Constraints on cosmic strings from the LIGO-Virgo gravitational-wave detectors.

Cosmic strings can give rise to a large variety of interesting astrophysical phenomena. Among them, powerful bursts of gravitational waves (GWs) produced by cusps are a promising observational signature. In this Letter we present a search for GWs from cosmic string cusps in data collected by the LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave detectors between 2005 and 2010, with over 625 days of live time.

Preanalytical study of fetuin-A: effect of sample type, processing speed and freeze-thaw cycles.

Background: It has been suggested that fetuin-A may be a potential biomarker of cardiometabolic disease. However, few studies have investigated preanalytical factors that might impact the measurement of fetuin-A in the circulation. This pilot study aimed to investigate the preanalytical variables of sample type, timing of sample centrifugation and the impact of freeze-thaw cycles on the concentration of fetuin-A in serum or EDTA-plasma.

Outcomes of a specialist weight management programme in the UK National Health Service: prospective study of 1838 patients.

Objectives: There is limited evidence on the effectiveness of weight management programmes provided within routine healthcare and inconsistent use of outcome measures. Our aim was to evaluate a large National Health Service (NHS) weight management service and report absolute and proportional weight losses over 12 months.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Updated and expanded study of polycythemia vera and other myeloproliferative neoplasms in the tri-county area.

Introduction: The results of a 2001-2005 polycythemia vera (PV) investigation in Eastern Pennsylvania revealed a disease cluster plus underreporting and false reporting to the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry (PCR).

Purpose: The objectives of this study were 1) to assess PV reporting to the PCR in 2006-2009, 2) to determine whether a cancer cluster persisted, and 3) to determine whether other myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), including essential thrombocytopenia (ET), were subject to similar reporting problems.

Methods: Cases were identified from: 1) PCR records from the Tri-County, 2) reviewing billing records at Tri-County hematologist/oncologist offices, and 3) self-identification.

Pollutant exposures from natural gas cooking burners: a simulation-based assessment for Southern California.

Background: Residential natural gas cooking burners (NGCBs) can emit substantial quantities of pollutants, and they are typically used without venting range hoods.

Objective: We quantified pollutant concentrations and occupant exposures resulting from NGCB use in California homes.

Methods: A mass-balance model was applied to estimate time-dependent pollutant concentrations throughout homes in Southern California and the exposure concentrations experienced by individual occupants.

Five-year outcomes after iodine-125 seed brachytherapy for low-risk prostate cancer at three cancer centres in the UK.

Objective: To report the outcomes of >1000 men with low-risk prostate cancer treated with low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy at three large UK cancer centres.

Patients And Methods: A total of 1038 patients with low-risk prostate cancer (prostate-specific antigen [PSA] ≤10 ng/mL, Gleason score 6, ≤T2b disease) were treated with LDR iodine 125 (I-125) brachytherapy between 2002 and 2007. Patients were treated at three UK centres.

Promises and ethical pitfalls of surgical innovation: the case of bariatric surgery.

The last two decades have seen remarkable advances in and acceptance of bariatric surgery. These advances include quality assurance, certification of surgeons and their institutions and the development of national bariatric registries. Yet, in spite of these advances, an urgent need to improve ethical standards in bariatric surgery remains.

Alpha emitter radium-223 and survival in metastatic prostate cancer.

Background: Radium-223 dichloride (radium-223), an alpha emitter, selectively targets bone metastases with alpha particles. We assessed the efficacy and safety of radium-223 as compared with placebo, in addition to the best standard of care, in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer and bone metastases.

Methods: In our phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we randomly assigned 921 patients who had received, were not eligible to receive, or declined docetaxel, in a 2:1 ratio, to receive six injections of radium-223 (at a dose of 50 kBq per kilogram of body weight intravenously) or matching placebo; one injection was administered every 4 weeks.

Biochemical outcomes for patients with intermediate risk prostate cancer treated with I-125 interstitial brachytherapy monotherapy.

Background And Purpose: Routine use of I-125 interstitial brachytherapy (BT) alone in intermediate risk (IR) prostate cancer is controversial. It is often combined with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). The biochemical outcome of a large cohort of only IR disease treated with BT monotherapy is reported.

SABRE 1 (Surgery Against Brachytherapy - a Randomised Evaluation): feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) of brachytherapy vs radical prostatectomy in low-intermediate risk clinically localised prostate cancer.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of a phase III randomised controlled trial of brachytherapy vs radical prostatectomy (RP) in men with low-intermediate risk localised prostate cancer.

Patients And Methods: This parallel, two-group, multicentre, randomised controlled feasibility trial enrolled men with histologically confirmed localised, low-risk prostate cancer and good performance status from five UK hospitals. Participants were randomly allocated (1:1) by remote computer allocation to receive a decision aid (DA) DVD or standard information (control group), followed by a second randomisation (1:1) to brachytherapy or RP.

Which sequencing depth is sufficient to describe patterns in bacterial α- and β-diversity?

The vastness of microbial diversity implies that an almost infinite number of individuals needs to be identified to accurately describe such communities. Practical and economical constraints may therefore prevent appropriate study designs. However, for many questions in ecology it is not essential to know the actual diversity but rather the trends among samples thereof.

Lrp4 and Wise interplay controls the formation and patterning of mammary and other skin appendage placodes by modulating Wnt signaling.

The future site of skin appendage development is marked by a placode during embryogenesis. Although Wnt/β-catenin signaling is known to be essential for skin appendage development, it is unclear which cellular processes are controlled by the signaling and how the precise level of the signaling activity is achieved during placode formation. We have investigated roles for Lrp4 and its potential ligand Wise (Sostdc1) in mammary and other skin appendage placodes.

Association between BMI measured within a year after diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and mortality.

Objective: To describe the association of BMI with mortality in patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: Using records of 106,640 patients in Scotland, we investigated the association between BMI recorded around the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and mortality using Cox proportional hazards regression adjusted for age and smoking status, with BMI 25 to <30 kg/m(2) as a referent group. Deaths within 2 years of BMI determination were excluded.

Intermittent androgen suppression for rising PSA level after radiotherapy.

Background: Intermittent androgen deprivation for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) elevation after radiotherapy may improve quality of life and delay hormone resistance. We assessed overall survival with intermittent versus continuous androgen deprivation in a noninferiority randomized trial.

Methods: We enrolled patients with a PSA level greater than 3 ng per milliliter more than 1 year after primary or salvage radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer.

Dose-escalated hypofractionated intensity-modulated radiotherapy in high-risk carcinoma of the prostate: outcome and late toxicity.

Background. The benefit of dose-escalated hypofractionated radiotherapy using intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in prostate cancer is not established. We report 5-year outcome and long-term toxicity data within a phase II clinical trial.

The influence of uncertainty and social support on information seeking concerning illicit stimulant use among young adults.

Using the Theory of Motivated Information Management (TMIM) and the concept of desired informational support as a framework, this project examined factors in the information management process young adults employ in potential information seeking about illicit stimulant drug use with members of their social networks. One hundred and seventy-three individuals participated in the study. Results indicated that (a) uncertainty discrepancy and the desire for informational support covaried, and (b) uncertainty discrepancy, anxiety, and outcome expectancy had significant impacts on the efficacy judgments made by individuals with regard to potential information seeking with their social networks about their stimulant drug use.

Complexity in the signaling network: insights from the use of targeted inhibitors in cancer therapy.

Cancer often arises when normal cellular growth goes awry due to defects in critical signal transduction pathways. A growing number of inhibitors that target specific components of these pathways are in clinical use, but the success of these agents has been limited by the resistance to inhibitor therapy that ultimately develops. Studies have now shown that cancer cells respond to chronic drug treatment by adapting their signaling circuitry, taking advantage of pathway redundancy and routes of feedback and cross-talk to maintain their function.

Unraveling assembly of stream biofilm communities.

Microbial biofilms assemble from cells that attach to a surface, where they develop into matrix-enclosed communities. Mechanistic insights into community assembly are crucial to better understand the functioning of natural biofilms, which drive key ecosystem processes in numerous aquatic habitats. We studied the role of the suspended microbial community as the source of the biofilm community in three streams using terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism and 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and the 16S rRNA gene (as a measure for the active and the bulk community, respectively).

Intergenerational change and familial aggregation of body mass index.

The relationship between parental BMI and that of their adult offspring, when increased adiposity can become a clinical issue, is unknown. We investigated the intergenerational change in body mass index (BMI) distribution, and examined the sex-specific relationship between parental and adult offspring BMI. Intergenerational change in the distribution of adjusted BMI in 1,443 complete families (both parents and at least one offspring) with 2,286 offspring (1,263 daughters and 1,023 sons) from the west of Scotland, UK, was investigated using quantile regression.

Freshwater bacterioplankton richness in oligotrophic lakes depends on nutrient availability rather than on species-area relationships.

A central goal in ecology is to grasp the mechanisms that underlie and maintain biodiversity and patterns in its spatial distribution can provide clues about those mechanisms. Here, we investigated what might determine the bacterioplankton richness (BR) in lakes by means of 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. We further provide a BR estimate based upon a sampling depth and accuracy, which, to our knowledge, are unsurpassed for freshwater bacterioplankton communities.

A method to estimate the chronic health impact of air pollutants in U.S. residences.

Background: Indoor air pollutants (IAPs) cause multiple health impacts. Prioritizing mitigation options that differentially affect individual pollutants and comparing IAPs with other environmental health hazards require a common metric of harm.

Objectives: Our objective was to demonstrate a methodology to quantify and compare health impacts from IAPs.