Patient Health Questionnaire: Greek language validation and subscale factor structure

This study aimed to assess the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the Greek translation of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) in a sample of Cypriot, Greek-speaking university students. This is the first study to examine PHQ psychometric properties in Greek and to investigate the factor structure of the PHQ subscales. A total of 520 participants (73.9% women; M_Age = 21.57; SD, 4.94) completed the PHQ and assessment tools used for convergent validity analysis. Patient Health Questionnaire was translated and culturally adapted according to international standards. Overall, PHQ subscales in Greek language demonstrated good internal consistency (mean Cronbach α = .75, P < .001) and convergent validity with the following: Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Beck Depression Inventory, Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire (panic disorder, somatization, bulimia, and binge eating), and Anxiety Sensitivity Index (overall mean, r = 0.52; P < .001). The relation between the PHQ subscale diagnoses and functional impairment, as assessed by the 12-item Health Survey 12, was comparable with the original validation results for all subscales except alcohol. The depression, alcohol, and anxiety subscales exhibited single-factor structures. Subscales assessing eating disorders, panic disorder, and somatization difficulties exhibited 2-, 3-, and 4-factor structures, respectively. Overall, PHQ subscales demonstrated good psychometric properties, with the exception of the subscale examining problematic alcohol use. Overall, PHQ demonstrates good reliability, validity, and appropriate factor structure in a Greek-speaking college population. Psychometric research is needed on the Greek PHQ in primary care settings.     

Education of Phlebotomy Teams Improves Blood Volume in Blood Culture Bottles

The volume of blood sampled for blood culture determines its sensitivity. We measured low mean blood volumes in submitted aerobic (8.38 ± 3.88 ml) and anaerobic (7.16 ± 3.83 ml) blood culture bottles. Educational seminars were held for phlebotomy teams, and renewed measurements thereafter revealed significantly higher blood volumes in submitted aerobic (9.77 ± 4.42 ml) and anaerobic (8.30 ± 3.64 ml) bottles. Education of phlebotomy teams improves the blood volume in blood culture bottles and should be part of quality control procedures.     

Regression of glioma tumor growth in F98 and U87 rat glioma models by the Nitrone OKN-007

Background

Glioblastoma multiforme, a World Health Organization grade IV glioma, has a poor prognosis in humans despite current treatment options. Here, we present magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data regarding the regression of aggressive rat F98 gliomas and human U87 glioma xenografts after treatment with the nitrone compound OKN-007, a disulfonyl derivative of α-phenyl-tert-butyl nitrone.

Methods

MRI was used to assess tumor volumes in F98 and U87 gliomas, and bioluminescence imaging was used to measure tumor volumes in F98 gliomas encoded with the luciferase gene (F98_luc). Immunohistochemistry was used to assess angiogenesis (vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF] and microvessel density [MVD]), cell differentiation (carbonic anhydrase IX [CA-IX]), hypoxia (hypoxia-inducible factor-1α [HIF-1α]), cell proliferation (glucose transporter 1 [Glut-1] and MIB-1), proliferation index, and apoptosis (cleaved caspase 3) markers in F98 gliomas. VEGF, CA-IX, Glut-1, HIF-1α, and cleaved caspase 3 were assessed in U87 gliomas.

Results

Animal survival was found to be significantly increased (P < .001 for F98, P < .01 for U87) in the group that received OKN-007 treatment compared with the untreated groups. After MRI detection of F98 gliomas, OKN-007, administered orally, was found to decrease tumor growth (P < .05). U87 glioma volumes were found to significantly decrease (P < .05) after OKN-007 treatment, compared with untreated animals. OKN-007 administration resulted in significant decreases in tumor hypoxia (HIF-1α [P < .05] in both F98 and U87), angiogenesis (MVD [P < .05], but not VEGF, in F98 or U87), and cell proliferation (Glut-1 [P < .05 in F98, P < .01 in U87] and MIB-1 [P < .01] in F98) and caused a significant increase in apoptosis (cleaved caspase 3 [P < .001 in F98, P < .05 in U87]), compared with untreated animals.

Conclusions

OKN-007 may be considered as a promising therapeutic addition or alternative for the treatment of aggressive human gliomas.     

Assessing and managing risks arising from exposure to endocrine-active chemicals

Managing risks to human health and the environment produced by endocrine-active chemicals (EAC) is dependent on sound principles of risk assessment and risk management, which need to be adapted to address the uncertainties in the state of the science of EAC. Quantifying EAC hazard identification, mechanisms of action, and dose-response curves is complicated by a range of chemical structure/toxicology classes, receptors and receptor subtypes, and nonlinear dose-response curves with low-dose effects. Advances in risk science including toxicogenomics and quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) along with a return to the biological process of hormesis are proposed to complement existing risk assessment strategies, including that of the Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (EDSTAC 1998). EAC represents a policy issue that has captured the public's fears and concerns about environmental health. This overview describes the process of EAC risk assessment and risk management in the context of traditional risk management frameworks, with emphasis on the National Research Council Framework (1983), taking into consideration the strategies for EAC management in Canada, the United States, and the European Union.     

Dimerization and Ubiquitin Mediated Recruitment of A20, a Complex Deubiquitinating Enzyme

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Amelioration of the severity of heparin-binding antithrombin mutations by posttranslational mosaicism

The balance between actions of procoagulant and anticoagulant factors protects organisms from bleeding and thrombosis. Thus, antithrombin deficiency increases the risk of thrombosis, and complete quantitative deficiency results in intrauterine lethality. However, patients homozygous for L99F or R47C antithrombin mutations are viable. These mutations do not modify the folding or secretion of the protein, but abolish the glycosaminoglycan-induced activation of antithrombin by affecting the heparin-binding domain. We speculated that the natural β-glycoform of antithrombin might compensate for the effect of heparin-binding mutations. We purified α- and β-antithrombin glycoforms from plasma of 2 homozygous L99F patients. Heparin affinity chromatography and intrinsic fluorescence kinetic analyses demonstrated that the reduced heparin affinity of the α-L99F glycoform (K(D), 107.9 ± 3nM) was restored in the β-L99F glycoform (K(D), 53.9 ± 5nM) to values close to the activity of α-wild type (K(D), 43.9 ± 0.4nM). Accordingly, the β-L99F glycoform was fully activated by heparin. Similar results were observed for recombinant R47C and P41L, other heparin-binding antithrombin mutants. In conclusion, we identified a new type of mosaicism associated with mutations causing heparin-binding defects in antithrombin. The presence of a fully functional β-glycoform together with the activity retained by these variants helps to explain the viability of homozygous and the milder thrombotic risk of heterozygous patients with these specific antithrombin mutations.     

A New Water-Soluble Thermosensitive Star-Like Copolymer as a Promising Carrier of the Chemotherapeutic Drug Doxorubicin

A new water-soluble thermosensitive star-like copolymer, dextran-graft-poly-N-iso-propilacrylamide (D-g-PNIPAM), was created and characterized by various techniques (size-exclusion chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) spectroscopy). The viability of cancer cell lines (human transformed cervix epithelial cells, HeLa) as a model for cancer cells was studied using MTT and Live/Dead assays after incubation with a D-g-PNIPAM copolymer as a carrier for the drug doxorubicin (Dox) as well as a D-g-PNIPAM + Dox mixture as a function of the concentration. FTIR spectroscopy clearly indicated the complex formation of Dox with the D-g-PNIPAM copolymer. The size distribution of particles in Hank’s solution was determined by the DLS technique at different temperatures. The in vitro uptake of the studied D-g-PNIPAM + Dox nanoparticles into cancer cells was demonstrated by confocal laser scanning microscopy. It was found that D-g-PNIPAM + Dox nanoparticles in contrast to Dox alone showed higher toxicity toward cancer cells. All of the aforementioned facts indicate a possibility of further preclinical studies of the water-soluble D-g-PNIPAM particles’ behavior in animal tumor models in vivo as promising carriers of anticancer agents.     

High-Temperature Oxidation of High-Entropic Alloys: A Review

Over the past few years, interest in high-entropic alloys (HEAs) has been growing. A large body of research has been undertaken to study aspects such as the microstructure features of HEAs of various compositions, the effect of the content of certain elements on the mechanical properties of HEAs, and, of course, special properties such as heat resistance, corrosion resistance, resistance to irradiation with high-energy particles, magnetic properties, etc. However, few works have presented results accumulated over several years, which can complicate the choice of directions for further research. This review article presents the results of studies of the mechanisms of high-temperature oxidation of HEAs of systems: Al-Co-Cr-Fe-Ni, Mn-Co-Cr-Fe-Ni, refractory HEAs. An analysis made it possible to systematize the features of high-temperature oxidation of HEAs and propose new directions for the development of heat-resistant HEAs. The presented information may be useful for assessing the possibility of the practical application of HEAs in the aerospace industry, in nuclear and chemical engineering, and in new areas of energy.