An analysis of oral contraceptive related videos on TikTok.

Background: TikTok has increasingly become a source of information about reproductive health. Patients seeking health information about oral contraception on TikTok may be influenced by videos containing misinformation or biased information.

Objective: This social media infodemiological study aims to provide a descriptive content analysis of the quality and reliability of oral contraceptive health information on TikTok.

Modified PECS II Block for Axillary Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a painful, chronic inflammatory skin condition. Patients experience exacerbations, leading them to present to the emergency department (ED) for incision and drainage. Direct injection of local anesthetic into these lesions is extremely painful and seldom provides adequate anesthesia.

Improving the 3D Printability of Sugar Glass to Engineer Sacrificial Vascular Templates.

A prominent obstacle in scaling up tissue engineering technologies for human applications is engineering an adequate supply of oxygen and nutrients throughout artificial tissues. Sugar glass has emerged as a promising 3D-printable, sacrificial material that can be used to embed perfusable networks within cell-laden matrices to improve mass transfer. To characterize and optimize a previously published sugar ink, we investigated the effects of sucrose, glucose, and dextran concentration on the glass transition temperature (), printability, and stability of 3D-printed sugar glass constructs.

Features of the urban environment associated with Aedes aegypti abundance in high-rise public apartments in Singapore: An environmental case-control study.

Aedes aegypti abundance in residential estates is hypothesized to contribute to localised outbreaks of dengue in Singapore. Knowing the factors in the urban environment underlying high Ae. aegypti abundance could guide intervention efforts to reduce Ae.

Exploring predictors of aggressive intrusive thoughts and aggressive scripts: Similarities and differences in phenomenology.

Experiencing a thought about harming or injuring another person is commonly reported by the general population. Aggressive intrusive thoughts (AITs) and aggressive scripts are two constructs commonly used to define the experience of thinking about harming another person. However, they are generally investigated separately and with two significantly different population groups; respectively, individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder and people with a history of violent behavior.

The use of additional imaging studies after biliary point-of-care ultrasound in the emergency department.

Purpose: We sought to determine the test characteristics of biliary point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) and to assess the usefulness of obtaining radiology ultrasound (RUS) or cholescintigraphy (HIDA) after biliary POCUS.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of emergency department patients who underwent biliary POCUS between May 4, 2018 and November 28, 2021. To be included, patients had to have at least one of the following confirmatory evaluations (considered in this order): surgery, HIDA, RUS, or abdominal CT scan.

Illuminating and mitigating the evolving impacts of COVID-19 on ethnocultural communities: a participatory action mixed-methods study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated disparities in poverty and illness for people in vulnerable circumstances in ethnocultural communities. We sought to understand the evolving impacts of COVID-19 on ethnocultural communities to inform intersectoral advocacy and community action.

Methods: The Illuminate Project used participatory action research, with cultural health brokers as peer researchers, from Sept.

An Perfused Macroencapsulation Device to Study Hemocompatibility and Survival of Islet-Like Cell Clusters.

Transplantation of hydrogel-encapsulated pancreatic islets is a promising long-term treatment for type 1 diabetes that restores blood glucose regulation while providing graft immunoprotection. Most human-scale islet encapsulation devices that rely solely on diffusion fail to provide sufficient surface area to meet islet oxygen demands. Perfused macroencapsulation devices use blood flow to mitigate oxygen limitations but increase the complexity of blood-device interactions.

Psychological and mind-body interventions for endometriosis: A systematic review.

Endometriosis is a common gynecological condition associated with debilitaing pain and poor mental health. This review examines the evidence for psychological and mind-body (PMB) interventions to improve endometriosis pain, psychological distress, sleep and fatigue. Electronic databases searched included PsychINFO, MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and PubMed.

Serotonin receptor 2C regulates neurite growth and is necessary for normal retinal processing of visual information.

Serotonin (5HT) is present in a subpopulation of amacrine cells, which form synapses with retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), but little is known about the physiological role of retinal serotonergic circuitry. We found that the 5HT receptor 2C (5HTR2C) is upregulated in RGCs after birth. Amacrine cells generate 5HT and about half of RGCs respond to 5HTR2C agonism with calcium elevation.

Physical activity and cancer: A cross-sectional study on the barriers and facilitators to exercise during cancer treatment.

The purpose of this investigation was to explore the barriers and facilitators to exercise in individuals with cancer in Ontario. A cross-sectional study using an online survey was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data. A convenience sample was used to recruit individuals with a current or previous diagnosis of any type of cancer.

The N-terminal Set-β Protein Isoform Induces Neuronal Death.

Set-β protein plays different roles in neurons, but the diversity of Set-β neuronal isoforms and their functions have not been characterized. The expression and subcellular localization of Set-β are altered in Alzheimer disease, cleavage of Set-β leads to neuronal death after stroke, and the full-length Set-β regulates retinal ganglion cell (RGC) and hippocampal neuron axon growth and regeneration in a subcellular localization-dependent manner. Here we used various biochemical approaches to investigate Set-β isoforms and their role in the CNS, using the same type of neurons, RGCs, across studies.

Regulating Set-β's Subcellular Localization Toggles Its Function between Inhibiting and Promoting Axon Growth and Regeneration.

The failure of the CNS neurons to regenerate axons after injury or stroke is a major clinical problem. Transcriptional regulators like Set-β are well positioned to regulate intrinsic axon regeneration capacity, which declines developmentally in maturing CNS neurons. Set-β also functions at cellular membranes and its subcellular localization is disrupted in Alzheimer's disease, but many of its biological mechanisms have not been explored in neurons.

Therapeutic implications for striatal-enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase (STEP) in neuropsychiatric disorders.

Striatal-enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase (STEP) is a brain-specific phosphatase that modulates key signaling molecules involved in synaptic plasticity and neuronal function. Targets include extracellular-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), stress-activated protein kinase p38 (p38), the Src family tyrosine kinase Fyn, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs), and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (AMPARs). STEP-mediated dephosphorylation of ERK1/2, p38, and Fyn leads to inactivation of these enzymes, whereas STEP-mediated dephosphorylation of surface NMDARs and AMPARs promotes their endocytosis.

Genetic reduction of striatal-enriched tyrosine phosphatase (STEP) reverses cognitive and cellular deficits in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive and incurable neurodegenerative disorder. Early in the pathophysiology of AD, synaptic function is disrupted by soluble Aβ oligomers, possibly through Aβ-mediated internalization of NMDA receptors. Striatal-enriched phosphatase (STEP) is a tyrosine phosphatase that regulates the internalization of NMDA receptors.

A new approach to understanding the molecular mechanisms through which estrogens affect cognition.

Traditional approaches to the study of hormones and cognition have been primarily observational or correlational in nature. Because this work does not permit causal relationships to be identified, very little is known about the specific molecules and cellular events through which hormones affect cognitive function. In this review, we propose a new approach to study hormones and memory, where the systematic blocking of cellular events can reveal which such events are necessary for hormones to influence memory consolidation.

Estradiol-induced enhancement of object memory consolidation involves hippocampal extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation and membrane-bound estrogen receptors.

The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway is critical for various forms of learning and memory, and is activated by the potent estrogen 17beta-estradiol (E(2)). Here, we asked whether E(2) modulates memory via ERK activation and putative membrane-bound estrogen receptors (ERs). Using ovariectomized mice, we first demonstrate that intraperitoneal injection of 0.

Different types of environmental enrichment have discrepant effects on spatial memory and synaptophysin levels in female mice.

Environmental enrichment paradigms that incorporate cognitive stimulation, exercise, and motor learning benefit memory and synaptic plasticity across the rodent lifespan. However, the contribution each individual element of the enriched environment makes to enhancing memory and synaptic plasticity has yet to be delineated. Therefore, the current study tested the effects of three of these elements on memory and synaptic protein levels.

Chronic oral estrogen affects memory and neurochemistry in middle-aged female mice.

This study tested whether chronic oral estrogen could improve memory and alter neural plasticity in the hippocampus and neocortex of middle-aged female mice. Ovariectomized C57BL/6 mice were administered 1,000, 1,500, or 2,500 nM 17beta-estradiol in drinking water for 5 weeks prior to and during spatial and object memory testing. Synaptophysin, nerve growth factor (NGF), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels were then measured in hippocampus and neocortex.

Behavioral training interferes with the ability of gonadal hormones to increase CA1 spine synapse density in ovariectomized female rats.

Estradiol benzoate (EB) has repeatedly been shown to increase hippocampal CA1 spine synapse density in ovariectomized female rats. Although this increase has been assumed to enhance memory, a direct link between increased spine synapse density and memory has not been demonstrated. Furthermore, while androgens, such as testosterone propionate (TP) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), also increase spine synapse density in females, their effects on memory have yet to be investigated.

Enrichment enhances spatial memory and increases synaptophysin levels in aged female mice.

The present study tested whether environmental enrichment can reduce age-related spatial reference memory deficits and alter synaptic protein levels in aged female mice. Female C57BL/6 mice, (4 or 27-28 months), were tested in spatial and cued Morris water maze tasks. Prior to (14 days) and during testing, a subset of aged females was exposed to rodent toys and running wheels for 3h per day.