MRI Assessment of Ablation-Induced Scarring in Atrial Fibrillation: Analysis from the DECAAF Study.

Background: There is limited knowledge on the extent and location of scarring that results from catheter ablation and its role in suppressing atrial fibrillation (AF). We examined the effect of atrial fibrosis and ablation-induced scarring on catheter ablation outcomes in AF.

Methods: We conducted a prospective multicenter study that enrolled 329 AF patients presenting for catheter ablation.

Gender differences in perceptions and self-reported driving behaviors among teenagers.

Background: The Centers for Disease Control reports that motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) are the leading cause of injury and death among U.S. teenagers, and disproportionately affect males.

Emergency Medicine Gender-specific Education.

The 2014 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference has taken the first step in identifying gender-specific care as an area of importance to both emergency medicine (EM) and research. To improve patient care, we need to address educational gaps in this area concurrent with research gaps. In this article, the authors highlight the need for sex- and gender-specific education in EM and propose guidelines for medical student, resident, and faculty education.

Injury due to mechanical falls: future directions in gender-specific surveillance, screening, and interventions in emergency department patients.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that among older adults (≥65 years), falls are the leading cause of injury-related death. Fall-related fractures among older women are more than twice as frequent as those for men. Gender-specific evidence-based fall prevention strategy and intervention studies show that improved patient-centered outcomes are elusive.

Future directions in sex- and Gender-specific Emergency Medicine.

The 2014 Academic Emergency Medicine (AEM) consensus conference "Gender-Specific Research in Emergency Medicine: Investigate, Understand, and Translate How Gender Affects Patient Outcomes" convened a diverse group of stakeholders to target gaps in emergency medicine (EM) sex- and gender-specific research and identify research priorities. At the close of the conference, the executive committee sought feedback from group leaders and conference attendees about the next critical steps in EM sex- and gender-specific research, goals for their own future research, and anticipated barriers in pursuing this research. This article summarizes this feedback on the future directions in sex- and gender-specific research in emergency care and strategies to overcome barriers.

Research priorities for the influence of gender on diagnostic imaging choices in the emergency department setting.

Diagnostic imaging is a cornerstone of patient evaluation in the acute care setting, but little effort has been devoted to understanding the appropriate influence of sex and gender on imaging choices. This article provides background on this issue and a description of the working group and consensus findings reached during the diagnostic imaging breakout session at the 2014 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference "Gender-specific Research in Emergency Care: Investigate, Understand, and Translate How Gender Affects Patient Outcomes." Our goal was to determine research priorities for how sex and gender may (or should) affect imaging choices in the acute care setting.

Unusual presentations of melanoma: melanoma of unknown primary site, melanoma arising in childhood, and melanoma arising in the eye and on mucosal surfaces.

Most melanomas present as primary tumors on the skin surface in adults; however, melanomas also arise in the eye and on the mucosal surfaces or present as apparently metastatic disease without any known history of a cutaneous primary. Melanoma is also being diagnosed during childhood more frequently than ever. Surgeons need to be aware of and understand these unusual presentations of melanoma to optimally manage their patients.

Indications and options for systemic therapy in melanoma.

The management of unresectable metastatic melanoma has dramatically improved in recent years. Surgeons need to familiarize themselves with new drugs and the biology behind them, and ongoing clinical trials and new drugs in development for adjuvant therapy and treatment of metastatic disease.

Recurrent (stump) appendicitis: a case series.

Stump appendicitis is a rare but serious postoperative complication of an appendectomy. In the emergency department, diagnosticians are likely to rule out appendicitis when a surgical history of an appendectomy is reported. We describe 2 patients in this case series who presented to the emergency department with right lower quadrant abdominal pain and a history of previous appendectomy.

Penile artery shunt syndrome: a novel cause of erectile dysfunction after penile revascularization surgery.

Introduction: Penile revascularization is a surgical treatment option for erectile dysfunction (ED) in healthy individuals due to a focal arterial occlusion in the absence of generalized vascular disease. Most described failures have been attributed to graft stenosis or disruption of the anastomosis.

Aim: We report a novel phenomenon called Penile Artery Shunt Syndrome that contributed to persistent ED in a patient after penile microvascular arterial bypass surgery.

HDAC6 deacetylates and ubiquitinates MSH2 to maintain proper levels of MutSα.

MutS protein homolog 2 (MSH2) is a key DNA mismatch repair protein. It forms the MSH2-MSH6 (MutSα) and MSH2-MSH3 (MutSβ) heterodimers, which help to ensure genomic integrity. MutSα not only recognizes and repairs mismatched nucleotides but also recognizes DNA adducts induced by DNA-damaging agents, and triggers cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis.

Magnetic micelles for DNA delivery to rat brains after mild traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes significant mortality, long term disability and psychological symptoms. Gene therapy is a promising approach for treatment of different pathological conditions. Here we tested chitosan and polyethyleneimine (PEI)-coated magnetic micelles (CP-mag micelles or CPMMs), a potential MRI contrast agent, to deliver a reporter DNA to the brain after mild TBI (mTBI).

Chitosan-Modified Graphene Electrodes for DNA Mutation Analysis.

Graphene has remarkable electrochemical properties that make it an ideal material for constructing biosensors,however it has not been explored for DNA biosensing. Herein, we report on a chitosan-modified graphene platform for the electrochemical detection of changes in DNA sequences. For this purpose, graphene synthesized chemically and characterized by Raman spectroscopy and Transmission electron microscopy, was covalently modified with positively charged chitosan to facilitate the immobilization of a single-stranded DNA `capture' oligonucleotide.

Phospholipid micelle encapsulated gadolinium oxide nanoparticles for imaging and gene delivery.

We encapsulated gadolinium oxide (GdO) nanoparticles within phospholipid micelles as a novel low cytotoxic T-weighted MRI imaging contrast agent (MGdNPs) that can also deliver small molecules such as DNA plasmids. MGdNPs show relatively good MRI relaxivity values, negligible cytotoxicity, excellent cellular uptake and expression of DNA plasmids . Biodistribution studies in mice show that intranasal and intraperitoneal administration of MGdNPs can effectively target specific organs.