Social media and anti-immigrant prejudice: a multi-method analysis of the role of social media use, threat perceptions, and cognitive ability.

Introduction: The discourse on immigration and immigrants is central to contemporary political and public discussions. Analyzing online conversations about immigrants provides valuable insights into public opinion, complemented by data from questionnaires on how attitudes are formed. Methods: The research includes two studies examining the expressive and informational use of social media. Study 1 conducted a computational text analysis of comments on Singaporean Facebook pages and forums, focusing on how social media is used to discuss immigrants. Study 2 utilized survey data to examine the use of social media at the individual level, testing the relationships between cognitive ability, perceptions of threat, negative emotions towards immigrants, and social media usage within the Integrated Threat Theory framework. Results: Study 1 found that discussions about immigrants on social media often involved negative emotions and concerns about economic impact, such as competition for jobs and crime. Complementing these findings about perceived economic threats, Study 2 showed that individuals with higher social media usage and greater perceptions of threat were more likely to have negative emotions towards immigrants. These relationships were mediated by perceptions of threat and were stronger in individuals with lower cognitive abilities. Discussion: The findings from both studies demonstrate the role of social media in shaping public attitudes towards immigrants, highlighting how perceived threats influence these attitudes. This research suggests the importance of considering how digital platforms contribute to public opinion on immigration, with implications for understanding the dynamics of attitude formation in the digital age.

Understanding Variations in the Management of Displaced Distal Radius Fractures With Satisfactory Reduction.

BACKGROUND: The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has set forth Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) to help guide management of closed, displaced distal radius fractures (DRFs). There still exists variation in practice regarding operative vs nonoperative decision-making. This study aims to identify which factors influence the decision to treat DRFs not indicated for surgery by the CPGs after initial closed reduction. METHODS: Fifteen sets of DRFs and clinical vignettes were distributed via email to over 75 orthopedic residency programs, Orthopaedic Trauma Association, and New York Society for Surgery of the Hand membership. A Qualtrics survey collected respondent demographics, choice of treatment, and rationale. RESULTS: Responses were received from 106 surgeons and resident trainees. The odds of selecting operative management for fractures with 5 or more radiographic instability signs versus 3 or 4 was 3.11 (P < .05). Age over 65, higher patient activity level, and dominant-hand injury were associated with greater odds of operative management (3.4, 30.28, and 2.54, respectively). In addition, surgeons with more years in practice and high-volume surgeons had greater odds of selecting operative management (2.43 and 2.11, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Assessment of instability at the time of injury, patient age and activity level, as well as surgeon volume and time in practice independently affect the decision to manage well-reduced DRF with surgical or nonsurgical treatment. The source of heterogeneity in the treatment of these fractures is borne at least in part from a lack of formal direction on the importance of prereduction instability from the CPGs.

Human Motor Endplate Survival after Chronic Peripheral Nerve Injury.

Objective: Degeneration of motor endplates (MEPs) in denervated muscle is thought to be a key factor limiting functional regeneration after peripheral nerve injury (PNI) in humans. However, there is currently no paradigm to determine MEP status in denervated human muscle to estimate likelihood of reinnervation success. Here, we present a quantitative analysis of MEP status in biopsies of denervated muscles taken during nerve repair surgery and ensuing functional recovery. Methods: This is a retrospective single-surgeon cohort study of patients (n=22) with upper extremity PNI confirmed with electromyography (EMG), treated with nerve transfers. Muscle biopsies were obtained intra-operatively from 10 patients for MEP morphometric analysis. Age at time of surgery ranged from 22-77 years and time from injury to surgery ranged from 2.5-163 months. Shoulder range of motion (ROM) and Medical Research Council (MRC) scores were recorded pre-op and at final follow-up. Results: Surviving MEPs were observed in biopsies of denervated muscles from all patients, even those greater than six months from injury. Average postoperative ROM improvement (assessed between 6-9 months post-surgery) was: forward flexion 84.3 ± 51.8°, abduction 62.5 ± 47.9°, and external rotation 25.3 ± 28.0°. Interpretation: While it is believed that MEP degeneration 6 months post-injury prevents reinnervation, this data details MEP persistence beyond this timepoint along with significant functional recovery after nerve surgery. Accordingly, persistence of MEPs in denervated muscles may predict the extent of functional recovery from nerve repair surgery.

Evolution of haploid and diploid populations reveals common, strong, and variable pleiotropic effects in non-home environments.

Adaptation is driven by the selection for beneficial mutations that provide a fitness advantage in the specific environment in which a population is evolving. However, environments are rarely constant or predictable. When an organism well adapted to one environment finds itself in another, pleiotropic effects of mutations that made it well adapted to its former environment will affect its success. To better understand such pleiotropic effects, we evolved both haploid and diploid barcoded budding yeast populations in multiple environments, isolated adaptive clones, and then determined the fitness effects of adaptive mutations in 'non-home' environments in which they were not selected. We find that pleiotropy is common, with most adaptive evolved lineages showing fitness effects in non-home environments. Consistent with other studies, we find that these pleiotropic effects are unpredictable: they are beneficial in some environments and deleterious in others. However, we do find that lineages with adaptive mutations in the same genes tend to show similar pleiotropic effects. We also find that ploidy influences the observed adaptive mutational spectra in a condition-specific fashion. In some conditions, haploids and diploids are selected with adaptive mutations in identical genes, while in others they accumulate mutations in almost completely disjoint sets of genes.

All it takes is empathy: how virtual reality perspective-taking influences intergroup attitudes and stereotypes.

Research in the past decade has demonstrated the potential of virtual reality perspective-taking (VRPT) to reduce bias against salient outgroups. In the perspective-taking literature, both affective and cognitive mechanisms have been theorized and identified as plausible pathways to prejudice reduction. Few studies have systematically compared affective and cognitive mediators, especially in relation to virtual reality, a medium posited to produce visceral, affective experiences. The present study seeks to extend current research on VRPT's mechanisms by comparing empathy (affective) and situational attributions (cognitive) as dual mediators influencing intergroup attitudes (affective) and stereotypes (cognitive). In a between-subjects experiment, 84 participants were randomly assigned to embody a VR ingroup or outgroup waiting staff at a local food establishment, interacting with an impolite ingroup customer. Results indicated that participants in the outgroup VRPT condition reported significantly more positive attitudes and stereotypes towards outgroup members than those in the ingroup VRPT condition. For both attitudes and stereotypes, empathy significantly mediated the effect of VRPT, but situational attributions did not. Findings from this research provide support for affect as a key component of virtual experiences and how they shape intergroup perceptions. Implications and directions for further research are discussed.

Dedicated Early Morning Orthopaedic Trauma Operating Room Is Associated With Shorter Time to Surgery and Decreased Length of Hospital Stay for Children Undergoing Surgical Treatment of Supracondylar Humerus Fractures: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the use of a dedicated early morning orthopaedic trauma operating room (OR) resulted in shorter wait times, decreased surgical times, decreased length of stay (LOS), and decreased complications in children treated with urgent surgical intervention for supracondylar humerus fractures. METHODS: This retrospective comparative cohort study at a level I pediatric trauma center included patients younger than 12 years with supracondylar humerus fractures urgently treated with closed or open reduction and percutaneous pinning. Index surgical cases from April 28, 2013, to February 26, 2020, were included. Patients with prior humerus fracture, concomitant injuries, open fracture, pulseless supracondylar fracture, or missing data were excluded. Patients were analyzed based on the type of OR: dedicated early morning orthopaedic trauma OR or typical daytime orthopaedic OR. The primary outcome was time from presentation to surgery. Secondary outcomes included surgical time, complications, and LOS. RESULTS: A total of 401 patients with a mean age of 5 ± 2 (range: 1 to 11) years and a mean follow-up of 2.0 ± 2.1 (range: 0.5 to 25.0) months were included, of whom 137 patients (34%) underwent surgery in the early morning dedicated orthopaedic trauma OR. The dedicated early morning orthopaedic OR group had significantly less time from presentation to surgery (7.5 versus 9.4 hours; P = 0.0002) and shorter LOS (21.0 versus 24.0 hours; P = 0.004) compared with children treated in the typical daytime orthopaedic OR. Surgical time (31.1 versus 32.6 minutes; P = 0.40) and complication rates (5.8% versus 4.9%; P = 0.65) were similar between the groups. No revision surgery was required in either group. DISCUSSION: Surgical wait times were diminished with use of the dedicated early morning OR, as was LOS. Surgical times and complication rates were similar between groups. Institutions may consider adopting a dedicated early morning orthopaedic trauma OR to improve surgical wait times and decrease LOS. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

Small molecule screen identifies pyrimethamine as an inhibitor of NRF2-driven esophageal hyperplasia.

OBJECTIVE: NRF2 is a master transcription factor that regulates the stress response. NRF2 is frequently mutated and activated in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), which drives resistance to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Therefore, a great need exists for NRF2 inhibitors for targeted therapy of NRF2high ESCC. DESIGN: We performed high-throughput screening of two compound libraries from which hit compounds were further validated in human ESCC cells and a genetically modified mouse model. The mechanism of action of one compound was explored by biochemical assays. RESULTS: Using high-throughput screening of two small molecule compound libraries, we identified 11 hit compounds as potential NRF2 inhibitors with minimal cytotoxicity at specified concentrations. We then validated two of these compounds, pyrimethamine and mitoxantrone, by demonstrating their dose- and time-dependent inhibitory effects on the expression of NRF2 and its target genes in two NRF2Mut human ESCC cells (KYSE70 and KYSE180). RNAseq and qPCR confirmed the suppression of global NRF2 signaling by these two compounds. Mechanistically, pyrimethamine reduced NRF2 half-life by promoting NRF2 ubiquitination and degradation in KYSE70 and KYSE180 cells. Expression of an Nrf2E79Q allele in mouse esophageal epithelium (Sox2CreER;LSL-Nrf2E79Q/+) resulted in an NRF2high phenotype, which included squamous hyperplasia, hyperkeratinization, and hyperactive glycolysis. Treatment with pyrimethamine (30 mg/kg/day, p.o.) suppressed the NRF2high esophageal phenotype with no observed toxicity. CONCLUSION: We have identified and validated pyrimethamine as an NRF2 inhibitor that may be rapidly tested in the clinic for NRF2high ESCC.

Mosunetuzumab in combination with CHOP in previously untreated DLBCL: safety and efficacy results from a phase 2 study.

Up to 40% of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are refractory to or relapse after first-line therapy, highlighting the need for better treatments. Mosunetuzumab is a CD20 × CD3 bispecific antibody that engages and redirects T cells to eliminate malignant B cells. In this phase 2, open-label study (NCT03677141), 40 patients (52.5% with international prognostic index ≥3) with previously untreated DLBCL initiated 6 cycles of IV mosunetuzumab with CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) chemotherapy. Mosunetuzumab was administered in cycle 1 as step-up doses to mitigate cytokine release syndrome [CRS], and a dose of 30 mg was given on day 1 of cycles 2-6. Efficacy end points included objective and complete response rates, as determined by the investigator, via positron emission tomography-computed tomography, using Lugano 2014 criteria (87.5% and 85.0%, respectively). At a median follow-up of 32.0 months, the estimated 2-year progression-free survival and event-free survival rates were 65.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 49.5-81.4) and 60.4% (95% CI, 44.7-76.1), respectively. CRS occurred in 60.0% of patients; all events were grade 1 (45.0%) or grade 2 (15.0%) and occurred primarily in cycle 1. Mosunetuzumab-related grade ≥3 neurologic adverse events (AEs) potentially consistent with immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome occurred in 1 patient (2.5%). Grade 5 AEs were reported in 2 patients. Neutropenia occurred in 70.0% of patients, mostly during cycle 1 and was of short duration. These findings demonstrate promising activity and a manageable safety profile for mosunetuzumab-CHOP and warrant further investigation of mosunetuzumab in first-line combination regimens for DLBCL.

A chloroplast protein atlas reveals punctate structures and spatial organization of biosynthetic pathways.

Chloroplasts are eukaryotic photosynthetic organelles that drive the global carbon cycle. Despite their importance, our understanding of their protein composition, function, and spatial organization remains limited. Here, we determined the localizations of 1,034 candidate chloroplast proteins using fluorescent protein tagging in the model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The localizations provide insights into the functions of poorly characterized proteins; identify novel components of nucleoids, plastoglobules, and the pyrenoid; and reveal widespread protein targeting to multiple compartments. We discovered and further characterized cellular organizational features, including eleven chloroplast punctate structures, cytosolic crescent structures, and unexpected spatial distributions of enzymes within the chloroplast. We also used machine learning to predict the localizations of other nuclear-encoded Chlamydomonas proteins. The strains and localization atlas developed here will serve as a resource to accelerate studies of chloroplast architecture and functions.

Bat ASC2 suppresses inflammasomes and ameliorates inflammatory diseases.

Bats are special in their ability to live long and host many emerging viruses. Our previous studies showed that bats have altered inflammasomes, which are central players in aging and infection. However, the role of inflammasome signaling in combating inflammatory diseases remains poorly understood. Here, we report bat ASC2 as a potent negative regulator of inflammasomes. Bat ASC2 is highly expressed at both the mRNA and protein levels and is highly potent in inhibiting human and mouse inflammasomes. Transgenic expression of bat ASC2 in mice reduced the severity of peritonitis induced by gout crystals and ASC particles. Bat ASC2 also dampened inflammation induced by multiple viruses and reduced mortality of influenza A virus infection. Importantly, it also suppressed SARS-CoV-2-immune-complex-induced inflammasome activation. Four key residues were identified for the gain of function of bat ASC2. Our results demonstrate that bat ASC2 is an important negative regulator of inflammasomes with therapeutic potential in inflammatory diseases.

Preoperative Muscle Biopsy to Assess Motor End Plate Integrity as a Predictor for Successful Nerve Transfer: A Case Report.

CASE: A 60-year-old right-hand-dominant man was referred for persistent right deltoid weakness, lateral shoulder numbness, and severe functional deficit 3 months after undergoing proximal humerus open reduction and internal fixation with plate and fibular strut allograft. Deltoid muscle biopsy demonstrated motor end plate (MEP) degeneration. After partial radial-to-axillary nerve transfer, repeat deltoid muscle biopsy revealed successful regeneration of MEPs with reinnervation of deltoid confirmed with postnerve transfer electromyography. CONCLUSION: Selective nerve transfer can successfully rescue a denervated target muscle from further degeneration by restoration of healthy MEPs.

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged under immune selection.

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (B.1.1.529 lineage) escapes antibodies that neutralize the ancestral virus. We tested human serum panels from participants with differing infection and vaccination status using a multiplex surrogate virus neutralization assay targeting 20 sarbecoviruses. We found that bat and pangolin sarbecoviruses showed significantly less neutralization escape than the Omicron variant. We propose that SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged under immune selection pressure and are evolving differently from animal sarbecoviruses.

Case Report: Neuroblastoma-Like Schwannoma in a Domestic Short-Haired Cat.

An axillary mass was detected in a 6-year-old, neutered, male, domestic short-haired cat during a wellness exam. Gross examination following surgical removal revealed a discrete, deep subcutaneous, discoid mass that was between 0.5- and 0.7-cm-in-diameter and diffusely firm and white. Histologically, the mass was well-demarcated, partially encapsulated, and expanded the panniculus carnosus. It was composed of tightly packed, giant rosettes of radially arranged fusiform cells stacked in one to 10 layers with peripherally palisading nuclei and with centrally oriented, fibrillary, cytoplasmic processes, and collagenous fibers. Laminin immunoreactivity and ultrastructural examination highlighted a continuous basal lamina outside the plasma membrane of each neoplastic cell. Neoplastic cells were immunoreactive for GFAP, S100, periaxin, and Sox-10 and were immunonegative for synaptophysin, smooth muscle actin, and pancytokeratin. Collective findings were consistent with a diagnosis of neuroblastoma-like schwannoma. This is the first veterinary report of this rare variant of benign schwannoma.

Posttraumatic Ulnar Translocation of the Carpus: A Case Report and Brief Review of the Literature.

We report a case of posttraumatic ulnar translocation of the carpus, which resulted after a fall from a six-foot ladder. This patient presented with multiple injuries to the skull bones, face, and limbs. A diagnosis of ulnar translocation of the carpus was missed on initial radiographs. Ulnar translocations require a high clinical index of suspicion and should be considered in the context of any high-impact injury to the wrist. A volar fleck just distal to the radial articular surface represents evidence of ligamentous disruption and should alert physicians that a more severe injury may be present. Nonsurgical and surgical treatment options are reviewed.

Assessing COVID-19 risk with temporal indices and geographically weighted ordinal logistic regression in US counties.

PURPOSE: Research on the novel coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) mainly relies on cross-sectional data, but this approach fails to consider the temporal dimension of the pandemic. This study assesses three temporal dimensions of the COVID-19 infection risk in US counties, namely probability of occurrence, duration of the pandemic, and intensity of transmission, and investigate local patterns of the factors associated with these risks. METHODS: Analyzing daily data between January 22 and September 11, 2020, we categorize the contiguous US counties into four risk groups-High-Risk, Moderate-Risk, Mild-Risk, and Low-Risk-and then apply both conventional (i.e., non-spatial) and geographically weighted (i.e., spatial) ordinal logistic regression model to understand the county-level factors raising the COVID-19 infection risk. The comparisons of various model fit diagnostics indicate that the spatial models better capture the associations between COVID-19 risk and other factors. RESULTS: The key findings include (1) High- and Moderate-Risk counties are clustered in the Black Belt, the coastal areas, and Great Lakes regions. (2) Fragile labor markets (e.g., high percentages of unemployed and essential workers) and high housing inequality are associated with higher risks. (3) The Monte Carlo tests suggest that the associations between covariates and COVID-19 risk are spatially non-stationary. For example, counties in the northeastern region and Mississippi Valley experience a stronger impact of essential workers on COVID-19 risk than those in other regions, whereas the association between income ratio and COVID-19 risk is stronger in Texas and Louisiana. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 infection risk levels differ greatly across the US and their associations with structural inequality and sociodemographic composition are spatially non-stationary, suggesting that the same stimulus may not lead to the same change in COVID-19 risk. Potential interventions to lower COVID-19 risk should adopt a place-based perspective.

Evaluation of Extended Infusion Set Performance in Adults with Type 1 Diabetes: Infusion Set Survival Rate and Glycemic Outcomes from a Pivotal Trial.

Background: Standard insulin infusion sets (IISs) are to be replaced every 2 to 3 days to avoid complications and diabetic ketosis due to set failure. This pivotal trial evaluated the safety and performance of a new extended-wear infusion set (EIS) when used for 7 days by adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Methods: This single-arm, nonrandomized trial enrolled adults (18-80 years of age) with T1D, who used their own MiniMed™ 670G system with insulin lispro or insulin aspart and the EIS for up to 7 days, across 12 consecutive wears. Safety endpoints included incidence of serious adverse events (SAEs), serious adverse device effects (SADEs), unanticipated adverse device effects (UADEs), severe hypoglycemia (SevHypo), severe hyperglycemia (SevHyper), diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and skin infection. The EIS failure rate due to unexplained hyperglycemia (i.e., suspected occlusion), the overall EIS survival rate, glycemic control outcomes (i.e., A1C, mean sensor glucose and time spent in established glucose ranges), total daily insulin delivered, and satisfaction with the EIS were determined. Results: The intention to treat population (n = 259, 48% men, 45.0 ± 14.1 years) wore a total of 3041 EIS devices. No SADE, UADE, or DKA events was reported. Overall rates of SAEs, SevHypo, SevHyper, and skin infection were 3.8, 2.5, 104.1, and 20.1 events per 100 participant-years. The rate of EIS failure due to unexplained hyperglycemia at the end of day 7 was 0.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.03-0.51) and 0.4% (95% CI: 0.16-1.00) for insulin lispro and aspart use, respectively. Overall EIS survival rate at the end of day 7 was 77.8% (95% CI: 76.2-79.3), glycemic control did not change, and participants reported greater satisfaction with the EIS compared with standard IISs worn before the study (P < 0.001). Conclusions: This investigation demonstrates that the EIS, when worn for up to 7 days, was safe and rated with high satisfaction, without adversely affecting glycemic control in adults with T1D. Clinical Trial Registration number: NCT04113694 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04113694).

Differential escape of neutralizing antibodies by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and pre-emergent sarbecoviruses.

The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 lineage, Omicron variant, was first detected in November 2021 and carries 32 amino acid mutations in the spike protein (15 in RBD) and exhibits significant escape of neutralizing antibodies targeting the parental SARS-CoV-2 virus. Here, we performed a high-resolution multiplex (16-plex) surrogate virus neutralization assay covering all major SARS-CoV-2 variants and pre-emergent ACE2-binding sarbecoviruses against 20 different human serum panels from infected, vaccinated and hybrid immune individuals which had vaccine-breakthrough infections or infection followed by vaccination. Among all sarbecoviruses tested, we observed 1.1 to 4.7-, 2.3 to 10.3- and 0.7 to 33.3-fold reduction in neutralization activities to SARS-CoV-2 Beta, Omicron and SARS-CoV-1, respectively. Among the SARS-CoV-2 related sarbecoviruses, it is found that the genetically more distant bat RaTG13 and pangolin GX-P5L sarbecoviruses had less neutralization escape than Omicron. Our data suggest that the SARS-CoV-2 variants emerged from the changed immune landscape of human populations are more potent in escaping neutralizing antibodies, from infection or vaccination, than pre-emergent sarbecoviruses naturally evolved in animal populations with no or less immune selection pressure.

The ERα/KDM6B regulatory axis modulates osteogenic differentiation in human mesenchymal stem cells.

Osteoporosis is a highly prevalent public health burden associated with an increased risk of bone fracture, particularly in aging women. Estrogen, an important medicinal component for the preventative and therapeutic treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis, induces osteogenesis by activating the estrogen receptor signaling pathway and upregulating the expression of osteogenic genes, such as bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). The epigenetic regulation of estrogen-mediated osteogenesis, however, is still unclear. In this report, we found that estrogen significantly induced the expression of lysine-specific demethylase 6B (KDM6B) and that KDM6B depletion by shRNAs led to a significant reduction in the osteogenic potential of DMSCs. Mechanistically, upon estrogen stimulation, estrogen receptor-α (ERα) was recruited to the KDM6B promoter, directly enhancing KDM6B expression. Subsequently, KDM6B was recruited to the BMP2 and HOXC6 promoters, resulting in the removal of H3K27me3 marks and activating the transcription of BMP2 and HOXC6, the master genes of osteogenic differentiation. Furthermore, we found that estrogen enhanced DMSC osteogenesis during calvarial bone regeneration and that estrogen's pro-osteogenic effect was dependent on KDM6B in vivo. Taken together, our results demonstrate the vital role of the ERα/KDM6B regulatory axis in the epigenetic regulation of the estrogen-dependent osteogenic response.

The Effect of VR Avatar Embodiment on Improving Attitudes and Closeness Toward Immigrants.

Past research has discussed how the embodiment of an outgroup avatar in virtual reality (VR) can reduce intergroup bias. However, little is known about the mechanisms and boundary conditions that shape this effect. This study examines how the embodiment of both outgroup and ingroup VR avatars in different orders influences attitudes and perceived closeness toward a co-ethnic immigrant outgroup in Singapore. It also investigates the role of empathy and social identity orientation (SIO) in this relationship. An experiment with four avatar embodiment conditions (ingroup-then-outgroup, outgroup-then-ingroup, ingroup-only, and outgroup-only) was carried out with 171 participants from a public university in Singapore. Results showed that embodying an outgroup avatar alone, compared to embodying an ingroup avatar alone, significantly improves both attitudes and closeness toward an immigrant outgroup. The order of embodiment matters to an extent, suggesting the greater effectiveness of outgroup-first over ingroup-first embodiment in reducing bias. Empathy mediates the effect of all three outgroup embodiment conditions on improved attitudes and closeness toward immigrants. It was also found that the stronger one's SIO is, the more effective embodiment is in improving perceived closeness with the outgroup via empathy. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

Perspectives on the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Application Process During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation of away rotations and other experiences fundamental to orthopaedic surgery residency application. Limited information is available on the experiences of applicants and program directors (PDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic residency application cycle. This study aimed to evaluate the current perspectives of applicants and PDs regarding the orthopaedic surgery residency application process. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study using 2 independent but similar surveys that addressed multiple aspects of the application process during the COVID-19 pandemic, including perceived effect of virtual experiences. Between February and March 2021, the surveys were distributed to orthopaedic surgery applicants and orthopaedic residency PDs. RESULTS: In total, 113 applicants (20.1%) and 29 PDs (19.6%) completed the survey. Applicants applied to 97.6 programs and received 13.3 interviews. They participated in 2.4 virtual away rotations. In total, 79.3% of programs reported offering some form of virtual opportunity, including virtual away rotations (24.0%), virtual happy hours (64.0%), and virtual conferences (64.0%). Programs offering virtual away rotations hosted 46.8 rotators and only invited back 54.5% for an interview. Applicants were most concerned about the lack of away rotations, the interview, and networking during this cycle, and 51% reported less confidence in matching. The most important factors for influencing applicant rank lists were perceived happiness of residents, resident camaraderie, and geographic location. However, residency program social events were not well replicated in a virtual setting. DISCUSSION: The COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges for applicants and PDs. Applicants had less clinical exposure and received less interview invites after virtual away rotations. Despite applying to more programs, applicants received fewer interviews than in previous years. The virtual experiences adopted in this cycle did not adequately replicate the social factors that applicants found most important when ranking a program. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, PDs most highly valued away rotation performance, clinical rotation performance, and board examination scores when offering interviews.