What components influence hypothetical willingness to pay for the environmental benefits of shade-grown coffee?

Coffee is one example of a good whose consumption can lead to environmental degradation that the consumer is unaware of. During the 19th century, new high-yield varieties of coffee were developed that could be grown under the direct sunlight of recently deforested areas. An ecologically friendly alternative to mass-produced sun-grown systems is shade-grown coffee. This coffee is grown under traditional forest cover, providing ecological benefits such as species habitat, but at lower yields. In the global market, a price premium is the practice of placing a higher price than the market price on a specific good. If consumers value the additional economic or social benefits provided by shade-grown coffee, they will pay the additional cost. One way to determine the value that consumers place on the ecological benefits provided by shade-grown coffee is to create a hypothetical market using a contingent valuation survey. This study used a contingent valuation survey to conclude the components that affect hypothetical willingness to pay. Our results determined that gender was the only significant factor in determining hypothetical willingness to pay, with females willing to pay more for shade-grown coffee than their male counterparts

Increasing condom use in heterosexual men: development of a theory-based interactive digital intervention

Increasing condom use to prevent sexually transmitted infections is a key public health goal. Interventions are more likely to be effective if they are theory- and evidence-based. The Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) provides a framework for intervention development. To provide an example of how the BCW was used to develop an intervention to increase condom use in heterosexual men (the MenSS website), the steps of the BCW intervention development process were followed, incorporating evidence from the research literature and views of experts and the target population. Capability (e.g. knowledge) and motivation (e.g. beliefs about pleasure) were identified as important targets of the intervention. We devised ways to address each intervention target, including selecting interactive features and behaviour change techniques. The BCW provides a useful framework for integrating sources of evidence to inform intervention content and deciding which influences on behaviour to target

Plant DNA barcodes and assessment of phylogenetic community structure of a tropical mixed dipterocarp forest in Brunei Darussalam (Borneo)

DNA barcoding is a fast and reliable tool to assess and monitor biodiversity and, via community phylogenetics, to investigate ecological and evolutionary processes that may be responsible for the community structure of forests. In this study, DNA barcodes for the two widely used plastid coding regions rbcL and matK are used to contribute to identification of morphologically undetermined individuals, as well as to investigate phylogenetic structure of tree communities in 70 subplots (10 × 10m) of a 25-ha forest-dynamics plot in Brunei (Borneo, Southeast Asia). The combined matrix (rbcL + matK) comprised 555 haplotypes (from ≥154 genera, 68 families and 25 orders sensu APG, Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, 2016), making a substantial contribution to tree barcode sequences from Southeast Asia. Barcode sequences were used to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships using maximum likelihood, both with and without constraining the topology of taxonomic orders to match that proposed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. A third phylogenetic tree was reconstructed using the program Phylomatic to investigate the influence of phylogenetic resolution on results. Detection of non-random patterns of community assembly was determined by net relatedness index (NRI) and nearest taxon index (NTI). In most cases, community assembly was either random or phylogenetically clustered, which likely indicates the importance to community structure of habitat filtering based on phylogenetically correlated traits in determining community structure. Different phylogenetic trees gave similar overall results, but the Phylomatic tree produced greater variation across plots for NRI and NTI values, presumably due to noise introduced by using an unresolved phylogenetic tree. Our results suggest that using a DNA barcode tree has benefits over the traditionally used Phylomatic approach by increasing precision and accuracy and allowing the incorporation of taxonomically unidentified individuals into analyses

Robust Tests for Additive Gene-Environment Interaction in Case-Control Studies Using Gene-Environment Independence

There have been recent proposals advocating the use of additive gene-environment interaction instead of the widely used multiplicative scale, as a more relevant public health measure. Using gene-environment independence enhances statistical power for testing multiplicative interaction in case-control studies. However, under departure from this assumption, substantial bias in the estimates and inflated type I error in the corresponding tests can occur. In this paper, we extend the empirical Bayes (EB) approach previously developed for multiplicative interaction, which trades off between bias and efficiency in a data-adaptive way, to the additive scale. An EB estimator of the relative excess risk due to interaction is derived, and the corresponding Wald test is proposed with a general regression setting under a retrospective likelihood framework. We study the impact of gene-environment association on the resultant test with case-control data. Our simulation studies suggest that the EB approach uses the gene-environment independence assumption in a data-adaptive way and provides a gain in power compared with the standard logistic regression analysis and better control of type I error when compared with the analysis assuming gene-environment independence. We illustrate the methods with data from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium.Multiple funders listed on paper

Airway Microbiota and Pathogen Abundance in Age-Stratified Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Bacterial communities in the airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are, as in other ecological niches, influenced by autogenic and allogenic factors. However, our understanding of microbial colonization in younger versus older CF airways and the association with pulmonary function is rudimentary at best. Using a phylogenetic microarray, we examine the airway microbiota in age stratified CF patients ranging from neonates (9 months) to adults (72 years). From a cohort of clinically stable patients, we demonstrate that older CF patients who exhibit poorer pulmonary function possess more uneven, phylogenetically-clustered airway communities, compared to younger patients. Using longitudinal samples collected form a subset of these patients a pattern of initial bacterial community diversification was observed in younger patients compared with a progressive loss of diversity over time in older patients. We describe in detail the distinct bacterial community profiles associated with young and old CF patients with a particular focus on the differences between respective “early” and “late” colonizing organisms. Finally we assess the influence of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Regulator (CFTR) mutation on bacterial abundance and identify genotype-specific communities involving members of the Pseudomonadaceae, Xanthomonadaceae, Moraxellaceae and Enterobacteriaceae amongst others. Data presented here provides insights into the CF airway microbiota, including initial diversification events in younger patients and establishment of specialized communities of pathogens associated with poor pulmonary function in older patient populations

Clinical parameters affecting survival outcomes in patients with low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma: An international multicentre analysis

Background: Women with low-grade ovarian serous carcinoma (LGSC) benefit from surgical treatment; however, the role of chemotherapy is controversial. We examined an international database through the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium to identify factors that affect survival in LGSC. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of patients with LGSC who had had primary surgery and had overall survival data available. We performed univariate and multivariate analyses of progression-free survival and overall survival, and generated Kaplan–Meier survival curves. Results: Of the 707 patients with LGSC, 680 (96.2%) had available overall survival data. The patients’ median age overall was 54 years. Of the 659 patients with International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology stage data, 156 (23.7%) had stage I disease, 64 (9.7%) had stage II, 395 (59.9%) had stage III, and 44 (6.7%) had stage IV. Of the 377 patients with surgical data, 200 (53.0%) had no visible residual disease. Of the 361 patients with chemotherapy data, 330 (91.4%) received first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. The median follow-up duration was 5.0 years. The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 43.2 months and 110.4 months, respectively. Multivariate analysis indicated a statistically significant impact of stage and residual disease on progression-free survival and overall survival. Platinum-based chemotherapy was not associated with a survival advantage. Conclusion: This multicentre analysis indicates that complete surgical cytoreduction to no visible residual disease has the most impact on improved survival in LGSC. This finding could immediately inform and change practice.publishedVersio

A comprehensive gene-environment interaction analysis in Ovarian Cancer using genome-wide significant common variants.

As a follow-up to genome-wide association analysis of common variants associated with ovarian carcinoma (cancer), our study considers seven well-known ovarian cancer risk factors and their interactions with 28 genome-wide significant common genetic variants. The interaction analyses were based on data from 9971 ovarian cancer cases and 15,566 controls from 17 case-control studies. Likelihood ratio and Wald tests for multiplicative interaction and for relative excess risk due to additive interaction were used. The top multiplicative interaction was noted between oral contraceptive pill (OCP) use (ever vs. never) and rs13255292 (p value = 3.48 × 10-4 ). Among women with the TT genotype for this variant, the odds ratio for OCP use was 0.53 (95% CI = 0.46-0.60) compared to 0.71 (95%CI = 0.66-0.77) for women with the CC genotype. When stratified by duration of OCP use, women with 1-5 years of OCP use exhibited differential protective benefit across genotypes. However, no interaction on either the multiplicative or additive scale was found to be statistically significant after multiple testing correction. The results suggest that OCP use may offer increased benefit for women who are carriers of the T allele in rs13255292. On the other hand, for women carrying the C allele in this variant, longer (5+ years) use of OCP may reduce the impact of carrying the risk allele of this SNP. Replication of this finding is needed. The study presents a comprehensive analytic framework for conducting gene-environment analysis in ovarian cancer

Cigarette smoking is associated with adverse survival among women with ovarian cancer: Results from a pooled analysis of 19 studies

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136359/1/ijc30600_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136359/2/ijc30600.pd

Protocol for the ROSE sustainment (ROSES) study, a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial to determine the minimum necessary intervention to maintain a postpartum depression prevention program in prenatal clinics serving low-income women

Background: More research on sustainment of interventions is needed, especially return on investment (ROI) studies to determine cost-benefit trade-offs for effort required to sustain and how much is gained when effective programs are sustained. The ROSE sustainment (ROSES) study uses a sequential multiple assignment randomized (SMART) design to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a stepwise approach to sustainment of the ROSE postpartum depression prevention program in 90 outpatient clinics providing prenatal care to pregnant women on public assistance. Postpartum depression (PPD) is common and can have lasting consequences. Outpatient clinics offering prenatal care are an opportune place to provide PPD prevention because most women visit while pregnant. The ROSE (Reach Out, Stay Strong, Essentials for mothers of newborns) program is a group educational intervention to prevent PPD, delivered during pregnancy. ROSE has been found to reduce cases of PPD in community prenatal settings serving low-income pregnant women. Methods: All 90 prenatal clinics will receive enhanced implementation as usual (EIAU; initial training + tools for sustainment). At the first time at which a clinic is determined to be at risk for failure to sustain (i.e., at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 months), that clinic will be randomized to receive either (1) no additional implementation support (i.e., EIAU only), or (2) low-intensity coaching and feedback (LICF). If clinics receiving LICF are still at risk at subsequent assessments, they will be randomized to either (1) EIAU + LICF only, or (2) high-intensity coaching and feedback (HICF). Additional follow-up interviews will occur at 18, 24, and 30 months, but no implementation intervention will occur after 18 months. Outcomes include (1) percent sustainment of core program elements at each time point, (2) health impact (PPD rates over time at each clinic) and reach, and (3) ROI (costs and cost-effectiveness) of each sustainment step. Hypothesized mechanisms include sustainment of capacity to deliver core elements and engagement/ownership. Discussion: This study is the first randomized trial evaluating the ROI of a stepped approach to sustainment, a critical unanswered question in implementation science. It will also advance knowledge of implementation mechanisms and clinical care for an at-risk population

Population-based targeted sequencing of 54 candidate genes identifies PALB2 as a susceptibility gene for high-grade serous ovarian cancer

Purpose: The known epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) susceptibility genes account for less than 50% of the heritable risk of ovarian cancer suggesting that other susceptibility genes exist. The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution to ovarian cancer susceptibility of rare deleterious germline variants in a set of candidate genes. Methods: We sequenced the coding region of 54 candidate genes in 6385 invasive EOC cases and 6115 controls of broad European ancestry. Genes with an increased frequency of putative deleterious variants in cases versus controls were further examined in an independent set of 14 135 EOC cases and 28 655 controls from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium and the UK Biobank. For each gene, we estimated the EOC risks and evaluated associations between germline variant status and clinical characteristics. Results: The ORs associated for high-grade serous ovarian cancer were 3.01 for PALB2 (95% CI 1.59 to 5.68; p=0.00068), 1.99 for POLK (95% CI 1.15 to 3.43; p=0.014) and 4.07 for SLX4 (95% CI 1.34 to 12.4; p=0.013). Deleterious mutations in FBXO10 were associated with a reduced risk of disease (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.07 to 1.00, p=0.049). However, based on the Bayes false discovery probability, only the association for PALB2 in high-grade serous ovarian cancer is likely to represent a true positive. Conclusions: We have found strong evidence that carriers of PALB2 deleterious mutations are at increased risk of high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Whether the magnitude of risk is sufficiently high to warrant the inclusion of PALB2 in cancer gene panels for ovarian cancer risk testing is unclear; much larger sample sizes will be needed to provide sufficiently precise estimates for clinical counselling