Publications by authors named "Sampson B"

Boot camps in medical education have emerged as effective tools for addressing knowledge gaps and facilitating the integration of incoming residents into clinical training. We developed a pathology boot camp designed on a needs assessment survey, the graduated release of responsibility model, and active involvement of senior residents as educators. A comprehensive survey was administered to current first-year residents to assess educational needs to identify significant knowledge gaps and difficult areas.

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The gene encodes a transcription factor that plays a role in atrioventricular nodal and myocardial development. Pathogenic variants of are associated with congenital heart disease and sudden cardiac death. The missense variant in this case is one of the more common ones in Northern Europe and has high penetrance in familial cases.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study reviews postmortem genetic testing results for cardiomyopathy and cardiac arrhythmia cases from the largest medical examiner office in the U.S., covering cases from 2015 to 2022.
  • Among 1107 decedents, 7.9% showed pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants (P/LPVs), with a higher diagnostic yield observed in those diagnosed with cardiomyopathy compared to those without.
  • The findings highlight the value of genetic testing across all ages, revealing significant rates of P/LPVs in various cardiac conditions, especially hypertrophic and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy.
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  • Restoration of hand function post-traumatic brachial plexus injury (BPI) is challenging, with traditional methods often producing unsatisfactory outcomes.
  • Advancements in myoelectric prostheses offer new ways to restore functional grasp, as this study examined adults with BPI controlling an externally powered prosthetic hand using nonintuitive signals.
  • Among the evaluated participants, a significant majority could control a virtual prosthetic hand and over half opted for amputation to pursue a myoelectric prosthesis for improved function.
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  • The RECOVER-Pathology study focuses on analyzing the long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 (long COVID) by examining postmortem tissue to better understand the prevalence and types of organ injuries related to PASC.
  • The study will involve detailed autopsies of individuals who died at least 15 days after their initial COVID-19 infection, with the aim of linking pathological findings to clinical characteristics and identifying potential causes of ongoing symptoms.
  • As the largest autopsy study on long COVID in the U.S., RECOVER-Pathology seeks to contribute significantly to knowledge about the mechanisms behind organ damage and to help guide future treatments.
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Patient safety education is a mandated Common Program Requirement of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in all medical residency and fellowship programs. Although many hospitals and healthcare environments have general patient safety education tools for trainees, few to none focus on the unique training milieu of pathologists, including a mix of highly automated and manual error-prone processes, frequent multiplicity of events, and lack of direct patient relationships for error disclosure. We established a national Association of Pathology Chairs-Program Directors Section Workgroup focused on patient safety education for pathology trainees entitled Training Residents in Patient Safety (TRIPS).

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Control of spotted-wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, in small fruits emphasizes biological, cultural, and chemical approaches, whereas studies of host plant resistance as a form of genetic control are just getting underway. The identification of resistance patterns among genotypes of host plants whose fruit, leaves, roots, stems, or seeds are specifically targeted by an invasive pest is the first step in the development of an effective genetic control. Therefore, a detached fruit bioassay was developed to screen for D.

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Pollinator health risks from long-lasting neonicotinoid insecticides like imidacloprid has primarily focused on commercially managed, cavity-nesting bees in the genera Apis, Bombus, and Osmia. We expand these assessments to include 12 species of native and non-native crop pollinators of differing levels of body size, sociality, and floral specialization. Bees were collected throughout 2016 and 2017 from flowering blueberry, squash, pumpkin, sunflower and okra in south Mississippi, USA.

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Background: Sudden deaths due to thoracic aortic dissection or rupture (TADR) are often investigated by forensic pathologists in the United States. Up to a quarter of reported TADR result from a highly penetrant autosomal dominant single gene variant. Testing genes associated with familial TADR provides an underlying etiology for the cause of death and informs effective sudden death prevention for at-risk family members.

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We assessed bioactivity of ethanolic extracts from 35 species of Jatropha L. against an ornamental plant pest, the azalea lace bug, Stephanitis pyrioides (Scott). Jatropha extracts were prepared by air-drying stem, root, or whole plant material, grinding the tissue into a fine powder, adding 70% ethanol, and then vacuum filtering the contents.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study examines the lack of a standardized system for assessing at-risk family members of deceased individuals who had abnormal post-mortem genetic tests following sudden unexpected deaths (SUD).
  • - It focuses on the referrals made by the NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner to a cardiogenetics clinic, analyzing outcomes from 15 decedents and identifying significant genetic variants associated with heart issues.
  • - The findings support the idea that evaluating at-risk family members can help classify genetic variants more accurately and potentially prevent further instances of sudden death.
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Commotio cordis is a rare cause of sudden cardiac arrest from blunt chest trauma; however, it is a diagnosis of exclusion. We present a case of sudden cardiac arrest in a collegiate athlete initially attributed to commotio cordis but in whom further history and workup revealed another rare condition. ().

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Background: A cohort of patients with traumatic brachial plexus injuries (BPIs) underwent elective amputation following unsuccessful surgical reconstruction or delayed presentation. The results of amputation with and without a myoelectric prosthesis (MEP) using nonintuitive controls were compared. We sought to determine the benefits of amputation, and whether fitting with an MEP was feasible and functional.

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  • - The study investigated the presence of harmful genetic variants in children who experienced fatal acute myocarditis (AM) in New York City, comparing these cases to genetically similar controls.
  • - Researchers identified harmful genetic variants in 16.7% of the fatal AM cases, significantly higher than the 2.1% found in controls, and found that these variants were associated with characteristics like sudden cardiac death.
  • - The findings suggest that genetic factors related to heart cell integrity may increase susceptibility to severe forms of AM, with a notable proportion of cases linked to viral causes.
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Case: This is a case of a 41-year-old man who sustained a traumatic proximal transfemoral amputation with loss of adductor function and inadequate soft tissue. Wound closure was achieved with split-thickness skin grafting. Subsequently, femoral lengthening was achieved with an internal magnetic lengthening nail.

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For archived cases of previously young healthy individuals where cause of sudden death remains undetermined, formalin fixed paraffin-embedded tissues (FFPE) samples are often the only biological resource available for molecular testing. We aim to ascertain the validity of postmortem molecular analysis of 95 cardiac genes using the FFPE samples routinely processed in the offices of medical examiners - typical fixation time in formalin ranges from days to months. The study was conducted in the College of American Pathologists accredited Molecular Genetics Laboratory within the City of New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner.

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Background: Lentigo maligna (LM) is associated with disproportionately high surgical morbidity.

Objective: The authors report on 2 strategies to reduce the surgical morbidity associated with LM.

Methods: Forty LM lesions were removed with excisional biopsies without margins and closed with purse-string sutures.

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Background: Multiple genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and targeted gene sequencing have identified common variants in SCN10A in cases of PR and QRS duration abnormalities, atrial fibrillation and Brugada syndrome. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner has now also identified five SCN10A variants of uncertain significance in six separate cases within a cohort of 330 sudden unexplained death events. The gene product of SCN10A is the Nav1.

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Background: Children incur lead toxicity even at low blood-lead concentrations (BLCs), and testing in England is opportunistic. We described epidemiology of cases notified to a passive laboratory-based surveillance system (SS), the Lead Poisoning in Children (LPIC) SS to inform opportunities to prevent lead exposure in children in England.

Methods: Surveillance population: children <16 years of age and resident in England during the reporting period September 2014-17.

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We present a case of medication-associated paronychia involving multiple toenails in a patient undergoing hepatitis C (HCV) therapy with ledipasvir/sofosbuvir. The patient was treated conservatively with topical mupirocin, clobetasol ointment, and acetic acid soaks, resulting in symptom improvement and control. This topical regimen was maintainined throughout the remaining weeks of the patient's antiviral course, with complete symptom resolution occurring only after completion of his ledipasvir/sofosbuvir treatment.

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Background: Genetic variation in ion channel genes ('channelopathies') are often associated with inherited arrhythmias and sudden death. Genetic testing ('molecular autopsies') of channelopathy genes can be used to assist in determining the likely causes of sudden unexpected death. However, different in silico approaches can yield conflicting pathogenicity predictions and assessing their impact on ion channel function can assist in this regard.

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Field-scale data on the relationship between pollinator activity and fruit set are scarce for rabbiteye blueberries (Vaccinium virgatum Aiton). We measured the densities of Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Habropoda laboriosa F.

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Introduction: Thiazide diuretics are among the most widely used antihypertensive medications worldwide. Thiazide-induced hyponatremia (TIH) is 1 of their most clinically significant adverse effects. TIH must result from excessive saliuresis and/or water reabsorption.

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Background: Molecular testing of the deceased (Molecular Autopsy) is an overlooked area in the United States healthcare system and is not covered by medical insurance, leading to ineffective care for surviving families of thousands of sudden unexpected natural deaths each year. We demonstrated the precision management of surviving family members through the discovery of a novel pathogenic variant in a decedent.

Methods: Forensic investigation and molecular autopsy were performed on an 18-year-old female who died suddenly and unexpectedly.

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The HCN4 gene encodes a subunit of the hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channel, type 4 that is essential for the proper generation of pacemaker potentials in the sinoatrial node. The HCN4 gene is often present in targeted genetic testing panels for various cardiac conduction system disorders and there are several reports of HCN4 variants associated with conduction disorders. Here, we report the in vitro functional characterization of four rare variants of uncertain significance (VUS) in HCN4, identified through testing a cohort of 296 sudden unexpected natural deaths.

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