Erratum: Closing the gap for cervical cancer research in Vietnam: current perspectives and future opportunities: a report from the 5th Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG) Cervical Cancer Research Network (CCRN) Education Symposium.

This corrects the article on p. e88 in vol. 34, PMID: 37668081.

Gynecological Cancers Translational, Research Implementation, and Harmonization: Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup Consensus and Still Open Questions.

In the era of personalized medicine, the introduction of translational studies in clinical trials has substantially increased their costs, but provides the possibility of improving the productivity of trials with a better selection of recruited patients. With the overall goal of creating a roadmap to improve translational design for future gynecological cancer trials and of defining translational goals, a main discussion was held during a brainstorming day of the Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG) Translational Research Committee and overall conclusions are here reported. A particular emphasis was dedicated to the new frontier of the immunoprofiling of gynecological cancers. The discussion pointed out that to maximize patients' benefit, translational studies should be integral to clinical trial design with standardization and optimization of procedures including a harmonization program of Standard Operating Procedures. Pathology-reviewed sample collection should be mandatory and ensured by dedicated funding. Biomarker validation and development should be made public and transparent to ensure rapid progresses with positive outcomes for patients. Guidelines/templates for patients' informed consent are needed. Importantly for the public, recognized goals are to increase the involvement of advocates and to improve the reporting of translational data in a forum accessible to patients.

Recommendations for Preoperative Management of Frailty from the Society for Perioperative Assessment and Quality Improvement (SPAQI).

Frailty is an age-related, multi-dimensional state of decreased physiologic reserve that results in diminished resiliency and increased vulnerability to stressors. It has proven to be an excellent predictor of unfavorable health outcomes in the older surgical population. There is agreement in recommending that a frailty evaluation should be part of the preoperative assessment in the elderly. However, the consensus is still building with regards to how it should affect perioperative care. The Society for Perioperative Assessment and Quality Improvement (SPAQI) convened experts in the fields of gerontology, anesthesiology and preoperative assessment to outline practical steps for clinicians to assess and address frailty in elderly patients who require elective intermediate or high risk surgery. These recommendations summarize evidence-based principles of measuring and screening for frailty, as well as basic interventions that can help improve patient outcomes.

Fate of manuscripts rejected from the Red Journal.

PURPOSE: To evaluate characteristics associated with higher rates of acceptance for original manuscripts submitted for publication to the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (IJROBP) and describe the fate of rejected manuscripts. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Manuscripts submitted to the IJROBP from May 1, 2010, to August 31, 2010, and May 1, 2012, to August 31, 2012, were evaluated for author demographics and acceptance status. A PubMed search was performed for each IJROBP-rejected manuscript to ascertain whether the manuscript was ultimately published elsewhere. The Impact Factor of the accepting journal and the number of citations of the published manuscript were also collected. RESULTS: Of the 500 included manuscripts, 172 (34.4%) were accepted and 328 (65.6%) were rejected. There was no significant difference in acceptance rates according to gender or degree of the submitting author, but there were significant differences seen based on the submitting author's country, rank, and h-index. On multivariate analysis, earlier year submitted (P<.0001) and higher author h-index (P=.006) remained significantly associated with acceptance into the IJROBP. Two hundred thirty-five IJROBP-rejected manuscripts (71.7%) were ultimately published in a PubMed-listed journal as of July 2014. There were no significant differences in any submitting author characteristics. Journals accepting IJROBP-rejected manuscripts had a lower median [interquartile range] 2013 impact factor compared with the IJROBP (2.45 [1.53-3.71] vs 4.176). The IJROBP-rejected manuscripts ultimately published elsewhere had a lower median [interquartile range] number of citations (1 [0-4] vs 6 [2-11]; P<.001), which persisted on multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The acceptance rate for manuscripts submitted to the IJROBP is approximately one-third, and approximately 70% of rejected manuscripts are ultimately published in other PubMed-listed journals, but these ultimate-destination journals usually have a lower impact factor, leading to fewer citations and overall visibility.

Attitudes toward blinding of peer review and perceptions of efficacy within a small biomedical specialty.

PURPOSE: Peer reviewers' knowledge of author identity may influence review content, quality, and recommendations. Therefore, the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics ("Red Journal") implemented double-blinded peer review in 2011. Given the relatively small size of the specialty and the high frequency of preliminary abstract presentations, we sought to evaluate attitudes, the efficacy of blinding, and the potential impact on the disposition of submissions. METHODS AND MATERIALS: In May through August 2012, all Red Journal reviewers and 1 author per manuscript completed questionnaires regarding demographics, attitudes, and perceptions of success of blinding. We also evaluated correlates of the outcomes of peer review. RESULTS: Questionnaires were received from 408 authors and 519 reviewers (100%). The majority of respondents favored double blinding; 6% of authors and 13% of reviewers disagreed that double blinding should continue in the Red Journal. In all, 50% of the reviewers did not suspect the identity of the author of the paper that they reviewed; 19% of reviewers believed that they could identify the author(s), and 31% suspected that they could. Similarly, 23% believed that they knew the institution(s) from which the paper originated, and 34% suspected that they did. Among those who at least suspected author identity, 42% indicated that prior presentations served as a clue, and 57% indicated that literature referenced did so. Of those who at least suspected origin and provided details (n=133), 13% were entirely incorrect. Rejection was more common in 2012 than 2011, and submissions from last authors with higher H-indices (>21) were more likely to survive initial review, without evidence of interactions between submission year and author gender or H-index. CONCLUSIONS: In a relatively small specialty in which preliminary research presentations are common and occur in a limited number of venues, reviewers are often familiar with research findings and suspect author identity even when manuscript review is blinded. Nevertheless, blinding appears to be effective in many cases, and support for continuing blinding was strong.

Ephrin-B2 reverse signaling increases α5ß1 integrin-mediated fibronectin deposition and reduces distal lung compliance.

Alveolar growth abnormalities and severe respiratory dysfunction are often fatal. Identifying mechanisms that control epithelial proliferation and enlarged, poorly septated airspaces is essential in developing new therapies for lung disease. The membrane-bound ligand ephrin-B2 is strongly expressed in lung epithelium, and yet in contrast to its known requirement for arteriogenesis, considerably less is known regarding the function of this protein in the epithelium. We hypothesize that the vascular mediator ephrin-B2 governs alveolar growth and mechanics beyond the confines of the endothelium. We used the in vivo manipulation of ephrin-B2 reverse signaling to determine the role of this vascular mediator in the pulmonary epithelium and distal lung mechanics. We determined that the ephrin-B2 gene (EfnB2) is strongly expressed in alveolar Type 2 cells throughout development and into adulthood. The role of ephrin-B2 reverse signaling in the lung was assessed in Efnb2(LacZ/6YFΔV) mutants that coexpress the intracellular truncated ephrin-B2-ß-galactosidase fusion and an intracellular point mutant ephrin-B2 protein that is unable to become tyrosine-phosphorylated or to interact with either the SH2 or PDZ domain-containing downstream signaling proteins. In these viable mice, we observed pulmonary hypoplasia and altered pulmonary mechanics, as evidenced by a marked reduction in lung compliance. Associated with the reduction in lung compliance was a significant increase in insoluble fibronectin (FN) basement membrane matrix assembly with FN deposition, and a corresponding increase in the α5 integrin receptor required for FN fibrillogenesis. These experiments indicate that ephrin-B2 reverse signaling mediates distal alveolar formation, fibrillogenesis, and pulmonary compliance.

The dying role.

BACKGROUND: Roles are relevant during the last stage of the life cycle, as at any other stage. Awareness and an understanding of the dying role have the capacity to guide the process. Lack thereof can impede good deaths and may have been in part responsible for the intense and often futile interventions provided to many dying patients in the past. OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: We describe relevant aspects of role theory and recent scholarship and then examine the dying role, describing three key elements: the practical element, which involves concrete tasks of preparation; the relational element, which involves engaging with others; and the personal element, which involves tasks that foster personal growth and finishing one's life story. We also identify some barriers to and misuses of the dying role that appear to limit productive engagement with it, and offer suggestions for how clinicians can assist patients with the dying role. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The described elements of the dying role, and appreciation of how to avoid barriers and facilitate its implementation, can help patients access the unique quality of life that can occur near the end of life.