Healthcare providers' knowledge and attitudes about overdose prevention sites in Colorado.

Background: Overdose prevention sites (OPS) are a harm reduction strategy that offer people who use drugs a variety of resources including but not limited to sterile supplies, linkage to healthcare resources, and intervention if an overdose occurs. OPS operate in over 120 countries and evidence has demonstrated they are an effective harm reduction strategy. Despite their success elsewhere, OPS remain federally illegal in the United States and thus there is limited research on their implementation and outcomes in the United States.

A better performing algorithm for identification of implausible growth data from longitudinal pediatric medical records.

Tracking trajectories of body size in children provides insight into chronic disease risk. One measure of pediatric body size is body mass index (BMI), a function of height and weight. Errors in measuring height or weight may lead to incorrect assessment of BMI.

The Effects of Flaxseed Consumption on Glycemic Control in Native American Postmenopausal Women with Hyperglycemia and Hyperlipidemia.

Glucose control in postmenopausal women is influenced by many factors, such as hormones, lifestyle variables, and genetics. Limited data exist on the effect of whole flaxseed on glucose status in postmenopausal Native American women. The aim of this study was to investigate the glucose management effect of a flaxseed dietary intervention on postmenopausal Native American women.

Contribution of circulating Mfge8 to human T2DM and cardiovascular disease.

MFGE8 is a major exosome (EV) protein known to mediate inflammation and atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in animal studies. The pathophysiological role of this protein in obesity, T2DM, and cardiovascular disease is less investigated in humans. Earlier we reported a rare Asian Indian population-specific missense variant (rs371227978; Arg148His) in the MFGE8 gene associated with increased circulating Mfge8 and T2DM.

Weakened APC/C activity at mitotic exit drives cancer vulnerability to KIF18A inhibition.

The efficacy of current antimitotic cancer drugs is limited by toxicity in highly proliferative healthy tissues. A cancer-specific dependency on the microtubule motor protein KIF18A therefore makes it an attractive therapeutic target. Not all cancers require KIF18A, however, and the determinants underlying this distinction remain unclear.

Impact of the USMLE Step 1 and COMLEX Level 1 transition to Pass/Fail on osteopathic medical student stress levels and board preparation.

Context: The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 and Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Exam (COMLEX) Level 1 transitioned from a numeric scoring system to a Pass/Fail designation in 2022. This transition intended to decrease stress, improve medical student well-being, and encourage residency program directors to emphasize other aspects of residency applications. Pass/Fail score transitions in the undergraduate medical education curriculum have improved medical student psychological well-being and satisfaction; whether these same benefits translate to the board examination period is unknown.

Cytokine fluctuation during acute stress is correlated to life trauma.

Background: Multiple studies have demonstrated that human neurobiology and behavior are inextricably linked to the activity of our immune systems. Trauma is associated with a multitude of immune system changes; reflecting this, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often comorbid with immune-related conditions such as autoimmune disorders. To further investigate this phenomenon, we tested our hypothesis that cytokine fluctuations during and after an acute stress response correlates with experienced life trauma.

Impact of COVID-19 on Rocky Vista University medical students' mental health: A cross-sectional survey.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic brought immense changes to medical school curriculums world-wide, such as the widespread adoption of virtual learning. We sought to better understand the impact on medical students' mental health at Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Parker, CO, United States. This study assessed the impact the pandemic had on anxiety and depression levels of medical students.

Effects of a community gardening intervention on diet, physical activity, and anthropometry outcomes in the USA (CAPS): an observer-blind, randomised controlled trial.

Background: Unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and social disconnection are important modifiable risk factors for non-communicable and other chronic diseases, which might be alleviated through nature-based community interventions. We tested whether a community gardening intervention could reduce these common health risks in an adult population that is diverse in terms of age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.

Methods: In this observer-blind, randomised, controlled trial, we recruited individuals who were on Denver Urban Garden waiting lists for community gardens in Denver and Aurora (CO, USA), aged 18 years or older, and had not gardened in the past 2 years.

Oncogenic deubiquitination controls tyrosine kinase signaling and therapy response in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Dysregulation of kinase signaling pathways favors tumor cell survival and therapy resistance in cancer. Here, we reveal a posttranslational regulation of kinase signaling and nuclear receptor activity via deubiquitination in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). We observed that the ubiquitin-specific protease 11 (USP11) is highly expressed and associates with poor prognosis in T-ALL.

Principal component analysis of salivary cytokines and hormones in the acute stress response.

The acute stress response is characterized by activation of multiple interconnected systems in the body, resulting in the release of a flood of hormones and immune mediators into circulation. In addition to detection of these molecules in the serum, saliva can serve as a source of these markers as well and can be collected in a non-invasive way. The complete profile of salivary biomarkers associated with the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal/gonadal axes and the immune system during the acute stress response has not been fully elucidated.

Ease and comfort of pre-oxygenation with high-flow nasal oxygen cannulae vs. facemask: a randomised controlled trial.

The Difficult Airway Society recommends that all patients should be pre-oxygenated before the induction of general anaesthesia, but this may not always be easy or comfortable and anaesthesia may often be induced without full pre-oxygenation. We tested the hypothesis that high-flow nasal oxygen cannulae would be easier and more comfortable than facemasks for pre-oxygenation. We randomly allocated 199 patients undergoing elective surgery aged ≥ 10 years to pre-oxygenation using either high-flow nasal oxygen or facemask.

Medicaid professional fees for treatment of opioid use disorder varied widely across states and were substantially below fees paid by medicare in 2021.

Background: As Medicaid is the largest payer for opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment services in the United States, information about Medicaid provider reimbursement is critical, and Medicaid payment policies influence the structure of OUD treatment services for everyone with OUD treatment needs.

Methods: We collected Medicaid professional fees for OUD treatment and related services for the District of Columbia and fifty state Medicaid programs and the Medicare program in 2021. We create three fee indexes related to OUD treatment, with an emphasis on services related to first-line medication treatments in outpatient settings.

Dried Plum's Polyphenolic Compounds and Carbohydrates Contribute to Its Osteoprotective Effects and Exhibit Prebiotic Activity in Estrogen Deficient C57BL/6 Mice.

Evidence of dried plum's benefits on bone continues to emerge. This study investigated the contribution of the fruit's polyphenol (PP) and carbohydrate (CHO) components on a bone model of postmenopausal osteoporosis to explore their prebiotic activity. Osteopenic ovariectomized mice were fed diets supplemented with dried plum, a crude extract of dried plum's polyphenolic compounds, or the PP or CHO fraction of the crude extract.

In vitro effect of hydroxyethyl starch on coagulation in dogs as assessed by dynamic viscoelastic coagulometry.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of 6% hydroxyethyl starch (HES) 670/0.75 and 6% HES 130/0.4 dilution of canine whole blood on coagulation using dynamic viscoelastic coagulometry (DVC).

Comparative Histopathology of Bovine Acute Interstitial Pneumonia and Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Associated Interstitial Pneumonia.

Acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP) is a significant disease of cattle and many aetiologies have been implicated on the basis of the characteristic pathological lesions. Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) is one of the key aetiological factors in bovine respiratory disease complex and several studies have suggested, controversially, that BRSV may be an underlying cause of bovine AIP. BRSV infection is known to cause several distinctive histopathological changes, including epithelial syncytia formation and intracytoplasmic viral inclusions.

Targeting the Mitotic Kinesin KIF18A in Chromosomally Unstable Cancers: Hit Optimization Toward an In Vivo Chemical Probe.

Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a hallmark of cancer that results from errors in chromosome segregation during mitosis. Targeting of CIN-associated vulnerabilities is an emerging therapeutic strategy in drug development. KIF18A, a mitotic kinesin, has been shown to play a role in maintaining bipolar spindle integrity and promotes viability of CIN cancer cells.

Dasatinib does not exacerbate dexamethasone-induced osteonecrosis in murine models of acute lymphoblastic leukemia therapy.

Introduction: There are clinical reports that the incorporation of dasatinib may increase the frequency of osteonecrosis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treatment regimens. No rigorous testing of this hypothesis is available to guide clinicians.

Methods: We tested whether oral dasatinib increased the frequency of dexamethasone-induced osteonecrosis in a murine model and tested its effects on dexamethasone's antileukemic efficacy in a murine BCR-ABL model of ALL.

Effects of 12 Months Consumption of 100 g Dried Plum (Prunes) on Bone Biomarkers, Density, and Strength in Men.

Several male animal studies have demonstrated bone-protective effects of dried plum; however, no human male study has evaluated the effect of dried plum on bone health. We conducted a randomized controlled clinical study to test if daily inclusion of 100 g of dried plum in the diet positively influenced bone mineral density (BMD), bone strength, and bone biomarkers in men. Sixty-six men were randomly assigned to one of two daily treatment groups: (1) control (0 g dried plum) or (2) 100 g dried plum.

Effect of Bidirectional Insertion of External Skeletal Fixation Pins on Axial Pullout Strength in Canine Cadaveric Bone.

Objective:  The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of bidirectional insertion on axial pullout strength of tapered run out (TRO), traditional negative profile (TNP) and positive profile (PP) pins.

Study Design:  Cadaveric adult canine tibiae were harvested. Tapered run out pins (Group 1) were inserted unidirectionally to the desired position; bidirectionally past the desired position, then withdrawn to the desired position (Group 2); and bidirectionally as described for Group 2, repeated twice (Group 3).