Ultrasound-guided interstitial photothermal therapy generates improved treatment responses in a 9464D model of neuroblastoma.

We describe the use of ultrasound image guidance to improve treatment outcomes when administering interstitial photothermal therapy (I-PTT), an experimental cancer treatment modality. I-PTT is a promising thermal therapy for tumors using intratumorally injected nanoparticle-based photothermal agents activated by an interstitially placed laser diffuser. We hypothesized that ultrasound-based image guidance yields improved tumor treatment outcomes in terms of tumor regression and survival by improving the accuracy of the placement of the laser fiber and nanoparticles within a tumor and facilitating more precise PTT delivery.

Mitochondrial trifunctional protein deficiency caused by a deep intronic deletion leading to aberrant splicing.

Trifunctional protein deficiency (TFP) is a disorder of fatty acid beta-oxidation associated with metabolic, cardiac, and liver dysfunction in severe forms. We present two siblings diagnosed by newborn screening and confirmed by biochemical testing at birth. Their clinical course was complicated by recurrent rhabdomyolysis, retinopathy, and hypoparathyroidism.

Poststroke Cognitive Impairment and the Risk of Recurrent Stroke and Mortality: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) occurs in about 60% of patients with stroke in the first year after stroke. However, the question regarding risks of recurrent stroke and mortality in patients with PSCI remains controversial. The goal of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of published literature to estimate the risks of stroke recurrence and mortality associated with PSCI.

Photothermal Prussian blue nanoparticles generate potent multi-targeted tumor-specific T cells as an adoptive cell therapy.

Prussian blue nanoparticle-based photothermal therapy (PBNP-PTT) is an effective tumor treatment capable of eliciting an antitumor immune response. Motivated by the ability of PBNP-PTT to potentiate endogenous immune responses, we recently demonstrated that PBNP-PTT could be used ex vivo to generate tumor-specific T cells against glioblastoma (GBM) cell lines as an adoptive T cell therapy (ATCT). In this study, we further developed this promising T cell development platform.

Development and evaluation of a novel knowledge assessment tool for pediatric emergency medicine clerkships.

Objectives: This study seeks to determine validity evidence for a newly developed multiple-choice examination (MCE) tool to assess retention and application of medical knowledge of students enrolled in a pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) clerkship.

Methods: A team of PEM physicians created a 110-item MCE covering the range of clinical topics in PEM relevant for medical students. The researchers determined examination content using the report of Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine and PEM Interest Group of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM).

Using Artificial Intelligence for Rheumatic Heart Disease Detection by Echocardiography: Focus on Mitral Regurgitation.

Background: Identification of children with latent rheumatic heart disease (RHD) by echocardiography, before onset of symptoms, provides an opportunity to initiate secondary prophylaxis and prevent disease progression. There have been limited artificial intelligence studies published assessing the potential of machine learning to detect and analyze mitral regurgitation or to detect the presence of RHD on standard portable echocardiograms.

Methods And Results: We used 511 echocardiograms in children, focusing on color Doppler images of the mitral valve.

Comparison of the nutrient composition of eggs produced in the Guatemalan highlands during the wet and dry seasons.

The potential of chicken eggs as a nutritionally complete protein and source of key micronutrients during the first 1000 days post-conception has been progressively recognized across the globe, particularly in resource-poor settings. Fluctuation of egg nutrient content by season is relatively unknown, which may influence international food composition databases and outcomes in intervention studies using egg supplementation. To better interpret the findings of The Saqmolo' Project, we conducted comprehensive nutrient analyses on eggs produced during the wet and dry seasons in the highlands of central Guatemala.

The "therapeutic relationship:" emergence, eclipse, and transformations of a social technology.

This essay situates the history of "the relationship" as a therapeutic technology within the broader context of changing social relations in the twentieth-century United States. More specifically, it outlines the emergence and subsequent diffusion of practices that aim to cultivate a social bond between therapist and patient that may serve as a psychotherapeutic tool. The article highlights the transformations of this technology as its institutional and epistemic foundations became challenged.

Drug-Coated Balloon Versus Plain Balloon Angioplasty for Hemodialysis Dysfunction: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background Both drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty and conventional plain balloon angioplasty (PBA) can be implemented to treat hemodialysis dysfunction. The present study aims to compare the safety and efficacy of these 2 approaches by conducting a meta-analysis of available randomized controlled trials. Methods and Results PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases were queried from establishment to January 2021.

Risk stratification with video capsule endoscopy leads to fewer hospital admissions in emergency department patients with low-risk to moderate-risk upper gastrointestinal bleed: A multicenter clinical trial.

Objective: In US emergency departments (EDs), the physician has limited ability to evaluate for common and serious conditions of the gastrointestinal (GI) mucosa such as a bleeding peptic ulcer. Although many bleeding lesions are self-limited, the majority of these patients require emergency hospitalization for upper endoscopy (EGD). We conducted a clinical trial to determine if ED risk stratification with video capsule endoscopy (VCE) reduces hospitalization rates for low-risk to moderate-risk patients with suspected upper GI bleeding.

Racial/Ethnic Differences in 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D and Parathyroid Hormone Levels and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among Postmenopausal Women.

Background Recent evidence suggests that racial/ethnic differences in circulating levels of free or bioavailable 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25[ OH ]D) rather than total 25( OH )D may explain apparent racial disparities in cardiovascular disease ( CVD ). We prospectively examined black-white differences in the associations of total, free, and bioavailable 25( OH )D, vitamin D-binding protein, and parathyroid hormone levels at baseline with incident CVD (including nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, and CVD death) in postmenopausal women. Methods and Results We conducted a case-cohort study among 79 705 postmenopausal women, aged 50 to 79 years, who were free of CVD at baseline in the WHI-OS (Women's Health Initiative Observational Study).

Application of RNS in refractory epilepsy: Targeting insula.

Although responsive neurostimulation (RNS) is approved for treatment of resistant focal epilepsy in adults, little is known about response to treatment of specific cortical targets. We describe the experience of RNS targeting the insular lobe. We identified patients who had RNS implantation with at least one electrode within the insula between April 2014 and October 2015.