Asthma is associated with bullying victimization in rural adolescents

We characterized bullying among rural adolescents and examined the association between asthma and bullying victimization. Participants (N = 1905; 44.5% Black) were students attending rural high schools who were screened for a randomized trial to address uncontrolled asthma. Screening questions asked students about asthma diagnosis and symptoms, bullying victimization, and demographic characteristics. Logistic regression analyses with school as a fixed effect were employed to examine the extent to which demographic factors, asthma diagnosis, asthma status (i.e. current asthma, no asthma, possible undiagnosed asthma), and among those with current asthma, asthma severity, were associated with bullying victimization. Sensitivity analyses using bullying frequency as the outcome were also conducted. 26.0% reported being bullied. Younger age and self-identifying as White were associated with increased risk of bullying victimization. Compared to those with no asthma, those with current asthma or possible undiagnosed asthma were at increased risk for bullying victimization (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.46; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.76–3.46 and AOR = 2.42; 95% CI = 1.87–3.14, respectively). Among those with current asthma, persistent symptoms increased the risk for bullying victimization (AOR = 2.59; 95% CI = 1.45–4.71). Similar results were obtained with sensitivity analyses. In a large rural community cohort, asthma was associated with bullying victimization. Findings suggest that rural students with asthma, with or without diagnosis, could benefit from schools creating inclusive environments that reduce victimization based on this medical condition. School administrators should foster environments that are accepting of all students’ abilities and statuses, and healthcare providers can provide proper asthma management education to these adolescents.</p

Control of Amphiphile Self-Assembly via Bioinspired Metal Ion Coordination

Inspired by marine siderophores that exhibit a morphological shift upon metal coordination, hybrid peptide–polymer conjugates that assemble into different morphologies based on the nature of the metal ion coordination have been designed. Coupling of a peptide chelator, hexahistidine, with hydrophobic oligostyrene allows a modular strategy to be established for the efficient synthesis and purification of these tunable amphiphiles (oSt­(His)₆). Remarkably, in the presence of different divalent transition metal ions (Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Cd) a variety of morphologies were observed. Zinc­(II), cobalt­(II), and copper­(II) led to aggregated micelles. Nickel­(II) and cadmium­(II) produced micelles, and multilamellar vesicles were obtained in the presence of manganese­(II). This work highlights the significant potential for transition metal ion coordination as a tool for directing the assembly of synthetic nanomaterials

Positive Association of Fibroadenomatoid Change with HER2-Negative Invasive Breast Cancer: A Co-Occurrence Study

<div><p>Background</p><p>Risk assessment of a benign breast disease/lesion (BBD) for invasive breast cancer (IBC) is typically done through a longitudinal study. For an infrequently-reported BBD, the shortage of occurrence data alone is a limiting factor to conducting such a study. Here we present an approach based on co-occurrence analysis, to help address this issue. We focus on fibroadenomatoid change (FAC), an under-studied BBD, as our preliminary analysis has suggested its previously unknown significant co-occurrence with IBC.</p><p>Methods</p><p>A cohort of 1667 female patients enrolled in the Clinical Breast Care Project was identified. A single experienced breast pathologist reviewed all pathology slides for each case and recorded all observed lesions, including FAC. Fibroadenoma (FA) was studied for comparison since FAC had been speculated to be an immature FA. FA and Fibrocystic Changes (FCC) were used for method validation since they have been comprehensively studied. Six common IBC and BBD risk/protective factors were also studied. Co-occurrence analyses were performed using logistic regression models.</p><p>Results</p><p>Common risk/protective factors were associated with FA, FCC, and IBC in ways consistent with the literature in general, and they were associated with FAC, FA, and FCC in distinct patterns. Age was associated with FAC in a bell-shape curve so that middle-aged women were more likely to have FAC. We report for the first time that FAC is positively associated with IBC with odds ratio (OR) depending on BMI (OR = 6.78, 95%CI = 3.43-13.42 at BMI<25 kg/m²; OR = 2.13, 95%CI = 1.20-3.80 at BMI>25 kg/m²). This association is only significant with HER2-negative IBC subtypes.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>We conclude that FAC is a candidate risk factor for HER2-negative IBCs, and it is a distinct disease from FA. Co-occurrence analysis can be used for initial assessment of the risk for IBC from a BBD, which is vital to the study of infrequently-reported BBDs.</p></div

Characteristics of IBC cases/controls in relationship to BBDs and risk/protective factors.

<p>*UN, Unknown, not used in Chi-square test.</p><p>Abbreviations: IBC = Invasive Breast Cancer; BBDs = Benign Breast Diseases; FA = Fibroadenoma; FAC = Fibroadenomatoid Change; FCC = Fibrocystic Changes; Num. = Number; Race, AA = African American, CA = Caucasian American; Current OC use = Current oral contraceptive use; BMI = Body Mass Index; HRT = Hormonal replacement therapy; Combo = Estrogen & Progesterone.</p><p>Characteristics of IBC cases/controls in relationship to BBDs and risk/protective factors.</p

FA and associated factors.

<p>Abbreviations: FA = Fibroadenoma; CI = Confidence Interval; HRT = Hormonal replacement therapy; Combo = Estrogen & Progesterone.</p><p>FA and associated factors.</p

Co-occurrence of BBDS with IBCs.

<p>Abbreviations: BBD = Benign Breast Disease; IBC = Invasive Breast Cancer; CI = Confidence Interval; FA = Fibroadenoma; FAC = Fibroadenomatoid Change; FCC = Fibrocystic Changes; BMI = Body Mass Index; HRT = Hormonal replacement therapy; Y = Yes; N = No.</p><p>Co-occurrence of BBDS with IBCs.</p

Differential co-occurrence of BBDs with IBC subtypes in reference to Control.

<p>Abbreviations: BBD = Benign Breast Disease; IBC = Invasive Breast Cancer; CI = Confidence Interval; FAC = Fibroadenomatoid Change; FA = Fibroadenoma; FCC = Fibrocystic Changes; LA = Luminal A subtype; LB-HER2- = Luminal B-HER2 negative subtype; LB-HER2+ = Luminal B-HER2 positive subtype; HER2+ = HER2 positive subtype; TN = Triple Negative subtype. Y = Yes; N = No.</p><p>Differential co-occurrence of BBDs with IBC subtypes in reference to Control.</p

Histological images of FAC, FA, and FCC.

<p>Original magnification: 200x. <b>(A)</b> FAC. Multiple miniature fibroadenoma-like nodules are intimately associated with an invasive lobular carcinoma. Unlike an FA, the lesion is microscopic and not well-defined. <b>(B)</b> A portion of a typical FA. The lesion is well-circumscribed, has a fibrous capsule, and displays proliferation of both glandular and stromal elements. The elongated, branching epithelial glands are characteristic of FA. <b>(C)</b> FCC. This section of breast tissue exhibits many elements of FCC including stromal fibrosis, microcysts, apocrine metaplasia, sclerosing adenosis, and usual intraductal hyperplasia. The patient had ductal carcinoma <i>in situ</i> on other tissue sections.</p

FCC and associated factors.

<p>Abbreviations: FCC = Fibrocystic Changes; CI = Confidence Interval; AA = African American, CA = Caucasian American; Current OC use = Current oral contraceptive use; BMI = Body Mass Index; Y = Yes; N = No.</p><p>FCC and associated factors.</p

Differential co-occurrence of BBDs with IBC subtypes in reference to LA.

<p>Abbreviations: BBD = Benign Breast Disease; IBC = Invasive Breast Cancer; CI = Confidence Interval; FAC = Fibroadenomatoid Change; FA = Fibroadenoma; FCC = Fibrocystic Changes; LA = Luminal A subtype; LB-HER2- = Luminal B-HER2 negative subtype; LB-HER2+ = Luminal B-HER2 positive subtype; HER2+ = HER2 positive subtype; TN = Triple Negative subtype. Y = Yes; N = No.</p><p>Differential co-occurrence of BBDs with IBC subtypes in reference to LA.</p