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Vascular dementia (VD) a heterogenous group of brain disorders in which cognitive impairment is attributable to vascular risk factors and cerebrovascular disease. A common phenomenon in VD is a dysfunctional cerebral regulatory mechanism associated with insufficient cerebral blood flow, ischemia and hypoxia. Under hypoxic conditions oxygen supply to the brain results in neuronal death leading to neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's (AD) and VD. In conditions of hypoxia and low oxygen perfusion, expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) increases under conditions of low oxygen and low perfusion associated with upregulation of expression of hypoxia-upregulated mitochondrial movement regulator (HUMMR), which promotes anterograde mitochondrial transport by binding with trafficking protein kinesin 2 (TRAK2). Schisandrin B (Sch B) an active component derived from Chinese herb Wuweizi prevented β-amyloid protein induced morphological alterations and cell death using a SH-SY5Y neuronal cells considered an AD model. It was thus of interest to determine whether Sch B might also alleviate VD using a rat bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCAO) dementia model. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of Sch B in BCAO on cognitive functions such as Morris water maze test and underlying mechanisms involving expression of HIF-1α, TRAK2, and HUMMR levels. The results showed that Sch B improved learning and memory function of rats with VD and exerted a protective effect on the hippocampus by inhibition of protein expression of HIF-1α, TRAK2, and HUMMR factors. Evidence indicates that Sch B may be considered as an alternative in VD treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An aerodynamic and multi-body dynamic coupling method is proposed and verified to evaluate the coupling effect between a pantograph on a high-speed train and the tunnel resulting from the train's vibration. The unevenness of the catenary, posture changes of the car body, track irregularities, tunnel effect and the interactions between the air and rods are considered. The influence and the evolution of the car body's vibration on the service characteristics and responses of the pantograph are described and quantified from multiple perspectives, including the time-domain characteristics of the aerodynamic lift of the panhead, the contact force between the pantograph and catenary, the vertical displacement and vertical acceleration of the contact strip, the frequency-domain characteristics, and the phase diagram of the contact strip. New insights are obtained into the action mechanisms of the car body vibration on the coupling effect between the pantograph and tunnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amount of fiscal expenditure on environmental governance in various regions of China in recent years has increased greatly, but its effect on environmental protection is often controversial in existing research. The conflicting finding is largely due to endogenous problems or selection bias. Generally, the cities with high smog pollution have been encountering environmental protection expenditure (EPE) shocks more greatly since 2011. To estimate the causal effects of EPE shocks more accurately, this research uses new machine learning to the estimate heterogeneous treatment effect of the EPE shock on urban air pollution from 216 cities in China, from 2011 to 2018. Empirical results from causal forests show the following. First, the positive EPE shock has contributed to China's short-term improvements in air pollution. Long-term causality has not been confirmed statistically, though there is a strong correlation between an increase in EPE and a decrease in PM2.5. Second, a positive EPE shock leads to deterioration of smog in low-income and above-medium smog areas in the long term. Third, the positive EPE shock is conducive to the long-term improvement of air quality in moderately industrialized areas, but it does not lead to the long-term improvement of urban air pollution with a high or low degree of industrialization. Similarly, an EPE shock in cities with medium population density improves air quality for a long time, but runs the opposite in cities with high or low population density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study primarily analyzed the response of cold tolerance and phenology periods of four pear cultivars to climate differences in central (Gongzhuling) and eastern (Longjing) Jilin, which could provide a theoretical basis for the regional division and cultivation. It showed that there was a significant difference in the cold tolerance of the same cultivars between the two regions. Soluble sugar and soluble starch contents are the most important physiological indicators that determine the cold tolerance of the pear cultivars in Gongzhuling is stronger than that in Longjing. In phenology, only the cessation of terminal shoot extension and growing season length of pear cultivars were significantly related to their contents of soluble sugar and soluble starch. Furthermore, the gray correlation analysis identified the district's effective accumulated temperature as the key meteorological factors affecting the cessation of terminal shoot extension. The precipitation in the growing season was another major meteorological factor affecting the growing season length. Therefore, in this study, the influence of the main district meteorological factors on the key phenology periods of four pear cultivars, which decided the different accumulation of sugar and starch, eventually lead to the difference in cold tolerance of the same pear cultivar in two regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium (Cd) contamination of agricultural soils is a global concern, as it can cause the accumulation of Cd in food. In this study, an incubation experiment was carried out to investigate the effect on Cd availability in paddy soil amended four kinds of silkworm excrements organic fertilizer (SEs). And the soil amended with chicken manure organic fertilizer (CM) and no organic fertilizer (CK) were as control. The SEs and CM were added to soil at the rate of 3% (w/w). The results showed that the available Cd content in soils decreased by 27.3–40.9% and 14.1–27.3% in treatments of SEs compared to the CK and CM after incubation 60 days. The potential mechanisms for reducing the availability of Cd were subjected, including: (i) high aromaticity of SEs; (ii) SEs improved pH and OM content of soil; (iii) XRD pattern proved that Cd in soil was mainly stabilized in the form of CdCO3 and Cd(OH)NO3 by adding SEs. In conclusion, SEs application was an effective method to decrease Cd availability in paddy soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclophosphamide is associated with chemotherapy-related ovarian failure (CROF) in breast cancer survivors, however little is known about predicting individual risks. We sought to identify genetic alleles as biomarkers for risk of CROF after cyclophosphamide treatment. One hundred fifteen premenopausal women with newly diagnosed breast cancer were genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in cyclophosphamide activation (CYP3A4 and CYP2C19) and detoxification (GSTP1 and GSTA1). Patients prospectively completed menstrual diaries. With median follow up of 808 days, 28% experienced CROF. Survivors homozygous for the GSTA1 minor allele had lower hazards for developing CROF (HR 0.22 [95% CI 0.05-0.94], p=.04), while survivors homozygous for the CYP2C19 minor allele had higher hazards for developing CROF (HR 4.5 [95% CI 1.5-13.4], p=.007) compared to patients with at least one major allele. In separate multivariable models adjusting for age and tamoxifen use, the associations were no longer statistically significant (GSTA1 HR 0.24 [95% CI 0.06-1.0], p=.05; CYP2C19 HR 2.5 [0.8-7.6], p=.11). CYP3A4 and GSTP1 SNPs were not significantly related to CROF. In younger breast cancer survivors undergoing cyclophosphamide-based chemotherapy, genetic variation in CYP2C19 and GSTA1 merits further study to determine its relationship with CROF.IMPACT STATEMENTWhat is already known on this subject? Young breast cancer survivors face important potential implications of chemotherapy-related ovarian failure (CROF). Little is known about individual risk for CROF. Cyclophosphamide, a particularly gonadotoxic drug commonly used in breast cancer treatment, is metabolised by various cytochrome p450 enzymes. Studies have shown genetic variation in p450 enzymes is associated with differential clinical outcomes after cyclophosphamide treatment: breast cancer patients homozygous for GSTA1 minor allele had improved overall survival; lupus patients homozygous for CYP2C19 minor allele had increased risk for CROF; and CYP3A4*1B I was associated with decreased risk for CROF.What do the results of this study add? We show a surprising opposite trend for the risk of CROF in breast cancer patients with GSTA1 and CYP2C19 variants, while we did not show a significant risk for genetic variation in CYP3A4 (which had previously been shown to have a protective effect) or GSTP1.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? This study shows the complexity of genetic variation in predicting outcomes to treatment. We advocate for future replicative studies to potentially validate GSTA1 and CYP2C19 and definitively negate CYP3A4 and GSTP1 as biomarkers for risk of CROF after cyclophosphamide treatment. Understanding genetic variation in chemotherapy metabolism has the potential to individualise treatment regimens to maximise efficacy and minimise toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates a global practical stabilisation problem of a class of switched nonlinear systems via sampled-data control, where all the subsystems are assumed to be in non-strict feedback form and all the z 0 -subsystems are not required to be input-to-state stable. Since the system states are unmeasurable and the output can only be measured at the sampling instants, an observer is designed to estimate the state. By adopting the multiple Lyapunov function method and the backstepping technique, a virtual controller is constructed, then a sampled-data controller is obtained by discretizing the designed virtual controller. With appropriate choice of a switching law and an allowable sampling period, it is proved that the designed sampled-data controller renders the corresponding closed-loop system to be globally practically stable. Finally, two examples are presented to illustrate effectiveness of the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research examining the experience of informal caregivers (ICs) for patients with rare cancers is limited. This was a mixed-methods pilot study of 14 ICs for patients with Erdheim–Chester disease (ECD), an ultra-rare neoplasm. Participants were predominantly female and over half provided at least 60% of their loved one's care. Participants completed measures of the impact of caregiving, caregiver burden, unmet needs, quality of life, anxiety, and depression. Participants reported substantial impact of caregiving, including limiting (50%) or discontinuing (21%) paid employment, and exhausting financial savings (43%). ICs reported a moderate level of burden with five (38%) reporting risk for burnout. While participants reported anxiety (64%) and depression (14%), their overall quality of life was favorable. Semi-structured interviews highlighted factors related to the distress and isolation of navigating a rare cancer. ECD ICs report burden and distress shaped by the experience of providing care for a patient with a rare cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Insomnia is common among cancer survivors, yet survivors' beliefs about their insomnia following cancer are largely unknown. This study describes cancer survivors' causal attributions of insomnia and whether these beliefs differ by sociodemographic characteristics. Participants: 160 cancer survivors meeting diagnostic criteria for insomnia disorder. Methods: Survivors endorsed how likely they believed 12 different factors were causally related to their insomnia and self-reported sociodemographics. Multinomial logistic regression tested associations between attribution endorsement and sociodemographics. Latent class analysis (LCA) examined patterns of attribution endorsement and whether sociodemographics were associated. Results: One hundred fifty-four survivors (96%) endorsed that at least 1 causal attribution was likely related to their insomnia. Most survivors endorsed that emotions (77%), thinking patterns (76%), sleep-related emotions (65%), and sleep-related thoughts (57%) were related to their insomnia, similar to data previously published among healthy persons with insomnia. Younger participants were more likely to endorse that biochemical factors related to their insomnia (ps <.02); females were more likely to endorse that hormonal factors related to their insomnia (ps <.001). LCA identified three classes (AIC = 3209.50, BIC = 3485.13). Approximately 40% of survivors endorsed most of the causal attributions were likely related to their insomnia; 13% frequently endorsed attributions were neither likely nor unlikely to be related. Older survivors were more likely to belong to the 47% who reported most attributions were unlikely related to their insomnia (p =.03). Conclusions: Cancer survivors with insomnia commonly endorsed that thoughts and emotions contributed to their sleep disturbance. Survivors' sociodemographic characteristics did not meaningfully explain individual differences for most causal attribution beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the relationship between cancer patient/research participants' perceptions of communication with their research nurse and doctor and (1) participants' thoughts of dropping out from their cancer clinical trials (CCTs), (2) how informed they felt before and during their clinical trial participation, and (3) trust in their researchers. Methods: We surveyed 110 adult cancer patients who were enrolled in cancer clinical trials by using 15 modified items from the Medical Communication Competence Scale measuring information exchange and relational communication. Retention was measured by two items: ever thought about dropping out (yes/no) and likelihood of remaining enrolled in the clinical trial (5-point Likert item). We asked how well informed about the trial participants felt at enrollment, at the date they filled out the survey, and about changes in the trial. Results: Patient-participants with thoughts of dropping out from their CCTs rated their communication with research doctors lower than those who did not have thoughts of dropping out (4.14 versus 4.46, t = 2.22, p = 0.03). Patient-participants' intention to remain enrolled was correlated with more favorable scores on relational communication (such as contributing to a trusting relationship and showing compassion) with research doctors (r = 0.20, p = 0.04) and nurses (r = 0.25, p = 0.01). Communication with doctors was also associated with how informed patient-participants felt during their clinical trials. Conclusions: Relational communication with research doctors and nurses was significantly related to thoughts about remaining enrolled or dropping out of a clinical trial among adult participants in cancer treatment clinical trials. Practice Implications: Relational communication with cancer patients advances retention in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the role of melatonin in aging maize seeds (Zea mays L.), we investigated the physiological characteristics and performance analysis of the transcriptome after applying melatonin to maize seeds as a response to aging. In this study, we demonstrated that applying exogenous melatonin alleviated aging-induced oxidative damage, improved the activity of aging seeds, promoted growth of the germ and radicle, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity, and reduced membrane lipid peroxidation. In addition, transcriptome sequencing revealed that various metabolic processes were induced by exogenous melatonin application in aging maize seeds, including hormone signal transduction, cellular processes, carbohydrate metabolism, secondary metabolites, and amino acid metabolism. In summary, the findings provide a more comprehensive understanding for analysing the protective effect of melatonin in aging maize seeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermoelectric generators, capable of directly converting heat into electricity, hold great promise for tackling the ever-increasing energy sustainability issue. The thermoelectric energy conversion efficiency is heavily dependent upon the materials' performance that is quantified by the dimensionless figure-of-merit (ZT). Therefore, the central issue in the research of thermoelectric materials lies in continuously boosting the ZT value. Although thermoelectric effects were discovered in the nineteenth century, it was only until the 1950s when classic materials like Bi2Te3 and PbTe were developed and basic science of thermoelectrics was established. However, the research of thermoelectrics did not take a smooth path but a rather tortuous one with ups and downs. After hiatus in the 1970s and 1980s, relentless efforts starting from the 1990s were devoted to understanding the transport and coupling of electrons and phonons, identifying strategies for improving the thermoelectric performance of existing materials, and discovering new promising compounds. Rewardingly, substantial improvements in materials' performance have been achieved that broke the ZT limit of unity. Meanwhile, advancements in fundamental understanding related to thermoelectrics have also been made. In this Review, recent advances in the research of thermoelectric materials are overviewed. Herein, strategies for improving and decoupling the individual thermoelectric parameters are first reviewed, together with a discussion on open questions and distinctly different opinions. Recent advancements on a number of good thermoelectric materials are highlighted and several newly discovered promising compounds are discussed. Existing challenges in the research of thermoelectric materials are outlined and an outlook for the future thermoelectrics research is presented. The paper concludes with a discussion of topics in other fields but related to thermoelectricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Menopausal transition, in which biological and psychosocial changes are caused due to estrogen fluctuations, has been reported to increase cardiovascular risk among midlife women. The purposes of this study were to identify the clusters of midlife women by cardiovascular symptoms and to examine racial/ethnic differences in the clusters. This was a secondary analysis, in which hierarchical cluster and multinomial logistic analyses were conducted with the data (N = 966) collected in two previous studies. Three clusters were adopted: Cluster 1 (high vasomotor and low cardiorespiratory), Cluster 2 (low vasomotor and high cardiorespiratory and high discomfort/pain), and Cluster 3 (high discomfort/pain and high indigestion). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first synthesis of dendroflorin has been achieved in 10 steps with an overall yield of 5.5%. The key step in the synthesis features the biphenyl structure is built through Suzuki–Miyaura reaction. In addition, theortho-localization effect induced by aromatic substituent during the bromination of intermediate8is also observed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study investigated the performance and optimal operating conditions of a pilot-scale centrifugal separator for low-grade diatomite purification using response surface methodology (RSM). The individual and interactive effects of the feeding concentration (mass concentration of solids in the feeding slurry), centrifugal speed, feeding rate, and feeding time on the mass concentrations of centrifugal overflow and the SiO2contents of centrifugal concentrate was investigated by RSM. Two second-order polynomial equations between the response and independent variables were proposed to describe the influence of different variables on the mass concentrations of the centrifugal overflow and SiO2contents of centrifugal concentrate. It is indicated that the feeding concentration has the greatest influence on the tailing concentration. The operating conditions of the centrifugal separator were further optimized and the SiO2content of purified diatomite was increased from 80.17% to 86.89% under the optimal conditions. Compared with raw minerals, the purity and porosity of diatomite were significantly improved after purification from chemical, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. It is concluded that this type of pilot-scale centrifugal separator is a potentially reliable instrument for low-grade diatomite purification at low cost in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carboxymethyl chitosan fiber (CMCF) was successfully prepared and characterized by FTIR. The swelling behavior, mechanical property, antibacterial activity and indirect cytotoxicity assessment of CMCF were also studied, respectively. The results showed that, CMCF had higher liquid absorption capacity and lower tensile strength and elongation at break than those of chitosan fiber. The antibacterial activity of CMCF was similar with chitosan fiber, and carboxymethylation did not enhance the antibacterial activity directly. Indirect cytotoxicity assessment of the fibers indicated that CMCF was nontoxic to the L929 cell with relatively low extraction concentration. This novel fiber would be used as a potential wound dressing for skin regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between immigration transition and depressive symptoms among 1,054 midlife women in the United States. This was a secondary analysis of the data from two national Internet survey studies. Questions on background characteristics and immigration transition and the Depression Index for Midlife Women were used to collect the data. The data were analyzed using inferential statistics including multiple regressions. Immigrants reported lower numbers of symptoms and less severe symptoms than nonimmigrants (p <.01). When controlling for background characteristics, self-reported racial/ethnic identity and immigration status were significant predictors of depressive symptoms (R2 =.01, p <.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the association of 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in folate metabolic genes with congenital heart disease (CHD). Methods: A total of 160 children with CHD and 188 control children were enrolled. Twelve SNPs related to folate metabolism, including CBS-C699T, DHFR-c594 + 59del19, FOLH1-T1561C, CBS-C699T, DHFR-c594 + 59del19, GSTO1-C428T, MTHFD-G878A and -G1958A, MTHFR-C677T and -A1298C, MTR-A2756G, MTRR-A66G, NFE2L2-ins1 + C11108T, RFC1-G80A, TCN2-C776T and TYMS-1494del6, were genotyped by SNaPShot genotyping technology and confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Results: There were two SNPs including NFE2L2-ins1 + C11108T and GST01-C428T and two compound mutants for ( MTHFD-G1958A, MTHFR-C677T and MTR-A2756G) and ( MTHFD-G1958A, RFC1-G80A and MTR-A2756G), which might increase the risk of CHD, and DHFR-c594 + 59del19 might decrease the risk of CHD. The CT genotype of NFE2L2-ins1 + C11108T, OR = 2.15 (95% CI = [1.07, 4.32], p < 0.05). The CT + TT genotype of NFE2L2-ins1 + C11108T, OR = 1.98 (95% CI = [1.00, 3.93], p < 0.05). The TT genotype of GST01-C428T, OR = 3.49, (95CI% = [1.06, 11.5], p < 0.05). The GG genotype of DHFR-c594 + 59del19, OR = 0.46 (CI% = [0.24, 0.87], p < 0.05). The AG + GG genotype of DHFR-c594 + 59del19, OR = 0.53 (CI% = [0.29, 0.96], p < 0.05). The ratios of the two compound mutants for ( MTHFD-G1958A, MTHFR-C677T and MTR-A2756G) and ( MTHFD-G1958A, RFC1-G80A and MTR-A2756G) in CHD are higher than that in control, p < 0.05 (OR = 2.968, 95% CI = [1.022, 8.613]). Conclusions: The CT genotype of NFE2L2-ins1 + C11108T and the TT genotype of GST01-C428T are susceptible factors for CHD. The AG, GG and (AG + GG) genotypes of DHFR-c594 + 59del19 are protective genotypes for CHD. Compound mutants for ( MTHFD-G1958A, MTHFR-C677T and MTR-A2756G) and ( MTHFD-G1958A, RFC1-G80A and MTR-A2756G) may increase the risk of CHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider an on-line nonparametric quality control procedure for multivariate observations. The goal of the procedure is to rapidly detect an out-of-control situation, that is, to detect a change in sampling distribution after a change point. Each successive observation creates a Voronoi cell indexed by the observation number. Suppose observationn+1 falls into the Voronoi cell with indexi, whereiis from 1 ton. Then observationn+1 has associated ranki. In the on-target situation these ranks are uniformly distributed but in the off-target situation these ranks tend to be large corresponding to the fact that the later off-target observations tend to clump together because later observations fall according to the off-target distribution. We use these ranks in a Cusum procedure. We found that we can approximately predict the on-target average run length (ARL) of our procedure and get reasonable off-target run lengths for any kind of structural break like a change of mean or a change of dispersion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A novel method using magnetic molecular imprinting polymers (MMIP) specific for recognizing, separating, and extracting melamine in bovine milk was developed with an external additive magnetic shelf in this paper. The MMIP was synthesized with Fe3O4nanoparticles and molecular imprinted polymer synthesis technology. With the help of an elution step using methanol/acetic acid mixture elution, the melamine could be collected and concentrated. By using high performance liquid chromatography combined with this pretreatment technique, the analytes eluted from the magnetic polymers can be determined. This extraction method was validated by analysis of incurred bovine milk matrix. The proposed method simplified the procedures of classical solid-phase extraction method and improved the reliability of method. The obtained recoveries of this method were in the range of 85.04–105.2% in spiked milk samples. The limit of detection (LOD) was below 29.2 ng g−1. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this paper is to study how to solve a type of matrix game with interval payoffs. In this paper, the interval inequality relations and the concept of solutions of the matrix game with interval payoffs are defined. Based on the fuzzy ranking index defined, the solution of the matrix game with interval payoffs can be obtained through solving a pair of bi-objective linear programming models derived from the constructed auxiliary interval programming models. It is shown that the models proposed in this paper extend those of the classical matrix game. The validity and applicability of the proposed methodology are illustrated with a numerical example. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Pot culture experiments were established to determine the effects of colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) (Glomus mosseae and G. sp) on maize (Zea mays L.) grown in Pb, Zn, and Cd complex contaminated soils. AMF and non-AMF inoculated maize were grown in sterilized substrates and subjected to different soil heavy metal (Pb, Zn, Cd) concentrations. The root and shoot biomasses of inoculated maize were significantly higher than those of non-inoculated maize. Pb, Zn, and Cd concentrations in roots were significantly higher than those in shoots in both the inoculated and non-inoculated maize, indicating the heavy metals mostly accumulated in the roots of maize. The translocation rates of Pb, Zn, and Cd from roots to shoots were not significantly difference between inoculated and non-inoculated maize. However, at high soil heavy metal concentrations, Pb, Zn, and Cd in the shoots and Pb in the roots of inoculated maize were significantly reduced by about 50% compared to the non-inoculated maize. These results indicated that AMF could promote maize growth and decrease the uptake of these heavy metals at higher soil concentrations, thus protecting their hosts from the toxicity of heavy metals in Pb, Zn, and Cd complex contaminated soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a fast algorithm of partial matrix elimination (PME) combined with a new strategy of variable time step (VTS) is developed for transient analysis of nonlinear circuits containing interconnects. In PME the admittance matrix in the MNA equation of circuit analysis is arranged to consist of two submatrices. The lower submatrix, which contains contributions of only linear elements, is constant for a fixed time step and is partially triangulated by Gauss elimination for several time step values picked out by the new VTS strategy. At each Newton iteration, Gauss elimination is needed only for the upper submatrix, which contains contributions of nonlinear devices. PME with the new strategy of VTS is faster and more accurate than traditional Gauss elimination (TGE) with VTS for circuit analysis. Moreover, the efficiency of circuit optimization can be improved with PME. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of the Neptune whelk,Neptunea arthritica cumingii, was determined using genome walking techniques in this study. The total length of the mt genome sequence ofN. arthritica cumingiiwas 15 256 bp, including 13 protein-coding genes, 21 transfer RNA genes and 2 ribosomal RNA genes. The overall composition of the mitogenome was estimated to be 30.85% for A, 38.59% for T, 15.15% for C and 15.40% for G, indicating that an A + T (69.44%)-rich feature occurs in theN. arthritica cumingiimitogenome. The phylogenetic relationships of 11 mollusc species were constructed based on the complete mtDNA sequences by the neighbour-joining method using MEGA 5.0 software (MEGA Inc., Englewood, NJ). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract Importance Objective Design and Setting and Participants Main Outcome Measures Results Conclusions and Relevance Informed consent is essential to ethical, rigorous research and is important to recruitment and retention in cancer trials.To examine cancer clinical trial (CCT) participants’ perceptions of informed consent processes and variations in perceptions by cancer type.Cross-sectional survey from mixed-methods study at National Cancer Institute–designated Northeast comprehensive cancer center. Open-ended and forced-choice items addressed: (1) enrollment and informed consent experiences and (2) decision-making processes, including risk-benefit assessment. Eligibility: CCT participant with gastro-intestinal or genitourinary, hematologic-lymphatic malignancies, lung cancer, and breast or gynecological cancer (N = 334).Percentages satisfied with consent process and information provided; and assessing participation’s perceptions of risks/benefits. Multivariable logistic or ordinal regression examined differences by cancer type.Most patient-participants felt well informed by the consent process (more than 90% overall and by cancer type) and. most (87.4%) reported that the consent form provided all the information they wanted, although nearly half (44.8%) reported that they read the form somewhat carefully or less. More than half (57.9%) said that talking to research staff (i.e., the consent process) had a greater impact on participation decisions than reading the consent form (2.1%). A third (31.1%) were very sure of joining in research studies before the informed consent process (almost half of lung cancer patients did—47.1%). Most patients personally assessed the risks and benefits before consenting. However, trust in physicians played an important role in the decision to enroll in CCT.Cancer patients rely less on written features of the informed consent process than on information obtained from the research staff and their own physicians. Research should focus on information and communication strategies that support informed consent from referring physicians, researchers, and others to improve patient risk-benefit assessment and decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]