“It’s Just Addictive People That Make Addictive Videos”: Children’s Understanding of and Attitudes towards Influencer Marketing of Food and Beverages by YouTube Video Bloggers

Exposure to influencer marketing of foods and beverages high in fat, sugar, and/or salt (HFSS) increases children’s immediate intake. This study qualitatively explored children’s understanding of, and attitudes towards, this marketing, to elucidate potential mechanisms through which exposure affects behavior. In six focus groups (n = 4) children (10–11 years) were shown a YouTube video featuring influencer marketing of an HFSS product. Inductive thematic analysis identified six themes from children’s discussions of this marketing: (1) YouTubers fill a gap in children’s lives, (2) the accessibility of YouTubers increases children’s understanding of their actions, (3) influencer marketing impacts all—the influencer, the brand, and the viewer, (4) attitudes towards influencer marketing are most affected by a YouTuber’s familiarity, (5) YouTuber influencer marketing is effective because they are not ‘strangers’, (6) children feel able to resist influencer marketing of HFSS products. Children had an understanding of the persuasive intent of this marketing, and although most were sceptical, familiar YouTubers elicited particularly sympathetic attitudes. Children felt affected by influencer marketing of HFSS products, but believed they were able to resist it. Beyond theoretical insight, this study adds to the growing body of evidence to suggest children’s exposure to HFSS influencer marketing should be reduced

Comparing computer-generated and pathologist-generated tumour segmentations for immunohistochemical scoring of breast tissue microarrays

BACKGROUND: Tissue microarrays (TMAs) have become a valuable resource for biomarker expression in translational research. Immunohistochemical (IHC) assessment of TMAs is the principal method for analysing large numbers of patient samples, but manual IHC assessment of TMAs remains a challenging and laborious task. With advances in image analysis, computer-generated analyses of TMAs have the potential to lessen the burden of expert pathologist review. METHODS: In current commercial software computerised oestrogen receptor (ER) scoring relies on tumour localisation in the form of hand-drawn annotations. In this study, tumour localisation for ER scoring was evaluated comparing computer-generated segmentation masks with those of two specialist breast pathologists. Automatically and manually obtained segmentation masks were used to obtain IHC scores for thirty-two ER-stained invasive breast cancer TMA samples using FDA-approved IHC scoring software. RESULTS: Although pixel-level comparisons showed lower agreement between automated and manual segmentation masks (κ=0.81) than between pathologists' masks (κ=0.91), this had little impact on computed IHC scores (Allred; [Image: see text]=0.91, Quickscore; [Image: see text]=0.92). CONCLUSIONS: The proposed automated system provides consistent measurements thus ensuring standardisation, and shows promise for increasing IHC analysis of nuclear staining in TMAs from large clinical trials

Specialized Surveillance for Individuals at High Risk for Melanoma: A Cost Analysis of a High Risk Clinic

Regular surveillance of individuals at high risk for cutaneous melanoma improves early detection and reduces unnecessary excisions; however, a cost analysis of this specialized service has not been undertaken

Exposure and impact of a mass media campaign targeting sexual health amongst Scottish men who have sex with men: an outcome evaluation

Background: This paper explores the exposure and impact of a Scottish mass media campaign: Make Your Position Clear. It ran from October 2009 to July 2010, targeted gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), and had two key aims: to promote regular sexual health and HIV testing every 6 months, and to promote the use of appropriate condoms and water-based lubricant with each episode of anal intercourse. Methods: A cross-sectional survey (anonymous and self-report) was conducted 10 months after the campaign was launched (July 2010). Men were recruited from commercial venues. Outcome measures included use of lubricant, testing for sexually transmitted infections and HIV, and intentions to seek HIV testing within the following six months. Linear-by-linear chi-square analysis and binary logistic regressions were conducted to explore the associations between the outcome measures and campaign exposure. Results: The total sample was 822 men (62.6% response rate). Men self-identifying as HIV positive were excluded from the analysis (n = 38). Binary logistic analysis indicated that those with mid or high campaign exposure were more likely to have been tested for HIV in the previous six months when adjusted for age, area of residence and use of the “gay scene” (AOR = 1.96, 95% CI = 1.26 to 3.06, p = .003), but were not more likely to be tested for STIs (AOR = 1.37, 95% CI = 0.88 to 2.16, p = .167). When adjusted for previous HIV testing, those with mid or high campaign exposure were not more likely to indicate intention to be tested for HIV in the following six months (AOR = 1.30, 95% CI = 0.73 to 2.32, p = .367). Those with no campaign exposure were less likely than those with low exposure to have used appropriate lubricant with anal sex partners in the previous year (AOR = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.23 to 0.77, p = .005). Conclusions: The campaign had demonstrable reach. The analysis showed partial support for the role of mass media campaigns in improving sexual health outcomes. This suggests that a role for mass media campaigns remains within combination HIV prevention

Fin development in a cartilaginous fish and the origin of vertebrate limbs

Recent fossil finds and experimental analysis of chick and mouse embryos highlighted the lateral fin fold theory, which suggests that two pairs of limbs in tetrapods evolved by subdivision of an elongated single fin1. Here we examine fin development in embryos of the primitive cartilaginous fish, Scyliorhinus canicula (dogfish) using scanning electron microscopy and investigate expression of genes known to be involved in limb positioning, identity and patterning in higher vertebrates. Although we did not detect lateral fin folds in dogfish embryos, Engrailed-1 expression suggests that the body is compartmentalized dorso-ventrally. Furthermore, specification of limb identity occurs through the Tbx4 and Tbx5 genes, as in higher vertebrates. In contrast, unlike higher vertebrates, we did not detect Shh transcripts in dogfish fin-buds, although dHand (a gene involved in establishing Shh) is expressed. In S. canicula, the main fin axis seems to lie parallel to the body axis. 'Freeing' fins from the body axis and establishing a separate 'limb' axis has been proposed to be a crucial step in evolution of tetrapod limbs2, 3. We suggest that Shh plays a critical role in this process

Effect of a 2-week interruption in methotrexate treatment on COVID-19 vaccine response in people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (VROOM study): a randomised, open label, superiority trial

Background Methotrexate is the first-line treatment for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and reduces vaccine-induced immunity. We evaluated if a 2-week interruption of methotrexate treatment immediately after COVID-19 booster vaccination improved antibody response against the S1 receptor binding domain (S1-RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and live SARS-CoV-2 neutralisation compared with uninterrupted treatment in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Method We did a multicentre, open-label, parallel-group, randomised, superiority trial in secondary-care rheumatology and dermatology clinics in 26 hospitals in the UK. Adults (aged ≥18 years) with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases taking methotrexate (≤25 mg per week) for at least 3 months, who had received two primary vaccine doses from the UK COVID-19 vaccination programme were eligible. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) using a centralised validated computer program, to temporarily suspend methotrexate treatment for 2 weeks immediately after COVID-19 booster vaccination or continue treatment as usual. The primary outcome was S1-RBD antibody titres 4 weeks after COVID-19 booster vaccination and was assessed masked to group assignment. All randomly assigned patients were included in primary and safety analyses. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, ISRCTN11442263; following a pre-planned interim analysis, recruitment was stopped early. Finding Between Sept 30, 2021, and March 7, 2022, we screened 685 individuals, of whom 383 were randomly assigned: to either suspend methotrexate (n=191; mean age 58·8 years [SD 12·5], 118 [62%] women and 73 [38%] men) or to continue methotrexate (n=192; mean age 59·3 years [11·9], 117 [61%] women and 75 [39%] men). At 4 weeks, the geometric mean S1-RBD antibody titre was 25 413 U/mL (95% CI 22 227–29 056) in the suspend methotrexate group and 12 326 U/mL (10 538–14 418) in the continue methotrexate group with a geometric mean ratio (GMR) of 2·08 (95% CI 1·59–2·70; p<0·0001). No intervention-related serious adverse events occurred. Interpretation 2-week interruption of methotrexate treatment in people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases enhanced antibody responses after COVID-19 booster vaccination that were sustained at 12 weeks and 26 weeks. There was a temporary increase in inflammatory disease flares, mostly self-managed. The choice to suspend methotrexate should be individualised based on disease status and vulnerability to severe outcomes from COVID-19. Funding National Institute for Health and Care Research

Cancer mortality in East and Southeast Asian migrants to New South Wales, Australia, 1975–1995

Routinely collected data for New South Wales were used to analyse cancer mortality in migrants born in East or Southeast Asia according to duration of residence in Australia. A case-control approach compared deaths from cancer at particular sites with deaths from all other cancers, adjusting for age, sex and calendar period. Compared with the Australian-born, these Asian migrants had a 30-fold higher risk of dying from nasopharyngeal cancer in the first 2 decades of residence, falling to ninefold after 30 years, and for deaths from liver cancer, a 12-fold risk in the first 2 decades, falling to threefold after 30 years. The initial lower risk from colorectal, breast or prostate cancers later converged towards the Australian-born level, the change being apparent in the third decade after migration. The relative risk of dying from lung cancer among these Asian migrants was above unity for each category of duration of stay for women, but at or below unity for men, with no trend in risk over time. An environmental or lifestyle influence for nasopharyngeal and liver cancers is suggested as well as for cancers of colon/rectum, breast and prostate. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Understanding within-session loss-chasing: an experimental investigation of the impact of stake size on cognitive control

Loss-chasing is a central feature of problematic gambling, yet it remains a poorly conceived and understood concept. Loss-chasing is believed to stem from an ero- sion of cognitive control when gambling. The opportunity to gamble at significantly dis- parate stake sizes on a gambling activity is considered to be a risk factor for loss-chasing. This study investigated the impact of gambling at disparate stake sizes on executive processes integral to maintaining cognitive control when gambling, namely response inhibition and reflection impulsivity. Frequent adult non-problem gamblers (n = 32) participated in a repeated measures experiment; and gambled at three disparate stake sizes (£20, £2 and no stake per bet) on a simulated gambling task. Participants’ response inhibition performance and reflection impulsivity levels after gambling at various stake sizes were compared via a go/no-go task and information sampling task, respectively. Quality of decision-making i.e. the evaluation of available information to make probability judgements was impaired after gambling at higher stakes in comparison to lower stakes, indicating an increase in reflection impulsivity. No effect on response inhibition was observed. Although exploratory, this suggests that the opportunity for participants to substantially increase stake size on a gambling activity may be a risk factor for impaired cognitive performance when gambling, and perhaps create vulnerability for within-session loss-chasing in some players. Keywords Problem gambling - Cognitive control - Loss-chasing - Response inhibition - Reflection impulsivit

Study on the sound absorption behavior of multi-component polyester nonwovens: experimental and numerical methods

This study presents an investigation of the acoustical properties of multi-component polyester nonwovens with experimental and numerical methods. Fifteen types of nonwoven samples made with staple, hollow and bi-component polyester fibers were chosen to carry out this study. The AFD300 AcoustiFlow device was employed to measure airflow resistivity. Several models were grouped in theoretical and empirical model categories and used to predict the airflow resistivity. A simple empirical model based on fiber diameter and fabric bulk density was obtained through the power-fitting method. The difference between measured and predicted airflow resistivity was analyzed. The surface impedance and sound absorption coefficient were determined by using a 45 mm Materiacustica impedance tube. Some widely used impedance models were used to predict the acoustical properties. A comparison between measured and predicted values was carried out to determine the most accurate model for multi-component polyester nonwovens. The results show that one of the Tarnow model provides the closest prediction to the measured value, with an error of 12%. The proposed power-fitted empirical model exhibits a very small error of 6.8%. It is shown that the Delany–Bazley and Miki models can accurately predict surface impedance of multi-component polyester nonwovens, but the Komatsu model is less accurate, especially at the low-frequency range. The results indicate that the Miki model is the most accurate method to predict the sound absorption coefficient, with a mean error of 8.39%