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SAGE Skills: Student Success is an interactive resource for undergraduate students to develop and practice the academic and personal skills needed to thrive in higher education and beyond. Through interactive scenarios, short videos, self-assessments, downloadable exercises, and more, students can self-direct their learning journey through more than 1,100 topics across 10 comprehensive modules.Search functionality includes the option to search within the resource and to browse in the various modules. Searching works less well than browsing, mainly because the search filters do not function as they should.

Providence College is a Catholic, Dominican, liberal arts institution of higher education and a community committed to academic excellence in pursuit of the truth, growth in virtue, and service of ...

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) presenting with cough is a rare phenomenon, which is likely an immune-mediated paraneoplastic syndrome. To our knowledge, there are a few individual case reports and one case series in the literature. We report our experience with chronic cough as the presenting symptom for RCC. A retrospective chart review was performed on cases presenting with RCC and cough at two institutions. A recent case at a third institution was also included. The literature was reviewed via an Ovid MEDLINE search to reveal fourteen previously reported cases. Eight new cases were identified of patients presenting with a cough and subsequently being diagnosed with RCC. All cases of RCC were identified incidentally due to imaging obtained during a workup for chronic cough. Average age at presentation was 66.5 years old (range 54–79). Renal tumor size ranged from 3.8 to 10 cm. Final pathology was clear cell renal cell carcinoma in all patients, with one patient having Xp11 translocation. Six of the patients had resolution of the cough after resection of the primary tumor despite one patient with metastatic disease. One other patient reported a significant improvement. The final patient had transient improvement in her cough after cytoreductive nephrectomy. Chronic cough is a rare presentation of RCC. Treatment of the primary tumor with resection or embolization may lead to resolution of the cough, even in some patients with metastatic disease.

Originally conceived for use by U.S. military and intelligence communities, the LandScan web application and population datasets, produced by East View Geospatial with data from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, are useful for various reasons including: spatial data analysis, humanitarian aid and relief, disease modeling, market growth, and sustainable development/environmental protection. Older datasets, back to 2000, are archived as new versions are made available. There are three main audiences of LandScan: researchers who download and use the datasets; researchers who use the WMS and WCS services; and those who use the web platform. This review focuses mainly on the web app.Search functionalities include the ability to drill down to the pixel level, i.e., one square kilometer grid units; to quickly get population counts for an area on the world map by pointing and clicking; and to get population counts for an area using the polygon drawing function.

Background Liver tumours observed in rats exposed to micafungin led to a black box warning upon approval in Europe in 2008. Micafungin’s risk for liver carcinogenicity in humans has not been investigated. We sought to describe the risk of fatal hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among persons who received micafungin and other parenteral antifungals (PAFs) with up to 12 years of follow-up. Methods We assembled a US multicentre cohort of hospitalized patients who received micafungin or other PAFs between 2005 and 2012. We used propensity score (PS) matching on patient characteristics from electronic medical records to compare rates of HCC mortality identified through the National Death Index though to the end of December 2016. We computed HRs and 95% CIs. Results A total of 40110 patients who received a PAF were identified; 6903 micafungin recipients (87% of those identified) were successfully matched to 16317 comparator PAF users. Ten incident HCC deaths, one in the micafungin-exposed group and nine among comparator PAF users, occurred in 71285 person-years of follow-up. The HCC mortality rate was 0.05 per 1000 person-years in micafungin patients and 0.17 per 1000 person-years in comparator PAF patients. The PS-matched HR for micafungin versus comparator PAF was 0.29 (95% CI 0.04–2.24). Conclusions Both micafungin and comparator PAFs were associated with HCC mortality rates of

Objective To evaluate the influence of Nordic walking (NW) on hip joint loads in order to determine whether it can be safely performed during postoperative physiotherapy in patients after orthopeadic surgery of the hip. Methods Internal hip joint loads were directly measured in vivo in 6 patients using instrumented hip prostheses during NW and ordinary walking (OW). All patients received training in two different NW techniques (double-poling and the diagonal technique) by a certified NW instructor. Measurements were conducted on a treadmill at a speed of 4 km/h on level ground, at 10% inclination and at 10% slope as well as on a level lawn at a self chosen comfortable speed. Resultant contact force (F res), bending moment (M bend) and torsional torque (M tors) were compared between NW and OW as well as between both NW techniques. Results Joint loads showed a double peak pattern during all setups. Neither NW technique significantly influenced hip joint loads at the time of the first load peak during contralateral toe-off (CTO), which was also the absolute load peak, in comparison to OW. Compared to OW, double-poling significantly reduced F res and M bend at the time of the second load peak during the contralateral heel strike (CHS) on level ground both on the treadmill (− 6% and − 7%, respectively) and on the lawn (− 7% and − 9%). At 10% inclination, the diagonal technique increased F res and M bend at CHS (by + 6% and + 7%), but did not increase the absolute load peak at CTO. Conclusion Joint loads during NW are comparable to those of OW. Therefore, NW can be considered a low-impact activity and seems to be safe for patients that are allowed full weight bearing, e.g. during postoperative rehabilitation after THA.

BACKGROUND: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a leading cause of infectious complications in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant recipients (alloHCT). We sought to evaluate whether prophylactic oral vancomycin reduces the incidence of CDI in alloHCT recipients. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine the effectiveness of CDI prophylaxis with oral vancomycin, as compared to no prophylaxis, in 145 consecutive adult alloHCT recipients at the University of Pennsylvania between April 2015 and November 2016. Patients received oral vancomycin 125 mg twice daily, starting on admission and continuing until discharge. The primary outcome of interest was the association between oral vancomycin prophylaxis and CDI diagnosis. Secondary outcomes included graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and relapse. RESULTS: There were no cases of CDI in patients that received prophylaxis (0/90, 0%), whereas 11/55 (20%) patients who did not receive prophylaxis developed CDI (P < .001). Oral vancomycin prophylaxis was not associated with a higher risk of acute, grades 2–4 GVHD (subhazard ratio [sHR] 1.59; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.88–2.89; P = .12), acute, grades 3–4 GVHD (sHR 0.65; 95% CI 0.25–1.66; P = .36), or acute, grades 2–4 gastrointestinal GVHD (sHR 1.95; 95% CI 0.93–4.07; P = .08) at day 180 post-transplant. No associations between oral vancomycin and relapse or survival were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Prophylaxis with oral vancomycin is highly effective in preventing CDI in alloHCT recipients without increasing the risk of graft-versus-host disease or disease relapse. Further evaluation via a prospective study is warranted.

Objective To assess clinical safety (primary) and efficacy (secondary) of histotripsy for treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic enlargement in a first-in human study. Methods Twenty-five male subjects with moderate to severe lower urinary tract symptoms, prostate size between 30 and 80 g, and no evidence of prostate cancer were enrolled at 2 sites in a prospective, single-arm study. Treatment consisted of acoustic energy delivery through the perineum with integrated real-time transrectal ultrasound monitoring using the Vortx Rx system. Follow-up evaluations were performed on postoperative day 1 and 1, 3, and 6 months. Results Twenty-five men underwent histotripsy treatment with no serious intraoperative adverse events. Postoperatively, 3 cases of transient urinary retention ( Conclusion Prostate histotripsy was safe and well tolerated in this pilot human trial with improvement in lower urinary tract symptoms.

Background Pharmacologic immunosuppression and incomplete immune reconstitution after allogeneic stem cell transplant (alloSCT) may impair a patient's ability to mount an immune response to vaccines, including currently available COVID-19 vaccines. Since immunocompromised patients are susceptible to severe COVID-19 and likely to respond poorly to vaccination, we sought to characterize SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses after vaccination in alloSCT patients to determine predictors of serologic response, which may inform timing of vaccine administration. Methods This retrospective analysis included adult patients who underwent alloSCT at the University of Pennsylvania between 1/1/2019 and 1/1/2021. Chart review identified patients who had received COVID-19 vaccines and had post-vaccination antibody titers drawn by July 2021 as part of routine care (n=63). Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain were detected using an assay developed at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Variables analyzed include interval between transplant date and initial vaccination, active GVHD, concurrent immunosuppressive therapy, absolute CD4 count greater than or equal to 200 cells/mm3 peri-vaccination, and total IgG greater than or equal to 400 mg/dL peri-vaccination. Immunosuppressive therapy was defined as tacrolimus, rituximab, ruxolitinib, prednisone 10 mg daily or greater, or extracorporeal photopheresis. Predictors of positive antibody response were assessed using a multivariate, binary logistic regression. Results Median transplant to vaccine interval was 458 days (range 125 to 813) for the 63 vaccinated patients with serologies available. GVHD was present in 23/63 (37%), and 19/63 (30%) were receiving immunosuppressive therapies at the time of vaccination. CD4 count greater than 200 cells/mm3 was observed in 49 patients (78%), and total IgG greater than 400 mg/dL was observed in 51 patients (81%). In total, 50/63 patients (79%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. Positive serologies were observed in 41/49 (84%) with CD4 counts greater than 200 cells/mm3, compared to 9/14 (64%) with CD4 less than 200 cells/mm3. Our model found that peri-vaccination CD4 count greater than 200 cells/mm3 was a significant predictor of positive SARS-CoV-2 IgG serologies in this population (OR 2.14, 97.5% CI = 0.7 to 3.8, p= 0.005). Transplant to vaccine interval, total IgG levels, GVHD status, and immunosuppressive therapies were not significant predictors of serologic response. As of July 2021 no patients had developed COVID-19 after vaccination, regardless of serologic response. Conclusions This retrospective observational study demonstrates that the majority of alloSCT patients vaccinated against COVID-19 within 2 years of transplant, including those with active GVHD and on immunosuppressive therapies, can mount serologic responses. CD4 count greater than 200 cells/mm3 is a significant predictor of positive serologic response, though even among patients with CD4 counts under 200 cells/mm3 over 60% developed SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. Disclosures Perry: Incyte: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Abbvie,: Speakers Bureau; Kadmon: Consultancy. Pratz: University of Pennsylvania: Current Employment; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Astellas: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Cellgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria; Agios: Consultancy; Millenium: Research Funding. Luger: Syros: Honoraria; Agios: Honoraria; Daiichi Sankyo: Honoraria; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria; Brystol Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Acceleron: Honoraria; Astellas: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria; Onconova: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Biosight: Research Funding; Hoffman LaRoche: Research Funding; Kura: Research Funding. Perl: Astellas: Consultancy, Research Funding; Loxo: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Syndax: Consultancy; BMS/Celgene: Consultancy; Roche: Consultancy; Fujifilm: Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Research Funding; Forma: Consultancy; Arog: Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy; Actinium: Consultancy; Onconova: Consultancy; Sumitomo Dainippon: Consultancy. Porter: ASH: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Incyte: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; DeCart: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Ended employment in the past 24 months; American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy: Honoraria; Kite/Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; National Marrow Donor Program: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding; Tmunity: Patents & Royalties; Wiley and Sons Publishing: Honoraria. Hexner: Blueprint medicines: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; PharmaEssentia: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Tmunity Therapeutics: Research Funding. Frey: Sana Biotechnology: Consultancy; Kite Pharma: Consultancy; Syndax Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Novartis: Research Funding.

The uptake of hydrochloric acid (HCl), ethanol (C2H5OH), 1-butanol (1-C4H9OH), formic acid HC(O)OH and trifluoroacetic (CF3C(O)OH) acid to growing ice surfaces was investigated at temperatures between 194 and 228 K. HCl displayed extensive, continuous uptake during ice growth, which was strongly dependent on the ice growth velocity, the temperature of the ice surface and the gas phase concentration of HCl. Trifluoroacetic acid was also observed to be trapped in growing ice, albeit approximately an order of magnitude less efficiently than HCl, whereas the adsorption and desorption kinetics of ethanol, 1-butanol, formic acid on ice were not measurably different to those for non-growing ice, even at very high ice growth rates. We present a parameterisation of the uptake coefficient for HCl on growing ice films (γtrap) and compare the results to an existing framework that describes the non-equilibrium trapping of trace gases on ice. The trapping of HCl in growing ice crystals in the atmosphere is assessed and compared to the gas and ice phase partitioning resulting from equilibrium surface adsorption and solubility.

Invasive fungal infections (IFI) are a significant source of morbidity and mortality for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Given the heterogeneity of the population receiving hypomethylating agents (HMA), it is difficult for clinicians to accurately assess their patients' risk of infection. Literature on the incidence of IFI following HMA is limited to several studies of azacitidine. The primary objective of this retrospective study was to establish the incidence of IFI in HMA treated AML/MDS patients at a large U.S. comprehensive cancer center. Secondary objectives included comparing incidence of IFI among pre-specified subgroups to identify potential risk factors for IFI. Two hundred three patients with AML, intermediate to very high risk MDS or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia who received at least two cycles of HMA were included. The incidence of IFI, as defined by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer / Invasive Fungal Infections Cooperative Group criteria, was 9.6%, with 20 IFI diagnosed following HMA (three proven, four probable, 13 possible). Among the proven cases of IFI, molds included Scedosporium and Fusarium spp. Eleven patients who developed IFIs were neutropenic upon initiating HMA. The majority (17/20) of infections occurred during the first four cycles. Given this incidence, mold-active prophylaxis can be considered in patients who are neutropenic at the start of therapy.

We present a chemical ionization quadrupole mass spectrometer (CI-QMS) with a radio-frequency (RF) discharge ion source through N2∕CH3I as a source of primary ions. In addition to the expected detection of PAN, peracetic acid (PAA) and ClNO2 through well-established ion–molecule reactions with I− and its water cluster, the instrument is also sensitive to SO2, HCl and acetic acid (CH3C(O)OH) through additional ion chemistry unique to our ion source. We present ionization schemes for detection of SO2, HCl and acetic acid along with illustrative datasets from three different field campaigns underlining the potential of the CI-QMS with an RF discharge ion source as an alternative to 210Po. The additional sensitivity to SO2 and HCl makes the CI-QMS suitable for investigating the role of sulfur and chlorine chemistry in the polluted marine and coastal boundary layer.

In August 2008, 30% of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants in plots in Lubbock County, Texas showed yellowing, lateral stem dieback, upward leaf curling, enlargement of stems, adventitious roots, and swollen nodes. Yellowing in leaves was similar to that seen with zebra chip disease (ZC) of potato that was confirmed in a potato field 112 km away in July 2008 and was associated with a ‘Candidatus Liberibacter’ species (1), similar to findings earlier in 2008 in New Zealand and California (2,3). Tissue from four symptomatic plants of cv. Spitfire and two of cv. Celebrity were collected and DNA was extracted from midribs and petioles with a FastDNA Spin Kit (Qbiogene, Inc., Carlsbad, CA,). PCR amplification was done with 16S rRNA gene primers OA2 and OI2c, which are specific for “Ca. Liberibacter solanacearum” from potato and tomato and amplify a 1.1-kb fragment of the 16S rRNA gene of this new species (1,3). Amplicons of 1.1 kb were obtained from all samples and these were sequenced in both orientations (McLab, San Francisco, CA). Sequences of the 16S rRNA gene were identical for both Spitfire and Celebrity and were submitted to the NCBI as GenBank Accession Nos. FJ939136 and FJ939137, respectively. On the basis of a BLAST search, sequence alignments revealed 99.9% identity with a new species of ‘Ca. Liberibacter’ from potato (EU884128 and EU884129) in Texas (1); 99.7% identity with the new species “Ca. Liberibacter solanacearum” described from potato and tomato (3) in New Zealand (EU849020 and EU834130, respectively) and from the potato psyllid Bactericera cockerelli in California (2) (EU812559, EU812556); 97% identity with ‘Ca L. asiaticus’ from citrus in Malaysia (EU224393) and 94% identity with both ‘Ca. L. africanus’ and ‘Ca. L. americanus’ from citrus (EU921620 and AY742824, respectively). A neighbor-joining cladogram constructed using the 16S rRNA gene fragments delineated four clusters corresponding to each species, and these sequences clustered with “Ca. L. solanacearum”. A second PCR analysis was conducted with the CL514F/CL514R primer pair, which amplifies a sequence from the rplJ and rplL ribosomal protein genes of “Ca. L. solanacearum”. The resulting 669-bp products were 100% identical to a sequence reported from tomato in Mexico (FJ498807). This sequence was submitted to NCBI (GU169328). ZC, a disease causing losses to the potato industry, is associated with a ‘Candidatus Liberibacter’ species (1–3) and was reported in Central America and Mexico in the 1990s, in Texas in 2000, and more recently in other states in the United States (4). In 2008, a “Ca. Liberibacter solanacearum” was detected on Capsicum annuum, S. betaceum, and Physalis peruviana in New Zealand (3). Several studies have shown that the potato psyllid, B. cockerelli, is a potential vector for this pathogen (2,4). To our knowledge, this is the first report of “Ca. Liberibacter solanacearum” in field tomatoes showing ZC-like foliar disease symptoms in the United States. References: (1). J. A. Abad et al. Plant Dis. 93:108, 2009 (2) A. K. Hansen et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74:5862, 2008. (3) L. W. Liefting et al. Plant Dis. 93:208, 2009. (4) G. A. Secor et al. Plant Dis. 93:574, 2009.

Normative data from pelvic ultrasonography (US) of the pediatric female reproductive organs are outdated and limited by sample size. The purpose of this study was to report normal uterine and ovarian volumes and endometrial stripe thickness in children and young adults and throughout the menstrual cycle in post-menarchal adolescents. Females ages 0 through 20 years who underwent pelvic US between January 2010 and May 2014 were identified. After excluding patients with pelvic and/or endocrine pathology, nomograms of uterine and ovarian volumes and endometrial thickness by age year were created. Data for patients ages 12 years and older with a recorded day of last menstrual period were used to create additional nomograms of volumes/thickness throughout the menstrual cycle. Student’s t-tests and linear regression were performed to assess differences in measurements between groups and association of volumes/thickness with age. During our study period, 5,647 patients underwent 6,953 pelvic US examinations. After further review, 907 examinations from 889 patients were included (mean age: 11.3±6.0 years). Mean pelvic US volumes (cm3) per organ were 25.5±27.0 (uterus), 4.5±4.7 (right ovary) and 4.0±4.1 (left ovary). Mean endometrial thickness was 4.5±3.7 mm. Right ovarian volume was significantly larger than the left (P=0.0126). Uterine volume, ovarian volume and endometrial thickness were significantly associated with age (P-values

The limited use of distiller’s grains (DG) in the food industry result out of negative effects on texture and flavour. To investigate the odour, aroma volatiles in the common cereal based food system bread were analyzed. Therefore aroma volatiles in bread containing 0–20% DG were identified with Gas Chromatography-Olfactometry/Mass Spectrometry. Likewise, sensory properties were evaluated. As a result, 42 odour active compounds were identified in DDG bread. Phenylacetic acid and dimethyltrisulphide are transferred from DG to bread crust and crumb, but not interfering bread aroma. After comparison of highest flavour dilution (FD) factors, 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone (FD = 128) and 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine (FD = 128) were revealed in control bread crust, whereas 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2-(5H)-furanone (FD = 512) and 4-hydroxy-23,5-dimethyl-3-(2H)-furanone (FD = 512) were revealed in 20% DG bread crust. Regarding bread crumb, 3-methylthiopropanal and 2-phenylethanol provided highest FD factors (FD = 32) in the control, whereas in 20% DG bread crumb 3-methylbutanoic acid, 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine and 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2-(5H)-furanone provided FD factors ≥ 32 as well. Principal component analysis (PCA) of bread samples correlated to sensory attributes and important aroma volatiles revealed differences in odorant perception to the presence of 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2(5H)-furanone and phenylacetic acid, with simultaneous absence of 2AP.

Summary Viscoacoustic migration can significantly compensate for the amplitude loss and phase distortion in migration images computed from highly attenuated data. However, solving the viscoacoustic wave equation requires a significant amount of storage space and computation time, especially for least-squares migration methods. To mitigate this problem, we use acoustic reverse time migration (RTM) instead of viscoacoustic migration to migrate the viscoacoustic data, and then correct the amplitude and phase distortion by hybrid deblurring filters in the image domain. Numerical tests on synthetic and field data demonstrate that acoustic RTM combined with hybrid deblurring filters can compensate for the attenuation effects and produce images with high resolution and balanced amplitudes. This procedure requires less than 1/3 of the storage space and N/2 of the computation time compared to the viscoacoustic migration. Here the N indicates the iteration number of the least-square migration method. This procedure can be extended to 3D migration at even a greater cost saving.