Modelling foraging movements of diving predators : A theoretical study exploring the effect of heterogeneous landscapes on foraging efficiency

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Point-of-care versus central testing of hemoglobin during large volume blood transfusion.

BACKGROUND: Point-of-care (POC) hemoglobin testing has the potential to revolutionize massive transfusion strategies. No prior studies have compared POC and central laboratory testing of hemoglobin in patients undergoing massive transfusions. METHODS: We retrospectively compared the results of our point-of-care hemoglobin test (EPOC®) to our core laboratory complete blood count (CBC) hemoglobin test (Sysmex XE-5000™) in patients undergoing massive transfusion protocols (MTP) for hemorrhage. One hundred seventy paired samples from 90 patients for whom MTP was activated were collected at a single, tertiary care hospital between 10/2011 and 10/2017. Patients had both an EPOC® and CBC hemoglobin performed within 30 min of each other during the MTP. We assessed the accuracy of EPOC® hemoglobin testing using two variables: interchangeability and clinically significant differences from the CBC. The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) proficiency testing criteria defined interchangeability for measurements. Clinically significant differences between the tests were defined by an expert panel. We examined whether these relationships changed as a function of the hemoglobin measured by the EPOC® and specific patient characteristics. RESULTS: Fifty one percent (86 of 170) of paired samples\u27 hemoglobin results had an absolute difference of ≤7 and 73% (124 of 170) fell within ±1 g/dL of each other. The mean difference between EPOC® and CBC hemoglobin had a bias of - 0.268 g/dL (p = 0.002). When the EPOC® hemoglobin was \u3c 7 g/dL, 30% of the hemoglobin values were within ±7, and 57% were within ±1 g/dL. When the measured EPOC® hemoglobin was ≥7 g/dL, 55% of the EPOC® and CBC hemoglobin values were within ±7, and 76% were within ±1 g/dL. EPOC® and CBC hemoglobin values that were within ±1 g/dL varied by patient population: 77% for cardiac surgery, 58% for general surgery, and 72% for non-surgical patients. CONCLUSIONS: The EPOC® device had minor negative bias, was not interchangeable with the CBC hemoglobin, and was less reliable when the EPOC® value was \u3c 7 g/dL. Clinicians must consider speed versus accuracy, and should check a CBC within 30 min as confirmation when the EPOC® hemoglobin is \u3c 7 g/dL until further prospective trials are performed in this population

The use of an unsupervised learning approach for characterizing latent behaviors in accelerometer data

Acknowledgments This project and the tags deployed on both seabird's species were fund by NERC (grant number NE/K007440/1), Marine Scotland Science and Seabird Tracking and Research (STAR) Project led by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). We would like to thank Rob Hughes, Tessa Cole and Ruth Brown for helping in the data collection, the Bird Observatory of Fair Isle for supporting the fieldwork and the Marine Collaboration Research Forum (MarCRF).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Keggin heteropolyacid H3PW12O40 supported on different oxides for catalytic and catalytic photo-assisted propene hydration

Catalytic and catalytic photo-assisted hydration of propene to form 2-propanol in gas–solid regime at atmospheric pressure and 85 1C were carried out by using a heteropolyacid (POM) supported on different oxides. Binary materials were prepared by impregnation of H3PW12O40 on different commercial and home prepared supports (TiO2, SiO2, WO3, ZrO2, ZnO, Al2O3). Some of the composites were active both for catalytic and catalytic photo-assisted reactions. The Keggin type POM was completely and partially degraded, when supported on ZnO and Al2O3, respectively, and these binary solids always resulted as inactive for both catalytic and catalytic photo-assisted reactions. The supported Keggin POM species played a key role both for the catalytic and the photo-assisted catalytic reactions, due to their strong acidity and ability to form strong oxidant species under UV irradiation, respectively. The contemporary presence of heat and UV light improved the activity of almost all POM supported materials. All materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy observations (SEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), determination of the conduction and valence band energy by photovoltage measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), NH3-TPD experiments and time resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC). Introduction Propene hydration to obtain 2-propanol is a reaction carried out at moderate temperatures (ca. 150–200 1C) and pressure (2MPa) in the presence of an acid catalyst;1 however the realization of this reaction at ambient conditions is of great interest. The us

A Prospective Study to Validate the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) for Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitor (EGFRI)-induced Dermatologic Toxicities FACT-EGFRI 18 Questionnaire: SWOG S1013

Background Papulopustular rash is a common class effect of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors (EGFRI) that can affect patients’ health-related quality of life and cause disruptions to treatment. SWOG S1013 (NCT01416688) is a multi-center study designed to validate the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy EGFRI 18 (FACT-EGFRI 18) using 7-items from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 4.0 to assess EGFRI-induced skin-related toxicities and their impact on functional status. Methods Patients with a diagnosis of colorectal or lung cancer to receive EGFRI therapies for at least 6 weeks were enrolled. Patient self-assessments using the FACT-EGFRI 18 were completed prior to undergoing CTCAE assessment by trained clinicians at baseline, weekly × 6, and then monthly × 3. The psychometric properties of the FACT-EGFRI 14 (skin toxicity items only) and 18 (plus 2 nail and 2 hair items) were established based on criterion validity, known groups validity, internal consistency reliability, and responsiveness to change. Results Of the 146 registered patients, 124 were evaluable. High Cronbach’s alpha (\u3e 0.70) for both FACT-EGFRI 14 and FACT-EGFRI 18 scores across assessment times were observed. Although agreement (i.e. criterion validity) between individual and summary scales of the FACT-EGFRI 18 for assessing skin toxicity was good, agreement with the clinician-reported CTCAE was only fair. The minimal important difference was determined to be 3 points. The results also demonstrated responsiveness to symptom change. Discussion Based on the results of this multi-center validation study, the FACT-EGFRI 18 patient-reported outcome instrument provided data from the patient’s perspective yielding unique information as well as complementing clinician-rated CTCAE grades, especially for the symptoms of pain, pruritus, and paronychia. Conclusions Good to excellent psychometric properties for the FACT-EGFRI 18 were demonstrated, supporting further use of this patient-reported outcomes measure. Additional validation with a more diverse group of patients should be conducted

Distinct clonal identities of B-ALLs arising after lenolidomide therapy for multiple myeloma

Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who are treated with lenalidomide rarely develop a secondary B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). The clonal and biological relationship between these sequential malignancies is not yet clear. We identified 17 patients with MM treated with lenalidomide, who subsequently developed B-ALL. Patient samples were evaluated through sequencing, cytogenetics/fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, and immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) clonality assessment. Samples were assessed for shared mutations and recurrently mutated genes. Through whole exome sequencing and cytogenetics/FISH analysis of 7 paired samples (MM vs matched B-ALL), no mutational overlap between samples was observed. Unique dominant IgH clonotypes between the tumors were observed in 5 paired MM/B-ALL samples. Across all 17 B-ALL samples, 14 (83%) had a TP53 variant detected. Three MM samples with sufficient sequencing depth (\u3e500×) revealed rare cells (average of 0.6% variant allele frequency, or 1.2% of cells) with the same TP53 variant identified in the subsequent B-ALL sample. A lack of mutational overlap between MM and B-ALL samples shows that B-ALL developed as a second malignancy arising from a founding population of cells that likely represented unrelated clonal hematopoiesis caused by a TP53 mutation. The recurrent variants in TP53 in the B-ALL samples suggest a common path for malignant transformation that may be similar to that of TP53-mutant, treatment-related acute myeloid leukemia. The presence of rare cells containing TP53 variants in bone marrow at the initiation of lenalidomide treatment suggests that cellular populations containing TP53 variants expand in the presence of lenalidomide to increase the likelihood of B-ALL development

Focused psychosocial interventions for children in low-resource humanitarian settings : a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis

Background: Results from studies evaluating the effectiveness of focused psychosocial support interventions in children exposed to traumatic events in humanitarian settings in low-income and middle-income countries have been inconsistent, showing varying results by setting and subgroup (eg, age or gender). We aimed to assess the effectiveness of these interventions, and to explore which children are likely to benefit most. Methods: We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data (IPD) from 3143 children recruited to 11 randomised controlled trials of focused psychosocial support interventions versus waiting list. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycArticles, Web of Science, and the main local low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) databases according to the list of databases relevant to LMIC developed collaboratively by Cochrane and WHO Library, up to November, 2016. We included randomised controlled trials that assessed the effectiveness of focused psychosocial support interventions in children exposed to traumatic events in LMICs, compared with waiting lists (eg, inactive controls). We excluded quasirandomised trials, studies that did not focus on psychosocial support interventions, and studies that compared two active interventions without control conditions. We requested anonymised data from each trial for each of the prespecified variables for each child who was randomly assigned. The main outcomes considered were continuous scores in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms assessed with rating scales administered immediately (0–4 weeks) after the intervention. We harmonised all individual items from rating scales using item response theory methods. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42013006960. Findings: We identified a beneficial effect of focused psychosocial support interventions on PTSD symptoms (standardised mean difference [SMD] –0·33, 95% CI –0·52 to –0·14) that was maintained at follow-up (–0·21, –0·42 to –0·01). We also identified benefits at the endpoint for functional impairment (–0·29, –0·43 to –0·15) and for strengths: coping (–0·22, –0·43 to –0·02), hope (–0·29, –0·48 to –0·09), and social support (–0·27, –0·52 to –0·02). In IPD meta-analyses focused on age, gender, displacement status, region, and household size we found a stronger improvement in PTSD symptoms in children aged 15–18 years (–0·43, –0·63 to –0·23), in non-displaced children (–0·40, –0·52 to –0·27), and in children living in smaller households (<6 members; –0·27, –0·42 to –0·11). Interpretation: Overall, focused psychosocial interventions are effective in reducing PTSD and functional impairment, and in increasing hope, coping, and social support. Future studies should focus on strengthening interventions for younger children, displaced children, and children living in larger households