Publications by authors named "Miller Ka"

A fully automated dual-column purification procedure for Zn from biological samples, designed for subsequent Zn isotopic analysis, is presented that utilizes the prepFAST MC™ system (Elemental Scientific), DGA resin (TrisKem International), and TK201 resin (TrisKem International). The procedure developed enables the unattended processing of 20 samples per day and is characterized by low and reproduceable blanks (< 1.5 ng), no carry-over or memory effect, high reusability (> 50 times), high Zn yields 100.

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Sleepiness is a significant workplace safety hazard and prevalent in shift workers including bus drivers. Several aspects of professional driving can result in shortened sleep and increased sleepiness, which has the potential to result in workplace injuries, incidents and crashes. Caffeine is an effective sleepiness countermeasure; however, private and professional drivers also report using potentially ineffective countermeasures such as sugar.

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Approximately 85,000 adolescent and young adults (AYAs; age 15-39) are diagnosed with cancer in the United States annually. Experiencing a cancer diagnosis as an AYA can substantially impact social connections and social health. This paper describes the design and protocol of an observational study to prospectively assess social health and its association with physical activity and quality of life among AYAs after a cancer diagnosis.

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Background: Strong relationships between trainees and physician supervisors can positively influence how trainees navigate workplace learning. How trainees act and learn in clinical workplaces characterized by rapidly developing and dissolving supervisory pairings is less well understood. This study uses the emergency department (ED) to examine the impact of transient supervisory relationships on how residents approach clinical learning opportunities.

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Infantile hemangiomas (IH) are a common entity encountered by dermatologists, otolaryngologists, and other surgeons. Oral propranolol is a mainstay of treatment for IH and is well-tolerated, though propranolol-refractory IH and other drug-related adverse events are documented and can limit its usage. There are few in vitro testing systems for putative treatment agents.

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Introduction: Increasingly, medical training aims to develop physicians who are competent collaborators. Although interprofessional interactions are inevitable elements of medical trainees' workplace learning experiences, the existing literature lacks a cohesive model to conceptualise the learning potential residing in these interactions.

Methods: We conducted a critical review of the health professions and related educational literatures to generate an empirically and theoretically informed description of medical trainees' workplace interactions with other health professionals, including learning mechanisms and outcomes.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to find the genetic cause of a rare skeletal Class II malocclusion with gingival hyperplasia in a family over four generations.
  • SNP and exome sequencing identified regions on chromosomes 1, 17, and 19 but were inconclusive, leading to further genome sequencing that revealed a complex rearrangement on chromosome 17 involving portions from chromosome 1.
  • This rearrangement is linked to misregulated genes KCNJ2/KCNJ16, suggesting a genetic basis for the observed phenotype and expanding the understanding of conditions associated with the KCNJ2-SOX9 locus.
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  • Assessing fertilized human embryos for in vitro fertilization is rapidly evolving through artificial intelligence, with a focus on improving prediction accuracy using time-lapse imaging.
  • BELA, a new advanced model, predicts embryo ploidy status effectively without needing embryologists' input, utilizing multitask learning to enhance quality assessments.
  • With a strong performance of 0.76 in distinguishing euploidy from aneuploidy embryos, BELA demonstrates potential for streamlining the embryo evaluation process, although it won't replace existing genetic testing methods.
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Purpose: Survivors of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer face significant psychological distress and encounter barriers accessing mental health care. However, limited research exists on psychological health among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) survivors of AYA cancer, particularly in comparison with heterosexual survivors and LGB individuals without a history of cancer.

Methods: Using the National Health Interview Survey (2013-2018), we identified LGB survivors of AYA cancer, LGB individuals without a history of cancer, and heterosexual survivors of AYA cancer.

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  • Many bus drivers feel sleepy while driving, but they often don't talk about it.
  • A study looked at real bus drivers on their usual routes to find out how sleep and stress affected them.
  • It showed that drivers usually don't get enough sleep before early morning shifts, and both sleepiness and stress can happen during both early morning and daytime shifts for different reasons.
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  • Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most prevalent skin cancer in the U.S., particularly affecting Non-Hispanic Whites (NHW), but cases among Hispanics are on the rise, prompting this study to explore differences between these groups.
  • A retrospective analysis was conducted on 151 BCC samples from Hispanic and NHW patients at a medical center over two years, considering various patient and tumor characteristics.
  • Results indicated that Hispanic patients had a higher incidence of head and neck tumors and pigmented BCC, with significant differences in demographics and tumor histology compared to NHW patients.
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Objectives: To inform development of a preintubation checklist for pediatric emergency departments via multicenter usability testing of a prototype checklist.

Methods: This was a prospective, mixed methods study across 7 sites in the National Emergency Airway Registry for Pediatric Emergency Medicine (NEAR4PEM) collaborative. Pediatric emergency medicine attending physicians and senior fellows at each site were first oriented to a checklist prototype, including content previously identified using a modified Delphi approach.

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  • Interpersonal communication is really important for helping kids with cancer and their families manage their care and feel better overall.
  • The study involved talking to 15 Hispanic caregivers to understand their experiences with doctors and nurses during their child's cancer treatment.
  • Caregivers shared both positive communication experiences and challenges, like language differences and not fully understanding the cancer diagnosis, which can make things tough.
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  • Since 2021, CoC-accredited cancer facilities in the US are required to provide survivorship programs for patients treated with curative intent, highlighting a significant opportunity to review the availability of these services.* -
  • A survey conducted from May 4 to 25, 2023, assessed the prevalence, types, and outcomes of cancer survivorship services at 384 participating CoC-accredited facilities, representing a diverse range of programs across the country.* -
  • Results showed a majority of programs employed nurses and social workers, while fewer had physical and occupational therapists; the data reflects on the characteristics of survivorship programs and their perceived impact on patient care.*
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Background: Amniocentesis for genetic diagnosis is most commonly done between 15 and 22 weeks of gestation but can be performed at later gestational ages. The safety and genetic diagnostic accuracy of amniocentesis have been well-established through numerous large-scale multicenter studies for procedures before 24 weeks, but comprehensive data on late amniocentesis remain sparse.

Objective: To evaluate the indications, diagnostic yield, safety, and maternal and fetal outcomes associated with amniocentesis performed at or beyond 24 weeks of gestation.

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Background: Survivors of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer experience significant psychological distress and encounter barriers to accessing mental health care. Few studies have investigated racial/ethnic disparities in psychological health outcomes among AYA survivors, and none have compared outcomes within a racially minoritized population.

Methods: National Health Interview Survey data (2010-2018) were analyzed that identified non-Hispanic Black (hereafter, Black) survivors of AYA cancer and age- and sex-matched Black noncancer controls.

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Oncology clinicians are appropriately positioned to facilitate discussions of assisted reproductive technologies including preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic disease (PGT-M), in the context of cancer treatment or surveillance. Yet, reproductive services, including PGT-M, remain one of the least implemented services in oncology. No studies to date have explored which practice resources the clinicians need to increase knowledge of PGT-M.

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Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition by organophosphorus (OP) compounds poses a serious health risk to humans. While many therapeutics have been tested for treatment after OP exposure, there is still a need for efficient reactivation against all kinds of OP compounds, and current oxime therapeutics have poor blood-brain barrier penetration into the central nervous system, while offering no recovery in activity from the OP-aged forms of AChE. Herein, we report a novel library of 4-amidophenol quinone methide precursors (QMP) that provide effective reactivation against multiple OP-inhibited forms of AChE in addition to resurrecting the aged form of AChE after exposure to a pesticide or some phosphoramidates.

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Antibiotic resistance is a persistent and growing concern. Our objective was to analyze antibiotic prescribing in the United States (US) in the Medical Expenditure Panel System (MEPS) and to Medicaid patients. We obtained MEPS prescriptions for eight antibiotics from 2013 to 2020.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the protective and risk factors of substance use behaviors (tobacco, marijuana, e-cigarette, and alcohol) among young adult childhood cancer survivors. The study focused on clinical (receipt of cancer-related follow-up care, treatment intensity, late effects, depressive symptoms, self-rated health) and demographic (race/ethnicity, neighborhood socioeconomic status) factors and their associations with substance use.

Methods: Participants were from the Project Forward cohort, a population-based study of young adult survivors of childhood cancers.

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Objective: Assess implementation feasibility and outcomes for an Osteoarthritis Management Program (OAMP) at an academic center.

Design: This open study assessed an OAMP designed to deliver care in 1-5 individual or group visits across ≤12 months. Eligibility included adults with knee or hip osteoarthritis with ≥1 visit from 7/1/2017-1/15/2021.

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Study Objective: The workload of clinical documentation contributes to health care costs and professional burnout. The advent of generative artificial intelligence language models presents a promising solution. The perspective of clinicians may contribute to effective and responsible implementation of such tools.

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Introduction: encodes an oligomeric BTB domain protein reported to inhibit neural crest formation through repression of Wnt/beta-catenin signalling, as well as transactivation by TFAP2. Heterozygous missense variants in the closely related paralogue KCTD1 cause scalp-ear-nipple syndrome.

Methods: Exome sequencing was performed on a two-generation family affected by a distinctive phenotype comprising a lipomatous frontonasal malformation, anosmia, cutis aplasia of the scalp and/or sparse hair, and congenital heart disease.

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