Biological predictors of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN): MASCC neurological complications working group overview.

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common and debilitating condition associated with a number of chemotherapeutic agents. Drugs commonly implicated in the development of CIPN include platinum agents, taxanes, vinca alkaloids, bortezomib, and thalidomide analogues. As a drug response can vary between individuals, it is hypothesized that an individual's specific genetic variants could impact the regulation of genes involved in drug pharmacokinetics, ion channel functioning, neurotoxicity, and DNA repair, which in turn affect CIPN development and severity. Variations of other molecular markers may also affect the incidence and severity of CIPN. Hence, the objective of this review was to summarize the known biological (molecular and genomic) predictors of CIPN and discuss the means to facilitate progress in this field

Quantum Critical Behavior in Disordered Itinerant Ferromagnets: Instability of the Ferromagnetic Phase

An effective field theory is derived that describes the quantum critical behavior of itinerant ferromagnets as the transition is approached from the ferromagnetic phase. This complements a recent study of the critical behavior on the paramagnetic side of the phase transition, and investigates the role of the ferromagnetic Goldstone modes near criticality. We find that the Goldstone modes have no direct impact on the critical behavior, and that the critical exponents are the same as determined by combining results from the paramagnetic phase with scaling arguments.Comment: 11 pp., revtex4, no fig

Local field theory for disordered itinerant quantum ferromagnets

An effective field theory is derived that describes the quantum critical behavior of itinerant ferromagnets in the presence of quenched disorder. In contrast to previous approaches, all soft modes are kept explicitly. The resulting effective theory is local and allows for an explicit perturbative treatment. It is shown that previous suggestions for the critical fixed point and the critical behavior are recovered under certain assumptions. The validity of these assumptions is discussed in the light of the existence of two different time scales. It is shown that, in contrast to previous suggestions, the correct fixed point action is not Gaussian, and that the previously proposed critical behavior was correct only up to logarithmic corrections. The connection with other theories of disordered interacting electrons, and in particular with the resolution of the runaway flow problem encountered in these theories, is also discussed.Comment: 17pp., REVTeX, 5 eps figs, final version as publishe

Quantum critical behavior in disordered itinerant ferromagnets: Logarithmic corrections to scaling

The quantum critical behavior of disordered itinerant ferromagnets is determined exactly by solving a recently developed effective field theory. It is shown that there are logarithmic corrections to a previous calculation of the critical behavior, and that the exact critical behavior coincides with that found earlier for a phase transition of undetermined nature in disordered interacting electron systems. This confirms a previous suggestion that the unspecified transition should be identified with the ferromagnetic transition. The behavior of the conductivity, the tunneling density of states, and the phase and quasiparticle relaxation rates across the ferromagnetic transition is also calculated.Comment: 15pp., REVTeX, 8 eps figs, final version as publishe

Cell affinity separations using magnetically stabilized fluidized beds: Erythrocyte subpopulation fractionation utilizing a lectin-magnetite support

A magnetically stabilized fluidized bed is used to separate erythrocyte subpopulations. Binding specificity was obtained by immobilizing the lectin Helix pomatia Agglutinin (HpA) or Griffonia simplicifolia I (GSI) onto a magnetite-containing support. Separation of type A and type O erythrocytes with the lectin HpA was particularly effective, leading to a 94% purity of retained type A erythrocytes. A 3.1 ± 0.6 log removal of type A erythrocytes was also accomplished leading to a 99.7% ± 0.4% purity and 95% ± 7% yield of type O erythrocytes in the collected effluent. Elution of the purified cells was accomplished using fluidization in the presence of a sugar competing for the lectin–erythrocyte binding site. A mathematical model based on the depth filtration model of Putnam and Burns (Chem Eng Sci 1997;52(1):93–105) was extended to include multicomponent cell adhesion. This filtration model is the first to take into account the finite binding capacity of the chromatographic support and is used to characterize the cell binding behavior and to determine optimal parameters and conditions that lead to high capacities and selectivities. Model parameter values and observations from in situ adsorption studies suggest that the non-spherical shape of the magnetite-based support allows for a more efficient utilization of the support surface area than the spherical shape. Using a 1.5-cm diameter laboratory column and realistic parameter values, the processing rates of the system are predicted to be at least an order of magnitude greater than the 10 8 /h cells that can typically be processed in packed bed cell affinity chromatography (CAC) systems. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 81: 650–665, 2003.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34342/1/10511_ftp.pd

Blood Lead Levels Among Pregnant Women: Historical Versus Contemporaneous Exposures

Blood lead among pregnant women, even at modest levels, may impair offspring cognitive development. We examine whether blood lead levels (BLLs) result from current versus historic exposures, among a cohort of pregnant women. Cumulative logit models were used to characterize the relationship between maternal risk factors and higher BLLs. Maternal blood lead levels more likely result from lead remobilization from historic versus contemporaneous exposures. Even if all lead sources were abated immediately, women and their fetuses would experience lead exposure for decades. This work emphasizes the importance of addressing sources of environmental lead exposure in the United States and internationally

A Pre-Landing Assessment of Regolith Properties at the InSight Landing Site

This article discusses relevant physical properties of the regolith at the Mars InSight landing site as understood prior to landing of the spacecraft. InSight will land in the northern lowland plains of Mars, close to the equator, where the regolith is estimated to be ≥3--5 m thick. These investigations of physical properties have relied on data collected from Mars orbital measurements, previously collected lander and rover data, results of studies of data and samples from Apollo lunar missions, laboratory measurements on regolith simulants, and theoretical studies. The investigations include changes in properties with depth and temperature. Mechanical properties investigated include density, grain-size distribution, cohesion, and angle of internal friction. Thermophysical properties include thermal inertia, surface emissivity and albedo, thermal conductivity and diffusivity, and specific heat. Regolith elastic properties not only include parameters that control seismic wave velocities in the immediate vicinity of the Insight lander but also coupling of the lander and other potential noise sources to the InSight broadband seismometer. The related properties include Poisson’s ratio, P- and S-wave velocities, Young’s modulus, and seismic attenuation. Finally, mass diffusivity was investigated to estimate gas movements in the regolith driven by atmospheric pressure changes. Physical properties presented here are all to some degree speculative. However, they form a basis for interpretation of the early data to be returned from the InSight mission.Additional co-authors: Nick Teanby and Sharon Keda

Research objectives and general considerations for pragmatic clinical trials of pain treatments: IMMPACT statement

Many questions regarding the clinical management of people experiencing pain and related health policy decision-making may best be answered by pragmatic controlled trials. To generate clinically relevant and widely applicable findings, such trials aim to reproduce elements of routine clinical care or are embedded within clinical workflows. In contrast with traditional efficacy trials, pragmatic trials are intended to address a broader set of external validity questions critical for stakeholders (clinicians, healthcare leaders, policymakers, insurers, and patients) in considering the adoption and use of evidence-based treatments in daily clinical care. This article summarizes methodological considerations for pragmatic trials, mainly concerning methods of fundamental importance to the internal validity of trials. The relationship between these methods and common pragmatic trials methods and goals is considered, recognizing that the resulting trial designs are highly dependent on the specific research question under investigation. The basis of this statement was an Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT) systematic review of methods and a consensus meeting. The meeting was organized by the Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks (ACTTION) public-private partnership. The consensus process was informed by expert presentations, panel and consensus discussions, and a preparatory systematic review. In the context of pragmatic trials of pain treatments, we present fundamental considerations for the planning phase of pragmatic trials, including the specification of trial objectives, the selection of adequate designs, and methods to enhance internal validity while maintaining the ability to answer pragmatic research questions