Outcomes of Patients With Diffuse Systemic Sclerosis Eligible for Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation Treated With Conventional Therapy.

Objective: The study objective was to determine the event-free survival (EFS) of Australian patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc) who met eligibility criteria for autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) in previously published randomized controlled trials but were not treated with ASCT.

Methods: Patients who met inclusion criteria for the Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation International Scleroderma (ASTIS) and Scleroderma: Cyclophosphamide Or Transplantation (SCOT) trials were identified from the multicenter Australian Scleroderma Cohort Study (ASCS). EFS (survival without cardiac, renal, or pulmonary failure or death) at 4 years was assessed.

Lethal concentrations of Cymbopogon nardus essential oils and their main component citronellal on Varroa destructor and Apis mellifera.

Varroosis is a disease caused by the mite Varroa destructor, and it is considered one of the biggest threats to honey bee populations globally. Mite control is centered on the use of synthetic acaricides, such as amitraz and flumethrine. However, high usage of these chemicals is associated with a wide variety of undesirable effects on bee colonies, including the development of resistance and persistence of harmful residues of acaricides in hive products used by humans.

Large-vessel vasculitis in graft-versus-host disease: a case report.

Background: Graft-versus-host disease is a common complication seen with allogenic stem cell transplant, which is used to treat a variety of hematological malignancies. Graft-versus-host disease is an allogenic syndrome and can present in a variety of ways, including symptoms mimicking various autoimmune diseases; however, it is quite rare to see graft-versus-host disease affecting the vascular system and causing vasculitis.

Case Presentation: We describe a case of a 59-year-old Caucasian man with follicular lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell transformation who developed graft-versus-host disease post allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and later progressed to neurological complication foot drop and large-vessel vasculitis.

Buzz-Pollinated Crops: A Global Review and Meta-analysis of the Effects of Supplemental Bee Pollination in Tomato.

Buzz-pollinated plants require visitation from vibration producing bee species to elicit full pollen release. Several important food crops are buzz-pollinated including tomato, eggplant, kiwi, and blueberry. Although more than half of all bee species can buzz pollinate, the most commonly deployed supplemental pollinator, Apis mellifera L.

Economic evaluation of stormwater capture and its multiple benefits in California.

Urban stormwater is increasingly being considered a viable alternative water supply in California and throughout the southwestern U.S. However, current economic analyses of stormwater capture do not adequately examine differences in stormwater project types and do not evaluate co-benefits provided by the projects.

Pesticide exposure affects flight dynamics and reduces flight endurance in bumblebees.

The emergence of agricultural land use change creates a number of challenges that insect pollinators, such as eusocial bees, must overcome. Resultant fragmentation and loss of suitable foraging habitats, combined with pesticide exposure, may increase demands on foraging, specifically the ability to collect or reach sufficient resources under such stress. Understanding effects that pesticides have on flight performance is therefore vital if we are to assess colony success in these changing landscapes.

Identifying chemicals of concern in hydraulic fracturing fluids used for oil production.

Chemical additives used for hydraulic fracturing and matrix acidizing of oil reservoirs were reviewed and priority chemicals of concern needing further environmental risk assessment, treatment demonstration, or evaluation of occupational hazards were identified. We evaluated chemical additives used for well stimulation in California, the third largest oil producing state in the USA, by the mass and frequency of use, as well as toxicity. The most frequently used chemical additives in oil development were gelling agents, cross-linkers, breakers, clay control agents, iron and scale control agents, corrosion inhibitors, biocides, and various impurities and product stabilizers used as part of commercial mixtures.

The water footprint of California's energy system, 1990-2012.

California's energy and water systems are interconnected and have evolved in recent decades in response to changing conditions and policy goals. For this analysis, we use a water footprint methodology to examine water requirements of energy products consumed in California between 1990 and 2012. We combine energy production, trade, and consumption data with estimates of the blue and green water footprints of energy products.

Effects of hunting on cougar spatial organization.

The effects of increased mortality on the spatial dynamics of solitary carnivores are not well understood. We examined the spatial ecology of two cougar populations that differed in hunting intensity to test whether increased mortality affected home range size and overlap. The stability hypothesis predicts that home range size and overlap will be similar for both sexes among the two areas.

"I feel your pain": a research study addressing perianesthesia health care providers' knowledge and attitudes toward pain.

Patients' feedback about their perianesthesia experience at an acute care 609-bed teaching hospital in Washington, DC, indicated that pain management was an area in need of improvement. A nonexperimental descriptive study related to pain management was conducted in the perianesthesia areas to assess the knowledge and attitudes of health care providers. McCaffrey and Ferrell's 38-item self-report questionnaire was given to anesthesia providers, preoperative nurses, Phase I nurses, and Phase II nurses (N=138).

Does hunting regulate cougar populations? A test of the compensatory mortality hypothesis.

Many wildlife species are managed based on the compensatory mortality hypothesis, which predicts that harvest mortality (especially adult male mortality) will trigger density-dependent responses in reproduction, survival, and population growth caused via reduced competition for resources. We tested the compensatory mortality hypothesis on two cougar (Puma concolor) populations in Washington, USA (one heavily hunted and one lightly hunted). We estimated population growth, density, survival, and reproduction to determine the effects of hunting on cougar population demography based on data collected from 2002 to 2007.

Knee and hip radiographic osteoarthritis predict total hip bone loss in older adults: a prospective study.

The relationship between osteoarthritis (OA) and osteoporosis remains controversial. This study was designed to determine the association between hip and knee radiographic OA and change in total hip bone mineral density (BMD) over 2.6 years.

Sport hunting, predator control and conservation of large carnivores.

Sport hunting has provided important economic incentives for conserving large predators since the early 1970's, but wildlife managers also face substantial pressure to reduce depredation. Sport hunting is an inherently risky strategy for controlling predators as carnivore populations are difficult to monitor and some species show a propensity for infanticide that is exacerbated by removing adult males. Simulation models predict population declines from even moderate levels of hunting in infanticidal species, and harvest data suggest that African countries and U.

Sink populations in carnivore management: cougar demography and immigration in a hunted population.

Carnivores are widely hunted for both sport and population control, especially where they conflict with human interests. It is widely believed that sport hunting is effective in reducing carnivore populations and related human-carnivore conflicts, while maintaining viable populations. However, the way in which carnivore populations respond to harvest can vary greatly depending on their social structure, reproductive strategies, and dispersal patterns.

The association between non-melanoma skin cancer and osteoporotic fractures--a population-based record linkage study.

Unlabelled: We studied the association between osteoporotic fractures and prior non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC, a biomarker for cumulative sun exposure). The risk of prior NMSC in our fracture cohort was significantly reduced (standardised incidence ratio 0.69, 95% CI 0.

Correlates of knee pain in older adults: Tasmanian Older Adult Cohort Study.

Objective: To describe the association between chondral defects, bone marrow lesions, knee and hip radiographic osteoarthritis (OA), and knee pain.

Methods: Knee pain was assessed by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index. T1- and T2-weighted fat saturation magnetic resonance imaging was performed on the right knee to assess chondral defects and subchondral bone marrow lesions.

Natural history of knee cartilage defects and factors affecting change.

Background: Knee cartilage defects may play an important role in early osteoarthritis, but little is known about their natural history.

Methods: Knee cartilage defect score (range, 0-4), cartilage volume, and bone surface area were determined using T1-weighted fat-saturated magnetic resonance imaging in 325 subjects (mean age, 45 years) at baseline and 2 years later.

Results: Thirty-three percent of the subjects had a worsening (>or=1-point increase) and 37% of the subjects had an improvement (>or=1-point decrease) in cartilage defect score in any knee compartment during 2.

Falls risk is associated with pain and dysfunction but not radiographic osteoarthritis in older adults: Tasmanian Older Adult Cohort study.

Objective: To describe the association between knee and hip radiographic osteoarthritis (ROA), a measure of knee pain, stiffness and functional ability and objectively measured physiological falls risk predictors.

Methods: Cross-sectional, population-based study of 850 randomly selected men and women aged 50-80 years (mean 62.5, SD 7.

The genetic contribution and relevance of knee cartilage defects: case-control and sib-pair studies.

Objective: To describe the differences in knee cartilage defects between offspring of subjects with at least one parent with a total knee replacement for severe primary knee osteoarthritis (OA) and controls; and to estimate the heritability of knee cartilage defects in sib-pairs.

Methods: Population based, case-control study of 186 matched pairs (mean age 45 yrs, range 26-61) and sib-pair study of 128 subjects from 51 families (115 sib-pairs) within the case-control study. Knee cartilage defect scores (0-4) and prevalence (a cartilage defect score > or = 2) were assessed at the patellar, tibial, and femoral sites by processing images acquired using T1 weighted fat-saturated magnetic resonance imaging.

Factors associated with hip cartilage volume measured by magnetic resonance imaging: the Tasmanian Older Adult Cohort Study.

Objective: To compare associations between anthropometric and lifestyle factors and femoral head cartilage volume/thickness and radiographic features of osteoarthritis (OA) and to provide evidence of construct validity for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessment of femoral cartilage volume and thickness.

Methods: We studied a cross-sectional sample of 151 randomly selected subjects (79 men, 72 women; mean age 63 years) from the Tasmanian Older Adult Cohort Study. A sagittal T1-weighted fat-suppression MRI scan of the right hip was performed to determine femoral head cartilage volume, cartilage thickness, and size.

Knee structural alteration and BMI: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: To describe the associations among BMI, knee cartilage morphology, and bone size in adults.

Research Methods And Procedures: A cross-sectional convenience sample of 372 male and female subjects (mean age, 45 years; range, 26 to 61 years) was studied. Knee articular cartilage defect score (0 to 4) and prevalence (defect score of >/=2), volume, and thickness, as well as bone surface area and/or volume, were determined at the patellar, tibial, and femoral sites using T1-weighted fat-saturation magnetic resonance imaging.

Association between age and knee structural change: a cross sectional MRI based study.

Objective: To describe the associations between age, knee cartilage morphology, and bone size in adults.

Methods: A cross sectional convenience sample of 372 male and female subjects (mean age 45 years, range 26-61) was studied. Knee measures included a cartilage defect five site score (0-4 respectively) and prevalence (defect score of > or =2 at any site), cartilage volume and thickness, and bone surface area and/or volume.

Knee cartilage defects: association with early radiographic osteoarthritis, decreased cartilage volume, increased joint surface area and type II collagen breakdown.

Objective: To generate hypotheses regarding the associations between knee cartilage defects and knee radiographic osteoarthritis (ROA), cartilage volume, bone size and type II collagen breakdown in adults.

Methods: A cross-sectional convenience sample of 372 male and female subjects (mean age 45 years, range 26-61) was studied. Knee cartilage defect score (0-4) and prevalence (a defect score of > or =2), cartilage volume, and bone surface area were determined using T1-weighted fat saturation MRI.

The association between hormonal and reproductive factors and hand osteoarthritis.

Objective: To describe the association of reproductive and hormonal factors with the presence and severity of hand osteoarthritis (OA) in Tasmanian women.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 348 women from 76 families. A structured questionnaire collected information regarding reproductive history and the use of estrogen containing medications.