Size, growth, and density data for shallow-water sea urchins from Mexico to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1956-2016.

Size, growth, and density have been studied for North American Pacific coast sea urchins Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, S. droebachiensis, S. polyacanthus, Mesocentrotus (Strongylocentrotus) franciscanus, Lytechinus pictus, Centrostephanus coronatus, and Arbacia stellata by various workers at diverse sites and for varying lengths of time from 1956 to present. Numerous peer-reviewed publications have used some of these data but some data have appeared only in graduate theses or the gray literature. There also are data that have never appeared outside original data sheets. Motivation for studies has included fisheries management and environmental monitoring of sewer and power plant outfalls as well as changes associated with disease epidemics. Studies also have focused on kelp restoration, community effects of sea otters, basic sea urchin biology, and monitoring. The data sets presented here are a historical record of size, density, and growth for a common group of marine invertebrates in intertidal and nearshore environments that can be used to test hypotheses concerning future changes associated with fisheries practices, shifts of predator distributions, climate and ecosystem changes, and ocean acidification along the Pacific Coast of North America and islands of the north Pacific. No copyright restrictions apply. Please credit this paper when using the data.

Interrater and intrarater agreement of the chicago classification of achalasia subtypes using high-resolution esophageal manometry.

OBJECTIVES: Subclassification of achalasia based on high-resolution manometry (HRM) may be clinically relevant because response to therapy may vary by subtype. However, the consistency and reliability of subtyping achalasia patients based on HRM remains undefined. The objectives of this study were to assess interrater and intrarater agreement (reliability) of achalasia subtyping using the Chicago classification, and to evaluate the diagnostic consistency between clinicians interpreting HRM. METHODS: After receiving training on the classification criteria, five raters classified 20 achalasia and 10 non-achalasia cases in separate sessions 1 week apart. To further assess agreement, two raters classified all 101 available achalasia HRMs. Agreement for the classification of subtypes of achalasia was calculated using Cohen's κ and Krippendorff's α-reliability estimate. RESULTS: Estimates of agreement among raters was good during both sessions (α=0.75; 95% confidence interval=0.69, 0.81 and α=0.75; 95% confidence interval=0.68, 0.81). Both interrater (κ=0.86-1.0) and intrarater (κ=0.86-1.0) agreement were very good for type III achalasia. Agreement between types I and II was more variable. Reliability was improved when type I and type II were combined (α=0.84; 95% confidence interval=0.78, 0.89). When all available cases were classified by two experienced raters, agreement was very good (κ=0.81; 95% confidence interval=0.71, 0.91). CONCLUSIONS: Interobserver and intraobserver agreement for differentiating achalasia from non-achalasia patients using HRM and the Chicago classification was very good to excellent. More variability was seen in agreement when classifying achalasia subtypes. The most variation was observed in classification between type I and type II achalasia, which have similar characteristics. Clearly, differentiating between panesophageal pressurization and compartmentalization should improve discrimination between these subtypes.

Multifocal Carcinoid Tumor of Small Intestine: A Rare Cause of Chronic Obscure Gastrointestinal Bleeding, Suspected on Capsule Endoscopy and Diagnosed on Double Balloon Enteroscopy.

We reported a case of multifocal carcinoid tumor of small intestine causing chronic obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, suspected on capsule endoscopy and diagnosed on double balloon enteroscopy.

Microcomputed tomography and microfinite element modeling for evaluating polymer scaffolds architecture and their mechanical properties.

Detailed knowledge of the porous architecture of synthetic scaffolds for tissue engineering, their mechanical properties, and their interrelationship was obtained in a nondestructive manner. Image analysis of microcomputed tomography (microCT) sections of different scaffolds was done. The three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the scaffold allows one to quantify scaffold porosity, including pore size, pore distribution, and struts' thickness. The porous morphology and porosity as calculated from microCT by image analysis agrees with that obtained experimentally by scanning electron microscopy and physically measured porosity, respectively. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of the scaffold were evaluated by making use of finite element modeling (FEM) in which the compression stress-strain test is simulated on the 3D structure reconstructed from the microCT sections. Elastic modulus as calculated from FEM is in agreement with those obtained from the stress-strain experimental test. The method was applied on qualitatively different porous structures (interconnected channels and spheres) with different chemical compositions (that lead to different elastic modulus of the base material) suitable for tissue regeneration. The elastic properties of the constructs are explained on the basis of the FEM model that supports the main mechanical conclusion of the experimental results: the elastic modulus does not depend on the geometric characteristics of the pore (pore size, interconnection throat size) but only on the total porosity of the scaffold.

Modified Charlson comorbidity index for predicting survival after liver transplantation.

The benefit of liver transplantation (LT) is determined not only by the severity of illness, but also by the likelihood of posttransplantation survival. Current models are unable to accurately predict which patients will have the best posttransplant survival. We hypothesized that the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), which includes nine comorbidities, could be used to predict survival after LT. We performed a retrospective study of 624 patients undergoing LT, with a median follow-up time of 4.3 yr. Data on pretransplant comorbidities were collected, along with potential confounders such as age, gender, etiology, and severity of liver disease. Proportional hazards analysis was performed to determine the independent effect of each variable on posttransplantation survival, and to recalibrate the CCI for use in the liver transplant population. A total of 40% of patients had 1 or more comorbidities prior to transplantation. In the multivariate analysis, CCI was an independent predictor of posttransplantation survival (hazard ratio [HR] 1.21 per unit, P < 0.001). When the individual components of the CCI were analyzed, coronary disease (HR 2.33), diabetes (HR 1.38), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (HR 2.67), connective tissue disease (HR 2.32), and renal insufficiency (HR 1.61) were all independent predictors of posttransplant survival. The CCI was recalibrated using a simplified weighting system to create the CCI-orthotopic LT (OLT), which improved the likelihood ratio chi-squared value from 15 to 24 for predicting posttransplantation survival. In conclusion, survival after LT is diminished in patients with pretransplantation coronary disease, diabetes, COPD, connective tissue disease, and renal insufficiency. We demonstrate the usefulness of a modified comorbidity index, the CCI-OLT, for predicting posttransplantation survival.

Risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma may impair the performance of biomarkers: a comparison of AFP, DCP, and AFP-L3.

Current surveillance strategies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are applied uniformly in patients with cirrhosis, regardless of their cancer risk. The aim of this study was to compare the performance characteristics of the biomarkers alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), des-gamma carboxyprothrombin (DCP), and lectin-bound AFP (AFP-L3) in the diagnosis of HCC, and to determine the effect of risk factors for HCC on test performance. Eighty-four patients with HCC and 169 patients with cirrhosis were enrolled and their serum analyzed for total AFP, AFP-L3 and DCP. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to determine the performance characteristics. DCP was significantly better than total AFP or AFP-L3 in differentiating HCC from cirrhosis, with a sensitivity of 86% and specificity of 93%. When subjects were divided into two groups by their risk for HCC, all 3 markers had a lower sensitivity and area under the ROC curve in the high-risk group compared to the low-risk group. In conclusion, DCP has the best performance characteristics of all 3 serum markers for the diagnosis of HCC. Serum biomarkers may be less sensitive and specific in the highest risk patients.