Autologous Graft Thickness Affects Scar Contraction and Quality in a Porcine Excisional Wound Model.

Background: Texture, color, and durability are important characteristics to consider for skin replacement in conspicuous and/or mobile regions of the body such as the face, neck, and hands. Although autograft thickness is a known determinant of skin quality, few studies have correlated the subjective and objective characters of skin graft healing with their associated morphologic and cellular profiles. Defining these relationships may help guide development and evaluation of future skin replacement strategies.

EEG source localization: Sensor density and head surface coverage.

Background: The accuracy of EEG source localization depends on a sufficient sampling of the surface potential field, an accurate conducting volume estimation (head model), and a suitable and well-understood inverse technique. The goal of the present study is to examine the effect of sampling density and coverage on the ability to accurately localize sources, using common linear inverse weight techniques, at different depths. Several inverse methods are examined, using the popular head conductivity.

Factors associated with illicit methadone injecting in a Canadian setting.

Background And Objectives: While methadone is well established as an evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder, safety concerns persist regarding its diversion. The authors examine the prevalence of and risk factors associated with injection of methadone in an urban population.

Methods: Between December 2005 and November 2013, data were derived from two open prospective studies of persons who inject drugs (PWID) in Vancouver, Canada.

Wide-Field Lensing Mass Maps from Dark Energy Survey Science Verification Data.

We present a mass map reconstructed from weak gravitational lensing shear measurements over 139  deg2 from the Dark Energy Survey science verification data. The mass map probes both luminous and dark matter, thus providing a tool for studying cosmology. We find good agreement between the mass map and the distribution of massive galaxy clusters identified using a red-sequence cluster finder.

Use of asthma medication during pregnancy and risk of specific congenital anomalies: A European case-malformed control study.

Background: Pregnant women with asthma need to take medication during pregnancy.

Objective: We sought to identify whether there is an increased risk of specific congenital anomalies after exposure to antiasthma medication in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Methods: We performed a population-based case-malformed control study testing signals identified in a literature review.

Cutaneous Legionella longbeachae Infection in Immunosuppressed Woman, United Kingdom.

We report a rare case of cutaneous Legionella longbeachae infection in a patient receiving long-term corticosteroids for immune thrombocytopenia. Such infections cannot be identified by using Legionella urinary antigen testing but are commonly seen after exposure to commercial potting compost, particularly in immunocompromised patients.

Improving Information on Maternal Medication Use by Linking Prescription Data to Congenital Anomaly Registers: A EUROmediCAT Study.

Introduction: Research on associations between medication use during pregnancy and congenital anomalies is significative for assessing the safe use of a medicine in pregnancy. Congenital anomaly (CA) registries do not have optimal information on medicine exposure, in contrast to prescription databases. Linkage of prescription databases to the CA registries is a potentially effective method of obtaining accurate information on medicine use in pregnancies and the risk of congenital anomalies.

A critical appraisal of ibrutinib in the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Although chemo-immunotherapy remains at the forefront of first-line treatment for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small molecules, such as ibrutinib, are beginning to play a significant role, particularly in patients with multiply relapsed or chemotherapy-refractory disease and where toxicity is an overriding concern. Ibrutinib is a first-in-class, oral inhibitor of Bruton's tyrosine kinase, which functions by irreversible inhibition of the downstream signaling pathway of the B-cell receptor, which normally promotes cell survival and proliferation. Early clinical trials have demonstrated excellent tolerability and a modest side-effect profile even in elderly and multiply pretreated patient cohorts.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant use in first trimester pregnancy and risk of specific congenital anomalies: a European register-based study.

Evidence of an association between early pregnancy exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) and congenital heart defects (CHD) has contributed to recommendations to weigh benefits and risks carefully. The objective of this study was to determine the specificity of association between first trimester exposure to SSRIs and specific CHD and other congenital anomalies (CA) associated with SSRI exposure in the literature (signals). A population-based case-malformed control study was conducted in 12 EUROCAT CA registries covering 2.

Unusual trend in the prevalence of trisomy 13 in mothers aged 35 and older: A population based study of national congenital anomaly data.

Background: Trisomy 13 is one of the three autosomal trisomies compatible with viability. It is associated with structural anomalies, learning disability and poor survival. Advanced maternal age is the most frequently suggested risk factor.

Capturing Key NANDA-I Nursing Diagnoses From Actual Clinical Data for Patients With Heart Failure.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to identify key nursing diagnoses with related factors and signs/symptoms using NANDA-I for patients with heart failure (HF).

Methods: A retrospective descriptive design was used to address the research questions. Data were obtained from the records of patients discharged for 1 year with the medical diagnoses of HF from a Midwestern community hospital.

Critical periods for the neurodevelopmental processes of externalizing and internalizing.

Research on neurobiological development is providing insight into the nature and mechanisms of human neural plasticity. These mechanisms appear to support two different forms of developmental learning. One form of learning could be described as externalizing, in which neural representations are highly responsive to environmental influences, as the child typically operates under a mode of hedonic approach.

From Leaf Metabolome to In Vivo Testing: Identifying Antifeedant Compounds for Ecological Studies of Marsupial Diets.

Identifying specific plant secondary metabolites that influence feeding behavior can be challenging, but a solid understanding of animal preferences can guide efforts. Common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) predominantly eat Eucalyptus species belonging to the subgenus Symphyomyrtus, and avoid eating those belonging to the Monocalyptus subgenus (also called subgenus Eucalyptus). Using an unbiased (1)H NMR metabolomics approach, a previous study identified unsubstituted B ring flavanones in most species of monocalypts examined, whereas these compounds were absent from symphyomyrtles.

Regulatory Considerations for the Clinical and Research Use of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS): review and recommendations from an expert panel.

The field of transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) has experienced significant growth in the past 15 years. One of the tES techniques leading this increased interest is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Significant research efforts have been devoted to determining the clinical potential of tDCS in humans.

Phosphorylation of GATA-6 is required for vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation after mTORC1 inhibition.

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) undergo transcriptionally regulated reversible differentiation in growing and injured blood vessels. This dedifferentiation also contributes to VSMC hyperplasia after vascular injury, including that caused by angioplasty and stenting. Stents provide mechanical support and can contain and release rapamycin, an inhibitor of the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1).

Essential role of Orai1 store-operated calcium channels in lactation.

The nourishment of neonates by nursing is the defining characteristic of mammals. However, despite considerable research into the neural control of lactation, an understanding of the signaling mechanisms underlying the production and expulsion of milk by mammary epithelial cells during lactation remains largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that a store-operated Ca(2+) channel subunit, Orai1, is required for both optimal Ca(2+) transport into milk and for milk ejection.

Measurable results: Reducing staff injuries on a specialty psychiatric unit for patients with developmental disabilities.

Background: Quality improvement initiative focused on staff injury reduction on a specialized inpatient psychiatric unit which offers acute stabilization for children and adolescents with complex high-risk behaviors.

Objective: To utilize quality improvement principles and interventions to reduce staff injuries on a specialized inpatient child/adolescent psychiatric unit.

Participants: Direct care clinical staff within an inpatient psychiatric unit for patients with co-occurring developmental disabilities and psychiatric illness were the focus of the initiative.

Genetic variants in root architecture-related genes in a Glycine soja accession, a potential resource to improve cultivated soybean.

Background: Root system architecture is important for water acquisition and nutrient acquisition for all crops. In soybean breeding programs, wild soybean alleles have been used successfully to enhance yield and seed composition traits, but have never been investigated to improve root system architecture. Therefore, in this study, high-density single-feature polymorphic markers and simple sequence repeats were used to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) governing root system architecture in an inter-specific soybean mapping population developed from a cross between Glycine max and Glycine soja.

Does transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) alleviate the pain experienced during bone marrow sampling in addition to standard techniques? A randomised, double-blinded, controlled trial.

Aims: Bone marrow aspiration and trephine (BMAT) biopsies remain important tests in haematology. However, the procedures can be moderately to severely painful despite standard methods of pain relief. To test the efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in alleviating the pain from BMAT in addition to standard analgesia using a numerical pain rating scale (NRS).

Epidemiology of hypospadias in Europe: a registry-based study.

Background: Hypospadias is a common congenital malformation. The prevalence of hypospadias has a large geographical variation, and recent studies have reported both increasing and decreasing temporal trends. It is unclear whether hypospadias prevalence is associated with maternal age.

Recipient wound bed characteristics affect scarring and skin graft contraction.

The use of autograft skin is essential in the treatment of full thickness burns and large cutaneous defects. Both autograft thickness and condition of the wound bed modulate aesthetic and functional outcomes. Thicker autografts contract less and maintain greater functionality as the scar matures.

Evaluation of Cathode Air Flow Transients in a SOFC/GT Hybrid System Using Hardware in the Loop Simulation.

Thermal management in the fuel cell component of a direct fired solid oxide fuel cell gas turbine (SOFC/GT) hybrid power system can be improved by effective management and control of the cathode airflow. The disturbances of the cathode airflow were accomplished by diverting air around the fuel cell system through the manipulation of a hot-air bypass valve in open loop experiments, using a hardware-based simulation facility designed and built by the U.S.

Role of Mitochondria in Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury.

Hypoxic-ischemia (HI) causes severe brain injury in neonates. It's one of the leading causes to neonatal death and pediatric disability, resulting in devastating consequences, emotionally and economically, to their families. A series of events happens in this process, e.

Combat-related facial burns: analysis of strategic pitfalls.

Purpose: Burns constitute approximately 10% of all combat-related injuries to the head and neck region. We postulated that the combat environment presents unique challenges not commonly encountered among civilian injuries. The purpose of the present study was to determine the features commonly seen among combat facial burns that will result in therapeutic challenges and might contribute to undesired outcomes.