Acupressure to Reduce Treatment-Related Symptoms for Children With Cancer and Recipients of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundWe describe the study design and protocol of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial (RCT) Acupressure for Children in Treatment for a Childhood Cancer (ACT-CC).ObjectiveTo describe the feasibility and effectiveness of an acupressure intervention to decrease treatment-related symptoms in children in treatment for cancer or recipients of a chemotherapy-based hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).DesignTwo-armed RCTs with enrollment of 5 to 30 study days.SettingTwo pediatric teaching hospitals.PatientsEighty-five children receiving cancer treatment or a chemotherapy-based HSCT each with 1 parent or caregiver.InterventionPatients are randomized 1:1 to receive either usual care plus daily professional acupressure and caregiver delivered acupressure versus usual care alone for symptom management. Participants receive up to 20 professional treatments.Main outcomeA composite nausea/vomiting measure for the child.Secondary outcomesChild's nausea, vomiting, pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and positive affect.Parent outcomesDepression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress symptoms, caregiver self-efficacy, and positive affect. Feasibility of delivering the semistandardized intervention will be described. Linear mixed models will be used to compare outcomes between arms in children and parents, allowing for variability in diagnosis, treatment, and age.DiscussionTrial results could help childhood cancer and HSCT treatment centers decide about the regular inclusion of trained acupressure providers to support symptom management

Einstein equations in the null quasi-spherical gauge

The structure of the full Einstein equations in a coordinate gauge based on expanding null hypersurfaces foliated by metric 2-spheres is explored. The simple form of the resulting equations has many applications -- in the present paper we describe the structure of timelike boundary conditions; the matching problem across null hypersurfaces; and the propagation of gravitational shocks.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX (revtex, amssymb), revision 18 pages, contains expanded discussion and explanations, updated references, to appear in CQ

Double differentiation in a cross-national comparison of populist political movements and online media uses in the United States and the Netherlands

In a context of highly visible and politically influential populist movements, this study considers the online self-representation of the Tea Party Patriots (TPP) in the United States and the Party for Freedom (PVV) in the Netherlands. A multi-methodological approach was adopted to compare the discursive manifestation of key populism concepts: leadership characteristics, adversary definition and mobilizing information. Analyses reconstruct and account for similarities and differences in discursive framing strategies of 'double differentiation' through which both movements attempt inclusion in and exclusion from the political establishment, and, in doing so, mobilize communities of support. Altogether, this study advances the understanding of what constitutes 'unmediated' content that is presented through user-generated media production, and how self-determined media spaces have facilitated shifts in populist media legitimation and political representation in two politically unique countries

Ordinal-Level Phylogenomics of the Arthropod Class Diplopoda (Millipedes) Based on an Analysis of 221 Nuclear Protein-Coding Loci Generated Using Next-Generation Sequence Analyses

Background The ancient and diverse, yet understudied arthropod class Diplopoda, the millipedes, has a muddled taxonomic history. Despite having a cosmopolitan distribution and a number of unique and interesting characteristics, the group has received relatively little attention; interest in millipede systematics is low compared to taxa of comparable diversity. The existing classification of the group comprises 16 orders. Past attempts to reconstruct millipede phylogenies have suffered from a paucity of characters and included too few taxa to confidently resolve relationships and make formal nomenclatural changes. Herein, we reconstruct an ordinal-level phylogeny for the class Diplopoda using the largest character set ever assembled for the group. Methods Transcriptomic sequences were obtained from exemplar taxa representing much of the diversity of millipede orders using second-generation (i.e., next-generation or high-throughput) sequencing. These data were subject to rigorous orthology selection and phylogenetic dataset optimization and then used to reconstruct phylogenies employing Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood optimality criteria. Ancestral reconstructions of sperm transfer appendage development (gonopods), presence of lateral defense secretion pores (ozopores), and presence of spinnerets were considered. The timings of major millipede lineage divergence points were estimated. Results The resulting phylogeny differed from the existing classifications in a number of fundamental ways. Our phylogeny includes a grouping that has never been described (Juliformia+Merocheta+Stemmiulida), and the ancestral reconstructions suggest caution with respect to using spinnerets as a unifying characteristic for the Nematophora. Our results are shown to have significantly stronger support than previous hypotheses given our data. Our efforts represent the first step toward obtaining a well-supported and robust phylogeny of the Diplopoda that can be used to answer many questions concerning the evolution of this ancient and diverse animal group

Neurospora from natural populations: Population genomics insights into the Life history of a model microbial Eukaryote

The ascomycete filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa played a historic role in experimental biology and became a model system for genetic research. Stimulated by a systematic effort to collect wild strains initiated by Stanford geneticist David Perkins, the genus Neurospora has also become a basic model for the study of evolutionary processes, speciation, and population biology. In this chapter, we will first trace the history that brought Neurospora into the era of population genomics. We will then cover the major contributions of population genomic investigations using Neurospora to our understanding of microbial biogeography and speciation, and review recent work using population genomics and genome-wide association mapping that illustrates the unique potential of Neurospora as a model for identifying the genetic basis of (potentially adaptive) phenotypes in filamentous fungi. The advent of population genomics has contributed to firmly establish Neurospora as a complete model system and we hope our review will entice biologists to include Neurospora in their research

City of College Station's Thermographic Mobile Scan

During the first quarter of 1986, the City of College Station conducted a thermographic mobile scan of the entire city. A thermographic mobile scan is a process by which heat loss/heat gain data is accumulated by a vehicle traveling the city with thermographic equipment mounted on it. College Station residents were given the opportunity to view a thermogram of their home which showed where heat is escaping in the winter and gained in the summer. A computer run of this data was provided to the citizen with recommendations and exact paybacks on various energy conservation improvements

Storytelling in Amy Tan’s The bonesetter’s daughter: belonging and the transnationality of home in older age

Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter is a fictional account of a Chinese American woman and her mother, a first generation migrant, who is negotiating dementia in later life. Analysis of diasporic novels can provide insight into migrant belonging, especially the emotional geographies of home and emotional subjectivities of ageing that are not commonly or easily elucidated even by qualitative interviewing methods. This article examines Tan’s construction of ageing as an intergenerational, cultural and emotional process, and highlights the role of storytelling as an everyday home-making practice through which the transnationality of home in older age becomes evident

108 AUROTHIOMALATE INHIBITS COX-2 EXPRESSION AND PGE2 PRODUCTION IN CHONDROCYTES BY INCREASING MKP-1 EXPRESSION AND DECREASING p38 AND JNK PHOSPHORYLATION

The very high occurrence of cardiovascular events presents a major public health issue, because treatment remains suboptimal. Lowering LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) with statins or ezetimibe in combination with a statin reduces major adverse cardiovascular events. The cardiovascular risk reduction in relation to the absolute LDL-C reduction is linear for most interventions without evidence of attenuation or increase in risk at low LDL-C levels. Opportunities for innovation in dyslipidaemia treatment should address the substantial risk of lipid-associated cardiovascular events among patients optimally treated per guidelines but who cannot achieve LDL-C goals and who could benefit from additional LDL-C-lowering therapy or experience side effects of statins. Fresh approaches are needed to identify promising drug targets early and develop them efficiently. The Cardiovascular Round Table of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) convened a workshop to discuss new lipid-lowering strategies for cardiovascular risk reduction. Opportunities to improve treatment approaches and the efficient study of new therapies were explored. Circulating biomarkers may not be fully reliable proxy indicators of the relationship between treatment effect and clinical outcome. Mendelian randomization studies may better inform development strategies and refine treatment targets before Phase 3. Trials should match the drug to appropriate lipid and patient profile, and guidelines may move towards a precision-based approach to individual patient management. Stakeholder collaboration is needed to ensure continued innovation and better international coordination of both regulatory aspects and guidelines. It should be noted that risk may also be addressed through increased attention to other risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, overweight, and inactivity