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Chung H, Hyatt A, Crone E, Milne D, Aranda S, Gough K, Krishnasamy M. Clinical Utility Assessment of a Nursing Checklist Identifying Complex Care Needs Due to Inequities Among Ambulatory Patients With Cancer: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study. JMIR Res Protoc 2023; 12:e48432. [PMID: 37943601 PMCID: PMC10667971 DOI: 10.2196/48432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2023] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Disparities in cancer incidence, complex care needs, and poor health outcomes are largely driven by structural inequities stemming from social determinants of health. To date, no evidence-based clinical tool has been developed to identify newly diagnosed patients at risk of poorer outcomes. Specialist cancer nurses are well-positioned to ameliorate inequity of opportunity for optimal care, treatment, and outcomes through timely screening, assessment, and intervention. We designed a nursing complexity checklist (the "Checklist") to support these activities, with the ultimate goal of improving equitable experiences and outcomes of care. This study aims to generate evidence regarding the clinical utility of the Checklist. OBJECTIVE The primary objectives of this study are to provide qualitative evidence regarding key aspects of the Checklist's clinical utility (appropriateness, acceptability, and practicability), informed by Smart's multidimensional model of clinical utility. Secondary objectives explore the predictive value of the Checklist and concordance between specific checklist items and patient-reported outcome measures. METHODS This prospective mixed methods case series study will recruit up to 60 newly diagnosed patients with cancer and 10 specialist nurses from a specialist cancer center. Nurses will complete the Checklist with patient participants. Within 2 weeks of Checklist completion, patients will complete 5 patient-reported outcome measures with established psychometric properties that correspond to specific checklist items and an individual semistructured interview to explore Checklist clinical utility. Interviews with nurses will occur 12 and 24 weeks after they first complete a checklist, exploring perceptions of the Checklist's clinical utility including barriers and facilitators to implementation. Data describing planned and unplanned patient service use will be collected from patient follow-up interviews at 12 weeks and the electronic medical record at 24 weeks after Checklist completion. Descriptive statistics will summarize operational, checklist, and electronic medical record data. The predictive value of the Checklist and the relationship between specific checklist items and relevant patient-reported outcome measures will be examined using descriptive statistics, contingency tables, measures of association, and plots as appropriate. Qualitative data will be analyzed using a content analysis approach. RESULTS This study was approved by the institution's ethics committee. The enrollment period commenced in May 2022 and ended in November 2022. In total, 37 patients with cancer and 7 specialist cancer nurses were recruited at this time. Data collection is scheduled for completion at the end of May 2023. CONCLUSIONS This study will evaluate key clinical utility dimensions of a nursing complexity checklist. It will also provide preliminary evidence on its predictive value and information to support its seamless implementation into everyday practice including, but not limited to, possible revisions to the Checklist, instructions, and training for relevant personnel. Future implementation of this Checklist may improve equity of opportunity of access to care for patients with cancer. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/48432.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly Chung
- Academic Nursing Unit, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Health Services Research and Implementation Science, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Amelia Hyatt
- Department of Health Services Research and Implementation Science, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia
- Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Elizabeth Crone
- Academic Nursing Unit, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Donna Milne
- Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Skin and Melanoma Service, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Sanchia Aranda
- Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Karla Gough
- Department of Health Services Research and Implementation Science, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia
- Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Meinir Krishnasamy
- Academic Nursing Unit, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia
- Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Alliance, Victoria, Australia
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Garcia G, Re B, Orians C, Crone E. By wind or wing: pollination syndromes and alternate bearing in horticultural systems. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200371. [PMID: 34657465 PMCID: PMC8520786 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyclical fluctuations in reproductive output are widespread among perennial plants, from multi-year masting cycles in forest trees to alternate bearing in horticultural crops. In natural systems, ecological drivers such as climate and pollen limitation can result in synchrony among plants. Agricultural practices are generally assumed to outweigh ecological drivers that might synchronize alternate-bearing individuals, but this assumption has not been rigorously assessed and little is known about the role of pollen limitation as a driver of synchrony in alternate-bearing crops. We tested whether alternate-bearing perennial crops show signs of alternate bearing at a national scale and whether the magnitude of national-scale alternate bearing differs across pollination syndromes. We analysed the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations time series (1961-2018) of national crop yields across the top-producing countries of 27 alternate-bearing taxa, 6 wind-pollinated and 21 insect-pollinated. Alternate bearing was common in these national data and more pronounced in wind-pollinated taxa, which exhibited a more negative lag-1 autocorrelation and a higher coefficient of variation (CV). We highlight the mutual benefits of integrating ecological theory and agricultural data for (i) advancing our understanding of perennial plant reproduction across time, space and taxa, and (ii) promoting stable farmer livelihoods and global food supply. This article is part of the theme issue 'The ecology and evolution of synchronized seed production in plants'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Garcia
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford MA 02155 USA
| | - Bridget Re
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford MA 02155 USA
| | - Colin Orians
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford MA 02155 USA
| | - Elizabeth Crone
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford MA 02155 USA
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Malfi RL, Crone E, Rundlöf M, Williams NM. Early resources lead to persistent benefits for bumble bee colony dynamics. Ecology 2021; 103:e03560. [PMID: 34657285 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Conditions experienced early in development can affect the future performance of individuals and populations. Demographic theories predict persistent population impacts of past resources, but few studies have experimentally tested such carry-over effects across generations or cohorts. We used bumble bees to test whether resource timing had persistent effects on within-colony dynamics over sequential cohorts of workers. We simulated a resource pulse for field colonies either early or late in their development and estimated colony growth rates during pulse- and non-pulse periods. During periods when resources were not supplemented, early-pulse colonies grew faster than late-pulse colonies; early-pulse colonies grew larger as a result. These results revealed persistent effects of past resources on current growth and support the importance of transient dynamics in natural ecological systems. Early-pulse colonies also produced more queen offspring, highlighting the critical nature of resource timing for the population, as well as colony, dynamics of a key pollinator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosemary L Malfi
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, California, 95616, USA
| | - Elizabeth Crone
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, 02155, USA
| | - Maj Rundlöf
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, California, 95616, USA.,Department of Biology, Lund University, SE-223 62, Lund, Sweden
| | - Neal M Williams
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, California, 95616, USA
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Malfi RL, Crone E, Williams N. Demographic benefits of early season resources for bumble bee (B. vosnesenskii) colonies. Oecologia 2019; 191:377-388. [PMID: 31486888 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04472-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Accepted: 07/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The temporal distribution of resources is an important aspect of habitat quality that can substantially impact population success. Although it is widely accepted that floral resources directly influence wild bee population sizes, we lack experimental data evaluating how resource availability affects colony growth via demographic mechanisms. To achieve this, we tracked marked individuals in bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) colonies to evaluate whether worker survival and reproduction responded to experimentally elevated forage early in colony development. Specifically, we assessed the effect of early resource environment on worker and sexual offspring production, and the survival and body size of individual workers. We also assessed whether responses of colonies differed when exposed to higher or lower resource environments at a relatively smaller (~ 10 workers) or larger (~ 20 workers) size. Resource supplementation always resulted in greater total offspring and male production; however, the influence of supplementation on worker production and quality depended on colony size at the start of supplementation. Among colonies that were initially smaller, colonies that were supplemented produced fewer but larger bodied and longer lived workers compared to control counterparts. Among colonies that were initially larger, colonies that were supplemented produced more workers than corresponding controls, but without changes to worker quality. Collectively, these results provide clear experimental evidence that greater resource availability early in colony development increases overall productivity, and indicate that colonies may pursue different allocation strategies in response to the resource environment, investing in more or better workers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosemary L Malfi
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California Davis, Briggs Hall, Room 367, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
| | - Elizabeth Crone
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA
| | - Neal Williams
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California Davis, Briggs Hall, Room 367, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
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Janmale T, Genet R, Crone E, Flavall E, Firth C, Pirker J, Roake JA, Gieseg SP. Neopterin and 7,8-dihydroneopterin are generated within atherosclerotic plaques. Pteridines 2015. [DOI: 10.1515/pterid-2015-0004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Plasma neopterin correlates with the level of cardiovascular disease. Neopterin is the oxidation product of 7,8-dihydroneopterin, which is released by γ-interferon-stimulated macrophages. 7,8-Dihydroneopterin is a potent antioxidant, which inhibits lipid oxidation, macrophage cell death and scavenger receptor CD36 expression. The concentration of neopterin within atherosclerotic plaques was measured in tissue removed from carotid and femoral arteries. The excised plaques were cut into 3-mm-thick sections, and each section was analysed for neopterin, total neopterin, cholesterol, lipid peroxides, α-tocopherol and protein-bound 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine. Selected plaques were placed in tissue culture, and the media was analysed for 7,8-dihydroneopterin and neopterin release. Total neopterin levels ranged from 14 to 18.8 nmol/g of tissue. Large ranges of values were seen both within the same plaque and between plaques. No correlation between neopterin and any of the other analytes was observed, nor was there any significant trend in levels along the length of the plaques. γ-Interferon stimulation of cultured plaque generated total neopterin concentrations from 1 to 4 nmol/(g 24 h). The level of 7,8-dihydroneopterin generated within the plaque was within the range that inhibits lipid oxidation. The data show that atherosclerotic plaques are extremely dynamic in biochemistry and are the likely source of the plasma 7,8-dihydroneopterin and neopterin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tejraj Janmale
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Rebecca Genet
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Elizabeth Crone
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Elizabeth Flavall
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Carol Firth
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - John Pirker
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Justin A. Roake
- Department Vascular, Endovascular and Transplant Surgery, Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand
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Bolker BM, Gardner B, Maunder M, Berg CW, Brooks M, Comita L, Crone E, Cubaynes S, Davies T, de Valpine P, Ford J, Gimenez O, Kéry M, Kim EJ, Lennert-Cody C, Magnusson A, Martell S, Nash J, Nielsen A, Regetz J, Skaug H, Zipkin E. Strategies for fitting nonlinear ecological models in R, AD Model Builder, and BUGS. Methods Ecol Evol 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin M. Bolker
- Departments of Mathematics and Statistics and Biology; McMaster University; 1280 King St W Hamilton ON L8S 4K1 Canada
| | - Beth Gardner
- USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center; Laurel MD USA
| | - Mark Maunder
- Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission; La Jolla CA USA
| | - Casper W. Berg
- National Institute of Aquatic Resources; Technical University of Denmark; Charlottenlund Denmark
| | - Mollie Brooks
- Department of Biology; University of Florida; Gainesville FL USA
| | - Liza Comita
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis; Santa Barbara CA USA
| | | | - Sarah Cubaynes
- CNRS, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive; Montpellier France
| | - Trevor Davies
- Department of Biology; Dalhousie University; Halifax NS Canada
| | - Perry de Valpine
- Environmental Science, Policy and Management; University of California - Berkeley; Berkeley CA USA
| | - Jessica Ford
- CSIRO-University of Tasmania; Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies; Sandy Bay Tas. Australia
| | - Olivier Gimenez
- CNRS, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive; Montpellier France
| | - Marc Kéry
- Swiss Ornithological Institute; Sempach Switzerland
| | - Eun Jung Kim
- School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology; University of Hawai'i at Manoa; Honolulu HI USA
| | | | | | - Steve Martell
- UBC Fisheries Centre; University of British Columbia; Vancouver BC Canada
| | - John Nash
- Telfer School of Management; University of Ottawa; Ottawa ON Canada
| | - Anders Nielsen
- National Institute of Aquatic Resources; Technical University of Denmark; Charlottenlund Denmark
| | - Jim Regetz
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis; Santa Barbara CA USA
| | - Hans Skaug
- Department of Mathematics; University of Bergen; Bergen Norway
| | - Elise Zipkin
- USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center; Laurel MD USA
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Crone E, Saliba N, George S, Hume E, Newall F, Jones S. Commencement of warfarin therapy in children following the Fontan procedure. Thromb Res 2013; 131:304-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.thromres.2013.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2012] [Revised: 12/18/2012] [Accepted: 01/14/2013] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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McCaffery R, Solonen A, Crone E. Frog population viability under present and future climate conditions: a Bayesian state-space approach. J Anim Ecol 2012; 81:978-85. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2012.01992.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Tevaarwerk A, Burkard ME, Wisinski KB, Shafer MM, Davis LA, Gogineni J, Crone E, Hansen KE. Aromatase inhibitors and calcium absorption in early stage breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2012; 134:245-51. [PMID: 22350731 DOI: 10.1007/s10549-012-1982-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2011] [Accepted: 01/30/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
To investigate the effect of aromatase inhibitors (AI) on intestinal calcium absorption, measured using the gold-standard dual stable calcium isotope method. In this pilot study, we recruited 10 postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer who planned to initiate AI therapy; women receiving chemotherapy were excluded. Women completed two 24 h inpatient calcium absorption study visits, the first prior to AI therapy and the second at least 6 weeks following onset of AI therapy. We calculated total fractional calcium absorption (TFCA) using the dose-corrected fractional recovery of two stable isotopes from 24 h urine collections. Ten postmenopausal women (mean±SD age, 66±7 years; 25(OH)D 40±7 ng/mL, and total calcium intake of 1,714±640 mg/day) exhibited no change in TFCA related to AI therapy (0.155±0.042 prior to and 0.160±0.064 following AI therapy, p=1.0). Subjects exhibited a surprisingly small decline in serum estradiol levels with AI therapy that was not statistically significant. However, there was a significant correlation between duration of AI therapy and the decline in serum estradiol levels (r=-0.65, p=0.040). In this pilot study, AI therapy did not decrease TFCA. Women with early stage breast cancer exhibited an unexpectedly low TFCA, most likely due to their high calcium intake. The null effect of AI therapy on TFCA might relate to the brief duration of AI therapy, the minimal effect of AI therapy on estradiol levels, subjects' high calcium intake or excellent vitamin D status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amye Tevaarwerk
- University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Room 4124, 1685 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705-2281, USA
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Abstract
Plants are attacked by many different consumers. A critical question is how often, and under what conditions, common reductions in growth, fecundity or even survival that occur due to herbivory translate to meaningful impacts on abundance, distribution or dynamics of plant populations. Here, we review population-level studies of the effects of consumers on plant dynamics and evaluate: (i) whether particular consumers have predictably more or less influence on plant abundance, (ii) whether particular plant life-history types are predictably more vulnerable to herbivory at the population level, (iii) whether the strength of plant-consumer interactions shifts predictably across environmental gradients and (iv) the role of consumers in influencing plant distributional limits. Existing studies demonstrate numerous examples of consumers limiting local plant abundance and distribution. We found larger effects of consumers on grassland than woodland forbs, stronger effects of herbivory in areas with high versus low disturbance, but no systematic or unambiguous differences in the impact of consumers based on plant life-history or herbivore feeding mode. However, our ability to evaluate these and other patterns is limited by the small (but growing) number of studies in this area. As an impetus for further study, we review strengths and challenges of population-level studies, such as interpreting net impacts of consumers in the presence of density dependence and seed bank dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- John L Maron
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA.
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