Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and lung cancer risk in never-smoking postmenopausal women.

Purpose: Vitamin D has been implicated in lowering lung cancer risk, but serological data on the association among never-smoking women are limited. We report results examining the association of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations with lung cancer risk among female never smokers. We also examined whether the association was modified by vitamin D supplementation and serum vitamin A concentrations.

Putting POP-Q to the test: does C - D = cervical length?

Introduction And Hypothesis: We investigated the correlation between calculated cervical length (CCL) and gross specimen cervical length (GCL) after total vaginal hysterectomy (TVH) at the time of surgery for pelvic organ prolapse (POP).

Methods: This was a retrospective chart review of patients who had undergone TVH with reconstructive surgery for POP between 2013 and 2015. Patients without an intact specimen or documented cervical length in the pathology report were excluded.

Demographic, psychosocial, clinical, and neurocognitive baseline characteristics of Black Americans in the RAISE-ETP study.

This study compared baseline characteristics of Black Americans and Caucasians with first-episode psychosis in the Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode Early Treatment Program (RAISE-ETP). Black American (N=152) and Caucasian (N=218) participants were compared on demographic, psychosocial, clinical, and neurocognitive measures. Results indicated several notable racial differences in baseline characteristics: a greater proportion of Black Americans than Caucasians were female, and Black Americans reported less personal and parental education than Caucasians.

Demographic and clinical correlates of substance use disorders in first episode psychosis.

Background: We assessed the prevalence and correlates of lifetime substance use disorders in people with first episode psychosis using the baseline data from the Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE) Early Treatment Program study.

Methods: Research staff assessed 404 first episode patients at 34 community mental health centers across the United States with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV for diagnoses of psychotic and substance use disorders. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationships between participant characteristics and lifetime substance use disorders, followed with generalized linear mixed-effects regression models to identify unique predictors of lifetime substance use disorders.

Long-term resolution of delayed onset hypoglossal nerve palsy following occipital condyle fracture: Case report and review of the literature.

The authors present the case of a patient that demonstrates resolution of delayed onset hypoglossal nerve palsy (HNP) subsequent to occipital condyle fracture following a motor vehicle accident. Decompression of the hypoglossal nerve and craniocervical fixation led to satisfactory long-term (>5 years) outcome. There is a scarcity of literature in recognizing HNPs following trauma and a lack of pathophysiological understanding to both a delayed presentation and to resolution versus persistence.

Dynamic changes in diffusion measures improve sensitivity in identifying patients with mild traumatic brain injury.

The goal of this study was to investigate patterns of axonal injury in the first week after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). We performed a prospective cohort study of 20 patients presenting to the emergency department with mTBI, using 3.0T diffusion tensor MRI immediately after injury and again at 1 week post-injury.

Association Between Combined TMPRSS2:ERG and PCA3 RNA Urinary Testing and Detection of Aggressive Prostate Cancer.

Importance: Potential survival benefits from treating aggressive (Gleason score, ≥7) early-stage prostate cancer are undermined by harms from unnecessary prostate biopsy and overdiagnosis of indolent disease.

Objective: To evaluate the a priori primary hypothesis that combined measurement of PCA3 and TMPRSS2:ERG (T2:ERG) RNA in the urine after digital rectal examination would improve specificity over measurement of prostate-specific antigen alone for detecting cancer with Gleason score of 7 or higher. As a secondary objective, to evaluate the potential effect of such urine RNA testing on health care costs.

Low-Frequency Cortical Oscillations Entrain to Subthreshold Rhythmic Auditory Stimuli.

Many environmental stimuli contain temporal regularities, a feature that can help predict forthcoming input. Phase locking (entrainment) of ongoing low-frequency neuronal oscillations to rhythmic stimuli is proposed as a potential mechanism for enhancing neuronal responses and perceptual sensitivity, by aligning high-excitability phases to events within a stimulus stream. Previous experiments show that rhythmic structure has a behavioral benefit even when the rhythm itself is below perceptual detection thresholds (ten Oever et al.

Outcomes from extensive training in critical care echocardiography: Identifying the optimal number of practice studies required to achieve competency.

Purpose: Optimal instruction and assessment of critical care ultrasound (CCUS) skills requires an assessment tool to measure learner competency and changes over time. In this study, a previously published tool was used to monitor the development of critical care echocardiography (CCE) competencies, the attainment of performance plateaus, and the extent to which previous experience influenced learning.

Materials And Methods: A group of experts used the Rapid Assessment of Competency in Echocardiography (RACE) scale to rate a large pool of CCE studies performed by novices in a longitudinal design.

Hypofractionated stereotactic radiosurgery: a new treatment strategy for giant cavernous sinus hemangiomas.

OBJECTIVE Cavernous sinus hemangiomas (CSHs) are rare benign vascular tumors that arise from the dural venous sinuses lateral to the sella. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has emerged as a principal alternative to microresection for small- and medium-sized CSHs. Resection is a reasonable option for large (3-4 cm in diameter) and giant (> 4 cm in diameter) CSHs.

Using ePrognosis to estimate 2-year all-cause mortality in older women with breast cancer: Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 49907 and 369901 (Alliance A151503).

Purpose: Tools to estimate survival, such as ePrognosis ( http://eprognosis.ucsf.edu/carey2.

Romidepsin is effective and well tolerated in older patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma: analysis of two phase II trials.

Unlabelled: Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) are a rare group of lymphoid neoplasms with high relapse rates after initial therapy and poor prognosis. Most patients are aged ≥60 years and are often not candidates for aggressive salvage therapies. Romidepsin, a potent class I histone deacetylase inhibitor, has shown significant single-agent activity in relapsed/refractory PTCL.

Cardiometabolic comorbidities, readmission, and costs in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: a real-world analysis.

Background: Serious mental illnesses are associated with increased risk of cardiometabolic comorbidities. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of cardiometabolic comorbidity and its association with hospitalization outcomes and costs among inpatients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Methods: This retrospective database analysis reviewed patients with an inpatient diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder from the Premier Perspective® Database (4/1/2010-6/30/2012).

CHEER National Study of Chronic Rhinosinusitis Practice Patterns: Disease Comorbidities and Factors Associated with Surgery.

Objectives (1) Describe national patterns of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) care across academic and community practices. (2) Determine the prevalence of comorbid disorders in CRS patients, including nasal polyposis, allergic rhinitis, asthma, and cystic fibrosis. (3) Identify demographic, clinical, and practice type factors associated with endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS).

Fractal Analysis May Improve the Preoperative Identification of Atypical Meningiomas.

Background: There is no objective and readily accessible method for the preoperative determination of atypical characteristics of a meningioma grade.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of using fractal analysis as an adjunctive tool to conventional radiological techniques in visualizing histopathological features of meningiomas.

Methods: A group of 27 patients diagnosed with atypical (WHO grade II) meningioma and a second group of 27 patients with benign (WHO grade I) meningioma were enrolled in the study.

Neuropsychological Test Performance to Enhance Identification of Subjects at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis and to Be Most Promising for Predictive Algorithms for Conversion to Psychosis: A Meta-Analysis.

Objective: To compare neuropsychological performance in people at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR), healthy controls (HCs), or subjects with first-episode psychosis (FEP).

Data Sources: Systematic PubMed/MEDLINE search through January 2014, without language restrictions, using search terms prodrome OR clinical high-risk OR ultra-high risk AND cognition OR individual test names.

Study Selection: Studies reporting neuropsychological data in CHR versus a HC or FEP groups or comparing CHR subjects who converted to psychosis (CHR-P) with CHR subjects who did not convert to psychosis (CHR-NP).

A Reexamination of the Accuracy of the Broselow Tape as an Instrument for Weight Estimation.

Background: Accurate weight estimation is important for calculating appropriate medication dosages, determining rates of fluid replacement, and selecting correct equipment sizes in critically ill children requiring resuscitation. The actual measurement of the weight of a critically ill or injured child is often not possible. The Broselow Pediatric Emergency Tape (BT) is an important tool for predicting a child's weight based on his/her height.

In vivo evaluation of IGF1R/IR PET ligand [F]BMS-754807 in rodents.

In vivo evaluation of [F]BMS-754807 binding in mice and rats using microPET and biodistribution methods is described herein. The radioligand shows consistent binding characteristics, in vivo, in both species. Early time frames of the microPET images and time activity curves of brain indicate poor penetration of the tracer across the blood brain barrier (BBB) in both species.

Microarchitecture of Schlemm Canal Before and After Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty in Enhanced Depth Imaging Optical Coherence Tomography.

Purpose: To characterize the in vivo effect of selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) on the Schlemm canal (SC) in eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).

Materials And Methods: Eighty-one serial horizontal enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomograph B-scans (interval between B-scans, ∼35 μm) of the nasal corneoscleral limbus were obtained before and 4 weeks after SLT. Fifty B-scans in the overlapping regions before and after SLT were selected for analysis based on the structures of aqueous and blood vessels as landmarks.

A Novel Strategy for Attenuating Opioid Withdrawal in Neonates.

The rate of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) has drastically increased over the past decade. The average hospital expense per NAS patient has tripled, while the number of babies born to opioid-dependent mothers has increased to 5 in 1000 births. Current treatment options are limited to opioid replacement and tapering.