Hospitals That Serve Many Black Patients Have Lower Revenues and Profits: Structural Racism in Hospital Financing.

Background: Care for Black patients is concentrated at a relatively small proportion of all US hospitals. Some previous studies have documented quality deficits at Black-serving hospitals, which may be due to inequities in financial resources for care.

Objective: To assess disparities in funding between hospitals associated with the proportion of Black patients that they serve.

Multicenter evaluation of Candida QuickFISH BC for identification of Candida species directly from blood culture bottles.

Candida species are common causes of bloodstream infections (BSI), with high mortality. Four species cause >90% of Candida BSI: C. albicans, C.

A novel method of anterior lumbosacral cage reconstruction.

Reconstruction of the lumbosacral junction is a considerable challenge for spinal surgeons due to the unique anatomical constraints of this region as well as the vectors of force that are applied focally in this area. The standard cages, both expandable and nonexpendable, often fail to reconstitute the appropriate anatomical alignment of the lumbosacral junction. This inadequate reconstruction may predispose the patient to continued back pain and neurological symptoms as well as possible pseudarthrosis and instrumentation failure.

FK506 neuroprotection after cavernous nerve injury is mediated by thioredoxin and glutathione redox systems.

Introduction: Immunophilin ligands such as FK506 (FK) preserve erectile function (EF) following cavernous nerve injury (CNI), although the precise mechanisms are unclear. We examined whether the thioredoxin (Trx) and glutathione (GSH) redox systems mediate this effect after CNI.

Aim: To investigate the roles of Trx reductase 2 (TrxR2) and S-Nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR) as antioxidative/nitrosative and antiapoptotic mediators of the neuroprotective effect of FK in the penis after CNI.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency: an etiology for idiopathic priapism?

Introduction: Efforts to identify the health risk associations for priapism may reveal pathophysiologic mechanisms for the disorder and suggest a scientifically rational approach for correcting it.

Aim: We describe a clinical presentation of idiopathic recurrent priapism in a patient with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency and consider a possible nitric oxide (NO)-dependent mechanistic basis from which the medical condition causes priapism.

Methods: The case report profiled a 35-year-old African-American man with G6PD deficiency who presented with a rapid progression of recurrent priapism episodes.

Key Methodological Issues in Sexual Medicine Research.

The field of research in sexual medicine has grown dramatically in the past decade to a point where we now have a substantial armamentarium of pharmacologic and psychological interventions available for the treatment of sexual dysfunctions in men. Concomitantly, numerous new compounds are in advanced stages of clinical development to expand the spectrum of treatment options for women's sexual dysfunctions as well. We believe we have reached a point in our overall research agenda where it may be useful to reappraise certain aspects of our clinical research methodology.

The nitric oxide signaling pathway in the penis.

It is widely accepted that nitric oxide plays an important role in the biology of the penis, serving most familiarly as the agent responsible for penile erection. Early investigation in the field led to the identification of the signaling function of the molecule in the penis which yields corporal smooth muscle relaxation fundamental for the erectile response. Ongoing study of this molecule and its signaling pathway in erectile tissue has served to revise and clarify its importance.

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase protein expression, localization, and activity in the penis of the alloxan-induced diabetic rat.

Purpose: To explore the possible relevance of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in the pathophysiology of erectile dysfunction (ED) associated with diabetes mellitus, we compared the catalytic activity, protein expression, and cellular localization of eNOS with those of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the penis of rats with alloxan-induced diabetes.

Materials And Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were given alloxan or vehicle only and monitored weekly by Dextrostix for confirmation of glucosuria. Tail-flick immersion and penile reflex testing were used to evaluate sensory neuropathy and ED, respectively.

Noncholinergic penile erection in mice lacking the gene for endothelial nitric oxide synthase.

With the current understanding that nitric oxide (NO) mediates penile erection, the endothelial isoform of NO synthase (eNOS) has been implicated in this function. We undertook this study applying transgenic mice with targeted deletion of the eNOS gene (eNOS-/- mice) as an experimental approach to evaluate the importance of eNOS in cholinergically stimulated erectile function in vivo. Combined pharmacostimulation with intracavernosal carbachol (3 ng) administration and submaximal cavernous nerve (CN) electrical stimulation (16 Hz, 5 millisecond, 1 V) simultaneous with intracavernosal pressure (ICP) monitoring, and both biochemical assay of NO synthase activity and Western blot analysis of eNOS protein content in penile tissue, were performed on eNOS-/- mice and wild-type controls.

General use of animal models for investigation of the physiology of erection.

In review, animal models have accounted significantly for the amazing strides made in the field of sexual dysfunction research. Fundamentally, they have offered a unique experimental approach to test many hypotheses regarding sexual function. Since their early use for sexual physiology research, there has been increasing sophistication using animals involving techniques for stimulating and monitoring sexual responses.

Minimal uterine serous carcinoma: diagnosis and clinicopathologic correlation.

The clinicopathologic features of uterine serous carcinoma (USC) lacking myometrial invasion, including its putative precursor lesion endometrial intraepithelial carcinoma (EIC), have not been studied extensively. Some USCs may prove fatal even when myometrial invasion is apparently absent, whereas others may be cured with surgery alone. Accordingly, the authors studied eight cases of pure EIC (no invasion identified) and 13 superficial serous carcinomas (SSCs) in which invasion was limited to the endometrial stroma to clarify the behavior of these lesions.