Increased Prevalence of Skeletal Anomalies on Ultrasound Evaluation of Buprenorphine-Exposed Human Fetuses.

Objectives: In this study, buprenorphine was the primary source of maternal opioid exposure at the time of initial prenatal evaluation. Current recommendations advise that level II ultrasounds be performed in patients with substance use disorders. For some patients, distance, transportation, and costs associated with obtaining ultrasounds from a specialist pose significant barriers.

Adaptation of a positive youth development program in the community of Guangaje, Cotopaxi, Ecuador.

This study explores the adaptation of a Positive Youth Development (PYD) programme for the Indigenous Quichua community in Guangaje, Ecuador, which faces chronic poverty and low educational attainment. In May, June 2023 we conducted focus groups with school teachers and indigenous community leaders, parents and middle school, high school and college students. We found a disconnect between students' aspirations for higher education and adults' emphasis on practical and vocational training.

RadOncCalc: A Mobile-Friendly Tool to Enhance Radiation Oncology Practice.

This study introduces RadOncCalc, a mobile and web-based platform designed to consolidate oncology research and guidelines into one accessible tool for radiation oncologists. By providing up-to-date dose constraints and contouring guidelines, RadOncCalc enhances clinical decision-making and patient care quality in radiation oncology.

The Role of Cardiolipin in Brain Bioenergetics, Neuroinflammation, and Neurodegeneration.

Cardiolipin (CL) is an essential phospholipid that supports the functions of mitochondrial membrane transporters and oxidative phosphorylation complexes. Due to the high level of fatty acyl chain unsaturation, CL is prone to peroxidation during aging, neurodegenerative disease, stroke, and traumatic brain or spinal cord injury. Therefore, effective therapies that stabilize and preserve CL levels or enhance healthy CL fatty acyl chain remodeling are needed.

The potential of HBV cure: an overview of CRISPR-mediated HBV gene disruption.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a common cause of liver disease worldwide. The current antiviral treatment using nucleotide analogues (NAs) can only suppress HBV replication but cannot eliminate chronic HBV infection due to the persistence of covalently closed circular (ccc) DNA that sustains viral replication. The CRISPR/Cas9 system is a novel genome-editing tool that enables precise gene disruption and inactivation.

Initial Symptom Severity and Recovery of Sport-Related Concussion in Team Versus Individual Sport Athletes.

Background And Objectives: Recovery after sport-related concussion is variable, and potential differences between team vs individual sport athletes are not fully understood. In a cohort of athletes with concussions, we sought to compare these groups across (1) symptom severity score, (2) individual symptom cluster scores, and (3) recovery metrics.

Methods: A retrospective, cohort study of 13 to 23-year-old athletes treated at a regional sport concussion center between November 2017 and April 2022 was conducted.

Lactate's impact on immune cells in sepsis: unraveling the complex interplay.

Lactate significantly impacts immune cell function in sepsis and septic shock, transcending its traditional view as just a metabolic byproduct. This review summarizes the role of lactate as a biomarker and its influence on immune cell dynamics, emphasizing its critical role in modulating immune responses during sepsis. Mechanistically, key lactate transporters like MCT1, MCT4, and the receptor GPR81 are crucial in mediating these effects.

Numismedica II: Health Problems Caused by Coins.

Coins occasionally cause health problems. These problems have a wide range of presentations and can affect multiple organ systems. This article updates a 2009 review of the medical literature addressing health problems caused by coins in several ways.

Accelerated 3YMD programs: the last decade of growth of the Consortium of Accelerated Medical Pathway Programs (CAMPP).

Introduction: Over the past decade, the growth of accelerated three-year MD (3YMD) programs has flourished. In 2015, with support from the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, the Consortium of Medical Pathway Programs (CAMPP) started with eight North American medical schools.

Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy Associated With Influenza A and a Ground-Level Fall.

Our case involves a 92-year-old female who presented to the emergency department due to a ground-level fall and difficulty breathing. She was found to have influenza A, elevated troponin, and decreased left ventricular ejection fraction. However, cardiac catheterization did not reveal any coronary artery stenosis, supporting a diagnosis of takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC).

Mirtazapine Therapy for a Patient With Weight Loss and Gastroparesis Associated With Limited Systemic Sclerosis.

Gastroparesis may be present in individuals with systemic sclerosis. In the United States, metoclopramide is the only medication approved for treating gastroparesis. Our case involves using mirtazapine therapy to help with weight loss and gastroparesis associated with systemic sclerosis.

The Roles of White Adipose Tissue and Liver NADPH in Dietary Restriction-Induced Longevity.

Dietary restriction (DR) protocols frequently employ intermittent fasting. Following a period of fasting, meal consumption increases lipogenic gene expression, including that of NADPH-generating enzymes that fuel lipogenesis in white adipose tissue (WAT) through the induction of transcriptional regulators SREBP-1c and CHREBP. SREBP-1c knockout mice, unlike controls, did not show an extended lifespan on the DR diet.

Sport-related concussions in baseball and softball: do mechanisms of injury affect recovery?

Objective: Baseball and softball pose unique risks for sport-related concussion (SRC). Although these are not collision sports, concussions in baseball and softball can nonetheless involve high-speed impacts. In a regional, single-institution cohort of baseball and softball athletes who sustained an SRC, the current study sought to 1) describe the mechanisms of injury that led to SRC, and 2) compare initial symptom burden and recovery metrics across mechanisms, including time to return to learn (RTL), time to symptom resolution, and time to return to play (RTP) by mechanism of injury.

Circulating GDF-15: a biomarker for metabolic dysregulation and aging in people living with HIV.

Despite effective control of HIV replication by antiretroviral therapy (ART), a significant number of people living with HIV (PLWH) fail to achieve complete immune reconstitution and thus are deemed immune non-responders (INRs). Compared with immune responders (IRs) who have restored their CD4 T cell numbers and functions, CD4 T cells from these INRs exhibit prominent mitochondrial dysfunction and premature aging, which play a major role in increasing the incidence of non-AIDS, non-communicable diseases (NCDs). To date, there are no reliable biomarkers that can be used to typify and manage PLWH, especially INRs with non-AIDS NCDs.

Pediatric stoma in Zambia: Current ethical challenges and advancement of public policy.

Introduction: Pediatric ostomy creation is becoming increasingly prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The procedure is associated with both physical and ethical challenges for patients, their families, and medical providers.

Ethical Discussion: Counseling parents of children in need of ostomy creation must address each of their trepidations while seeking to promote the ethical tenets of beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, quality of life, and justice.

Science, Medicine, and Cytology: an educational program of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the American Society of Cytopathology.

Introduction: As our field of pathology continues to grow, our trainee numbers are on the decline. To combat this trend, the ASC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee established the Science, Medicine, and Cytology SumMer Certificate program to improve exposure to pathology/cytopathology with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Herein, we report our findings of the first 2 years of the program.

Apolipoprotein E controls Dectin-1-dependent development of monocyte-derived alveolar macrophages upon pulmonary β-glucan-induced inflammatory adaptation.

The lung is constantly exposed to the outside world and optimal adaptation of immune responses is crucial for efficient pathogen clearance. However, mechanisms that lead to lung-associated macrophages' functional and developmental adaptation remain elusive. To reveal such mechanisms, we developed a reductionist model of environmental intranasal β-glucan exposure, allowing for the detailed interrogation of molecular mechanisms of pulmonary macrophage adaptation.

C-reactive protein lowers the serum level of IL-17, but not TNF-α, and decreases the incidence of collagen-induced arthritis in mice.

The biosynthesis of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the liver is increased in inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis. Previously published data suggest a protective function of CRP in arthritis; however, the mechanism of action of CRP remains undefined. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of human CRP on the development of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice which is an animal model of autoimmune inflammatory arthritis.