Exploring Gender Differences in Online Cancer Support Groups

Gender differences in depression and other psychiatric conditions have been widely documented in the general population (Nolen‐Hoeksema, 2006). Therefore, several studies have analyzed the differential gender‐based adaptation of a cancer diagnosis. However, there seem to be contradictory results. While some studies have found there to be no gender differences in terms of cancer‐related distress (Beresford et al., 2006; Deimling et al., 2006; Zabora et al., 2001; & Carlson et al., 2004; Matthews, 2003), other studies have found that females tend to display more anxiety and depressive symptoms (Mystakidou et al., 2005; Deimling et al., 2006). Interestingly, limited studies have reported men with higher levels of psychological distress when compared to women (Kaiser, Hartoonian, & Owen, 2009). In considering the effects of gender on cancer‐related distress, there are other factors that should be considered; for instance, is the cancer gender‐specific? (E.g. breast, ovarian, cervical, prostate, testicular), or is the cancer gender‐common? (E.g. lung, pancreatic, colon, etc.). While looking at distress rates within cancer types, it is important to consider the prognosis/ survival rate of different types of cancer. For example, perhaps women diagnosed with ovarian cancer, a serious form of cancer, will report higher levels of distress in relation to men diagnosed with highly treatable prostate cancer. This observation may be attributed to survival rate as opposed to gender. Yet another factor to consider while examining gender differences in cancer‐related distress rates are cultural determinants (Mehnert, Shim, Koyama, Cho, Inoi, Paik, & Koch, 2006). Some cultures may find it less socially acceptable for men to admit to distress, which may in turn explain why females have been found to report higher levels of distress. For example, Wilson (1967) found that males are more willing to express certain types of emotions more than others. Women are more likely to express feelings of fear than men, and more likely to report fears that others may view as “silly” because it is not socially acceptable for men to do so (Wilson, 1967). Findings concerning gender differences in cancer‐related distress have largely varied based upon location and types of symptoms as well. For example, males have reported higher distress in the physical dimension of symptoms, but for females in the psychological dimension. However, females have reported higher distress in general (Herschbach, Book, Brandi, Keller, Lindena, Newohner, & Marten‐Mittag, 2008). Moreover, females treated in University clinics and rehabilitation clinics reported significantly higher distress than their male counterparts in the same setting, yet distress rates varied in different settings (Herschbach, Book, Brandi, Keller, Lindena, Newohner, & Marten‐Mittag, 2008). However, such results may be due to the complex confounding effects and stage of disease in these settings. Furthermore, across different cancer types, females have been found to be more distressed than males in each category. Highest distress rates were found in individuals with respiratory tract cancers for both males and females (Hershbach et al., 2008). Finally, when gender differences are found to exist in terms of cancer‐related distress, it is important to recognize that a cancer diagnosis may affect men and women uniquely and may trigger different coping methods. Therefore, intervention efforts may need to cater differently to men versus women. For example, research has demonstrated that females tend to experience more cancer‐related pain than men, speculated to be accounted for by females being undertreated for such pain (Im, Chee, Guevara, et al., 2007). Further, females have tended to display more emotion‐focused and social support seeking efforts compared to their male counterparts (Clarke, McCXarthy, Downie, Ashley, & Anderson, 2009)

Effects of Distress on Health Care Utilization in Cancer Survivors (NHIS 2004)

Distress rates have been found to be around 43%, as indicated by a study of five comprehensive cancer centers and as measured by the Distress Thermometer (Jacobsen, et ah, 2005). Furthermore, few studies have examined the current health care utilization among cancer patients as predicted by distress. Thus, population-based data from the NHIS (2004) was analyzed using SUDAAN software 1) to ascertain the current levels of distress as measured by the Kessler 6 scale experienced by cancer survivors based upon demographic characteristics, family structure, physical comorbitities, and cancer-related variables, and 2) to determine whether distress rates reported among cancer survivors predict current health care utilization, both mental and physical. Results indicated that cancer patients were significantly more distressed when compared to individuals with other chronic diseases and healthy individuals, F (2,339) = 586.39, p \u3c .0001. Furthermore, gynecological cancers reported the highest levels of distress. Age (8= -.01), education F (2,339) = 9.74, p = .0001, and physical comorbidities were found to be salient predictors of distress in covariate-adjusted analyses. After controlling for demographic, physical comorbidity, and cancer-related variables, distress among cancer patients significantly increased the likelihood of seeing a mental health professional (OR = 2.80, 95%CI = 2.13-3.67), as well as number of ER visits over the past 12 months (OR = 1.47, 95%CI = 1.21-1.78). However, when compared to healthy and other chronic disease groups, healthy individuals were the most likely to see a mental health professional as predicted by distress levels (OR = 3.58, 95%CI =3.02-4.24). Yet, number of ER visits for cancer patients increased the most as distress increased when compared to healthy and other chronic disease patients (B=.35, p \u3c .05). Findings from the proposed study will be used to develop interventions in alleviating distress among cancer survivors living with clinically meaningful distress and will provide useful information to health care providers based upon the need and current use of health care services. Future directions in research include evaluating possible moderators of distress and health care utilization, such as cost and insurance-related factors

Defining thresholds of sustainable impact on benthic communities in relation to fishing disturbance

AbstractWhile the direct physical impact on seabed biota is well understood, no studies have defined thresholds to inform an ecosystem-based approach to managing fishing impacts. We addressed this knowledge gap using a large-scale experiment that created a controlled gradient of fishing intensity and assessed the immediate impacts and short-term recovery. We observed a mosaic of taxon-specific responses at various thresholds. The lowest threshold of significant lasting impact occurred between 1 and 3 times fished and elicited a decrease in abundance of 39 to 70% for some sessile epifaunal organisms (cnidarians, bryozoans). This contrasted with significant increases in abundance and/or biomass of scavenging species (epifaunal echinoderms, infaunal crustaceans) by two to four-fold in areas fished twice and more. In spite of these significant specific responses, the benthic community structure, biomass and abundance at the population level appeared resilient to fishing. Overall, natural temporal variation in community metrics exceeded the effects of fishing in this highly dynamic study site, suggesting that an acute level of disturbance (fished over six times) would match the level of natural variation. We discuss the implications of our findings for natural resources management with respect to context-specific human disturbance and provide guidance for best fishing practices.</jats:p

Using bio-physical modelling and population genetics for conservation and management of an exploited species, Pecten maximus L.

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordData availability statement: The microsatellite data along with the site location data that support the findings of this study are openly available in FigShare at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12907430Connectivity between populations is important when considering conservation or the management of exploitation of vulnerable species. We investigated how populations of a broadcast-spawning marine species (scallop, Pecten maximus) that occur in discrete geographic locations were connected to each other. Population genetic insights were related to the outputs from a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model implemented with scallop larval behaviour to understand the extent to which these areas were linked by oceanographic processes and how this was altered by season and two contrasting years that had strongly different average temperature records (warm vs cold) to provide contrasting oceanographic conditions. Our results span from regional to shelf scale. Connectivity was high at a regional level (e.g. northern Irish Sea), but lower at scales >100 km between sites. Some localities were possibly isolated thus dependent on self-recruitment to sustain local populations. Seasonal timing of spawning and inter-annual fluctuations in seawater temperature influenced connectivity patterns, and hence will affect spatial recruitment. Summer rather than spring spawning increased connectivity among some populations, due to the seasonal strengthening of temperature-driven currents. Furthermore, the warm year resulted in higher levels of modelled connectivity than the cold year. The combination of genetic and oceanographic approaches provided valuable insights into the structure and connectivity at a continental shelf scale. This insight provides a powerful basis for defining conservation management units and the appropriate scale for spatial management. Temporal fluctuations in temperature impact upon variability in connectivity, suggesting that future work should account for ocean warming when investigating population resilience.Isle of Man GovernmentEuropean Fisheries FundEuropean Union Regional Development Fun

Beiträge zur Veranstaltung "Wieviel Ernährungsfläche brauchen Zürich und andere Städte?" im Rahmen von "Zürich isst" am 3.9.2015

Drei Studien aus der Schweiz und Frankreich geben einen Denkanstoss bezüglich der Ernährungssouveränität einer Stadt. - Vortrag von Adrian Moser: Ernährungsfläche der Agglomeration Basel - Ein Versuch der Visualisierung - Vortrag von Natalie Kaiser, Michelle Krautter und Antonia Müller: Fallstudie Local Food Zürich - Selbstversorgungsgrad und Ernährungsflächen der Stadt Zürich. Zusammengefasst für "Zürich isst" am 3.9.2015 durch Otto Schmid. - Presentation of Dr. Catherine Darrot, from Agrocampus Rennes: Villes vivrières - Scenarios of Food autonomy for Rennes Metropole (France) and Strasbour

Freezing Medium Containing 5% DMSO Enhances the Cell Viability and Recovery Rate After Cryopreservation of Regulatory T Cell Products ex vivo and in vivo

Cell therapies have significant therapeutic potential in diverse fields including regenerative medicine, transplantation tolerance, and autoimmunity. Within these fields, regulatory T cells (Treg) have been deployed to ameliorate aberrant immune responses with great success. However, translation of the cryopreservation strategies employed for other cell therapy products, such as effector T cell therapies, to Treg therapies has been challenging. The lack of an optimized cryopreservation strategy for Treg products presents a substantial obstacle to their broader application, particularly as administration of fresh cells limits the window available for sterility and functional assessment. In this study, we aimed to develop an optimized cryopreservation strategy for our CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg clinical product. We investigate the effect of synthetic or organic cryoprotectants including different concentrations of DMSO on Treg recovery, viability, phenotype, cytokine production, suppressive capacity, and in vivo survival following GMP-compliant manufacture. We additionally assess the effect of adding the extracellular cryoprotectant polyethylene glycol (PEG), or priming cellular expression of heat shock proteins as strategies to improve viability. We find that cryopreservation in serum-free freezing medium supplemented with 10% human serum albumin and 5% DMSO facilitates improved Treg recovery and functionality and supports a reduced DMSO concentration in Treg cryopreservation protocols. This strategy may be easily incorporated into clinical manufacture protocols for future studies

Towards comprehensive understanding of bacterial genetic diversity:large-scale amplifications in Bordetella pertussis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Bacterial genetic diversity is often described solely using base-pair changes despite a wide variety of other mutation types likely being major contributors. Tandem duplication/amplifications are thought to be widespread among bacteria but due to their often-intractable size and instability, comprehensive studies of these mutations are rare. We define a methodology to investigate amplifications in bacterial genomes based on read depth of genome sequence data as a proxy for copy number. We demonstrate the approach with Bordetella pertussis , whose insertion sequence element-rich genome provides extensive scope for amplifications to occur. Analysis of data for 2430 B. pertussis isolates identified 272 putative amplifications, of which 94 % were located at 11 hotspot loci. We demonstrate limited phylogenetic connection for the occurrence of amplifications, suggesting unstable and sporadic characteristics. Genome instability was further described in vitro using long-read sequencing via the Nanopore platform, which revealed that clonally derived laboratory cultures produced heterogenous populations rapidly. We extended this research to analyse a population of 1000 isolates of another important pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis . We found 590 amplifications in M. tuberculosis , and like B. pertussis , these occurred primarily at hotspots. Genes amplified in B. pertussis include those involved in motility and respiration, whilst in M. tuberuclosis, functions included intracellular growth and regulation of virulence. Using publicly available short-read data we predicted previously unrecognized, large amplifications in B. pertussis and M. tuberculosis . This reveals the unrecognized and dynamic genetic diversity of B. pertussis and M. tuberculosis , highlighting the need for a more holistic understanding of bacterial genetics