated interest in more context validity and subspecialty relevance since the development of the ACGME internal medicine (IM) subspecialty reporting milestones.

Stomatal development in the grasses: lessons from models and crops (and crop models).

When plants emerged from their aquatic origins to colonise land, they needed to avoid desiccation while still enabling gas and water exchange with the environment. The solution was the development of a waxy cuticle interrupted by epidermal pores, known as stomata. Despite the importance of stomata in plant physiology and their contribution to global water and carbon cycles, our knowledge of the genetic basis of stomatal development is limited mostly to the model dicot, Arabidopsis thaliana.

Grass stomata.

Stomata are adjustable valves through which gas and water exchange occur in plant leaves. Here, McKown and Bergmann highlight the essential function and features of stomata from grasses.

What skills should new internal medicine interns have in july? A national survey of internal medicine residency program directors.

Problem: The transition from medical student to intern may cause stress and burnout in new interns and the delivery of suboptimal patient care. Despite a formal set of subinternship curriculum guidelines, program directors have expressed concern regarding the skill set of new interns and the lack of standardization in that skill set among interns from different medical schools. To address these issues, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's Next Accreditation System focuses on the development of a competency-based education continuum spanning undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education.

Genetic mixed-stock analysis of Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus in a heavily exploited marine habitat indicates the need for routine genetic monitoring.

Although a previous genetic mixed-stock analysis (gMSA) conducted in the early 1990s showed that marine-captured New York Bight Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus almost exclusively originated from the Hudson River, fish from southern U.S. rivers were well represented within this contemporary sample (n = 364 fish), at least during the autumn.

Antisynthetase syndrome presenting as rheumatoid-like polyarthritis.

Background: The antisynthetase syndrome is a systemic inflammatory disease associated with anti-tRNA synthetase antibodies and consisting of the clinical features of inflammatory myopathy arthritis, interstitial lung disease (ILD), fever, Raynaud syndrome, and rash. It rarely presents with symmetric arthritis as the initial manifestation of the disease.

Objective: The aim of the study was to describe the clinical, laboratory, and radiographic characteristics of patients with antisynthetase syndrome who presented with symptoms of inflammatory arthritis, mimicking rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at the time of initial evaluation.

Outcome measurements in scleroderma: results from a delphi exercise.

Objective: To obtain a consensus on the minimal clinically relevant treatment effect in various scleroderma disease outcome measures to be used in future clinical trials.

Methods: A Delphi consensus building exercise using a survey was sent out to members of the Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium (SCTC). The 65 SCTC members were divided into 2 groups.

Myasthenia gravis in a patient with pauciarticular juvenile chronic arthritis.

There have been reported cases of children with histories of pauciarticular juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) later developing myasthenia gravis (MG) as young adults. This is intriguing because it had been considered rare to diagnose a second autoimmune disease in a patient with pauciarticular JCA, unlike in those with adult-onset rheumatoid arthritis. We report a case of MG in a 20-year-old woman with a history of pauciarticular JCA.

Osteonecrosis complicating highly active antiretroviral therapy in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

Few patients with osteonecrosis that complicates human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have been reported. We describe 5 patients whose symptoms of osteonecrosis developed with viral suppression and improvement in CD4 lymphocyte counts as a result of antiretroviral therapy. In addition, we review previously reported cases.

Induction of immune tolerance to human type I collagen in patients with systemic sclerosis by oral administration of bovine type I collagen.

Objective: To determine whether oral tolerance to type I collagen (CI) could be induced in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: Twenty adult patients with limited or diffuse SSc were enrolled in a study to receive 0.1 mg of solubilized native bovine CI daily for 1 month, followed by 0.

Lack of efficacy of oral bovine type II collagen added to existing therapy in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of oral type II collagen (CII) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), when added to existing therapy.

Methods: Patients with active RA (n = 190) were randomized into a 6-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Patients continued to take their current arthritis medications.

Effects of long-term administration of methotrexate on bone mineral density in rheumatoid arthritis.

Because previous studies of high-dose methotrexate usage have demonstrated an effect on bone formation and resorption, this study was done to determine whether long-term, low-dose use of methotrexate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis causes bone loss. Bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine and hip was measured in 10 Caucasian postmenopausal women who had never received methotrexate and 10 Caucasian postmenopausal women who had received the drug for 3 or more years. There were no significant differences in BMD at the lumbar spine (L2-L4) between patients who had used long-term methotrexate compared with patients never treated with methotrexate (1.

Pseudothrombophlebitis in neuropathic arthropathy of the shoulder.

The syndrome of pseudothrombophlebitis is a well-known complication of popliteal cysts. We report the case of a patient with a neuropathic arthropathy of the shoulder in whom pseudothrombophlebitis of the upper extremity subsequently developed. To our knowledge, this is the first such case that has been reported.