Lifetime income patterns and alcohol consumption: investigating the association between long- and short-term income trajectories and drinking

Lifetime patterns of income may be an important driver of alcohol use. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between long-term and short-term measures of income and the relative odds of abstaining, drinking lightly-moderately and drinking heavily. We used data from the US Panel Study on Income Dynamics (PSID), a national population-based cohort that has been followed annually or biannually since 1968. We examined 3111 adult respondents aged 30-44 in 1997. Latent class growth mixture models with a censored normal distribution were used to estimate income trajectories followed by the respondent families from 1968 to 1997, while repeated measures multinomial generalized logit models estimated the odds of abstinence (no drinks per day) or heavy drinking (at least 3 drinks a day), relative to light/moderate drinking (<1-2 drinks a day), in 1999-2003. Lower income was associated with higher odds of abstinence and of heavy drinking, relative to light/moderate drinking. For example, belonging to a household with stable low income ($11-20,000) over 30 years was associated with 1.57 odds of abstinence, and 2.14 odds of heavy drinking in adulthood. The association between lifetime income patterns and alcohol use decreased in magnitude and became non-significant once we controlled for past-year income, education and occupation. Lifetime income patterns may have an indirect association with alcohol use, mediated through current socioeconomic conditions.     

First Screen-Printed Sensor (Electrochemically Activated Screen-Printed Boron-Doped Diamond Electrode) for Quantitative Determination of Rifampicin by Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry

In this paper, a screen-printed boron-doped electrode (aSPBDDE) was subjected to electrochemical activation by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in 0.1 M NaOH and the response to rifampicin (RIF) oxidation was used as a testing probe. Changes in surface morphology and electrochemical behaviour of RIF before and after the electrochemical activation of SPBDDE were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), CV and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The increase in number and size of pores in the modifier layer and reduction of charge transfer residence were likely responsible for electrochemical improvement of the analytical signal from RIF at the SPBDDE. Quantitative analysis of RIF by using differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry in 0.1 mol L⁻¹ solution of PBS of pH 3.0 ± 0.1 at the aSPBDDE was carried out. Using optimized conditions (E_acc of −0.45 V, t_acc of 120 s, ΔE_A of 150 mV, ν of 100 mV s⁻¹ and t_m of 5 ms), the RIF peak current increased linearly with the concentration in the four ranges: 0.002–0.02, 0.02–0.2, 0.2–2.0, and 2.0–20.0 nM. The limits of detection and quantification were calculated at 0.22 and 0.73 pM. The aSPBDDE showed satisfactory repeatability, reproducibility, and selectivity towards potential interferences. The applicability of the aSPBDDE for control analysis of RIF was demonstrated using river water samples and certified reference material of bovine urine.     

Examining spatial variations in the prevalence of mental health problems among 5-year-old children in Canada

The purpose of this study is to examine spatial variations in the prevalence rates of the three most common behaviour problems among 5-year-old children in Canada, to establish the data's suitability for potential spatial analyses of factors contributing to the prevalence of such problems. Data on kindergarten children's outcomes are routinely collected for populations of children in Canada using the Early Development Instrument (EDI), a population-level, teacher completed questionnaire. These data have been previously used to estimate prevalence rates of aggression, anxiety, and hyperactivity. The current study geographically analyzed these estimates to examine their consistency in relation to gender differences at larger provincial geographies and smaller Census Subdivision (CSD) geographies. Multilevel analyses were completed to examine the variation in prevalence at both levels of geography. Data for over 150,000 5-year-olds in three Canadian provinces and 410 Census Subdivisions were available for analyses. Prevalence rates of behaviour problems estimated with the EDI showed consistent gender relationships at both levels of aggregation. Controlling for individuals' age and sex, there was significant variation at the CSD level in risk of behavioural problems, and for anxiety and aggression, this was not explained by the distribution of CSDs in different provinces. This suggests local variation in these aspects of children's behaviour, within provinces. These findings open up the opportunity to further explore the utility and variability of EDI-based spatial variation in children's mental health.     

Deep Inspiration Breath Hold Reduces the Mean Heart Dose in Left Breast Cancer Radiotherapy

BackgroundPatients with left breast cancer who undergo radiotherapy have a non-negligible risk of developing radiation-induced cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cardioprotection can be achieved through better treatment planning protocols and through respiratory gating techniques, including deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH). Several dosimetric studies have shown that DIBH reduces the cardiac dose, but clinical data confirming this effect is limited. The aim of the study was to compare the mean heart dose (MHD) in patients with left breast cancer who underwent radiotherapy at our institution as we transitioned from non-gated free-breathing (FB) radiotherapy to gated radiotherapy (FB-GRT), and finally to DIBH.Patients and methodsRetrospective study involving 2022 breast cancer patients who underwent radiotherapy at West Pomeranian Oncology Center in Szczecin from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2017. We compared the MHD in these patients according to year of treatment and technique.ResultsOverall, the MHD for patients with left breast cancer in our cohort was 3.37 Gy. MHD values in the patients treated with DIBH were significantly lower than in patients treated with non-gated FB (2.1 vs. 3.48 Gy, p < 0.0001) and gated FB (3.28 Gy, p < 0.0001). The lowest MHD values over the four-year period were observed in 2017, when nearly 85% of left breast cancer patients were treated with DIBH. The proportion of patients exposed to high (> 4 Gy) MHD values decreased every year, from 40% in 2014 to 7.9% in 2017, while the percentage of patients receiving DIBH increased.ConclusionsCompared to free-breathing techniques (both gated and non-gated), DIBH reduces the mean radiation dose to the heart in patients with left breast cancer. These findings support the use of DIBH in patients with left breast cancer treated with radiotherapy.Key words: breast cancer, gated radiotherapy, deep inspiration breath hold, free breathing gated radiotherapy, mean heart dose     

The kinetics of hematopoietic niche cytokines and their influence on mobilization efficacy and timing in patients with hematological malignancies

The bone marrow niche functions are modulated by complicated cytokines network. The aim of our study was to evaluate the levels of VCAM‐1, VEGF, MMP‐9 and SDF during mobilization of CD34+ cells in patients with hematological malignancies. Thirty four patients were enrolled to the study (19F, 15 M) at median age of 57 years. The group consisted of patients with multiple myeloma (26) and lymphoma (8). The mobilization procedures comprised chemotherapy and then G‐CSF. Blood samples were collected before chemotherapy (N = 34) and on the day of the first apheresis (N = 26). Cytokines were evaluated with ELISA assay. We observed significant increase in VCAM‐1 levels during mobilization. On contrary, VEGF and SDF levels decreased during mobilization procedure. The levels of MMP‐9 were stable during mobilization. We divided patients according to baseline cytokines levels below and above median into “low” and “high” expressors. The group of VEGF “low” expressors had longer median time of G‐CSF treatment before first apheresis than ‘high’ expressors. Baseline VEGF levels correlated adversely with duration of G‐CSF treatment before first apheresis. Patients were also divided according to median cytokines levels at apheresis into “low” and “high” expressors. “High” VCAM‐1 expressors had higher CD34+in peripheral blood as well as higher CD34+numbers collected during first apheresis than “low” expressors. In conclusion, the levels of niche cytokines change significantly during mobilization in patients with hematopoietic malignancies. Baseline VEGF can influence timing of mobilization. Higher VCAM‐1 corresponds with higher mobilization efficacy. J. Clin. Apheresis 30:247–251, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Application of Turkevich Method for Gold Nanoparticles Synthesis to Fabrication of SiO2@Au and TiO2@Au Core-Shell Nanostructures

The Turkevich synthesis method of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) was adopted for direct fabrication of SiO₂@Au and TiO₂@Au core-shell nanostructures. In this method, chloroauric acid was reduced with trisodium citrate in the presence of amine-functionalized silica or titania submicroparticles. Core-shells obtained in this way were compared to structures fabricated by mixing of Turkevich AuNPs with amine-functionalized silica or titania submicroparticles. It was found that by modification of reaction conditions of the first method, such as temperature and concentration of reagents, control over gold coverage on silicon dioxide particles has been achieved. Described method under certain conditions allows fabrication of semicontinuous gold films on the surface of silicon dioxide particles. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing use of Turkevich method to direct fabrication of TiO₂@Au core-shell nanostructures.     

Effect of Lupinus rotundiflorus gamma conglutin treatment on JNK1 gene expression and protein activation in a rat model of type 2 diabetes

ContextGamma conglutin (Cγ) from lupine species represents a potential complementary treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) because of its hypoglycaemic effect. However, its underlying mechanism of action is not fully known.ObjectiveTo evaluate whether Cγ from Lupinus rotundiflorus M. E. Jones (Fabaceae) modulates c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) expression and activation in a T2DM rat model.Materials and methodsGamma conglutin isolated from L. rotundiflorus seeds was characterized by SDS-PAGE. Fifteen Wistar rats with streptozotocin-induced T2DM (HG) were randomized into three groups (n = 5): vehicle administration (HG-Ctrl), oral treatment with Cγ (120 mg/kg/day) (HG-Lr) for one week, and treatment with metformin (300 mg/kg/day) (HG-Met); a healthy group (Ctrl, n = 5) was included as control. The levels of glucose and biomarkers of renal and hepatic function were measured pre- and post-treatment. Hepatic Jnk1 expression and phosphorylation of JNK1 were evaluated by qRT-PCR and western blot, respectively.ResultsOral treatment with either Cγ or metformin reduced serum glucose level to 86.30 and 74.80 mg/dL, respectively (p ˂ 0.05), from the basal levels. Jnk1 expression was 0.65- and 0.54-fold lower (p ˂ 0.05) in the HG-Lr and HG-Met groups, respectively, than in HG-Ctrl. Treatment with Cγ decreased JNK1 phosphorylation. However, Cγ did not change the levels of kidney and liver biomarkers.Discussion and conclusionsTreatment with Cγ from L. rotundiflorus inhibited Jnk1 expression, in vivo, suggesting JNK1 as a potential therapeutic target in diabetes and revealing one mechanism underlying the hypoglycaemic effect of lupine Cγ. Nevertheless, further studies are required.