Ballet after breast cancer: investigating the feasibility and acceptability of a novel 16-week classical ballet intervention for breast cancer survivors

Purpose: The “Ballet after breast cancer” study sought to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of a 16-week classical ballet intervention for breast cancer survivors, delivered face-to-face and/or online. Methods: Breast cancer survivors were recruited to take part in 2 × 1-h ballet classes per week for 16 weeks. Primary outcomes of feasibility and acceptability were assessed according to rates of enrolment and attendance and participant feedback via questionnaire. Secondary outcomes included quality of life (QOL), upper-body disability, shoulder range of motion (ROM), muscular strength, aerobic capacity, and physical activity levels. Associations between rate of attendance and changes in secondary measures were explored. Results: Thirty-one participants (62% of eligible individuals) enrolled in the program. Twenty-nine women commenced the intervention [53.3 ± 10.8 years (Mean ± SD)], attending 77.6% [67.6, 87.5] (Mean [95% CI]) of sessions. Based on these rates of enrolment and attendance, and participant feedback, the program was deemed feasible and acceptable to participants. Significant improvements in shoulder ROM and reductions in sedentary behaviour were achieved. Participants also reported improvements in physical capacity and psychological, social, and cognitive wellbeing. Conclusions: The “Ballet after breast cancer” program, delivered face-to-face and/or online, was feasible and acceptable to breast cancer survivors. Improvements in shoulder ROM achieved doing ballet were pertinent given the adverse effects of upper-body morbidity on breast cancer survivor QOL. Improvements in physical activity behaviour and perceived benefits to wellbeing also support the use of ballet to mitigate QOL impairment after treatment. Implications for cancer survivors: The physical demands and the fun, creative, and social characteristics of ballet promote improvement across multiple domains of health and wellbeing. Ballet shows promise as an activity to improve QOL and increase long-term engagement in health-promoting physical activity after breast cancer

Binary orbits as the driver of γ-ray emission and mass ejection in classical novae

Classical novae are the most common astrophysical thermonuclear explosions, occurring on the surfaces of white dwarf stars accreting gas from companions in binary star systems. Novae typically expel �10,000 solar masses of material at velocities exceeding 1,000 km/s. However, the mechanism of mass ejection in novae is poorly understood, and could be dominated by the impulsive flash of the thermonuclear runaway, prolonged optically thick winds, or binary interaction with the nova envelope. Classical novae are now routinely detected in GeV gamma-rays, suggesting that relativistic particles are accelerated by strong shocks in nova ejecta. Here we present high-resolution imaging of the gamma-ray-emitting nova V959 Mon at radio wavelengths, showing that its ejecta were shaped by binary motion: some gas was expelled rapidly along the poles as a wind from the white dwarf, while denser material drifted out along the equatorial plane, propelled by orbital motion. At the interface between the equatorial and polar regions, we observe synchrotron emission indicative of shocks and relativistic particle acceleration, thereby pinpointing the location of gamma-ray production. Binary shaping of the nova ejecta and associated internal shocks are expected to be widespread among novae, explaining why many novae are gamma-ray emitters

Two rapid assays for screening of patulin biodegradation

Artículo sobre distintos ensayos para comprobar la biodegradación de la patulinaThe mycotoxin patulin is produced by the blue mould pathogen Penicillium expansum in rotting apples during postharvest storage. Patulin is toxic to a wide range of organisms, including humans, animals, fungi and bacteria. Wash water from apple packing and processing houses often harbours patulin and fungal spores, which can contaminate the environment. Ubiquitous epiphytic yeasts, such as Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae strain LS11 which is a biocontrol agent of P. expansum in apples, have the capacity to resist the toxicity of patulin and to biodegrade it. Two non-toxic products are formed. One is desoxypatulinic acid. The aim of the work was to develop rapid, high-throughput bioassays for monitoring patulin degradation in multiple samples. Escherichia coli was highly sensitive to patulin, but insensitive to desoxypatulinic acid. This was utilized to develop a detection test for patulin, replacing time-consuming thin layer chromatography or high-performance liquid chromatography. Two assays for patulin degradation were developed, one in liquid medium and the other in semi-solid medium. Both assays allow the contemporary screening of a large number of samples. The liquid medium assay utilizes 96-well microtiter plates and was optimized for using a minimum of patulin. The semisolid medium assay has the added advantage of slowing down the biodegradation, which allows the study and isolation of transient degradation products. The two assays are complementary and have several areas of utilization, from screening a bank of microorganisms for biodegradation ability to the study of biodegradation pathways

The Effects of Overexpression of Histamine Releasing Factor (HRF) in a Transgenic Mouse Model

Asthma is a disease that affects all ages, races and ethnic groups. Its incidence is increasing both in Westernized countries and underdeveloped countries. It involves inflammation, genetics and environment and therefore, proteins that exacerbate the asthmatic, allergic phenotype are important. Our laboratory purified and cloned a histamine releasing factor (HRF) that was a complete stimulus for histamine and IL-4 secretion from a subpopulation of allergic donors' basophils. Throughout the course of studying HRF, it was uncovered that HRF enhances or primes histamine release and IL-13 production from all anti-IgE antibody stimulated basophils. In order to further delineate the biology of HRF, we generated a mouse model.We constructed an inducible transgenic mouse model with HRF targeted to lung epithelial cells, via the Clara cells. In antigen naïve mice, overproduction of HRF yielded increases in BAL macrophages and statistical increases in mRNA levels for MCP-1 in the HRF transgenic mice compared to littermate controls. In addition to demonstrating intracellular HRF in the lung epithelial cells, we have also been able to document HRF's presence extracellularly in the BAL fluid of these transgenic mice. Furthermore, in the OVA challenged model, we show that HRF exacerbates the allergic, asthmatic responses. We found statistically significant increases in serum and BAL IgE, IL-4 protein and eosinophils in transgenic mice compared to controls.This mouse model demonstrates that HRF expression enhances allergic, asthmatic inflammation and can now be used as a tool to further dissect the biology of HRF

Chinese organized crime and situational context: comparing human smuggling and synthetic drugs trafficking

This article criticizes the 'ethnic' conception of organized crime and puts forward an alternative view that does not put ethnicity first, but rather social networks and situational context. It focuses upon Chinese organized crime, a phenomenon where the preoccupation with ethnicity is paramount, and compares findings from extensive research into two different transnational criminal activities that are carried out by Chinese offenders in the Netherlands. The first topic, human smuggling, is well researched, whereas research into the second topic, trafficking in precursors (the basic ingredients for the production of synthetic drugs), is largely lacking. The article highlights the major theoretical and empirical similarities and differences between these two criminal activities and discusses the relevance of the main findings for theory and research

The inflammatory microenvironment in colorectal neoplasia

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Investigation of autism and GABA receptor subunit genes in multiple ethnic groups

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of complex genetics, characterized by impairment in social interaction and communication, as well as repetitive behavior. Multiple lines of evidence, including alterations in levels of GABA and GABA receptors in autistic patients, indicate that the GABAergic system, which is responsible for synaptic inhibition in the adult brain, may be involved in autism. Previous studies in our lab indicated association of noncoding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within a GABA receptor subunit gene on chromosome 4, GABRA4, and interaction between SNPs in GABRA4 and GABRB1 (also on chromosome 4), within Caucasian autism patients. Studies of genetic variation in African-American autism families are rare. Analysis of 557 Caucasian and an independent population of 54 African-American families with 35 SNPs within GABRB1 and GABRA4 strengthened the evidence for involvement of GABRA4 in autism risk in Caucasians (rs17599165, p=0.0015; rs1912960, p=0.0073; and rs17599416, p=0.0040) and gave evidence of significant association in African-Americans (rs2280073, p=0.0287 and rs16859788, p=0.0253). The GABRA4 and GABRB1 interaction was also confirmed in the Caucasian dataset (most significant pair, rs1912960 and rs2351299; p=0.004). Analysis of the subset of families with a positive history of seizure activity in at least one autism patient revealed no association to GABRA4; however, three SNPs within GABRB1 showed significant allelic association; rs2351299 (p=0.0163), rs4482737 (p=0.0339), and rs3832300 (p=0.0253). These results confirmed our earlier findings, indicating GABRA4 and GABRB1 as genes contributing to autism susceptibility, extending the effect to multiple ethnic groups and suggesting seizures as a stratifying phenotype

The promoter and the enhancer region of the KLK 3 (prostate specific antigen) gene is frequently mutated in breast tumours and in breast carcinoma cell lines

KLK3 or prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a serine protease, which is an established tumour marker of prostatic adenocarcinoma. PSA is now used widely for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with prostate cancer. Recent studies have demonstrated that about 70% of breast cancers produce PSA. In this study, we examined the molecular mechanism underlying the expression of the PSA gene in breast cancer and breast cancer cell lines. We analysed nine breast tumours categorized on the basis of high- or low-PSA expression in tumour cytosols and four breast cancer cell lines. To determine abnormalities associated with PSA expression in breast tumours, genomic DNA was extracted and all five exons of the PSA gene were polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified and sequenced on both strands. PCR amplification was also performed for the promoter and enhancer elements of the PSA gene. No mutations were observed in the coding portion of the gene. A polymorphism was observed in exon 2 from three breast tumours. However, sequencing of the promoter and the enhancer elements of the PSA gene reveals several point mutations. Within a 5.8-kb promoter/enhancer region of the PSA gene, we detected 16 different mutational hotspots (appearing more than once in the nine tumours). Among these hotspots, two appeared in seven out of nine tumours. Most importantly, the androgen response element (ARE I) in the proximal promoter was found mutated in four tumours and in the breast carcinoma cell line MCF-7. Mutations associated with the ARE I have been shown previously to result in an 80% decrease in PSA gene expression. The mutations in the core enhancer and promoter region probably contribute to the aberrant expression of the PSA gene in breast tumours, possibly by altering the regulation of the gene by steroid hormones. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Communicating population health statistics through graphs: a randomised controlled trial of graph design interventions

BACKGROUND: Australian epidemiologists have recognised that lay readers have difficulty understanding statistical graphs in reports on population health. This study aimed to provide evidence for graph design improvements that increase comprehension by non-experts. METHODS: This was a double-blind, randomised, controlled trial of graph-design interventions, conducted as a postal survey. Control and intervention participants were randomly selected from telephone directories of health system employees. Eligible participants were on duty at the listed location during the study period. Controls received a booklet of 12 graphs from original publications, and intervention participants received a booklet of the same graphs with design modifications. A questionnaire with 39 interpretation tasks was included with the booklet. Interventions were assessed using the ratio of the prevalence of correct responses given by the intervention group to those given by the control group for each task. RESULTS: The response rate from 543 eligible participants (261 intervention and 282 control) was 67%. The prevalence of correct answers in the control group ranged from 13% for a task requiring knowledge of an acronym to 97% for a task identifying the largest category in a pie chart. Interventions producing the greatest improvement in comprehension were: changing a pie chart to a bar graph (3.6-fold increase in correct point reading), changing the y axis of a graph so that the upward direction represented an increase (2.9-fold increase in correct judgement of trend direction), a footnote to explain an acronym (2.5-fold increase in knowledge of the acronym), and matching the y axis range of two adjacent graphs (two-fold increase in correct comparison of the relative difference in prevalence between two population subgroups). CONCLUSION: Profound population health messages can be lost through use of overly technical language and unfamiliar statistical measures. In our study, most participants did not understand age standardisation and confidence intervals. Inventive approaches are required to address this problem

Lifespan development of stimulus-response conflict cost: similarities and differences between maturation and senescence

Age gradient of the mechanism of stimulus-response conflict cost was investigated in a population-based representative sample of 291 individuals, covering the age range from 6 to 89 years. Stimulus-response conflict cost, indicated by the amount of additional processing time required when there is a conflict between stimulus and response options, follows a U-shaped function across the lifespan. Lifespan age gradient of conflict cost parallels closely those of processing fluctuation and fluid intelligence. Individuals at both ends of the lifespan displayed a greater amount of processing fluctuation and at the same time a larger amount of conflict cost and a lower level of fluid intelligence. After controlling for chronological age and baseline processing speed, conflict cost continues to correlate significantly with fluid intelligence in adulthood and old age and with processing fluctuation in old age. The relation between processing fluctuation and conflict cost in old age lends further support for the neuromodulation of neuronal noise theory of cognitive aging as well as for theories of dopaminergic modulation of conflict monitoring