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Background  Individuals with mental illness are stigmatized by peers in societal, workplace, and healthcare settings. The stigmatization individuals experience from healthcare providers is well documented and pervasive, often being a detriment to the quality of healthcare these individuals receive. Objective Recognizing and addressing stigmatization toward individuals with mental illnesses is imperative during residency training in Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs and throughout professional practice. We hope that this cross-sectional study will cultivate mindfulness and improve the healthcare outcomes of stigmatized individuals. Methodology A cross-sectional study using a web-based Attitude to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) with additional scenarios was utilized to assess stigma among resident physicians in differing specialties in a hospital training system. The research investigators collected anonymous data on demographics, characteristics, specialties, and the AMIQ. In eight vignettes, participants responded to five items using a five-point Likert scale assessing attitudes toward individuals. Results Of the 104 resident physicians enrolled in the hospital training system where the study was conducted, 58 (56%) volunteered to participate. The participating residents markedly exhibited negative attitudes toward the individual in the vignette with multiple inpatient psychiatric admissions. Residents also exhibited more negative attitudes toward individuals with schizophrenia, self-harm by way of overdose, psychedelic users, cannabis users, and alcohol problems compared to diabetic and Christian individuals. Conclusions Residents exhibited negative attitudes toward individuals with mental illness. Additional research would further our understanding of the reasons for physician bias. Moreover, GME programs and medical educators can play a crucial role in mitigating stigma among future physicians, thereby enhancing care for individuals with mental illness., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Harding University Institutional Review Board (IRB) issued approval Proposal number: 2021-09 (research exempted). Proposal number: 2021-09 The proposal referenced above has been reviewed and the decision rendered is noted below: This study has been found to fall under the following exemption: Research exempted from IRB Review. In the event that, after this exemption is granted, this research proposal is changed, it may require a review by the full IRB. In such case, a Request for Amendment to Approved Research form must be completed and submitted. The IRB reserves the right to observe, review and evaluate this study and its procedures during the course of the study. Dr. Cody Sipe, Chair Harding University Institutional Review Board. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Hemingway et al.)

Molecular guided oncology surgery has the potential to transform the way decisions about resection are done, and can be critically important in areas such as neurosurgery where the margins of tumor relative to critical normal tissues are not readily apparent from visual or palpable guidance. Yet there are major financial barriers to advancing agents into clinical trials with commercial backing. We observe that development of these agents in the standard biological therapeutic paradigm is not viable, due to the high up front financial investment needed and the limitations in the revenue models of contrast agents for imaging. The hypothesized solution to this problem is to develop small molecular biologicals tagged with an established fluorescent reporter, through the chemical agent approval pathway, targeting a phase 0 trials initially, such that the initial startup phase can be completely funded by a single NIH grant. In this way, fast trials can be completed to de-risk the development pipeline, and advance the idea of fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) reporters into human testing. As with biological therapies the potential successes of each agent are still moderate, but this process will allow the field to advance in a more stable and productive manner, rather than relying upon isolated molecules developed at high cost and risk. The pathway proposed and tested here uses peptide synthesis of an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-binding Affibody molecules, uniquely conjugated to IRDye 800CW, developed and tested in academic and industrial laboratories with well-established records for GMP production, fill & finish, toxicity testing, and early phase clinical trials with image guidance.

Bone-specific compounds have been used effectively for the detection of bone mineralization, growth, and morphological changes. These agents typically contain iminodiacetic acid groups that can form complexes with apatite and fluoresce in the visible spectrum. We exploited a subset of these chemical chelators to produce a near-infrared (NIR) optical bone marker for preclinical animal imaging. By conjugating target compounds to IRDye 800CW, we extended the effective fluorescence signal detection to the NIR region without affecting the compound's ability to function as a marker of the mineralization process. Calcein and a tetracycline derivative (BoneTag agent [BT]) bound specifically to differentiated mineralized osteoblast cultures, with the latter exhibiting 6-fold higher signal intensities. Subsequent in vivo testing demonstrated effective skeletal labeling with IRDye 800CW BT. We were able to identify a changing mineralization front in bone sections from (i) normal growing mice injected with IRDye 800CW BT 6weeks prior to the administration of IRDye 680 BT and (ii) an osteoporosis mouse model comparing cortical bone in sham-treated and ovariectomized mice. These results provide evidence that the NIR-labeled BT is effective as a general marker of skeletal features and an indicator of the bone mineralization and remodeling processes., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Fluorophore-labeled contrast imaging agents are moving toward clinical use for a number of applications. The near-infrared dye IRDye 800CW is frequently used in its N-hydroxysuccinamide (NHS) ester form for labeling these agents. Following conjugation or breakdown of a labeled ligand, excess NHS ester is converted to the carboxylate form. To prepare for clinical use as a near-infrared fluorophore, a toxicity study was conducted on IRDye 800CW carboxylate., Methods: Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were given a single intravenous or intradermal administration of IRDye 800CW carboxylate; Indocyanine Green was used as a comparative control. Animals were injected with varying doses of the test and control articles and observed for up to 14 days. Clinical chemistry, hematological, and pharmacokinetic analyses were performed on subgroups of animals. Organs were analyzed for content of the test article. Tissues were analyzed microscopically for pathological changes., Results: Based on hematologic, clinical chemistry, and histopathologic evaluation, single administration of IRDye 800CW carboxylate intravenously at dose levels of 1, 5, and 20 mg/kg or 20 mg/kg intradermally produced no pathological evidence of toxicity., Conclusion: A dose of 20 mg/kg was identified as the no observed adverse effect level following IV or ID routes of administration of IRDye 800CW.