A Checklist of Illinois Centipedes (Chilopoda): Supplement

(excerpt) Order SCOLOPENDROMORPHA Family CRYFTOPIDAE Subfamily CRYFTOPINAE Cryptops hyalinus Say 1821. (Fig. 2). B (Cook; Auerbach [1951]), C (Champaign) F (Hardin, Jackson, Johnson, Pope, Saline, Williamson), G (Jackson, Jefferson, Perry, Williamson), H (Clark), I (Randolph, Union), J (Alexander)

Adenoma Characteristics at First Colonoscopy as Predictors of Adenoma Recurrence and Characteristics at Follow-Up

All patients with colorectal adenomas may not require identical follow-up. We aimed to determine if adenoma characteristics at initial colonoscopy could predict adenoma recurrence or characteristics at follow-up. The number of adenomas and the size, type, and degree of atypia in 479 patients in a polyp prevention trial were evaluated as predictors of the same characteristics at follow-up using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine if several baseline characteristics were simultaneously associated with outcome

Combining Existing Monitoring Sites with a Probability Survey Design-Examples from U.S. EPA’s National Coastal Assessment

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) National Coastal Assessment was envisioned as a research effort led by EPA’s Office of Research and Development to evaluate assessment methods for ecosystem condition monitoring. The program was conducted through strategic partnerships with the coastal states. These states conducted the survey in their waters with a common set of indicators. The resources targeted for initial monitoring were estuarine waters. A flexible probability survey design was used to incorporate, to the extent possible, existing state monitoring program sites. Three criteria were developed to evaluate existing monitoring program sites in the northeastern United States for possible incorporation into the national design: (1) the sites were selected to be representative, (2) the variables sampled at the sites were similar in distribution with variables from a probability design, and (3) the correlation structure of variables was equivalent to that for a probability design. Detailed examples were presented for Long Island Sound water quality sites, New Jersey coastal water quality sites, and Casco Bay, ME, sediment sites to illustrate the approach

Perspectives of practicing school psychologists during COVID-19: A multi-country, mixed methods investigation

COVID-19 presented a range of challenges to the delivery of school psychology services in countries around the world. The current study aimed to investigate the practices of school psychologists from the United States of America, Australia, Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom, including changes to practice and exploration of the factors that supported the delivery of school psychology services during the pandemic. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 1,030 school psychologists and analyzed using a mixed methods, multiple case study design. Differing impacts of the pandemic on the working hours of school psychologists were reported across countries. Participants in all countries reported a shift to online working, with an increased focus on consultation and intervention and a reduction in psychoeducational assessments. School psychologists from all nations emphazised the importance of self-care strategies, social connections and physical activity and the role of support via supervision or professional networks. Access to appropriate technology and responsive workplace policies and procedures were also identified as important. Results have implications for the internationalization of the school psychology profession and can inform international school psychology planning in response to future crises

Hot Start PCR with heat-activatable primers: a novel approach for improved PCR performance

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is widely used for applications which require a high level of specificity and reliability, such as genetic testing, clinical diagnostics, blood screening, forensics and biodefense. Great improvements to PCR performance have been achieved by the use of Hot Start activation strategies that aim to prevent DNA polymerase extension until more stringent, higher temperatures are reached. Herein we present a novel Hot Start activation approach in PCR where primers contain one or two thermolabile, 4-oxo-1-pentyl (OXP) phosphotriester (PTE) modification groups at 3′-terminal and 3′-penultimate internucleotide linkages. Studies demonstrated that the presence of one or more OXP PTE modifications impaired DNA polymerase primer extension at the lower temperatures that exist prior to PCR amplification. Furthermore, incubation of the OXP-modified primers at elevated temperatures was found to produce the corresponding unmodified phosphodiester (PDE) primer, which was then a suitable DNA polymerase substrate. The OXP-modified primers were tested in conventional PCR with endpoint detection, in one-step reverse transcription (RT)–PCR and in real-time PCR with SYBR Green I dye and Taqman® probe detection. When OXP-modified primers were used as substitutes for unmodified PDE primers in PCR, significant improvement was observed in the specificity and efficiency of nucleic acid target amplification

Tracking genomic cancer evolution for precision medicine: The Lung TRACERx Study

The importance of intratumour genetic and functional heterogeneity is increasingly recognised as a driver of cancer progression and survival outcome. Understanding how tumour clonal heterogeneity impacts upon therapeutic outcome, however, is still an area of unmet clinical and scientific need. TRACERx (TRAcking non-small cell lung Cancer Evolution through therapy [Rx]), a prospective study of patients with primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), aims to define the evolutionary trajectories of lung cancer in both space and time through multiregion and longitudinal tumour sampling and genetic analysis. By following cancers from diagnosis to relapse, tracking the evolutionary trajectories of tumours in relation to therapeutic interventions, and determining the impact of clonal heterogeneity on clinical outcomes, TRACERx may help to identify novel therapeutic targets for NSCLC and may also serve as a model applicable to other cancer types

A Trial of Calcium and Vitamin D for the Prevention of Colorectal Adenomas

Epidemiologic and preclinical data suggest that higher intake and serum levels of vitamin D and higher intake of calcium reduce the risk of colorectal neoplasia. To further study the chemopreventive potential of these nutrients, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of supplementation with vitamin D, calcium, or both for the prevention of colorectal adenomas

Phylogenetic ctDNA analysis depicts early-stage lung cancer evolution.

The early detection of relapse following primary surgery for non-small-cell lung cancer and the characterization of emerging subclones, which seed metastatic sites, might offer new therapeutic approaches for limiting tumour recurrence. The ability to track the evolutionary dynamics of early-stage lung cancer non-invasively in circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) has not yet been demonstrated. Here we use a tumour-specific phylogenetic approach to profile the ctDNA of the first 100 TRACERx (Tracking Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Evolution Through Therapy (Rx)) study participants, including one patient who was also recruited to the PEACE (Posthumous Evaluation of Advanced Cancer Environment) post-mortem study. We identify independent predictors of ctDNA release and analyse the tumour-volume detection limit. Through blinded profiling of postoperative plasma, we observe evidence of adjuvant chemotherapy resistance and identify patients who are very likely to experience recurrence of their lung cancer. Finally, we show that phylogenetic ctDNA profiling tracks the subclonal nature of lung cancer relapse and metastasis, providing a new approach for ctDNA-driven therapeutic studies