Web Applet For Predicting Structure And Thermodynamics Of Complex Fluids

Based on a recently introduced analytical strategy [Hollingshead et al., J. Chem. Phys. 139, 161102 (2013)], we present a web applet that can quickly and semi-quantitatively estimate the equilibrium radial distribution function and related thermodynamic properties of a fluid from knowledge of its pair interaction. We describe the applet's features and present two (of many possible) examples of how it can be used to illustrate concepts of interest for introductory statistical mechanics courses: the transition from ideal gas-like behavior to correlated-liquid behavior with increasing density, and the tradeoff between dominant length scales with changing temperature in a system with ramp-shaped repulsions. The latter type of interaction qualitatively captures distinctive thermodynamic properties of liquid water, because its energetic bias toward locally open structures mimics that of water's hydrogen-bond network. (C) 2015 American Association of Physics Teachers.Chemical Engineerin

Geoarchaeological Investigation at the Buffalo Ranch Site (41BU119), Texas

The Buffalo Ranch site (41BU119) is located along the Brazos River in Burleson County, Texas under 11 m of late Quaternary alluvium. Here, a Wilson projectile point and Big Sandy projectile point, along with other artifacts, were found in natural levee sediments. Two radiocarbon ages place this site between 9605 to 9545 cal yr B.P. The Buffalo Ranch site is the first locality in Texas and the American Southeast where these two points co-occur, and adds to our understanding of the late Pleistocene-early Holocene transitional period of this region

AN INVESTIGATION OF PROVIDER SELF-INSIGHT INTO THEIR CHRON-IC PAIN MANAGEMENT

poster abstractResearch indicates pain management varies across patient sex, race, and mental health status; however, little is known about the ex-tent to which providers are aware of these influences on their clinical decisions. This preliminary study examines the correspondence be-tween providers’ actual and self-reported use of these variables when making pain-related treatment decisions. We also examined the rela-tionship between providers’ self-awareness and their attitudes about sex, race, and depression. Forty-four participants (24 providers, 20 trainees) made pain treatment decisions for sixteen computer-simulated patients presenting with chronic back pain. Patient sex, race, and depression status were manipulated across vignettes. At study conclusion, participants rated the extent to which nine factors influenced their treatment decisions and completed measures as-sessing their attitudes about sex, race, and depression. Approximately 68% and 91% of participants reported using patient demographic characteristics and mental health symptoms, respectively, to make pain treatment decisions. Participants demonstrated some self-awareness for the influence of patient sex, but not race or depression, on their treatment decisions. Participants’ attitudes about sex and race were not significantly associated with their self-reported or actual use of patient demographic information when making treatment decisions. Of the participants who reportedly used mental health symptoms, higher negative attitudes about depression were significantly associat-ed with greater self-reported influence of mental health symptoms on pain treatment decisions (r=-0.42, p<0.01). However, there was no significant association between depression attitudes and actual use of depression symptoms. These findings suggest that (1) providers’ have some awareness of the influence of patient sex, but not race or de-pression, on their treatment decisions, and (2) providers’ attitudes about sex, race, and depression do not sufficiently explain this general lack of awareness. These findings have important clinical implications and may inform interventions to improve pain management and re-duce pain disparities

A comparison of race-related pain stereotypes held by White and Black individuals

Pain judgments are the basis for pain management. The purpose of this study was to assess Black and White participants’ race-related pain stereotypes. Undergraduates (n=551) rated the pain sensitivity and willingness to report pain for the typical Black person, White person, and themselves. Participants, regardless of race, rated the typical White person as being more pain sensitive and more willing to report pain than the typical Black person. White participants rated themselves as less sensitive and less willing to report pain than same-race peers; however, Black participants rated themselves as more pain sensitive and more willing to report pain than same-race peers. These findings highlight similarities and differences in racial stereotypic pain beliefs held by Black and White individuals

Examining Influential Factors in Providers’ Chronic Pain Treatment Decisions: A Comparison of Physicians and Medical Students

Reports have found that chronic pain management guidelines are unclear and conflicting. Due to this confusion, it is critical to understand factors that influence providers’ treatment decisions for chronic pain. Little is known about which factors providers use to make treatment decisions or whether providers of different training levels endorse using similar factors. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that providers report using to make their chronic pain treatment decisions. We hypothesized that providers would: (1) prioritize objective factors over subjective factors, (2) be particularly interested in information about patients’ substance use, and (3) endorse using different factors depending on their training level (physicians vs. medical students). Eighty-five providers (35 medical students, 50 physicians) viewed 16 computer-simulated patients; each included a picture with text describing the patients’ condition (i.e., chronic lower back pain, open to any treatment, presence/absence of depression). After making treatment decisions, participants selected from a list the factors they used and would have used (if the information had been available) to make their treatment decisions. Most providers reported being influenced by patients’ pain histories (97.6%) and pain descriptions (95.3%). Providers indicated they would have used information about patients’ previous treatments (97.6%), average pain ratings (96.5%), and current pain (96.5%) had this information been available. Compared to physicians, medical students endorsed more often that they would have used patients’ employment and/or disability status (p<.01), illicit drug use (p=.09), and alcohol use (p=.08) to make treatment decisions. These results indicate that providers rely on objective and subjective information to make pain treatment decisions, and compared to physicians, medical students place a stronger emphasis on patients’ substance abuse and social history when making treatment decisions. Future studies should examine additional provider and patient factors that influence decisions for specific pain treatment options

Which electronic health record system should we use? A systematic review

The UK government had intended to introduce a comprehensive EHRs system in England by 2020. These EHRs would run across primary, secondary, and social care linking data in a single digital platform. This systematic review's objectives were to identify studies that compare EHRs in terms of direct comparison between systems and evaluate them using System and Software Quality Requirements and Evaluation (SQuaRE) ISO/IEC 25010. A systematic review was performed by searching EMBASE and Ovid MEDLINE databases between 1974 and April 2021. All original studies that appraised EHR systems and their providers were included. The main outcome measures were EHR system comparison and SQuaRE's eight characteristics: functional suitability, performance efficiency, compatibility, usability, reliability, security, maintainability, and portability. A total of 724 studies were identified using the search criteria. After review of titles and abstracts, this was filtered down to 40 studies as per exclusion and inclusion criteria set out in our study selection. Seven studies compared more than one EHR. The following number of studies looked at the various aspects of the SQuaRE respectively. Nineteen studies addressed functional suitability, n=18 performance efficiency, n=12 compatibility, n=25 usability, n=6 reliability, n=2 security, n=16 maintainability, and n=13 portability. Epic was the most studied EHR system and one of the most implemented vendors in the USA market, and one of the top ten in UK. It is difficult to assess which is the most advantageous EHR system currently available when looking at them in accordance with SQuaRE's eight characteristics for software evaluation

Pneumococcal surface protein A of invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from Colombian children.

Pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) elicits protection in mice against fatal bacteremia and sepsis caused by genetically diverse pneumococci and protects against carriage and lung infection. We determined the PspA families of invasive isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae recovered from Colombian children <5 years of age. That 97.5% of Colombian isolates belong to PspA families 1 and 2 supports the hypothesis that a human PspA vaccine covering a few PspA families could be broadly effective

Molecular analysis reveals heterogeneity of mouse mammary tumors conditionally mutant for Brca1

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Development of therapies for patients with BRCA1 mutations has been hampered by lack of readily available <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo </it>models. We recently showed that transplantation of transgenic mammary tumors as cell suspensions into naïve recipients generates reproducible tumors with remarkable stability of gene expression profile. We examined the expression profiles of original and serially transplanted mammary tumors from <it>Brca1 </it>deficient mice, and tumor derived cell lines to validate their use for preclinical testing and studies of tumor biology.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Original tumors, serially transplanted and multiple cell lines derived from <it>Brca1 </it>mammary tumors were characterized by morphology, gene and protein expression, and cell surface markers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Gene expression among <it>Brca1 </it>tumors showed more heterogeneity than among previously characterized tumors from MMTV-<it>PyMT </it>and -<it>Wnt1 </it>models. Gene expression data segregated <it>Brca1 </it>tumors into 3 distinct types: basal, mixed luminal, and tumors with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Serial transplantation of individual tumors and multiple cell lines derived from the original tumors recapitulated the molecular characteristics of each tumor of origin. One tumor had distinct features of EMT and gave rise to cell lines that contained a distinct CD44⁺/CD24^-/lowpopulation that may correlate with human breast cancer stem cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although individual tumors expanded by transplantation maintain the genomic profile of the original tumors, the heterogeneity among <it>Brca1 </it>tumors limits the extent of their use for preclinical testing. However, cell lines offer a robust material for understanding tumor biology and response to therapies driven by BRCA1 deficiency.</p