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Belt electrode-skeletal muscle electrical stimulation (B-SES) involves the use of belt-shaped electrodes to contract multiple muscle groups simultaneously. Twitch contractions have been demonstrated to protect against denervation-induced muscle atrophy in rats, possibly through mitochondrial biosynthesis. This study examined whether inducing tetanus contractions with B-SES suppresses muscle atrophy and identified the underlying molecular mechanisms. We evaluated the effects of acute (60 Hz, 5 min) and chronic (60 Hz, 5 min, every alternate day for one week) B-SES on the tibialis anterior (TA) and gastrocnemius (GAS) muscles in Sprague-Dawley rats using belt electrodes attached to both ankle joints. After acute stimulation, a significant decrease in the glycogen content was observed in the left and right TA and GAS, suggesting that B-SES causes simultaneous contractions in multiple muscle groups. B-SES enhanced p70S6K phosphorylation, an indicator of the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 activity. During chronic stimulations, rats were divided into control (CONT), denervation-induced atrophy (DEN), and DEN + electrically stimulated with B-SES (DEN + ES) groups. After seven days of treatment, the wet weight (n = 8-11 for each group) and muscle fiber cross-sectional area (CSA, n = 6 for each group) of the TA and GAS muscles were reduced in the DEN and DEN + ES groups compared with that in the CON group. The DEN + ES group showed significantly higher muscle weight and CSA than those in the DEN group. Although RNA-seq and pathway analysis suggested that mitochondrial biogenesis is a critical event in this phenomenon, mitochondrial content showed no difference. In contrast, ribosomal RNA 28S and 18S (n = 6) levels in the DEN + ES group were higher than those in the DEN group, even though RNA-seq showed that the ribosome biogenesis pathway was reduced by electrical stimulation. The mRNA levels of the muscle proteolytic molecules atrogin-1 and MuRF1 were significantly higher in DEN than those in CONT. However, they were more suppressed in DEN + ES than those in DEN. In conclusion, tetanic electrical stimulation of both ankles using belt electrodes effectively reduced denervation-induced atrophy in multiple muscle groups. Furthermore, ribosomal biosynthesis plays a vital role in this phenomenon., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The cell cycle dependence of radiosensitivity has yet to be fully determined, as it is technically difficult to achieve a high degree of cell cycle synchronization in cultured cell systems and accurately detect the cell cycle phase of individual cells simultaneously. We used human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells expressing fluorescent ubiquitination-based cell cycle indicators (FUCCI), and employed the mitotic harvesting method that is one of the cell cycle synchronization methods. The imaging analysis confirmed that the cell cycle is highly synchronized after mitotic cell harvesting until 18-20 h of the doubling time has elapsed. Also, flow cytometry analysis revealed that the S and G2 phases peak at approximately 12 and 14-16 h, respectively, after mitotic harvesting. In addition, the clonogenic assay showed the changes in surviving fractions following exposure to X-rays according to the progress through the cell cycle. These results indicate that HeLa-FUCCI cells become radioresistant in the G1 phase, become radiosensitive in the early S phase, rapidly become radioresistant in the late S phase, and become radiosensitive again in the G2 phase. Our findings may contribute to the further development of combinations of radiation and cell cycle-specific anticancer agents.

Inequitable uptake of novel therapies (NT) in non-cancer settings are known for patients with lower socioeconomic status (SES), People of Color (POC), and older adults. NT uptake equity in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is not well known. We performed a retrospective cohort study (1/2014-8/2022) of the United States nationwide Flatiron Health TM electronic health record-derived, de-identified database. We estimated sociodemographic associations with AML NT receipt using incidence rate ratios (IRR). Odds ratios (OR) assessed differences in venetoclax (the most common NT) receipt at community sites and between site characteristics and NT adoption. Of 8081 patients (139 sites), 3102 (38%) received a NT. NT use increased annually (IRR 1.14, 95% confidence interval [1.07, 1.22]). NT receipt was similar between Non-Hispanic-Whites and POC (IRR 1.03, [0.91, 1.17]) and as age increased (IRR 1.02 [0.97, 1.07]). At community sites, Non-Hispanic-Whites were less likely to receive venetoclax (OR 0.77 [0.66, 0.91]); older age (OR 1.05 [1.04, 1.05]) and higher area-level SES were associated with venetoclax receipt (OR 1.23 [1.05, 1.43]). Early NT adopting sites had more prescribing physicians (OR 1.25 [1.13, 1.43]) and higher SES strata patients (OR 2.81 [1.08, 7.66]). Inequities in AML NT uptake were seen by SES; for venetoclax, differential uptake reflects its label indication for older adults and those with comorbidities., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Introduction: The spread of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) is a serious concern in companion animal medicine owing to their ability to develop multidrug resistance. Cefmetazole (CMZ) is a candidate drug for treating ESBL-E infections; however, its regimen in dogs has not been established. In this study, we investigated the pharmacokinetic (PK) indices of CMZ in dogs and performed PK-pharmacodynamic (PD) analyses using Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS)., Methods: In total, six healthy dogs received an intravenous bolus dose of CMZ (40 mg/kg body weight). Serum CMZ concentrations were evaluated using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and PK indices were determined based on non-compartmental analysis. The PK-PD cut-off (COPD) values were calculated as the highest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) that achieved ≥90% probability of target attainment for a target value of unbounded drug concentration exceeding 40% of the dosing interval. The cumulative fraction of response (CFR) was calculated based on the MIC distribution of wild-type ESBL-E from companion animals., Results: The area under the concentration-time curve and elimination half-time were 103.36 ± 7.49 mg·h/L and 0.84 ± 0.07 h, respectively. MCS analysis revealed that COPD values for regimens of 40 mg/kg q12, q8h, and q6h were ≤ 0.5, ≤2, and ≤ 4 μg/mL, respectively. A regimen of 40 mg/kg q6h was estimated to achieve a CFR of 80-90% for Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae . By contrast, all regimens exhibited a CFR of ≤70% for Proteus mirabilis and Enterobacter cloacae., Discussion: We conclude that CMZ at 40 mg/kg q6h could be a viable treatment regimen for dogs infected with ESBL-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae ., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2023 Kusumoto, Motegi, Uno, Yokono and Harada.)

A prostate-targeted biopsy (TB) core is usually collected from a site where magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indicates possible cancer. However, the extent of the lesion is difficult to accurately predict using MRI or TB alone. Therefore, we performed several biopsies around the TB site (perilesional [p] TB) and analyzed the association between the positive cores obtained using TB and pTB and the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) scores. This retrospective study included patients who underwent prostate biopsies. The extent of pTB was defined as the area within 10 mm of a TB site. A total of 162 eligible patients were enrolled. Prostate cancer (PCa) was diagnosed in 75.2% of patients undergoing TB, with a positivity rate of 50.7% for a PI-RADS score of 3, 95.8% for a PI-RADS score of 4, and 100% for a PI-RADS score of 5. Patients diagnosed with PCa according to both TB and pTB had significantly higher positivity rates for PI-RADS scores of 4 and 5 than for a PI-RADS score of 3 ( p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0009, respectively). Additional pTB may be performed in patients with PI-RADS ≥ 4 regions of interest for assessing PCa malignancy.

The synthesis of sulfur-embedded hexapyrrolohexaazacoronene (HPHAC) analog 2 and its corresponding desulfurized and rearranged compounds was achieved from tetrafluoroisothianaphthene. Structures of all the new π-skeletons were determined by X-ray crystallography. Comparison of the electronic spectrum of 2 with those of its derivatives revealed less involvement of the sulfur atom in π-conjugation. Similar to the reference HPHAC ( 1 ), compound 2 and its derivatives exhibited reversible oxidation behavior. The aromaticity of both neutral and dication states has been investigated through DFT calculations.

Research into the application of antiaromatic compounds as molecular materials is an attractive strategy in the development of electronic materials. Antiaromatic compounds have traditionally been considered to be unstable, and thus, the creation of stable antiaromatic compounds has been sought in the field of organic chemistry. Recently, some studies have been reported on the synthesis, isolation, and elucidation of the physical properties of compounds with stability and definitive antiaromatic properties. In general, antiaromatic compounds are considered to be more susceptible to substituents due to their inherently narrow HOMO-LUMO gap compared to aromatic compounds. However, there have been no studies examining substituent effects in antiaromatic compounds. In this study, we have developed a synthetic method to introduce various substituents into π-extended hexapyrrolohexaazacoronene (homoHPHAC + ), one of the stable and clearly antiaromatic compounds, and investigated the substituent effects on the optical, redox, and geometrical properties and paratropicity of a series of compounds. In addition, the properties of the two-electron oxidized form, homoHPHAC 3+ , were investigated. Control of electronic properties by introducing substituents into antiaromatic compounds provides a new design guideline for molecular materials., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Adult survivors of pediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumors are at the highest risk for morbidity and late mortality among all childhood cancers due to a high burden of chronic conditions, and environmental and lifestyle factors. This study aims to epidemiologically characterize young adult survivors of pediatric CNS tumors using body mass index (BMI) to assess risk factors for obesity. Using a cross-sectional design, young adults (18-39 years) previously treated for pediatric CNS tumors and followed in a survivorship clinic during 2016-2021 were examined. Demographic, BMI, and diagnosis information were extracted from medical records of the most recent clinic visit. Data were assessed using a two-sample t-test, Fisher's exact test, and multivariable logistical regression. 198 survivors (53% female, 84.3% White) with a BMI status of underweight (4.0%), healthy weight (40.9%), overweight (26.8%), obesity (20.2%), and severe obesity (8.1%) were examined. Male sex (OR, 2.414; 95% CI, 1.321 to 4.414), older age at follow-up (OR, 1.103; 95% CI, 1.037 to 1.173), and craniopharyngioma diagnosis (OR, 5.764; 95% CI, 1.197 to 27.751) were identified as significant ( p < 0.05) obesity-related (≥25.0 kg/m 2 ) risk factors. The majority of patients were overweight or obese. As such, universal screening efforts with more precise determinants of body composition than BMI, risk stratification, and targeted lifestyle interventions are warranted during survivorship care.

Background: More than 75% of patients with breast cancer treated with chemotherapy experience cognitive impairments (eg, memory and attention problems), commonly known as chemo-brain. Exercise, especially aerobic high-intensity interval training (HIIT), is associated with better cognitive function in healthy populations. However, clinical trials testing the impact of exercise interventions on chemotherapy-induced cognitive decline in patients with cancer are lacking, and the mechanisms through which exercise could improve cognitive function are unclear., Objective: The objective of the Improving Cognitive Function Through High-Intensity Interval Training in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy trial is to examine the effects of HIIT on cognitive function in patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy., Methods: This 2-arm, single-center, pilot randomized controlled trial will randomize 50 patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy to HIIT or attention control. The HIIT group will perform a supervised 16-week, thrice-weekly intervention, with each session including a 5-minute warm-up at 10% maximal power output (POmax), 10 sets of alternating 1-minute high-intensity (90% POmax) and 1-minute recovery (10% POmax) intervals, and a 5-minute cooldown (10% POmax). The attention control group will receive a stretching program with no exercise components and be asked to maintain their exercise levels for 16 weeks. The primary outcomes of the study are executive function and memory measured using the National Institutes of Health toolbox and resting-state connectivity and diffusion tensor imaging microstructure evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging. The secondary and tertiary outcomes include cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, physical fitness, and psychosocial health. The study has been approved by the institutional review board of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (20-222)., Results: The trial was funded in January 2019, with recruitment started in June 2021. As of May 2022, a total of 4 patients have consented and been randomized (n=2, 50% to exercise; n=1, 25% to control; and n=1, 25% nonrandomized). Trial completion is expected in January 2024., Conclusions: This first-of-its-kind study incorporates a novel exercise intervention (ie, HIIT) and comprehensive cognitive measures. If positive, our findings will establish the pilot efficacy of HIIT on chemotherapy-induced cognitive function in patients with breast cancer, providing the foundation for future larger phase-II and phase-III trials to confirm the findings and potentially establish HIIT as a standard of care for women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04724499; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04724499., International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): DERR1-10.2196/39740., (©Rebekah Wilson, Dong-Woo Kang, Meghan Tahbaz, Mary Norris, Hajime Uno, Jennifer Ligibel, Jeffrey Guenette, Cameron Christopher, Christina Dieli-Conwright. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 07.04.2023.)

Background: Oncologists often order genomic testing to inform treatment for worsening cancer. The resulting correlation between genomic testing timing and prognosis, or "informative entry," can bias observational clinico-genomic research. The efficacy of existing approaches to this problem in clinico-genomic cohorts is poorly understood., Methods: We simulated clinico-genomic cohorts followed from an index date to death. Subgroups in each cohort who underwent genomic testing before death were "observed." We varied data generation parameters under four scenarios: (i) independent testing and survival times; (ii) correlated testing and survival times for all patients; (iii) correlated testing and survival times for a subset of patients; and (iv) testing and mortality exclusively following progression events. We examined the behavior of conditional Kendall tau (Tc) statistics, Cox entry time coefficients, and biases in overall survival (OS) estimation and biomarker inference across scenarios., Results: Scenario #1 yielded null Tc and Cox entry time coefficients and unbiased OS inference. Scenario #2 yielded positive Tc, negative Cox entry time coefficients, underestimated OS, and biomarker associations biased toward the null. Scenario #3 yielded negative Tc, positive Cox entry time coefficients, and underestimated OS, but biomarker estimates were less biased. Scenario #4 yielded null Tc and Cox entry time coefficients, underestimated OS, and biased biomarker estimates. Transformation and copula modeling did not provide unbiased results., Conclusions: Approaches to informative clinico-genomic cohort entry, including Tc and Cox entry time statistics, are sensitive to heterogeneity in genotyping and survival time distributions., Impact: Novel methods are needed for unbiased inference using observational clinico-genomic data., (©2023 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Accurate risk stratification is key to reducing cancer morbidity through targeted screening and preventative interventions. Multiple breast cancer risk prediction models are used in clinical practice, and often provide a range of different predictions for the same patient. Integrating information from different models may improve the accuracy of predictions, which would be valuable for both clinicians and patients. BRCAPRO is a widely used model that predicts breast cancer risk based on detailed family history information. A major limitation of this model is that it does not consider non-genetic risk factors. To address this limitation, we expand BRCAPRO by combining it with another popular existing model, BCRAT (i.e., Gail), which uses a largely complementary set of risk factors, most of them non-genetic. We consider two approaches for combining BRCAPRO and BCRAT: (1) modifying the penetrance (age-specific probability of developing cancer given genotype) functions in BRCAPRO using relative hazard estimates from BCRAT, and (2) training an ensemble model that takes BRCAPRO and BCRAT predictions as input. Using both simulated data and data from Newton-Wellesley Hospital and the Cancer Genetics Network, we show that the combination models are able to achieve performance gains over both BRCAPRO and BCRAT. In the Cancer Genetics Network cohort, we show that the proposed BRCAPRO + BCRAT penetrance modification model performs comparably to IBIS, an existing model that combines detailed family history with non-genetic risk factors.

The cell cycle is a series of events in the process of one cell giving rise to two daughter cells. The mitotic harvesting method, established by Terasima and Tolmach in the 1960s, causes minimal physiological stress on the cells and achieves a high degree of cell cycle synchrony by collecting only mitotic cells from a cultured cell system. The purpose of the present study is to validate the versatility of the mitotic harvesting method using human cervical cell line HeLa cells expressing Fluorescent Ubiquitination-based Cell Cycle Indicators (FUCCI) and to estimate the cell cycle-dependent changes in radiosensitivity in HeLa-FUCCI cells. The image analysis showed that cell cycle synchrony was maintained for at least 24 hours after mitotic cell collection. Also, the clonogenic assay demonstrated changes in radiosensitivity that were cell cycle dependent. These results indicate that the mitotic harvesting method using FUCCI-expressing cells has high versatility in the field of radiation cell biology.

Background: People with HIV (PWH) have increased frailty risk at younger ages compared with the general population. Multimorbidity is associated with frailty, yet effects of specific comorbidities on transition to frailty in PWH are unknown., Setting: Prospective study of 219 PWH age 45 years or older in the National NeuroAIDS Tissue Consortium., Methods: Frailty status was categorized using Fried frailty phenotype criteria. Comorbidities [bone disease, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, liver disease, renal disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension, obesity, cancers, neuropsychiatric conditions] were assessed from longitudinal data. Associations between baseline comorbidities and transition to frailty within 30 months were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression models. Grip strength was assessed using mixed-effects models., Results: At baseline, the median age was 61 years, 73% were male 98% were on antiretroviral therapy, 29% had ≥3 comorbidities, 27% were robust, and 73% were pre-frail. Cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, and COPD were independent predictors of transition to frailty within 30 months in models adjusted for age, sex, and multimorbidity (≥3 additional comorbidities) [hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) 2.52 (1.29 to 4.93), 2.31 (1.12 to 4.76), and 1.82 (0.95 to 3.48), respectively]. Furthermore, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, COPD, or liver disease co-occurring with multimorbidity was associated with substantially increased frailty hazards compared with multimorbidity alone (hazard ratios 4.75-7.46). Cerebrovascular disease was associated with decreased baseline grip strength (P = 0.0001), whereas multimorbidity, diabetes, and COPD were associated with declining grip strength (P < 0.10)., Conclusions: In older PWH, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, COPD, or liver disease co-occurring with multimorbidity is associated with substantially increased risk of becoming frail within 30 months. Interventions targeting these comorbidities may ameliorate frailty and age-related functional decline in PWH., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Belt electrode skeletal muscle electrical stimulation (B-SES) can simultaneously contract multiple muscle groups. Although the beneficial effects of B-SES in clinical situations have been elucidated, its molecular mechanism remains unknown. In this study, we developed a novel rodent B-SES ankle stimulation system to test whether low-frequency stimulation prevents denervation-induced muscle atrophy. Electrical stimulations (7‒8 Hz, 30 min) with ankle belt electrodes were applied to Sprague-Dawley rats daily for one week. All animals were assigned to the control (CONT), denervation-induced atrophy (DEN), and DEN + electrical stimulation (ES) groups. The tibialis anterior (TA) and gastrocnemius (GAS) muscles were used to examine the effect of ES treatment. After seven daily sessions of continuous stimulation, muscle wet weight (n = 8-11), and muscle fiber cross-sectional area (CSA, n = 4-6) of TA and GAS muscles were lower in DEN and DEN + ES than in CON. However, it was significantly higher in DEN than DEN + ES, showing that ES partially prevented muscle atrophy. PGC-1α, COX-IV, and citrate synthase activities (n = 6) were significantly higher in DEN + ES than in DEN. The mRNA levels of muscle proteolytic molecules, Atrogin-1 and Murf1, were significantly higher in DEN than in CONT, while B-SES significantly suppressed their expression (p < 0.05). In conclusion, low-frequency electrical stimulation of the bilateral ankles using belt electrodes (but not the pad electrodes) is effective in preventing denervation-induced atrophy in multiple muscles, which has not been observed with pad electrodes. Maintaining the mitochondrial quantity and enzyme activity by low-frequency electrical stimulation is key to suppressing muscle protein degradation., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Purpose: Models used to predict the probability of an individual having a pathogenic homozygous or heterozygous variant in a mismatch repair gene, such as MMRpro, are widely used. Recently, MMRpro was updated with new colorectal cancer penetrance estimates. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive performance of MMRpro and other models for individuals with a family history of colorectal cancer., Methods: We performed a validation study of 4 models, Leiden, MMRpredict, PREMM 5 , and MMRpro, using 784 members of clinic-based families from the United States. Predicted probabilities were compared with germline testing results and evaluated for discrimination, calibration, and predictive accuracy. We analyzed several strategies to combine models and improve predictive performance., Results: MMRpro with additional tumor information (MMRpro+) and PREMM 5 outperformed the other models in discrimination and predictive accuracy. MMRpro+ was the best calibrated with an observed to expected ratio of 0.98 (95% CI = 0.89-1.08). The combination models showed improvement over PREMM 5 and performed similar to MMRpro+., Conclusion: MMRpro+ and PREMM 5 performed well in predicting the probability of having a pathogenic homozygous or heterozygous variant in a mismatch repair gene. They serve as useful clinical decision tools for identifying individuals who would benefit greatly from screening and prevention strategies., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest G.P. is a cofounder and equity holder in Phaeno Inc., a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Konica Minolta Precision Medicine, Inc (which includes Ambry Genetics and Invicro), and a consultant for Delfi Diagnostics and Foundation Medicine, Inc. D.B. and G.P. colead the BayesMendel lab, which develops and maintains the BayesMendel software package. This includes a variety of risk assessment tools including BRCAPRO, PancPRO, MelaPRO, MMRpro, and PanelPRO and is licensed for commercial use. All licensing revenues are used for software maintenance and upgrades. Neither BayesMendel lab leaders nor members derive personal income from BayesMendel licenses. D.B. and G.P. are coinventor of the Ask2me tool, which is commercially licensed. D.B.’s conflicts of interest are managed by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. S.S. has been a consultant for Myriad Genetics, Inc and has rights to the inventor portion of licensing revenues for the PREMM model. Z.K.S.’s immediate family member serves as a consultant in Ophthalmology for Alcon, Adverum Biotechnologies, Gyroscope Therapeutics Limited, Neurogene Inc, and REGENXBIO Inc, outside the submitted work. All other authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Robust estimates of demographic parameters are critical for effective wildlife conservation and management but are difficult to obtain for elusive species. We estimated the breeding and adult population sizes, as well as the minimum population size, in a high-density brown bear population on the Shiretoko Peninsula, in Hokkaido, Japan, using DNA-based pedigree reconstruction. A total of 1288 individuals, collected in and around the Shiretoko Peninsula between 1998 and 2020, were genotyped at 21 microsatellite loci. Among them, 499 individuals were identified by intensive genetic sampling conducted in two consecutive years (2019 and 2020) mainly by noninvasive methods (e.g., hair and fecal DNA). Among them, both parents were assigned for 330 bears, and either maternity or paternity was assigned to 47 and 76 individuals, respectively. The subsequent pedigree reconstruction indicated a range of breeding and adult (≥4 years old) population sizes: 128-173 for female breeders and 66-91 male breeders, and 155-200 for female adults and 84-109 male adults. The minimum population size was estimated to be 449 (252 females and 197 males) in 2019. Long-term continuous genetic sampling prior to a short-term intensive survey would enable parentage to be identified in a population with a high probability, thus enabling reliable estimates of breeding population size for elusive species., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2022 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Importance: Medicare's Oncology Care Model (OCM) was an alternative payment model that tied performance-based payments to cost and quality goals for participating oncology practices. A major concern about the OCM regarded inclusion of high-cost cancer therapies, which could potentially disincentivize oncologists from prescribing novel therapies., Objective: To examine whether oncologist participation in the OCM changed the likelihood that patients received novel therapies vs alternative treatments., Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program data and Medicare claims compared patient receipt of novel therapies for patients treated by oncologists participating vs not participating in the OCM in the period before (January 2015-June 2016) and after (July 2016-December 2018) OCM initiation. Participants included Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries in SEER registries who were eligible to receive 1 of 10 novel cancer therapies that received US Food and Drug Administration approval in the 18 months before implementation of the OCM. The study excluded the Hawaii registry because complete data were not available at the time of the data request. Patients in the OCM vs non-OCM groups were matched on novel therapy cohort, outcome time period, and oncologist specialist status. Analysis was conducted between July 2021 and April 2022., Exposures: Oncologist participation in the OCM., Main Outcomes and Measures: Preplanned analyses evaluated patient receipt of 1 of 10 novel therapies vs alternative therapies specific to the patient's cancer for the overall study sample and for racial subgroups., Results: The study included 2839 matched patients (760 in the OCM group and 2079 in the non-OCM group; median [IQR] age, 72.7 [68.3-77.6] years; 1591 women [56.0%]). Among patients in the non-OCM group, 33.2% received novel therapies before and 40.1% received novel therapies after the start of the OCM vs 39.9% and 50.3% of patients in the OCM group (adjusted difference-in-differences, 3.5 percentage points; 95% CI, -3.7 to 10.7 percentage points; P = .34). In subgroup analyses, second-line immunotherapy use in lung cancer was greater among patients in the OCM group vs non-OCM group (adjusted difference-in-differences, 17.4 percentage points; 95% CI, 4.8-30.0 percentage points; P = .007), but no differences were seen in other subgroups. Over the entire study period, patients with oncologists participating in the OCM were more likely to receive novel therapies than those with oncologists who were not participating (odds ratio, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.09-1.97; P = .01)., Conclusions and Relevance: This study found that participation in the OCM was not associated with oncologists' prescribing novel therapies to Medicare beneficiaries with cancer. These findings suggest that OCM financial incentives did not decrease patient access to novel therapies.

Importance: Challenges in the therapeutic relationship between clinicians and parents of children with cancer have been shown to emerge immediately after diagnosis, but little is known about whether such relationships improve over time., Objective: To better understand the potential evolution of parent-clinician relationships over the first year after diagnosis of pediatric cancer., Design, Setting, and Participants: This survey study was conducted from November 2015 to September 2020 at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Boston Children's Hospital and Texas Children's Hospital. Participants were oncology clinicians (attending physicians and fellows or nurse practitioners) and parents of children (aged <18 years) with a cancer diagnosis. Surveys were completed at study enrollment (soon after diagnosis [baseline]) and at the 3-month and 12-month follow-up., Exposures: Children had to have had at least 3 previous clinical visits with a primary oncology clinician., Main Outcomes and Measures: Survey instruments included the parent and clinician versions of the Relationship Challenges Scale, and factors associated with changes in relationships, including parental, clinician, and health care system attributes, were measured., Results: Survey participants included 150 parents (118 women [78.7%]; 98 with White race and ethnicity [65.3%]) and 49 clinicians (39 [79.6%] women; 39 with White race and ethnicity [79.6%]). Parents reported on 175 relationships with clinicians, and clinicians reported on 98 relationships with parents at all 3 time points (baseline, 3-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up). Of the 175 relationships, 33 (18.9%) were considered to be challenging by parents at baseline, 27 (15.4%) were considered to be challenging at the 3-month follow-up, and 32 (18.3%) were considered to be challenging at the 12-month follow-up. Of the 33 challenging relationships at baseline, 20 (60.6%) resolved at the 12-month follow-up, whereas 13 (39.4%) had persistent challenges. However, 19 relationships that were not challenging at baseline had new challenges at the 12-month follow-up, corresponding to 59.4% of all challenges at the 12-month follow-up. No clinician behaviors were associated with improvement. Strategies used frequently (≥50%) by clinicians in their relationships that were associated with improvement included holding family meetings, apologizing, adapting to the parent's communication style, and devoting extra time and attention., Conclusions and Relevance: Results of this study showed that some parents experienced challenging relationships with their child's oncology clinicians beginning at diagnosis and throughout the first year after diagnosis. Although many such relationships improved, others worsened, reflecting the vulnerable and stressful nature of parent-clinician relationships.

Mammals exhibit several types of diel activity pattern, including nocturnal, diurnal, crepuscular, and cathemeral. These patterns vary inter- and intra-specifically and are affected by environmental factors, individual status, and interactions with other individuals or species. Determining the factors that shape diel activity patterns is challenging but essential for understanding the behavioral ecology of animal species, and for wildlife conservation and management. Using camera-trap surveys, we investigated the species distributions and activity patterns of terrestrial mammals on the Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido, Japan, with particular focus on brown bears and sika deer. From June to October 2019, a total of 7,530 observations were recorded by 65 camera-traps for eight species, including two alien species. The diel activity pattern of brown bears was diurnal/crepuscular, similar to that of bears in North America, but different from European populations. Bear observations were more frequent during the autumnal hyperphagia period, and adult females and sub-adults were more diurnal than adult males. In addition, bears inside the protected area were more diurnal than those outside it. These findings suggest that appetite motivation, competitive interactions between conspecifics, and human activities potentially affect bear activity patterns. Similar to other sika deer populations and other deer species, the diel activity patterns of sika deer were crepuscular. Deer showed less variation in activity patterns among months and sex-age classes, while adult males were observed more frequently during the autumn copulation period, suggesting that reproductive motivation affects their activity patterns.

Purpose: We examined radiation therapy (RT) use among patients with early-stage breast cancer and analyzed the contribution of patient, cancer, and regional factors to the likelihood of RT receipt across Health Service Areas., Methods and Materials: We identified 13,176 patients aged 66 to 79 years in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program-Medicare database who were diagnosed with lymph node-negative breast cancer in 2007 to 2011 and were treated with breast-conserving surgery. Patients were stratified as being at high risk or low risk for recurrence based on National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines. Receipt of RT was studied with 5 modeling approaches to determine whether RT use and regional variation in its use changed based on the risk level of the cohort. Multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression was performed for each outcome. Choropleth maps were used to describe patterns of RT use., Results: Among high-risk patients, 70.1% received RT, compared with 72.6% of low-risk patients ( P  = .002). Among patients receiving RT, 60.9% were classified as high-risk, compared with 63.0% of patients who did not receive RT ( P  = .002). In multivariable analyses, patients in all rural areas had lower odds of receiving RT compared with the entire cohort (odds ratio [OR], 0.73; P < .001) and had lower odds of being high-risk and receiving RT (OR, 0.69; P < .001). Black patients (OR, 0.73; P  = .001) and Asian patients (OR, 0.74; P  = .004) had decreased likelihood of receiving RT compared with the entire cohort. The regional interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the model predicting receipt of RT among all patients was 0.05 and among low-risk patients was 0.06. The regional ICC dropped to 0.02 for the model predicting being both high-risk and receiving RT among all patients., Conclusions: We observed regional and racial and ethnic disparities in RT receipt among our cohort. Reassuringly, less regional variability was observed for RT receipt among those at high risk for recurrence. Future work is needed to understand the causes of these regional disparities to better serve patients who may benefit from treatment., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

Background: Obesity is a significant contributor to breast cancer recurrence and mortality. A central mechanism by which obesity stimulates cancer progression is through chronic, low-grade inflammation in adipose tissue. Exercise interventions to target chronic inflammation has a potential to improve obesity- and breast cancer-related outcomes; however, no studies have investigated the roles of exercise in modulating adipose tissue inflammation in breast cancer survivors. Also, it is unclear which exercise prescription would be optimal to maximize the outcomes. Therefore, we designed a randomized controlled trial (Taking AIM at Breast Cancer: Targeting Adiposity and Inflammation with Movement to Improve Prognosis in Breast Cancer Survivors [AIM] Trial) to examine the mechanisms by which different modalities of exercise impact chronic inflammation as a biomarker of breast cancer prognosis., Methods: The AIM trial is a prospective, three-armed, phase II randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of a 16-week supervised circuit aerobic and resistance exercise (CARE) program versus a traditional aerobic and resistance exercise (TARE) program and attention control (AC) on adipose tissue inflammation in breast cancer survivors. 276 patients who are diagnosed with stage 0-III breast cancer, post-treatment, sedentary, and centrally obese are randomized to one of the three groups. The CARE and TARE groups participate in thrice-weekly supervised exercise sessions for 16 weeks. The AC group are offered the CARE program after the intervention period. The primary endpoint is adipose tissue inflammation assessed by core biopsy and blood draw. The secondary and tertiary endpoints are sarcopenic obesity, physical fitness and function, and patient reported outcomes. The exploratory outcomes are long-term breast cancer outcomes., Discussion: This is the first randomized controlled trial examining the effects of exercise on adipose tissue inflammation in obese, breast cancer survivors. Our findings are anticipated to contribute to a better understanding of exercise modalities and mechanisms on adipose tissue inflammation that can potentially improve breast cancer prognosis., Clinical Trial Registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03091842 identifier [NCT#03091842]., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Kang, Wilson, Gonzalo-Encabo, Norris, Hans, Tahbaz, Dawson, Nguyen, Normann, Yunker, Sami, Uno, Ligibel, Mittelman and Dieli-Conwright.)

Background: Many cancer patients experience high symptom burden. Healthcare in the USA is reactive, not proactive, and doctor-patient communication is often suboptimal. As a result, symptomatic patients may suffer between clinic visits. In research settings, systematic assessment of electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs), coupled with clinical responses to severe symptoms, has eased this symptom burden, improved health-related quality of life, reduced acute care needs, and extended survival. Implementing ePRO-based symptom management programs in routine care is challenging. To study methods to overcome the implementation gap and improve symptom control for cancer patients, the National Cancer Institute created the Cancer-Moonshot funded Improving the Management of symPtoms during And following Cancer Treatment (IMPACT) Consortium., Methods: Symptom Management IMplementation of Patient Reported Outcomes in Oncology (SIMPRO) is one of three research centers that make up the IMPACT Consortium. SIMPRO, a multi-disciplinary team of investigators from six US health systems, seeks to develop, test, and integrate an electronic symptom management program (eSyM) for medical oncology and surgery patients into the Epic electronic health record (EHR) system and associated patient portal. eSyM supports real-time symptom tracking for patients, automated clinician alerts for severe symptoms, and specialized reports to facilitate population management. To rigorously evaluate its impact, eSyM is deployed through a pragmatic stepped wedge cluster-randomized trial. The primary study outcome is the occurrence of an emergency department treat-and-release event within 30 days of starting chemotherapy or being discharged following surgery. Secondary outcomes include hospitalization rates, chemotherapy use (time to initiation and duration of therapy), and patient quality of life and satisfaction. As a type II hybrid effectiveness-implementation study, facilitators and barriers to implementation are assessed throughout the project., Discussion: Creating and deploying eSyM requires collaboration between dozens of staff across diverse health systems, dedicated engagement of patient advocates, and robust support from Epic. This trial will evaluate eSyM in routine care settings across academic and community-based healthcare systems serving patients in rural and metropolitan locations. This trial's pragmatic design will promote generalizable results about the uptake, acceptability, and impact of an EHR-integrated, ePRO-based symptom management program., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03850912 . Registered on February 22, 2019. Last updated on November 9, 2021., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Latina and Hispanic breast cancer survivors (LHBCS) are at increased risk for long-term complications and poorer metabolic health, including metabolic dysregulation (MetD) before and following breast cancer diagnosis. MetD can increase risk of cancer recurrence, death, and comorbid conditions by increasing inflammation and cancer cell proliferation. While exercise improves physical fitness and metabolic outcomes in breast cancer survivors, there is a lack of studies including underrepresented and disadvantaged minority groups such as LHBCS., Methods: Our 12-month randomized (exercise or attention control) controlled trial (the ROSA trial) aims to utilize a progressive combined aerobic and resistance exercise program to improve MetD, insulin resistance, and visceral adiposity among obese LHBCS. We aim to recruit 160 women with Stage I-III breast cancer who are sedentary, centrally obese, and have completed treatment (e.g., surgery, radiation, chemotherapy) prior to enrollment. Participants randomized to the exercise group receive 16-weeks of virtually supervised aerobic and resistance training, followed by 16-weeks of unsupervised home-based aerobic and resistance exercise, and 16-weeks of follow-up. The attention control group receive a 12-month home-based stretching program. Primary and secondary outcomes are measured every 4-weeks during study visits., Discussion: The ROSA trial is the first exercise oncology trial targeting high-risk sedentary, obese LHBCS to improve MetD-related outcomes. Results of this trial will help illuminate how exercise impacts health-related outcomes, survivorship, and recurrence, and inform future exercise oncology guidelines to reduce health disparities among minority cancer survivors., Competing Interests: Author FF was employed by the company Gerson Lehrman Group, LLC. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Gonzalo-Encabo, Wilson, Kang, Norris, Uno, Christopher, Chow, Sami, Fox, Ligibel and Dieli-Conwright.)

We conducted a randomized controlled trial in older adults with hematologic malignancies to determine the impact of geriatrician consultation embedded in our oncology clinic alongside standard care. From February 2015 to May 2018, transplant-ineligible patients aged ≥75 years who presented for initial consultation for lymphoma, leukemia, or multiple myeloma at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston, MA, USA) were eligible. Pre-frail and frail patients, classified based on phenotypic and deficit-accumulation approaches, were randomized to receive either standard oncologic care with or without consultation with a geriatrician. The primary outcome was 1-year overall survival. Secondary outcomes included unplanned care utilization within 6 months of follow-up and documented end-of-life (EOL) goals-of-care discussions. Clinicians were surveyed as to their impressions of geriatric consultation. One hundred sixty patients were randomized to either geriatric consultation plus standard care (n=60) or standard care alone (n=100). The median age of the patients was 80.4 years (standard deviation = 4.2). Of those randomized to geriatric consultation, 48 (80%) completed at least one visit with a geriatrician. Consultation did not improve survival at 1 year compared to standard care (difference: 2.9%, 95% confidence interval: -9.5% to 15.2%, P=0.65), and did not significantly reduce the incidence of emergency department visits, hospital admissions, or days in hospital. Consultation did improve the odds of having EOL goals-of-care discussions (odds ratio = 3.12, 95% confidence interval: 1.03 to 9.41) and was valued by surveyed hematologic-oncology clinicians, with 62.9%-88.2% of them rating consultation as useful in the management of several geriatric domains.

Identifying appropriate indicator species for the impact of deer on forest vegetation is crucial for forest management in deer habitats and is required to be sensitive to temporal and spatial variations in deer density. Dryopteris crassirhizoma was selected as a new indicator to evaluate the response to these variations. We examined the population-level characteristics, morphological characteristics at the individual level, and grazing intensity of D. crassirhizoma at temporally different deer density sites in Hokkaido, Japan. The response of D. crassirhizoma to spatial variation in deer density was also examined within and between two regions in Hokkaido, Japan. Although the population-level characteristics and morphological characteristics did not significantly respond to short-term decreases in deer density, grazing intensity significantly decreased with decreasing deer density. The grazing intensity was also positively related to the spatial variation of deer density within both regions, but the estimated coefficient of the grazing intensity differed between regions. We concluded that D. crassirhizoma can be a useful indicator species of the impact of deer on forest vegetation. The grazing intensity of the indicator species was sensitive to temporal and spatial variations in deer density within the region.

DNA microarrays are useful to detect microorganisms for various purposes including clinical testing and food safety. However, conventional DNA microarrays need complicated operations such as amplification, fluorescence labeling, and washing steps. To address this issue, we previously developed the signaling probe-based DNA microarray system that can eliminate these steps, and demonstrated a direct detection of bacterial genes. Nonetheless, this system requires well-designed probe sets due to the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based mode of action. Up to date, the probe design was highly dependent on the trial-and-error processes. In this study, we propose a strategy to rationally design the sequences of signaling probes based on the thermodynamic analysis. This analysis aided to improve the probe performance approximately 2.8 times, without experiments, by suppressing the secondary structure formation of the probes. We successfully demonstrated the specific and amplification-free detection of 5S rRNA from total RNA extracted from Escherichia coli within 30 min., (Copyright © 2021 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: There is limited knowledge about the cost patterns of patients who receive a diagnosis of de novo and recurrent advanced cancers in the United States., Methods: Data on patients who received a diagnosis of de novo stage IV or recurrent breast, colorectal, or lung cancer between 2000 and 2012 from 3 integrated health systems were used to estimate average annual costs for total, ambulatory, inpatient, medication, and other services during (1) 12 months preceding de novo or recurrent diagnosis (preindex) and (2) diagnosis month through 11 months after (postindex), from the payer perspective. Generalized linear regression models estimated costs adjusting for patient and clinical factors., Results: Patients who developed a recurrence <1 year after their initial cancer diagnosis had significantly higher total costs in the preindex period than those with recurrence ≥1 year after initial diagnosis and those with de novo stage IV disease across all cancers (all P < .05). Patients with de novo stage IV breast and colorectal cancer had significantly higher total costs in the postindex period than patients with cancer recurrent in <1 year and ≥1 year (all P < .05), respectively. Patients in de novo stage IV and those with recurrence in ≥1 year experienced significantly higher postindex costs than the preindex period (all P < .001)., Conclusions: Our findings reveal distinct cost patterns between patients with de novo stage IV, recurrent <1-year, and recurrent ≥1-year cancer, suggesting unique care trajectories that may influence resource use and planning. Future cost studies among patients with advanced cancer should account for de novo versus recurrent diagnoses and timing of recurrence to obtain estimates that accurately reflect these care pattern complexities., (Copyright © 2021 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Cytotoxic agents are classified according to the severity of skin injury after extravasation. However, injuries caused by extravasation of noncytotoxic agents have not been sufficiently investigated, although the risk of extravasation is mentioned in medical safety information published by the Japan Council for Quality Health Care. Therefore, in this study, we focused on noncytotoxic electrolyte solutions and infusions and evaluated skin injuries during leakage using extravasation model rats. Rats were anesthetized and intradermally injected with 100 µL of an electrolyte solution or infusion. Injection lesions were macroscopically and histopathologically evaluated for extravasation injuries. Each electrolyte solution and infusion were classified into three categories (vesicants, irritants, and non-tissue-damaging agents) depending on the degree of skin injury. Similar to saline, 0.3% potassium chloride and 0.6% magnesium sulfate showed almost no injury, and 3% sodium chloride and BFLUID ® caused erythema and induration. Erythema, induration, and ulceration were observed with the following: 10% sodium chloride, 2% calcium chloride, 8.5% calcium gluconate, 12.3% magnesium sulfate, MAGSENT ® , FESIN ® , and Intralipos ® . The duration of damage with these agents was markedly prolonged. Electrolyte solutions and infusions can be classified into vesicants (10% sodium chloride, 2% calcium chloride, 8.5% calcium gluconate, 12.3% magnesium sulfate, MAGSENT ® , FESIN ® , and Intralipos ® ), irritants (3% sodium chloride and BFLUID ® ), and non-tissue-damaging agents (0.3% potassium chloride and 0.6% magnesium sulfate) according to their composition. The characteristic symptoms and severity of each drug extravasation revealed in this study will provide basic information for preparation of guidelines for treatment of extravasation.

Objective: People with HIV (PWH) have increased prevalence of multimorbidity and frailty at younger ages compared with the general population. This study investigated individual and combinatorial effects of neuropsychiatric and medical comorbidities as predictors of frailty in PWH., Design: Analysis of data from the National NeuroAIDS Tissue Consortium, a longitudinal observational cohort., Methods: Five hundred and twenty-four PWH over age 40 years were classified using Fried's Frailty criteria. Twelve comorbidities were documented from longitudinal data and associations between individual and co-occurring comorbidities with frailty were assessed using weighted network and logistic regression analyses., Results: At frailty assessment between 2015 and 2020, median age was 61 years, 76% were men, 94% were on antiretroviral therapy (ART), 73% had two or more comorbidities, 24% were frail, and 52% were prefrail. Among individual comorbidities, highest odds of frailty were in participants with depressive symptoms [adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.48 (2.22-5.46)], followed by bone disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) [2.47 (1.28-4.72) and 2.13 (1.36-3.34), respectively]. Among co-occurring comorbidities, highest odds of frailty were in participants having depressive symptoms with diabetes, hypertension, or obesity [aORs (95% CIs) 5.29 (2.32-12.08), 5.21 (2.65-10.40), 4.85 (2.39-9.95), respectively], cognitive impairment with diabetes or renal disease [2.81 (1.38-5.68) and 2.53 (1.26-5.03), respectively], renal disease with cardiovascular disease [2.81 (1.32-6.01)], and diabetes with obesity [2.76 (1.39-5.45)]., Conclusion: Co-occurrence of depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, diabetes, or renal disease with other medical conditions substantially increases odds of frailty in older PWH. Identifying and treating these comorbidities may help to reduce functional decline with aging in PWH., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Up to 10% of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) carry underlying germline pathogenic variants in cancer susceptibility genes. The GENetic Education Risk Assessment and TEsting (GENERATE) study aimed to evaluate novel methods of genetic education and testing in relatives of patients with PDAC. Eligible individuals had a family history of PDAC and a relative with a germline pathogenic variant in APC, ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, CDKN2A, EPCAM, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PALB2, PMS2, STK11 , or TP53 genes. Participants were recruited at six academic cancer centers and through social media campaigns and patient advocacy efforts. Enrollment occurred via the study website (https://GENERATEstudy.org) and all participation, including collecting a saliva sample for genetic testing, could be done from home. Participants were randomized to one of two remote methods that delivered genetic education about the risks of inherited PDAC and strategies for surveillance. The primary outcome of the study was uptake of genetic testing. From 5/8/2019 to 5/6/2020, 49 participants were randomized to each of the intervention arms. Overall, 90 of 98 (92%) of randomized participants completed genetic testing. The most frequently detected pathogenic variants included those in BRCA2 ( N = 15, 17%), ATM ( N = 11, 12%), and CDKN2A ( N = 4, 4%). Participation in the study remained steady throughout the onset of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Preliminary data from the GENERATE study indicate success of remote alternatives to traditional cascade testing, with genetic testing rates over 90% and a high rate of identification of germline pathogenic variant carriers who would be ideal candidates for PDAC interception approaches. PREVENTION RELEVANCE: Preliminary data from the GENERATE study indicate success of remote alternatives for pancreatic cancer genetic testing and education, with genetic testing uptake rates over 90% and a high rate of identification of germline pathogenic variant carriers who would be ideal candidates for pancreatic cancer interception., (©2021 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Importance: Parents of children with cancer value strong therapeutic relationships with oncology clinicians, but not every relationship is positive., Objective: To identify the prevalence of challenging parent-clinician relationships in pediatric oncology and factors associated with these challenges from parent and clinician perspectives., Design, Setting, and Participants: This survey was conducted among parents and oncology clinicians of children with cancer within 3 months of diagnosis from November 2015 to July 2019 at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Boston Children's Hospital and Texas Children's Hospital. Participants were 400 parents of children with cancer and 80 clinicians (ie, oncology physicians and nurse practitioners). Parents completed surveys about relationships with 1 to 2 primary oncology clinicians; clinicians completed surveys about relationships with parents. Data were analyzed from July 2020 to August 2021., Exposures: At least 3 previous clinical visits between parent and clinician., Main Outcomes and Measures: The Relationship Challenges Scale Parent Version and Clinician Version were developed and used to measure threats to the therapeutic alliance. For the Relationship Challenges Scale-Parent version, relationships were considered challenging if a parent responded to any single question in the 2 lowest of 4 possible categories. For the Relationship Challenges Scale-Clinician version, challenges were considered to be present if a clinician reported responses in the 3 lowest of 6 possible response categories to any question., Results: Among 400 parents, there were 298 [74.5%] women, 25 Asian individuals (6.3%), 28 Black individuals (7.0%), 97 Hispanic individuals (24.3%), 223 White individuals (55.8%), and 10 individuals (2.4%) with other race or ethnicity; race and ethnicity data were missing for 17 (4.3%) individuals. Among 80 clinicians, there were 57 (71.3%) women, 38 attending physicians (47.5%), 32 fellows (40.0%), and 10 nurse practitioners (12.5%). Parents identified 676 unique relationships with clinicians, and clinician reports were available for 338 relationships. Among 338 relationships with paired parent and clinician surveys, 81 relationships (24.0%) were considered challenging by parents, 127 relationships (37.6%) were considered challenging by clinicians, and 33 relationships (9.8%) were considered challenging by parent and clinician. Parents with Asian or other race or ethnicity (odds ratio [OR] vs White parents, 3.62; 95% CI, 1.59-8.26) or who had lower educational attainment (OR for ≤high school vs >high school, 3.03; 95% CI, 1.56-5.90) were more likely to experience relationships as challenging. Clinicians used a variety of strategies more frequently in 127 relationships in which they perceived challenges vs 211 relationships in which they did not perceive challenges, such as holding regular family meetings (22 relationships [17.3%] vs 13 relationships [6.2%]; P = .009) and offering extra time and attention (66 relationships [52%] vs 60 relationships [28.4%]; P < .001). However, these strategies were not used with increased frequency when parents experienced relationships as challenging vs when parents did not experience this., Conclusions and Relevance: This survey study found that nearly one-quarter of parents of children with cancer reported challenges in the therapeutic relationship with their oncologist and that clinicians used strategies to improve relationships more frequently when they experienced the relationship as challenging. These findings suggest that new strategies are needed to improve experiences for parents and to help clinicians recognize and attend to parents whose experiences are suboptimal.

In a comparative oncology study with progression-free or overall survival as the endpoint, the primary or key secondary analysis is routinely stratified by patients' baseline characteristics when evaluating the treatment difference. The validity of a conventional strategy such as a stratified HR analysis depends on stringent model assumptions that are unlikely to be met in practice, especially in immunotherapy studies. Thus, the resulting summary is generally neither valid nor interpretable. This article discusses issues with conventional stratified analyses and presents alternatives using data from KEYNOTE-189, a recent immunotherapy trial for treating patients with metastatic, non-squamous, non-small-cell lung cancer., Competing Interests: Competing interests: There are no competing interests., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background and Objectives : In this study, we aimed to evaluate predictive factors of postoperative fever (POF) after ureterorenoscopic lithotripsy (URSL). Materials and Methods: A total of 594 consecutive patients who underwent URSL for urinary stone disease at Gifu Municipal Hospital and Chuno Kosei Hospital between April 2016 and January 2021 were enrolled in this study. In all patients, antibiotics were routinely administered intraoperatively and the next day after surgery. We used rigid and/or flexible ureterorenoscopes depending on the stone location for URSL. Stones were fragmented using a holmium: YAG laser. The fragments of the stone were manually removed as much as possible using a stone basket catheter. A ureteral stent was placed at the end of the surgery in all cases. Results: The median age and body mass index (BMI) in all patients were 62 years and 23.8 kg/m 2 , respectively. The median operation duration was 52 min. The most common URSL-related complication was POF in 28 (4.7%) patients. In these patients, the rates of antibiotic administration and ureteral stent insertion before surgery were significantly higher than in those without POF. In multivariate analysis, BMI was associated with POF after URSL. There were no significant differences in predicting POF after surgery in patients who had bacteriuria or received antibiotics before surgery. Conclusions: A low BMI was significantly associated with POF after URS or URSL.

Conflicts arising from the consumption of anthropogenic foods by wildlife are increasing worldwide. Conventional tools for evaluating the spatial distribution pattern of large terrestrial mammals that consume anthropogenic foods have various limitations, despite their importance in management to mitigate conflicts. In this study, we examined the spatial distribution pattern of crop-foraging sika deer by performing nitrogen stable isotope analyses of bone collagen. We evaluated whether crop-foraging deer lived closer to agricultural crop fields during the winter and spring, when crop production decreases. We found that female deer in proximity to agricultural crop fields during the winter and spring were more likely to be crop-foraging individuals. Furthermore, the likelihood of crop consumption by females decreased by half as the distance to agricultural crop fields increased to 5-10 km. We did not detect a significant trend in the spatial distribution of crop-foraging male deer. The findings of spatial distribution patterns of crop-foraging female deer will be useful for the establishment of management areas, such as zonation, for efficient removal of them., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© 2021 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

There is emerging evidence that the live herpes zoster (shingles) vaccine might protect against dementia. However, the existing data are limited and refer only to the live vaccine, which is now discontinued in the United States and many other countries in favor of a recombinant vaccine. Whether the recombinant shingles vaccine protects against dementia remains unknown. Here we used a natural experiment opportunity created by the rapid transition from the use of live to the use of recombinant vaccines to compare the risk of dementia between vaccine types. We show that the recombinant vaccine is associated with a significantly lower risk of dementia in the 6 years post-vaccination. Specifically, receiving the recombinant vaccine is associated with a 17% increase in diagnosis-free time, translating into 164 additional days lived without a diagnosis of dementia in those subsequently affected. The recombinant shingles vaccine was also associated with lower risks of dementia than were two other vaccines commonly used in older people: influenza and tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis vaccines. The effect was robust across multiple secondary analyses, and was present in both men and women but was greater in women. These findings should stimulate studies investigating the mechanisms underpinning the protection and could facilitate the design of a large-scale randomized control trial to confirm the possible additional benefit of the recombinant shingles vaccine., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Aims: A set of indicators to assess the quality of care for patients hospitalized for heart failure was developed by an expert working group of the Italian Health Ministry. Because a better performance profile measured using these indicators does not necessarily translate to better outcomes, a study to validate these indicators through their relationship with measurable clinical outcomes and healthcare costs supported by the Italian National Health System was carried out., Methods and Results: Residents of four Italian regions (Lombardy, Marche, Lazio, and Sicily) who were newly hospitalized for heart failure (irrespective of stage and New York Heart Association class) during 2014-2015 entered in the cohort and followed up until 2019. Adherence to evidence-based recommendations [i.e. renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAS) inhibitors, beta-blockers, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs), and echocardiograms (ECCs)] experienced during the first year after index discharge was assessed. Composite clinical outcomes (cardiovascular hospital admissions and all-cause mortality) and healthcare costs (hospitalizations, drugs, and outpatient services) were assessed during the follow-up. The restricted mean survival time at 5 years (denoted as the number of months free from clinical outcomes), the hazard of clinical outcomes (according to the Cox model), and average annual healthcare cost (expressed in euros per person-year) were compared between adherent and non-adherent patients. A non-parametric bootstrap method based on 1000 resamples was used to account for uncertainty in cost-effectiveness estimates. A total of 41 406 patients were included in this study (46.3% males, mean age 76.9 ± 9.4 years). Adherence to RAS inhibitors, beta-blockers, MRAs, and ECCs were 64%, 57%, 62%, and 20% among the cohort members, respectively. Compared with non-adherent patients, those who adhered to ECCs, RAS inhibitors, beta-blockers, and MRAs experienced (i) a delay in the composite outcome of 1.6, 1.9, 1.6, and 0.6 months and reduced risks of 9% (95% confidence interval, 2-14%), 11% (7-14%), 8% (5-11%), and 4% (-1-8%), respectively; and (ii) lower (€262, €92, and €571 per year for RAS inhibitors, beta-blockers, and MRAs, respectively) and higher costs (€511 per year for ECC). Adherence to RAS inhibitors, beta-blockers, and MRAs showed a delay in the composite outcome and a saving of costs in 98%, 84%, and 93% of the 1000 bootstrap replications, respectively., Conclusions: Strict monitoring of patients with heart failure through regular clinical examinations and drug therapies should be considered the cornerstone of national guidelines and audits., (© 2024 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) represents a significant health concern within the population. Advancing our understanding of COAD is imperative for early detection, enabling personalized treatment interventions, and facilitating the development of effective preventive measures. The coagulation system plays a role in tumor-related pathological processes; however, its specific involvement in COAD and potential contributors remain unclear. This study aimed to establish a novel risk stratification approach by analyzing coagulation related genes (CRGs) associated with COAD. Through a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of data from public databases, we screened COAD associated CRGs and characterized the associated molecular subtypes. After a comprehensive analysis of the characteristics of each subtype, we applied differentially expressed genes in CRG subtypes to establish a new risk stratification method. Clinical subgroup analysis, immunoinfiltration analysis, therapeutic reactivity prediction and other analytical methods suggest the potential clinical value of the established risk stratification method. As one of the selected targets, the effect of MS4A4A on the proliferation and invasion of COAD was confirmed by in vitro experiments, which partially verified the reliability of bioinformatics results. Our findings delineate CRGs potentially implicated in COAD pathogenesis and offer fresh insights into the influence of the coagulation process on tumorigenesis and progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatitis B, often leading to Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), poses a major global health challenge. While Tenofovir (TDF) and Entecavir (ETV) are potent treatments, their comparative effectiveness in improving recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) rates in HBV-related HCC is not well-established. Methods: We conducted an individual patient data meta-analysis using survival data from randomized trials and high-quality propensity score-matched studies to compare the impact of Tenofovir (TDF) and Entecavir (ETV) on RFS and OS in HBV-related HCC patients. Data from six databases and gray literature up to 30 August 2023, were analyzed, utilizing Kaplan-Meier curves, stratified Cox models, and shared frailty models for survival rate assessment and to address between-study heterogeneity. The study employed restricted mean survival time analysis to evaluate differences in RFS and OS between TDF-treated and ETVtreated patients. Additionally, landmark analyses compared early (<2 years) and late (≥2 years) tumor recurrence in these cohorts. Results: This study incorporated seven research articles, covering 4,602 patients with HBV-related HCC (2,082 on TDF and 2,520 on ETV). Within the overall cohort, TDF recipients demonstrated significantly higher RFS (p = 0.042) and OS (p < 0.001) than those on ETV. The stratified Cox model revealed significantly improved OS for the TDF group compared to the ETV group (hazard ratio, 0.756; 95% confidence interval, 0.639-0.896; p = 0.001), a result corroborated by the shared frailty model. Over a follow-up period of 1-8 years, no significant difference was noted in the mean time to death between the TDF and ETV groups. The rates of early recurrence did not significantly differ between the groups (p = 0.735). However, TDF treatment was significantly associated with a reduced risk of late recurrence compared to ETV (p < 0.001). In the HCC resection subgroup, the disparities in OS, early, and late recurrence rates between the two treatments paralleled those seen in the overall cohort. Conclusion: Compared to ETV, TDF may enhance OS and reduce late tumor recurrence risk in HBV-related HCC patients receiving curative treatment. However, there was no statistically significant distinction in the timing of tumor recurrence and mortality between patients administered TDF and those prescribed ETV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Population cancer registries record primary cancer incidence, mortality and survival for whole populations, but not more timely outcomes such as cancer recurrence, secondary cancers or other complications that disrupt event-free survival. Nonetheless, indirect evidence may be inferred from treatment data to provide indicators of recurrence and like events, which can facilitate earlier assessment of care outcomes. The present study aims to infer such evidence by applying algorithms to linked cancer registry and treatment data obtained from hospitals and universal health insurance claims applicable to the New South Wales (NSW) population of Australia. Materials and methods: Primary invasive cancers from the NSW Cancer Registry (NSWCR), diagnosed in 2001–2018 with localized or regionalized summary stage, were linked to treatment data for five common Australian cancers: breast, colon/ rectum, lung, prostate, and skin (melanomas). Clinicians specializing in each cancer type provided guidance on expected treatment pathways and departures to indicate remission and subsequent recurrence or other disruptive events. A sample survey of patients and clinicians served to test initial population-wide results. Following consequent refinement of the algorithms, estimates of recurrence and like events were generated. Their plausibility was assessed by their correspondence with expected outcomes by tumor type and summary stage at diagnosis and by their associations with cancer survival. Results: Kaplan-Meier product limit estimates indicated that 5–year cumulative probabilities of recurrence and other disruptive events were lower, and median times to these events longer, for those staged as localized rather than regionalized. For localized and regionalized cancers respectively, these were: breast - 7% (866 days) and 34% (570 days); colon/rectum - 15% (732 days) and 25% (641 days); lung - 46% (552 days) and 66% (404 days); melanoma - 11% (893 days) and 38% (611 days); and prostate - 14% (742 days) and 39% (478 days). Cases with markers for these events had poorer longer-term survival. Conclusions: These population-wide estimates of recurrence and like events are approximations only. Absent more direct measures, they nonetheless may inform service planning by indicating population or treatment sub-groups at increased risk of recurrence and like events sooner than waiting for deaths to occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cluster of differentiation 24 (CD24) is a highly glycosylated glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored surface protein, expressed in various tumor cells, as a "don't eat me" signaling molecule in tumor immune. This study aimed to investigate the potential features of CD24 in pan-cancer. Methods: The correlations between 22 immune cells and CD24 expression were using TIMER analysis. R package "ESTIMATE" was used to predict the proportion of immune and stromal cells in pan-cancer. Spearman's correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationships between CD24 expression and immune checkpoints, chemokines, mismatch repair, tumor mutation burden and microsatellite instability, and qPCR and western blot were conducted to assess CD24 expression levels in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC). In addition, loss of function was performed for the biological evaluation of CD24 in LIHC. Results: CD24 expression was positively correlated with myeloid cells, including neutrophils and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, in various tumors, such as BLCA, HNSC-HPV, HNSC, KICH, KIRC, KIRP, TGCT, THCA, THYM, and UCEC. In contrast, anti-tumor NK cells and NKT cells showed a negative association with CD24 expression in BRCA-Her2, ESCA, HNSC-HPV, KIRC, THCA, and THYM. The top three tumors with the highest correlation between CD24 and ImmuneScore were TGCT, THCA, and SKCM. Functional enrichment analysis revealed CD24 expression was negatively associated with various immune-related pathways. Immune checkpoints and chemokines also exhibited inverse correlations with CD24 in CESC, CHOL, COAD, ESCA, READ, TGCT, and THCA. Additionally, CD24 was overexpressed in most tumors, with high CD24 expression in BRCA, LIHC, and CESC correlating with poor prognosis. The TIDE database indicated tumors with high CD24 expression, particularly melanoma, were less responsive to PD1/PD-L1 immunotherapy. Finally, CD24 knockdown resulted in impaired proliferation and cell cycle progression in LIHC. Conclusion: CD24 participates in regulation of immune infiltration, influences patient prognosis and serves as a potential tumor marker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Predictive modeling based on multi-omics data, which incorporates several types of omics data for the same patients, has shown potential to outperform single-omics predictive modeling. Most research in this domain focuses on incorporating numerous data types, despite the complexity and cost of acquiring them. The prevailing assumption is that increasing the number of data types necessarily improves predictive performance. However, the integration of less informative or redundant data types could potentially hinder this performance. Therefore, identifying the most effective combinations of omics data types that enhance predictive performance is critical for cost-effective and accurate predictions. Methods: In this study, we systematically evaluated the predictive performance of all 31 possible combinations including at least one of five genomic data types (mRNA, miRNA, methylation, DNAseq, and copy number variation) using 14 cancer datasets with right-censored survival outcomes, publicly available from the TCGA database. We employed various prediction methods and up-weighted clinical data in every model to leverage their predictive importance. Harrell's C-index and the integrated Brier Score were used as performance measures. To assess the robustness of our findings, we performed a bootstrap analysis at the level of the included datasets. Statistical testing was conducted for key results, limiting the number of tests to ensure a low risk of false positives. Results: Contrary to expectations, we found that using only mRNA data or a combination of mRNA and miRNA data was sufficient for most cancer types. For some cancer types, the additional inclusion of methylation data led to improved prediction results. Far from enhancing performance, the introduction of more data types most often resulted in a decline in performance, which varied between the two performance measures. Conclusions: Our findings challenge the prevailing notion that combining multiple omics data types in multi-omics survival prediction improves predictive performance. Thus, the widespread approach in multi-omics prediction of incorporating as many data types as possible should be reconsidered to avoid suboptimal prediction results and unnecessary expenditure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]