Perceptions About Work/Life Balance Among DU Community Members with Young Children

Background: In the past fifty years, families in the USA have changed in configuration, size and dynamics. The percentage of families that do not conform to the traditional family unit (married mother and father with children) has increased as there are more single-parent families, LGBTQ families and interracial families. The proportion of unmarried or divorced families has also increased, as it has the number of married and unmarried couples that opt to not have children and, additionally, more couples are opting for adoption and foster parenting (Pew Research Center 2010). Furthermore, the percentage of households where all the adults work has increased, which impacts the amount and quality of time available for family activities and household chores (Bianchi, Robinson and Milkie 2006). These and other trends have led to the identification of “work-family balance” as an important challenge of our times, one that families have been facing for decades and that institutions are only starting to pay attention to (Hochschild 2013). Although there are many aspects of family life that are challenging to balance with workplace demands, childcare has been specifically identified as one that needs attention (Desilver 2014). Methods: Study goal: To describe the perceptions that some DU community members with children have about work-family balance with attention to challenges, difficulties and institutional responses. Study design: Descriptive, cross-sectional, qualitative study. Population and sample: We recruited 63 University of Denver students (13), staff (14) and faculty (36) who are responsible of parenting at least one child under 10 years of age. We used purposive sampling. which consists in actively finding individuals who meet the criteria. Data collection: Semi structured interviews (January 23-February 8, 2017), in person, audio recorded and transcribed within one week. Participants’ autonomy, confidentiality and anonymity were protected throughout the process. Data analysis: Thematic analysis, which consists in the systematic identification of themes in the interview transcripts, followed by their conceptual organization and hierarchization. Research team: sixty-six undergraduate students taking Cultural Anthropology (ANTH 2010) in winter 2017, four graduate teaching assistants and one course instructor. Findings: Student participants portrayed work/life balance as set of interconnected situations and relations that go from the deeply personal to the interpersonal, communal and institutional. Aiming at capturing such complexity, we organized our findings in four themes: work/life balance, family dynamics, personal challenges and support. Participants told us about their struggles when negotiating work and life responsibilities which often lead to feelings of guilt, which are mediated by their colleagues’ reactions, schedule flexibility, their job situation and the presence or absence of maternity leave. Family dynamics reflected a tension between a narrative of independence and one of dependence in raising children, highlighting the importance of social networks, both of which are also affected by immigration status and intra-household negotiations particularly, Perceptions about work/life balance among DU community members with young children Cultural Anthropology (ANTH 2010) winter 2017 4 with their partners. Personal challenges relate primarily with time management and establishing clear boundaries between work and family, which related to managing emails, organization and scheduling of activities, maintaining a financial balance, and solving transportation needs, all of which were mediated the ability parents have of controlling a flexible work schedule, an ability greatly diminished among students. Support parents need related to child care goes from the one that happens in interpersonal interactions with neighbors, friends, relatives and colleagues, to the institutionalized forms of support, where participants expressed their frustration for the insufficiency of accessible options in Denver, the lack of options at DU, and the inaccessibility of DU’s Fisher Early Learning Center. Conclusions and recommendations: Participant’s ability to control their schedules together with their financial and social capital seem to shape important differences in the ability that parents have for balancing work and life. Students, single parents and recent immigrants seem to have a combination of elements that add to the challenges. At the interpersonal level, simple acts of kindness, sympathy and empathy in the everyday interactions seem to make an important difference to parents. The perception that many of the student participants expressed about the academy not being comfortable with children, families or parents could be addressed by making it normal to talk about all these aspects of life. At the institutional level, efforts could be made at reaching out to parents, especially students and single parents, to offer them guidance and support that is already in place at DU, such as counselling and wellbeing resources, as well as orientation related to institutional policies. Policies related to maternity and paternity leave should be refined to ensure that they do not negatively affect those they are supposed to support. Convenient, affordable and sustainable on-campus child care options should be seriously considered given that they would enhance the possibilities for parents to participate in activities at DU. Events should be organized where members of the DU community have the opportunity to share not as students, staff or faculty, but as members of families

Black Sea Methane Flares From the Seafloor: Tracking Outgassing by Using Passive Acoustics

The Black Sea bottom is well known to be earth’s largest anaerobic methane source, hosting a huge amount of cold seeps releasing significant volumes of methane of both thermogenic and biogenic origin. Taking into account the well-known effects of methane concerning global warming, including the warming up of the oceans, an effective monitoring of its output from the Black Sea is nowadays an essential target for interdisciplinary studies. We discuss the results achieved during monitoring campaigns aimed to detect and track methane flares from the seafloor of the Romanian sector of the Black Sea, in order to better constrain the possible mechanisms responsible for its injection from the marine sediments, through the water column, into the atmosphere. In the mainframe of the ENVRI-Plus project, we deployed a multidisciplinary seafloor observatory for short, mid and long time monitoring and collected samples of the water column. The multidisciplinary seafloor observatory was equipped with probes for passive acoustic signals, dissolved CH4 and chemical-physical parameters. The collected data showed a high concentration of dissolved methane up to values of 5.8 micromol/L. Passive acoustics data in the frequencies range 40–2,500 Hz allow us to discriminate different degassing mechanisms and degassing styles. The acoustic energy associated with gas bubbling is interpreted as a consequence of the gas dynamics along the water column while the acoustic range 2–20 Hz reveals vibration mechanisms generated by gas dynamic’s along the cracks and inside the sediments

Echoendoscopic ultrasound pancreatic adenocarcinoma diagnosis and theranostic approach: should mutation research be recommended in everyday practice?

Background: The impact of KRAS mutation testing on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) samples by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) for reducing the need to repeat EUS-FNA has been demonstrated. Such testing however is not part of standard practice for endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB). Objectives: We aim to analyse the proportion of non-contributive samples by EUS-FNB and to evaluate the impact of KRAS mutation testing on the diagnosis, theranostics and survival. Design: In this retrospective study, the impact on diagnosis and survival of KRAS testing for contributive and non-contributive samples by EUS-FNB was analysed. Methods: The EUS-FNB samples, combined with KRAS testing using the Idylla ® technique on liquid-based cytology from patients with PDAC between February 2019 and May 2023, were retrospectively reviewed. The cytology results were classified according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization System for Reporting Pancreaticobiliary Cytopathology (WHOSRPC). Results: A total of 85 EUS-FNB specimens were reviewed. In all, 25 EUS-FNB samples did not lead to a formal diagnosis of PDAC according to the WHOSRPC (30.2%). Out of these 25, 11 (44%) could have been considered positive for a PDAC diagnosis thanks to the KRAS mutation test without carrying out further diagnosis procedures. The sensitivity of KRAS mutation testing using the Idylla technique was 98.6%. According to the available data, survival rates were not statistically different depending on the type of mutation. Conclusion: KRAS mutation testing on liquid-based cytology using the Idylla or equivalent technique, combined with the PDAC EUS-FNB sample, should become a standard for diagnosis to avoid delaying treatment by doing another biopsy. Furthermore, knowledge of the KRAS status from treatment initiation could be used to isolate mutations requiring targeted treatments or inclusion in clinical research trials, especially for wild-type KRAS PDAC

Trabectedin and RAdiotherapy in Soft Tissue Sarcoma (TRASTS) : Results of a Phase I Study in Myxoid Liposarcoma from Spanish (GEIS), Italian (ISG), French (FSG) Sarcoma Groups

Myxoid liposarcoma (ML) exhibits a special sensitivity to trabectedin (T) and radiation therapy (RT). Preclinical data suggest a synergistic effect. We aimed to study safety, feasibility and activity of the administration of pre-operative concurrent T and RT in patients affected by localized resectable ML. Patients received 3 cycles (C) of T in combination with RT (45 Gy) in 25 fractions (1.8 Gy/fraction). Dose Levels for T were: − 1 (1.1 mg/m2), 0 (1.3 mg/m2) and 1 (1.5 mg/m2). Primary endpoint was safety; antitumor activity was assessed by RECIST and Choi criteria. This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02275286. The phase 1 part of the study is complete and phase 2 is ongoing. From February 2015 to May 2016, 14 patients (M/F 7/7), median age 36 years (range 24-70) and median tumor size 12.5 cm (range 7-17 cm), were enrolled. One dose limiting toxicity (G3 transaminitis) occurred at Level 0 and one (sepsis due to catheter infection) at Level 1. All patients completed RT. Five patients achieved PR (36%), 8 SD (57%), 1 distant PD (7%) by RECIST, while 12 achieved PR (86%), 1 SD (7%) and 1 distant PD (7%) by Choi criteria. Twelve patients underwent surgery. Median viable residual tumor was 5% (0-60). T in combination with RT showed a favorable safety profile and antitumor activity in localized ML. T dose of 1.5 mg/m2 is the recommended dose for the phase 2 study, which is ongoing. This study was partially supported by Pharmamar

Clinical and biological significance of CDK4 amplification in well-differentiated and dedifferentiated liposarcomas.

International audiencePURPOSE: The MDM2 and HMGA2 genes are consistently amplified in well-differentiated/dedifferentiated liposarcomas (WDLPS/DDLPS) whereas CDK4 is frequently but not always amplified in these tumors. Our goal was to determine whether the absence of CDK4 amplification was (a) correlated to a specific clinico-histopathologic profile; and (b) compensated by another genomic anomaly involving the CCND1/CDK4/P16INK4a/RB1/E2F pathway. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We compared the clinical characteristics of a series of 143 WDLPS/DDLPS with amplification of both MDM2 and CDK4 (MDM2+/CDK4+) to a series of 45 WDLPS/DDLPS with MDM2 amplification and no CDK4 amplification (MDM2+/CDK4-). We used fluorescence in situ hybridization, real time quantitative reverse transcription PCR, and immunohistochemistry to explore the status of CCND1, P16INK4a, P14ARF, and RB1. RESULTS: We found that MDM2+/CDK4- WDLPS/DDLPS represent a distinct clinical subgroup with favorable prognostic features, including low-grade lipoma-like histology, peripheral location, and lower rate of recurrence. By using fluorescence in situ hybridization, we found that genomic aberrations expected to be alternative mechanisms for compensating the lack of CDK4 amplification, such as RB1 and CDKN2A deletions or CCND1 amplification, were very uncommon. In contrast, by using real time quantitative reverse transcription PCR and immunohistochemistry, we observed that overexpression of P16INK4a (and P14ARF) and CCND1 and reduced expression of RB1 were very frequent, independently of the CDK4 status. Conclusions: Our results underscore the complex coordinated regulation of the RB and p53 growth-control pathways in WDLPS/DDLPS. Because the absence of CDK4 amplification is not specifically counterbalanced by a genomic alteration of the CCND1/CDK4/P16INK4a/RB1/E2F pathway, CDK4 amplification may only represent a "MDM2-HMGA2-helper" in WDLPS/DDLPS tumorigenesis

Accumulation of an endogenous tryptophan-derived metabolite in colorectal and breast cancers.

Tumor immune escape mechanisms are being regarded as suitable targets for tumor therapy. Among these, tryptophan catabolism plays a central role in creating an immunosuppressive environment, leading to tolerance to potentially immunogenic tumor antigens. Tryptophan catabolism is initiated by either indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO-1/-2) or tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase 2 (TDO2), resulting in biostatic tryptophan starvation and l-kynurenine production, which participates in shaping the dynamic relationship of the host's immune system with tumor cells. Current immunotherapy strategies include blockade of IDO-1/-2 or TDO2, to restore efficient antitumor responses. Patients who might benefit from this approach are currently identified based on expression analyses of IDO-1/-2 or TDO2 in tumor tissue and/or enzymatic activity assessed by kynurenine/tryptophan ratios in the serum. We developed a monoclonal antibody targeting l-kynurenine as an in situ biomarker of IDO-1/-2 or TDO2 activity. Using Tissue Micro Array technology and immunostaining, colorectal and breast cancer patients were phenotyped based on l-kynurenine production. In colorectal cancer l-kynurenine was not unequivocally associated with IDO-1 expression, suggesting that the mere expression of tryptophan catabolic enzymes is not sufficiently informative for optimal immunotherapy

NUT carcinoma in children and adults: A multicenter retrospective study

Background: Nuclear protein of the testis (NUT) carcinoma (formerly NUT midline carcinoma) is an aggressive tumor defined by the presence of NUT rearrangement with a poor prognosis. This rare cancer is underdiagnosed and poorly treated. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to describe the clinical, radiologic, and biological features of NUT carcinoma. The secondary objective was to describe the various treatments and assess their efficacy. Methods: This retrospective multicenter study was based on review of the medical records of children and adults with NUT carcinoma with specific rearrangement or positive anti-NUT nuclear staining (>50%). Results: This series of 12 patients had a median age of 18.1 years (ranges: 12.3–49.7 years). The primary tumor was located in the chest in eight patients, the head and neck in three patients, and one patient had a multifocal tumor. Nine patients presented regional lymph node involvement and eight distant metastases. One-half of patients were initially misdiagnosed. Specific NUT antibody was positive in all cases tested. A transient response to chemotherapy was observed in four of 11 patients. Only two patients were treated by surgery and five received radiotherapy with curative intent. At the end of follow-up, only one patient was still in remission more than 12 years after the diagnosis. Median overall survival was 4.7 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.1–17.7). Conclusion: NUT carcinoma is an aggressive disease refractory to conventional therapy. Early diagnosis by NUT-specific antibody immunostaining in cases of undifferentiated or poorly differentiated carcinoma to identify the specific rearrangement of NUT gene is useful to propose the optimal therapeutic strategy.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Retrospective analysis of real-world data to evaluate actionability of a comprehensive molecular profiling panel in solid tumor tissue samples (REALM study).

IntroductionConsidering the growing interest in matched cancer treatment, our aim was to evaluate the ability of a comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) assay to propose at least one targeted therapy given an identified genomic alteration or signature (actionability), and to collect the treatment modifications based on the CGP test results in clinical practise for solid tumors.MethodsThis retrospective, multicentre French study was conducted among 25 centres that participated in a free of charge program between 2017 and 2019 for a tissue CGP test. Data were collected on the patient, disease, tumor genomic profile, treatment suggested in the report (related to the genomic profile results) and subsequent therapeutic decisions according to the physician's declaration.ResultsAmong the 416 patients, most had lung cancer (35.6%), followed by biliary tract cancer (11.5%) or rare cancers (11.1%); 75% had a metastatic disease. The actionability was 75.0% (95% CI [70.6%-78.9%]) for all patients, 85.1% and 78.4%, respectively in lung cancer and metastatic patients. After exclusion of clinical trial suggestions, the actionability decreased to 62.3% (95% CI [57.5%-66.8%]). Treatment modification based on the test results was observed in 17.3% of the patients and was more frequent in metastatic disease (OR = 2.73, 95% CI [1.31-5.71], p = 0.007). The main reasons for no treatment modification were poor general condition (33.2%) and stable disease or remission (30.2%). The genomic-directed treatment changes were performed mostly during the first six months after the CGP test, and interestingly a substantial part was observed from six to 24 months after the genomic profiling.ConclusionThis French study provides information on the real-life actionability of a CGP test based on tissue samples, and trends to confirm its utility in clinical practice across the course of the disease, in particularly for patients with lung cancer and/or advanced disease