Validation of the Thai version of the family reported outcome measure (FROM-16)© to assess the impact of disease on the partner or family members of patients with cancer

© The Author(s). 2019Background: Cancer not only impairs a patient's physical and psychosocial functional behaviour, but also contributes to negative impact on family members' health related quality of life. Currently, there is an absence of a relevant tool in Thai with which to measure such impact. The aim of this study was to translate and validate the Family Reported Outcome Measure (FROM-16) in Thai cancer patients' family members. Methods: Thai version of FROM-16 was generated by interactive forward-backward translation process following standard guidelines. This was tested for psychometric properties including reliability and validity, namely content validity, concurrent validity, known group validity, internal consistency, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Construct validity was examined by comparing the Thai FROM-16 version with the WHOQOL-BREF-THAI. Results: The internal consistency reliability was strong (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86). A Negative moderate correlation between the Thai FROM-16 and WHOQOL-BREF-THAI was observed (r = - 0.4545, p < 0.00), and known group validity was proved by a statistically significant higher score in family members with high burden of care and insufficient income. The factor analysis supported both 3-factor and 2-factor loading model with slight difference when compared with the original version. Conclusions: The Thai FROM-16 showed good reliability and validity in Thai family members of patients with cancer. A slight difference in factor analysis results compared to the original version could be due to cross-culture application.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

The Pioneer Anomaly

Radio-metric Doppler tracking data received from the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft from heliocentric distances of 20-70 AU has consistently indicated the presence of a small, anomalous, blue-shifted frequency drift uniformly changing with a rate of ~6 x 10^{-9} Hz/s. Ultimately, the drift was interpreted as a constant sunward deceleration of each particular spacecraft at the level of a_P = (8.74 +/- 1.33) x 10^{-10} m/s^2. This apparent violation of the Newton's gravitational inverse-square law has become known as the Pioneer anomaly; the nature of this anomaly remains unexplained. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the physical properties of the anomaly and the conditions that led to its detection and characterization. We review various mechanisms proposed to explain the anomaly and discuss the current state of efforts to determine its nature. A comprehensive new investigation of the anomalous behavior of the two Pioneers has begun recently. The new efforts rely on the much-extended set of radio-metric Doppler data for both spacecraft in conjunction with the newly available complete record of their telemetry files and a large archive of original project documentation. As the new study is yet to report its findings, this review provides the necessary background for the new results to appear in the near future. In particular, we provide a significant amount of information on the design, operations and behavior of the two Pioneers during their entire missions, including descriptions of various data formats and techniques used for their navigation and radio-science data analysis. As most of this information was recovered relatively recently, it was not used in the previous studies of the Pioneer anomaly, but it is critical for the new investigation.Comment: 165 pages, 40 figures, 16 tables; accepted for publication in Living Reviews in Relativit

Alterations in vascular function in primary aldosteronism - a cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging study

Introduction: Excess aldosterone is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Aldosterone has a permissive effect on vascular fibrosis. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) allows study of vascular function by measuring aortic distensibility. We compared aortic distensibility in primary aldosteronism (PA), essential hypertension (EH) and normal controls and explored the relationship between aortic distensibility and pulse wave velocity (PWV).&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Methods: We studied PA (n=14) and EH (n=33) subjects and age-matched healthy controls (n=17) with CMR, including measurement of aortic distensibility, and measured PWV using applanation tonometry. At recruitment, PA and EH patients had similar blood pressure and left ventricular mass.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Results: Subjects with PA had significantly lower aortic distensibilty and higher PWV compared to EH and healthy controls. These changes were independent of other factors associated with reduced aortic distensibility, including aging. There was a significant relationship between increasing aortic stiffness and age in keeping with physical and vascular aging. As expected, aortic distensibility and PWV were closely correlated.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Conclusion: These results demonstrate that PA patients display increased arterial stiffness compared to EH, independent of vascular aging. The implication is that aldosterone invokes functional impairment of arterial function. The long-term implications of arterial stiffening in aldosterone excess require further study.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt

MFGE8 does not influence chorio-retinal homeostasis or choroidal neovascularization in vivo

Purpose: Milk fat globule-epidermal growth factor-factor VIII (MFGE8) is necessary for diurnal outer segment phagocytosis and promotes VEGF-dependent neovascularization. The prevalence of two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in MFGE8 was studied in two exsudative or “wet” Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) groups and two corresponding control groups. We studied the effect of MFGE8 deficiency on retinal homeostasis with age and on choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in mice. Methods: The distribution of the SNP (rs4945 and rs1878326) of MFGE8 was analyzed in two groups of patients with “wet” AMD and their age-matched controls from Germany and France. MFGE8-expressing cells were identified in Mfge8+/− mice expressing ß-galactosidase. Aged Mfge8+/− and Mfge8−/− mice were studied by funduscopy, histology, electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy of vascular corrosion casts of the choroid, and after laser-induced CNV. Results: rs1878326 was associated with AMD in the French and German group. The Mfge8 promoter is highly active in photoreceptors but not in retinal pigment epithelium cells. Mfge8−/− mice did not differ from controls in terms of fundus appearance, photoreceptor cell layers, choroidal architecture or laser-induced CNV. In contrast, the Bruch's membrane (BM) was slightly but significantly thicker in Mfge8−/− mice as compared to controls. Conclusions: Despite a reproducible minor increase of rs1878326 in AMD patients and a very modest increase in BM in Mfge8−/− mice, our data suggests that MFGE8 dysfunction does not play a critical role in the pathogenesis of AMD

Muscle fiber conduction velocity is more affected after eccentric than concentric exercise

It has been shown that mean muscle fiber conduction velocity (CV) can be acutely impaired after eccentric exercise. However, it is not known whether this applies to other exercise modes. Therefore, the purpose of this experiment was to compare the effects of eccentric and concentric exercises on CV, and amplitude and frequency content of surface electromyography (sEMG) signals up to 24 h post-exercise. Multichannel sEMG signals were recorded from biceps brachii muscle of the exercised arm during isometric maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and electrically evoked contractions induced by motor-point stimulation before, immediately after and 2 h after maximal eccentric (ECC group, N = 12) and concentric (CON group, N = 12) elbow flexor exercises. Isometric MVC decreased in CON by 21.7 ± 12.0% (± SD, p < 0.01) and by 30.0 ± 17.7% (p < 0.001) in ECC immediately post-exercise when compared to baseline. At 2 h post-exercise, ECC showed a reduction in isometric MVC by 24.7 ± 13.7% (p < 0.01) when compared to baseline, while no significant reduction (by 8.0 ± 17.0%, ns) was observed in CON. Similarly, reduction in CV was observed only in ECC both during the isometric MVC (from baseline of 4.16 ± 0.3 to 3.43 ± 0.4 m/s, p < 0.001) and the electrically evoked contractions (from baseline of 4.33 ± 0.4 to 3.82 ± 0.3 m/s, p < 0.001). In conclusion, eccentric exercise can induce a greater and more prolonged reduction in muscle force production capability and CV than concentric exercis

Copula Eigenfaces with Attributes: Semiparametric Principal Component Analysis for a Combined Color, Shape and Attribute Model

Principal component analysis is a ubiquitous method in parametric appearance modeling for describing dependency and variance in datasets. The method requires the observed data to be Gaussian-distributed. We show that this requirement is not fulfilled in the context of analysis and synthesis of facial appearance. The model mismatch leads to unnatural artifacts which are severe to human perception. As a remedy, we use a semiparametric Gaussian copula model, where dependency and variance are modeled separately. This model enables us to use arbitrary Gaussian and non-Gaussian marginal distributions. Moreover, facial color, shape and continuous or categorical attributes can be analyzed in an unified way. Accounting for the joint dependency between all modalities leads to a more specific face model. In practice, the proposed model can enhance performance of principal component analysis in existing pipelines: The steps for analysis and synthesis can be implemented as convenient pre- and post-processing steps

Phosphorylated c-Src in the nucleus is associated with improved patient outcome in ER-positive breast cancer

Elevated c-Src protein expression has been shown in breast cancer and &lt;i&gt;in vitro&lt;/i&gt; evidence suggests a role in endocrine resistance. To investigate whether c-Src is involved in endocrine resistance, we examined the expression of both total and activated c-Src in human breast cancer specimens from a cohort of oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive tamoxifen-treated breast cancer patients. Tissue microarray technology was employed to analyse 262 tumour specimens taken before tamoxifen treatment. Immunohistochemistry using total c-Src and activated c-Src antibodies was performed. Kaplan–Meier survival curves were constructed and log-rank test were performed. High level of nuclear activated Src was significantly associated with improved overall survival (&lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt;=0.047) and lower recurrence rates on tamoxifen (&lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt;=0.02). Improved patient outcome was only seen with activated Src in the nucleus. Nuclear activated Src expression was significantly associated with node-negative disease and a lower NPI (&lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt;&#60;0.05). On subgroup analysis, only ER-positive/progesterone receptor (PgR)-positive tumours were associated with improved survival (&lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt;=0.004). This shows that c-Src activity is increased in breast cancer and that activated Src within the nucleus of ER-positive tumours predicts an improved outcome. In ER/PgR-positive disease, activated Src kinase does not appear to be involved in &lt;i&gt;de novo&lt;/i&gt; endocrine resistance. Further study is required in ER-negative breast cancer as this may represent a cohort in which it is associated with poor outcome

Mobile health as a primary mode of intervention for women at risk of, or diagnosed with, gestational diabetes mellitus: a scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review was to map the knowledge related to the use of mHealth as a primary mode of intervention for the prevention and management of gestational diabetes mellitus and its long-term implications among women at risk of or diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus. We also sought to understand if mHealth for women at risk of or diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus incorporated relevant behavior change theory and techniques. INTRODUCTION: Prevention and management of gestational diabetes mellitus and its associated adverse outcomes are important to maternal and infant health. Women with gestational diabetes mellitus report high burden of disease management and barriers to lifestyle change post-delivery, which mHealth interventions may help to overcome. Evidence suggests apps could help gestational diabetes mellitus prevention and management, however, less is known about broader applications of mHealth from preconception to interconception and whether relevant behavior change techniques are incorporated. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Studies published in English that focused on mHealth use as primary mode of intervention for the prevention and management of gestational diabetes mellitus and its long-term implications were considered for inclusion. Telehealth or telemedicine were excluded as these have been reviewed elsewhere. METHODS: Six databases were searched: MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), Embase (Ovid), Cochrane Database (Wiley), Scopus, and TRIP. No limits were applied to database exploration periods to ensure retrieval of all relevant studies. Gray literature sources searched were OpenGrey, ISRCTN Registry, ClinicalTrials.gov, EU Clinical Trials Register, and ANZCTR. Two reviewers independently screened abstracts and assessed full texts against the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted using an adapted version of the JBI data extraction instrument. Data are presented in narrative form accompanied by tables and figures. RESULTS: This review identified 2166 sources, of which 96 full texts were screened. Thirty eligible reports were included, covering 25 different mHealth interventions. Over half (n = 14) were for self-managing blood glucose during pregnancy. Common features included tracking blood glucose levels, real-time feedback, communication with professionals, and educational information. Few (n = 6) mHealth interventions were designed for postpartum use and none for interconception use. Five for postpartum use supported behavior change to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and included additional features such as social support functions and integrated rewards. Early development and feasibility studies used mixed methods to assess usability and acceptability. Later stage evaluations of effectiveness typically used randomized controlled trial designs to measure clinical outcomes such as glycemic control and reduced body weight. Three mHealth interventions were developed using behavior change theory. Most mHealth interventions incorporated two behavior change techniques shown to be optimal when combined and those delivering behavior change interventions included a wider range. Nevertheless, only half of the 26 techniques listed in a published behavior change taxonomy were tried. CONCLUSIONS: mHealth for gestational diabetes mellitus focuses on apps to improve clinical outcomes. This focus could be broadened by incorporating existing resources that women value, such as social media, to address needs, such as peer support. Although nearly all mHealth interventions incorporated behavior change techniques, findings suggest future development should consider selecting techniques that target women's needs and barriers. Lack of mHealth interventions for prevention of gestational diabetes mellitus recurrence and type 2 diabetes mellitus suggests further development and evaluation is required

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal