Relationship among clinical factors in childhood intermittent exotropia.

Purpose: To determine the relationships between stereoacuity, control of exotropia, and angle of deviation in children with intermittent exotropia (IXT).

Methods: Data collected for 652 participants 3 to <11 years of age with IXT meeting eligibility criteria for enrollment into one of two multicenter, randomized clinical trials were used to evaluate relationships between stereoacuity, control, and angle of deviation at enrollment.

Results: Any level of stereoacuity and angle of deviation could be accompanied by any level of control.

Test systems in drug discovery for hazard identification and risk assessment of human drug-induced liver injury.

The liver is an important target for drug-induced toxicities. Early detection of hepatotoxic drugs requires use of well-characterized test systems, yet current knowledge, gaps and limitations of tests employed remains an important issue for drug development. Areas Covered: The current state of the science, understanding and application of test systems in use for the detection of drug-induced cytotoxicity, mitochondrial toxicity, cholestasis and inflammation is summarized.

Trends in the Management of Patients With Kidney Failure in Alberta, Canada (2004-2013).

Background: Based on clinical practice guidelines, specific quality indicators are examined to assess the performance of a health care system for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). We examined trends in the proportion of patients with ESRD referred late to nephrology, timing of dialysis initiation in those with chronic kidney disease, and proportion of patients with ESRD treated with pre-emptive kidney transplantation or peritoneal dialysis (PD). This was a retrospective cohort study.

What maintains signal honesty in animal colour displays used in mate choice?

Many of the colour displays of animals are proposed to have evolved in response to female mate choice for honest signals of quality, but such honest signalling requires mechanisms to prevent cheating. The most widely accepted and cited mechanisms for ensuring signal honesty are based on the costly signalling hypothesis, which posits that costs associated with ornamentation prevent low-quality males from being highly ornamented. Alternatively, by the index hypothesis, honesty can be achieved via cost-free mechanisms if ornament production is causally linked to core physiological pathways.

Two-Year Healthy Eating Outcomes: An RCT in Afterschool Programs.

Introduction: Across the U.S., afterschool programs (ASPs, 3:00pm-6:00pm) are trying to achieve nationally endorsed nutrition standards (Healthy Eating Standards) calling for fruits/vegetables and water to be served every day, while eliminating sugar-sweetened beverages and foods.

Partnerships for Active Children in Elementary Schools: Outcomes of a 2-Year Pilot Study to Increase Physical Activity During the School Day.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of the pilot study Partnerships for Active Children in Elementary Schools on the percentage of children achieving the Institute of Medicine guideline of 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during the school day.

Design: Pre/multiple post-quasi-experimental.

Setting: Four elementary schools.

Barriers to care in patients with diabetes and poor glycemic control-A cross-sectional survey.

Aims: To determine and quantify the prevalence of patient, provider and system level barriers to achieving diabetes care goals; and to examine whether barriers were different for people with poor glycemic control (HbA1c ≥ 10%; 86 mmol/mol) compared to fair glycemic control (7 to <8%; 53-64 mmol/mol).

Methods: We administered a survey by telephone to community-dwelling patients with diabetes, to examine patient-reported barriers and facilitators to care. We compared responses in individuals with HbA1c ≥ 10% (86 mmol/mol) against those with HbA1c between 7-8% (53-64 mmol/mol).

Spatial Learning and Wayfinding in an Immersive Environment: The Digital Fulldome.

Previous work has examined whether immersive technologies can benefit learning in virtual environments, but the potential benefits of technology in this context are confounded by individual differences such as spatial ability. We assessed spatial knowledge acquisition in male and female participants using a technology not previously examined empirically: the digital fulldome. Our primary aim was to examine whether performance on a test of survey knowledge was better in a fulldome (N = 28, 12 males) relative to a large, flat screen display (N = 27, 13 males).

BMAL1 links the circadian clock to viral airway pathology and asthma phenotypes.

Patients with asthma experience circadian variations in their symptoms. However it remains unclear how specific aspects of this common airway disease relate to clock genes, which are critical to the generation of circadian rhythms in mammals. Here, we used a viral model of acute and chronic airway disease to examine how circadian clock disruption affects asthmatic lung phenotypes.

Butyl paraben and propyl paraben modulate bisphenol A and estradiol concentrations in female and male mice.

People are routinely exposed to the antimicrobial preservatives butyl paraben (BP) and propyl paraben (PP), as well as the monomer of polycarbonate plastics, bisphenol A (BPA). These chemicals are reliably detected in human urine and potentially interact. We investigated whether BP or PP exposure can modulate the concentrations of C-BPA and 17β-estradiol (E).

Effectiveness of a Playground Intervention for Antisocial, Prosocial, and Physical Activity Behaviors.

Background: We examined the effectiveness of Peaceful Playgrounds™ (P2) to decrease antisocial behaviors (ASB) while increasing physical activity (PA) and prosocial behaviors (PSB) in elementary school children.

Methods: A longitudinal, cluster-randomized design was employed in 4 elementary school playgrounds where students (third to fifth) from 2 intervention and 2 control schools were observed during recess periods. The intervention included environmental changes (eg, marked surfaces) and student education.

A Population-Based Analysis of Quality Indicators in CKD.

Background And Objectives: Awareness of CKD remains low in comparison with other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, leading to low use of preventive medications and appropriate testing. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of care provided to people with and at risk of CKD.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We conducted a population-based analysis of all Albertans with eGFR=15-59 ml/min per 1.

From the Cover: MechanisticInsights in Cytotoxic and Cholestatic Potential of the Endothelial Receptor Antagonists Using HepaRG Cells.

Several endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs) have been developed for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Some of them have been related to clinical cases of hepatocellular injury (sitaxentan [SIT]) and/or cholestasis (bosentan [BOS]). We aimed to determine if ambrisentan (AMB) and macitentan (MAC), in addition to BOS and SIT, could potentially cause liver damage in man by use of human HepaRG cells.

First year physical activity findings from turn up the HEAT (Healthy Eating and Activity Time) in summer day camps.

Background: Summer day camps (SDCs) serve 14 million children yearly in the U.S. and aim to provide participating children with 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).

Prognostic and predictive value of circulating tumor cells and CXCR4 expression as biomarkers for a CXCR4 peptide antagonist in combination with carboplatin-etoposide in small cell lung cancer: exploratory analysis of a phase II study.

Background Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 4 (CXCR4) expression in CTCs and tumor tissue were evaluated as prognostic or predictive markers of CXCR4 peptide antagonist LY2510924 plus carboplatin-etoposide (CE) versus CE in extensive-stage disease small cell lung cancer (ED-SCLC). Methods This exploratory analysis of a phase II study evaluated CXCR4 expression in baseline tumor tissue and peripheral blood CTCs and in post-treatment CTCs. Optimum cutoff values were determined for CTC counts and CXCR4 expression in tumors and CTCs as predictors of survival outcome.

Application of the Rosetta Stone to understand how much MVPA preschoolers accumulate: A systematic review.

Objectives: This study illustrates the utility of the Rosetta Stone equations for comparing estimates of preschool-age children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) across studies utilizing different cutpoints.

Design: Systematic review.

Methods: A search of online databases was conducted to identify studies that reported daily minutes of MVPA in preschoolers using the cutpoints from which Rosetta Stone equations have been developed.

A randomized phase II study of LY2510924 and carboplatin/etoposide versus carboplatin/etoposide in extensive-disease small cell lung cancer.

Objectives: This multicenter, open-label, randomized phase II study evaluated the efficacy and safety of LY2510924 (LY) added to first-line standard of care (SOC) chemotherapy for extensive-disease small cell lung cancer (ED-SCLC) and explored the predictive value of C-X-C motif receptor 4 (CXCR4) tumor response.

Materials And Methods: Patients with treatment-naïve ED-SCLC were randomized (1:1) to receive up to six 21-day cycles of carboplatin/etoposide alone (SOC) or in combination with 20mg LY2510924 administered subcutaneously on days 1-7 of each cycle (LY+SOC). The primary efficacy endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS).

Children's Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity Attending Summer Day Camps.

Introduction: National physical activity standards call for all children to accumulate 60 minutes/day of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The contribution of summer day camps toward meeting this benchmark is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to provide estimates of children's MVPA during summer day camps.

Financial barriers and adverse clinical outcomes among patients with cardiovascular-related chronic diseases: a cohort study.

Background: Some patients with cardiovascular-related chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease report financial barriers to achieving optimal health. Previous surveys report that the perception of having a financial barrier is associated with self-reported adverse clinical outcomes. We sought to confirm these findings using linked survey and administrative data to determine, among patients with cardiovascular-related chronic diseases, if there is an association between perceived financial barriers and the outcomes of: (1) disease-related hospitalizations, (2) all-cause mortality and (3) inpatient healthcare costs.

Measuring dimensions of intergenerational contact: factor analysis of the Queen's University Scale.

Objectives: Intergenerational contact has been linked to a range of health outcomes, including greater engagement and lower depression. Measures of contact are limited. Informed by Allport's contact theory, the Queen's University Scale consists of items rating contact with elders.

Emergency Department Use among Patients with CKD: A Population-Based Analysis.

Background And Objectives: Although prior studies have observed high resource use among patients with CKD, there is limited exploration of emergency department use in this population and the proportion of encounters related to CKD care specifically.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We identified all adults (≥18 years old) with eGFR<60 ml/min per 1.73 m (including dialysis-dependent patients) in Alberta, Canada between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011.

Movement integration in elementary classrooms: Teacher perceptions and implications for program planning.

Movement integration (MI), which involves infusing physical activity (PA) into regular classroom time in schools, is widely recommended to help children meet the national guideline of 60min of PA each day. Understanding the perspective of elementary classroom teachers (ECTs) toward MI is critical to program planning for interventions/professional development. This study examined the MI perceptions of ECTs in order to inform the design and implementation of a school-based pilot program that focused in part on increasing children's PA through MI.

Avalanche Statistics Identify Intrinsic Stellar Processes near Criticality in KIC 8462852.

The star KIC8462852 (Tabby's star) has shown anomalous drops in light flux. We perform a statistical analysis of the more numerous smaller dimming events by using methods found useful for avalanches in ferromagnetism and plastic flow. Scaling exponents for avalanche statistics and temporal profiles of the flux during the dimming events are close to mean field predictions.

Effect of dispersion on the convergence rate for Green's function retrieval.

Much information about wave propagation in a variety of structures has been obtained from Green's function retrieval by noise correlation. Here it is examined how dispersion affects Green's function retrieval and, in particular, its signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). On recalling how the inherent spread of a signal due to band limitation is augmented by spread due to dispersion and propagation distance, and how both affect amplitude, it is argued that SNR in highly dispersive media can be substantially lowered by strong dispersion.

High affinity binding of the peptide agonist TIP-39 to the parathyroid hormone 2 (PTH) receptor requires the hydroxyl group of Tyr-318 on transmembrane helix 5.

TIP39 ("tuberoinfundibular peptide of 39 residues") acts via the parathyroid hormone 2 receptor, PTH, a Family B G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). Despite the importance of GPCRs in human physiology and pharmacotherapy, little is known about the molecular details of the TIP39-PTH interaction. To address this, we utilised the different pharmacological profiles of TIP39 and PTH(1-34) at PTH and its related receptor PTH: TIP39 being an agonist at the former but an antagonist at the latter, while PTH(1-34) activates both.