Abstract
Cancer surveillance is critical for monitoring the burden of cancer and the progress in cancer control. The accuracy of these data is important for decision makers and others who determine ...resource allocation for cancer prevention and research. In the United States, cancer registration is conducted according to uniform data standards, which are updated and maintained by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. Underlying cancer registration efforts is a firm commitment to ensure that data are accurate, complete, and reflective of current clinical practices. Cancer registries ultimately depend on medical records that are generated for individual patients by clinicians to record newly diagnosed cases. For the cancer registration of brain and other CNS tumors, the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States is the self-appointed guardian of these data. In 2017, the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States took the initiative to promote the inclusion of molecular markers found in the 2016 WHO Classification of Tumours of the Central Nervous System into information collected by cancer registries. The complexities of executing this latest objective are presented according to the cancer registry standard-setting organizations whose collection practices for CNS tumors are directly affected.
To explore the relationship between sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and behavioral problems among inner-city children with asthma.
We examined data for 194 children (aged 4-10 years) who were ...enrolled in a school-based asthma intervention program (response rate: 72%). SDB was assessed by using the Sleep-Related Breathing Disorder Questionnaire that contains 3 subscales: snoring, sleepiness, and attention/hyperactivity. For the current study, we modified the Sleep-Related Breathing Disorder Questionnaire by removing the 6 attention/hyperactivity items. A sleep score of >0.33 was considered indicative of SDB. To assess behavior, caregivers completed the Behavior Problem Index (BPI), which includes 8 behavioral subdomains. We conducted bivariate analyses and multiple linear regression to determine the association of SDB with BPI scores.
The majority of children (mean age: 8.2 years) were male (56%), black (66%), and insured by Medicaid (73%). Overall, 33% of the children experienced SDB. In bivariate analyses, children with SDB had significantly higher (worse) behavior scores compared with children without SDB on total BPI (13.7 vs 8.8) and the subdomains externalizing (9.4 vs 6.3), internalizing (4.4 vs 2.5), anxious/depressed (2.4 vs 1.3), headstrong (3.2 vs 2.1), antisocial (2.3 vs 1.7), hyperactive (3.0 vs 1.8), peer conflict (0.74 vs 0.43), and immature (2.0 vs 1.5). In multiple regression models adjusting for several important covariates, SDB remained significantly associated with total BPI scores and externalizing, internalizing, anxious/depressed, headstrong, and hyperactive behaviors. Results were consistent across SDB subscales (snoring, sleepiness).
We found that poor sleep was independently associated with behavior problems in a large proportion of urban children with asthma. Systematic screening for SDB in this high-risk population might help to identify children who would benefit from additional intervention.
Quantum physics concerns the physical theories that explain the nuclear world, specifically nature at its smallest scales of energy levels of atoms and subatomic particles. Although it may appear ...perplexing as to why we invoke quantum physics in our editorial statement, the work of Karen Barad (feminist theorist with roots in theoretical physics) is influencing the field of literacy research.
With this theme of “expanding landscapes,” we re-turn (see our editorial statement in Volume 50, Number 1) and examine editorial statements written by our predecessors to help us understand how ...literacy has been defined and conceptualized since the inception of our journal in 1969.The articles in this issue exemplify the complex ways in which literacy is examined in the field today.
BACKGROUND: A recent review concluded that there was inadequate evidence to show a difference between buffy coat (BC) and platelet (PLT)‐rich plasma (PRP) PLT concentrates prepared from whole blood. ...We hypothesized that 7‐day‐stored BC‐PLTs would have superior autologous recoveries and survivals compared to PRP‐PLTs and that both would meet the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) criteria for poststorage viability.
STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a randomized, crossover study design in healthy subjects who provided informed consent. Each participant donated a unit of whole blood on two occasions. In random order, either BC‐PLTs or PC‐PLTs were prepared after a 20 ± 2°C overnight hold of the whole blood. PLTs were stored under standard conditions. On Day 7, fresh PLTs were prepared from 43 mL of autologous whole blood. The fresh PLTs paired with either BC‐PLTs or PRP‐PLTs were alternately labeled with 111In or 51Cr and simultaneously reinfused to determine recoveries and survivals. In vitro assays were performed on Days 1 and 7.
RESULTS: Fourteen subjects completed the study at two sites. No differences in poststorage PLT viabilities were observed between BC‐PLTs and PRP‐PLTs; recovery differences averaged 3.7 ± 2.4% (±SE, p = 0.15) and survival differences averaged 0.48 ± 0.56 days (p = 0.41). Neither type of PLTs met the current FDA criteria for either poststorage PLT recoveries or survivals.
CONCLUSION: We were unable to demonstrate that single‐unit BC‐PLTs stored for 7 days have superior poststorage viability compared to PRP‐PLTs. Failure to meet the minimum FDA criteria for poststorage PLT viability raises questions regarding the acceptance thresholds of these metrics.
Previous studies have suggested a relationship between childhood asthma and behavior problems. However, few studies have used community-based samples to assess the prevalence of behavior problems ...among urban children with asthma symptoms. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between asthma symptoms and behavior among a population-based sample of inner-city children and to determine the prevalence of behavioral comorbidity among children with asthma symptoms.
In 2003, parents of children who were entering kindergarten in the city of Rochester completed a detailed survey regarding the child's background, medical history (with specific questions about asthma symptoms), and behavior. We compared children with no asthma symptoms, intermittent symptoms, and persistent symptoms with regard to positive peer social skills (eg, makes friends easily), negative peer social skills (eg, fights with other children), task orientation (eg, concentrates well), and shy/anxious behavior (eg, is withdrawn) (validated scales; range: 1-4). We used multivariate regression to determine the independent association between symptom severity and behavioral outcomes.
A total of 1619 children were included (response rate: 80%; mean age: 5.1 year), and 15% had asthma symptoms (8% persistent, 7% intermittent). Average negative peer scores were worse for children with persistent asthma symptoms compared with children with intermittent and no symptoms (mean scores: 1.88, 1.70, and 1.65). Children with persistent symptoms also scored worse than children with no symptoms on the assessment of task orientation (2.85 vs 3.03) and shy/anxious behavior (2.11 vs 1.89). Among children with persistent asthma symptoms, >20% scored >1 SD below average on 2 or more scales, compared with 16% of children with intermittent symptoms and 10% with no symptoms.
Urban children with persistent asthma symptoms demonstrate more behavior problems across several domains compared with children with no symptoms. These findings suggest a clear need for an early biopsychosocial approach to care for vulnerable children with asthma.
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