A Randomized, Controlled Trial of In-Hospital Use of Virtual Reality to Reduce Preoperative Anxiety Prior to Cardiac Surgery.

Objective: To study the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) in reducing anxiety levels in patients undergoing first-time sternotomy for cardiac surgery.

Patients And Methods: A total of 100 adult patients scheduled for cardiac surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA, was recruited from April 19, 2022, to October 12, 2022. Before surgery, patients wore a physiological monitor to record vital signs.

Intrathecal Drug Delivery for Intractable Pain: Identified Patient Satisfaction Survey Study Comparing Intrathecal Dose With Satisfaction, Pain Relief, and Side Effects.

Objectives: Past studies have shown the efficacy of spinal targeted drug delivery (TDD) in pain relief, reduction in opioid use, and cost-effectiveness in long-term management of complex chronic pain. We conducted a survey to determine treatment variables associated with patient satisfaction.

Materials And Methods: Patients in a single pain clinic who were implanted with Medtronic pain pumps to relieve intractable pain were identified from our electronic health record.

C19orf12 gene variants causing mitochondrial membrane protein-associated neurodegeneration (MPAN).

Mitochondrial membrane protein-associated neurodegeneration (MPAN) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder characterized by spastic paraplegia, parkinsonism and psychiatric and/or behavioral symptoms caused by variants in gene encoding chromosome-19 open reading frame-12 (C19orf12). We present here seven patients from six unrelated families with detailed clinical, radiological, and genetic investigations. Childhood-onset patients predominantly had a spastic ataxic phenotype with optic atrophy, while adult-onset patients were presented with cognitive, behavioral, and parkinsonian symptoms.

Contamination assessment and source identification of metals and metalloids in submicron road dust (PM) in Moscow Megacity.

The content of 39 metals and metalloids (MMs) in submicron road dust (PM fraction) was studied in the traffic zone, residential courtyards with parking lots, and on pedestrian roads in parks in Moscow. The geochemical profiles of PM vary slightly between different types of roads and courtyards but differ significantly from those in parks. In Moscow, compared to other cities worldwide, submicron road dust contains less As, Sb, Mo, Cr, Cd, Sn, Tl, Ca, Rb, La, Y, U, but more Cu, Zn, Co, Fe, Mn, Ti, Zr, Al, V.

Investigating proteogenomic divergence in patient-derived xenograft models of ovarian cancer.

Within ovarian cancer research, patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models recapitulate histologic features and genomic aberrations found in original tumors. However, conflicting data from published studies have demonstrated significant transcriptional differences between PDXs and original tumors, challenging the fidelity of these models. We employed a quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomic approach coupled with generation of patient-specific databases using RNA-seq data to investigate the proteogenomic landscape of serially-passaged PDX models established from two patients with distinct subtypes of ovarian cancer.

Delayed atorvastatin delivery promotes recovery after experimental spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) significantly alters gene expression, potentially impeding functional recovery. This study investigated the effects of atorvastatin, a widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering drug, on gene expression and functional recovery in a chronic murine SCI model. Female C57BL/6J mice underwent moderate 0.

Associations between maternal plasma concentrations of corticotrophin releasing hormone and the placental transcriptome.

Introduction: The placenta produces corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH), which rises exponentially in maternal plasma across pregnancy. CRH plays a functional role in fetal development, labor initiation, and the regulation of gestational length. We aimed to understand how maternal plasma CRH during pregnancy reflects placental physiology during parturition by characterizing placental transcriptomic signatures of maternal plasma CRH and comparing to transcriptomic signatures of gestational age at birth.

Son of a beach: Coastal development and the loss of natural beaches over time (1919 to 2018) on Okinawa Island, southern Japan.

The coastline of Okinawa Island, Japan, has been affected by human-made alterations for decades, often from land reclamation and coastal defense construction. Here, we use an Imperial Japanese Army map made between 1919 and 1921 to describe the composition of the Okinawan coastline approximately 100 years ago, and by overlapping this old map with a modern-day map of Okinawa (2018), we identified 131 sites where coastlines showed clear human-made alterations. For these sites, we examined what kinds of ecosystems were lost and what has replaced them.

FDA reviewed artificial intelligence-enabled products applicable to emergency medicine.

Objective: To identify and assess artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled products reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that are potentially applicable to emergency medicine (EM).

Impact of initial jugular vein insertion site selection for central venous catheter placement on hemodialysis catheter complications.

Purpose: This study evaluated the impact of choosing the right versus left internal jugular vein (IJV) for initial central venous catheter (CVC) placement on hemodialysis catheter-related outcomes in critically ill patients.

Materials And Methods: Medical records from the University of Maryland Medical Center were reviewed for adult critical care patients who received an IJV CVC between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2022, and later required an additional temporary hemodialysis catheter.

Results: The study included 214 patients, with 100 (46.

Analysis of nuclear receptor expression in head and neck cancer.

Objective: Studies of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) have demonstrated the importance of nuclear receptors and their associated coregulators in the development and treatment of HNSCC. We sought to characterize members of the nuclear receptor super family through interrogation of RNA-Seq and microarray data.

Materials And Methods: TCGA RNA-Seq data within the cBioportal platform comparing HNSCC samples (n = 515 patients with RNA-Seq data) to normal tissue (n = 82 patients) was interrogated for significant differences in nuclear receptor expression.

The geographic scale of population-level variation in growth and nodulation differs for two species of prairie clover.

Premise: Prairies are among the most threatened biomes due to changing patterns of climate and land use, yet information on genetic variation in key species that would inform conservation is often limited. We assessed evidence for the geographic scale of population-level variation in growth of two species of prairie clover and of their symbiotic associations with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

Methods: Seed representing two species, Dalea candida and D.

Hypothesized pharmacogenomic and medication influences on tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol metabolism in a cohort of unselected oral cannabis users.

Background: Differences in cannabinoid metabolism and patient responses can arise even with equivalent doses and formulations. Genetic polymorphisms in genes responsible for cannabinoid metabolism and medications that alter CYP450 pathways responsible for metabolism of cannabinoids may account for some of this variability.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted on a cohort of unselected patients who had previously completed pharmacogenomic testing and reported oral cannabis use, as defined as "oral" or "by mouth" route of administration.

Integrative multiomics reveals common endotypes across PSEN1, PSEN2, and APP mutations in familial Alzheimer's disease.

Background: PSEN1, PSEN2, and APP mutations cause Alzheimer's disease (AD) with an early age at onset (AAO) and progressive cognitive decline. PSEN1 mutations are more common and generally have an earlier AAO; however, certain PSEN1 mutations cause a later AAO, similar to those observed in PSEN2 and APP.

Methods: We examined whether common disease endotypes exist across these mutations with a later AAO (~ 55 years) using hiPSC-derived neurons from familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) patients harboring mutations in PSEN1, PSEN2, and APP and mechanistically characterized by integrating RNA-seq and ATAC-seq.

Personalized, autologous neoantigen-specific T cell therapy in metastatic melanoma: a phase 1 trial.

New treatment approaches are warranted for patients with advanced melanoma refractory to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) or BRAF-targeted therapy. We designed BNT221, a personalized, neoantigen-specific autologous T cell product derived from peripheral blood, and tested this in a 3 + 3 dose-finding study with two dose levels (DLs) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic melanoma, disease progression after ICB, measurable disease (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1) and, where appropriate, BRAF-targeted therapy.

Pan-phylum genomes of hornworts reveal conserved autosomes but dynamic accessory and sex chromosomes.

Hornworts, one of the three bryophyte phyla, show some of the deepest divergences in extant land plants, with some families separated by more than 300 million years. Previous hornwort genomes represented only one genus, limiting the ability to infer evolution within hornworts and their early land plant ancestors. Here we report ten new chromosome-scale genomes representing all hornwort families and most of the genera.

Multi-Layered Microneedles Loaded with Microspheres.

Delivery of therapies into skin is attractive for medical indications including vaccination and treatment of dermatoses but is highly constrained by the stratum corneum barrier. Microneedle (MN) patches have emerged as a promising technology to enable non-invasive, intuitive, and low-cost skin delivery. When combined with biodegradable polymer formulations, MN patches can further enable controlled-release drug delivery without injection.

Governance Considerations for Point-of-Care Ultrasound: a HIMSS-SIIM Enterprise Imaging Community Whitepaper in Collaboration with AIUM.

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has emerged as a standard of care across a variety of healthcare settings due to its ability to provide critical clinical information and as well as procedural guidance to clinicians directly at the bedside. Implementation of enterprise imaging (EI) strategies is needed such that POCUS images can be appropriately captured, indexed, managed, stored, distributed, viewed, and analyzed. Because of its unique workflow and educational requirements, reliance on traditional order-based workflow solutions may be insufficient.

Generating distant analogies increases metaphor production.

Although a large body of work has explored the mechanisms underlying metaphor comprehension, less research has focused on spontaneous metaphor production. Previous research suggests that reasoning about analogies can induce a relational mindset, which causes a greater focus on underlying abstract similarities. We explored how inducing a relational mindset may increase the tendency to use metaphors to describe topics.

ZIC1 is a context-dependent medulloblastoma driver in the rhombic lip.

Transcription factors are frequent cancer driver genes, exhibiting noted specificity based on the precise cell of origin. We demonstrate that ZIC1 exhibits loss-of-function (LOF) somatic events in group 4 (G4) medulloblastoma through recurrent point mutations, subchromosomal deletions and mono-allelic epigenetic repression (60% of G4 medulloblastoma). In contrast, highly similar SHH medulloblastoma exhibits distinct and diametrically opposed gain-of-function mutations and copy number gains (20% of SHH medulloblastoma).

Ferrimagnetic Heusler tunnel junctions with fast spin-transfer torque switching enabled by low magnetization.

Magnetic random-access memory that uses magnetic tunnel junction memory cells is a high-performance, non-volatile memory technology that goes beyond traditional charge-based memories. Today, its speed is limited by the high magnetization of the memory storage layer. Here we prepare magnetic tunnel junction memory devices with a low magnetization ferrimagnetic Heusler alloy MnGe as the memory storage layer on technologically relevant amorphous substrates using a combination of a nitride seed layer and a chemical templating layer.

Elasticity Characteristics of Thenar Muscles in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Objective: Measurement of thenar muscle elasticity by ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) may be useful for the diagnosis and evaluation of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), but there is a paucity of information on SWE of the thenar muscles in patients with CTS. The purpose of this study was to investigate the elasticity of the thenar muscles in patients with CTS.

Methods: Twenty-two adult patients with a referral diagnosis of CTS (27 hands) and 20 healthy volunteers as a control (20 dominant hands) participated in this study.

Experimental investigation and finite element analysis on the durability of root-filled teeth treated with multisonic irrigation.

Objective: This study compared the fracture load, stress distribution, and survival probability under cyclic loading of extensively restored teeth treated with multisonic irrigation with those treated with conventional instrumentation, with or without a post.

Methods: Mesial-occlusal-distal cavities were prepared in 30 human mandibular premolars. The teeth were randomly divided into 3 groups of 10 based on the endodontic and restorative procedures: (1) Root canal treatment (RCT) followed by resin composite restoration (control group), (2) RCT followed by a glass fiber post restoration (conventional group), and (3) minimal instrumentation plus multisonic irrigation followed by resin composite restoration (GW group).