In the past decades, it has been increasingly recognized that some areas of science, such as anthropology, have been plagued by racist, Western-centric, and/or sexist biases. Unfortunately, an ...acculturation process to racism and sexism has been occurring for generations leading to systemic inequities that will take a long time to disappear. Here, we highlight the existence of current examples of racism, Western-centrism and sexism within: (1) the most popular anatomical atlases used in biological, anthropological and medical education; (2) prominent natural history museums and World Heritage Sites; (3) biological and anthropological scientific research publications; and (4) popular culture and influential children's books and educational materials concerning human biology and evolution.
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an immunogenic but aggressive skin cancer. Even after complete resection and radiation, relapse rates are high. PD-1 and PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors showed clinical ...benefit in advanced MCC. We aimed to assess efficacy and safety of adjuvant immune checkpoint inhibition in completely resected MCC (ie, a setting without an established systemic standard-of-care treatment).
In this multicentre phase 2 trial, patients (any stage, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0–1) at 20 academic medical centres in Germany and the Netherlands with completely resected MCC lesions were randomly assigned 2:1 to receive nivolumab 480 mg every 4 weeks for 1 year, or observation, stratified by stage (American Joint Committee on Cancer stages 1–2 vs stages 3–4), age (<65 vs ≥65 years), and sex. Landmark disease-free survival (DFS) at 12 and 24 months was the primary endpoint, assessed in the intention-to-treat populations. Overall survival and safety were secondary endpoints. This planned interim analysis was triggered when the last-patient-in was followed up for more than 1 year. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02196961) and with the EU Clinical Trials Register (2013-000043-78).
Between Oct 1, 2014, and Aug 31, 2020, 179 patients were enrolled (116 65% stage 3–4, 122 68% ≥65 years, 111 62% male). Stratification factors (stage, age, sex) were balanced across the nivolumab (n=118) and internal control group (observation, n=61); adjuvant radiotherapy was more common in the control group. At a median follow-up of 24·3 months (IQR 19·2–33·4), median DFS was not reached (between-groups hazard ratio 0·58, 95% CI 0·30–1·12); DFS rates in the nivolumab group were 85% at 12 months and 84% at 24 months, and in the observation group were 77% at 12 months and 73% at 24 months. Overall survival results were not yet mature. Grade 3–4 adverse events occurred in 48 42% of 115 patients who received at least one dose of nivolumab and seven 11% of 61 patients in the observation group. No treatment-related deaths were reported.
Adjuvant therapy with nivolumab resulted in an absolute risk reduction of 9% (1-year DFS) and 10% (2-year DFS). The present interim analysis of ADMEC-O might suggest clinical use of nivolumab in this area of unmet medical need. However, overall survival events rates, with ten events in the active treatment group and six events in the half-the-size observation group, are not mature enough to draw conclusions. The explorative data of our trial support the continuation of ongoing, randomised trials in this area. ADMEC-O suggests that adjuvant immunotherapy is clinically feasible in this area of unmet medical need.
Bristol Myers Squibb.
Thesis (M.M.) -- Florida State University, 2004.
Advisor: Jayne Standley, Florida State University, School of Music. Title and description from thesis home page (viewed 9-24-04). Document formatted ...into pages; contains 40 pages. Includes biographical sketch. Includes bibliographical references.
This study offers insight into the roles anodic and cathodic processes play in electrochemically activated persulfate (EAP) and screens EAP as a viable technique for ciprofloxacin degradation in ...wastewater. Sulfate radical formation at a boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode and persulfate activation at a graphite cathode were experimentally elucidated using different electrolytes and electrochemical setups. Rapid ciprofloxacin transformation occurred via pseudo-first-order mechanisms with respect to ciprofloxacin in persulfate electrolyte, reaching 84% removal in 120 min using EAP. Transformation pathways were compared to those in nitrate and sulfate electrolytes. Ciprofloxacin removal rates in the electrochemical system were 88% and 33% faster in persulfate than nitrate and sulfate electrolytes, respectively. Total organic carbon removal rates were 93% and 48% faster in persulfate than nitrate and sulfate, respectively. Use of sulfate electrolyte resulted in removal rates 6–7 times faster than those in nitrate solution. Accelerated removal in sulfate was attributed to anodic sulfate radical formation, while enhanced removal in persulfate was associated with cathodic persulfate activation and nonradical persulfate activation at the BDD anode. Quenching experiments indicated both sulfate radicals and hydroxyl radicals contributed to degradation. Comparisons between platinum and graphite cathodes showed similar cathodic persulfate activation and ciprofloxacin degradation.
Aerosols impact climate, human health, and the chemistry of the atmosphere, and aerosol pH plays a major role in the physicochemical properties of the aerosol. However, there remains uncertainty as ...to whether aerosols are acidic, neutral, or basic. In this research, we show that the pH of freshly emitted (nascent) sea spray aerosols is significantly lower than that of sea water (approximately four pH units, with pH being a log scale value) and that smaller aerosol particles below 1 μm in diameter have pH values that are even lower. These measurements of nascent sea spray aerosol pH, performed in a unique ocean-atmosphere facility, provide convincing data to show that acidification occurs "across the interface" within minutes, when aerosols formed from ocean surface waters become airborne. We also show there is a correlation between aerosol acidity and dissolved carbon dioxide but no correlation with marine biology within the seawater. We discuss the mechanisms and contributing factors to this acidity and its implications on atmospheric chemistry.
The current study explored perceived barriers to redemption of fresh produce prescriptions among caregivers of pediatric patients who participated in a fruit and vegetable prescription program (FVPP) ...in Flint, Michigan.
The pediatric FVPP was grounded in Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), which suggests that behavior is explained by a three-stage, dynamic model between personal factors, environmental factors, and behavior. With self-efficacy central to behavior change, pediatrician issuance of a prescription for fruits and vegetables to every child at each office visit was designed to support fresh food access as well as self-efficacy to consume healthy foods.
Caregivers of pediatric patients (0-18 years) across three large pediatric clinics in Flint, Michigan that offered the identical FVPP.
The FVPP provided one $15 prescription to pediatric patients at each office visit. Prescriptions (valid for 90 days) were ordered via electronic medical records, printed on prescription paper, and redeemable for fresh produce at a downtown farmers’ market or local mobile market/food hub. The program was introduced to the first pediatric clinic, co-located with a farmers’ market, in 2016. It was expanded to two additional clinics in 2018 and 2021.
Barriers to prescription redemption were assessed through one qualitative question included in a caregiver survey that was designed to examine program effectiveness. Answers were then coded into discrete categories and analyzed.
A total of 496 caregivers completed surveys. Of those, 379 caregivers (76%) answered the question related to barriers to redemption. Although 265 reported no challenges with prescription redemption, 114 caregivers identified at least one barrier. Primary barriers across three clinics were lost, forgotten, or expired prescriptions (25%), transportation to or distance from farmers’ market (24%), and lack of time (23%). Differences in responses based on pediatric clinic location were also noted.
Results indicated several consistent barriers to prescription redemption that could be addressed to improve program utilization among participating families.
NIH
Adoption of health information technology (HIT) in nursing homes (NHs) improves quality of care. Although there is a robust body of research on HIT adoption, the closely related process of technology ...abandonment is not well understood. As NHs grow more reliant on HIT, problems of technology abandonment, defined as failure to scale up, spread, and sustain HIT need to be studied. Our objective is to describe HIT abandonment and its associations with organizational characteristics among a national sample of US NHs.
Longitudinal, retrospective analysis of data from 2 sources: HIT Maturity Survey and Staging model and public data from the Care Compare database.
Random sample of NHs (n = 299) representing each US state that completed the HIT maturity survey in 2 consecutive years: year 1 (Y1) was June 2019-August 2020 and year 2 (Y2) was June 2020-August 2021.
The primary dependent variable was technology abandonment, operationalized by using total HIT maturity score, HIT maturity stage, and subscale scores within each dimension/domain. Independent variables were NH organizational characteristics including bed size, type of ownership, urbanicity, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Five-Star Overall Rating and Staffing Rating.
Over the 2-year period, HIT abandonment occurred in 28% (n = 85) of NHs compared with 44% (n = 133) that experienced growth in HIT systems. HIT capabilities in resident care were abandoned most frequently. Using multivariable multinomial logistic regression, we found that large NHs (bed size greater than 120) were more likely to experience technology abandonment in administrative activities.
Technology abandonment can increase strain on scarce resources and may impact administrators' ability to oversee clinical operations, especially in large NHs. This study contributes to the limited understanding of technology abandonment and can serve as a building block for others working to ensure limited resources are used effectively to improve care for NH residents.
MPING Elmore, Kimberly L.; Flamig, Z. L.; Lakshmanan, V. ...
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society,
09/2014, Volume:
95, Issue:
9
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The Weather Service Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) network within the United States has recently been upgraded to include dual-polarization capability. Among the expectations that have resulted from ...the upgrade is the ability to discriminate between different precipitation types in winter precipitation events. To know how well any such algorithm performs and whether new algorithms are an improvement, observations of winter precipitation type are needed. Unfortunately, the automated observing systems cannot discriminate between some of the more important types. Thus, human observers are needed. Yet, to deploy dedicated human observers is impractical because the knowledge needed to identify the various precipitation types is common among the public. To most efficiently gather such observations would require the public to be engaged as citizen scientists using a very simple, convenient, nonintrusive method. To achieve this, a simple “app” called mobile Precipitation Identification Near the Ground (mPING) was developed to run on “smart” phones or, more generically, web-enabled devices with GPS location capabilities. Using mPING, anyone with a smartphone can pass observations to researchers at no additional cost to their phone service or to the research project. Deployed in mid-December 2012, mPING has proven to be not only very popular, but also capable of providing consistent, accurate observational data.
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