Interviews With Mothers of Young Children in the SEED for Oklahoma Kids College Savings Experiment

Interviews With Mothers of Young Children in the SEED for Oklahoma Kids College Savings Experimen

Generation of the Transient Electrical and Spontaneous Magnetic Fields by Solid State Combustion

Experiments revealed that transient electric field intensities up to 2.5 V/cm were generated during the initial period of combustion synthesis of the ferromagnetic products before the maximum temperature was reached. This occurred when the iron particles were partially oxidized and the reaction product was mainly magnetite sFe3O4d. The electromagnetic field caused spontaneous magnetization of the product in the postcombustion zone. Magnetic field values up to 4 µT formed after the sample temperature fell below the Curie temperature and the initial reactants were completely converted to the ferromagnetic phase PbFe12O19. Increasing the volume of the samples increases the absolute residual magnetic field magnitude after cooling. We present possible mechanisms of the electromagnetic field generation during the combustion

Toward integrated conservation of North America's crop wild relatives

North America harbors a rich native flora of crop wild relatives—the progenitors and closely related species of domesticated plants—as well as a range of culturally significant wild utilized plants. Despite their current and potential future value, they are rarely prioritized for conservation efforts; thus many species are threatened in their natural habitats, and most are underrepresented in plant genebanks and botanical gardens. Further coordination of efforts among land management, botanical, and agricultural science organizations will improve conservation and general public awareness with regard to these species. We present examples of productive collaborations focused on wild cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon and Vaccinium oxycoccos) and chile peppers (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum). We then discuss five shared priorities for further action: (1) understand and document North America's crop wild relatives and wild utilized plants, (2) protect threatened species in their natural habitats, (3) collect and conserve ex situ the diversity of prioritized species, (4) make this diversity accessible and attractive for plant breeding, research, and education, and (5) raise public awareness of their value and the threats to their persistence

Intimate Relationship Dynamics and Changing Desire for Pregnancy Among Young Women

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151900/1/psrh12119_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151900/2/psrh12119.pd

Thymoglobulin Induction Dosing Strategies in a Low-Risk Kidney Transplant Population: Three or Four Days?

The optimal dose and duration of rabbit antithymocyte globulin (rATG) induction has not been defined. Methods. We compared the safety and efficacy of 2 dosing strategies, rATG 1.5 mg/kg for 4 days (n = 59) versus 2 mg/kg for 3 days (n = 59), in a retrospective, cohort study. Results. Two-year rejection-free survival was 95% in each group (P = .983). Renal function and infection rates were similar. The incidence of leucopenia was similar, although the 2 mg/kg group was more likely to be thrombocytopenic on day 2 (4% versus 28%, P = .04). Length of stay tended to be longer for the 1.5 mg/kg group (6.0 ± 3.7 versus 5.1 ± 1.9 days P = .104). A cost savings of $920 per patient for rATG were seen in the 2 mg/kg group (P = .122). Conclusions. Shorter, more intense dosing of rATG is safe and effective. The 3-day dose strategy resulted in a clinically shorter length of stay and may result in cost savings

Black-White Differences in Pregnancy Desire During the Transition to Adulthood

This article explores race differences in the desire to avoid pregnancy or become pregnant using survey data from a random sample of 914 young women (ages 18-22) living in a Michigan county and semi-structured interviews with a subsample of 60 of the women. In the survey data, desire for pregnancy, indifference, and ambivalence are very rare but are more prevalent among Black women than White women. In the semi-structured interviews, although few women described fatalistic beliefs or lack of planning for future pregnancies, Black and White women did so equally often. Women more often described fatalistic beliefs and lack of planning when retrospectively describing their past than when prospectively describing their future. Using the survey data to compare prospective desires for a future pregnancy with women\u27s recollections of those desires after they conceived, more Black women shifted positive than shifted negative, and Black women were more likely to shift positive than White women-that is, Black women do not differentially retrospectively overreport prospectively desired pregnancies as having been undesired before conception. Young women\u27s consistent (over repeated interviews) prospective expression of strong desire to avoid pregnancy and correspondingly weak desire for pregnancy, along with the similarity of Black and White women\u27s pregnancy plans, lead us to conclude that a planning paradigm -in which young women are encouraged and supported in implementing their pregnancy desires-is probably appropriate for the vast majority of young women and, most importantly, is similarly appropriate for Black and White young women

Safety and pharmacokinetics of MM-302, a HER2-targeted antibody–liposomal doxorubicin conjugate, in patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer: A phase 1 dose-escalation study

BackgroundThis phase 1 dose-escalation trial studied MM-302, a novel HER2-targeted PEGylated antibody-liposomal doxorubicin conjugate, in HER2-positive locally advanced/metastatic breast cancer.MethodsPatients were enrolled in four cohorts: MM-302 monotherapy (8, 16, 30, 40, and 50 mg/m2 every 4 weeks [q4w]); MM-302 (30 or 40 mg/m2 q4w) plus trastuzumab (4 mg/kg q2w); MM-302 (30 mg/m2) plus trastuzumab (6 mg/kg) q3w; MM-302 (30 mg/m2) plus trastuzumab (6 mg/kg) and cyclophosphamide (450 mg/m2) q3w.ResultsSixty-nine patients were treated. The most common adverse events (AEs) were fatigue and nausea. Grade 3/4 AEs of special interest included neutropenia, fatigue, mucosal inflammation, anemia, thrombocytopenia, febrile neutropenia, and palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia. The MTD was not reached. With MM-302 ≥ 30 mg/m2, overall response rate (ORR) was 13% and median progression-free survival (mPFS) 7.4 months (95% CI: 3·5-10·9) in all arms. In 25 anthracycline-naïve patients, ORR was 28·0% and mPFS 10·9 months (95% CI: 1·8-15·3). Imaging with 64Cu-labeled MM-302 visualized tumor-drug penetrance in tumors throughout the body, including the brain.ConclusionMM-302 monotherapy, in combination with trastuzumab, or trastuzumab plus cyclophosphamide, was well tolerated and showed promising efficacy. The selected phase 2 MM-302 dose was 30 mg/m2 plus 6 mg/kg trastuzumab q3w

Profiles of Serial Changes in Cardiac Troponin T Concentrations and Outcome in Ambulatory Patients With Chronic Heart Failure

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to determine whether different profiles of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) values assessed over time would yield incremental prognostic information on clinically stable outpatients with heart failure (HF).BackgroundcTnT levels were used to estimate prognosis in HF; however, most studies evaluated hospitalized patients using single measurements.MethodsA cohort of 172 New York Heart Association functional class III to IV outpatients was prospectively studied with serial cTnT measurements collected every 3 months over a 2-year period. The primary end point was death or cardiac transplantation, and secondary end points included HF hospitalization.ResultsOf the 172 patients, 22 (13%) died or underwent transplantation during the first year. Therefore, 150 patients were included in the second-year analysis of 3 pre-determined groups: 1) no serial cTnT elevations (defined as <0.01 ng/ml); 2) 1 or more, but not all cTnT values elevated ≥0.01 ng/ml; and 3) all cTnT values elevated during the first year. During the second year, 30 events occurred: 53 patients had persistently normal cTnT levels (<0.01 ng/ml) with 6 primary events (11%); 57 patients had 1 or more but not all cTnT levels elevated with 11 events (19%); 40 patients demonstrated persistently elevated cTnT levels with 13 (33%) primary events (odds ratio: 3.77; 95% confidence interval: 1.28 to 11.07, p = 0.02).ConclusionsElevations in cTnT, even using a low threshold of 0.01 ng/ml, detected during routine clinical follow-up of ambulatory patients with HF, are highly associated with an increased risk of events, particularly with frequent or persistent cTnT elevations of ≥0.01 ng/ml. Therefore, the ability to monitor clinical change through serial cTnT measurements may add to risk assessment in the ambulatory HF population

Sizing the Protein Translocation Pathway of Colicin Ia Channels

The bacterial toxin colicin Ia forms voltage-gated channels in planar lipid bilayers. The toxin consists of three domains, with the carboxy-terminal domain (C-domain) responsible for channel formation. The C-domain contributes four membrane-spanning segments and a 68-residue translocated segment to the open channel, whereas the upstream domains and the amino-terminal end of the C-domain stay on the cis side of the membrane. The isolated C-domain, lacking the two upstream domains, also forms channels; however, the amino terminus and one of the normally membrane-spanning segments can move across the membrane. (This can be observed as a drop in single-channel conductance.) In longer carboxy-terminal fragments of colicin Ia that include ≤169 residues upstream from the C-domain, the entire upstream region is translocated. Presumably, a portion of the C-domain creates a pathway for the polar upstream region to move through the membrane. To determine the size of this translocation pathway, we have attached “molecular stoppers,” small disulfide-bonded polypeptides, to the amino terminus of the C-domain, and determined whether they could be translocated. We have found that the translocation rate is strongly voltage dependent, and that at voltages ≥90 mV, even a 26-Å stopper is translocated. Upon reduction of their disulfide bonds, all of the stoppers are easily translocated, indicating that it is the folded structure, rather than some aspect of the primary sequence, that slows translocation of the stoppers. Thus, the pathway for translocation is ≥26 Å in diameter, or can stretch to this value. This is large enough for an α-helical hairpin to fit through

PROPEL: implementation of an evidence based pelvic floor muscle training intervention for women with pelvic organ prolapse: a realist evaluation and outcomes study protocol

Abstract Background Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) is estimated to affect 41%–50% of women aged over 40. Findings from the multi-centre randomised controlled “Pelvic Organ Prolapse PhysiotherapY” (POPPY) trial showed that individualised pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) was effective in reducing symptoms of prolapse, improved quality of life and showed clear potential to be cost-effective. However, provision of PFMT for prolapse continues to vary across the UK, with limited numbers of women’s health physiotherapists specialising in its delivery. Implementation of this robust evidence from the POPPY trial will require attention to different models of delivery (e.g. staff skill mix) to fit with differing care environments. Methods A Realist Evaluation (RE) of implementation and outcomes of PFMT delivery in contrasting NHS settings will be conducted using multiple case study sites. Involving substantial local stakeholder engagement will permit a detailed exploration of how local sites make decisions on how to deliver PFMT and how these lead to service change. The RE will track how implementation is working; identify what influences outcomes; and, guided by the RE-AIM framework, will collect robust outcomes data. This will require mixed methods data collection and analysis. Qualitative data will be collected at four time-points across each site to understand local contexts and decisions regarding options for intervention delivery and to monitor implementation, uptake, adherence and outcomes. Patient outcome data will be collected at baseline, six months and one year follow-up for 120 women. Primary outcome will be the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Symptom Score (POP-SS). An economic evaluation will assess the costs and benefits associated with different delivery models taking account of further health care resource use by the women. Cost data will be combined with the primary outcome in a cost effectiveness analysis, and the EQ-5D-5L data in a cost utility analysis for each of the different models of delivery. Discussion Study of the implementation of varying models of service delivery of PFMT across contrasting sites combined with outcomes data and a cost effectiveness analysis will provide insight into the implementation and value of different models of PFMT service delivery and the cost benefits to the NHS in the longer term