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Karadayi A, Sarsmaz H, Çigel A, Engiz B, Ünal N, Ürkmez S, Gürgen S. Does Microwave Exposure at Different Doses in the Pre/Postnatal Period Affect Growing Rat Bone Development? Physiol Res 2024; 73:157-172. [PMID: 38466013 PMCID: PMC11019611 DOI: 10.33549/physiolres.935148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Effects of pre/postnatal 2.45 GHz continuous wave (CW), Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi) Microwave (MW) irradiation on bone have yet to be well defined. The present study used biochemical and histological methods to investigate effects on bone formation and resorption in the serum and the tibia bone tissues of growing rats exposed to MW irradiation during the pre/postnatal period. Six groups were created: one control group and five experimental groups subjected to low-level different electromagnetic fields (EMF) of growing male rats born from pregnant rats. During the experiment, the bodies of all five groups were exposed to 2.45 GHz CW-MW for one hour/day. EMF exposure started after fertilization in the experimental group. When the growing male rats were 45 days old in the postnatal period, the control and five experimental groups' growing male and maternal rats were sacrificed, and their tibia tissues were removed. Maternal rats were not included in the study. No differences were observed between the control and five experimental groups in Receptor Activator Nuclear factor-kB (RANK) biochemical results. In contrast, there was a statistically significant increase in soluble Receptor Activator of Nuclear factor-kB Ligand (sRANKL) and Osteoprotegerin (OPG) for 10 V/m and 15 V/m EMF values. Histologically, changes in the same groups supported biochemical results. These results indicate that pre/postnatal exposure to 2.45 GHz EMF at 10 and 15 V/m potentially affects bone development.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Karadayi
- Department of Biophysics, Medicine Faculty, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Republic of Türkiye.
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Umeh CS, Olawa BD, Abel J. The mental health of non-commissioned soldiers deployed to Boko-Haram zones in Nigeria: Examining the roles of rank and other armed service characteristics. Anxiety Stress Coping 2024; 37:265-277. [PMID: 37343296 DOI: 10.1080/10615806.2023.2226614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES This study examined the roles of rank and its interaction with armed service characteristics, including combat exposure, frequency of deployments, and length of service on psychological distress among non-commissioned military officers (NCOs). METHODS A cross-sectional sample of 256 NCOs (Meanage = 34.10 ± 7.33) of the Nigerian Army deployed to fight Boko Haram in North-East, Nigeria, participated in the study. Data were collected using self-report instruments and analyzed using multiple linear regression. RESULTS The ranks of corporal and lance corporal/private (LCP) were associated with greater psychological distress than the sergeants. However, corporals had higher psychological distress than sergeants and LCPs. Rank accounted for almost twice the variances in psychological distress more than other service characteristics. LCPs had adverse mental health at increased service length than sergeants and corporals. Also, LCPs were more vulnerable to stress at higher combat experience than the corporals. CONCLUSION Other factors may be inherent in rank effect on psychological distress beyond combat experience, deployments, and service length. Nevertheless, these service characteristics are important in the rank effect on psychological distress. Identifying relevant combat-related structural problems may additionally explain the association of rank with psychological distress beyond combat experience, deployments, and service length among NCOs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Sunday Umeh
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
| | - Babatola Dominic Olawa
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Federal University Oye Ekiti, Oye, Nigeria
- Institute for Gerontology, University of Vechta, Vechta, Germany
| | - James Abel
- Headquarters Nigerian Army Medical Corps, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria
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Delorme A, Makeig S. This is no "ICA bug": response to the article, "ICA's bug: how ghost ICs emerge from effective rank deficiency caused by EEG electrode interpolation and incorrect re-referencing". Front Neuroimaging 2023; 2:1331404. [PMID: 38179199 PMCID: PMC10764542 DOI: 10.3389/fnimg.2023.1331404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Delorme
- Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience, Institute for Neural Computation, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
- CERCO CNRS, UMR 5549, Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France
| | - Scott Makeig
- Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience, Institute for Neural Computation, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
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Jiang X, Yan J, Huang H, Ai L, Yu X, Zhong P, Chen Y, Liang Z, Qiu W, Huang H, Yan W, Liang Y, Chen P, Wang R. Development of novel parameters for pathogen identification in clinical metagenomic next-generation sequencing. Front Genet 2023; 14:1266990. [PMID: 38046047 PMCID: PMC10693447 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1266990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) has emerged as a powerful tool for rapid pathogen identification in clinical practice. However, the parameters used to interpret mNGS data, such as read count, genus rank, and coverage, lack explicit performance evaluation. In this study, the developed indicators as well as novel parameters were assessed for their performance in bacterium detection. Methods: We developed several relevant parameters, including 10M normalized reads, double-discard reads, Genus Rank Ratio, King Genus Rank Ratio, Genus Rank Ratio*Genus Rank, and King Genus Rank Ratio*Genus Rank. These parameters, together with frequently used read indicators including raw reads, reads per million mapped reads (RPM), transcript per kilobase per million mapped reads (TPM), Genus Rank, and coverage were analyzed for their diagnostic efficiency in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), a common source for detecting eight bacterium pathogens: Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Hemophilus influenzae, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Aspergillus fumigatus. Results: The results demonstrated that these indicators exhibited good diagnostic efficacy for the eight pathogens. The AUC values of all indicators were almost greater than 0.9, and the corresponding sensitivity and specificity values were almost greater than 0.8, excepted coverage. The negative predictive value of all indicators was greater than 0.9. The results showed that the use of double-discarded reads, Genus Rank Ratio*Genus Rank, and King Genus Rank Ratio*Genus Rank exhibited better diagnostic efficiency than that of raw reads, RPM, TPM, and in Genus Rank. These parameters can serve as a reference for interpreting mNGS data of BALF. Moreover, precision filters integrating our novel parameters were built to detect the eight bacterium pathogens in BALF samples through machine learning. Summary: In this study, we developed a set of novel parameters for pathogen identification in clinical mNGS based on reads and ranking. These parameters were found to be more effective in diagnosing pathogens than traditional approaches. The findings provide valuable insights for improving the interpretation of mNGS reports in clinical settings, specifically in BALF analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiwen Jiang
- College of Biological Science and Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Jinghai Yan
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hao Huang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lu Ai
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xuegao Yu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Pengqiang Zhong
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yili Chen
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhikun Liang
- Guangzhou Darui Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, China
| | - Wancen Qiu
- Guangzhou Darui Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, China
| | - Huiying Huang
- Guangzhou Darui Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, China
| | - Wenyan Yan
- Guangzhou Darui Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, China
| | - Yan Liang
- Guangzhou Darui Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, China
| | - Peisong Chen
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ruizhi Wang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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Wilson VAD, Masilkova M. Does the primate face cue personality? Personal Neurosci 2023; 6:e7. [PMID: 38107779 PMCID: PMC10725780 DOI: 10.1017/pen.2023.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
When looking at others, primates primarily focus on the face - detecting the face first and looking at it longer than other parts of the body. This is because primate faces, even without expression, convey trait information crucial for navigating social relationships. Recent studies on primates, including humans, have linked facial features, specifically facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR), to rank and Dominance-related personality traits, suggesting these links' potential role in social decisions. However, studies on the association between dominance and fWHR report contradictory results in humans and variable patterns in nonhuman primates. It is also not clear whether and how nonhuman primates perceive different facial cues to personality traits and whether these may have evolved as social signals. This review summarises the variable facial-personality links, their underlying proximate and evolutionary mechanisms and their perception across primates. We emphasise the importance of employing comparative research, including various primate species and human populations, to disentangle phylogeny from socio-ecological drivers and to understand the selection pressures driving the facial-personality links in humans. Finally, we encourage researchers to move away from single facial measures and towards holistic measures and to complement perception studies using neuroscientific methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa A D Wilson
- Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michaela Masilkova
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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Sigle M, Berliner L, Richter E, van Iersel M, Gorgati E, Hubloue I, Bamberg M, Grasshoff C, Rosenberger P, Wunderlich R. Development of an Anticipatory Triage- Ranking Algorithm Using Dynamic Simulation of the Expected Time Course of Patients With Trauma: Modeling and Simulation Study. J Med Internet Res 2023; 25:e44042. [PMID: 37318826 PMCID: PMC10337428 DOI: 10.2196/44042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In cases of terrorism, disasters, or mass casualty incidents, far-reaching life-and-death decisions about prioritizing patients are currently made using triage algorithms that focus solely on the patient's current health status rather than their prognosis, thus leaving a fatal gap of patients who are under- or overtriaged. OBJECTIVE The aim of this proof-of-concept study is to demonstrate a novel approach for triage that no longer classifies patients into triage categories but ranks their urgency according to the anticipated survival time without intervention. Using this approach, we aim to improve the prioritization of casualties by respecting individual injury patterns and vital signs, survival likelihoods, and the availability of rescue resources. METHODS We designed a mathematical model that allows dynamic simulation of the time course of a patient's vital parameters, depending on individual baseline vital signs and injury severity. The 2 variables were integrated using the well-established Revised Trauma Score (RTS) and the New Injury Severity Score (NISS). An artificial patient database of unique patients with trauma (N=82,277) was then generated and used for analysis of the time course modeling and triage classification. Comparative performance analysis of different triage algorithms was performed. In addition, we applied a sophisticated, state-of-the-art clustering method using the Gower distance to visualize patient cohorts at risk for mistriage. RESULTS The proposed triage algorithm realistically modeled the time course of a patient's life, depending on injury severity and current vital parameters. Different casualties were ranked by their anticipated time course, reflecting their priority for treatment. Regarding the identification of patients at risk for mistriage, the model outperformed the Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment's triage algorithm but also exclusive stratification by the RTS or the NISS. Multidimensional analysis separated patients with similar patterns of injuries and vital parameters into clusters with different triage classifications. In this large-scale analysis, our algorithm confirmed the previously mentioned conclusions during simulation and descriptive analysis and underlined the significance of this novel approach to triage. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study suggest the feasibility and relevance of our model, which is unique in terms of its ranking system, prognosis outline, and time course anticipation. The proposed triage-ranking algorithm could offer an innovative triage method with a wide range of applications in prehospital, disaster, and emergency medicine, as well as simulation and research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Sigle
- University Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
- University Department of Cardiology and Angiology, University Hospital Tübingen, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Leon Berliner
- University Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Erich Richter
- University Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
| | - Mart van Iersel
- Interactive Simulation Emergency Exercise support limited company, Wemmel, Belgium
| | - Eleonora Gorgati
- University Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ives Hubloue
- Emergency Department, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussel, Belgium
- Research Group on Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium
| | - Maximilian Bamberg
- University Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christian Grasshoff
- University Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Peter Rosenberger
- University Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Robert Wunderlich
- University Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
- German Society for Disaster Medicine (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Katastrophenmedizin), Kirchseeon, Germany
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7
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Saberi P, Stoner MC, Eskaf S, Ndukwe S, Campbell CK, Sauceda JA, Dubé K. Preferences for HIV Treatment Formulations Among Young Adults With HIV in the United States. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2023; 92:e7-e10. [PMID: 36343377 PMCID: PMC9839471 DOI: 10.1097/qai.0000000000003128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Parya Saberi
- Division of Prevention Science; University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Shadi Eskaf
- Independent Public Health Researcher/Consultant, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Samuel Ndukwe
- Gillings School of Global Public Health; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Chadwick K. Campbell
- Division of Prevention Science; University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - John A. Sauceda
- Division of Prevention Science; University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Karine Dubé
- Gillings School of Global Public Health; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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Muzammal SM, Murugesan RK, Jhanjhi NZ, Humayun M, Ibrahim AO, Abdelmaboud A. A Trust-Based Model for Secure Routing against RPL Attacks in Internet of Things. Sensors (Basel) 2022; 22:7052. [PMID: 36146400 PMCID: PMC9506070 DOI: 10.3390/s22187052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In IoT networks, the de facto Routing Protocol for Low Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) is vulnerable to various attacks. Routing attacks in RPL-based IoT are becoming critical with the increase in the number of IoT applications and devices globally. To address routing attacks in RPL-based IoT, several security solutions have been proposed in literature, such as machine learning techniques, intrusion detection systems, and trust-based approaches. Studies show that trust-based security for IoT is feasible due to its simple integration and resource-constrained nature of smart devices. Existing trust-based solutions have insufficient consideration of nodes' mobility and are not evaluated for dynamic scenarios to satisfy the requirements of smart applications. This research work addresses the Rank and Blackhole attacks in RPL considering the static as well as mobile nodes in IoT. The proposed Security, Mobility, and Trust-based model (SMTrust) relies on carefully chosen trust factors and metrics, including mobility-based metrics. The evaluation of the proposed model through simulation experiments shows that SMTrust performs better than the existing trust-based methods for securing RPL. The improvisation in terms of topology stability is 46%, reduction in packet loss rate is 45%, and 35% increase in throughput, with only 2.3% increase in average power consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syeda Mariam Muzammal
- University Institute of Information Technology, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan
| | - Raja Kumar Murugesan
- School of Computer Science, SCE, Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Subang Jaya 47500, Malaysia
| | - Noor Zaman Jhanjhi
- School of Computer Science, SCE, Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Subang Jaya 47500, Malaysia
| | - Mamoona Humayun
- Department of Information Systems, College of Computer and Information Sciences, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ashraf Osman Ibrahim
- Faculty of Computing and Informatics, University Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia
| | - Abdelzahir Abdelmaboud
- Department of Information Systems, King Khalid University, Muhayel Aseer 61913, Saudi Arabia
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Rogliani P, Ora J, Cavalli F, Cazzola M, Calzetta L. Comparing the Efficacy and Safety Profile of Triple Fixed-Dose Combinations in COPD: A Meta-Analysis and IBiS Score. J Clin Med 2022; 11:jcm11154491. [PMID: 35956108 PMCID: PMC9369741 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11154491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Triple fixed-dose combination (FDC) therapy is recommended in severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients experiencing frequent exacerbations and/or symptoms not controlled by dual FDCs. Since no randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have directly compared the different inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β2-adrenoceptor agonist/long-acting muscarinic antagonist (ICS/LABA/LAMA) FDCs, we performed a meta-analysis to compare the impact of the current available ICS/LABA/LAMA FDCs in COPD. Methods: A meta-analysis was performed by connecting beclomethasone dipropionate/formoterol fumarate/glycopyrronium bromide or glycopyrrolate (BDP/FOR/GLY), budesonide (BUD)/GLY/FOR, and fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium bromide/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) FDCs via ICS/LABA or LABA/LAMA FDCs arms. The safety and efficacy profiles were investigated, and the Implemented Bidimensional Surface under the cumulative ranking curve analysis (IBiS) was carried out. Protocol registration: CRD42022301189. Results: Data from 21,809 COPD patients were extracted from the ETHOS, IMPACT, KRONOS, and TRILOGY studies. No significant (p > 0.05) differences were detected across the triple FDCs with respect to the risk of exacerbation, trough forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), transition dyspnea index (TDI), St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), risk of serious adverse events (SAEs), cardiovascular (CV) SAEs, pneumonia, and all-cause mortality. According to IBiS score, BDP/FOR/GLY 200/12/25 µg twice daily (BID) was the FDC reporting the best combined efficacy/safety profile (area 41.41%), although FF/UMEC/VI 100/62.5/25 µg once daily (QD) showed the greatest efficacy profile (50.54%). The protection against mortality related to the dose of ICS. Conclusions: All triple FDCs are effective and safe in COPD regardless of the regimen of administration (twice daily vs. once daily), with no relevant difference in the risk of CV SAEs and pneumonia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Rogliani
- Unit of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, 00133 Rome, Italy; (P.R.); (J.O.); (M.C.)
- Division of Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital Policlinico Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy;
| | - Josuel Ora
- Unit of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, 00133 Rome, Italy; (P.R.); (J.O.); (M.C.)
- Division of Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital Policlinico Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy;
| | - Francesco Cavalli
- Division of Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital Policlinico Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy;
| | - Mario Cazzola
- Unit of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, 00133 Rome, Italy; (P.R.); (J.O.); (M.C.)
| | - Luigino Calzetta
- Respiratory Disease and Lung Function Unit, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy
- Correspondence:
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Chen Q, Wu J, Zheng K, Xu M, Hou Z, Yu X. Successful limb salvage in progressive proximal tibia osteosarcoma following denosumab chemotherapy: A case report. Medicine (Baltimore) 2022; 101:e29812. [PMID: 35905210 PMCID: PMC9333532 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000029812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
RATIONALE Osteosarcoma (OS) is a primary malignant bone tumor that originates in the mesenchymal tissue. It is the most common type of pleomorphic tumor occurring in children and adolescents. Currently, there is no established systematic treatment for OS that progresses during standard preoperative chemotherapy. PATIENT CONCERNS AND DIAGNOSES We describe a 14-year-old male patient with a 4-month history of pain in the upper right leg. Based on the results of percutaneous biopsy, a diagnosis of OS was made. After admission, the patient was treated with first-line chemotherapy agents. After a single course of treatment, the tumor progressed locally and no limb salvage was feasible. INTERVENTIONS AND OUTCOMES Intervention with denosumab combined with chemotherapy led to a significant reduction in tumor volume and ossification of soft tissue, which successfully resulted in limb salvage rather than amputation. The patient showed no evidence of recurrent or distant metastasis at 6-month follow-up. LESSONS Treatment with receptor activator of nuclear factor-ĸB ligand inhibitor denosumab combined with standard chemotherapy is effective for advanced OS progressing after chemotherapy. We recommend denosumab therapy for successful limb salvage in patients with high-grade OS associated with osteolytic bone destruction and refractory to preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Chen
- First Clinical Medical College, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Junjie Wu
- Weifang Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, China
| | - Kai Zheng
- Department of Orthopedics, The 960th Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Ming Xu
- Department of Orthopedics, The 960th Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Ziwei Hou
- First Clinical Medical College, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Xiuchun Yu
- Department of Orthopedics, The 960th Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army, Jinan, Shandong, China
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11
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Dehnen T, Papageorgiou D, Nyaguthii B, Cherono W, Penndorf J, Boogert NJ, Farine DR. Costs dictate strategic investment in dominance interactions. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200447. [PMID: 35000443 PMCID: PMC8743880 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Dominance is important for access to resources. As dominance interactions are costly, individuals should be strategic in whom they interact with. One hypothesis is that individuals should direct costly interactions towards those closest in rank, as they have most to gain-in terms of attaining or maintaining dominance-from winning such interactions. Here, we show that male vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum), a gregarious species with steep dominance hierarchies, strategically express higher-cost aggressive interactions towards males occupying ranks immediately below themselves in their group's hierarchy. By contrast, lower-cost aggressive interactions are expressed towards group members further down the hierarchy. By directly evaluating differences in the strategic use of higher- and lower-cost aggressive interactions towards competitors, we show that individuals disproportionately use highest-cost interactions-such as chases-towards males found one to three ranks below themselves. Our results support the hypothesis that the costs associated with different interaction types can determine their expression in social groups with steep dominance hierarchies. This article is part of the theme issue 'The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobit Dehnen
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Danai Papageorgiou
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Kenya Wildlife Service, PO Box 40241-001000, Nairobi, Kenya
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Brendah Nyaguthii
- Department of Ornithology, National Museums of Kenya, PO Box 40658-001000, Nairobi, Kenya
- Mpala Research Centre, PO Box 555-10400, Nanyuki 10400, Kenya
- School of Natural Resource Management, Department of Wildlife, University of Eldoret, 1125-30100 Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Wismer Cherono
- Mpala Research Centre, PO Box 555-10400, Nanyuki 10400, Kenya
| | - Julia Penndorf
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Neeltje J. Boogert
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Damien R. Farine
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Ornithology, National Museums of Kenya, PO Box 40658-001000, Nairobi, Kenya
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12
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Strauss ED, Curley JP, Shizuka D, Hobson EA. The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200432. [PMID: 35000437 PMCID: PMC8743894 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
A century ago, foundational work by Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe described a 'pecking order' in chicken societies, where individuals could be ordered according to their ability to exert their influence over their group-mates. Now known as dominance hierarchies, these structures have been shown to influence a plethora of individual characteristics and outcomes, situating dominance research as a pillar of the study of modern social ecology and evolution. Here, we first review some of the major questions that have been answered about dominance hierarchies in the last 100 years. Next, we introduce the contributions to this theme issue and summarize how they provide ongoing insight in the epistemology, physiology and neurobiology, hierarchical structure, and dynamics of dominance. These contributions employ the full range of research approaches available to modern biologists. Cross-cutting themes emerging from these contributions include a focus on cognitive underpinnings of dominance, the application of network-analytical approaches, and the utility of experimental rank manipulations for revealing causal relationships. Reflection on the last 100 years of dominance research reveals how Schjelderup-Ebbe's early ideas and the subsequent research helped drive a shift from an essentialist view of species characteristics to the modern recognition of rich inter-individual variation in social, behavioural and physiological phenotypes. This article is part of the theme issue 'The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli D. Strauss
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - James P. Curley
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Daizaburo Shizuka
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Hobson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
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13
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Yang Y, Zhang T, Xiao R, Hao X, Zhang H, Qu H, Xie B, Wang T, Fang X. Platform-independent approach for cancer detection from gene expression profiles of peripheral blood cells. Brief Bioinform 2021; 21:1006-1015. [PMID: 30895303 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbz027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2018] [Revised: 02/04/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Peripheral blood gene expression intensity-based methods for distinguishing healthy individuals from cancer patients are limited by sensitivity to batch effects and data normalization and variability between expression profiling assays. To improve the robustness and precision of blood gene expression-based tumour detection, it is necessary to perform molecular diagnostic tests using a more stable approach. Taking breast cancer as an example, we propose a machine learning-based framework that distinguishes breast cancer patients from healthy subjects by pairwise rank transformation of gene expression intensity in each sample. We showed the diagnostic potential of the method by performing RNA-seq for 37 peripheral blood samples from breast cancer patients and by collecting RNA-seq data from healthy donors in Genotype-Tissue Expression project and microarray mRNA expression datasets in Gene Expression Omnibus. The framework was insensitive to experimental batch effects and data normalization, and it can be simultaneously applied to new sample prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yadong Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Tao Zhang
- BIG Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Rudan Xiao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaopeng Hao
- Breast Oncology Department, Affiliated Hospital, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Huiqiang Zhang
- Breast Oncology Department, Affiliated Hospital, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hongzhu Qu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Bingbing Xie
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Tao Wang
- Breast Oncology Department, Affiliated Hospital, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiangdong Fang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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14
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Kilham B, Spotila JR. Matrilinear hierarchy in the American black bear (Ursus americanus). Integr Zool 2021; 17:139-155. [PMID: 34496457 PMCID: PMC9291961 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The American black bear (Ursus americanus) was long thought to be solitary and its social organization has not been well described. Here, we present new data on black bear social structure. The objectives of the study were to make detailed observations of the behavior of wild black bears to determine their social interactions and structure. We tested whether black bears interacted socially beyond mating and competing for resources, if black bears tracked relationships and interacted regularly even when resources were not limited, and whether the social structure of a population of black bears was based on a matrilinear hierarchy. We collected data by direct observation of bears from 1993 to 2014. Observations of 1210 social interactions at a provisioning site indicated that females compete and form matrilinear hierarchies. Dominant bears established a hierarchy for food, control of space, and control of younger bears. Post interaction scent marking took place, which suggested that dominant females were conditioning subordinates to their scent marks. Affiliative behavior occurred between related and unrelated bears and helped to establish the social structure of the bear community. Based on our data, human-bear conflicts can be reduced by behavioral modifications by humans when they encounter bears. Knowledge of bear behavior and the matrilinear hierarchy provide a basis for non-lethal management of bears that find themselves in a bear-human conflict situation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Kilham
- Kilham Bear Center, Lyme, New Hampshire, USA.,Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - James R Spotila
- Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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15
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Kilmer ME, Horesh L, Avron H, Newman E. Tensor-tensor algebra for optimal representation and compression of multiway data. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2015851118. [PMID: 34234014 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2015851118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
With the advent of machine learning and its overarching pervasiveness it is imperative to devise ways to represent large datasets efficiently while distilling intrinsic features necessary for subsequent analysis. The primary workhorse used in data dimensionality reduction and feature extraction has been the matrix singular value decomposition (SVD), which presupposes that data have been arranged in matrix format. A primary goal in this study is to show that high-dimensional datasets are more compressible when treated as tensors (i.e., multiway arrays) and compressed via tensor-SVDs under the tensor-tensor product constructs and its generalizations. We begin by proving Eckart-Young optimality results for families of tensor-SVDs under two different truncation strategies. Since such optimality properties can be proven in both matrix and tensor-based algebras, a fundamental question arises: Does the tensor construct subsume the matrix construct in terms of representation efficiency? The answer is positive, as proven by showing that a tensor-tensor representation of an equal dimensional spanning space can be superior to its matrix counterpart. We then use these optimality results to investigate how the compressed representation provided by the truncated tensor SVD is related both theoretically and empirically to its two closest tensor-based analogs, the truncated high-order SVD and the truncated tensor-train SVD.
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16
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Sekhon SK, Srivastava M. Quest for life satisfaction in the sea of loneliness. Int Marit Health 2021; 72:121-128. [PMID: 34212352 DOI: 10.5603/imh.2021.0021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate whether workplace loneliness is related to life satisfaction of seafarers on board deep-sea going cargo ships and to determine whether there exist differences in experienced workplace loneliness and life satisfaction between officers and ratings. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional research design was used to assess the variables in a sample of 521 seafarers sailing on foreign going vessels. RESULTS The findings showed that workplace loneliness was an important dimension for determining life satisfaction. As for the differences in the experienced loneliness, the findings show that there is a difference between officers and ratings. The findings support the theory of need for belongingness, which emphasizes the importance of interpersonal relations at work in understanding the well-being among workers. CONCLUSIONS This study is of practical significance to ship owners and ship managers, where they can use the findings to implement interventions for improving the individual's life satisfaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sagaljit Kaur Sekhon
- Guru Nanak Institute of Management Studies, Khalsa College Campus, King Circle, Matunga, Mumbai, India.
| | - Manjari Srivastava
- SVKMs Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Vile Parle West, Mumbai, India
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17
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Guimarães Pedronette DC, Pascotti Valem L, Latecki LJ. Efficient Rank-Based Diffusion Process with Assured Convergence. J Imaging 2021; 7:49. [PMID: 34460705 DOI: 10.3390/jimaging7030049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 02/27/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual features and representation learning strategies experienced huge advances in the previous decade, mainly supported by deep learning approaches. However, retrieval tasks are still performed mainly based on traditional pairwise dissimilarity measures, while the learned representations lie on high dimensional manifolds. With the aim of going beyond pairwise analysis, post-processing methods have been proposed to replace pairwise measures by globally defined measures, capable of analyzing collections in terms of the underlying data manifold. The most representative approaches are diffusion and ranked-based methods. While the diffusion approaches can be computationally expensive, the rank-based methods lack theoretical background. In this paper, we propose an efficient Rank-based Diffusion Process which combines both approaches and avoids the drawbacks of each one. The obtained method is capable of efficiently approximating a diffusion process by exploiting rank-based information, while assuring its convergence. The algorithm exhibits very low asymptotic complexity and can be computed regionally, being suitable to outside of dataset queries. An experimental evaluation conducted for image retrieval and person re-ID tasks on diverse datasets demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach with results comparable to the state-of-the-art.
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18
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Abstract
Sexual violence is a serious problem within armed services. This article explores intra-service rape in branches of the U.S. military from the 1990s to the present. The article begins by establishing the parameters of the crisis of sexual abuse within the U.S. armed services. Second, it explores systematic failures to recognize forms of suffering. Victim-survivors in the military are vulnerable to military-specific obstacles to reporting their abuse and being believed. Attention is paid to differences by gender and sexual orientation. Third, it analyses the medicalization of suffering in the modern military and its effects. What meanings are assigned to 'military sexual trauma' (MST) and how has that label affected victim-survivors of rape or sexual assault? The article concludes by arguing that the concept of 'trauma' as it is applied to victims of sexual abuse does a formidable amount of political and ideological work.
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19
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Lin T, Chen T, Liu J, Tu XM. Extending the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon rank sum test to survey data for comparing mean ranks. Stat Med 2021; 40:1705-1717. [PMID: 33398899 DOI: 10.1002/sim.8865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2020] [Revised: 10/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Statistical methods for analysis of survey data have been developed to facilitate research. More recently, Lumley and Scott (2013) developed an approach to extend the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon (MWW) rank sum test to survey data. Their approach focuses on the null of equal distribution. In many studies, the MWW test is called for when two-sample t-tests (with or without equal variance assumed) fail to provide meaningful results, as they are highly sensitive to outliers. In such situations, the null of equal distribution is too restrictive, as interest lies in comparing centers of groups. In this article, we develop an approach to extend the MWW test to survey data to test the null of equal mean rank. Although not as popular as the mean and median, the mean rank is also a meaningful measure of the center of a distribution and is the same as the median for a symmetric distribution. We illustrate the proposed approach and show major differences with Lumley and Scott's alternative using both real and simulated data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuo Lin
- Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, UC San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Tian Chen
- Department of Mathematics, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, USA
| | - Jinyuan Liu
- Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, UC San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Xin M Tu
- Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, UC San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
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20
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Abstract
The current research tested whether the possession of high status, compared with the possession of low status, makes individuals desire having high status even more. Five studies (total N = 6,426), four of which were preregistered, supported this hypothesis. Individuals with higher status in their social groups or who were randomly assigned to a high-status condition were more motivated to have high status than were individuals with low status. Furthermore, upper-class individuals had a stronger status motive than working-class individuals, in part, due to their high status. High-status individuals had a stronger status motive, in part, because they were more confident in their ability to achieve (or retain) high status, but not because of other possible mechanisms (e.g., task self-efficacy). These findings provide a possible explanation for why status hierarchies are so stable and why inequality rises in social collectives over time.
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21
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Cervantes I, Gutiérrez JP, García-Ballesteros S, Varona L. Combining Threshold, Thurstonian and Classical Linear Models in Horse Genetic Evaluations for Endurance Competitions. Animals (Basel) 2020; 10:ani10061075. [PMID: 32580415 PMCID: PMC7341300 DOI: 10.3390/ani10061075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Revised: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The racing time and rank at finish traits are commonly used for endurance horse breeding programs as a measure of their performance. Even so, given the nature of endurance competitions, many horses do not finish the race. However, the exclusion of non placed horses from the dataset could have an influence on the prediction of individual breeding values. The objective of the present paper was to develop a multitrait model including race time (T), rank (R) and placing (P), with different methodologies, to improve the genetic evaluation in endurance competitions in Spain. The database contained 6135 records from 1419 horses, with 35% of the records not placed. Horse pedigree included 10868 animals, with 52% Arab Horses. All models included gender, age and race effect as systematic effects and combined different random effects beside the animal and residual effects: rider, permanent environmental effect, and interaction horse-rider. The kilometers per race was included as a covariate for T. Heritabilities were estimated as moderately low, ranging from 0.06 to 0.14 for T, 0.09 to 0.15 for P, and 0.07 to 0.17 for R, depending on the model. T and R appeared mostly as inverse measures of the same trait due to their high genetic correlation, suggesting that T can be ignored in future genetic evaluations. P was the most independent trait from the genetic correlations. The possibility of simultaneously processing the threshold, Thurstonian and continuous traits has opened new opportunities for genetic evaluation in horse populations, and much more practical genetic evaluations can be done to help a proper genetic selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Cervantes
- Departamento de Producción Animal, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Puerta de Hierro s/n, E-28040 Madrid, Spain;
| | - Juan Pablo Gutiérrez
- Departamento de Producción Animal, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Puerta de Hierro s/n, E-28040 Madrid, Spain;
- Correspondence:
| | - Silvia García-Ballesteros
- Departamento de Mejora Genética Animal, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, E-28040 Madrid, Spain;
| | - Luis Varona
- Departamento de Anatomía, Embriología y Genética Animal, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Universidad de Zaragoza, E-50013 Zaragoza, Spain;
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22
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Yang YS, Xie J, Chaugule S, Wang D, Kim JM, Kim J, Tai PW, Seo SK, Gravallese E, Gao G, Shim JH. Bone-Targeting AAV-Mediated Gene Silencing in Osteoclasts for Osteoporosis Therapy. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2020; 17:922-935. [PMID: 32405514 PMCID: PMC7210389 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2020.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Improper activity of bone-resorbing osteoclasts results in low bone density and deterioration of bone structure, which increase the risk of fractures. Anti-resorptive therapies targeting osteoclasts have proven effective in preserving bone mass, but these therapeutic agents lead to defective new bone formation and numerous potential side effects. In this study, we demonstrate that recombinant adeno-associated virus, serotype 9 (rAAV9) can deliver to osteoclasts an artificial microRNA (amiR) that silences expression of key osteoclast regulators, RANK (receptor activator for nuclear factor κB) and cathepsin K (rAAV9.amiR-rank, rAAV9.amiR-ctsk), to prevent bone loss in osteoporosis. As rAAV9 is highly effective for the transduction of osteoclasts, systemic administration of rAAV9 carrying amiR-rank or amiR-ctsk results in a significant increase of bone mass in mice. Furthermore, the bone-targeting peptide motif (Asp)14 or (AspSerSer)6 was grafted onto the AAV9-VP2 capsid protein, resulting in significant reduction of transgene expression in non-bone peripheral organs. Finally, systemic delivery of bone-targeting rAAV9.amiR-ctsk counteracts bone loss and improves bone mechanical properties in mouse models of postmenopausal and senile osteoporosis. Collectively, inhibition of osteoclast-mediated bone resorption via bone-targeting rAAV9-mediated silencing of ctsk is a promising gene therapy that can preserve bone formation and mitigate osteoporosis, while limiting adverse off-target effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeon-Suk Yang
- Division of Rheumatology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Jun Xie
- Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Viral Vector Core, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Sachin Chaugule
- Division of Rheumatology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Dan Wang
- Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Jung-Min Kim
- Division of Rheumatology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - JiHea Kim
- Division of Rheumatology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Phillip W.L. Tai
- Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Seok-kyo Seo
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Ellen Gravallese
- Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Guangping Gao
- Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Viral Vector Core, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Li Weibo Institute for Rare Diseases Research, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Jae-Hyuck Shim
- Division of Rheumatology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Li Weibo Institute for Rare Diseases Research, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
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23
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Guerrero TP, Fickel J, Benhaiem S, Weyrich A. Epigenomics and gene regulation in mammalian social systems. Curr Zool 2020; 66:307-319. [PMID: 32440291 PMCID: PMC7233906 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoaa005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Social epigenomics is a new field of research that studies how the social environment shapes the epigenome and how in turn the epigenome modulates behavior. We focus on describing known gene–environment interactions (GEIs) and epigenetic mechanisms in different mammalian social systems. To illustrate how epigenetic mechanisms integrate GEIs, we highlight examples where epigenetic mechanisms are associated with social behaviors and with their maintenance through neuroendocrine, locomotor, and metabolic responses. We discuss future research trajectories and open questions for the emerging field of social epigenomics in nonmodel and naturally occurring social systems. Finally, we outline the technological advances that aid the study of epigenetic mechanisms in the establishment of GEIs and vice versa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania P Guerrero
- Department Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz-Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, Berlin, D-10315, Germany.,Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, Freiburg, D-79085, Germany
| | - Jörns Fickel
- Department Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz-Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, Berlin, D-10315, Germany.,Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, Potsdam, 14476, Germany
| | - Sarah Benhaiem
- Department Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz-Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, Berlin, D-10315, Germany
| | - Alexandra Weyrich
- Department Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz-Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, Berlin, D-10315, Germany
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24
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Abstract
A major breakthrough in cancer treatment occurred with the development of strategies that overcome T-cell tolerance toward tumor cells. These approaches enhance antitumor immunity by overcoming mechanisms that are normally in place to prevent autoimmunity but simultaneously prevent rejection of tumor cells. Although tolerance mechanisms that restrict antitumor immunity take place both in the thymus and periphery, only immunotherapies that target peripheral tolerance mechanisms occurring outside of the thymus are currently available. We review here recent gains in our understanding of how thymic tolerance mediated by the autoimmune regulator (Aire) impedes antitumor immunity. It is now clear that transient depletion of Aire-expressing cells in the thymus can be achieved with RANKL blockade. Finally, we discuss key findings that support the repurposing of anti-RANKL as a cancer immunotherapy with a unique mechanism of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maureen A Su
- Microbiology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics and Pediatrics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
| | - Mark S Anderson
- Diabetes Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
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25
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Vigneron V, Maaref H. M-ary Rank Classifier Combination: A Binary Linear Programming Problem. Entropy (Basel) 2019; 21:e21050440. [PMID: 33267154 PMCID: PMC7514928 DOI: 10.3390/e21050440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2019] [Revised: 04/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The goal of classifier combination can be briefly stated as combining the decisions of individual classifiers to obtain a better classifier. In this paper, we propose a method based on the combination of weak rank classifiers because rankings contain more information than unique choices for a many-class problem. The problem of combining the decisions of more than one classifier with raw outputs in the form of candidate class rankings is considered and formulated as a general discrete optimization problem with an objective function based on the distance between the data and the consensus decision. This formulation uses certain performance statistics about the joint behavior of the ensemble of classifiers. Assuming that each classifier produces a ranking list of classes, an initial approach leads to a binary linear programming problem with a simple and global optimum solution. The consensus function can be considered as a mapping from a set of individual rankings to a combined ranking, leading to the most relevant decision. We also propose an information measure that quantifies the degree of consensus between the classifiers to assess the strength of the combination rule that is used. It is easy to implement and does not require any training. The main conclusion is that the classification rate is strongly improved by combining rank classifiers globally. The proposed algorithm is tested on real cytology image data to detect cervical cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hichem Maaref
- Correspondence: (V.V.); (H.M.); Tel.: +33-6-635-687-60 (V.V.)
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26
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De la Fuente MF, Schiel N, Bicca-Marques JC, Caselli CB, Souto A, Garber PA. Balancing contest competition, scramble competition, and social tolerance at feeding sites in wild common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Am J Primatol 2019; 81:e22964. [PMID: 30810248 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2018] [Revised: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Models of primate sociality focus on the costs and benefits of group living and how factors such as rank, feeding competition, alliance formation, and cooperative behavior shape within-group social relationships. We conducted a series of controlled field experiments designed to investigate how resource distribution (one or three of four reward platforms) and amount of food on a reward platform affected foraging strategies and individual feeding success in four groups of wild common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) living in the Caatinga of northeastern Brazil. At our field site, common marmoset groups are characterized by a single breeding female who can produce twin litters twice per year, strong social cohesion, and cooperative infant care provided principally by several adult male helpers. We found that except for the dominant breeding female, rank (based on aggression) was not a strong predictor of feeding success. Although the breeding female in each group occupied the highest rank position and obtained the greatest daily feeding success, all other group members, including adults and juveniles experienced relatively equal feeding success across most experimental conditions. This was accomplished using a balance of behavioral strategies related to contest competition, scramble competition (associated with a finder's advantage), and social tolerance (sharing the same feeding platform). Based on these results, the social structure of common marmosets is best described as "single female dominance," with the breeding female maximizing food intake needed to offset the energetic costs associated with reproductive twinning and the ability to produce two litters per year. Cooperative infant caregiving, in which the number of helpers is positively correlated with offspring survivorship, requires a set of behavioral strategies that serve to reduce contest competition and promote prosocial behaviors at feeding sites.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nicola Schiel
- Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Júlio César Bicca-Marques
- Laboratório de Primatologia, Escola de Ciências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Christini B Caselli
- Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Antonio Souto
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Paul A Garber
- Department of Anthropology, Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
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Zhang S, Xie W, Zou Y, Xie S, Zhang J, Yuan W, Ma J, Zhao J, Zheng C, Chen Y, Wang C. First-line chemotherapy regimens for locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a Bayesian analysis. Cancer Manag Res 2018; 10:5965-5978. [PMID: 30538546 PMCID: PMC6254987 DOI: 10.2147/cmar.s162980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Systemic chemotherapy is the standard treatment for locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer, but there is no consensus on the optimum regimen. We aimed to compare and rank the locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma chemotherapy regimens evaluated in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the past 15 years. Materials and methods PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Collaboration database, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for RCTs comparing chemotherapy regimens as first-line treatment for locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinomas. By using Bayesian network meta-analysis, we compared and ranked all included chemotherapy regimens in terms of overall survival, progression-free survival, response rate, and hematological toxicity. Results The analysis included 68 RCTs, with 14,908 patients and 63 treatment strategies. For overall survival, NSC-631570 (hazard ratio [HR] vs gemcitabine monotherapy 0.44, 95% credible interval: 0.24–0.76) and gemcitabine+NSC-631570 (HR 0.45, 0.24–0.86) were the two top-ranked chemotherapy regimens. For progression-free survival, PEFG (cisplatin + epirubicin + fluorouracil + gemcitabine) ranked first (HR 0.51, 0.34–0.77). PG (gemcitabine + pemetrexed) (odds ratio [OR] 4.68, 2.24–9.64) and FLEC (fluorouracil + leucovorin + epirubicin + carboplatin) (OR 4.52, 1.14–24.00) were ranked the most hematologically toxic, with gastrazole having the least toxicity (OR 0.03, 0.00–0.46). Conclusion The chemotherapy regimens NSC-631570 and gemcitabine+NSC-631570 were ranked the most efficacious for locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinomas in terms of overall survival, which warrants further confirmation in large-scale RCTs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuisheng Zhang
- Department of Pancreatic and Gastric Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, ; .,Department of General Surgery, Peking University Third Hospital
| | - Weimin Xie
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital
| | - Yinghua Zou
- Department of Interventional Radiology and Vascular Surgery, Peking University First Hospital
| | - Shuanghua Xie
- Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Health Statistics
| | - Jianwei Zhang
- Department of Pancreatic and Gastric Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, ;
| | - Wei Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College.,Clinical Immunology Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Science
| | - Jie Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College.,Clinical Immunology Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Science.,Department of Biotherapy, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology, Beijing
| | - Jiuda Zhao
- Department of Medical Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University, Xining
| | - Cuiling Zheng
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Yingtai Chen
- Department of Pancreatic and Gastric Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, ;
| | - Chengfeng Wang
- Department of Pancreatic and Gastric Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, ;
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Zhang S, Tian Y, Xie S, Zhang J, Zhao J, Chen Y, Wang C. Systemic Chemotherapy as First-line Treatment for Metastatic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: A Bayesian Analysis. Intern Med 2018. [PMID: 30146578 DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.1114-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective The preferred chemotherapy regimen for metastatic pancreatic cancer remains a matter of controversy. In the present study, we aimed to assess and rank the effectiveness and toxicity of all of the available chemotherapy regimens included in the last 15 years' randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinomas objectively. Methods PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Collaboration database, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for RCTs comparing chemotherapy regimens as first-line treatment for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinomas. Using a Bayesian network meta-analysis, we compared and ranked all included chemotherapy regimens in terms of the overall survival, progression-free survival, response rate, and hematological toxicity. Results We identified 2,206 articles and included in the analysis 46 eligible articles reporting 44 RCTs with a total of 9,133 patients and 48 first-line intravenous systemic chemotherapy regimens. The models showed a good fit to the data. The top-ranked chemotherapy regimen for the overall survival was FP (simplified leucovorin + fluorouracil + nab-paclitaxel), with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.45 versus gemcitabine monotherapy (95% credible interval 0.28-0.71). The regimen ranked first for the progression-free survival was gemcitabine + erlotinib + bevacizumab (HR 0.39, 0.23-0.62). GS (gemcitabine + S-1) had the highest overall response rate [odds ratio (OR) versus gemcitabine monotherapy 7.06, 1.15-51.15]. GemCape (gemcitabine + capecitabine) + erlotinib was ranked the most hematologically toxic (OR 7.78, 0.75-95.60). Conclusion The available evidence suggests that FP ranked first for metastatic pancreatic cancer in terms of the overall survival. GemCape + erlotinib ranked the most toxic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuisheng Zhang
- Department of Pancreatic and Gastric Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, China
- Department of General Surgery, Peking University Third Hospital, China
| | - Yuan Tian
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, China
| | - Shuanghua Xie
- Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Health Statistics, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, China
| | - Jianwei Zhang
- Department of Pancreatic and Gastric Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, China
| | - Jiuda Zhao
- Department of Medical Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University, China
| | - Yingtai Chen
- Department of Pancreatic and Gastric Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, China
| | - Chengfeng Wang
- Department of Pancreatic and Gastric Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, China
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Liu BJ, Wu CF, Garber PA, Zhang P, Li M. Effects of group size and rank on mother-infant relationships and reproductive success in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Am J Primatol 2018; 80:e22881. [PMID: 29923328 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2017] [Revised: 05/07/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In the present study, we compared mother-infant relationships in 57 mother-infant dyads residing in two wild, semi-provisioned (22 mother-infant dyads in 2014, 35 dyads in 2015) groups of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in the Nanwan Nature Reserve for Rhesus Macaques, Hainan, China. We also compared reproductive success between these two groups. The ecology and provisioning regime for each group was similar. These groups differed however, in size. Group 1 contained ∼35 individuals and Group 2 contained ∼120 individuals. Data were collected over a 2-year period (2014-2015). We found that during the birth season, mother-infant relationships in the larger group were characterized by less time in contact and more time separated than in the smaller group. Mothers in the smaller group initiated more contact and proximity with their infants. During the mating season when infants were approximately 6 months old, mother-infant relationships in the smaller group were more rejecting. We also found that birth rates were significantly higher but infant survivorship (to 1-year-old) was significantly lower in the smaller group. Moreover, higher-ranking mothers in the larger group were characterized by a higher reproductive output than females of lower rank. In the smaller group, female rank did not affect reproductive output. There was, however, no clear relationship between infant survivorship and maternal rank. We hypothesize that differences in reproductive success and changes in mother-infant relationships between the birth and mating seasons reflect differences in the costs and benefits of group size: females in the larger group faced (i) higher intragroup feeding competition leading to a reduction in birth rate but also (ii) lower predation risk, resulting in higher infant survival rate compared to females in the smaller group. The results of this study point to the tradeoffs that primate females face in living in smaller and larger social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo-Jun Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Cheng-Feng Wu
- School of Sociology and Anthropology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Paul A Garber
- Department of Anthropology and Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
| | - Peng Zhang
- School of Sociology and Anthropology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ming Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, China.,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
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López-Correa RD, Peñagaricano F, Rovere G, Urioste JI. Genetic parameter estimation for long endurance trials in the Uruguayan Criollo horse. J Anim Breed Genet 2018; 135:186-193. [PMID: 29732622 DOI: 10.1111/jbg.12324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters of performance in a 750-km, 15-day ride in Criollo horses. Heritability (h2 ) and maternal lineage effects (mt2 ) were obtained for rank, a relative placing measure of performance. Additive genetic and maternal lineage (rmt) correlations among five medium-to-high intensity phase ranks (pRK) and final rank (RK) were also estimated. Individual records from 1,236 Criollo horses from 1979 to 2012 were used. A multivariate threshold animal model was applied to the pRK and RK. Heritability was moderate to low (0.156-0.275). Estimates of mt2 were consistently low (0.04-0.06). Additive genetic correlations between individual pRK and RK were high (0.801-0.924), and the genetic correlations between individual pRKs ranged from 0.763 to 0.847. The pRK heritabilities revealed that some phases were explained by a greater additive component, whereas others showed stronger genetic relationships with RK. Thus, not all pRK may be considered as similar measures of performance in competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- R D López-Correa
- Departamento de Producción Animal y Pasturas, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay.,Departamento Genética y Mejoramiento Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - F Peñagaricano
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.,University of Florida Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
| | - G Rovere
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark.,Department of Animal Science/Epidemiology & Biostatistic, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
| | - J I Urioste
- Departamento de Producción Animal y Pasturas, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
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Wang D, Zhang X. The lower bounds for the rank of matrices and some sufficient conditions for nonsingular matrices. J Inequal Appl 2017; 2017:171. [PMID: 28794607 PMCID: PMC5519689 DOI: 10.1186/s13660-017-1446-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2017] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The paper mainly discusses the lower bounds for the rank of matrices and sufficient conditions for nonsingular matrices. We first present a new estimation for [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text] is an eigenvalue of a matrix) by using the partitioned matrices. By using this estimation and inequality theory, the new and more accurate estimations for the lower bounds for the rank are deduced. Furthermore, based on the estimation for the rank, some sufficient conditions for nonsingular matrices are obtained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dafei Wang
- School of Economics and Business Administration, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 P.R. China
| | - Xumei Zhang
- School of Economics and Business Administration, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044 P.R. China
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32
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Burla JB, Rufener C, Bachmann I, Gygax L, Patt A, Hillmann E. Space Allowance of the Littered Area Affects Lying Behavior in Group-Housed Horses. Front Vet Sci 2017; 4:23. [PMID: 28326309 PMCID: PMC5339441 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2017.00023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2016] [Accepted: 02/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Horses can sleep while standing; however, recumbency is required for rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and therefore essential. Previous research indicated a minimal duration of recumbency of 30 min per 24 h to perform a minimal duration of REM sleep. For group-housed horses, suitable lying area represents a potentially limited resource. In Switzerland, minimal dimensions for the space allowance of the littered area are therefore legally required. To assess the effect of different space allowances of the littered area on lying behavior, 38 horses in 8 groups were exposed to 4 treatments for 11 days each; T0: no litter provided, T0.5: 0.5× minimal dimensions, T1: minimal dimensions, and T1.5: 1.5× minimal dimensions. Non-littered areas were covered with hard rubber mats. Lying behavior was observed during the last 72 h of each treatment. The total number of lying bouts per 24 h was similar in treatments providing litter, whereas in treatment T0, recumbency occurred only rarely (F1,93 = 14.74, p = 0.0002) with the majority of horses lying down for less than 30 min per 24 h (χ12=11.82, p = 0.0006). Overall, the total duration of recumbency per 24 h increased with increasing dimensions of the littered area, whereby the effect attenuated between treatment T1 and T1.5 in high-ranking horses but continued in low-ranking horses (F1,91 = 3.22, p = 0.076). Furthermore, low-ranking horses showed considerably more forcedly terminated lying bouts in treatments T0.5 and T1, but were similar to high-ranking horses in T1.5 (F1,76 = 8.43, p = 0.005). Nonetheless, a number of individuals showed durations of recumbency of less than 30 min per 24 h even in treatment T1.5. The lying behavior was dependent on the availability of a soft and deformable surface for recumbency. A beneficial effect of enlarged dimensions of the littered area was shown by increased durations of recumbency and decreased proportion of forcedly terminated lying bouts in low-ranking horses. Taking this into account, it became evident that the minimal dimensions for the littered area as implemented in the Swiss animal welfare legislation do not ensure undisturbed lying behavior for all members of a given group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan-Bryce Burla
- Ethology and Animal Welfare Unit, ETH Zurich , Zurich , Switzerland
| | | | - Iris Bachmann
- Agroscope, Swiss National Stud Farm , Avenches , Switzerland
| | - Lorenz Gygax
- Centre for Proper Housing of Ruminants and Pigs, Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office FSVO , Bern , Switzerland
| | - Antonia Patt
- Ethology and Animal Welfare Unit, ETH Zurich , Zurich , Switzerland
| | - Edna Hillmann
- Ethology and Animal Welfare Unit, ETH Zurich , Zurich , Switzerland
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Watson SK, Reamer LA, Mareno MC, Vale G, Harrison RA, Lambeth SP, Schapiro SJ, Whiten A. Socially transmitted diffusion of a novel behavior from subordinate chimpanzees. Am J Primatol 2017; 79. [PMID: 28171684 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2016] [Revised: 12/14/2016] [Accepted: 01/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) demonstrate much cultural diversity in the wild, yet a majority of novel behaviors do not become group-wide traditions. Since many such novel behaviors are introduced by low-ranking individuals, a bias toward copying dominant individuals ("rank-bias") has been proposed as an explanation for their limited diffusion. Previous experimental work showed that chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) preferentially copy dominant over low-rank models. We investigated whether low ranking individuals may nevertheless successfully seed a beneficial behavior as a tradition if there are no "competing" models. In each of four captive groups, either a single high-rank (HR, n = 2) or a low-rank (LR, n = 2) chimpanzee model was trained on one method of opening a two-action puzzle-box, before demonstrating the trained method in a group context. This was followed by 8 hr of group-wide, open-access to the puzzle-box. Successful manipulations and observers of each manipulation were recorded. Barnard's exact tests showed that individuals in the LR groups used the seeded method as their first-choice option at significantly above chance levels, whereas those in the HR groups did not. Furthermore, individuals in the LR condition used the seeded method on their first attempt significantly more often than those in the HR condition. A network-based diffusion analysis (NBDA) revealed that the best supported statistical models were those in which social transmission occurred only in groups with subordinate models. Finally, we report an innovation by a subordinate individual that built cumulatively on existing methods of opening the puzzle-box and was subsequently copied by a dominant observer. These findings illustrate that chimpanzees are motivated to copy rewarding novel behaviors that are demonstrated by subordinate individuals and that, in some cases, social transmission may be constrained by high-rank demonstrators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart K Watson
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Lisa A Reamer
- National Centre for Chimpanzee Care, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, Department of Veterinary Sciences, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas
| | - Mary Catherine Mareno
- National Centre for Chimpanzee Care, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, Department of Veterinary Sciences, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas
| | - Gillian Vale
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.,National Centre for Chimpanzee Care, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, Department of Veterinary Sciences, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas
| | - Rachel A Harrison
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Susan P Lambeth
- National Centre for Chimpanzee Care, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, Department of Veterinary Sciences, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas
| | - Steven J Schapiro
- National Centre for Chimpanzee Care, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, Department of Veterinary Sciences, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas.,Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
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Abstract
Longitudinal ordinal data are common in biomedical research. Although various methods for the analysis of such data have been proposed in the past few decades, they are limited in several ways. For instance, the constraints on parameters in the proportional odds model may result in convergence problems; the rank-based aligned rank transform method imposes constraints on other parameters and the distributional assumptions with parametric model. We propose a novel rank-based non-parametric method that models the profile rather than the distribution of the data to make an effective statistical inference without the constraint conditions. We construct the test statistic of the interaction first, and then construct the test statistics of the main effects separately with or without the interaction, while "adjusted coefficient" for the case of ties is derived. A simulation study is conducted for comparison between rank-based non-parametric and rank-transformed analysis of variance. The results show that type I errors of the two methods are both maintained closer to the priori level, but the statistical power of rank-based non-parametric is greater than that of rank-transformed analysis of variance, suggesting higher efficiency of the former. We then apply rank-based non-parametric to two real studies on acne and osteoporosis, and the results also illustrate the effectiveness of rank-based non-parametric, particularly when the distribution is skewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Zhuang
- 1 Department of Biostatistics, Guangdong Provincal Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Guan
- 1 Department of Biostatistics, Guangdong Provincal Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, People's Republic of China
| | - Libin Qiu
- 1 Department of Biostatistics, Guangdong Provincal Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, People's Republic of China
| | - Meisheng Lai
- 2 School of traditional Chinese medicine, Southern Medical University, People's Republic of China
| | - Ming T Tan
- 1 Department of Biostatistics, Guangdong Provincal Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, People's Republic of China.,3 Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Biomathematics, Georgetown University Medical Center, USA
| | - Pingyan Chen
- 1 Department of Biostatistics, Guangdong Provincal Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, People's Republic of China.,4 State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Southern Medical University, People's Republic of China
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Determining differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between biological samples is the key to understand how genotype gives rise to phenotype. RNA-seq and microarray are two main technologies for profiling gene expression levels. However, considerable discrepancy has been found between DEGs detected using the two technologies. Integration data across these two platforms has the potential to improve the power and reliability of DEG detection. METHODS We propose a rank-based semi-parametric model to determine DEGs using information across different sources and apply it to the integration of RNA-seq and microarray data. By incorporating both the significance of differential expression and the consistency across platforms, our method effectively detects DEGs with moderate but consistent signals. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method using simulation studies, MAQC/SEQC data and a synthetic microRNA dataset. CONCLUSIONS Our integration method is not only robust to noise and heterogeneity in the data, but also adaptive to the structure of data. In our simulations and real data studies, our approach shows a higher discriminate power and identifies more biologically relevant DEGs than eBayes, DEseq and some commonly used meta-analysis methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yafei Lyu
- The Huck Institute of Life Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
| | - Qunhua Li
- Department of Statistics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
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Khoshnam F, Moody D. High rank elliptic curves with torsion ℤ/4ℤ. Integers 2016; 17:A70. [PMID: 28769739 PMCID: PMC5535278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Working over the field ℚ(t), Kihara constructed an elliptic curve with torsion group ℤ/4ℤ and five independent rational points, showing the rank is at least five. Following his approach, we give a new infinite family of elliptic curves with torsion group ℤ/4ℤ and rank at least five. This matches the current record for such curves. In addition, we give specific examples of these curves with high ranks 10 and 11.
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Affiliation(s)
- Foad Khoshnam
- Department of Pure Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz 53751-71379, Iran
| | - Dustin Moody
- Computer Security Division, National Institute of Standards & Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-8930
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Maltby J, Paterson K, Day L, Jones C, Kinnear H, Buchanan H. Social ranking effects on tooth-brushing behaviour. Br J Health Psychol 2015; 21:374-88. [PMID: 26663636 DOI: 10.1111/bjhp.12173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2015] [Revised: 10/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE A tooth-brushing social rank hypothesis is tested suggesting tooth-brushing duration is influenced when individuals position their behaviour in a rank when comparing their behaviour with other individuals. DESIGN Study 1 used a correlation design, Study 2 used a semi-experimental design, and Study 3 used a randomized intervention design to examine the tooth-brushing social rank hypothesis in terms of self-reported attitudes, cognitions, and behaviour towards tooth-brushing duration. METHODS Study 1 surveyed participants to examine whether the perceived health benefits of tooth-brushing duration could be predicted from the ranking of each person's tooth-brushing duration. Study 2 tested whether manipulating the rank position of the tooth-brushing duration influenced participant-perceived health benefits of tooth-brushing duration. Study 3 used a longitudinal intervention method to examine whether messages relating to the rank positions of tooth-brushing durations causally influenced the self-report tooth-brushing duration. RESULTS Study 1 demonstrates that perceptions of the health benefits from tooth-brushing duration are predicted by the perceptions of how that behaviour ranks in comparison to other people's behaviour. Study 2 demonstrates that the perceptions of the health benefits of tooth-brushing duration can be manipulated experimentally by changing the ranked position of a person's tooth-brushing duration. Study 3 experimentally demonstrates the possibility of increasing the length of time for which individuals clean their teeth by focusing on how they rank among their peers in terms of tooth-brushing duration. CONCLUSIONS The effectiveness of interventions using social-ranking methods relative to those that emphasize comparisons made against group averages or normative guidelines are discussed. STATEMENT OF CONTRIBUTION What is already known on this subject? Individual make judgements based on social rank information. Social rank information has been shown to influence positive health behaviours such as exercise. What does this study add? The health benefits of tooth-brushing are predicted by how tooth-brushing duration ranks within a distribution. Focussing on how teeth-cleaning duration ranks among others produces longer teeth-cleaning durations.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Maltby
- College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, Leicester University, UK
| | - Kevin Paterson
- College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, Leicester University, UK
| | - Liz Day
- Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
| | - Ceri Jones
- College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, Leicester University, UK.,The Firs Glenfield Hospital, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UK
| | - Hayley Kinnear
- College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, Leicester University, UK
| | - Heather Buchanan
- Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Queen's Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, UK
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE Rank county health using a Bayesian factor analysis model. DATA SOURCES Secondary county data from the National Center for Health Statistics (through 2007) and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (through 2009). STUDY DESIGN Our model builds on the existing county health rankings (CHRs) by using data-derived weights to compute ranks from mortality and morbidity variables, and by quantifying uncertainty based on population, spatial correlation, and missing data. We apply our model to Wisconsin, which has comprehensive data, and Texas, which has substantial missing information. DATA COLLECTION METHODS The data were downloaded from www.countyhealthrankings.org. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Our estimated rankings are more similar to the CHRs for Wisconsin than Texas, as the data-derived factor weights are closer to the assigned weights for Wisconsin. The correlations between the CHRs and our ranks are 0.89 for Wisconsin and 0.65 for Texas. Uncertainty is especially severe for Texas given the state's substantial missing data. CONCLUSIONS The reliability of comprehensive CHRs varies from state to state. We advise focusing on the counties that remain among the least healthy after incorporating alternate weighting methods and accounting for uncertainty. Our results also highlight the need for broader geographic coverage in health data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Courtemanche
- Department of Economics, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Atlanta, GA
| | - Samir Soneji
- Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Lebanon, NH
| | - Rusty Tchernis
- Department of Economics, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Atlanta, GA
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Brown WJ. Nursing in the 8th Evacuation Hospital, 1942-1945. US Army Med Dep J 2015:92-98. [PMID: 26606414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
This article describes the experiences of Army nurses in the University of Virginia sponsored 8th Evacuation Hospital during World War II. In addition, it examines gender and role differences within the Army Medical Department, and how nurses' contributions helped shape the profession. This research used traditional historical methods of inquiry to include both primary and secondary sources of information. Primary sources include newspaper clippings, letters, citations, and photographs from the archival collections of the 8th Evacuation Hospital located in the University of Virginia Historical Collections and Services, Charlottesville, VA, and journal articles from that period. Secondary sources consisted of bibliographical and historical texts. Evidence suggests that advances in the chain-of-evacuation, antibiotics, dissemination of blood products, and nurses' expanded roles all contributed to increased survival of the wounded. Nurses' performance garnered an enduring respect from combatants who received care, as well as the medical officers and enlisted personnel with whom they worked on a daily basis. Collaboration, mutual respect, and coordinated teamwork were critical for mission success. Army nurses demonstrated that they had the mettle to go into a war zone and perform in an exemplary manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- William J Brown
- Center for Nursing Science and Clinical Inquiry, Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
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RUAN XIYUN, LI HONGYUN, LIU BO, CHEN JIE, ZHANG SHIBAO, SUN ZEQIANG, LIU SHUANGQING, SUN FAHAI, LIU QINGYONG. A novel method to identify pathways associated with renal cell carcinoma based on a gene co-expression network. Oncol Rep 2015; 34:567-76. [PMID: 26058425 PMCID: PMC4487672 DOI: 10.3892/or.2015.4038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Accepted: 03/23/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to develop a novel method for identifying pathways associated with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) based on a gene co-expression network. A framework was established where a co-expression network was derived from the database as well as various co-expression approaches. First, the backbone of the network based on differentially expressed (DE) genes between RCC patients and normal controls was constructed by the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) database. The differentially co-expressed links were detected by Pearson's correlation, the empirical Bayesian (EB) approach and Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA). The co-expressed gene pairs were merged by a rank-based algorithm. We obtained 842; 371; 2,883 and 1,595 co-expressed gene pairs from the co-expression networks of the STRING database, Pearson's correlation EB method and WGCNA, respectively. Two hundred and eighty-one differentially co-expressed (DC) gene pairs were obtained from the merged network using this novel method. Pathway enrichment analysis based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database and the network enrichment analysis (NEA) method were performed to verify feasibility of the merged method. Results of the KEGG and NEA pathway analyses showed that the network was associated with RCC. The suggested method was computationally efficient to identify pathways associated with RCC and has been identified as a useful complement to traditional co-expression analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- XIYUN RUAN
- Department of Neurology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250021, P.R. China
| | - HONGYUN LI
- Department of Urology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P.R. China
| | - BO LIU
- ICU, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, Shandong 272129, P.R. China
| | - JIE CHEN
- Department of Urology, Jinan Central Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250013, P.R. China
| | - SHIBAO ZHANG
- Department of Urology, Jinan Central Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250013, P.R. China
| | - ZEQIANG SUN
- Department of Urology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P.R. China
| | - SHUANGQING LIU
- Department of Urology, Jinan Central Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250013, P.R. China
| | - FAHAI SUN
- Department of Urology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P.R. China
| | - QINGYONG LIU
- Department of Urology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P.R. China
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Di Nisio C, Zizzari VL, Zara S, Falconi M, Teti G, Tetè G, Nori A, Zavaglia V, Cataldi A. RANK/RANKL/OPG signaling pathways in necrotic jaw bone from bisphosphonate-treated subjects. Eur J Histochem 2015; 59:2455. [PMID: 25820558 PMCID: PMC4378212 DOI: 10.4081/ejh.2015.2455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2014] [Revised: 12/17/2014] [Accepted: 12/18/2014] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is a chronic complication affecting long-term bisphosphonate-treated subjects, recognized by non-healing exposed bone in the maxillofacial region. The pathophysiological mechanism underlying ONJ has not been fully elucidated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of RANK/RANKL/OPG signaling pathway and, in parallel, to evaluate angiogenic and matrix mineralization processes in jaw bone necrotic samples obtained from bisphosphonate-treated subjects with established ONJ. Necrotic bone samples and native bone samples were processed for Light and Field Emission in Lens Scanning Electron Microscope (FEISEM) analyses, for Real-Time RT-PCR to evaluate the gene expression of TNFRSF11A (RANK), TNFSF11 (RANKL), and TNFSF11B (OPG) and for immunohistochemical analyses of VEGF and BSP expression. Morphological analyses performed by Light microscope and FEISEM show empty osteocytic lacunae and alteration of lamellar organization with degradation of the mineralized bone matrix in necrotic bone samples. A significant increase in TNFRSF11A, TNFSF11, TRAF6 and NFAT2 gene expression, and a reduction of TNFSF11B gene transcription level compared is also showed in necrotic bone compared to control samples. No significant difference of VEGF expression is evidenced, while lower BSP expression in necrotic bone compared to healthy samples is found. Even if the pathogenesis of bisphosphonate-associated ONJ remains unknown, a link between oral pathogens and its development seems to exist. We suppose lipopolysaccharide produced by bacteria colonizing and infecting necrotic bone and the surrounding viable area could trigger RANK/RANKL/OPG signaling pathway and, in this context, osteoclasts activation could be considered as a protective strategy carried out by the host bone tissue to delimitate the necrotic area and to counteract infection.
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Abstract
We consider the analysis of multiple genetic variants within a gene or a region that are expected to confer risks to human complex diseases with quantitative traits, where the trait values do not follow the normal distribution even after some transformations. We rank the phenotypic values, calculate a score to measure the trend effect of a particular allele for each marker, and then construct three statistics based on the quadratic frameworks of methods Hotelling T(2) , the summation of squared univariate statistic and the inverse of the square root weighted statistics to combine the scores for different marker loci. Simulation results show that the above three test statistics can control the type I error rate well and are more robust than standard tests constructed based on linear regression. Application to GAW16 data for rheumatoid arthritis successfully detects the association between the HLA-DRB1 gene and anticyclic citrullinated protein measure, while the standard methods based on normal assumption cannot detect this association.
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Abstract
Biological market theory models the action of natural selection as a marketplace in which animals are viewed as traders with commodities to offer and exchange. Studies of female Old World monkeys have suggested that grooming might be employed as a commodity to be reciprocated or traded for alternative services, yet previous tests of this grooming-trade model in wild adult male chimpanzees have yielded mixed results. Here we provide the strongest test of the model to date for male chimpanzees: we use data drawn from two social groups (communities) of chimpanzees from different populations and give explicit consideration to variation in dominance hierarchy steepness, as such variation results in differing conditions for biological markets. First, analysis of data from published accounts of other chimpanzee communities, together with our own data, showed that hierarchy steepness varied considerably within and across communities and that the number of adult males in a community aged 20-30 years predicted hierarchy steepness. The two communities in which we tested predictions of the grooming-trade model lay at opposite extremes of this distribution. Second, in accord with the grooming-trade model, we found evidence that male chimpanzees trade grooming for agonistic support where hierarchies are steep (despotic) and consequent effective support is a rank-related commodity, but not where hierarchies are shallow (egalitarian). However, we also found that grooming was reciprocated regardless of hierarchy steepness. Our findings also hint at the possibility of agonistic competition, or at least exclusion, in relation to grooming opportunities compromising the free market envisioned by biological market theory. Our results build on previous findings across chimpanzee communities to emphasize the importance of reciprocal grooming exchanges among adult male chimpanzees, which can be understood in a biological markets framework if grooming by or with particular individuals is a valuable commodity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano S. K. Kaburu
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Parma, Parma, Italy
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, National Institutes of Health, Poolesville, MD, U.S.A
| | - Nicholas E. Newton-Fisher
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, Marlowe Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, U.K
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Cheng X, Hookway E, Kashima T, Oppermann U, Galione A, Athanasou NA. The role of calcium and nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP) in human osteoclast formation and resorption. Calcif Tissue Int 2015; 96:73-9. [PMID: 25433853 PMCID: PMC6667340 DOI: 10.1007/s00223-014-9939-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2014] [Accepted: 11/24/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Osteoclasts are specialised bone resorbing cells which form by fusion of circulating mononuclear phagocyte precursors. Bone resorption results in the release of large amounts of calcium into the extracellular fluid (ECF), but it is not certain whether changes in extracellular calcium concentration [Ca(2+)]e influence osteoclast formation and resorption. In this study, we sought to determine the effect of [Ca(2+)]e and NAADP, a potent calcium mobilising messenger that induces calcium uptake, on human osteoclast formation and resorption. CD14+ human monocytes were cultured with M-CSF and RANKL in the presence of different concentrations of calcium and NAADP and the effect on osteoclast formation and resorption evaluated. We found that the number of TRAP+ multinucleated cells and the extent of lacunar resorption were reduced when there was an increase in extracellular calcium and NAADP. This was associated with a decrease in RANK mRNA expression by CD14+ cells. At high concentrations (20 mM) of [Ca(2+)]e mature osteoclast resorption activity remained unaltered relative to control cultures. Our findings indicate that osteoclast formation is inhibited by a rise in [Ca(2+)]e and that RANK expression by mononuclear phagocyte osteoclast precursors is also [Ca(2+)]e dependent. Changes in NAADP also influence osteoclast formation, suggesting a role for this molecule in calcium handling. Osteoclasts remained capable of lacunar resorption, even at high ECF [Ca(2+)]e, in keeping with their role in physiological and pathological bone resorption.
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Affiliation(s)
- X Cheng
- Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford, OX3 7LD
| | - E. Hookway
- Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford, OX3 7LD
| | - T. Kashima
- Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford, OX3 7LD
| | - U. Oppermann
- Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford, OX3 7LD
- Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Roosevelt Drive, Headington, OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - A. Galione
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, OX1 3QT
| | - NA Athanasou
- Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford, OX3 7LD
- Author for correspondence: Tel: +44 1865 7 38136, Fax: +44 1865 7)38140,
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Abstract
OBJECT The application of bibliometric techniques to academic neurosurgery has been the focus of several recent publications. The authors provide here a detailed analysis of all active pediatric neurosurgeons in North America and their respective departments. METHODS Using Scopus and Google Scholar, a bibliometric profile for every known active pediatric neurosurgeon in North America was created using the following citation metrics: h-, contemporary h-, g-, and e-indices and the m-quotient. Various subgroups were compared. Departmental productivity from 2008 through 2013 was measured, and departments were ranked on the basis of cumulative h- and e-indices and the total number of publications and citations. Lorenz curves were created, and Gini coefficients were calculated for all departments with 4 or more members. RESULTS Three hundred twelve pediatric neurosurgeons (260 male, 52 female) were included for analysis. For the entire group, the median h-index, m-quotient, contemporary h-, g-, and e-indices, and the corrected g- and e-indices were 10, 0.59, 7, 18, 17, 1.14, and 1.01, respectively; the range for each index varied widely. Academic pediatric neurosurgeons associated with fellowship programs (compared with unassociated neurosurgeons), academic practitioners (compared with private practitioners), and men (compared with women) had superior measurements. There was no significant difference between American and Canadian pediatric neurosurgeons. The mean Gini coefficient for publications was 0.45 (range 0.18-0.70) and for citations was 0.53 (range 0.25-0.80). CONCLUSIONS This study represents the most exhaustive evaluation of academic productivity for pediatric neurosurgeons in North America to date. These results should serve as benchmarks for future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Klimo
- Semmes-Murphey Neurologic & Spine Institute
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Zhang S, Luo J, Zhu L, Stinchcomb DG, Campbell D, Carter G, Gilkeson S, Feuer EJ. Confidence intervals for ranks of age-adjusted rates across states or counties. Stat Med 2014; 33:1853-66. [PMID: 24420973 DOI: 10.1002/sim.6071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2013] [Revised: 08/16/2013] [Accepted: 11/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Health indices provide information to the general public on the health condition of the community. They can also be used to inform the government's policy making, to evaluate the effect of a current policy or healthcare program, or for program planning and priority setting. It is a common practice that the health indices across different geographic units are ranked and the ranks are reported as fixed values. We argue that the ranks should be viewed as random and hence should be accompanied by an indication of precision (i.e., the confidence intervals). A technical difficulty in doing so is how to account for the dependence among the ranks in the construction of confidence intervals. In this paper, we propose a novel Monte Carlo method for constructing the individual and simultaneous confidence intervals of ranks for age-adjusted rates. The proposed method uses as input age-specific counts (of cases of disease or deaths) and their associated populations. We have further extended it to the case in which only the age-adjusted rates and confidence intervals are available. Finally, we demonstrate the proposed method to analyze US age-adjusted cancer incidence rates and mortality rates for cancer and other diseases by states and counties within a state using a website that will be publicly available. The results show that for rare or relatively rare disease (especially at the county level), ranks are essentially meaningless because of their large variability, while for more common disease in larger geographic units, ranks can be effectively utilized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunpu Zhang
- Department of Statistics, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68583, U.S.A
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Cope S, Jansen JP. Quantitative summaries of treatment effect estimates obtained with network meta-analysis of survival curves to inform decision-making. BMC Med Res Methodol 2013; 13:147. [PMID: 24289277 PMCID: PMC3866977 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2288-13-147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2013] [Accepted: 11/12/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Increasingly, network meta-analysis (NMA) of published survival data are based on parametric survival curves as opposed to reported hazard ratios to avoid relying on the proportional hazards assumption. If a Bayesian framework is used for the NMA, rank probabilities associated with the alternative treatments can be obtained, which directly support decision-making. In the context of survival analysis multiple treatment effect measures are available to inform the rank probabilities. METHODS A fractional polynomial NMA of overall survival in advanced melanoma was performed as an illustrative example. Rank probabilities were calculated and presented for the following effect measures: 1) median survival; 2) expected survival; 3) mean survival at the follow-up time point of the trial with the shortest follow-up; 4) hazard or hazard ratio over time; 5) cumulative hazard or survival proportions over time; and 6) mean survival at subsequent time points. The advantages and disadvantages of the alternative measures were discussed. RESULTS Since hazard and survival estimates may vary over time for the compared interventions, calculations of rank probabilities for an NMA of survival curves may depend on the effect measure. With methods 1-3 rank probabilities do not vary over time, which are easier to understand and communicate than rank probabilities that vary over time as obtained with methods 4-6. However, rank probabilities based on methods 4-6 provide useful information regarding the relative treatment effects over time. CONCLUSIONS Different approaches to summarize results of a NMA of survival curves with rank probabilities have pros and cons. Rank probabilities of treatment effects over time provide a more transparent and informative approach to help guide decision-making than single rank probabilities based on collapsed measures, such as median survival or expected survival. Rank probabilities based on survival proportions are the most intuitive and straightforward to communicate, but alternatives based on the hazard function or mean survival over time may also be useful.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon Cope
- Mapi Group, 33 Bloor Street East, Suite 1300, Toronto M4W 3H1, Canada
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Mercatali L, Ricci M, Scarpi E, Serra P, Fabbri F, Ricci R, Liverani C, Zanoni M, Zoli W, Maltoni R, Gunelli E, Amadori D, Ibrahim T. RANK/RANK-L/OPG in patients with bone metastases treated with anticancer agents and zoledronic acid: a prospective study. Int J Mol Sci 2013; 14:10683-93. [PMID: 23702841 PMCID: PMC3709696 DOI: 10.3390/ijms140610683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2013] [Revised: 05/09/2013] [Accepted: 05/13/2013] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients with solid cancer frequently develop bone metastases (BM). Zoledronic acid (Zometa®, ZA), routinely used to treat patients with BM, acts on osteoclasts and also has antitumor properties. We aimed to assess the effect of ZA over time in novel bone turnover markers (RANK/receptor activator of nuclear factor-k B ligand (RANK-L)/ Osteoprotegerin (OPG)) and to correlate these with serum N-terminal telopeptide (NTX). The study prospectively evaluated levels of RANK, RANK-L and OPG transcripts by real-time PCR and NTX expression by ELISA in the peripheral blood of 49 consecutive patients with advanced breast, lung or prostate cancer. All patients received the standard ZA schedule and were monitored for 12 months. Median baseline values of RANK, RANK-L and OPG were 78.28 (range 7.34-620.64), 319.06 (21.42-1884.41) and 1.52 (0.10-58.02), respectively. At 12 months, the median RANK-L value had decreased by 22% with respect to the baseline, whereas median OPG levels had increased by about 96%. Consequently, the RANK-L/OPG ratio decreased by 56% from the baseline. Median serum NTX levels decreased over the 12-month period, reaching statistical significance (p < 0.0001). Our results would seem to indicate that ZA modulates RANK, RANK-L and OPG expression, thus decreasing osteoclast activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Mercatali
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mails: (L.M.); (M.R.); (R.R.); (C.L.); (E.G.); (D.A.)
- Biosciences Laboratory, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mails: (M.Z.); (W.Z.)
| | - Marianna Ricci
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mails: (L.M.); (M.R.); (R.R.); (C.L.); (E.G.); (D.A.)
| | - Emanuela Scarpi
- Unit of Biostatistics and Clinical Trials, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mail: (E.S.); (P.S.); (F.F.)
| | - Patrizia Serra
- Unit of Biostatistics and Clinical Trials, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mail: (E.S.); (P.S.); (F.F.)
| | - Francesca Fabbri
- Unit of Biostatistics and Clinical Trials, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mail: (E.S.); (P.S.); (F.F.)
| | - Rossana Ricci
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mails: (L.M.); (M.R.); (R.R.); (C.L.); (E.G.); (D.A.)
| | - Chiara Liverani
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mails: (L.M.); (M.R.); (R.R.); (C.L.); (E.G.); (D.A.)
- Biosciences Laboratory, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mails: (M.Z.); (W.Z.)
| | - Michele Zanoni
- Biosciences Laboratory, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mails: (M.Z.); (W.Z.)
| | - Wainer Zoli
- Biosciences Laboratory, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mails: (M.Z.); (W.Z.)
| | - Roberta Maltoni
- Department of Medical Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mail:
| | - Erica Gunelli
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mails: (L.M.); (M.R.); (R.R.); (C.L.); (E.G.); (D.A.)
| | - Dino Amadori
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mails: (L.M.); (M.R.); (R.R.); (C.L.); (E.G.); (D.A.)
| | - Toni Ibrahim
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014 Meldola (FC), Italy; E-Mails: (L.M.); (M.R.); (R.R.); (C.L.); (E.G.); (D.A.)
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Jin Z, Xiang QS. Accelerated MRI by SPEED with generalized sampling schemes. Magn Reson Med 2013; 70:1674-81. [PMID: 23364759 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.24605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2012] [Revised: 11/28/2012] [Accepted: 11/28/2012] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To enhance the fast imaging technique of skipped phase encoding (PE) and edge deghosting (SPEED) for more general sampling options, and thus more flexibility in implementations and applications. METHODS SPEED uses skipped PE steps to accelerate MRI scan. Previously, the PE skip size was chosen from prime numbers only. This restriction has been relaxed in this study to allow choice of any integers rather than merely prime numbers. Various sampling patterns were studied under all possible combinations of PE skip size and PE shifts. A criterion based on the rank values of ghost phasor matrices was introduced to evaluate SPEED reconstruction. RESULTS The reconstruction quality was found to correlate with the rank value of the ghost phasor matrix and the skipped PE size N. A low-rank value indicates a singular matrix that causes failure of the SPEED reconstruction. Composite numbers combined with appropriately chosen PE shifts yielded satisfactory reconstruction results. CONCLUSION With properly chosen PE shifts, it was found that any integers, including both prime numbers and composite numbers, could be used as PE skip size for SPEED. This finding allows much more flexible data acquisition options that may lead to more freedom in practical implementations and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoyang Jin
- Institute of Information and Control, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
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Abstract
AIM The aims of this study were to validate the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) for registered nurses in South Africa and to analyse the differences between the levels of burnout of different biographical groups. BACKGROUND The nursing profession is seen as a stressful and emotionally demanding profession, which makes nurses susceptible to burnout. METHOD A cross-sectional survey design with a stratified random sample (n = 818) was used. The MBI-HSS and a biographical questionnaire were administered. RESULTS Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a three-factor structure of burnout, consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment. Construct equivalence and reliability of the three factors were confirmed. Significant differences were found in burnout levels with regard to language, age, rank, job satisfaction, reciprocity, full-time employment and specialised training. CONCLUSIONS The MBI-HSS showed acceptable validity and reliability for South African nurses. Burnout is associated with specific factors, including language, age, rank, job satisfaction, reciprocity, full-time employment and specialised training. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT The use of the MBI-HSS is recommended to assess burnout of nurses in South Africa. Organisations employing nurses should intervene to prevent and/or manage burnout.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna J van der Colff
- Fundamental Nursing and Administration, College of Nursing, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
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