Conditional probability of long-term survival in glioblastoma: a population-based analysis.

Background: Advances in glioblastoma care have resulted in a larger proportion of patients surviving beyond 2 years after diagnosis. It is not clear how long-term survivors should be counseled with respect to future prognosis, or what factors influence that prognosis. The conditional probability of survival was evaluated from multiple time points in patients with glioblastoma, using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data.

Immunogenicity and safety of a meningococcal quadrivalent conjugate vaccine in Saudi Arabian adolescents previously vaccinated with one dose of bivalent and quadrivalent meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines: a phase III, controlled, randomized, and modified blind-observer study.

Reduced immune responses to repeated polysaccharide vaccination have been previously reported, but there are limited immunogenicity data on the use of meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PSV) followed by meningococcal conjugate vaccine. Saudi Arabian adolescents (aged 16 to 19 years) who had previously been vaccinated with ≥1 dose of bivalent meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine and 1 dose of quadrivalent meningococcal polysaccharide (MPSV4) were enrolled in a controlled, randomized, and modified observer-blind study (collectively termed the PSV-exposed group). The PSV-exposed group was randomized to receive either quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) (n = 145 PSV-exposed/MCV4 group) or MPSV4 (n = 142 PSV-exposed/MPSV4 group), and a PSV-naïve group received MCV4 (n = 163).

Early measures of cognitive function predict survival in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Cognitive dysfunction is a common manifestation of primary brain tumors. We evaluated the association between early cognitive dysfunction and prognosis in a cohort of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Ninety-one patients who completed neuropsychological assessment after tumor resection but before further treatment were identified in the MD Anderson Neuropsychology database.

Mortality and discharge to home after closed brain biopsy: analysis of 3523 cases from the State of California, 2003-2009.

Objective: Closed (percutaneous) brain biopsy is an important diagnostic procedure. Information on patient outcomes after biopsy come largely from single-institution series or population-based samples that include patients treated during periods that may not reflect current neurosurgical practice. We sought to determine the rates of in-hospital mortality and discharge to home after closed brain biopsy, and predictors of these outcomes by using a large population-based hospital discharge database with near-complete case ascertainment.

Intellectual Disabilities and Neglectful Parenting: Preliminary Findings on the Role of Cognition in Parenting Risk.

Parents with intellectual disabilities (PID) are over-represented in the child protective services (CPS) system. This study examined a more nuanced view of the role of cognition in parenting risk. Its goal was to validate a social information processing (SIP) model of child neglect that draws on social cognition research and advances in neuroscience.

Pilocytic astrocytoma survival in adults: analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program of the National Cancer Institute.

Pilocytic astrocytoma is a WHO grade 1 brain tumor common in children. Relatively little is known about the behavior of pilocytic astrocytomas in adult patients, largely due to the rarity of pilocytic astrocytoma in this population. Some data suggest that adults share the excellent prognosis seen in children, while other reports suggest more aggressive tumor behavior in adult patients.

To have or not to have another child: life cycle, health and cost considerations of Ghanaian women.

Given that fertility rates are high in most sub-Saharan countries, it is critically important to understand the drivers of the demand for children to inform population reduction policies. Yet little is known about the individual-level factors that drive the desire for fertility limitation. The desire to limit births may be driven by the achievement of family size targets.

The benefits of customized patient instrumentation to lower-volume joint replacement surgeons: results from practice.

Because of the significant risks associated with component malalignment, considerable resources are being utilized to develop technology to improve alignment and decrease outliers in knee replacement surgery. While computer-assisted surgery is more accurate and allows for decreased outliers when compared to traditional instrumentation, it is not a technology that can be utilized by all surgeons who perform total knee arthroplasty (TKA) due to increased operative times and cost. Recently, the creation and use of patient-customized cutting guides has been applied to TKA.

Control-matched computational evaluation of tendo-femoral contact in patients with posterior-stabilized total knee arthroplasty.

Painful patellar crepitus is a potential complication in up to 14% of patients following posterior-stabilized (PS) total knee arthroplasty (TKA). A recent clinical study identified influential patient and surgical variables by comparing a group of crepitus patients with controls matched for age, sex, and body mass index. The purpose of our study was to evaluate effects of variables identified as significant in the clinical study, including patellar ligament length, femoral component flexion, patellar button size, and position of the joint line, on contact between the quadriceps tendon and the PS femoral component.

Marital Name Changing Attitudes and Plans of College Students: Comparing Change Over Time and Across Regions.

This study examines time period and regional effects on U.S. college students' attitudes and plans regarding marital naming.

Pneumococcal disease in South Australia: vaccine success but no time for complacency.

Background: Trends in age specific and serotype specific incidence rates for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) were examined in South Australia 4 years before and 5 years after the commencement of the Australian universal childhood 7 valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vPCV) program.

Methods: IPD cases were identified by routine enhanced surveillance. IPD serotypes were grouped according to those covered by the 7vPCV, the six serotypes specific to the 13 valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (13vPCV), the 11 serotypes specific to the 23 valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV), as well as non-13vPCV and non-23vPPV groups.

Evolution of Microwave Spectroscopy at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

This paper describes the beginning and evolution of microwave rotational spectroscopic research starting in 1954 at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), located at that time in Washington, DC, through the present at NIST in Gaithersburg, MD. David Lide was hired in 1954 to start this research employing Stark modulated waveguide septum cells. When Donald R.

Immune responses in adults to revaccination with a tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccine 10 years after a previous dose.

Background: Although decennial adult boosters of tetanus and diphtheria toxoids are recommended in Canada and the United States, a second dose of pertussis vaccine during adulthood is not currently recommended.

Methods: This open-label, multicenter study compared the safety and immunogenicity of a first dose of an adult formulation of tetanus, diphtheria, and acelluar pertussis vaccine (Tdap) with a repeat dose of Tdap in adults who had received Tdap 10 years previously.

Results: A total of 769 participants ranging in age from 20 to 72 years took part in this study; 92.

The activity level of a microbial community function can be predicted from its metatranscriptome.

The objective of this work was to improve our understanding of the quantitative predictive capabilities of metatranscriptomics. To meet this objective, we investigated whether we can predict the activity level of a specific biochemical function based on the abundance of the corresponding gene transcript within measured community metatranscriptomes. In addition, we investigated the lower limit of a microorganism's abundance that still allows detection of its transcripts within a metatranscriptome and prediction of the activity levels of the enzyme encoded by the transcript.

Transcriptome and membrane fatty acid analyses reveal different strategies for responding to permeating and non-permeating solutes in the bacterium Sphingomonas wittichii.

Background: Sphingomonas wittichii strain RW1 can completely oxidize dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, which are persistent contaminants of soils and sediments. For successful application in soil bioremediation systems, strain RW1 must cope with fluctuations in water availability, or water potential. Thus far, however, little is known about the adaptive strategies used by Sphingomonas bacteria to respond to changes in water potential.

Glioblastoma survival in the United States before and during the temozolomide era.

The standard-of-care treatment for newly diagnosed glioblastoma changed in 2005, when radiation therapy plus temozolomide chemotherapy replaced radiation therapy alone. It is not yet clear how this change in treatment has influenced patient survival in routine clinical practice, or if a survival benefit extends to patients older than those enrolled in the trial. Data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program was analyzed to compare survival of adult glioblastoma patients diagnosed from 2000-2003 to patients diagnosed from 2005-2008, in order to evaluate pre-temozolomide and post-temozolomide periods.

Can a high-flexion total knee arthroplasty relieve pain and restore function without premature failure?

Background: High-flexion TKA prostheses are designed to improve flexion and clinical outcomes. Increased knee flexion can increase implant loads and fixation stresses, creating concerns of premature failure. Whether these goals can be achieved without premature failures is unclear.

Multi-decadal changes in tundra environments and ecosystems: synthesis of the International Polar Year-Back to the Future project (IPY-BTF).

Understanding the responses of tundra systems to global change has global implications. Most tundra regions lack sustained environmental monitoring and one of the only ways to document multi-decadal change is to resample historic research sites. The International Polar Year (IPY) provided a unique opportunity for such research through the Back to the Future (BTF) project (IPY project #512).

Forecasting alpine vegetation change using repeat sampling and a novel modeling approach.

Global change affects alpine ecosystems by, among many effects, by altering plant distributions and community composition. However, forecasting alpine vegetation change is challenged by a scarcity of studies observing change in fixed plots spanning decadal-time scales. We present in this article a probabilistic modeling approach that forecasts vegetation change on Niwot Ridge, CO using plant abundance data collected from marked plots established in 1971 and resampled in 1991 and 2001.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: is it time to reappraise the role of sugar consumption?

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects nearly 10% of children in the United States, and the prevalence of this disorder has increased steadily over the past decades. The cause of ADHD is unknown, although recent studies suggest that it may be associated with a disruption in dopamine signaling whereby dopamine D2 receptors are reduced in reward-related brain regions. This same pattern of reduced dopamine-mediated signaling is observed in various reward-deficiency syndromes associated with food or drug addiction, as well as in obesity.

Sustainable syntrophic growth of Dehalococcoides ethenogenes strain 195 with Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough and Methanobacterium congolense: global transcriptomic and proteomic analyses.

Dehalococcoides ethenogenes strain 195 (DE195) was grown in a sustainable syntrophic association with Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough (DVH) as a co-culture, as well as with DVH and the hydrogenotrophic methanogen Methanobacterium congolense (MC) as a tri-culture using lactate as the sole energy and carbon source. In the co- and tri-cultures, maximum dechlorination rates of DE195 were enhanced by approximately three times (11.0±0.

Tolerability and antibody response in adolescents and adults revaccinated with tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccine adsorbed (Tdap) 4-5 years after a previous dose.

Background: Although decennial adult boosters of tetanus and diphtheria toxoids are recommended in Canada and the United States, a second dose of pertussis vaccine is not currently recommended for adults.

Methods: This open-label, postmarketing, multicenter study evaluated the tolerability and immunogenicity of a second dose of an adult formulation of tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis vaccine (Tdap) in adolescents and adults 5 years after a first dose.

Results: A total of 545 participants from previous Tdap vaccine studies, ranging in age from 15 to 69 years, participated in this study.

Risk factors for meningioma in postmenopausal women: results from the Iowa Women's Health Study.

Few risk factors for meningioma, aside from increasing age and female sex, have been identified. We investigated risk factors for meningioma in elderly women, a group with a high incidence. We evaluated associations of demographic, lifestyle, medical history, and anthropometric variables with risk of meningioma in the Iowa Women's Health Study (IWHS), a population-based, prospective cohort study.

Associations of high-grade glioma with glioma risk alleles and histories of allergy and smoking.

Glioma risk has consistently been inversely associated with allergy history but not with smoking history despite putative biologic plausibility. Data from 855 high-grade glioma cases and 1,160 controls from 4 geographic regions of the United States during 1997-2008 were analyzed for interactions between allergy and smoking histories and inherited variants in 5 established glioma risk regions: 5p15.3 (TERT), 8q24.