Surgeon Perspectives Regarding Death and Dying.

Background: Surgical patients most commonly receive palliative care services within 24-48 hours of death, and reasons for this delay are poorly understood. Research with nonsurgeons suggests that physician characteristics and beliefs about death and dying may contribute to late referral.

Objective: To describe surgeon perspectives related to death and dying, and their relationship with delayed referrals to palliative care.

Location and Causation of Residual Lymph Node Metastasis After Surgical Treatment of Regionally Advanced Differentiated Thyroid Cancer.

Background: After initial surgical treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) residual lymph node metastases are often found at the time of radioactive iodine (I) therapy. Recurrence of DTC is due to persistent disease not removed at initial surgery which also did not respond to I treatment. This study aimed at determining locations of, and reasons for, residual nodal metastases detected by I scans with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT/CT) obtained prior to radioiodine therapy following surgical treatment of DTC.

Pediatric Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders: Primary Care Provider Perspectives.

Somatization, or physical symptoms that are inconsistent with a physiological cause that may or may not involve an identified stressor, is common in outpatient pediatrics. When these symptoms persist, they can impair function and progress to a somatic symptom and related disorder (SSRD), resulting in increased health care use and increased demands on primary care providers (PCPs). We performed a needs assessment among PCPs to better understand how best to support providers caring for children with SSRDs.

Reach Out Churches: A Community-Based Participatory Research Pilot Trial to Assess the Feasibility of a Mobile Health Technology Intervention to Reduce Blood Pressure Among African Americans.

Innovative strategies are needed to reduce the hypertension epidemic among African Americans. Reach Out was a faith-collaborative, mobile health, randomized, pilot intervention trial of four mobile health components to reduce high blood pressure (BP) compared to usual care. It was designed and tested within a community-based participatory research framework among African Americans recruited and randomized from churches in Flint, Michigan.

Pathogenesis of Colitis in Germ-Free Mice Infected With EHEC O157:H7.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) are strains of E. coli that express Shiga toxins (Stx) and cause hemorrhagic colitis. In some cases, disease can progress to hemolytic uremic syndrome, a potentially fatal form of kidney disease.

Women's Contraceptive Preference-Use Mismatch.

Background: Family planning research has not adequately addressed women's preferences for different contraceptive methods and whether women's contraceptive experiences match their preferences.

Methods: Data were drawn from the Women's Healthcare Experiences and Preferences Study, an Internet survey of 1,078 women aged 18-55 randomly sampled from a national probability panel. Survey items assessed women's preferences for contraceptive methods, match between methods preferred and used, and perceived reasons for mismatch.

Variation in the Contents of Sepsis Bundles and Quality Measures. A Systematic Review.

Rationale: Sepsis contributes to one in every two to three inpatient hospital deaths. Early recognition and treatment are instrumental in reducing mortality, yet there are substantial quality gaps. Sepsis bundles containing quality metrics are often used in efforts to improve outcomes.

Renal remodeling after abdominal radiation therapy: parenchymal and functional changes.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to quantify changes in renal length, volume, and function over time after upper abdominal radiation therapy.

Materials And Methods: Imaging and clinical data were retrospectively reviewed for 27 adults with abdominal radiation therapy between 2001 and 2012. All had two kidneys, radiation exposure to one kidney, and survival of at least 1 year after therapy.

Macroscopic stiffness of breast tumors predicts metastasis.

Mechanical properties of tumors differ substantially from normal cells and tissues. Changes in stiffness or elasticity regulate pro-metastatic behaviors of cancer cells, but effects have been documented predominantly in isolated cells or in vitro cell culture systems. To directly link relative stiffness of tumors to cancer progression, we combined a mouse model of metastatic breast cancer with ex vivo measurements of bulk moduli of freshly excised, intact tumors.

Modulation of inflammation by interleukin-27.

A growing body of evidence suggests an essential role of the heterodimeric cytokine, IL-27, for regulating immunity. IL-27 is composed of two subunits (p28 and EBI3) and is classified as a member of the IL-12 family of cytokines. APCs have been recognized as a major cellular source of IL-27 following activation with microbial products or IFNs (types I and II).