Illuminating the use of photodynamic therapy in urologic oncology.

Introduction: We report the first scoping review of the clinical urologic literature for photodynamic therapy (PDT) among multiple urologic malignancies.

Materials And Methods: A scoping review using Medline and Embase was performed for treatment of urologic malignancies with PDT.

Results: There were 84 papers included with the majority involving bladder and prostate cancer.

Disparities in Clinical Trial Participation: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Cancer Patients at a Midwest Academic Medical Center.

Research conducted on homogenous populations can lead to biased and misleading findings, impeding the development of effective interventions and treatments for diverse populations. Low participation among minority groups further leads to disparities in access to innovative cancer care and treatment outcomes associated with trial participation. To better understand cancer patients' attitudes and willingness to participate in clinical trials, solid tumor patients attending their clinic visits were invited to complete a survey.

Uncertainty Visualization of Critical Points of 2D Scalar Fields for Parametric and Nonparametric Probabilistic Models.

This paper presents a novel end-to-end framework for closed-form computation and visualization of critical point uncertainty in 2D uncertain scalar fields. Critical points are fundamental topological descriptors used in the visualization and analysis of scalar fields. The uncertainty inherent in data (e.

A New Default Colormap for ParaView.

ParaView is one of the most prominent software tools for scientific visualization used by scientists around the world. Color is a primary conduit to visually map data to its representation and, thus, enable investigation and interpretation of the data. Colormap selection has a significant impact on the data revealed; its design and selection is a critical aspect of scientific data visualization.

Successful Robot-Assisted Simple Prostatectomy Years After a Prostate Artery Embolization: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Simple prostatectomy (SP) can be utilized for patients with large prostates with lower urinary tract symptoms. Prostate artery embolization (PAE) does not have robust clinical evidence to support its use in treating urinary symptoms; however, it is an effective treatment for refractory hematuria from a prostatic source. There have been limited papers regarding preoperative PAE prior to SP.

Optimization of the LLNL/CAMS gas-accepting ion source and 1 MV compact AMS for natural abundance radiocarbon analysis of CO.

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory - Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (LLNL/CAMS) 1 MV AMS system was converted from a biomedical AMS instrument to a natural abundance C spectrometer. The system is equipped with a gas-accepting hybrid ion source capable of measuring both solid (graphite) and gaseous (CO) samples. Here we describe a series of experiments intended to establish and optimize CO measurement capabilities at natural abundance levels.

Restoring function: Positive responses of carbon and nitrogen to 20 years of hydrologic restoration in montane meadows.

Montane meadows are highly productive ecosystems that contain high densities of soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). However, anthropogenic disturbances that have led to channel incision and disconnected floodplain hydrology have altered the C balance of many meadows, converting them from net C sinks to net sources of C to the atmosphere. Restoration efforts designed to reconnect floodplain hydrology may slow rates of soil C loss from degraded meadows and restore the conditions for C sequestration and N immobilization, yet questions remain about the long-term impact of such efforts.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids inhibit a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel through one of two binding sites.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) inhibit pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs) but the mechanism of inhibition is not well understood. The PUFA, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), inhibits agonist responses of the pLGIC, ELIC, more effectively than palmitic acid, similar to the effects observed in the GABA receptor and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Using photo-affinity labeling and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, we identified two fatty acid binding sites in the outer transmembrane domain (TMD) of ELIC.

Depth dependence of climatic controls on soil microbial community activity and composition.

Subsoil microbiomes play important roles in soil carbon and nutrient cycling, yet our understanding of the controls on subsoil microbial communities is limited. Here, we investigated the direct (mean annual temperature and precipitation) and indirect (soil chemistry) effects of climate on microbiome composition and extracellular enzyme activity throughout the soil profile across two elevation-bioclimatic gradients in central California, USA. We found that microbiome composition changes and activity decreases with depth.

Conversion of the LLNL/CAMS 1 MV biological AMS system to a semi-automated natural abundance C spectrometer: system optimization and performance evaluation.

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory - Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry compact 1 MV biomedical accelerator mass spectrometer was repurposed and optimized for the semi-automated radiocarbon measurement of natural abundance environmental samples. Substantial efforts were made to greatly improve instrument precision and develop semi-automation capabilities for unattended operation. Here we present results from 15 months of routine system operation and evaluate the system performance based on 30 sample wheels measured with directly comparable operating conditions over 7 months from August 2019 to March 2020.

Selective Imaging of Lung Macrophages Using [C]PBR28-Based Positron Emission Tomography.

Purpose: We tested whether the translocator protein (TSPO)-targeted positron emission tomography (PET) tracer, N-acetyl-N-(2-[C]methoxybenzyl)-2-phenoxy-5-pyridinamine ([C]PBR28), could distinguish macrophage dominant from neutrophilic inflammation better than 2-deoxy-2-[F]fluoro-D-glucose ([F]FDG) in mouse models of lung inflammation and assessed TSPO association with macrophages in lung tissue from the mouse models and in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Procedures: MicroPET imaging quantified [C]PBR28 and [F]FDG lung uptake in wild-type (Wt) C57BL/6J or heterozygous transgenic monocyte-deficient Wt/opT mice at 49 days after Sendai virus (SeV) infection, during macrophage-dominant inflammation, and in Wt mice at 3 days after SeV infection or 24 h after endotoxin instillation during neutrophilic inflammation. Immunohistochemical staining for TSPO in macrophages and neutrophils was performed using Mac3 and Ly6G for cell identification in mouse lung sections and CD68 and neutrophil elastase (NE) in human lung sections taken from explanted lungs from patients with COPD undergoing lung transplantation and donor lungs rejected for transplantation.

Cladocopium community divergence in two Acropora coral hosts across multiple spatial scales.

Many broadly-dispersing corals acquire their algal symbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) "horizontally" from their environment upon recruitment. Horizontal transmission could promote coral fitness across diverse environments provided that corals can associate with divergent algae across their range and that these symbionts exhibit reduced dispersal potential. Here we quantified community divergence of Cladocopium algal symbionts in two coral host species (Acropora hyacinthus, Acropora digitifera) across two spatial scales (reefs on the same island, and between islands) across the Micronesian archipelago using microsatellites.

VTK-m: Accelerating the Visualization Toolkit for Massively Threaded Architectures.

One of the most critical challenges for high-performance computing (HPC) scientific visualization is execution on massively threaded processors. Of the many fundamental changes we are seeing in HPC systems, one of the most profound is a reliance on new processor types optimized for execution bandwidth over latency hiding. Our current production scientific visualization software is not designed for these new types of architectures.

The Tensions of In Situ Visualization.

In situ visualization is the coupling of visualization software with a simulation or other data producer to process the data "in memory" before the data are offloaded to a storage system. Although in situ visualization provides superior analysis, it has implementation tradeoffs resulting from conflicts with some traditional expected requirements. Numerous conflicting requirements create tensions that lead to difficult implementation tradeoffs.

Effect of Otoconial Proteins Fetuin A, Osteopontin, and Otoconin 90 on the Nucleation and Growth of Calcite.

We investigated the roles of three proteins associated with the formation of otoconia including fetuin A, osteopontin (OPN), and otoconin 90 (OC90). In situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies of the effects of these proteins on the growth of atomic steps on calcite surfaces were performed to obtain insight into their effects on the growth kinetics. We also used scanning electron microscopy to examine the effects of these proteins on crystal morphology.

In vitro calcite crystal morphology is modulated by otoconial proteins otolin-1 and otoconin-90.

Otoconia are formed embryonically and are instrumental in detecting linear acceleration and gravity. Degeneration and fragmentation of otoconia in elderly patients leads to imbalance resulting in higher frequency of falls that are positively correlated with the incidence of bone fractures and death. In this work we investigate the roles otoconial proteins Otolin-1 and Otoconin 90 (OC90) perform in the formation of otoconia.

A survey of visualization pipelines.

The most common abstraction used by visualization libraries and applications today is what is known as the visualization pipeline. The visualization pipeline provides a mechanism to encapsulate algorithms and then couple them together in a variety of ways. The visualization pipeline has been in existence for over 20 years, and over this time many variations and improvements have been proposed.

Effects of simvastatin on cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers and cognition in middle-aged adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Statins reduce amyloid-beta (Abeta) levels in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in animals and may thereby favorably alter the pathobiology of AD. It is unclear if statins modify Abeta metabolism or improve cognition in asymptomatic middle-aged adults at increased risk for AD.

Methods: In a 4-month randomized, double-blind, controlled study, we evaluated the effects of simvastatin 40 mg daily vs.

Time dependent processing in a parallel pipeline architecture.

Pipeline architectures provide a versatile and efficient mechanism for constructing visualizations, and they have been implemented in numerous libraries and applications over the past two decades. In addition to allowing developers and users to freely combine algorithms, visualization pipelines have proven to work well when streaming data and scale well on parallel distributed-memory computers. However, current pipeline visualization frameworks have a critical flaw: they are unable to manage time varying data.

Cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 participate in 5,6-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid-induced contraction of rabbit intralobar pulmonary arteries.

Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) have been reported to contract intralobar pulmonary arteries (PA) of the rabbit in a cyclooxygenase (COX)-dependent manner. In the present study, we observed that COX-1 and COX-2 isoforms were expressed in freshly isolated PA of healthy rabbits. We examined the hypothesis that both COX isoforms participate in 5,6-EET-induced contraction of rabbit intralobar PA.

An educational program enhances food label understanding of young adolescents.

While much research has focused on intake and eating behaviors of young adolescents, few studies have examined their knowledge of the Nutrition Facts label. The goals of this project were to assess the understanding of Nutrition Facts labels and the response of young adolescents to an educational program about Nutrition Facts labels. Thirty-four young adolescents participated by answering a short questionnaire and taking a pretest about Nutrition Facts labels and their food choices, which involved using actual Nutrition Facts labels from foods typically eaten by adolescents.

Development and implementation of the Clinical Privileges for Dietitian Nutrition Order Writing program at a long-term acute-care hospital.

A patient nutrition care plan is of little value unless it is quickly and efficiently implemented. Recognition of the value of appropriate and timely medical nutrition intervention in improving patients' nutritional status led to the development of the Clinical Privileges for Dietitian Nutrition Order Writing (CPD NOW) program at a long-term, acute-care hospital. CPD NOW is a formalized approach specifying the types of nutrition care orders that may be written by a registered dietitian (RD), allowing nutrition recommendations to be implemented immediately.

A three-step kinetic mechanism for selective inhibition of cyclo-oxygenase-2 by diarylheterocyclic inhibitors.

Cyclo-oxygenase (COX) enzymes are the targets for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These drugs demonstrate a variety of inhibitory mechanisms, which include simple competitive, as well as slow binding and irreversible inhibition. In general, most NSAIDs inhibit COX-1 and -2 by similar mechanisms.