Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors (SLCTs) are rare sex cord-stromal tumors, representing <0.5% of all ovarian tumors. We sought to describe prognostic factors, treatment and outcomes for individuals with ...ovarian SLCT.
Individuals with SLCT were enrolled in the International Pleuropulmonary Blastoma/DICER1 Registry and/or the International Ovarian and Testicular Stromal Tumor Registry. Medical records were systematically abstracted, and pathology was centrally reviewed when available.
In total, 191 participants with ovarian SLCT enrolled, with most (92%, 175/191) presenting with FIGO stage I disease. Germline DICER1 results were available for 156 patients; of these 58% had a pathogenic or likely pathogenic germline variant. Somatic (tumor) DICER1 testing showed RNase IIIb hotspot variants in 97% (88/91) of intermediately and poorly differentiated tumors. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered in 40% (77/191) of cases, and among these, nearly all patients received platinum-based regimens (95%, 73/77), and 30% (23/77) received regimens that included an alkylating agent. Three-year recurrence-free survival for patients with stage IA tumors was 93.6% (95% CI: 88.2–99.3%) compared to 67.1% (95% CI: 55.2–81.6%) for all stage IC and 60.6% (95% CI: 40.3–91.0%) for stage II-IV (p < .001) tumors. Among patients with FIGO stage I tumors, those with mesenchymal heterologous elements treated with surgery alone were at higher risk for recurrence (HR: 74.18, 95% CI: 17.99–305.85).
Most individuals with SLCT fare well, though specific risk factors such as mesenchymal heterologous elements are associated with poor prognosis. We also highlight the role of DICER1 surveillance in early detection of SLCT, facilitating stage IA resection.
•Most (92%, 175/191) ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors (SLCTs) present as FIGO stage I disease with a favorable prognosis.•FIGO stage I tumors with mesenchymal heterologous elements are at higher risk for recurrence when not receiving chemotherapy.•Somatic (tumor) DICER1 RNase IIIb hotspot variants were found in 97% of intermediately and poorly differentiated SLCTs.•More than half (58%, 91/156) of individuals were found to have a germline DICER1 pathogenic/likely pathogenic variant.•DICER1 surveillance recommendations facilitated detection of asymptomatic ovarian SLCT with nearly all resected as stage IA.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Community-engaged research (CEnR) builds on the strengths of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) framework to address health in underserved and minority communities. There is a ...paucity of studies that identify the process from which trust develops in CEnR partnerships. This study responds to the need for empirical investigation of building and maintaining trust from a multistakeholder perspective. We conducted a multi-institutional pilot study using concept mapping with to better understand how trust, a critical outcome of CEnR partnerships, can act as “social capital.” Concept mapping was used to collect data from the three stakeholder groups: community, health-care, and academic research partners across three CTSAs. Concept mapping is a mixed-methods approach that allows participants to brainstorm and identify factors that contribute to a concept and describe ways in which those factors relate to each other. This study offers important insights on developing an initial set of trust measures that can be used across CTSAs to understand differences and similarities in conceptualization of trust among key stakeholder groups, track changes in public trust in research, identify both positive and negative aspects of trust, identify characteristics that maintain trust, and inform the direction for future research.
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NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In this study we present the retrieval of the column-averaged dry air mole fraction of carbon dioxide (XCO2) from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellite observations using the RemoTeC ...algorithm, previously successfully applied to retrieval of greenhouse gas concentration from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT). The XCO2 product has been validated with collocated ground-based measurements from the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) for almost 2 years of OCO-2 data from September 2014 to July 2016. We found that fitting an additive radiometric offset in all three spectral bands of OCO-2 significantly improved the retrieval. Based on a small correlation of the XCO2 error over land with goodness of fit, we applied an a posteriori bias correction to our OCO-2 retrievals. In overpass averaged results, XCO2 retrievals have an SD of ∼ 1.30 ppm and a station-to-station variability of ∼ 0.40 ppm among collocated TCCON sites. The seasonal relative accuracy (SRA) has a value of 0.52 ppm. The validation shows relatively larger difference with TCCON over high-latitude areas and some specific regions like Japan.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
IMPORTANCE: While effective in preventing stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), warfarin is limited by a narrow therapeutic profile, a need for lifelong coagulation monitoring, and ...multiple drug and diet interactions. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a local strategy of mechanical left atrial appendage (LAA) closure was noninferior to warfarin. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: PROTECT AF was a multicenter, randomized (2:1), unblinded, Bayesian-designed study conducted at 59 hospitals of 707 patients with nonvalvular AF and at least 1 additional stroke risk factor (CHADS2 score ≥1). Enrollment occurred between February 2005 and June 2008 and included 4-year follow-up through October 2012. Noninferiority required a posterior probability greater than 97.5% and superiority a probability of 95% or greater; the noninferiority margin was a rate ratio of 2.0 comparing event rates between treatment groups. INTERVENTIONS: Left atrial appendage closure with the device (n = 463) or warfarin (n = 244; target international normalized ratio, 2-3). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: A composite efficacy end point including stroke, systemic embolism, and cardiovascular/unexplained death, analyzed by intention-to-treat. RESULTS: At a mean (SD) follow-up of 3.8 (1.7) years (2621 patient-years), there were 39 events among 463 patients (8.4%) in the device group for a primary event rate of 2.3 events per 100 patient-years, compared with 34 events among 244 patients (13.9%) for a primary event rate of 3.8 events per 100 patient-years with warfarin (rate ratio, 0.60; 95% credible interval, 0.41-1.05), meeting prespecified criteria for both noninferiority (posterior probability, >99.9%) and superiority (posterior probability, 96.0%). Patients in the device group demonstrated lower rates of both cardiovascular mortality (1.0 events per 100 patient-years for the device group 17/463 patients, 3.7% vs 2.4 events per 100 patient-years with warfarin 22/244 patients, 9.0%; hazard ratio HR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.21-0.75; P = .005) and all-cause mortality (3.2 events per 100 patient-years for the device group 57/466 patients, 12.3% vs 4.8 events per 100 patient-years with warfarin 44/244 patients, 18.0%; HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.45-0.98; P = .04). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: After 3.8 years of follow-up among patients with nonvalvular AF at elevated risk for stroke, percutaneous LAA closure met criteria for both noninferiority and superiority, compared with warfarin, for preventing the combined outcome of stroke, systemic embolism, and cardiovascular death, as well as superiority for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00129545
This paper provides a revised faunal checklist for the subfamilies, tribes, subtribes, genera and species of the family Cicadidae (Insecta: Hemiptera) from Mindanao, Philippines, comprising 31 ...species belonging to 19 genera. A new genus, Neopurana Lee and Marshall gen. nov., and nine new species, Platypleura bella Lee and A. Mohagan sp. nov., Platypleura minima Lee and Marshall sp. nov., Chremistica flavialata Lee and Marshall sp. nov., Oncotympana obesa Lee and Marshall sp. nov., Neopurana bouptera Lee and Marshall sp. nov., Purana mindanaoensis Lee and Marshall sp. nov., Mogannia tenebrosa Lee and Marshall sp. nov., Philipsalta exilis Lee and Marshall sp. nov. and Philipsalta lata Lee and Marshall sp. nov., are described. Platypleura transitiva Lee,
2021
is newly added to the list of cicadas from Mindanao. Male calling songs are illustrated and described for all new species. Information on the geographic distributions of the 31 Mindanao species is provided.
http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:AA69FCBE-81ED-4B41-90D6-0D32EBE887CA
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BFBNIB, DOBA, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Emerging evidence indicates that early life events can increase the risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Using an inducible transgenic mouse model for NF-κB activation in ...the airway epithelium, we found that a brief period of inflammation during the saccular stage (P3-P5) but not alveolar stage (P10-P12) of lung development disrupted elastic fiber assembly, resulting in permanent reduction in lung function and development of a COPD-like lung phenotype that progressed through 24 months of age. Neutrophil depletion prevented disruption of elastic fiber assembly and restored normal lung development. Mechanistic studies uncovered a role for neutrophil elastase (NE) in downregulating expression of critical elastic fiber assembly components, particularly fibulin-5 and elastin. Further, purified human NE and NE-containing exosomes from tracheal aspirates of premature infants with lung inflammation downregulated elastin and fibulin-5 expression by saccular-stage mouse lung fibroblasts. Together, our studies define a critical developmental window for assembling the elastin scaffold in the distal lung, which is required to support lung structure and function throughout the lifespan. Although neutrophils play a well-recognized role in COPD development in adults, neutrophilic inflammation may also contribute to early-life predisposition to COPD.
Purpose:
African Americans (AAs) in rural south and southeast regions of the United States have among the highest prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the country. The purpose of this ...qualitative, exploratory study is to understand family influences on CVD-related knowledge and health-related behaviors among rural AA adults.
Design:
Qualitative descriptive study design using a community-based participatory research approach.
Setting:
Two rural North Carolina counties.
Participants:
Eligible participants were AA adults (at least 21 years of age), who self-reported either CVD diagnosis or selected CVD risk factor(s) for themselves or for an adult family member (N = 37).
Method:
Directed content analysis of semistructured interviews by community and academic partners.
Results:
Family health history and familial norms and preferences influenced participants’ CVD-related knowledge, beliefs, and health-related behaviors. Participants reported their families were helpful for increasing motivation for and overcoming barriers to healthy behaviors, including hard-to-access community resources and physical challenges. Conversely, and to a lesser extent, participants also reported that family members hindered or had little influence (positive or negative) on their engagement in healthy behaviors.
Conclusion:
Family played an important role in helping individuals overcome personal and community-related challenges. Efforts to reduce CVD burden among rural AAs should seek to understand the family-related facilitators, barriers, and processes associated with CVD knowledge and risk-reduction behaviors.
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FSPLJ, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The Winchcombe fireball—That lucky survivor McMullan, Sarah; Vida, Denis; Devillepoix, Hadrien A. R. ...
Meteoritics & planetary science,
05/2024, Volume:
59, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Abstract On February 28, 2021, a fireball dropped ∼0.6 kg of recovered CM2 carbonaceous chondrite meteorites in South‐West England near the town of Winchcombe. We reconstruct the fireball's ...atmospheric trajectory, light curve, fragmentation behavior, and pre‐atmospheric orbit from optical records contributed by five networks. The progenitor meteoroid was three orders of magnitude less massive (∼13 kg) than any previously observed carbonaceous fall. The Winchcombe meteorite survived entry because it was exposed to a very low peak atmospheric dynamic pressure (∼0.6 MPa) due to a fortuitous combination of entry parameters, notably low velocity (13.9 km s −1 ). A near‐catastrophic fragmentation at ∼0.07 MPa points to the body's fragility. Low entry speeds which cause low peak dynamic pressures are likely necessary conditions for a small carbonaceous meteoroid to survive atmospheric entry, strongly constraining the radiant direction to the general antapex direction. Orbital integrations show that the meteoroid was injected into the near‐Earth region ∼0.08 Myr ago and it never had a perihelion distance smaller than ∼0.7 AU, while other CM2 meteorites with known orbits approached the Sun closer (∼0.5 AU) and were heated to at least 100 K higher temperatures.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Atmospheric methane (CH4) is the second-most-important anthropogenic greenhouse gas and has a 20-year global warming potential 82 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2). Anthropogenic sources ...account for ∼ 60 % of global CH4 emissions, of which 20 % come from oil and gas exploration, production and distribution. High-resolution satellite-based imaging spectrometers are becoming important tools for detecting and monitoring CH4 point source emissions, aiding mitigation. However, validation of these satellite measurements, such as those from the commercial GHGSat satellite constellation, has so far not been documented for active leaks. Here we present the monitoring and quantification, by GHGSat's satellites, of the CH4 emissions from an active gas leak from a downstream natural gas distribution pipeline near Cheltenham, UK, in the spring and summer of 2023 and provide the first validation of the satellite-derived emission estimates using surface-based mobile greenhouse gas surveys. We also use a Lagrangian transport model, the UK Met Office's Numerical Atmospheric-dispersion Modelling Environment (NAME), to estimate the flux from both satellite- and ground-based observation methods and assess the leak's contribution to observed concentrations at a local tall tower site (30 km away). We find GHGSat's emission estimates to be in broad agreement with those made from the in situ measurements. During the study period (March–June 2023) GHGSat's emission estimates are 236–1357 kg CH4 h−1, whereas the mobile surface measurements are 634–846 kg CH4 h−1. The large variability is likely down to variations in flow through the pipe and engineering works across the 11-week period. Modelled flux estimates in NAME are 181–1243 kg CH4 h−1, which are lower than the satellite- and mobile-survey-derived fluxes but are within the uncertainty. After detecting the leak in March 2023, the local utility company was contacted, and the leak was fixed by mid-June 2023. Our results demonstrate that GHGSat's observations can produce flux estimates that broadly agree with surface-based mobile measurements. Validating the accuracy of the information provided by targeted, high-resolution satellite monitoring shows how it can play an important role in identifying emission sources, including unplanned fugitive releases that are inherently challenging to identify, track, and estimate their impact and duration. Rapid, widespread access to such data to inform local action to address fugitive emission sources across the oil and gas supply chain could play a significant role in reducing anthropogenic contributions to climate change.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Atmospheric methane (CH4) concentrations have more than doubled since the beginning of the industrial age, making CH4 the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide ...(CO2). The oil and gas sector represents one of the major anthropogenic CH4 emitters as it is estimated to account for 22 % of global anthropogenic CH4 emissions. An airborne field campaign was conducted in April–May 2019 to study CH4 emissions from offshore gas facilities in the southern North Sea with the aim of deriving emission estimates using a top-down (measurement-led) approach. We present CH4 fluxes for six UK and five Dutch offshore platforms or platform complexes using the well-established mass balance flux method. We identify specific gas production emissions and emission processes (venting and fugitive or flaring and combustion) using observations of co-emitted ethane (C2H6) and CO2. We compare our top-down estimated fluxes with a ship-based top-down study in the Dutch sector and with bottom-up estimates from a globally gridded annual inventory, UK national annual point-source inventories, and operator-based reporting for individual Dutch facilities. In this study, we find that all the inventories, except for the operator-based facility-level reporting, underestimate measured emissions, with the largest discrepancy observed with the globally gridded inventory. Individual facility reporting, as available for Dutch sites for the specific survey date, shows better agreement with our measurement-based estimates. For all the sampled Dutch installations together, we find that our estimated flux of (122.9 ± 36.8) kg h−1 deviates by a factor of 0.64 (0.33–12) from reported values (192.8 kg h−1). Comparisons with aircraft observations in two other offshore regions (the Norwegian Sea and the Gulf of Mexico) show that measured, absolute facility-level emission rates agree with the general distribution found in other offshore basins despite different production types (oil, gas) and gas production rates, which vary by 2 orders of magnitude. Therefore, mitigation is warranted equally across geographies.
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