Disease Spectrum of Anaphylaxis Disorders.

Anaphylaxis results from massive mast cell activation. Mechanisms of mast cell activation may involve IgE- and non-IgE-mediated triggers, clonal mast cell disease, or be idiopathic and may be modified by several factors including but not restricted to hormonal status, stress, heritable factors, mast cell burden, and simultaneous exposure to more than 1 factor. Patients with recurrent anaphylaxis with a nonidentifiable trigger present a particular challenge in diagnosis and management.

Efficacy of COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Based on Antibody Concentration.

Background: Convalescent plasma obtained from individuals who have recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) contains neutralizing antibodies to the virus and has been frequently used as a treatment in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, observational cohort study involving 96 hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 who were allocated in a 1 : 1 ratio to having received either high antibody concentration convalescent plasma or low antibody concentration convalescent plasma. Quantitative measurements of IgG to the receptor-binding domain (RBD), the S1 subunit of the spike protein, and the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein were determined from donor plasma samples.

Insulin-like growth factor-1 regulates the mechanosensitivity of chondrocytes by modulating TRPV4.

Both mechanical and biochemical stimulation are required for maintaining the integrity of articular cartilage. However, chondrocytes respond differently to mechanical stimuli in osteoarthritic cartilage when biochemical signaling pathways, such as Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), are altered. The Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) channel is central to chondrocyte mechanotransduction and regulation of cartilage homeostasis.

Unilateral diaphragmatic dysfunction following thoracic outlet surgery diagnosed by point-of-care ultrasound.

A patient with recent thoracic outlet decompression surgery presented with acute dyspnea and was found by point-of-care ultrasound to have diaphragm dysfunction. This case highlights an unexpected cause of respiratory complaints in the outpatient setting discovered at the bedside, utilizing point-of-care ultrasound protocol.

American Dreaming: Really Reading .

F. Scott Fitzgerald's (1925) is one of the best known and most widely read and taught novels in American literature. It is so familiar that even those who have not read it believe that they have and take for granted that they know about its main character and theme of the American Dream.