A pilot study of the utility of a hospital-based school program for pediatric patients with cardiac diagnoses.

Introduction: Pediatric patients with complex cardiac diagnoses are at increased risk for physical, cognitive, and developmental complications. Formalized school support [i.e.

Transgender Healthcare: A Historical Narrative of Gender-Affirming Plastic Surgery.

This historical narrative presents a comprehensive historical journey delving into the diverse facets of gender identity and expression across ancient cultures. It explores these civilizations' perspectives on gender diversity, highlighting instances that challenged conventional gender norms. Transitioning to the modern era, the narrative examines the dynamic landscape of LGBTQ+ and trans movements, spotlighting influential figures whose advocacy has significantly influenced societal perceptions and advanced the rights of gender diverse individuals.

Autologous Testicle Construction With Buried Metoidioplasty Correction.

Gender-affirming surgery is essential for transgender individuals seeking alignment between their physical appearance and gender identity. Metoidioplasty is a masculinizing option for those assigned female at birth and often includes vaginectomy, urethral lengthening, scrotoplasty, creation of a neophallus, and testicular prostheses, typically implanted during a second-stage procedure. We describe a 39-year-old transgender man who initially underwent a laparoscopic hysterectomy, metoidioplasty, and tubularized plate urethral lengthening 19 months earlier.

A personalized smartphone app for a surgery residency: Is it useful?

Background: Access to schedules, protocols, and learning materials needs to be convenient and fast. Smartphones have become the default pathway for information access. The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of a smartphone application (app) on residency workflow and education.

Thrombopoietic agents enhance bone healing in mice, rats, and pigs.

Achieving bone union remains a significant clinical dilemma. The use of osteoinductive agents, specifically bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), has gained wide attention. However, multiple side effects, including increased incidence of cancer, has renewed interest in investigating alternatives that provide safer, yet effective bone regeneration.

The epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor gefitinib enhances in vitro and in vivo sensory axon regeneration and functional recovery following transection in a mouse median nerve injury model.

Introduction: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR; ErbB1), a membrane bound receptor tyrosine kinase, is hypothesized to have an inhibitory influence on peripheral nerve regeneration. This study examines the impact of EGFR inhibition on nerve regeneration using the commercially available small molecule inhibitor gefitinib.

Method: In vitro assays included neurite outgrowth of cultured dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons from adult C57Bl/6 wildtype mice on immobilized chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPG).

Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment: A Safe and Feasible Adjunct in Sickle Cell Disease Pain Management.

Children and adolescents and young adults (CAYAs) with sickle cell disease (SCD) suffer from recurrent acute pain episodes that result in hospitalization and confer substantial morbidity. Pharmacologic pain control is often inadequate, thus non-pharmacologic modalities are needed. Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is a potentially valuable non-pharmacologic addition to pain management.

Geospatial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Access to Interventional Radiology Care in the United States.

Purpose: To determine and analyze the geographic distribution of interventional radiologists in the United States to identify populations that have decreased accessibility to IR care.

Methods: The Society of Interventional Radiology public database was reviewed for board-certified interventional radiologists in all cities within the United States. US Census data was used to acquire county-level data sets on poverty, population, unemployment, median household income, education, and racial diversity.

Adiposity and Mineral Balance in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Purpose Of Review: Bone homeostasis is balanced between formation and resorption activities and remain in relative equilibrium. Under disease states this process is disrupted, favoring more resorption over formation, leading to significant bone loss and fracture incidence. This aspect is a hallmark for patients with chronic kidney disease mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) affecting a significant portion of the population, both in the United States and worldwide.

A New Overview of Sex Bias in Fungal Infections.

Fungal infections often disproportionately affect males over females. Since the NIH mandated in 2016 that researchers test their hypotheses in both biological sexes, numerous other fungal infections/colonizations have been found to exhibit sex-specific patterns. These patterns have been observed in various species, including mice, drosophila, cats, and bats, suggesting significant implications for understanding these diseases and developing treatments.

Endocranial development in non-avian dinosaurs reveals an ontogenetic brain trajectory distinct from extant archosaurs.

Modern birds possess highly encephalized brains that evolved from non-avian dinosaurs. Evolutionary shifts in developmental timing, namely juvenilization of adult phenotypes, have been proposed as a driver of head evolution along the dinosaur-bird transition, including brain morphology. Testing this hypothesis requires a sufficient developmental sampling of brain morphology in non-avian dinosaurs.

Interfacility Transfer of Pediatric Supracondylar Elbow Fractures: Transfer by Ambulance Shows No Advantage in Speed of Transfer or Prevention of Complications.

Background: The treatment of supracondylar humerus (SCH) fractures is increasingly centralized in tertiary centers. Interfacility transfer from other facilities may occur by ground ambulance or privately owned vehicle (POV). The objective of this study was to determine if interfacility transfer by POV is equivalent in transfer time and perioperative complications compared with ground ambulance.

Parathyroid hormone-related peptide induced hypercalcemia of pregnancy due to mammary hyperplasia.

Maternal Parathyroid Hormone-related Protein (PTHrP) is involved in the placental transport of calcium. Autonomous overproduction of PTHrP is a rare cause of hypercalcemia in pregnancy. Prior cases of PTHrP-induced hypercalcemia in pregnancy have been managed with either dopamine agonists, fetal delivery, termination of pregnancy, or mastectomy.

Predicting severe outcomes in pediatric trauma patients: Shock index pediatric age-adjusted vs. age-adjusted tachycardia.

Introduction: When an injured patient arrives in the Emergency Department (ED), timely and appropriate care is crucial. Shock Index Pediatric Age-Adjusted (SIPA) has been shown to accurately identify pediatric patients in need of emergency interventions. However, no study has evaluated SIPA against age-adjusted tachycardia (AT).

Building Interprofessional Competencies Through a Collaborative Prescribing Activity With Osteopathic, Pharmacy, and Physician Assistant Students.

Introduction: Medication errors can lead to significant adverse events. Nearly 50% of medication errors occur during the prescription-writing stage of the medication use process, and effective interprofessional collaboration and communication are key to reducing error in this process.

Methods: We developed a three-part, 60-minute, interprofessional education activity providing medical, physician assistant, and pharmacy students the opportunity to practice collegial interprofessional communication surrounding prescribing practices.

Measuring Urease and Phospholipase Secretion in Cryptococcus neoformans.

Urease and phospholipase are enzymes that are important virulence factors for Cryptococcus neoformans. These are two of the most studied enzymes involved in how C. neoformans breaches the blood-brain barrier.

Quantification of C. neoformans Capsule Diameter.

The polysaccharide capsule of Cryptococcus neoformans is the primary virulence factor and one of the most commonly studied aspects of this pathogenic yeast. Capsule size varies widely between strains, has the ability to grow rapidly when introduced to stressful or low-nutrient conditions, and has been positively correlated with strain virulence. For these reasons, the size of the capsule is of great interest to C.

Two Methods of Measuring Cryptococcus neoformans Fungal Burden in Macrophages.

The ability of C. neoformans to survive and replicate within host phagocytes enables it to evade the immune system and allows for persistence of the infection. As such, measuring fungal burden of C.

Novel Utilization of the Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interface Technique after Unsuccessful Nerve Release for Bilateral Frontal Migraines.

Regenerative peripheral nerve interface (RPNI) is a surgical technique whose indications include preventing or treating painful neuromas after amputation or peripheral nerve injuries. The procedure involves implanting the distal end of a transected peripheral nerve containing sensory fibers into a selected free muscle graft. Although RPNI procedures have primarily been used after limb amputations, select case reports detail the potential for RPNI to mitigate other sources of neuropathic pain, introducing novel uses to its clinical utility.

Exploration of the integration of microbiology and immunology emerging topics into undergraduate medical education.

Purpose: Medical school educators face challenges determining which new and emerging topics to incorporate into medical school curricula, and how to do so. A study was conducted to gain a better understanding of the integration of emerging topics related to microbiology and immunology in the undergraduate medical curriculum (UME).

Methods: An anonymous survey with 17 questions was emailed to medical school faculty who teach immunology and/or microbiology through the DR-Ed listserv, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Connect listserv, and attendees of the Association of Medical School Microbiology and Immunology Chairs (AMSMIC) Educational Strategies Workshop.