51886 research outputs found
Sort by
Innovative Skills Development in Medical Students Through Neonatal Intubation Solutions
No full textIntroduction/Background: Modern medical education is widely acknowledged for its rigor and fast pace. With a vast amount of information to absorb and apply, the focus often leans heavily on memorization and clinical proficiency. However, one aspect that is often underemphasized is the discovery of unmet needs and the development of innovative solutions to address these gaps. The Advancing Innovation in Medicine Student Interest Group (AIM SIG) serves as a platform for students to actively engage in identifying and addressing these needs.
Study Objective/Hypothesis: The AIM SIG aims to foster innovative, collaborative solutions to systemic healthcare challenges. This year’s focus was the improvement of neonatal intubation techniques through novel equipment.
Methods: In collaboration with Dr. Steven Conlon, a neonatologist at Riley Hospital for Children, AIM SIG members participated in a structured, stepwise process to explore and address gaps in neonatal intubation procedures. This process included both experiential learning and hands-on education in the engineering design process, offering medical students exposure to device development.
Results: AIM SIG members conducted an extensive review of existing literature, intellectual property, and procedural data, culminating in a comprehensive needs assessment. Furthermore, members learned essential skills in “pretotyping” and 3D modeling, equipping them to generate proof-of-concept solutions aimed at improving neonatal intubation procedures.
Conclusions: AIM SIG provides medical students with valuable opportunities to acquire skills in problem-solving and innovation. While translating these innovations into practice presents challenges and setbacks, the experience equips students with a versatile framework to address future problems they may encounter in their medical careers
Elucidating the Role of Ref-1 in Retinal Neovascularization
No full textIUIRetinal neovascularization in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) impairs vision. Current treatments of intravitreal (IVT) antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections are accompanied by high treatment burden and resistance. Also, VEGF alone is not sufficient for induction of neovascularization, suggesting that targeting multiple disease-relevant pathways may increase therapeutic response. Thus, there is a critical need to develop novel therapies that modulate multiple disease-relevant pathways. APE1/Ref-1, a multifunctional protein with both endonuclease (APE1) and redox regulatory activity (Ref-1), activates multiple transcription factors linked to retinal neovascularization. However, the precise molecular mechanisms of Ref-1 in retinal neovascularization remain unclear. To investigate this, I examined the expression of Ref- 1 in two mouse models of retinal neovascularization – the oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) and the Vldlr-/- model – and observed elevated Ref-1 expression at sites of neovascularization. Further, I observed heightened expression of Ref-1 in endothelial cells in human PDR tissue compared to normal eyes. Through cell-based and biochemical approaches, I identified that Ref-1 redox activity modulates canonical Wnt signaling, and inhibition of Ref-1 redox activity blocks Wnt signaling activation. I found that Ref-1 redox activity regulates HIF-1a transcriptional activation in hypoxic human retinal endothelial cells. Hypoxia-induced activation of Wnt signaling was regulated by Ref-1, suggesting a dynamic Ref-1-HIF-1a-Wnt signaling axis. Finally, inhibition of Ref-1 redox activity decreased retinal neovascularization and downregulated expression of Wnt- and angiogenesis-related genes at sites of neovascularization in a mouse model of retinal neovascularization. These findings suggest that Ref-1 redox activity promotes ischemic retinal neovascularization via Wnt signaling activation. This study advanced our understanding of Ref-1’s role in neovascular eye diseases, and targeting Ref-1 with a redox inhibitor could offer a novel therapeutic strategy for retinal neovascularization
Posterior cingulate cortex microRNA dysregulation differentiates cognitive resilience, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease
No full textIntroduction: MicroRNA (miRNA) activity is increasingly appreciated as a key regulator of pathophysiologic pathways in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the role of miRNAs during the progression of AD, including resilience and prodromal syndromes such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), remains underexplored.
Methods: We performed miRNA-sequencing on samples of posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) obtained post mortem from Rush Religious Orders Study participants diagnosed ante mortem with no cognitive impairment (NCI), MCI, or AD. NCI subjects were subdivided as low pathology (Braak stage I/II) or high pathology (Braak stage III/IV), suggestive of resilience. Bioinformatics approaches included differential expression, messenger RNA (mRNA) target prediction, interactome modeling, functional enrichment, and AD risk modeling.
Results: We identified specific miRNA groups, mRNA targets, and signaling pathways distinguishing AD, MCI, resilience, ante mortem neuropsychological test performance, post mortem neuropathological burden, and AD risk.
Discussion: These findings highlight the potential of harnessing miRNA activity to manipulate disease-modifying pathways in AD, with implications for precision medicine.
Highlights: MicroRNA (MiRNA) dysregulation is a well-established feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Novel miRNAs also distinguish subjects with mild cognitive impairment and putative resilience. MiRNAs correlate with cognitive performance and neuropathological burden. Select miRNAs are associated with AD risk with age as a significant covariate. MiRNA pathways include insulin, prolactin, kinases, and neurite plasticity
2023 Psychiatrist Workforce Snapshot
No full textThis document summarizes workforce data for psychiatrists reported at the time of their licensure renewal during the 2023 cycle. Information presented includes top services provided, populations served, hours spent in patient care, and geographic distribution
Informatics Interventions for Maternal Morbidity: Scoping Review
No full textBackground: Women have been entering pregnancy less healthy than previous generations, placing them at increased risk for pregnancy complications. One approach to ensuring effective monitoring and treatment of at-risk women is designing technology-based interventions that prevent maternal morbidities and treat perinatal conditions.
Objective: This scoping review evaluates what informatics interventions have been designed and tested to prevent and treat maternal morbidity.
Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched to identify relevant studies. The inclusion criteria were studies that tested a medical or clinical informatics intervention; enrolled adult women; and addressed preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), preterm birth, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-defined severe maternal morbidity, or perinatal mental health conditions. Demographic, population, and intervention data were extracted to characterize the technologies, conditions, and populations addressed.
Results: A total of 80 studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria. Many of the studies tested for multiple conditions. Of these, 73% (60/82) of the technologies were tested for either GDM or perinatal mental health conditions, and 15% (12/82) were tested for preeclampsia. For technologies, 32% (28/87) of the technologies tested were smartphone or tablet applications, 26% (23/87) were telehealth interventions, and 14% (12/87) were remote monitoring technologies. Of the many outcomes measured by the studies, almost half (69/140, 49%) were patient physical or mental health outcomes.
Conclusions: Per this scoping review, most informatics interventions address three conditions: GDM, preeclampsia, and mental health. There may be opportunities to treat other potentially lethal conditions like postpartum hemorrhage using proven technologies such as mobile apps. Ample gaps in the literature exist concerning the use of informatics technologies aimed at maternal morbidity. There may be opportunities to use informatics for lesser-targeted conditions and populations
Energy-Efficient and Robust QoS Control for Wireless Sensor Networks Using the Extended Gur Game
No full textOutdoor wireless sensor networks (WSNs) operate autonomously in dynamic and unattended real-world environments, where sensor nodes are typically powered by their batteries. In hash outdoor settings, such as mountainous regions or underwater locations, recharging or replacing sensor node batteries is particularly challenging. For these WSN deployments, ensuring quality of service (QoS) control while conserving energy is crucial. This paper presents a novel QoS control algorithm for WSNs, built on extensions to the Gur game framework. The proposed approach not only enhances QoS performance compared to existing Gur game-based WSN control algorithms but also addresses their fundamental energy consumption challenges, enabling sustainable communication and extended network lifetimes. We evaluate the approach through comprehensive TinyOS-based WSN simulations and comparisons with existing algorithms. The results demonstrate that our approach, referred to as the robust Gur game, significantly enhances QoS control and achieves a 27.33% improvement in energy efficiency over the original Gur game and shuffle algorithms, showcasing the significant benefits of the proposed method
