Assessment of the vaginal microbiota before and after use of hyperosmolal lubricant during transvaginal ultrasound.

Background: Vaginal lubricants are commonly used during sexual activity and clinical procedures such as transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS). Epidemiologic and laboratory studies indicate hyperosmolal water-based lubricants may disrupt the vaginal microbiota, particularly the beneficial Lactobacillus spp. These bacteria play a critical role in protecting against sexually transmitted infection acquisition and other adverse gynecologic and obstetric outcomes.

Creating a plasma coordination center to support COVID-19 outpatient trials across a national network of hospital blood banks.

Introduction: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we rapidly implemented a plasma coordination center, within two months, to support transfusion for two outpatient randomized controlled trials. The center design was based on an investigational drug services model and a Food and Drug Administration-compliant database to manage blood product inventory and trial safety.

Methods: A core investigational team adapted a cloud-based platform to randomize patient assignments and track inventory distribution of control plasma and high-titer COVID-19 convalescent plasma of different blood groups from 29 donor collection centers directly to blood banks serving 26 transfusion sites.

Agile monitoring dashboard for clinical research studies.

Background: Clinical trial success hinges on efficient participant recruitment and retention. However, slow accrual and attrition frequently hinder progress. To address these challenges, a novel dashboard tool with control charts has been developed to provide investigators on the multi-site study of Delirium and Neuropsychological Recovery among Emergency General Surgery Survivors (DANE study) with timely information to improve trial recruitment.

Impact of State Abortion Policies on Family Medicine Practice and Training After .

Purpose: The (Dobbs) Supreme Court decision revoked the constitutional right to abortion. Now, restrictive state abortion laws may contribute to the shortage and strain already felt in primary care practice, especially related to the provision of reproductive health care. The purpose of this study is to evaluate perceived impacts of state abortion legislation on family medicine clinicians' practice and medical education regarding reproductive health care.

Heavy duty.

A 54-year-old woman with myopia, hypothyroidism, and asthma presented with intermittent double vision. Serum was positive for anti-low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4) antibodies suggesting the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis. There was no improvement with pyridostigmine, prednisone, or azathioprine.

Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography: Investigating Vessel Density Changes Induced by Caffeine in Healthy Subjects.

Caffeine, the most widely consumed psychoactive drug globally, has been associated with vascular changes in various organs, including the retina. Researchers have reported vascular constriction in the retina in response to caffeine, although data on its effects remain limited and somewhat contradictory. Further research is needed to clarify the specific impact of caffeine on retinal blood vessels and its potential implications for ocular health.

Analysis of ChatGPT Responses to Ophthalmic Cases: Can ChatGPT Think like an Ophthalmologist?

Objective: Large language models such as ChatGPT have demonstrated significant potential in question-answering within ophthalmology, but there is a paucity of literature evaluating its ability to generate clinical assessments and discussions. The objectives of this study were to (1) assess the accuracy of assessment and plans generated by ChatGPT and (2) evaluate ophthalmologists' abilities to distinguish between responses generated by clinicians versus ChatGPT.

Design: Cross-sectional mixed-methods study.

The relationship between executed cut angle and speed with lower extremity joint angles during unanticipated side-step cutting in soccer players.

Background: Certain movements patterns have been indicated in knee injuries during cutting while running tasks. Differences in the executed cut angle (ECA) could partially account for group differences in joint kinematics previously observed, including sex differences.

Research Question: Are there relationships between joint angles with entry speed and ECA during side-step cutting in soccer players?

Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 21 (10 females) soccer players.

How the APHA Maternal and Child Health Section Advanced the Public Health Approach to Gun Violence Prevention.

Purpose: This manuscript provides a history of efforts by the American Public Health Association (APHA) Maternal and Child Health Section (MCH Section) Gun Violence Prevention Workgroup (GVP Workgroup) to promote gun violence prevention (GVP) as a key public health priority both within the MCH Section and APHA, and nationally.

Description: The MCH Section established a gun violence prevention workgroup in response to the murders of twenty first-grade children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. This article presents an overview of the accomplishments and challenges of the MCH Section GVP Workgroup in a context of ever-increasing gun violence.

Comparative genomics identifies key adaptive traits of sponge-associated microbial symbionts.

Sponge microbiomes are often highly diverse making it difficult to determine which lineages are important for maintaining host health and homeostasis. Characterising genomic traits associated with symbiosis can improve our knowledge of which lineages have adapted to their host and what functions they might provide. Here we examined five microbial families associated with sponges that have previously shown evidence of cophylogeny, including Endozoicomonadaceae, Nitrosopumilaceae, Spirochaetaceae, Microtrichaceae and Thermoanaerobaculaceae, to better understand the mechanisms behind their symbiosis.

Pain-related threat and coordination in adults with chronic low back pain during a lifting task: A cross-sectional study.

Objectives: People with low back pain (LBP) exhibit altered coordination, possibly indicating guarded movement. The connection between these changes and pain-related threat remains unclear. We aimed to determine if pain-related threat was related to spinal coordination and variability, during a lifting task, in people with chronic LBP.

Geographic Patterns of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Risk Behaviors Among Older Adults: A Strategy for Identifying Space as a Risk Exposure.

Objectives: This study examined geographical patterns of HIV risk among adults aged 60 and older.

Methods: The 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) weighted data was used to analyze self-reported participation in HIV risk behaviors among older adults ( = 62,852). Logistic regression models were used on a dichotomous HIV risk variable to map the distribution of HIV risk behaviors across both census regions and divisions.

Pain catastrophizing and trunk co-contraction during lifting in people with and without chronic low back pain: A cross sectional study.

Background: Trunk co-contraction during lifting may reflect a guarded motor response to a threatening task. This work estimated the impact of pain catastrophizing on trunk co-contraction during lifting, in people with and without low back pain.

Methods: Adults with high pain catastrophizing (back pain: n = 29, healthy: n = 7) and low pain catastrophizing (back pain: n = 20, healthy: n = 11), performed 10 repetitions of a lifting task.

Neuromodulatory co-expression in cardiac vagal motor neurons of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus.

Vagal innervation is well known to be crucial to the maintenance of cardiac health, and to protect and recover the heart from injury. Only recently has this role been shown to depend on the activity of the underappreciated dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV). By combining neural tracing, transcriptomics, and anatomical mapping in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats, we characterize cardiac-specific neuronal phenotypes in the DMV.

Understanding the impact of physical activity level and sports participation on implant integrity and failure in patients following unicompartmental and total knee arthroplasty: A scoping review.

Objective: Recommendations discouraging high levels of physical activity and sports following unicompartmental (UKA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have been questioned in recent years. This scoping review aimed to summarize the literature examining the impact of physical activity level and sports participation on implant integrity and failure in patients following UKA and TKA.

Methods: Five databases (Medline, Embase, SCOPUS, CINAHL, ProQuest) were searched up to April 17, 2024.

Using continuous relative phase and modified vector coding analyses to quantify spinal coordination and coordinative variability for healthy and chronic low back pain patients: An exploratory comparative analysis.

Differences in coordination and coordinative variability are common in people with low back pain. While differences may relate to the different analyses used to quantify these metrics, the preferred approach remains unclear. We aimed to compare coordination and coordinative variability, in people with and without low back pain performing a lifting/lowering task, using continuous relative phase and vector coding procedures, and to identify which technique better detects group differences.

National survey of patient perspectives on cost discussions among recipients of copay assistance.

Background: Individuals with cancer and other medical conditions often experience financial concerns from high costs-of-care and may utilize copay assistance programs (CAP). We sought to describe CAP recipients' experiences/preferences for cost discussions with clinicians.

Methods: We conducted a national, cross-sectional electronic-survey from 10/2022 to 11/2022 of CAP recipients with cancer or autoimmune conditions to assess patient perspectives on cost discussions.

Psychometric properties of the Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test and physical function measures in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome/hypermobility spectrum disorders.

Purpose: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD) are associated with impairments in balance and physical function. However, the psychometric properties of relevant outcome measures remain largely unexplored. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the construct validity of the Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest) alongside the test-retest reliability of the Mini-BESTest, Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT), and Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) in patients with the hypermobility subtype of EDS (hEDS) and HSD.

Multiplex, high-throughput method to study cancer and immune cell mechanotransduction.

Studying cellular mechanoresponses during cancer metastasis is limited by sample variation or complex protocols that current techniques require. Metastasis is governed by mechanotransduction, whereby cells translate external stimuli, such as circulatory fluid shear stress (FSS), into biochemical cues. We present high-throughput, semi-automated methods to expose cells to FSS using the VIAFLO96 multichannel pipetting device custom-fitted with 22 G needles, increasing the maximum FSS 94-fold from the unmodified tips.

A contact binary satellite of the asteroid (152830) Dinkinesh.

Asteroids with diameters less than about 5 km have complex histories because they are small enough for radiative torques (that is, YORP, short for the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack effect) to be a notable factor in their evolution. (152830) Dinkinesh is a small asteroid orbiting the Sun near the inner edge of the main asteroid belt with a heliocentric semimajor axis of 2.19 AU; its S-type spectrum is typical of bodies in this part of the main belt.

Longitudinal profiles of the vaginal microbiota of pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal women: preliminary insights from a secondary data analysis.

Objective: Menopause is often accompanied by lowered Lactobacillus spp. relative abundance and increased abundance of diverse anaerobic/aerobic bacteria in the vaginal microbiota due in part to declines in estrogen. These microbiota are associated with urogenital symptoms and infections.

Inter-Segment Coordination of Male and Female Collegiate Ice Hockey Players During Forward Skating Starts.

: Coordination in ice hockey skating has been minimally investigated, particularly in females. The objective was to compare lower-extremity inter-segment coordination of collegiate male and female ice hockey players during forward skating starts. : 3D kinematic data were collected on collegiate male ( = 9) and female ( = 10) participants during accelerative steps.

Report of similar placebo response in one internet versus onsite randomised controlled trials from the literature.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the magnitude and the predictors of the placebo response in an internet versus onsite randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in people with hand osteoarthritis (HOA).

Method: This study is a analysis based on one internet RCT (RADIANT) and previously published onsite RCTs for HOA identified through a rigorous searching and selection strategy. The magnitude of the placebo response in the two different types of RCTs were compared using heterogeneity statistics and forest plots visualisation.

Publication rates of registered strabismus trials from ClinicalTrials.gov.

Presently, little is known regarding the characteristics and publication rates of registered strabismus trials from ClinicalTrials.gov. We queried registered strabismus trials that were completed prior to January 1, 2021, from ClinicalTrials.