Girls Are Good At STEM: Opening Minds And Providing Evidence Reduce Boys\u27 Stereotyping Of Girls\u27 STEM Ability

Girls and women face persistent negative stereotyping within STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). This field intervention was designed to improve boys\u27 perceptions of girls\u27 STEM ability. Boys (N = 667; mostly White and East Asian) aged 9-15 years in Canadian STEM summer camps (2017-2019) had an intervention or control conversation with trained camp staff. The intervention was a multi-stage persuasive appeal: a values affirmation, an illustration of girls\u27 ability in STEM, a personalized anecdote, and reflection. Control participants discussed general camp experiences. Boys who received the intervention (vs. control) had more positive perceptions of girls\u27 STEM ability, d = 0.23, an effect stronger among younger boys. These findings highlight the importance of engaging elementary-school-aged boys to make STEM climates more inclusive

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio

Anticoagulant Utilization and Direct Oral Anticoagulant Prescribing in Patients with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation

ABSTRACTBackground: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are indicated for prevention of stroke and embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). These agents have been shown to be non-inferior to warfarin in terms of efficacy and safety. However, their uptake in practice has been variable, and prescribed dosages may be inconsistent with manufacturer recommendations.Objectives: To evaluate patterns of oral anticoagulant use in patients with NVAF, including determination of patient characteristics associated with the prescribing of warfarin or DOACs and whether prescribed dosages of DOACs were concordant with manufacturer recommendations.Methods: This retrospective chart review was conducted from April to September 2017 at Abbotsford Regional Hospital, Abbotsford, British Columbia. Patients at least 18 years of age with NVAF and CHADS-65 score of 1 or higher were included. Patients with contraindications to oral anticoagulants, those with reversible atrial fibrillation, and those undergoing renal dialysis were excluded. The dosage of DOACs was categorized as too low, too high, or correct in relation to manufacturer recommendations for the Canadian product. Results: A total of 120 patients were included. At discharge, 83 (69%) of the patients had a prescription for DOAC, 25 (21%) had a prescription for warfarin, and 12 (10%) had no prescription for an oral anticoagulant. There were no statistically significant differences between the warfarin and DOAC groups with respect to patient characteristics. Among the 56 patients for whom a full DOAC dose was indicated, 7 (13%) received a dose that was too low. Among the 23 patients for whom a full DOAC dose was not indicated, 4 (17%) received a dose that was too high. Conclusions: At the study hospital, most patients with NVAF and CHADS-65 score of at least 1 had a discharge prescription for DOAC. Patient characteristics appeared to be similar between the warfarin and DOAC groups. For a notable proportion of patients who received a DOAC, the dosage was incorrect. Appropriate prescribing of oral anticoagulants could be further improved by education for prescribers and involvement of hospital pharmacists.RÉSUMÉContexte : Les anticoagulants oraux directs (AOD) sont indiqués pour prévenir les AVC et les embolies parmi les patients atteints de fibrillation auriculaire non valvulaire (FANV). Il a été démontré que l’efficacité et l’innocuité de ces agents n’étaient pas inférieures à la warfarine. Cependant, leur adoption dans la pratique est inégale, et les doses prescrites peuvent être contraires aux recommandations des fabricants.Objectifs : Évaluation des habitudes d’utilisation des anticoagulants oraux pour les patients atteints de FANV, y compris la définition des caractéristiques des patients associées à la prescription de la warfarine ou des AOD, ainsi que de la conformité des doses prescrites de ces derniers aux recommandations des fabricants.Méthodes : Cet examen rétrospectif des dossiers a été mené d’avril à septembre 2017 à l’Hôpital régional d’Abbotsford à Abbotsford, en Colombie-Britannique. Des patients âgés d’au moins 18 ans, atteints de FANV et ayant un score CHADS-65 d’au moins 1, ont été inclus dans l’étude. Les patients présentant une contre-indication aux anticoagulants oraux, ceux atteints de fibrillation auriculaire réversible et ceux soumis à une dialyse rénale en ont été exclus. La dose d’AOD destinés au marché canadien a été catégorisée comme trop faible, trop élevée ou correcte par rapport aux recommandations du fabricant.Résultats : Cent-vingt patients au total ont participé à l’étude. Au moment du congé, 83 (69 %) d’entre eux avaient une prescription d’AOD, 25 (21 %) avaient une prescription de warfarine et 12 (10 %) n’avaient pas de prescription d’anticoagulant oral. En ce qui concerne les caractéristiques des patients, il n’y avait aucune différence statistique notable entre les groupes ayant reçu une prescription de warfarine et ceux ayant reçu une prescription d’AOD. Des 56 patients qui avaient reçu une indication de dose complète d’AOD, sept (13 %) ont reçu une dose trop faible. Des 23 patients qui n’avaient pas reçu d’indication de dose complète d’AOD, quatre (17 %) ont reçu une dose trop élevée.Conclusions : À l’hôpital où s’est déroulée l’étude, la plupart des patients atteints de FANV et ceux ayant un score CHADS-65 d’au moins 1 recevaient une prescription d’AOD au moment du congé. Les caractéris-tiques des patients semblaient similaires entre les groupes ayant reçu une prescription de warfarine et ceux ayant reçu une prescription d’AOD. La dose d’AOD reçue par une proportion notable de patients était incorrecte. La prescription appropriée d’anticoagulants oraux pourrait encore être améliorée si on sensibilisait les prescripteurs avec la collaboration des pharmaciens d’hôpitaux.  

Multiple loci on 8q24 associated with prostate cancer susceptibility

Previous studies have identified multiple loci on 8q24 associated with prostate cancer risk. We performed a comprehensive analysis of SNP associations across 8q24 by genotyping tag SNPs in 5,504 prostate cancer cases and 5,834 controls. We confirmed associations at three previously reported loci and identified additional loci in two other linkage disequilibrium blocks (rs1006908: per-allele OR = 0.87, P = 7.9 x 10(-8); rs620861: OR = 0.90, P = 4.8 x 10(-8)). Eight SNPs in five linkage disequilibrium blocks were independently associated with prostate cancer susceptibility

Identification of seven new prostate cancer susceptibility loci through a genome-wide association study

Prostate cancer (PrCa) is the most frequently diagnosed male cancer in developed countries. To identify common PrCa susceptibility alleles, we have previously conducted a genome-wide association study in which 541, 129 SNPs were genotyped in 1,854 PrCa cases with clinically detected disease and 1,894 controls. We have now evaluated promising associations in a second stage, in which we genotyped 43,671 SNPs in 3,650 PrCa cases and 3,940 controls, and a third stage, involving an additional 16,229 cases and 14,821 controls from 21 studies. In addition to previously identified loci, we identified a further seven new prostate cancer susceptibility loci on chromosomes 2, 4, 8, 11, and 22 (P=1.6×10−8 to P=2.7×10−33)

\u3ci\u3eDrosophila\u3c/i\u3e Muller F Elements Maintain a Distinct Set of Genomic Properties Over 40 Million Years of Evolution

The Muller F element (4.2 Mb, ~80 protein-coding genes) is an unusual autosome of Drosophila melanogaster; it is mostly heterochromatic with a low recombination rate. To investigate how these properties impact the evolution of repeats and genes, we manually improved the sequence and annotated the genes on the D. erecta, D. mojavensis, and D. grimshawi F elements and euchromatic domains from the Muller D element. We find that F elements have greater transposon density (25–50%) than euchromatic reference regions (3–11%). Among the F elements, D. grimshawi has the lowest transposon density (particularly DINE-1: 2% vs. 11–27%). F element genes have larger coding spans, more coding exons, larger introns, and lower codon bias. Comparison of the Effective Number of Codons with the Codon Adaptation Index shows that, in contrast to the other species, codon bias in D. grimshawi F element genes can be attributed primarily to selection instead of mutational biases, suggesting that density and types of transposons affect the degree of local heterochromatin formation. F element genes have lower estimated DNA melting temperatures than D element genes, potentially facilitating transcription through heterochromatin. Most F element genes (~90%) have remained on that element, but the F element has smaller syntenic blocks than genome averages (3.4–3.6 vs. 8.4–8.8 genes per block), indicating greater rates of inversion despite lower rates of recombination. Overall, the F element has maintained characteristics that are distinct from other autosomes in the Drosophila lineage, illuminating the constraints imposed by a heterochromatic milieu