Publications by authors named "Wiener S"

Article Synopsis
  • Developed a nonbiohazardous simulator for ultrasound-guided percutaneous nephrolithotomy using expert feedback and modern education theory.
  • A prototype was created with realistic anatomical features through 3D printing and hydrogel molding, and validated by expert surgeons and participants in multicenter trials.
  • The simulator showed high satisfaction ratings and significant skill improvements for residents, making it an effective training tool for urologic education.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: This research applied emotion regulation to negative emotions felt toward a sex trafficking victim so that judgments were made to offer her services rather than to favor her arrest for prostitution.

Hypotheses: We predicted that participants would favor police not arresting a trafficking survivor for prostitution when she was vulnerable (Hypothesis 1) or she showed no sex work history (Hypothesis 2). We predicted a moderated mediation model (Hypothesis 3), in which emotion regulation training to reduce feelings of contempt, anger, and disgust (CAD) toward the survivor interacted with vulnerability and prior sex work such that the effects of the latter two manipulations were the strongest in the successful emotion regulation conditions (i.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

To better understand neural processing during adaptive learning of stimulus-response-reward contingencies, we recorded synchrony of neuronal activity in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and hippocampal rhythms in male rats acquiring and switching between spatial and visual discrimination tasks in a Y-maze. ACC population activity as well as single unit activity shifted shortly after task rule changes or just before the rats adopted different task strategies. Hippocampal theta oscillations (associated with memory encoding) modulated an elevated proportion of rule-change responsive neurons (70%), but other neurons that were correlated with strategy-change, strategy value and reward-rate were not.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Data are lacking for the accuracy of computed tomography (CT) in measuring prostate size, which can streamline care and prevent invasive procedures. We evaluate agreement and intra/inter-observer variability in prostate sizing between CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) planimetry for a wide range of gland sizes.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 700 patients who underwent MRI fusion biopsy at a single institution and identified 89 patients that had a CT within 2 years of the MRI.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background, Introduction And Aim: Ureteral stent-related symptoms (USRS) often result in unplanned phone calls and ER visits. We hypothesize that patient factors can be identified to predict these unplanned encounters.

Methods And Materials: Retrospective analysis of indwelling ureteral stent placements from 2014 to 2019 at a single institution by CPT code was performed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objectives:  It is well established that provider lack of knowledge in the field of transgender and nonbinary health is as ignificant barrier to care and that training in this area is lacking. This study examined how family medicine residents' self-confidence and medical knowledge in providing gender-affirming care changed after completing a novel, online curriculum on transgender and nonbinary care.

Methods: Thirty-nine family medicine residents were invited to complete the curriculum.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Gene drive modified mosquitoes (GDMMs) have the potential to address Africa's persistent malaria problem, but are still in early stages of development and testing. Continuous engagement of African stakeholders is crucial for successful evaluation and implementation of these technologies. The aim of this multi-country study was, therefore, to explore the insights and recommendations of key stakeholders across Africa on the potential of GDMMs for malaria control and elimination in the continent.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) mostly occurs when there is an acute insult to the liver in patients with pre-existing liver disease, and it is characterized by a high mortality rate. Various therapeutic approaches have been used thus far, with orthotopic liver transplantation being the only definitive cure. Clinical trials and meta-analyses have investigated the use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) to mobilize bone marrow-derived stem cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

High intra-pelvic pressure (IPP) during ureteroscopy can lead to complications including pyelovenous backflow, bleeding, and infection. Our primary goal was to identify the best cross-section and orientation of a ureteroscope within a Ureteral Access Sheath (UAS) to minimize IPP and maximize outflow. Our secondary goal was to validate our findings with a UAS prototype.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Outcomes of individuals with adult congenital heart disease who are socioeconomically disadvantaged and cared for in cardio-obstetrical programs, are lacking.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics, maternal pregnancy outcomes, and contraceptive uptake in individuals with adult congenital heart disease in an urban cardio-obstetrical program.

Study Design: Retrospective data were collected for individuals with adult congenital heart disease seen in the Maternal Fetal Medicine-Cardiology Joint Program at Montefiore Health System between 2015 and 2021 and compared using modified World Health Organization class I, II vs the modified World Health Organization class ≥II/III.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Previous studies have shown that individuals who stutter exhibit abnormal speech perception in addition to disfluent production as compared with their nonstuttering peers. This study investigated whether adult Chinese-speaking stutterers are still able to use knowledge of statistical regularities embedded in their native language to recognize spoken words and, if so, how much acoustic information is needed to trigger this information.

Method: Seventeen stutterers and 20 typical, nonstuttering controls participated in a gating experiment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Prefrontal cortical and striatal areas have been identified by inactivation or lesion studies to be required for behavioral flexibility, including selecting and processing of different types of information. In order to identify these networks activated selectively during the acquisition of new reward contingency rules, rats were trained to discriminate orientations of bars presented in pseudorandom sequence on two video monitors positioned behind the goal sites on a T-maze with return arms. A second group already trained in the visual discrimination task learned to alternate left and right goal arm visits in the same maze while ignoring the visual cues still being presented.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Evolution of the vertebrate urinary system occurs in response to numerous selective pressures, which have been incompletely characterized. Developing research into urinary evolution led to the occurrence of clinical applications and insights in paediatric urology, reproductive medicine, urolithiasis and other domains. Each nephron segment and urinary organ has functions that can be contextualized within an evolutionary framework.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Dopamine release in the forebrain by midbrain ventral tegmental nucleus (VTA) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) neurons is implicated in reward processing, goal-directed learning, and decision-making. Rhythmic oscillations of neural excitability underlie coordination of network processing, and have been reported in these dopaminergic nuclei at several frequency bands. This paper provides a comparative characterization of several frequencies of oscillations of local field potential and single unit activity, highlighting some behavioral correlates.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the health outcomes of adolescent survivors of sexual assault, as measured by subsequent emergency department (ED) utilization for mental and sexual health concerns.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database. We included patients aged 11-18 years seen at a PHIS hospital with a primary diagnosis of sexual assault.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Previous studies have shown that individuals with congenital amusia exhibit deficient pitch processing across music and language domains. This study investigated whether adult Chinese-speaking listeners with amusia were still able to learn Thai lexical tones based on stimulus frequency of statistical distribution via distributional learning, despite their degraded lexical tone perception.

Method: Following a pretest-training-posttest design, 21 amusics and 23 typical, musically intact listeners were assigned into bimodal and unimodal distribution conditions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Congenital amusia is an innate and lifelong deficit of music processing. This study investigated whether adult listeners with amusia were still able to learn pitch-related musical chords based on stimulus frequency of statistical distribution, i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The locus coeruleus (LC) is the primary source of noradrenergic projections to the forebrain, and, in prefrontal cortex, is implicated in decision-making and executive function. LC neurons phase-lock to cortical infra-slow wave oscillations during sleep. Such infra-slow rhythms are rarely reported in awake states, despite their interest, since they correspond to the time scale of behavior.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Frequent hurricanes affect agricultural productivity, food security, economic security, and human wellbeing in the Caribbean islands. We assessed recent hurricane effects on the agricultural sector, and the challenges faced by farmers, foresters, and advisors related to hurricane preparedness and recovery in Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands (USVI). We used qualitative and quantitative survey methods to compile perspectives from agricultural advisors related to hurricane effects on farmlands, preparedness and recovery measures taken by land managers, and the needs regarding preparing for and responding to future hurricanes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Face masks affect the transmission of speech and obscure facial cues. Here, we examine how this reduction in acoustic and facial information affects a listener's understanding of speech prosody. English sentence pairs that differed in their intonational (statement/question) and emotional (happy/sad) prosody were created.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Modulation of the endogenous cannabinoid system has been suggested as a potential anticancer strategy. In the search for novel and less toxic therapeutic options, structural modifications of the endocannabinoid anandamide and the synthetic derivative of oleic acid, Minerval (HU-600), were done to obtain 2-hydroxy oleic acid ethanolamide (HU-585), which is an HU-600 derivative with the anandamide side chain. We showed that treatment of SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells with HU-585 induced a better anti-tumorigenic effect in comparison to HU-600 as evidenced by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, colony-forming assay, and migration assay.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Current treatments for trauma-related disorders remain ineffective for many patients. Fear extinction deficiency is a prominent feature of these diseases, and many behavioral treatments rely on extinction training. However, in many patients, therapy is followed by a relapse of symptoms, and the underpinnings of such interindividual variations in vulnerability to relapse remain unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Zinc phosphide is a highly toxic rodenticide that reacts with hydrochloric acid in the stomach to form phosphine gas. Ingestion of zinc phosphide can result in consequential toxicity even when ingested in small quantities. Clear guidelines are lacking on appropriate personal protective equipment for providers to avoid additional exposure.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: Non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer were rare among non-western populations with traditional diets and lifestyles. As populations transitioned toward industrialized diets and lifestyles, NCDs developed.

Objective: We performed a systematic literature review to examine the effects of diet and lifestyle transitions on NCDs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF