title: Methods of household consumption measurement through surveys: Experimental results from Tanzania

authors: Beegle, Kathleen

subjects: consumption

abstract: Surveys of consumption expenditure vary widely across many dimensions, including the level of reporting, the length of the reference period, and the degree of commodity detail. These variations occur both across countries and also over time within countries, with little current understanding of the implications of such changes for spatially and temporally consistent measurement of household consumption and poverty. A field experiment in Tanzania tests eight alternative methods of measuring household consumption, finding significant differences between consumption reported by the benchmark personal diary and other diary and recall formats. Under-reporting is particularly apparent for illiterate households and for urban respondents completing household diaries; recall modules measure lower consumption than a personal diary, with larger gaps among poorer households and for households with more adult members. Variations in reporting accuracy by household characteristics are also discussed and differences in measured poverty as a result of survey design are explored.

text: Methods of household consumption measurement through surveys: Experimental results from Tanzania Surveys of consumption expenditure vary widely across many dimensions, including the level of reporting, the length of the reference period, and the degree of commodity detail. These variations occur both across countries and also over time within countries, with little current understanding of the implications of such changes for spatially and temporally consistent measurement of household consumption and poverty. A field experiment in Tanzania tests eight alternative methods of measuring household consumption, finding significant differences between consumption reported by the benchmark personal diary and other diary and recall formats. Under-reporting is particularly apparent for illiterate households and for urban respondents completing household diaries; recall modules measure lower consumption than a personal diary, with larger gaps among poorer households and for households with more adult members. Variations in reporting accuracy by household characteristics are also discussed and differences in measured poverty as a result of survey design are explored.

year: 2011

title: SCG3 transcript in peripheral blood Is a prognostic biomarker for REST-deficient small cell lung cancer

authors: Moss, Adrian C.

subjects: SCLC

abstract: Purpose: Specific markers of circulating tumor cells may be informative in managing lung cancer. Because the RE-1 silencing transcription factor (REST/NRSF) is a transcriptional repressor that is inactivated in neuroendocrine lung cancer, we identified REST-regulated transcripts (CHGA, CHGB, SCG3, VGF, and PCSK1) for evaluation as biomarkers in peripheral blood.

Experimental Design: Transcripts were screened across lung cancer and normal cell lines. Candidates were assessed by reverse transcription-PCR and hybridization of RNA extracted from the peripheral blood of 111 lung cancer patients obtained at clinical presentation and from 27 cancer-free individuals.

Results: Expression profiling revealed multiple chromogranin transcripts were readily induced on REST depletion, most notably SCG3 was induced >500-fold. The SCG3 transcript was also overexpressed by 12,000-fold in neuroendocrine compared with nonneuroendocrine lung cancer cells. In peripheral blood of lung cancer patients and cancer-free individuals, we found that SCG3 was more tumor-specific and more sensitive than other chromogranin transcripts as a biomarker of circulating tumor cells. Overall, 36% of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and 16% of non-SCLC patients scored positively for normalized SCG3 transcript. This correlated with worse survival among SCLC patients with limited disease (n = 33; P = 0.022) but not extensive disease (n = 29; P = 0.459). Interestingly, the subcohort of 6 SCLC patients with resistance to platinum/etoposide chemotherapy all scored positively for peripheral blood SCG3 transcript (P = 0.022).

Conclusions: SCG3 mRNA, a component of the REST-dependent neurosecretory transcriptional profile, provides a sensitive prognostic biomarker for noninvasive monitoring of neuroendocrine lung cancer.

text: SCG3 transcript in peripheral blood Is a prognostic biomarker for REST-deficient small cell lung cancer Purpose: Specific markers of circulating tumor cells may be informative in managing lung cancer. Because the RE-1 silencing transcription factor (REST/NRSF) is a transcriptional repressor that is inactivated in neuroendocrine lung cancer, we identified REST-regulated transcripts (CHGA, CHGB, SCG3, VGF, and PCSK1) for evaluation as biomarkers in peripheral blood.

Experimental Design: Transcripts were screened across lung cancer and normal cell lines. Candidates were assessed by reverse transcription-PCR and hybridization of RNA extracted from the peripheral blood of 111 lung cancer patients obtained at clinical presentation and from 27 cancer-free individuals.

Results: Expression profiling revealed multiple chromogranin transcripts were readily induced on REST depletion, most notably SCG3 was induced >500-fold. The SCG3 transcript was also overexpressed by 12,000-fold in neuroendocrine compared with nonneuroendocrine lung cancer cells. In peripheral blood of lung cancer patients and cancer-free individuals, we found that SCG3 was more tumor-specific and more sensitive than other chromogranin transcripts as a biomarker of circulating tumor cells. Overall, 36% of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and 16% of non-SCLC patients scored positively for normalized SCG3 transcript. This correlated with worse survival among SCLC patients with limited disease (n = 33; P = 0.022) but not extensive disease (n = 29; P = 0.459). Interestingly, the subcohort of 6 SCLC patients with resistance to platinum/etoposide chemotherapy all scored positively for peripheral blood SCG3 transcript (P = 0.022).

Conclusions: SCG3 mRNA, a component of the REST-dependent neurosecretory transcriptional profile, provides a sensitive prognostic biomarker for noninvasive monitoring of neuroendocrine lung cancer.

year: 2009

title: Breaking barriers and empowering perspectives: Centering women's voices in the mongrel mob wāhine toa

authors: Arnold, Annaliese

subjects: gang research

abstract: Gang communities in Aotearoa New Zealand have traditionally been sites of masculinity where specific forms of 'maleness' - including resistance to authority, antisocial behaviour, and expressions of violence - are embraced, expressed, and enforced through various internal cultural norms and reactions to the outside world. The dominant narrative that informs public perceptions of New Zealand gangs is often centered on crime, poverty, and Indigeneity. Much less is known about the role of women in these communities, particularly as their voices have only recently emerged from one of the largest gang chapters in the country. This research, conducted in close collaboration with wāhine within the Mongrel Mob Kingdom's first female-only chapter, Mongrel Mob Wāhine Toa, uses a participatory action research approach with photovoice methodology. Drawing on the personal narratives of six wāhine, this study aims to better understand their perspectives and experiences of contributing to a fledgling movement that privileges women within a predominantly male-centered gang environment. Photovoice is used alongside semi-structured interviews to provide depth and breadth to the data, allowing the wāhine to visually and verbally express their experiences and perspectives. Themes include navigating marginality, empowerment, and resistance. The long-range goal of this work is to inform context-sensitive policies and interventions for wāhine in gangs in Aotearoa. By foregrounding the perspective of wāhine, this study contributes to breaking down barriers and reshaping discourses around women in gangs, with implications for well-being and empowerment.

text: Breaking barriers and empowering perspectives: Centering women's voices in the mongrel mob wāhine toa Gang communities in Aotearoa New Zealand have traditionally been sites of masculinity where specific forms of 'maleness' - including resistance to authority, antisocial behaviour, and expressions of violence - are embraced, expressed, and enforced through various internal cultural norms and reactions to the outside world. The dominant narrative that informs public perceptions of New Zealand gangs is often centered on crime, poverty, and Indigeneity. Much less is known about the role of women in these communities, particularly as their voices have only recently emerged from one of the largest gang chapters in the country. This research, conducted in close collaboration with wāhine within the Mongrel Mob Kingdom's first female-only chapter, Mongrel Mob Wāhine Toa, uses a participatory action research approach with photovoice methodology. Drawing on the personal narratives of six wāhine, this study aims to better understand their perspectives and experiences of contributing to a fledgling movement that privileges women within a predominantly male-centered gang environment. Photovoice is used alongside semi-structured interviews to provide depth and breadth to the data, allowing the wāhine to visually and verbally express their experiences and perspectives. Themes include navigating marginality, empowerment, and resistance. The long-range goal of this work is to inform context-sensitive policies and interventions for wāhine in gangs in Aotearoa. By foregrounding the perspective of wāhine, this study contributes to breaking down barriers and reshaping discourses around women in gangs, with implications for well-being and empowerment.

year: 2025