bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Isolated late testicular relapse of B‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with intensive systemic chemotherapy and response‐based testicular radiation: A Children's Oncology Group study
Authors: Barredo Julio C. , Hastings Caroline , Lu Xiamin , Devidas Meenakshi , Chen Yichen , Armstrong Daniel , Winick Naomi , Wood Brent Lee , Yanofsky Rochelle , Loh Mignon , Gastier‐Foster Julie M. , Jorstad Dean Thomas , Marcus Robert , Ritchey Kim , Carrol William L. , Hunger Stephen P. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractBackgroundThe incidence of isolated testicular relapse (ITR) of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has decreased with contemporary treatment strategies, but outcomes are suboptimal with a 58% 5‐year overall survival (OS). This study aimed to improve outcome in patients with ITR of B‐cell ALL (B‐ALL) occurring after 18 months of first clinical remission using intensive systemic chemotherapy and to decrease long‐term sequelae by limiting use of testicular radiation.ProcedureForty patients in first ITR of B‐ALL were enrolled. Induction (dexamethasone, vincristine, daunorubicin, and intrathecal triple therapy) was preceded by one dose of high‐dose methotrexate (MTX, 5 g/m2). Following induction, 25 of 26 patients who had persistent testicular enlargement underwent testicular biopsy. Eleven had biopsy‐proven disease and received bilateral testicular radiation (24 Gy), whereas twenty‐nine did not.ResultsOverall 5‐year event‐free survival (EFS)/OS was 65.0 ± 8.8%/73.1 ± 8.3%, with 5‐year EFS 62.1 ± 11.0% vs. 72.7 ± 14.4% for patients who did not receive radiation therapy (XRT) (n = 29) compared with those who did (n = 11), respectively (P = 0.64). There were six second bone marrow relapses and six second ITRs. The proportion of second relapses was similar in the patients that received testicular radiation and those who did not. However, the 5‐year OS was similar for patients who did not receive XRT (72.6 ± 10.2%) compared with those who did (72.7 ± 14.4%) (P = 0.85).ConclusionsA 5‐year OS rate of 73.1 ± 8.3% was obtained in children with first ITR of B‐ALL occurring after 18 months of CR1 (length of first clinical remission) using intensive chemotherapy and limiting testicular radiation.
Modifying bone mineral density, physical function, and quality of life in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Authors: Cox Cheryl L. , Zhu Liang , Kaste Sue C. , Srivastava Kumar , Barnes Linda , Nathan Paul C. , Wells Robert J. , Ness Kirsten K. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractBackgroundThe early effects of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) include decreased physical function, bone mineral density (BMD/g/cm2), and health‐related quality of life (HRQL). We assessed the capacity of a physical therapy and motivation‐based intervention, beginning after diagnosis and continuing through the end of treatment, to positively modify these factors.ProcedureA 2.5‐year randomized controlled trial of 73 patients aged 4–18.99 years within 10 days of ALL diagnosis assessed BMD at baseline (T0) and end of therapy (T3), strength, range of motion, endurance, motor skills, and HRQL at baseline (T0), 8 (T1), 15 (T2), and 135 (T3) weeks.ResultsThere were no significant changes between groups (intervention, n = 33; usual care, n = 40) in BMD (P = 0.059) at T3 or physical function and HRQL at T0–T3. While BMD declined in both the intervention (T0 = −0.21, T3 = −0.55) and usual care (T0 = −0.62, T3 = −0.78) groups, rates of decline did not differ between groups (P = 0.56). Univariate analysis (n = 73) showed associations of higher T3 bone density with body mass index T1 (P = 0.01), T2 (P = <0.0001), T3 (P = 0.01), T3 ankle flexibility/strength (P = 0.001), and T2 parent (P = 0.02)/T0 child (P = 0.03) perceptions of less bodily pain.ConclusionsThe intervention delivered during treatment was not successful in modifying BMD, physical function, or HRQL. Physical activity, at the level and intensity required to modify these factors, may not be feasible during early treatment owing to the child's responses to the disease and treatment. Future studies will consider intervention implementation during late maintenance therapy, extending into survivorship.
Predicting bacterial infections among pediatric cancer patients with febrile neutropenia: External validation of the PICNICC model
Authors: Ojha Rohit P. , Asdahl Peter H. , Steyerberg Ewout W. , Schroeder Henrik 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIntroductionThe Predicting Infectious Complications in Neutropenic Children and Young People with Cancer (PICNICC) model was recently developed for antibiotic stewardship among pediatric cancer patients, but limited information is available about its clinical usefulness. We aimed to assess the performance of the PICNICC model for predicting microbiologically documented bacterial infections among pediatric cancer patients with febrile neutropenia.Materials and methodsWe used data for febrile neutropenia episodes at a pediatric cancer center in Aarhus, Denmark between 2000 and 2016. We assessed the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration, and clinical usefulness (i.e., net benefit). We also recalibrated the model using statistical updating methods.ResultsWe observed 306 microbiologically documented bacterial infections among 1,892 episodes of febrile neutropenia. The AUC of the model was 0.73 (95% confidence limits [CL]: 0.71–0.75). The calibration intercept (calibration‐in‐the‐large) was −0.69 (95% CL: −0.86 to −0.51) and the slope was 0.77 (95% CL: 0.65–0.89). Modest net benefit was observed at a decision threshold of 5%. Recalibration improved calibration but did not improve net benefit.ConclusionsThe PICNICC model has potential for reducing unnecessary antibiotic exposure for pediatric cancer patients with febrile neutropenia, but continued validation and refinement is necessary to optimize clinical usefulness.
Methods for time‐varying exposure related problems in pharmacoepidemiology: An overview
Authors: Pazzagli Laura , Linder Marie , Zhang Mingliang , Vago Emese , Stang Paul , Myers David , Andersen Morten , Bahmanyar Shahram 
Published: December 2017

AbstractPurposeLack of control for time‐varying exposures can lead to substantial bias in estimates of treatment effects. The aim of this study is to provide an overview and guidance on some of the available methodologies used to address problems related to time‐varying exposure and confounding in pharmacoepidemiology and other observational studies. The methods are explored from a conceptual rather than an analytical perspective.MethodsThe methods described in this study have been identified exploring the literature concerning to the time‐varying exposure concept and basing the search on four fundamental pharmacoepidemiological problems, construction of treatment episodes, time‐varying confounders, cumulative exposure and latency, and treatment switching.ResultsA correct treatment episodes construction is fundamental to avoid bias in treatment effect estimates. Several methods exist to address time‐varying covariates, but the complexity of the most advanced approaches—eg, marginal structural models or structural nested failure time models—and the lack of user‐friendly statistical packages have prevented broader adoption of these methods. Consequently, simpler methods are most commonly used, including, for example, methods without any adjustment strategy and models with time‐varying covariates. The magnitude of exposure needs to be considered and properly modelled.ConclusionsFurther research on the application and implementation of the most complex methods is needed. Because different methods can lead to substantial differences in the treatment effect estimates, the application of several methods and comparison of the results is recommended. Treatment episodes estimation and exposure quantification are key parts in the estimation of treatment effects or associations of interest.
Quantitative confocal imaging method for analyzing cellulose dynamics during cell wall regeneration in Arabidopsis mesophyll protoplasts
Authors: Kuki Hiroaki , Higaki Takumi , Yokoyama Ryusuke , Kuroha Takeshi , Shinohara Naoki , Hasezawa Seiichiro , Nishitani Kazuhiko 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe network structure of cellulose fibrils provides mechanical properties to the primary cell wall, thereby determining the shapes and growth patterns of plant cells. Despite intensive studies, the construction process of the network structure in muro remains largely unknown, mainly due to the lack of a robust, straightforward technique to evaluate network configuration. Here, we developed a quantitative confocal imaging method for general use in the study of cell wall dynamics in protoplasts derived from Arabidopsis leaf mesophyll cells. Confocal imaging of regenerating cell walls in protoplasts stained with Calcofluor allowed us to visualize the cellulose network, comprising strings of bundled cellulosic fibrils. Using image analysis techniques, we measured several metrics including total length, which is a measure of the spread of the cellulose network. The total length increased during cell wall regeneration. In a proof‐of‐concept experiment using microtubule‐modifying agents, oryzalin, an inhibitor of microtubule polymerization, inhibited the increase in total length and caused abnormal orientation of the network, as shown by the decrease in the average angle of the cellulose with respect to the cell long axis. Taxol, a microtubule stabilizer, stimulated the bundling of cellulose fibrils, as shown by the increase in skewness in the fluorescence intensity distribution of Calcofluor, and inhibited the increase in total length. These results demonstrate the validity of this method for quantitative imaging of the cellulose network, providing an opportunity to gain insight into the dynamic aspects of cell wall regeneration.
Systemic immune‐inflammation index predicts the combined clinical outcome after sequential therapy with abiraterone and docetaxel for metastatic castration‐resistant prostate cancer patients
Authors: Fan Liancheng , Wang Rui , Chi Chenfei , Cai Wen , Zhang Yong , Qian Hongyang , Shao Xiaoguang , Wang Yanqing , Xu Fan , Pan Jiahua , Zhu Yinjie , Shangguan Xun , Zhou Lixin , Dong Baijun , Xue Wei 
Published: December 2017

ObjectiveTo compare the antitumor effect of abiraterone (AA) followed by docetaxel‐prednisone (DP) or vice versa in metastatic castration‐resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients, and explored factors that might predict combined PSA‐PFS, combined rPFS and OS.Patients and MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed mCRPC patients treated with sequential therapy using DP followed by AA or vice versa. Patients who had received enzalutamide or cabazitaxel were excluded. The primary outcome measure was overall survival (OS). The combined PSA progression‐free survival (PSA‐PFS), combined radiographic PFS (rPFS), and OS of AA‐to‐DP were compared to the reverse sequence using Kaplan‐Meier curves with log‐rank statistics. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to determine prognostic factors that were associated with combined PSA‐PFS, combined rPFS and OS.ResultsA total of 104 mCRPC patients who began treatment between 2013 and 2017 were identified: 42 were in the DP‐to‐AA group and 62 were in the AA‐to‐DP group. There was no significant difference of baseline clinical characteristics between AA‐to‐DP and DP‐to‐AA group. In addition, there was no significant difference in combined PSA‐PFS (AA‐to‐DP: 12.5 [11.4‐13.6] vs DP‐to‐AA: 13.2 [10.9‐15.5] months [P = 0.127]), combined rPFS (AA‐to‐DP: 12.2 [10.9‐13.4] vs DP‐to‐AA: 11.2 [8.9‐13.5] months [P = 0.183]) and OS (AA‐to‐DP: 23.3 [19.7‐26.9] vs DP‐to‐AA: 22.9 [22.1‐23.7] months [P = 0.213]) between the two treatment sequences in Kaplan‐Meier analysis. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, high systematic Immune‐Inflammation Index (SII) level, which was calculated by P (platelet) × N (neutrophil)/L(lymphocyte), remained significant predictors of OS, combined rPFS and combined PSA‐PFS.ConclusionIn this study, we did not observe differences in clinical outcomes based on alternative sequencing of AA and DP in mCRPC patients. The ability to tolerate side effects and patient preference may be used to determine the treatment sequencing. In addition, high pretreatment SII level is a negative independent prognosticator of survival outcomes in mCRPC with sequential therapy using DP followed by AA or vice versa, which might guide clinicians select the best treatment.
Chemical Valence‐Dependent Electrocatalytic Activity for Oxygen Evolution Reaction: A Case of Nickel Sulfides Hybridized with N and S Co‐Doped Carbon Nanoparticles
Authors: Yang Hongchao , Wang Changhong , Zhang Yejun , Wang Qiangbin 
Published: December 2017

AbstractExploration of the relationship between electrocatalytic activities and their chemical valence is very important in rational design of high‐efficient electrocatalysts. A series of porous nickel sulfides hybridized with N and S co‐doped carbon nanoparticles (NixSy‐NSCs) with different chemical valences of Ni, Ni9S8‐NSCs, Ni9S8‐NiS1.03‐NSCs, and NiS1.03‐NSCs are successfully fabricated, and their electrocatalytic performances as oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts are systematically investigated. The NixSy‐NSCs are obtained via a two‐step reaction including a low‐temperature synthesis of Ni‐Cys precursor followed by thermal decomposing of the precursor in Ar atmosphere. By controlling the sulfidation process during the formation of NixSy‐NSCs, Ni9S8‐NSCs, Ni9S8‐NiS1.03‐NSCs, and NiS1.03‐NSCs are obtained, respectively, giving rise to the increase of high‐valence Ni component, and resulting in gradually enhanced oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalytic activities. In particular, the NiS1.03‐NSCs show an exceptional low overpotential of ≈270 mV versus reversible hydrogen electrode at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 68.9 mV dec−1 with mass loading of 0.25 mg cm−2 in 1 m KOH and their catalytic activities remained for at least 10 h, which surpass the state‐of‐the‐art IrO2, RuO2, and Ni‐based electrocatalysts.
Understanding inclusive STEM high schools as opportunity structures for underrepresented students: Critical components
Authors: Lynch Sharon J. , Burton Erin Peters , Behrend Tara , House Ann , Ford Michael , Spillane Nancy , Matray Shari , Han Edmund , Means Barbara 
Published: December 2017

AbstractInclusive STEM high schools (ISHSs) can be viewed as opportunity structures for students underrepresented in STEM. By opportunity structures, we mean an education that provides not only access to high quality STEM curriculum and instruction or “opportunity to learn,” but also the capacity to create learning environments where students can build STEM social capital and the dispositions, knowledge, skills, and networks to be successful in STEM college majors and careers. This is a cross‐case analysis of case studies that describe the design and implementation of eight “exemplar” ISHSs. Beginning with 10 hypothesized critical components, we found evidence for all 10, but present in unique patterns of prominence, depending on the school context. Further inductive analysis located an additional four emergent critical components that complete the picture of how these successful ISHSs were able to achieve their goals. Importantly, across schools, four components stood out as foundational: a flexible and autonomous administrative structure; a college‐preparatory, STEM‐focused curriculum for all; well‐prepared STEM teachers and professionalized teaching staffs; and supports for students in underrepresented groups. Although many of the critical components found in the ISHSs are also found in the school reform literature, these schools also had characteristics unique to STEM education. This paper is important in understanding STEM high schools as opportunity structures and as a school reform alternative that can help solve equity and social mobility gaps in STEM.
Students as curriculum critics: Standpoints with respect to relevance, goals, and science
Authors: Morales‐Doyle Daniel 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThis article presents the findings of an ethnographic interview study that examined the ways students experienced a justice‐centered AP chemistry course at an urban neighborhood high school. Justice‐centered science pedagogy is an approach to teaching science that treats inequity in science education as one component of larger systems of oppression. The analysis of interview transcripts, which included pattern matching and coding, revealed variation in the ways students' viewed the relevance of the curriculum, the goals of science education, and science itself. These results underscore the importance of researchers and teachers taking seriously students' ideas about the means and ends of their own science education. Three standpoints with respect to science curriculum are proposed to explain the variations in students' perspectives and suggest implications for science educators. These standpoints trouble recent research that examines motivation in high school science classes and add nuance to research that investigates relationships between science learning and social agency by reframing these problems in terms of curriculum and issues of oppression.
Power in/of/as water: Revisiting the hydrologic cycle in the Peruvian Andes
Authors: Paerregaard Karsten 
Published: December 2017

Water is important not only as a natural resource but also as an object of political empowerment, social meaning, and cultural imagination. To unpack the social nature of water, the article examines it as “a total human‐material fact” which implies enquiring into water's fundamental properties, that is, itstransgressive, transmutable, transparentcharacteristics, and exploring how the different forms of powers they engender impinge on human life. One such power is the powerinwater (its physical force), another the powerofwater (its social and political bearings), and a third the poweraswater (its cultural and imaginary potential). The article argues that regions suffering from chronic water scarcity are particularly pertinent to the study of water's agentive powers. The Peruvian Andes constitutes such a field site. Reviewing regional literature on Andean history and contemporary culture the article explores how water's multiple forces impact Peru's current water crisis and shape Andean people's struggle for social recognition. Moreover, the article employs the notion of the hydrosocial cycle to examine the author's own ethnographic data discussing two cases that in opposite ways illustrate people's perceptions of water and the way the convergence of its agentive powers constitutes a “total fact” in the Andes. It concludes that even though the discussion is focused on the regional context that shapes Andean water struggles, the two cases document something universal about water: its unique quality to represent raw physical power, malleable social and political power, and soft imaginative power at one and the same time.WIREs Water2018, 5:e1270. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1270This article is categorized under:Human Water > Water GovernanceHuman Water > Water as Imagined and RepresentedScience of Water > Water Extremes
Numerical modeling and analysis of plasmonic flying head for rotary near-field lithography technology
Authors: Hu Yueqiang , Meng Yonggang 
Published: December 2017

AbstractRotary near-field lithography (RNFL) technology provides a route to overcome the diffraction limit with a high throughput and low cost for nanomanufacturing. Utilizing the advantage of the passive flying of a plasmonic head, RNFL can achieve a 10 m/s processing speed with a perfect near-field condition at dozens of nanometers. The flying performance of the plasmonic flying head (PFH) is the pivotal issue in the system. The linewidth has a strong correlation with the near-field gap, and the manufacturing uniformity is directly influenced by the dynamic performance. A more serious issue is that the unexpected contact between the PFH and substrate will result in system failure. Therefore, it is important to model and analyze the flying process of the PFH at the system level. In this study, a novel full-coupled suspension-PFH-air-substrate (SPAS) model that integrates a six-degree of freedom suspension-PFH dynamics, PFH-air-substrate air bearing lubrication, and substrate vibration, is established. The pressure distribution of the air bearing is governed by the molecular gas lubrication equation that is solved by the finite element method (FEM) with a local pressure gradient based adaptive mesh refinement algorithm using the COMSOL Multiphysics software. Based on this model, three designs of the air bearing surface are chosen to study the static, dynamic, and load/unload performance to verify whether it satisfies the design requirements of RNFL. Finally, a PFH analysis solver SKLY.app is developed based on the proposed model.
AF710B, an M1/sigma‐1 receptor agonist with long‐lasting disease‐modifying properties in a transgenic rat model of Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Hall Hélène , Iulita Maria Florencia , Gubert Palma , Flores Aguilar Lisi , Ducatenzeiler Adriana , Fisher Abraham , Cuello Augusto Claudio 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIntroductionAF710B (aka ANAVEX 3‐71) is a novel selective allosteric M1 muscarinic and sigma‐1 receptor agonist. In 3×Tg‐AD mice, AF710B attenuates cognitive deficits and decreases Alzheimer‐like hallmarks. We now report on the long‐lasting disease‐modifying properties of AF710B in McGill‐R‐Thy1‐APP transgenic (Tg) rats.MethodsChronic treatment with AF710B (10 μg/kg) was initiated in postplaque 13‐month‐old Tg rats. Drug or vehicle was administered orally daily for 4.5 months and interrupted 5 weeks before behavioral testing.ResultsAF710B long‐term treatment reverted the cognitive deficits associated with advanced Alzheimer‐like amyloid neuropathology in Tg rats. These effects were accompanied by reductions in amyloid pathology and markers of neuroinflammation and increases in amyloid cerebrospinal fluid clearance and levels of a synaptic marker. Importantly, these effects were maintained following a 5‐week interruption of the treatment.DiscussionWith M1/sigma‐1 activity and long‐lasting disease‐modifying properties at low dose, AF710B is a promising novel therapeutic agent for treating Alzheimer's disease.
The 2017 Seventh World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery: Week in Review: heart failure, transplantation, and pulmonary hypertension
Authors: Johnson Jonathan N. , Ivy D. Dunbar 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe heart failure, heart transplantation, and pulmonary hypertension workgroups of the Scientific Committee were honoured to be asked to plan a full slate of sessions at the 2017 World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery. In all there were 35 oral platform presentations, a further 14 oral platform presentations in “Bridging Together” sessions with other workgroups/specialties, a terrific debate about transplant listing in adult CHD patients, and a further 23 oral abstract presentations. The speakers were clear and concise, the research presented was ground-breaking, and the global representation was evident.