Impact of robotic antineoplastic preparation on safety, workflow, and costs.

Purpose: Antineoplastic preparation presents unique safety concerns and consumes significant pharmacy staff time and costs. Robotic antineoplastic and adjuvant medication compounding may provide incremental safety and efficiency advantages compared with standard pharmacy practices.

Methods: We conducted a direct observation trial in an academic medical center pharmacy to compare the effects of usual/manual antineoplastic and adjuvant drug preparation (baseline period) with robotic preparation (intervention period).

Heme oxygenase-1 deficiency promotes the development of necrotizing enterocolitis-like intestinal injury in a newborn mouse model.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is typified by mucosal destruction, which subsequently can lead to intestinal necrosis. Prematurity, enteral feeding, and bacterial colonization are the main risk factors and, combined with other stressors, can cause increased intestinal permeability, injury, and an exaggerated inflammatory response. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) mediates intestinal protection due to anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and antiapoptotic effects of its products carbon monoxide, biliverdin, and bilirubin.

Synthesis and electronic structure of bis(imino)pyridine iron metallacyclic intermediates in iron-catalyzed cyclization reactions.

The bis(imino)pyridine iron dinitrogen compound, ((iPr(TB))PDI)Fe(N2)2 ((iPr(TB))PDI = 2,6-(2,6-(i)Pr2-C6H3-N═C-(CH2)3)2(C5H1N)) is an effective precatalyst for the [2π + 2π] cycloaddition of diallyl amines as well as the hydrogenative cyclization of N-tosylated enynes and diynes. Addition of stoichiometric quantities of amino-substituted enyne and diyne substrates to ((iPr(TB))PDI)Fe(N2)2 resulted in isolation of catalytically competent bis(imino)pyridine iron metallacycle intermediates. A combination of magnetochemistry, X-ray diffraction, and Mössbauer spectroscopic and computational studies established S = 1 iron compounds that are best described as intermediate-spin iron(III) (SFe = 3/2) antiferromagnetically coupled to a chelate radical anion (SPDI = 1/2).

The surgical management of necrotizing enterocolitis.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a common cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality, is strongly associated with prematurity and typically occurs following initiation of enteral feeds. Mild NEC is adequately treated by cessation of enteral feeding, empiric antibiotics, and supportive care. Approximately 50% of affected infants will develop progressive intestinal necrosis requiring urgent operation.

Improving prediction of surgery duration using operational and temporal factors.

Inherent uncertainties in surgery durations impact many critical metrics about the performance of an operating room (OR) environment. OR schedules that are robust to natural variability in surgery durations require surgery duration estimates that are unbiased, with high accuracy, and with few cases with large absolute errors. Earlier studies have shown that factors such as patient severity, personnel, and procedure type greatly affect the accuracy of such estimations.

Oxidative addition of carbon-carbon bonds with a redox-active bis(imino)pyridine iron complex.

Addition of biphenylene to the bis(imino)pyridine iron dinitrogen complexes, ((iPr)PDI)Fe(N(2))(2) and [((Me)PDI)Fe(N(2))](2)(μ(2)-N(2)) ((R)PDI = 2,6-(2,6-R(2)-C(6)H(3)-N═CMe)(2)C(5)H(3)N; R = Me, (i)Pr), resulted in oxidative addition of a C-C bond at ambient temperature to yield the corresponding iron biphenyl compounds, ((R)PDI)Fe(biphenyl). The molecular structures of the resulting bis(imino)pyridine iron metallacycles were established by X-ray diffraction and revealed idealized square pyramidal geometries. The electronic structures of the compounds were studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy, magnetochemistry, and X-ray absorption and X-ray emission spectroscopies.

Mechanistic investigation of the nickel-catalyzed Suzuki reaction of N,O-acetals: evidence for boronic acid assisted oxidative addition and an iminium activation pathway.

The mechanism of a recently reported Suzuki coupling reaction of quinoline-derived allylic N,O-acetals has been studied using a combination of structural, stereochemical, and kinetic isotope effect experiments. The data indicate that C-O activation is facilitated by Lewis acid assistance from the boronic acid coupling partner and an ionic S(N)1-like mechanism accounts for oxidative addition. In this context, we demonstrate the first direct observation of oxidative addition to a quinolinium salt.

SIRT1 and c-Myc promote liver tumor cell survival and predict poor survival of human hepatocellular carcinomas.

The increased expression of SIRT1 has recently been identified in numerous human tumors and a possible correlation with c-Myc oncogene has been proposed. However, it remains unclear whether SIRT1 functions as an oncogene or tumor suppressor. We sought to elucidate the role of SIRT1 in liver cancer under the influence of c-Myc and to determine the prognostic significance of SIRT1 and c-Myc expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Revising the Dust Bowl: High Above the Kansas Grasslands.

This article reconstructs land cover patterns in Depressionera Kansas from historical aerial photos and compares the locations of crop fields to areas of submarginal land identified in modern digital soil survey maps. The analysis argues that New Deal land retirement programs overestimated the degree of bad land use because they lacked the basic science to make comprehensive assessments. The findings demonstrate that the misuse of land unfit for cultivation was relatively rare across the central plains but especially in the Dust Bowl region.

β-Catenin regulates hepatic mitochondrial function and energy balance in mice.

Background & Aims: Wnt signaling regulates hepatic function and nutrient homeostasis. However, little is known about the roles of β-catenin in cellular respiration or mitochondria of hepatocytes.

Methods: We investigated β-catenin's role in the metabolic function of hepatocytes under homeostatic conditions and in response to metabolic stress using mice with hepatocyte-specific deletion of β-catenin and their wild-type littermates, given either saline (sham) or ethanol (as a model of binge drinking and acute ethanol intoxication).

Validity of reporting oxygen uptake efficiency slope from submaximal exercise using respiratory exchange ratio as secondary criterion.

Background. Oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) is a reproducible, objective marker of cardiopulmonary function. OUES is reported as being relatively independent of exercise intensity.

Identification of "ever-cropped" land (1984-2010) using Landsat annual maximum NDVI image composites: Southwestern Kansas case study.

A time series of 230 intra- and inter-annual Landsat Thematic Mapper images was used to identify land that was ever cropped during the years 1984 through 2010 for a five county region in southwestern Kansas. Annual maximum Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) image composites (NDVI(ann-max)) were used to evaluate the inter-annual dynamics of cropped and non-cropped land. Three feature images were derived from the 27-year NDVI(ann-max) image time series and used in the classification: 1) maximum NDVI value that occurred over the entire 27 year time span (NDVI(max)), 2) standard deviation of the annual maximum NDVI values for all years (NDVI(sd)), and 3) standard deviation of the annual maximum NDVI values for years 1984-1986 (NDVI(sd84-86)) to improve Conservation Reserve Program land discrimination.

Effect of alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate-induced liver injury on intestinal adaptation in a rat model of short bowel syndrome.

Background/purpose: Progressive hyperbilirubinemia and end-stage liver failure are among the most serious complications of short bowel syndrome (SBS), representing the principle cause of death in a majority of fatal cases. In the current study, we examined the effects of alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT)-induced liver injury on intestinal adaptation in a rat model of SBS.

Methods: Male rats were divided into four groups: Sham rats underwent bowel transection (n = 8), Sham liver-injury rats underwent bowel transection and IP injection of ANIT (100 mg/kg, n = 8), SBS rats underwent a 75% bowel resection, and SBS-ANIT rats underwent bowel resection and liver injury similar to group sham-ANIT (n = 8).

Cytokine levels and profiles in children related to sickle cell disease and asthma status.

Atopic asthma in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) is associated with an increased risk of acute chest syndrome (ACS). Cytokine-mediated inflammation might explain this association. Studies of cytokine profiles in patients with SCD have yielded conflicting data, but the possible influence of asthma status has not been examined.

Notch signaling inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma following inactivation of the RB pathway.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third cancer killer worldwide with >600,000 deaths every year. Although the major risk factors are known, therapeutic options in patients remain limited in part because of our incomplete understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms influencing HCC development. Evidence indicates that the retinoblastoma (RB) pathway is functionally inactivated in most cases of HCC by genetic, epigenetic, and/or viral mechanisms.

Intestinal involvement during 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine-induced chronic liver injury in a mouse model.

Purpose: Although a physiologic relationship between intestinal mucosal integrity and hepatic function has been previously described, the effect of primary liver disease on intestinal mucosal homeostasis has not been previously well documented. In the current study, we studied the effects of chronic liver injury as a primary injury on enterocyte turnover (proliferation and apoptosis) in a mouse model.

Methods: The liver toxin 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine (DDC)-enriched diet was used to induce chronic cholestatic liver injury in mice.

The establishment and characterization of immortal hepatocyte cell lines from a mouse liver injury model.

Hepatocytes are an important research tool used for numerous applications. However, a short life span and a limited capacity to replicate in vitro limit the usefulness of primary hepatocyte cultures. We have hypothesized that in vivo priming of hepatocyte could make them more susceptible to growth factors in the medium for continuous proliferation in vitro.

Wnt-β-catenin signaling protects against hepatic ischemia and reperfusion injury in mice.

Background & Aims: Ischemia and reperfusion injury are common causes of oxidative tissue damage associated with many liver diseases and hepatic surgery. The Wnt-β-catenin signaling pathway is an important regulator of hepatic development, regeneration, and carcinogenesis. However, the role of Wnt signaling in the hepatocellular response to ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury has not been determined.

Risk factors for parenteral nutrition–associated liver disease following surgical therapy for necrotizing enterocolitis: A Glaser Pediatric Research Network Study [corrected].

Objective: The aim of the study was to prospectively determine risk factors for the development of parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease (PNALD) in infants who underwent surgery for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), the most common cause of intestinal failure in children.

Patients And Methods: : From February 2004 to February 2007, we diagnosed 464 infants with NEC, of whom 180 had surgery. One hundred twenty-seven patients were available for full analysis.

Respiratory morbidity, healthcare utilisation and cost of care at school age related to home oxygen status.

Unlabelled: The aim of the study was to determine whether respiratory morbidity, lung function, healthcare utilisation and cost of care at school age in prematurely born children who had bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) were influenced by use of supplementary oxygen at home after neonatal intensive care unit discharge. Healthcare utilisation and cost of care in years 5 to 7 and respiratory morbidity (parent-completed respiratory questionnaire) and lung function measurements at least at age 8 years were assessed in 160 children. Their median gestational age was 27 (range 22-31) weeks and 65 of them had received supplementary oxygen when discharged home (home oxygen group).

Urine peptidomics for clinical biomarker discovery.

Urine-based proteomic profiling is a novel approach that may result in the discovery of noninvasive biomarkers for diagnosing patients with different diseases, with the aim to ultimately improve clinical outcomes. Given new and emerging analytical technologies and data mining algorithms, the urine peptidome has become a rich resource to uncover naturally occurring peptide biomarkers for both systemic and renal diseases. However, significant analytical hurdles remain in sample collection and storage, experimental design, data analysis, and statistical inference.

Risk factors for intestinal failure in infants with necrotizing enterocolitis: a Glaser Pediatric Research Network study.

Objective: To determine risk factors for intestinal failure (IF) in infants undergoing surgery for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

Study Design: Infants were enrolled in a multicenter prospective cohort study. IF was defined as the requirement for parenteral nutrition for >or= 90 days.

Ecological Frontiers on the Grasslands of Kansas: Changes in Farm Scale and Crop Diversity.

Farms stood at an ecological frontier in the 1930s. With new and better agricultural machinery, more farms than ever before made the leap to thousand acre enterprises. But did they abandon mixed husbandry in the process? This article explores the origins of the modern relationship between scale and diversity using a new sample of Kansas farms.

Outcomes of sutureless gastroschisis closure.

Introduction: A new technique of gastroschisis closure in which the defect is covered with sterile dressings and allowed to granulate without suture repair was first described in 2004. Little is known about the outcomes of this technique. This study evaluated short-term outcomes from the largest series of sutureless gastroschisis closures.