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Background: A routine ultrasound scan is used to assess a variety of renal pathological cases. Sonographers face a variety of challenges that may affect their interpretation. Understanding normal organ shapes, human anatomy, physical concepts, and artifacts is required for accurate diagnosis. Sonographers must understand how artifacts appear in ultrasound images in order to reduce errors and improve diagnosis. The purpose of this study is to assess sonographers' awareness and knowledge of artifacts in renal ultrasound scans. Methods: Participants in this cross-sectional study were asked to complete a survey containing different types of common artifacts in renal system ultrasound scans. An online questionnaire survey was used to collect the data. The questionnaire targeted radiologists, radiologic technologists, and intern students in Madinah hospitals in the ultrasound department. Results: The total number of participants was 99, with 9.1% being radiologists, 31.3% being radiology technologists, 6.1% being senior specialists, and 53.5% being intern students. There was a significant difference in the participants’ knowledge of ultrasound artifacts in the renal system with the total selection of the right artifact in senior specialists at 73% and intern students 45%. There was a direct relationship between age and years of experience in distinguishing artifacts in the renal system scan. A category of participants with the highest age and experience got 92% of the correct selection of artifacts. Conclusion: The study concluded that intern students and radiology technologists have limited knowledge of ultrasound scan artifacts, whereas senior specialists and radiologists have a high level of awareness of the artifacts.

Medial epicondylalgia is a repetitive stress condition. The aim of this study was to assess whether Kinesio taping offers any superiority over athletic taping for chronic medial epicondylalgia management. The results show statistically significant differences in isokinetic and patient self-reported variables between each group: (a) Group A: Kinesio tape with rehabilitation; (b) Group B: athletic taping with rehabilitation; and (c) group C: only rehabilitation. Although no significant differences in preintervention group assessments (p > .05) were found, only Group (A) showed statistically significant posttreatment improvements. Kinesio taping over athletic taping appears effective for treating chronic medial epicondylalgia and facilitating pain reduction and isokinetic improvements.

This study is aimed at investigating the potential of the refrigerant vapor injection (VI) technique to improve the energy efficiency of air-conditioning (AC) systems in hot climates, with a focus on Kuwait’s sustainability goals for 2035. The VI technique was found to significantly enhance heating and cooling systems by lowering compressor discharge temperature and improving cooling capacity, resulting in an enhanced coefficient of performance (COP). Data from previous experimental studies were analyzed to correlate the VI technique’s cooling COP with operating conditions at high ambient temperatures ranging from 20°C to 52°C. The results showed that the VI technique was applicable at high ambient temperatures, leading to improvements of up to 35.4% compared to conventional cooling systems. Empirical formulas, comprised of the temperature parameters (ambient, wet bulb, condensation, and evaporation temperatures), were developed to predict the COP of the VI cooling cycles with a maximum mean absolute error (MAE) of 3.81%. The results also showed that the VI technique enhanced the cooling COP by up to 28% when operating at 51.7°C and up to 34% during the hottest month in Kuwait (July) compared to the conventional cooling cycle. The empirical correlations were also applied to other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to examine the impact of ambient humidity on cooling COP, with predicted increases ranging from 13.5% to 21.2%. Further experimental studies are recommended to fully evaluate the cooling impact of the VI system in GCC countries.

The practical part of the study conducted in Animal Production Department / College of Agriculture and Forestry / Mosul University from 15 / 11 / 2013 to 1/ 4 / 2014 , to study the effect of adding the ginger roots in milk yield, some milk components and weights of ewes and their lambs in Awassi sheep, 32 Awassi ewes were divided into four homologou groups of age and weight, each group contains eight ewes. Ewes were fed on the same ration contain the same % protein and % Kcal energy (N.R.C. , 2007), but were differ in containing ginger roots only (0 , 10 , 20 and 30 gm ginger / head / day. The result revealed a significant increasing (P ≤ 0.05) in weekly and monthly milk yield for the treatment 20 and 30 gm/head/day, but the result of milk components during suckling period (Fat , Protein , Lactose and S.N.F) revealed no significant differences between the treatments , There are a significant increasing in milk yield during suckling period. For the treatment 20 and 30 gm ginger / head / day, this is a normal result for reflection in milk increasing during this period.

The principle of separation of powers among the three organs of government i.e., the Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary are one of the main pillars of the democratic system. This principle guarantees a balance of powers between these three organs. However, in Palestine, the issue arises as a result of a lack of commitment from these organs to practically apply this principle in accordance with the Palestinian Basic Law of 2003. Nevertheless, in Indonesian Constitution of 1945 has stated that is a democratic country with the foundation of a separation of powers. In addition, the practice in Indonesia shows that there is various constitutional mechanism to split the power. The objectives of this article are to examine the practice of separation of powers in Palestine and Indonesia and to harmonize the theoretical and practical aspects. In order to achieve these objectives, doctrinal legal research using the qualitative approach was engaged. Findings show that the principle of separation of powers was not fully practiced in Palestine between the three organs, especially the Executive and there is an absence of constitutional oversight. This article recommends that the role of the Palestinian Supreme Constitutional Court be activated to monitor all three governmental organs to ensure that this principle is fully implemented.

The use of thermal insulation is one of the most crucial solutions for reducing energy consumption when designing buildings. In this study, we investigate the use of various types of thermal insulation (air, cellulose, fiberglass, mineral wool, polystyrene, and polyurethane foam) to determine the best location when designing. The numerical study is done using ANSYS/FLUENT 16 software and an enthalpy-porosity formalism. According to the study's findings, all heat insulators investigated offer effective insulation, but some of them, like air, have characteristics that make them challenging to employ. The remaining insulators satisfy all requirements for usage as a thermal insulator. Given that it possesses all the necessary characteristics to be used as a thermal insulator, (polystyrene) is one of the most important insulators that are readily available locally. The use of thermal insulation in buildings reduces the need for refrigeration equipment to maintain comfortable conditions, which has a significant negative impact on the environment.

Aluminum (Al) is an important factor in the environment as it is used in agriculture and several industries leading to hazardous effects via oxidative stress. Bromelain is a cheap extract from the byproduct waste of Ananas comosus stem. It has been used in several biological and therapeutic applications. So, this study was undertaken to assess the hepatoprotective potential of bromelain versus oxidative stress induced by aluminum chloride in rats. Results revealed that administration of AlCl3 reduced the body and liver weights and increased Al concentration in the blood and liver tissue. Also, AlCl3 caused valuable changes in hematological parameters and increased TBARS and H2O2 concentrations in rat liver. Enzymatic (SOD, CAT, GPx, GR, and GST) and nonenzymatic (GSH) antioxidants and protein content were significantly decreased. Furthermore, alterations in liver biomarkers such as bilirubin level and enzyme activities in both serum and liver homogenate (LDH, ALP, AST, and ALT) were detected. AlCl3 also caused inflammation as indicated by upregulation of the inflammation-related genes [interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β)], tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), as well as matrix metalloproteinase (MMP9), and downregulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2 (Nrf2) expression. In addition, histopathological examination showed significant variations in the liver that confirms the biochemical results. Otherwise, bromelain intake alone slumped lipid peroxidation and gotten better antioxidant status significantly. Moreover, supplementation with bromelain before AlCl3 intoxication restores enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants as well as biochemical indices and tissue architecture with respect to the AlCl3 group. In conclusion, bromelain proved its remarkable protective power to abolish AlCl3 toxicity. So, it might represent a new strategy in the therapy of metal toxicity by its antioxidant capacity.

This research study evaluates the use of a supercapacitor module as a fast-response energy storage unit to improve energy self-consumption and self-sufficiency for renewable energy systems applications. The designed system consists of the photovoltaic component with 3.0 kWp capacity combined with (0–5) supercapacitor module with a capacity of 500F-2.7V per module to serve the desired load. The analysis was carried out using experimental data for the electrical load and solar irradiance, as well as ambient temperature at a 1-minute temporal resolution for the year 2020. The measured daily average power of the electrical load was 0.299 kW, with a daily energy consumption of 7.2 kWh/day at a maximum peak of 5.36 kW, while the yearly energy consumption was recorded 2620 kWh/year. The measured daily average solar irradiance was 3.1 kWh/m2/day, and the monthly average ambient temperature was 10.7 °C.The charge of the supercapacitor was only possible from the photovoltaic system and not from grid. The simulation results demonstrated that the use of the supercapacitor module could feed the rapid peaks of electrical load and significantly increase energy self-consumption and self-sufficiency. Using only five supercapacitor modules increases the annual self-consumption from 21.75% to 28.74% and the percentage of self-sufficiency increases from 28.09% to 40.77%. The study concluded that adding small and responsive energy storage is an excellent choice of batteries.

One of the most prevalent infections, urinary tract infection (UTI) can affect anyone from a newborn to an elderly person. The most common cause is a bacteria called uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC). The ability to adhere to host epithelial cells in the urinary system is the most important predictor of pathogenicity, however fimbriae, pili, flagella, and secreted (toxins) virulence factors all play a role in the pathogenicity of UroPathogenic Escherichia coli strains. Effective management of UTIs requires up-to-date information on the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of uropathogens. Thirty midstream urine samples were collected from patients at Al-Ramadi Teaching Hospital's Urology Clinic. Isolates of E. coli (the most prevalent bacteria) from the cultured samples are tested for susceptibility to the most common antibiotics in use today. Thirty (75%) of the total 40 samples were culture positive; the most common organisms found were Escherichia coli (16 (53.3), Citrobacter freundi 2 (6.7%), Klebsiella pneumonia 8(26.7%), Streptococcus spp 3 (10%), and Staphylococcus aureus 1(3.3%). Females (33.3%) were more likely to be affected than males (20%), and those younger than 13 years old were disproportionately affected.

Equations to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are routinely used for the diagnosis and classification of chronic kidney diseases (CKDs). Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation is an old one and has been replaced in many countries by CKD Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation, but MDRD is still available in routine practice worldwide, especially in developing countries. Many users of MDRD, don’t know that it has two different versions (equations). This idea makes confusion in practice and affected the developers of this equation in internet websites and mobile applications. In this review, we will focus on this dilemma and try to solve it by explaining the basics of these two versions, and when I can choose each version, then the reflection of this issue on about 105 websites/Applications from different countries around the world. After that, we will give recommendations for both developers and seekers of this equation about overcoming this debate.

Despite the wide range of applications of catechol (CC) in agrochemical, petrochemical, textile, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries, its exposure to the environment leads to health issues as it is carcinogenic. This increased the concern over the risk of exposure level of CC in the environment, and monitoring its level has become critical. In this work, we report the fabrication of poly-gibberellic acid-modified carbon paste electrode (PGBAMCPE) to be a simple, viable, and effective electrochemical electrode for the determination of CC. This was synthesized by a simple electropolymerization method by the cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique. The electrodes were characterized by field emission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Compared to the bare carbon paste electrode, the sensitivity for CC fortified at PGBAMCPE in both CV and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). We succeeded attaining a lower detection limit of 0.57 μM by the DPV method. The developed electrode was observed to be highly conductive, transducing, stable, and reproducible and was highly selective with anti-interfering properties from the determination of CC with hydroquinone simultaneously. The applicability of the electrode was confirmed from the detection CC in tea and water samples with good recoveries. This substantiates that PGBAMCPE is promising and consistent for the rapid monitoring of CC-contaminated area and clinical diagnosis.

The objective of this study is to provide a simplified worksheet based on the Total Equivalent Temperature Difference (TETD) Approach to estimate a building's cooling load under Iraqi climate conditions. The heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system was applied to scientific laboratories at the College of Engineering, University of Warith Al-Anbiyaa, Karbala, Iraq. The study estimates the cooling load of the building, which consists of 10 zones. Cooling load elements such as ventilation, lighting, walls, floors, roofs, windows, infiltration, and human factors were considered. The worksheet provides an appropriate alternative for easy and fast prediction within Iraq's climate conditions.

The world's interest in energy and as a result of the urgent importance of that, researchers focused on the development of heat transfer to have a significant impact on the consumption of that energy. Where we note the great interest by researchers in developing heat transfer and using the best possible methods to improve heat transfer. In this literary review, a large group of research has been carried out to find out the importance of heat transfer and the methods used by researchers to develop heat transfer. Porous materials, nanomaterials and fins were used in the development of heat transfer. Where we note the importance of adding these materials (porous materials, nanomaterials and fins) to the original materials contribute significantly and clearly to improving heat transfer and this has a significant impact on energy consumption or trying to dissipate it, as we note the clear difference when using the original materials without adding these materials as the heat transfer is less and it consumes more time. Researchers can focus on the importance of improving heat transfer for its importance in many applications that have a direct impact on human life.

Pulsed electric fields (PEFs) have emerged as an ideal cardiac ablation modality. At present numerous clinical trials in humans are exploring PEF as an ablation strategy for both atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, with early data showing significant promise. As this is a relatively new technology there is limited understanding of its principles and biophysics. Importantly, PEF biophysics and principles are starkly different to current energy modalities (radiofrequency and cryoballoon). Given the relatively novel nature of PEFs, this review aims to provide an understanding of the principles and biophysics of PEF ablation. The goal is to enhance academic research and ultimately enable optimization of ablation parameters to maximize procedure success and minimize risk.

The Middle East in general and the Persian Gulf sub-region in particular are becoming increasingly strategic for China. The sub-region is not only rich in natural resources, primarily energy, and to a large extent provides them to the dynamically developing Chinese economy, but also opens up access to main global maritime and land routes, as well as African and European markets. The study focuses on Chinas interaction with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the field of energy, trade, and investment in the context of growing economic interdependence that elevates Beijings relations with the Arab countries of the sub-region to the level of strategic partnership. Thus, Chinas relations with this group of states go beyond purely economic interests and affect the strategic interests of Beijing, such as active promotion of the large-scale Belt and Road Initiative, which implies the intensification of Chinas policy in the Middle East. The methodological basis of the study is an interdisciplinary approach. The authors adhere to the neorealism, particularly the theory of the balance of power and regional security complexes, the principle according to which the foreign policy of a state is heavily dictated by the logic of the international system and the distribution of power among states. The power transit theory allows us to understand better the current role of China becoming a superpower in world politics. The research also applies such methods of historical science as chronological, genetic, systemic-structural, and comparative methods. The collection and processing of a significant layer of statistical data makes it possible to highlight the emergence of new powerful political actors in the Middle East.

This study aims to evaluate the impact of catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) on left atrial (LA) flow dynamics and geometrical changes.This exploratory study included computational flow simulations from 10 patients who underwent catheter ablation for AF. Complete cardiac cycle dataset was simulated before and after ablation using computational fluid dynamics. The study main endpoints were the changes in LA volume, LA velocity, LA wall shear stress (WSS), circulation (Γ), vorticity, pulmonary vein (PV) ostia area, and LA vortices before and after ablation.There was an average decrease in LA volume (11.58 ± 15.17%) and PV ostia area (16.6 ± 21.41%) after ablation. A non-uniform trend of velocity and WSS changes were observed after ablation. Compared with pre-ablation, 4 patients exhibited lower velocities, WSS distributions, and a decreased Γ ( 8.5%), while 6 developed higher velocities and WSS distributions. These geometrical changes dictated different flow mixing in the LA and distinct vortex patterns, characterized by different spinning velocities, vorticities, and rotational directions. Regions with q-criterion 0 were found to be dominant in the LA, indicating prevalent rotational vortex structures.Catheter ablation for AF induced different geometrical changes on the LA and the PVs, therefore influencing flow mixing and vortex patterns in the LA, in addition to overall velocity and WSS distribution. Further exploration of the impact of catheter ablation on intracardiac flow dynamics is warranted to discern patterns that may correlate with clinical outcomes.

Epigenetic changes have a major effect in both normal and disease cases of organism. Multiple types of epigenetic changes as acetylation, methylation on either DNA or histone proteins, phosphorylation, or ubiquitination. Epigenetic changes are associated with multiple diseases; one of the major diseases that bind with epigenetic changes is cancer. However, DNA methylation is one of the most important epigenetic changes that leads to disease such as cancer. Moreover, patients respond differently to drugs due to different genetic makeup or what called molecular changes in their cells. Both genetic and epigenetic are important to determine the personalized medicine "precise medicine". This review will discuss the epigenetic changes in our body and how it's affected personalized medicine for each person.

Objective To investigate the quality of information related to glaucoma procedures found online using 2 different assessment tools. Design Cross-sectional survey of 100 web sites found via Google search engine. Methods The terms “peripheral iridotomy” and “trabeculectomy” along with synonymous keywords were inputted into Google's search engine. The first 50 functional websites for each term were assessed by 2 independent raters using the DISCERN instrument as well as a quality assessment tool by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Statistical analysis included an evaluation of intra-rater reproducibility and interclass correlation between the 2 scales. Main outcome measures (i) Quality of web site content based on DISCERN and JAMA scores, (ii) quality of web site based on categorization of web site (iii), intra-rater reproducibility of each scale, and (iv) interclass correlation between the 2 rating scales. Results Only 22% of the web sites for peripheral iridotomy and 34% of the web sites for trabeculectomy met all the criteria for JAMA's quality assessment. The mean DISCERN scores for peripheral iridotomy and trabeculectomy were 44 and 43.7, respectively, indicating poor quality. For the DISCERN scale, level of agreement between raters for each question ranged from κ = 0.550 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.700–1.026) to κ = 0.884 (95% CI 0.751–1.017). For the JAMA 4 scale, level of agreement for each question ranged from κ = 0.874 (95% CI 0.734–1.01) to κ = 1.00. Conclusion Our study indicates that information found online for two common ophthalmic procedures is of variable and poor quality. Thus, patients may be receiving misinformation online and better measures need to be implemented to avoid the dissemination of low-quality health information.

Study aim: The aim of the current study is to explore the effect of obesity on spatiotemporal parameters of gait in obese young female students. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study with fifteen obese female university students (mean age = 20.3 ± 1.6, mean BMI = 36.2 ± 4.6) and fifteen normal weight female university students (mean age = 20.9 ± 2, mean BMI = 22.6 ± 2.4) was conducted. The spatiotemporal gait parameters were evaluated using GAITRite® walkway (Frankline, USA, Model No. TR30RAM090 with software version 4.89C2). Results: Independent sample t-test showed statistical significant differences in some spatiotemporal gait parameters between normal and obese subjects with statistically significant reductions of single-limb support time, step length, stride length, and velocity in the obese subjects rather than normal subjects (p = 0.031, 0.015, 0.039, and 0.002, respectively). Moreover, there were statistically significant increases of step time, stride time in the obese subjects rather than the normal subjects (p = 0.038, 0.017, respectively). Conclusion: These results suggested that obesity is a factor that adversely affects the spatiotemporal gait parameters in the obese young female. This may be contributed to decrease the joints’ mobility and increase the incidence of joint osteoarthritis. So, it is recommended to encourage the sufficient physical activity and weight reduction among obese female students.

Escherichia coli is wide world distribution enteric bacteria that cause different diseases. Many pathogenic and toxic effects may relate to it is lipopolysaccharide (LPS) which is part of bacterial outer membrane bearing endotoxic activity released after cell lysis. The LPS have bi-action either as potent activators of the immune system or injured tissue producing inflammation, dissemination intravascular coagulation, hypotension which finally end by endotoxic shock followed by death, the LPS also can induce the stimulation of phagocytic cells and increase its ability to kill any invader through its direct effect on activation of the respiratory burst. This manuscript aimed to study the modulatory effect of extracted E. coli LPS on some innate criteria of albino rats for that, either extracted E. coli LPS (ELPS) or standard E.coli O55:B5 LPS (SLPS) was injected intraperitoneally or intravenously by two different doses. Rats show transient leukopenia, lymphocytopenia, granulocytopenia, and midocytopenia (monocytes, eosinophils, and basophils) followed by leukocytosis, lymphocytosis, granulocytosis, and midocytosis at 24 hours, while different responses noted in WBCs according to different routes, doses, or types of LPS used. The existing study concluded that extracted E. coli LPS from (local strain) was able to elevation the phagocytic and respiratory burst of blood leukocytes with different effects of low and high dose, route of injection on total and differential white blood cells. The extracted E. coli LPS (local strain) can be used to produce immunomodulation in rats.

In the Egyptian banking industry, loan officers use pure judgment to make personal loan approval decisions. In this paper, we develop a new predictive method for default customers' loans using machine learning. The new predictive method uses the available personal data and historical credit data to evaluate the credit trust-worthiness of customers to obtain loans. We used the ABE dataset for training and testing, as we used 10 features from the application form and i- score report class that could give great help to credit officers for taking the right decision through avoiding customer selection using random techniques. The collected dataset was analysed by using various machine learning classifiers based on important selected features, to obtain high accuracy. We compared the performance of several machine learning classifiers before and after feature selection. We have found that in terms of high accuracy, the most important features are (activity – income – loan) and in terms of better performance the decision tree classifier has surpassed any other machine learning classifier with significant prediction accuracy of almost 94.85%.

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is relatively less frequent in younger patients (age Methods We included all hospitalized patients between 18 and 50 years with a diagnosis of AF from the Nationwide Readmission Database 2016–2017 from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Demographic and comorbidity data were collected and analyzed. Outcomes assessed included one-year AF readmission rates, all-cause readmission, ischemic stroke, and all-cause mortality. Subgroup analyses were performed for all demographic and comorbidity variables. Results Overall, 52,598 patients (medium age 44, interquartile range 38–48, female 25.7%) were included in the study, including 2,146 (4.0%) who underwent catheter ablation for AF. Patients who underwent catheter ablation had a significantly lower rate of readmission for AF or any cause at one year (adjusted hazard ratios (HR) of 0.52 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.43–0.63] and HR of 0.81 [95% CI: 0.72–0.89], respectively). There was no difference in 1-year readmission for stroke or all-cause mortality between the two groups. Subgroup analyses showed a consistent reduction in the risk of AF readmission among major demographic and comorbidity subgroups. Conclusion Catheter ablation in young patients with AF was associated with a reduction in 1-year AF related and all-cause readmissions. These data merit further prospective investigation for validation, through dedicated registries and multicenter collaborations to include young AF from diverse population.

One of the most significant indicators of heart and cardiovascular health is blood pressure (BP). Blood pressure (BP) has gained great attention in the last decade. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases the risk of serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke. Recently, machine/deep learning is leveraged for learning the BP from Photoplethysmography (PPG) signals. Hence, continuous BP monitoring can be introduced based on simple wearable contact sensors or even remotely sensed from a proper camera away from the clinical setup. However, the available training dataset imposes many limitations besides the other difficulties related to the PPG time series as high-dimensional data. This work presents beat-by-beat continuous PPG-based BP monitoring while accounting for the aforementioned limitations. For a better exploration of beats’ features, we propose to use wavelet scattering transform as a better descriptive domain to cope with the limitation of the training dataset and to help the deep learning network accurately learn the relationship between the morphological shapes of PPG beats and the BP. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network is utilized to demonstrate the superiority of the wavelet scattering transform over others domains. The learning scenarios are carried out on a beat basis where the input corresponding PPG beat is used for predicting BP in two scenarios; 1) Beat-by-beat arterial blood pressure (ABP) estimation, and 2) Beat-by-beat estimation of the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values. Different transformations are used to extract the features of the PPG beats in different domains including time, DCT, DWT, and wavelet scattering Domains. The simulation results show that using the wavelet scattering domain outperforms the other domains in the sense of root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) for both of the suggested two scenarios.

With changes to interview format and away rotations, the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the residency application process. In this retrospective cohort study of data from the nationwide Texas Seeking Transparency in Applications to Residency (STAR) survey, we sought to understand how the pandemic has impacted applicants in the 2021 dermatology Match. We compared applicants in the "post-COVID-19" Match year (2021) to "pre-COVID-19" Match years (2018-2020) regarding match rates, interview costs, residency geographic connections, and number of interviews attended. A total of 439 dermatology applicants who completed the Texas STAR survey were included. There was no difference in percentage of applicants with a geographic connection to their matched program (43.88% vs. 47.20%). Compared to prior cycles, applicants in the 2021 Match attended a higher percentage of interview offers (96% vs 90%, P0.0001) and more applicants attended 16 or more interviews (p=0.0489). Applicants in the 2021 Match reported an average savings of $5000 compared to prior cycles. Virtual interviews offer savings for applicants but may encourage interview hoarding. Though applicants did not perform away rotations, there was no increase in geographic connection for matched applicants. Stakeholders should consider these data when evaluating the pros and cons of virtual interviewing post-pandemic.

Certified reference materials (CRMs) are the cornerstone of the quality of analytical measurements. Homogeneity is a critical process in CRMs development. This study reports the use of instrumental...

Background While ventricular tachycardia (VT) in the setting of postmyocardial infarction left ventricular aneurysms (LVA) is not uncommonly encountered, there is a scarcity of data regarding the safety, efficacy, and outcomes of ablation of VT in this subset of patients. Methods Our study included consecutive patients aged 18 years or older with postmyocardial infarction LVA who presented to Mayo Clinic for catheter ablation of VT between 2002 and 2018. Results Of 34 patients, the mean age was 70.4 ± 9.1 years; 91% were male. Mean LVEF was 29 ± 9.7% and left ventricular end-diastolic dimension was 64.9 ± 6.6 mm. The site of the LVA was apical in 21 patients (62%). Fifteen patients (44%) presented with electrical storm or incessant VT. Nine patients (26%) had a history of intracardiac thrombus. All except for one patient had at least one VT originating from the aneurysm. The mean number of VTs was 2.9 ± 1.7. All patients underwent ablation at the site of the aneurysm. Ablation outside the aneurysm was performed in 13 patients (38%). Low-voltage fractionated potentials and/or late potentials at the aneurysmal site were present in all cases. Complete elimination of all VTs was achieved in 18 (53%), while the elimination of the clinical VT with continued inducibility of nonclinical VTs was achieved in a further 11 patients (32%). Two patients developed cardiac tamponade requiring pericardiocentesis. During a mean follow-up period of 2.3 ± 2.4 years, 11 patients (32%) experienced VT recurrence. Freedom from all-cause mortality at 1-year follow-up was 94%. Conclusion Radiofrequency catheter ablation targeting the aneurysmal site is a feasible and reasonably effective management strategy for clinical VTs in patients with postinfarction LVA.

Although older adults can suffer from positive ageism as well as negative ageism and despite both forms being associated with negative health outcomes, positive ageism has received little attention from nursing researchers. In Middle Eastern culture, positive ageism may be misperceived by nurses as empathy or sympathy. This descriptive study was conducted on a convenience sample of 317 nurses caring for older adults and working in public and university-affiliated hospitals in Jordan, and the Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE) was used to measure the nurses’ positive ageism towards older adults. The results indicated that most nurses had positive ageism towards older adults, and that their ageism was significantly associated with their marital status, level of education, type of hospital they worked at, and number of older adults living in the same household. The study findings have several implications for clinical practice. Further research is needed to investigate positive ageism and its associated factors and to develop effective interventions targeting this problem. Further, there is a need to develop interventions aimed at educating nurses and changing their ageist attitudes and behaviors towards older adults.