Interim Report on the Examination of Corrosion Damage in Homes Constructed With Imported Wallboard: Examination of Samples Received September 28, 2009.

Since many household systems are fabricated out of metallic materials, changes to the household environment that accelerate corrosion rates will increase the frequency of failures in these systems. Recently, it has been reported that homes constructed with imported wallboard have increased failure rates in appliances, air conditioner heat exchanger coils, and visible corrosion on electrical wiring and other metal components. At the request of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) became involved through the Interagency Agreement CPSC-1-09-0023 to perform metallurgical analyses on samples and corrosion products removed from homes constructed using imported wallboard.

Diffusive flux and magnetic manipulation of nanoparticles through porous membranes.

Measurement of transport of nanometer scale particles through porous media is important to begin to understand the potential environmental impacts of nanomaterials. Using a diffusion cell with two compartments separated by either a porous alumina or polycarbonate membrane as a model system, diffusive flux through mesoporous materials is examined. Experiments are performed as a function of particle size, pore diameter, and solvent, and the particle fluxes are monitored by the change in absorbance of the solution in the receiving cell.

Diabetic CKD/ESRD 2010: a progress report?

Both in the United States and many regions of the world, chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in patients with diabetes mellitus have reached epidemic proportions in recent years. The large prevalent diabetic ESRD population in the US involves remarkable risk in African Americans and an increasing population of elderly diabetic patients, including many octogenarians. In the US and globally, over 90% of diabetic ESRD patients have type 2 diabetes.

Geriatric nephrology: responding to a growing challenge.

Changing demographics of the global population predict that the number of people age 65 years or greater will triple over the coming decades. Because the incidence and prevalence of kidney disease increase with advancing age, nephrologists will be increasingly confronted with a population of patients who are elderly and have a large number of comorbid conditions requiring ongoing care. Furthermore, it is increasingly understood that aging leads to its own unique aspects of nephrologic diagnosis and treatment.

Mantle cell lymphoma: report of the 2009 Mantle Cell Lymphoma Consortium Workshop.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma characterized by cyclin D1 overexpression as a result of the t(11;14) chromosomal translocation, and by biological and clinical heterogeneity with frequent extranodal dissemination. There is no consensus or standard for initial therapy or for treatment of relapsed disease, and no proven curative therapy exists. Nonetheless, considerable progress in treatment response and survival has been realized over the past several years, and the disease remains an important focus of preclinical and clinical research.

Management of diabetes in dialysis patients.

Diabetes mellitus is the most common cause of kidney disease worldwide, and of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the United States and elsewhere. Mortality rates of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) on chronic dialysis exceed those of non-DM patients. ESRD and dialysis add to the complexity of glycemic management in this population.

Differential magnetic catch and release: analysis and separation of magnetic nanoparticles.

This article reports the purification and separation of magnetic nanoparticle mixtures using differential magnetic catch and release (DMCR). This method applies a variable magnetic flux orthogonal to the flow direction in an open tubular capillary to trap and controllably release magnetic nanoparticles. Magnetic moments of 8, 12, and 17 nm diameter CoFe2O4 nanoparticles are calculated using the applied magnetic flux and experimentally determined force required to trap 50% of the particle sample.

Bendamustine is effective therapy in patients with rituximab-refractory, indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: results from a Multicenter Study.

Background: Bendamustine hydrochloride is a novel alkylating agent. In this multicenter study, the authors evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of single-agent bendamustine in patients with rituximab-refractory, indolent B-cell lymphoma.

Methods: Eligible patients (N = 100, ages 31-84 years) received bendamustine at a dose of 120 mg/m(2) by intravenous infusion on Days 1 and 2 every 21 days for 6 to 8 cycles.

Lenalidomide plus high-dose dexamethasone versus lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone as initial therapy for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: an open-label randomised controlled trial.

Background: High-dose dexamethasone is a mainstay of therapy for multiple myeloma. We studied whether low-dose dexamethasone in combination with lenalidomide is non-inferior to and has lower toxicity than high-dose dexamethasone plus lenalidomide.

Methods: Patients with untreated symptomatic myeloma were randomly assigned in this open-label non-inferiority trial to lenalidomide 25 mg on days 1-21 plus dexamethasone 40 mg on days 1-4, 9-12, and 17-20 of a 28-day cycle (high dose), or lenalidomide given on the same schedule with dexamethasone 40 mg on days 1, 8, 15, and 22 of a 28-day cycle (low dose).

Inorganic biomimetic nanostructures.

Supramolecular structures modeled after biological systems (DNA and enzymes) are being developed to simultaneously mimic natural biological functions including catalysis, information storage, and self-assembly and to engineer novel electronic and magnetic properties. Structural mimics of nucleic acids containing multiple metal-coordinating ligands, and comprising natural and artificial bases or completely synthetic systems, create stable double-stranded structures with new electronic, spectroscopic, and magnetic properties. Supramolecular inorganic mimics of enzymatic function, including metallonucleases and metalloproteases, have begun to be constructed.

Impacts of the location and number of [Cu(bpy)(2)](2+) cross-links on the emission photodynamics of [Ru(bpy)(3)](2+) with pendant oligo(aminoethylglycine) chains.

Multifunctional aminoethylglycine (aeg) derivatized [Ru(bpy)(3)](2+) complexes with pendant bipyridine (bpy) ligands coordinate Cu(2+) to form coordinative chain cross-links in a "hairpin loop" motif. In this paper, we report the synthesis and characterization of a series of Ru aeg hairpins in which the relative aeg chain length and number of pendant bpy ligands is varied. Reaction of each of these with Cu(2+) is monitored using spectrophotometric emission titrations to determine the binding stoichiometry.

Mantle cell lymphoma: biological insights and treatment advances.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) exhibits considerable molecular heterogeneity and complexity, and is regarded as one of the most challenging lymphomas to treat. With increased understanding of the pathobiology of MCL, it is proposed that MCL is the result of 3 major converging factors, namely, deregulated cell cycle pathways, defects in DNA damage responses, and dysregulation of cell survival pathways. In the present era of targeted therapies, these biologic insights have resulted in the identification of several novel rational targets for therapeutic intervention in MCL that are undergoing active clinical testing.

Chronic kidney disease/bone and mineral metabolism: the imperfect storm.

As kidney function declines, chronic kidney disease (CKD) becomes an increasingly systemic disorder. Most patients with CKD eventually develop subclinical or clinical abnormalities in bone and mineral metabolism. Recent observational and basic scientific studies have led to a new emphasis on the changes in phosphorus and calcium metabolism, parathyroid hormone, and vitamin D that lead to this complex systemic bone/mineral disorder (CKD/BMD).

Treatment strategies for relapsed and refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) are a clinically heterogeneous group of lymphomas with disparate responses to standard chemotherapy regimens. Aggressive NHL includes diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL), among others. Significant advances have been made in the last decade in the initial treatment of DLBCL and MCL, but the treatment of relapsed or refractory disease remains difficult.

Transmission electron microscope-induced structural evolution in amorphous Fe, Co, and Ni oxide nanoparticles.

The high-energy electron beams in transmission electron microscopes (TEM) are known to cause structural changes and damage in some materials. In this paper, we describe unique and reproducible TEM-induced changes to the morphology of amorphous metal oxide (Fe, Co, and Ni) nanoparticles. The studied particles were synthesized via literature methods and fully characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and time-resolved, low-dose TEM.

Voltage-gated sodium channels in taste bud cells.

Background: Taste bud cells transmit information regarding the contents of food from taste receptors embedded in apical microvilli to gustatory nerve fibers innervating basolateral membranes. In particular, taste cells depolarize, activate voltage-gated sodium channels, and fire action potentials in response to tastants. Initial cell depolarization is attributable to sodium influx through TRPM5 in sweet, bitter, and umami cells and an undetermined cation influx through an ion channel in sour cells expressing PKD2L1, a candidate sour taste receptor.

Assessment of autism in community settings: discrepancies in classification.

Review of 78 evaluations for 29 young children examined practices used in assessment of autism spectrum disorders in three settings: public schools, developmental disabilities eligibility determinations, and our hospital-based early childhood mental health program. While similar rates of classification of autism spectrum disorders were found across sites, the rate of agreement by different evaluators for individual children was only 45%. Further, most community evaluators did not follow best practice guidelines nor use autism diagnostic tools with established psychometric properties.

Extremes of glycemic control (HbA1c) increase hospitalization risk in diabetic hemodialysis patients in the USA.

Background/aims: Because the relation between glycemic control and clinical outcomes found in the general diabetic population has not been established in diabetic hemodialysis patients, we evaluated the association between glycemic control and hospitalization risk.

Methods: We performed a primary retrospective data analysis on 23,829 hemodialysis patients with diabetes mellitus. Hemoglobin A(1c) at baseline and hospitalization events over the subsequent 12 months were analyzed and logistic regression models constructed for unadjusted, case mix-adjusted and case mix plus lab- adjusted data.

Phase II multicenter study of bendamustine plus rituximab in patients with relapsed indolent B-cell and mantle cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Purpose: Bendamustine HCl is a bifunctional mechlorethamine derivative with clinical activity in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This study evaluated bendamustine plus rituximab in 67 adults with relapsed, indolent B-cell or mantle cell lymphoma without documented resistance to prior rituximab.

Patients And Methods: Patients received rituximab 375 mg/m(2) intravenously on day 1 and bendamustine 90 mg/m(2) intravenously on days 2 and 3 of each 28-day cycle for four to six cycles.

Rates of revision surgery using Chevron-Austin osteotomy, Lapidus arthrodesis, and closing base wedge osteotomy for correction of hallux valgus deformity.

To identify complications that necessitated revision surgery after the primary operation, a multicenter retrospective chart review was conducted for 646 patients who received either a modified chevron-Austin osteotomy (270 patients), modified Lapidus arthrodesis (342 patients), or closing base wedge osteotomy (34 patients) to correct hallux valgus deformity. Revision surgery for complications was calculated and compared. All surgery was performed by 1 of 5 staff foot and ankle surgeons at Kaiser Permanente medical centers.

Aminoethylglycine-functionalized Ru(bpy)3(2+) with pendant bipyridines self-assemble multimetallic complexes by copper and zinc coordination.

Directed self-assembly using inorganic coordination chemistry is an attractive approach for making functional supramolecular structures. In this article, the synthesis and characterization of Ru(bpy) 3 (2+) compounds derivatized with aminoethylglycine (aeg) substituents containing pendant bipyridine (bpy) ligands is presented. The free bpy ligands in these complexes are available for metal chelation to form coordinative cross-links; addition of Cu (2+) or Zn (2+) assembles heterometallic structures containing two or three transition-metal complexes.

Grignard functionalization of Weinreb amide-modified Au nanoparticles.

Reactions of Grignard and organolithium reagents are staple transformations in organic chemistry. However, their use in the chemical functionalization of monolayer-protected metallic nanoparticles is unprecedented. In this letter, we report the reaction of Au nanoparticles bearing a mixed monolayer of alkanethiol ligands that are methyl- and N-methoxy- N-methyl amide-terminated.

A high-throughput assay for evaluating state dependence and subtype selectivity of Cav2 calcium channel inhibitors.

Cav2.2 channels play a critical role in pain signaling by controlling synaptic transmission between dorsal root ganglion neurons and dorsal horn neurons. The Cav2.

Use of circulating antiangiogenic factors to differentiate other hypertensive disorders from preeclampsia in a pregnant woman on dialysis.

Preeclampsia is a serious complication during pregnancy that includes potentially life-threatening risks to the mother and fetus. It may be challenging to distinguish this from other causes of rapidly escalating hypertension, especially in women with end-stage renal disease, because current diagnostic criteria for preeclampsia cannot be easily applied. We report a woman undergoing hemodialysis who was considered to be preeclamptic when her blood pressure suddenly increased during her 29th week of gestation.