Greenfield Community College

A subset of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients displays abnormal DNA methylation patterns (“Outlier Methylation Phenotype” (OMP)) in normal adjacent tissue (NAT). We analyzed the impact of OMP status on epigenetic age and tumor progression using published aging and mitotic clocks and colonic epigenetic clock (EpiAge) developed on controls, with equal representation from Black and Caucasian populations. Three aging clocks (including EpiAge) showed “significantly lower” epigenetic age in CRC. Mitotic clocks suggested significantly fewer stem cell divisions in CRC versus controls. A binomial model using inactive X chromosome CpGs suggested that NAT of CRC patients had fewer stem cells compared with controls. On comparing NAT and tumor methylome, the OMP group showed the fewest epigenetic differences. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that NAT of OMP-CRC patients undergoes epigenetic age deceleration and have fewer epigenetic differences with tumor tissues, suggesting that NAT of OMPs had progressed toward a tumor identity.

The 2025 Town Hall meeting of the Society of Toxicologic Pathology (STP) discussed virtual control groups (VCG) in nonclinical toxicity testing, which are being pursued by multiple organizations to reduce animal use in product development. The current VCG literature infrequently reflects the toxicologic pathology perspective. Audience members noted that concurrent control groups (CCG) are the gold standard for toxicity studies, essential for replenishing the historical control data (HCD) from which VCG are generated. The utility of VCG is context-dependent: acceptable when test article (TA)-related effects are easily separated from background findings but likely unsuitable where subtle findings must be distinguished. Global regulatory acceptance is of paramount concern in trying to shift from CCG to partly or wholly relying on VCG. Alternative approaches to reduce animal use include eliminating studies that are a common regulatory expectation but lack scientific justification, obtaining early regulatory agreement that single-species testing is sufficient, and altering study designs to reduce group numbers, sharing CCG, or blending CCG and VCG. The most effective way for toxicologic pathologists to influence this debate is to dispassionately consider opportunities and challenges of VCG related to pathology diagnoses and interpretations and communicate this perspective clearly to the broader (non-pathologist) scientific community.

Caffeic acid is a common phenolic acid found in coffee and numerous fruits and vegetables. Known for its antioxidant properties, it is widely used as a dietary supplement as part of a polyphenol mixture or as an extract in the form of a capsule or powder. It is also available in liquid form as a homeopathic supplement. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is an active component of propolis produced by honey bees. Propolis extract is used as a supplement and is available in various forms. The present paper is a comprehensive review of the biomedical literature, showing that caffeic acid effects are hormetic and occur in numerous biological models and cell types for a broad range of endpoints including many aging-related processes. Hormesis is a biphasic dose/concentration response displaying a low concentration/dose stimulation and a high concentration/dose inhibition. Complex alternative search strategies for caffeic acid were used since publications rarely used the terms hormesis or hormetic. Evaluation of the data provides the first assessment of caffeic acid-induced hormetic concentration/dose responses and their quantitative features. Their mechanistic foundations, extrapolative strengths/limitations, and their biomedical, clinical, and public health implications are discussed. Suggestions for future research are presented.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is becoming a global issue and gaining increasing attention for its detrimental consequences.This paper combines research related to intimate partner violence and depression to systematically analyze their associations.We examined physical, psychological, sexual, and economic abuse in the intimate relationships, and found that physical abuse (and sexual abuse) may induce fear, jeopardize senses of safety or disrupt one's self-identity, leading to depression; psychological abuse demonstrates stronger predictive power on victim's depression and shows more prevailing effect in the long-term; economic abuse happens when the victim's financial freedom is being limited, which increases insecurity and forced reliance on the abuser.Prevention and intervention methods are discussed to determine their effectiveness against IPV causing depressive symptoms.This study contributed a systemic review focusing on IPV, particularly its effect on depression, to the extant literature, and identified further research gaps in long-term effective intervention methods.

Language learning strategies (LLS) have been in the focus of researchers for the past five decades. However, few studies have explored young learners’ LLS. Starting with the assumption that the intensity of second language (L2) exposure is one of the factors in the use of LLS, the aim of this paper is to investigate whether there is a difference between the use of LLS in young children with different L2 exposure in Croatia. The analysed data was collected from a sample of 35 participants aged 5 to 7 using a structured interview at two points. In the interview, participants were explaining how they would help a plush toy to learn to say certain words and structures in L2. This method enables participants to become aware of the LLS they are using and to verbalise them. Based on an analysis of the results from the first and second data collection, we describe the similarities and differences in LLS use regarding the intensity of L2 exposure. A key finding, in relation to the criterion of similarity considering the intensity of L2 exposure, is that participants prefer to use the memory strategies such as listening to the interlocutor, model repetition, and autonomous repetition. Regarding the differences in the use of LLS considering the intensity of L2 exposure, a key finding is that children at an early age with a higher intensity of exposure to L2 show a tendency to use informal strategies, such as learning through rhyme in rhymes and chants and exposure to media, as well as social strategies such as establishing contact with a native speaker. The results show that certain LLS are used regardless of L2 exposure, whereas the use of others may be linked to the intensity of L2 exposure.