Obstetric Sonar, Media Archaeology, Feminist Critique.

The snub-nosed, reclining, and serene image of the fetus is commonplace in cultural representations and analyses of obstetric ultrasound. Yet following the provocation of various feminist scholars, taking the fetal sonogram as the automatic object of concern vis-à-vis ultrasound cedes ground to anti-abortionists, who deploy fetal images to argue that life begins at conception and that the unborn are rights bearing subjects who must be protected. How might feminists escape this analytical trap, where discussions of ultrasonics must always be engaged in the act of debunking? This article orients away from the problem of fetal representation by employing a method which may appear to be wildly unsuitable: media archaeology.

Early life microbial succession in the gut follows common patterns in humans across the globe.

Characterizing the dynamics of microbial community succession in the infant gut microbiome is crucial for understanding child health and development, but no normative model currently exists. Here, we estimate child age using gut microbial taxonomic relative abundances from metagenomes, with high temporal resolution (±3 months) for the first 1.5 years of life.

Opioid use and abuse in adolescents and young adults; dealing with science, laws and ethics: Charming the COBRAS.

The subject of substance use disorders in the pediatric population remains a disturbing conundrum for clinicians, researchers and society in general. Many of our youth are at risk of being damaged and even killed by drug addictions that result from the collision of rapidly developing as well as vulnerable central nervous systems encountering the current global drug addiction crisis. A major motif of this chemical calamity is opioid use disorder in adolescents and young adults that was stimulated by the 19th century identification of such highly addictive drugs as morphine, heroin and a non-opiate, cocaine.

Barriers and Facilitators to Video Telehealth Use in Low-Income Hispanic Patients: A Theory of Planned Behavior Perspective.

Background And Objectives: As telehealth grows in ubiquity, it is important to understand the barriers and facilitators to telehealth utilization in historically marginalized populations. This study utilizes the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to assess correlates of the intention to utilize video consultations among low-income Hispanic patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study included participants (N = 138) recruited from a federally qualified health center affiliated with a large university health system.

Southern Surgical Association: Leadership Pre and Post Flexner's Report.

The Joseph M Donald Endowment for the Archival Collection of the Southern Surgical Association is named for the 73rd President Elect of the Southern Surgical Association (Figure 1), who died in 1961 at age 57 before he had the opportunity to deliver his Presidential Address. Dr Donald's career as a surgeon in Birmingham began in 1931 after the completion of his residency at the Mayo Clinic. He was one of four generations of Donalds to serve Alabama as physicians.

The Effects of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment on Arrhythmias: A Double-blind Randomized Controlled Trial in Patients with Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices.

This double-blind randomized controlled trial investigated the effects of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) on cardiac arrhythmias in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs). Participants (n = 41) with CIEDs were randomly assigned to either the OMT group or the control group (light touch/sham) and received a one-time intervention. No significant change in arrhythmia burden was found in the 1 month following intervention ( = .

Stroke Mimics at 30 Years: Where We Have Been, Where We Are Now, and Where We Are Going.

Stroke mimics and chameleons remain a major challenge to the clinician and clinical investigator. Misdiagnosis of stroke can result in significant harm to our patients, as well as unnecessary financial costs to the health care systems internationally. The approach to stroke mimics and chameleons has evolved over time with the development of clinical scales and technology.

Risk Factors for the Development of Neurological Deficits in Metastatic Spinal Disease: An International, Multicenter Delphi Study.

Study Design: Delphi study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify risk factors associated with the development and/or progression of neurological deficits in patients with metastatic spinal disease.

Methods: A three-round Delphi study was conducted between January-May 2023 including AO Spine members, comprising mainly neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons.

Defining Spine Cancer Pain Syndromes: A Systematic Review and Proposed Terminology.

Study Design: Systematic Review.

Objectives: Formalized terminology for pain experienced by spine cancer patients is lacking. The common descriptors of spine cancer pain as mechanical or non-mechanical is not exhaustive.

Role of Posterior Carbon Fiber Implants in Spine Tumor Surgery.

Study Design: Narrative Review.

Objective: The management of spinal tumors requires a multi-disciplinary approach including surgery, radiation, and systemic therapy. Surgical approaches typically require posterior segmental instrumentation to maintain long-term spinal stability.

β-alanine supplementation in adults with overweight and obesity: a randomized controlled feasibility trial.

Objective: Overweight and obesity are characterized by excess adiposity and systemic, chronic, low-grade inflammation, which is associated with several metabolic disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and tolerability of β-alanine supplementation and to explore the effects on cardiometabolic health and cardiovascular, hepatic, and renal function in adults with overweight and obesity.

Methods: A total of 27 adults (44% female; mean [SD], age: 58 [10] years, BMI: 31.

Recurrent Sinonasal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Current Insights and Treatment Advances.

Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common malignancy affecting the sinonasal tract. Local recurrence is the main pattern of treatment failure, affecting nearly half of patients treated for primary sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma (SNSCC). Due to disease rarity and heterogeneity of practices, there are limited guidelines for how to diagnose and care for these patients.

Multiomics dissection of human RAG deficiency reveals distinctive patterns of immune dysregulation but a common inflammatory signature.

Human recombination-activating gene (RAG) deficiency can manifest with distinct clinical and immunological phenotypes. By applying a multiomics approach to a large group of -mutated patients, we aimed at characterizing the immunopathology associated with each phenotype. Although defective T and B cell development is common to all phenotypes, patients with hypomorphic variants can generate T and B cells with signatures of immune dysregulation and produce autoantibodies to a broad range of self-antigens, including type I interferons.

Generative Artificial Intelligence: Applications in Scientific Writing and Data Analysis in Wound Healing Research.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) models are a new technological development with vast research use cases among medical subspecialties. These powerful large language models offer a wide range of possibilities in wound care, from personalized patient support to optimized treatment plans and improved scientific writing. They can also assist in efficiently navigating the literature and selecting and summarizing articles, enabling researchers to focus on impactful studies relevant to wound care management and enhancing response quality through prompt-learning iterations.

The Difficulties of Treating Complement-3-Mediated Glomerulopathy.

Background: C3 glomerulopathy (C3G) is a rare disease affecting the complement alternative pathway, categorized into dense deposit disease and C3 glomerulonephritis. Dense deposit disease predominantly affects younger individuals, while C3 glomerulonephritis tends to manifest in older populations. The diseases are characterized by dysregulation of the complement alternative pathway, leading to the deposition of complement components in the glomeruli and subsequent renal dysfunction.

Healthy Lifestyle Care vs Guideline-Based Care for Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: An unhealthy lifestyle is believed to increase the development and persistence of low back pain, but there is uncertainty about whether integrating support for lifestyle risks in low back pain management improves patients' outcomes.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of the Healthy Lifestyle Program (HeLP) compared with guideline-based care for low back pain disability.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This superiority, assessor-blinded randomized clinical trial was conducted in Australia from September 8, 2017, to December 30, 2020, among 346 participants who had activity-limiting chronic low back pain and at least 1 lifestyle risk (overweight, poor diet, physical inactivity, and/or smoking), referred from hospital, general practice, and community settings.

The Role of Empiric Antifungal Therapy in Patients With Perforated Peptic Ulcer: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Fungal growth is common in intraoperative cultures of patients with perforated peptic ulcer (PPU) leading to the common use of empiric antifungal therapy, with current evidence not clearly supporting this practice. The goal of this updated systematic review and meta-analysis was to synthesize the effect of empiric antifungals in patients with PPU. Eligible studies were identified through a comprehensive literature search in the MEDLINE (PubMed) and EMBASE databases, following the PRISMA 2020 statement.

Deep sequencing-derived Metagenome Assembled Genomes from the gut microbiome of liver transplant patients.

Recurrence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) after liver transplantation (LT) is a continuing concern. The role of gut microbiome dysbiosis in MASLD initiation and progression has been well established. However, there is a lack of comprehensive gut microbiome shotgun sequence data for patients experiencing MASLD recurrence after LT.

Observational study of venous leg ulcer treated with a native collagen-alginate dressing and the impact on wound-related quality of life.

Background: Venous leg ulcers (VLUs) are associated with various physical and social adverse effects for patients but also contribute to a significant socioeconomic burden.

Purpose: To examine the clinical performance and safety of a collagen-alginate dressing in combination with standard wound care in non-healing VLUs.

Methods: In an observational, explorative, single-center study, VLUs of 60 patients were covered with a collagen-alginate dressing.

Transformative knowledge of polar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons via high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic contaminants with a widespread presence in diverse environmental contexts. Transformation processes of PAHs via degradation and biotransformation have parallels in humans, animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Mapping the transformation products of PAHs is therefore crucial for assessing their toxicological impact and developing effective monitoring strategies.

BBX22 enhances the accumulation of antioxidants to inhibit DNA damage and promotes DNA repair under high UV-B.

Under changing climatic conditions, plant exposure to high-intensity UV-B can be a potential threat to plant health and all plant-derived human requirements, including food. It's crucial to understand how plants respond to high UV-B radiation so that proper measures can be taken to enhance tolerance towards high UV-B stress. We found that BBX22, a B-box protein-coding gene, is strongly induced within one hour of exposure to high-intensity UV-B.

Connectome imaging to facilitate preservation of the frontal aslant tract.

Supplementary motor area (SMA) syndrome is characterized by contralateral akinesia and mutism, and frequently occurs following resection of tumors involving the superior frontal gyrus. The frontal aslant tract (FAT), involved in functional connectivity of the supplementary area and other related large-scale brain networks, is implicated in the pathogenesis of, and recovery from, SMA syndrome. However, intraoperative neuromonitoring of the FAT is inconsistent and poorly reproducible, leading to a high rate of postoperative SMA syndrome.