Using the computer-based feedback (CBF) system to investigate the juniorphysicians’s and clinical-instructors perceptions for the benefits of general medicine clinical-instructors training program

Background: The purpose of this study is to examine the clinical-instructors and junior-physicians (residents and interns) perceptions for the general-medicine training program by using bi-directional interactive and self-assessments computer-based feedback (CBF) and paper-based multisource feedback assessment (PBMFA) systems for the efficiency and benefit evaluation.Methods: Between 2011 January to 2013 December, junior-physicians and their clinical-instructors in the same medical team were enrolled consecutively for monitoring the CBF scores gave by each other after each clinical course. A total of 321 residents, 298 interns and 110 clinical-instructors who participated in the core competency general-medicine training program in 6-months period were included in the study. The CBF and PBMFA evaluations are undergone paralleled to gather the suggested information in different levels of Kirkpatrick evolutional theory.Results: The results showed that lecturers, being 5-10 years as attending physicians, internal medicine sub-specialty clinical-instructors are most benefit from the general medicine training program. Accordingly, the CBF scores of junior-physicians was positively correlated with the times (> 3-times) of exposure to the medical teams that leaded by qualified clinical-instructors. Both clinical-instructors and junior-physicians have positive attitude to the value of the general-medicine training program. Interestingly, a good consistency was existed between residents CBF scores and PBMFA grades for their core-competency performance. Comparatively, the overall perception of clinical-instructors and junior-physicians for the general-medicine training was very positive.Conclusions: Clinical-instructors and junior-physicians had positive perception of CBF and PBMFA systems which could give us different information to improve and strength the further core-competency general-medicine training program by appropriate utilization

Expert-Novice Differences in SMR Activity during Dart Throwing

Cheng M-Y, Hung C-L, Huang C-J, et al. Expert-Novice Differences in SMR Activity during Dart Throwing. Biological Psychology. 2015;110:212-218.Previous evidence suggests that augmented sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) activity is related to the superior regulation of processing cognitive-motor information in motor performance. However, no published studies have examined the relationship between SMR and performance in precision sports; thus, this study examined the relationship between SMR activity and the level of skilled performance in tasks requiring high levels of attention (e.g., dart throwing). We hypothesized that skilled performance would be associated with higher SMR activity. Fourteen dart-throwing experts and eleven novices were recruited. Participants were requested to perform 60 dart throws while EEG was recorded. The 2 (Group: Expert, Novice) x 2 (Time window: –2000 ms to –1000 ms, –1000 ms to 0 ms) ANOVA showed that the dart-throwing experts maintained a relatively higher SMR power than the novices before dart release. These results suggest that SMR might reflect the adaptive regulation of cognitive-motor processing during the preparatory period

A prospective study of androgen levels, hormone-related genes and risk of rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is more common in females than males and sex steroid hormones may in part explain this difference. We conducted a case–control study nested within two prospective studies to determine the associations between plasma steroid hormones measured prior to RA onset and polymorphisms in the androgen receptor (AR), estrogen receptor 2 (ESR2), aromatase (CYP19) and progesterone receptor (PGR) genes and RA risk. Methods We genotyped AR, ESR2, CYP19, PGR SNPs and the AR CAG repeat in RA case–control studies nested within the Nurses\u27 Health Study (NHS), NHS II (449 RA cases, 449 controls) and the Women\u27s Health Study (72 cases, and 202 controls). All controls were matched on cohort, age, Caucasian race, menopausal status, and postmenopausal hormone use. We measured plasma dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), testosterone, and sex hormone binding globulin in 132 pre-RA samples and 396 matched controls in the NHS cohorts. We used conditional logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders to assess RA risk. Results Mean age of RA diagnosis was 55 years in both cohorts; 58% of cases were rheumatoid factor positive at diagnosis. There was no significant association between plasma DHEAS, total testosterone, or calculated free testosterone and risk of future RA. There was no association between individual variants or haplotypes in any of the genes and RA or seropositive RA, nor any association for the AR CAG repeat. Conclusions Steroid hormone levels measured at a single time point prior to RA onset were not associated with RA risk in this study. Our findings do not suggest that androgens or the AR, ESR2, PGR, and CYP19 genes are important to RA risk in women

Protective Effect of Caffeic Acid on Paclitaxel Induced Anti-Proliferation and Apoptosis of Lung Cancer Cells Involves NF-κB Pathway

Caffeic acid (CA), a natural phenolic compound, is abundant in medicinal plants. CA possesses multiple biological effects such as anti-bacterial and anti-cancer growth. CA was also reported to induce fore stomach and kidney tumors in a mouse model. Here we used two human lung cancer cell lines, A549 and H1299, to clarify the role of CA in cancer cell proliferation. The growth assay showed that CA moderately promoted the proliferation of the lung cancer cells. Furthermore, pre-treatment of CA rescues the proliferation inhibition induced by a sub-IC50 dose of paclitaxel (PTX), an anticancer drug. Western blot showed that CA up-regulated the pro-survival proteins survivin and Bcl-2, the down-stream targets of NF-κB. This is consistent with the observation that CA induced nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65. Our study suggested that the pro-survival effect of CA on PTX-treated lung cancer cells is mediated through a NF-κB signaling pathway. This may provide mechanistic insights into the chemoresistance of cancer calls

Learning Curve of ROSA ONE Spine System for Transpedicular Screw Placement

Objective The study investigated our institutional learning curve for the ROSA ONE spine system (ROSA) based on ROSA usage time. Methods ROSA was designed to provide high accuracy for spinal pedicle screw placement through a built-in tracking technique. This study was conducted from November 2018 to January 2021. The time taken to complete each step of the robotic workflow was recorded. Patient demographics, comorbidities, surgical indications, and number of screw placements were examined in subgroup analysis. The Curve Fitting-General package (a part of NCSS 2021 software) was used to fit a mathematical model to the learning curve. Patient demographics, imaging data, and surgical time were reviewed retrospectively. Results A total of 167 patients who had undergone surgery were included. The mean total ROSA usage time was 107.1 ± 27.3 minutes. The estimated learning rate was 90.4%, and the largest slope change occurred close to the time of the 20th surgery. The observed overall learning trend in the 4-screw group could be attributed to screw planning. The presence of scoliosis (p = 0.73) or spondylolisthesis (p = 0.70) did not significantly influence the mean total time (TT) for all patients; however, the mean TT differed significantly (p < 0.01) among subgroups stratified by body mass index, screw number placement, and thoracic spine involvement. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the learning curve for the various crucial steps of ROSA-guided pedicle screw placement. The indicative learning curve involved 20 patients who had undergone surgery

The N-Terminal Amphipathic Helix of the Topological Specificity Factor MinE Is Associated with Shaping Membrane Curvature

Pole-to-pole oscillations of the Min proteins in Escherichia coli are required for the proper placement of the division septum. Direct interaction of MinE with the cell membrane is critical for the dynamic behavior of the Min system. In vitro, this MinE-membrane interaction led to membrane deformation; however, the underlying mechanism remained unclear. Here we report that MinE-induced membrane deformation involves the formation of an amphipathic helix of MinE2–9, which, together with the adjacent basic residues, function as membrane anchors. Biochemical evidence suggested that the membrane association induces formation of the helix, with the helical face, consisting of A2, L3, and F6, inserted into the membrane. Insertion of this helix into the cell membrane can influence local membrane curvature and lead to drastic changes in membrane topology. Accordingly, MinE showed characteristic features of protein-induced membrane tubulation and lipid clustering in in vitro reconstituted systems. In conclusion, MinE shares common protein signatures with a group of membrane trafficking proteins in eukaryotic cells. These MinE signatures appear to affect membrane curvature

Human matrix metalloproteinases: An ubiquitarian class of enzymes involved in several pathological processes

Human matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) belong to the M10 family of the MA clan of endopeptidases. They are ubiquitarian enzymes, structurally characterized by an active site where a Zn(2+) atom, coordinated by three histidines, plays the catalytic role, assisted by a glutamic acid as a general base. Various MMPs display different domain composition, which is very important for macromolecular substrates recognition. Substrate specificity is very different among MMPs, being often associated to their cellular compartmentalization and/or cellular type where they are expressed. An extensive review of the different MMPs structural and functional features is integrated with their pathological role in several types of diseases, spanning from cancer to cardiovascular diseases and to neurodegeneration. It emerges a very complex and crucial role played by these enzymes in many physiological and pathological processes