Fluid Biomarkers in HPV and Non-HPV Related Oropharyngeal Carcinomas: From Diagnosis and Monitoring to Prognostication—A Systematic Review

Biomarkers are crucial in oncology, from detection and monitoring to guiding management and predicting treatment outcomes. Histological assessment of tissue biopsies is currently the gold standard for oropharyngeal cancers, but is technically demanding, invasive, and expensive. This systematic review aims to review current markers that are detectable in biofluids, which offer promising non-invasive alternatives in oropharyngeal carcinomas (OPCs). A total of 174 clinical trials from the PubMed search engine in the last 5 years were identified and screened by 4 independent reviewers. From these, 38 eligible clinical trials were found and subsequently reviewed. The biomarkers involved, categorized by human papillomavirus (HPV)-status, were further divided according to molecular and cellular levels. Recent trials investigating biomarkers for both HPV-positive and HPV-negative OPCs have approaches from various levels and different biofluids including plasma, oropharyngeal swabs, and oral rinse. Promising candidates have been found to aid in detection, staging, and predicting prognosis, in addition to well-established factors including HPV-status, drinking and smoking status. These studies also emphasize the possibility of enhancing prediction results and increasing statistical significance by multivariate analyses. Liquid biopsies offer promising assistance in enhancing personalized medicine for cancer treatment, from lowering barriers towards early screening, to facilitating de-escalation of treatment. However, further research is needed, and the combination of liquid biopsies with pre-existing methods, including in vivo imaging and invasive techniques such as neck dissections, could also be explored in future trials.     

Constipation Mitigation by Rhubarb Extract in Middle-Aged Adults Is Linked to Gut Microbiome Modulation: A Double-Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

Gut microbiota alterations are intimately linked to chronic constipation upon aging. We investigated the role of targeted changes in the gut microbiota composition in the relief of constipation symptoms after rhubarb extract (RE) supplementation in middle-aged volunteers. Subjects (95% women, average 58 years old) were randomized to three groups treated with RE at two different doses determined by its content of rhein (supplementation of 12.5 mg and 25 mg per day) vs. placebo (maltodextrin) for 30 days. We demonstrated that daily oral supplementation of RE for 30 days was safe even at the higher dose. Stool frequency and consistency, and perceived change in transit problem, transit speed and difficulty in evacuating, investigated by validated questionnaires, were improved in both groups of RE-treated volunteers compared to placebo. Higher abundance of Lachnospiraceae (mainly Roseburia and Agathobacter) only occurred after RE treatment when present at low levels at baseline, whereas an opposite shift in short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels was observed in both RE-treated groups (increase) and placebo (decrease). Fecal Lachnospiraceae and SCFA were positively correlated with stool consistency. This study demonstrates that RE supplementation promotes butyrate-producing bacteria and SCFA, an effect that could contribute to relieving chronic constipation in middle-aged persons.     

Managing the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak from border arrivals

In an attempt to maintain the elimination of COVID-19 in New Zealand, all international arrivals are required to spend 14 days in government-managed quarantine and to return a negative test result before being released. We model the testing, isolation and transmission of COVID-19 within quarantine facilities to estimate the risk of community outbreaks being seeded at the border. We use a simple branching process model for COVID-19 transmission that includes a time-dependent probability of a false-negative test result. We show that the combination of 14-day quarantine with two tests is highly effective in preventing an infectious case entering the community, provided there is no transmission within quarantine facilities. Shorter quarantine periods, or reliance on testing only with no quarantine, substantially increases the risk of an infectious case being released. We calculate the fraction of cases detected in the second week of their two-week stay and show that this may be a useful indicator of the likelihood of transmission occurring within quarantine facilities. Frontline staff working at the border risk exposure to infected individuals and this has the potential to lead to a community outbreak. We use the model to test surveillance strategies and evaluate the likely size of the outbreak at the time it is first detected. We conclude with some recommendations for managing the risk of potential future outbreaks originating from the border.     

Continuous measurement of reactive oxygen species inside and outside of a residential house during summer

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are an important contributor to adverse health effects associated with ambient air pollution. Despite infiltration of ROS from outdoors, and possible indoor sources (eg, combustion), there are limited data available on indoor ROS. In this study, part of the second phase of Air Composition and Reactivity from Outdoor aNd Indoor Mixing campaign (ACRONIM-2), we constructed and deployed an online, continuous, system to measure extracellular gas- and particle-phase ROS during summer in an unoccupied residence in St. Louis, MO, USA. Over a period of one week, we observed that the non-denuded outdoor ROS (representing particle-phase ROS and some gas-phase ROS) concentration ranged from 1 to 4 nmol/m³ (as H₂O₂). Outdoor concentrations were highest in the afternoon, coincident with peak photochemistry periods. The indoor concentrations of particle-phase ROS were nearly equal to outdoor concentrations, regardless of window-opening status or air exchange rates. The indoor/outdoor ratio of non-denuded ROS (I/O_ROS) was significantly less than 1 with windows open and even lower with windows closed. Combined, these observations suggest that gas-phase ROS are efficiently removed by interior building surfaces and that there may be an indoor source of particle-phase ROS.     

Interpretation of Volatility Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer (V-TDMA) data for accurate vapor pressure and enthalpy measurement: Operational considerations,multiple charging,and introduction to a new analysis program (TAO)

Abstract

Significant evaporation of pure aerosols in a Volatility Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer (V-TDMA) creates two Condensation Particle Counter (CPC) response peaks. Two hypotheses for the observed peaks have been proposed: the existence of two phases or the separation of the singly charged experimental size distribution from the remaining experimental size distributions with charges greater than 1 (charge separation). To explore this observation, we atomized pure levoglucosan aerosol and evaporated the aerosol until two peaks formed. We used an additional classifier and neutralizer to select particles from each of the two peaks and assessed the number of charges on the particles. The smaller diameter peak contained singly charged particles, and the larger diameter peak contained the remaining charges. The charge separation hypothesis alone accounts for the two-peak observations. We used a new V-TDMA model named TAO and show that charge separation should occur in other pure components as well. The TAO model was then used to display the impact of different DMA transfer functions, different inlet size distributions, and different oven residence time distributions (RTDs) on the CPC response. Large errors are possible when direct measurement of the RTD is not performed or when wide RTDs are used. We recommend use of narrow transfer functions with narrow RTDs to detect charge separation. When the singly charged CPC response is isolated (smaller diameter peak in the two peak response), accurate estimations of vapor pressure can be recovered, assuming accurate values for gas phase diffusivity, surface energy, particle density, etc. are used.

Copyright © 2020 American Association for Aerosol Research     

The latent structure of schizotypy: I. Premorbid indicators of a taxon of individuals at risk for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.

A taxometric analysis (R. R. Golden & P. E. Meehl, 1979) was conducted to test the hypotheses that liability for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders is dichotomously distributed and that this liability can be detected premorbidly with behavioral indicators analogous to many of the criteria for schizotypal personality disorder. Behaviors were assessed in 207 offspring of schizophrenic mothers and 104 matched offspring of normal parents in 1962, when participants' mean age was 15 years. Diagnoses on the basis of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) were made in 1986–1989, when participants were nearly through the risk period for developing schizophrenia. The aggregation of indicators was consistent with a bimodal latent liability distribution. Membership in the schizotypal class was a sensitive and specific predictor of the emergence of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders in adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dysphoric mood and overeating: A test of restraint theory's disinhibition hypothesis.

Tested the hypothesis that restrained eaters overindulge when experiencing emotional arousal. A dysphoric or nondysphoric mood was induced in 104 normal-weight female college students who had completed the Restraint Scale. Ss completed a bogus "culture-free intelligence test" that consisted of either unsolvable problems (dysphoric mood condition) or solvable problems (nondysphoric mood condition). Mood was measured by the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List. After the mood induction, Ss' cracker consumption was measured in a taste test. Consistent with restraint theory's prediction, the results revealed a significant Restraint by Mood interaction, with restrained eaters eating more when in a dysphoric than in a nondysphoric mood, and unrestrained eaters consuming similar amounts in both mood states. The predictive powers of 2 subscales of the Restraint Scale, Weight Fluctuation (WF) and Concern with Dieting (CD), were also compared. CD scores were better predictors of the amount eaten by Ss in a dysphoric mood than were WF or total restraint scores. This suggests that the 2 subscales of the Restraint Scale are worth distinguishing and that the CD scale may be the more valid of the 2 scales. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analysis of fatty acid methyl esters with high accuracy and reliability. IV. Fats with fatty acids containing four or more carbon atoms

Those aspects of the quantitative methanolysis of fats with fatty acids containing four or more carbon atoms and the gas liquid chromatographic analysis of the methyl esters which have not been adequately dealt with to date were investigated. Accurate analysis of the esters requires the optimization of the total chromatographic system using a carefully prepared methyl ester primary standard and applying, as the only correction factors, the theoretical flame ionization detector response factors of Ackman and Sipos. These factors now have also been shown to be highly accurate for short chain saturated fatty acid methyl esters, in particular methyl butyrate and methyl caproate. Under the conditions specified by the international methods for the methylation (methanolic KOH) of fats with fatty acids containing four or more carbon atoms, saponification of the esters, once formed, proceeds much more rapidly for short chain than for long chain esters. This problem is easily overcome by neutralizing the catalyst, which then leads to very stable solutions and contributes to column life. This step should be mandatory in the international procedures. Tristearin methylated more slowly than other triacylglycerols under the standard conditions, but there was no difficulty in the case of unsaturated fatty acids of this chain length. Satisfactory results could not be obtained when sodium methoxide was the catalyst. The optimum procedure rendered unnecessary the use of methyl pentanoate as an internal standard for the accurate quantitation of methyl butyrate.