Cost of diabetic eye, renal and foot complications: a methodological review.

Introduction: Diabetic retinopathy (DR), diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) represent a public health and economic concern that may be assessed with cost-of-illness (COI) studies.

Objectives: (1) To review COI studies published between 2000 and 2015, about DR, DKD and DFU; (2) to analyse methods used.

Methods: Disease definition, epidemiological approach, perspective, type of costs, activity data sources, cost valuation, sensitivity analysis, cost discounting and presentation of costs may be described in COI studies.

Combined Pan-HER and ALK/ROS1/MET Inhibition with Dacomitinib and Crizotinib in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Results of a Phase I Study.

Introduction: This phase I study investigated the activity of the irreversible pan-human epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor dacomitinib in combination with the mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor/anaplastic lymphoma kinase/ROS proto-oncogene 1, receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor crizotinib in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Methods: Patients with progression after at least one line of chemotherapy or targeted therapy received dacomitinib once daily and crizotinib once daily or twice daily, with doses escalated until intolerable toxicity; the expansion cohorts received the maximum tolerated dose of the combination. The primary objective was to define the recommended phase II dose; secondary objectives included assessment of safety and activity of the combination in epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor-resistant patients and correlation with tumor biomarkers.

Epistasis and covariance: how gene interaction translates into genomic relationship.

Models based on additive marker effects and on epistatic interactions can be translated into genomic relationship models. This equivalence allows to perform predictions based on complex gene interaction models and reduces computational effort significantly. In the theory of genome-assisted prediction, the equivalence of a linear model based on independent and identically normally distributed marker effects and a model based on multivariate Gaussian distributed breeding values with genomic relationship as covariance matrix is well known.

Peripartum changes in social support among women with and without anxiety and depressive disorders prior to pregnancy: a prospective-longitudinal study.

This study aims to prospectively examine peripartum changes in social support in women with and without anxiety and depressive disorders prior to pregnancy. Data come from the Maternal Anxiety in Relation to Infant Development (MARI) Study, a prospective-longitudinal investigation among n = 306 expectant mothers. DSM-IV anxiety and depressive disorders were assessed in early pregnancy using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview for Women (CIDI-V).

Correlation of KIT and PDGFRA mutational status with clinical benefit in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor treated with sunitinib in a worldwide treatment-use trial.

Background: Several small studies indicated that the genotype of KIT or platelet-derived growth factor receptor-α (PDGFRA) contributes in part to the level of clinical effectiveness of sunitinib in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients. This study aimed to correlate KIT and PDGFRA mutational status with clinical outcome metrics (progression-free survival [PFS], overall survival [OS], objective response rate [ORR]) in a larger international patient population.

Methods: This is a non-interventional, retrospective analysis in patients with imatinib-resistant or intolerant GIST who were treated in a worldwide, open-label treatment-use study (Study 1036; NCT00094029) in which sunitinib was administered at a starting dose of 50 mg/day on a 4-week-on, 2-week-off schedule.

Sexual Problems During Pregnancy and After Delivery Among Women With and Without Anxiety and Depressive Disorders Prior to Pregnancy: A Prospective-Longitudinal Study.

Introduction: Few prospective-longitudinal studies have examined the course of sexual problems during pregnancy and after delivery in women with and without anxiety and depressive disorders prior to pregnancy as well as with and without maternal birth injuries.

Aims: To prospectively investigate associations of anxiety and depressive disorders prior to pregnancy and maternal birth injuries with sexual problems during the peripartum period.

Methods: The Maternal Anxiety in Relation to Infant Development Study is a prospective-longitudinal study of 306 women enrolled during early pregnancy and repeatedly assessed in seven waves during the peripartum period.

A case for the use of receiver operating characteristic analysis of potential clinical efficacy biomarkers in advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Aim: Assess patient-level utility of suggested pretreatment biomarkers of sunitinib in advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Patients & Methods: Kaplan-Meier analysis of data from a randomized, Phase II study (n = 292) suggested baseline predictive value for circulating soluble Ang-2 and MMP-2 and HIF-1α percentage of tumor expression. Using this dataset, the sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve (AUC) were calculated, using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

Development of a new haptic perception instrument: a pilot study.

Objective: Hand sensory tests do not consider distinct physiological receptors, nor detect normal range variations concerning developmental or pathological changes. We developed an instrument with a set of tests with timing and scoring for assessing haptic perception, which is the interaction between sensory and motor systems, in surfaces exploration, by moving hands.

Method: Firstly, group meetings were set for test/manual conception and materials testing.

Quantification of oxidative stress phenotypes based on high-throughput growth profiling of protein kinase and phosphatase knockouts.

Cellular responses to oxidative stress are important for restoring redox balance and ensuring cell survival. Genetic defects in response factors can lead to impaired response to oxidative damage and contribute to disease and aging. In single cell organisms, such as yeasts, the integrity of the oxidative stress response can be observed through its influences on growth characteristics.

Hyperspectral imaging with a liquid crystal polarization interferometer.

A novel hyperspectral imaging system has been developed that takes advantage of the tunable path delay between orthogonal polarization states of a liquid crystal variable retarder. The liquid crystal is placed in the optical path of an imaging system and the path delay between the polarization states is varied, causing an interferogram to be generated simultaneously at each pixel. A data set consisting of a series of images is recorded while varying the path delay; Fourier transforming the data set with respect to the path delay yields the hyperspectral data-cube.

Maternal anxiety versus depressive disorders: specific relations to infants' crying, feeding and sleeping problems.

Background: Maternal depression has been associated with excessive infant crying, feeding and sleeping problems, but the specificity of maternal depression, as compared with maternal anxiety remains unclear and manifest disorders prior to pregnancy have been widely neglected. In this prospective longitudinal study, the specific associations of maternal anxiety and depressive disorders prior to, during and after pregnancy and infants' crying, feeding and sleeping problems were investigated in the context of maternal parity.

Methods: In the Maternal Anxiety in Relation to Infant Development (MARI) Study, n = 306 primiparous and multiparous women were repeatedly interviewed from early pregnancy until 16 months post partum with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview for Women (CIDI-V) to assess DSM-IV anxiety and depressive disorders.

[Teaching in higher education in nursing: an integrative literature review].

Objective: To analyze the knowledge produced about teaching in higher education in nursing.

Method: Integrative literature review of full articles available on the LILACS, SciELO, BDENF and ERIC databases, through the descriptors "nursing faculty"and "practices of nursing faculty" and keywords "Teaching in nursing" or "Education in nursing"and "Nursing professors" and "Teaching knowledge" in Portuguese, English or Spanish, published from January 2008 to November 2013.

Results: 31 articles were identified.

Cooperative binding: a multiple personality.

Cooperative binding has been described in many publications and has been related to or defined by several different properties of the binding behavior of the ligand to the target molecule. In addition to the commonly used Hill coefficient, other characteristics such as a sigmoidal shape of the overall titration curve in a linear plot, a change of ligand affinity of the other binding sites when a site of the target molecule becomes occupied, or complex roots of the binding polynomial have been used to define or to quantify cooperative binding. In this work, we analyze how the different properties are related in the most general model for binding curves based on the grand canonical partition function and present several examples which highlight differences between the cooperativity characterizing properties which are discussed.

Peripartum changes in partnership quality among women with and without anxiety and depressive disorders prior to pregnancy: a prospective-longitudinal study.

The purpose of this study is to prospectively examine peripartum changes in partnership characteristics among women with and without anxiety and depressive disorders prior to pregnancy. In the prospective-longitudinal Maternal Anxiety in Relation to Infant Development (MARI) study, n = 306 expectant mothers completed up to seven waves of assessment from early pregnancy until 16 months postpartum. Lifetime anxiety and depressive disorders according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) were evaluated at baseline using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview for Women (CIDI-V, Martini et al.

Adverse Events in Very Young Children Prescribed Psychotropic Medications: Preliminary Findings from an Acute Clinical Sample.

Objective: The present study used the Pediatric Adverse Events Rating Scale (PAERS) to provide a systematic assessment of adverse events (AEs) related to psychotropic medication use in a clinical sample of young children attending a specialized, early childhood partial hospital program. Study goals were as follows: 1) To describe the frequency and types of specific psychotropic medication-related AEs experienced by very young children (ages 3-7 years) in an acute clinical sample, and 2) to identify the psychotropic medication(s) and/or class(es) associated with the highest frequency of AEs.

Methods: Participants were 158 children (118 males; ages 36-95 months, mean=66 months, SD=14.

Comparison Between IGL-1 and HTK Preservation Solutions in Deceased Donor Liver Transplantation.

The effectiveness of liver preservation solutions remains in evidence. Cold ischemia time, steatosis, expanded criterion donors, operational cost, and survival represent important roles in its success. In a prospective cohort study between August 2009 and April 2014, 178 patients were allocated into an Institut Georges Lopez - 1 (IGL-1) solution group (63.

A 16-gene assay to predict recurrence after surgery in localised renal cell carcinoma: development and validation studies.

Background: The likelihood of tumour recurrence after nephrectomy in localised clear cell renal cell carcinoma is well characterised by clinical and pathological parameters. However, these assessments can be improved and personalised by the addition of molecular characteristics of each patient's tumour. We aimed to develop and validate a prognostic multigene signature to improve prediction of recurrence risk in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

A simplified interventional mapping system (SIMS) for the selection of combinations of targeted treatments in non-small cell lung cancer.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of death worldwide. Targeted monotherapies produce high regression rates, albeit for limited patient subgroups, who inevitably succumb. We present a novel strategy for identifying customized combinations of triplets of targeted agents, utilizing a simplified interventional mapping system (SIMS) that merges knowledge about existent drugs and their impact on the hallmarks of cancer.

[Fear of progression in parents of children with cancer: adaptation of the Fear of Progression Questionnaire and correlates].

Background: Fear of Progression (FoP), the fear of further disease progression, is one of the most common psychological strains of chronically ill patients and can also be found in healthy partners of cancer patients. Parents of children with cancer are also at risk of developing distinct fears that may persist after medical treatment. This study aimed to assess FoP in parents of children with cancer and to investigate relationships between FoP in parents of children with cancer and disease- and treatment-related issues, the child's current medical condition and parents' quality of life.

Dopaminergic denervation severity depends on COMT Val158Met polymorphism in Parkinson's disease.

Background: Catecholamine-O-methyl-tranferase (COMT) initiates dopamine degradation. Its activity is mainly determined by a single nucleotide polymorphism in the COMT gene (Val158Met, rs4680) separating high (Val/Val, COMT(HH)), intermediate (Val/Met, COMT(HL)) and low metabolizers (Met/Met, COMT(LL)). We investigated dopaminergic denervation in the striatum in PD patients according to COMT rs4680 genotype.

Comparison of the kinetics of different Markov models for ligand binding under varying conditions.

We recently derived a Markov model for macromolecular ligand binding dynamics from few physical assumptions and showed that its stationary distribution is the grand canonical ensemble [J. W. R.

A cortical-subcortical syntax pathway linking Broca's area and the striatum.

Combinatorial syntax has been shown to be underpinned by cortical key regions such as Broca's area and temporal cortices, and by subcortical structures such as the striatum. The cortical regions are connected via several cortico-to-cortical tracts impacting syntactic processing (e.g.

Risk factors and course patterns of anxiety and depressive disorders during pregnancy and after delivery: a prospective-longitudinal study.

Background: Peripartum anxiety and depressive disorders are associated with adverse consequences for mother and child. Thus, it is important to examine risk factors, correlates and course patterns of anxiety and depressive disorders during pregnancy and after delivery.

Methods: In the prospective-longitudinal Maternal Anxiety in Relation to Infant Development (MARI) Study, n=306 expectant mothers were recruited from gynaecological outpatient settings in Germany and completed up to seven waves of assessment from early pregnancy until 16 months postpartum.

Phase I dose-escalation study of pilaralisib (SAR245408, XL147), a pan-class I PI3K inhibitor, in combination with erlotinib in patients with solid tumors.

Background: This phase I study evaluated the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), and pharmacodynamics of pilaralisib (SAR245408), an oral pan-class I phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor, in combination with erlotinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor.

Methods: In a 3 + 3 dose-escalation study, patients with advanced solid tumors received pilaralisib capsules once daily (21 days per 28-day cycle; 50-600 mg) plus erlotinib tablets once daily (28 days per 28-day cycle; 100 or 150 mg). An MTD expansion cohort of patients with non-small cell lung cancer who had previously received treatment with an EGFR inhibitor was included.

Cell Index Database (CELLX): a web tool for cancer precision medicine.

The Cell Index Database, (CELLX) (http://cellx.sourceforge.net) provides a computational framework for integrating expression, copy number variation, mutation, compound activity, and meta data from cancer cells.