A Contemporary Prostate Biopsy Risk Calculator Based on Multiple Heterogeneous Cohorts.

Background: Prostate cancer prediction tools provide quantitative guidance for doctor-patient decision-making regarding biopsy. The widely used online Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial Risk Calculator (PCPTRC) utilized data from the 1990s based on six-core biopsies and outdated grading systems.

Objective: We prospectively gathered data from men undergoing prostate biopsy in multiple diverse North American and European institutions participating in the Prostate Biopsy Collaborative Group (PBCG) in order to build a state-of-the-art risk prediction tool.

Fluticasone Propionate/Salmeterol MDPI (AirDuo RespiClick): A Review in Asthma.

The novel, easy-to-use, breath-actuated fluticasone propionate/salmeterol multidose dry powder inhaler (MDPI) (AirDuo RespiClick) was recently approved in the USA for twice-daily treatment of asthma in patients aged ≥ 12 years. This inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and long-acting β-adrenoreceptor agonist (LABA) combination treatment is available in low-, mid- and high-dosage formulations (55/14, 113/14 and 232/14 μg, respectively). In 12-week, phase III trials in patients aged ≥ 12 years with persistent asthma, all three dosages of fluticasone propionate/salmeterol MDPI treatment produced significant improvements in lung function and other asthma symptoms compared with fluticasone propionate MDPI monotherapy or placebo MDPI.

The release of microparticles and mitochondria from RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells undergoing necroptotic cell death in vitro.

Microparticles (MPs) are small membrane-bound vesicles released from activated or dying cells. As shown previously, LPS stimulation of the RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line can induce MP release, with the caspase inhibitor Z-VAD increasing the extent of this process.

Identifying Motives of Midlife Black Triathlete Women Using Survey Transformation to Guide Qualitative Inquiry.

Demonstrating health disparities related to race, age, and gender, older Black women (BW) are the most sedentary demographic group in the United States. Increasing PA in mid-life is important, as it improves health as BW age into their later years. Advancing our understanding of the exercise motives of BW triathletes presents a "reverse engineering" opportunity to identify motives that could influence sedentary mid-life BW to increase their activity.

Eating Disorders, Autoimmune, and Autoinflammatory Disease.

Objectives: Identifying factors associated with risk for eating disorders is important for clarifying etiology and for enhancing early detection of eating disorders in primary care. We hypothesized that autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases would be associated with eating disorders in children and adolescents and that family history of these illnesses would be associated with eating disorders in probands.

Methods: In this large, nationwide, population-based cohort study of all children and adolescents born in Denmark between 1989 and 2006 and managed until 2012, Danish medical registers captured all inpatient and outpatient diagnoses of eating disorders and autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases.

Key Characteristics of Rehabilitation Quality Improvement Publications: Scoping Review From 2010 to 2016.

Objective: To characterize the peer-reviewed quality improvement (QI) literature in rehabilitation.

Data Sources: Five electronic databases were searched for English-language articles from 2010 to 2016. Keywords for QI and safety management were searched for in combination with keywords for rehabilitation content and journals.

Improved Survival of Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A VA Central Cancer Registry Analysis.

Introduction: The combined impact of advances in diagnosis and treatment of stage I NSCLC has not been assessed comprehensively. To define the survival impact of modern staging and treatment techniques for clinical stage I NSCLC, the Veterans Administration Central Cancer Registry, a database of U.S.

Unexplained Variation for Hospitals' Use of Inpatient Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Facilities After an Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Background And Purpose: Rehabilitation is recommended after a stroke to enhance recovery and improve outcomes, but hospital's use of inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) or skilled nursing facility (SNF) and the factors associated with referral are unknown.

Methods: We analyzed clinical registry and claims data for 31 775 Medicare beneficiaries presenting with acute ischemic stroke from 918 Get With The Guidelines-Stroke hospitals who were discharged to either IRF or SNF between 2006 and 2008. Using a multilevel logistic regression model, we evaluated patient and hospital characteristics, as well as geographic availability, in relation to discharge to either IRF or SNF.

UDP-glucuronosyltransferases and biochemical recurrence in prostate cancer progression.

Background: Uridine 5'-diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase 2B (UGT2B) genes code for enzymes that catalyze the clearance of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and DHT metabolites in the prostate basal and luminal tissue. The expression of the UGT2B15, UGT2B17, and UGT2B28 enzymes has not been evaluated in prostate tissue samples from hormone therapy-naïve patients.

Methods: We determined the expression of UGT2B15, UGT2B17, and UGT2B28 enzymes in 190 prostate tissue samples from surgical specimens of a multiethnic cohort of patients undergoing radical prostatectomy at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Supporting Muslim Patients During Advanced Illness.

Religion is an important part of many patients' cultural perspectives and value systems that influence them during advanced illness and toward the end of life when they directly face mortality. Worldwide violence perpetrated by people identifying as Muslim has been a growing fear for people living in the US and elsewhere. This fear has further increased by the tense rhetoric heard from the recent US presidential campaign and the new presidential administration.

Antinuclear antibody testing - misunderstood or misbegotten?

Antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) are a diverse group of autoantibodies that recognize nuclear macromolecules and their complexes. ANAs represent key biomarkers in the evaluation of rheumatic diseases, most prominently systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and ANA testing is commonly performed in the clinical setting. In addition, ANA testing is now used to assess eligibility for participation in clinical trials of new therapeutic agents for SLE.

Drug rechallenge following drug-induced liver injury.

Unlabelled: Drug-induced hepatocellular injury is identified internationally by alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels equal to or exceeding 5× the upper limit of normal (ULN) appearing within 3 months of drug initiation, after alternative causes are excluded. Upon withdrawing the suspect drug, ALT generally decrease by 50% or more. With drug readministration, a positive rechallenge has recently been defined by an ALT level of 3-5× ULN or greater.

Rationale for Spiritually Oriented Cognitive Processing Therapy for Moral Injury in Active Duty Military and Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Wartime experiences have long been known to cause ethical conflict, guilt, self-condemnation, difficulty forgiving, loss of trust, lack of meaning and purpose, and spiritual struggles. "Moral injury" (MI) (also sometimes called "inner conflict") is the term used to capture this emotional, cognitive, and behavioral state. In this article, we provide rationale for developing and testing Spiritually Oriented Cognitive Processing Therapy, a version of standard cognitive processing therapy for the treatment of MI in active duty and veteran service members (SMs) with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms who are spiritual or religious (S/R).

Assessment of Research Capacity Among Nursing Faculty in a Clinical Intensive University in The Philippines.

Background: Many nursing studies are conducted in the United States, Europe, and Australia, where only a fourth of the world's population resides. There is a need to promote nursing research in Asia to enhance the contextual relevance of their evidence-based nursing interventions. A first step toward this goal is to determine the perceived research capacity among nursing faculty in academic settings in the Philippines.

Tele-Assessment of the Berg Balance Scale: Effects of Transmission Characteristics.

Objective: To compare Berg Balance Scale (BBS) rating using videos with differing transmission characteristics with direct in-person rating.

Design: Repeated-measures study for the assessment of the BBS in 8 configurations: in person, high-definition video with slow motion review, standard-definition videos with varying bandwidths and frame rates (768 kilobytes per second [kbps] videos at 8, 15, and 30 frames per second [fps], 30 fps videos at 128, 384, and 768 kbps).

Setting: Medical center.

Impact of Race on Treatment and Survival among U.S. Veterans with Early-Stage Lung Cancer.

Introduction: Numerous reports suggest lower rates of surgical procedures and poorer survival for black patients with early-stage (stage I or II) NSCLC than for white patients. This study examined treatment trends among blacks and whites with early-stage NSCLC and determined whether racial disparities exist in survival among patients receiving similar treatment.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 18,466 patients in the Veteran Affairs Central Cancer Registry in whom stage I or II NSCLC was diagnosed in 2001-2010 was conducted.

The Alarmin Properties of DNA and DNA-associated Nuclear Proteins.

Purpose: The communication of cell injury and death is a critical element in host defense. Although immune cells can serve this function by elaborating cytokines and chemokines, somatic cells can repurpose nuclear macromolecules to function as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) or alarmins to exert similar activity. Among these molecules, DNA, high-mobility group box-1, and histone proteins can all act as DAMPs once they are in an extracellular location.

Metal Hypersensitivity and Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Metal hypersensitivity in patients with a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a controversial topic. The diagnosis is difficult, given the lack of robust clinical validation of the utility of cutaneous and in vitro testing. Metal hypersensitivity after TKA is quite rare and should be considered after eliminating other causes of pain and swelling, such as low-grade infection, instability, component loosening or malrotation, referred pain, and chronic regional pain syndrome.

Anti-DNA antibodies--quintessential biomarkers of SLE.

Antibodies that recognize and bind to DNA (anti-DNA antibodies) are serological hallmarks of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and key markers for diagnosis and disease activity. In addition to common use in the clinic, anti-DNA antibody testing now also determines eligibility for clinical trials, raising important questions about the nature of the antibody-antigen interaction. At present, no 'gold standard' for serological assessment exists, and anti-DNA antibody binding can be measured with a variety of assay formats, which differ in the nature of the DNA substrates and in the conditions for binding and detection of antibodies.

Practice Characteristics and Geographic Distribution of Clinical Pharmacist Practitioners in North Carolina.

Background: Clinical pharmacist practitioners (CPPs) are specially credentialed pharmacists in North Carolina. CPPs potentially play an important role in meeting the health care needs of populations in rural and underserved areas.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an electronic survey sent to all active and inactive CPPs in North Carolina.