Start With the Body or the Mind? Differential Benefits of Mindfulness and Qigong Practices for Colorectal Cancer Survivors: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Mindfulness and qigong are 2 distinct forms of mind-body practice that have been well-received by cancer survivors. Although there is evidence supporting the effectiveness of mindfulness or qigong in promoting wellness of cancer survivors, little is known about the differential benefits of these common forms of mind-body practices among survivors.

Objective: To compare the potential biopsychosocial-spiritual impacts of mindfulness and Baduanjin (BDJ) qigong on colorectal cancer survivors.

Protocol for a mixed-methods randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a dyadic expressive arts-based intervention in improving the psychosocial well-being of children with intellectual disability in special schools and their mothers.

Introduction: Mothers of children with intellectual disability (ID) are often distressed because of intensive workloads and difficulties in communicating with their children. Given the interdependence between the psychosocial well-being of such dyads, interventions that promote parent-child relationships and mutual communication would be beneficial. Arts provide alternative avenues for expression and offer an imaginative and playful environment for discovering new communication strategies.

Comparison of passive drool and cotton-based collection methods for salivary C-reactive protein measurement.

Saliva collection and handling procedures for salivary C-reactive protein (CRP) can be challenging due to a lack of standardized protocols. This study compared two collection methods used to quantify salivary CRP. Twenty-two Chinese adults provided two unstimulated whole saliva samples using passive drool and cotton-based collection devices in two consecutive mornings at baseline and 1 month later.

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire-short form in cancer patients: a Bayesian structural equation modeling approach.

Background: Mindfulness has emerged as an important correlate of well-being in various clinical populations. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the 20-item short form of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-SF) in the Chinese context.

Methods: The study sample was 127 Chinese colorectal cancer patients who completed the FFMQ-SF and validated physical and mental health measures.

A randomised controlled trial of expressive arts-based intervention for young stroke survivors.

Background: Stroke causes lasting brain damage that has numerous impacts on the survivor's physical, psychosocial, and spiritual well-being. Young survivors (< 65 years old) tend to suffer more because of their longer overall survival time. Expressive arts-based intervention is considered a holistic approach for stroke rehabilitation because it allows participants to express their thoughts and emotions through the arts.

Chemogenomic profiling of breast cancer patient-derived xenografts reveals targetable vulnerabilities for difficult-to-treat tumors.

Subsets of breast tumors present major clinical challenges, including triple-negative, metastatic/recurrent disease and rare histologies. Here, we developed 37 patient-derived xenografts (PDX) from these difficult-to-treat cancers to interrogate their molecular composition and functional biology. Whole-genome and transcriptome sequencing and reverse-phase protein arrays revealed that PDXs conserve the molecular landscape of their corresponding patient tumors.

Stress and psychosomatic symptoms in Chinese adults with sleep complaints: mediation effect of self-compassion.

Although stress has been widely acknowledged to link to psychosomatic dysfunctioning, the underlying mechanism that transmits the impact is not adequately investigated. This study examined self-compassion as a potential mediator that may explain the pathway from stress to depressive and somatic symptoms. Data in the present study were drawn from a baseline survey of 998 Chinese participants who enrolled in an intervention study on sleep disturbance in Hong Kong.

Interfaces of Malignant and Immunologic Clonal Dynamics in Ovarian Cancer.

High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) exhibits extensive malignant clonal diversity with widespread but non-random patterns of disease dissemination. We investigated whether local immune microenvironment factors shape tumor progression properties at the interface of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and cancer cells. Through multi-region study of 212 samples from 38 patients with whole-genome sequencing, immunohistochemistry, histologic image analysis, gene expression profiling, and T and B cell receptor sequencing, we identified three immunologic subtypes across samples and extensive within-patient diversity.

Engineered in-vitro cell line mixtures and robust evaluation of computational methods for clonal decomposition and longitudinal dynamics in cancer.

Characterization and quantification of tumour clonal populations over time via longitudinal sampling are essential components in understanding and predicting the response to therapeutic interventions. Computational methods for inferring tumour clonal composition from deep-targeted sequencing data are ubiquitous, however due to the lack of a ground truth biological data, evaluating their performance is difficult. In this work, we generate a benchmark data set that simulates tumour longitudinal growth and heterogeneity by in vitro mixing of cancer cell lines with known proportions.

Study protocol on comparative effectiveness of mindfulness meditation and qigong on psychophysiological outcomes for patients with colorectal cancer: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Colorectal cancer imposes threats to patients' well-being. Although most physical symptoms can be managed by medication, psychosocial stressors may complicate survival and hamper quality of life. Mindfulness and Qigong, two kinds of mind-body exercise rooted in Eastern health philosophy, has been found effective in symptoms management, improving mental health, and reducing stress.

Genomic consequences of aberrant DNA repair mechanisms stratify ovarian cancer histotypes.

We studied the whole-genome point mutation and structural variation patterns of 133 tumors (59 high-grade serous (HGSC), 35 clear cell (CCOC), 29 endometrioid (ENOC), and 10 adult granulosa cell (GCT)) as a substrate for class discovery in ovarian cancer. Ab initio clustering of integrated point mutation and structural variation signatures identified seven subgroups both between and within histotypes. Prevalence of foldback inversions identified a prognostically significant HGSC group associated with inferior survival.

CLK-dependent exon recognition and conjoined gene formation revealed with a novel small molecule inhibitor.

CDC-like kinase phosphorylation of serine/arginine-rich proteins is central to RNA splicing reactions. Yet, the genomic network of CDC-like kinase-dependent RNA processing events remains poorly defined. Here, we explore the connectivity of genomic CDC-like kinase splicing functions by applying graduated, short-exposure, pharmacological CDC-like kinase inhibition using a novel small molecule (T3) with very high potency, selectivity, and cell-based stability.

Psychiatric symptoms mediate the effects of neurological soft signs on functional outcomes in patients with chronic schizophrenia: A longitudinal path-analytic study.

Neurological soft signs (NSS) in motor coordination and sequencing occur in schizophrenia patients and are an intrinsic sign of the underlying neural dysfunctions. The present longitudinal study explored the relationships among NSS, psychiatric symptoms, and functional outcomes in 151 Chinese patients with chronic schizophrenia across a 6-month period. The participants completed neurological assessments at baseline (Time 1), psychiatric interviews at Time 1 and 3-month follow-up (Time 2), and self-report measures on daily functioning at 6-month follow-up (Time 3).

Toward a Holistic Approach to Spiritual Health Care for People With Schizophrenia.

Medical and behavioral treatments are the predominant types of rehabilitation services for people with schizophrenia. Spirituality in people with schizophrenia remains poorly conceptualized, thereby limiting knowledge advancement in the area of spiritual health care services. To provide a framework for better clinical and research practices, we advocate a holistic approach to investigating spirituality and its application in spiritual health care services of people with schizophrenia.

Bimolecular complementation affinity purification (BiCAP) reveals dimer-specific protein interactions for ERBB2 dimers.

The dynamic assembly of multiprotein complexes is a central mechanism of many cell signaling pathways. This process is key to maintaining the spatiotemporal specificity required for an accurate, yet adaptive, response to rapidly changing cellular conditions. We describe a technique for the specific isolation and downstream proteomic characterization of any two interacting proteins, to the exclusion of their individual moieties and competing binding partners.

Associations between diurnal cortisol patterns and lifestyle factors, psychotic symptoms, and neurological deficits: A longitudinal study on patients with chronic schizophrenia.

The present study examined the relationships between diurnal cortisol patterns and perceived stress, lifestyle factors, psychotic symptoms, neurological deficits, and daily functioning in patients with chronic schizophrenia. The participants were 149 Chinese patients with chronic schizophrenia, who provided salivary cortisol measures upon waking, before lunchtime, and before bedtime at baseline (Time 1). Self-report measures on perceived stress and lifestyle factors such as body-mass index and daily exercise span were recorded at Time 1.

Clonal genotype and population structure inference from single-cell tumor sequencing.

Single-cell DNA sequencing has great potential to reveal the clonal genotypes and population structure of human cancers. However, single-cell data suffer from missing values and biased allelic counts as well as false genotype measurements owing to the sequencing of multiple cells. We describe the Single Cell Genotyper (https://bitbucket.

Divergent modes of clonal spread and intraperitoneal mixing in high-grade serous ovarian cancer.

We performed phylogenetic analysis of high-grade serous ovarian cancers (68 samples from seven patients), identifying constituent clones and quantifying their relative abundances at multiple intraperitoneal sites. Through whole-genome and single-nucleus sequencing, we identified evolutionary features including mutation loss, convergence of the structural genome and temporal activation of mutational processes that patterned clonal progression. We then determined the precise clonal mixtures comprising each tumor sample.

A randomized controlled trial on the psychophysiological effects of physical exercise and Tai-chi in patients with chronic schizophrenia.

The chronic and prevalent natures of schizophrenia result in long-term institutionalization for the patients. Conventional treatment of anti-psychotic medication on management of psychotic symptoms often brings on severe side effects and reduces patients' well-being. Tai-chi is a mind-body exercise that underscores motor coordination and relaxation.

Psychometric validation of the consensus five-factor model of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.

Background: The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) is widely used for clinical assessment of symptoms in schizophrenia. Instead of the traditional pyramidal model, recent literature supports the pentagonal model for the dimensionality of the PANSS.

Aim: The present study aimed to validate the consensus five-factor model of the PANSS and evaluate its convergent validity.

A co-culture genome-wide RNAi screen with mammary epithelial cells reveals transmembrane signals required for growth and differentiation.

Introduction: The extracellular signals regulating mammary epithelial cell growth are of relevance to understanding the pathophysiology of mammary epithelia, yet they remain poorly characterized. In this study, we applied an unbiased approach to understanding the functional role of signalling molecules in several models of normal physiological growth and translated these results to the biological understanding of breast cancer subtypes.

Methods: We developed and utilized a cytogenetically normal clonal line of hTERT immortalized human mammary epithelial cells in a fibroblast-enhanced co-culture assay to conduct a genome-wide small interfering RNA (siRNA) screen for evaluation of the functional effect of silencing each gene.

Dynamics of genomic clones in breast cancer patient xenografts at single-cell resolution.

Human cancers, including breast cancers, comprise clones differing in mutation content. Clones evolve dynamically in space and time following principles of Darwinian evolution, underpinning important emergent features such as drug resistance and metastasis. Human breast cancer xenoengraftment is used as a means of capturing and studying tumour biology, and breast tumour xenografts are generally assumed to be reasonable models of the originating tumours.

The psychophysiological effects of Tai-chi and exercise in residential schizophrenic patients: a 3-arm randomized controlled trial.

Background: Patients with schizophrenia are characterized by high prevalence rates and chronicity that often leads to long-term institutionalization. Under the traditional medical model, treatment usually emphasizes the management of psychotic symptoms through medication, even though anti-psychotic drugs are associated with severe side effects, which can diminish patients' physical and psychological well-being. Tai-chi, a mind-body exercise rooted in Eastern health philosophy, emphasizes the motor coordination and relaxation.

PyClone: statistical inference of clonal population structure in cancer.

We introduce PyClone, a statistical model for inference of clonal population structures in cancers. PyClone is a Bayesian clustering method for grouping sets of deeply sequenced somatic mutations into putative clonal clusters while estimating their cellular prevalences and accounting for allelic imbalances introduced by segmental copy-number changes and normal-cell contamination. Single-cell sequencing validation demonstrates PyClone's accuracy.

Recurrent somatic DICER1 mutations in nonepithelial ovarian cancers.

Background: Germline truncating mutations in DICER1, an endoribonuclease in the RNase III family that is essential for processing microRNAs, have been observed in families with the pleuropulmonary blastoma-family tumor and dysplasia syndrome. Mutation carriers are at risk for nonepithelial ovarian tumors, notably sex cord-stromal tumors.

Methods: We sequenced the whole transcriptomes or exomes of 14 nonepithelial ovarian tumors and noted closely clustered mutations in the region of DICER1 encoding the RNase IIIb domain of DICER1 in four samples.