In dermatology, the art and skill of morphologic assessment is key to generating logical differential diagnoses and understanding disease pathogenesis. Dr. Irwin M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe navel orangeworm, , is the principal pest of pistachio and almond in California. The timing of the insecticide application is challenging because there is no model that predicts when pistachio is vulnerable to infestation. Sixteen years of pistachio flight data from Madera and Fresno counties (541,892 adults) were analyzed to determine if there was a consistent starting point each year for flights that overlap pistachio vulnerability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Methods: The incidence of pancreatic cancer is increasing, and up to 55% of patients present with metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis. Many patients also develop metastatic disease following surgical resection. The impact of metastatic patterns on outcomes has not been described.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/objectives: Anterior Gradient-2 (AGR2/PDIA17) is a member of the protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) family of oxidoreductases. AGR2 is up-regulated in several solid tumors, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Given the dire need for new therapeutic options for PDAC patients, we investigated the expression and function of AGR2 in PDAC and developed a novel series of affinity-matured AGR2-specific single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) and monoclonal antibodies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: LGBTQ medical students and surgery residents face myriad structural barriers. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reports 492 pieces of state-level legislation targeting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) people in the past year. These bills including bans on medical care, "don't say gay" bills, exclusion from anti-discrimination protections, and more.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough endurance exercise is cardioprotective, episodes of strenuous physical exertion can trigger sudden cardiac death. While marathon training promotes overall heart health, running such races transiently increases cardiac arrest risk, mainly in middle-aged men with subclinical coronary atherosclerosis. Coronary artery calcium scanning has been advised for risk stratification to identify those who benefit from enhanced primary prevention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFQuantitative assessment of the first acidity constant (p ) for BFC (27.6 in CHCN) and FIC (27.8 in CHCN) shows the methylene protons to be significantly more acidic than those in related cyclopentadiene (32 in CHCN), indene (34 in CHCN), or fluorene (37 in CHCN) and comparable to the methine of 9-perfluorophenylfluorene (28.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOtolaryngol Head Neck Surg
December 2024
Despite significant technological progress in prosthetic hands, a device with functionality akin to a biological extremity is far from realization. To better support the development of next-generation technologies, we investigated the grasping capabilities of clinically prescribable and commercially available (CPCA) prosthetic hands against those that are 3D-printed, which offer cost-effective and customizable solutions. Our investigation utilized the Anthropomorphic Hand Assessment Protocol (AHAP) as a benchtop evaluation of the multi-grasp performance of 3D-printed devices against CPCA prosthetic hands.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Allergy Clin Immunol
November 2024
Psychedelics hold therapeutic promise for mood disorders due to rapid, sustained results. Human neuroimaging studies have reported dramatic serotonin-2A receptor-(5-HT2AR)-dependent changes in functional brain reorganization that presumably reflect neuromodulation. However, the potent vasoactive effects of serotonin have been overlooked.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Online patient portals are important tools for patient engagement, and their use has increased particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic and the 21st Century Cures Act. However, prior work across various specialties has demonstrated disparities in patient portal usage with respect to age, gender, race, and insurance status. However, this has not been studied in the field of otolaryngology, and not since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCraniomaxillofac Trauma Reconstr
May 2024
Sexual minority men are more likely to be diagnosed with borderline personality disorder compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Minority stressors have been associated with criteria for borderline personality disorder (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals represent a population with a heavy burden of HIV. Multi-level stigma encountered by TGD individuals can create significant barriers to discussing topics related to HIV prevention; however, research on communication between TGD patients and primary care providers (PCPs) about HIV vulnerability and prevention remains limited. This study used in-depth qualitative interviews with 25 TGD patients and 15 PCPs conducted in 2022 to explore perspectives on HIV vulnerability communication during primary care encounters.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe California Department of State Hospitals and Department of Public Health collaborated to develop infection control programs in five inpatient psychiatric hospitals in response to COVID-19. In the retrospective observational study described here, conducted from March 2020 through February 2023, we calculated seven-day rolling averages of COVID-19 cases overlaid with key interventions, communication strategies, and policies implemented to break down silos for a consistent and coordinated response. Our findings may inform others regarding effective strategies and partnerships with public health experts during future outbreaks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIce machines can harbor water-related organisms, and the use of ice or tap water for clinical care activities has been associated with infections in health care settings. During 2021-2022, a total of 23 cases of infection by Burkholderia multivorans (sequence type ST659) were reported at two southern California hospitals and linked to contaminated ice and water from ice machines. In addition to these 23 cases, this report also includes 23 previously unreported cases of B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: An October, 2021 review of Public Health Ontario's COVID-19 guidance for congregate settings such as shelters and long-term care homes demonstrated that this guidance did not include references to ventilation or filtration. In April 2022, an interdisciplinary team with expertise in indoor air quality (IAQ), engineering, epidemiology, community programming and knowledge translation launched a virtual ventilation and filtration consultation program for community spaces in Toronto, Ontario. The program gives people working in community spaces direct access to IAQ experts through 25-min online appointments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCompared to their heterosexual counterparts, sexual minority men (SMM) are more likely to report that their own body image negatively impacts their sex lives, are more vulnerable to weight stigma, and more frequently experience size-based discrimination. Additionally, in comparison to heterosexual men, SMM report higher levels of anti-fat bias, both directed at themselves and intimate partners. Given this literature, we qualitatively examined how nine larger-bodied SMM (Mage = 37.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Literature demonstrates the detrimental impact of discrimination and microaggressions at personal and institutional levels in the health care workplace. Residents in our program requested curricula to help with addressing manifestations of bias. In response, we designed and implemented an adaptable and reproducible 4-hour virtual simulation session aimed at helping residents identify and constructively respond to microaggressions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmployees' work satisfaction and mental health are crucial for an organization's productivity. The current experimental study on employees (N = 278) from different professional sectors and workplaces in Germany investigated how to improve both by changes of daily non-work-related smartphone use time and physical activity time. For one week, the smartphone group (N = 73) reduced its daily smartphone use by one hour, the physical activity group (N = 69) increased its daily physical activity by 30 minutes, the combination group (N = 72) followed both interventions, the control group (N = 64) did not change its behavior.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo independently confirm that the 40-gene expression profile (40-GEP) test can identify patients with high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma who are more or less likely to benefit from adjuvant radiation therapy (ART). Primary cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma tumors from two academic centers received retrospective 40-GEP testing and were analyzed for 5-year metastasis-free survival and projected time to event. Random sampling of matched patient pairs ( = 52 ART-treated; 371 no ART) showed a median 50% decrease in 5-year progression rate for ART-treated patients (vs no ART) with 40-GEP Class 2B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNarcolepsy is mainly associated with excessive daytime sleepiness, but the characteristic feature is abnormal rapid eye movement (REM) sleep phenomena. REM sleep disturbances can manifest as cataplexy (in narcolepsy type 1), sleep paralysis, sleep-related hallucinations, REM sleep behavior disorder, abnormal dreams, polysomnographic evidence of REM sleep disruption with sleep-onset REM periods, and fragmented REM sleep. Characterization of REM sleep and related symptoms facilitates the differentiation of narcolepsy from other central hypersomnolence disorders and aids in distinguishing between narcolepsy types 1 and 2.
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