In Brief The brain-type natriuretic peptide test is a laboratory study being used with increasing frequency to assist with a timely differential diagnosis of heart failure when patients present with dyspnea.
Proteins synthesized by soma located in L4 dorsal root ganglia and supplied to the axonal branches extending centrally in the dorsal root and peripherally towards the sciatic nerve were analyzed for radioactivity following injections of [3H] leucine into the L4 dorsal root ganglia. All proteins located in the dorsal root and sciatic nerve were analyzed by SDS acrylamide gel electrophoresis at various times post injection. The differences in radioactivity between the dorsal root and sciatic nerve proteins were mainly quantitative and not qualitative, with many proteins of various molecular weight ranges being transported into both segments. Generally, it appears that in both axonal branches the high molecular weight proteins are transported at the highest rate, medium weights slower and low molecular weight proteins slowest. More proteins of high and low molecular weights are transported into the dorsal root whereas more of those of medium molecular weight are transported towards the sciatic nerve.
The use of Virtual Reality (VR) technologies has been extensively researched in surgical and anatomical education. VR provides a lifelike and interactive environment where healthcare providers can practice and refresh their skills in a safe environment. VR has been shown to be as effective as traditional medical education teaching methods, with the potential to provide more cost-effective and convenient means of curriculum delivery, especially in rural and remote areas or in environments with limited access to hands-on training. In this sense, VR offers the potential to be used to support resuscitation training for healthcare providers such as the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP). The NRP program is an evidence-based and standardized approach for training healthcare providers on the resuscitation of the newborn. In this article, we describe a VR simulation environment that was designed and developed to refresh the skills of NRP providers. To validate this platform, we compared the VR-NRP simulation with exposure to 360-degree immersive video. We found that both VR technologies were positively viewed by healthcare professionals and performed very similarly to each other. However, the VR simulation provided a significantly increased feeling of presence. Furthermore, participants found the VR simulation more useful, leading to improved experiential learning outcomes. Also, participants using VR simulation reported higher confidence in certain NRP skills, such as proper mask placement and newborn response evaluation. This research represents a step forward in understanding how VR and related extended reality (XR) technologies can be applied for effective, immersive medical education, with potential benefits for remote and rural healthcare providers.