Exploring the consistency of the SF-6D

Objective: The six dimensional health state short form (SF-6D) was designed to be derived from the short-form 36 health survey (SF-36). The purpose of this research was to compare the SF-6D index values generated from the SF 36 (SF-6D(SF-36)) with those obtained from the SF-6D administered as an independent instrument (SF-6D(Ind)). The goal was to assess the consistency of respondents answers to these two methods of deriving the SF-6D. Methods: Data were obtained from a sample of the Portuguese population (n = 414). Agreement between the instruments was assessed on the basis of a descriptive system and their indexes. The analysis of the descriptive system was performed by using a global consistency index and an identically classified index. Agreement was also explored by using correlation coefficients. Parametric tests were used to identify differences between the indexes. Regression models were estimated to understand the relationship between them. Results: The SF-6D(Ind) generates higher values than does the SF-6D(SF-36), There were significant differences between the indexes across sociodemographic groups. There was a significant ceiling effect in the SF-6D(Ind) a but not in the SF-6D(SF-36). The correlation between the indexes was high but less than what was anticipated. The global consistency index identified the dimensions with larger differences. Considerable differences were found in two dimensions, possibly as a result of different item contexts. Further research is needed to fully understand the role of the different layouts and the length of the questionnaires in the respondents' answers. Conclusions: The results show that as the SF-6D was designed to derive utilities from the SF-36 it should be used in this way and not as an independent instrument.Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT

Palynotaxonomy of the genus Gladiopappus (Dicomeae, Asteraceae) with special emphasis on the exine ultrastructure and mesoapertures

The pollen morphology of Gladiopappus vernonioides was studied with transmission (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electron microscopy and with light microscopy (LM). An Anthemoid pattern of exine ultrastructure was found. The pollen morphology of Gladiopappus supports the inclusion of this genus in the tribe Dicomeae and subtribe Dicominae but not in the Mutisieae s.str. The apertural system of G. vernonioides includes a mesoaperture that intersects the foot layer and the upper layer of the endexine, a condition already pointed out for several tribes of Asteroideae (Helenieae, Gnaphaliinae, Heliantheae, Inuleae, Senecioneae) and Carduoideae (Cardueae, Dicomeae). It is suggested that the existence of an intermediate aperture could characterize the apertural system of the Asteraceae as a synapomorphyS

Fatores influenciadores da intenção de doar sangue: proposição de um modelo exploratório

Purpose – Identify the main factors that significantly influence individuals living in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte / MG to donate blood.Design/methodology/approach – Methodologically, it was decided to develop a quantitative research, developed in the light of structural equation modeling, allowing the development of an exploratory behavioral model about the intention to donate blood.Findings – As main results, it was identified that the 'attitude towards screening' contributes significantly to the 'perception of safety' that the individual has about the process of blood donation.Research limitations/implications – Difficulty of access to the main hemotherapy center in the state, Minas Gerais Blood Bank Foundation (HEMOMINAS), a fact that prevented access to up-to-date data on the region's blood donation scenario.Practical implications – The indicators that are directly related to the practice of blood donation obtained statistically significant mean differences between the group of individuals who already donated blood and those who never donated, the former being more sensitive to calls for donation.Originality/value – There is a deepening of the knowledge of the variables that influence the individual who voluntarily performs an act such as blood donation. In this sense, this study provides inputs for the development of more assertive, efficient and effective blood donation public policies, contributing to the recovery of blood banks and raising the rate of donors in the country.Finalidade - Identificar os principais fatores que influenciam significativamente indivíduos residentes na Região Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte/MG a doarem sangueDesenho / metodologia / abordagem - Metodologicamente optou-se por desenvolver uma pesquisa quantitativa, desenvolvida à luz da modelagem de equações estruturais, permitindo que fosse desenvolvido um modelo exploratório comportamental acerca da intenção de doar sangue.Constatações - Como principais resultados identificou-se que a ‘atitude em relação à triagem’ contribui significativamente para a ‘percepção de segurança’ que o indivíduo possui acerca do processo de doação de sangue.Limitações / implicações da pesquisa - Dificuldade de acesso ao principal centro de hemoterapia do estado, a Fundação Centro de Hematologia e Hemoterapia do Estado de Minas Gerais (HEMOMINAS), fato que impediu o acesso a dados atualizados sobre o cenário de doação sanguínea da região.Implicações práticas - Os indicadores que estão diretamente relacionados à prática da doação sanguínea obtiveram diferenças de médias estatisticamente significantes entre o grupo de indivíduos que já doaram sangue e que aqueles que nunca doaram, sendo que os primeiros são mais sensíveis aos apelos em prol da doação.Originalidade / valor - Aprofundamento no conhecimento das variáveis que influenciam o indivíduo que, voluntariamente, executa um ato como a doação de sangue. Nesse sentido, este estudo fornece insumos para o desenvolvimento de políticas públicas de doação de sangue mais assertivas, eficazes e efetivas, contribuindo para a recuperação dos bancos de sangue e elevação da taxa de doadores do país

Predicting death and morbidity in perforated peptic ulcer

Peptic ulcers are defined as defects in the gastrointestinal mucosa that extend through the muscularis mucosae. Although not being the most common complication, perforations stand out as being the complication with the highest mortality rate. To predict the probability of mortality, several scoring systems based on clinical and biochemical parameters, such as the Boey and PULP scoring system have been developed. This article explores, using data mining in the medical data available, how the scoring systems perform when trying to predict mortality and patients’ state complication. We also try to conclude, from the two scoring systems presented, which predicts better the situations described. Regarding the results, we concluded that the PULP scoring allows a better mortality prediction achieving, in this case, above 90% accuracy, however, the results may be inconclusive due to the lack of patients who died in the dataset used. Regarding the complications, we concluded that, on the other hand, the Boey system achieves better results leading to a better prediction when it comes to predicting patients’ state complication.FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (UID/CEC/00319/2013

The impact of sugar cane-burning emissions on the respiratory system of children and the elderly

We analyzed the influence of emissions front burning sugar cane on the respiratory system during almost I year in the city of Piracicaba in southeast Brazil. From April 1997 through March 1998, samples of inhalable particles were collected, separated into fine and coarse particulate mode, and analyzed for black carbon and tracer elements. At the same time, we examined daily records of children ( 64 years of age) admitted to the hospital because of respiratory diseases. Generalized linear models were adopted with natural cubic splines to control for season and linear terms to control for weather. Analyses were carried out for the entire period, as well as for burning and rionburning periods. Additional models were built using three factors obtained from factor analysis instead of particles or tracer elements. Increases of 10.2 mu g/m(3) in particles <= 2.5 mu m/m(3) aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) and 42.9 mu g/m(3) in PM10 were associated with increases of 21.4% [95% confidence interval (0), 4.3-38.5] and 31.03% (95% Cl, 1.25-60.21) in child and elderly respiratory hospital admissions, respectively. When we compared periods, the effects during the burning period were much higher than the effects during nonburning period. Elements generated from sugar cane burning (factor 1) were those most associated with both child and elderly respiratory admissions. Our results show the adverse impact of sugar cane burning emissions on the health of the population, reinforcing the need for public efforts to reduce and eventually eliminate this source of air pollution.Univ São Paulo, Sch Med, Environm Epidemiol Study Grp, Lab Expt Air Pollut, BR-05508 São Paulo, BrazilCatholic Univ Santos, Community Hlth Postgrad Program, Santos, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Ctr Nucl Energy Agr, Piracicaba, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Inst Phys, BR-05508 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Sch Med, Dept Internal Med, Pulm Physiopathol & Air Pollut Res Grp, São Paulo, BrazilHarvard Univ, Sch Publ Hlth, Exposure Epidemiol & Risk Program, Dept Environm Hlth, Boston, MA 02115 USAUniv Santo Amaro, Sch Med, Environm Pediat Program, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Sch Med, Dept Internal Med, Pulm Physiopathol & Air Pollut Res Grp, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

OMEGA: a software tool for the management, analysis, and dissemination of intracellular trafficking data that incorporates motion type classification and quality control [preprint]

MOTIVATION: Particle tracking coupled with time-lapse microscopy is critical for understanding the dynamics of intracellular processes of clinical importance. Spurred on by advances in the spatiotemporal resolution of microscopy and automated computational methods, this field is increasingly amenable to multi-dimensional high-throughput data collection schemes (Snijder et al, 2012). Typically, complex particle tracking datasets generated by individual laboratories are produced with incompatible methodologies that preclude comparison to each other. There is therefore an unmet need for data management systems that facilitate data standardization, meta-analysis, and structured data dissemination. The integration of analysis, visualization, and quality control capabilities into such systems would eliminate the need for manual transfer of data to diverse downstream analysis tools. At the same time, it would lay the foundation for shared trajectory data, particle tracking, and motion analysis standards. RESULTS: Here, we present Open Microscopy Environment inteGrated Analysis (OMEGA), a cross-platform data management, analysis, and visualization system, for particle tracking data, with particular emphasis on results from viral and vesicular trafficking experiments. OMEGA provides easy to use graphical interfaces to implement integrated particle tracking and motion analysis workflows while keeping track of error propagation and data provenance. Specifically, OMEGA: 1) imports image data and metadata from data management tools such as Open Microscopy Environment Remote Objects (OMERO; Allan et al., 2012); 2) tracks intracellular particles moving across time series of image planes; 3) facilitates parameter optimization and trajectory results inspection and validation; 4) performs downstream trajectory analysis and motion type classification; 5) estimates the uncertainty associated with motion analysis; and, 6) facilitates storage and dissemination of analysis results, and analysis definition metadata, on the basis of our newly proposed Minimum Information About Particle Tracking Experiments (MIAPTE; Rigano & Strambio-De-Castillia, 2016; 2017) guidelines in combination with the OME-XML data model (Goldberg et al, 2005)

MGMT-independent temozolomide resistance in pediatric glioblastoma cells associated with a PI3-kinase-mediated HOX/stem cell gene signature

Sensitivity to temozolomide is restricted to a subset of glioblastoma patients, with the major determinant of resistance being a lack of promoter methylation of the gene encoding the repair protein DNA methyltransferase MGMT, although other mechanisms are thought to be active. There are, however, limited preclinical data in model systems derived from pediatric glioma patients. We screened a series of cell lines for temozolomide efficacy in vitro, and investigated the differential mechanisms of resistance involved. In the majority of cell lines, a lack of MGMT promoter methylation and subsequent protein overexpression were linked to temozolomide resistance. An exception was the pediatric glioblastoma line KNS42. Expression profiling data revealed a coordinated upregulation of HOX gene expression in resistant lines, especially KNS42, which was reversed by phosphoinositide 3-kinase pathway inhibition. High levels of HOXA9/HOXA10 gene expression were associated with a shorter survival in pediatric high-grade glioma patient samples. Combination treatment in vitro of pathway inhibition and temozolomide resulted in a highly synergistic interaction in KNS42 cells. The resistance gene signature further included contiguous genes within the 12q13-q14 amplicon, including the Akt enhancer PIKE, significantly overexpressed in the KNS42 line. These cells were also highly enriched for CD133 and other stem cell markers. We have thus shown an in vitro link between phosphoinositide 3-kinase-mediated HOXA9/HOXA10 expression, and a drug-resistant, progenitor cell phenotype in MGMT-independent pediatric glioblastoma.Cancer Research UK (C1178/A10294, C309/A2187, C309/A8274), the Oak Foundation (L. Marshall), and La Fondation de France (N. Gaspar). We acknowledge NHS funding to the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. P. Workman is a Cancer Research UK Life Fello

EGFRvIII deletion mutations in pediatric high-grade glioma and response to targeted therapy in pediatric glioma cell lines

Purpose: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is amplified and overexpressed in adult glioblastoma, with response to targeted inhibition dependent on the underlying biology of the disease. EGFR has thus far been considered to play a less important role in pediatric glioma, although extensive data are lacking. We have sought to clarify the role of EGFR in pediatric high-grade glioma (HGG). Experimental Design: We retrospectively studied a total of 90 archival pediatric HGG specimens for EGFR protein overexpression, gene amplification, and mutation and assessed the in vitro sensitivity of pediatric glioma cell line models to the small-molecule EGFR inhibitor erlotinib. Results: Amplification was detected in 11% of cases, with corresponding overexpression of the receptor. No kinase or extracellular domain mutations were observed; however, 6 of 35 (17%) cases harbored the EGFRvIII deletion, including two anaplastic oligodendrogliomas and a gliosarcoma overexpressing EGFRvIII in the absence of gene amplification and coexpressing platelet-derived growth factor receptor α. Pediatric glioblastoma cells transduced with wild-type or deletion mutant EGFRvIII were not rendered more sensitive to erlotinib despite expressing wild-type PTEN. Phosphorylated receptor tyrosine kinase profiling showed a specific activation of platelet-derived growth factor receptor α/β in EGFRvIII-transduced pediatric glioblastoma cells, and targeted coinhibition with erlotinib and imatinib leads to enhanced efficacy in this model. Conclusions: These data identify an elevated frequency of EGFR gene amplification and EGFRvIII mutation in pediatric HGG than previously recognized and show the likely necessity of targeting multiple genetic alterations in the tumors of these children.Cancer Research UK grants C1178/A10294, C309/A2187, and C309/A8274; Oak Foundation (L. Marshall); La Fondation de France (N. Gaspar); and Breakthrough Breast Cancer (J.S. Reis-Filho). We acknowledge NHS funding to the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre