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Introduction: Since 2022, all Canadian post-graduate medical programs have transitioned to a Competence by Design (CBD) model within a Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) framework. The CBME model emphasized more frequent, formative assessment of residents to evaluate their progress towards predefined competencies in comparison to traditional medical education models. Faculty members therefore have increased responsibility for providing assessments to residents on a more regular basis, which has associated challenges. Our study explores faculty assessment behaviours within the CBD framework and assesses their openness to opportunities aimed at improving the quality of written feedback. Specifically, we explore faculty's receptiveness to routine metric performance reports that offer comprehensive feedback on their assessment patterns., Methods: Online surveys were distributed to all 28 radiology faculty at Queen's University. Data were collected on demographics, feedback practices, motivations for improving the teacher-learner feedback exchange, and openness to metric performance reports and quality improvement measures. Following descriptive statistics, unpaired t-tests and one-way analysis of variance were conducted to compare groups based on experience and subspecialty., Results: The response rate was 89% (25/28 faculty). 56% of faculty were likely to complete evaluations after working with a resident. Regarding the degree to which faculty felt written feedback is important, 62% found it at least moderately important. A majority (67%) believed that performance reports could influence their evaluation approach, with volume of written feedback being the most likely to change. Faculty expressed interest in feedback-focused development opportunities (67%), favouring Grand Rounds and workshops., Conclusion: Assessment of preceptor perceptions reveals that faculty recognize the importance of offering high-quality written feedback to learners. Faculty openness to quality improvement interventions for curricular reform relies on having sufficient time, knowledge, and skills for effective assessments. This suggests that integrating routine performance metrics into faculty assessments could serve as a catalyst for enhancing future feedback quality.

Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declare no have conflicts of interest.

Rationale and Objectives: Queen's University (Kingston, ON, Canada) adopted a competency-based medical education (CBME) curriculum for Diagnostic Radiology residency training in an accelerated manner in 2017, with the curriculum comprised of four stages of training. This article focuses on the final stage (Transition to Practice), during which assessment methods of the new national curriculum (implemented in July 2022) were piloted. This study aims to highlight the challenges and opportunities associated with the implementation of CBME in Diagnostic Radiology training and specific considerations for programs undergoing this curricular transition., Materials and Methods: Ethics approval was provided by the affiliated hospital Research Ethics Board. All relevant electronic assessments pertaining to all trainees who had completed the Transition to Practice stage (n = 3) were collated, deidentified, analyzed, and presented in tabulated format., Results: A total of 39 evaluations completed by 13 assessors were assessed, with an average time of 3 minutes and 6 seconds to complete an assessment form. Also, 95% of evaluations were rated as entrustments. However, no residents met the minimum number of required entrustments for all five stage-specific Entrustable Professional Activities. These 39 evaluations included 219 milestone rating scores, with 86% rated as "achieved." Following review by the residency program Competence Committee, all three residents were promoted from the Transition to Practice stage., Conclusion: Challenges in CBME implementation include the number and quality of resident assessments. Strategies for success may include providing clear guidelines and training for both faculty and residents, early identification and intervention, and adopting a holistic evaluation strategy. CBME has the potential to enhance medical education quality by emphasizing learner progress toward competency and providing personalized feedback and support., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (Copyright © 2023 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In this study, samples from 429 dog individuals across three main regions of Vietnam (Southern Vietnam (SVN), Central Vietnam (CVN), and Northern Vietnam (NVN)) were collected to analyze the 582 bp region mtDNA HVI, so as to study the genetic diversity and to screen the rare haplotype E in the Vietnamese village dog population. Nine new haplotypes A, two new haplotypes B, and three haplotypes C were unique to Vietnam dogs, in which the new haplotypes An3, An7, Cn1, and Cn3 concerned mutations at new polymorphism sites (15,517, 15,505, 15,479, and 15,933, respectively) which have not been previously reported. The detection of haplotypes A9 and A29, and the appearance of haplotype A200 in the two individual dogs sampled support that the Southeast Asian dog is the ancestor of today's Australian dingo and Polynesian dog. The two rare haplotypes E (E1 and E4) were reconfirmed in Vietnamese dogs and discussed. This study also contributes to strengthening the theory of domestication of dogs to the south of the Yangtze River and the Southeast Asian origin of the dingo.

Purpose: To develop, implement, and evaluate feedback for an artificial intelligence (AI) workshop for radiology residents that has been designed as a condensed introduction of AI fundamentals suitable for integration into an existing residency curriculum., Materials and Methods: A 3-week AI workshop was designed by radiology faculty, residents, and AI engineers. The workshop was integrated into curricular academic half-days of a competency-based medical education radiology training program. The workshop consisted of live didactic lectures, literature case studies, and programming examples for consolidation. Learning objectives and content were developed for foundational literacy rather than technical proficiency. Identical prospective surveys were conducted before and after the workshop to gauge the participants' confidence in understanding AI concepts on a five-point Likert scale. Results were analyzed with descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon rank sum tests to evaluate differences., Results: Twelve residents participated in the workshop, with 11 completing the survey. An average score of 4.0 ± 0.7 (SD), indicating agreement, was observed when asking residents if the workshop improved AI knowledge. Confidence in understanding AI concepts increased following the workshop for 16 of 18 (89%) comprehension questions ( P value range: .001 to .04 for questions with increased confidence)., Conclusion: An introductory AI workshop was developed and delivered to radiology residents. The workshop provided a condensed introduction to foundational AI concepts, developed positive perception, and improved confidence in AI topics. Keywords: Medical Education, Machine Learning, Postgraduate Training, Competency-based Medical Education, Medical Informatics Supplemental material is available for this article. © RSNA, 2023., Competing Interests: Disclosures of conflicts of interest: R.H. No relevant relationships. A.R. Radiology: Artificial Intelligence trainee editorial board member. Z.H. No relevant relationships. T.L. Unpaid volunteer director for LEADs Employment Services Board of Directors. A.D.C. No relevant relationships. B.Y.M.K. Queen’s University Department of Radiology Research Grant., (© 2023 by the Radiological Society of North America, Inc.)

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic performance of quantitative and qualitative imaging features of hepatic cirrhosis on CT., Methods: A single-center retrospective cohort study was performed on all patients who had undergone non-targeted liver biopsy < 3 months following abdominal CT imaging between 2007 and 2020. Histopathology was required as a reference standard for hepatic cirrhosis diagnosis. Two readers independently assessed all CT quantitative and qualitative features, blinded to the clinical history and the reference standard. The diagnostic performance of each imaging feature was assessed using multivariate regression and logistic regression in a recursive feature elimination framework., Results: 98 consecutive patients met inclusion criteria including 26 with histopathologically confirmed hepatic cirrhosis, and 72 without cirrhosis. Liver surface nodularity (p < 0.0001), lobar redistribution (p < 0.0001), and expanded gallbladder fossa (p < 0.0016) were qualitative CT features associated with liver cirrhosis consistent between both reviewers. Liver surface nodularity demonstrated highest sensitivity (73-77%) and specificity (79-82%). Falciform space width was the only quantitative feature associated with cirrhosis, for a single reviewer (p < 0.04). Using a recursive feature elimination framework, liver surface nodularity and falciform space width were the strongest performing features for identifying cirrhosis. No feature combinations strengthened diagnostic performance., Conclusion: Many quantitative and qualitative CT imaging signs of hepatic cirrhosis have either poor accuracy or poor inter-observer agreement. Qualitative imaging features of hepatic cirrhosis on CT performed better than quantitative metrics, with liver surface nodularity the most optimal feature for diagnosing hepatic cirrhosis., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: Postgraduate residency programs in Canada are transitioning to a competency-based medical education (CBME) system. Within this system, resident performance is documented through frequent assessments that provide continual feedback and guidance for resident progression. An area of concern is the perception by faculty of added administrative burden imposed by the frequent evaluations. This study investigated the time spent in the documentation and submission of required assessment forms through analysis of quantitative data from the Queen's University Diagnostic Radiology program., Methods and Materials: Data regarding time taken to complete Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) assessments was collected from 24 full-time and part-time radiologists over a period of 18 months. This data was analyzed using SPSS to determine mean time of completion by individuals, departments, and by experience with the assessment process., Results: The average time taken to complete an EPA assessment form was 3 minutes and 6 seconds. Assuming 3 completed EPA assessment forms per week for each resident (n = 12) and equal distribution among all staff, this averaged out to an additional 18 minutes of administrative burden per staff member over a 4 week block., Conclusions: This study investigated the perception by faculty of additional administrative burden for assessment in the CBME framework. The data provided quantitative evidence of administrative burden for the documentation and submission of assessments. The data indicated that the added administrative burden may be reasonable given mandate for CBME implementation and the advantages of adoption for postgraduate medical education.

Purpose: To assess the impact of radiology review for discordance between pathology results from computed tomography (CT)-guided biopsies versus imaging findings performed before a biopsy., Materials and Methods: In this retrospective review, which is compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and approved by the institutional review board, 926 consecutive CT-guided biopsies performed between January 2015 and December 2017 were included. In total, 453 patients were presented in radiology review meetings (prospective group), and the results were classified as concordant or discordant. Results from the remaining 473 patients not presented at the radiology review meetings were retrospectively classified. Times to reintervention and to definitive diagnosis were obtained for discordant cases; of these, 49 (11%) of the 453 patients were in the prospective group and 55 (12%) of the 473 patients in the retrospective group., Results: Pathology results from CT-guided biopsies were discordant with imaging in 11% (104/926) of the cases, with 57% (59/104) of these cases proving to be malignant. In discordant cases, reintervention with biopsy and surgery yielded a shorter time to definitive diagnosis (28 and 14 days, respectively) than an imaging follow-up (78 days) (P < .001). The median time to diagnosis was 41 days in the prospective group and 56 days in the retrospective group (P = .46). When radiologists evaluated the concordance between pathology and imaging findings and recommended a repeat biopsy for the discordant cases, more biopsies were performed (50% [11/22] vs 13% [4/31]; P = .005)., Conclusions: Eleven percent of CT-guided biopsies yielded pathology results that were discordant with imaging findings, with 57% of these proving to be malignant on further workup., (Copyright © 2021 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Systematic program evaluation of the Queen's University diagnostic radiology residency program following transition to a competency-based medical education (CBME) curriculum., Methods: Rapid Evaluation methodology and the Core Components Framework were utilized to measure CBME implementation. A combination of interviews and focus groups were held with program leaders (n = 6), faculty (n = 10), both CBME stream and traditional stream residents (n = 6), and program staff (n = 2). Interviews and focus groups were transcribed and analyzed abductively. Study team met with program leaders to review common themes and plan potential adaptations., Results: Strengths of CBME implementation included more frequent and timely feedback as well as the role of the Academic Advisor. However, frontline faculty felt insufficiently supported with regards to the theory and practical implementation of the new curriculum and found assessment tools unintuitive. The circumstances surrounding the curricular implementation also resulted in some negative sentiment. Additional faculty and resident education workshops were identified as areas for improvement as well as changes to assessment tools for increased clarity. Residents overall viewed the changes favorably, with traditional stream residents indicating that they also had a desire for increased feedback., Conclusions: Rapid Evaluation is an effective method for program assessment following curricular change in diagnostic radiology. A departmental champion driving enthusiasm for change from within may be valuable. Adequate resident and faculty education is key to maximize change and smooth the transition. Advances in knowledge: This study provides insights for other radiology training programs transitioning to a CBME framework and provides a structure for programmatic assessment., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) has mandated the transition of postgraduate medical training in Canada to a competency-based medical education (CBME) model divided into 4 stages of training. As part of the Queen's University Fundamental Innovations in Residency Education proposal, Queen's University in Canada is the first institution to transition all of its residency programs simultaneously to this model, including Diagnostic Radiology. The objective of this report is to describe the Queen's Diagnostic Radiology Residency Program's implementation of a CBME curriculum., Methods: At Queen's University, the novel curriculum was developed using the RCPSC's competency continuum and the CanMEDS framework to create radiology-specific entrustable professional activities (EPAs) and milestones. In addition, new committees and assessment strategies were established. As of July 2015, 3 cohorts of residents (n = 9) have been enrolled in this new curriculum., Results: EPAs, milestones, and methods of evaluation for the Transition to Discipline and Foundations of Discipline stages, as well as the opportunities and challenges associated with the implementation of a competency-based curriculum in a Diagnostic Radiology Residency Program, are described. Challenges include the increased frequency of resident assessments, establishing stage-specific learner expectations, and the creation of volumetric guidelines for case reporting and procedures., Conclusions: Development of a novel CBME curriculum requires significant resources and dedicated administrative time within an academic Radiology department. This article highlights challenges and provides guidance for this process.

The perinephric space is the middle compartment of the retroperitoneum, containing the kidneys and adrenal glands. Differential considerations for diseases involving primarily the perinephric space differ from those arising from the kidney itself, show variant imaging features, and require identification and characterisation by interpreting radiologists-an imaging diagnosis can be suggested in many cases. Lymphangiomas are congenital cystic lesions that may contain lipid-laden chyle, which may be detectable on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Retroperitoneal fibrosis, Erdheim-Chester disease, and lymphoma may present as a perinephric soft tissue rind. Osseous findings favour Erdheim-Chester, ureteric obstruction favours retroperitoneal fibrosis, and associated lymphadenopathy with mass-effect, but without invasion of adjacent structures favours lymphoma. Extramedullary haematopoiesis and brown fat stimulation are both characterised by signal drop on opposed-phase T1-weighted (W) images, the former resulting from severe anaemia and the latter in the context of elevated serum catecholamines, especially in the setting of phaeochromocytoma. Liposarcoma is the most common primary sarcoma of the retroperitoneum. Metastases are uncommon; however, they can be seen in melanoma, among other primary malignancies. Increased T1W signal hyperintensity is typical of melanoma metastases and haematomas. Abscesses show non-enhancing fluid centrally with marked diffusion restriction. This article presents a review of the perinephric space, pathological conditions of the perinephric space, and an approach towards imaging and diagnosis using cross-sectional imaging, with emphasis on MRI. MRI provides better tissue characterisation, assessment of enhancement kinetics, and detection of intralesional fat in comparison to CT. Clinical and laboratory correlation or tissue sampling may be required for definitive diagnosis in some cases., (Copyright © 2020 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The presence of intralesional fat provides an invaluable tool for narrowing the differential diagnosis for both benign and malignant neoplasms of the abdomen and pelvis. The ability to characterize intralesional fat is further expanded by the ability of magnetic resonance imaging to detect small quantities (intravoxel) of fat. The differential diagnosis of fat-containing lesions arising in the liver is broader than that of many other solid organs. However, this differential can be further refined depending on the type of fat (macroscopic vs intravoxel) and with the use of ancillary imaging findings. Radiologists must be aware of benign and malignant mimickers of common lesions.

The presence of intralesional fat provides an invaluable tool for narrowing the differential diagnosis for both benign and malignant neoplasms of the abdomen and pelvis. The ability to characterize intralesional fat is further expanded by the ability of magnetic resonance imaging to detect small quantities (intravoxel) of fat. While the presence of intralesional fat can help to provide a relatively narrow set of diagnostic possibilities, depending on the type of fat (macroscopic vs intravoxel) that is present and the organ of origin, radiologists must be aware of uncommon mimickers of pathology, both benign and malignant.

Foodborne illnesses caused by bacteria are being reported at an increasing rate in the United States. We performed a text-mining analysis to look at nearly 13,000 tweets from two foodborne Escherichia coli outbreaks in 2018. Concerns from the public included staying informed about contaminated lettuce, recognizing signs of infection, and holding responsible farms accountable. At the end of the second outbreak, comments were focused on assessing symptoms, using the traceback process to locate outbreak sources, and calling for better food labeling practices., (Copyright © 2019 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Juvenile polyposis syndrome (JPS) may coexist with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) due to implication of the SMAD4 gene in a subset of both diseases. To the best of our knowledge, we present the first case in the radiologic literature on the MRI findings in a patient with this rare combined diagnosis undergoing workup for burden of disease., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma (PUC) is a high-grade variant of conventional urothelial cell carcinoma. This study is the first to describe the imaging findings of PUC, which are previously unreported, using clinical and histopathological correlation., Methods: With internal review board approval, we identified 22 consecutive patients with PUC from 2007-2014. Clinical parameters, including age, gender, therapy, surgical margins, and long-term outcome, were recorded. Baseline imaging was reviewed by an abdominal radiologist who evaluated for tumour detectability/location/morphology, local staging, and presence/location of metastases. Pelvic peritoneal spread of tumour (defined as >5mm thick soft tissue spreading along fascial planes) was also evaluated. Followup imaging was reviewed for presence of local recurrence or metastases., Results: Median age at presentation was 74 years (range 51-86), with only three female patients. Imaging features of the primary tumour in this study were not unique for PUC. Muscle-invasive disease was present on pathology in 19/22 (86%) of tumours, with distant metastases in 2/22 (9%) at baseline imaging. Pelvic peritoneal spread of tumour was radiologically present in 4/20 (20%) at baseline. During followup, recurrent/residual tumour was documented in 16/22 (73%) patients and 7/16 (44%) patients eventually developed distant metastases. Median time to disease recurrence in patients who underwent curative surgery was three months (range 0-19)., Conclusions: PUC is an aggressive variant of urothelial carcinoma with poor prognosis. Pelvic peritoneal spread of tumour as thick sheets extending along fascial planes may represent a characteristic imaging finding of locally advanced PUC.

Background: As the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) rises, social media likely influences public awareness and perception of this emerging tobacco product., Objective: This study examined the public conversation on Twitter to determine overarching themes and insights for trending topics from commercial and consumer users., Methods: Text mining uncovered key patterns and important topics for e-cigarettes on Twitter. SAS Text Miner 12.1 software (SAS Institute Inc) was used for descriptive text mining to reveal the primary topics from tweets collected from March 24, 2015, to July 3, 2015, using a Python script in conjunction with Twitter's streaming application programming interface. A total of 18 keywords related to e-cigarettes were used and resulted in a total of 872,544 tweets that were sorted into overarching themes through a text topic node for tweets (126,127) and retweets (114,451) that represented more than 1% of the conversation., Results: While some of the final themes were marketing-focused, many topics represented diverse proponent and user conversations that included discussion of policies, personal experiences, and the differentiation of e-cigarettes from traditional tobacco, often by pointing to the lack of evidence for the harm or risks of e-cigarettes or taking the position that e-cigarettes should be promoted as smoking cessation devices., Conclusions: These findings reveal that unique, large-scale public conversations are occurring on Twitter alongside e-cigarette advertising and promotion. Proponents and users are turning to social media to share knowledge, experience, and questions about e-cigarette use. Future research should focus on these unique conversations to understand how they influence attitudes towards and use of e-cigarettes., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: None declared., (©Allison J Lazard, Adam J Saffer, Gary B Wilcox, Arnold DongWoo Chung, Michael S Mackert, Jay M Bernhardt. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 12.12.2016.)

Objective: MR urography (MRU) can be an alternative to CT urography (CTU) for imaging of the kidneys, urinary bladder, and collecting systems. MRU can be a challenging examination to perform and interpret, which may result in technical and interpretive errors being made. This article highlights the pitfalls associated with MRU and discusses how to recognize and avoid them., Conclusion: When performed properly, MRU may provide imaging quality generally comparable to that of CTU, and it enables comprehensive evaluation of the entire urinary tract.

Objective: The purpose of this article is to present a contemporary review of the imaging appearance of diseases which affect the deeper layers of the urinary bladder, including both suburothelial and extrinsic pathologies, using radiologic-pathologic correlation., Conclusion: Compared to the more common urothelial lesions, at cystoscopy, suburothelial and extrinsic diseases of the urinary bladder wall often have a non-specific appearance or may be occult. Cross-sectional imaging, in particular MRI, plays an integral role in diagnosis. Mesenchymal tumors have distinct imaging features on MRI. Leiomyomas are characteristically low signal intensity on T2-weighted (T2W) imaging and progressively enhance. Lipomas and lipomatous hypertrophy are diagnosed by the presence of macroscopic fat. Neurofibromas, hemangiomas, and paragangliomas are hyperintense on T2W sequences and hypervascular. Reactive lesions occur in the setting of chronic inflammation and include: nephrogenic adenoma, cystitis cystica, and cystitis glandularis. Imaging findings are commonly non-specific; however, a mass with internal cystic spaces in association with pelvic lipomatosis is suggestive of cystitis glandularis. Urachal anomalies may be complicated by infection or malignancy. Urachal mucinous adenocarcinoma has a poor prognosis and may present as a T2-hyperintense suburothelial/extrinsic mass centered in the bladder dome. Other diseases may extrinsically involve the urinary bladder by hematogenous and peritoneal spread, including infection, endometriosis, and malignancy. A familiarity with suburothelial and extrinsic pathologies of the urinary bladder is critical for the radiologist, who may be the first to suggest these diagnoses.

Purpose: To elucidate the relationship between gestational age, pathologic findings, and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging measures of tissue maturation-myelination in deep gray matter areas in very preterm neonates imaged at birth., Materials and Methods: The study was approved by the research ethics board. Written informed consent was given by the infants' parents. Forty-two preterm neonates (19 boys; median gestational age, 28.7 weeks) with normal-appearing gray matter structures at presentation underwent MR imaging within 2 weeks of birth that included T1- and T2-weighted, magnetization transfer, and T1 relaxometry sequences. Neonates were separated into the following groups: those with normal findings (n = 23), those with white matter injury (WMI) (n = 9), those with grade I germinal matrix hemorrhage (GMH) (n = 3), and those with grade II GMH and WMI (n = 7). Analysis of covariance was used to determine regional effects of age and pathologic findings on magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) and to assess the relationship between MTR and T1., Results: MTR increased linearly with age (P ≤ .0265), with a similar rate of change of 0.32% per week (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.16, 0.49) in the basal ganglia (BG) and thalami. A lower trend (0.11% per week; 95% CI: -0.05, 0.28) was seen in the pons. Higher MTRs were seen in the thalami and pons than in the BG (P < .05), indicating earlier maturation. Accordingly, higher T1 values were observed in the BG relative to the thalami (P < .0001). Higher MTRs in the BG were observed in the group of neonates with normal findings at presentation than in the group with WMI (P = .02)., Conclusion: MTR measurements can be used to monitor early myelination in the developing brain and to help detect changes in tissue that are not shown on T1- and T2-weighted MR images.

Background: T1- and T2-W MR sequences used for obtaining diagnostic information and morphometric measurements in the neonatal brain are frequently acquired using different imaging protocols. Optimizing one protocol for obtaining both kinds of information is valuable., Objective: To determine whether high-resolution T1- and T2-W volumetric sequences optimized for preterm brain imaging could provide both diagnostic and morphometric value., Materials and Methods: Thirty preterm neonates born between 24 and 32 weeks' gestational age were scanned during the first 2 weeks after birth. T1- and T2-W high-resolution sequences were optimized in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, contrast-to-noise ratio and scan time and compared to conventional spin-echo-based sequences., Results: No differences were found between conventional and high-resolution T1-W sequences for diagnostic confidence, image quality and motion artifacts. A preference for conventional over high-resolution T2-W sequences for image quality was observed. High-resolution T1 images provided better delineation of thalamic myelination and the superior temporal sulcus. No differences were found for detection of myelination and sulcation using conventional and high-resolution T2-W images., Conclusion: High-resolution T1- and T2-W volumetric sequences can be used in clinical MRI in the very preterm brain to provide both diagnostic and morphometric information.

Selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors (coxibs) increase the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. Complete disruption of the murine gene encoding COX-2 (Ptgs2) leads to renal developmental problems, as well as female reproductive anomalies and patent ductus arteriosus of variable penetrance in newborns, thus rendering this genetic approach difficult to compare with coxib administration. Here, we created hypomorphic Ptgs2 (COX-2(Neo/Neo)) mice in which COX-2 expression is suppressed to an extent similar to that achieved with coxibs, but not eliminated, in an attempt to circumvent these difficulties. In LPS-challenged macrophages and cytokine-stimulated endothelial cells obtained from COX-2(Neo/Neo) mice, COX-2 expression was reduced 70-90%, and these mice developed a mild renal phenotype compared with COX-2 mice possessing an active site mutation (COX-2(Y385F/Y385F)), with minimal signs of renal dysfunction as measured by FITC-inulin clearance and blood urea nitrogen. These COX-2 knockdown mice displayed an increased propensity for thrombogenesis compared with their wild-type (COX-2(+/+)) littermates observed by intravital microscopy in cremaster muscle arterioles upon ferric chloride challenge. Measurement of urinary prostanoid metabolites indicated that COX-2(Neo/Neo) mice produced 50% less prostacyclin but similar levels of PGE(2) and thromboxane compared with COX-2(+/+) mice in the absence of any blood pressure and ex vivo platelet aggregation abnormalities. COX-2(Neo/Neo) mice, therefore, provide a genetic surrogate of coxib therapy with disrupted prostacyclin biosynthesis that predisposes to induced arterial thrombosis.

Objective: We compared the efficacy of a story-based writing style with that of a fact-based writing style for educational material on brain metastases., Methods: Identical informational content on four topics-radiation therapy, side effects, steroid tapering, and palliative care-was constructed into equivalent story-based and fact-based materials. The content and reader preference for style were evaluated using a questionnaire of 20 + 1 items. Cancer patients and caregivers were invited to evaluate the materials., Results: A total of 47 participants completed the questionnaire. The recorded preferences for facts, stories, or both were 42%, 7%, and 51% respectively (p = 0.0004). The fact-based materials were rated superior in providing factual information (for example, discussion of treatment, side effects) and selected general characteristics (clarity of information, for instance). A rating trend suggested that story-based materials were superior in describing "how it feels to have brain metastases" (21/40 fact-based vs. 26/43 story-based) and "how brain metastases affected a spouse" (17/41 fact-based vs. 21/47 story-based), and in being "sensitive to the frustrations of a patient with brain metastases" (25/40 fact-based vs. 30/44 story-based)., Conclusions: Half the participants preferred to read both fact-based and story-based materials. A combined story-based and fact-based educational resource may be more effective in conveying sensitive information and should be further investigated.

Primary adrenal insufficiency (Addison's disease) may initially present with cutaneous hyperpigmentation. Addison's disease, when associated with autoimmune thyroid disease and/or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, is referred to as polyglandular autoimmune syndrome type II. We present the case of a patient who initially was diagnosed as having Grave's disease and eventually Addison's disease due to persistent cutaneous hyperpigmentation, fatigue, weight loss, hypotension, hyponatremia, peripheral eosinophilia, and positive results of a synthetic corticotropin stimulation test. Addison's disease, polyglandular autoimmune syndrome type II, and cutaneous hyperpigmentation are reviewed.