Trekstock RENEW: evaluation of a 12-week exercise referral programme for young adult cancer survivors delivered by a cancer charity.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the uptake and effect of RENEW, a 12-week exercise referral programme for young adult cancer survivors delivered by Trekstock, a UK-based cancer charity. METHODS: The RENEW programme provides one-to-one individually tailored support from a level-4 cancer-rehabilitation-qualified gym instructor, free gym membership and access to information resources online. Objective and self-report data on cardiorespiratory function, strength, body composition, fatigue, sleep quality and general health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was collected from participants before the programme (week 0), immediately after (week 12) and 1 month later (week 16). RESULTS: Forty-eight young adults (83% female; mean age, 29 years) with a history of cancer took part within the 12-week programme and completed the evaluation measures. Physical activity (PA) levels significantly increased following the programme and remained raised at follow-up. Improvements in physical function were significant: peak expiratory flow (mean change, 30.96, p = 0.003), sit-and-reach test (mean change, 6.55 ± 4.54, p < 0.0001), and 6-mine-walk test (mean change, 0.12 ± 0.04, p < 0.0001). No significant changes in BMI, weight or muscle mass were observed. Improvements in fatigue, sleep and HRQoL were observed across the programme and at follow-up (mean change, weeks 0-16; 8.04 ± 1.49 p < 0.01; 1.05 ± 0.49 p < 0.05; and - 0.9 ± 0.46 p = 0.051, respectively). Changes in self-efficacy to exercise and motivations to exercise were not observed at 12 weeks or at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that the RENEW exercise referral programme has a positive impact upon some domains of physical function and well-being among young adult cancer survivors. IMPLICATION FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Exercise referral programmes delivered by charity organisations are one means by which PA behaviour change support may be widely disseminated to young adult cancer survivors. Health professionals and charitable bodies specialising in the care of young adults with cancer should look to address factors which prevent engagement and uptake of 'real-world' PA interventions such as the RENEW programme

Leader Behaviors as Mediators of the Leader Characteristics - Follower Satisfaction Relationship

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this record.This study examined two potential mediators through which leaders transmit their position power into an effectiveness outcome. Drawing upon recent work integrating trait, situational, and behavioral theories of leadership effectiveness, we hypothesized and tested a model specifying that the interactive effects of leader position power and leader political skill on follower satisfaction would be mediated by followers’ perceptions of leaders’ initiating structure and consideration behaviors. Specifically, this model indicates that leaders who are both in powerful positions and politically skilled are perceived to initiate more structure and demonstrate more consideration for their followers than their nonpolitically skilled counterparts, which, in turn, positively impacts followers’ satisfaction (i.e., an indication of subjective leadership effectiveness). Utilizing 190 leaders and 476 followers, we found support for the hypothesized model. Contributions to various literatures, strengths, limitations, and practical implications are discussed

High (but Not Low) Urinary Iodine Excretion Is Predicted by Iodine Excretion Levels from Five Years Ago

Background: It has not been investigated whether there are associations between urinary iodine (UI) excretion measurements some years apart, nor whether such an association remains after adjustment for nutritional habits. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation between iodine-creatinine ratio (ICR) at two measuring points 5 years apart. Methods: Data from 2,659 individuals from the Study of Health in Pomerania were analyzed. Analysis of covariance and Poisson regressions were used to associate baseline with follow-up ICR. Results: Baseline ICR was associated with follow-up ICR. Particularly, baseline ICR >300 mu g/g was related to an ICR >300 mu g/g at follow-up (relative risk, RR: 2.20; p < 0.001). The association was stronger in males (RR: 2.64; p < 0.001) than in females (RR: 1.64; p = 0.007). In contrast, baseline ICR <100 mu g/g was only associated with an ICR <100 mu g/g at follow-up in males when considering unadjusted ICR. Conclusions: We detected only a weak correlation with respect to low ICR. Studies assessing iodine status in a population should take into account that an individual with a low UI excretion in one measurement is not necessarily permanently iodine deficient. On the other hand, current high ICR could have been predicted by high ICR 5 years ago. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

Machine learning–driven multiscale modeling reveals lipid-dependent dynamics of RAS signaling proteins

RAS is a signaling protein associated with the cell membrane that is mutated in up to 30% of human cancers. RAS signaling has been proposed to be regulated by dynamic heterogeneity of the cell membrane. Investigating such a mechanism requires near-atomistic detail at macroscopic temporal and spatial scales, which is not possible with conventional computational or experimental techniques. We demonstrate here a multiscale simulation infrastructure that uses machine learning to create a scale-bridging ensemble of over 100,000 simulations of active wild-type KRAS on a complex, asymmetric membrane. Initialized and validated with experimental data (including a new structure of active wild-type KRAS), these simulations represent a substantial advance in the ability to characterize RAS-membrane biology. We report distinctive patterns of local lipid composition that correlate with interfacially promiscuous RAS multimerization. These lipid fingerprints are coupled to RAS dynamics, predicted to influence effector binding, and therefore may be a mechanism for regulating cell signaling cascades

Erratum: Sequence data and association statistics from 12,940 type 2 diabetes cases and controls.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/sdata.2017.179

Association of Six Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in a Chinese Population

To investigate whether the candidate genes that confer susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus are also correlated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in pregnant Chinese women.In this study, 1764 unrelated pregnant women were recruited, of which 725 women had GDM and 1039 served as controls. Six single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs7754840 in CDKAL1, rs391300 in SRR, rs2383208 in CDKN2A/2B, rs4402960 in IGF2BP2, rs10830963 in MTNR1B, rs4607517 in GCK) were genotyped using TaqMan allelic discrimination assays. The genotype and allele distributions of each SNP between the GDM cases and controls and the combined effects of alleles for the risk of developing GDM were analyzed. We found that the rs4402960, rs2383208 and rs391300 were statistically associated with GDM (OR = 1.207, 95%CI = 1.029-1.417, p = 0.021; OR = 1.242, 95%CI = 1.077-1.432, p = 0.003; OR = 1.202, 95%CI = 1.020-1.416, P = 0.028, respectively). In addition, the effect was greater under a recessive model in rs391300 (OR = 1.820, 95%CI = 1.226-2.701, p = 0.003). Meanwhile, the joint effect of these three loci indicated an additive effect of multiple alleles on the risk of developing GDM with an OR of 1.196 per allele (p = 1.08×10(-4)). We also found that the risk alleles of rs2383208 (b = -0.085, p = 0.003), rs4402960 (b = -0.057, p = 0.046) and rs10830963 (b = -0.096, p = 0.001) were associated with HOMA-B, while rs7754840 was associated with decrease in insulin AUC during a 100 g OGTT given at the time of GDM diagnosis (b = -0.080, p = 0.007).Several risk alleles of type 2 diabetes were associated with GDM in pregnant Chinese women. The effects of these SNPs on GDM might be through the impairment of beta cell function and these risk loci contributed additively to the disease

Genome-wide trans-ancestry meta-analysis provides insight into the genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes susceptibility.

To further understanding of the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes (T2D) susceptibility, we aggregated published meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), including 26,488 cases and 83,964 controls of European, east Asian, south Asian and Mexican and Mexican American ancestry. We observed a significant excess in the directional consistency of T2D risk alleles across ancestry groups, even at SNPs demonstrating only weak evidence of association. By following up the strongest signals of association from the trans-ethnic meta-analysis in an additional 21,491 cases and 55,647 controls of European ancestry, we identified seven new T2D susceptibility loci. Furthermore, we observed considerable improvements in the fine-mapping resolution of common variant association signals at several T2D susceptibility loci. These observations highlight the benefits of trans-ethnic GWAS for the discovery and characterization of complex trait loci and emphasize an exciting opportunity to extend insight into the genetic architecture and pathogenesis of human diseases across populations of diverse ancestry

The Effects of the Massachusetts Health Reform on Financial Distress

A major benefit of health insurance coverage is that it protects the insured from unexpected medical costs that may devastate their personal finances. In this paper, we use detailed credit report information on a large panel of individuals to examine the effect of a major health care reform in Massachusetts in 2006 on a broad set of financial outcomes. The Massachusetts model served as the basis for the Affordable Care Act and allows us to examine the effect of coverage on financial outcomes for the entire population of the uninsured, not just those with very low incomes. We exploit plausibly exogenous variation in the impact of the reform across counties and age groups using levels of pre-reform insurance coverage as a measure of the potential effect of the reform. We find that the reform reduced the total amount of debt that was past due, the fraction of all debt that was past due, improved credit scores and reduced personal bankruptcies. We also find suggestive evidence that the reform lowered the total amount of debt and decreased third party collections. The effects are most pronounced for individuals who had limited access to credit markets before the reform. These results show that health care reform has implications that extend well beyond the health and health care utilization of those who gain insurance coverage

Rhodococcus Bacteremia in Cancer Patients Is Mostly Catheter Related and Associated with Biofilm Formation

Rhodococcus is an emerging cause of opportunistic infection in immunocompromised patients, most commonly causing cavitary pneumonia. It has rarely been reported as a cause of isolated bacteremia. However, the relationship between bacteremia and central venous catheter is unknown. Between 2002 and 2010, the characteristics and outcomes of seventeen cancer patients with Rhodococcus bacteremia and indwelling central venous catheters were evaluated. Rhodococcus bacteremias were for the most part (94%) central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI). Most of the bacteremia isolates were Rhodococcus equi (82%). Rhodococcus isolates formed heavy microbial biofilm on the surface of polyurethane catheters, which was reduced completely or partially by antimicrobial lock solution. All CLABSI patients had successful response to catheter removal and antimicrobial therapy. Rhodococcus species should be added to the list of biofilm forming organisms in immunocompromised hosts and most of the Rhodococcus bacteremias in cancer patients are central line associated