Association of High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin I Concentration With Cardiac Outcomes in Patients With Suspected Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Importance: High-sensitivity cardiac troponin I testing is widely used to evaluate patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome. A cardiac troponin concentration of less than 5 ng/L identifies patients at presentation as low risk, but the optimal threshold is uncertain.

Objective: To evaluate the performance of a cardiac troponin I threshold of 5 ng/L at presentation as a risk stratification tool in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome.

Outcome of pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoblastic lymphoma with hypersensitivity to pegaspargase treated with PEGylated Erwinia asparaginase, pegcrisantaspase: A report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Background: Erwinia asparaginase is a Food and Drug Administration approved agent for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) for patients who develop hypersensitivity to Escherichia coli derived asparaginases. Erwinia asparaginase is efficacious, but has a short half-life, requiring six doses to replace one dose of the most commonly used first-line asparaginase, pegaspargase, a polyethylene glycol (PEG) conjugated E. coli asparaginase.

Microbial contamination of open-but-unused portions of wound dressings stored in home settings.

The purpose of this study was to investigate incidence rates and levels of microbial contamination in open-but-unused portions of wound dressings stored in home settings. Portions of wound dressings were collected at up to four home visits for 104 clients undertaking wound management within their home. A control sample and stored sample was collected on each home visit and sent for pathology testing to identify levels of microbial contamination.

Reflectance calculations of anisotropic dielectric constants of graphene-like two-dimensional materials.

A new optical method for determining anisotropic dielectric constants of graphene-like two-dimensional materials on semiconductor or metal substrates is developed. The method is based on the surface differential reflectance measurements at three different incident angles. The inversion problem is resolved analytically in a long-wavelength approximation, where graphene is discussed within the framework of macroscopic electrodynamics as a uniaxially anisotropic film with the optical axis perpendicular to the film surface.

The role of the ER stress-response protein PERK in rhodopsin retinitis pigmentosa.

Mutations in rhodopsin, the light-sensitive protein of rod cells, are the most common cause of dominant retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a type of inherited blindness caused by the dysfunction and death of photoreceptor cells. The P23H mutation, the most frequent single cause of RP in the USA, causes rhodopsin misfolding and induction of the unfolded protein response (UPR), an adaptive ER stress response and signalling network that aims to enhance the folding and degradation of misfolded proteins to restore proteostasis. Prolonged UPR activation, and in particular the PERK branch, can reduce protein synthesis and initiate cell death through induction of pro-apoptotic pathways.

Differences in relative and absolute effectiveness of oral P2Y inhibition in men and women: a meta-analysis and modelling study.

Objective: To estimate the absolute treatment effects of newer P2Y inhibitors (ticagrelor and prasugrel) compared with clopidogrel in men and women with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods: We searched Ovid MEDLINE, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for randomised controlled trials of oral P2Y inhibitors for acute stroke or ACS. Age-specific and sex-specific mortality was obtained for all patients admitted to hospital with myocardial infarction in Scotland from 2006 to 2010 (prior to introduction of prasugrel or ticagrelor).

The Utility of a Wireless Implantable Hemodynamic Monitoring System in Patients Requiring Mechanical Circulatory Support.

Proper timing of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation in advanced heart failure patients is not well established and is an area of intense interest. In addition, optimizing LVAD performance after implantation remains difficult and represents a significant clinical need. Implantable hemodynamic monitoring systems may provide physicians with the physiologic information necessary to improve the timing of LVAD implantation as well as LVAD performance when compared with current methods.

Proteomic analysis of influenza haemagglutinin-specific antibodies following vaccination reveals convergent immunoglobulin variable region signatures.

Analysis of the anti-haemagglutinin serum antibody proteome from six H1N1pdm09 influenza A vaccinated subjects demonstrated restricted IgG1 heavy chain species encoded by IGHV5-51 and IGHV3-7 gene families in 2 subjects and either IGHV5-51 or IGHV3-7 in 4 individuals. All subjects exhibited a dominant IGKV3-20 light chain, however 5 subjects also exhibited IGKV3-11 and IGKV4-1 families. Sequences were closely aligned with the matched germline sequence, with few shared mutations.

Diagnostic and prognostic benefits of computed tomography coronary angiography using the 2016 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance within a randomised trial.

Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic benefits of CT coronary angiography (CTCA) using the 2016 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines for the assessment of suspected stable angina.

Methods: Post hoc analysis of the Scottish COmputed Tomography of the HEART (SCOT-HEART) trial of 4146 participants with suspected angina randomised to CTCA. Patients were dichotomised into NICE guideline-defined possible angina and non-anginal presentations.

Targeting ALK With Crizotinib in Pediatric Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma and Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor: A Children's Oncology Group Study.

Purpose Fusions involving the ALK gene are the predominant genetic lesion underlying pediatric anaplastic large cell lymphomas (ALCL) and inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs). We assessed the activity of the ALK inhibitor crizotinib in patients who had no known curative treatment options at diagnosis or with relapsed/recurrent disease. Methods In this study, 26 patients with relapsed/refractory ALK-positive ALCL and 14 patients with metastatic or inoperable ALK-positive IMT received crizotinib orally twice daily.

A Proinflammatory Function of Toll-Like Receptor 2 in the Retinal Pigment Epithelium as a Novel Target for Reducing Choroidal Neovascularization in Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Current treatments for choroidal neovascularization, a major cause of blindness for patients with age-related macular degeneration, treat symptoms but not the underlying causes of the disease. Inflammation has been strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of choroidal neovascularization. We examined the inflammatory role of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) in age-related macular degeneration.

Early clinical observations on the use of imatinib mesylate in FOP: A report of seven cases.

Background: Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is an ultrarare genetic disorder of progressive, disabling heterotopic ossification (HO) for which there is presently no definitive treatment. Research studies have identified multiple potential targets for therapy in FOP, and novel drug candidates are being developed for testing in clinical trials. A complementary approach seeks to identify approved drugs that could be re-purposed for off-label use against defined targets in FOP.

Psychology of the Facelift Patient.

This paper presents an extensive literature review of the psychology of facelift patients as it has evolved over the past 50 years. Earlier studies revealed significant levels of pre and perioperative depression. Facelift patients generally exhibit emotional and social concerns about facial appearance that are higher than the general population.

Dosing anticancer drugs in infants: Current approach and recommendations from the Children's Oncology Group's Chemotherapy Standardization Task Force.

An analysis of dose modifications for infants in 29 Children's Oncology Group protocols across 10 cancer types revealed 11 sets of criteria defining the infant population using age, weight, body surface area (BSA), or a combination of these parameters and eight dose modification methods. A new method of dosing anticancer drugs in infants was developed based on the rationale that prior modifications were implemented to reduce toxicity, which is not cancer-specific. The new method uses BSA dose banding in dosing tables for infants and children with a BSA <0.

Measurement of the Neutrino Mixing Angle θ_{23} in NOvA.

This Letter reports new results on muon neutrino disappearance from NOvA, using a 14 kton detector equivalent exposure of 6.05×10^{20} protons on target from the NuMI beam at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. The measurement probes the muon-tau symmetry hypothesis that requires maximal θ_{23} mixing (θ_{23}=π/4).

Target and Agent Prioritization for the Children's Oncology Group-National Cancer Institute Pediatric MATCH Trial.

Over the past decades, outcomes for children with cancer have improved dramatically through serial clinical trials based in large measure on dose intensification of cytotoxic chemotherapy for children with high-risk malignancies. Progress made through such dose intensification, in general, is no longer yielding further improvements in outcome. With the revolution in sequencing technologies and rapid development of drugs that block specific proteins and pathways, there is now an opportunity to improve outcomes for pediatric cancer patients through mutation-based targeted therapeutic strategies.

Endothelial MAPKs Direct ICAM-1 Signaling to Divergent Inflammatory Functions.

Lymphocyte transendothelial migration (TEM) is critically dependent on intraendothelial signaling triggered by adhesion to ICAM-1. Here we show that endothelial MAPKs ERK, p38, and JNK mediate diapedesis-related and diapedesis-unrelated functions of ICAM-1 in cerebral and dermal microvascular endothelial cells (MVECs). All three MAPKs were activated by ICAM-1 engagement, either through lymphocyte adhesion or Ab-mediated clustering.

Ambulatory Hemodynamic Monitoring Reduces Heart Failure Hospitalizations in "Real-World" Clinical Practice.

Background: In the CHAMPION (CardioMEMS Heart Sensor Allows Monitoring of Pressure to Improve Outcomes in New York Heart Association [NYHA] Functional Class III Heart Failure Patients) trial, heart failure hospitalization (HFH) rates were lower in patients managed with guidance from an implantable pulmonary artery pressure sensor compared with usual care.

Objectives: This study examined the effectiveness of ambulatory hemodynamic monitoring in reducing HFH outside of the clinical trial setting.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using U.