Mock Board Exam Writing Groups in Physician Assistant Education: A Method to Enhance Curriculum and Mentor Junior Faculty.

Ensuring students are prepared for the Physician Assistant National Certification Exam (PANCE) is an institutional priority for all physician assistant programs. While many factors predicting PANCE performance have been investigated, exploration and discussions of interventions to improve PANCE performance are limited. Repeated exposure to board-style questions has been shown to improve board scores in similar populations.

A systematic review and meta-analysis: Assessment of hospital walking programs among older patients.

Aim: The aim of this study is to assess effect of hospital walking programs on outcomes for older inpatients and to characterize hospital walking dose reported across studies.

Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis examining impact of hospital walking and/or reported walking dose among medical-surgical inpatients. For inclusion, studies were observational or experimental, published in English, enrolled inpatients aged ≥ 65 yrs hospitalized for medical or surgical reasons.

A Single Dose of Ibuprofen Impacts IL-10 Response to 164-km Road Cycling in the Heat.

The purpose was to determine the effect of a single-dose prophylactic ibuprofen use before a 164-km road cycling event in high ambient temperature on the circulating cytokine and leukocyte responses. Twenty-three men (53 ± 8 y, 172.0 ± 22.

Phase II trial of response-based radiation therapy for patients with localized germinoma: a Children's Oncology Group study.

Background: The study aimed to evaluate whether simplified chemotherapy followed by dose-reduced irradiation was effective for treating patients (ages 3-21 years) with localized germinoma. The primary endpoint was 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate.

Methods: Patients with a complete response to chemotherapy with carboplatin and etoposide received 18 Gy WVI + 12 Gy boost to the tumor bed.

Sex Hormone Regulation of Proteins Modulating Mitochondrial Metabolism, Dynamics and Inter-Organellar Cross Talk in Cardiovascular Disease.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and worldwide.

Resistance exercise-induced hormonal response promotes satellite cell proliferation in untrained men but not in women.

The purpose of this work was to determine the effect of resistance exercise (RE)-induced hormonal changes on the satellite cell (SC) myogenic state in response to muscle damage. Untrained men ( = 10, 22 ± 3 yr) and women ( = 9, 21 ± 4 yr) completed 2 sessions of 80 unilateral maximal eccentric knee extensions followed by either an upper body RE protocol (EX) or a 20-min rest (CON). Muscle samples were collected and analyzed for protein content of Pax7, MyoD, myogenin, cyclin D1, and p21 before (PRE), 12 h, and 24 h after the session was completed.

A pediatric brain tumor consortium phase II trial of capecitabine rapidly disintegrating tablets with concomitant radiation therapy in children with newly diagnosed diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas.

Background: We conducted a phase II study of oral capecitabine rapidly disintegrating tablets given concurrently with radiation therapy (RT) to assess progression-free survival (PFS) in children with newly diagnosed diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG).

Patients And Methods: Children 3-17 years with newly diagnosed DIPG were eligible. Capecitabine, 650 mg/m /dose BID (maximum tolerated dose [MTD] in children with concurrent radiation), was administered for 9 weeks starting the first day of RT.

Regulatory T cell subsets in patients with medulloblastoma at diagnosis and during standard irradiation and chemotherapy (PBTC N-11).

Background: We evaluated circulating levels of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (T) and other lymphocyte subsets in patients with newly diagnosed medulloblastoma (MBL) undergoing surgery compared to a control cohort of patients undergo craniectomy for correction of Chiari malformation (CM) and further determined the impact of standard irradiation and chemotherapy on this cell population.

Methods: Eligibility criteria for this biologic study included age 4-21 years, patients with CM undergoing craniectomy (as non-malignant surgical controls) and receiving dexamethasone for prevention of post-operative nausea, and those with newly diagnosed posterior fossa tumors (PFT) undergoing surgical resection and receiving dexamethasone as an anti-edema measure. Patients with confirmed MBL were also followed for longitudinal blood collection and analysis during radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

A phase I trial of the MEK inhibitor selumetinib (AZD6244) in pediatric patients with recurrent or refractory low-grade glioma: a Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC) study.

Background: Activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway is important for growth of pediatric low-grade gliomas (LGGs). The aim of this study was to determine the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) and the dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) of the MEK inhibitor selumetinib in children with progressive LGG.

Methods: Selumetinib was administered orally starting at 33 mg/m2/dose b.

Time of Day and Training Status Both Impact the Efficacy of Caffeine for Short Duration Cycling Performance.

This project was designed to assess the effects of time of day and training status on the benefits of caffeine supplementation for cycling performance. Twenty male subjects (Age, 25 years; Peak oxygen consumption, 57 mL·kg·min) were divided into tertiles based on training levels, with top and bottom tertiles designated as 'trained' ( = 7) and 'untrained' ( = 7). Subjects completed two familiarization trials and four experimental trials consisting of a computer-simulated 3-km cycling time trial (TT).

High Incidence of Veno-Occlusive Disease With Myeloablative Chemotherapy Following Craniospinal Irradiation in Children With Newly Diagnosed High-Risk CNS Embryonal Tumors: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group (CCG-99702).

Background: The outcomes with high-risk central nervous system (CNS) embryonal tumors remain relatively poor despite aggressive treatment. The purposes of this study using postirradiation myeloablative chemotherapy with autologous hematopoietic stem cell rescue (ASCR) were to document feasibility and describe toxicities of the regimen, establish the appropriate dose of thiotepa, and estimate the overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS).

Procedure: The Children's Cancer Group conducted this pilot study in children and adolescents with CNS embryonal tumors.

Phase II evaluation of sunitinib in the treatment of recurrent or refractory high-grade glioma or ependymoma in children: a children's Oncology Group Study ACNS1021.

Sunitinib malate is a small multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor that inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) and stem cell factor receptor (KIT), which are highly expressed by some high-grade brain tumors. We conducted a phase II study to estimate the efficacy and further characterize the pharmacokinetics of sunitinib in pediatric patients with recurrent or refractory high-grade glioma (Stratum A) or ependymoma (Stratum B). This was a prospective, multicenter Phase II trial conducted through the Children's Oncology Group (ClinicalTrials.

Phase I trial of p28 (NSC745104), a non-HDM2-mediated peptide inhibitor of p53 ubiquitination in pediatric patients with recurrent or progressive central nervous system tumors: A Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium Study.

Background: p53 is a promising target in human cancer. p28 is a cell-penetrating peptide that preferentially enters cancer cells and binds to both wild-type and mutant p53 protein, inhibiting COP1-mediated ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. This results in increased levels of p53, which induces cell cycle arrest at G2/M.

The influence of central review on outcome in malignant gliomas of the spinal cord: the CCG-945 experience.

OBJECT The impact of central pathology review on outcome has been described in pediatric patients with high-grade glioma (HGG). The objective of this report was to analyze the impact of the central pathology review on outcome in the subgroup of patients with institutional diagnosis of HGG of the spinal cord enrolled in the Children's Cancer Group 945 cooperative study. METHODS Five neuropathologists centrally reviewed the pathology of the 18 patients with HGG of the spinal cord who were enrolled in the study.

Apparent diffusion coefficient histogram metrics correlate with survival in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma: a report from the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium.

Background: Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is associated with poor survival regardless of therapy. We used volumetric apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram metrics to determine associations with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) at baseline and after radiation therapy (RT).

Methods: Baseline and post-RT quantitative ADC histograms were generated from fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images and enhancement regions of interest.

Prevention of conversion to abnormal transcranial Doppler with hydroxyurea in sickle cell anemia: A Phase III international randomized clinical trial.

Children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) and conditional transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound velocities (170-199 cm/sec) may develop stroke. However, with limited available clinical data, the current standard of care for conditional TCD velocities is observation. The efficacy of hydroxyurea in preventing conversion from conditional to abnormal TCD (≥200 cm/sec), which confers a higher stroke risk, has not been studied prospectively in a randomized trial.

A phase I trial and PK study of cediranib (AZD2171), an orally bioavailable pan-VEGFR inhibitor, in children with recurrent or refractory primary CNS tumors.

Background: Cediranib (AZD2171), an oral pan-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor, was evaluated in this phase I study to determine its toxicity profile, dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), maximum-tolerated dose (MTD), pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics in children and adolescents with recurrent or refractory primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors.

Methods: Children and adolescents <22 years were enrolled into one of two strata: stratum I—those not receiving enzyme-inducing anticonvulsant drugs (EIACD) and stratum II—those receiving EIACDs. Dose-level selection was based on the continual reassessment method (CRM).

Vismodegib Exerts Targeted Efficacy Against Recurrent Sonic Hedgehog-Subgroup Medulloblastoma: Results From Phase II Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium Studies PBTC-025B and PBTC-032.

Purpose: Two phase II studies assessed the efficacy of vismodegib, a sonic hedgehog (SHH) pathway inhibitor that binds smoothened (SMO), in pediatric and adult recurrent medulloblastoma (MB).

Patients And Methods: Adult patients enrolled onto PBTC-025B and pediatric patients enrolled onto PBTC-032 were treated with vismodegib (150 to 300 mg/d). Protocol-defined response, which had to be sustained for 8 weeks, was confirmed by central neuroimaging review.

Phase I trial of weekly MK-0752 in children with refractory central nervous system malignancies: a pediatric brain tumor consortium study.

Purpose: Amplification and high levels of NOTCH ligand expression have been identified in several types of pediatric brain tumors. A phase I trial of weekly MK-0752, an oral inhibitor of gamma-secretase, was conducted in children with recurrent central nervous system (CNS) malignancies to estimate the maximum tolerated dose, dose-limiting toxicities (DLT), pharmacokinetics (PK), and pharmacodynamics of weekly MK-0752.

Methods: MK-0752 was administered once weekly at 1000 and 1400 mg/m(2) using a rolling-6 design.

Outcome and prognostic factors for children with supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors treated with carboplatin during radiotherapy: a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Background: Supratentorial PNETs (sPNET) are uncommon embryonal malignancies of the central nervous system whose prognosis has historically been poor. We evaluated the outcome and prognostic factors of children with sPNET treated prospectively on a Children's Oncology Group trial.

Procedure: Following surgery, patients received craniospinal radiotherapy with concurrent carboplatin followed by six months of maintenance chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide and vincristine.

Alisertib is active as single agent in recurrent atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors in 4 children.

Background: Aurora Kinase A (AURKA) encodes a protein that regulates the formation and stability of the mitotic spindle and is highly active in atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (ATRT) through loss of the INI1 tumor suppressor gene. Alisertib (MLN8237) inhibits AURKA in vitro and in vivo. Given the strong preclinical data supporting the use of alisertib for ATRT patients, we sought and obtained permission to use alisertib in single patient treatment plans for 4 recurrent pediatric ATRT patients.

Pubertal development and primary ovarian insufficiency in female survivors of embryonal brain tumors following risk-adapted craniospinal irradiation and adjuvant chemotherapy.

Background: Female survivors of central nervous system (CNS) tumors are at an increased risk for gonadal damage and variations in the timing of puberty following radiotherapy and alkylating agent-based chemotherapy.

Procedure: Clinical and laboratory data were obtained from 30 evaluable female patients with newly diagnosed embryonal CNS tumors treated on a prospective protocol (SJMB 96) at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (SJCRH).

Efficacy of a tobacco quitline among adult cancer survivors.

Objective: The purpose of the study (conducted 2010-2013) was to determine the efficacy of two common types of tobacco quitlines in adult cancer survivors who regularly smoked cigarettes.

Method: Adult onset cancer survivors in Memphis, Tennessee (n=427, 67% female, 60% Caucasian) were randomized either to a Proactive (i.e.