Both groups used the same device and were unaware of which group they were in. After a period totaling 18 weeks, patients underwent the final evaluation, as initially performed.
 
  Twenty-five patients in total participated until the end of the study (median age 42 years). There were no significant differences between TG and SG based on age, sex, body mass index or severity of genotype. At the end of the training, both groups showed a significant increase in PEmax and PImax, improvement in Vcap and in exercise tolerance and dyspnea reduction while performing daily life activities. The same was observed in patients grouped according to disease severity (HbSS and HbSβ
  vs HbSC and HbSβ
  ), without differences between groups.
 
  Home-based inspiratory muscle training benefits outpatients with SCD, including the sham load group.
 
  http//www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br; registration number RBR-6g8n92.
 http//www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br; registration number RBR-6g8n92.
  Surgical site infections (SSI) are a significant source of peri-operative morbidity and a financial burden on the healthcare system. Effective pre-operative skin preparation has been shown to reduce SSI incidence, however studies demonstrated that most healthcare providers do not adhere to proper techniques. Skin prep technique is not taught to U.S. surgical residents in a standardized format. The objective of this study was to perform a survey of U.S. surgical training programs to determine the practice patterns of surgical resident education on the proper techniques of pre-operative antiseptic surgical prep.
 
  An 18-question anonymous survey was created using the Qualtrics platform. The survey was distributed to members of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery listserv over a 2-month period. Responses were compiled and data analysis was performed.
 
  The survey response rate was 30% (n = 85/280). 81% of respondents reported that surgery residents are responsible for performing pre-operative skin aration. However, few residents receive formal education or evaluation of these skills. Given the importance of pre-operative skin preparation in reducing SSIs and the potential for patient harm if performed incorrectly, the results from this study raise the question of whether formal surgical resident education regarding pre-op skin prep should be more widely adopted and standardized.The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 was recently made pass/fail. This decision was controversial largely because of the reliance on USMLE Step 1 scores in resident selection.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/Romidepsin-FK228.html  However, these scores do not correlate with resident ability. In this manuscript, we consider if the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) should be pass/fail as well. The ABSITE has been used for "high-stakes" purposes, such as preliminary resident advancement and prospective fellow evaluation, for which it was not intended. Moreover, similar to the USMLE Step 1 exam, ABSITE scores have demonstrated no correlation with clinical ability. A pass/fail ABSITE would return the exam to its original purpose and minimize an over-reliance on scores. Moving forward, new objective measures will need to be developed to assess surgical trainees in a more holistic manner.
  To objectively measure sleep and activity levels and examine their relationship to burnout, depression, anxiety, and stress in ophthalmology residents.
 
  A cohort study of ophthalmology residents at the University of Washington from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.
 
  Single-center academic institution.
 
  Fourteen ophthalmology residents at the University of Washington enrolled between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018.
 
  Data were collected from 14 residents,ages 27 to 34.Wrist actigraphy allowed for objective measurement of resident sleep and activity, though adherence to wrist actigraphy usage dropped significantly over time.Residents recorded significantly less sleep on call compared to when they were off call, withmean (SD)3.6(2.0)hours on primary call,5.6(1.8)hours on secondary call, and6.7(1.4)hours off call. Lower average sleep on call was associated with higher emotional exhaustion (r = -0.69, p = 0.04), lower personal accomplishment (r = 0.82, p = 0.007), higher anxiety (r = -0.90, p = 0.001), and higheon, and anxiety are consistent with findings from prior studies which relied on subjective measures of sleep. The direction of causality - whether poor sleep caused burnout, burnout caused poor sleep, or both - could not be assessed in the present study. However, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that poor sleep on call contributes to resident burnout and that physical activity may reduce aspects of burnout. The use of wrist actigraphy to objectively measure sleep and activity patterns may help focus and evaluate interventions aimed at decreasing resident burnout.About nine months after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, this special issue of the Biomedical Journal takes stock of its evolution into a pandemic. We acquire an elaborate overview of the history and virology of SARS-CoV-2, the epidemiology of COVID-19, and the development of therapies and vaccines, based on useful tools such as a pseudovirus system, artificial intelligence, and repurposing of existing drugs. Moreover, we learn about a potential link between COVID-19 and oral health, and some of the strategies that allowed Taiwan to handle the outbreak exceptionally well, including a COVID-19 biobank establishment, online tools for contact tracing, and the efficient management of emergency departments.
  AAC-8 and AAC-24 are two widely used scales to evaluate abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) on X-ray images. Levels of ≥3 (AAC-8) and ≥5 points (AAC-24) are of high relevance since they are associated with greater risk of cardiovascular events. Given that it is unknown, our aim was to determine the reliability of both scales at those levels of atherosclerotic burden.
 
  The sample (93 subjects, 67.3±9.7 years, BMI 28.8±3.8, 57.6% smokers, 64.1% with hypertension) was classified according to quartiles of calcification. Six clinicians evaluated AAC independently with both scales on lateral lumbar spine X-ray images. We analyzed inter-rater agreement with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the Bland-Altman scatterplots.
 
  We assessed 15 pairs of raters. Scores in both scales were significantly correlated with cardiovascular risk (r=0.31 and r=0.32; p<0.005). Agreement was very high in the first quartile and moderate in the rest (p<0.05). At cut-off points, ICC=0.70 (95%CI, 0.54-0.86) and ICC=0.