PREDICTORS OF QUALITY OF LIFE WITH AXILLARY REVERSE

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the United States. Sentinel lymph node biopsy for staging early breast cancer in clinically node negative patients is supported by the American Society of Clinical Oncology due to a greater morbidity associated with axillary lymph node dissection. Quality of life benefits of sentinel lymph node biopsy compared to axillary lymph node dissection are inconsistent and many studies have used quality of life questionnaires alone. This descriptive correlational study was a primary analysis of factors that predicted quality of life over two years based on a modified Health Related Quality of Life Model. The sample consisted of 185 women, ages 29 to 88 who had the new axillary reverse mapping surgical procedure following an axillary lymph node dissection with sentinel lymph node biopsy or axillary lymph node dissection with or without sentinel lymph node biopsy. Descriptive analyses were conducted for occurrence of lymphedema and measures of physical function, general health perceptions, and health-related quality of life over two years. Individual characteristics, relationships of biological factors, symptoms, and functional status to general health perception and health-related quality of life were evaluated through separate regression analyses conducted at three time points over two years. Data were collected from the SF-36 and the axillary reverse mapping surgery form. Up to 31% of the variance in General Health Perception was explained by seven variables (age, body mass index, surgery, pain, lymphedema, physical functioning, and strength) with physical functioning and pain contributing the most. As much as 37% of variance in mental component summary was explained by the same seven variables with physical functioning and pain contributing the most. Only 19% of the variance for physical component summary was explained by five variables (age, body mass index, surgery, lymphedema, and muscle strength) with body mass index and muscle strength contributing the most at two years. Results provide information to help nurses formulate extended interventions and education for improving the perceptions and objective outcomes of women after undergoing axillary surgery for breast cancer

Inclusive housing in Australia - A voluntary response

The lack of inclusive housing in Australia contributes to the marginalization and exclusion of people with disability and older people from family and community life. The Australian government has handed over the responsibility of increasing the supply of inclusive housing to the housing industry through an agreed national access standard and a voluntary strategy. Voluntary strategies have not been successful in other constituencies and little is known about what would work in Australia today. Findings from a research project into the voluntariness of the housing industry indicate that a reliable and consistent supply is unlikely without an equivalent increase in demand. The strategy has, however, an important role to play in the task of changing housing industry practices towards building more inclusive communities

Stop the escalation before it begins by using the pediatric Behavior Response Team protocol

In today's world, clinicians need to be prepared to care for challenging patients and families that are struggling with the stress of illness and hospitalization and have inadequate coping skills. The University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) has developed a protocol identifying a team with representatives from psychiatry, security, and risk management to provide a rapid response in situations that historically have resulted in, at worst, sentinel/adverse events and at best, service disasters. The pediatric BRT protocol formalizes the purpose of the team, how staff should access them, and the expectation for involved staff to debrief about the interventions at identified times. It has proven to be an effective intervention and allows clinicians to provide needed care to the patients.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92390/1/21082_ftp.pd

Design and synthesis of dual 5-HT1A and 5-HT7 receptor ligands

5-HT and 5-HT receptors have been at the center of discussions recently due in part to their major role in the etiology of major central nervous system diseases such as depression, sleep disorders, and schizophrenia. As part of our search to identify dual targeting ligands for these receptors, we have carried out a systematic modification of a selective 5HT receptor ligand culminating in the identification of several dual 5-HT and 5-HT receptor ligands. Compound , a butyrophenone derivative of tetrahydroisoquinoline (THIQ), was identified as the most potent agent with low nanomolar binding affinities to both receptors. Interestingly, compound also displayed moderate affinity to other clinically relevant dopamine receptors. Thus, it is anticipated that compound may serve as a lead for further exploitation in our quest to identify new ligands with the potential to treat diseases of CNS origin

2 X 20: Works by 20 of Kentucky\u27s Finest Working Folk Artists

2012 Kentucky Folk Art Center exhibition catalog of the twenty finest working folk artists.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/kfac_exhibition_catalogs/1009/thumbnail.jp

Variation in Reproductive Success Across Captive Populations: Methodological Differences, Potential Biases and Opportunities

Our understanding of fundamental organismal biology has been disproportionately influenced by studies of a relatively small number of model\u27 species extensively studied in captivity. Laboratory populations of model species are commonly subject to a number of forms of past and current selection that may affect experimental outcomes. Here, we examine these processes and their outcomes in one of the most widely used vertebrate species in the laboratory - the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). This important model species is used for research across a broad range of fields, partly due to the ease with which it can be bred in captivity. However despite this perceived amenability, we demonstrate extensive variation in the success with which different laboratories and studies bred their subjects, and overall only 64% of all females that were given the opportunity, bred successfully in the laboratory. We identify and review several environmental, husbandry, life-history and behavioural factors that potentially contribute to this variation. The variation in reproductive success across individuals could lead to biases in experimental outcomes and drive some of the heterogeneity in research outcomes across studies. The zebra finch remains an excellent captive animal system and our aim is to sharpen the insight that future studies of this species can provide, both to our understanding of this species and also with respect to the reproduction of captive animals more widely. We hope to improve systematic reporting methods and that further investigation of the issues we raise will lead both to advances in our fundamental understanding of avian reproduction as well as to improvements in future welfare and experimental efficiency

A statistical method for excluding non-variable CpG sites in high-throughput DNA methylation profiling

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High-throughput DNA methylation arrays are likely to accelerate the pace of methylation biomarker discovery for a wide variety of diseases. A potential problem with a standard set of probes measuring the methylation status of CpG sites across the whole genome is that many sites may not show inter-individual methylation variation among the biosamples for the disease outcome being studied. Inclusion of these so-called "non-variable sites" will increase the risk of false discoveries and reduce statistical power to detect biologically relevant methylation markers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We propose a method to estimate the proportion of non-variable CpG sites and eliminate those sites from further analyses. Our method is illustrated using data obtained by hybridizing DNA extracted from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 311 samples to an array assaying 1505 CpG sites. Results showed that a large proportion of the CpG sites did not show inter-individual variation in methylation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our method resulted in a substantial improvement in association signals between methylation sites and outcome variables while controlling the false discovery rate at the same level.</p