51 research outputs found
A prospective study to assess the value of MMP-9 in improving the appropriateness of urgent referrals for colorectal cancer
Background
Bowel cancer is common and is a major cause of death. Most people with bowel symptoms who meet the criteria for urgent referral to secondary care will not be found to have bowel cancer, and some people who are found to have cancer will have been referred routinely rather than urgently. If general practitioners could better identify people who were likely to have bowel cancer or conditions that may lead to bowel cancer, the pressure on hospital clinics may be reduced, enabling these patients to be seen more quickly. Increased levels of an enzyme called matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) have been found to be associated with such conditions, and this can be measured from a blood sample. This study aims to find out whether measuring MMP-9 levels could improve the appropriateness of urgent referrals for patients with bowel symptoms.
Methods
People aged 18 years or older referred to a colorectal clinic will be asked to complete a questionnaire about symptoms, recent injuries or chronic illnesses (these can increase the level of matrix metalloproteinases) and family history of bowel cancer. A blood sample will be taken from people who consent to take part to assess MMP-9 levels, and the results of examination at the clinic and/or investigations arising from the clinic visit will be collected from hospital records. The accuracy of MMP-9 will be assessed by comparing the MMP-9 level with the resulting diagnosis. The combination of factors (e.g. symptoms and MMP-9 level) that best predict a diagnosis of malignancy (invasive disease or polyps) will be determined.
Discussion
Although guidelines are in place to facilitate referrals to colorectal clinics, symptoms alone do not adequately distinguish people with malignancy from people with benign conditions. This study will establish whether MMP-9 could assist this process. If this were the case, measurement of MMP-9 levels could be used by general practitioners to assist in the identification of people who were most likely to have bowel cancer or conditions that may lead to bowel cancer, and who should, therefore, be referred most urgently to secondary car
An ecological analysis of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality: Differences by sexual orientation
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Some have suggested gays and lesbians may carry a greater burden of colorectal cancer. To date, individual sexual orientation data are not available in cancer surveillance registries. This prevents an assessment of differences in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality by sexual orientation, using individual-level data.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We use an ecological approach to examine differences in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality by county-level sexual orientation data. From the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program we obtain population-based surveillance data on colorectal cancer incidence and mortality from 1996 to 2004. We use Census 2000 data on same-sex partnered households, a proxy of sexual orientation, to derive county-level sexual orientation data. Using multiple regression models, we examined the county-level association of sexual minority density with colorectal cancer incidence and mortality.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After controlling for race and SES, we identify a significant positive association between greater density of sexual minority men and women and colorectal cancer incidence. With respect to colorectal cancer mortality, we identify a positive association with density of sexual minority men, but not women.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In the absence of surveillance data on sexual minority individuals, ecological analyses provide estimates of associations at the aggregate level, thereby providing crucial information for follow-up studies.</p
In vitro mycorrhization of micropropagated plants: studies on Castanea sativa Mill.
In vitro mycorrhization can be made by several axenic and nonaxenic
techniques but criticism exists about their artificiality and inability to
reproduce under natural conditions. However, artificial mycorrhization under
controlled conditions can provide important information about the physiology
of symbiosis. Micropropagated Castanea sativa plants were inoculated with
the mycorrhizal fungus Pisolithus tinctorius after in vitro rooting. The
mycorrhizal process was monitored at regular intervals in order to evaluate the
mantle and hartig net formation, and the growth rates of mycorrhizal and
nonmycorrhizal plants. Plant roots show fungal hyphae adhesion at the surface
after 24 hours of mycorrhizal induction. After 20 days a mantle can be
observed and a hartig net is forming although the morphology of the epidermal
cells remains unaltered. At 30 days of rootâfungus contact the hartig net is
well developed and the epidermal cells are already enlarged. After 50 days of
mycorrhizal induction, growth was higher for mycorrhizal plants than for
nonmycorrhizal ones. The length of the major roots was lower in mycorrhizal
plants after 40 days. Fresh and dry weights were higher in mycorrhizal plants
after 30 days. The growth rates of chestnut mycorrhizal plants are in agreement
with the morphological development of the mycorrhizal structures observed at
each mycorrhizal time. The assessment of symbiotic establishment takes into
account the formation of a mantle and a hartig net that were already developed
at 30 days, when differences between fresh and dry weights of mycorrhizal and
nonmycorrhizal plants can be quantified. In vitro conditions, mycorrhization
influences plant physiology after 20 days of rootâfungus contact, namely in
terms of growth rates. Fresh and dry weights, heights, stem diameter and
growth rates increased while major root growth rate decreased in mycorrhizal
plants.Springe
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Low-intensity cognitive-behaviour therapy interventions for obsessive-compulsive disorder compared to waiting list for therapist-led cognitive-behaviour therapy: 3-arm randomised controlled trial of clinical effectiveness
Background Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is prevalent and without adequate treatment usually follows a chronic course. âHigh-intensityâ cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) from a specialist therapist is current âbest practice.â However, access is difficult because of limited numbers of therapists and because of the disabling effects of OCD symptoms. There is a potential role for âlow-intensityâ interventions as part of a stepped care model. Low-intensity interventions (written or web-based materials with limited therapist support) can be provided remotely, which has the potential to increase access. However, current evidence concerning low-intensity interventions is insufficient. We aimed to determine the clinical effectiveness of 2 forms of low-intensity CBT prior to high-intensity CBT, in adults meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for OCD. Methods and findings This study was approved by the National Research Ethics Service Committee North WestâLancaster (reference number 11/NW/0276). All participants provided informed consent to take part in the trial. We conducted a 3-arm, multicentre randomised controlled trial in primary- and secondary-care United Kingdom mental health services. All patients were on a waiting list for therapist-led CBT (treatment as usual). Four hundred and seventy-three eligible patients were recruited and randomised. Patients had a median age of 33 years, and 60% were female. The majority were experiencing severe OCD. Patients received 1 of 2 low-intensity interventions: computerised CBT (cCBT; web-based CBT materials and limited telephone support) through âOCFighterâ or guided self-help (written CBT materials with limited telephone or face-to-face support). Primary comparisons concerned OCD symptoms, measured using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive ScaleâObserver-Rated (Y-BOCS-OR) at 3, 6, and 12 months. Secondary outcomes included health-related quality of life, depression, anxiety, and functioning. At 3 months, guided self-help demonstrated modest benefits over the waiting list in reducing OCD symptoms (adjusted mean difference = â1.91, 95% CI â3.27 to â0.55). These effects did not reach a prespecified level of âclinically significant benefit.â cCBT did not demonstrate significant benefit (adjusted mean difference = â0.71, 95% CI â2.12 to 0.70). At 12 months, neither guided self-help nor cCBT led to differences in OCD symptoms. Early access to low-intensity interventions led to significant reductions in uptake of high-intensity CBT over 12 months; 86% of the patients allocated to the waiting list for high-intensity CBT started treatment by the end of the trial, compared to 62% in supported cCBT and 57% in guided self-help. These reductions did not compromise longer-term patient outcomes. Data suggested small differences in satisfaction at 3 months, with patients more satisfied with guided self-help than supported cCBT. A significant issue in the interpretation of the results concerns the level of access to high-intensity CBT before the primary outcome assessment. Conclusions We have demonstrated that providing low-intensity interventions does not lead to clinically significant benefits but may reduce uptake of therapist-led CBT
The Modified Glasgow Prognostic Score as a Predictor of Survival After Hepatectomy for Colorectal Liver Metastases
The limits of corporate social responsibility : Techniques of neutralization, stakeholder management and political CSR
Since scholarly interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) has primarily focused on the synergies between social and economic performance, our understanding of how (and the conditions under which) companies use CSR to produce policy outcomes that work against public welfare has remained comparatively underdeveloped. In particular, little is known about how corporate decision-makers privately reconcile the conflicts between public and private interests, even though this is likely to be relevant to understanding the limitations of CSR as a means of aligning business activity with the broader public interest. This study addresses this issue using internal tobacco industry documents to explore British-American Tobaccoâs (BAT) thinking on CSR and its effects on the companyâs CSR Programme. The article presents a three-stage model of CSR development, based on Sykes and Matzaâs theory of techniques of neutralization, which links together: how BAT managers made sense of the companyâs declining political authority in the mid-1990s; how they subsequently justified the use of CSR as a tool of stakeholder management aimed at diffusing the political impact of public health advocates by breaking up political constituencies working towards evidence-based tobacco regulation; and how CSR works ideologically to shape stakeholdersâ perceptions of the relative merits of competing approaches to tobacco control. Our analysis has three implications for research and practice. First, it underlines the importance of approaching corporate managersâ public comments on CSR critically and situating them in their economic, political and historical contexts. Second, it illustrates the importance of focusing on the political aims and effects of CSR. Third, by showing how CSR practices are used to stymie evidence-based government regulation, the article underlines the importance of highlighting and developing matrices to assess the negative social impacts of CSR
Personal and professional challenges confronted by hospital staff following hurricane sandy: a qualitative assessment of management perspectives
DOES PERFORMANCE IMPROVE FOLLOWING MULTISOURCE FEEDBACK? A THEORETICAL MODEL, META-ANALYSIS, AND REVIEW OF EMPIRICAL FINDINGS
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