Testing a Culturally Adapted Colorectal Cancer Screening Decision Aid Among American Indians: Results from a Pre–Post Trial

Purpose: American Indian adults have not experienced decreases in colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality observed in other races or ethnic groups and their screening rates are low. Decision aids that explain available CRC screening options are one potential strategy to promote screening. The goal of this study was to test the effect of a culturally adapted decision aid on CRC-related outcomes among American Indian adults, including screening-related knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, intentions, and screening modality preferences. Methods: We recruited American Indian adults aged 50-75 years who were not current with CRC screening. Participants viewed a 9-min multimedia decision aid that used narrative vignettes to provide educational information about screening along with messages to address culturally specific barriers and values uncovered in formative research. We conducted a single-arm (pre-post) study and assessed screening-related outcomes at baseline and immediately after viewing the decision aid. Results: Among n=104 participants, knowledge scores increased from a mean of 36% correct to 76% correct. Participants also had statistically significant increases in positive attitudes, perceived social norms, self-efficacy, and intent. The proportion of participants who identified a preference for a specific CRC screening modality rose from 81% identified at pre-intervention to 93% post-intervention (p=0.013). Conclusion: Our study provides promising new findings that our culturally adapted decision aid is efficacious in educating American Indian adults about CRC screening and increases their screening intentions and ability to state modality preferences. Future research is needed to test the decision aid as a component of CRC screening interventions with American Indian adults

The Family Health Promotion Project (FHPP): Design and baseline data from a randomized trial to increase colonoscopy screening in high risk families

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in the United States, much of which could be prevented through adequate screening. Consensus guidelines recommend that high-risk groups initiate screening earlier with colonoscopy and more frequently than average risk persons. However, a large proportion of high risk individuals do not receive regular colonoscopic screening. The Family Health Promotion Project (FHPP) is a randomized-controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a telephone-based counseling intervention to increase adherence to risk-appropriate colonoscopy screening in high risk individuals. Unaffected members of CRC families from two national cancer family registries were enrolled (n=632) and randomized to receive either a single session telephone counseling intervention using Motivational Interviewing techniques or a minimal mail-out intervention. The primary endpoint, rate of colonoscopy screening, was assessed at 6, 12 and 24 months post-enrollment. In this paper, we describe the research design and telephone counseling intervention of the FHPP trial, and report baseline data obtained from the two high risk cohorts recruited into this trial. Results obtained at baseline confirm the need for interventions to promote colonoscopy screening among these high risk individuals, as well as highlighting several key opportunities for intervention, including increasing knowledge about risk-appropriate screening guidelines, and providing both tailored risk information and barriers counseling

Webcams for Bird Detection and Monitoring: A Demonstration Study

Better insights into bird migration can be a tool for assessing the spread of avian borne infections or ecological/climatologic issues reflected in deviating migration patterns. This paper evaluates whether low budget permanent cameras such as webcams can offer a valuable contribution to the reporting of migratory birds. An experimental design was set up to study the detection capability using objects of different size, color and velocity. The results of the experiment revealed the minimum size, maximum velocity and contrast of the objects required for detection by a standard webcam. Furthermore, a modular processing scheme was proposed to track and follow migratory birds in webcam recordings. Techniques such as motion detection by background subtraction, stereo vision and lens distortion were combined to form the foundation of the bird tracking algorithm. Additional research to integrate webcam networks, however, is needed and future research should enforce the potential of the processing scheme by exploring and testing alternatives of each individual module or processing step

Extraordinary rocks from the peak ring of the Chicxulub impact crater: P-wave velocity, density, and porosity measurements from IODP/ICDP Expedition 364

Joint International Ocean Discovery Program and International Continental Scientific Drilling Program Expedition 364 drilled into the peak ring of the Chicxulub impact crater. We present P-wave velocity, density, and porosity measurements from Hole M0077A that reveal unusual physical properties of the peak-ring rocks. Across the boundary between post-impact sedimentary rock and suevite (impact melt-bearing breccia) we measure a sharp decrease in velocity and density, and an increase in porosity. Velocity, density, and porosity values for the suevite are 2900–3700 m/s, 2.06–2.37 g/cm3, and 20–35%, respectively. The thin (25 m) impact melt rock unit below the suevite has velocity measurements of 3650–4350 m/s, density measurements of 2.26–2.37 g/cm3, and porosity measurements of 19–22%. We associate the low velocity, low density, and high porosity of suevite and impact melt rock with rapid emplacement, hydrothermal alteration products, and observations of pore space, vugs, and vesicles. The uplifted granitic peak ring materials have values of 4000–4200 m/s, 2.39–2.44 g/cm3, and 8–13% for velocity, density, and porosity, respectively; these values differ significantly from typical unaltered granite which has higher velocity and density, and lower porosity. The majority of Hole M0077A peak-ring velocity, density, and porosity measurements indicate considerable rock damage, and are consistent with numerical model predictions for peak-ring formation where the lithologies present within the peak ring represent some of the most shocked and damaged rocks in an impact basin. We integrate our results with previous seismic datasets to map the suevite near the borehole. We map suevite below the Paleogene sedimentary rock in the annular trough, on the peak ring, and in the central basin, implying that, post impact, suevite covered the entire floor of the impact basin. Suevite thickness is 100–165 m on the top of the peak ring but 200 m in the central basin, suggesting that suevite flowed downslope from the collapsing central uplift during and after peak-ring formation, accumulating preferentially within the central basin

A Randomized Trial to Increase Colonoscopy Screening in Members of High-Risk Families in the Colorectal Cancer Family Registry and Cancer Genetics Network

Individuals with a strong family history of colorectal cancer (CRC) have significant risk for CRC, though adherence to colonoscopy screening in these groups remains low. This study assessed whether a tailored, telephone counseling intervention can increase adherence to colonoscopy in members of high risk families in a randomized, controlled trial

Globally distributed iridium layer preserved within the Chicxulub impact structure

The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction is marked globally by elevated concentrations of iridium, emplaced by a hypervelocity impact event 66 million years ago. Here, we report new data from four independent laboratories that reveal a positive iridium anomaly within the peak-ring sequence of the Chicxulub impact structure, in drill core recovered by IODP-ICDP Expedition 364. The highest concentration of ultrafine meteoritic matter occurs in the post-impact sediments that cover the crater peak ring, just below the lowermost Danian pelagic limestone. Within years to decades after the impact event, this part of the Chicxulub impact basin returned to a relatively low-energy depositional environment, recording in unprecedented detail the recovery of life during the succeeding millennia. The iridium layer provides a key temporal horizon precisely linking Chicxulub to K-Pg boundary sections worldwide

Probing the hydrothermal system of the Chicxulub impact crater

The ~180-km-diameter Chicxulub peak-ring crater and ~240-km multiring basin, produced by the impact that terminated the Cretaceous, is the largest remaining intact impact basin on Earth. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) Expedition 364 drilled to a depth of 1335 m below the sea floor into the peak ring, providing a unique opportunity to study the thermal and chemical modification of Earth’s crust caused by the impact. The recovered core shows the crater hosted a spatially extensive hydrothermal system that chemically and mineralogically modified ~1.4 × 105 km3 of Earth’s crust, a volume more than nine times that of the Yellowstone Caldera system. Initially, high temperatures of 300° to 400°C and an independent geomagnetic polarity clock indicate the hydrothermal system was long lived, in excess of 106 years

Effectiveness of the extended parallel process model in promoting colorectal cancer screening

Objective: Relatives of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients are at increased risk for the disease, yet screening rates still remain low. Guided by the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) we examined the impact of a personalized, remote risk communication intervention on behavioral intention and colonoscopy-uptake in relatives of CRC patients, assessing the original additive model and an alternative model in which each theoretical construct contributes uniquely. Methods: We collected intention-to-screen and medical-record-verified colonoscopy information on 218 individuals who received the personalized intervention. Results: Structural equation modeling showed poor main model fit (RMSEA=0.109; SRMR=0.134; CFI=0.797; AIC=11601; BIC=11884). However, the alternative model (RMSEA=0.070; SRMR=0.105; CFI=0.918; AIC=11186; BIC=11498) showed good fit. Cancer susceptibility (B =0.319,

Clinically Relevant Changes in Family History of Cancer Over Time

Knowledge of family cancer history is important for assessing cancer risk and guiding screening recommendations

Long-term risk of medical conditions associated with breast cancer treatment

Early and late effects of cancer treatment are of increasing concern with growing survivor populations, but relevant data are sparse. We sought to determine the prevalence and hazard ratio of such effects in breast cancer cases