Survival outcomes in pediatric patients with metastatic Ewing sarcoma who achieve a rapid complete response of pulmonary metastases.

Purpose: Our objectives were to compare overall survival (OS) and pulmonary relapse between patients with metastatic Ewing sarcoma (EWS) at diagnosis who achieve rapid complete response (RCR) and those with residual pulmonary nodules after induction chemotherapy (non-RCR).

Patients And Methods: This retrospective cohort study included children under 20 years with metastatic EWS treated from 2007 to 2020 at 19 institutions in the Pediatric Surgical Oncology Research Collaborative. Chi-square tests were conducted for differences among groups.

Baseline Serum Biomarkers of Inflammation and Subsequent Visit-to-Visit Blood Pressure Variability: A Post Hoc Analysis of MESA.

Background: Higher blood pressure variability (BPV) is associated with the development of major vascular diseases, independent of mean blood pressure. However, despite data indicating that serum inflammatory markers are linked to hypertension, the association between serum inflammatory markers and BPV has not been studied in humans.

Methods: This is a post hoc analysis of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) study.

Mycosis fungoides-derived exosomes promote cell motility and are enriched with microRNA-155 and microRNA-1246, and their plasma-cell-free expression may serve as a potential biomarker for disease burden.

Background: Literature regarding exosomes as mediators in intercellular communication to promote progression in mycosis fungoides (MF) is lacking.

Objectives: To characterize MF-derived exosomes and their involvement in the disease.

Methods: Exosomes were isolated by ultracentrifugation from cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) cell lines, and from plasma of patients with MF and controls (healthy individuals).

Diagnostic Test Characteristics of Ultrasound Based Hydronephrosis in Identifying Low Kidney Function in Young Patients with Spina Bifida: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: Kidney dysfunction in spina bifida is usually detected by low estimated glomerular filtration rate or ultrasound based hydronephrosis. We assessed the diagnostic test characteristics of hydronephrosis for detecting low estimated glomerular filtration rate, hypothesizing that hydronephrosis has low sensitivity compared to cystatin C based estimated glomerular filtration rate.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a single center, retrospective cohort study, including patients with spina bifida from 2012-2017 with 2 kidneys and complete data needed to calculate estimated glomerular filtration rate via multiple pediatric (age 1-17.

Estimated kidney function in children and young adults with spina bifida: A retrospective cohort study.

Aims: Current estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) equations may be inaccurate in patients with spina bifida (SB) because of reduced muscle mass and stature. Cross-sectional and longitudinal variability of eGFR were analyzed in these patients across multiple equations, hypothesizing greater variability in creatinine-based than cystatin-C (Cys-C)-based equations.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included children (age, 1-17.

Gray Matter Correlates of Creativity in Musical Improvisation.

Creativity has been defined as requiring both novelty and effectiveness, but little is known about how this standard definition applies in music. Here, we present results from a pilot study in which we combine behavioral testing in musical improvisation and structural neuroimaging to relate brain structure to performance in a creative musical improvisation task. Thirty-eight subjects completed a novel improvisation continuation task and underwent T1 MRI.

Midterm Results of the Ponseti Method for Treatment of Clubfoot in Patients With Spina Bifida.

Background: Clubfoot occurs in 30% to 50% of patients with spina bifida. The Ponseti casting method has changed treatment of idiopathic clubfoot to a primarily nonoperative regimen. The Ponseti method is now widely applied to clubfoot in spina bifida, however, few studies report treatment outcomes.

Jazz musicians reveal role of expectancy in human creativity.

Creativity has been defined as the ability to produce work that is novel, high in quality, and appropriate to an audience. While the nature of the creative process is under debate, many believe that creativity relies on real-time combinations of known neural and cognitive processes. One useful model of creativity comes from musical improvisation, such as in jazz, in which musicians spontaneously create novel sound sequences.

Unmanned aerial mass spectrometer systems for in-situ volcanic plume analysis.

Technology advances in the field of small, unmanned aerial vehicles and their integration with a variety of sensor packages and instruments, such as miniature mass spectrometers, have enhanced the possibilities and applications of what are now called unmanned aerial systems (UAS). With such technology, in situ and proximal remote sensing measurements of volcanic plumes are now possible without risking the lives of scientists and personnel in charge of close monitoring of volcanic activity. These methods provide unprecedented, and otherwise unobtainable, data very close in space and time to eruptions, to better understand the role of gas volatiles in magma and subsequent eruption products.

Three-dimensional concentration mapping of gases using a portable mass spectrometer system.

The visualization of hazardous gaseous emissions at volcanoes using in-situ mass spectrometry (MS) is a key step towards a better comprehension of the geophysical phenomena surrounding eruptive activity. In-situ data consisting of helium, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and other gas species, were acquired with a quadrupole based MS system. Global position systems (GPS) and MS data were plotted on ground imagery, topography, and remote sensing data collected by a host of instruments during the second Costa Rica Airborne Research and Technology Applications (CARTA) mission.

Interaction of daptomycin with two recombinant thromboplastin reagents leads to falsely prolonged patient prothrombin time/International Normalized Ratio results.

A cluster of patients experiencing elevations of International Normalized Ratio without clinical bleeding in temporal association with daptomycin therapy was identified during postmarketing safety surveillance. A common element was the thromboplastin reagent used for the laboratory assay. The present study evaluated the effect of daptomycin on measured prothrombin time using commercially available thromboplastin reagent kits commonly used in the United States.

Collision induced ion ejection in an FTICR trapped-ion cell.

A collision algorithm was used with SimIon to evaluate collision-mediated ion ejection mechanisms in the ICR MS experiment. These mechanisms were characterized based on kinetic energy, ion mass, applied trapping potential, and collision gas mass. It was found that there are three collision-based energy regimes for ion loss from a trapped-ion cell.

Evaluation of small mass spectrometer systems for permanent gas analysis.

This work is aimed at understanding the aspects of designing a miniature mass spectrometer (MS) system. Several types of small MS systems are evaluated and discussed, including linear quadrupole, quadrupole ion trap, time of flight, and sector. Analysis of hydrogen, helium, oxygen, and argon in a nitrogen background with the concentrations of the components of interest ranging from 0 to 5000 parts per million (ppm).

Central ring electrode for trapping and excitation/detection in Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

The use of a central trapping ring electrode for Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometry is demonstrated. Ions are trapped with an oppositely biased static potential superimposed on both the excite and detect electrodes and maintained throughout the experiment, including the application of a dipolar rf excite waveform and the image current ion detection event. The use of a central trapping electrode for FTICR coupled with an open cell design retains the advantages of high ion throughput and gas conductance, while simplifying the electrode geometry and reducing the overall dimensions of the cell.

Application of simultaneous excitation/detection to generate real-time excitation profiles in fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

Simultaneous excitation/detection (SED), which permits observation of ion motion during an excitation event, is used to generate real-time Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) excitation profiles that track the radial extent of ion motion in a trapped-ion cell. The conventional FTICR excitation profile is collected in a series of individual experiments in which peak magnitude is monitored as excitation voltage is increased. In contrast, SED permits the single-scan detection of ion cyclotron motion within the trapped-ion cell and consequently yields the data that produces a real-time excitation profile.

Instrumentation and methodology for simultaneous excitation/detection of ions in an FTICR mass spectrometer.

A method for direct and continuous detection of ion motion during different perturbation events of the fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) experiment is demonstrated. The modifications necessary to convert an ordinary FTICR cell into one capable of performing simultaneous excitation/detection (SED) using a capacitive network are outlined. With these modifications, a 200-fold reduction in the detection of the coupled excitation signal is achieved.

Magnetic field focused ion accumulation for an internal bore liquid chromatography electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer using a central trapping electrode.

Presented is the application and evaluation of a magnetic field focusing central trapping electrode ion accumulation cell for a capillary liquid chromatography electrospray Fourier transform ion cyclotron (LC-ESI/FTICR) mass spectrometer. The ESI source and accumulation cell are located within the magnetic field to confine the radial motion of the ions, eliminating the need for elaborate focusing optics to transport the ions to the low-pressure analyzer cell for analysis. The central trapping electrode accumulation cell increases sensitivity by providing the necessary potential well in a confined volume to capture ions currently lost during the detection event of LC/FTICR experiments.

College of American Pathologists Conference XXXI on laboratory monitoring of anticoagulant therapy: laboratory monitoring of unfractionated heparin therapy.

Objective: To review the state of the art as reflected in the medical literature and the consensus opinion of recognized experts in the field regarding the laboratory monitoring of unfractionated heparin therapy.

Data Sources, Extraction And Synthesis: The authors made an extensive review of the literature. The draft manuscript was circulated to every participant in the consensus conference prior to the convening of the conference.

Dose-intensive melphalan with blood stem-cell support for the treatment of AL (amyloid light-chain) amyloidosis: survival and responses in 25 patients.

AL (amyloid light-chain) amyloidosis is an uncommon plasma cell disorder in which depositions of amyloid light-chain protein cause progressive organ failure and death in a median of 13 months. Autologous stem-cell transplantation is effective therapy for multiple myeloma and therefore, we evaluated its efficacy for AL amyloidosis. Patients with adequate cardiac, pulmonary, and renal function had stem cells mobilized with granulocyte-colony stimulating factor and were treated with dose-intensive intravenous melphalan (200 mg/m2).

Effect of anticoagulation protocol on outcome in patients undergoing CABG with heparin-bonded cardiopulmonary bypass circuits.

Background: We have demonstrated that the use of heparin-bonded cardiopulmonary bypass circuits (HBCs) combined with a lower anticoagulation protocol as an adjunct to an integrated blood conservation strategy decreases the incidence and magnitude of homologous transfusion and improves clinical outcome in patients undergoing primary coronary artery bypass grafting. It is not known whether it is the lower anticoagulation protocol that influences outcome in patients treated with HBCs. Furthermore, the thrombogenic risk of using lower anticoagulation with HBCs still is debated.

The preoperative bleeding time test lacks clinical benefit: College of American Pathologists' and American Society of Clinical Pathologists' position article.

The major conclusions of this position article are as follows: (1) In the absence of a history of a bleeding disorder, the bleeding time is not a useful predictor of the risk of hemorrhage associated with surgical procedures. (2) A normal bleeding time does not exclude the possibility of excessive hemorrhage associated with invasive procedures. (3) The bleeding time cannot be used to reliably identify patients who may have recently ingested aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents or those who have a platelet defect attributable to these drugs.

Mobilized CD34+ cells selected as autografts in patients with primary light-chain amyloidosis: rationale and application.

Background: Concern about tumor cell contamination in stem cell preparations has led to the use of CD34+ cell selection as a means of purging. Increasing the number of CD34+ cells per leukapheresis may help to provide an adequate dose of CD34+ cells.

Study Design And Methods: The reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was employed to clone overexpressed clonotypic immunoglobulin light-chain variable region genes (Ig VL) from bone marrows of patients with primary light-chain amyloidosis (AL).

Immunophenotypic identification of Sezary cells in peripheral blood.

Despite anecdotal literature that Sezary cells express the CD4+ CD7- immunophenotype, no formal validation has been published establishing the use of this immunophenotype for clinical or experimental purposes. Consequently, the only method presently available for Sezary cell identification is nuclear contour analysis, a labor-intensive procedure not generally available at most major medical centers. In this study, the accuracy of CD4+ CD7- subset quantitation for the identification of Sezary cells was examined.