Development of Prognosis in Palliative care Study (PiPS) predictor models to improve prognostication in advanced cancer: prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE: To develop a novel prognostic indicator for use in patients with advanced cancer that is significantly better than clinicians' estimates of survival. DESIGN: Prospective multicentre observational cohort study. SETTING: 18 palliative care services in the UK (including hospices, hospital support teams, and community teams). PARTICIPANTS: 1018 patients with locally advanced or metastatic cancer, no longer being treated for cancer, and recently referred to palliative care services. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Performance of a composite model to predict whether patients were likely to survive for "days" (0-13 days), "weeks" (14-55 days), or "months+" (>55 days), compared with actual survival and clinicians' predictions. RESULTS: On multivariate analysis, 11 core variables (pulse rate, general health status, mental test score, performance status, presence of anorexia, presence of any site of metastatic disease, presence of liver metastases, C reactive protein, white blood count, platelet count, and urea) independently predicted both two week and two month survival. Four variables had prognostic significance only for two week survival (dyspnoea, dysphagia, bone metastases, and alanine transaminase), and eight variables had prognostic significance only for two month survival (primary breast cancer, male genital cancer, tiredness, loss of weight, lymphocyte count, neutrophil count, alkaline phosphatase, and albumin). Separate prognostic models were created for patients without (PiPS-A) or with (PiPS-B) blood results. The area under the curve for all models varied between 0.79 and 0.86. Absolute agreement between actual survival and PiPS predictions was 57.3% (after correction for over-optimism). The median survival across the PiPS-A categories was 5, 33, and 92 days and survival across PiPS-B categories was 7, 32, and 100.5 days. All models performed as well as, or better than, clinicians' estimates of survival. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with advanced cancer no longer being treated, a combination of clinical and laboratory variables can reliably predict two week and two month survival

Concept definition study for recovery of tumbling satellites. Volume 1: Executive summary, study results

The first assessment is made of the design requirements and conceptual definition of a front end kit to be transported on the currently defined Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV) and the Space Transportation System Shuttle Orbiter, to conduct remote, teleoperated recovery of disabled and noncontrollable, tumbling satellites. Previous studies did not quantify the dynamic characteristics of a tumbling satellite, nor did they appear to address the full spectrum of Tumbling Satellite Recovery systems requirements. Both of these aspects are investigated with useful results

Concept definition study for recovery of tumbling satellites. Volume 2: Supporting research and technology report

A number of areas of research and laboratory experiments were identified which could lead to development of a cost efficient remote, disable satellite recovery system. Estimates were planned of disabled satellite motion. A concept is defined as a Tumbling Satellite Recovery kit which includes a modular system, composed of a number of subsystem mechanisms that can be readily integrated into varying combinations. This would enable the user to quickly configure a tailored remote, disabled satellite recovery kit to meet a broad spectrum of potential scenarios. The capability was determined of U.S. Earth based satellite tracking facilities to adequately determine the orientation and motion rates of disabled satellites

Seed production of barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli) in response to time of emergence in cotton and rice

The spread of herbicide resistance in barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv.) poses a serious threat to crop production in the southern United States. A thorough knowledge of the biology of barnyardgrass is fundamental for designing effective resistance-management programmes. In the present study, seed production of barnyardgrass in response to time of emergence was investigated in cotton and rice, respectively, in Fayetteville and Rohwer, Arkansas, over a 2-year period (2008–09). Barnyardgrass seed production was greater when seedlings emerged with the crop, but some seed production was observed even if seedlings emerged several weeks after crop emergence. Moreover, barnyardgrass seed production was highly variable across environments. When emerging with the crop (0 weeks after crop emergence (WAE)), barnyardgrass produced c. 35 500 and 16 500 seeds/plant in cotton, and c. 39 000 and 2900 seeds/plant in rice, in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Seed production was observed when seedlings emerged up to 5 WAE (2008) or 7 WAE (2009) in cotton and up to 5 WAE (2008, 2009) in rice; corresponding seed production was c. 2500 and 1500 seeds/plant in cotton, and c. 14 700 and 110 seeds/plant in rice, in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The results suggest that cultural approaches that delay the emergence of barnyardgrass or approaches that make the associated crop more competitive will be useful in integrated management programmes. In the context of herbicide resistance management, it may be valuable to prevent seed return to the seedbank, irrespective of cohorts. The findings are vital for parameterizing herbicide resistance simulation models for barnyardgrass

Three birds with one stone: Tidal wetland restoration, carbon sequestration, and enhancing resilience to rising sea levels in the Snohomish River Estuary, Washington

Recent attention has focused on exploring the carbon storage and sequestration values of tidal wetlands to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Efforts are now underway to develop the tools and refine the science needed to bring carbon markets to bear on tidal wetland restoration activities. Effective restoration not only maximizes carbon storage in former tidal wetlands but also, through the accumulation of organic and mineral matter, enhances these systems’ resilience to rising sea levels. To this end, this project focuses on the Snohomish River estuary of the Puget Sound, Washington, which offers a continuum of diked and un-diked wetlands including seasonal floodplains, open mudflats, mature and tidal forests, and salt marsh habitats. In addition, there is strong restoration potential in a suite of ongoing and proposed projects. We report here on the carbon storage pools, long-term sediment accretion rates (100 years), and estimated rates of carbon storage, derived from sediment cores collected at representative sites within the Snohomish estuary during the spring and summer of 2013. We found that natural wetlands (open to tidal exchange and riverine inputs) were accreting at rates that equaled or exceeded current rates of eustatic sea level rise, while formerly, or currently diked wetlands (closed to such exchanges and inputs) revealed marked evidence of subsidence. Restored sites showed evidence of both high rates of sediment accretion (1.61 cm/year) and carbon storage (352 g C/m2/year)

Optimization of DNA Extraction Methods for Sequencing of the NADH Dehydrogenase Subunit 2 (ND2) Gene in Rainbow Trout (\u3cem\u3eOncorhynchus mykiss\u3c/em\u3e)

Morphological, behavioral, and genetic variation due to broad geographic ranges is common in salmonid fishes. This variation can be attributed to the isolation of populations from natural phenomenon or human alteration to habitats, which affect gene flow and genetic drift. These changes may play a role in intraspecific genetic variation, potentially isolating them into separate subspecies or locally adapted populations. Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are one of the most widely distributed fish species in western North America but no study has identified the main evolutionary lineages from across its range. Identifying and comparing distinct evolutionary lineages can be achieved by comparing sequence data from mitochondrial genes but requires extraction of archived tissue samples of rainbow trout and amplification of selected genes. In this study, we compare different DNA extraction methods for rainbow trout tissue samples, some of which are more than 25 years old. DNA was extracted from tissue samples following a 5 or 15% Chelex method, or by following Zymo Research extraction kit instructions. Following extractions, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the highly conserved NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 mtDNA gene (ND2) was completed using a BIO RAD thermal cycler and a gel electrophoresis is done to determine whether the ND2 gene was successfully amplified. Photographs of the agarose gels were taken using a ChemiDoc imaging system, and samples showing a band at 1050 base pairs are sent to the Molecular Research Core Facility at Idaho State University for sequencing. The genetic sequences are then compared and used to create a phylogeny and distribution for Rainbow trout subspecies. Sequencing of individual specimen and comparison across the species range will aid in the development of management and conservation strategies for rainbow trout across the species range

Taste assessment for paediatric drug Development: A comparison of bitterness taste aversion in children versus Naïve and expert young adult assessors

Medicines for children often taste bitter, presenting a significant challenge to treatment compliance. However, most studies on paediatric drug development rely on adult volunteers for sensory research, and the level of expertise required from these assessors is unclear. This study aimed to address this gap by investigating perceived bitterness aversion to taste strips impregnated with different concentrations of quinine hydrochloride in 439 school-aged children. Expert (n = 26) and naïve (n = 65) young adult assessors evaluated quinine solutions as well as taste strips, for methodological bridging purposes. All assessors differentiated the aversiveness of the taste strips in a dose dependent manner. Younger children aged 4–8 years had difficulty discriminating higher bitter concentrations, whereas pre-adolescents 9–11 years and naive adults showed better discrimination at the top of the scale. Naive assessors showed similar bitter perception as children. However, the results were slightly different between strips and solution in adults. These findings highlight the key role that adult panels can play in paediatric formulation development. Taste strips show promise as a safe and pragmatic tool for sensory pharmaceutical evaluations, though further studies are warranted to establish the relationship between age and hedonic taste perception using compounds with diverse physicochemical and sensory qualities

The Adolescent Coping Process Interview: Measuring temporal and affective components of adolescent responses to peer stress

The way in which adolescents cope with stressors in their lives has been established as an important correlate of adjustment. While most theoretical models of coping entail unfolding transactions between coping strategies and emotional arousal, the majority of coping measures tap only trait-level coping styles, ignoring both temporal and affective components of the coping process. The current study fills this gap by establishing the psychometric properties of a newly developed measure, the Adolescent Coping Process Interview (ACPI), that is more in line with transactional and developmental models of coping. Results indicate that the ACPI displays good psychometric properties, captures significant intra-individual variability in coping over the process, and points to emotional arousal as informing several coping-adjustment relationships. Moreover, the ACPI and similar approaches may help promote the development of more adaptive patterns of coping in adolescents by helping to identify specific points within the coping process at which to intervene