Addressing Late-arriving Surgeons in Support of First-case On-time Starts.

Introduction: First-case on-time starts (FCOTS) is an established metric of perioperative efficiency, impacting global perioperative throughput. Late-arriving surgeons are a common cause of late operating room (OR) starts. This project reflects a quality improvement effort to reduce late surgeon arrivals by 30% for 24 months and improve FCOTS.

Optimization of a Sterile Processing Department Using Lean Six Sigma Methodology, Staffing Enhancement, and Capital Investment.

Background: Many hospitals and surgery centers have focused improvement efforts on operating room inefficiencies. A common inefficiency is missing and unusable surgical instrumentation, which can result in case delays and decreased effectiveness. Lean Six Sigma methodology, a set of process improvement tools focused on the reduction of waste and variation, has been used to identify and correct root causes of missing and unusable instrumentation.

Estimated Airline Compliance With Predeparture SARS-CoV-2 Testing for Passengers on Flights to the United States, January 2021 to June 2022.

In the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, unprecedented public health measures were designed and implemented to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2. On January 26, 2021, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff began daily audits of documents of arriving passengers at 18 US international ports of entry to ensure documentation of either a negative predeparture antigen or nucleic acid amplification test result for SARS-CoV-2 or recent recovery from COVID-19. This case study briefly describes the results of those audits.

Celiac disease: Guideline update overview.

The American College of Gastroenterology revised its recommendations for diagnosing and managing celiac disease in its updated 2023 clinical guideline. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder causing malabsorption following exposure to gluten. A wide range of both gastrointestinal and nongastrointestinal signs and symptoms can occur.

Development of a Machine Learning Modeling Tool for Predicting HIV Incidence Using Public Health Data From a County in the Southern United States.

Background: Advancements in machine learning (ML) have improved the accuracy of models that predict human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence. These models have used electronic medical records and registries. We aim to broaden the application of these tools by using deidentified public health datasets for notifiable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) from a southern US county known for high HIV incidence.

Trans-segmental imaging in the spinal cord of behaving mice.

Spinal cord circuits play crucial roles in transmitting pain, but the underlying activity patterns within and across spinal segments in behaving mice have remained elusive. We developed a wearable widefield macroscope with a 7.9-mm field of view, ~3- to 4-μm lateral resolution, 2.

Leadership engagement creates a powerful team.

A surgical department uses four strategies to attract and retain workers.

Known and New Emerging Viruses Infecting Blueberry.

Blueberry ( spp.) plants are exposed to existing and emerging viruses as a result of expanding acreage of blueberry plantations across the world, primarily in North America. Since blueberry is cultivated in areas where there are wild spp.

Discovery of Known and Novel Viruses in Wild and Cultivated Blueberry in Florida through Viral Metagenomic Approaches.

Southern highbush blueberry (interspecific hybrids of L.) is cultivated near wild as well as closely related species in Florida, USA. The expansion of blueberry cultivation into new areas in Florida and deployment of new cultivars containing viruses can potentially increase the diversity of viruses in wild and cultivated .

Blueberry red ringspot virus genomes from Florida inferred through analysis of blueberry root transcriptomes.

A growing number of metagenomics-based approaches have been used for the discovery of viruses in insects, cultivated plants, and water in agricultural production systems. In this study, sixteen blueberry root transcriptomes from eight clonally propagated blueberry plants of cultivar 'Emerald' (interspecific hybrid of Vaccinium corymbosum and V. darrowi) generated as part of a separate study on varietal tolerance to soil salinity were analyzed for plant viral sequences.

Comprehensive evaluation of RNA-seq analysis pipelines in diploid and polyploid species.

Background: The usual analysis of RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) reads is based on an existing reference genome and annotated gene models. However, when a reference for the sequenced species is not available, alternatives include using a reference genome from a related species or reconstructing transcript sequences with de novo assembly. In addition, researchers are faced with many options for RNA-seq data processing and limited information on how their decisions will impact the final outcome.

Demonstration of a consensus approach for the calculation of physicochemical properties required for environmental fate assessments.

Eight software applications are compared for their performance in estimating the octanol-water partition coefficient (K), melting point, vapor pressure and water solubility for a dataset of polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The predicted property values are compared against a curated dataset of measured property values compiled from the scientific literature with careful consideration given to the analytical methods used for property measurements of these hydrophobic chemicals. The variability in the predicted values from different calculators generally increases for higher values of K and melting point and for lower values of water solubility and vapor pressure.

Regulation of gene expression in roots of the pH-sensitive Vaccinium corymbosum and the pH-tolerant Vaccinium arboreum in response to near neutral pH stress using RNA-Seq.

Background: Blueberries are one of the few horticultural crops adapted to grow in acidic soils. Neutral to basic soil pH is detrimental to all commonly cultivated blueberry species, including Vaccinium corymbosum (VC). In contrast, the wild species V.

Farm to Sensory Lab: Taste of Blueberry Fruit by Children and Adults.

The average American child eats fewer fruits than recommended. Although taste is the primary motivator for food intake among children, little research has systematically measured children's liking of fruit and determined whether their preferences differ from adults. We phenotyped 49 children and their mothers to determine: (1) their liking of the taste of 3 blueberry cultivars ("Arcadia," "Keecrisp," and "Kestrel") from 2 harvests for which total soluble solids were determined using a handheld Brix refractometer; (2) the association between liking and blueberry sugar content; and (3) the most preferred level of fructose, one of the primary sugars in blueberry fruit.

The Need for an Effective Process to Resolve Conflicts Over Medical Futility: A Case Study and Analysis.

The issue of medical futility requires a well-defined process in which both sides of the dispute can be heard and a resolution reached in a fair and ethical manner. Procedural approaches to medical futility cases provide all parties involved with a process-driven framework for resolving these disputes. Medical paternalism or the belief in the absolute rightness of the medical model will not serve to resolve these disputes.

AGHmatrix: R Package to Construct Relationship Matrices for Autotetraploid and Diploid Species: A Blueberry Example.

Progress in the rate of improvement in autopolyploid species has been limited compared with diploids, mainly because software and methods to apply advanced prediction and selection methodologies in autopolyploids are lacking. The objectives of this research were to (i) develop an R package for autopolyploids to construct the relationship matrix derived from pedigree information that accounts for autopolyploidy and double reduction and (ii) use the package to estimate the level and effect of double reduction in an autotetraploid blueberry breeding population with extensive pedigree information. The package is unique, as it can create A-matrices for different levels of ploidy and double reduction, which can then be used by breeders to fit mixed models in the context of predicting breeding values (BVs).

A design thinking approach to primary ovarian insufficiency.

Most clinicians are not prepared to provide integrated personal care to address all the clinical needs of women with primary ovarian insufficiency. Design thinking is an engineering methodology used to develop and evaluate novel concepts for systems operation. Here we articulate the need for a seamlessly integrated mobile health system to support genomic research as well as patient care.

Identifying Breeding Priorities for Blueberry Flavor Using Biochemical, Sensory, and Genotype by Environment Analyses.

Breeding for a subjective goal such as flavor is challenging, as many blueberry cultivars are grown worldwide, and identifying breeding targets relating to blueberry flavor biochemistry that have a high degree of genetic control and low environmental variability are priorities. A variety of biochemical compounds and physical characters induce the sensory responses of taste, olfaction, and somatosensation, all of which interact to create what is perceived flavor. The goal of this study was to identify the flavor compounds with a larger genetic versus environmental component regulating their expression over an array of cultivars, locations, and years.