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Background: Efforts to improve healthcare quality involve profiling hospitals and providers. Whether cancer-specific measures can be used reliably for profiling purposes has not been reported.Study Design: Hospitals and surgeons were profiled with 3 measures assessing the adequacy of lymphadenectomy for colon (ie at least 12 regional lymph nodes [12RLN] are removed and pathologically examined for resected colon cancer), gastric (ie at least 15 regional lymph nodes [G15RLN] are removed and pathologically examined for resected gastric cancer), and non-small cell lung (ie at least 10 regional lymph nodes [10RLN] are removed and pathologically examined for American Joint Committee on Cancer stage IA, IB, IIA, and IIB resected non-small cell lung cancer) cancers using hierarchical models. National Cancer Data Base cases spanning 2010 to 2013 were included if they met measure eligibility. Reliability estimates for hospital and surgeon performance across cumulative years of data (2013, 2012 to 2013, 2011 to 2013, and 2010 to 2013) were calculated with and without risk adjustment. Surgeon caseload minimums were projected to achieve reliabilities of 0.40 and 0.70.Results: Reliability estimates tended to increase with longer periods of data collection but at different rates, depending on measure, level of aggregation, and performance outlier status. Profiling hospitals using 12RLN with 2 years of data yielded a median reliability of 0.72 (interquartile range [IQR] 0.55 to 0.83); however, 4 years of data yielded a median reliability of only 0.31 (IQR 0.14 to 0.54) for surgeons. The G15RLN performance was poor overall; 10RLN had high reliability at both hospital (0.74; IQR 0.50 to 0.86) and surgeon (0.61; IQR 0.34 to 0.80) levels using 1 year of data, but the literature questions this measure's validity. Few surgeons could achieve appropriate levels of reliability regardless of increased data collection duration.Conclusions: Profiling hospitals based on measures such as these can achieve acceptable reliability in reasonable timeframes, but does not always. Either lower levels of reliability should be accepted to profile surgeons with these measures or longer timeframes should be used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents planning suggestions for patients who plan on returning home safely after scheduled surgery. It states that physicians and nurses will explain to patients on how to care for their incisions and on normal reactions that happen during wound healing. It talks about the need to be careful when taking new medications or changing normal medications and talks about activities that should be avoided after surgery. It comments on complications which can happen after surgery.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one on performance-accuracy trade-off linked to modeling the physical layer in wireless communication networks, and another on multiplayer games.

• A significant unmet need for hepatitis B vaccination in adults remained in Viet Nam. • More people in the young age groups should be recommended for hepatitis B vaccination. • The social disparity in hepatitis B vaccination existed in various socioeconomic statuses. • Hepatitis B vaccination should be recommended for the broader population to achieve elimination. Gaps in adult hepatitis B vaccination were undefined in Vietnam, a lower-middle-income country. To address these gaps, this study defined hepatitis B vaccine coverage in adults and its associated factors in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Viet Nam. We also proposed interventional strategies, prioritizing gap identification to facilitate hepatitis B elimination by 2030 and beyond. During 2019–2020, a multi-stage cluster serosurvey with probability proportional to size was conducted to representatively invite 20,000 adults (18 years or older) throughout HCMC for hepatitis B screening (HBsAg, anti-HBs, and anti-HBc). Serologic results defined two dependent variables: vaccine-induced immunity (i.e., isolated anti-HBs) and susceptibility (i.e., HBV naive). Associations of dependent variables with surveyed demographics, socioeconomic statuses, behaviors, and medical history at risk for hepatitis B were evaluated using weighted Poisson regression. The prevalence was 18.5% (95%CI, 17.3-20.0%) for vaccine-induced immunity and 37.7% (35.6-39.8%) for susceptibility. Even though analyses in the general population revealed a falling trend in vaccine-induced immunity prevalence from younger to older age groups, sensitivity analyses in the non-infected population (i.e., those who were both negative for HBsAg and anti-HBc) showed that younger age groups, especially those aged 30 to 50 years, had the lowest prevalence. Social inequalities existed in different ethnicities, residence areas, education levels, house ownership, and health insurance statuses. There was no significant association between vaccine-induced immunity or susceptibility and risky behaviors and medical histories. This study depicts a significant unmet need for hepatitis B vaccination in the general adult population in HCMC, Viet Nam. Indeed, the lack of vaccination was unevenly distributed regarding age groups, geographical areas, and socioeconomic statuses, which reveals profound social disparities. Therefore, to achieve hepatitis B elimination goals, besides the current recommendations for infants and risk-based strategies, hepatitis B vaccination should be recommended for the broader population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: American College of Surgeons NSQIP risk-adjustment models rely on the designated "principal" CPT code to account for procedure-related risk. However, if hospitals differ in their propensity to undertake multiple major operations under the same anesthetic, then risk adjustment using only a single code could bias hospital quality estimates. This study investigated this possibility for bias.Study Design: We examined hospital odds ratios (ORs) when either the principal CPT code was used for risk adjustment (along with other standard NSQIP predictor variables) or when this code was used in addition to the remaining reported CPT code with the highest associated risk. We examined models for general surgery mortality and morbidity and morbidity in datasets that included mastectomy and/or breast reconstruction, or hysterectomy and/or gynecologic reconstruction as areas known to likely involve more than 1 procedure.Results: Hospital ORs based on 1 vs 2 CPT codes for risk adjustment were essentially the same for mortality and morbidity general surgery models and for the mastectomy and/or breast reconstruction model. For hysterectomy and/or gynecologic reconstruction, the 1 CPT code model tended to slightly overestimate ORs compared with the 2 CPT codes model, when the hospital's OR and the proportion of combined operations were large.Conclusions: Conditions under which practice-pattern-associated modeling bias might exist appear to be uncommon and to have a small impact on quality assessments for the areas examined. The evidence suggests that, within the American College of Surgeons NSQIP modeling paradigm, the principal CPT code adequately risk adjusts for operative procedure in performance assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Based on recent clinical trials, radiation is a standard treatment option for limited metastatic sites in metastatic breast cancer, with the potential to improve survival. This is typically given in the form of high-dose radiation called stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). However, SBRT is a newer technology that is not on option for all patients and does not have long-term follow-up. Prior to the widespread implementation of SBRT, we performed a clinical trial utilizing high-dose chemotherapy and standard radiation for metastases in patients with limited metastatic breast cancer. In this research, we analyzed the long-term outcomes of these patients. We found that, despite not using SBRT, radiation provided promising long-term disease control and survival. Therefore, conventional radiation might still be considered if SBRT in not an option for a patient, and our results also help suggest what long-term outcomes of SBRT treatment might look like. Background: Patients with oligometastatic breast cancer (oMBC) may benefit from aggressive local therapy. We sought to assess the effects of consolidative radiation therapy (RT) on outcomes in oMBC patients treated on a prospective phase II trial of high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT). Methods: Between 2005 and 2009, 12 patients with oMBC (≤3 metastatic sites) cancer were treated on protocol. Patients were to receive tandem HDCT supported by hematopoietic cell rescue (HCR). All radiographically identifiable oligometastatic sites received targeted radiation. Results: HDCT was initiated at a median of 6.7 (3.5–12.7) months after diagnosis of oMBC. Hormone receptors (HR) were positive in 91.6% of patients, and HER2 was overexpressed in 25% of patients. Median radiation dose (EQD2) was 41.2 (37.9–48.7) Gy. Median follow-up was 13.1 (6.8–15.1) years for living patients. Ten-year PFS and OS were 33% (95%CI, 10–59%) and 55% (95%CI, 22–79%), respectively. Durable local control of treated lesions was 87.5%. At the last follow up, two patients remained progression free and two more were without evidence of disease following additional salvage treatment. Conclusions: Although modern systemic therapies have obviated the use of HDC, aggressive local therapy warrants further evaluation and fractionated radiotherapy is a viable alternative if SBRT is not available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insulin therapy often increases body weight and leads to visceral fat accumulation. Progression in diabetes is also associated with accelerated loss of muscle mass. Little is known about body composition changes in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients on insulin therapy who use sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors versus dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitors. This study examined the effect of 25 mg of empagliflozin compared with 5 mg of linagliptin for 24 weeks on body weight and body composition in patients with T2DM on premixed insulin. Body composition was assessed with bioelectrical impedance analysis. The mean difference between the linagliptin and empagliflozin groups in terms of mean body weight change from baseline to 24 weeks was − 1.80 kg (95% CI − 2.57, − 1.03). Empagliflozin also significantly reduced muscle mass (− 1.39 kg, 95% CI − 2.49, − 0.29) and total body water (− 1.07 kg, 95% CI − 1.88, − 0.27) compared with linagliptin. Compared to linagliptin, empagliflozin decreased body fat mass more from baseline to week 24, but this was not significant (− 0.31 kg, 95% CI − 1.51, 0.90). Further research on insulin-treated T2DM patients is necessary to investigate the long-term effects of SGLT2 and DPP4 inhibitors on body composition, as well as their effects on muscle strength and physical function. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov no. NCT03458715, registration date: March 8, 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We examined the relationship between current tobacco use and functionally important respiratory symptoms.Methods: Longitudinal cohort study of 16 295 US adults without COPD in Waves 2-3 (W2-3, 2014-2016) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. Exposure-Ten mutually exclusive categories of tobacco use including single product, multiple product, former, and never use (reference). Outcome-Seven questions assessing wheezing/cough were summed to create a respiratory symptom index; cutoffs of ≥2 and ≥3 were associated with functional limitations and poorer health. Multivariable regressions examined both cutoffs cross-sectionally and change over approximately 12 months, adjusting for confounders.Results: All tobacco use categories featuring cigarettes (>2/3's of users) were associated with higher risk (vs. never users) for functionally important respiratory symptoms at W2, for example, at symptom severity ≥ 3, risk ratio for exclusive cigarette use was 2.34 [95% CI, 1.92, 2.85] and for worsening symptoms at W3 was 2.80 [2.08, 3.76]. There was largely no increased symptom risk for exclusive use of cigars, smokeless tobacco, hookah, or e-cigarettes (adjustment for pack-years and marijuana attenuated the cross-sectional e-cigarette association from 1.53(95% CI 0.98, 2.40) to 1.05 (0.67, 1.63); RRs for these products were also significantly lower compared to exclusive use of cigarettes. The longitudinal e-cigarette-respiratory symptom association was sensitive to the respiratory index cutoff level; exclusive e-cigarette use was associated with worsening symptoms at an index cutoff ≥ 2 (RR = 1.63 [1.02, 2.59]) and with symptom improvement at an index cutoff of ≥ 3 (RR = 1.64 [1.04, 2.58]).Conclusions: Past and current cigarette smoking drove functionally important respiratory symptoms, while exclusive use of other tobacco products was largely not associated. However, the relationship between e-cigarette use and symptoms was sensitive to adjustment for pack-years and symptom severity.Implications: How noncigarette tobacco products affect respiratory symptoms is not clear; some studies implicate e-cigarettes. We examined functionally important respiratory symptoms (wheezing/nighttime cough) among US adults without COPD. The majority of adult tobacco users smoke cigarettes and have higher risk of respiratory symptoms and worsening of symptoms, regardless of other products used with them. Exclusive use of other tobacco products (e-cigarettes, cigars, smokeless, hookah) was largely not associated with functionally important respiratory symptoms and risks associated with their use was significantly lower than for cigarettes. The association for e-cigarettes was greatly attenuated by adjustment for cigarette pack-years and sensitive to how symptoms were defined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Unmet social needs (SNs) often coexist in distinct patterns within specific population subgroups, yet these patterns are understudied.To identify patterns of social needs (PSNs) and characterize their associations with health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and healthcare utilization (HCU).Observational study using data on SNs screening, HRQoL (i.e., low mental and physical health), and 90-day HCU (i.e., emergency visits and hospital admission). Among patients with any SNs, latent class analysis was conducted to identify unique PSNs. For all patients and by race and age subgroups, compared with no SNs, we calculated the risks of poor HRQoL and time to first HCU following SNs screening for each PSN.Adult patients undergoing SNs screening at the Mass General Brigham healthcare system in Massachusetts, United States, between March 2018 and January 2023.SNs included: education, employment, family care, food, housing, medication, transportation, and ability to pay for household utilities. HRQoL was assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global-10.Six unique PSNs were identified: “high number of social needs,” “food and utility access,” “employment needs,” “interested in education,” “housing instability,” and “transportation barriers.” In 14,230 patients with HRQoL data, PSNs increased the risks of poor mental health, with risk ratios ranging from 1.07(95%CI:1.01–1.13) to 1.80(95%CI:1.74–1.86). Analysis of poor physical health yielded similar findings, except that the “interested in education” showed a mild protective effect (0.97[95%CI:0.94–1.00]). In 105,110 patients, PSNs increased the risk of 90-day HCU, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.09(95%CI:0.99–1.21) to 1.70(95%CI:1.52–1.90). Findings were generally consistent in subgroup analyses by race and age.Certain SNs coexist in distinct patterns and result in poorer HRQoL and more HCU. Understanding PSNs allows policymakers, public health practitioners, and social workers to identify at-risk patients and implement integrated, system-wide, and community-based interventions.Objective: Unmet social needs (SNs) often coexist in distinct patterns within specific population subgroups, yet these patterns are understudied.To identify patterns of social needs (PSNs) and characterize their associations with health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and healthcare utilization (HCU).Observational study using data on SNs screening, HRQoL (i.e., low mental and physical health), and 90-day HCU (i.e., emergency visits and hospital admission). Among patients with any SNs, latent class analysis was conducted to identify unique PSNs. For all patients and by race and age subgroups, compared with no SNs, we calculated the risks of poor HRQoL and time to first HCU following SNs screening for each PSN.Adult patients undergoing SNs screening at the Mass General Brigham healthcare system in Massachusetts, United States, between March 2018 and January 2023.SNs included: education, employment, family care, food, housing, medication, transportation, and ability to pay for household utilities. HRQoL was assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global-10.Six unique PSNs were identified: “high number of social needs,” “food and utility access,” “employment needs,” “interested in education,” “housing instability,” and “transportation barriers.” In 14,230 patients with HRQoL data, PSNs increased the risks of poor mental health, with risk ratios ranging from 1.07(95%CI:1.01–1.13) to 1.80(95%CI:1.74–1.86). Analysis of poor physical health yielded similar findings, except that the “interested in education” showed a mild protective effect (0.97[95%CI:0.94–1.00]). In 105,110 patients, PSNs increased the risk of 90-day HCU, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.09(95%CI:0.99–1.21) to 1.70(95%CI:1.52–1.90). Findings were generally consistent in subgroup analyses by race and age.Certain SNs coexist in distinct patterns and result in poorer HRQoL and more HCU. Understanding PSNs allows policymakers, public health practitioners, and social workers to identify at-risk patients and implement integrated, system-wide, and community-based interventions.Design: Unmet social needs (SNs) often coexist in distinct patterns within specific population subgroups, yet these patterns are understudied.To identify patterns of social needs (PSNs) and characterize their associations with health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and healthcare utilization (HCU).Observational study using data on SNs screening, HRQoL (i.e., low mental and physical health), and 90-day HCU (i.e., emergency visits and hospital admission). Among patients with any SNs, latent class analysis was conducted to identify unique PSNs. For all patients and by race and age subgroups, compared with no SNs, we calculated the risks of poor HRQoL and time to first HCU following SNs screening for each PSN.Adult patients undergoing SNs screening at the Mass General Brigham healthcare system in Massachusetts, United States, between March 2018 and January 2023.SNs included: education, employment, family care, food, housing, medication, transportation, and ability to pay for household utilities. HRQoL was assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global-10.Six unique PSNs were identified: “high number of social needs,” “food and utility access,” “employment needs,” “interested in education,” “housing instability,” and “transportation barriers.” In 14,230 patients with HRQoL data, PSNs increased the risks of poor mental health, with risk ratios ranging from 1.07(95%CI:1.01–1.13) to 1.80(95%CI:1.74–1.86). Analysis of poor physical health yielded similar findings, except that the “interested in education” showed a mild protective effect (0.97[95%CI:0.94–1.00]). In 105,110 patients, PSNs increased the risk of 90-day HCU, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.09(95%CI:0.99–1.21) to 1.70(95%CI:1.52–1.90). Findings were generally consistent in subgroup analyses by race and age.Certain SNs coexist in distinct patterns and result in poorer HRQoL and more HCU. Understanding PSNs allows policymakers, public health practitioners, and social workers to identify at-risk patients and implement integrated, system-wide, and community-based interventions.Patients: Unmet social needs (SNs) often coexist in distinct patterns within specific population subgroups, yet these patterns are understudied.To identify patterns of social needs (PSNs) and characterize their associations with health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and healthcare utilization (HCU).Observational study using data on SNs screening, HRQoL (i.e., low mental and physical health), and 90-day HCU (i.e., emergency visits and hospital admission). Among patients with any SNs, latent class analysis was conducted to identify unique PSNs. For all patients and by race and age subgroups, compared with no SNs, we calculated the risks of poor HRQoL and time to first HCU following SNs screening for each PSN.Adult patients undergoing SNs screening at the Mass General Brigham healthcare system in Massachusetts, United States, between March 2018 and January 2023.SNs included: education, employment, family care, food, housing, medication, transportation, and ability to pay for household utilities. HRQoL was assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global-10.Six unique PSNs were identified: “high number of social needs,” “food and utility access,” “employment needs,” “interested in education,” “housing instability,” and “transportation barriers.” In 14,230 patients with HRQoL data, PSNs increased the risks of poor mental health, with risk ratios ranging from 1.07(95%CI:1.01–1.13) to 1.80(95%CI:1.74–1.86). Analysis of poor physical health yielded similar findings, except that the “interested in education” showed a mild protective effect (0.97[95%CI:0.94–1.00]). In 105,110 patients, PSNs increased the risk of 90-day HCU, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.09(95%CI:0.99–1.21) to 1.70(95%CI:1.52–1.90). Findings were generally consistent in subgroup analyses by race and age.Certain SNs coexist in distinct patterns and result in poorer HRQoL and more HCU. Understanding PSNs allows policymakers, public health practitioners, and social workers to identify at-risk patients and implement integrated, system-wide, and community-based interventions.Main Measures: Unmet social needs (SNs) often coexist in distinct patterns within specific population subgroups, yet these patterns are understudied.To identify patterns of social needs (PSNs) and characterize their associations with health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and healthcare utilization (HCU).Observational study using data on SNs screening, HRQoL (i.e., low mental and physical health), and 90-day HCU (i.e., emergency visits and hospital admission). Among patients with any SNs, latent class analysis was conducted to identify unique PSNs. For all patients and by race and age subgroups, compared with no SNs, we calculated the risks of poor HRQoL and time to first HCU following SNs screening for each PSN.Adult patients undergoing SNs screening at the Mass General Brigham healthcare system in Massachusetts, United States, between March 2018 and January 2023.SNs included: education, employment, family care, food, housing, medication, transportation, and ability to pay for household utilities. HRQoL was assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global-10.Six unique PSNs were identified: “high number of social needs,” “food and utility access,” “employment needs,” “interested in education,” “housing instability,” and “transportation barriers.” In 14,230 patients with HRQoL data, PSNs increased the risks of poor mental health, with risk ratios ranging from 1.07(95%CI:1.01–1.13) to 1.80(95%CI:1.74–1.86). Analysis of poor physical health yielded similar findings, except that the “interested in education” showed a mild protective effect (0.97[95%CI:0.94–1.00]). In 105,110 patients, PSNs increased the risk of 90-day HCU, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.09(95%CI:0.99–1.21) to 1.70(95%CI:1.52–1.90). Findings were generally consistent in subgroup analyses by race and age.Certain SNs coexist in distinct patterns and result in poorer HRQoL and more HCU. Understanding PSNs allows policymakers, public health practitioners, and social workers to identify at-risk patients and implement integrated, system-wide, and community-based interventions.Key Results: Unmet social needs (SNs) often coexist in distinct patterns within specific population subgroups, yet these patterns are understudied.To identify patterns of social needs (PSNs) and characterize their associations with health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and healthcare utilization (HCU).Observational study using data on SNs screening, HRQoL (i.e., low mental and physical health), and 90-day HCU (i.e., emergency visits and hospital admission). Among patients with any SNs, latent class analysis was conducted to identify unique PSNs. For all patients and by race and age subgroups, compared with no SNs, we calculated the risks of poor HRQoL and time to first HCU following SNs screening for each PSN.Adult patients undergoing SNs screening at the Mass General Brigham healthcare system in Massachusetts, United States, between March 2018 and January 2023.SNs included: education, employment, family care, food, housing, medication, transportation, and ability to pay for household utilities. HRQoL was assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global-10.Six unique PSNs were identified: “high number of social needs,” “food and utility access,” “employment needs,” “interested in education,” “housing instability,” and “transportation barriers.” In 14,230 patients with HRQoL data, PSNs increased the risks of poor mental health, with risk ratios ranging from 1.07(95%CI:1.01–1.13) to 1.80(95%CI:1.74–1.86). Analysis of poor physical health yielded similar findings, except that the “interested in education” showed a mild protective effect (0.97[95%CI:0.94–1.00]). In 105,110 patients, PSNs increased the risk of 90-day HCU, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.09(95%CI:0.99–1.21) to 1.70(95%CI:1.52–1.90). Findings were generally consistent in subgroup analyses by race and age.Certain SNs coexist in distinct patterns and result in poorer HRQoL and more HCU. Understanding PSNs allows policymakers, public health practitioners, and social workers to identify at-risk patients and implement integrated, system-wide, and community-based interventions.Conclusions: Unmet social needs (SNs) often coexist in distinct patterns within specific population subgroups, yet these patterns are understudied.To identify patterns of social needs (PSNs) and characterize their associations with health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and healthcare utilization (HCU).Observational study using data on SNs screening, HRQoL (i.e., low mental and physical health), and 90-day HCU (i.e., emergency visits and hospital admission). Among patients with any SNs, latent class analysis was conducted to identify unique PSNs. For all patients and by race and age subgroups, compared with no SNs, we calculated the risks of poor HRQoL and time to first HCU following SNs screening for each PSN.Adult patients undergoing SNs screening at the Mass General Brigham healthcare system in Massachusetts, United States, between March 2018 and January 2023.SNs included: education, employment, family care, food, housing, medication, transportation, and ability to pay for household utilities. HRQoL was assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global-10.Six unique PSNs were identified: “high number of social needs,” “food and utility access,” “employment needs,” “interested in education,” “housing instability,” and “transportation barriers.” In 14,230 patients with HRQoL data, PSNs increased the risks of poor mental health, with risk ratios ranging from 1.07(95%CI:1.01–1.13) to 1.80(95%CI:1.74–1.86). Analysis of poor physical health yielded similar findings, except that the “interested in education” showed a mild protective effect (0.97[95%CI:0.94–1.00]). In 105,110 patients, PSNs increased the risk of 90-day HCU, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.09(95%CI:0.99–1.21) to 1.70(95%CI:1.52–1.90). Findings were generally consistent in subgroup analyses by race and age.Certain SNs coexist in distinct patterns and result in poorer HRQoL and more HCU. Understanding PSNs allows policymakers, public health practitioners, and social workers to identify at-risk patients and implement integrated, system-wide, and community-based interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present evidence for breathing modes in magnetron sputtering plasmas: periodic axial variations of plasma parameters with characteristic frequencies between 10 and 100 kHz. A set of azimuthally distributed probes shows synchronous oscillations of the floating potential. They appear most clearly when considering the intermediate current regime in which the direction of azimuthal spoke motion changes. Breathing oscillations were found to be superimposed on azimuthal spoke motion. Depending on pressure and current, one can also find a regime of chaotic fluctuations and one of stable discharges, the latter at high current. A pressure-current phase diagram for the different situations is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taste liking influences the way in which people match tastes to shapes. However, taste-shape matching cannot be explained entirely by taste hedonics. Here, we assess whether variations in taste intensity influence such crossmodal correspondences. Participants were presented with five basic tastants in two concentrations and had to rate them on roundness/angularity shape scales, as well as in terms of liking, and intensity. The results revealed that taste quality, intensity, and participants' liking of the taste significantly predicted the roundness/angularity of the tastants. The results also revealed a positive correlation between perceived intensity and roundness/angularity for each of the tastants except sweet, and a negative correlation between liking and roundness/angularity for all of the tastes. These results are discussed in terms of the mechanism(s) that underlie the crossmodal correspondence between taste and shape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Relapsing COVID-19 infections have been reported, but their etiology and severity are still unknown. In addition, there have been no cases in the literature that associate relapsing infection with immunosuppression, either from a disease course or medications. CASE PRESENTATION: This case series illustrates two patients who developed a relapsed infection, likely from recent rituximab infusions. In addition, both cases depicted a severe form of infection than the initial one. Laboratory investigations revealed these patients were unable to produce COVID-19 antibodies, even though one of the patients received convalescent plasma. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of relapsing COVID-19, especially in immunosuppressed patients. Because rituximab induces B-cell depletion, it can also decrease the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine. Therefore, these patients should receive the vaccine before their scheduled rituximab infusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Number of involved lymph nodes (LNs) is a crucial stratification factor in staging of numerous disease sites, but has not been incorporated for endometrial cancer. We evaluated whether number of involved LNs provide improved prognostic value. Patients diagnosed with node-positive endometrial adenocarcinoma without distant metastasis were identified in the National Cancer Database. We trained a machine-learning based model of overall survival. Shapley additive explanation values (SHAP) based on the model were used to identify cutoffs of number of LNs involved. Results were validated using a Cox proportional hazards regression model. We identified 11,381 patients with endometrial cancer meeting the inclusion criteria. Using the SHAP values, we selected the following thresholds: 1–3 LNs, 4–5 LNs, and 6+ LNs. The 3-year OS was 82.0% for 1–3 LNs, 74.3% for 4–5 LNs (hazard ratio [HR] 1.38; p < 0.001), and 59.9% for 6+ LNs (HR 2.23; p < 0.001). On univariate Cox regression, PA nodal involvement was a significant predictor of OS (HR 1.20; p < 0.001) but was not significant on multivariate analysis when number of LNs was included (HR 1.05; p = 0.273). Additionally, we identified an interaction between adjuvant therapy and number of involved LNs. Patients with 1–3 involved LNs had 3-year OS of 85.2%, 78.7% and 74.2% with chemoradiation (CRT), chemotherapy, and radiation, respectively. Patients with 6+ involved LNs had 3-yr OS of 67.8%, 49.6%, and 48.9% with CRT, chemotherapy, and radiation, respectively (p < 0.001). Number of involved LNs is a stronger prognostic and predictive factor compared to PA node involvement. • Number of involved lymph nodes provides improved prognostic value compared to the existing FIGO staging system. • Number of involved nodes provides predictive value to response to adjuvant treatment in endometrial cancer. • Machine learning algorithms can be used to identify prognostic thresholds. • Future staging systems for endometrial cancer should consider incorporating nodal burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow-level bandwidth provisioning (FBP) achieves fine-grained bandwidth assurance for individual flows. It is especially important for virtualization-based computing environments such as data centers. However, existing flow-level bandwidth provisioning solutions suffer from a number of drawbacks, including high implementation complexity, poor performance guarantees, and inefficiency to process variable length packets. In this paper, we study flow-level bandwidth provisioning for Combined Input Crosspoint Queued (CICQ) switches in the OpenFlow context. First, we propose the Flow-level Bandwidth Provisioning algorithm for CICQ switches, which reduces the switch scheduling problem to multiple instances of fair queuing problems, each utilizing a well-studied fair queuing algorithm. We theoretically prove that FBP can closely emulate the ideal Generalized Processing Sharing model, and accurately guarantee the provisioned bandwidth. Furthermore, we implement FBP in the OpenFlow software switch to obtain realistic performance data by a prototype. Leveraging the capability of OpenFlow to define and manipulate flows, we experimentally demonstrate a practical flow-level bandwidth provisioning solution. Finally, we conduct extensive simulations and experiments to evaluate the design. The simulation data verify the correctness of the analytical results, and show that FBP achieves tight performance guarantees. The experiment results demonstrate that our OpenFlow-based prototype can conveniently and accurately provision bandwidth at the flow level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An application-oriented DQN-based EMS mode decision-making method is proposed. • High-dimensional mappings can be extracted from trained agents for controllers. • The practical feasibility of the proposed EMS is verified using EGS test bench. • The method can train the customized strategies and save the calibration work time. Energy management strategies play an important role in range-extended electric vehicles. An application-oriented energy management strategy based on deep Q-network is proposed, which takes the deviation of the SOC from the reference curve, vehicle speed, and required power of the vehicle as the state, and takes the mode decision as the action. The designed concise Q agent can be well-trained under standard driving cycles and real-world driving cycle. The high-dimensional mappings can be extracted from trained agents and are applicable to actual vehicle controllers. Compared with the rule-based and Q learning-based EMS, the proposed strategy has more mode selection judgment conditions and continuous state space, which can better select the timing of mode switching, thus effectively improving the engine operating efficiency and optimizing fuel economy. The experimental tests are conducted to verify the practical feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RNA-seq has matured and become an important tool for studying RNA biology. Here we compared two RNA-seq (MGI DNBSEQ and Illumina NextSeq 500) and two microarray platforms (GeneChip Human Transcriptome Array 2.0 and Illumina Expression BeadChip) in healthy individuals administered recombinant human erythropoietin for transcriptome-wide quantification of differential gene expression. The results show that total RNA DNB-seq generated a multitude of target genes compared to other platforms. Pathway enrichment analyses revealed genes correlate to not only erythropoiesis and oxygen transport but also a wide range of other functions, such as tissue protection and immune regulation. This study provides a knowledge base of genes relevant to EPO biology through cross-platform comparisons and validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional discrete-event simulation of large-scale networks at the packet level is computationally expensive. This article presents a fast rate-based transmission control protocol (RTCP) traffic model designed to reduce the time and space complexity for simulating network traffic whilst maintaining good accuracy. A distinct feature of the proposed model is that the transmission control protocol (TCP) congestion control behavior is represented using analytical models that describe the send rate at the traffic source as a function of the round-trip time and the packet loss rate at different phases of a TCP connection. Rather than modeling at the granularity of individual packets visiting the intermediate routers, the model approximates traffic flows as a series of rate windows, each consisting of a number of packets considered to possess the same arrival rate. The model calculates the queuing delays and the packet losses as these rate windows traverse the individual network queues along the flow path. The proposed RTCP model is able to achieve a performance advantage over other TCP models, by integrating analytical solutions and aggregating traffic using rate windows. Empirical results show that the RTCP model can correctly capture the overall TCP behavior and achieve a speedup of more than two orders of magnitude over the corresponding detailed packet-oriented simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although viral gene transfer is efficient in achieving transgene expression for tissue engineering, drawbacks of virus dissemination, toxicity and transient gene expression due to immune response have hindered its widespread application. Many tissue engineering studies thus opt to genetically engineer cells in vitro prior to their introduction in vivo. However, it would be attractive to obviate the need for in vitro manipulation by transducing the infiltrating progenitor cells in situ. This study introduces the fabrication of a virus-encapsulated electrospun fibrous scaffold to achieve sustained and localized transduction. Adenovirus encoding the gene for green fluorescent protein was efficiently encapsulated into the core of poly(ε-caprolactone) fibers through co-axial electrospinning and was subsequently released via a porogen-mediated process. HEK 293 cells seeded on the scaffolds expressed high level of transgene expression over a month, while cells inoculated by scaffold supernatant showed only transient expression for a week. RAW 264.7 cells cultured on the virus-encapsulated fibers produced a lower level of IL-1 β, TNF-α and IFN-α, suggesting that the activation of macrophage cells by the viral vector was reduced when encapsulated in the core-shell PCL fibers. In demonstrating sustained and localized cell transduction, this study presents an attractive alternative mode of applying viral gene transfer for regenerative medicine. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

BACKGROUND: Environmental pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), lead, and mercury are released by combustion of coal and other fossil fuels. OBJECTIVES: In the present study we evaluated the association between prenatal exposure to these pollutants and child development measured by the Gesell Developmental Schedules at 2 years of age. METHODS: The study was conducted in Tongliang, Chongqing, China, where a seasonally operated coal-fired power plant was the major source of ambient PAHs and also contributed lead and mercury to the air. In a cohort of nonsmoking women and their newborns enrolled between March 2002 and June 2002, we measured levels of PAH-DNA adducts, lead, and mercury in umbilical cord blood. PAH-DNA adducts (specifically benzo[a]pyrene adducts) provided a biologically relevant measure of PAH exposure. We also obtained developmental quotients (DQs) in motor, adaptive, language, and social areas. RESULTS: Decrements in one or more DQs were significantly associated with cord blood levels of PAH-DNA adducts and lead, but not mercury. Increased adduct levels were associated with decreased motor area DQ (p = 0.043), language area DQ (p = 0.059), and average DQ (p = 0.047) after adjusting for cord lead level, environmental tobacco smoke, sex, gestational age, and maternal education. In the same model, high cord blood lead level was significantly associated with decreased social area DQ (p = 0.009) and average DQ (p = 0.038). CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that exposure to pollutants from the power plant adversely affected the development of children living in Tongliang; these findings have implications for environmental health policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are an important class of toxic pollutants released by fossil fuel combustion. Other pollutants include metals and particulate matter. PAH-DNA adducts, or benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) adducts as their proxy, provide a chemical-specific measure of individual biologically effective doses that have been associated with increased risk of cancer and adverse birth outcomes. In the present study we examined the relationship between prenatal PAH exposure and fetal and child growth and development in Tongliang, China, where a seasonally operated coal-fired power plant was the major pollution source. In a cohort of 150 nonsmoking women and their newborns enrolled between 4 March 2002 and 19 June 2002, BaP-DNA adducts were measured in maternal and umbilical cord blood obtained at delivery. The number of gestational months occurring during the period of power plant operation provided a second, more general measure of exposure to plant emissions, in terms of duration. High PAH-DNA adduct levels (above the median of detectable adduct level) were associated with decreased birth head circumference (p = 0.057) and reduced children's weight at 18 months, 24 months, and 30 months of age (p < 0.05), after controlling for potential confounders. In addition, in separate models, longer duration of prenatal exposure was associated with reduced birth length (p = 0.033) and reduced children's height at 18 (p = 0.001), 24 (p < 0.001), and 30 months of age (p < 0.001). The findings suggest that exposure to elevated levels of PAHs, with the Tongliang power plant being a significant source, is associated with reduced fetal and child growth in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of artificial intelligence, a combination of scale in data and model capacity enabled by unsupervised learning has led to major advances in representation learning and statistical generation. In the life sciences, the anticipated growth of sequencing promises unprecedented data on natural sequence diversity. Protein language modeling at the scale of evolution is a logical step toward predictive and generative artificial intelligence for biology. To this end, we use unsupervised learning to train a deep contextual language model on 86 billion amino acids across 250 million protein sequences spanning evolutionary diversity. The resulting model contains information about biological properties in its representations. The representations are learned from sequence data alone. The learned representation space has a multiscale organization reflecting structure from the level of biochemical properties of amino acids to remote homology of proteins. Information about secondary and tertiary structure is encoded in the representations and can be identified by linear projections. Representation learning produces features that generalize across a range of applications, enabling state-of-the-art supervised prediction of mutational effect and secondary structure and improving state-of-the-art features for long-range contact prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To date, there is no comprehensive study examining how asthma diagnosed in childhood or adolescence is associated with diagnoses of subsequent non‐communicable diseases (NCDs) during adulthood. Our study aimed to examine the associations between pediatric asthma and several adult NCDs, with temporality and long interval times between asthma and NCD diagnoses. Methods: We used RAND Indonesian Family Life Survey Fifth Wave (IFLS5) fielded in 2014‐2015, to study whether being diagnosed with pediatric asthma at 0‐19 years of age was associated with increased risks of hypertension, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, stomach diseases, kidney diseases, and heart diseases or stroke diagnosed in adulthood. We used the weighted Poisson regression adjusting for age, sex, urbanicity, and insurance status to estimate risk ratios. Subgroup analyses were performed by sex and age of asthma and other NCD diagnoses. Results: Pediatric asthma significantly increased risks of hypertension, diabetes, and stomach diseases diagnosed at 20 years of age or above. Males with pediatric asthma diagnosed at 0‐10 years of age had significantly higher risk of hypertension, while females with pediatric asthma diagnosed at 0‐10 years of age had significantly higher risks of diabetes and stomach diseases. Females with pediatric asthma diagnosed at 11‐19 years of age had significantly higher risks of diabetes, arthritis, stomach diseases, and kidney diseases. We also found varying associations by age of NCD diagnosis. Conclusion: Our results suggest pediatric asthma is associated with increased risks of several adult NCDs, and these associations may vary by sex and age of asthma and other NCD diagnoses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been much effort to prioritize genomic variants with respect to their impact on “function”. However, function is often not precisely defined: sometimes it is the disease association of a variant; on other occasions, it reflects a molecular effect on transcription or epigenetics. Here, we coupled multiple genomic predictors to build GRAM, a GeneRAlized Model, to predict a well-defined experimental target: the expression-modulating effect of a non-coding variant on its associated gene, in a transferable, cell-specific manner. Firstly, we performed feature engineering: using LASSO, a regularized linear model, we found transcription factor (TF) binding most predictive, especially for TFs that are hubs in the regulatory network; in contrast, evolutionary conservation, a popular feature in many other variant-impact predictors, has almost no contribution. Moreover, TF binding inferred from in vitro SELEX is as effective as that from in vivo ChIP-Seq. Second, we implemented GRAM integrating only SELEX features and expression profiles; thus, the program combines a universal regulatory score with an easily obtainable modifier reflecting the particular cell type. We benchmarked GRAM on large-scale MPRA datasets, achieving AUROC scores of 0.72 in GM12878 and 0.66 in a multi-cell line dataset. We then evaluated the performance of GRAM on targeted regions using luciferase assays in the MCF7 and K562 cell lines. We noted that changing the insertion position of the construct relative to the reporter gene gave very different results, highlighting the importance of carefully defining the exact prediction target of the model. Finally, we illustrated the utility of GRAM in fine-mapping causal variants and developed a practical software pipeline to carry this out. In particular, we demonstrated in specific examples how the pipeline could pinpoint variants that directly modulate gene expression within a larger linkage-disequilibrium block associated with a phenotype of interest (e.g., for an eQTL). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract for the article "A systematic evaluation of left ventricular (LV) models for estimating LV volumes in children using cardiac cine (MRI)," by Jiming Zhang, Carlo Uribe, Jason Liu, Benjamin Cheong, Amol Pednekar, Paolo Angelini and Raja Muthupillai is presented.

Chronic inflammation underlies many autoimmune diseases, including hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, and rheumatoid arthritis, also type-2 diabetes and osteoarthritis. Associations have been suggested of high-dose ionising radiation exposure with type-2 diabetes and elevated levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of chronic inflammation. In this analysis we used a proportional hazards model to assess effects of radiotherapy on risks of subsequent inflammatory disease morbidity in 110,368 US radiologic technologists followed from a baseline survey (1983-1989/1994-1998) through 2008. We used a linear model to assess log-transformed C-reactive protein concentration following radiotherapy in 1326 technologists. Relative risk of diabetes increased following radiotherapy (p < 0.001), and there was a borderline significant increasing trend per treatment (p = 0.092). For osteoarthritis there was increased relative risk associated with prior radiotherapy on all questionnaires (p = 0.005), and a significant increasing trend per previous treatment (p = 0.024). No consistent increases were observed for other types of inflammatory disease (hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis) associated with radiotherapy. There was a borderline significant (p = 0.059) increasing trend with dose for C-reactive protein with numbers of prior radiotherapy treatments. Our results suggest that radiotherapy is associated with subsequent increased risk of certain inflammatory conditions, which is reinforced by our finding of elevated levels of C-reactive protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Measuring expression profiles of inflammatory biomarkers is important in monitoring the polarization of immune responses; therefore, results should be independent of quantitation methods if they are to be accepted as validated clinical pathology biomarkers. To evaluate effects of differing quantitation methods, the seven major circulating Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines interleukin 2 (IL-2), interferon γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-α), IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-17A were quantified in plasma of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated mice with two different multiplex platforms. Methods: Female C57BL6 mice were treated orally with vehicle or dexamethasone, followed by LPS intravenously. Plasma samples were analyzed 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 6 h post-LPS challenge with assays at Myriad-RBM and compared to assays performed on a BD Accuri C6 flow cytometer. Results: IL-17A response to LPS was limited but sustained, and the response for the remaining cytokines were early and transient; dexamethasone reduced expression of all 7 cytokines. TNF-α and IL-6 levels were similar across both assays, and IL-4 levels were generally very low. Plasma levels of remaining cytokines were variably lower with BD assays than Myriad-RBM assays. Conclusions: The present findings demonstrate that quantitation of circulating biomarkers of inflammation can be achieved using multiplexed flow cytometry, but careful consideration must be taken for assay validation when cross-referencing with another multiplexed assay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how genetic variants impact molecular phenotypes is a key goal of functional genomics, currently hindered by reliance on a single haploid reference genome. Here, we present the EN-TEx resource of 1,635 open-access datasets from four donors (∼30 tissues × ∼15 assays). The datasets are mapped to matched, diploid genomes with long-read phasing and structural variants, instantiating a catalog of >1 million allele-specific loci. These loci exhibit coordinated activity along haplotypes and are less conserved than corresponding, non-allele-specific ones. Surprisingly, a deep-learning transformer model can predict the allele-specific activity based only on local nucleotide-sequence context, highlighting the importance of transcription-factor-binding motifs particularly sensitive to variants. Furthermore, combining EN-TEx with existing genome annotations reveals strong associations between allele-specific and GWAS loci. It also enables models for transferring known eQTLs to difficult-to-profile tissues (e.g., from skin to heart). Overall, EN-TEx provides rich data and generalizable models for more accurate personal functional genomics. [Display omitted] • EN-TEx includes 1,635 datasets mapped to 4 personal genomes, ∼30 tissues × ∼15 assays • Comprehensive catalog of allele-specific activity, decorating regulatory elements • Model to transfer known eQTLs to difficult-to-profile tissues (e.g., skin→heart) • Transformer model for predicting allelic activity based on local sequence context Understanding the impact of genetic variants is important to functional genomics. EN-TEx provides epigenomes across tissues, coupled with long-read genome assemblies, to build generalizable models of variant impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A functional observational battery (FOB) is recommended as the first-tier neurotoxicity screening in the preclinical safety pharmacology testing guidelines. Minipigs have increasingly been used in regulatory toxicology studies; however, no current FOB protocol is available for neurotoxicity testing in these species. Hence, a minipig FOB instrument was developed. A complete crossover study with Sinclair minipigs was performed to evaluate physiologic, neurologic, and behavioral effects of amphetamine, ketamine, and diazepam. The treated minipigs were first observed in their home cage, were video-recorded for 10 minutes in an open field, and then went through a complete neurologic examination. Both ketamine and diazepam were shown to reduce the freezing and behavior shifts of treated minipigs, while increasing their exploratory behaviors. Both drugs also caused muscular and gait impairment. The effects of ketamine and diazepam were consistent with their roles as central nervous system (CNS) suppressants. Unique effects were also observed with ketamine and diazepam treatments, which may reflect their unique mechanisms of action. Consistent with its role as a CNS stimulant, amphetamine caused the treated minipigs to be hyperactive and to display increased freezing and behavior shifts and reduced exploring activities. These effects of amphetamine were opposite to those observed with ketamine and diazepam. Amphetamine also increased locomotion in the treated minipigs. The present effects of amphetamine, ketamine, and diazepam are in agreement with observations by others. In conclusion, the minipig is a suitable species for FOB evaluation of pharmaceuticals in preclinical safety pharmacology testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The objectives of this study were to: (1) develop a novel adhesive for prevention of tooth root caries and secondary caries by possessing a combination of protein-repellent, antibacterial, and remineralization capabilities for the first time; and (2) investigate the effects of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC), dimethylaminohexadecyl methacrylate (DMAHDM), and nanoparticles of amorphous calcium phosphate (NACP) on dentin bond strength, protein-repellent properties, and dental plaque microcosm biofilm response. Methods MPC, DMAHDM and NACP were added into Scotchbond Multi-Purpose primer and adhesive. Dentin shear bond strengths were measured. Adhesive coating thickness, surface texture and dentin–adhesive interfacial structure were examined. Protein adsorption onto adhesive resin surface was determined by the micro bicinchoninic acid method. A human saliva microcosm biofilm model was used to investigate biofilm metabolic activity, colony-forming unit (CFU) counts, and lactic acid production. Results The resin with 7.5% MPC + 5% DMAHDM + 30% NACP did not adversely affect dentin shear bond strength ( p > 0.1). The resin with 7.5% MPC + 5% DMAHDM + 30% NACP produced a coating on root dentin with a thickness of approximately 70 μm and completely sealed all the dentinal tubules. The resin with 7.5% MPC + 5% DMAHDM + 30% NACP had 95% reduction in protein adsorption, compared to SBMP control ( p < 0.05). The resin with 7.5% MPC + 5% DMAHDM + 30% NACP was strongly antibacterial, with biofilm CFU being four orders of magnitude lower than that of SBMP control. Significance The novel multifunctional adhesive with strong protein-repellent, antibacterial and remineralization properties is promising to coat tooth roots to prevent root caries and secondary caries. The combined use of MPC, DMAHDM and NACP may have wide applicability to bonding agents, cements, sealants and composites to inhibit caries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Bone marrow (BM)-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play a critical role in angiogenesis and vascular repair. Some environmental insults, like fine particulate matter (PM) exposure, significantly impair cardiovascular functions. However, the mechanisms for PM-induced adverse effects on cardiovascular system remain largely unknown. The present research was to study the detrimental effects of PM on EPCs and explore the potential mechanisms. Methods: PM was intranasal-distilled into male C57BL/6 mice for one month. Flow cytometry was used to measure the number of EPCs, apoptosis level of circulating EPCs and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation. Serum TNF- α and IL-1β were measured using ELISA. To determine the role of PM-induced ROS in EPC apoptosis, PM was co-administrated with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in wild type mice or used in a triple transgenic mouse line (TG) with overexpression of antioxidant enzyme network (AON) composed of superoxide dismutase (SOD)1, SOD3, and glutathione peroxidase (Gpx-1) with decreased in vivo ROS production. Results: PM treatment significantly decreased circulating EPC population, promoted apoptosis of EPCs in association with increased ROS production and serum TNF-α and IL-1β levels, which could be effectively reversed by either NAC treatment or overexpression of AON. Conclusion: PM exposure significantly decreased circulating EPCs population due to increased apoptosis via ROS formation in mice. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is thought to be atheroprotective yet some patients with elevated HDL-C levels develop cardiovascular disease, possibly due to the presence of dysfunctional HDL. We aimed to assess the metabolic fate of circulating HDL particles in patients with high HDL-C with and without coronary artery disease (CAD) using in vivo dual labeling of its cholesterol and protein moieties. We measured HDL apolipoprotein (apo) A-I, apoA-II, free cholesterol (FC), and cholesteryl ester (CE) kinetics using stable isotope-labeled tracers (D3-leucine and 13C2-acetate) as well as ex vivo cholesterol efflux to HDL in subjects with (n = 6) and without (n = 6) CAD that had HDL-C levels >90th percentile. Healthy controls with HDL-C within the normal range (n = 6) who underwent the same procedures were used as the reference. Subjects with high HDL-C with and without CAD had similar plasma lipid levels and similar apoA-I, apoA-II, HDL FC, and CE pool sizes with no significant differences in fractional clearance rates (FCRs) or production rates (PRs) of these components between groups. Subjects with high HDL-C with and without CAD also had similar basal and cAMP-stimulated ex vivo cholesterol efflux to HDL. When all subjects were considered (n = 18), unstimulated non-ABCA1-mediated efflux (but not ABCA1-specific efflux) was correlated positively with apoA-I production (r = 0.552, p = 0.017) and HDL FC and CE pool sizes, and negatively with the fractional clearance rate of FC (r = −0.759, p = 4.1 × 10−4) and CE (r = −0.652, p = 4.57 × 10−3). Our data are consistent with the concept that ex vivo non-ABCA1 efflux capacity may correlate with slower in vivo turnover of HDL cholesterol moieties. The use of a dual labeling protocol provided for the first time the opportunity to assess the association of ex vivo cholesterol efflux capacity with in vivo HDL cholesterol metabolic parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Regeneration is one of the key factors in evaluating an adsorbent. A novel heat regeneration method for hydroxyapatite/attapulgite (HAP/ATT) composite beads was studied. The investigation included heat regeneration temperature, regeneration time, and regeneration effects. A possible mechanism for the heat regeneration is described that explains the results of XPS, and SEM with EDAX. Exhausted HAP/ATT composite beads can be regenerated for more than 10 cycles using boiling water or steam. The total capacity increases by 10 times compared to a single defluoridation cycle. The regeneration process involves F− ions adsorbed on the surface of the beads to move quickly into the bulk of the HAP through the effect of heating this composite material. The surface active sites are thus re-exposed and the beads recover their fluoride sequestration properties. HAP/ATT composite beads were successfully used for the removal of fluoride from field water taken from a nearby village where fluoride contamination is endemic. Defluoridation and regeneration cycles performed in the same container provide a high efficient and simple operation. No chemical agents are used and no waste products are produced during the heat regeneration process, so this is a nearly zero emission process. This method can easily be up-scaled to a large throughput application. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary Background/Purpose This study determined the threshold doses for 'solar erythema' and for phototoxic responses to 8-methoxypsoralen (8- MOP) in white skin Hanford and grey skin Yucatan miniature swine. Methods For threshold erythema determinations, the UVR exposures included both UVA (315-400 nm) and UVB (290-315 nm) radiation by positioning one fluorescent 'sunlamp' among 10 ' PUVA' lamps. With this configuration the UVR exposures ranged from 0.5-2.8 times the 'instrumental MED' ( MEDi) for Hanford and from 1.0-5.6 times the MEDi for Yucatan. For phototoxicity determinations (i.e., with and without topically-applied graduated concentrations of 8- MOP), the UVB component was minimized by extinguishing the sunlamp, thus permitting higher UVA exposures. Results The Hanford had the lower UV erythema dose threshold (1.0-1.4 times the MEDi) and the erythema that developed was readily observable. The exposure doses for the phototoxicity test were 5 J/cm2 of UVA in 35 minutes or 10 J/cm2 in 70 minutes. The phototoxic (vascular) response to 8- MOP was observed in the two highest concentrations (0.01% and 0.1%) in Hanford pigs, in a dose-related manner. Microscopic evidence of a dose-related response was also observed as the concentration of 8- MOP increased. Conclusion This verified that the Hanford miniature swine is the preferable strain for phototoxic effects. In contrast, UVR exposure of the Yucatan pig skin produced tanning rather than erythema, confirming that the Yucatan is the more appropriate strain for studying the melanization response. Thus, Hanford and Yucatan miniature swine have cutaneous photobiological responses that reflect their respective strain differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The embryonic stem cell-specific cell cycle-regulating (ESCC) family of microRNAs (miRNAs) enhances reprogramming of mouse embryonic fibroblasts to induced pluripotent stem cells. Here we show that the human ESCC miRNA orthologs hsa-miR-302b and hsa-miR-372 promote human somatic cell reprogramming. Furthermore, these miRNAs repress multiple target genes, with downregulation of individual targets only partially recapitulating the total miRNA effects. These targets regulate various cellular processes, including cell cycle, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), epigenetic regulation and vesicular transport. ESCC miRNAs have a known role in regulating the unique embryonic stem cell cycle. We show that they also increase the kinetics of mesenchymal-epithelial transition during reprogramming and block TGF?-induced EMT of human epithelial cells. These results demonstrate that the ESCC miRNAs promote dedifferentiation by acting on multiple downstream pathways. We propose that individual miRNAs generally act through numerous pathways that synergize to regulate and enforce cell fate decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural identity is central to health. Acculturation may be formulated with a bicultural model, assessing in parallel the degree of identification with both the original and the host culture. The Cortes, Rogler and Malgady Bicultural Scale (CRM-BS) is composed of two subscales: “original” culture and “mainstream-United States” (US) culture. It was modified into three ethnic versions: Latino, Korean and Chinese. Validation of the CRM-BS was conducted using health professionals and psychiatric patients from the above three ethnic groups and a control sample of mainstream-US (main-US) health professionals in New York City ( n = 394). Mean time of completion was 3.7 min and 73% judged it to be easy to use. Strong test–retest reliability correlation coefficients were found (original culture, 0.78; mainstream-US, 0.82). The internal consistency was documented by high Cronbach’s alpha values (original culture, 0.88; mainstream-US, 0.80). Factorial analysis revealed two factors, the first one involving all the items of the original culture and the second all of the mainstream-US items. Concerning its discriminant validity, non-main-US subjects scored significantly higher than main-US subjects on the original culture subscale, and vice versa. Construct validity was assessed comparing intergenerational mean scores on both subscales; as generations become older, mean scores for the original culture decreased, while those for the “host” culture increased. Results for each specific ethnic version are also presented. Cutoff scores were calculated to categorize the involvement with the original culture or the host culture, both of them, or neither. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our research team of multilingual and multicultural members designed comprehensive, yet efficient, culture-informed, and self-rated Multicultural Quality of Life Indexes for both English-speaking individuals and for growing immigrant groups in the United States. A Korean version of the Multicultural Quality of Life Index (MQLI-Kr) was developed as part of this multilingual project. The team tested the MQLI-Kr on 130 Koreans (100 psychiatric patients and 30 professionals). MQLI-Kr was quite efficient and easy to use. The internal consistency attained a Cronbach’s α of 0.97 for the combined sample. A factor analysis yielded one single factor, which accounted for 81.5% of the items’ variance. The test–retest reliability correlation coefficient of the MQLI-Kr was 0.85. Significant differences in the mean MQLI-Kr scores were observed between the patients’ group and the professionals’ group ( p < 0.001). Thus the results of this study showed high feasibility, internal consistency, reliability, and discriminant validity for the MQLI-Kr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sonic Hedgehog (Shh)-deficient mice have a severe lung branching defect. Recent studies have shown that hedgehog signaling is involved in vascular development and it is possible that the diminished airway branching in Shh-deficient mice is due to abnormal pulmonary vasculature formation. Therefore, we investigated the role of Shh in pulmonary vascular development using Shh/Tie2lacZ compound mice, which exhibit endothelial cell-specific LacZ expression, and Pecam-1 immunohistochemistry. In E11.5–13.5 Shh-deficient mice, the pulmonary vascular bed is decreased, but appropriate to the decrease in airway branching. However, when E12.5 Shh-deficient lungs were cultured for 4–6 days, the vascular network deteriorated compared to wild-type lungs. The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (Vegf) or its receptor Vegfr2 (KDR/Flk-1) was not different between E12.5–13.5 Shh-deficient and wild-type lungs. In contrast, angiopoietin-1 (Ang1), but not Ang2 or the angiopoietin receptor Tie2, mRNA expression was downregulated in E12.5–E13.5 lungs of Shh null mutants. Recombinant Ang1 alone was unable to restore in vitro branching morphogenesis in Shh-deficient lungs. Conversely, the angiogenic factor fibroblast growth factor (Fgf)-2 alone or in combination with Ang1, increased vascularization and tubular growth and branching of Shh-deficient lungs in vitro. The angiogenic factors did not overcome the reduced smooth muscle cell differentiation in the Shh null lungs. These data indicate that early vascular development, mediated by Vegf/Vegfr2 signaling proceeds normally in Shh-deficient mice, while later vascular development and stabilization of the primitive network mediated by the Ang/Tie2 signaling pathway are defective, resulting in an abnormal vascular network. Stimulation of vascularization with angiogenic factors such as Fgf2 and Ang1 partially restored tubular growth and branching in Shh-deficient lungs, suggesting that vascularization is required for branching morphogenesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]