Impact of epicardial fat on coronary vascular function, cardiac morphology, and cardiac function in women with suspected INOCA.

Aims: Epicardial fat is a metabolically active adipose tissue depot situated between the myocardium and visceral pericardium that covers ∼80% of the heart surface. While epicardial fat has been associated with the development of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, less is known about the relationship between epicardial fat and coronary vascular function. Moreover, the relations between excess epicardial fat and cardiac morphology and function remain incompletely understood.

Employment Outcomes of a Distance Learning System for Formerly Incarcerated Veterans With Mental Illness.

Objective: People with previous incarceration and a mental disorder, a substance use disorder, or both are less likely to obtain employment than are those without these characteristics. Distance learning and education (DLE) systems are increasingly being integrated into clinical care and provide a pathway to disseminate vocational services. DLE systems can help reach people with barriers to accessing services, including people without transportation, experiencing homelessness, living in rural areas, or who are homebound.

Frequent discrepancies among diagnostic tests for detecting lower esophageal sphincter-related obstruction.

Background: There are frequent discrepancies among high-resolution manometry (HRM), functional lumen imaging probe (FLIP), and esophagram in identifying lower esophageal sphincter (LES)-related obstruction. We aimed to determine the frequency of those discrepancies and how they influenced clinical treatment/outcomes.

Methods: We identified patients who had all three tests (HRM, FLIP, and esophagram) and endoscopy performed for evaluation of esophageal symptoms in our Center for Esophageal Diseases.

Exploring New Graduate Nurses' Perceptions of Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction and Resignation Ideation During COVID-19.

Using an observational design, new graduate nurses' perceptions of job satisfaction and resignation ideation during COVID-19 were explored. Higher job satisfaction was associated with higher self-confidence, lower stress, and working in first choice of unit. A higher likelihood of resignation ideation was associated with coworker incivility, higher stress, and not working in first choice unit.

Acute effects of β-hydroxybutyrate on left ventricular function in young, healthy adults.

Interest in ketones as a cardiac "super fuel" has grown significantly following reports of a marked increase in cardiac output after exogenous ketone administration in heart failure. However, the extent to which this increase in cardiac output is related to changes in cardiac contractility, and dependent on the presence of heart failure, remains incompletely understood. Therefore, we performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of oral ketone ester in young healthy volunteers.

Integration of longitudinal and circumferential strain predicts volumetric change across the cardiac cycle and differentiates patients along the heart failure continuum.

Background: Left ventricular (LV) circumferential and longitudinal strain provide important insight into LV mechanics and function, each contributing to volumetric changes throughout the cardiac cycle. We sought to explore this strain-volume relationship in more detail, by mathematically integrating circumferential and longitudinal strain and strain rate to predict LV volume and volumetric rates of change.

Methods: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging from 229 participants from the Alberta HEART Study (46 healthy controls, 77 individuals at risk for developing heart failure [HF], 70 patients with diagnosed HF with preserved ejection fraction [HFpEF], and 36 patients with diagnosed HF with reduced ejection fraction [HFrEF]) were evaluated.

Reminiscence and Digital Storytelling to Improve the Social and Emotional Well-Being of Older Adults With Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study Design and a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Increasing attention is being given to the growing concerns about social isolation, loneliness, and compromised emotional well-being experienced by young adults and older individuals affected by Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD). Studies suggest that reminiscence strategies combined with an intergenerational approach may yield significant social and mental health benefits for participants. Experts also recommended the production of a digital life story book as part of reminiscence.

Multidisciplinary Teamwork Perceptions When Mobilizing Ventilated Neurosurgery Patients.

BACKGROUND: Multidisciplinary teamwork is essential in delivering holistic care to critically ill populations, including ventilated neurosurgery patients. Although it is considered a safe and feasible aspect of patient care, mobilization is often missed in this population because of negative healthcare provider perceptions regarding barriers and patient safety. Nurse-led teamwork has been suggested to overcome these barriers and to achieve earlier mobilization for patients, as well as positive provider perceptions, which may affect the culture and frequency of mobilization on neurointensive care units.

Attitudes toward Aging among College Students: Results from an Intergenerational Reminiscence Project.

The detrimental effects of negative attitudes toward aging among younger adults extend to both older and young adults, highlighting the need for attention from academics, applied researchers, and practitioners. To improve college students' attitudes toward aging, an intergenerational reminiscence intervention was conducted. College students, who were randomized to intervention or control groups and matched with older adults, made weekly phone calls to community-dwelling older adults with cognitive impairment for ten weeks.

The Senior Companion Program Plus for African American Caregivers of Persons With Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) pose significant challenges as chronic health conditions in the United States. Additionally, there are notable disparities in the diagnosis and prevalence of ADRD among diverse populations. Specifically, African American populations have a higher risk of developing late-onset ADRD than White people, and missed diagnoses of ADRD are more common among older African American populations than older White populations.

The Senior Companion Program Plus: An Innovative Training Approach for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia.

African Americans adults are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) and are underrepresented in research about ADRD. Reducing gaps in the knowledge about ADRD in the African American community is important for addressing dementia care disparities. The existing psychoeducation interventions are often limited by cost and scalability; for these reasons, lay provider (i.

Academic Differences in BSN Admission Routes: Implications for Persistence.

Background: To increase retention of prelicensure nursing students, several routes are used for admission to nursing programs. Students can be accepted as an early matriculation (EM) student at the point of university admission or they can follow a traditional competitive approach (TR) for admission.

Method: A retrospective matched cohort study design was used to explore the differences among selected academic variables in two groups of prelicensure undergraduate students ( = 136) in the same program.

The Senior Companion Program Plus (SCP Plus): Examining the Preliminary Effectiveness of a Lay Provider Program to Support African American Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) Caregivers.

Objectives: A culturally informed, peer-led, lay provider model, the Senior Companion Program (SCP) Plus, was implemented to decrease caregiving burden/stress and improve coping skills and social support for African American ADRD caregivers. This study reported the preliminary effectiveness of this intervention.

Methods: An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used in this study, and a randomized control trial was conducted for the SCP Plus intervention among participants in three sites ( = 20).

Myocardial steatosis impairs left ventricular diastolic-systolic coupling in healthy humans.

Mounting evidence suggests that myocardial steatosis contributes to left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, but definitive evidence in humans is lacking due to confounding comorbidities. As such, we utilized a 48-h food restriction model to acutely increase myocardial triglyceride (mTG) content - measured by H magnetic resonance spectroscopy - in 27 young healthy volunteers (13 men/14 women). Forty-eight hours of fasting caused a more than 3-fold increase in mTG content (P < 0.

Development and evaluation of an online vocational program for veterans with legal convictions and psychiatric illness.

Purpose: We describe the development and pilot evaluation of an online vocational rehabilitation program, the About Face Online System (AFOS), for veterans with a history of felony convictions and either mental illness and/or substance use disorders.

Method: Phase One was the development and acceptability testing of the online system. Phase Two was a small, randomized trial comparing the likelihood of obtaining employment among people using the AFOS, compared to people receiving a self-directed hardcopy manual, after 6 months.

Resilience, Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Exploring the Mental Health of New Graduate Nurses Transitioning to Practice During COVID-19.

Background Transitioning to practice during the COVID-19 pandemic multiplied the stressors and challenges typically encountered by new graduate nurses (NGNs), yet research exploring mental health variables of this subset of nurses remains sparse. Method This study used an observational design and convenience sampling. NGN alumni ( = 192) from a pre-licensure nursing program were surveyed during the summer of 2021 regarding their experiences with resilience, anxiety, depression, and stress while transitioning to practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Relationships Among Resilience, Stress, and Persistence in Prenursing Students During COVID-19.

Background: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created personal, financial, and academic challenges for prenursing students, which may hinder academic persistence. Understanding and supporting their well-being is important, as they prepare to apply to nursing programs.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore relationships among stress, resilience, and academic persistence in prenursing students intending to apply to either an on-campus or accelerated online nursing program.

How Much Glucose Is in the Gel Used to Treat Neonatal Hypoglycemia?

Objective: To compare glucose concentrations in three sections of individual tubes and among tubes of commercial oral glucose gels commonly used to treat neonatal hypoglycemia in the United States (Glutose 15 [Perrigo, Minneapolis, MN] and Insta-Glucose [Valeant Pharmaceuticals North America LLC, Bridgewater, NJ]).

Design: A quantitative laboratory study.

Methods: We measured glucose concentrations in aliquots taken from the top, middle, and bottom sections of three different lots and in whole tubes from different lots of Glutose 15 and Insta-Glucose.

Relationships among stress, resilience, and incivility in undergraduate nursing students and faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic: Policy implications for nurse leaders.

Background: Developing successful targeted interventions to reduce incivility for undergraduate nursing students and educators will require understanding the differences in their unique experiences. Although resilience may act as protective buffer against stressors, little is known about the relationships between stress, resilience, and perceptions of the frequency of incivility in the academic environment.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare relationships among and differences between perceptions of incivility frequency and self-reported stress and resilience levels in undergraduate nursing students and faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Diastolic dysfunction in women with ischemia and no obstructive coronary artery disease: Mechanistic insight from magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Ischemia with no obstructive coronary artery disease (INOCA) is prevalent in women and is associated with increased risk of developing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF); however, the mechanism(s) contributing to this progression remains unclear. Given that diastolic dysfunction is common in women with INOCA, defining mechanisms related to diastolic dysfunction in INOCA could identify therapeutic targets to prevent HFpEF.

Methods: Cardiac MRI was performed in 65 women with INOCA and 12 reference controls.

Blending Traditional Vocational Services and Individualized Placement and Support for Formerly Incarcerated Veterans.

Objective: This study compared two vocational programs: the About Face Vocational Program (AFVP), a traditional group-based vocational program created for formerly incarcerated veterans, and a hybrid program combining the AFVP with principles of individual placement and support-supported employment.

Methods: The study evaluated 111 veterans with at least one felony conviction who had a mental illness, substance use disorder, or both. Veterans were randomly assigned to either vocational condition.

Safety of tumor necrosis factor inhibitor use in patients with concomitant malignancy.

Background/aims: Safety for tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) in cancer has been focused on risk of incident malignancies, but studies on prognostic effects have been scarce. We determined survival and recurrence rates at 1, 2, and 5 years after cancer diagnosis in patients with and without concurrent TNFi use.

Methods: Chart reviews were performed between 1996 and 2015 at the VA North Texas Healthcare System.

Simulation and Clinical Competency in Undergraduate Nursing Programs: A Multisite Prospective Study.

Background: In prelicensure nursing education, there is a need to better understand the roles that simulation and traditional clinical instruction play in the development of clinical competence.

Method: A prospective cohort study was conducted across four prelicensure nursing programs. Four undergraduate nursing programs tested an intervention cohort with a redesign of the use of simulation, a redistribution of clinical hours, and an implementation of these new educational approaches into simulation experiences.