Psychological Impact of Significantly Short Stature

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142466/1/apa199180s37714.pd

Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy

We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude, with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Personalized peptide-based vaccination for treatment of colorectal cancer: rational and progress

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers globally and is associated with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. A large proportion of patients with early stage CRC who undergo conventional treatments develop local recurrence or distant metastasis and in this group of advanced disease, the survival rate is low. Furthermore there is often a poor response and/or toxicity associated with chemotherapy and chemo-resistance may limit continuing conventional treatment alone. Choosing novel and targeted therapeutic approaches based on clinicopathological and molecular features of tumors in combination with conventional therapeutic approach could be used to eradicate residual micrometastasis and therefore improve patient prognosis and also be used preventively. Peptide-based vaccination therapy is one class of cancer treatment that could be used to induce tumor-specific immune responses, through the recognition of specific antigen-derived peptides in tumor cells, and this has emerged as a promising anti-cancer therapeutic strategy. The aim of this review was to summarize the main findings of recent studies in exciting field of peptide-based vaccination therapy in CRC patients as a novel therapeutic approach in treatment of CRC

Combining Asian and European genome-wide association studies of colorectal cancer improves risk prediction across racial and ethnic populations

Polygenic risk scores (PRS) have great potential to guide precision colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention by identifying those at higher risk to undertake targeted screening. However, current PRS using European ancestry data have sub-optimal performance in non-European ancestry populations, limiting their utility among these populations. Towards addressing this deficiency, we expand PRS development for CRC by incorporating Asian ancestry data (21,731 cases; 47,444 controls) into European ancestry training datasets (78,473 cases; 107,143 controls). The AUC estimates (95% CI) of PRS are 0.63(0.62-0.64), 0.59(0.57-0.61), 0.62(0.60-0.63), and 0.65(0.63-0.66) in independent datasets including 1681-3651 cases and 8696-115,105 controls of Asian, Black/African American, Latinx/Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White, respectively. They are significantly better than the European-centric PRS in all four major US racial and ethnic groups (p-values < 0.05). Further inclusion of non-European ancestry populations, especially Black/African American and Latinx/Hispanic, is needed to improve the risk prediction and enhance equity in applying PRS in clinical practice

Apathy associated with neurocognitive disorders: Recent progress and future directions

Introduction Apathy is common in neurocognitive disorders (NCDs) such as Alzheimer&apos;s disease and mild cognitive impairment. Although the definition of apathy is inconsistent in the literature, apathy is primarily defined as a loss of motivation and decreased interest in daily activities. Methods The Alzheimer&apos;s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer&apos;s Research and Treatment (ISTAART) Neuropsychiatric Syndromes Professional Interest Area (NPS-PIA) Apathy workgroup reviewed the latest research regarding apathy in NCDs. Results Progress has recently been made in three areas relevant to apathy: (1) phenomenology, including the use of diagnostic criteria and novel instruments for measurement, (2) neurobiology, including neuroimaging, neuropathological and biomarker correlates, and (3) interventions, including pharmacologic, nonpharmacologic, and noninvasive neuromodulatory approaches. Discussion Recent progress confirms that apathy has a significant impact on those with major NCD and those with mild NCDs. As such, it is an important target for research and intervention. © 2016 the Alzheimer&apos;s Associatio

Impaired social status of growth hormone deficient adults as compared to controls with short or normal stature

Summary OBJECTIVES In adults with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) social problems have been reported, but so far the relative contributions of GHD, additional pituitary deficiencies and short stature have not been distinguished. We therefore compared social data from GHD patlents wlth soclal date from controls wlth short or normal stature. Furthermore we Investigated whether social problems are caused solely by the deficiency of OH or also by the associated absence of other pitultary hormones. DESIGN A questionnaire was sent to patient8 and controls with items on education, profession, income, partner and living situation. PATIENTS Two hundred and ten GHD patients treated in chlldhood but not in adulthood wlth GH (93 isolated GHD (IGHD), 111 patients with multiple pltultary deficiency (MPD)) were compared wlth 53 short controls (helght In chlldhood &lt;third percentile for population) and 39 normal stature controls. RESULTS There were no differences between short and normal controls. There were also no differences between IGHD and MPD patients in any of the Investigated Items. GHD patients did not differ from controls on education level, but scored lower on the profession scale, had a lower Income and had a partner less often; If they had a partner they less often had children; also, more of them lived with their parents