Oncoflash - Research Updates in a Flash!

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OncoFlash – Research Updates in a Flash! (July 2023)

Research update: Alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease

Quality of life (QOL) is an important concept for individuals with chronic health conditions. Measuring and supporting QOL in children, adolescents, and adults with spina bifida (SB) may be especially unique given the broad range of complex health and rehabilitative challenges they encounter. This article provides a research update on (a) conceptual and methodological considerations in measuring QOL and a related construct, health-related quality of life (HRQOL); (b) the state of the science in QOL and HRQOL for individuals with SB; and (c) gaps in the evidence and implications for future research. A synthesis of the literature was limited by the use of 17 different QOL and HRQOL instruments to measure these constructs and notable weaknesses in the most frequently used condition-specific HRQOL instrument. However, a tentative pattern of lower scores on the physical domain of HRQOL measures in individuals with SB in comparison to peers emerged, while discrepancies in emotional, social, and school domains varied by study. Recommendations for future research include using a lifespan approach to expand QOL studies to older adults with SB and focusing on intervention research to prevent or treat decreased HRQOL.

Membrane filtration technology is widely used across several industries. But its efficiency is plagued by fouling, which ultimately deteriorates the membrane’s performance. This paper provides a research update on the biologically inspired liquid-enabled gating mechanism that acts as a novel filtration and separation approach offering reduction in transmembrane pressure (TMP), improved throughput, and reduced fouling. We study the performance of such Liquid Gated Membranes (LGMs) and present their benefits for filtration in the presence of model inorganic (nanoclay particles) fouling. We show over twofold higher throughput, nearly threefold longer time to foul, more than 60% reduction in irreversible fouling, ability to return to baseline pressures after backwashing along with reduction in use of backwash water, and 10%-15% reduction in TMP for filtration of nanoclay particles. Fouling models exhibit not only delayed onset of fouling for LGMs compared to the control but also different fouling characteristics. These results demonstrate the potential of the liquid gating mechanism, which can lead to breakthroughs in membrane technology applications in particle filtration, microfiltration, and ultrafiltration.

In 1993, Carolina Nurseries and the Dept. of Horticulture at Clemson Univ. entered into a partnership for a research and development program to solve short- and long-term production problems in the ornamental nursery industry. Carolina Nurseries, located near Charleston, S.C., is a 110-ha commercial container-grown landscape plant nursery that sells >12 million units yearly. Research is conducted on site in a specially designed area that provides nursery conditions and control of other variables, including water and pesticide applications. An on-site graduate student works cooperatively with faculty on campus and manages the research area, collects data, maintains the projects using standard nursery practices, interacts with Carolina Nurseries personnel, and initiates needed studies. Over the past 6 years, research diversity increased with cooperative efforts from faculty in the Depts. of Entomology, Pathology, and Agricultural Engineering. In addition, cooperative studies with faculty members with Univ. of Georgia, Michigan State Univ., and North Carolina State Univ. have been completed. Research results were presented to the nursery industry at research update meetings at the research area site. Approximately 200 attendees from commercial nurseries and horticulture-related companies in surrounding states attended the 1998 research update. Surveys collected at research updates are helpful in tailoring research to the specific needs of the nursery industry, and are the basis for some of the current research projects. Research results are also in published in the Southern Nursery Association Research Proceedings, Journal of Environmental Horticulture, and The South Carolina Nurseryman Newsletter.

In this Research Update, we briefly summarize some of the bismuth materials that have been investigated for their use in photovoltaic solar cells. We focus on bismuth-based perovskites and bismuth halides, as alternatives to lead-halide perovskites, and bismuth-based sulfides (Bi2S3, CuxBiySz, and AgBiS2), as alternatives to lead sulfide quantum dots. These materials fulfill the requirements of being composed of abundant and non-toxic elements. Moreover, they exhibit adequate properties for photovoltaics like high absorption coefficients and suitable bandgaps, plus additional attractive characteristics in terms of robustness and stability. However, they have not been extensively studied and therefore their efficiencies are still far from those reported for their toxic counterparts. Here we collect some of the most promising results, point at possible limiting factors, and suggest some routes to improve performance.

The skeleton forms a dynamic organ system, functioning in a highly metabolic environment continuously affecting the balance between bone resorption and bone formation. Highly differentiated cells and multiple hormonal and molecular pathways are involved in this remodeling process that is unavoidably affected by normal aging. Apart from aging, several factors such as geographic variation, climate conditions, nutritional status, socioeconomic status, culture, pollution, and endocrine disruptors have been suggested to have a direct or indirect impact on bone metabolism and influence bone health. Τhe positive or negative effect of each one of these factors on bone health depends on many variables such as age of exposure, duration of exposure, and intensity of exposure but also on the combined effects of other cofactors. The pathogenetic mechanisms and the molecular pathways by which bone metabolism is affected have not always been clarified. Therefore, in this chapter, we aim to summarize the current literature on the influence of environmental factors on bone metabolism and disease and to review any recent updates in research about the impact of endocrine disruptors on bone health.

Otocephaly, characterized by mandibular hypoplasia or agnathia, ventromedial auricular malposition (melotia) and/or auricular fusion (synotia), and microstomia with oroglossal hypoplasia or aglossia, is an extremely rare anomalad, identified in less than 1 in 70,000 births. The malformation spectrum is essentially lethal, because of ventilatory problems, and represents a developmental field defect of blastogenesis primarily affecting the first branchial arch derivatives. Holoprosencephaly is the most commonly identified association, but skeletal, genitourinary, and cardiovascular anomalies, and situs inversus have been reported. Polyhydramnios may be the presenting feature, but prenatal diagnosis has been uncommon.We present five new cases of otocephaly, the largest published series to date, with comprehensive review of the literature and an update of research in the etiopathogenesis of this malformation complex. One of our cases had situs inversus, and two presented with unexplained polyhydramnios. Otocephaly, while quite rare, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of this gestational complication.

The increase in economic disparities over the past 30 years has prompted extensive research on the causes and consequences of inequality both in the United States and, more recently, globally. This review provides an update of research on the patterns and causes of economic inequality in the United States, including inequality of earnings, wealth, and opportunity. We also explore the social and political consequences of inequality, particularly in the areas of health, education, crime, social capital, and political power. Finally, we spotlight an emerging literature on world inequality, which examines inequality trends within as well as across nations. Sociologists can advance research on inequality by bringing discipline-based expertise to bear on the organization and political economy of firms and labor markets, the pathways through which inequality has an effect, and the social, political, and cultural contingencies that might modify this effect.

Journal of Palliative MedicineVol. 15, No. 3 Notes from the EditorParents of Children with Serious Illness Are More Resilient than CreditedJoanne Wolfe, Associate EditorJoanne Wolfe, Associate EditorSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:8 Mar 2012https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2012.9607AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail View article"Parents of Children with Serious Illness Are More Resilient than Credited." , 15(3), pp. 258–259FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited ByCompassion in Pediatric Healthcare: A Scoping ReviewJournal of Pediatric Nursing, Vol. 51Resilience in children and their parents enduring pediatric medical traumatic stress4 February 2019 | Pediatric Anesthesia, Vol. 29, No. 3Guidance on clinical research involving infants, children and young people: an update for researchers and research ethics committees9 June 2014 | Archives of Disease in Childhood, Vol. 99, No. 10 Volume 15Issue 3Mar 2012 InformationCopyright 2012, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.To cite this article:Joanne Wolfe, Associate Editor.Parents of Children with Serious Illness Are More Resilient than Credited.Journal of Palliative Medicine.Mar 2012.258-259.http://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2012.9607Published in Volume: 15 Issue 3: March 8, 2012PDF download

Chicano dropouts: an update of research and policy issues

Usefulness of Updated Valve Academic Research Consortium–2 Criteria for Acute Kidney Injury Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation

Intel Many Integrated Core (MIC) ushers in a new era of supercomputing speed, performance, and compatibility. It allows the developers to run code at trillions of calculations per second using the familiar programming model. In this paper, we present our results of optimizing the updated Goddard shortwave radiation Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) scheme on Intel Many Integrated Core Architecture (MIC) hardware. The Intel Xeon Phi coprocessor is the first product based on Intel MIC architecture, and it consists of up to 61 cores connected by a high performance on-die bidirectional interconnect. The co-processor supports all important Intel development tools. Thus, the development environment is familiar one to a vast number of CPU developers. Although, getting a maximum performance out of Xeon Phi will require using some novel optimization techniques. Those optimization techniques are discusses in this paper. The results show that the optimizations improved performance of the original code on Xeon Phi 7120P by a factor of 1.3x.

Since the discovery of graphene, two-dimensional materials with atomic level thickness have rapidly grown to be a prosperous field of physical science with interdisciplinary interest for their fascinating properties and broad applications. Very recently, the experimental observation of ferromagnetism in a Cr2Ge2Te6 bilayer and a CrI3 monolayer opened a door to pursue long-absent intrinsic magnetic orders in two-dimensional materials. Meanwhile, the ferroelectricity was also experimentally found in a SnTe monolayer and CuInP2S6 few layers. The emergence of these ferroic orders in the two-dimensional limit not only brings new challenges to our physical knowledge but also provides more functionalities for potential applications. Among various two-dimensional ferroic ordered materials, transition/rare-earth metal halides and their derivants are very common. In this Research Update, based on transition/rare-earth metal halides, the physics of various ferroic orders in two-dimensional materials will be illustrated. The potential applications based on their magnetic and polar properties will also be discussed.