Representation of Women among Editors in Chief of Leading Medical Journals

Importance: Women remain underrepresented among editors of scientific journals, particularly in senior positions. However, to what extent this applies to medical journals of different specialties remains unclear. Objective: To investigate the gender distribution of the editors in chief at leading medical journals. Design, Setting, and Participants: Cross-sectional study of the editors in chief at the top 10 international medical journals of 41 categories related to the medical specialties of the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Journal Citation Reports in 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures: Proportion of women as editors in chief. Results: This study found that, overall, women represented 21% (94 of 44) of the editors in chief, with wide variation across medical specialties from 0% to 82%. There were 5 categories for which none of the editors in chief were women (dentistry, oral surgery and medicine; allergy; psychiatry; anesthesiology; and ophthalmology) and only 3 categories for which women outnumbered men as editors in chief (primary health care, microbiology, and genetics and heredity). In 27 of the 41 categories, women represented less than a third of the editors in chief (eg, 1 of 10 for critical care medicine, 2 of 10 for gastroenterology and hepatology, and 3 of 10 for endocrinology and metabolism). Conclusions and Relevance: This study found that women are underrepresented among editors in chief of leading medical journals. For the benefit of medical research, a joint effort from editorial boards, publishers, authors, and academic institutions is required to address this gender gap

Clinician and patient perspectives on the barriers and facilitators to physical rehabilitation in intensive care: a qualitative interview study

Data availability statement: No data are available beyond what is reported in this manuscript and the supplemental files due to participant confidentiality requirements.Objectives: The objective of this study is to explore patient, relative/carer and clinician perceptions of barriers to early physical rehabilitation in intensive care units (ICUs) within an associated group of hospitals in the UK and how they can be overcome. Design: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and thematic framework analysis. Setting: Four ICUs over three hospital sites in London, UK. Participants: Former ICU patients or their relatives/carers with personal experience of ICU rehabilitation. ICU clinicians, including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, involved in the delivery of physical rehabilitation or decisions over its initiation. Primary and secondary outcomes measures: Views and experiences on the barriers and facilitators to ICU physical rehabilitation. Results: Interviews were carried out with 11 former patients, 3 family members and 16 clinicians. The themes generated related to: safety and physiological concerns, patient participation and engagement, clinician experience and knowledge, teamwork, equipment and environment and risks and benefits of rehabilitation in intensive care. The overarching theme for overcoming barriers was a change in working model from ICU clinicians having separate responsibilities (a multidisciplinary approach) to one where all parties have a shared aim of providing patient-centred ICU physical rehabilitation (an interdisciplinary approach). Conclusions: The results have revealed barriers that can be modified to improve rehabilitation delivery in an ICU. Interdisciplinary working could overcome many of these barriers to optimise recovery from critical illness.Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship, awarded to HRW, (ICA-CDRF-2015-01-026), supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and Health Education England. We acknowledge the support of the NIHR Clinical Research Network and infrastructure support for this research was provided by the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). HRW is supported by the NIHR Imperial BRC

Case report of right hamate hook fracture in a patient with previous fracture history of left hamate hook: is it hamate bipartite?

BACKGROUND: Hamate hook fracture is a common fracture in golfers and others who play sports that involve rackets or sticks such as tennis or hockey. This patient had a previous hamate fracture in the opposing wrist along with potential features of hamate bipartite. CASE PRESENTATION: A 19 year old male presented with a complaint of right wrist pain on the ulnar side of the wrist with no apparent mechanism of injury. The pain came on gradually one week before being seen in the office and he reported no prior care for the complaint. His history includes traumatic left hamate hook fracture with surgical excision. CONCLUSION: The patient was found to have marked tenderness over the hamate and with a prior fracture to the other wrist, computed tomography of the wrist was ordered revealing a fracture to the hamate hook in the right wrist. He was referred for surgical evaluation and the hook of the hamate was excised. Post-surgically, the patient was able to return to normal activity within eight weeks. This case is indicative of fracture rather than hamate bipartite. This fracture should be considered in a case of ulnar sided wrist pain where marked tenderness is noted over the hamate, especially after participation in club or racket sports

One moment, please: can the speed and quality of political contact affect democratic health

Contact between politicians and their constituents is the cornerstone of democracies globally but an area of scholarship that remains relatively underdeveloped. Political contact can help convey authority, provide legitimacy and facilitate governance. This article goes beyond the assumption that representatives need to communicate more with the public and suggests, instead, that the quality of contact matters. Focusing on four processes by which citizens can contact their representatives (face-to-face, by letter, email or social media), we employ an experimental vignette methodology to test whether the character and timeliness of politicians’ responses to citizen communication affects two indicators of democratic health: (a) the latter’s satisfaction with political contact and (b) their likelihood to re-contact representatives. Our findings provide evidence that personalised communication and to a smaller extent, speed of response, can influence citizen satisfaction and their likelihood of re-engagement. This suggests politicians can improve these indicators of democratic health by adjusting the style of political contact and communication

New tricks for metastasis-associated macrophages

Recent studies on breast cancer lung metastasis have identified a new mechanism of tumor cell survival via signaling provided by metastasis-associated macrophages. Targeting these specialized host immune cells and their specific signals provides an attractive and potential therapeutic approach for treating the disease

Proximal adductor avulsions are rarely isolated but usually involve injury to the PLAC and pectineus: Descriptive MRI findings in 145 athletes

Purpose The purpose of the study is to review the MRI findings in a cohort of athletes who sustained acute traumatic avulsions of the adductor longus fibrocartilaginous entheses, and to investigate related injuries namely the pyramidalis- anterior pubic ligament - adductor longus complex (PLAC). Associated muscle and soft tissue injuries were also assessed. Methods The MRIs were reviewed for a partial or complete avulsion of the adductor longus fibrocartilage, as well as continuity or separation of the adductor longus from the pyramidalis. The presence of a concurrent partial pectineus tear was noted. Demographic data was analysed. Linear and logistic regression was used to examine associations between injuries. Results The mean age was 32.5 (SD 10.9). The pyramidalis was absent in 3 of 145 patients. 85 of 145 athletes were professional and 52 competed in the football Premier League. 132 had complete avulsions and 13 partial. The adductor longus was in continuity with pyramidalis in 55 athletes, partially separated in seven and completely in 81 athletes. 48 athletes with a PLAC injury had a partial pectineus avulsion. Six types of PLAC injuries patterns were identified. Associated rectus abdominis injuries were rare and only occurred in five patients (3.5%). Conclusion The proximal adductor longus forms part of the PLAC and is rarely an isolated injury. The term PLAC injury is more appropriate term. MRI imaging should assess all the anatomical components of the PLAC post-injury, allowing recognition of the differentpatterns of injury

Taking Ecological Function Seriously: Soil Microbial Communities Can Obviate Allelopathic Effects of Released Metabolites

Allelopathy (negative, plant-plant chemical interactions) has been largely studied as an autecological process, often assuming simplistic associations between pairs of isolated species. The growth inhibition of a species in filter paper bioassay enriched with a single chemical is commonly interpreted as evidence of an allelopathic interaction, but for some of these putative examples of allelopathy, the results have not been verifiable in more natural settings with plants growing in soil.On the basis of filter paper bioassay, a recent study established allelopathic effects of m-tyrosine, a component of root exudates of Festuca rubra ssp. commutata. We re-examined the allelopathic effects of m-tyrosine to understand its dynamics in soil environment. Allelopathic potential of m-tyrosine with filter paper and soil (non-sterile or sterile) bioassays was studied using Lactuca sativa, Phalaris minor and Bambusa arundinacea as assay species. Experimental application of m-tyrosine to non-sterile and sterile soil revealed the impact of soil microbial communities in determining the soil concentration of m-tyrosine and growth responses.Here, we show that the allelopathic effects of m-tyrosine, which could be seen in sterilized soil with particular plant species were significantly diminished when non-sterile soil was used, which points to an important role for rhizosphere-specific and bulk soil microbial activity in determining the outcome of this allelopathic interaction. Our data show that the amounts of m-tyrosine required for root growth inhibition were higher than what would normally be found in F. rubra ssp. commutata rhizosphere. We hope that our study will motivate researchers to integrate the role of soil microbial communities in bioassays in allelopathic research so that its importance in plant-plant competitive interactions can be thoroughly evaluated

Impacts of climate change on plant diseases – opinions and trends

There has been a remarkable scientific output on the topic of how climate change is likely to affect plant diseases in the coming decades. This review addresses the need for review of this burgeoning literature by summarizing opinions of previous reviews and trends in recent studies on the impacts of climate change on plant health. Sudden Oak Death is used as an introductory case study: Californian forests could become even more susceptible to this emerging plant disease, if spring precipitations will be accompanied by warmer temperatures, although climate shifts may also affect the current synchronicity between host cambium activity and pathogen colonization rate. A summary of observed and predicted climate changes, as well as of direct effects of climate change on pathosystems, is provided. Prediction and management of climate change effects on plant health are complicated by indirect effects and the interactions with global change drivers. Uncertainty in models of plant disease development under climate change calls for a diversity of management strategies, from more participatory approaches to interdisciplinary science. Involvement of stakeholders and scientists from outside plant pathology shows the importance of trade-offs, for example in the land-sharing vs. sparing debate. Further research is needed on climate change and plant health in mountain, boreal, Mediterranean and tropical regions, with multiple climate change factors and scenarios (including our responses to it, e.g. the assisted migration of plants), in relation to endophytes, viruses and mycorrhiza, using long-term and large-scale datasets and considering various plant disease control methods

Survival Impact of Primary Tumor Resection in De Novo Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients (GEICAM/El Alamo Registry)

The debate about surgical resection of primary tumor (PT) in de novo metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients persists. We explored this approach's outcomes in patients included in a retrospective registry, named El Álamo, of breast cancer patients diagnosed in Spain (1990-2001). In this analysis we only included de novo MBC patients, 1415 of whom met the study's criteria. Descriptive, Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were carried out. Median age was 63.1 years, 49.2% of patients had single-organ metastasis (skin/soft tissue [16.3%], bone [33.8%], or viscera [48.3%]). PT surgery (S) was performed in 44.5% of the cases. S-group patients were younger, had smaller tumors, higher prevalence of bone and oligometastatic disease, and lower prevalence of visceral involvement. With a median follow-up of 23.3 months, overall survival (OS) was 39.6 versus 22.4 months (HR = 0.59, p < 0.0001) in the S- and non-S groups, respectively. The S-group OS benefit remained statistically and clinically significant regardless of metastatic location, histological type, histological grade, hormone receptor status and tumor size. PT surgery (versus no surgery) was associated with an OS benefit suggesting that loco-regional PT control may be considered in selected MBC patients. Data from randomized controlled trials are of utmost importance to confirm these results