The sustainability agenda has evolved around a set of interconnected dilemmas regarding economic, social, and environmental goals. Progress has been made in establishing thresholds and targets that must be achieved to enable life to continue to thrive on the planet. However, much work remains to be done in articulating coherent theoretical frameworks that adequately describe the mechanisms through which sustainability outcomes are achieved. This paper reviews core concepts in the sustainability agenda to develop four propositions on integrated sustainability that collectively describe the underlying mechanisms of sustainable development. We then advance a framework for integrated sustainability and assess its viability through linear regression and principal components analysis of key selected indicators. The results provide preliminary evidence that countries with institutions that enable cooperation and regulate competition perform better in attaining integrated sustainability indicators. Our findings suggest that institutional design is important to sustainability outcomes and that further research into process-oriented mechanisms and institutional characteristics can yield substantial dividends in enabling effective sustainability policy.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11625-021-00925-y.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11625-021-00925-y.Urbanization and concomitant challenges pose a great threat to sustainable development. Urban and rural development interacts through the flows of people, materials, energy, goods, capital, and information. Without building sound urban-rural linkages, achieving development in one area could compromise it in another area. Achieving sustainable development needs customized policy prioritization and implementation in both urban and rural areas. Much literature exists in the research field of urban-rural linkages, but little has been done via a comprehensive analysis from an interlinkage perspective in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainable Development Goal 11 on sustainable cities and several targets embedded under other Goals provides a good framework for analyzing the urban-rural linkages. This paper contributes to this novel research perspective using Ghana as a case. The study applied an integrated approach by combining the results from a solution-scanning exercise with an SDG iinclusion. An integrated approach that considers both the synergies and trade-offs of relevant solutions is critical for effective policymaking, specifically in developing countries.

Here we describe the development of a protein immunofluorescent assay for the detection of nuclear-localized androgen receptor variant 7 (AR-V7) protein within circulating tumor cells (CTCs) identified in patient blood samples. check details Used in the clinic, the test result serves as a validated biomarker of futility for patients with progressing metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who are treated with androgen receptor targeted therapies (AATT) in whom nuclear-localized AR-V7 CTCs are identified and have received level 2A evidence in the 2019 National Cancer Center Network (NCCN) guidelines (v1.0).

Assay development was completed on the Epic Sciences rare cell detection platform using control cell lines of known AR-V7 status and clinical testing of mCRPC patient samples obtained at the decision point in management.

Using these samples, all assay parameters, scoring criteria, and clinical cutoffs for positivity were prospectively selected and locked. After assay lock, blinded clinical validation testing was initiated on multiple, independent, clinical cohorts as reported by Scher et al (JAMA Oncol. 2016;21441-1449; JAMA Oncol. 2018;41179-1186) and Armstrong et al (J Clin Oncol. 2019;371120-1129).

Using these samples, all assay parameters, scoring criteria, and clinical cutoffs for positivity were prospectively selected and locked. After assay lock, blinded clinical validation testing was initiated on multiple, independent, clinical cohorts as reported by Scher et al (JAMA Oncol. 2016;21441-1449; JAMA Oncol. 2018;41179-1186) and Armstrong et al (J Clin Oncol. 2019;371120-1129).

The association of pulmonary congestion assessed by lung ultrasound (LUS) and biomarkers-other than N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP)-is uncertain.

We investigated the relationship between total B-line count by LUS and several biomarkers in outpatients with suspicion of heart failure (HF). Primary care patients with suspected new-onset nonacute HF were evaluated both with a 12-scan LUS protocol (8 anterolateral areas plus 4 lower posterior thoracic areas) and 11 inflammatory and cardiovascular biomarkers. A cardiologist blinded to LUS and biomarkers except NT-proBNP confirmed HF diagnosis. After log-transformation of biomarkers’ concentrations, unadjusted and adjusted correlations were performed.

A total of 170 patients were included (age 76 ± 10 years, 67.6% women). HF diagnosis was confirmed in 38 (22.4%) patients. After adjustment by age, sex, body mass index, and renal function, total B-line sum significantly correlated with NT-proBNP (R = 0.29, p < 0.001), growth/differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15; R = 0.23, p = 0.003), high-sensitive Troponin T (hsTnT; R = 0.36, p < 0.001), soluble interleukin-1 receptor-like 1 (sST2; R = 0.29, p < 0.001), cancer antigen 125 (CA-125; R = 0.17, p = 0.03), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP; R = 0.20, p = 0.009), and interleukin (IL)-6 (R = 0.23, p = 0.003). In contrast, IL-33 (R = -0.01, p = 0.93), IL-1β (R = -0.10, p = 0.20), soluble neprilysin (sNEP; R = 0.09, p = 0.24), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α; R = 0.07, p = 0.39), and TNF-α receptor superfamily member 1A (TNFRSF1A; R = 0.14, p = 0.07) did not.

Total B-line sum correlated significantly, although moderately, with congestion and several inflammation biomarkers. Unexpectedly, the highest correlation found was with hsTnT.

Total B-line sum correlated significantly, although moderately, with congestion and several inflammation biomarkers. Unexpectedly, the highest correlation found was with hsTnT.