Sex Trafficking Awareness Among Adolescents

Sex Trafficking is a growing concern for the United States of America. This research investigation identifies the level of awareness from a group of individuals about 14 to 18 years old, allowing for the improvement of prevention methods for younger populations. The data for this study reported an overall trend in which students had an insufficient understanding for sex trafficking and its occurrences. Student responses contained higher mean scores as the grade levels increased. The data supports the argument that students are not as aware as they may need to be; however, 10th grade students responded either “slightly agree” or “strongly agree” more frequently than the 9th, 11th, and 12th grade students, leading them to have higher averages. This group of students in particular deviated from the trend established by the other grade level; on average, 10th grade students had higher mean scores than the other grade levels. Survey results summarize a lack of awareness that may originate from ineffective, or nonexistent, awareness programs from the students’ middle schools. Individuals should be informed prior to their entrance into high school. The data followed a distribution in which students were becoming progressively more aware through each school year. During the developmental period between the ages of 11 and 15, individuals often seek closer relationships with perceived friends. Sex traffickers often take the form of a close friend, allowing for an an uninformed individual to put their trust in an potential trafficker

The overexpression of Cry1 mRNA and protein in colorectal cancer tissues.

<p>(<b>A</b>) A representative image of Cry1 staining in colorectal cancer tissues is shown. (<b>B</b>) A representative image of Cry1 staining in adjacent noncancerous tissues is shown. (<b>C</b>) Cry1 protein expression level was higher in tumor tissues compared to adjacent control tissue as detected by immunoblotting (mean±SEM; n = 109; * **, <i>P</i><0.001). (<b>D</b>) Average T/N ratios of Cry1 mRNA expression in paired colorectal cancer (T) and normalmucosa tissues (N) were quantified by qPCR and normalized to GAPDH. Error bars represent the standard deviation of the mean (SD) calculated from three parallel experiments. Magnification is ×200.</p

The expression of Cry1 protein in colorectal cancer sections.

<p>Representative immunohistochemical images of colorectal cancer tissue specimens indicating negative or weakly detectable Cry1 staining (<b>A</b> and <b>B</b>); moderate Cry1 staining (<b>C</b>); and strong Cry1 staining (<b>D</b>) are shown. Magnification is ×200 (<b>A, B, C</b> and <b>D</b>).</p

Overexpression of Cry1 mRNA and protein in colorectal cancer cell lines.

<p>Expression of Cry1 mRNA and protein in colorectal cancer cell lines (SW480, SW620, HT29, THC8307, and HCT116) and FHC were examined by qPCR (<b>A</b>) and Western blotting (<b>B</b>). Expression levels were normalized to GAPDH. Error bars represent the standard deviation of the mean (SD) calculated from three parallel experiments, *, <i>P</i><0.05.</p

Cry1 promoted CRC growth <i>in vivo</i>.

<p>(<b>A</b>) The expression of Cry1 was markedly increased in the stable cell line Cry1-HCT116 compared with control stable cell line ctrl-HCT116. GAPDH was used as an internal control. (<b>B</b>) Representative images of tumors derived from Cry1-HCT116 or ctrl-HCT116,following subcutaneous xenograft transplants in nude mice (<b>C</b>) Overexpression of Cry1 promoted colorectal cancer growth. Tumor cells were injected subcutaneously into nude mice. Mice were sacrificed after 4 weeks, and the volume of each tumor was measured every 4 days. Bars, ±SEM; *<i>P</i><0.05, ** <i>p</i> = 0.01.</p

Effects of Cry1 on cell growth.

<p>(<b>A</b>) Cry1 protein levels were upregulated in HCT116 cells and downregulated in SW480 cells. (<b>B</b>) MTT assays on HCT116 cells 24, 48, and 72 h after transfection with Cry1 or GFP control (***, p<0.001). (<b>C–D</b>) Colony formation assay of HCT116 cells transfected with Cry1 or GFP control (*, <i>p</i> = 0.033). (<b>E–F</b>) Inhibition of SW480 cell colony formation capacity by Cry1 siRNA relative to control (**, <i>p</i> = 0.007). Experiments were repeated at least three times, and representative data are presented; <i>bars</i>, SD.*, <i>P</i><0.05; **, <i>P</i><0.01, ***, <i>p</i><0.001.</p

Fixed-effect model forest plot of HR of DFS in pathologic stage subgroup analysis according to EGFR mutation status.

<p>Solid diamond indicates the pooled HR of DFS, square indicates hazard ratio value of each study.</p

Clinicopathological findings and correlation with Cry1 expression.

*<p>Statistically significant. Numbers in parentheses indicate the proportion of tumors with a specific clinical or pathological feature in a given Cry1 subtype.</p>†<p>Analysis for this parameter was available for 167 cases.</p>††<p>Analysis for this parameter was available for 149 cases.</p>†††<p>Analysis for this parameter was available for 147cases.</p

The level of Cry1 protein expression affects overall survival and disease-free survival.

<p>Kaplan–Meier curves with univariate analysis (log-rank) for colorectal cancer patients with high Cry1 expression (n = 101) versus low or no Cry1 expression for overall survival (n = 67) (<b>A</b>) and disease-free survival (n = 67) (<b>B</b>) are shown. Higher expression of Cry1 positively correlated with the poor patientoutcomes.</p

Prognostic Value of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutations in Resected Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

<div><p>Background</p><p>The prognostic value of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains controversial. We performed a systematic review with meta-analysis to assess its role.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Studies were identified via an electronic search on PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases. Pooled hazard ratio (HR) for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated for meta-analysis.</p><p>Results</p><p>There were 16 evaluated studies (n = 3337) in the meta-analysis. The combined HR evaluating EGFR mutations on disease free survival was 0.96 (95% CI [0.79–1.16] <i>P</i> = 0.65). The combined HR evaluating EGFR mutations on overall survival was 0.86 (95% CI [0.72–1.04] <i>P</i> = 0.12). The subgroup analysis based on univariate and multivariate analyses in DFS and OS showed no statistically significant difference. There was also no statistically significant difference in DFS and OS of stage I NSCLC patients.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>The systematic review with meta-analysis showed that EGFR mutations were not a prognostic factor in patients with surgically resected non-small cell lung cancer. Well designed prospective study is needed to confirm the result.</p></div