Validation of the VBLaST pattern cutting task: a learning curve study.

Background: Mastery of laparoscopic skills is essential in surgical practice and requires considerable time and effort to achieve. The Virtual Basic Laparoscopic Skill Trainer (VBLaST-PC) is a virtual simulator that was developed as a computerized version of the pattern cutting (PC) task in the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) system. To establish convergent validity for the VBLaST-PC, we assessed trainees' learning curves using the cumulative summation (CUSUM) method and compared them with those on the FLS.

Convergent validation and transfer of learning studies of a virtual reality-based pattern cutting simulator.

Introduction: Research has clearly shown the benefits of surgical simulators to train laparoscopic motor skills required for positive patient outcomes. We have developed the Virtual Basic Laparoscopic Skill Trainer (VBLaST) that simulates tasks from the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) curriculum. This study aims to show convergent validity of the VBLaST pattern cutting module via the CUSUM method to quantify learning curves along with motor skill transfer from simulation environments to ex vivo tissue samples.

Comprehensive analysis of two Shank3 and the Cacna1c mouse models of autism spectrum disorder.

To expand, analyze and extend published behavioral phenotypes relevant to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we present a study of three ASD genetic mouse models: Feng's Shank3 model, hereafter Shank3/F, Jiang's Shank3 model, hereafter Shank3/J and the Cacna1c deletion model. The Shank3 models mimick gene mutations associated with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome and the Cacna1c model recapitulates the deletion underlying Timothy syndrome. This study utilizes both standard and novel behavioral tests with the same methodology used in our previously published companion report on the Cntnap2 null and 16p11.

The Experimental Tobacco Marketplace II: Substitutability and sex effects in dual electronic cigarette and conventional cigarette users.

Aim: The aim of the current study was to evaluate tobacco product purchasing in the Experimental: Tobacco Marketplace (ETM) among male and female smokers who also use e-cigarettes. We hypothesized a high substitution profile for e-cigarettes and that males would purchase more Snus than females.

Methods: The ETM is an online market used in clinical abuse liability research to mimic real-world purchasing patterns.

Vitamin B1 deficiency in patients with postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS).

Objective: POTS is a heterogeneous disorder of the autonomic nervous system that can result from multiple etiologies. An increased prevalence of vitamin B12, vitamin D 25-OH and iron deficiencies has been observed in patients with POTS. This study examined the prevalence of vitamin B1 deficiency and assessed response to vitamin B1 supplementation in the deficient POTS patients.

Aspirin responsiveness changes in obese patients following bariatric surgery.

Aims: Bariatric surgery has emerged as a promising treatment option for weight loss and to counter the metabolic consequences of obesity. Obesity has been linked to a hyperaggregable state, as well as a blunted response to aspirin. This pilot study assessed the hypothesis that bariatric surgery would lead to an improvement in aspirin-induced platelet inhibition and a reduction in platelet aggregability.

Correlation of Symptoms, Clinical Signs, and Biomarkers of Inflammation in Postsurgical Chronic Rhinosinusitis.

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate symptoms described by patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with polypoid changes/nasal polyps and their correlation with computed tomography (CT), nasal endoscopy, and intranasal biomarkers.

Study Design: Prospective multicenter study symptom data from postsurgical adult chronic rhinosinusitis study participants with recurrent disease refractory to medical therapy were analyzed in comparison with objective data.

Methods: Using logistic regression analysis, participant-rated 16-question surveys from 258 participants were assessed for correlation with nasal endoscopy scores, CT percentage of sinus occlusion, and intranasal biomarkers of fungal antigens (Alternaria and Aspergillus), eosinophilic inflammation (eosinophil-derived neurotoxin [EDN] and major basic protein [MBP]), and inflammatory cytokines (interleukins 5 and 13).

Urologic Management and Complications in Spinal Cord Injury Patients: A 40- to 50-year Follow-up Study.

Objective: To assess the management and types of urologic complications in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients and to explore the risk factors for these complications.

Methods: A total of 43 SCI patients with a median follow-up of 45 (range 40-50) years were included in this retrospective study. All medical charts were reviewed for demographics, urologic complications, and bladder management.

Adolescent Sexuality: Updates to the Sexually Transmitted Infection Guidelines.

Adolescents are at high risk for acquisition and transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STI) secondary to both cognitive and biological susceptibility. The prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of STIs are a critical part of adolescent health care. This article discusses the most common bacterial, parasitic, and viral STIs encountered in this age group with an emphasis on new guidelines for screening and management.

Natriuretic peptide C receptor in the developing sheep lung: role in perinatal transition.

Background: At birth, the release of surfactant from alveolar type II cells (ATIIs) is stimulated by increased activity of the beta-adrenergic/adenylyl cyclase/cyclic 3'-5' adenosine monophosphate-signaling cascade. Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) stimulates surfactant secretion through natriuretic peptide receptor A (NPR-A). ANP inhibits adenylyl cyclase activity through its binding to NPR-C.

Does goal relevant episodic future thinking amplify the effect on delay discounting?

Delay discounting (DD) is the preference for smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards. Research shows episodic future thinking (EFT), or mentally simulating future experiences, reframes the choice between small immediate and larger delayed rewards, and can reduce DD. Only general EFT has been studied, whereby people reframe decisions in terms of non-goal related future events.

Psychometric evaluation of the youth eating disorder examination questionnaire in children with overweight or obesity.

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Youth Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (YEDE-Q) and its utility for detecting loss of control (LOC) eating (i.e., eating episodes, regardless of size, involving a perceived inability to control what or how much one is eating) among school-age children with overweight or obesity.

Prevalence of Brain Injuries and Recurrence of Seizures in Children With Posttraumatic Seizures.

Objectives: Computed tomography (CT) is often used in the emergency department (ED) evaluation of children with posttraumatic seizures (PTS); however, the frequency of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and short-term seizure recurrence is lacking. Our main objective was to evaluate the frequency of TBIs on CT and short-term seizure recurrence in children with PTS. We also aimed to determine the associations between the likelihood of TBI on CT with the timing of onset of PTS after the traumatic event and duration of PTS.

Clinical characteristics of pediatric HIV-1 patients treated with first-line antiretroviral therapy in Vietnam: a nested case-control study.

Objectives: Over the past decades, Vietnam has made great strides in reducing the rate of mortality in HIV-related deaths, due to increased access of antiretroviral therapy (ART); however, given the significantly high level of treatment failure (TF), it is essential to identify markers that describe the failure of ART in HIV-1 infected children.

Methods: A nested case-control study was conducted with clinical data collected from 101 HIV-infected children [26 TF and 75 treatment success (TS)] at National Hospital of Pediatrics, Vietnam (2008-2012).

Results: The results showed that certain factors including height, weight, vaccination with Hepatitis B, and platelet were significantly different between TF and TS before starting the treatment.

Prediction of Relapse After Discontinuation of Antipsychotic Treatment in Alzheimer's Disease: The Role of Hallucinations.

Objective: In Alzheimer's disease, antipsychotic medications are often used for a period, with relief of symptoms, and then discontinued, after which relapse may occur. The authors sought to determine which neuropsychiatric symptoms predict relapse.

Method: In the Antipsychotic Discontinuation in Alzheimer's Disease trial, 180 patients with Alzheimer's disease and symptoms of agitation or psychosis were treated with risperidone for 16 weeks, after which patients who responded (N=110) were randomly assigned to continue risperidone for 32 weeks, to continue risperidone for 16 weeks followed by switch to placebo for 16 weeks, or to receive placebo for 32 weeks.

Noise pollution levels in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Unlabelled: Patients and staff may experience adverse effects from exposure to noise.

Object: This study assessed noise levels in the pediatric intensive care unit and evaluated family and staff opinion of noise.

Design: Noise levels were recorded using a NoisePro DLX.

Generation of a LacZ reporter transgenic mouse line for the stereological analysis of oligodendrocyte loss in galactosylceramidase deficiency.

Krabbe's disease is a leukodystrophy resulting from deficiency of galactosylceramidase and the accumulation of galactosylsphingosine (psychosine) in the nervous system. Psychosine is believed to cause central demyelination by killing oligodendrocytes. Quantitative analysis of this process is lacking.