Colorectal cancer: advances in prevention and early detection

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is currently the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide. While mortality rates are in decline in most westernised countries, global estimates predict that CRC incidence rates and the overall number of CRC-related deaths are set to rise by 77% and 80%, respectively, by 2030. The development of CRC is multifactorial, and risk factors include various lifestyle, genetic, and environmental factors. It has been estimated that at least half of CRC cases could be prevented by a reduction in known modifiable lifestyle-related risk factors. Further reductions in CRC incidence and mortality can be achieved through screening, but the uptake of screening varies across different sectors of the population. This special issue comprises articles highlighting issues in the prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of CRC

In-depth analysis of the Naming Game dynamics: the homogeneous mixing case

Language emergence and evolution has recently gained growing attention through multi-agent models and mathematical frameworks to study their behavior. Here we investigate further the Naming Game, a model able to account for the emergence of a shared vocabulary of form-meaning associations through social/cultural learning. Due to the simplicity of both the structure of the agents and their interaction rules, the dynamics of this model can be analyzed in great detail using numerical simulations and analytical arguments. This paper first reviews some existing results and then presents a new overall understanding.Comment: 30 pages, 19 figures (few in reduced definition). In press in IJMP

Temporal trends in mode, site and stage of presentation with the introduction of colorectal cancer screening: a decade of experience from the West of Scotland

background:  Population colorectal cancer screening programmes have been introduced to reduce cancer-specific mortality through the detection of early-stage disease. The present study aimed to examine the impact of screening introduction in the West of Scotland. methods:  Data on all patients with a diagnosis of colorectal cancer between January 2003 and December 2012 were extracted from a prospectively maintained regional audit database. Changes in mode, site and stage of presentation before, during and after screening introduction were examined. results:  In a population of 2.4 million, over a 10-year period, 14 487 incident cases of colorectal cancer were noted. Of these, 7827 (54%) were males and 7727 (53%) were socioeconomically deprived. In the postscreening era, 18% were diagnosed via the screening programme. There was a reduction in both emergency presentation (20% prescreening vs 13% postscreening, P0.001) and the proportion of rectal cancers (34% prescreening vs 31% pos-screening, P0.001) over the timeframe. Within non-metastatic disease, an increase in the proportion of stage I tumours at diagnosis was noted (17% prescreening vs 28% postscreening, P0.001). conclusions:  Within non-metastatic disease, a shift towards earlier stage at diagnosis has accompanied the introduction of a national screening programme. Such a change should lead to improved outcomes in patients with colorectal cancer

Do EITC Recipients Use Their Tax Refunds to Get Ahead? Evidence From the Refund to Savings Initiative

Many U.S. households lack savings for unexpected expenses and financial shocks, but tax refunds and the Earned Income Tax Credit offer opportunities to set aside resources for use in emergencies. Understanding what EITC recipients do with their tax refunds is important for guiding federal policy to promote financial stability. This brief summarizes findings on the use of tax refunds by EITC recipients in the Refund to Savings (R2S) initiative. It also examines the use of financial services for saving refunds and the financial shocks experienced by EITC recipients during the 6 months after tax filing

Use of Alternative Financial Services Among Low- and Moderate-Income Households: Findings From a Large-Scale National Household Financial Survey

Use of Alternative Financial Services Among Low- and Moderate-Income Households: Findings From a Large-Scale National Household Financial Surve

Characteristics and Hardships Associated With Bank Account Ownership Among Refund to Savings Participants

Having a bank account is one important way for households to securely accumulate savings, build credit, and earn interest on assets. Nationally, 7.7% of households are unbanked—lacking both a checking and a savings account. One proposed step toward financial inclusion is to encourage unbanked households to open accounts and deposit refunds into savings at tax time, when many low-income households receive the year’s largest lump sum of cash. This brief utilizes data from the 2013 Refund to Savings study to summarize differences between banked and unbanked households. The findings show that unbanked status is a marker for other financial disadvantages, including having more unsecured debt and fewer assets. However, many who were unbanked at the time of the first survey were banked by the 6-month follow-up survey. Also, about a third of unbanked households expressed interest in opening a new account at tax time. Policies and products should facilitate account opening and retention of low-income households in the banking system

Hofstadter butterflies of carbon nanotubes: Pseudofractality of the magnetoelectronic spectrum

The electronic spectrum of a two-dimensional square lattice in a perpendicular magnetic field has become known as the Hofstadter butterfly [Hofstadter, Phys. Rev. B 14, 2239 (1976).]. We have calculated quasi-one-dimensional analogs of the Hofstadter butterfly for carbon nanotubes (CNTs). For the case of single-wall CNTs, it is straightforward to implement magnetic fields parallel to the tube axis by means of zone folding in the graphene reciprocal lattice. We have also studied perpendicular magnetic fields which, in contrast to the parallel case, lead to a much richer, pseudofractal spectrum. Moreover, we have investigated magnetic fields piercing double-wall CNTs and found strong signatures of interwall interaction in the resulting Hofstadter butterfly spectrum, which can be understood with the help of a minimal model. Ubiquitous to all perpendicular magnetic field spectra is the presence of cusp catastrophes at specific values of energy and magnetic field. Resolving the density of states along the tube circumference allows recognition of the snake states already predicted for nonuniform magnetic fields in the two-dimensional electron gas. An analytic model of the magnetic spectrum of electrons on a cylindrical surface is used to explain some of the results.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures update to published versio

The Role of Health Insurance in the Financial Lives of Low- and Moderate-Income Households

Health insurance is an important resource for enabling access to and use of medical care, and is associated with reduced risk for mortality and poor health outcomes. Health insurance also protects households from incurring major medical expenses and unmanageable levels of medical debt. About a quarter of a sample of low- and moderate-income (LMI) tax filers have no health insurance, compared to 10% of all individuals in the United States. As of 2014, the proportion of filers without insurance was 11 percentage points higher in states that had not expanded Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) than it was in expansion states. Lack of insurance is associated with lower income and assets, and higher unsecured debt, as well as greater likelihood of experiencing financial difficulties and material hardship. Despite progress in expanding health insurance coverage under the ACA, additional efforts are needed, including effort to further expand Medicaid and high-risk insurance pools, strengthen charity care policies and practices, and forgive medical debt

The Role of Choice Architecture in Promoting Saving at Tax Time: Evidence From a Large-Scale Field Experiment

This paper presents the findings of a large-scale field experiment (N = 646,16) from the Refund to Savings Initiative. The experiment tested a choice architecture and persuasive messaging intervention that increased saving among low-moderate income (LMI) consumers by approximately 50% during tax refund time. Two follow-up experiments parsed components of the intervention. The first follow-up experiment (N = 569) tested the messaging and choice architecture interventions separately, finding that each can increase savings. a final follow-up experiment (N = 554) tested individual elements of the choice architecture intervention, demonstrating that mere mention of savings within choice options was not sufficient to increase saving, however, heavy emphasis of savings and making saving “frictionless” within choice options both effectively increased saving intentions. The final experiment also demonstrated that the choice architecture effect operates similarly for both LMI and non-LMI consumers