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Hemorrhage is the second leading cause of death in patients under 46 years of age in the United States. Cessation of hemorrhage prevents hemorrhagic shock and tissue hypoxia. Controlling the bleed via direct pressure or tourniquet is often the first line of defense, but long‐term care requires staples, hemostatic agents, or sealants that seal the vessel and restore blood flow. Here, we compare a new photocurable extracellular matrix sealant (pcECM) with low, medium, and high crosslink density formulations to a commercially available fibrin‐based sealant, TISSEEL®. pcECM has potential uses in surgical and remote settings due to room temperature storage conditions and fast preparation time. Here, we determine if pcECM sealant can stop venous hemorrhage in a murine model, adhere to the wound site in vivo throughout the wound‐healing process, and has the mechanical properties necessary for stopping hemorrhage. Adjusting pcECM crosslinking density significantly affected viscosity, swelling, burst strength, tensile strength, and elasticity of the sealant. 3‐Dimensional ultrasound volume segmentations showed pcECM degrades to 17 ± 8% of its initial implant volume by day 28. Initially, local hemodynamic changes were observed, but returned close to baseline levels by day 28. Acute inflammation was observed near the puncture site in pcECM implanted mice, and we observed inflammatory markers at the 14‐day explant for both sealants. pcECM and fibrin sealant successfully sealed the vessel in all cases, and consistently degraded over 14–28 days. pcECM is a durable sealant with tunable mechanical properties and possible uses in hemorrhage control and other surgical procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Lenalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone (RVd) has emerged as a preferred induction therapy in multiple myeloma (MM) in the United States. Due to lenalidomide's teratogenic risk, patients and prescribers must comply with a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) program. The REMS program limits dispensing to certain third-party specialty pharmacies, whose average prescription fill times are longer than in-house specialty pharmacies. In practice, a delay in procurement of lenalidomide may mean that patients start therapy with only bortezomib and dexamethasone, delaying the start of more effective triplet therapy. The primary objective of this study is to determine if a delay from start of bortezomib and dexamethasone to start of triplet therapy with lenalidomide impacts rate of achievement of very good partial response (VGPR) after four cycles of RVd. Methods: This was a single-center retrospective review of adults with newly diagnosed MM who received RVd induction therapy at University of North Carolina Medical Center between April 2014 and June 2017. Patients who started lenalidomide ≥10 days after bortezomib comprised the "Delay" group, while those who started lenalidomide concurrently with bortezomib or within 1–9 days after bortezomib comprised the "No Delay" group. The primary outcome was VGPR or better response rate after four cycles of RVd. Results: Thirty-eight patients met inclusion criteria. Nine patients (23.7%) experienced any delay in initiation of lenalidomide, with a mean delay of 7.8 days (range 1–18). Four patients (10.5%) experienced a delay ≥10 days. No patients in the Delay group were of reproductive potential, compared to 8.8% in the No Delay group (p = 0.54). VGPR or better response rate did not differ between the Delay and No Delay groups (66.7% vs. 58.8%, p = 0.79). The mean number of lenalidomide prescriptions generated per RVd cycle was 1.35 (range 1–5, SD 0.74). Conclusions: This study did not demonstrate an effect on clinical response after delays ≥10 days between bortezomib and lenalidomide initiation. No patients in the delay group were females of reproductive potential, which is the primary target for increased safety behind the REMS program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 68,000 opioid-overdose related deaths occurred within the United States in 2020 alone, indicating a need to develop technologies to help curb this growing epidemic. The ability to detect respiratory rate (RR) depression in real-time has the potential to decrease adverse outcomes by alerting emergency medical services or willing bystanders to an overdose event. The aim of this investigation was to design, build, and test a novel photoplethysmography (PPG)-based measurement device capable of monitoring RR and identifying respiratory depression. We developed a novel murine model for opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD) to demonstrate the PPG device's capabilities. We induced respiratory depression in mice using both isoflurane and opioid-overdose and initiated recovery events with injections of naloxone while monitoring respiration via PPG and a laboratory reference system. The device accurately identified all anesthesia-induced respiratory depression (n = 5) and OIRD events (n = 3). Our PPG-based monitor showed significant correlation with a reference respiratory measurement system (p < 0.01). The bias measured across the isoflurane trials was 0.6 breaths per minute (BrPM), while the bias measured across the oxycodone trials was −1.0 BrPM, with mean absolute errors of 1.5 and 3.6 BrPM, respectively, indicating that our device was able to accurately measure RR in a murine model. These preliminary experiments suggest that our device could detect OIRD and could potentially be adaptable to humans with modifications to firmware and more extensive validation in human subjects. Our present study is a proof-of-concept for detecting OIRD and alerting bystanders and health professionals in real-time. • Photoplethysmography device for measuring respiratory rate in murine model. • Able to detect opioid-induced respiratory rate depression in murine model. • Open-source software libraries for signal analysis on an embedded platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active crop canopy sensors make possible in-season fertilizer nitrogen (N) applications by using the crop as a bio-indicator of vigor and N status. However, sensor calibration is difficult early in the growing season when crops are rapidly growing. Studies were conducted in the United States and Mexico to evaluate procedures to determine the vegetation index of adequately fertilized plants in producer fields without establishing a nitrogen-rich reference area. The virtual-reference concept uses a histogram to characterize and display the sensor data from which the vegetation index of adequately fertilized plants can be identified. Corn in Mexico at the five-leaf growth stage was used to evaluate opportunities for variable rate N fertilizer application using conventional tractor-based equipment. A field in Nebraska, USA at the twelve-leaf growth stage was used to compare data interpretation strategies using: (1) the conventional virtual reference concept where the vegetation index of adequately fertilized plants was determined before N application was initiated; and (2) a drive-and-apply approach (no prior canopy sensor information for the field before initiating fertilizer application) where the fertilizer flow-rate control system continuously updates a histogram and automatically calculates the vegetation index of adequately fertilized plants. The 95-percentile value from a vegetation-index histogram was used to determine the vegetation index of adequately fertilized plants. This value was used to calculate a sufficiency index value for other plants in the fields. The vegetation index of reference plants analyzed using an N-rich approach was 3-5 % lower than derived using the virtual-reference concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A method development process is commonly finalized by a method transfer from the developing to the routine laboratory. Statistical tests are performed in order to survey if a transfer succeeded or failed. However, using the classic two-sample t-test can lead to misjudgments and unsatisfying transfer results due to its test characteristics. Therefore the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) employed a fixed method transfer design using equivalence tests in their Guide for Technology Transfer. Although it was well received by analytical laboratories worldwide this fixed design can easily bring about high β-errors (rejection of successful transfers) or high workload (many analysts employed during transfer) if (error due to different analysts) exceeds 0.6%. Hence this work introduces an extended concept which will help to circumvent this disadvantage by providing guidance to select a personalized and more appropriate experimental design. First of all it demonstrates that former t-test related acceptance criteria can be scaled by a factor of 1.15, which allows for a broader tolerance without a loss of decision certainty. Furthermore a decision guidance to choose the proper number of analysts or series at given percentage acceptance limits (%AL) is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the theoretical basis of the linkage between attitudes toward business' ethical responsibilities and culture in the U.S. It also discusses the three dimensions of a broad understanding of various ethical responsibilities of business namely: the shareholder, stakeholder, and moral agency perspectives. It suggests a theoretical underpinning that might lead to more stable research tools and hence a growing body of knowledge concerning attitude toward the ethical responsibility of business.

Development of corn (Zea mays L.) germplasm tolerant to water stress will be vital to sustaining corn-based farming in the U.S. Great Plains. In a companion 4-yr field study near Shelton, NE, we found that 12 hybrids displayed differential agronomic responses to varying water levels, with tolerant hybrids yielding from 27 to 42% more than susceptible hybrids under stress while yielding similarly under no stress. The objective of this study was to determine if chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) measurements could be used to distinguish tolerant from susceptible hybrids. Leaf temperature (LT) and two CF parameters (ΦPSII, photosystem II quantum efficiency, and ETR, electron transport rate) were measured on three postflowering dates in 2001 using a fluorometer on a subset of original treatments involving two tolerant and susceptible hybrids grown under deficit and adequate water. Water effects were observed on only one date; LT was 2.5°C warmer and ΦPSII and ETR values were 25% lower for deficit vs. adequate water just after silking, signifying increased water stress and decreased photosynthesis during reproductive growth. Under stress, LTs were 2.8°C cooler and ΦPSII and ETR values 50% higher for tolerant vs. susceptible hybrids, while all hybrids produced similar CF values under no stress. Thus, grain yield and photosynthetic responses of hybrids to stress were similar, indicating that CF measurements can be used to distinguish tolerant from susceptible hybrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers an analysis of the way private insurers deal with the issue of genetics and insurance. Drawing on specific written insurance sources, a reconstruction is made of internal debates on genetics and insurance within the private insurance world in Europe and the United States. The article starts by analyzing the way insurers initially framed the issue of genetics. It proceeds by showing how ideas with respect to this issue developed beyond public policy debates in the nineties. Although not a strictly linear development, a trend towards a change in perspective can be demonstrated: at the beginning most insurance companies took another stance than they do nowadays. The article concludes by questioning the effect of these changes within the insurance world for the definition of the problem with respect to genetics and insurance. Does taking into account the public concerns around genetics also include taking genetics as a public problem? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the diversity criteria of fourteen funds, representing eight research houses, cited by economist Amy Domini as the largest socially responsible investing (SRI) funds. Background of SRI funds; Types of diversity screens used by SRI funds; Financial rationale of SRI funds.

This review addresses the challenges and progress in sensor development and radiometric correction for agricultural applications with particular emphasis on activities within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Examples of sensor development include on-site development of sensors and platforms, participation in cooperative research and development agreements (CRADA) with commercial companies, and membership on NASA science teams. Examples of progress made in sensor radiometric correction suitable for agriculture are presented for both laboratory and field environments. The direction of future sensor development includes integrated sensors and systems, sensor standardization, and new sensor technologies measuring fluorescence and soil electrical conductivity, and utilizing Light Detection and Ranging (lidar), hyperspectral, and multiband thermal wavelengths. The upcoming challenges include definition of the core spectral regions for agriculture and the sensor specifications for a dedicated, orbiting agricultural sensor, determination of an operational approach for reflectance and temperature retrieval, and enhanced communication between image providers, research scientists, and users. This review concludes with a number of avenues through which USDA could promote sensor development and radiometric correction for agricultural applications. These include developing a network of large permanent calibration targets at USDA ARS locations; investing in new technologies; pooling resources to support large-scale field experiments; determining ARS-wide standards for sensor development, calibration, and deployment; and funding interagency agreements to achieve common goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines whether socially responsible investment funds actually deliver returns for investors in the U.S. Gap between the promise and performance of socially responsible funds; Analysis of pertinent topics and relevant issues; Implications on business and society.

Assesses the influence of improved irrigation practices on ground water pesticide contamination at the Nebraska Management Systems Evaluation Area. Examination of corn files; Application of identical banded Bicep among the corn fields; Collection of ground water samples.

Assesses the variable rate technology (VRT) management approach on site-specific nitrogen management in Buffalo, New York. Importance of VRT approach on the reduction of nitrate-nitrogen remains; Characteristics of soil at experimental sites; List of isotropic semivariogram parameters for gain yield.