Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake Trends in US Adolescents and Their Association with Insulin Resistance-Related Parameters

The purpose of this study was to evaluate current sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption trends and their association with insulin resistance-related metabolic parameters and anthropometric measurements by performing a cross-sectional analysis of the NHANES data during the years 1988–1994 and 1999–2004. Main outcome measures included SSB consumption trends, a homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, blood pressure, waist circumference, body mass index, and fasting concentrations of total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides. Although overall SSB consumption has increased, our data suggest that this increase was primarily due to an increase in the amount of SSBs consumed by males in the high-SSB intake group alone. Multivariate linear regression analyses also showed that increased SSB consumption was independently associated with many adverse health parameters. Factors other than SSB consumption must therefore be contributing to the increasing prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome in the majority of US children

Low-level stored waste inspection using mobile robots

A mobile robot inspection system, ARIES (Autonomous Robotic Inspection Experimental System), has been developed for the U.S. Department of Energy to replace human inspectors in the routine, regulated inspection of radioactive waste stored in drums. The robot will roam the three-foot aisles of drums, stacked four high, making decisions about the surface condition of the drums and maintaining a database of information about each drum. A distributed system of onboard and offboard computers will provide versatile, friendly control of the inspection process. This mobile robot system, based on a commercial mobile platform, will improve the quality of inspection, generate required reports, and relieve human operators from low-level radioactive exposure. This paper describes and discusses primarily the computer and control processes for the system

Quantum Error Correction via Convex Optimization

We show that the problem of designing a quantum information error correcting procedure can be cast as a bi-convex optimization problem, iterating between encoding and recovery, each being a semidefinite program. For a given encoding operator the problem is convex in the recovery operator. For a given method of recovery, the problem is convex in the encoding scheme. This allows us to derive new codes that are locally optimal. We present examples of such codes that can handle errors which are too strong for codes derived by analogy to classical error correction techniques.Comment: 16 page

Association between Hospital Admissions and Healthcare Provider Communication for Individuals with Sickle Cell Disease

Objective: To test the hypothesis that caregivers’ or adult participants’ low ratings of provider communication are associated with more hospital admissions among adults and children with sickle cell disease (SCD), respectively. Secondarily, we determined whether there was an association between the caregivers’ or participants’ health literacy and rating of providers’ communication. Methods: Primary data were collected from participants through surveys between 2014 and 2016, across six sickle cell centers throughout the U.S. In this cross-sectional cohort study, 211 adults with SCD and 331 caregivers of children with SCD completed surveys evaluating provider communication using the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), healthcare utilization, health literacy, and other sociodemographic and behavioral variables. Analyses included descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, and logistic regression. Results: Participants with better ratings of provider communication were less likely to be hospitalized (odds ratio (OR) = 0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [0.35, 0.83]). Positive ratings of provider communication were associated with fewer readmissions for children (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = [0.09, 0.57]). Participants with better ratings of provider communication were less likely to rate their health literacy as lower (regression coefficient (B) = −0.28, 95% CI = [−0.46, −0.10]). Conclusions: Low ratings of provider communication were associated with more hospitalizations and readmissions in SCD, suggesting the need for interventions targeted at improving patient-provider communication which could decrease hospitalizations for this population

Low expression of galectin-3 is associated with poor survival in node-positive breast cancers and mesenchymal phenotype in breast cancer stem cells

Background Galectin-3 (Gal3) plays diverse roles in cancer initiation, progression, and drug resistance depending on tumor type characteristics that are also associated with cancer stem cells (CSCs). Recurrence of breast carcinomas may be attributed to the presence of breast CSCs (BCSCs). BCSCs exist in mesenchymal-like or epithelial-like states and the transition between these states endows BCSCs with the capacity for tumor progression. The discovery of a feedback loop with galectins during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) prompted us to investigate its role in breast cancer stemness. Method To elucidate the role of Gal3 in BCSCs, we performed various in vitro and in vivo studies such as sphere-formation assays, Western blotting, flow cytometric apoptosis assays, and limited dilution xenotransplant models. Histological staining for Gal3 in tissue microarrays of breast cancer patients was performed to analyze the relationship of clinical outcome and Gal3 expression. Results Here, we show in a cohort of 87 node-positive breast cancer patients treated with doxorubicin-based chemotherapy that low Gal3 was associated with increased lymphovascular invasion and reduced overall survival. Analysis of in vitro BCSC models demonstrated that Gal3 knockdown by small hairpin RNA (shRNA) interference in epithelial-like mammary spheres leads to EMT, increased sphere-formation ability, drug-resistance, and heightened aldefluor activity. Furthermore, Gal3negative BCSCs were associated with enhanced tumorigenicity in orthotopic mouse models. Conclusions Thus, in at least some breast cancers, loss of Gal3 might be associated with EMT and cancer stemness-associated traits, predicts poor response to chemotherapy, and poor prognosis

Intratumoral Delivery of Plasmid Interleukin-12 Via Electroporation Leads to Regression of Injected and Non-Injected Tumors in Merkel Cell Carcinoma

Purpose: Interleukin-12 (IL12) promotes adaptive type I immunity and has demonstrated antitumor efficacy, but systemic administration leads to severe adverse events (AE), including death. This pilot trial investigated safety, efficacy, and immunologic activity of intratumoral delivery of IL12 plasmid DNA (tavo) via in vivo electroporation (i.t.-tavo-EP) in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), an aggressive virus-associated skin cancer. Experimental Design: Fifteen patients with MCC with superficial injectable tumor(s) received i.t.-tavo-EP on days 1, 5, and 8 of each cycle. Patients with locoregional MCC (cohort A, N = 3) received one cycle before definitive surgery in week 4. Patients with metastatic MCC (cohort B, N = 12) received up to four cycles total, administered at least 6 weeks apart. Serial tumor and blood samples were collected. Results: All patients successfully completed at least one cycle with transient, mild (grades 1 and 2) AEs and without significant systemic toxicity. Sustained (day 22) intratumoral expression of IL12 protein was observed along with local inflammation and increased tumor-specific CD8+ T-cell infiltration, which led to systemic immunologic and clinical responses. The overall response rate was 25% (3/12) in cohort B, with 2 patients experiencing durable clinical benefit (16 and 55+ months, respectively). Two cohort A patients (1 with pathologic complete remission) were recurrence-free at 44+ and 75+ months. Conclusions: I.t.-tavo-EP was safe and feasible without systemic toxicity. Sustained local expression of IL12 protein and local inflammation led to systemic immune responses and clinically meaningful benefit in some patients. Gene electrotransfer, specifically i.t.-tavo-EP, warrants further investigation for immunotherapy of cancer

Structural properties of discs and bulges of early-type galaxies

We have used the EFAR sample of galaxies to study the light distributions of early-type galaxies. We decompose the 2D light distribution of the galaxies in a flattened spheroidal component with a Sersic radial light profile and an inclined disc component with an exponential light profile. We show that the brightest, bulge dominated elliptical galaxies have a fairly broad distribution in the Sersic profile shape parameter n_B, with a median of about 3.7 and a sigma of ~0.9. Other galaxies have smaller n_B values, meaning that spheroids are in general less concentrated than the n_B=4 de Vaucouleurs-law profile. The results of our light decompositions are robust, even though without kinematic information we cannot prove that the spheroids and discs are really pressure- and rotation-supported stellar systems. If we assume that the detected spheroids and discs are indeed separate components, we can draw the following conclusions: 1) the spheroid and disc scale sizes are correlated; 2) bulge-to-total luminosity ratios, bulge effective radii, and bulge n_B values are all positively correlated; 3) the bivariate space density distribution of elliptical galaxies in the (luminosity, scale size)-plane is well described by a Schechter luminosity function in and a log-normal scale-size distribution at a given luminosity; 4) at the brightest luminosities, the scale size distribution of elliptical galaxies is similar to those of bright spiral galaxies; at fainter luminosities the elliptical scale size distribution peaks at distinctly smaller sizes than the spiral galaxy distribution; and 5) bulge components of early-type galaxies are typically a factor 1.5 to 2.5 smaller than the disks of spiral galaxies, while disc components of early-type galaxies are typically twice as large as the discs of spiral galaxies. [abridged]Comment: 16 pages, 18 figures. Accepted for publication in the MNRA

Taking Ownership: Our Pledge to Educate All of Detroit's Children

Excellent Schools Detroit represents a broad and diverse cross section of Detroit's education, government, civic and community, parent, organized labor, and philanthropic leaders who are committed to ensuring that all Detroit children receive the great education they deserve. This citywide education plan reflects months of discussions and deliberations by coalition members, as well as a series of six community meetings in November and December, youth focus groups, small group discussions with multiple stakeholders, and other outreach efforts. We appreciate the thoughtful recommendations from the many Detroiters who are as passionate as we are about the need to prepare all students for college, careers, and life in the 21st century