Siblings With Berardinelli-Seip Congenital Lipodystrophy: Clinical Insights and Challenges.

Berardinelli-Seip congenital lipodystrophy (BSCL), also known as congenital generalized lipodystrophy (CGL), is an exceptionally rare autosomal recessive disorder marked by a significant deficiency of adipose tissue throughout the body. This lack of adipose tissue, normally found beneath the skin and between internal organs, leads to impaired adipocyte formation and fat storage, causing lipids to accumulate in atypical tissues such as muscles and the liver. The extent of adipose tissue loss directly influences the severity of symptoms, which can include a muscular appearance, increased appetite, bone cysts, marrow fat depletion, acromegalic features, severe insulin resistance, skeletal muscle hypertrophy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, hepatic steatosis, hepatomegaly, cirrhosis, and intellectual disability.

Azithromycin-loaded PLGA microspheres coated with silk fibroin ameliorate inflammation and promote periodontal tissue regeneration.

Periodontitis, a widespread inflammatory disease, is the major cause of tooth loss in adults. While mechanical periodontal therapy benefits the periodontal disease treatment, adjunctive periodontal therapy is also necessary. Topically applied anti-inflammatory agents have gained considerable attention in periodontitis therapy.

Verbal Memory is Higher After Aerobic Exercise When Compared to Muscle Stretching.

Acute exercise is linked to memory improvement. Several mediators may influence the effect of exercise such as the type of exercise (aerobic exercise, muscle stretching). The primary aim was to analyze memory outcomes after a 20-min bout of aerobic exercise or muscle stretching.

Vocational Skill Fluency Through Frequency Building.

Employment offers many important benefits yet the majority of adults with disabilities are not represented in the workforce suggesting more research is needed on evidence-based vocational training for adults with disabilities (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024).

Perceptions of Machine Learning among Therapists Practicing Applied Behavior Analysis: A National Survey.

Unlabelled: Collecting data and logging behaviors of clients who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy sessions can be challenging in real time, especially when the behaviors require a rapid response, like self-injury or aggression. Little information is available about the automation of data collection in ABA therapy, such as through machine learning (ML). Our survey of ABA therapists nationally revealed mixed levels of familiarity with ML and generally neutral responses to statements endorsing the benefits of ML.

Apocrine Breast Cancer With Psammoma Bodies in a Male Patient.

Introduction: While male breast carcinoma is a relatively uncommon occurrence, its incidence is on the rise, potentially attributed to sporadic pathophysiological mechanisms, primarily involving hormonal imbalances. Invasive apocrine carcinoma represents a small fraction of global breast malignancies, with limited instances reported among male patients in the literature. The clinical presentation of an apocrine breast carcinoma closely resembles that of other breast cancer subtypes, as it is most often described as a solitary ulcerative nodular lesion occupying a retro-areolar region of the breast.

Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis After Y-Incision Aortic Annular Enlargement: A Simple Solution.

The Y-incision aortic annular enlargement (AAE) has been established as a safe and effective technique for upsizing the aortic annulus by 3 to 4 valve sizes. However, concerns have been raised regarding its technical complexity during reoperations, particularly given the extensive enlargement of the aortic annulus and root. We present a case of reoperative aortic valve replacement after previous Y-incision AAE for prosthetic valve endocarditis and aortic root abscess.

Pacemaker Implantation After Tricuspid Valve Surgery at a High-Volume Regional Reference Center.

Background: The rate of permanent pacemaker implantation after tricuspid valve (TV) operation is thought to be high, with some studies quoting rates of 20% to 30%. We identified the rate of pacemaker implantation after TV operation at a high-volume regional reference center to better characterize the contemporary risk of pacemaker.

Methods: All adult patients without preexisting pacemakers undergoing TV operation from 2011 to 2022 were included.

Colonic Stent-Assisted Endoluminal Embolization in the Aortic Arch.

Extended aortic arch repair using a prefabricated multibranched Dacron graft has been a standard method to reconstruct the aortic arch for complex aortic dissections. Late complications associated with a Dacron graft or its suture lines in the absence of infection are rare. We report a case of a ligated Dacron branch blowout in a patient with Loeys-Dietz syndrome with previous reoperative aortic arch reconstructions.

Endovascular Repair of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Using Transcaval Aortic Access Technique.

Repair of thoracic aortic aneurysms has evolved in recent history. Open surgical intervention has largely been replaced with endovascular intervention. However, there are anatomic limitations to thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair.

Communities conquering COVID-19: Black and Latinx community perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 in regions of Michigan hardest hit by the pandemic.

Introduction: In Michigan, the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted Black and Latinx communities. These communities experienced higher rates of exposure, hospitalizations, and deaths compared to Whites. We examine the impact of the pandemic and reasons for the higher burden on communities of color from the perspectives of Black and Latinx community members across four Michigan counties and discuss recommendations to better prepare for future public health emergencies.

Facilitating multidisciplinary working groups in translational research: Strategies to promote cross-center collaboration and sustain the Cancer Center Cessation Initiative Consortium.

As funding for large translational research consortia increases across the National Institutes of Health (NIH), focused working groups provide an opportunity to leverage the power of unique networks to conduct high-impact science and offer a strategy for building collaborative infrastructure to sustain networks long-term. This sustainment leverages the existing NIH investments, amplifying the impact and creating conditions for future innovative translational research. However, few resources exist that detail practical strategies for establishing and sustaining working groups in consortia.

Quality Analysis of Online Resources for Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

Background: Online resources are becoming the primary educational resource for patients. Quality and reliability of websites about coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures are unknown.

Methods: We queried 4 search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo!, and Dogpile) for the terms , , , and .

Bone Plug in the Bronchoscopic Management of Postoperative Bronchopleural Fistulas.

Background: Bronchopleural fistula (BPF) is a rare and often difficult postoperative complication to manage. This case series describes a bronchoscopic technique using a bone plug for closure of BPFs.

Methods: Six patients at Henry Ford Hospital from 2014 to 2021, who had a postoperative BPF after lung resection with curative intent for non-small cell lung cancer, underwent bronchoscopic placement of a customized bone plug.

Repairing Bilateral Coronary-Pulmonary Artery Fistulas During Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

Coronary-pulmonary artery fistulas (CPAFs) are rare entities that can cause significant left-to-right shunting and complicate routine coronary artery bypass grafting. There are no best practice guidelines and a scarcity of reports regarding concomitant treatment of CPAF with coronary artery disease. We present a case of bilateral CPAFs in a 60-year-old man with symptomatic coronary artery disease treated successfully with coronary artery bypass, epicardial ligation, and transpulmonary closure of CPAF with patch reconstruction.

Early Career Experiences of Cardiothoracic Surgery Graduates by Training Model: A National Survey.

Background: As the practice of cardiothoracic surgery continues to evolve, the optimal training model represents an area of uncertainty. We sought to describe and to compare the early career experiences of cardiothoracic surgery graduates from the 3 training models.

Methods: An anonymous survey with questions pertaining to an individual's demographic characteristics, training model, first employment experience, experience as junior faculty, career satisfaction, and personal reflection was sent to graduates from US cardiothoracic surgery training programs between 2012 and 2020.

Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Rounds-A New Paradigm in Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Background: The delivery of cardiothoracic health care is complex, and despite best efforts, adverse patient outcomes do occur. There is significant heterogeneity in morbidity and mortality rounds within and between institutions as well as undertones of a "blame and shame" culture prohibitive to meaningful quality assessment and improvement of patient care. The Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QIPS) program was designed to address these issues.

Evaluating Safety of Telehealth for Initial Surgical Evaluation of General Thoracic Patients.

Background: The use of telehealth has grown exponentially since the COVID-19 pandemic. The safety of an initial telehealth preoperative evaluation for patients undergoing general thoracic procedures is unknown.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients who underwent a general thoracic surgical procedure at our academic tertiary care institution from January 2021 to December 2022.

Willingness for Lung Cancer Screening: Disparities Among Informed, Screening-Eligible Individuals.

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death. Although lung cancer screening has been shown to reduce mortality, only a small fraction of eligible people receive screening. This study briefly educated screening-eligible individuals about lung cancer risk, prevention, and screening recommendations.

Development of a Mouse Model of Enthesis-Specific NF-κB Activation.

Enthesitis, or inflammation specific to sites in the body where tendon inserts into bone, can arise in isolated joints from overuse or in multiple joints as a complication of an autoimmune condition such as psoriatic arthritis or spondyloarthritis. However, the pathogenesis of enthesitis is not well understood, so treatment strategies are limited. A clinically relevant animal model of enthesitis would allow investigators to determine mechanisms driving the disease and evaluate novel therapies.

The Korean integrative family therapy model.

Family therapy was introduced in South Korea in the 1970s and has been extensively applied in clinical and academic settings. However, despite the efficacy of using family therapy models from the United States for Korean families, existing models are unable to fully capture the nuances of the Korean family culture, limiting their full potential to help families in crises. Based on observations and counseling of over 1500 families in Korea, this paper presents a theoretical and clinical foundation, namely, the Korean Integrative Family Therapy Model.

Assessing the impacts of stakeholder involvement in long-term agricultural experiments via a case study in the upper US Midwest.

Agricultural researchers are increasingly encouraged to engage with stakeholders to improve the usefulness of their projects, but iterative research on the design and assessment of stakeholder engagement is scarce. The USDA Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) Network recognizes the importance of effective engagement in increasing the utility of information and technologies for future agriculture. Diverse stakeholders and researchers at the Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) LTAR site co-designed the KBS LTAR Aspirational Cropping System Experiment, a process that provides a testing ground and interdisciplinary collaborations to develop theory-driven assessment protocols for continuous stakeholder engagement.