Predicting the Avoidance of Body Weight Information Using Novel Measures of Trait Information Avoidance

Information avoidance is a growing topic of study in the field of behavioral economics. It has been conceptualized as a form of psychological threat management, is suggested to be a generally stable trait. Moreover, trait information avoidance has been shown to predict real-world information decisions. This study aims to explore the phenomenon of body weight information avoidance, which remains poorly understood. 836 participants completed an online survey containing measures of constructs related to suggested information avoidance mechanisms. Notably, this survey included two measures of trait information avoidance, the Information Avoidance Scale and the recently-developed Information Preferences Scale, that previously demonstrated predictive abilities. Participants later chose between obtaining or avoiding weight information in the form of a body fat percentage estimate. Using a series of logistic regression and Lasso regularization models, this study finds a strong effect for predicting information avoidance using the Information Avoidance Scale, and a moderate effect for predicting information avoidance using the Information Preferences Scale

Longitudinal changes in COVID-19 vaccination intent among South African adults: evidence from the NIDS-CRAM panel survey, February to May 2021

Background COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has threatened the ability of many countries worldwide to contain the pandemic. Given the severe impact of the pandemic in South Africa and disruptions to the roll-out of the vaccine in early 2021, slower-than-expected uptake is a pressing public health challenge in the country. We examined longitudinal changes in COVID-19 vaccination intent among South African adults, as well as determinants of intent to receive a vaccine. Methods We used longitudinal data from Wave 4 (February/March 2021) and Wave 5 (April/May 2021) of the National Income Dynamics Study: Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM), a national and broadly representative panel survey of adults in South Africa. We conducted cross-sectional analyses on aggregate and between-group variation in vaccination intent, examined individual-level changes between waves, and modeled demographic predictors of intent. Results We analysed data for 5629 (Wave 4; 48% male, mean age 41.5 years) and 5862 (Wave 5; 48% male, mean age 41.6 years) respondents. Willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine significantly increased from 70.8% (95% CI: 68.5–73.1) in Wave 4 to 76.1% (95% CI: 74.2–77.8) in Wave 5. Individual-level analyses indicated that only 6.6% of respondents remained strongly hesitant between survey waves. Although respondents aged 18–24 years were 8.5 percentage points more likely to report hesitancy, hesitant respondents in this group were 5.6 percentage points more likely to change their minds by Wave 5. Concerns about rushed testing and safety of the vaccines were frequent and strongly-held reasons for hesitancy. Conclusions Willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine has increased among adults in South Africa, and those who were entrenched in their reluctance make up a small proportion of the country’s population. Younger adults, those in formal housing, and those who trusted COVID-19 information on social media were more likely to be hesitant. Given that stated vaccination intent may not translate into behaviour, our finding that three-quarters of the population were willing to accept the vaccine may reflect an upper bound. Vaccination promotion campaigns should continue to frame vaccine acceptance as the norm and tailor strategies to different demographic groups

Dear Pandemic: A topic modeling analysis of COVID-19 information needs among readers of an online science communication campaign.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by an infodemic -an overwhelming excess of accurate, inaccurate, and uncertain information. The social media-based science communication campaign Dear Pandemic was established to address the COVID-19 infodemic, in part by soliciting submissions from readers to an online question box. Our study characterized the information needs of Dear Pandemic\u27s readers by identifying themes and longitudinal trends among question box submissions. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of questions submitted from August 24, 2020, to August 24, 2021. We used Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modeling to identify 25 topics among the submissions, then used thematic analysis to interpret the topics based on their top words and submissions. We used t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding to visualize the relationship between topics, and we used generalized additive models to describe trends in topic prevalence over time. RESULTS: We analyzed 3839 submissions, 90% from United States-based readers. We classified the 25 topics into 6 overarching themes: \u27Scientific and Medical Basis of COVID-19,\u27 \u27COVID-19 Vaccine,\u27 \u27COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies,\u27 \u27Society and Institutions,\u27 \u27Family and Personal Relationships,\u27 and \u27Navigating the COVID-19 Infodemic.\u27 Trends in topics about viral variants, vaccination, COVID-19 mitigation strategies, and children aligned with the news cycle and reflected the anticipation of future events. Over time, vaccine-related submissions became increasingly related to those surrounding social interaction. CONCLUSIONS: Question box submissions represented distinct themes that varied in prominence over time. Dear Pandemic\u27s readers sought information that would not only clarify novel scientific concepts, but would also be timely and practical to their personal lives. Our question box format and topic modeling approach offers science communicators a robust methodology for tracking, understanding, and responding to the information needs of online audiences

Management and outcome of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in blast phase in the tyrosine kinase inhibitor era – analysis of the European LeukemiaNet Blast Phase Registry

Blast phase (BP) of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) still represents an unmet clinical need with a dismal prognosis. Due to the rarity of the condition and the heterogeneity of the biology and clinical presentation, prospective trials and concise treatment recommendations are lacking. Here we present the analysis of the European LeukemiaNet Blast Phase Registry, an international collection of the clinical presentation, treatment and outcome of blast phases which had been diagnosed in CML patients after 2015. Data reveal the expected heterogeneity of the entity, lacking a clear treatment standard. Outcomes remain dismal, with a median overall survival of 23.8 months (median follow up 27.8 months). Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) increases the rate of deep molecular responses. De novo BP and BP evolving from a previous CML do show slightly different features, suggesting a different biology between the two entities. Data show that outside clinical trials and in a real-world setting treatment of blast phase is individualized according to disease- and patient-related characteristics, with the aim of blast clearance prior to allogeneic stem cell transplantation. AlloSCT should be offered to all patients eligible for this procedure

β-Hydroxybutyrate suppresses colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the most frequent forms of cancer, and new strategies for its prevention and therapy are urgently needed1. Here we identify a metabolite signalling pathway that provides actionable insights towards this goal. We perform a dietary screen in autochthonous animal models of CRC and find that ketogenic diets exhibit a strong tumour-inhibitory effect. These properties of ketogenic diets are recapitulated by the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), which reduces the proliferation of colonic crypt cells and potently suppresses intestinal tumour growth. We find that BHB acts through the surface receptor Hcar2 and induces the transcriptional regulator Hopx, thereby altering gene expression and inhibiting cell proliferation. Cancer organoid assays and single-cell RNA sequencing of biopsies from patients with CRC provide evidence that elevated BHB levels and active HOPX are associated with reduced intestinal epithelial proliferation in humans. This study thus identifies a BHB-triggered pathway regulating intestinal tumorigenesis and indicates that oral or systemic interventions with a single metabolite may complement current prevention and treatment strategies for CRC