Patients without colonoscopic follow-up after abnormal fecal immunochemical tests are often unaware of the abnormal result and report several barriers to colonoscopy.

BackgroundThe fecal immunochemical test (FIT) is the second most commonly used colorectal cancer (CRC) screening modality in the United States; yet, follow-up of abnormal FIT results with diagnostic colonoscopy is underutilized. Our objective was to determine patient-reported barriers to diagnostic colonoscopy following abnormal FIT in an academic healthcare setting.MethodsWe included patients age 50-75 with an abnormal FIT result between 1/1/2015 and 10/31/2017 and no documented follow-up diagnostic colonoscopy. We abstracted demographic data from the electronic health record (EHR). Study personnel conducted telephone surveys with patients to confirm colonoscopy completion and elicit data on notification of FIT results and barriers to colonoscopy. We also provided brief verbal education about diagnostic colonoscopy. We calculated frequencies of demographic data and survey responses and compared survey responses by interest in colonoscopy after education.ResultsWe surveyed 67 patients. Fifty-one were aware of the abnormal FIT result, and a majority learned of the abnormal FIT result by direct communication with providers (19, 37.3%) or EHR messaging (11, 21.6%). Overall, fifty-three patients (79.1%) confirmed lack of colonoscopy, citing provider-related (19, 35.8%), patient-related (16, 30.2%), system-related (1, 1.9%), or multifactorial (17, 32.1%) reasons. Lack of knowledge of FIT result (14, 26.4%) was most common. After brief education, 20 (37.7%) patients requested colonoscopy.ConclusionPatients with an abnormal FIT reported various multi-level barriers to diagnostic colonoscopy after abnormal FIT, including knowledge of FIT results. When provided with brief education, participants expressed interest in diagnostic colonoscopy. Future efforts will evaluate interventions to improve colonoscopy follow-up

Breeding for resistance to insect-transmitted viruses in barley – an emerging challenge due to global warming

Vor dem Hintergrund längerer Perioden mit höheren Temperaturen im Herbst und im Winter ist künftig von einer zunehmenden Bedeutung insektenübertragener Viren auszugehen, wie es die vorliegenden Untersuchungen zum Auftreten von Barley yellow dwarf virus und Wheat dwarf virus in Mitteldeutschland belegen. Dabei zeigte sich u. a. eine deutliche Beziehung zwischen der Anzahl Infektionstage im Herbst und dem BYDV-Auftreten in der Wintergerste im darauffolgenden Frühjahr. In Klimakammeruntersuchungen zum Einfluss der Temperatur auf die BYDV-Übertragung wurden 10°C als Temperaturgrenze ermittelt, bis zu der eine Virusübertragung durch Rhopalosiphum padi erfolgt. Die ersten Ergebnisse zur Pyramidisierung von Ryd2, Ryd3 und eines QTL aus der Sorte ‘Post’, der auf Chromosom 2H lokalisiert ist, mittels molekularer Marker und DH-Linien zeigen, dass Linien mit 3 bzw. 2 Resistenz-/Toleranzgenen eine deutliche geringere Symptomausprägung und einen verringerten Virustiter aufweisen. Dabei hat der QTL auf Chromosom 2H im Vergleich zu Ryd3 und Ryd2 einen deutlich geringeren Effekt. Die genetische Basis der WDV-Toleranz ist sehr eng. Lediglich die Sorte ‘Post’ wies in den Infektionsversuchen im Freiland ein ausreichendes Toleranzniveau auf. Untersuchungen an Populationen doppelhaploider Linien lassen auf eine polygene Vererbung dieser Toleranz schließen.Due to global warming longer periods of higher temperature in autumn and winter are expected which may result in an increasing importance of insect-transmitted viruses. Investigations carried out in Saxony-Anhalt from 1998 to 2008 on the incidence of Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) and Wheat dwarf virus (WDV) revealed a clear relation between the number of infection days in autumn and the BYDV-attack in winter barley fields in the following spring. In additional experiments carried out in growth chambers under controlled conditions it turned out that 10°C is the minimum temperature for an efficient transmission of BYDV by Rhopalosiphum padi. In order to enhance the level of resistance to BYDV, Ryd2, Ryd3 and a QTL derived from the cultivar ‘Post’ located on chromosome 2HL were combined using DH-lines and molecular markers. Concerning symptom expression and virus extinction first results indicate a reduction in those lines combining especially Ryd2 and Ryd3. Concerning WDV extensive screening programmes were conducted, but tolerance was only detected in cv. ‘Post’. First results of genetic analysis using DH-lines give hint that this tolerance is inherited in a quantitative manner

Different degrees of lever arm rotation control myosin step size

Myosins are actin-based motors that are generally believed to move by amplifying small structural changes in the core motor domain via a lever arm rotation of the light chain binding domain. However, the lack of a quantitative agreement between observed step sizes and the length of the proposed lever arms from different myosins challenges this view. We analyzed the step size of rat myosin 1d (Myo1d) and surprisingly found that this myosin takes unexpectedly large steps in comparison to other myosins. Engineering the length of the light chain binding domain of rat Myo1d resulted in a linear increase of step size in relation to the putative lever arm length, indicative of a lever arm rotation of the light chain binding domain. The extrapolated pivoting point resided in the same region of the rat Myo1d head domain as in conventional myosins. Therefore, rat Myo1d achieves its larger working stroke by a large calculated ∼90° rotation of the light chain binding domain. These results demonstrate that differences in myosin step sizes are not only controlled by lever arm length, but also by substantial differences in the degree of lever arm rotation

Data-Analysis System for Entry, Descent, and Landing

A report describes the Entry Descent Landing Data Analysis (EDA), which is a system of signal-processing software and computer hardware for acquiring status data conveyed by multiple-frequency-shift-keying tone signals transmitted by a spacecraft during descent to the surface of a remote planet. The design of the EDA meets the challenge of processing weak, fluctuating signals that are Doppler-shifted by amounts that are only partly predictable. The software supports both real-time and post processing. The software performs fast-Fourier-transform integration, parallel frequency tracking with prediction, and mapping of detected tones to specific events. The use of backtrack and refinement parallel-processing threads helps to minimize data gaps. The design affords flexibility to enable division of a descent track into segments, within each of which the EDA is configured optimally for processing in the face of signal conditions and uncertainties. A dynamic-lock-state feature enables the detection of signals using minimum required computing power less when signals are steadily detected, more when signals fluctuate. At present, the hardware comprises eight dual-processor personal-computer modules and a server. The hardware is modular, making it possible to increase computing power by adding computers

Interleukin-6, age, and corpus callosum integrity.

The contribution of inflammation to deleterious aging outcomes is increasingly recognized; however, little is known about the complex relationship between interleukin-6 (IL-6) and brain structure, or how this association might change with increasing age. We examined the association between IL-6, white matter integrity, and cognition in 151 community dwelling older adults, and tested whether age moderated these associations. Blood levels of IL-6 and vascular risk (e.g., homocysteine), as well as health history information, were collected. Processing speed assessments were administered to assess cognitive functioning, and we employed tract-based spatial statistics to examine whole brain white matter and regions of interest. Given the association between inflammation, vascular risk, and corpus callosum (CC) integrity, fractional anisotropy (FA) of the genu, body, and splenium represented our primary dependent variables. Whole brain analysis revealed an inverse association between IL-6 and CC fractional anisotropy. Subsequent ROI linear regression and ridge regression analyses indicated that the magnitude of this effect increased with age; thus, older individuals with higher IL-6 levels displayed lower white matter integrity. Finally, higher IL-6 levels were related to worse processing speed; this association was moderated by age, and was not fully accounted for by CC volume. This study highlights that at older ages, the association between higher IL-6 levels and lower white matter integrity is more pronounced; furthermore, it underscores the important, albeit burgeoning role of inflammatory processes in cognitive aging trajectories

EGFR/Ras Signaling Controls Drosophila Intestinal Stem Cell Proliferation via Capicua-Regulated Genes

Epithelial renewal in the Drosophila intestine is orchestrated by Intestinal Stem Cells (ISCs). Following damage or stress the intestinal epithelium produces ligands that activate the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in ISCs. This promotes their growth and division and, thereby, epithelial regeneration. Here we demonstrate that the HMG-box transcriptional repressor, Capicua (Cic), mediates these functions of EGFR signaling. Depleting Cic in ISCs activated them for division, whereas overexpressed Cic inhibited ISC proliferation and midgut regeneration. Epistasis tests showed that Cic acted as an essential downstream effector of EGFR/Ras signaling, and immunofluorescence showed that Cic’s nuclear localization was regulated by EGFR signaling. ISC-specific mRNA expression profiling and DNA binding mapping using DamID indicated that Cic represses cell proliferation via direct targets including string (Cdc25), Cyclin E, and the ETS domain transcription factors Ets21C and Pointed (pnt). pnt was required for ISC over-proliferation following Cic depletion, and ectopic pnt restored ISC proliferation even in the presence of overexpressed dominant-active Cic. These studies identify Cic, Pnt, and Ets21C as critical downstream effectors of EGFR signaling in Drosophila ISCs.This work was supported by the DKFZ, DFG grant SFB 873, and ERC Advanced Grant 268515 to BAE. NH was supported by SFB638, SFB1036. MF and GJ were supported by research grants from the Spanish Government (BFU2011-23611) and Fundació La Marató de TV3 (20131730); GJ is an ICREA investigatorPeer Reviewe

Development and Application of a Simple Plaque Assay for the Human Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum.

Malaria is caused by an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that replicates within and destroys erythrocytes. Asexual blood stages of the causative agent of the most virulent form of human malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, can be cultivated indefinitely in vitro in human erythrocytes, facilitating experimental analysis of parasite cell biology, biochemistry and genetics. However, efforts to improve understanding of the basic biology of this important pathogen and to develop urgently required new antimalarial drugs and vaccines, suffer from a paucity of basic research tools. This includes a simple means of quantifying the effects of drugs, antibodies and gene modifications on parasite fitness and replication rates. Here we describe the development and validation of an extremely simple, robust plaque assay that can be used to visualise parasite replication and resulting host erythrocyte destruction at the level of clonal parasite populations. We demonstrate applications of the plaque assay by using it for the phenotypic characterisation of two P. falciparum conditional mutants displaying reduced fitness in vitro

Civil Conversations: How to Talk Politics Constructively

This open forum will give strategies and methods for having healthy discussions with those who hold opposing political viewpoints.https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/libraryevents/1211/thumbnail.jp

No Evidence for Emotional Empathy in Chickens Observing Familiar Adult Conspecifics

The capacity of animals to empathise is of high potential relevance to the welfare of group-housed domestic animals. Emotional empathy is a multifaceted and multilayered phenomenon which ranges from relatively simple processes such as emotional matching behaviour to more complex processes involving interaction between emotional and cognitive perspective taking systems. Our previous research has demonstrated that hens show clear behavioural and physiological responses to the mild distress of their chicks. To investigate whether this capacity exists outside the mother/offspring bond, we conducted a similar experiment in which domestic hens were exposed to the mild distress of unrelated, but familiar adult conspecifics. Each observer hen was exposed to two replicates of four conditions, in counterbalanced order; control (C); control with noise of air puff (CN); air puff to conspecific hen (APC); air puff to observer hen (APH). During each test, the observer hens' behaviour and physiology were measured throughout a 10 min pre-treatment and a 10 min treatment period. Despite showing signs of distress in response to an aversive stimulus directed at themselves (APH), and using methodology sufficiently sensitive to detect empathy-like responses previously, observer hens showed no behavioural or physiological responses to the mild distress of a familiar adult conspecific. The lack of behavioural and physiological response indicates that hens show no basis for emotional empathy in this context