Gender of authors in the Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis: changes over time [GÉNERO DE LOS AUTORES DE LA REVISTA MEXICANA DE ANÁLISIS DE LA CONDUCTA: CAMBIOS A TRAVÉS DEL TIEMPO]

The Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis was examined from 1975 to 2018 to determine the proportion of authorship by women and men. Data were compiled and assessed for the percentage of authorship, percentage of first-authored publications, percentage of publications with at least one woman, and percentage of publications with at least one man. From the journal’s inception to 2018, women and men accounted for 33% and 67% of authorship, respectively. The data suggest that women’s participation, based on percentages of total authorship, has increased across time. - Con el propósito de determinar la proporción de autores mujeres y hombres, se analizaron los artículos publicados en la Revista Mexicana de Análisis de la Conducta de 1975 a 2018. Con base en los datos recopilados, se evaluó el porcentaje de artículos publicados, el porcentaje de artículos publicados como primer autor, el porcentaje de publicaciones con al menos una mujer como autora y el porcentaje de publicaciones con al menos un hombre como autor. Desde la creación de la revista hasta 2018, las mujeres y los hombres conformaron el 33% y el 67% de los autores, respectivamente. Con base en los porcentajes del total de publicaciones, los datos sugieren que la participación de las mujeres de hecho ha aumentado a través del tiempo

Gender of Authors in the Brazilian Journal of Behavior Analysis [Gênero dos autores na Revista Brasileira de Análise do Comportamento]

We examined publication records in the Brazilian Journal of Behavior Analysis from 2005 through 2020 to determine the participation of women and men as contributing authors. We assessed the following variables: authorship (in general), first authors, articles with at least one woman, articles with at least one man, articles with both men and women, single-author articles, and authors with more than 10 publications. We identified 281 articles, with a total of 732 listed authors. Women and men were listed as authors 361 (49%) and 368 (50%) times, respectively. Women accounted for 43% of articles as first authors, and 69% of articles listed at least one woman as an author. These data are discussed and compared to data from other behavior-analytic journals. - Examinamos o registro de publicação, de 2005 a 2020, do Revista Brasileira de Análise do Comportamento para determinar a participação de mulheres e homens como autores colaboradores. Foram avaliadas as seguintes variáveis: autoria (em geral), primeiros autores, artigos com pelo menos uma mulher, artigos com pelo menos um homem, artigos de ambos os sexos, artigos de autoria única e autores com mais de 10 publicações. Identificamos 281 artigos, com um total de 732 autores listados. Mulheres e homens foram listados como autores 361 (49%) e 368 (50%) vezes, respectivamente. As mulheres representaram 43% dos artigos como primeiros autores e 69% dos artigos listaram pelo menos uma mulher como autora. Esses dados são discutidos e comparados com dados de outros periódicos analíticos comportamentais

Gender of Authors in the Brazilian Journal of Behavior Analysis

Examinamos o registro de publicação, de 2005 a 2020, do Revista Brasileira de Análise do Comportamento para determinar a participação de mulheres e homens como autores colaboradores. Foram avaliadas as seguintes variáveis: autoria (em geral), primeiros autores, artigos com pelo menos uma mulher, artigos com pelo menos um homem, artigos de ambos os sexos, artigos de autoria única e autores com mais de 10 publicações. Identificamos 281 artigos, com um total de 732 autores listados. Mulheres e homens foram listados como autores 361 (49%) e 368 (50%) vezes, respectivamente. As mulheres representaram 43% dos artigos como primeiros autores e 69% dos artigos listaram pelo menos uma mulher como autora. Esses dados são discutidos e comparados com dados de outros periódicos analíticos comportamentais.Palavras-chave: Análise de gênero, autoria, Revista Brasileira de Análise do Comportamento.We examined publication records in the Brazilian Journal of Behavior Analysis from 2005 through 2020 to determine the participation of women and men as contributing authors. We assessed the following variables: authorship (in general), first authors, articles with at least one woman, articles with at least one man, articles with both men and women, single-author articles, and authors with more than 10 publications. We identified 281 articles, with a total of 732 listed authors. Women and men were listed as authors 361 (49%) and 368 (50%) times, respectively. Women accounted for 43% of articles as first authors, and 69% of articles listed at least one woman as an author. These data are discussed and compared to data from other behavior-analytic journals.Keywords: Gender analysis, authorship, Brazilian Journal of Behavior Analysis

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

The multiple-stimulus-without-replacement preference assessment tool and its predictive validity

This study demonstrates the use of two web-based programs, one to identify video preferences and the other to assess their reinforcing effects. We used the Multiple-Stimulus-Without-Replacement Preference Assessment Tool (MSWO PAT) to identify the video preference hierarchies of seven participants, ages 4-11 years old. We then used a customized reinforcer assessment program that arranged a concurrent-chains preparation with programmed conjugate schedules of reinforcement. Button presses emitted by participants modulated the quality (volume and opacity) of selected videos on a moment-to-moment basis, allowing us to identify the reinforcing effects of the videos in little time. The results showed that the preference assessment had predictive value for five of seven participants. We discuss the MSWO PAT, parameters that may affect the identification of preferences and the use of conjugate schedules to identify reinforcers

Behavior analysis in college classrooms: A scoping review

We conducted a scoping review of interventions that have been implemented classroom-wide in college classroom settings. We searched nine behavior-analytic journals from 2000 through 2020. We identified 59 studies that met our inclusion criteria and organized them into 13 categories: acceptance and commitment therapy (n = 1), equivalence-based instruction (n = 1), SAFMEDS (n = 4), guided notes (n = 4), response cards (n = 5), group contingencies (n = 5), interteaching (n = 6), programmed instruction, PSI, computer-aided (CA)PSI (n = 7), contingency arrangements (n = 15), feedback (n = 4), online delivery techniques (n = 4), game study sessions (n = 2), and peer-generated examples (n = 1). The interventions have been used with undergraduate and graduate students across various course topics and modalities. Most interventions produced positive results, commonly assessed via quiz and exam scores. This review presents the scope of interventions, their characteristics, and recommendations for future research

Early Detection and Prognostic Assessment of Cutaneous Melanoma

ImportanceTherapy for advanced melanoma has transformed during the past decade, but early detection and prognostic assessment of cutaneous melanoma (CM) remain paramount goals. Best practices for screening and use of pigmented lesion evaluation tools and gene expression profile (GEP) testing in CM remain to be defined.ObjectiveTo provide consensus recommendations on optimal screening practices and prebiopsy diagnostic, postbiopsy diagnostic, and prognostic assessment of CM.Evidence reviewCase scenarios were interrogated using a modified Delphi consensus method. Melanoma panelists (n = 60) were invited to vote on hypothetical scenarios via an emailed survey (n = 42), which was followed by a consensus conference (n = 51) that reviewed the literature and the rationale for survey answers. Panelists participated in a follow-up survey for final recommendations on the scenarios (n = 45).FindingsThe panelists reached consensus (≥70% agreement) in supporting a risk-stratified approach to melanoma screening in clinical settings and public screening events, screening personnel recommendations (self/partner, primary care provider, general dermatologist, and pigmented lesion expert), screening intervals, and acceptable appointment wait times. Participants also reached consensus that visual and dermoscopic examination are sufficient for evaluation and follow-up of melanocytic skin lesions deemed innocuous. The panelists reached consensus on interpreting reflectance confocal microscopy and some but not all results from epidermal tape stripping, but they did not reach consensus on use of certain pigmented lesion evaluation tools, such as electrical impedance spectroscopy. Regarding GEP scores, the panelists reached consensus that a low-risk prognostic GEP score should not outweigh concerning histologic features when selecting patients to undergo sentinel lymph node biopsy but did not reach consensus on imaging recommendations in the setting of a high-risk prognostic GEP score and low-risk histology and/or negative nodal status.Conclusions and relevanceFor this consensus statement, panelists reached consensus on aspects of a risk-stratified approach to melanoma screening and follow-up as well as use of visual examination and dermoscopy. These findings support a practical approach to diagnosing and evaluating CM. Panelists did not reach consensus on a clearly defined role for GEP testing in clinical decision-making, citing the need for additional studies to establish the clinical use of existing GEP assays

Prognostic Gene Expression Profiling in Cutaneous Melanoma

ImportanceUse of prognostic gene expression profile (GEP) testing in cutaneous melanoma (CM) is rising despite a lack of endorsement as standard of care.ObjectiveTo develop guidelines within the national Melanoma Prevention Working Group (MPWG) on integration of GEP testing into the management of patients with CM, including (1) review of published data using GEP tests, (2) definition of acceptable performance criteria, (3) current recommendations for use of GEP testing in clinical practice, and (4) considerations for future studies.Evidence reviewThe MPWG members and other international melanoma specialists participated in 2 online surveys and then convened a summit meeting. Published data and meeting abstracts from 2015 to 2019 were reviewed.FindingsThe MPWG members are optimistic about the future use of prognostic GEP testing to improve risk stratification and enhance clinical decision-making but acknowledge that current utility is limited by test performance in patients with stage I disease. Published studies of GEP testing have not evaluated results in the context of all relevant clinicopathologic factors or as predictors of regional nodal metastasis to replace sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). The performance of GEP tests has generally been reported for small groups of patients representing particular tumor stages or in aggregate form, such that stage-specific performance cannot be ascertained, and without survival outcomes compared with data from the American Joint Committee on Cancer 8th edition melanoma staging system international database. There are significant challenges to performing clinical trials incorporating GEP testing with SLNB and adjuvant therapy. The MPWG members favor conducting retrospective studies that evaluate multiple GEP testing platforms on fully annotated archived samples before embarking on costly prospective studies and recommend avoiding routine use of GEP testing to direct patient management until prospective studies support their clinical utility.Conclusions and relevanceMore evidence is needed to support using GEP testing to inform recommendations regarding SLNB, intensity of follow-up or imaging surveillance, and postoperative adjuvant therapy. The MPWG recommends further research to assess the validity and clinical applicability of existing and emerging GEP tests. Decisions on performing GEP testing and patient management based on these results should only be made in the context of discussion of testing limitations with the patient or within a multidisciplinary group

Skin cancer screening: recommendations for data-driven screening guidelines and a review of the US Preventive Services Task Force controversy

Melanoma is usually apparent on the skin and readily detected by trained medical providers using a routine total body skin examination, yet this malignancy is responsible for the majority of skin cancer-related deaths. Currently, there is no national consensus on skin cancer screening in the USA, but dermatologists and primary care providers are routinely confronted with making the decision about when to recommend total body skin examinations and at what interval. The objectives of this paper are: to propose rational, risk-based, data-driven guidelines commensurate with the US Preventive Services Task Force screening guidelines for other disorders; to compare our proposed guidelines to recommendations made by other national and international organizations; and to review the US Preventive Services Task Force's 2016 Draft Recommendation Statement on skin cancer screening