Clinical impact of improved point-of-care glucose monitoring in neonatal intensive care using Nova StatStrip: Evidence for improved accuracy, better sensitivity, and reduced test utilization.

Objectives: Studies have demonstrated improved analytical performance of the Nova StatStrip glucose meter, but limited data is available on its clinical performance in critically ill neonates in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Design And Methods: A retrospective charge review was conducted on 651 neonates admitted to the NICU over 2 years. Demographics, sample collection information, and clinical details were recorded.

Health behavior theories as predictors of hearing-aid uptake and outcomes.

Objective: To understand hearing behaviors of adults seeking help for the first time through the application of two models of health behavior change: the transtheoretical model and the health belief model.

Design: The relationships between attitudes and beliefs were examined relative to hearing-aid uptake and outcomes six months later.

Study Sample: One hundred and sixty adults completed the University of Rhode Island change assessment (targeting the transtheoretical model), and the hearing beliefs questionnaire (targeting the health belief model), as well as the hearing handicap inventory and the psychosocial impact of hearing loss scale, within two months of an initial hearing assessment.

Assessing histidine tags for recruiting deoxyribozymes to catalyze peptide and protein modification reactions.

We evaluate the ability of hexahistidine (His6) tags on peptide and protein substrates to recruit deoxyribozymes for modifying those substrates. For two different deoxyribozymes, one that creates tyrosine-RNA nucleopeptides and another that phosphorylates tyrosine side chains, we find substantial improvements in yield, kobs, and Km for peptide substrates due to recruiting by His6/Cu(2+). However, the recruiting benefits of the histidine tag are not observed for larger protein substrates, likely because the tested deoxyribozymes either cannot access the target peptide segments or cannot function when these segments are presented in a structured protein context.

Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Mimicking Peri-Implantitis.

Introduction: Peri-implantitis is inflammation and alveolar bone loss around a dental implant. Published case reports have described squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) development around dental implants.

Case Presentation: A 60-year-old female presented with two small fistulas on the alveolar ridge of missing tooth #18.

Fracture healing: a consensus report from the International Osteoporosis Foundation Fracture Working Group.

Unlabelled: We used the RAND UCLA appropriateness method to decide appropriateness of use of osteoporosis medication after incident fracture and potential for fracture healing and make suggestions for trial design for clinical and preclinical research.

Purpose: To develop appropriateness criteria to assist in the use and study of osteoporosis medications in patients with recent fracture and in the potential use of osteoporosis medications to enhance delayed fracture healing. To promote further research by suggesting preclinical and clinical trial design for studies where fracture healing is the endpoint.

In vitro and in vivo neuroprotective effects of cJun N-terminal kinase inhibitors on retinal ganglion cells.

Background: The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway plays an important role in neuronal pathophysiology. Using JNK inhibitors, we examined involvement of the JNK pathway in cultured rat retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death and in mouse retinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury of the visual axis. The in vitro effects of JNK inhibitors were evaluated in cultured adult rat retinal cells enriched in RGCs.

DNA Oligonucleotide 3'-Phosphorylation by a DNA Enzyme.

T4 polynucleotide kinase is widely used for 5'-phosphorylation of DNA and RNA oligonucleotide termini, but no natural protein enzyme is capable of 3'-phosphorylation. Here, we report the in vitro selection of deoxyribozymes (DNA enzymes) capable of DNA oligonucleotide 3'-phosphorylation, using a 5'-triphosphorylated RNA transcript (pppRNA) as the phosphoryl donor. The basis of selection was the capture, during each selection round, of the 3'-phosphorylated DNA substrate terminus by 2-methylimidazole activation of the 3'-phosphate (forming 3'-MeImp) and subsequent splint ligation with a 5'-amino DNA oligonucleotide.

Three-dimensional quantitative assessment of ablation margins based on registration of pre- and post-procedural MRI and distance map.

Purpose: Contrast-enhanced MR images are widely used to confirm the adequacy of ablation margin after liver ablation for early prediction of local recurrence. However, quantitative assessment of the ablation margin by comparing pre- and post-procedural images remains challenging. We developed and tested a novel method for three-dimensional quantitative assessment of ablation margin based on non-rigid image registration and 3D distance map.

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Syndromes: A White Paper Detailing Current Challenges in the Field.

This manuscript, developed by a group of chronic pain researchers and clinicians from around the world, aims to address the state of knowledge about fibromyalgia (FM) and identify ongoing challenges in the field of FM and other chronic pain syndromes that may be characterized by pain centralization/amplification/hypersensitivity. There have been many exciting developments in research studies of the pathophysiology and treatment of FM and related syndromes that have the potential to improve the recognition and management of patients with FM and other conditions with FM-like pain. However, much of the new information has not reached all clinicians, especially primary care clinicians, who have the greatest potential to use this new knowledge to positively impact their patients' lives.

C1q propagates microglial activation and neurodegeneration in the visual axis following retinal ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Background: C1q represents the initiating protein of the classical complement cascade, however recent findings indicate pathway independent roles such as developmental pruning of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons. Furthermore, chronic neuroinflammation, including increased expression of C1q and activation of microglia and astrocytes, appears to be a common finding among many neurodegenerative disease models. Here we compare the effects of a retinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury on glial activation and neurodegeneration in wild type (WT) and C1qa-deficient mice in the retina and superior colliculus (SC).

Anastomosing hemangiomas: locations of occurrence, imaging features, and diagnosis with percutaneous biopsy.

Purpose: To describe a series of anastomosing hemangiomas and report its locations, imaging features, and the use of image-guided percutaneous biopsy to establish the diagnosis.

Methods: In this institutional review board-approved, HIPAA compliant, retrospective study, an electronic pathology database was searched for all cases of anastomosing hemangioma from January 2009 to January 2015, yielding 32 cases (18 men, mean age 62 years). Tumor locations were recorded, and in a subgroup of patients with imaging, image characteristics (contour, attenuation, enhancement after intravenous contrast injection, the presence of hemorrhage or fat attenuation, and non-enhancing component) were evaluated.

Systemic lupus erythematosus and primary fibromyalgia can be distinguished by testing for cell-bound complement activation products.

Objective: We sought to establish the performance of cell-bound complement activation products (CB-CAPs) as a diagnostic tool to distinguish primary fibromyalgia (FM) from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: A total of 75 SLE and 75 primary FM adult subjects who fulfilled appropriate classification criteria were enrolled prospectively. CB-CAPs (erythrocyte-C4d (EC4d) and B-lymphocyte-C4d (BC4d)) were determined by flow cytometry.

Increase in Fracture Risk Following Unintentional Weight Loss in Postmenopausal Women: The Global Longitudinal Study of Osteoporosis in Women.

Increased fracture risk has been associated with weight loss in postmenopausal women, but the time course over which this occurs has not been established. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of unintentional weight loss of ≥10 lb (4.5 kg) in postmenopausal women on fracture risk at multiple sites up to 5 years after weight loss.

DNA-Catalyzed Amide Hydrolysis.

DNA catalysts (deoxyribozymes) for a variety of reactions have been identified by in vitro selection. However, for certain reactions this identification has not been achieved. One important example is DNA-catalyzed amide hydrolysis, for which a previous selection experiment instead led to DNA-catalyzed DNA phosphodiester hydrolysis.

Standardization of the two-dimensional transcoelomic echocardiographic examination in the central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps).

Objectives: To objectively and subjectively describe the normal spectrum of two-dimensional echocardiographic findings in the central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps).

Animals: Sixteen central bearded dragons.

Methods: Central bearded dragons were prospectively evaluated under manual restraint in right and left lateral recumbency to identify imaging planes for reproducible measurements of cardiac chambers, subjective two-dimensional analysis and color Doppler assessment.

Denosumab for Elderly Men with Osteoporosis: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis from the US Payer Perspective.

Purpose. To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of denosumab versus other osteoporotic treatments in older men with osteoporosis from a US payer perspective. Methods.

Association between chronic urticaria and self-reported penicillin allergy.

Background: Penicillin allergy is the most commonly reported drug allergy and often presents with cutaneous symptoms. Other common diagnoses, such as chronic urticaria, may be falsely attributed to penicillin allergy. Because chronic urticaria is fairly common in the general population, evaluation of its prevalence in patients with self-reported penicillin allergy was of interest.

Description of Adults Seeking Hearing Help for the First Time According to Two Health Behavior Change Approaches: Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change) and Health Belief Model.

Objectives: Several models of health behavior change are commonly used in health psychology. This study applied the constructs delineated by two models-the transtheoretical model (in which readiness for health behavior change can be described with the stages of precontemplation, contemplation and action) and the health belief model (in which susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action are thought to determine likelihood of health behavior change)-to adults seeking hearing help for the first time.

Design: One hundred eighty-two participants (mean age: 69.

Catecholamine Surge during Image-Guided Ablation of Adrenal Gland Metastases: Predictors, Consequences, and Recommendations for Management.

Purpose: To identify retrospectively predictors of catecholamine surge during image-guided ablation of metastases to the adrenal gland.

Materials And Methods: Between 2001 and 2014, 57 patients (39 men, 18 women; mean age, 65 y ± 10; age range, 41-81 y) at two academic medical centers underwent ablation of 64 metastatic adrenal tumors from renal cell carcinoma (n = 27), lung cancer (n = 23), melanoma (n = 4), colorectal cancer (n = 3), and other tumors (n = 7). Tumors measured 0.

Sleep restriction and delayed sleep associate with psychological health and biomarkers of stress and inflammation in women.

Study Objectives: Despite strong associations between sleep duration and health, there is no clear understanding of how volitional chronic sleep restriction (CSR) alters the physiological processes that lead to poor health in women. We focused on biochemical and psychological factors that previous research suggests are essential to uncovering the role of sleep in health.

Design: Cross-sectional study.