Retrospective cohort study of cancer incidence and mortality by HIV status in a Georgia, USA, prisoner cohort during the HAART era

Objective

Non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADCs) have emerged as significant contributors to cancer mortality and morbidity among persons living with HIV (PLWH). Because NADCs are also associated with many social and behavioural risk factors that underlie HIV, determining the extent to which each of these factors contributes to NADC risk is difficult. We examined cancer incidence and mortality among persons with a history of incarceration, because distributions of other cancer risk factors are likely similar between prisoners living with HIV and non-infected prisoners.

Design

Registry-based retrospective cohort study.

Participants

Cohort of 22 422 persons incarcerated in Georgia, USA, prisons on 30 June 1991, and still alive in 1998.

Outcome measures

Cancer incidence and mortality were assessed between 1998 and 2009, using cancer and death registry data matched to prison administrative records. Age, race and sex-adjusted standardised mortality and incidence ratios, relative to the general population, were calculated for AIDS-defining cancers, viral-associated NADCs and non-infection-associated NADCs, stratified by HIV status.

Results

There were no significant differences in cancer mortality relative to the general population in the cohort, regardless of HIV status. In contrast, cancer incidence was elevated among the PLWH. Furthermore, incidence of viral-associated NADCs was significantly higher among PLWH versus those without HIV infection (standardised incidence ratio=6.1, 95% CI 3.0 to 11.7, p<0.001).

Conclusions

Among PLWH with a history of incarceration, cancer incidence was elevated relative to the general population, likely related to increased prevalence of oncogenic viral co-infections. Cancer prevention and screening programmes within prisons may help to reduce the cancer burden in this high-risk population.

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Research priorities for shoulder surgery: results of the 2015 James Lind Alliance patient and clinician priority setting partnership

Objective

To run a UK based James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership for 'Surgery for Common Shoulder Problems'.

Setting

This was a nationally funded and conducted process. It was organised from a musculoskeletal research centre and Biomedical Research Unit in Oxford.

Participants

UK shoulder patients, carers and clinicians, involved in treating patients with shoulder pain and shoulder problems that might require surgery.

Interventions

These were national electronic and paper surveys capturing treatment uncertainties that are important to shoulder patients, carers and clinicians.

Outcome measures

The outcomes relevant to this study were the survey results and rankings.

Results

The process took 18 months to complete, with 371 participants contributing 404 in scope questions. The James Lind process then produced a final 10 research priorities and uncertainties that relate to the scope of 'Surgery for Common Shoulder Problems'.

Conclusions

The final top 10 UK research priorities have been produced and are now being disseminated to partner organisations and funders to guide funding of shoulder research for the next 5–10 years on topics that are important to patients, their carers and clinicians.

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Objectively measured physical activity and sedentary time: cross-sectional and prospective associations with adiposity in the Millennium Cohort Study

Objective

To examine whether physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST) in primary school-aged children are associated with adiposity at the start of secondary school, and whether these associations differ by sex or ethnic group.

Design

Nationally representative prospective cohort study.

Setting

Children born across the UK, between 2000 and 2002.

Participants

6497 singleton children.

Outcome measures

Measures of adiposity (body mass index (BMI), fat mass index (FMI) and fat free mass index (FFMI))—obtained at 7 and 11 years.

Explanatory measures

Total daily PA (mean counts per minute (cpm)); minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA); and ST. All assessed at 7 years using accelerometers.

Results

In cross-sectional analyses, total PA was inversely associated with FMI (3.7% (95% CI 2.7% to 4.7%) reduction per 150 cpm increase), as was MVPA (4.2% (CI 3.2% to 5.2%) reduction per 20 min/day increase). Associations were stronger in black and South Asian ethnic groups. Total PA and MVPA were not associated with FFMI. ST was positively associated with FMI (1.3% (CI 0.2% to 2.3%) increase per 50 min/day increase) and inversely associated with FFMI (0.5% (CI 0.2% to 0.7%) reduction per 50 min/day increase). Longitudinally, MVPA at age 7 years remained inversely associated with FMI at age 11 years (1.5% (CI 0.4% to 2.6%) reduction per 20 min/day increase). No association was found between total PA and ST and any of the later adiposity measures.

Conclusions

7-year-old children who are more physically active are less likely to be obese at that age and at age 11 years. These associations were particularly evident in children from black or South Asian ethnicity at age 7 years and in boys at age 11 years. Measurements of fat mass provide valuable insights into ethnic differences in associations between adiposity and activity.

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Quantifying the regional variations in the mechanical properties of cancellous bone of the tibia using indentation testing and quantitative computed tomographic imaging

Finite element models apply material properties using experimentally derived density–modulus equations and computed tomographic image data, yet numerous different equations exist in the literature. The purpose of this study was to experimentally evaluate the distribution of mechanical properties through the proximal tibia and compare with those predicted using existing density–modulus equations. Indentation testing was performed on five cadaveric tibiae, with four slices removed from the proximal epiphysis and metaphysis of each. Elastic modulus and yield strength were identified for each test and grouped into nine transverse regions. These regions were identified on computed tomographic scans, and four density–modulus equations from the literature applied. Errors between measured and predicted modulus were then calculated. Elastic modulus and yield strength varied regionally, with the bone located closest to the joint and in the condyles being strongest and the intercondylar region the weakest. The optimal relationship for predicting modulus varied depending on anatomical region, but generally was best predicted by the Goulet equation. The regions of high strength identified in this study (condyles and proximal regions) can serve as improved sites of attachment for orthopedic devices and should be preserved during surgery, if possible. The substantial regional variations observed herein (almost a threefold change in modulus across different regions) should be incorporated into finite element models and applied using the Goulet density–modulus equation.

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The effect of modulating top-down attention deployment on the N2pc/PCN

Publication date: Available online 11 April 2016
Source:Biological Psychology
Author(s): Qiang Liu, Shuyu Lin, Guang Zhao, Debi Roberson
The N2pc (PCN) component of the event-related potential (ERP) waveform provides a useful tool for directly assessing the locus of spatial attention in visual search. It is still unclear whether the amplitude of the N2pc/PCN relates to the deployment of attentional resources. A key issue is the lack of evidence that top-down allocation of attention affects the N2pc/PCN amplitude. Previous findings could be explained if manipulating different expectancy strategies changes participants' search mode, causing them to redefine the target's features. In this study, we explored the relationship between N2pc/PCN amplitude and top-down attention allocation by manipulating the discriminative difficulty (differences in the response-defining feature) but leaving the search difficulty (target's saliency) unchanged. Using the same sets of stimuli, in a blocked condition, participants showed the expected higher amplitude of N2pc/PCN in the hardest condition, compared to easier discrimination conditions. Importantly, there was no difference in the N2pc/PCN when the exact same stimulus sets were presented in a randomly interleaved mixed set. At a behavioral level, in both conditions performance was significantly slower for the hardest condition. This finding indicates that the N2pc/PCN component is modulated by the predictability of discriminative difficulty, which reflects the modulation of top-down attentional deployment.



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The Perseverative Worry Bout: A Review of Cognitive, Affective & Motivational Factors that Contribute to Worry Perseveration

Publication date: Available online 11 April 2016
Source:Biological Psychology
Author(s): Graham C.L. Davey, F. Meeten
This paper reviews the cognitive, affective and attentional factors that contribute to individual perseverative worry bouts. We describe how automatic biases in attentional and interpretational processes contribute to threat detection and to the inclusion of negative intrusive thoughts into the worry stream typical of the "what if …?" thinking style of pathological worriers. The review also describes processes occurring downstream from these perceptual biases that also facilitate perseveration, including cognitive biases in beliefs about the nature of the worry process, the automatic deployment of strict goal-directed responses for dealing with the threat, the role of negative mood in facilitating effortful forms of information processing (i.e. systematic information processing styles), and in providing negative information for evaluating the success of the worry bout. We also consider the clinical implications of this model for an integrated intervention programme for pathological worrying.



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Marginal value theorem, patch choice, and human foraging response in varying environments

Publication date: June 2016
Source:Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, Volume 42
Author(s): Robert L. Bettinger, Mark N. Grote
The theoretical basis for understanding how human forager mobility should respond to environmental change rests on two models: patch choice and the marginal value theorem. Students of hunter–gatherers have traditionally understood the more widely favored marginal value theorem to predict that use of a given patch will be more intensive, i.e., that a greater fraction of its resources will be used, when overall (environmental) return rate decreases. We show this is true only if that patch is less affected by resource decrease than others in the environment, in the simplest case, where the number of patches available to a forager decreases without affecting the quality of the remaining patches. Then, foraging time within the patch, fraction of patch resources used, and travel time between patches will all increase. Conversely, if resources decrease across all patches uniformly, the fraction of patch resources extracted from any given patch remains constant. Within-patch foraging time may or may not decrease, but will not increase. In this case, foraging time varies independently of fraction of patch resources used and travel time. The extent to which these marginal value predictions account for hunter–gatherer mobility requires disentangling them from predictions independently generated by the patch choice model, in which as environmental quality declines, lower ranking patches are added to the foraging itinerary, decreasing travel time and either increasing or decreasing foraging time, depending on the nature of the lower ranking patches. A sample of 190 mobile hunter–gatherers suggests that a version of the patch choice model in which the patches added to the foraging itinerary are more difficult to search, and contain greater quantities of resources with higher handling times, best accounts for observed variation in foraging and travel time overall.



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The Impact of a Low Glycemic Index Diet on Inflammatory Markers and Serum Adiponectin Concentration in Adolescent Overweight and Obese Girls: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Horm Metab Res 2016; 48: 251-256
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-100467

Although the effects of dietary glycemic index (GI) on insulin resistance are well documented in adults, the complex interaction among glucose intolerance, inflammatory markers, and adipokine concentration has not been well studied, especially among adolescents. We investigated the effect of a low glycemic index (LGI) diet on insulin concentration, fasting blood sugar (FBS), inflammatory markers, and serum adiponectin concentration among healthy obese/overweight adolescent females. In this parallel randomized clinical trial, 2 different diets, an LGI diet and a healthy nutritional recommendation diet (HNRD) with similar macronutrient composition were prescribed to 50 obese and overweight adolescent girls with the same pubertal status. Biochemical markers FBS, serum insulin concentration, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and adiponectin were measured before and after a 10 week intervention. Using an intention-to-treat analysis, data from 50 subjects were analyzed. According to a dietary assessment, GI in the LGI group was 43.22±0.54. While the mean for FBS, serum insulin concentration, the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA), the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI), and adiponectin concentration did not differ significantly within each group, the average hs-CRP and IL-6 decreased significantly in the LGI diet group after the 10 week intervention (p=0.009 and p=0.001; respectively). Comparing percent changes, we found a marginally significant decrease in hs-CRP in the LGI group compared with the HNRD group after adjusting for confounders. Compliance with an LGI diet may have favorable effect on inflammation among overweight and obese adolescent girls.
[...]

© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Article in Thieme eJournals:
Table of contents  |  Abstract  |  Full text

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Adipose Tissue Dysfunction: Clinical Relevance and Diagnostic Possibilities

Horm Metab Res 2016; 48: 213-225
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-103243

Adipose tissue dysfunction is defined as an imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory adipokines, causing insulin resistance, systemic low-grade inflammation, hypercoagulability, and elevated blood pressure. These can lead to cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus type 2. Although quantity of adipose tissue is an important determinant of adipose tissue dysfunction, it can be diagnosed in both obese and lean individuals. This implies that not only quantity of adipose tissue should be used as a measure for adipose tissue dysfunction. Instead, focus should be on measuring quality of adipose tissue, which can be done with diagnostic modalities ranging from anthropometric measurements to tissue biopsies and advanced imaging techniques. In daily clinical practice, high quantity of visceral adipose tissue (reflected in high waist circumference or adipose tissue imaging), insulin resistance, or presence of the metabolic syndrome are easy and low-cost diagnostic modalities to evaluate presence or absence of adipose tissue dysfunction.
[...]

© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Article in Thieme eJournals:
Table of contents  |  Abstract  |  Full text

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Biases in grant proposal success rates, funding rates and award sizes affect the geographical distribution of funding for biomedical research

The ability of the United States to most efficiently make breakthroughs on the biology, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases requires that physicians and scientists in each state have equal access to federal research grants and grant dollars. However, despite legislative and administrative efforts to ensure equal access, the majority of funding for biomedical research is concentrated in a minority of states. To gain insight into the causes of such disparity, funding metrics were examined for all NIH research project grants (RPGs) from 2004 to 2013. State-by-state differences in per application success rates, per investigator funding rates, and average award size each contributed significantly to vast disparities (greater than 100-fold range) in per capita RPG funding to individual states. To the extent tested, there was no significant association overall between scientific productivity and per capita funding, suggesting that the unbalanced allocation of funding is unrelated to the quality of scientists in each state. These findings reveal key sources of bias in, and new insight into the accuracy of, the funding process. They also support evidence-based recommendations for how the NIH could better utilize the scientific talent and capacity that is present throughout the United States.

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Distributions of p-values smaller than .05 in psychology: what is going on?

Previous studies provided mixed findings on pecularities in p-value distributions in psychology. This paper examined 258,050 test results across 30,710 articles from eight high impact journals to investigate the existence of a peculiar prevalence of p-values just below .05 (i.e., a bump) in the psychological literature, and a potential increase thereof over time. We indeed found evidence for a bump just below .05 in the distribution of exactly reported p-values in the journals Developmental Psychology, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, but the bump did not increase over the years and disappeared when using recalculated p-values. We found clear and direct evidence for the QRP "incorrect rounding of p-value" (John, Loewenstein & Prelec, 2012) in all psychology journals. Finally, we also investigated monotonic excess of p-values, an effect of certain QRPs that has been neglected in previous research, and developed two measures to detect this by modeling the distributions of statistically significant p-values. Using simulations and applying the two measures to the retrieved test results, we argue that, although one of the measures suggests the use of QRPs in psychology, it is difficult to draw general conclusions concerning QRPs based on modeling of p-value distributions.

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How we see electronic games

Theories regarding the influences of electronic games drive scientific study, popular debate, and public policy. The fractious interchanges among parents, pundits, and scholars hint at the rich phenomenological and psychological dynamics that underlie how people view digital technologies such as games. The current research applied Martin Heidegger's concept of interpretive frameworks (Heidegger, 1987) and Robert Zajonc's exposure-attitude hypothesis (Zajonc, 1968) to explore how attitudes towards technologies such as electronic games arise. Three studies drew on representative cohorts of American and British adults and evaluated how direct and indirect experiences with games shape how they are seen. Results indicated this approach was fruitful: negative attitudes and beliefs linking games to real-world violence were prominent among those with little direct exposure to electronic gaming contexts, whereas those who played games and reported doing so with their children tended to evaluate gaming more positively. Further findings indicated direct experience tended to inform the accuracy of beliefs about the effects of digital technology, as those who had played were more likely to believe that which is empirically known about game effects. Results are discussed with respect to ongoing debates regarding gaming and broader applications of this approach to understand the psychological dynamics of adapting to technological advances.

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Autophagy downregulation contributes to insulin resistance mediated injury in insulin receptor knockout podocytes in vitro

It is unknown whether autophagy activity is altered in insulin resistant podocytes and whether autophagy could be a therapeutic target for diabetic nephropathy (DN). Here we used shRNA transfection to knockdown the insulin receptor (IR) gene in cultured human immortalized podocytes as an in vitro insulin resistant model. Autophagy related proteins LC3, Beclin, and p62 as well as nephrin, a podocyte injury marker, were assessed using western blot and immunofluorescence staining. Our results show that autophagy is suppressed when podocytes lose insulin sensitivity and that treatment of rapamycin, an mTOR specific inhibitor, could attenuate insulin resistance induced podocytes injury via autophagy activation. The present study deepens our understanding of the role of autophagy in the pathogenesis of DN.

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Involvement of the arachidonic acid cytochrome P450 epoxygenase pathway in the proliferation and invasion of human multiple myeloma cells

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) epoxygenases and the metabolites epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) exert multiple biological effects in various malignancies. We have previously found EETs to be secreted by multiple myeloma (MM) cells and to be involved in MM angiogenesis, but the role of the arachidonic acid cytochrome P450 epoxygenase pathway in the proliferation and mobility of MM cells remains unknown. In the present study, we found that MM cell lines generated detectable levels of 11,12-EET/14,15-EET and that increased levels of EETs were found in the serum of MM patients compared to healthy donors. The addition of exogenous EETs induced significantly enhanced proliferation of MM cells, whereas 17-octadecynoic acid (17-ODYA), an inhibitor of the CYP epoxygenase pathway, inhibited the viability and proliferation of MM cells. Moreover, this inhibitory effect could be successfully reversed by exogenous EETs. 17-ODYA also inhibited the motility of MM cells in a time-dependent manner, with a reduction of the gelatinolytic activity and protein expression of the matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2 and MMP-9. These results suggest the CYP epoxygenase pathway to be involved in the proliferation and invasion of MM cells, for which 17-ODYA could be a promising therapeutic drug.

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Connecting laboratory behavior to field function through stable isotope analysis

Inherent difficulties of tracking and observing organisms in the field often leave researchers with no choice but to conduct behavioral experiments under laboratory settings. However, results of laboratory experiments do not always translate accurately to natural conditions. A fundamental challenge in ecology is therefore to scale up from small area and short-duration laboratory experiments to large areas and long durations over which ecological processes generally operate. In this study, we propose that stable isotope analysis may be a tool that can link laboratory behavioral observations to past field interactions or function of individual organisms. We conducted laboratory behavioral assays to measure dominance of invasive rusty crayfish, Orconectes rusticus, and used stable isotope analysis to hindcast trophic positions of these crayfish under preceding natural conditions. We hypothesized that more dominant crayfish in our assays would have higher trophic positions if dominance were related to competitive ability or willingness to pursue high-risk, high-reward prey. We did not find a relationship between crayfish dominance and trophic position, and therefore infer that laboratory dominance of crayfish may not necessarily relate to their ecology in the field. However, this is to our knowledge the first attempt to directly relate laboratory behavior to field performance via stable isotope analysis. We encourage future studies to continue to explore a possible link between laboratory and field behavior via stable isotope analysis, and propose several avenues to do so.

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Differences in stability of seed-associated microbial assemblages in response to invasion by phytopathogenic microorganisms

Seeds are involved in the vertical transmission of microorganisms from one plant generation to another and consequently act as reservoirs for the plant microbiota. However, little is known about the structure of seed-associated microbial assemblages and the regulators of assemblage structure. In this work, we have assessed the response of seed-associated microbial assemblages of Raphanus sativus to invading phytopathogenic agents, the bacterial strain Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) 8004 and the fungal strain Alternaria brassicicola Abra43. According to the indicators of bacterial (16S rRNA gene and gyrB sequences) and fungal (ITS1) diversity employed in this study, seed transmission of the bacterial strain Xcc 8004 did not change the overall composition of resident microbial assemblages. In contrast seed transmission of Abra43 strongly modified the richness and structure of fungal assemblages without affecting bacterial assemblages. The sensitivity of seed-associated fungal assemblage to Abra43 is mostly related to changes in relative abundance of closely related fungal species that belong to the Alternaria genus. Variation in stability of the seed microbiota in response to Xcc and Abra43 invasions could be explained by differences in seed transmission pathways employed by these micro-organisms, which ultimately results in divergence in spatio-temporal colonization of the seed habitat.

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ROCK activity regulates functional tight junction assembly during blastocyst formation in porcine parthenogenetic embryos

The Rho-associated coiled-coil-containing protein serine/threonine kinases 1 and 2 (ROCK1 and ROCK2) are Rho subfamily GTPase downstream effectors that regulate cell migration, intercellular adhesion, cell polarity, and cell proliferation by stimulating actin cytoskeleton reorganization. Inhibition of ROCK proteins affects specification of the trophectoderm (TE) and inner cell mass (ICM) lineages, compaction, and blastocyst cavitation. However, the molecules involved in blastocyst formation are not known. Here, we examined developmental competence and levels of adherens/tight junction (AJ/TJ) constituent proteins, such as CXADR, OCLN, TJP1, and CDH1, as well as expression of their respective mRNAs, after treating porcine parthenogenetic four-cell embryos with Y-27632, a specific inhibitor of ROCK, at concentrations of 0, 10, 20, 100 µM for 24 h. Following this treatment, the blastocyst development rates were 39.1, 20.7, 10.0, and 0% respectively. In embryos treated with 20 µM treatment, expression levels of CXADR, OCLN, TJP1, and CDH1 mRNA and protein molecules were significantly reduced (P

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Assessment of the accuracy of ABC/2 variations in traumatic epidural hematoma volume estimation: a retrospective study

Background. The traumatic epidural hematoma (tEDH) volume is often used to assist in tEDH treatment planning and outcome prediction. ABC/2 is a well-accepted volume estimation method that can be used for tEDH volume estimation. Previous studies have proposed different variations of ABC/2; however, it is unclear which variation will provide a higher accuracy. Given the promising clinical contribution of accurate tEDH volume estimations, we sought to assess the accuracy of several ABC/2 variations in tEDH volume estimation. Methods. The study group comprised 53 patients with tEDH who had undergone non-contrast head computed tomography scans. For each patient, the tEDH volume was automatically estimated by eight ABC/2 variations (four traditional and four newly derived) with an in-house program, and results were compared to those from manual planimetry. Linear regression, the closest value, percentage deviation, and Bland-Altman plot were adopted to comprehensively assess accuracy. Results. Among all ABC/2 variations assessed, the traditional variations y = 0.5 × A1B1C1 (or A2B2C1) and the newly derived variations y = 0.65 × A1B1C1 (or A2B2C1) achieved higher accuracy than the other variations. No significant differences were observed between the estimated volume values generated by these variations and those of planimetry (p > 0.05). Comparatively, the former performed better than the latter in general, with smaller mean percentage deviations (7.28 ± 5.90% and 6.42 ± 5.74% versus 19.12 ± 6.33% and 21.28 ± 6.80%, respectively) and more values closest to planimetry (18/53 and 18/53 versus 2/53 and 0/53, respectively). Besides, deviations of most cases in the former fell within the range of 20% (90.57% and 96.23, respectively). Discussion. In the current study, we adopted an automatic approach to assess the accuracy of several ABC/2 variations for tEDH volume estimation. Our initial results showed that the variations y = 0.5 × A1B1C1 (or A2B2C1) performed better than the other traditional variations, suggesting that the adjusted depth is favorable. In addition, linear regression has been shown to be useful for improving the estimation accuracy of the ABC/2 method, and future studies are warranted to investigate the applicability of such linear regression-derived formulas for clinical application.

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Effects of combined physical education and nutritional programs on schoolchildren’s healthy habits

Background. A multidisciplinary approach seems to be effective in creating healthy habits in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of three 5-month combined physical education (PE) and nutritional interventions on body composition, physical activity (PA) level, sedentary time and eating habits of schoolchildren. Methods. Anthropometric data, weekly PA level, sedentary time and eating habits of 230 healthy students were analysed using a repeated-measures ANOVA with Group (experimental group 1 vs experimental group 2 vs control group), Adiposity Status (under fat vs normal fat vs obese), and Time (pre vs post) as factors. Results. Body fat mass percentage increased after intervention (18.92 ± 8.61% vs 19.40 ± 8.51%) in all groups. The weekly PA level significantly increased after intervention in both experimental groups. Sedentary time significantly decreased after the intervention period (565.70 ± 252.93 vs 492.10 ± 230.97 min/week, p

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WWOX CNV-67048 Functions as a Risk Factor for Epithelial Ovarian Cancer in Chinese Women by Negatively Interacting with Oral Contraceptive Use

Copy number variations (CNVs) have attracted increasing evidences to represent their roles as cancer susceptibility regulators. However, little is known about the role of CNV in epithelia ovarian cancer (EOC). Recently, the CNV-67048 of WW domain-containing oxidoreductase (WWOX) was reported to alter cancer risks. Considering that WWOX also plays a role in EOC, we hypothesized that the CNV-67048 was associated with EOC risk. In a case-control study of 549 EOC patients and 571 age (±5 years) matched cancer-free controls, we found that the low copy number of CNV-67048 (1-copy and 0-copy) conferred a significantly increased risk of EOC (OR = 1.346, 95% CI = 1.037–1.747) and it determined the risk by means of copy number-dependent dosage effect (). Data from TCGA also confirmed the abovementioned association as the frequency of low copies in EOC group was 3.68 times more than that in healthy group (). The CNV also negatively interacted with oral contraceptive use on EOC risk (). Functional analyses further showed a lower mRNA level of WWOX in tissues with the 0-copy or 1-copy than that in those with the 2-copy (). Our data suggested the CNV-67048 to be a risk factor of EOC in Chinese women.

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Phenotypic Variation in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Primary Care

Introduction. Despite the high number of inactive patients with COPD, not all inactive patients are referred to physical therapy, unlike recommendations of general practitioner (GP) guidelines. It is likely that GPs take other factors into account, determining a subpopulation that is treated by a physical therapist (PT). The aim of this study is to explore the phenotypic differences between inactive patients treated in GP practice and inactive patients treated in GP practice combined with PT. Additionally this study provides an overview of the phenotype of patients with COPD in PT practice. Methods. In a cross-sectional study, COPD patient characteristics were extracted from questionnaires. Differences regarding perceived health status, degree of airway obstruction, exacerbation frequency, and comorbidity were studied in a subgroup of 290 inactive patients and in all 438 patients. Results. Patients treated in GP practice combined with PT reported higher degree of airway obstruction, more exacerbations, more vascular comorbidity, and lower health status compared to patients who were not referred to and treated by a PT. Conclusion. Unequal patient phenotypes in different primary care settings have important clinical implications. It can be carefully concluded that other factors, besides the level of inactivity, play a role in referral to PT.

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Metabolomic and proteomic analysis of serum from preterm infants with necrotising entercolitis and late-onset sepsis

Pediatric Research

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The effect of aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use after diagnosis on survival of oesophageal cancer patients

British Journal of Cancer

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Yttrium-90 Microsphere Brachytherapy for Liver Metastases From Uveal Melanoma: Clinical Outcomes and the Predictive Value of Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography

American Journal of Clinical Oncology

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Rabeprazole, minocycline, amoxicillin, and bismuth as first-line and second-line regimens for Helicobacter pylori eradication

Helicobacter

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Access to subspecialty care and survival among patients with liver disease

The American Journal of Gastroenterology

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Trends in the use of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for the management of chronic pancreatitis in the United States

Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology

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Is the prevalence of colonic neuroendocrine tumors increased in patients with inflammatory bowel disease?

International Journal of Cancer

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Diagnostic yield of 24-hour esophageal manometry in non-cardiac chest pain

Neurogastroenterology & Motility

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Multiple siRNAs against HCV and host genes are more effective in inhibition of HCV replication

International Journal of Infectious Diseases

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Population attributable fractions of risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States

Cancer

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Glycemic index and glycemic load and risk of colorectal cancer: a population-based cohort study (JPHC Study)

Cancer Causes and Control

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High-dose hepatitis B immunoglobulin therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma with hepatitis B virus-DNA/hepatitis B e antigen-positive patients after living donor liver transplantation

World Journal of Gastroenterology

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Endoscopic and histologic response to cyclosporine in ulcerative colitis and their impact on disease outcome: A cohort study

Digestive and Liver Diseases

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Membrane localization of human equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 in tumor cells may predict response to adjuvant gemcitabine in resected cholangiocarcinoma patients

The Oncologist

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Macrophage activation marker, soluble CD163 is an independent predictor of short-term mortality in patients with cirrhosis and bacterial infection

Liver International

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Fatty Liver, Insulin Resistance, and Obesity: Relationships With Increase in Coronary Artery Calcium Over Time

Clinical Cardiology

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Vascularizing lymph node dissection for advanced gastric cancer: A single-institution experience

World Journal of Gastroenterology

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Is the Stretta procedure as effective as the best medical and surgical treatments for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease? A best evidence topic

International Journal of Surgery

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The benefit of chemotherapy in esophageal cancer patients with residual disease after trimodality therapy

American Journal of Clinical Oncology

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Gut microbiota profiling of pediatric NAFLD and obese patients unveiled by an integrated meta-omics based approach

Hepatology

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Economies, Vol. 4, Pages 6: Nonlinear Monetary Policy Rules: An Essay in the Comparative Study on Egyptian and Tunisian Central Banks

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the behavior of monetary authorities in Tunisia and Egypt, in response to changes in macroeconomic variables over time based on LSTR model. In this sense, we estimate Taylor-type equations for short-term interest rate in Tunisia and Egypt using quarterly data covering the period 1998.Q4–2013.Q2. We find strong evidence that the real decision-making process followed by these central banks varies from one central bank to another and that it exhibits nonlinear patterns that better capture special events and unexpected contingencies i.e., the terrorist attack in the US in September 2001, the global financial crisis in 2008, and the effect of political instability with the onset of the revolution. Additionally, the presence of asymmetries in the reaction function of the Tunisian and Egyptian Bank requires disconnection from their automatic pilot rules and use of judgement to make decisions.

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Molbank, Vol. 2016, Article M894: 1-[2-(4-Methyl-7-coumarinyloxy)ethyl]-4-(5-{1-[2-(4-methyl-7-coumarinyloxy)ethyl]-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl}pentyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole

Nature often produces compounds with a high degree of symmetry to reduce structural information and complexity. Synthesis of identical twin drugs, through the linkage of two identical pharmacophoric entities, is a classical strategy to produce more potent and/or selective drugs. Herein, two units of the privileged core of the coumarin hymecromone were linked together using "click chemistry". Synthesis of 1-[2-(4-Methyl-7-coumarinyloxy)ethyl]-4-(5-{1-[2-(4-methyl-7-coumarinyloxy)ethyl]-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl}pentyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole was achieved by coupling of two identical units of an azido coumarin with a symmetrical alkine using copper(I)-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition reaction, in good yields and with complete regioselectivity.

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Nanomaterials, Vol. 6, Pages 66: Automatic Echographic Detection of Halloysite Clay Nanotubes in a Low Concentration Range

Aim of this work was to investigate the automatic echographic detection of an experimental drug delivery agent, halloysite clay nanotubes (HNTs), by employing an innovative method based on advanced spectral analysis of the corresponding "raw" radiofrequency backscatter signals. Different HNT concentrations in a low range (5.5–66 × 1010 part/mL, equivalent to 0.25–3.00 mg/mL) were dispersed in custom-designed tissue-mimicking phantoms and imaged through a clinically-available echographic device at a conventional ultrasound diagnostic frequency (10 MHz). The most effective response (sensitivity = 60%, specificity = 95%), was found at a concentration of 33 × 1010 part/mL (1.5 mg/mL), representing a kind of best compromise between the need of enough particles to introduce detectable spectral modifications in the backscattered signal and the necessity to avoid the losses of spectral peculiarity associated to higher HNT concentrations. Based on theoretical considerations and quantitative comparisons with literature-available results, this concentration could also represent an optimal concentration level for the automatic echographic detection of different solid nanoparticles when employing a similar ultrasound frequency. Future dedicated studies will assess the actual clinical usefulness of the proposed approach and the potential of HNTs for effective theranostic applications.

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Sensors, Vol. 16, Pages 519: Sample-Wise Aiding in GPS/INS Ultra-Tight Integration for High-Dynamic, High-Precision Tracking

By aiding GPS receiver tracking loops with INS estimates of signal dynamics, GPS/INS ultra-tight coupling can improve the navigation performance in challenging environments. Traditionally the INS data are injected into the loops once every loop update interval, which limits the levels of dynamics accommodated. This paper presents a sample-wise aiding method, which interpolates the aiding Doppler into each digital sample of the local signal to further eliminate the dynamic errors. The relationship between the tracking error and the aiding rate is derived analytically. Moreover, the effects of sample-wise aiding using linear and spline interpolations are simulated and compared with traditional aiding under different INS data update rates. Finally, extensive tests based on a digital IF (intermediate frequency) signal simulator and a software receiver validate the theoretical equations and demonstrate that the dynamic stress error can be significantly reduced by sample-wise aiding.

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Toxins, Vol. 8, Pages 103: Comparison of Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Surface Plasmon Resonance and Biolayer Interferometry for Screening of Deoxynivalenol in Wheat and Wheat Dust

A sample preparation method was developed for the screening of deoxynivalenol (DON) in wheat and wheat dust. Extraction was carried out with water and was successful due to the polar character of DON. For detection, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was compared to the sensor-based techniques of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and biolayer interferometry (BLI) in terms of sensitivity, affinity and matrix effect. The matrix effects from wheat and wheat dust using SPR were too high to further use this screenings method. The preferred ELISA and BLI methods were validated according to the criteria established in Commission Regulation 519/2014/EC and Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. A small survey was executed on 16 wheat lots and their corresponding dust samples using the validated ELISA method. A linear correlation (r = 0.889) was found for the DON concentration in dust versus the DON concentration in wheat (LOD wheat: 233 μg/kg, LOD wheat dust: 458 μg/kg).

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Remote Sensing, Vol. 8, Pages 319: Mapping a Knowledge-Based Malaria Hazard Index Related to Landscape Using Remote Sensing: Application to the Cross-Border Area between French Guiana and Brazil

Malaria remains one of the most common vector-borne diseases in the world and the definition of novel control strategies can benefit from the modeling of transmission processes. However, data-driven models are often difficult to build, as data are very often incomplete, heterogeneous in nature and in quality, and/or biased. In this context, a knowledge-based approach is proposed to build a robust and general landscape-based hazard index for malaria transmission that is tailored to the Amazonian region. A partial knowledge-based model of the risk of malaria transmission in the Amazonian region, based on landscape features and extracted from a systematic literature review, was used. Spatialization of the model was obtained by generating land use and land cover maps of the cross-border area between French Guiana and Brazil, followed by computing and combining landscape metrics to build a set of normalized landscape-based hazard indices. An empirical selection of the best index was performed by comparing the indices in terms of adequacy with the knowledge-based model, intelligibility and correlation with P. falciparum incidence rates. The selected index is easy to interpret and successfully represents the current knowledge about the role played by landscape patterns in malaria transmission within the study area. It was significantly associated with P. falciparum incidence rates, using the Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients (up to 0.79 and 0.75, respectively; p-value < 0.001), and the linear regression coefficient of determination (reaching 0.63; p-values < 0.001). This study establishes a spatial knowledge-driven, landscape-based hazard malaria index using remote sensing that can be easily produced on a regular basis and might be useful for malaria prediction, surveillance, and control.

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Atmosphere, Vol. 7, Pages 54: Exposure to Particle Matters and Hazardous Volatile Organic Compounds in Selected Hot Spring Hotels in Guangdong, China

In Guangdong province, many hot springs were exploited and developed into popular places for tourist. In addition, hotels have been set up near hot spring sites to attract people, including local citizens, to spend their spare time inside these so-called "spring hotels". In our study, indoor air quality was investigated in four hot spring hotels in Guangdong province, China. Measured indoor pollutants included CO2, CO, PM10, PM2.5 and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). As the result show, high concentrations of carbon dioxide might be attributed to poor ventilation; and the variations of indoor PM10, PM2.5 concentrations were related to occupants' activities. Alpha-pinene and toluene were the most common VOC species in the hot spring hotels other than monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons like Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylenes (BTEX), which were at medium levels among the reported indoor pollutants. High cancer risk of benzene in the newly decorated rooms should be seriously taken into consideration in the future. Indoor to Outdoor air concentration ratios (I/O) for CO2 and VOCs were higher than 1, indicating their strong indoor sources. Negative correlations were found between indoor CO2 and all the other compounds, and VOCs were shown to be significantly correlated (p < 0.01) to each other, including aromatic hydrocarbons and mono-terpenes. For indoor and outdoor air compounds, correlation coefficients among all compounds did not show a significant correlation, which indicated that these pollutants had different sources. Principal components analysis by SPSS showed that indoor materials, inhabitants' activities and respiration, cleaning products and outdoor sources were the main sources of indoor detected pollutants in hot spring hotels.

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Challenges, Vol. 7, Pages 8: Policies Supporting Renewable Energies Uses: The Next Big Challenge

The question in the referendum on 17 April is: "At the end of the concessions presently authorized for extraction plants in the sea, at a distance within 12 km from the coast of Italy, are you in favor of stopping the extraction, even if there is still some methane or oil to be extracted?".[...]

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Sensors, Vol. 16, Pages 515: Asymmetric Directional Multicast for Capillary Machine-to-Machine Using mmWave Communications

The huge demand for high data rate machine-to-machine (M2M) services has led to the use of millimeter Wave (mmWave) band communications with support for a multi-Gbps data rate through the use of directional antennas. However, unnecessary sector switching in multicast transmissions with directional antennas results in a long delay, and consequently a low throughput. We propose asymmetric directional multicast (ADM) for capillary M2M to address this problem in mmWave communications. ADM provides asymmetric sectorization that is optimized for the irregular deployment pattern of mulicast group members. In ADM, an M2M gateway builds up asymmetric sectors with a beamwidth of a different size to cover all multicast group members with the minimum number of directional transmissions. The performance of ADM under various simulation environments is evaluated through a comparison with legacy mmWave multicast. The results of the simulation indicate that ADM achieves a better performance in terms of the transmission sectors, the transmission time, and the aggregate throughput when compared with the legacy multicast method.

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Sinusitis, Vol. 1, Pages 55-64: Fatty Acid Composition of Cultured Fibroblasts Derived from Healthy Nasal Mucosa and Nasal Polyps

Background: Fibroblasts from nasal polyps (NP) of asthma patients have reduced expression of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) and production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). We hypothesized that the reported alterations are due to alterations in the availability of arachidonic acid (AA). Objective: The objective was to determine the fatty acid composition of airway fibroblasts from healthy subjects and from asthma patients with and without aspirin intolerance. Methods: We analyzed the fatty acid composition of cultured fibroblasts from non-asthmatics (n = 6) and from aspirin-tolerant (n = 6) and aspirin-intolerant asthmatics (n = 6) by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector. Fibroblasts were stimulated with acetyl salicylic acid (ASA). Results: The omega-6 fatty acids dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (C20:3) and AA (C20:4), and omega-3 fatty acids docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) (C22:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (C22:6) were significantly higher in NP fibroblasts than in fibroblasts derived from nasal mucosa. The percentage composition of the fatty acids palmitic acid (C16:0) and palmitoleic acid (C16:1) was significantly higher in fibroblasts from patients with NP and aspirin intolerance than in fibroblasts derived from the nasal NP of aspirin-tolerant patients. ASA did not cause changes in either omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids. Conclusions. Our data do not support the hypothesis that a reduced production of AA in NP fibroblasts can account for the reported low production of PGE2 in nasal polyps. Whether the increased proportion of omega-3 fatty acids can contribute to reduced PGE2 production in nasal polyps by competitively inhibiting COX-2 and reducing the amount of AA available to the COX-2 enzyme remains to be elucidated.

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