Thrombophilic risk factors in patients with cranial and spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae

OBJECTIVE: Numerous studies have reported the technical aspects and results of surgical and/or endovascular treatment of cranial dural arteriovenous fistulae (cDAVF) and spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae (sDAVF). Only a few of them have addressed the question of thrombophilic conditions, which may be relevant as pathogenetic factors or can increase the risk for venous thromboembolic events. Therefore, the objective of this study is to compare thrombophilic risk factors in patients with cDAVF and sDAVF with no history of trauma. METHODS: A total of 43 patients (25 with cDAVF and 18 with sDAVF) were included in this study. Blood samples were analyzed for G20210A mutation of the prothrombin gene and factor V Leiden mutation. In all patients, prothrombin time, international normalized ratio, fibrinogen, antithrombin, protein C and S activity, von Willebrand factor antigen, ristocetin cofactor activity, D-dimer, coagulation factor VIII activity, and tissue factor pathway inhibitor were determined. Screening was performed for the occurrence of lupus antiphospholipid and cardiolipin antibodies. RESULTS: The prevalence of G20210A mutation of the prothrombin gene was significantly higher in patients with cDAVF (n = 6) compared with patients with sDAVF (n = 0; P < 0.05, Fisher's exact test). A factor V Leiden mutation was found in 3 patients with sDAVF and in 1 patient with cDAVF (P = 0.29, Fisher's exact test). No significant difference was found for other parameters, except for fibrinogen, but decreased protein C activity was more frequent in patients with cDAVF compared with patients with sDAVF (4 versus 1). Decreased protein S activity was encountered in 3 patients (2 with sDAVF and 1 with cDAVF). Cardiolipin antibodies were found in 2 patients with cDAVF but in none with sDAVF, whereas only 1 patient with sDAVF had lupus antiphospholipid antibodies. CONCLUSION: In both groups of patients with dural arteriovenous fistulae, genetic thrombophilic abnormalities occurred in a higher percentage than in the general population. The differences of the genetic abnormalities may be involved in different pathophysiological mechanism(s) in the development of these distinct neurovascular entities.

Steady-state function of the ubiquitous mammalian Na/H exchanger (NHE1) in relation to dimer coupling models with 2Na/2H stoichiometry

We describe the steady-state function of the ubiquitous mammalian Na/H exchanger (NHE)1 isoform in voltage-clamped Chinese hamster ovary cells, as well as other cells, using oscillating pH-sensitive microelectrodes to quantify proton fluxes via extracellular pH gradients. Giant excised patches could not be used as gigaseal formation disrupts NHE activity within the patch. We first analyzed forward transport at an extracellular pH of 8.2 with no cytoplasmic Na (i.e., nearly zero-trans). The extracellular Na concentration dependence is sigmoidal at a cytoplasmic pH of 6.8 with a Hill coefficient of 1.8. In contrast, at a cytoplasmic pH of 6.0, the Hill coefficient is <1, and Na dependence often appears biphasic. Results are similar for mouse skin fibroblasts and for an opossum kidney cell line that expresses the NHE3 isoform, whereas NHE1(-/-) skin fibroblasts generate no proton fluxes in equivalent experiments. As proton flux is decreased by increasing cytoplasmic pH, the half-maximal concentration (K(1/2)) of extracellular Na decreases less than expected for simple consecutive ion exchange models. The K(1/2) for cytoplasmic protons decreases with increasing extracellular Na, opposite to predictions of consecutive exchange models. For reverse transport, which is robust at a cytoplasmic pH of 7.6, the K(1/2) for extracellular protons decreases only a factor of 0.4 when maximal activity is decreased fivefold by reducing cytoplasmic Na. With 140 mM of extracellular Na and no cytoplasmic Na, the K(1/2) for cytoplasmic protons is 50 nM (pH 7.3; Hill coefficient, 1.5), and activity decreases only 25% with extracellular acidification from 8.5 to 7.2. Most data can be reconstructed with two very different coupled dimer models. In one model, monomers operate independently at low cytoplasmic pH but couple to translocate two ions in "parallel" at alkaline pH. In the second "serial" model, each monomer transports two ions, and translocation by one monomer allosterically promotes translocation by the paired monomer in opposite direction. We conclude that a large fraction of mammalian Na/H activity may occur with a 2Na/2H stoichiometry.

Subcellular distribution of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) binding proteins (IGFBPs) 2 and 3 in articular chondrocytes

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) is a major anabolic regulator in articular cartilage. The IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) are increased during osteoarthritis (OA), but the function of the later proteins remains unknown. In general, the IGFBPs are pluripotential effectors capable of IGF regulation and of acting on their own to control key cell functions, including survival and proliferation. The independent functions are often associated with their cell location, and therefore this study explores the distribution of IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-3 in articular chondrocytes. Immunohistochemistry was used to localize IGFBP-2 in normal human articular cartilage. Bovine chondrocytes were used for subcellular fractionation (hypotonic cell lysis) under nonreducing conditions and nuclear purification (centrifugation on sucrose cushions). Cell fraction markers and IGFBPs were assayed in the subcellular fractions by Western immunoblot. The IHC results showed association of IGFBP-2 with chondrocytes, but not with the nuclei. Subcellular fractionation of isolated chondrocytes yielded intact nuclei as assessed at the light microscopic level; the nuclear marker histone H1 was exclusively associated with this fraction. More than 90% of the cytoplasmic marker GAPDH and all the detectable IGFBP-2 were in the cytoplasmic fraction. Immunoreactive IGFBP-3 was found in the cytoplasmic and peri-nuclear/nuclear fractions. Chondrocytes contain intracellular IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-3 but only IGFBP-3 is associated with nuclei. This suggests the hypothesis that the actions of these IGFBPs in articular cartilage extend beyond the classic modulation of IGF receptor action.

The effect of endocrine responsiveness on high-risk breast cancer treated with dose-intensive chemotherapy: results of International Breast Cancer Study Group Trial 15-95 after prolonged follow-up

BACKGROUND: The role of adjuvant dose-intensive chemotherapy and its efficacy according to baseline features has not yet been established. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three hundred and forty-four patients were randomized to receive seven courses of standard-dose chemotherapy (SD-CT) or three cycles of dose-intensive epirubicin and cyclophosphamide (epirubicin 200 mg/m(2) plus cyclophosphamide 4 mg/m(2) with filgrastim and progenitor cell support). All patients were assigned tamoxifen at the completion of chemotherapy. The primary end point was disease-free survival (DFS). This paper updates the results and explores patterns of recurrence according to predicting baseline features. RESULTS: At 8.3-years median follow-up, patients assigned DI-EC had a significantly better DFS compared with those assigned SD-CT [8-year DFS percent 47% and 37%, respectively, hazard ratio (HR) 0.76; 95% confidence interval 0.58-1.00; P = 0.05]. Only patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive disease benefited from the DI-EC (HR 0.61; 95% confidence interval 0.39, 0.95; P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: After prolonged follow-up, DI-EC significantly improved DFS, but the effect was observed only in patients with ER-positive disease, leading to the hypothesis that efficacy of DI-EC may relate to its endocrine effects. Further studies designed to confirm the importance of endocrine responsiveness in patients treated with dose-intensive chemotherapy are encouraged.

Primary splenic peripheral nerve sheath tumour in a dog

An 8-year-old crossbred dog was presented with a one-month history of progressive weakness, respiratory impairment and abdominal distension. Surgical exploration revealed the presence of a splenic mass that infiltrated the mesentery and was adherent to the stomach and pancreas. The mass was composed of highly cellular areas of spindle-shaped cells arranged in interlacing bundles, streams, whorls and storiform patterns (Antoni A pattern) and less cellular areas with more loosely arranged spindle to oval cells (Antoni B pattern). The majority of neoplastic cells expressed vimentin, S-100 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), but did not express desmin, alpha-smooth muscle actin or factor VIII. These morphological and immunohistochemical findings characterized the lesion as a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour (PNST). Primary splenic PNST has not been documented previously in the dog.

Unprecedented Trapping of Difluorooctamolybdate Anions within an α-Polonium Type Coordination Network

New fluorinated hybrid solids [Mo2F2O5(tr2pr)] (1), [Co3(tr2pr)2(MoO4)2F2]·7H2O (2), and [Co3(H2O)2(tr2pr)3(Mo8O26F2)]·3H2O (3) (tr2pr = 1,3-bis(1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)propane) were prepared from the reaction systems consisting of Co(OAc)2/CoF2 and MoO3/(NH4)6Mo7O24, as CoII and MoVI sources, in water (2) or in aqueous HF (1, 3) employing mild hydrothermal conditions. The tr2pr ligand serves as a conformationally flexible tetradentate donor. In complex 1, the octahedrally coordinated Mo atoms are linked in the discrete corner-sharing {Mo2(μ2-O)F2O4N4} unit in which a pair of tr-heterocycles (tr = 1,2,4-triazole) is arranged in cis-positions opposite to “molybdenyl” oxygen atoms. The anti−anti conformation type of tr2pr facilitates the tight zigzag chain packing motif. The crystal structure of the mixed-anion complex salt 2 consists of trinuclear [Co3(μ3-MoO4)2(μ2-F)2] units self-assembling in CoII-undulating chains (Co···Co 3.0709(15) and 3.3596(7) Å), which are cross-linked by tr2pr in layers. In 3, containing condensed oxyfluoromolybdate species, linear centrosymmetric [Co3(μ2-tr)6]6+ SBUs are organized at distances of 10.72−12.45 Å in an α-Po-like network using bitopic tr-linkers. The octahedral {N6} and {N3O3} environments of the central and peripheral cobalt atoms, respectively, are filled by triazole N atoms, water molecules, and coordinating [Mo8O26F2]6− anions. Acting as a tetradentate O-donor, each difluorooctamolybdate anion anchors four [Co3(μ2-tr)6]6+ units through their peripheral Co-sites, which consequently leads to a novel type of a two-nodal 4,10-c net with the Schläfli symbol {32.43.5}{34.420.516.65}. The 2D and 3D coordination networks of 2 and 3, respectively, are characterized by significant overall antiferromagnetic exchange interactions (J/k) between the CoII spin centers on the order of −8 and −4 K. The [Mo8O26F2]6− anion is investigated in detail by quantum chemical calculations.

Safety and Efficacy of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With Life-threatening Diseases

A double-blind, randomized, active placebo-controlled pilot study was conducted to examine safety and efficacy of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)-assisted psychotherapy in 12 patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases. Treatment included drug-free psychotherapy sessions supplemented by two LSD-assisted psychotherapy sessions 2 to 3 weeks apart. The participants received either 200 μg of LSD (n = 8) or 20 μg of LSD with an open-label crossover to 200 μg of LSD after the initial blinded treatment was unmasked (n = 4). At the 2-month follow-up, positive trends were found via the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) in reductions in trait anxiety (p = 0.033) with an effect size of 1.1, and state anxiety was significantly reduced (p = 0.021) with an effect size of 1.2, with no acute or chronic adverse effects persisting beyond 1 day after treatment or treatment-related serious adverse events. STAI reductions were sustained for 12 months. These results indicate that when administered safely in a methodologically rigorous medically supervised psychotherapeutic setting, LSD can reduce anxiety, suggesting that larger controlled studies are warranted.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License, where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially.

Regulation of hepatic cytochrome P450 expression in mice with intestinal or systemic infections of citrobacter rodentium.

We reported previously that infection of C3H/HeOuJ (HeOu) mice with the murine intestinal pathogen Citrobacter rodentium caused a selective modulation of hepatic cytochrome P450 (P450) gene expression in the liver that was independent of the Toll-like receptor 4. However, HeOu mice are much more sensitive to the pathogenic effects of C. rodentium infection, and the P450 down-regulation was associated with significant morbidity in the animals. Here, we report that oral infection of C57BL/6 mice with C. rodentium, which produced only mild clinical signs and symptoms, produced very similar effects on hepatic P450 expression in this strain. As in HeOu mice, CYP4A mRNAs and proteins were among the most sensitive to down-regulation, whereas CYP4F18 was induced. CYP2D9 mRNA was also induced 8- to 9-fold in the C57BL/6 mice. The time course of P450 regulation followed that of colonic inflammation and bacterial colonization, peaking at 7 to 10 days after infection and returning to normal at 15 to 24 days as the infection resolved. These changes also correlated with the time course of significant elevations in the serum of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, as well as of interferon-gamma and IL-2, with serum levels of IL-6 being markedly higher than those of the other cytokines. Intraperitoneal administration of C. rodentium produced a rapid down-regulation of P450 enzymes that was quantitatively and qualitatively different from that of oral infection, although CYP2D9 was induced in both models, suggesting that the effects of oral infection on the liver are not due to bacterial translocation.

Influence of Equatorial Diatom Processes on Si Deposition and Atmospheric CO(2) Cycles at Glacial/Interglacial Timescales

The causes of the glacial cycle remain unknown, although the primary driver is changes in atmospheric CO(2), likely controlled by the biological pump and biogeochemical cycles. The two most important regions of the ocean for exchange of CO(2) with the atmosphere are the equatorial Pacific and the Southern Ocean ( SO), the former a net source and the latter a net sink under present conditions. The equatorial Pacific has been shown to be a Si(OH)(4)-limited ecosystem, a consequence of the low source Si(OH)(4) concentrations in upwelled water that has its origin in the SO. This teleconnection for nutrients between the two regions suggests an oscillatory relationship that may influence or control glacial cycles. Opal mass accumulation rate (MAR) data and delta(15)N measurements in equatorial cores are interpreted with predictions from a one- dimensional Si(OH)(4)-limited ecosystem model (CoSINE) for the equatorial Pacific. The results suggest that equatorial Pacific surface CO(2) processes are in opposite phase to that of the global atmosphere, providing a negative feedback to the glacial cycle. This negative feedback is implemented through the effect of the SO on the equatorial Si(OH)(4) supply. An alternative hypothesis, that the whole ocean becomes Si(OH)(4) poor during cooling periods, is suggested by low opal MAR in cores from both equatorial and Antarctic regions, perhaps as a result of low river input. terminations in this scenario would result from blooms of coccolithophorids triggered by low Si(OH)(4) concentrations.

The PLATO 2.0 mission

PLATO 2.0 has recently been selected for ESA’s M3 launch opportunity (2022/24). Providing accurate key planet parameters (radius, mass, density and age) in statistical numbers, it addresses fundamental questions such as: How do planetary systems form and evolve? Are there other systems with planets like ours, including potentially habitable planets? The PLATO 2.0 instrument consists of 34 small aperture telescopes (32 with 25 s readout cadence and 2 with 2.5 s candence) providing a wide field-of-view (2232 deg 2) and a large photometric magnitude range (4–16 mag). It focusses on bright (4–11 mag) stars in wide fields to detect and characterize planets down to Earth-size by photometric transits, whose masses can then be determined by ground-based radial-velocity follow-up measurements. Asteroseismology will be performed for these bright stars to obtain highly accurate stellar parameters, including masses and ages. The combination of bright targets and asteroseismology results in high accuracy for the bulk planet parameters: 2 %, 4–10 % and 10 % for planet radii, masses and ages, respectively. The planned baseline observing strategy includes two long pointings (2–3 years) to detect and bulk characterize planets reaching into the habitable zone (HZ) of solar-like stars and an additional step-and-stare phase to cover in total about 50 % of the sky. PLATO 2.0 will observe up to 1,000,000 stars and detect and characterize hundreds of small planets, and thousands of planets in the Neptune to gas giant regime out to the HZ. It will therefore provide the first large-scale catalogue of bulk characterized planets with accurate radii, masses, mean densities and ages. This catalogue will include terrestrial planets at intermediate orbital distances, where surface temperatures are moderate. Coverage of this parameter range with statistical numbers of bulk characterized planets is unique to PLATO 2.0. The PLATO 2.0 catalogue allows us to e.g.: - complete our knowledge of planet diversity for low-mass objects, - correlate the planet mean density-orbital distance distribution with predictions from planet formation theories,- constrain the influence of planet migration and scattering on the architecture of multiple systems, and - specify how planet and system parameters change with host star characteristics, such as type, metallicity and age. The catalogue will allow us to study planets and planetary systems at different evolutionary phases. It will further provide a census for small, low-mass planets. This will serve to identify objects which retained their primordial hydrogen atmosphere and in general the typical characteristics of planets in such low-mass, low-density range. Planets detected by PLATO 2.0 will orbit bright stars and many of them will be targets for future atmosphere spectroscopy exploring their atmosphere. Furthermore, the mission has the potential to detect exomoons, planetary rings, binary and Trojan planets. The planetary science possible with PLATO 2.0 is complemented by its impact on stellar and galactic science via asteroseismology as well as light curves of all kinds of variable stars, together with observations of stellar clusters of different ages. This will allow us to improve stellar models and study stellar activity. A large number of well-known ages from red giant stars will probe the structure and evolution of our Galaxy. Asteroseismic ages of bright stars for different phases of stellar evolution allow calibrating stellar age-rotation relationships. Together with the results of ESA’s Gaia mission, the results of PLATO 2.0 will provide a huge legacy to planetary, stellar and galactic science.

High-Spin Molecules: Synthesis, X-ray Characterization, and Magnetic Behavior of Two New Cyano-Bridged Ni II 9 Mo V 6 and Ni II 9 W V 6 Clusters with a S = 12 Ground State

The preparations, X-ray structures, and magnetic characterizations are presented for two new pentadecanuclear cluster compounds:  [NiII{NiII(MeOH)3}8(μ-CN)30{MV(CN)3}6]·xMeOH·yH2O (MV = MoV (1) with x = 17, y = 1; MV = WV (2) with x = 15, y = 0). Both compounds crystallize in the monoclinic space group C2/c, with cell dimensions of a = 28.4957(18) Å, b = 19.2583(10) Å, c = 32.4279(17) Å, β = 113.155(6)°, and Z = 4 for 1 and a = 28.5278(16) Å, b = 19.2008(18) Å, c = 32.4072(17) Å, β = 113.727(6)°, and Z = 4 for 2. The structures of 1 and 2 consist of neutral cluster complexes comprising 15 metal ions, 9 NiII and 6 MV, all linked by μ-cyano ligands. Magnetic susceptibilities and magnetization measurements of compounds 1 and 2 in the crystalline and dissolved state indicate that these clusters have a S = 12 ground state, originating from intracluster ferromagnetic exchange interactions between the μ-cyano-bridged metal ions of the type NiII−NC−MV. Indeed, these data show clearly that the cluster molecules stay intact in solution. Ac magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal that the cluster compounds exhibit magnetic susceptibility relaxation phenomena at low temperatures since, with nonzero dc fields, χ‘ ‘M has a nonzero value that is frequency dependent. However, there appears no out-of-phase (χ‘ ‘M) signal in zero dc field down to 1.8 K, which excludes the expected signature for a single molecule magnet. This finding is confirmed with the small uniaxial magnetic anisotropy value for D of 0.015 cm-1, deduced from the high-field, high-frequency EPR measurement, which distinctly reveals a positive sign in D. Obviously, the overall magnetic anisotropy of the compounds is too low, and this may be a consequence of a small single ion magnetic anisotropy combined with the highly symmetric arrangement of the metal ions in the cluster molecule.

Speech Intelligibility in Noise With a Single-Unit Cochlear Implant Audio Processor.

INTRODUCTION The Rondo is a single-unit cochlear implant (CI) audio processor comprising the identical components as its behind-the-ear predecessor, the Opus 2. An interchange of the Opus 2 with the Rondo leads to a shift of the microphone position toward the back of the head. This study aimed to investigate the influence of the Rondo wearing position on speech intelligibility in noise. METHODS Speech intelligibility in noise was measured in 4 spatial configurations with 12 experienced CI users using the German adaptive Oldenburg sentence test. A physical model and a numerical model were used to enable a comparison of the observations. RESULTS No statistically significant differences of the speech intelligibility were found in the situations in which the signal came from the front and the noise came from the frontal, ipsilateral, or contralateral side. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was significantly better with the Opus 2 in the case with the noise presented from the back (4.4 dB, p < 0.001). The differences in the SNR were significantly worse with the Rondo processors placed further behind the ear than closer to the ear. CONCLUSION The study indicates that CI users with the receiver/stimulator implanted in positions further behind the ear are expected to have higher difficulties in noisy situations when wearing the single-unit audio processor.

Urethral recurrence in women with orthotopic bladder substitutes: A multi-institutional study.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate risk factors for urethral recurrence (UR) in women with neobladder. MATERIAL AND METHODS From 1994 to 2011, 297 women (median age = 54y; interquartile range: 47-57) underwent radical cystectomy with ileal neobladder for bladder cancer in 4 centers. None of the patients had bladder neck involvement at preoperative assessment. Univariable and multivariable analyses were used to estimate recurrence-free survival and overall survival. The median follow-up was 64 months (interquartile range: 25-116). RESULTS Of the 297 patients, 81 developed recurrence (27%). The 10- and 15-year recurrence-free survival rates were 66% and 66%, respectively. The 10- and 15-year overall survival rates were 57% and 55%, respectively. UR occurred in 2 patients (0.6%) with solitary urethral, 4 (1.2%) with concomitant urethral and distant recurrence, and 1 with concomitant urethral and local recurrence (0.3%). Bladder tumors were located at the trigone in 27 patients (9.1%). None of these patients developed UR. Lymph node tumor involvement was present in 60 patients (20.2%). On univariable and multivariable analyses, pathologic tumor and nodal stage were independent predictors for the overall risk of recurrence. UR was associated with a positive final urethral margin status (P<0.001) whereas no significant associations were found for carcinoma in situ, pathologic tumor and nodal stage, and bladder trigone involvement. CONCLUSIONS In this series, only 0.6% of women developed solitary UR. A positive final urethral margin was associated with an increased risk of UR. Women with involvement of the bladder trigone were not at higher risk of UR.

Comprehensive screening for mutations associated with colorectal cancer in unselected cases reveals penetrant and nonpenetrant mutations.

Germline mutation testing in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) is offered only to a subset of patients with a clinical presentation or tumor histology suggestive of familial CRC syndromes, probably underestimating familial CRC predisposition. The aim of our study was to determine whether unbiased screening of newly diagnosed CRC cases with next generation sequencing (NGS) increases the overall detection rate of germline mutations. We analyzed 152 consecutive CRC patients for germline mutations in 18 CRC-associated genes using NGS. All patients were also evaluated for Bethesda criteria and all tumors were investigated for microsatellite instability, immunohistochemistry for mismatch repair proteins and the BRAF*V600E somatic mutation. NGS based sequencing identified 27 variants in 9 genes in 23 out of 152 patients studied (18%). Three of them were already reported as pathogenic and 12 were class 3 germline variants with an uncertain prediction of pathogenicity. Only 1 of these patients fulfilled Bethesda criteria and had a microsatellite instable tumor and an MLH1 germline mutation. The others would have been missed with current approaches: 2 with a MSH6 premature termination mutation and 12 uncertain, potentially pathogenic class 3 variants in APC, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, MSH3 and MLH3. The higher NGS mutation detection rate compared with current testing strategies based on clinicopathological criteria is probably due to the large genetic heterogeneity and overlapping clinical presentation of the various CRC syndromes. It can also identify apparently nonpenetrant germline mutations complicating the clinical management of the patients and their families.

Assessing childhood difficulties: Comparing the SDQ and the BASC-2

This study of the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2), had two objectives. First, was to compare the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the BASC-2. Participants were students from SBISD, identified as having difficulties, assessed with the BASC-2 and completed the SDQ. Based on the small sample (N=8), scores from the SDQ and the BASC-2 were found to correlate highly with one another on most conceptually similar scales. With both Parent and Teacher raters, diagnostic concordance was high for nearly all behavior and emotional problem scales. While the diagnostic concordance of the SDQ and BASC-2 looks promising, results need to be replicated with a larger sample. ^ The second objective was to assess the BASC-2 inter-informant concordance (parent, teacher and child). Participants were 145 students, 3-17 years, 78.6% male, 28% Hispanic, 37% White, 34% Black, and 64% were economically disadvantaged. Of the four dyads, teacher-teacher pairs had the highest correlations and agreement levels, especially on externalizing scale items, regardless of the subjects' age group, gender or ethnicity. ^ Overall, parent-teacher pairs had low to moderate concordance for most scale items, with slightly higher agreement for externalizing problems, with better concordance for preschool children, very low correlations with girls' ratings, but moderate correlations with boy ratings. Correlational results were generally moderate for teachers and parents of White children and low for teachers and parents of Hispanic and Black children. ^ Parent-child self-reports had low concordance for nearly all scale items evaluated, particularly with girl self-raters, but moderate with the boys. Conversely, Teacher-Girl pairs had larger correlations than with Boy. Parents reported substantially higher frequency of disorder endorsement than reported by the children, regardless of the child's ethnicity or gender. While generally low, Teachers and Black students had higher concordance on internalizing measures than Hispanic or White students. Parents of Black students had higher frequency of disorder endorsements than other ethnicities. ^ The difference in format and lack of externalizing measures on the self-report version (SRP) hinders inter-rater comparisons. Future studies using the revised, BASC-2 with children in a school-based setting are needed to assess further its rater reliability. ^