An Emotion-Driven Vocal Biomarker-Based PTSD Screening Tool.

This paper introduces an automated post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) screening tool that could potentially be used as a self-assessment or inserted into routine medical visits to aid in PTSD diagnosis and treatment. With an emotion estimation algorithm providing arousal (excited to calm) and valence (pleasure to displeasure) levels through discourse, we select regions of the acoustic signal that are most salient for PTSD detection. Our algorithm was tested on a subset of data from the DVBIC-TBICoE TBI Study, which contains PTSD Check List Civilian (PCL-C) assessment scores.

A Review of Genome-Based Precision Medicine Efforts Within the Department of Defense.

Introduction: Providing patient-specific clinical care is an expanding focus for medical professionals and researchers, more commonly referred to as personalized or precision medicine. The goal of using a patient-centric approach is to provide safer care while also increasing the probability of therapeutic success through careful consideration of the influence of certain extrinsic and intrinsic human factors in developing the patient care plan. Of increasing influence on patient care is the phenotype and genotype information gathered from employing various next-generation sequencing methods.

Health Conditions Among Special Operations Forces Versus Conventional Military Service Members: A VA TBI Model Systems Study.

Objective: To examine traumatic brain injury (TBI) characteristics and comorbid medical profiles of Special Operations Forces (SOF) Active Duty Service Member/Veterans (ADSM/Vs) and contrast them with conventional military personnel.

Setting: The 5 Veterans Affairs (VA) Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers.

Participants: A subset of participants in the VA TBI Model Systems multicenter longitudinal study with known SOF status.

Postpulmonary embolism syndrome.

Purpose Of Review: It is now recognized that more than half of patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE) will have persistent symptoms beyond 3 months after their initial event. Persistent symptoms are referred to as post-PE syndrome, an umbrella term that covers a spectrum of patient complaints and underlying pathologies. Data published over the last 5 years have added significantly to our understanding of this syndrome and its management.

Daily variation in sleep characteristics in individuals with and without post traumatic stress disorder.

Background: Sleep disturbances are common in individuals with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, little is known about how daily variation in sleep characteristics is related to PTSD. This study examined the night-to-night and weekday versus weekend variation in sleep duration, sleep quality, trouble falling asleep, and difficulty staying asleep in individuals with and without PTSD.

AB569, a non-toxic combination of acidified nitrite and EDTA, is effective at killing the notorious Iraq/Afghanistan combat wound pathogens, multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Acinetobacter spp.

Multi-drug resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii (Ab) and Acinetobacter spp. present monumental global health challenges. These organisms represent model Gram-negative pathogens with known antibiotic resistance and biofilm-forming properties.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a Post-viral Myocarditis and Systemic Vasculitis-A Critical Review of Its Pathogenesis and Treatment.

MIS-C is a newly defined post-viral myocarditis and inflammatory vasculopathy of children following COVID-19 infection. This review summarizes the literature on diagnosis, parameters of disease severity, and current treatment regimens. The clinical perspective was analyzed in light of potential immunopathogenesis and compared to other post-infectious and inflammatory illnesses of children affecting the heart.

Is the incidence of hypertension "higher"?

Soca R, Holley A. Is the incidence of hypertension “higher”? . 2021;17(3):605.

Violence-related knife injuries in a UK city; epidemiology and impact on secondary care resources.

Background: The incidence of knife-related injuries is rising across the UK. This study aimed to determine the spectrum of knife-related injuries in a major UK city, with regards to patient and injury characteristics. A secondary aim was to quantify their impact on secondary care resources.

Post traumatic stress symptom variation associated with sleep characteristics.

Background: Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sleep problems are highly related. The relationship between nighttime sleep characteristics and next day post traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) is not well known. This study examined the relationship between the previous night's sleep duration, number of awakenings, sleep quality, trouble falling asleep, and difficulty staying asleep and PTSS the following day.

Characterization of acute hearing changes in United States military populations.

Until recently, most hearing conservation programs, including those in the military, have used permanent shifts in the pure-tone audiometric threshold as the gold standard for measuring hearing impairment in noise-exposed populations. However, recent results from animal studies suggest that high-level noise exposures can cause the permanent destruction of synapses between the inner hair cells and auditory nerve fibers, even in cases where pure-tone audiometric thresholds eventually return to their normal pre-exposure baselines. This has created a dilemma for researchers, who are now increasingly interested in studying the long-term effects that temporary hearing shifts might have on hearing function, but are also concerned about the ethical considerations of exposing human listeners to high levels of noise for research purposes.

Use of Commercial Virtual Reality Technology to Assess Verticality Perception in Static and Dynamic Visual Backgrounds.

Objectives: The Subjective Visual Vertical (SVV) test and the closely related Rod and Disk Test (RDT) are measures of perceived verticality measured in static and dynamic visual backgrounds. However, the equipment used for these tests is variable across clinics and is often too expensive or too primitive to be appropriate for widespread use. Commercial virtual reality technology, which is now widely available, may provide a more suitable alternative for collecting these measures in clinical populations.

Management of Symptomatic Hepatic "Mega" Hemangioma.

The majority of giant hepatic cavernous hemangiomas are asymptomatic and can safely be observed. However, when a lesion becomes symptomatic, affecting quality of life or cannot be distinguished from a malignancy, then operative therapy should be considered. We herein present a case of a symptomatic 12cm × 14cm × 17cm "mega" hemangioma (>10cm) of the left hepatic lobe.

Daily variation in post traumatic stress symptoms in individuals with and without probable post traumatic stress disorder.

Background: Little is known about the extent to which post traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) vary from day to day in individuals with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study examined the variation of PTSS by day of the week, and whether daily or day of week variation differs between individuals with and without probable PTSD.

Methods: Subjects (N = 80) were assessed for probable PTSD at enrollment.

Radiofrequency techniques to treat chronic knee pain: a comprehensive review of anatomy, effectiveness, treatment parameters, and patient selection.

Background: The use of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) procedures to treat chronic knee pain has surged in the past decade, though many questions remain regarding anatomical targets, selection criteria, and evidence for effectiveness.

Methods: A comprehensive literature review was performed on anatomy, selection criteria, technical parameters, results of clinical studies, and complications. Databases searched included MEDLINE and Google Scholar, with all types of clinical and preclinical studies considered.

A Comprehensive Review of the Pharmacologic Management of Uterine Leiomyoma.

Uterine leiomyomata are the most common benign tumors of the gynecologic tract impacting up to 80% of women by 50 years of age. It is well established that these tumors are the leading cause for hysterectomy with an estimated total financial burden greater than $30 billion per year in the United States. However, for the woman who desires future fertility or is a poor surgical candidate, definitive management with hysterectomy is not an optimal management plan.

Polymorphisms in the K13 Gene in from Different Malaria Transmission Areas of Kenya.

The development of artemisinin (ART)-resistant parasites in Southeast Asia (SEA) threatens malaria control globally. Mutations in the Kelch 13 (K13)-propeller domain have been useful in identifying ART resistance in SEA. ART combination therapy (ACT) remains highly efficacious in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Detection of sleep-disordered breathing with ambulatory Holter monitoring.

Purpose: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome is a common condition that can impact clinical outcomes among patients with cardiovascular disease. Screening all subjects with heart disease via polysomnography (PSG) is costly and resource-limited. We sought to compare a Holter monitor-based algorithm to detect OSA to in-laboratory polysomnography (PSG).

A mobile, web-based system can improve positive airway pressure adherence.

SleepMapper is a mobile, web-based system that allows patients to self-monitor their positive airway pressure therapy, and provides feedback and education in real time. In addition to the usual, comprehensive support provided at our clinic, we gave the SleepMapper to 30 patients initiating positive airway pressure. They were compared with patients initiating positive airway pressure at our clinic without SleepMapper (controls) to determine whether SleepMapper affected adherence.