Bone mineral density in Jamaican men on androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has been reported to reduce the bone mineral density (BMD) in men with prostate cancer (CaP). However, Afro-Caribbeans are under-represented in most studies. The aim was to determine the effect of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) on the bone mineral density (BMD) of men with prostate cancer in Jamaica.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study consisted of 346 Jamaican men, over 40 years of age: 133 ADT treated CaP cases (group 1), 43 hormone-naïve CaP controls (group 2) and 170 hormone naïve controls without CaP (group 3). Exclusion criteria included metastatic disease, bisphosphonate therapy or metabolic disease affecting BMD. BMD was measured with a calcaneal ultrasound and expressed in S.D. units relative to young adult men (T score), according to the World Health Organization definition. Patient weight, height and BMI were assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean ± sd, age of patients in group 1 (75± 7.4 yrs) was significantly greater than groups 2 and 3 (67 ± 8.1 yrs; 65±12.0 yrs). There was no significant difference in weight and BMI between the 3 groups. . The types of ADT (% of cases, median duration in months with IQR) included LHRH (Luteinizing hormone releasing hormone) analogues (28.6%, 17.9, IQR 20.4), oestrogens (9.8%, 60.5, IQR 45.6) anti-androgens (11.3%, 3.3, IQR 15.2) and orchiectomy (15.7%, 43.4, IQR 63.9). Unadjusted t score of group 1, mean ± sd, (-1.6± 1.5) was significantly less than group 2 (-0.9±1.1) and group 3 (-0.7±1.4), p <0.001. Ninety three (69.9%), 20 (45%) and 75 (42%) of patients in groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively were classified as either osteopenic or osteoporotic (p<0.001). Adjusting for age, there was a significant difference in t scores between groups 1 and 2 as well as between groups 1 and 3 (p<0.001). Compared with oestrogen therapy and adjusting for duration of therapy, the odds of low bone mineral density (osteopenia or osteoporosis) with LHRH analogue was 4.5 (95%CI, 14.3 to 3.4); with anti-androgens was 5.9 (95%CI, 32.7 to 5); with orchiectomy was 7.3 (95%CI, 30 to 5.8) and multiple drugs was 9.2 ((95%CI, 31 to 7.1).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>ADT is associated with lower BMD in Jamaican men on hormonal therapy for prostate cancer.</p

N-gram and local context analysis for Persian text retrieval

The Persian language is one of the languages in Middle- East, so there are significant amount of Persian documents available on the Web. But there are relatively few studies on retrieval of Persian documents in the literature. In this experimental study, we assessed term and N-gram based vector space model and a query expansion method, namely, Local Context Analysis using different weighting schemes on a realistic corpus containing 160000+ news articles. Then we compared our results with previous works reported on Persian language. Our experimental results show that among the assessed methods, 4-gram based vector space model with Lnu.ltu weighting scheme has acceptable performance and Local Context Analysis has the best performance for Persian text retrieval so far

An empirical study of it innovation adoption among small and medium size enterprise in Malaysia

This study used Entrepreneurial Event model as a base model to investigate SME owners’ perception toward IT innovation adoption and use. Since this model investigates the individual’s intention toward taking action, it would be interesting to test and validate this model in an individual’s intention toward technology acceptance. This study revised and validated the model in a new context and tried to examine the effect of perceived desirability, propensity to act and performance expectancy on behavior intention to adopt and use IT innovation in SMEs companies. Questionnaires were distributed to collect data from Malaysian industries in Kuala Lumpur. 412 completed questionnaires were available in this study, and SEM techniques were applied for data analysis. Results showed that perceived desirability, propensity to act and performance expectancy have a significant positive influence on behavioral intention, and also found that experience moderated the relationship between determinants and behavior intention

Competitive advantage through information technology innovation adoption by small and medium enterprises in Malaysia

The Information Technology concept is considered as a powerful competitive weapon in the modern economy. This paper seeks to explain the impact of information technology innovation on a competitive advantage; the barriers and the benefits companies gain from adopting and using these innovations. This study used IDT as the base theory, and added attitude and self efficacy as determinants to measure individual‟s perception toward innovation adoption. Individual self-efficacy and attitude toward innovation adoption shape beliefs and perceptions toward innovation, leading them to adopt or reject an innovation. Adding these factors to IDT will examine the individual‟s dimension toward technology adoption. This research reviews the role of SMEs in Malaysian economy and the effect of government policy in encouraging companies to adopt IT innovation. This is an ongoing research, and at this stage, we are mainly developing a theoretical argument and methodology that is currently in the process of being tested

A Comparison Between Full-COLD PCR/HRM and PCR Sequencing for Detection of Mutations in Exon 9 of PIK3CA in Breast Cancer Patients

One of the most common somatic mutations in breast cancer is found in PIK3CA with a prevalence rate of 18�45. Different variants of this gene are considered as resistance markers for treatment with HER2-targeted medicines. Conventional molecular methods such as Sanger sequencing are not able to detect mutations with low abundance in a mixture of wild-type DNA, especially in the early stages of cancer development. In this study, two methods of co-amplification at lower denaturation temperature PCR (COLD-PCR) and high-resolution melting (HRM) were combined for detection of mutations in exon 9 of PIK3CA; DNA, therefore, was extracted from MCF-7 and BT-474 as mutant and wild-type cell lines respectively. Thereafter, serial dilutions of extracted DNA were used to determine sensitivity of full-COLD PCR/HRM in comparison with conventional PCR sequencing as the gold standard method. Cell line experiments resulted in almost 30 fold increase in sensitivity by use of full-COLD PCR/HRM. In addition, 40 patients with primary breast cancer were investigated with the mentioned methods. As a result of this part of study, four mutations were detected by conventional PCR sequencing including E542K and E545K mutations in three and one samples respectively. Whereas, full-COLD PCR/HRM was able to detect one E542K mutation more than gold standard method which caused the percentage of sensitivity to get improved by 2.5 (10 to 12.5). Our results clearly demonstrated that full-COLD PCR/HRM could detect lower levels of mutations in wild-type background as a sensitive method with simple and cost-effective procedure; therefore, it can prospectively be used in screening of patients with early-stage breast cancers. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

A Comparison Between Full-COLD PCR/HRM and PCR Sequencing for Detection of Mutations in Exon 9 of PIK3CA in Breast Cancer Patients

One of the most common somatic mutations in breast cancer is found in PIK3CA with a prevalence rate of 18�45. Different variants of this gene are considered as resistance markers for treatment with HER2-targeted medicines. Conventional molecular methods such as Sanger sequencing are not able to detect mutations with low abundance in a mixture of wild-type DNA, especially in the early stages of cancer development. In this study, two methods of co-amplification at lower denaturation temperature PCR (COLD-PCR) and high-resolution melting (HRM) were combined for detection of mutations in exon 9 of PIK3CA; DNA, therefore, was extracted from MCF-7 and BT-474 as mutant and wild-type cell lines respectively. Thereafter, serial dilutions of extracted DNA were used to determine sensitivity of full-COLD PCR/HRM in comparison with conventional PCR sequencing as the gold standard method. Cell line experiments resulted in almost 30 fold increase in sensitivity by use of full-COLD PCR/HRM. In addition, 40 patients with primary breast cancer were investigated with the mentioned methods. As a result of this part of study, four mutations were detected by conventional PCR sequencing including E542K and E545K mutations in three and one samples respectively. Whereas, full-COLD PCR/HRM was able to detect one E542K mutation more than gold standard method which caused the percentage of sensitivity to get improved by 2.5 (10 to 12.5). Our results clearly demonstrated that full-COLD PCR/HRM could detect lower levels of mutations in wild-type background as a sensitive method with simple and cost-effective procedure; therefore, it can prospectively be used in screening of patients with early-stage breast cancers. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

Connecting students to mental health care: pilot findings from an engagement program for school nurses

Schools function as the major provider of mental health services (MHS) for youth, but can struggle with engaging them in services. School nurses are well-positioned to facilitate referrals for MHS. This pilot study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an engagement protocol (EP) designed to enhance school nurses’ utilization of evidence-based engagement practices when referring youth to MHS. Participants were six school nurses and twenty-five adolescents in a large, urban school district. School nurses reported positive attitudes towards the EP, suggesting that they found it feasible and acceptable. Though there were small increases in school nurses’ use of engagement practices and in adolescents’ readiness for services following training, due to limited sample size, differences were not statistically significant. Still, pilot results suggest preliminary efficacy of training school nurses to strategically implement evidence-based engagement practices to increase adolescents’ engagement in MHS

Connecting students to mental health care: pilot findings from an engagement program for school nurses

Schools function as the major provider of mental health services (MHS) for youth, but can struggle with engaging them in services. School nurses are well-positioned to facilitate referrals for MHS. This pilot study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an engagement protocol (EP) designed to enhance school nurses' utilization of evidence-based engagement practices when referring youth to MHS. Participants were six school nurses and twenty-five adolescents in a large, urban school district. School nurses reported positive attitudes towards the EP, suggesting that they found it feasible and acceptable. Though there were small increases in school nurses' use of engagement practices and in adolescents' readiness for services following training, due to limited sample size, differences were not statistically significant. Still, pilot results suggest preliminary efficacy of training school nurses to strategically implement evidence-based engagement practices to increase adolescents' engagement in MHS

Association of serum calcium with serum sex steroid hormones in men in NHANES III

BACKGROUND: Bone is a positive regulator of male fertility, which indicates a link between regulation of bone remodeling and reproduction or more specifically a link between calcium and androgens. This possibly suggests how calcium is linked to prostate cancer development through its link with the reproductive system. We studied serum calcium and sex steroid hormones in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). METHODS: Serum calcium and sex steroid hormones were measured for 1262 men in NHANES III. We calculated multivariable-adjusted geometric means of serum concentrations of total and estimated free testosterone and estradiol, androstanediol glucuronide (AAG), and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) by categories of calcium (lowest 5% [<1.16 mmol/L], mid 90%, top 5% [≥1.30 mmol/L]). RESULTS: Levels of total and free testosterone, total estradiol or AAG did not differ across categories of serum calcium. Adjusted SHBG concentrations were 36.4 for the bottom 5%, 34.2 for the mid 90% and 38.9 nmol/L for the top 5% of serum calcium (Ptrend = 0.006), free estradiol levels were 0.88, 0.92 and 0.80 pg/ml (Ptrend = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: This link between calcium and sex steroid hormones, in particular the U-shaped pattern with SHBG, may, in part, explain why observational studies have found a link between serum calcium and risk of prostate cancer