Ovarian metastases exfoliate from the primary tumor and it is thought that aggregation supports their survival in the peritoneal cavity during dissemination but the underlying mechanisms are not ...clearly identified. We have previously shown that ovarian cancer cells acquire an increasingly glycolytic and metabolic flexible phenotype during progression. In the present study, we investigated how hypoxia, aggregation, and the incorporation of the obese stromal vascular fraction (SVF) affect cellular metabolism and the response to common anti-cancer and anti-diabetic drugs. Our results show a reduction of glucose uptake, lactate secretion, cellular respiration and ATP synthesis in response to hypoxia and aggregation, suggesting that the observed reduced proliferation of cells aggregated into spheroids is the result of a down-regulation of respiration. Recruitment of SVF to spheroids increased the spheroids invasive capacity but reduced respiration only in the most aggressive cells. Further, aggregation and hypoxia reduced the response to the metabolic drugs AICAR and metformin, and the chemotherapeutic agents cisplatin and paclitaxel. Our results suggest that the adaptation of cellular metabolism may contribute to enhanced survival under non-permissive conditions, and that these metabolic alterations may provide targets for future interventions that aim to enhance the survival of women with metastatic ovarian cancer.
The Steps to a HealthierUS Cooperative Agreement Program (Steps Program) enables funded communities to implement chronic disease prevention and health promotion efforts to reduce the burden of ...diabetes, obesity, asthma, and related risk factors. At both the national and community levels, investment in surveillance and program evaluation is substantial. Public health practitioners engaged in program evaluation planning often identify desired outcomes, related indicators, and data collection methods but may pay only limited attention to an overarching vision for program evaluation among participating sites. We developed a set of foundational elements to provide a vision of program evaluation that informs the technical decisions made throughout the evaluation process. Given the diversity of activities across the Steps Program and the need for coordination between national- and community-level evaluation efforts, our recommendations to guide program evaluation practice are explicit yet leave room for site-specific context and needs. Staff across the Steps Program must consider these foundational elements to prepare a formal plan for program evaluation. Attention to each element moves the Steps Program closer to well-designed and complementary plans for program evaluation at the national, state, and community levels.
Purpose: To report a newly defined complication of foldable Intraocular lenses (IOLs), namely silicone oil-silicone IOL interaction. This is a complication not generally seen by the implanting ...cataract surgeon but, rather, at a later stage in a patient's postoperative course, by a vitreoretinal surgeon.
Methods: Three clinical case histories, including two explanted silicone IOLs, were submitted for analysis. The submitted silicone lenses were photographed under water, and the nature of the silicone oil coating was documented.
Results: In each instance, the silicone coating was manifest as a thick coating with droplet formation on the lens surface that was tenaciously adherent and could not be dislodged by instruments or injection of viscoelastics.
Conclusion: The use of silicone IOLs in patients with current vitreoretinal disease or those who are at high risk for future vitreoretinal disease that may require silicone oil as part of the therapy should be reconsidered. The authors recommend that information regarding the existence and significance of this complication be printed on all silicone oil and silicone IOL packages and inserts (if not as a warning, at least as an informative comment regarding the existence of this condition). This is a rare but clinically significant complication that will affect the occasional patient treated with both of these modalities.
Importance The overdose epidemic continues in the US, with 107 941 overdose deaths in 2022 and countless lives affected by the addiction crisis. Although widespread efforts to train and support ...physicians to implement medications and other evidence-based substance use disorder interventions have been ongoing, adoption of these evidence-based practices (EBPs) by physicians remains low. Objective To describe physician-reported reasons for reluctance to address substance use and addiction in their clinical practices using screening, treatment, harm reduction, or recovery support interventions. Data Sources A literature search of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, medRxiv , and SSRN Medical Research Network was conducted and returned articles published from January 1, 1960, through October 5, 2021. Study Selection Publications that included physicians, discussed substance use interventions, and presented data on reasons for reluctance to intervene in addiction were included. Data Extraction and Synthesis Two reviewers (L.N., M.C., L.F., J.P., C.S., and S.W.) independently reviewed each publication; a third reviewer resolved discordant votes (M.C. and W.C.). This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines and the theoretical domains framework was used to systematically extract reluctance reasons. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was reasons for physician reluctance to address substance use disorder. The association of reasons for reluctance with practice setting and drug type was also measured. Reasons and other variables were determined according to predefined criteria. Results A total of 183 of 9308 returned studies reporting data collected from 66 732 physicians were included. Most studies reported survey data. Alcohol, nicotine, and opioids were the most often studied substances; screening and treatment were the most often studied interventions. The most common reluctance reasons were lack of institutional support (173 of 213 articles 81.2%), knowledge (174 of 242 articles 71.9%), skill (170 of 230 articles 73.9%), and cognitive capacity (136 of 185 articles 73.5%). Reimbursement concerns were also noted. Bivariate analysis revealed associations between these reasons and physician specialty, intervention type, and drug. Conclusions and Relevance In this systematic review of reasons for physician reluctance to intervene in addiction, the most common reasons were lack of institutional support, knowledge, skill, and cognitive capacity. Targeting these reasons with education and training, policy development, and program implementation may improve adoption by physicians of EBPs for substance use and addiction care. Future studies of physician-reported reasons for reluctance to adopt EBPs may be improved through use of a theoretical framework and improved adherence to and reporting of survey development best practices; development of a validated survey instrument may further improve study results.
SNAPSHOT USA 2019 Cove, Michael V.; Bontrager, Helen; Bresnan, Claire ...
Ecology,
June 2021, Letnik:
102, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
With the accelerating pace of global change, it is imperative that we obtain rapid inventories of the status and distribution of wildlife for ecological inferences and conservation planning. To ...address this challenge, we launched the SNAPSHOT USA project, a collaborative survey of terrestrial wildlife populations using camera traps across the United States. For our first annual survey, we compiled data across all 50 states during a 14‐week period (17 August–24 November of 2019). We sampled wildlife at 1,509 camera trap sites from 110 camera trap arrays covering 12 different ecoregions across four development zones. This effort resulted in 166,036 unique detections of 83 species of mammals and 17 species of birds. All images were processed through the Smithsonian’s eMammal camera trap data repository and included an expert review phase to ensure taxonomic accuracy of data, resulting in each picture being reviewed at least twice. The results represent a timely and standardized camera trap survey of the United States. All of the 2019 survey data are made available herein. We are currently repeating surveys in fall 2020, opening up the opportunity to other institutions and cooperators to expand coverage of all the urban–wild gradients and ecophysiographic regions of the country. Future data will be available as the database is updated at eMammal.si.edu/snapshot‐usa, as will future data paper submissions. These data will be useful for local and macroecological research including the examination of community assembly, effects of environmental and anthropogenic landscape variables, effects of fragmentation and extinction debt dynamics, as well as species‐specific population dynamics and conservation action plans. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this paper when using the data for publication.
INTRODUCTION
We tested the association of brain artery diameters with dementia and stroke risk in three distinct population‐based studies using conventional T2‐weighted brain magnetic resonance ...imaging (MRI) images.
METHODS
We included 8420 adults > 40 years old from three longitudinal population‐based studies with brain MRI scans. We estimated and meta‐analyzed the hazard ratios (HRs) of the brain and carotids and basilar diameters associated with dementia and stroke.
RESULT
Overall and carotid artery diameters > 95th percentile increased the risk for dementia by 1.74 (95% confidence interval CI, 1.13–2.68) and 1.48 (95% CI, 1.12–1.96) fold, respectively. For stroke, meta‐analyses yielded HRs of 1.59 (95% CI, 1.04–2.42) for overall arteries and 2.11 (95% CI, 1.45–3.08) for basilar artery diameters > 95th percentile.
DISCUSSION
Individuals with dilated brain arteries are at higher risk for dementia and stroke, across distinct populations. Our findings underline the potential value of T2‐weighted brain MRI‐based brain diameter assessment in estimating the risk of dementia and stroke.
SNAPSHOT USA is a multicontributor, long‐term camera trap survey designed to survey mammals across the United States. Participants are recruited through community networks and directly through a ...website application (https://www.snapshot-usa.org/). The growing Snapshot dataset is useful, for example, for tracking wildlife population responses to land use, land cover, and climate changes across spatial and temporal scales. Here we present the SNAPSHOT USA 2021 dataset, the third national camera trap survey across the US. Data were collected across 109 camera trap arrays and included 1711 camera sites. The total effort equaled 71,519 camera trap nights and resulted in 172,507 sequences of animal observations. Sampling effort varied among camera trap arrays, with a minimum of 126 camera trap nights, a maximum of 3355 nights, a median 546 nights, and a mean 656 ± 431 nights. This third dataset comprises 51 camera trap arrays that were surveyed during 2019, 2020, and 2021, along with 71 camera trap arrays that were surveyed in 2020 and 2021. All raw data and accompanying metadata are stored on Wildlife Insights (https://www.wildlifeinsights.org/), and are publicly available upon acceptance of the data papers. SNAPSHOT USA aims to sample multiple ecoregions in the United States with adequate representation of each ecoregion according to its relative size. Currently, the relative density of camera trap arrays varies by an order of magnitude for the various ecoregions (0.22–5.9 arrays per 100,000 km2), emphasizing the need to increase sampling effort by further recruiting and retaining contributors. There are no copyright restrictions on these data. We request that authors cite this paper when using these data, or a subset of these data, for publication. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.
Background
It is unclear whether brain artery diameters measured on conventional T2‐weighted brain MRI images relate to dementia and stroke outcomes across distinct populations. We aimed this study ...to evaluate the association of T2‐weighted brain artery luminal diameters with dementia and stroke in three distinct population‐based studies.
Methods
Three longitudinal population‐based studies with 8420 adults >40 years old (Northern Manhattan Study NOMAS from the United States, and the Rotterdam Study RS, from the Netherlands, and Three‐City, from France) with brain MRI scans obtained between 1999 and 2015. The median follow‐up time for clinical events ranged between 7 and 12.5 years. We tested our hypothesis in each cohort separately due to local data‐sharing regulations. The exposure variable was brain carotid and basilar artery luminal diameters measured on MRI axial T2‐weighted scans. Multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) expressed the risk of dementia and stroke (primary outcomes) associated with the lowest (<5th) and highest (>95th) percentiles of the rank‐normalized brain artery diameters compared to a reference group defined as the diameters distributed between the 5th and 95th percentiles. Secondary outcomes included total and vascular mortality, and fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular and coronary end points.
Results
Among the three cohorts (mean age ranged from 65 to 73 y, ≥57% women), 335 participants developed dementia and 331 strokes. Compared with the reference group, participants with arterial diameters >95th percentile had a higher risk of dementia (HR range 1.15‐4.50) and any stroke (HR range 1.29‐2.03). For secondary outcomes, participants with arterial diameters >95th percentile had a consistent higher risk of coronary outcomes, vascular mortality and a composite of any vascular events. The results were less supportive of a higher risk of events among participants with arterial diameters <5th percentile except for vascular mortality.
Conclusions
Individuals with dilated brain arteries are at higher risk of dementia and vascular events. Our findings were consistency across distinct populations in spite of using a non‐enhanced, conventional T2‐weighted MRI sequence. Understanding the underlying physiopathology of the reported associations, particularly with dementia and stroke, might reveal novel vascular contributions to dementia
Managing wildlife populations in the face of global change requires regular data on the abundance and distribution of wild animals, but acquiring these over appropriate spatial scales in a ...sustainable way has proven challenging. Here we present the data from Snapshot USA 2020, a second annual national mammal survey of the USA. This project involved 152 scientists setting camera traps in a standardized protocol at 1485 locations across 103 arrays in 43 states for a total of 52,710 trap‐nights of survey effort. Most (58) of these arrays were also sampled during the same months (September and October) in 2019, providing a direct comparison of animal populations in 2 years that includes data from both during and before the COVID‐19 pandemic. All data were managed by the eMammal system, with all species identifications checked by at least two reviewers. In total, we recorded 117,415 detections of 78 species of wild mammals, 9236 detections of at least 43 species of birds, 15,851 detections of six domestic animals and 23,825 detections of humans or their vehicles. Spatial differences across arrays explained more variation in the relative abundance than temporal variation across years for all 38 species modeled, although there are examples of significant site‐level differences among years for many species. Temporal results show how species allocate their time and can be used to study species interactions, including between humans and wildlife. These data provide a snapshot of the mammal community of the USA for 2020 and will be useful for exploring the drivers of spatial and temporal changes in relative abundance and distribution, and the impacts of species interactions on daily activity patterns. There are no copyright restrictions, and please cite this paper when using these data, or a subset of these data, for publication.
We explored health professionals' views on the utility of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing in hereditary cancer syndrome (HCS) management.
A qualitative interpretive description study was ...conducted, using semi-structured interviews with professionals across Canada. Thematic analysis employing constant comparison was used for analysis. 2 investigators coded each transcript. Differences were reconciled through discussion and the codebook was modified as new codes and themes emerged from the data.
Thirty-five professionals participated and included genetic counselors (n = 12), geneticists (n = 9), oncologists (n = 4), family doctors (n = 3), lab directors and scientists (n = 3), a health-system decision maker, a surgeon, a pathologist, and a nurse. Professionals described ctDNA as "transformative" and a "game-changer". However, they were divided on its use in HCS management, with some being optimistic (optimists) while others were hesitant (pessimists). Differences were driven by views on 3 factors: (1) clinical utility, (2) ctDNA's role in cancer screening, and (3) ctDNA's invasiveness. Optimists anticipated ctDNA testing would have clinical utility for HCS patients, its role would be akin to a diagnostic test and would be less invasive than standard screening (eg imaging). Pessimistic participants felt ctDNA testing would add limited utility; it would effectively be another screening test in the pathway, likely triggering additional investigations downstream, thereby increasing invasiveness.
Providers anticipated ctDNA testing will transform early cancer detection for HCS families. However, the contrasting positions on ctDNA's role in the care pathway raise potential practice variations, highlighting a need to develop evidence to support clinical implementation and guidelines to standardize adoption.