Little is known about how members of cancer-prone families think about genetic determinism and whether personal behavior can amplify or counter genetic risk for disease.
Understanding how people ...think about the impact of personal behavior on disease risk may inform communications about genetic risks and their management.
We assessed three sets of beliefs about the impact of behavior on genetic risk-interactive (unhealthful behaviors can amplify genetic risk), subtractive (healthful behaviors can reduce genetic risk), and deterministic (genes primarily determine health outcomes)-among 114 unaffected members of melanoma-prone families receiving genetic counseling (51.6% men, average age = 35.3). We examined whether these beliefs predicted changes in perceived control, motivation to manage melanoma risk, and sun-protection behavior one year later.
Participants strongly endorsed interactive and subtractive beliefs, but not deterministic beliefs. These beliefs generally did not change, even among those who received positive CDKN2A/p16 genetic test results conferring up to 76% lifetime melanoma risk. Controlling for age, sex, education, skin type, and genetic test result, interactive beliefs predicted sustained increases in perceptions of personal control, motivation to reduce sun exposure, use of multiple sun-protection methods, and reduction in objectively assessed tanning at the wrist one year following genetic counseling. Subtractive beliefs predicted increased personal control, motivation to manage risk, and sunscreen use, while deterministic beliefs were generally unrelated to outcomes.
Among people at highly elevated hereditary cancer risk, beliefs that unhealthful behaviors can amplify genetic risk seem to be especially motivating of behavioral risk-reduction efforts.
More than how high people perceived their risk to be, the priority they gave its management predicted improved prevention behavior one year following genetic counseling.
Abstract
Background
...Understanding multiple components of risk perceptions is important because perceived risk predicts engagement in prevention behaviors.
Purpose
To examine how multiple components of risk perceptions (perceived magnitude of and worry about risk, prioritization of the management of one’s risk) changed following genetic counseling with or without test reporting, and to examine which of these components prospectively predicted improvements in sun-protection behavior 1 year later.
Methods
A prospective, nonrandomized study design was used. Participants were 114 unaffected members of melanoma-prone families who (i) underwent genetic testing for a CDKN2A/p16 mutation (n = 69) or (ii) were at comparably elevated risk based on family history and underwent genetic counseling but not testing (no-test controls, n = 45). Participants reported risk perception components and sun-protection behavior at baseline, immediately following counseling, and 1 month and 1 year after counseling.
Results
Factor analysis indicated three risk components. Carriers reported increased perceived magnitude and priority of risk, but not cancer worry. No-test controls showed no changes in any risk perception. Among noncarriers, priority of risk remained high at all assessments, whereas magnitude of risk and cancer worry decreased. Of the three risk components, greater priority of risk uniquely predicted improved self-reported sun protection 1 year post-counseling.
Conclusions
Priority of risk (i) seems to be a component of risk perceptions distinguishable from magnitude of risk and cancer worry, (ii) may be an important predictor of daily prevention behavior, and (iii) remained elevated 1 year following genetic counseling only for participants who received a positive melanoma genetic test result.
This study investigated whether genetic counseling and test reporting for the highly penetrant CDKN2A melanoma predisposition gene promoted decreases in sun exposure.
A prospective, nonequivalent ...control group design compared unaffected participants (N = 128, M
= 35.24, 52% men) from (1) families known to carry a CDKN2A pathogenic variant, who received counseling about management recommendations and a positive or negative genetic test result and (2) no-test control families known not to carry a CDKN2A pathogenic variant, who received equivalent counseling based on their comparable family history. Changes in daily ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure (J/m
), skin pigmentation (melanin index), and sunburns between baseline and one year following counseling were compared among carriers (n = 32), noncarriers (n = 46), and no-test control participants (n = 50).
Both carriers and no-test control participants exhibited a decrease one year later in daily UVR dose (B = -0.52, -0.33, p < 0.01). Only carriers exhibited a significant decrease in skin pigmentation at the wrist one year later (B = -0.11, p < 0.001), and both carriers and no-test control participants reported fewer sunburns than noncarriers (p < 0.05). Facial pigmentation did not change for any group. Noncarriers did not change on any measure of UVR exposure.
These findings support the clinical utility of disclosing CDKN2A test results and providing risk management education to high-risk individuals.
Spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae), is an invasive pest of thin-skinned fruits in the United States. Monitoring traps are an integral part of SWD ...integrated pest management, allowing early detection and timely management of this pest. An ideal monitoring trap should be easy to use, effective in capturing SWD, sensitive and selective to male SWD which are easy to identify due to their spotted wings, and able to predict fruit infestation from trap captures. Deli-cup-based liquid traps (grower standard), which make in-situ observations difficult, were compared with red-panel sticky traps, both baited with commercial lures (Scentry, Trécé Broad-Spectrum (BS), and Trécé High-Specificity (HS)), across several US states in blueberries (lowbush and highbush), blackberry, raspberry, and cherry crops during 2018 and 2021. Results showed that red-panel traps effectively captured SWD, were able to detect male SWD early in the season while also being selective to male SWD all season-long, and in some cases linearly related male SWD trap captures with fruit infestation. Scentry and Trécé BS lures captured similar numbers of SWD, though Trécé BS and Trécé HS were more selective for male SWD in red panel traps than liquid traps in some cases. In conclusion, due to its ease of use with less processing time, red-panel traps are promising tools for detecting and identifying male SWD in-situ and for predicting fruit infestation. However, further research is needed to refine the trap captures and fruit infestation relationship and elucidate the trap-lure interactions in berry and cherry crops.
Members of melanoma-prone families who received genetic test results indicating high melanoma risk were more motivated to reduce sun exposure than those who received equivalent counseling but no test ...result.
Abstract
A CDKN2A/p16 mutation confers 28%–67% lifetime melanoma risk, a risk that may be moderated by ultraviolet radiation exposure. The aim of this study was to test whether melanoma genetic counseling and test disclosure conferred unique informational, motivational, or emotional benefits compared to family history-based counseling. Participants included were 114 unaffected members of melanoma-prone families, ages 16–69, 51.8% men, 65.8% with minor children or grandchildren. Carriers (n = 28) and noncarriers (n = 41) from families with a CDKN2A mutation were compared to no-test controls (n = 45) from melanoma-prone families without an identifiable CDKN2A mutation. All participants received equivalent counseling about melanoma risk and management; only CDKN2A participants received genetic test results. Using newly developed inventories, participants rated perceived costs and benefits for managing their own and their children’s or grandchildren’s melanoma risk 1 month and 1 year after counseling. Propensity scores controlled for baseline family differences. Compared to no-test controls, participants who received test results (carriers and noncarriers) reported feeling significantly more informed and prepared to manage their risk, and carriers reported greater motivation to reduce sun exposure. All groups reported low negative emotions about melanoma risk. Parents reported high levels of preparedness to manage children’s risk regardless of group. Carrier parents reported greater (but moderate) worry about their children’s risk than no-test control parents. Women, older, and more educated respondents reported greater informational and motivational benefits regardless of group. Genetic test results were perceived as more informative and motivating for personal sun protection efforts than equivalent counseling based on family history alone.
Do happy people care about society's problems? Kushlev, Kostadin; Drummond, Danielle M.; Heintzelman, Samantha J. ...
The journal of positive psychology,
07/03/2020, 2020-07-03, Letnik:
15, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Since ancient times, scholars, individuals, and societies have been preoccupied with the pursuit of happiness. But might individual happiness actually be bad for society and the world? A common ...concern - which we refer to as the Pollyanna hypothesis - is that happy people might be too happy to care enough about important current issues, thus being less likely to act on improving society and the world. In three studies, however, we found that feeling good predicted more, not less, action on current issues. We saw this pattern in the context of the 2017 far right rallies in Charlottesville, VA (Study 1), a wide range of social, political, and environmental issues chosen by participants (Study 2), and environmental action within a nationally representative sample (Study 3). These correlational findings speak against the Pollyanna hypothesis: Happiness does not seem to preclude caring about local and global issues.
Among individuals at high risk of developing melanoma due to family history or a genetic mutation, 48% do not engage in the recommended photoprotection behaviors that would reduce their risk. ...Priority of risk has been shown to predict engagement in sun-protection behaviors, but the factors leading to this prioritization are unknown. The present study examined predictors of priority of risk and adherence to recommended sun-protection behaviors among 128 high-risk individuals who underwent genetic counseling with or without CDKN2A/p16 testing. At the baseline assessment, priority of risk predicted photoprotection stage of change and routine sunscreen use, which were assessed by survey reports. At a follow-up visit 1 year after genetic counseling and testing, greater priority of risk strongly predicted higher reported engagement in all four measures of sun-protection (the prior two, plus routine protective clothing use and routine avoidance of peak exposure), and also mediated the positive effects of age, melanoma coherence, and feelings of worry and other negative emotions toward melanoma risk on each of these behaviors. These health cognitions also mediated the association between a positive test result and greater priority of risk, suggesting that genetic testing leads to improvements in priority of risk and photoprotective behaviors by increasing both understanding of melanoma risk and concern about it. Findings also suggested that those with more highly valued outdoor activities, who perceived greater mood benefits from sun exposure, and who perceived greater appearance benefits from sun exposure were less likely to engage in certain photoprotective behaviors; however, exceptions to this finding highlight the need to study different types of photoprotective behaviors separately. Overall, a better understanding of, and greater negative emotion toward, one’s melanoma risk seem to be important in keeping it at the forefront of one’s attention, while competing goals involving sun exposure decrease engagement in photoprotective behavior.
Candida is the most common human fungal pathogen and causes systemic infections that require neutrophils for effective host defense. Humans deficient in the C-type lectin pathway adaptor protein ...CARD9 develop spontaneous fungal disease that targets the central nervous system (CNS). However, how CARD9 promotes protective antifungal immunity in the CNS remains unclear. Here, we show that a patient with CARD9 deficiency had impaired neutrophil accumulation and induction of neutrophil-recruiting CXC chemokines in the cerebrospinal fluid despite uncontrolled CNS Candida infection. We phenocopied the human susceptibility in Card9-/- mice, which develop uncontrolled brain candidiasis with diminished neutrophil accumulation. The induction of neutrophil-recruiting CXC chemokines is significantly impaired in infected Card9-/- brains, from both myeloid and resident glial cellular sources, whereas cell-intrinsic neutrophil chemotaxis is Card9-independent. Taken together, our data highlight the critical role of CARD9-dependent neutrophil trafficking into the CNS and provide novel insight into the CNS fungal susceptibility of CARD9-deficient humans.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SWAXS) has been used to investigate the effect that water has on the nanoscale structure of protic ionic liquids (PILs) along with their precursor Brønsted ...acids and bases. The series of PILs consisted of primary, secondary, and tertiary alkylammonium cations in conjunction with formate, nitrate, or glycolate anions. Significant differences were observed for these systems. The nanoscale aggregates present in neat protic ionic liquids were shown to be stable in size on dilution to high concentrations of water, indicating that the water is localized in the ionic region and has little effect on the nonpolar domains. The Brønsted acid−water solutions did not display nanostructure at any water concentration. Primary amine Brønsted bases formed aggregates in water, which generally displayed characteristics of poorly structured microemulsions or a form of bicontinuous phase. Exceptions were butyl- and pentylamine with high water concentrations, for which the SWAXS patterns fitted well to the Teubner−Strey model for microemulsions. Brønsted base amines containing multiple alkyl chains or hydroxyl groups did not display nanostructure at any water concentration. IR spectroscopy was used to investigate the nature of water in the various solutions. For low PIL concentrations, the water was predominately present as bulk water for PIL molar fractions less than 0.4−0.5. At high PIL concentrations, in addition to the bulk water, there was a significant proportion of perturbed water, which is water influenced in some way by the cations and anions. The molecular state of the water in the studied amines was predominately present as bulk water, with smaller contributions from perturbed water than was seen in the PILs.
ABSTRACT
We present a method to characterize star-formation driven outflows from edge-on galaxies and apply this method to the metal-poor starburst galaxy, Mrk 1486. Our method uses the distribution ...of emission line flux (from H β and O iii 5007) to identify the location of the outflow and measure the extent above the disc, the opening angle, and the transverse kinematics. We show that this simple technique recovers a similar distribution of the outflow without requiring complex modelling of line-splitting or multi-Gaussian components, and is therefore applicable to lower spectral resolution data. In Mrk 1486 we observe an asymmetric outflow in both the location of the peak flux and total flux from each lobe. We estimate an opening angle of 17–37° depending on the method and assumptions adopted. Within the minor axis outflows, we estimate a total mass outflow rate of ∼2.5 M⊙ yr−1, which corresponds to a mass loading factor of η = 0.7. We observe a non-negligible amount of flux from ionized gas outflowing along the edge of the disc (perpendicular to the biconical components), with a mass outflow rate ∼0.9 M⊙ yr−1. Our results are intended to demonstrate a method that can be applied to high-throughput low spectral resolution observations, such as narrow-band filters or low spectral resolution integral field spectrographs that may be more able to recover the faint emission from outflows.
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