This case report describes a patient in their 50s with hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heavy alcohol use, and tobacco use who presented to the emergency department with a 2-month ...history of nausea and vomiting.
Abstract only
Introduction:
Ample evidence supports a lower risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) with controlled blood pressure (BP), yet hypertension (HTN) remains a leading cause of CVD. Mobile ...health such as text messaging is commonly included in BP management programs; however, the association of texting with BP interventions is less well known. We sought to examine the effectiveness of mobile messaging on BP in adults in the ambulatory setting.
Methods:
In this systematic review, we searched 4 databases from date of inception through February 2023 using search terms (texting, messaging, mobile phone, BP, HTN). After removing duplicate citations, two reviewers independently reviewed the references for eligibility (randomized control trial RCT, participants > 18 years of age, participants either with elevated BP, and/or a diagnosis of HTN).
Results:
A total of 1,786 RCTs were identified of which 48 met eligibility criteria, for a combined total of 19,720 participants from 21 countries, including 13 US studies. Twenty-seven studies reported significant reductions in BP (systolic, diastolic or both). All three RCTs using texting and pharmacist counseling (n=3) demonstrated significant changes in BP, while 13 of 16 RCTs with texting and provider involvement observed significant improvement in BP. For the studies reporting between group changes in systolic BP from baseline, 7 studies noted significant improvements in BP (Figure 1).
Conclusions:
Despite heterogeneity in study components, we found text messaging when used with other intervention components was associated with BP reductions among adults with HTN. Larger studies using novel designs such as SMART (sequential multiple assignment randomized trials) are warranted to understand efficacy of texting with other intervention components.
Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain tumor that carries a poor prognosis. The tumor's molecular and cellular landscapes are complex, and their relationships to histologic features routinely used for ...diagnosis are unclear. We present the Ivy Glioblastoma Atlas, an anatomically based transcriptional atlas of human glioblastoma that aligns individual histologic features with genomic alterations and gene expression patterns, thus assigning molecular information to the most important morphologic hallmarks of the tumor. The atlas and its clinical and genomic database are freely accessible online data resources that will serve as a valuable platform for future investigations of glioblastoma pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment.
Williams, MJ, Gibson, N, Sorbie, GG, Ugbolue, UC, Brouner, J, and Easton, C. Activation of the gluteus maximus during performance of the back squat, split squat, and barbell hip thrust and the ...relationship with maximal sprinting. J Strength Cond Res 35(1): 16-24, 2021-The purpose of this research was to compare muscle activation of the gluteus maximus and ground reaction force between the barbell hip thrust, back squat, and split squat and to determine the relationship between these outcomes and vertical and horizontal forces during maximal sprinting. Twelve, male, team sport athletes (age, 25.0 ± 4.0 years; stature, 184.1 ± 6.0 cm; body mass, 82.2 ± 7.9 kg) performed separate movements of the 3 strength exercises at a load equivalent to their individual 3 repetition maximum. The ground reaction force was measured using force plates and the electromyography (EMG) activity of the upper and lower gluteus maximus and was recorded in each leg and expressed as percentage of the maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). Subjects then completed a single sprint on a nonmotorized treadmill for the assessment of maximal velocity and horizontal and vertical forces. Although ground reaction force was lower, peak EMG activity in the gluteus maximus was higher in the hip thrust than in the back squat (p = 0.024; 95% confidence interval CI = 4-56% MVIC) and split squat (p = 0.016; 95% CI = 6-58% MVIC). Peak sprint velocity correlated with both anterior-posterior horizontal force (r = 0.72) and peak ground reaction force during the barbell hip thrust (r = 0.69) but no other variables. The increased activation of gluteus maximus during the barbell hip thrust and the relationship with maximal running speed suggests that this movement may be optimal for training this muscle group in comparison to the back squat and split squat.
Identification of structural connections between neurons is a prerequisite to understanding brain function. Here we developed a pipeline to systematically map brain-wide monosynaptic input ...connections to genetically defined neuronal populations using an optimized rabies tracing system. We used mouse visual cortex as the exemplar system and revealed quantitative target-specific, layer-specific and cell-class-specific differences in its presynaptic connectomes. The retrograde connectivity indicates the presence of ventral and dorsal visual streams and further reveals topographically organized and continuously varying subnetworks mediated by different higher visual areas. The visual cortex hierarchy can be derived from intracortical feedforward and feedback pathways mediated by upper-layer and lower-layer input neurons. We also identify a new role for layer 6 neurons in mediating reciprocal interhemispheric connections. This study expands our knowledge of the visual system connectomes and demonstrates that the pipeline can be scaled up to dissect connectivity of different cell populations across the mouse brain.
Elevating the technical role of pharmacy technicians to perform Technician Product Verification (TPV) is one strategy that has shown promise to optimize pharmacy practice models. This is done by ...better positioning pharmacists to provide clinical care, in line with their education and expertise. TPV permits a Validated Pharmacy Technician, as defined by the Wisconsin Pharmacy Examining Board, to verify the accuracy of a product filled by another technician. The pharmacist maintains responsibility for assessing the clinical appropriateness of the prescription, including drug utilization review, data entry, and patient counseling. During the study period, 12,891 pharmacist-verified prescriptions (baseline) and 27,447 Validated Pharmacy Technician-verified prescriptions were audited for accuracy. The aggregate verification error rate for pharmacist-verified prescriptions was 0.16% and 0.01% for Validated Pharmacy Technician-verified prescriptions. The mean error rate was significantly less for Validated Pharmacy Technician-verified prescriptions than for pharmacist-verified prescriptions (0.19 ± 0.174 % vs 0.03 ± 0.089 %, p=0.020) (Figure 3). This suggests TPV in the community pharmacy setting maintained patient safety. In this study, Validated Pharmacy Technicians were shown to be more accurate than pharmacists at performing product verification. The ability to delegate the product verification task holds the potential to free up pharmacist time for increased direct patient care. Increasing direct patient care by pharmacists in community pharmacies may have significant implications for improving patient outcomes and pharmacy quality.
Electromyography systems are widely used within the field of scientific and clinical practices. The reliability of these systems are paramount when conducting research. The reliability of Myon 320 ...Surface Electromyography System is yet to be determined. This study aims to determine the intra-session and inter-day reliability of the Myon 320 Surface Electromyography System. Muscle activity from fifteen participants was measured at the anterior deltoid muscle during a bilateral front raise exercise, the vastus lateralis muscle during a squat exercise and the extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) muscle during an isometric handgrip task. Intra-session and inter-day reliability was calculated by intraclass correlation coefficient, standard error of measurement and coefficient of variation (CV). The normalized root mean squared (RMS) surface electromyographic signals produced good intra-session and inter-day testing intraclass correlation coefficient values (range: 0.63-0.97) together with low standard error of measurement (range: 1.49-2.32) and CV (range: 95% Confidence Interval = 0.36-12.71) measures for the dynamic-and-isometric contractions. The findings indicate that the Myon 320 Surface Electromyography System produces good to fair reliability when examining intra-session and inter-day reliability. Findings of the study provide evidence of the reliability of electromyography between trials which is essential during clinical testing.
Increasing interest in studies of prenatal human brain development, particularly using new single‐cell genomics and anatomical technologies to create cell atlases, creates a strong need for accurate ...and detailed anatomical reference atlases. In this study, we present two cellular‐resolution digital anatomical atlases for prenatal human brain at postconceptional weeks (PCW) 15 and 21. Both atlases were annotated on sequential Nissl‐stained sections covering brain‐wide structures on the basis of combined analysis of cytoarchitecture, acetylcholinesterase staining, and an extensive marker gene expression dataset. This high information content dataset allowed reliable and accurate demarcation of developing cortical and subcortical structures and their subdivisions. Furthermore, using the anatomical atlases as a guide, spatial expression of 37 and 5 genes from the brains, respectively, at PCW 15 and 21 was annotated, illustrating reliable marker genes for many developing brain structures. Finally, the present study uncovered several novel developmental features, such as the lack of an outer subventricular zone in the hippocampal formation and entorhinal cortex, and the apparent extension of both cortical (excitatory) and subcortical (inhibitory) progenitors into the prenatal olfactory bulb. These comprehensive atlases provide useful tools for visualization, segmentation, targeting, imaging, and interpretation of brain structures of prenatal human brain, and for guiding and interpreting the next generation of cell census and connectome studies.
Detailed cellular resolution anatomical atlases are generated for prenatal human brains at postconceptional weeks (PCW) 15 and 21 based on combined analysis of Nissl preparation, acetylcholinesterase staining, and a lot of gene markers. Using the anatomical atlases as a guide, spatial expression of 37 and 5 genes (out of 43 genes) from the brains, respectively, at PCW 15 and 21 was annotated as molecular atlases. These atlases provide useful resource for visualization, segmentation, targeting, imaging, and interpretation of normal and abnormal human brain development.
As more people live longer, age-related neurodegenerative diseases are an increasingly important societal health issue. Treatments targeting specific pathologies such as amyloid beta in Alzheimer's ...disease (AD) have not led to effective treatments, and there is increasing evidence of a disconnect between traditional pathology and cognitive abilities with advancing age, indicative of individual variation in resilience to pathology. Here, we generated a comprehensive neuropathological, molecular, and transcriptomic characterization of hippocampus and two regions cortex in 107 aged donors (median = 90) from the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study as a freely-available resource (http://aging.brain-map.org/). We confirm established associations between AD pathology and dementia, albeit with increased, presumably aging-related variability, and identify sets of co-expressed genes correlated with pathological tau and inflammation markers. Finally, we demonstrate a relationship between dementia and RNA quality, and find common gene signatures, highlighting the importance of properly controlling for RNA quality when studying dementia.
PDF
