Demonstration of Physicochemical and Functional Similarity of Biosimilar Pegfilgrastim-cbqv to Pegfilgrastim.

Background: Pegfilgrastim-cbqv/CHS-1701 (UDENYCA) (hereafter referred to as pegfilgrastim-cbqv) was approved in 2018 by the US Food and Drug Administration as a biosimilar for pegfilgrastim (Neulasta) (hereafter referred to as pegfilgrastim). Both pegfilgrastim-cbqv and pegfilgrastim are conjugates of recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (r-metHuG-CSF) with a 20 kDa polyethylene glycol (PEG) indicated to decrease the incidence of infection, as manifested by febrile neutropenia, in patients receiving myelosuppressive anticancer drugs. The demonstration of analytical similarity for PEG-protein conjugates presents unique challenges since both the protein and PEG attributes must be characterized.

The Use of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Attention Optimization Research: A Review from Basic Theory to Findings in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Depression.

This review explores the pivotal role of attention in everyday life, emphasizing the significance of studying attention-related brain functions. We delve into the development of methodologies for investigating attention and highlight the crucial role of brain neuroimaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in advancing attention research. Attention optimization theory is introduced to elucidate the neural basis of attention, identifying key brain regions and neural circuits involved in attention processes.

Thyroid volume changes following adjuvant radiation therapy for breast cancer.

Background And Purpose: Incidental thyroid gland irradiation frequently occurs in breast cancer patients who receive regional nodal irradiation (RNI) to the supraclavicular (SCV) region. Recent studies suggest hypothyroidism (HT) is a complication of radiation therapy (RT) that includes SCV fields. We retrospectively analyzed patients who received RNI to evaluate thyroid gland evolution following RT as well as its association with the development of HT.

Building Caregivers' Social Support on Social Network Sites Through Online Support Groups.

Online support groups (OSGs) provide caregivers of children with mental disorders, information, and advice, as well as the opportunity to exchange social support. This research explores the effects of social support on caregivers when they participate in OSGs. The research survey was conducted on OSGs for parents of children with mental disorders, including developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

A promiscuous T cell epitope-based HIV vaccine providing redundant population coverage of the HLA class II elicits broad, polyfunctional T cell responses in nonhuman primates.

Over the last few decades, several emerging or reemerging viral diseases with no readily available vaccines have ravaged the world. A platform to fastly generate vaccines inducing potent and durable neutralizing antibody and T cell responses is sorely needed. Bioinformatically identified epitope-based vaccines can focus on immunodominant T cell epitopes and induce more potent immune responses than a whole antigen vaccine and may be deployed more rapidly and less costly than whole-gene vaccines.

Tumor control and cosmetic outcome of weekly iridium-192 high-dose-rate brachytherapy for nonmelanoma skin cancers in the elderly.

Purpose: Radiotherapy with high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy is used to treat nonmelanoma skin cancers. We retrospectively analyzed a hypofractionated regimen to assess its safety and efficacy in elderly patients ≥70 years.

Methods And Materials: Forty-eight patients with 67 lesions treated since 2016 with catheter-based iridium-192 HDR brachytherapy using a custom mold or three-dimensional-printed applicator met inclusion criteria.

The RCA ReCAst: A Root Cause Analysis Simulation for the Interprofessional Clinical Learning Environment.

Problem: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education calls for resident participation in real or simulated interprofessional analysis of a patient safety event. There are far more residents who must participate in these investigations than available institutional root cause analyses (RCAs) to accommodate them. To correct this imbalance, the authors developed an institutionally sponsored, interprofessional RCA simulation program and implemented it across all graduate medical education (GME) residency programs at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

NTCP model for hypothyroidism after supraclavicular-directed radiation therapy for breast cancer.

Background And Purpose: Hypothyroidism (HT) is a well-known complication of radiation (RT) that includes supraclavicular (SCV) fields. We analyzed breast cancer patients who received SCV-directed RT to evaluate predictors of HT and developed the first normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) model for HT specific to breast cancer patients.

Materials And Methods: 192 breast cancer patients received SCV-directed RT between 2007 and 2019 and met inclusion criteria.

Does Standard Physical Therapy Increase Quadriceps Strength in Chronically Ventilated Patients? A Pilot Study.

Objectives: Physical therapy is standard care for mechanically ventilated patients, but there is no evidence, using nonvolitional, objective measurements, that physical therapy increases muscle strength in this population. The present study tested the hypothesis that 2 weeks of standard, conventional physical therapy provided at a ventilator weaning facility would increase quadriceps strength in mechanically ventilated patients.

Design: Prospective observational study.

p38 Regulates Expression of DUX4 in a Model of Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy.

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is caused by the loss of repression at the locus leading to aberrant double homeobox 4 (DUX4) expression in skeletal muscle. Activation of this early embryonic transcription factor results in the expression of its target genes causing muscle fiber death. Although progress toward understanding the signals driving DUX4 expression has been made, the factors and pathways involved in the transcriptional activation of this gene remain largely unknown.

Fostering belonging in academic anaesthesiology: faculty and department chair perspectives on supporting women anaesthesiologists.

An increasing number of global initiatives aim to address the disconnection between the increasing number of women entering medicine and the persistence of gender imbalance in the physician anaesthesiologist workforce. This commentary complements the global movement's efforts to increase women's representation in academic anaesthesiology by presenting considerations for fostering inclusion for women in academic anaesthesiology from both the faculty and departmental leadership perspectives in a US academic anaesthesiology department.

The Year in Vascular Anesthesia: Selected Highlights From 2018.

This special article is the second in an annual series for the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia that is specifically dedicated to highlights in vascular anesthesiology published in 2018. This review begins with 2 updates in preoperative medicine in the vascular surgery population, including recent publications regarding the management of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers and antiplatelet medications in the perioperative period. The next section focuses on complications related to thoracic endovascular aortic surgery, particularly as technology advances allow for endovascular repair of more complex anatomy.

Translation attenuation by minocycline enhances longevity and proteostasis in old post-stress-responsive organisms.

Unlabelled: Aging impairs the activation of stress signaling pathways (SSPs), preventing the induction of longevity mechanisms late in life. Here, we show that the antibiotic minocycline increases lifespan and reduces protein aggregation even in old, SSP-deficient by targeting cytoplasmic ribosomes, preferentially attenuating translation of highly translated mRNAs. In contrast to most other longevity paradigms, minocycline inhibits rather than activates all major SSPs and extends lifespan in mutants deficient in the activation of SSPs, lysosomal or autophagic pathways.

Quality Improvement in Anesthesiology - Leveraging Data and Analytics to Optimize Outcomes.

Quality improvement is at the heart of practice of anesthesiology. Objective data are critical for any quality improvement initiative; when possible, a combination of process, outcome, and balancing metrics should be evaluated to gauge the value of an intervention. Quality improvement is an ongoing process; iterative reevaluation of data is required to maintain interventions, ensure continued effectiveness, and continually improve.