High-magnification super-resolution FINCH microscopy using birefringent crystal lens interferometers.

Fresnel incoherent correlation holography (FINCH) microscopy is a promising approach for high-resolution biological imaging but has so far been limited to use with low-magnification, low-numerical-aperture configurations. We report the use of in-line incoherent interferometers made from uniaxial birefringent α-barium borate (α-BBO) or calcite crystals that overcome the aberrations and distortions present with previous implementations that employed spatial light modulators or gradient refractive index lenses. FINCH microscopy incorporating these birefringent elements and high-numerical-aperture oil immersion objectives could outperform standard wide-field fluorescence microscopy, with, for example, a 149 nm lateral point spread function at a wavelength of 590 nm.

OOSTT: a Resource for Analyzing the Organizational Structures of Trauma Centers and Trauma Systems.

Organizational structures of healthcare organizations has increasingly become a focus of medical research. In the CAFÉ project we aim to provide a web-service enabling ontology-driven comparison of the organizational characteristics of trauma centers and trauma systems. Trauma remains one of the biggest challenges to healthcare systems worldwide.

Ossified dysraphic hamartoma with lipomyelocoele/lipomyelomeningocoele-A rare radiological entity.

Traditionally the presence of fat in closed spinal dysraphism has been referred to as spinal lipoma. Recent reports suggest that these spinal lesions are better described as spinal hamartomas due to the unencapsulated and infiltrating nature of the fat and presence of other heterotopic soft tissue. The presence of ossified bone in spinal hamartomas referred to as ossified dysraphic hamartoma, is extremely rare with only three case reports in literature, all associated with lipomyeloceles, none with lipomyelomeningoceles.

The Anesthesiologist's Role in the National Partnership for Maternal Safety's Hemorrhage Bundle: A Review Article.

Obstetric hemorrhage can bring significant challenges to the obstetrician and anesthestiologist. Optimal management requires a systems-based multidisciplinary and intraprofessinal approach, and implementation leadership is now the cornerstone of successful hemorrhage management. The National Partnership for Maternal Safety recently released a patient safety bundle for maternal hemorrhage.

Splenic Immune Response Is Down-Regulated in C57BL/6J Mice Fed Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid Enriched High Fat Diet.

Dietary -3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are associated with reduction of inflammation, although the mechanisms are poorly understood, especially how the spleen, as a secondary lymphoid organ, is involved. To investigate the effects of EPA and DHA on spleen gene expression, male C57BL/6J mice were fed high fat diets (HFD) differing in fatty acid composition, either based on corn oil (HFD-CO), or CO enriched with 2 g/100 g EPA and DHA (HFD-ED), for eight weeks. Spleen tissue was analyzed using transcriptomics and for fatty acids profiling.

Computational Fluid Dynamics modeling of contrast transport in basilar aneurysms following flow-altering surgeries.

In vivo measurement of blood velocity fields and flow descriptors remains challenging due to image artifacts and limited resolution of current imaging methods; however, in vivo imaging data can be used to inform and validate patient-specific computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. Image-based CFD can be particularly useful for planning surgical interventions in complicated cases such as fusiform aneurysms of the basilar artery, where it is crucial to alter pathological hemodynamics while preserving flow to the distal vasculature. In this study, patient-specific CFD modeling was conducted for two basilar aneurysm patients considered for surgical treatment.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia with Translocation (2;14)(p16;q32): A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

We report the case of a young African American male with no significant past medical history presenting with low back and bilateral leg pain; presenting CBC and chemistries revealed elevated white blood cell count of 250,000, with anemia (Hb 6.8 g/dL) and thrombocytopenia (platelets 9 K/L), and elevated LDH, 1008. Physical examination findings were notable for diffuse lymphadenopathy and lower extremity skin nodules.

Development and validation of a simple integer risk score for prediction of in-hospital mortality following Takotsubo syndrome.

Background: Data regarding the characteristics associated with worse outcomes in Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) patients is lacking.

Methods And Objectives: The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) 2012 database was utilized to calculate a risk score for in-hospital mortality following TTS that was internally and externally validated in both 2012 and 2013 databases, respectively.

Results: The incidences of in-hospital mortality in the 2012 development sample were 0.

Circulating IGF-1 deficiency exacerbates hypertension-induced microvascular rarefaction in the mouse hippocampus and retrosplenial cortex: implications for cerebromicrovascular and brain aging.

Strong epidemiological and experimental evidence indicate that both age and hypertension lead to significant functional and structural impairment of the cerebral microcirculation, predisposing to the development of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) and Alzheimer's disease. Preclinical studies establish a causal link between cognitive decline and microvascular rarefaction in the hippocampus, an area of brain important for learning and memory. Age-related decline in circulating IGF-1 levels results in functional impairment of the cerebral microvessels; however, the mechanistic role of IGF-1 deficiency in impaired hippocampal microvascularization remains elusive.

IGF-1 deficiency in a critical period early in life influences the vascular aging phenotype in mice by altering miRNA-mediated post-transcriptional gene regulation: implications for the developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis.

Epidemiological findings support the concept of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, suggesting that early-life hormonal influences during a sensitive period of development have a fundamental impact on vascular health later in life. The endocrine changes that occur during development are highly conserved across mammalian species and include dramatic increases in circulating IGF-1 levels during adolescence. The present study was designed to characterize the effect of developmental IGF-1 deficiency on the vascular aging phenotype.

A rare case of blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm with deletion 7q.31, in the setting of heavy pre-treatment with alkylating chemotherapy.

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm is rare myeloid malignancy clinically characterized by non-pruritic, violaceous and papulo-nodular skin lesions, together with bone marrow and lymph node involvement. Histologically, there is infiltration of dermis by neoplastic mono-nuclear CD4, CD56, CD123 co-expressing cells with epidermal sparing. Most commonly blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm presents as a de-novo condition, and treatment-related blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm is a rare phenomenon.

The ontology of medically related social entities: recent developments.

Background: The Ontology of Medically Related Social Entities (OMRSE) was initially developed in 2011 to provide a framework for modeling demographic data in Resource Description Framework/Web Ontology Language. It is built upon the Basic Formal Ontology and conforms to Open Biomedical Ontologies Foundry's best practices.

Description: We report recent development of OMRSE which includes representations of organizations, roles, facilities, demographic data, enrollment in insurance plans, and data about socio-economic indicators.

STAT Assays with a TWIST: Differentiating Sézary Syndrome from Erythrodermic Inflammatory Dermatitis.

Sézary syndrome can be challenging to differentiate from erythrodermic inflammatory dermatitis. Biomarkers have been identified in Sézary syndrome, but have not been validated in multicenter studies in a cohort that allows comparisons. Boonk et al.

Ultrasound image-guided core biopsy of the breast.

Results of partial mastectomy or lumpectomy including margin negativity are improved when preoperative diagnosis is obtained. This article describes the various techniques, instruments, utility and complications of the techniques. Emphasis is given to ultrasound (US) usefulness and effectiveness.

Plasma amino acid and metabolite signatures tracking diabetes progression in the UCD-T2DM rat model.

Elevations of plasma concentrations of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are observed in human insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); however, there has been some controversy with respect to the passive or causative nature of the BCAA phenotype. Using untargeted metabolomics, plasma BCAA and other metabolites were assessed in lean control Sprague-Dawley rats (LC) and temporally during diabetes development in the UCD-T2DM rat model, i.e.

Spatially fractionated radiotherapy (GRID) using helical tomotherapy.

Spatially fractionated radiotherapy (GRID) was designed to treat large tumors while sparing skin, and it is usually delivered with a linear accelerator using a commercially available block or multileaf collimator (LINAC-GRID). For deep-seated (skin to tumor distance (> 8 cm)) tumors, it is always a challenge to achieve adequate tumor dose coverage. A novel method to perform GRID treatment using helical tomotherapy (HT-GRID) was developed at our institution.

Gender, Racial, and Health Insurance Differences in the Trend of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) Utilization: A United States Experience Over the Last Decade.

Prior studies have highlighted disparities in cardiac lifesaving procedure utilization, particularly among women and in minorities. Although there has been a significant increase in implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) insertion, socioeconomic disparities still exist in the trend of ICD utilization. With the use of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2003 through 2011, we identified subjects with ICD insertion (procedure code 37.

Technique for Periarticular Local Infiltrative Anesthesia Delivery Using Liposomal Bupivacaine in Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Postoperative pain control after total knee arthroplasty is a major contributing factor to patient satisfaction, rehabilitation, and length of stay. Current clinical practice guidelines recommend a multimodal pain management protocol, including the use of regional anesthesia. Periarticular injection (PAI) has been shown to provide excellent pain relief after total knee arthroplasty.

A Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor, Dinaciclib, Impairs Homologous Recombination and Sensitizes Multiple Myeloma Cells to PARP Inhibition.

PARP1/2 are required for single-strand break repair, and their inhibition causes DNA replication fork collapse and double-strand break (DSB) formation. These DSBs are primarily repaired via homologous recombination (HR), a high-fidelity repair pathway. Should HR be deficient, DSBs may be repaired via error-prone nonhomologous end-joining mechanisms, or may persist, ultimately resulting in cell death.

Delayed hemoglobin switching and perinatal neocytolysis in mice with gain-of-function erythropoietin receptor.

Unlabelled: Mutations of the truncated cytoplasmic domain of human erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) result in gain-of-function of erythropoietin (EPO) signaling and a dominantly inherited polycythemia, primary familial and congenital polycythemia (PFCP). We interrogated the unexplained transient absence of perinatal polycythemia observed in PFCP patients using an animal model of PFCP to examine its erythropoiesis during embryonic, perinatal, and early postnatal periods. In this model, we replaced the murine EpoR gene (mEpoR) with the wild-type human EPOR (wtHEPOR) or mutant human EPOR gene (mtHEPOR) and previously reported that the gain-of-function mtHEPOR mice become polycythemic at 3~6 weeks of age, but not at birth, similar to the phenotype of PFCP patients.

Long-Term Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Dysfunction is Associated with Hypermetabolism in Severely Burned Children.

The long-term impact of burn trauma on skeletal muscle bioenergetics remains unknown. Here, the authors determined respiratory capacity and function of skeletal muscle mitochondria in healthy individuals and in burn victims for up to 2 years postinjury. Biopsies were collected from the m.

MicroRNA Clusters in the Adult Mouse Heart: Age-Associated Changes.

The microRNAs and microRNA clusters have been implicated in normal cardiac development and also disease, including cardiac hypertrophy, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and arrhythmias. Since a microRNA cluster has from two to dozens of microRNAs, the expression of a microRNA cluster could have a substantial impact on its target genes. In the present study, the configuration and distribution of microRNA clusters in the mouse genome were examined at various inter-microRNA distances.

Impact of Economic Constraints on Public Health Delivery Systems Structures.

Objectives: We estimated the effect of economic constraints on public health delivery systems (PHDS) density and centrality during 3 time periods, 1998, 2006, and 2012.

Methods: We obtained data from the 1998, 2006, and 2012 National Longitudinal Study of Public Health Agencies; the 1993, 1997, 2005, and 2010 National Association for County and City Health Officials Profile Study; and the 1997, 2008, and 2011 Area Resource Files. We used multivariate regression models for panel data to estimate the impact of economic constraints on PHDS density and centrality.