Mentoring Structures and the Types of Support Provided to Early-Year Undergraduate Researchers.

Research has shown that mentorship provided to undergraduate researchers affects the extent of research outcomes. Although a large body of literature focuses on the faculty-undergraduate dyad mentorship structure, little is known about mentoring triads (i.e., interaction among undergraduate students, faculty, and graduate students or postdoctoral associates) or the support provided to early-year undergraduate researchers. Mentors provide various types of support (e.g., intellectual, personal, emotional, and professional support) to undergraduate researchers to increase their engagement in a discipline. This qualitative exploratory study aims to investigate undergraduate researchers' perspectives on mentoring structures and the support provided to them in their first and sophomore years. The majority of participants described the mentorship they received as having a triad structure, indicating interaction with both faculty and postgraduates. Participants also reported receiving different types of support from faculty and postgraduates depending on their mentoring structures and the amount of research experience they gained. Given the potential benefits to undergraduate researchers, undergraduate research programs should be designed to provide clear roles, responsibilities, and expectations to maximize the support provided to undergraduate students.

Diagnostic accuracy of computed tomography to identify adenomas among adrenal incidentalomas in an endocrinological population.

CONTEXT: The recent recommendations of the European Endocrine Society states that the performance of computed tomography (CT) to characterize 'true' adrenal incidentalomas (AIs) remains debatable. OBJECTIVE: To determine relevant thresholds for usual CT parameters for the diagnosis of benign tumors using robust reference standard among a large series of 'true' AIs recruited in an endocrinological setting. DESIGN: Retrospective study of 253 AIs in 233 consecutive patients explored in a single university hospital: 183 adenomas, 33 pheochromocytomas, 23 adrenocortical carcinomas, 5 other malignant tumors and 9 other benign tumors. Reference standard was histopathology in 118 AIs, biological diagnosis of pheochromocytoma in 2 AIs and size stability after at least 1 year of follow-up in 133 AIs. METHODS: Sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values were estimated for various thresholds of size, unenhanced attenuation (UA), relative and absolute wash-out (RPW, APW) of contrast media. 197 scans were reviewed independently in a blinded fashion by two expert radiologists to assess inter-observer reproducibility of measurements. RESULTS: Criteria associated with a 100% positive predictive value for the diagnosis of benign AI were: a combination of size and UA: 30 mm and 20 HU or 40 mm and 15 HU, respectively; RPW >53%; and APW >78%. Non-adenomatous AIs with rapid contrast wash-out were exclusively benign pseudocysts and pheochromocytomas, suggesting that classical thresholds of 60% and 40% for APW and RPW, respectively, can be safely used for patients with normal metanephrine values. Inter-observer reproducibility of all parameters was excellent (intra-class correlation coefficients: 0.96-0.99). CONCLUSIONS: Our study, the largest conducted in AIs recruited in an endocrinological setting, suggests safe thresholds for quantitative CT parameters to avoid false diagnoses of benignity.

Repurposing clinically approved cephalosporins for tuberculosis therapy.

While modern cephalosporins developed for broad spectrum antibacterial activities have never been pursued for tuberculosis (TB) therapy, we identified first generation cephalosporins having clinically relevant inhibitory concentrations, both alone and in synergistic drug combinations. Common chemical patterns required for activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis were identified using structure-activity relationships (SAR) studies. Numerous cephalosporins were synergistic with rifampicin, the cornerstone drug for TB therapy, and ethambutol, a first-line anti-TB drug. Synergy was observed even under intracellular growth conditions where beta-lactams typically have limited activities. Cephalosporins and rifampicin were 4- to 64-fold more active in combination than either drug alone; however, limited synergy was observed with rifapentine or rifabutin. Clavulanate was a key synergistic partner in triple combinations. Cephalosporins (and other beta-lactams) together with clavulanate rescued the activity of rifampicin against a rifampicin resistant strain. Synergy was not due exclusively to increased rifampicin accumulation within the mycobacterial cells. Cephalosporins were also synergistic with new anti-TB drugs such as bedaquiline and delamanid. Studies will be needed to validate their in vivo activities. However, the fact that cephalosporins are orally bioavailable with good safety profiles, together with their anti-mycobacterial activities reported here, suggest that they could be repurposed within new combinatorial TB therapies.

Prenatal diagnosis of hypochondroplasia: three-dimensional multislice computed tomography findings and molecular analysis.

We report the first case of sporadic hypochondroplasia diagnosed in utero by computed tomography (CT) three-dimensional (3D) imaging and molecular analysis at 38 weeks' gestation. Prenatal sonographic examinations performed at 32 and 35 weeks' gestation revealed a rhizomelic shortness of the long bones (femur and humerus) with macrocephaly. Based on these findings, a nonlethal form of skeletal dysplasia was suspected and a multislice CT imaging with 3D reconstruction was performed depicting skeletal abnormalities which suggested hypochondroplasia. The prenatal diagnosis was confirmed by DNA mutation analysis of the fibroblast growth receptor 3 gene.

[AIDS and the Third World]. / SIDA et tiers monde.

PIP: A survey of existing knowledge about the etiology, treatment, prevention, and epidemiology of HIV infection and AIDS is presented, with particular emphasis on Africa and the Third World. A brief introduction argues that the impact of AIDS in Africa is likely to be especially severe because of poverty and lack of development. The 1st chapter discusses the HIV virus and its mode of attack on the body's immune system, describes related retroviruses, explains and diagrams how the ELISA, Western Blot, and other diagnostic tests work, and describes the common signs and symptoms of the various stages of HIV infection. The 2nd chapter assesses the prospects for development of a vaccine, the difficulty of determining the lethality of HIV infection after only a few years of experience, and the efficacy of AZT, alpha interferon, and other possible treatments. Existing epidemiologic data, the divergent transmission pattern in different world regions and their recent trends, high risk behavior, the probable future course of the epidemic, and possible social and economic effects of the epidemic are discussed in chapter 3. The following chapter discusses AIDS prevention campaigns, safer sex, condom use, and IEC campaigns for the public, with examples from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, the US, and elsewhere. Chapter 5 focuses on the epidemic in Africa. Topics covered include the possible African origin of HIV, the deficiencies of existing epidemiologic data, AIDS control programs in Africa, and special problems in Africa related to the possibility of infection during lactation and the possible dangers of vaccinating children seropositive for HIV. The next chapter sketches a general strategy for AIDS prevention and outlines the role of WHO. The final chapter assesses knowledge of the level of infection in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, North America, and Western and Eastern Europe.^ieng