Women's Intentions to Engage in Risk-Reducing Behaviours after Receiving Personal Ovarian Cancer Risk Information: An Experimental Survey Study

Risk stratification using genetic and/or other types of information could identify women at increased ovarian cancer risk. The aim of this study was to examine women's potential reactions to ovarian cancer risk stratification. A total of 1017 women aged 45-75 years took part in an online experimental survey. Women were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions describing hypothetical personal results from ovarian cancer risk stratification, and asked to imagine they had received one of three results: (a) 5% lifetime risk due to single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and lifestyle factors; (b) 10% lifetime risk due to SNPs and lifestyle factors; (c) 10% lifetime risk due to a single rare mutation in a gene. Results: 83% of women indicated interest in having ovarian cancer risk assessment. After receiving their hypothetical risk estimates, 29% of women stated they would have risk-reducing surgery. Choosing risk-reducing surgery over other behavioural responses was associated with having higher surgery self-efficacy and perceived response-efficacy, but not with perceptions of disease threat, i.e., perceived risk or severity, or with experimental condition. A substantial proportion of women age 45-75 years may be open to the idea of surgery to reduce risk of ovarian cancer, even if their absolute lifetime risk is only increased to as little as 5 or 10%

The anthelmintic efficacy of plant-derived cysteine proteinases against the rodent gastrointestinal nematode, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, in vivo

Gastrointestinal (GI) nematodes are important disease-causing organisms, controlled primarily through treatment with synthetic drugs, but the efficacy of these drugs has declined due to widespread resistance, and hence new drugs, with different modes of action, are required. Some medicinal plants, used traditionally for the treatment of worm infections, contain cysteine proteinases known to damage worms irreversibly in vitro. Here we (i) confirm that papaya latex has marked efficacy in vivo against the rodent gastrointestinal nematode, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, (ii) demonstrate the dosedependent nature of the activity (>90% reduction in egg output and 80% reduction in worm burden at the highest active enzyme concentration of 133 nmol), (iii) establish unequivocally that it is the cysteine proteinases that are the active principles in vivo (complete inhibition of enzyme activity when pre-incubated with the cysteine proteinase-specific inhibitor, E-64) and (iv) show that activity is confined to worms that are in the intestinal lumen. The mechanism of action was distinct from all current synthetic anthelmintics, and was the same as that in vitro, with the enzymes attacking and digesting the protective cuticle. Treatment had no detectable side-effects on immune cell numbers in the mucosa (there was no difference in the numbers of mast cells and goblet cells between the treated groups) and mucosal architecture (length of intestinal villi). Only the infected and untreated mice had much shorter villi than the other 3 groups, which was a consequence of infection and not treatment. Plant-derived cysteine proteinases are therefore prime candidates for development as novel drugs for the treatment of GI nematode infections

The upgraded Polaris powder diffractometer at the ISIS neutron source

This paper describes the design and operation of the Polaris time-of-flight powder neutron diffractometer at the ISIS pulsed spallation neutron source, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK. Following a major upgrade to the diffractometer in 2010-2011, its detector provision now comprises five large ZnS scintillator-based banks, covering an angular range of 6\ub0 ≤ 2θ ≤ 168\ub0, with only minimal gaps between each bank. These detectors have a substantially increased solid angle coverage (ω ∼5.67 sr) compared to the previous instrument (ω ∼0.82 sr), resulting in increases in count rate of between 2 7 and 10 7, depending on 2θ angle. The benefits arising from the high count rates achieved are illustrated using selected examples of experiments studying small sample volumes and performing rapid, time-resolved investigations. In addition, the enhanced capabilities of the diffractometer in the areas of in situ studies (which are facilitated by the installation of a novel design of radial collimator around the sample position and by a complementary programme of advanced sample environment developments) and in total scattering studies (to probe the nature of short-range atomic correlations within disordered crystalline solids) are demonstrated

Transition to Stochastic Synchronization in Spatially Extended Systems

Spatially extended dynamical systems, namely coupled map lattices, driven by additive spatio-temporal noise are shown to exhibit stochastic synchronization. In analogy with low-dymensional systems, synchronization can be achieved only if the maximum Lyapunov exponent becomes negative for sufficiently large noise amplitude. Moreover, noise can suppress also the non-linear mechanism of information propagation, that may be present in the spatially extended system. A first example of phase transition is observed when both the linear and the non-linear mechanisms of information production disappear at the same critical value of the noise amplitude. The corresponding critical properties can be hardly identified numerically, but some general argument suggests that they could be ascribed to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class. Conversely, when the non-linear mechanism prevails on the linear one, another type of phase transition to stochastic synchronization occurs. This one is shown to belong to the universality class of directed percolation.Comment: 21 pages, Latex - 14 EPS Figs - To appear on Physical Review

Linking Emergency Medical Services and Emergency Department Data to Improve Overdose Surveillance in North Carolina

Introduction Linking emergency medical services (EMS) data to emergency department (ED) data enables assessing the continuum of care and evaluating patient outcomes. We developed novel methods to enhance linkage performance and analysis of EMS and ED data for opioid overdose surveillance in North Carolina. Methods We identified data on all EMS encounters in North Carolina during January 1–November 30, 2017, with documented naloxone administration and transportation to the ED. We linked these data with ED visit data in the North Carolina Disease Event Tracking and Epidemiologic Collection Tool. We manually reviewed a subset of data from 12 counties to create a gold standard that informed developing iterative linkage methods using demographic, time, and destination variables. We calculated the proportion of suspected opioid overdose EMS cases that received International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes for opioid overdose in the ED. Results We identified 12 088 EMS encounters of patients treated with naloxone and transported to the ED. The 12-county subset included 1781 linkage-eligible EMS encounters, with historical linkage of 65.4% (1165 of 1781) and 1.6% false linkages. Through iterative linkage methods, performance improved to 91.0% (1620 of 1781) with 0.1% false linkages. Among statewide EMS encounters with naloxone administration, the linkage improved from 47.1% to 91.1%. We found diagnosis codes for opioid overdose in the ED among 27.2% of statewide linked records. Practice Implications Through an iterative linkage approach, EMS–ED data linkage performance improved greatly while reducing the number of false linkages. Improved EMS–ED data linkage quality can enhance surveillance activities, inform emergency response practices, and improve quality of care through evaluating initial patient presentations, field interventions, and ultimate diagnoses

Characterization of Zero-point Vibration in One-Component Crystals

We study the magnitude of zero-point vibration in one-component crystals. For the crystals whose constituent atoms share the same bonding geometry, we prove the existence of a characteristic temperature, T0, at which the magnitude of zero-point vibrations equals to that of the excited vibrations. Within the Debye model T0 is found to be ~1/3 of the Debye temperature. The results are demonstrated in realistic systems.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure

Identity and belonging in social learning groups : the importance of distinguishing social, operational and knowledge-related identity congruence

Collaborative learning has much to offer but not all learners participate fully and peer groups can be exclusive. The paper examines how belonging or 'congruence' in learning groups is related to identities of gender, age, ethnicity and socio-economic status. A study of student experiences of collaborative learning on three different blended learning courses illustrated how learners negotiate identity congruence with peer groups to belong and engage. An analytical framework that distinguishes social, operational and knowledge-related identity congruence has emerged. Contrary to received wisdom, the social aspect appears least important for learner engagement while knowledge-related identity congruence is fundamental. Some of the consequences of identity incongruence, particularly concerning gender and maturity, are discussed and the paper points towards the pedagogies which might enable identities of group members to shift so that collaborative learning can flourish

The Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope: Instrument and Data Characteristics

The Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) was flown as part of the Astro observatory on the Space Shuttle Columbia in December 1990 and again on the Space Shuttle Endeavor in March 1995. Ultraviolet (1200-3300 Angstroms) images of a variety of astronomical objects, with a 40 arcmin field of view and a resolution of about 3 arcsec, were recorded on photographic film. The data recorded during the first flight are available to the astronomical community through the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC); the data recorded during the second flight will soon be available as well. This paper discusses in detail the design, operation, data reduction, and calibration of UIT, providing the user of the data with information for understanding and using the data. It also provides guidelines for analyzing other astronomical imagery made with image intensifiers and photographic film.Comment: 44 pages, LaTeX, AAS preprint style and EPSF macros, accepted by PAS

Callous-unemotional traits, low cortisol reactivity and physical aggression in children: findings from the Wirral Child Health and Development Study

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits are thought to confer risk for aggression via reduced amygdala responsivity to distress cues in others. Low cortisol reactivity is thought to confer risk for aggression via reduced arousal and this effect may be confined to boys. We tested the hypothesis that the association between childhood CU traits and aggression would be greatest in the absence of the inhibitory effects of cortisol reactivity, and that this effect would be sex dependent. Participants were 283 members of a stratified subsample within an epidemiological longitudinal cohort (WCHADS). Cortisol reactivity to a social stressor was assessed at 5 years. CU traits were reported by mothers at 5 years, and physical aggression by mothers and teachers at age 7. Results showed that CU traits were associated with elevated aggression at 7 years controlling for earlier aggression. There was no main effect of cortisol reactivity on regression. The association between CU traits and aggression was moderated by cortisol reactivity (p = .011) with a strong association between CU traits and aggression in the presence of low reactivity, and a small and non-significant association in the presence of high reactivity. This association was further moderated by child sex (p = .041) with the joint effect of high CU traits and low cortisol reactivity seen only in boys (p = .016). We report first evidence that a combined deficit in inhibitory processes associated with CU traits and low cortisol reactivity increases risk for childhood aggression, in a sex-dependent manner

A quasi-diagonal approach to the estimation of Lyapunov spectra for spatio-temporal systems from multivariate time series

We describe methods of estimating the entire Lyapunov spectrum of a spatially extended system from multivariate time-series observations. Provided that the coupling in the system is short range, the Jacobian has a banded structure and can be estimated using spatially localised reconstructions in low embedding dimensions. This circumvents the ``curse of dimensionality'' that prevents the accurate reconstruction of high-dimensional dynamics from observed time series. The technique is illustrated using coupled map lattices as prototype models for spatio-temporal chaos and is found to work even when the coupling is not strictly local but only exponentially decaying.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX (RevTeX), 13 Postscript figs, to be submitted to Phys.Rev.