A randomised controlled study of an audiovisual patient information intervention on informed consent and recruitment to cancer clinical trials

Recruitment to cancer clinical trials needs to be improved, as does patient knowledge and understanding about clinical trials, in order for patients to make an informed choice about whether or not to take part. Audiovisual patient information (AVPI) has been shown to improve knowledge and understanding in various areas of practice, but there is limited information about its effect in the cancer clinical trial setting, particularly in relation to consent rates. In this study, 173 patients were randomised to receive either the AVPI, in addition to the standard trial-specific written information, or the written information alone. There was no difference in clinical trial recruitment rates between the two groups with similar study entry rates: 72.1% in the AVPI group and 75.9% in the standard information group. The estimated odds ratio for refusal (intervention/no intervention) was 1.19 (95% CI 0.55–2.58, P=0.661). Knowledge scores increased more in the AVPI group compared to the standard group (P=0.0072). The change in anxiety score between the arms was also statistically significant (P=0.011) with anxiety improving in the intervention arm more than in the no intervention arm. Audiovisual patient information was shown to be a useful tool in improving patient knowledge and anxiety, but further work is necessary in relation to its effect on clinical trial recruitment rates

It’s the way he tells them (and who is listening):men’s dominance is positively correlated with their preference for jokes told by dominant-sounding men

While much research has explored humorous exchange in relation to mate choice, recent perspectives have emphasized the importance of humor for monitoring interest within social partnerships more generally. Indeed, given that similarity is thought to be important in the maintenance of social partnerships, we may expect humor appreciation to vary according to the degree of similarity between humor producers and recipients. In the current study we report evidence for such variation that is specific to men’s judgments of other men’s humor. Here we manipulated voice pitch in a set of ‘one-liner’ jokes to create low-pitched and high-pitched versions of men and women telling jokes. A composite measure of men’s own dominance was positively correlated with their preference for jokes told by other men with lowered voice pitch (a vocal cue to dominance). A follow-up study demonstrated that self-reported dominance was positively related to men’s choice of low-pitch men as friends when judging humorous audio clips but not when judging neutral control audio clips, suggesting that humor may be important in mediating the effect of dominance on friendship choice. These studies indicate systematic variation in humor appreciation related to friendship choices which may function to promote cohesion within male partnerships based on status

Atlas-Based Analysis of Cardiac Shape and Function: Correction of Regional Shape Bias Due to Imaging Protocol for Population Studies

Background: Cardiovascular imaging studies generate a wealth of data which is typically used only for individual study endpoints. By pooling data from multiple sources, quantitative comparisons can be made of regional wall motion abnormalities between different cohorts, enabling reuse of valuable data. Atlas-based analysis provides precise quantification of shape and motion differences between disease groups and normal subjects. However, subtle shape differences may arise due to differences in imaging protocol between studies. Methods: A mathematical model describing regional wall motion and shape was used to establish a coordinate system registered to the cardiac anatomy. The atlas was applied to data contributed to the Cardiac Atlas Project from two independent studies which used different imaging protocols: steady state free precession (SSFP) and gradient recalled echo (GRE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). Shape bias due to imaging protocol was corrected using an atlas-based transformation which was generated from a set of 46 volunteers who were imaged with both protocols. Results: Shape bias between GRE and SSFP was regionally variable, and was effectively removed using the atlas-based transformation. Global mass and volume bias was also corrected by this method. Regional shape differences between cohorts were more statistically significant after removing regional artifacts due to imaging protocol bias. Conclusions: Bias arising from imaging protocol can be both global and regional in nature, and is effectively corrected using an atlas-based transformation, enabling direct comparison of regional wall motion abnormalities between cohorts acquired in separate studies

Human Mycobacterium bovis Infection and Bovine Tuberculosis Outbreak, Michigan, 1994–2007

Mycobacterium bovis is endemic in Michigan’s white-tailed deer and has been circulating since 1994. The strain circulating in deer has remained genotypically consistent and was recently detected in 2 humans. We summarize the investigation of these cases and confirm that recreational exposure to deer is a risk for infection in humans

Application of pharmacogenomics and bioinformatics to exemplify the utility of human <i>ex vivo</i> organoculture models in the field of precision medicine

Here we describe a collaboration between industry, the National Health Service (NHS) and academia that sought to demonstrate how early understanding of both pharmacology and genomics can improve strategies for the development of precision medicines. Diseased tissue ethically acquired from patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), was used to investigate inter-patient variability in drug efficacy using ex vivo organocultures of fresh lung tissue as the test system. The reduction in inflammatory cytokines in the presence of various test drugs was used as the measure of drug efficacy and the individual patient responses were then matched against genotype and microRNA profiles in an attempt to identify unique predictors of drug responsiveness. Our findings suggest that genetic variation in CYP2E1 and SMAD3 genes may partly explain the observed variation in drug response

A Mi\u27kmaq First Nation cosmology: investigating the practice of contemporary Aboriginal Traditional Medicine in dialogue with counselling – toward an Indigenous therapeutics

This paper explores from a Mi’kmaq and Aboriginal standpoint foundational knowledge in Indigenous therapeutics. Based on an eco-social-psycho-spiritual way of working, the article proposes Indigenous cultural models that open a window to a rich cultural repository of meanings associated with Indigenous cosmology, ontology and epistemology. The three layers of meaning, theory and practice within the symbolic ‘Medicine Lodge’ or ‘Place of The Dreaming’ give rise to ways of working that are deeply integrative and wholistic. These forms of Indigenous theory and practice have much to offer the counselling and complimentary health professions

Scaled simulations of a 10 GeV accelerator

Laser plasma accelerators are able to produce high quality electron beams from 1 MeV to 1 GeV. The next generation of plasma accelerator experiments will likely use a multi-stage approach where a high quality electron bunch is first produced and then injected into an accelerating structure. In this paper we present scaled particle-in-cell simulations of a 10 GeV stage in the quasi-linear regime. We show that physical parameters can be scaled to be able to perform these simulations at reasonable computational cost. Beam loading properties and electron bunch energy gain are calculated. A range of parameter regimes are studied to optimize the quality of the electron bunch at the output of the stage

Design of 10 GeV laser wakefield accelerator stages with shaped laser modes

We present particle-in-cell simulations, using the VORPAL framework, of 10 GeV laser plasma wakefield accelerator stages. Scaling of the physical parameters with the plasma density allows us to perform these simulations at reasonable cost and to design high performance stages. In particular we show that, by choosing to operate in the quasi-linear regime, we can use higher order laser modes to tailor the focusing forces. This makes it possible to increase the matched electron beam radius and hence the total charge in the bunch while preserving the low bunch emittance required for applications