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Synovial sarcoma (SS) is an aggressive soft tissue sarcoma with poor prognosis due to late recurrence and metastasis. Metastasis is an important prognostic factor of SS. This study aimed to identify the core genes and mechanisms associated with SS metastasis. Microarray data for GSE40021 and GSE40018 were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. 186 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. The biological functions and signalling pathways closely associated with SS metastasis included extracellular matrix (ECM) organization and ECM‐receptor interaction. Gene set enrichment analysis showed that the terms cell cycle, DNA replication, homologous recombination and mismatch repair were significantly enriched in the metastasis group. Weighted gene co‐expression network analysis identified the most relevant module and 133 hub genes, and 31 crossover genes were identified by combining DEGs. Subsequently, four characteristic genes, EXO1, NCAPG, POLQ and UHRF1, were identified as potential biomarkers associated with SS metastasis using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator algorithm and validation dataset verification analysis. Immunohistochemistry results from our cohort of 49 patients revealed visible differences in the expression of characteristic genes between the non‐metastatic and metastatic groups. Survival analysis indicated that high expression of characteristic genes predicted poor prognosis. Our data revealed that primary SS samples from patients who developed metastasis showed activated homologous recombination and mismatch repair compared to samples from patients without metastasis. Furthermore, EXO1, NCAPG, POLQ and UHRF1 were identified as potential candidate metastasis‐associated genes. This study provides further research insights and helps explore the mechanisms of SS metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify unobserved subgroups of Chinese parents' caregiving ability for children with haematological malignancies and examine the associations of the latent class membership with individual characteristics. Design: A multicentre cross‐sectional survey study was conducted. Methods: A total of 392 parents of children with haematological malignancies in China were surveyed with the Hematologic Malignancies' Family Caregiver Skills Scale and a study‐specific demographic information questionnaire. Latent class analysis (LCA) and multinomial logistic regression model were applied in data analysis. Results: LCA results suggested that there existed three distinct a priori unknown classes of parents of children with haematological malignancies in regard to caregiving ability: Class 1—"high caregiving ability" class (n = 131, 33.4%), Class 2—"medium caregiving ability" class (n = 170, 43.4%) and Class 3—"low caregiving ability" class (n = 91, 23.2%). Socio‐demographics and clinical characteristics had significant associations with the latent class membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We examine whom, among her social network members, a new mother ranks as her most important source of advice for infant care practices and how the ranking of a network member depends on their connectedness to a mother's other network members. Background: Previous research points to the influence of personal networks members' advice on parental practices. However, to design effective interventions that facilitate safe and healthy infant and childcare practices, it is important to understand who, in parents' social circles, they turn to most for advice. Method: We recruited 402 Black and White new mothers in Washington, DC. We analyze the importance rank they assign to their 1,791 network members using nested, dyad‐level rank‐ordered logit models. Results: Connectivity to a mother's other network members and being the mother's mother (i.e., the baby's maternal grandmother) emerged as positive and significant predictors of being ranked as the most important sources of advice. Additionally, the effect of being a grandmother is stronger among grandmothers who are well connected to mothers' other network members. Conclusion: Network members who are well embedded in mothers' own networks are usually viewed by mothers as key sources of advice. Embeddedness is an especially significant condition for new mothers when ranking babies' maternal grandmothers as main advisors. Implications: We encourage future research on mothers' network members as potential targets for infant and childrearing‐related interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐dimensional data exists widely in the real world, such as gene, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), text, web data and so on. Feature selection is an effective and powerful method that is often adopted to reduce dimensions of high‐dimensional data for promoting learning algorithm's ability to obtain useful information from them. However, feature selection stability lacks attention for a long time, which plays an important role in getting compelling results. This study proposes a stable feature selection approach called stable ant‐antlion optimiser (SALO) that is a modified hybrid evolutionary method combining ant colony optimisation and antlion optimiser. Several relative stable filter methods are employed to rank features as guide information, fisher discriminant rate is used to evaluate features as heuristic information, and F1 indicator and the similarity between feature subset and stable ranked feature list are taken as optimisation objects. Comprehensive experiments show the fantasy stability and excellent classification performance of our proposed sophisticated method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pediatric participants on phase 1 or phase 2 clinical trials for incurable cancer are at risk of experiencing toxicities (adverse events [AEs]) related to trial participation. Multiple AEs are subjective; thus, the real impact of trial treatment cannot be known unless patient subjective reports are solicited.Methods: The authors assessed the feasibility and acceptability of soliciting symptom, function, and quality of life (QOL) reports from participants aged 8 to 18 years who were enrolled on phase 1/2 clinical trials at 4 cancer centers during the first course of chemotherapy. The authors also assessed the reliability and validity of 6 self-report Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) pediatric measures and 4 open-ended interview questions at 2 time points (at the time of trial enrollment [T1] and 3 to 4 weeks later [T2]).Results: The enrollment rate of 75.9% (20 participants) exceeded the feasibility criterion, and missingness of measures by person, measure, and items at T1 and T2 were lower than the acceptability criteria. New QOL themes were limited to the impact of treatment on families and being away from home, family, and friends for treatment. All but one measure at T1 met the reliability criterion and all measures did so at T2. Validity support was limited however because as theorized, mobility decreased and fatigue increased as AEs increased.Conclusions: Soliciting and documenting symptom, function, and QOL reports from patients aged 8 to 18 years who are enrolled on a phase 1/2 clinical trial is feasible and acceptable to participants, particularly when embedded in trials. Reliable and valid findings can result, making patient self-reported outcomes a possible new trial endpoint. Cancer 2017;123:3799-3806. © 2017 American Cancer Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Opioid consumption after posterior spinal fusion is known to be high and often exceeds those reported in other major surgical procedures. A number of clinical trials provide evidence that the perioperative use of subanesthetic doses of ketamine reduces pain and opioid requirements in some surgical procedures, but the effect of prolonged perioperative low-dose ketamine infusion in patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion for pediatric scoliosis surgery is unknown. Objective To test the hypothesis that a 72-h perioperative low-dose ketamine infusion would decrease opioid use in pediatric patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion. Methods In a double-blind prospective controlled trial, patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion for scoliosis were randomized to receive perioperative low-dose ketamine or placebo control. Patients received general anesthesia, intraoperative remifentanil, and morphine patient-controlled analgesia postoperatively. Daily opioid consumption, self-reported pain scores, and sedation scores were measured. Results Fifty-four patients were enrolled and 50 completed the study. Contrary to our hypothesis, ketamine- and control-treated patients had similar postoperative opioid use, pain scores, and sedation scores measurements. In contrast, ketamine-treated patients required less intraoperative remifentanil compared with control (mean 2.9 mg vs. 4 mg, P = 0.0415). Number of vertebrae instrumented, time between end-of-surgery and 24 h assessment, or remifentanil doses did not impact on postoperative opioid use. Over 96-h postoperatively, morphine-equivalent consumption was lower (−0.40, P = 0.006) and sedation score was higher (0.47, P = 0.0211) in male patients, compared with female patients. Conclusions These findings do not support the use of perioperative low-dose ketamine to decrease opioid use in children with scoliosis undergoing posterior spinal fusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Although crack cocaine first appeared in cities in the United States in the mid-1980s, little is known about its use over long periods of time. This study identified crack cocaine user groups on the basis of long-term trajectories. Design Following a natural history approach, data were collected periodically from 1996 to 2005. Group-based modeling assessed the probability of a crack smoker becoming abstinent during the observation period. Setting A targeted sampling plan guided the recruitment of a community sample of crack cocaine users in Dayton, Ohio. Participants Crack smokers ( n = 430) 18 years or older whose urine tested positive for cocaine metabolites at the baseline interview. Measurements Interviewer-administered and audio computer self-administered, structured questionnaires were used to collect data on a range of variables, including frequency of crack use. Abstinence was defined as not having used crack for at least 6 consecutive months during the study. Findings Three trajectory-based groups were identified: (1) No Change, characterized by a very low probability of abstinence; (2) Some Change, characterized by a low to moderate probability of abstinence; and (3) Dramatic Change, characterized by a high probability of abstinence. African Americans and men were significantly less likely to become abstinent. For the majority of the people (63.6%), crack use was uninterrupted by extended periods of abstinence during the study. Conclusion Crack cocaine use that persists for a decade or longer may well be the norm for a large proportion of people who have experience with the drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study demonstrates how to use standardization and decomposition analysis (SDA) techniques to compare outcome measures simultaneously among multiple populations. Methamphetamine use among rural stimulant drug users in three geographically distinct areas of the US (Arkansas, Kentucky, and Ohio) is presented as an example of applying SDA. Findings show that the observed crude rate of 'ever used' methamphetamine in the past 30 days and the frequency of methamphetamine use in the past 30 days were much higher in Kentucky than in the other two states. However, after the compositions of socio-demographic confounding factors were standardized across the samples, the two measures of methamphetamine use ranked highest in Arkansas, followed by Kentucky, and then Ohio. Confounding factors contributed in various dimensions to the differences in the observed outcome measures among the distinct samples. The study shows that SDA is a useful technique for multi-population comparisons, providing an opportunity to look at data from a different perspective in medical studies. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: There is growing concern about illicit rural stimulant use, especially regarding methamphetamine use and its health consequences. Purpose: The present study describes associations between aspects of stimulant use and illness experience in rural areas, with additional focus on the role of demographic characteristics in these associations. Methods: The research participants were 710 stimulant drug users who were recruited from rural areas of Arkansas, Kentucky, and Ohio using Heckathorn’s respondent-driven sampling method. Health was measured by self-reports of perceived health and extent of current, recent, and lifelong health problems. Drug use was measured with self-reports of type and frequency of use. Findings: Several associations were found between drug use and illness, controlling for demographics. Stimulant use pattern related significantly with the sum of health problems in the previous 6 months and the sum of lifetime illness diagnoses, after adjustment for demographic factors. Extent of illicit drug use in the past month and self-perceived drug and alcohol problems were associated with several measures of health. Conclusions: In this sample of stimulant users, methamphetamine use was associated with fewer recent medical problems than crack cocaine, combined crack and powder cocaine use, and use of all 3 of these stimulants. These results, across the 3 sites, suggest that prevalent assumptions about the methamphetamine “plague” and its negative health consequences must be viewed cautiously and examined with additional research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Substance use by adolescents continues to present a problem schools must address. Data from survey research can prove useful in helping schools determine the nature and extent of youth drug use. This study identified variations in drug use prevalence among ninth grade students in different school districts in the same locale in Ohio. Possible explanations for the differences were explored. Students (n = 3.016) from 12 suburban high schools anonymously completed self-report drug use questionnaires. School and community-level data were collected from other sources. Cluster analysis was used to group the school districts. ANOVA revealed statistically significant differences (P ≤ 0.001) in levels of drug use by cluster. The cluster with significantly lower levels of drug use consisted of districts with at least one fulltime drug abuse prevention coordinator, higher economic levels, and the highest per pupil expenditures. Drug use among youth is influenced, at least in part, by local contextual factors. Local survey data can inform local policy and programs. These findings have practical implications for policymakers, program developers, and school districts in other areas of the country. (J Sch Health. 2002;72(7):288-293) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]