Evaluating the feasibility of administering a combination of online dietary assessment tools in a cohort of adults in Alberta, Canada

Purpose: Evidence suggests that combining tools, such as 24-hour recalls and food frequency questionnaires, may allow more accurate assessment of diet in epidemiologic studies. Webbased technology should make this approach more feasible than in the past, but it is important to explore response rates and acceptability of such an approach in real-world settings. We sought to determine the feasibility of using a combination of online tools (Automated SelfAdministered 24-hour (ASA24) Dietary Assessment Tool and Diet History Questionnaire-II (DHQ-II)) in a sub-set of participants in Alberta’s Tomorrow Project (ATP); a prospective cohort of 55,000 adults >35y in Alberta, Canada. Methods: Invitations to the feasibility study were mailed to 550 ATP participants. Those who consented (n=331) were asked to complete a health questionnaire, four ASA24 recalls (approximately three weeks apart over a four month period, with staggered start dates between June and December 2016), followed by the DHQ-II, and an evaluation survey. Results: The majority of participants [mean (SD) age =57.1 (10.1)] were women (70.7%), urban residents (84.8%) and non-smokers (95.7%). Of the 229 participants who completed at least one ASA24, roughly equal proportions completed one (24.8%), two (24.5%), three (24.5%) and four recalls (26.2%). One third (n=102) of consenting participants did not respond to any ASA24 recall requests, with “lack of time” given as the primary reason. Only 41% of consenting participants (n=136) completed the DHQ-II; of these, 40% (n=55) completed all four recalls. Median (25th-75th percentile) completion times were 46 (26-64) minutes for the first ASA24 recall and 50 (40-90) minutes for the DHQ-II. Conclusions: Over half of participants completed at least two or more ASA24 recalls, and those who completed a greater number of recalls also completed the DHQ-II, demonstrating that the approach is feasible in the ATP cohort. However, response rates may be sensitive to the timing and frequency of recall administration. Future investigations will (i) evaluate the dietary data collected from each tool; (ii) explore methods of combining the data to optimize assessment of diet in the cohort, while accounting for the fact that not all participants will complete the entire dietary assessment protocol

Natural polymorphisms in C. elegans HECW-1 E3 ligase affect pathogen avoidance behaviour

available in PMC 2012 June 22.Heritable variation in behavioural traits generally has a complex genetic basis1, and thus naturally occurring polymorphisms that influence behaviour have been defined in only rare instances2,3. The isolation of wild strains of Caenorhabditis elegans has facilitated the study of natural genetic variation in this species4 and provided insights into its diverse microbial ecology5. C. elegans responds to bacterial infection with conserved innate immune responses6-8 and, while lacking the immunological memory of vertebrate adaptive immunity, exhibits an aversive learning response to pathogenic bacteria9. Here, we report the molecular characterization of naturally occurring coding polymorphisms in a C. elegans gene encoding a conserved HECT domain-containing E3 ubiquitin ligase, HECW-1. We show that two distinct polymorphisms in neighbouring residues of HECW-1 each affect C. elegans behavioural avoidance of a lawn of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Neuronspecific rescue and ablation experiments, and genetic interaction analysis suggest that HECW-1 functions in a pair of sensory neurons to inhibit P. aeruginosa lawn avoidance behaviour through inhibition of the neuropeptide receptor NPR-110, which we have previously shown promotes P. aeruginosa lawn avoidance behaviour11. Our data establish a molecular basis for natural variation in a C. elegans behaviour that may undergo adaptive changes in response to microbial pathogens.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH Grant GM084477

Outcome measures for the evaluation of treatment response in hidradenitis suppurativa for clinical practice

Importance Although several clinician- and patient-reported outcome measures have been developed for trials in hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), there is currently no consensus on which measures are best suited for use in clinical practice. Identifying validated and feasible measures applicable to the practice setting has the potential to optimize treatment strategies and generate generalizable evidence that may inform treatment guidelines. Objective To establish consensus on a core set of clinician- and patient-reported outcome measures recommended for use in clinical practice and to establish the appropriate interval within which these measures should be applied. Evidence Review Clinician- and patient-reported HS measures and studies describing their psychometric properties were identified through literature reviews. Identified measures comprised an item reduction survey and subsequent electronic Delphi (e-Delphi) consensus rounds. In each consensus round, a summary of outcome measure components and scoring methods was provided to participants. Experts were provided with feasibility characteristics of clinician measures to aid selection. Consensus was achieved if at least 67% of respondents agreed with use of a measure in clinical practice. Findings Among HS experts, response rates for item reduction, e-Delphi round 1, and e-Delphi round 2 surveys were 76.4% (42 of 55), 90.5% (38 of 42), and 92.9% (39 of 42), respectively; among patient research partners (PRPs), response rates were 70.8% (17 of 24), 100% (17 of 17), and 82.4% (14 of 17), respectively. The majority of experts across rounds were practicing dermatologists with 18 to 19 years of clinical experience. In the final e-Delphi round, most PRPs were female (12 [85.7%] vs 2 males [11.8%]) and aged 30 to 49 years. In the final e-Delphi round, HS experts and PRPs agreed with the use of the HS Investigator Global Assessment (28 [71.8%]) and HS Quality of Life score (13 [92.9%]), respectively. The most expert-preferred assessment interval in which to apply these measures was 3 months (27 [69.2%]). Conclusions and Relevance An international group of HS experts and PRPs achieved consensus on a core set of HS measures suitable for use in clinical practice. Consistent use of these measures may lead to more accurate assessments of HS disease activity and life outcomes, facilitating shared treatment decision-making in the practice setting

DAF-16/FOXO and EGL-27/GATA promote developmental growth in response to persistent somatic DNA damage

Genome maintenance defects cause complex disease phenotypes characterized by developmental failure, cancer susceptibility and premature ageing. It remains poorly understood how DNA damage responses function during organismal development and maintain tissue functionality when DNA damage accumulates with ageing. Here we show that the FOXO transcription factor DAF-16 is activated in response to DNA damage during development, whereas the DNA damage responsiveness of DAF-16 declines with ageing. We find that in contrast to its established role in mediating starvation arrest, DAF-16 alleviates DNA-damage-induced developmental arrest and even in the absence of DNA repair promotes developmental growth and enhances somatic tissue functionality. We demonstrate that the GATA transcription factor EGL-27 co-regulates DAF-16 target genes in response to DNA damage and together with DAF-16 promotes developmental growth. We propose that EGL-27/GATA activity specifies DAF-16-mediated DNA damage responses to enable developmental progression and to prolong tissue functioning when DNA damage persists

Histiocytoid autoimmunity-related neutrophilic dermatosis in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis

Autoimmunity-associated neutrophilic dermatoses are a recently recognized manifestation of connective tissue diseases, in particular, lupus erythematosus. These entities are clinically and sometimes histopathologically distinct from classic neutrophilic dermatoses. We describe a case of an autoimmunity-related neutrophilic dermatosis in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. In addition to this uncommon association, there was an absence of mature neutrophils and a population of immature histiocytoid granulocytes. This unusual case expands the concept of histiocytoid neutrophilic dermatoses to include those seen in association with autoimmune connective tissue diseases

Histiocytoid autoimmunity-related neutrophilic dermatosis in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis

Autoimmunity-associated neutrophilic dermatoses are a recently recognized manifestation of connective tissue diseases, in particular, lupus erythematosus. These entities are clinically and sometimes histopathologically distinct from classic neutrophilic dermatoses. We describe a case of an autoimmunity-related neutrophilic dermatosis in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. In addition to this uncommon association, there was an absence of mature neutrophils and a population of immature histiocytoid granulocytes. This unusual case expands the concept of histiocytoid neutrophilic dermatoses to include those seen in association with autoimmune connective tissue diseases

Administering a combination of online dietary assessment tools, the Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Dietary Assessment Tool, and Diet History Questionnaire II, in a cohort of adults in Alberta\u27s Tomorrow Project

Background: Evidence suggests that combining tools that gather short- and long-term dietary data may be the optimal approach for the assessment of diet–disease associations in epidemiologic studies. Online technology can reduce the associated burdens for researchers and participants, but feasibility must be demonstrated in real-world settings before wide-scale implementation. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of combining web-based tools (the Automated Self-Administered 24-hour Dietary Assessment Tool [ASA24-2016] and the past-year Diet History Questionnaire II [DHQ-II]) in a subset of participants in Alberta\u27s Tomorrow Project, a prospective cohort. Design: For this feasibility study, invitations were mailed to 550 randomly selected individuals enrolled in Alberta\u27s Tomorrow Project. Consented participants (n = 331) were asked to complete a brief sociodemographic and health questionnaire, four ASA24-2016 recalls, the DHQ-II, and an evaluation survey. Participants/setting: The study was conducted from March 2016 to December 2016 in Alberta, Canada. The majority of participants, mean age (SD) = 57.4 (9.8) years, were women (70.7%), urban residents (85.5%), and nonsmokers (95.7%). Main outcome measures: Primary outcomes were number of ASA24-2016 recalls completed, response rate of DHQ-II completion, and time to complete each assessment. Statistical analyses: The Wilcoxon signed rank sum test was used to assess differences in completion time. Results: One-third (n = 102) of consenting participants did not complete any ASA24-2016 recalls. The primary reason to withdraw from the feasibility study was a lack of time. Among consenting participants, 51.9% (n = 172), 41.1% (n = 136), and 36.5% (n = 121) completed at least two ASA24-2016 recalls, the DHQ-II, and at least two ASA24-2016 recalls plus the DHQ-II, respectively. Median (25th to 75th percentile) completion times for participants who completed all recalls were 39 minutes (25 to 53 minutes) for the first ASA24-2016 recall and 60 minutes (40 to 90 minutes) for the DHQ-II. Conclusions: Findings indicate combining multiple ASA24-2016 recalls and the DHQ-II is feasible in this subset of Alberta\u27s Tomorrow Project participants. However, optimal response rates may be contingent on providing participant support. Completion may also be sensitive to timing and frequency of recall administration