The association between socio-demographic characteristics and adherence to breast and colorectal cancer screening: Analysis of large sub populations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Populations having lower socioeconomic status, as well as ethnic minorities, have demonstrated lower utilization of preventive screening, including tests for early detection of breast and colorectal cancer.</p> <p>The objective</p> <p>To explore socio-demographic disparities in adherence to screening recommendations for early detection of cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was conducted by Maccabi Healthcare Services, an Israeli HMO (health plan) providing healthcare services to 1.9 million members. Utilization of breast cancer (BC) and colorectal cancer (CC) screening were analyzed by socio-economic ranks (SERs), ethnicity (Arab vs non-Arab), immigration status and ownership of voluntarily supplemental health insurance (VSHI).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Data on 157,928 and 303,330 adults, eligible for BC and CC screening, respectively, were analyzed. Those having lower SER, Arabs, immigrants from Former Soviet Union countries and non-owners of VSHI performed fewer cancer screening examinations compared with those having higher SER, non-Arabs, veterans and owners of VSHI (p < 0.001). Logistic regression model for BC Screening revealed a positive association with age and ownership of VSHI and a negative association with being an Arab and having a lower SER. The model for CC screening revealed a positive association with age and ownership of VSHI and a negative association with being an Arab, having a lower SER and being an immigrant. The model estimated for BC and CC screening among females revealed a positive association with age and ownership of VSHI and a negative association with being an Arab, having a lower SER and being an immigrant.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Patients from low socio-economic backgrounds, Arabs, immigrants and those who do not own supplemental insurance do fewer tests for early detection of cancer. These sub-populations should be considered priority populations for targeted intervention programs and improved resource allocation.</p

Highly multiplexed immune repertoire sequencing links multiple lymphocyte classes with severity of response to COVID-19

BACKGROUND: Disease progression of subjects with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) varies dramatically. Understanding the various types of immune response to SARS-CoV-2 is critical for better clinical management of coronavirus outbreaks and to potentially improve future therapies. Disease dynamics can be characterized by deciphering the adaptive immune response. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study we analyzed 117 peripheral blood immune repertoires from healthy controls and subjects with mild to severe COVID-19 disease to elucidate the interplay between B and T cells. We used an immune repertoire Primer Extension Target Enrichment method (immunoPETE) to sequence simultaneously human leukocyte antigen (HLA) restricted T cell receptor beta chain (TRB) and unrestricted T cell receptor delta chain (TRD) and immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) immune receptor repertoires. The distribution was analyzed of TRB, TRD and IgH clones between healthy and COVID-19 infected subjects. Using McFadden's Adjusted R2 variables were examined for a predictive model. The aim of this study is to analyze the influence of the adaptive immune repertoire on the severity of the disease (value on the World Health Organization Clinical Progression Scale) in COVID-19. FINDINGS: Combining clinical metadata with clonotypes of three immune receptor heavy chains (TRB, TRD, and IgH), we found significant associations between COVID-19 disease severity groups and immune receptor sequences of B and T cell compartments. Logistic regression showed an increase in shared IgH clonal types and decrease of TRD in subjects with severe COVID-19. The probability of finding shared clones of TRD clonal types was highest in healthy subjects (controls). Some specific TRB clones seems to be present in severe COVID-19 (Figure S7b). The most informative models (McFadden´s Adjusted R2=0.141) linked disease severity with immune repertoire measures across all three cell types, as well as receptor-specific cell counts, highlighting the importance of multiple lymphocyte classes in disease progression. INTERPRETATION: Adaptive immune receptor peripheral blood repertoire measures are associated with COVID-19 disease severity

Mobile Technologies as a Digital Didactic Environment for Teaching French in Secondary Schools: a Regional Aspect

The relevance of the study is due to the need to choose a new strategy for the formation of the content of teaching a foreign language in the conditions of an information society. A special role in the new realities is played by educational and cognitive competence, which determines the modernized content of the methodological component of the content of teaching a foreign language.The article is devoted to the consideration of the problem of using mobile technologies as a digital didactic environment in the process of teaching French in a secondary school. This formulation of the problem includes such aspects as the study of the format and context of the information society and the digitalization of the educational system as a modernized social order of society for education, the mobile technologies and its essential characteristics as a reflection of the modern content of the methodological component of the teaching, the optimization of the educational process of teaching a foreign language by introducing mobile technologies into the structure of the lesson.The leading method in the study of this problem was a pedagogical experiment, which made it possible to test the effectiveness of the author’s model of introducing digital mobile technologies into the structure of the lesson of a foreign language.As a result of the analysis, it is concluded that the introduction of mobile technologies in the process of learning the French language according to the author’s model, taking into account the determining factors in the optimization of educational and cognitive activities, positively affects both the level of skills and knowledge of implementing digital mobile technologies into the learning process as well as the language and communicative competence of the pupils.The justification is the fact that such an approach correlates with the changed structure and methods of developing educational and cognitive activities in mastering the subject area of the educational process at the current stage of the development of the information society. The author’s model using digital technologies will contribute to the effective teaching of a foreign language (French) in a secondary school in the aspect of new paradigmatic settings in education

Mobile Technologies as a Digital Didactic Environment for Teaching French in Secondary Schools: a Regional Aspect

The relevance of the study is due to the need to choose a new strategy for the formation of the content of teaching a foreign language in the conditions of an information society. A special role in the new realities is played by educational and cognitive competence, which determines the modernized content of the methodological component of the content of teaching a foreign language.The article is devoted to the consideration of the problem of using mobile technologies as a digital didactic environment in the process of teaching French in a secondary school. This formulation of the problem includes such aspects as the study of the format and context of the information society and the digitalization of the educational system as a modernized social order of society for education, the mobile technologies and its essential characteristics as a reflection of the modern content of the methodological component of the teaching, the optimization of the educational process of teaching a foreign language by introducing mobile technologies into the structure of the lesson.The leading method in the study of this problem was a pedagogical experiment, which made it possible to test the effectiveness of the author’s model of introducing digital mobile technologies into the structure of the lesson of a foreign language.As a result of the analysis, it is concluded that the introduction of mobile technologies in the process of learning the French language according to the author’s model, taking into account the determining factors in the optimization of educational and cognitive activities, positively affects both the level of skills and knowledge of implementing digital mobile technologies into the learning process as well as the language and communicative competence of the pupils.The justification is the fact that such an approach correlates with the changed structure and methods of developing educational and cognitive activities in mastering the subject area of the educational process at the current stage of the development of the information society. The author’s model using digital technologies will contribute to the effective teaching of a foreign language (French) in a secondary school in the aspect of new paradigmatic settings in education