Burnout Among First-Year Medical Students During COVID-19 Pandemic in Mexico: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The coronavirus pandemic is an international public health emergency without precedence in modern history. It represents a challenge to students’ academic and psychological stability due to the changes it caused in daily life. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and level of burnout in medical students caused by the academic and psychological instability that the pandemic represents. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was designed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS). This evaluated the emotional exhaustion due to study demands, cynicism, and negative self-academic efficacy. This study was based in the school of medicine of the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon (UANL) in Monterrey, Mexico, during the Spring semester of 2020. Results: A total of 154 (93 women and 61 men) first-year medical students participated (response rate of 36.4%). Burnout was identified in 14.9% (n=23), and high emotional exhaustion in 53.9% (n=83). Burnout was almost 4 times more likely to develop in men than in women (aOR = 4.8; 95% Confidence Interval=1.7-13.3) when considering age as a covariable in the multivariable model. Conclusion: Further epidemiological studies of burnout syndrome in medical students are needed, and schools should consider promoting mental health and making programs available for their students to help overcome the emotional and social challenges during the pandemic

Standardized Classification of Aortic Arch Branching Patterns (SCAABP)

Objectives. To review current anatomical classifications for the aortic branching patterns and propose a method for standardized classification of Aortic Arch Branching Patterns (SCAABP). Methods. Through a three-stage Delphi method, expert vascular anatomists in morphology design SCAABP to report trunks, branches, and laterality of aortic arch branching patterns. Results. SCAABP is a classification that includes 7 parameters (Number of branches, and 6 types of branches [braquiocephalic trunk, common trunk, common carotid, subclavian artery, vertebral artery, and ectopic arteries]). It can integrate all reported branching patterns and allows the classification of new or unreported patterns. The classification allows standardization for future comparison of results, and improvement of evidence-based anatomy. Conclusions. SCAABP is a standardized method for classifying anatomical variants of the aortic arch. It is simple, clear, and contemplates new variants. All reported classifications can be integrated

Incorporating Breast Asymmetry Studies into CADx Systems

Breast cancer is one of the global leading causes of death among women, and an early detection is of uttermost importance to reduce mortality rates. Screening mammograms, in which radiologists rely only on their eyesight, are one of the most used early detection methods. However, characteristics, such as the asymmetry between breasts, a feature that could be very difficult to visually quantize, is key to breast cancer detection. Due to the highly heterogeneous and deformable structure of the breast itself, incorporating asymmetry measurements into an automated detection system is still a challenge. In this study, we proposed the use of a bilateral registration algorithm as an effective way to automatically measure mirror asymmetry. Furthermore, this information was fed to a machine learning algorithm to improve the accuracy of the model. In this study, 449 subjects (197 with calcifications, 207 with masses, and 45 healthy subjects) from a public database were used to train and evaluate the proposed methodology. Using this procedure, we were able to independently identify subjects with calcifications (accuracy = 0.825, AUC = 0.882) and masses (accuracy = 0.698, AUC = 0.807) from healthy subjects

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Risk Categorization Using New American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guidelines for Cholesterol Management and Its Relation to Alirocumab Treatment Following Acute Coronary Syndromes

10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.042551CIRCULATION140191578-158