Quality of Life Changes Following Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation and Participation in a Mixed-Type, Moderate-intensity, Exercise Program

Summary:The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the impact of undertaking peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBST) on quality of life (QoL), and to determine the effect of participating in a mixed-type, moderate-intensity exercise program on QoL. It was also an objective to determine the relationship between peak aerobic capacity and QoL in PBST patients. QoL was assessed via the CARES questionnaire and peak aerobic capacity by a maximal graded treadmill test, pretransplant (PI), post transplant (PII) and following a 12-week intervention period (PIII). At PII, 12 patients were divided equally into a control or exercise intervention group. Undergoing a PBST was associated with a statistically but not clinically significant decline in QoL (P<0.05). Following the intervention, exercising patients demonstrated an improved QoL when compared with pretransplant ratings (P<0.01) and nonexercising transplant patients (P<0.05). Moreover, peak aerobic capacity and QoL were correlated (P<0.05). The findings demonstrated that exercise participation following oncology treatment is associated with a reduction in the number and severity of endorsed problems, which in turn leads to improvements in global, physical and psychosocial QoL. Furthermore, a relationship between fitness and QoL exists, with those experiencing higher levels of fitness also demonstrating higher QoL.Bone Marrow Transplantation (2004) 33, 553-558. doi:10.1038/sj.bmt.1704378 Published online 12 January 200

Toward a Multifaceted Heuristic of Digital Reading to Inform Assessment, Research, Practice, and Policy

In this commentary, the author explores the tension between almost 30 years of work that has embraced increasingly complex conceptions of digital reading and recent studies that risk oversimplifying digital reading as a singular entity analogous with reading text on a screen. The author begins by tracing a line of theoretical and empirical work that both informs and complicates our understanding of digital literacy and, more specifically, digital reading. Then, a heuristic is proposed to systematically organize, label, and define a multifaceted set of increasingly complex terms, concepts, and practices that characterize the spectrum of digital reading experiences. Research that informs this heuristic is used to illustrate how more precision in defining digital reading can promote greater clarity across research methods and advance a more systematic study of promising digital reading practices. Finally, the author discusses implications for assessment, research, practice, and policy

Short-Term Inhalation Toxicity Testing with Aerosolized Aluminum Chlorhydrate

Short-term exposures of adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats to aerosolized aluminum chlorhydrate in a silicone-ethanol vehicle were conducted to assess the effects of such exposures upon body and tissue weights, various blood constituents, tissue aluminum concentrations, and appropriate histopathology. Rats were exposed 4 hours/day 5 days/week (excluding weekends) for 22 days to concentrations of 0.34 ± 0.22 μg/L and 2.50 ± 0.37 μg/L of solubilized aluminum chlorhydrate as determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The mass medium aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) for the low-dose group was 1.57 ± 0.45 μm. The mean MMAD for the high-dose exposure was 4.28 ± 0.93 μm. No mortality was experienced by any group. Final mean body and most tissue wet weights were not significantly different from sham control values. No remarkable changes were noted in SMA 12/60 blood values for either exposed group. Mean aluminum concentrations of lungs, liver, gastric mucosa, or parathyroids from the high-dose group were not significantly different than mean values for the same organs obtained from a sham exposed group of rats. There were no remarkable histopathological observations. </jats:p