Menopausal hormone therapy: assessing associations with breast and colorectal cancers by familial risk.

Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) users are at increased breast cancer (BC) risk and decreased colorectal cancer (CRC) risk compared with never users, but these opposing associations might differ by familial risk of BC and CRC. We harmonized data from three cohorts and generated separate BC and CRC familial risk scores (FRS) based on cancer family history. We defined moderate/strong family history as FRS ≥ 0.

The cost of evolved constitutive gene expression is usually, but not always, maintained during evolution of generalist populations.

Beneficial mutations can become costly following an environmental change. Compensatory mutations can relieve these costs, while not affecting the selected function, so that the benefits are retained if the environment shifts back to be similar to the one in which the beneficial mutation was originally selected. Compensatory mutations have been extensively studied in the context of antibiotic resistance, responses to specific genetic perturbations, and in the determination of interacting gene network components.

The creation of a White Coat Ceremony.

Historically, the White Coat Ceremony has had a medical school connotation. While not exclusive to the discipline of medicine, the White Coat Ceremony is a recently adopted ritual embraced by a variety of health care professions. The white coat serves as a symbol of achievement into one's professional program.

Diversity in Operon Regulation among Diverse Escherichia coli Isolates Depends on the Broader Genetic Background but Is Not Explained by Genetic Relatedness.

Transcription of bacterial genes is controlled by the coordinated action of and -acting regulators. The activity and mode of action of these regulators can reflect different requirements for gene products in different environments. A well-studied example is the regulatory function that integrates the environmental availability of glucose and lactose to control the operon.

Considerations When Using Breast Cancer Risk Models for Women with Negative BRCA1/BRCA2 Mutation Results.

The performance of breast cancer risk models for women with a family history but negative BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 mutation test results is uncertain. We calculated the cumulative 10-year invasive breast cancer risk at cohort entry for 14 657 unaffected women (96.1% had an affected relative) not known to carry BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations at baseline using three pedigree-based models (Breast and Ovarian Analysis of Disease Incidence and Carrier Estimation Algorithm, BRCAPRO, and International Breast Cancer Intervention Study).

Risk-Reducing Oophorectomy and Breast Cancer Risk Across the Spectrum of Familial Risk.

There remains debate about whether risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO), which reduces ovarian cancer risk, also reduces breast cancer risk. We examined the association between RRSO and breast cancer risk using a prospective cohort of 17 917 women unaffected with breast cancer at baseline (7.2% known carriers of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations).

Age-specific breast cancer risk by body mass index and familial risk: prospective family study cohort (ProF-SC).

Background: The association between body mass index (BMI) and risk of breast cancer depends on time of life, but it is unknown whether this association depends on a woman's familial risk.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study of a cohort enriched for familial risk consisting of 16,035 women from 6701 families in the Breast Cancer Family Registry and the Kathleen Cunningham Foundation Consortium for Research into Familial Breast Cancer followed for up to 20 years (mean 10.5 years).

Adaptation of Escherichia coli to glucose promotes evolvability in lactose.

The selective history of a population can influence its subsequent evolution, an effect known as historical contingency. We previously observed that five of six replicate populations that were evolved in a glucose-limited environment for 2000 generations, then switched to lactose for 1000 generations, had higher fitness increases in lactose than populations started directly from the ancestor. To test if selection in glucose systematically increased lactose evolvability, we started 12 replay populations--six from a population subsample and six from a single randomly selected clone--from each of the six glucose-evolved founder populations.

Common variants at the 19p13.1 and ZNF365 loci are associated with ER subtypes of breast cancer and ovarian cancer risk in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.

Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified variants at 19p13.1 and ZNF365 (10q21.2) as risk factors for breast cancer among BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers, respectively.

Do aromatase inhibitors have adverse effects on cognitive function?

Aromatase inhibitors are an important component of treatment for most postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive, early-stage breast cancer. Women taking aromatase inhibitors experience very low levels of circulating estrogen. This might be expected to result in cognitive dysfunction given the important relationship between estrogen and cognition in the basic science literature.

The comprehensive examination: a viable master's of science in nursing capstone course.

The purpose of this article was to describe the process of how The University of Toledo College of Nursing developed the comprehensive examination as one capstone option to fulfill the requirements of a master's of science in nursing degree. Based on Keating's frame factors model, a review of existing literature, and an informal review of master's programs in nursing in the geographic area, an assessment was made of the viability of offering a comprehensive examination as a capstone experience. Increased student enrollment, need for flexible courses, faculty and student demographics, and institutional and national accreditation requirements were some of the factors that led to the decision to develop a comprehensive examination as a capstone option.

Panniculitis attributable to Mycobacterium goodii in an immunocompetent dog in Georgia.

Case Description: A 5-year-old 38.3-kg (84.5-lb) mixed-breed dog was examined because of acute onset of lethargy and anorexia.

Gene methylation in breast ductal fluid from BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.

Purpose: Genomic alterations (including gene hypermethylation) are likely to precede the phenotypic changes associated with breast tumorigenesis. From a prospective collection of ductal lavage (DL) samples from women with a known mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2, we have assessed promoter methylation with a comparison of results with several variables, including breast cancer (BC) outcome.

Experimental Design: Hypermethylation of p16, RASSF1A, twist, and RARbeta was assessed using a qualitative, real-time, nested PCR assay.