Plos One
-
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) K18 award mechanism provides funded opportunities for established investigators to gain knowledge in fields outside of their primary disciplines, but outcomes associated with these awards have not been evaluated to date. NIH's Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences Opportunity Network (OppNet) is one of the few initiatives that has used this award mechanism. We explored how the unique features of K18 awards affect the ability of recipients to obtain follow-on NIH research funding. ⋯ We hypothesized that K18 award recipients might be (1) more successful than are other K award recipients in obtaining follow-on NIH research funding due to their career experience or (2) less successful due to the competing demands of other projects. By analyzing follow-on NIH research awards and interview data, we found that OppNet K18 award recipients were at least as successful as were other K award recipients in obtaining follow-on funding and may have been more successful by certain measures. K18 awards produce their outcomes with a lower investment per investigator than do other K awards, suggesting continued or enhanced use of the mechanism.
-
Except for the northern region, where the Amazonian black scorpion, T. obscurus, represents the predominant and most medically relevant scorpion species, Tityus serrulatus, the Brazilian yellow scorpion, is widely distributed throughout Brazil, causing most envenoming and fatalities due to scorpion sting. In order to evaluate and compare the diversity of venom components of Tityus obscurus and T. serrulatus, we performed a transcriptomic investigation of the telsons (venom glands) corroborated by a shotgun proteomic analysis of the venom from the two species. ⋯ The present work shows that the venom composition of these two allopatric species of Tityus are considerably similar in terms of the major classes of proteins produced and secreted, although their individual toxin sequences are considerably divergent. These differences at amino acid level may reflect in different epitopes for the same protein classes in each species, explaining the basis for the poor recognition of T. obscurus venom by the antiserum raised against other species.
-
We investigated the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and screening for diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic nephropathy (DN) in community-dwelling diabetics. We analyzed data from 22,134 people with diabetes aged ≥19 years at the time of the nationwide 2015 Korean Community Health Survey. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between SES and screening for DR and DN both before and after adjustment for health behaviors, comorbidities, and educational level. ⋯ Similar findings were obtained when the analysis was limited to those who had been educated about diabetes. In conclusion, socioeconomic inequalities were evident in terms of screening for DR and DN in community-dwelling Korean diabetics, regardless of whether they had reported receiving diabetes education. Tailored public health policies (and societal attention) are required to aid the socioeconomically disadvantaged.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Unilateral electrical stimulation of the heart 7 acupuncture point to prevent emergence agitation in children: A prospective, double-blinded, randomized clinical trial.
Emergence agitation (EA) is a frequent phenomenon in children recovering from general anaesthesia and increases the risk of self-injury. Previously, our group reported that stimulating the heart 7 (HT7) acupuncture point bilaterally using two neuromuscular transmission monitoring devices (NTMs) decreased the incidence of EA. However, bilateral stimulation is a barrier to clinical use because two NTMs are needed for one patient. ⋯ We observed that there was no effect of unilateral single-twitch electrical stimulation to the HT7 on the incidence of EA, contrary to the findings with bilateral HT7 stimulation.
-
Multicenter Study
ACRIN 6684: Multicenter, phase II assessment of tumor hypoxia in newly diagnosed glioblastoma using magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
A multi-center imaging trial by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) "A Multicenter, phase II assessment of tumor hypoxia in glioblastoma using 18F Fluoromisonidazole (FMISO) with PET and MRI (ACRIN 6684)", was conducted to assess hypoxia in patients with glioblastoma (GBM). The aims of this study were to support the role of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (1H MRSI) as a prognostic marker for brain tumor patients in multi-center clinical trials. Seventeen participants from four sites had analyzable 3D MRSI datasets acquired on Philips, GE or Siemens scanners at either 1.5T or 3T. ⋯ Lac/Cr in tumor was a significant negative predictor of PFS-6, indicating that higher lactate/Cr levels are associated with poorer outcome. (AUC = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.54 to 1.00). In conclusion, despite the small sample size in the setting of a multi-center trial comprising different vendors, field strengths, and varying levels of expertise at data acquisition, MRS markers NAA/Cho, Lac/Cr and Lac/NAA predicted overall survival at 1 year and 6-month progression free survival. This study validates that MRSI may be useful in evaluating the prognosis in glioblastoma and should be considered for incorporating into multi-center clinical trials.