No Difference Between Taking a Five Minute General Knowledge Test Online Versus On Paper in Regards to Effects On Blood Pressure, Heart Rate and Beta Brain Wave Frequency

An article that appeared in JASS, issue 2015The purpose of this study was to investigate the physiological differences expressed by college students taking a test on paper versus taking a test online. Physiological responses to testing were measured by taking the frequency of beta waves (a measure of mental effort via electroencephalography), the percent change in blood pressure, and the percent change in heart rate. The three physiological responses were recorded on college students before, during, and after a five-minute paper or online test of general knowledge. We hypothesized that online testing would be less familiar than paper testing, and therefore more stressful, leading to an increased beta wave frequency, a larger increase in heart rate and a larger increase in blood pressure. Results showed that test format was not correlated with a significant difference in the frequencies of beta waves (p-value of 0.16529), blood pressure (psystolic= 0.90667, pdiastolic= 0.11270) or heart rates (multiple values, p≥0.12941). The data from this study indicates that there are no physiological differences between online and offline testing in college students taking a short general knowledge test. Future studies could examine physiological responses to different test formats, longer tests, or higher pressure examinations (AP, SAT, GRE, etc)

The Prostate Cancer Androgen Receptor Cistrome in African American Men Associates with Upregulation of Lipid Metabolism and Immune Response.

UNLABELLED: African-American (AA) men are more likely to be diagnosed with and die from prostate cancer than European American (EA) men. Despite the central role of the androgen receptor (AR) transcription factor in prostate cancer, little is known about the contribution of epigenetics to observed racial disparities. We performed AR chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing on primary prostate tumors from AA and EA men, finding that sites with greater AR binding intensity in AA relative to EA prostate cancer are enriched for lipid metabolism and immune response genes. Integration with transcriptomic and metabolomic data demonstrated coinciding upregulation of lipid metabolism gene expression and increased lipid levels in AA prostate cancer. In a metastatic prostate cancer cohort, upregulated lipid metabolism associated with poor prognosis. These findings offer the first insights into ancestry-specific differences in the prostate cancer AR cistrome. The data suggest a model whereby increased androgen signaling may contribute to higher levels of lipid metabolism, immune response, and cytokine signaling in AA prostate tumors. Given the association of upregulated lipogenesis with prostate cancer progression, our study provides a plausible biological explanation for the higher incidence and aggressiveness of prostate cancer observed in AA men. SIGNIFICANCE: With immunotherapies and inhibitors of metabolic enzymes in clinical development, the altered lipid metabolism and immune response in African-American men provides potential therapeutic opportunities to attenuate racial disparities in prostate cancer

A Systematic Framework to Rapidly Obtain Data on Patients with Cancer and COVID-19: CCC19 Governance, Protocol, and Quality Assurance

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, formal frameworks to collect data about affected patients were lacking. The COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) was formed to collect granular data on patients with cancer and COVID-19 at scale and as rapidly as possible. CCC19 has grown from five initial institutions to 125 institutions with >400 collaborators. More than 5,000 cases with complete baseline data have been accrued. Future directions include increased electronic health record integration for direct data ingestion, expansion to additional domestic and international sites, more intentional patient involvement, and granular analyses of still-unanswered questions related to cancer subtypes and treatments. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, formal frameworks to collect data about affected patients were lacking. The COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) was formed to collect granular data on patients with cancer and COVID-19 at scale and as rapidly as possible. CCC19 has grown from five initial institutions to 125 institutions with >400 collaborators. More than 5,000 cases with complete baseline data have been accrued. Future directions include increased electronic health record integration for direct data ingestion, expansion to additional domestic and international sites, more intentional patient involvement, and granular analyses of still-unanswered questions related to cancer subtypes and treatments