The internet as a source of support for youth with chronic conditions: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Adolescents living with chronic conditions often portray themselves as "healthy" online, yet use the Internet as one of their top sources of health information and social communication. There is a need to develop online support programs specific to adolescents with chronic conditions in order to provide a private space to discuss concerns. This paper endeavors to increase our understanding of the online support needs and wants of these adolescents and their interest in and preferences for an online support program.

METHODS

A qualitative descriptive study using semistructured interviews was completed. Stratified purposive sampling was utilized to ensure a representative sample based on age and diagnosis. English speaking adolescents (aged 12-18 years) diagnosed with a chronic condition were recruited from clinic and inpatient areas across 3 paediatric hospitals in Canada.

RESULTS

Thirty-three participants aged 15.3 ± 1.8 years (64% female) completed the study. The main topics identified were (a) the purpose of current online activity, (b) the benefits and challenges of existing online supports, and (c) a description of ideal online resources. The purpose of online activity was social networking, information, online gaming, and social support. When accessing health information online, participants prioritized websites that were easy to access and understand despite the trustworthiness of the site. The reported benefits and challenges varied across participants with many areas perceived as both a benefit and a challenge. The majority of participants were interested in participating in an online support program that included both accurate disease-related information and a community of other adolescents to provide social support.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents with chronic conditions are interested in online support that encompasses health information and social support that is flexible and easy to navigate. Findings can be used to develop or adapt existing online support programs for adolescents with chronic conditions to help increase engagement and utilization.

Assessment of long-term exposure to airborne dioxin and cadmium concentrations in the Lyon metropolitan area (France)

Identifying the long-term effects of airborne pollutants requires the computation of the spatial and temporal variability of their concentration in air to estimate the exposure of the population. To estimate exposure levels of individuals in a breast cancer case control study nested in a national prospective cohort, we determine here the differential impact of a variety of cadmium and dioxin sources on urban air over a large urban area and over a period of almost 20years. To that end, we couple an emission model, to estimate dioxin and cadmium atmospheric annual releases, with an urban dispersion model in order to compute pollutant concentration fields at a fine temporal (1h) and spatial (25m) resolution. The reliability of the modelling chain is compared to two types of measurement: i) localized industrial emissions and ii) dioxin and cadmium air monitoring data (from 2007 to 2008), collected at a fixed station, placed in the city centre, as well as at three mobile short-term dioxin monitoring stations, located in the suburbs (the latter providing dioxin data, only). Comparisons between measured and estimated emissions show non-negligible difference, with a correlations for dioxin (r_s=0.42) and cadmium (r_s=0.41). Despite this, mean values between estimated emissions and emission measurements are close to each other, in particular for cadmium. Weekly average modelled concentrations show an overall good agreement with weekly average measured concentrations in spring and summer but are generally lower than monitored data in winter due to peak concentrations from diffuse sources representing an important proportion of emissions in 2007/2008. The model provides better results for cadmium than for dioxin. Despite the relevant errors in the model predictions, the model meets the validation criteria, defined by Chang and Hanna for an urban dispersion model. Simulation scenarios of air pollutant concentrations, reconstructed over the last 20years, show the effects of the variability of the pollutant sources over time with decreasing levels of dioxin and cadmium concentrations in air. This is primarily due to the reduction in localized industrial releases, which results in a general trend of homogenization of the exposure of the population. The model further allows us to dissociate the contribution of different types of pollutant sources on the population exposure. The impact on local concentrations due to industrial emissions, which were originally responsible for the major impact on air quality, is shown to drop over the years by 99% and 92% for dioxin and cadmium, respectively. Today, the major contributions are due to diffuse miscellaneous sources in the case of dioxin and to traffic-related emissions for cadmium. Average modelled concentrations at the study subjects' residential locations range from 10.2 to 82.1fg-TEQ/m³ for dioxin and 0.10 to 1.6ng/m³ for cadmium and are comparable with data from the literature. The study results will be essential to increase the accuracy of the assessment of long-term airborne dioxin and cadmium exposure and improve the results of epidemiological studies.

Detection of Bacillus anthracis spores from environmental water using bioluminescent reporter phage

AIMS

We investigated the ability of a temperate Bacillus anthracis reporter phage (Wβ::luxAB-2), which transduces bioluminescence to infected cells, to detect viable spores from deliberately contaminated environmental water samples.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Environmental water was inoculated with spores and assayed with Wβ::luxAB-2. Bioluminescent signals directly correlated with input phage and spore concentrations. A limit of detection of 10¹ and 10² CFU per ml within 8 h was achieved from pond and lake water, respectively. Detection was greatly simplified by minimizing sample processing steps without spore extraction. The complex endogenous microbial flora and salt content of brackish water challenged the assay, extending the detection time to 12 h for a sensitivity of 10² CFU per ml. Phage-mediated bioluminescence was strictly dependent on bacterial physiology, being significantly reduced in mid/late log phase cells. This was shown to be due to an inability of the phage to adsorb.

CONCLUSIONS

The reporter phage Wβ::luxAB-2 displays potential for simplified detection of viable spores from contaminated water samples within 12 h.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

A deliberate aerosol release of spores could lead to widespread contamination, leaving large areas uninhabitable until remediation. An essential requirement of this restoration process is the development of simplified detection assays in different environmental matrices.

Management of septic shock in intermediate care unit

BACKGROUND

While guidelines advocate goal-directed resuscitation based on timed bundles, the management of septic shock (SS) outside an ICU setting has been poorly studied in intermediate care units (IMCU).

PATIENTS AND METHOD

We reviewed all cases of septic shock patients admitted to our IMCU between January 2013 and June 2014. The characteristics of sepsis, compliance of bundles, and outcomes were collected. The IMCU population was compared with the SS patients admitted to the ICU during the same period. The primary objective was to evaluate the feasibility of care in an IMCU.

RESULTS

We treated 59 patients in the IMCU. Forty-three patients (73%) were fully managed in the IMCU and 16 patients (27%) were secondarily transferred to the ICU. In the first 3hours, the compliance to bundles was: blood cultures (95%), plasma lactate concentration (90%), vascular filling volume (1500ml (1000-2000)) and antibiotics (100%). A central venous line and an arterial catheter were inserted in 85% and 98.3% of the cases. At 24h, patients who were transferred to the ICU had higher lactate concentrations than the other patients (1.4±0.7mmol versus 2.9±3.4mmol; P=0.03). A 24 hours-SOFA score>4 was correlated with a transfer in ICU (OR 7,75 (95% CI 2.08-28,81; P=0.002)).

CONCLUSIONS

Our work demonstrated the ability to manage SS patients solely in an IMCU. It showed that the SS resuscitation bundle can be successfully implemented outside the ICU. A lack of improvement at the 24th hour is associated with a transfer to the ICU.

Evaluation of the Safety of Drugs and Biological Products Used During Lactation: Workshop Summary

This report serves as a summary of a 2-day public workshop sponsored by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss the safety of drugs and biological products used during lactation. The aim of the workshop was to provide a forum to discuss the collection of data to inform the potential risks to breastfed infants with maternal use of medications during lactation. Discussions included the review of current approaches to collect data on medications used during lactation, and the considerations for future approaches to design and guide clinical lactation studies. This workshop is part of continuing efforts to raise the awareness of the public for women who choose to breastfeed their infants.

Spatial and Seasonal Dynamics of Anopheles Mosquitoes in Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, French Guiana: Influence of Environmental Factors

Little is known about the Anopheles fauna of Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, a persistent malaria-endemic municipality in French Guiana. This study aimed to update the knowledge of local Anopheles diversity, and their ecology and role in malaria transmission. Sampling sessions were implemented between September 2013 and October 2014. Four species were identified from the 3,450 specimens collected: Anopheles darlingi Root, An. braziliensis, An. triannulatus s.l., and An. nuneztovari s.l. Anopheles darlingi was the predominant species. Its involvement in malaria transmission was suspected due to 1) its abundance, 2) the presence of a density peak during the malaria emergence period, and 3) a dynamic correlated with malaria cases observed two months later. Present and past studies show that the influence of environmental conditions on malaria vector dynamics is high, and may vary drastically according to the local context. This supports evidence that control strategies must be designed at fine scales.

Coagulopathy and transfusion requirements in war related penetrating traumatic brain injury. A single centre study in a French role 3 medical treatment facility in Afghanistan

INTRODUCTION

Traumatic brain injury associated coagulopathy is frequent, either in isolated traumatic brain injury in civilian practice and in combat traumatic brain injury. In war zone, it is a matter of concern because head and neck are the second most frequent site of wartime casualty burden. Data focusing on transfusion requirements in patients with war related TBI coagulopathy are limited.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A descriptive analysis was conducted of 77 penetrating traumatic brain injuries referred to a French role 3 medical treatment facility in Kabul, Afghanistan, deployed on the Kabul International Airport (KaIA), over a 30 months period.

RESULTS

On 77 patients, 23 died during the prehospital phase and were not included in the study. Severe traumatic brain injury represented 50% of patients. Explosions were the most common injury mechanism. Extracranial injuries were present in 72% of patients. Traumatic brain injury coagulopathy was diagnosed in 67% of patients at role 3 admission. Red blood cell units (RBCu) were transfused in 39 (72%) patients, French lyophilized plasma (FLYP) in 41 (76%), and fresh whole blood (FWB) in 17 (31%).

CONCLUSION

The results of this study support previous observations of coagulopathy as a frequent complication of traumatic brain injury. The majority of patients with war related penetrating traumatic brain injury presented with extracranial lesions. Most of them required a high level of transfusion capacity.

Abstract P3-07-10: The role of CBP/FOXM1 in triple negative breast cancer

Background: Accurate assessment of prognostic and predictive biomarkers (estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2) plays a critical role in the clinical management of breast cancer. Triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs) lack the expression of all three targets, and no targetable molecular pathways have been identified to date. Hence, TNBCs are treated with non-targeted, cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents (e.g. paclitaxel), and are characterized by high rates of drug resistance and metastatic relapse. CREB binding protein (CBP) has been implicated in cell growth and malignant transformation in various cancers. CBP is an important co-activator in the β-catenin driven transcription, including the Wnt signaling pathway, which has been implicated in TNBC biology. The Kahn lab has developed a specific CBP-binding small molecule inhibitor, ICG-001. We hypothesized that CBP-signaling plays an important role in TNBC biology and may provide a novel therapeutic target.

Methods: We used TOP-flash assay to quantify Wnt signaling activity in TNBC. ICG-001 treatment combined with RNA Seq was used to characterize the role of CBP in TNBC cell line models. Co-immunoprecipitation (CoIP), protein and gene expression studies, as well as gene knock-down were used for validation. In vitro drug resistant cell line models as well as in vivo cell line (n=40 mice) and patient derived xenografts (PDX) in NOD scid gamma mouse models (2 patients, n=40 mice per patient) (treatmenent groups: control, paclitaxel, ICG-001, paclitaxel+ICG-001, n=5 mice per condition, primary and secondary implantation) were used to establish the effect of CBP inhibition via ICG-001 in TNBC on drug resistance and metastasis. We used the TCGA breast cancer data set to substantiate the experimental results.

Results: We demonstrated that gene expression in TNBC is CBP, but not Wnt signaling dependent, and can be disrupted via ICG-001. RNA Seq analysis of TNBC cells treated with ICG-001 revealed Forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) as a potential downstream regulator. CoIP demonstrated that CBP binding to the FOXM1/β-catenin transcriptional complex. Treatment with ICG-001 revealed that CBP/FOXM1 binding, but not FOXM1/ β-catenin binding, is critical for FOXM1 expression. The PDX mouse models demonstrated that FOXM1 expression correlates with response to chemotherapy and disease recurrence in vivo. Treatment with ICG-001 sensitized FOXM1 high tumors to chemotherapeutic treatment and statistically significantly reduced tumor growth in serial transplantation experiments. Comparison of clinical data with FOXM1 expression in tumor samples from patients indicated that high levels of FOXM1 were associated with disease relapse and poor survival outcomes.

Conclusion: CBP/FOXM1 binding is critical for FOXM1 expression. Targeting CBP/FOXM1 binding via ICG-001 could provide a novel therapeutic strategy in TNBC. The use of clinically annotated tissue microarrays containing a total of 430 breast tissue cores (51 TNBC cases) is currently pending to correlate nuclear protein expression of CBP and FOXM1 with survival outcomes in TNBC. FOXM1 and CBP could potentially be of value as predictive biomarkers in TNBC. These results could provide a clinical-translational rational for patient stratification based on CBP and FOXM1 expression for clinical trials exploring the therapeutic potential of FOXM1 inhibition via ICG-001 in combination with chemotherapy.

Citation Format: Ring A, Nguyen C, Lenz H-J, Tripathy D, Lang JE, Kahn M. The role of CBP/FOXM1 in triple negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-07-10.

Adsorption of Benzene and Ethanol on Activated Carbon, MCM-41 and Zeolite Y

The adsorption of benzene and ethanol at 0, 15 and 30°C on to a number of adsorbents were studied to investigate their performance in the removal of VOCs. The isotherms were measured over a wide range of relative pressure in order to study the contribution of the micropore adsorption and the capillary condensation in mesopores. A model describing the adsorption of subcritical vapours was tested against the isotherm data. It was found that results obtained from the isotherm fitting of benzene and ethanol experimental data were consistent with each other and also with the results of nitrogen adsorption at 77 K. Among the adsorbents studied, Ajax active carbon was found to be the most practical adsorbent for the removal of VOCs.