Impact of Facility Type and Surgical Volume on 10-Year Survival in Patients Undergoing Hepatic Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated improved in-hospital mortality after hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at teaching hospitals. The objective of this study was to evaluate if resection of HCC at academic cancer programs (ACP) is associated with improved 10-year survival.

Study Design: Using the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) (1998 to 2011), we evaluated patients undergoing hepatic resection for HCC at ACPs, comprehensive community cancer programs (CCCPs), and community cancer programs (CCPs).

Biomarker analysis of American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) and grey tree frog (Hyla versicolor) tadpoles following exposure to atrazine.

The objective of the current study was to use a biomarker-based approach to investigate the influence of atrazine exposure on American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) and grey tree frog (Hyla versicolor) tadpoles. Atrazine is one of the most frequently detected herbicides in environmental matrices throughout the United States. In surface waters, it has been found at concentrations from 0.

Postoperative Pulmonary Complications, Early Mortality, and Hospital Stay Following Noncardiothoracic Surgery: A Multicenter Study by the Perioperative Research Network Investigators.

Importance: Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs), a leading cause of poor surgical outcomes, are heterogeneous in their pathophysiology, severity, and reporting accuracy.

Objective: To prospectively study clinical and radiological PPCs and respiratory insufficiency therapies in a high-risk surgical population.

Design, Setting, And Participants: We performed a multicenter prospective observational study in 7 US academic institutions.

Soil organic matter content effects on dermal pesticide bioconcentration in American toads (Bufo americanus).

Pesticides have been implicated as a major factor in global amphibian declines and may pose great risk to terrestrial phase amphibians moving to and from breeding ponds on agricultural landscapes. Dermal uptake from soil is known to occur in amphibians, but predicting pesticide availability and bioconcentration across soil types is not well understood. The present study was designed to compare uptake of 5 current-use pesticides (imidacloprid, atrazine, triadimefon, fipronil, and pendimethalin) in American toads (Bufo americanus) from exposure on soils with significant organic matter content differences (14.

Emerging Role of Nutri-Epigenetics in Inflammation and Cancer.

Nutrition is a factor involved in inflammation and a modulator of risk toward some cancers, and the complexity of linkages between dietary components and epigenetics mechanisms (e.g., DNA methylation, histone modification, chromatin remodeling) may affect the inflammation phenotype and the development of cancer.

Safe drinking water in regional NSW, Australia.

The New South Wales (NSW) Public Health Act 2010 requires water suppliers to implement a drinking water quality assurance program that addresses the 'Framework for management of drinking water quality' in the Australian drinking water guidelines. NSW Health has recognised the importance of a staged implementation of this requirement and the need to support regional water utilities. To date, NSW Health has assisted 74 regional utilities to develop and implement their management systems.

Lipid Mediators in Aspirin-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease.

Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) is a syndrome of severe asthma and rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis with exacerbations of baseline eosinophil-driven and mast cell-driven inflammation after nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug ingestion. Although the underlying pathophysiology is poorly understood, dysregulation of the cyclooxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase pathways of arachidonic acid metabolism is thought to be key. Central features of AERD pathogenesis are overproduction of proinflammatory and bronchoconstrictor cysteinyl leukotrienes and prostaglandin (PG) D and inhibition of bronchoprotective and antiinflammatory PGE.

The Impact of Li Grain Size on Coulombic Efficiency in Li Batteries.

One of the most promising means to increase the energy density of state-of-the-art lithium Li-ion batteries is to replace the graphite anode with a Li metal anode. While the direct use of Li metal may be highly advantageous, at present its practical application is limited by issues related to dendrite growth and low Coulombic efficiency, CE. Here operando electrochemical scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) is used to directly image the deposition/stripping of Li at the anode-electrolyte interface in a Li-based battery.

Gut Microbiome and Infant Health: Brain-Gut-Microbiota Axis and Host Genetic Factors.

The development of the neonatal gut microbiome is influenced by multiple factors, such as delivery mode, feeding, medication use, hospital environment, early life stress, and genetics. The dysbiosis of gut microbiota persists during infancy, especially in high-risk preterm infants who experience lengthy stays in the Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Infant microbiome evolutionary trajectory is essentially parallel with the host (infant) neurodevelopmental process and growth.

Anti-Müllerian Hormone Levels and Urinary Cortisol in Women With Chronic Abdominal Pain.

Objective: To explore the association of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity with ovarian functioning in women with and without chronic abdominal pain (CAP).

Design And Setting: A secondary data analysis was performed with data from female participants in a natural history protocol at the National Institutes of Health.

Participants: A total of 36 women (age range = 19-39 years, mean = 27.

Effect of Illness Representations and Catastrophizing on Quality of Life in Adults With Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

There is limited understanding of the influence of psychosocial factors on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which contributes to management difficulties and ineffective long-term treatment. The goal of the current study was to assess the effect illness representations and coping had on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in adults with IBS. Self-report data were collected from 101 adults with IBS.

Probiotics: Prevention of Severe Pneumonia and Endotracheal Colonization Trial-PROSPECT: a pilot trial.

Background: Probiotics are live microorganisms that may confer health benefits when ingested. Randomized trials suggest that probiotics significantly decrease the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and the overall incidence of infection in critically ill patients. However, these studies are small, largely single-center, and at risk of bias.

Tris(hydroxymethyl)phosphine, P(CH2OH)3 - A convenient and effective new reagent for the fixation of protein samples for SEM imaging.

Tris(hydroxymethyl)phosphine [P(CH2OH)3, THP] is demonstrated to be an alternative fixative to glutaraldehyde for preparation of proteinaceous specimens for SEM analysis. THP is easily prepared from commercially-available [P(CH2OH)4]Cl, and unlike many other alkylphosphines, is reasonably air-stable [>7days at pH 7-8]. Experiments carried out with chicken breast muscle, cross-sectioned perpendicular to the muscle fibres and imaged using SEM, indicate that THP effectively fixes the muscle structure with minimal discolouration of the sample.

Identification of Epithelial Phospholipase A Receptor 1 as a Potential Target in Asthma.

Secreted phospholipase As (sPLAs) regulate eicosanoid formation and have been implicated in asthma. Although sPLAs function as enzymes, some of the sPLAs bind with high affinity to a C-type lectin receptor, called PLA2R1, which has functions in both cellular signaling and clearance of sPLAs. We sought to examine the expression of PLA2R1 in the airway epithelium of human subjects with asthma and the function of the murine Pla2r1 gene in a model of asthma.

Effects of multiwalled carbon nanotubes on the bioavailability and toxicity of diphenhydramine to Pimephales promelas in sediment exposures.

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and pharmaceutical compounds are classified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as contaminants of emerging concern, with significant research devoted to determining their potential environmental and toxicological effects. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes are known to have a high adsorptive capacity for organic contaminants, leading to potential uses in water remediation; however, there is concern that co-exposure with MWCNTs may alter the bioavailability of organic compounds. Existing studies investigating MWCNT/organic contaminant co-exposures have shown conflicting results, and no study to date has examined the combined effects of MWCNTs and a common pharmaceutical.

LiCoPO4 cathode from a CoHPO4·xH2O nanoplate precursor for high voltage Li-ion batteries.

A highly crystalline LiCoPO4/C cathode material has been synthesized without noticeable impurities via a single step solid-state reaction using CoHPO4·xH2O nanoplate as a precursor obtained by a simple precipitation route. The LiCoPO4/C cathode delivered a specific capacity of 125 mAhg(-1) at a charge/discharge rate of C/10. The nanoplate precursor and final LiCoPO4/C cathode have been characterized using X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis - differential scanning calorimetry (TGA-DSC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the electrochemical cycling stability has been investigated using different electrolytes, additives and separators.

A Cluster-Randomized, Community-Based, Tribally Delivered Oral Health Promotion Trial in Navajo Head Start Children.

The authors tested the effectiveness of a community-based, tribally delivered oral health promotion (OHP) intervention (INT) at reducing caries increment in Navajo children attending Head Start. In a 3-y cluster-randomized trial, we developed an OHP INT with Navajo input that was delivered by trained Navajo lay health workers to children attending 52 Navajo Head Start classrooms (26 INT, 26 usual care [UC]). The INT was designed as a highly personalized set of oral health-focused interactions (5 for children and 4 for parents), along with 4 fluoride varnish applications delivered in Head Start during academic years of 2011 to 2012 and 2012 to 2013.

National Institutes of Health Symptom Science Model sheds light on patient symptoms.

Since the establishment of the nursing profession, identifying and alleviating the subjective symptoms experienced by patients has been at the core of nursing practice. In supporting the scientific foundation for clinical practice, nursing science has maintained a consistent commitment to prevent, manage, and eliminate symptoms. Scientists from the intramural research program at the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), a component of the National Institutes of Health, developed a National Institutes of Health Symptom Science Model (NIH-SSM) to guide symptom science research programs engaged in the use of emerging "omic" methods such as the genotyping of symptom phenotypes.

Using the relationship between brain tissue regional saturation of oxygen and mean arterial pressure to determine the optimal mean arterial pressure in patients following cardiac arrest: A pilot proof-of-concept study.

Introduction: Prospectively assess cerebral autoregulation and optimal mean arterial pressure (MAPOPT) using the dynamic relationship between MAP and regional saturation of oxygen (rSO2) using near-infrared spectroscopy.

Methods: Feasibility study of twenty patients admitted to the intensive care unit following a cardiac arrest. All patients underwent continuous rSO2 monitoring using the INVOS(®) cerebral oximeter.

Biomarker analysis of liver cells exposed to surfactant-wrapped and oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs).

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have great potential in industrial, consumer, and mechanical applications, based partly on their unique structural, optical and electronic properties. CNTs are commonly oxidized or treated with surfactants to facilitate aqueous solution processing, and these CNT surface modifications also increase possible human and ecological exposures to nanoparticle-contaminated waters. To determine the exposure outcomes of oxidized and surfactant-wrapped multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on biochemical processes, metabolomics-based profiling of human liver cells (C3A) was utilized.

Considerations of Environmentally Relevant Test Conditions for Improved Evaluation of Ecological Hazards of Engineered Nanomaterials.

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are increasingly entering the environment with uncertain consequences including potential ecological effects. Various research communities view differently whether ecotoxicological testing of ENMs should be conducted using environmentally relevant concentrations-where observing outcomes is difficult-versus higher ENM doses, where responses are observable. What exposure conditions are typically used in assessing ENM hazards to populations? What conditions are used to test ecosystem-scale hazards? What is known regarding actual ENMs in the environment, via measurements or modeling simulations? How should exposure conditions, ENM transformation, dose, and body burden be used in interpreting biological and computational findings for assessing risks? These questions were addressed in the context of this critical review.

Neuroimaging the brain-gut axis in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

Aim: To summarize and synthesize current literature on neuroimaging the brain-gut axis in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Methods: A database search for relevant literature was conducted using PubMed, Scopus and Embase in February 2015. Date filters were applied from the year 2009 and onward, and studies were limited to those written in the English language and those performed upon human subjects.

Gut Microbiome Developmental Patterns in Early Life of Preterm Infants: Impacts of Feeding and Gender.

Gut microbiota plays a key role in multiple aspects of human health and disease, particularly in early life. Distortions of the gut microbiota have been found to correlate with fatal diseases in preterm infants, however, developmental patterns of gut microbiome and factors affecting the colonization progress in preterm infants remain unclear. The purpose of this prospective longitudinal study was to explore day-to-day gut microbiome patterns in preterm infants during their first 30 days of life in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and investigate potential factors related to the development of the infant gut microbiome.