Publications by authors named "Wallack M"

Introduction: We have observed inconsistencies in residents' experiences regarding important procedures and tasks necessary for patient care. We aimed to improve individual motivation to learn and become facile with specific practices earlier in the timeline of the internship years.

Methods: Intern Bingo was implemented in a single general surgery residency.

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An infected (mycotic) aneurysm of the visceral arteries is an uncommon entity, which may arise from a secondary infection of a preexisting aneurysm or be due to degeneration from a primary infection. Mycotic aneurysms require prompt recognition and definitive treatment; otherwise, there can be devastating morbidity and mortality. We present the case of a 51-year-old female with HIV and Crohn's disease who presented with subacute abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting and was found to have an ultimately fatal mycotic aneurysm of the superior mesenteric artery.

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Non-operative management of appendicitis (NOMA) has recently gained popularity, but a concern is that NOMA might miss appendiceal neoplasms. We conducted a retrospective review of 1694 appendectomies done for acute appendicitis at our institution between January 2001 and December 2019 to study the incidence and distribution of appendiceal tumors. We identified 24 appendiceal neoplasms (1.

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Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19) has been correlated with micro and macrovascular thrombosis. Reports have discussed localized thrombosis leading to ischemia, we report a case of diffuse systemic thromboembolism resulting in limb ischemia and organ damage from Covid-19 despite prompt anticoagulation. A 60-year-old unvaccinated male with a history of asthma, diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease, presented with shortness of breath and right lower extremity pain.

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Appendiceal diverticulosis is a rare finding associated with appendiceal neoplasms. Both can masquerade as appendicitis in patients and are overlooked in differentials of right upper quadrant pain. A 37-year-old African American female presented with appendicitis-like symptoms to the emergency room with fever and leukocytosis.

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Meckel's diverticulum is commonly symptomatic the first 2 years of life. Complications associated with Meckel's diverticulum are due to gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding or obstruction. A 5-day-old male presented to the emergency department (ED) with an episode of bright red blood per rectum (BRBPR) associated with emesis.

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Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer with an estimated 106,110 newly diagnosed cases in the United States of America in 2021 leading to an approximated 7180 melanoma-induced deaths. Cancer typically arises from an accumulation of somatic mutations and can be associated with mutagenic or carcinogenic exposure. A key characteristic of melanoma is the extensive somatic mutation rate of 16.

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Introduction: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) often mimics breast cancer. Presentation includes pain, palpable mass, suppuration or suspicious imaging. Widely reported in Asia and the Middle East, IGM is diagnosed after excluding specific granulomatous mastitis (SGM).

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Background: Although fatigue is one of the most debilitating symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), its pathogenesis is not well understood. Neurogenic, inflammatory, endocrine, and metabolic mechanisms have been proposed. Taking into account the temporal dynamics and comorbid mood symptoms of fatigue may help differentiate fatigue phenotypes.

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The sartorius muscle transposition flap is the traditional method of femoral vessel coverage after superficial inguinal lymphadenectomy for regionally-metastatic cancers to the inguinal lymph nodes. However, if the groin has undergone radiotherapy, the sartorius muscle is contained within the irradiated field, and may be problematic for wound healing, in addition to being thin at its insertion and intimately related to several nerves. The gracilis muscle has been used for soft tissue defects and vascular graft infections, but its utility as an alternative to the sartorius muscle flap in the setting of radiation has never been reported.

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BACKGROUND Sclerosing mesenteritis is an inflammatory and fibrotic disease that affects the mesentery of the small intestine. This condition is non-neoplastic, although it is frequently associated with underlying malignancies. The overall etiology is unclear because of the limited number of cases available for review, yet a number of possible mechanisms have been described, including ischemia.

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Purpose: Although mammography screening is crucial for cancer detection, screening rates have been declining, particularly in patients of low socioeconomic status and minorities. We sought to evaluate and improve the compliance rates at our safety net hospital through a prospective randomized controlled trial of a volunteer-run patient navigation intervention.

Methods: Baseline 90-day institutional mammography compliance rates were evaluated for patients who received a physician order for screening mammograms over a 1-month period.

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Commonly reported complications of hepatic cysts are spontaneous hemorrhage, rupture into the peritoneal cavity, infection and compression of the biliary tree however cardiac complications are not commonly reported. We are presenting a case of a large liver cyst presenting with right atrial and ventricular inflow tract impingement resulting in cardiac symptoms. A 68 year-old Hispanic female presented with one month of fatigue and shortness of breath after household work and walking less than one block, right upper quadrant pain and weight loss.

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Amylin is an important gut-brain axis hormone. Since amylin and amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) share similar β sheet secondary structure despite not having the same primary sequences, we hypothesized that the accumulation of Aβ in the brains of subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD) might compete with amylin for binding to the amylin receptor (AmR). If true, adding exogenous amylin type peptides would compete with Aβ and reduce the AD pathological cascade, improving cognition.

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Our recent study has demonstrated that peripheral amylin treatment reduces the amyloid pathology in the brain of Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse models, and improves their learning and memory. We hypothesized that the beneficial effects of amylin for AD was beyond reducing the amyloids in the brain, and have now directly tested the actions of amylin on other aspects of AD pathogenesis, especially neuroinflammation. A 10-week course of peripheral amylin treatment significantly reduced levels of cerebral inflammation markers, Cd68 and Iba1, in amyloid precursor protein (APP) transgenic mice.

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A larger (6.1 L) MFC stack made in a scalable configuration was constructed with four anode modules and three (two-sided) cathode modules, and tested at a wastewater treatment plant for performance in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and power generation. Domestic wastewater was fed either in parallel (raw wastewater to each individual anode module) or series (sequentially through the chambers), with the flow direction either alternated every one or two days or kept fixed in a single direction over time.

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Over expression of various immunogenic melanoma associated antigens (MAAs) has been exploited in the development of immunotherapeutic melanoma vaccines. Expression of MAAs such as MART-1 and gp100 is modulated by the MAPK signaling pathway, which is often deregulated in melanoma. The protein BRAF, a member of the MAPK pathway, is mutated in over 60% of melanomas providing an opportunity for the identification and approval by the FDA of a small molecule MAPK signaling inhibitor PLX4032 that functions to inactivate mutant BRAF(V600E).

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Age is the major risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), and modifying age-related factors may help to delay the onset of the disease. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between age and the metabolic factors related to the risk of developing AD. The concentrations of insulin, amylin, and amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) in plasma were measured.

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Our recent study reported that amylin, a pancreatic peptide that readily crosses the blood-brain barrier, improves learning and memory in Alzheimer's disease mouse models. However, the relationship between peripheral amylin and cognition in humans is unknown. In this follow-up study, using a cross-sectional, homebound elderly population, improvement in cognitive function with increasing quartiles of plasma amylin was suggested by positive association with verbal memory (p = 0.

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Development of a melanoma-specific vaccine is of clinical necessity. Therefore, a phase III, randomized, double-blind trial was performed (June 1988-June 1991) to assess the clinical effectiveness of our vaccinia melanoma oncolysate (VMO) vaccine in stage III melanoma patients. Patient data were collected from 11 institutions, as well as from the Social Security Death Index and were analyzed from April through August 2008 for disease-free interval (DFI) and overall survival (OS).

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Amylin, a pancreatic peptide, and amyloid-beta peptides (Aβ), a major component of Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain, share similar β-sheet secondary structures, but it is not known whether pancreatic amylin affects amyloid pathogenesis in the AD brain. Using AD mouse models, we investigated the effects of amylin and its clinical analog, pramlintide, on AD pathogenesis. Surprisingly, chronic intraperitoneal (i.

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Amylin, a pancreatic peptide that readily crosses the blood brain barrier (BBB), and amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ), the main component of amyloid plaques and a major component of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology in the brain, share several features. These include having similar β-sheet secondary structures, binding to the same receptor, and being degraded by the same protease. Thus, amylin may be associated with Aβ, but the nature of their relationship remains unclear.

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Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in the USA. Intestinal malrotation diagnosed in adulthood was, until recently, a very rare phenomenon. While patients may present with intestinal obstruction or abdominal pain, the diagnosis is now often made as an incidental finding by computed tomography (CT).

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