Comparison of the Center for Epidemiology Studies Depression Scale and Beck Depression Inventory for Research with Latinas

U.S. Latino farmworkers face multiple potential stressors. Research on the mental health status of this U.S. Latino subgroup has suggested high prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms when compared to other groups. Latina farmworkers may be at greater risk than their male counterparts for poor mental health because they confront many of the same stressors but may experience additional difficulties including domestic violence, taking on new roles and responsibilities on top of traditional ones, and being expected to maintain the health and integrity of their families at the expense of their own needs. Most of the research on Latino/Latina farmworker mental health has focused on identifying prevalence of mental health symptoms and the vulnerabilities that predict these symptoms. A variety of instruments with English and Spanish versions have been employed to measure depressive symptoms in U.S. Latinos. Two such instruments, the Center for Epidemiology Studies Depression Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory, are evaluated in this article to determine which is more valid, reliable, relevant, and useful for a proposed study on stress, social support, coping, and depression in U.S. Latina farmworkers and which is more congruent with the study's conceptual framework, Lazarus and Folkman's transactional model of stress, appraisal, and coping. Though each instrument is shown to have certain advantages over the other, neither is definitively judged to be more appropriate for this largely unexplored subgroup. What is proposed instead is to conduct a mixed methods study to further evaluate the potential applicability of each instrument.     

Complications after laparoscopic gastric bypass: a review of 3464 cases

HYPOTHESIS: The type and frequency of complications after open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (GBP) have changed with the development of laparoscopic technique.BACKGROUND: The number of laparoscopic GBP cases performed in the United States has increased dramatically during the past several years. We compared the type and frequency of complications after laparoscopic and open GBP. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE from January 1, 1994, through December 31, 2002, using the keywords morbid obesity, laparoscopy, bariatric surgery, and gastric bypass. We selected studies on laparoscopic or open GBP with more than 50 patients and published in the English language for analysis. We excluded studies with reoperative Roux-en-Y GBP cases or other bariatric procedures. The type and frequency of postoperative complications were recorded from each study. We used chi2 and Fisher exact tests to determine statistical significance. RESULTS: Ten laparoscopic GBP studies with 3464 patients and 8 open GBP studies with 2771 patients were considered. The mean of the reported average age for patients undergoing laparoscopic GBP was 41 years compared with 43 years for open GBP. The mean percentages of female patients were 87% for laparoscopic GBP and 82% for open GBP; the mean reported average body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters), 48.7 and 49.5, respectively. Compared with open GBP, laparoscopic GBP was associated with a decrease in the frequency of iatrogenic splenectomy, wound infection, incisional hernia, and mortality; however, there was an increase in the frequency of early and late bowel obstruction, gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage, and stomal stenosis. There were no significant differences in the frequency of anastomotic leak, pulmonary embolism, or pneumonia. CONCLUSIONS: The type and frequency of postoperative complications after laparoscopic and open GBP are different. Certain complications increase with laparoscopic GBP, probably owing to the learning curve of this complex procedure, whereas other complications decrease because of the advantages of the smaller access incision.     

Bridging the Gender Gap in the Society of IR: A Benchmark Study

Purpose

To evaluate the evolving representation of women in the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR).

An in vivo model for intraoperative assessment of impingement and dislocation in total hip arthroplasty

We have developed an intraoperative model to quantify total hip arthroplasty impingement and dislocation mechanics using fluoroscopy and shape-matching techniques. Two patient groups were investigated: group 1 consisted of 12 hips using 28- or 32-mm femoral heads and an anterolateral surgical approach, and group 2 consisted of 17 hips using 22- or 26-mm femoral heads and a posterolateral surgical approach. During intraoperative hip stability testing consisting of extension and external rotation motions, group 1 was more unstable, and prosthetic impingement was the major reason for dislocation. With flexion and internal rotation motions, group 2 was more unstable, and superior-lateral impingement or soft tissue traction was the major reason for dislocation. Intraoperative quantitative assessment of hip mechanics provides a safe and clinically relevant method to characterize potential complications and evolve techniques to prevent them.     

Glucose intolerance and insulin resistance in extremely premature newborns, and implications for nutritional management

Glucose intolerance and postnatal growth retardation are commonly seen in low-gestation newborns. In contrast to the nutrient compositions of parenteral and enteral nutrition, fetuses at equivalent gestational ages receive much more amino acids (protein) but less glucose and lipids through placental transfer.

Conclusion: A nutrition regime that simulates placental nutrient delivery would potentially minimize glucose intolerance and facilitate early attainment of normal growth velocity with normal body composition after preterm birth.     

Defining cause of death in stroke patients: The Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi Project

Stroke mortality is an important national health statistic and represents a frequent endpoint for epidemiologic studies. Several methods have been used to determine cause of death after stroke, but their agreement and reliability are unknown. Two hundred consecutive deaths of transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke patients were identified (January 2000-September 2001) from an ongoing population-based stroke surveillance study in Texas, The Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi Project. Two neurologists independently recorded the cause of death based on two methods: 1) determining the underlying cause of death as defined by the World Health Organization, and 2) determining whether the death was stroke related. Kappa statistics with 95% confidence intervals were calculated by comparing agreement between methods within reviewers and between reviewers within methods. Agreement between the two cause-of-death-determination methods for each neurologist was 0.41 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.31, 0.51) and 0.47 (95% CI: 0.38, 0.58), respectively. Agreement between neurologists for the underlying-cause-of-death method was 0.46 (95% CI: 0.32, 0.60); for the stroke-related method, it was 0.63 (95% CI: 0.52, 0.75). Accurate, reliable determinations of cause of death after stroke/transient ischemic attack are not currently feasible. More research is needed to identify a reliable process for coding cause of death from stroke.     

Design, synthesis, and biological activity of potent and selective inhibitors of blood coagulation factor Xa

Factor Xa (FXa) has materialized as a key enzyme for the intervention of the blood coagulation cascade and for the development of new antithrombotic agents. FXa is the lone enzyme responsible for the production of thrombin and therefore is an attractive target for the control of thrombus formation. We have designed and synthesized a unique series of quinoxalinone FXa inhibitors. This series resulted in 3-[4-[5-((2S,6R)-2,6-dimethylpiperidin-1-yl)pentyl]-3-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxolin-2-yl]benzamidine (35) with 0.83 nM activity against FXa and excellent selectivity over similar serine proteases. An X-ray crystal structure of compound 35 bound to trypsin along with molecular modeling has led to a predicted binding conformation of compound 35 in FXa. Compound 35 has also been proven to be efficacious in vivo in both the rabbit veno-venous shunt and dog electrolytic injury models. In addition, it was shown that compound 35 did not significantly increase bleeding times in a rabbit model except at the highest doses and plasma concentrations were elevated in a dose dependent manner following a bolus dose and continuous intravenous infusion.     

Genetic variants in the folate pathway and risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Objective

Folate is involved in the one-carbon metabolism that plays an essential role in the synthesis, repair, and methylation of DNA. We examined whether child??s germline genetic variation in the folate pathway is associated with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and whether periconception maternal folate and alcohol intake modify the risk.

Methods

Seventy-six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including 66 haplotype-tagging SNPs in 10 genes (CBS, DHFR, FOLH1, MTHFD1, MTHFR, MTR, MTRR, SHMT1, SLC19A1, and TYMS), were genotyped in 377 ALL cases and 448 controls. Log-additive associations between genotypes and ALL risk were adjusted for age, sex, Hispanic ethnicity (when appropriate), and maternal race.

Results

Single and haplotype SNPs analyses showed statistically significant associations between SNPs located in (or adjacent to) CBS, MTRR, TYMS/ENOFS, and childhood ALL. Many regions of CBS were associated with childhood ALL in Hispanics and non-Hispanics (p < 0.01). Levels of maternal folate intake modified associations with SNPs in CBS, MTRR, and TYMS.

Conclusion

Our data suggest the importance of genetic variability in the folate pathway and childhood ALL risk.     

Diesel exhaust enhances influenza virus infections in respiratory epithelial cells.

Several factors, such as age and nutritional status, can affect the susceptibility to influenza infections. Moreover, exposure to air pollutants, such as diesel exhaust (DE), has been shown to affect respiratory virus infections in rodent models. Influenza virus primarily infects and replicates in respiratory epithelial cells, which are also a major targets for inhaled DE. Using in vitro models of human respiratory epithelial cells, we determined the effects of an aqueous-trapped solution of DE (DE(as)) on influenza infections. Differentiated human nasal and bronchial epithelial cells, as well as A549 cells, were exposed to DE(as) and infected with influenza A/Bangkok/1/79. DE(as) enhanced the susceptibility to influenza virus infection in all cell models and increased the number of influenza-infected cells within 24 h post-infection. This was not caused by suppressing antiviral mediator production, since interferon (IFN) beta levels, IFN-dependent signaling, and IFN-stimulated gene expression were also enhanced by exposure to DE(as). Many of the adverse effects induced by DE exposure are mediated by oxidative stress. Exposure to DE(as) used in these studies generated oxidative stress in respiratory epithelial cells, and addition of the antioxidant glutathione-ethylester (GSH-ET) reversed the effects of DE(as) on influenza infections. Furthermore, DE(as) increased influenza virus attachment to respiratory epithelial cells within 2 h post-infection. Taken together, the results presented here suggest that in human respiratory epithelial cells oxidative stress generated by DE(as) increases the susceptibility to influenza infection and that exposure to DE(as) increases the ability of the virus to attach to and enter respiratory epithelial cells.