Prevalence and characteristics of group standardized letters of evaluation in emergency medicine: A cross-sectional observational study.

Background: The standardized letter of evaluation (SLOE) for emergency medicine (EM) is a well-established tool for residency selection. While previous work characterizes the utility and outcomes related to SLOE use, less is known about SLOE authorship patterns and trends.

Objective: The objective was to measure the prevalence of group SLOEs in EM over time, characterize the role groups represented in group SLOEs, and compare the rating practices of groups of authors versus single authors.

Effects of Department Type and Disability Status on Medical School Faculty Wellbeing.

Purpose: Faculty wellbeing impacts student learning and is a priority among medical schools, especially as a counterbalance to growing burnout. Previous researchers found differences in burnout by sex and race among clinicians, but not for faculty with disabilities. Accordingly, the purpose was to test the association between faculty's wellbeing, burnout, and control over workload and investigate differences in wellbeing attributed to department type and ability status.

Cardiovascular Disease With Hormone Therapy and Ovarian Suppression in Premenopausal Breast Cancer Survivors.

Background: Hormone therapies, including aromatase inhibitors and tamoxifen, are used with ovarian suppression to improve outcomes in premenopausal patients with breast cancer. Cardiovascular impacts of these treatments among premenopausal women are unknown.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the use of aromatase inhibitors in combination with ovarian suppression, relative to tamoxifen, is associated with greater incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in premenopausal breast cancer survivors.

Protocol for the three-dimensional analysis of rodent skeletal muscle.

Confocal imaging is a powerful tool capable of analyzing cellular spatial data within a given tissue. Here, we present a protocol for preparing optically cleared extensor digitorum longus (EDL) skeletal muscle samples suitable for confocal imaging/computational analysis. We describe steps for sample preparation (including perfusion fixation and tissue clearing of muscle samples), image acquisition, and computational analysis, with sample segmentation/3D rendering outlined.

Engineered Cellular Therapies for the Treatment of Thoracic Cancers.

Thoracic malignancies (lung cancers and malignant pleural mesothelioma) are prevalent worldwide and are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Effective treatments are needed for patients with advanced disease. Cell therapies are a promising approach to the treatment of advanced cancers that make use of immune effector cells that have the ability to mediate antitumor immune responses.

Multi-scale Analysis Reveals Hippocampal Subfield Vulnerabilities to Chronic Cortisol Overexposure: Evidence from Cushing's Disease.

Background: Chronic cortisol overexposure plays a significant role in the development of neuropathological changes associated with neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. The hippocampus, the primary target of cortisol, may exhibit characteristic regional responses due to its internal heterogeneity. This study explores structural and functional alterations of hippocampal subfields in Cushing's disease (CD), an endogenous model of chronic cortisol overexposure.

Protocol for applying Tumor Treating Fields in mouse models of cancer using the inovivo system.

Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) are electric fields clinically approved for cancer treatment, delivered via arrays attached to the patient's skin. Here, we present a protocol for applying TTFields to torso orthotopic and subcutaneous mouse tumor models using the inovivo system. We guide users on proper system component connections, study protocol design, mouse fur depilation, array application, and treatment condition adjustment and monitoring.

p63: A Master Regulator at the Crossroads Between Development, Senescence, Aging, and Cancer.

The p63 protein is a master regulatory transcription factor that plays crucial roles in cell differentiation, adult tissue homeostasis, and chromatin remodeling, and its dysregulation is associated with genetic disorders, physiological and premature aging, and cancer. The effects of p63 are carried out by two main isoforms that regulate cell proliferation and senescence. p63 also controls the epigenome by regulating interactions with histone modulators, such as the histone acetyltransferase p300, deacetylase HDAC1/2, and DNA methyltransferases.

Pain Coping Skills Training for Patients Receiving Hemodialysis: The HOPE Consortium Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Chronic pain is common among individuals with dialysis-dependent kidney failure.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of pain coping skills training (PCST), a cognitive behavioral intervention, on pain interference.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This multicenter randomized clinical trial of PCST vs usual care was conducted across 16 academic centers and 103 outpatient dialysis facilities in the US.

Relationships Between Gonadotropins, Sex Hormones, and Vascular Health in Adolescents with Normal Weight or Obesity.

Relationships between gonadotropins, sex hormones, and vascular structure and function in adolescents of varying weight statuses have not been fully investigated. In the present study, we examined associations among these in female and male adolescents with normal weight or obesity. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of adolescents ( = 58; 12-<18 years) grouped according to BMI percentile (BMI%) into normal weight (5th-<85th BMI%; = 25) and obesity (≥95th BMI%; = 33) categories.

Melanoma Among Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer: A Report From the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Purpose: Melanoma as a subsequent malignant neoplasm has been described among childhood cancer survivors; however, the risk factors and long-term survival are not well understood.

Methods: We assessed incidence, risk factors, and outcomes for melanoma among participants in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study cohort. Cumulative incidence and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated, and multivariable Cox models were used to determine hazard ratios (HRs) and associated 95% CI for melanoma risk factors.

The and of Vincent van Gogh: neuropeptides of bondedness and loss.

We introduce two Korean-named yet transcultural feelings, and , to fill gaps in neuroscientific understanding of mammalian bondedness, loss, and aggression. is a visceral sense of connectedness to a person, place, or thing that may arise after proximity, yet does not require intimacy. The brain opioid theory of social attachment (BOTSA) supports the idea that involves increased activity of enkephalins and beta-endorphins.

Predicting the phenotype of Pompe Disease from features of GAA variants.

As the management of Pompe disease depends on whether an individual has infantile onset Pompe disease (IOPD) or late onset Pompe disease (LOPD), the question of whether the phenotype can be predicted from specific pathogenic variants is becoming increasingly important. We reviewed published cases of Pompe disease in which IOPD versus LOPD and pathogenic GAA variants were assigned for specific individuals. We then compared variant types and locations versus phenotypes.

Sleep as a possible mediator in the association of mental health parameters with cardiovascular health indices in women: exploratory analyses from the Heart SCORE Study.

Objective: This exploratory study aimed to determine the possible role of sleep in the relationships of depression and anxiety, with early surrogate markers of subclinical atherosclerosis, such as brachial artery (BA) diameter and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) in women.

Methods: We included 1,075 self-reported postmenopausal women, 45 to 75 years from the Heart Strategies Concentrating on Risk Evaluation Study. Exposure variables were depression and anxiety assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, respectively.

Strengthening Effect of Thalidomide Combined with an Anti-PD1 Antibody on Enhancing Immunity for Lung Cancer Therapy.

Objective: Combining immune checkpoint inhibitors and antiangiogenic agents offers a promising strategy to counteract the cooperative promotion of solid tumor growth by immune checkpoints and intratumoral angiogenesis.

Methods: We investigated the potential of thalidomide (THD) and anti-PD-1 antibody (PD-1 mAb) in suppressing tumor growth, enhancing immunity, and inhibiting angiogenesis.

Results: THD exhibited regulatory effects on PD-1 in CD4+ T cells and PD-L1 in cancer cells, along with tumor growth inhibition in A549 and Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cell lines.

Perceptions about preclinical Alzheimer's disease biomarker collection procedure influences willingness to participate: Findings from an ethnoracially diverse study.

Background: Past research suggests that ethnoracialized groups differ in their willingness to engage in preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) research overall. Studies indicated that participation willingness was affected by attitudes toward research and perceived invasiveness of biomarker collection techniques. However, comparative quantitative studies are few, and minoritized groups are under-included.

Isolation of Plasma Extracellular Vesicles for High-Depth Analysis of Proteomic Biomarkers in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Patients.

: Prostate cancer treatment has been revolutionized by targeted therapies, including PARP inhibitors, checkpoint immunotherapies, and PSMA-targeted radiotherapies. Despite such advancements, accurate patient stratification remains a challenge, with current methods relying on genomic markers, tissue staining, and imaging. Extracellular vesicle (EV)-derived proteins offer a novel non-invasive alternative for biomarker discovery, holding promise for improving treatment precision.

The conserved global regulator H-NS has a strain-specific impact on biofilm formation in symbionts.

Unlabelled: Strain-level variation among host-associated bacteria often determines host range and the extent to which colonization is beneficial, benign, or pathogenic. is a beneficial symbiont of the light organs of fish and squid with known strain-specific differences that impact host specificity, colonization efficiency, and interbacterial competition. Here, we describe how the conserved global regulator, H-NS, has a strain-specific impact on a critical colonization behavior: biofilm formation.

Characterizing populations prioritized for PrEP in 19 African countries: a review of national guidance.

Introduction: While African countries have expanded access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) since 2015, regional targets for PrEP uptake remain unmet. Understanding which populations are prioritized for PrEP at the policy level is an important step in determining the scope of PrEP distribution across Africa and identifying gaps in programme implementation. We reviewed national guidance to characterize populations prioritized for PrEP in Africa.

Protocol for generating splice isoform-specific mouse mutants using CRISPR-Cas9 and a minigene splicing reporter.

Here, we present a protocol to alter the production of alternatively spliced mRNA variants, without affecting the overall gene expression, through CRISPR-Cas9-engineered genomic mutations in mice. We describe steps for designing guide RNA to direct Cas9 endonuclease to consensus splice sites, producing transgenic mice through pronuclear injection, and screening for desired mutations in cultured mammalian cells using a minigene splicing reporter. Splice isoform-specific mouse mutants provide valuable tools for genetic analyses beyond loss-of-function and transgenic alleles.

Continent catheterizable channels: Does "hitching" the bladder reduce complications?

Background: Continent catheterizable channels (CCC) are a mainstay for reconstruction in patients with neurogenic bladders. Common complications include false passage, channel stenosis/difficult catheterization, channel incontinence, and stomal stenosis. This may result in the need for surgical revision or replacement.