ASSOCIATION OF MARITAL STATUS AND COLORECTAL CANCER SCREENING IN THE UNITED STATES

Objectives: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is estimated to be the third most common malignancy worldwide, with 945,000 new cases every year and responsible for 492,000 deaths annually. Despite evidence that it decreases mortality, CRC screening in the United States remains underutilized. Marital status has been implicated in some European studies as a factor affecting CRC screening participation, but the effect of marital status on CRC screening participation in the US population is unknown. In this study, we aim to identify the association between marital status and participation in CRC screening in the United States. Study Design: This is a retrospective data analysis of the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey (BRFSS). Methods: The population studied included 239,300 participants, aged 50 to 75, who completed the 2010 BRFSS. Individuals were selected randomly using disproportionate stratified random sampling. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between colorectal screening status and marital status. Survey stratum and weight were taken into consideration to correct bias. Results: Individuals who were divorced or separated (OR= 0.92, 95% CI= 0.88-0.97), never-married (OR=0.86; 95% CI= 0.80-0.93), or widowed (OR=0.80, 95% CI= 0.75-0.85]) were less likely to have met CRC screening guidelines compared to married individuals or members of unmarried couples Conclusions: This study suggests that individuals living in the United States who are married or are members of an unmarried couple are more likely to be screened for CRC compared to other marital status groups. Public health interventions are needed to promote CRC screening participation in these groups

Readability and content analysis of lifestyle education resources for weight management in Australian general practice

© 2016 El-Haddad et al. Background: Weight management education is one of the key strategies to assist patients to manage their weight. Educational resources provide an important adjunct in the chain of communication between practitioners and patients. However, one in five Australian adults has low health literacy. The purpose of this study was to assess the readability and analyse the content of weight management resources. Methods: This study is based on the analysis of 23 resources found in the waiting rooms of ten Sydney-based general practices and downloaded from two clinical software packages used at these practices. The reading grade level of these resources was calculated using the Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Fry Readability Graph, and the Simplified Measure of Gobbledygook. Resources' content was analysed for the presence of dietary, physical activity, and behaviour change elements, as recommended by the Clinical practice guidelines for the management of overweight and obesity in adults, adolescents, and children in Australia. Results: The resources' average reading grade level was for a 10th grader (9.5 ± 1.8). These findings highlight that the average reading grade level was two grades higher than the recommended reading grade level for health education resources of 8th grade level or below. Seventy percent of resources contained dietary and behaviour change elements. Physical activity was included in half of the resources. Two messages were identified to be inconsistent with the guidelines and three messages had no scientific basis. Conclusion: A body of evidence now exists that supports the need to develop evidence-based education resources for weight management that place low demand on literacy, without compromising content accuracy. The findings from this study suggest that there is significant room for improvement in the educational resources provided in general practices

Efficiency of Barley Bran and Oat Bran in Ameliorating Blood Lipid Profile and the Adverse Histological Changes in Hypercholesterolemic Male Rats

The efficiency of oat bran and barley bran in lowering the induced hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia in blood of male Albino rats (Rattus rattus) was studied. Twenty rats were divided into four groups each consisted of five rats and fed the specified test diets for eight weeks. The first group (G1) is the negative group which was fed basal diet, the second group (G2) was fed 1.0% cholesterol, was the third group (G3) fed 1.0% cholesterol and 10% oats bran, and the fourth group (G4) was fed 1.0% cholesterol and 10% barley bran. Feeding rats on 1% cholesterol significantly increased serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, and very low density lipoprotein and triglyceride and decreased serum high density lipoprotein. Furthermore, enzyme activity of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase was increased, and lipid peroxide was increased, whereas catalase and glutathione-S-transferase were decreased. Kidney functions parameters in the cholesterol supplemented group were elevated compared with the negative control. In addition, histological alteration in kidney, liver, heart, and testes was observed, compared with the negative control. Hypercholesterolemic rats supplemented with oat bran and barley bran showed significant decrease in lipid parameters, significant increase in high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, improved antioxidant enzyme, and improved histopathology of kidney, liver, heart, and testes. In conclusion, both oat bran and barley bran had protective effects against induced hyperlipidemia and improved histological alterations. Oat bran appeared more efficient than barley bran in lowering the lipid profile levels in hypercholesterolemic rats

Evaluation of ‘Shisha No Thanks’ – a co-design social marketing campaign on the harms of waterpipe smoking

Waterpipe (shisha) is becoming increasingly popular worldwide, particularly among young people; and in some countries, it is one of the few forms of tobacco use that is increasing. While there is a growing body of evidence of the harms of waterpipe smoke, there is a scarcity of research of interventions to address this form of tobacco consumption

In-cloud processes of methacrolein under simulated conditions – Part 3: Hygroscopic and volatility properties of the formed secondary organic aerosol

The hygroscopic and volatility properties of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) produced from the nebulization of solutions after aqueous phase photooxidation of methacrolein was experimentally studied in a laboratory, using a Volatility-Hygroscopicity Tandem DMA (VHTDMA). The obtained SOA were 80% 100°C-volatile after 5 h of reaction and only 20% 100°C-volatile after 22 h of reaction. The Hygroscopic Growth Factor (HGF) of the SOA produced from the nebulization of solutions after aqueous-phase photooxidation of methacrolein is 1.34–1.43, which is significantly higher than the HGF of SOA formed by gas-phase photooxidation of terpenes, usually found almost hydrophobic. These hygroscopic properties were confirmed for SOA formed by the nebulization of the same solutions where NaCl was added. The hygroscopic properties of the cloud droplet residuals decrease with the reaction time, in parallel with the formation of more refractory compounds. This decrease was mainly attributed to the 250°C-refractive fraction (presumably representative of the highest molecular weight compounds), which evolved from moderately hygroscopic (HGF of 1.52) to less hygroscopic (HGF of 1.36). Oligomerization is suggested as a process responsible for the decrease of both volatility and hygroscopicity with time. The NaCl seeded experiments enabled us to show that 19±4 mg L<sup>−1</sup> of SOA was produced after 9.5 h of reaction and 41±9 mg L<sup>−1</sup> after 22 h of in-cloud reaction. Because more and more SOA is formed as the reaction time increases, our results show that the reaction products formed during the aqueous-phase OH-oxidation of methacrolein may play a major role in the properties of residual particles upon the droplet's evaporation. Therefore, the specific physical properties of SOA produced during cloud processes should be taken into account for a global estimation of SOA and their atmospheric impacts

Septazole : Antibacterial Drug as a Green Corrosion Inhibitor for Copper in Hydrochloric Acid Solutions,

Abstract: The effect of an antibacterial Septazole on the corrosion of copper was studied in 0.1 M HCl at different concentrations using potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical frequency modulation (EFM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. Potentiodynamic polarization indicated that Septazole acted as mixed-type inhibitor. EIS measurements were also used to investigate the mechanism of corrosion inhibition. Results obtained from EFM technique were in agreement with potentiodynamic and EIS techniques. The adsorption of Septazole on the surface of copper followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm at all concentrations and temperatures studied. The reactivity of Septazole was analyzed through quantum chemical calculations based on PM3 semi-empirical method to explain the efficiency of this inhibitor as corrosion inhibitors

Outcomes of Cancer Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Pericardiocentesis for Pericardial Effusion

AbstractBackgroundPericardial effusion (PE) is common in cancer patients, but the optimal therapeutic approach is not well defined. Percutaneous pericardiocentesis is less invasive than surgery, but its long-term effectiveness and safety have not been well documented.ObjectivesThe goal of this study was to evaluate outcomes of cancer patients undergoing percutaneous pericardiocentesis for PE and assess the procedure’s safety in patients with thrombocytopenia.MethodsCancer patients who underwent percutaneous pericardiocentesis for PE between November 2009 and October 2014 at the MD Anderson Cancer Center were included. Procedure-related complications, effusion recurrence rate, and overall survival were analyzed.ResultsOf 1,645 cancer patients referred for PE, 212 (13%) underwent percutaneous pericardiocentesis. The procedure was successful in 99% of the cases, and there were no procedure-related deaths. Four patients had major procedure-related bleeding that did not vary by platelet count <50,000/μl or ≥50,000/μl (p = 0.1281). Patients with catheter drainage for 3 to 5 days had the lowest recurrence rate (10%). Median overall survival was 143 days; older age (i.e., >65 years), lung cancer, platelet count <20,000/μl, and malignant pericardial fluid were independently associated with poor prognosis. Lung cancer patients with proven malignant effusions had a significantly shorter median 1-year survival compared with those with nonmalignant effusions (16.2% vs. 49.0%, respectively; log-rank test p = 0.0101). A similar difference in 1-year survival was not observed in patients with breast cancer (40.2% vs. 40.0%; log-rank test p = 0.4170).ConclusionsPercutaneous pericardiocentesis with extended catheter drainage was safe and effective as the primary treatment for PE in cancer patients, including in those with thrombocytopenia. Malignant PE significantly shortened the survival outcome of patients with lung cancer but not those with breast cancer

In-cloud processes of methacrolein under simulated conditions – Part 2: Formation of secondary organic aerosol

The fate of methacrolein in cloud evapo-condensation cycles was experimentally investigated. To this end, aqueous-phase reactions of methacrolein with OH radicals were performed (as described in Liu et al., 2009), and the obtained solutions were then nebulized and dried into a mixing chamber. ESI-MS and ESI-MS/MS analyses of the aqueous phase composition denoted the formation of high molecular weight multifunctional products containing hydroxyl, carbonyl and carboxylic acid moieties. The time profiles of these products suggest that their formation can imply radical pathways. These high molecular weight organic products are certainly responsible for the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) observed during the nebulization experiments. The size, number and mass concentration of these particles increased significantly with the reaction time: after 22 h of reaction, the aerosol mass concentration was about three orders of magnitude higher than the initial aerosol quantity. The evaluated SOA yield ranged from 2 to 12%. These yields were confirmed by another estimation method based on the hygroscopic and volatility properties of the obtained SOA measured and reported by Michaud et al. (2009). These results provide, for the first time to our knowledge, strong experimental evidence that cloud processes can act, through photooxidation reactions, as important contributors to secondary organic aerosol formation in the troposphere

Insights into the secondary fraction of the organic aerosol in a Mediterranean urban area: Marseille

A comprehensive aerosol characterization was conducted at Marseille during summer, including organic (OC) and elemental carbon (EC), major ionic species, radiocarbon (¹⁴C), water-soluble OC and HULIS (HUmic LIke Substances), elemental composition and primary and secondary organic markers. This paper is the second paper of a two-part series that uses this dataset to investigate the sources of Organic Aerosol (OA). While the first paper investigates the primary sources (El Haddad et al., 2010), this second paper focuses on the secondary fraction of the organic aerosol. <br><br> In the context of overall OC mass balance, primary OC (POC) contributes on average for only 22% and was dominated by vehicular emissions accounting on average for 17% of OC. As a result, 78% of OC mass cannot be attributed to the major primary sources and remains un-apportioned. Radiocarbon measurements suggest that more than 70% of this fraction is of non-fossil origin, assigned predominantly to biogenic secondary organic carbon (BSOC). Therefore, contributions from three traditional BSOC precursors, isoprene, $\alpha$-pinene and &beta;-caryophyllene, were considered. These were estimated using the ambient concentrations of Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) markers from each precursor and laboratory-derived marker mass fraction factors. <br><br> Secondary organic markers derived from isoprene photo-oxidation (ie: 2-methylglyceric acid and 2-methyltetrols) do not exhibit the same temporal trends. This variability was assigned to the influence of NO_x concentration on their formation pathways and to their potential decay by further processing in the atmosphere. The influence of changes in isoprene chemistry on assessment of isoprene SOC contribution was evaluated explicitly. The results suggest a 60-fold variation between the different estimates computed using different isoprene SOC markers, implying that the available profiles do not reflect the actual isoprene SOC composition observed in Marseille. <br><br> Using the marker-based approach, the aggregate contribution from traditional BSOC was estimated at only 4.2% of total OC and was dominated by α-pinene SOC accounting on average for 3.4% of OC. As a result, these estimates underpredict the inexplicably high loadings of OC. This underestimation can be associated with (1) uncertainties underlying the marker-based approach, (2) presence of other SOC precursors and (3) further processing of fresh SOC, as indicated by organosulfates (RSO₄H) and HUmic LIke Substances (HULIS) measurements