The impact of scrambler therapy on pain and quality of life for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: A pilot study.

Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a debilitating disturbance among patients who received chemotherapy, with no effective treatment available. Scrambler therapy (ST) is a noninvasive treatment capable of improving multiple quality-of-life symptoms beyond pain. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ST for pain and nonpain symptoms related to CIPN.

Utility of a Patient-Reported Symptom and Functioning Assessment Tool for Geriatric Oncology Care in China.

Objectives: Symptom and functional assessment is challenging in geriatric oncology care. This multicenter cross-sectional study examined the use of a multiple-symptom assessment tool, the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI), on Chinese patients with cancer aged 65 years and older.

Methods: Patient-rated symptoms and functioning were assessed using MDASI and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality-of-life questionnaire.

Identification of Breast Cancer Survivors With High Symptom Burden.

Background: While women diagnosed with breast cancer have increased survival when compared with other cancers, survivorship may include residual symptom burden from treatment and continuing endocrine therapies.

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify subgroups of breast cancer survivors experiencing similar symptom severity.

Methods: Participants were 498 women with breast cancer, not on active treatment.

Patient-Reported Symptom and Functioning Status during the First 12 Months after Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapy for Hematologic Malignancies.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is being increasingly used to treat patients with advanced hematologic malignancies; however, the symptoms related to standard of care CAR T cell therapy during the first year after treatment have not been assessed using patient-reported outcome (PRO) measurements. This study aimed to quantify patients' perspectives of symptom burden and functional status using PROs during the first year after CAR T cell therapy for hematologic malignancies, especially in patients who experienced grade 2-4 toxicities. Sixty patients were enrolled in this observational cross-sectional study at any time during their first 12 months post-treatment.

Minocycline for symptom reduction in patients with multiple myeloma during maintenance therapy: a phase II placebo-controlled randomized trial.

Background: Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) experience substantial cancer/treatment-related symptom burden during maintenance therapy. This is a phase II randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial to examine the effect of minocycline for symptom reduction by its potential anti-inflammatory effect.

Methods: Eligible MM patients for maintenance therapy were randomized to receive minocycline (100 mg twice daily) or placebo.

Development and Validation of a Patient-reported Outcome Measure for Gastrointestinal Obstruction in the Setting of Advanced Malignancy.

Objective: We sought to construct a valid and reliable patient-reported outcome measure for patients with advanced malignancy and GIO.

Background: Bowel obstruction is the most common indication for palliative surgical consultation in patients with advanced cancer; however, no validated patient-reported outcome measures exist for this population.

Methods: A total of 125 patients with GIO and 64 patients without GIO who underwent palliative surgical consultation completed the MDASI-GIO questionnaire and a single global quality-of-life question.

Assessment of physical function by subjective and objective methods in patients undergoing open gynecologic surgery.

Objective: To evaluate the utility of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to measure physical functioning in perioperative care for patients with gynecological (GYN) tumors.

Methods: 180 patients with GYN tumors undergoing open surgery participated in this longitudinal study. The physical functioning was measured by a subjective PRO tool, the Interference subscales of the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI-I); as well as by an objective tool, the Timed Up & Go test (TUGT), perioperatively.

A hybrid kriging/land-use regression model with Asian culture-specific sources to assess NO spatial-temporal variations.

Kriging interpolation and land use regression (LUR) have characterized the spatial variability of long-term nitrogen dioxide (NO), but there has been little research on combining these two methods to capture small-scale spatial variation. Furthermore, studies predicting NO exposure are almost exclusively based on traffic-related variables, which may not be transferable to Taiwan, a typical Asian country with diverse local emission sources, where densely distributed temples and restaurants may be important for NO levels. To advance the exposure estimates in Taiwan, a hybrid kriging/LUR model incorporates culture-specific sources as potential predictors.

A Phase II Randomized Controlled Trial of Renshen Yangrong Tang Herbal Extract Granules for Fatigue Reduction in Cancer Survivors.

Context: Based on the traditional Chinese medicine theory, Renshen Yangrong Tang (RSYRT), which is a mixture of 12 herbs, was commonly used as a pharmacological option in China for fatigue management by correcting Qi deficiency.

Objectives: This randomized controlled Phase II trial investigated the efficacy of RSYRT for reducing cancer-related fatigue.

Methods: Cancer survivors with moderate or severe fatigue (rated ≥4 on a 0-10 scale) for more than two months were randomized to take herbal extract granules of RSYRT or a low dose of a single herb (huangqi) twice a day for six weeks.

Impacts of cold weather on emergency hospital admission in Texas, 2004-2013.

Cold weather has been identified as a major cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S. Although the effects of cold weather on mortality has been investigated extensively, studies on how cold weather affects hospital admissions are limited particularly in the Southern United States.

Impacts of cold weather on all-cause and cause-specific mortality in Texas, 1990-2011.

Cold weather was estimated to account for more than half of weather-related deaths in the U.S. during 2006-2010.

Heat effects among migrant and seasonal farmworkers: a case study in Colorado.

Background: Although migrant and seasonal farmworkers are highly vulnerable to ambient heat because of their working conditions, heat effects in this population have been rarely studied.

Objectives: We estimated effects of heat on mean daily counts of clinic visits among migrant and seasonal farmworkers by taking advantage of a unique longitudinal medical records database in the USA.

Methods: We compiled a daily weather and clinic visit data set based on data from a health centre in Colorado for the summer of 2013.

The spatiotemporal distributions and determinants of ambient fungal spores in the Greater Taipei area.

Airborne fungal spores, a type of bioaerosols, are significant air pollutants. We conducted a study to determine the spatiotemporal distributions of ambient fungi in the Greater Taipei area and develop land use regression (LUR) models for total and major fungal taxa. Four seasonal sampling campaigns were conducted over a year at 44 representative sites.

Impact of the 2011 heat wave on mortality and emergency department visits in Houston, Texas.

Background: Heat waves have been linked to increased risk of mortality and morbidity, and are projected to increase in frequency and intensity in a changing climate. Houston and other areas in Texas experienced an exceptional heat wave in the summer of 2011 producing the hottest August on record. This study aims to assess the health-related impact of this heat wave.

The 2011 heat wave in Greater Houston: Effects of land use on temperature.

Effects of land use on temperatures during severe heat waves have been rarely studied. This paper examines land use-temperature associations during the 2011 heat wave in Greater Houston. We obtained high resolution of satellite-derived land use data from the US National Land Cover Database, and temperature observations at 138 weather stations from Weather Underground, Inc (WU) during the August of 2011, which was the hottest month in Houston since 1889.

Symptomatic and asymptomatic infections of rotavirus, norovirus, and adenovirus among hospitalized children in Xi'an, China.

Rotavirus (RV), norovirus (NoV), and adenovirus (AdV) have been reported as the common viral pathogens of acute gastroenteritis in children. To determine the prevalence of RV, NoV, and AdV infections among hospitalized children with and without symptoms of acute gastroenteritis, fecal specimens, and data on clinical symptoms were collected from 201 children with diarrhea and 53 children without diarrhea admitted to the Xi'an Children's Hospital in Xi'an, China between March 2009 and May 2010. RV, NoV, and AdV were identified in 68.