Virtual Reality for the Management of Pain and Anxiety for IR Procedures: A Prospective, Randomized, Pilot Study on Digital Sedation.

Purpose: To assess the analgesic and anxiolytic effects of virtual reality (VR) augmentation in patients undergoing peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) placement or fine-needle aspiration thyroid biopsy.

Materials And Methods: This is a prospective, single-center randomized controlled trial with 107 patients enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to receive standard of care (SOC) or SOC+VR during PICC or thyroid biopsy procedures.

A chromosomal inversion contributes to divergence in multiple traits between deer mouse ecotypes.

How locally adapted ecotypes are established and maintained within a species is a long-standing question in evolutionary biology. Using forest and prairie ecotypes of deer mice (), we characterized the genetic basis of variation in two defining traits-tail length and coat color-and discovered a 41-megabase chromosomal inversion linked to both. The inversion frequency is 90% in the dark, long-tailed forest ecotype; decreases across a habitat transition; and is absent from the light, short-tailed prairie ecotype.

Virtual Reality as a Non-Pharmacological Adjunct to Reduce the Use of Analgesics in Hospitals.

Virtual reality (VR) has become an increasingly viable non-pharmacological adjunct to reduce the use of analgesics in hospitals. Within the context of the ongoing opioid epidemic, VR can serve as an invaluable alternative to traditional pain management techniques. While VR research continues to advance, there is no clear consensus on the terms used to describe critical aspects of VR.