Psychometric properties of a brief self-reported health-related quality of life measure (HRQoL-IDD) for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Background: To encourage self-determination and address health disparities among persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, clinicians and researchers rely on self-reported measures like health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a theory-driven self-reported HRQoL measure for adults requiring mild to moderate support related to intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Method: 224 volunteers completed 42 quality of life items developed with extensive input from persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, family members/caregivers, and providers.

Developing a Health-Related Quality-of-Life Measure for People With Intellectual Disability.

Using principles of community-based participatory research we developed a new theory-based measure of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for individuals with intellectual disability (ID). We recruited adults with ID (n = 129) to take part in interviews and review successive versions of HRQOL items. Critical input about content and understandability shaped the items, as did input from four focus groups of parents/caregivers (n = 16) and representative stakeholders from community-based agencies (n = 7).

Impact of computerized provider order entry (CPOE) on length of stay and mortality.

Objective: To examine changes in patient outcome variables, length of stay (LOS), and mortality after implementation of computerized provider order entry (CPOE).

Materials And Methods: A 5-year retrospective pre-post study evaluated 66 186 patients and 104 153 admissions (49 683 pre-CPOE, 54 470 post-CPOE) at an academic medical center. Generalized linear mixed statistical tests controlled for 17 potential confounders with 2 models per outcome.

Oncology Nursing Certification: Relation to Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes About Pain, Patient-Reported Pain Care Quality, and Pain Outcomes.

Purpose/objectives: To (a) compare pain knowledge and attitudes between nurses with oncology certified nurse (OCN®) status, non-OCN®-certified nurses, and nurses ineligible for certification and (b) examine the relationships among OCN® status, nurses' knowledge and attitudes about pain, patient-reported quality of nursing pain care, and pain outcomes. 
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Design: Prospective, correlational survey design.

Creatine as a Novel Treatment for Depression in Females Using Methamphetamine: A Pilot Study.

Objective: Depression among methamphetamine users is more prevalent in females than males, but gender-specific treatment options for this comorbidity have not been described. Reduced brain phosphocreatine levels have been shown to be lower in female methamphetamine users compared to males, and, of relevance, studies have demonstrated an association between treatment-resistant depression and reduced brain phosphocreatine concentrations. The nutritional supplement creatine monohydrate has been reported to reduce symptoms of depression in female adolescents and adults taking antidepressants, as well as to increase brain phosphocreatine in healthy volunteers.

The Development and Validation of the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale: Assessing the Interprofessional Attitudes of Students in the Health Professions.

Purpose: No validated tools assess all four competency domains described in the 2011 report Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (IPEC Report). The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a tool based on the IPEC Report core competency domains that assesses the interprofessional attitudes of students in the health professions.

Method: In 2012, an interprofessional team of students and two of the authors developed and administered a survey to students from four colleges and schools at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center (Health, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy).

Measurement considerations for achieving equity in research inclusion for transition-aged youth with disabilities.

Measuring health for youth with intellectual disabilities (ID) is important for tracking progress toward national health goals. Measures of biophysical and fitness indicators are important but difficult to obtain in youth with ID, particularly in community settings. This paper describes obstacles encountered and strategies used to measure outcomes in a community-based study.

Virus transcript levels and cell growth rates after naturally occurring HPV16 integration events in basal cervical keratinocytes.

Cervical carcinogenesis is characterized by a clonal selection process in which the high-risk human papillomavirus (HRHPV) genome usually changes from the extra-chromosomal (episomal) state seen in productive infections to DNA that is integrated into host chromosomes. However, it is not clear whether all HRHPV integration events provide cells with a selective growth advantage compared with the episome-containing cells from which they originate. It is also unclear whether selection of cells containing a particular integrant from a mixed population simply reflects the highest levels of virus oncogene expression or has additional determinants.

Depletion of HPV16 early genes induces autophagy and senescence in a cervical carcinogenesis model, regardless of viral physical state.

In cervical carcinomas, high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) may be integrated into host chromosomes or remain extra-chromosomal (episomal). We used the W12 cervical keratinocyte model to investigate the effects of HPV16 early gene depletion on in vitro cervical carcinogenesis pathways, particularly effects shared by cells with episomal versus integrated HPV16 DNA. Importantly, we were able to study the specific cellular consequences of viral gene depletion by using short interfering RNAs known not to cause phenotypic or transcriptional off-target effects in keratinocytes.

Older breast cancer survivors: can interaction analyses identify vulnerable subgroups? A report from the American Cancer Society Studies of Cancer Survivors.

Purpose/objectives: To explore interactions among personal, cancer, aging, and symptom variables relative to physical function (PF) in older adult breast cancer survivors to better identify vulnerable subgroups.

Design: Secondary analysis of the American Cancer Society Studies of Cancer Survivors II.

Setting: U.

LIN28 Expression in malignant germ cell tumors downregulates let-7 and increases oncogene levels.

Despite their clinicopathologic heterogeneity, malignant germ cell tumors (GCT) share molecular abnormalities that are likely to be functionally important. In this study, we investigated the potential significance of downregulation of the let-7 family of tumor suppressor microRNAs in malignant GCTs. Microarray results from pediatric and adult samples (n = 45) showed that LIN28, the negative regulator of let-7 biogenesis, was abundant in malignant GCTs, regardless of patient age, tumor site, or histologic subtype.

Effecting healthy lifestyle changes in overweight and obese young adults with intellectual disability.

We evaluated a 12-week recreation center-based healthy lifestyle intervention for 30 obese home-dwelling young adults (YA) with intellectual disabilities. Three cohorts participated: YA only, YA and parents, and parents only. The YA cohorts received a nutrition/exercise intervention; parents focused on modeling healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Depletion of polycistronic transcripts using short interfering RNAs: cDNA synthesis method affects levels of non-targeted genes determined by quantitative PCR.

Background: Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are often used to deplete viral polycistronic transcripts, such as those encoded by human papillomavirus (HPV). There are conflicting data in the literature concerning how siRNAs targeting one HPV gene can affect levels of other genes in the polycistronic transcripts. We hypothesised that the conflict might be partly explained by the method of cDNA synthesis used prior to transcript quantification.

Lack of correlation between predicted and actual off-target effects of short-interfering RNAs targeting the human papillomavirus type 16 E7 oncogene.

Background: When designing therapeutic short-interfering RNAs (siRNAs), off-target effects (OTEs) are usually predicted by computational quantification of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that contain matches to the siRNA seed sequence in their 3' UTRs. It is assumed that the higher the number of predicted transcriptional OTEs, the greater the size of the actual OTE signature and the more detrimental the phenotypic consequences in target-negative cells.

Methods: We tested this general assumption by investigating the OTEs of potential therapeutic siRNAs targeting the human papillomavirus (HPV) type-16 E7 oncogene.

Confirmatory factor analysis of the pain care quality surveys (PainCQ©).

Objective: To examine the reliability and validity and to decrease the battery of items in the Pain Care Quality (PainCQ(©) ) Surveys.

Data Sources/study Setting: Patient-reported data were collected prospectively from 337 hospitalized adult patients with pain on medical/surgical oncology units in four hospitals in three states.

Study Design: This methodological study used a cross-sectional survey design.

Lipoprotein lipase is frequently overexpressed or translocated in cervical squamous cell carcinoma and promotes invasiveness through the non-catalytic C terminus.

Background: We studied the biological significance of genes involved in a novel t(8;12)(p21.3;p13.31) reciprocal translocation identified in cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cells.

The effect of aging and cancer on the symptom experience and physical function of elderly breast cancer survivors.

Background: The majority of cancer survivors are aged ≥ 65 years, yet, historically, cancer research has focused infrequently on older patients. The objective of this study was to examine predictors of physical function within a framework that integrates the gerontologic and oncologic needs of older cancer survivors.

Methods: Path analysis tested 759 women who were breast cancer survivors aged ≥ 70 years from the American Cancer Society Study of Cancer Survivors II to examine the cancer, aging, and personal characteristics that had an impact on symptoms and physical functioning.

Overexpression of the oncostatin M receptor in cervical squamous cell carcinoma cells is associated with a pro-angiogenic phenotype and increased cell motility and invasiveness.

Oncostatin M receptor (OSMR) shows frequent copy number gain and overexpression in advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). We used cell-based in vitro assays, RNA interference, and integrative gene expression profiling to investigate the functional significance of this observation. CaSki and SW756 were selected as representative cervical SCC cells that overexpressed OSMR, and ME180 and MS751 as cells that did not.

Functional evidence that Drosha overexpression in cervical squamous cell carcinoma affects cell phenotype and microRNA profiles.

Although gain of chromosome 5p is one of the most frequent DNA copy-number imbalances in cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the genes that drive its selection remain poorly understood. In a previous cross-sectional clinical study, we showed that the microRNA processor Drosha (located on chromosome 5p) demonstrates frequent copy-number gain and overexpression in cervical SCC, associated with altered microRNA profiles. Here, we have conducted gene depletion/overexpression experiments to demonstrate the functional significance of up-regulated Drosha in cervical SCC cells.

Validity of the Patient Generated Index as a quality-of-life measure in radiation oncology.

Purpose/objectives: To evaluate psychometric properties of an instrument designed to measure individualized health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Design: Repeated measures of self-reported quality of life.

Setting: An outpatient radiation therapy department in the western part of the United States.

Elderly cancer survivorship: an integrative review and conceptual framework.

Unlabelled: The intersection of ageing and cancer in the phase of post-treatment survivorship represents a large and growing population with unique needs.

Purpose: The goal of this work is to review and integrate the current gerontology and oncology literature relevant to elderly cancer survivorship, to identify knowledge gaps and research opportunities and to propose a conceptual model to guide future research. The long-term, global goal is the prevention of morbidity and mortality in elderly cancer survivors by identification of vulnerable elders, maintenance of independence, tailoring of treatment, establishing intervention guidelines and planning for necessary resources within the entire trajectory of cancer survival for older survivors.

The validity of neuropathy and neuropathic pain measures in patients with cancer receiving taxanes and platinums.

Purpose/objectives: To assess the validity of neuropathy and neuropathic pain-measurement approaches.

Design: Cross-sectional measurement study.

Setting: Two comprehensive cancer centers in the northeastern United States.

Development of peptide aptamer microarrays for detection of HPV16 oncoproteins in cell extracts.

Protein microarrays represent an emerging technology that promises to facilitate high-throughput proteomics. The major goal of this technology is to employ peptides, full-length proteins, antibodies, and small molecules to simultaneously screen thousands of targets for potential protein-protein interactions or modifications of the proteome. This article describes the performance of a set of peptide aptamers specific for the human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 oncoproteins E6 and E7 in a microarray format.

The two most common histological subtypes of malignant germ cell tumour are distinguished by global microRNA profiles, associated with differential transcription factor expression.

Background: We hypothesised that differences in microRNA expression profiles contribute to the contrasting natural history and clinical outcome of the two most common types of malignant germ cell tumour (GCT), yolk sac tumours (YSTs) and germinomas.

Results: By direct comparison, using microarray data for paediatric GCT samples and published qRT-PCR data for adult samples, we identified microRNAs significantly up-regulated in YSTs (n = 29 paediatric, 26 adult, 11 overlapping) or germinomas (n = 37 paediatric). By Taqman qRT-PCR we confirmed differential expression of 15 of 16 selected microRNAs and further validated six of these (miR-302b, miR-375, miR-200b, miR-200c, miR-122, miR-205) in an independent sample set.