bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of socioeconomic status on children’s psychological well-being in China: The mediating role of family social capital
Authors: Ge Ting
Published: December 2017

This study aimed to examine the relationship between socioeconomic status and children’s psychological well-being and to investigate the mediating effect of family social capital. A sample of 19,487 school-aged children was collected from 2013–2014 China Education Panel Survey. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the hypothesized model. The results showed that socioeconomic status was not significantly related to the children’s psychological well-being. However, two indicators of family social capital, namely, parent involvement and parent–child relationship, played a complete mediating role in the direct mechanism. The theoretical and practical contributions were discussed.
Artikel
Authors: Tigerstedt Christoffer , Törrönen Jukka
Published: December 2017

Finnish drinking habits have changed drastically during the past few decades. Studies on drinking habits, however, consistently seem to come to the conclusion that in Finland, drinking patterns are still traditional, national, and unitary. Such conclusions rely on the notion of cultural lag and are based on stereotypical dichotomies between traditional and modern, and Finnish and European drinking habits. The article shows that analyses of drinking habits tend not to problematise the concept of habit. It is mostly used to refer to the most stereotypical kind of drinking behaviour, namely intoxication-oriented drinking, while other patterns tend to be overshadowed. The studies, which are most often based on survey data, also give little attention to the meanings the actors attribute to their drinking. For a more sensitive analysis, the article outlines a cultural model of drinking habits, which is then adapted to the analysis of the results of both statistical and qualitative studies on drinking habits carried out during the past three-four decades. The analysis shows that it would be vital, firstly, to carry out time series analyses on the epidemiological data, which would test the assumptions of the unitary nature of drinking habits on the one hand, and chart their variability on the other. Secondly, there is a need for efforts to reconcile the contradictory findings of epidemiological and qualitative studies. And thirdly, research on drinking habits should shift its focus towards the situational variability of drinking.
Artikel
Authors: Hakkarainen Pekka , Tigerstedt Christoffer
Published: December 2017

■ Aims

Official records indicate that in 1996 no more than five drug addicts in Finland received medically assisted treatment. By 2004 that figure had grown to 600–700 persons. This article retraces the path to this crucial change.

■ Design

Several factors of this change are scrutinised. In the latter part of the 1990s, Finland saw a significant increase in drug-related harms, resulting in a gradual revision of drug policies. Medically assisted treatment was brought under the spotlight through serious public controversies, centred on two private doctors prescribing buprenorphine for their heroin-using patients. Claims-makers, representing a variety of agencies, stood up for substitution treatment. International trends in substitution treatment, as well as scientific research, facilitated the advocacy of such treatment.

■ Results

The drug user has been redefined in terms of private and public health, and civil rights, engendering a more liberal attitude towards substitution treatment. National drug policy is characterised by a joint move: social and health policy initiatives, on the one hand, and criminal policy, on the other, are running on separate tracks, making it possible to increase control powers and to expand treatment services.

■ Conclusions

Several questions are still unresolved. For example, there has been very little debate on the widely known problem of buprenorphine abuse.
Artikel
Authors: Nordlund Sturla
Published: December 2017

■ Aims

The aim is to describe the development of the availability, attitudes to, and personal use of illegal drugs among the adult population in Norway, based on survey data from 1968 until today. Compared with data on young people, the data on drugs for the adult population have been collected more rarely, and results have not been widely reported.

■ Data and Method

Surveys directed to the adult population with questions about drugs were performed in 1968, 1985, 1991, 1994, 1999 and 2004. The samples are selected in a three stage stratified quota procedure, and are representative for the whole adult population age 15 years and over. The data were collected with a face-to-face interview, mainly about alcohol. The drug questions were answered in writing, and in such a way that the interviewer did not see the answers. The availability of all kinds of drugs was measured by asking if the respondents think they could get hold of it in 2–3 days.

■ Results

The availability of drugs has increased. In 2004, some 35 per cent said they could get hold of cannabis, while some 20 per cent could get other drugs. The attitudes towards own use were measured by asking if the respondents would try the drugs if it was not illegal. In 2004 about 8 per cent were positive about trying cannabis, with less than 2 per cent for all the other drugs. The attitudes have not varied much for any of the drugs between 1994 and 2004 and for cannabis have been rather stable since 1968. Lifetime prevalence of cannabis use has increased continuously since 1968, and was about 13.5 per cent in 2004. Last year prevalence increased until 1994, but has stabilised at about 3.7 per cent since then. For other drugs the lifetime prevalence has been stable at less than 2 per cent, with around 3 per cent for amphetamines. Last year, the prevalence of these drugs was less than 1 per cent, possibly with a slightly decreasing tendency. For cannabis the highest prevalence (both lifetime, previous year, and previous 30 days) is in the age group 20–24 years.

■ Conclusion

The results are somewhat contrary to reports about increased problematic drug use in Norway during the 1990s. Survey methods are however not the best method to estimate problem drug use. The stability and even tendency to decrease of the prevalence of present drug use shown here might, however, indicate a decrease in the recruitment of problem drug users. Other signs point in the same direction: The sharp increase in drug-related deaths in Norway during the 1990s has given way to a decrease in the latest years. The prevalence of present drug use in youth surveys shows a decreasing trend.
Artikel
Authors: Törrönen Jukka , Maunu Antti
Published: December 2017

This article explores the distinctive characteristics of present-day drinking habits in Finland. The data are young adults' narratives of their nights out obtained in interviews that asked about ideal, typical, and disastrous nights out. The dataset comprises 117 interviews (60 women and 57 men). The interviewees were recruited from the rapidly growing sectors of information and service work in business and administration: from the meanings assigned by this generation to alcohol we are able to infer which aspects of Finnish drinking habits are still culturally valid and which susceptible to change.

Questions covered in this article include: What motivates young adults to drink? What kind of self-regulation do they exhibit in their drinking? Is getting drunk a value in itself, or does it have a secondary meaning to other activities? Are there any gender differences in drinking habits? We look specifically at the roles of alcohol in young people's nights out and how these roles vary during the course of the evening. Furthermore, the analysis looks at how the narratives are structured on the dimensions of goal-oriented linear time and ritualised repetitive cyclical time. The analysis applies the tools of semiotic sociology.

Our analysis shows that the drinking habits of young adults reflect a movement away from the goal-oriented time of the everyday towards the cyclical time of one's own circle of friends. These breakaways are essentially an exercise in creating and strengthening a general will within the groups. They do not resemble total inversions or transgressions of the prevailing reality, nor are they about defiance, loutish behaviour, getting legless or locked up. Rather, these breakaways find mainly culturally regulated and ordered expressions. Getting drunk is not an end in itself. The inebriation of young women and young men is not one of defiance or a mythical search for new experiences; they just want to be sociable. Indeed one can infer that sociable drinking habits have gained a stronger footing among young adults in Finland today.
The price elasticity for alcohol in Sweden 1984–2003
Authors: Norström Thor
Published: December 2017

■ Aims

The article addresses the following research questions: (i) How strong is the price elasticity for beer, wine and spirits? (ii) How rapid is the effect of a price change? (iii) Is the price elasticity stable across time and space? (iv) Does an increase in price give a corresponding effect as a decrease?

■ Methods & Data

The sales data cover Systembolaget's retail sales of beer, wine and spirits for the period from January 1984 to March 2004. The price indexes are based on weighted baskets deflated by a consumer price index. Most of the analyses were performed on quarterly data. The data were analysed using the Box-Jenkins technique for time series analysis.

■ Results

The price elasticities—as estimated from quarterly data—were statistically significant for all beverages; –0.8 for beer, –0.6 for wine and and –1 for spirits. Similar estimates were obtained from monthly data, suggesting a fast consumer response to price changes. The elasticity for beer was weaker during the period 1995–2004 (-0.6) than during the period 1984–1994 (-1.4), but it was no different in southern Sweden than in the remainder of the country. An increase in the price of spirits seems to affect sales as much as a price decrease, that is, the price effect seems to be symmetric. Finally, the results indicated that since 1995 sales of beer and wine increased more, and spirits sales less, than predicted from the development in prices.

■ Conclusions

The study confirms previous findings that the demand of alcoholic beverages is responsive to changes in price; however, price is not the sole factor that drives the trends in sales. The reduced elasticity for beer may be due to the marked drop in beer prices.
Young adults' experiences of intoxication. An analysis of the dynamics of drinking habits in diary material
Authors: Törrönen Jukka
Published: December 2017

Aim

The article studies the current state of Finnish drinking habits in the pub (literally ‘restaurant’ in Finnish) drinking diaries (N=60; 39 women, 21 men) of young adults. Drinking habits are theorised as cultural models by taking influences from Bourdieu's theory of habitus and from phenomenological and pragmatist concepts of habit.

Methods

The analysis of the diary material makes use of the tools developed in semiotic sociology and narratology. The main concern is with 1) what kind of roles or role does alcohol play in the narrators' stories, 2) how does the role of alcohol change or develop in the story lines; and 3) through what kinds of viewpoints is alcohol consumed and experienced? By addressing these three questions, it is possible to make inferences about prevailing drinking habits in Finnish culture.

Results

From the diaries it is possible to identify at least five different types of drinking habits and traditions layered in culture and in active use in social life: heroic intoxication, sociable partying, individual partying, hanging out, and meal drinking. These drinking habits differ from one another in terms of both motives and regulation. Even though they often occur in the same situations, they frame these situations as distinctive fields of activity.

Conclusions

The analysis shows that drinking to intoxication and drinking habits in Finland cannot be reduced to one single cultural core and tradition. In all the drinking habits that appear in the diaries there is a clear tendency to try and break away from goal-oriented, linear time and to move towards a cyclical, timeless time, which may be described as a search for a flow experience.
Harm reduction – ideals and paradoxes
Authors: Andersen Ditte , Järvinen Margaretha
Published: December 2017

Aim

The aim of the article is to critically reflect on the harm reduction approach used in Danish substance abuse treatment.

Data

The article is based on qualitative interviews with staff at treatment institutions in Copenhagen.

Themes and Conclusions

Three themes are addressed. First, our data indicate that low-threshold methadone treatment is difficult to combine with a long-term goal of abstinence. In fact, many harm reduction proponents among staff are directly opposed to treatment models in which abstinence is a goal. Second, we illustrate how the development of harm reduction measures is embedded in a socio-political trend focusing on a combined “autonomization/responsibilization” of social clients. This focus on clients as autonomous and responsible subjects clashes with another central conception among staff: the idea that heroin addicts are slaves to their substance use and hence cannot be treated as fully rational human beings. Third, the article analyses the relationship between harm reduction and social integration. Although social integration of substance abusers is part of the rationale behind harm reduction measures, this goal is difficult to reach with a group of clients as marginalized as the ones in focus.
Stakeholders' views of Alcohol Policy
Authors: Anderson Peter , Baumberg Ben
Published: December 2017

Method

A questionnaire survey on views of alcohol policy was completed by stakeholders (country counterparts of the European Commission's Alcohol and Health Working Group (mostly government officials), country nongovernmental organizations that have a remit on alcohol policy, and representative bodies of the beverage alcohol industry, who are stakeholders of the European Commission's Alcohol and Health Working group).

Results

Representatives of the alcohol industry (AIs) tended to hold different views than representatives of governmental (GOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who were more similar in their views. The AIs viewed regulatory measures as of low impact and policy importance in strong contrast to both NGOs and GOs. AIs were more favourable to educational measures than either NGOs or GOs. All three groups were similar and positive in their views of the impact and importance of implementation measures and of interventions for hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption. In general, AIs were more positive in their views of successful implementation of both the WHO European Alcohol Action Plan and the Council Recommendation on the dinking of alcohol by young people than GOs who were more favourable than NGOs, but this was largely due to the AIs giving very high implementation scores for items that were their responsibility. With regard to perceived advances and barriers, again there were discordant views between the AIs and both the GOs and NGOs, who were more similar in their perceptions. The strongest theme among GOs and NGOs was the importance of coordination in implementing action plans and strategies at country and European levels. The strongest theme among AIs was stakeholder involvement, i.e. their own participation in the policy process. This was in contrast to the views of GOs and NGOs who both saw industry lobbying as a major barrier to effective policy to reduce alcohol-related harm.

Conclusion

Whilst representatives of the alcohol industry regard themselves as having an equal place to GOs and NGOs in policy discussion, they bring to the policy table markedly different views than GOs and NGOs, proposing educational measures, for which the scientific evidence for impact is rather wanting, and opposing regulatory measures, for which the scientific evidence for impact is rather strong. In contrast, government officials and non-governmental organizations view industry lobbying as a major barrier to effective alcohol policy.
Drinking among Japanese Youth -a Paradox for Theories of Alcohol Availability?
Authors: Leonardsen Dag
Published: December 2017

Aims

By presenting the paradoxical case of Japan this study aims to highlight the importance of cross-cultural data to understanding different drinking patterns. Why is it that a country with high alcohol availability does not present higher figures of consumption? Why is it that Japanese youth, who can buy their alcohol even from vending machines, do not engage in heavier drinking than they apparently do? Does Japan teach Western countries a lesson in this regard?

Methods and Data

The discussion is based on data from the WHO Alcohol Database together with different survey-based studies undertaken in Japan. These empirical data are connected to general literature on Japanese culture and Japanese society.

Results and Conclusions

The data presented confirm the importance of analysing the cultural dimension when studying drinking patterns. Even though structural variables regarding availability are significant in explaining alcohol consumption, cross-cultural data alert us to the importance of including cultural values in our analyses. Japan does possibly represent a ‘deviant case’ regarding alcohol research, thus confirming this perspective. It is neither possible, nor desirable, to transplant collectivistic Japanese values into Western countries. However, we can ask what might be the Western functional equivalent to Japanese group control. Counteracting the increasing age-based segmentation in Western societies is perhaps the most potent answer to this question.
Upward Trends in Alcohol Consumption and Related Harm in Finland
Authors: Mäkelä Pia , Österberg Esa
Published: December 2017

Aim

Our aim was to study whether the development in the rates of harm still follows the development in per capita alcohol consumption, and to clarify the relationship between alcohol consumption and related harms by paying attention to third factors affecting this relationship.

Data

Statistics on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm associated with the maintenance of public order and safety alcohol-related deaths and hospitalizations, and treatment for alcohol problems in the period 1990–2004.

Analysis

In the last 15 years, alcohol consumption in Finland first decreased during the economic recession of the early 1990s, and then increased almost constantly. Some harm series roughly followed these consumption trends, and for some others the connection with alcohol consumption became obvious when the effect of some third factor was taken into account. Harm rates also increased in 2004 when alcohol consumption increased by 10% after a decrease of alcohol excise duty rates of 33% on average.

Conclusions

In Finland changes in alcohol consumption are still today followed by changes in rates of alcohol-related harm.
Whilst it's Red Wine with Beef, it's Booze with a Cruise!
Authors: Törrönen Jukka , Maunu Antti
Published: December 2017

Aim

The article explores typical drinking situations, practices involved in these situations and the situational control of drinking.

Data and Method

The data consist of 60 diaries (39 women, 21 men) written by young adults aged 23–35. The writers provide descriptions of all their visits to pubs and restaurants and drinking occasions over a period of at least two months. The writers are all IT and service professionals, representing a generation whose descriptions provide an insight into what kinds of drinking situations are receding in Finland; what kinds of situations continue to have cultural relevance; and what kinds of new drinking situations are emerging. Drinking situations are identifed and distinguished from one another by reference to three factors: the motives of drinking, the processes of drinking and the drinkers' subjective commitment to those processes. In addition, drinking situation are analysed from the points of view of gender and (self-)control.

Results

Five main types of drinking situations are extracted from the analysis of the diary accounts: hanging out, meal drinking, partying, carnival and individual activity. Hanging out and meal drinking are described in the diary accounts as drinking situations where gender differences carry little signifcance. These drinking situations encourage the use of alcohol, but not drinking to inebriation. By contrast, the three other types are intoxication-oriented and in them gender differences emerge. Partying, for its part, encourages controlled inebriation. Carnival is a drinking situation that encourages heavy drinking, even beyond consciousness. Also individual activity may encourage heavy drinking. However, in this situation people rarely drink to the same extent as in carnival or party situation since they do not have the security net provided by company.

Conclusions

The heavier drinking the situation encourages, the more gendered the experience appears. women who felt that they had lost control over their bodily activities expressed more shame than men, especially in descriptions of several days' carnival drinking.
Harm Reduction – Ideals and Paradoxes
Authors: Andersen Ditte , Järvinen Margaretha
Published: December 2017

Aim

The aim of the article is to critically reflect on the harm reduction approach used in Danish substance abuse treatment.

Data

The article is based on qualitative interviews with staff at treatment institutions in Copenhagen.

Themes and Conclusions

Three themes are addressed. First, our data indicate that low-threshold methadone treatment is difficult to combine with a long-term goal of abstinence. In fact, many harm reduction proponents among staff are directly opposed to treatment models in which abstinence is a goal. Second, we illustrate how the development of harm reduction measures is embedded in a socio-political trend focusing on a combined “autonomization/responsibilization” of social clients. This focus on clients as autonomous and responsible subjects clashes with another central conception among staff: the idea that heroin addicts are slaves to their substance use and hence cannot be treated as fully rational human beings. Third, the article analyses the relationship between harm reduction and social integration. Although social integration of substance abusers is part of the rationale behind harm reduction measures, this goal is difficult to reach with a group of clients as marginalized as the ones in focus.
Artikel
Authors: Österberg Mirja
Published: December 2017

Based on the author's Master's thesis at the University of Helsinki in 2005, this article traces the reaction and response by the management of the Finnish alcohol monopoly Oy Alko Ab to the process of European economic integration between 1988 and 1994. The data for the study consist of archive materials, protocols and memoirs, earlier research and literature as well as interviews with key figures involved in the process.

A distinction is made between four different periods in the management's reactions between 1988–1994. In the first period 1988–1989, the Alko management began to realise that European integration might have an impact on the company's operation. During the second period 1990–1991, there was a growing recognition that integration would affect the company in a major way and that it would be losing its import and export monopoly. At the same time, the Alko management began taking steps to strengthen the company's competitiveness and organisation. During the third period, from February 1992 to August 1992, the Alko management realised that the company's production and wholesale monopoly might also be under threat. They decided to fight to retain the company's three remaining monopoly rights and did so over the next six months until 25 August 1992, when the battle was limited to the monopoly of off-premise retail sales of alcoholic beverages. In the fourth period from August 1992 to May 1994, the Alko management moved to shore up the company's competitiveness and prepare for the eventuality of the company possibly losing its retail monopoly.
Artikel
Authors: Örnberg Jenny Cisneros , Ólafsdóttir Hildigunnur
Published: December 2017

The growth of the EU internal market has made it more difficult to maintain effective national regulation in the area of public health. The EEA agreement and EU membership of the Nordic countries resulted in the abolition of all of the monopolies on alcohol except at the retail level. The article examines how the Nordic alcohol retail monopolies have developed and reacted to national and international pressures on their activities from the mid 1990s to 2006. The article also analyzes what effects the changing surroundings of the Nordic alcohol monopolies have had on the monopolies' present tasks, positions and political aims. The method used in this study is document analysis and interviewing. The material analysed includes annual reports of the Nordic alcohol monopolies, their web pages, reports and brochures, and the laws and regulations pertaining to the monopolies. The article shows that the monopolies have worked purposefully to make themselves popular with the public, with an increased focus on customer service. These changes are based upon both international pressures and changes in perspective within politics in general, where a slow transition from a collectivist solidarity perspective to a more individualistic lifestyle perspective can be discerned.
Artikel
Authors: Andreasson Jesper , Lalander Philip
Published: December 2017

Aims

The aim of the article is to understand the meaning of subversive situations and collective storytelling in a Swedish male second division handball team. By subversive we mean situations and stories which exceed the limit of what is seen as legitimate outside the secret alliance of the group. The article examines how alcohol functions to transform the scene in which a situation or a collective story becomes subversive.

Methods and Data

One of the authors spent several years as an active member in the handball team, collecting ethnographical data both from sports settings and related situations involving storytelling, for example, at parties, in dressing rooms, and during team trips to other Nordic countries. In addition interviews were conducted with 17 members of the team.

Results

The storytelling and the subversive situations make it possible to create an alternative world, in which the members of the team can overstep different types of rules of conduct and civilized behaviour. This is made possible in part because of the meaning attached to alcohol as a transformer of social reality and also because of the character of the social group as homosocial and secret.
Does Beverage Type Matter?
Authors: Mäkelä Pia , Mustonen Heli , Österberg Esa
Published: December 2017

The purpose of this article is to review the associations of different beverage types with different types of harm and discuss their likely causes. The key issue is whether alcohol policy can influence the occurrence of harms by affecting consumers' beverage choices. This is dependent on the following questions addressed in this article:

1) Does beverage choice affect alcohol-related harm if quantity of alcohol is equal? 2) Does beverage choice impact the quantity of alcohol consumed? 3) Can beverage choice influence the nature of the drinking situation and thereby quantities and harm?

The literature review did not reveal great differences between different beverages with regard to harm if equal amounts are drunk, although it seems that spirits are somewhat more closely associated with alcohol poisonings and aggressive behaviour. Our results showed that spirits have a prominent role in Finnish binge drinking: the proportion of spirits consumed increases in direct proportion to the amounts of alcohol consumed on individual drinking occasions. we conclude that it would be unwise to encourage consumers to favour spirits. Currently, the difference in taxes on spirits and mild alcoholic beverages in Finland is larger than the corresponding difference in harm per litre of ethyl alcohol. However, an equal rate of taxes would make spirits much cheaper per litre of ethyl alcohol than other beverages. Based on our review, this situation would in all probability lead to an increase in alcohol-related harm.
Cultural differences in conflict resolution strategies
Authors: Gomez Carolina , Taylor Kimberly A
Published: December 2017

Cross-cultural differences in norms, values, and beliefs abound and impact preferred conflict resolution strategies. Potential differences in values and subsequent conflict resolution strategies can exacerbate the underlying conflict unless they are well understood. We study the case of differences in conflict resolution strategies between the United States and Mexico as well as studying the underlying value differences that explain their preferences. In a quasi-experimental study, we found that Mexicans, compared to US participants, appear to have a greater preference for both the use of social influence and negotiating when confronting a conflict. Moreover, it appears that collectivism helps explain these country differences as it mediated the relation between country and the likelihood of using social influence and negotiation. In addition, perceptions of fairness had a stronger influence on the preference that US participants had for negotiation as a conflict resolution strategy. The research helps illuminate the underlying mechanisms through which culture impacts conflict resolution strategy.
Low BIN3 Expression is an Independent Predictor of Unfavorable Survival in Patients With Primary Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Cui Jifang , Liu Yandi , Zhang Heng , Wang Yijia , Liu Guang , Zhang Weihua , Zhang Chunze
Published: December 2017

This study aimed to explore the mechanisms of bridging integrator-3 dysregulation, its prognostic value, and related signaling pathways in colorectal cancer . Bioinformatic analysis was performed based on the data from The Cancer Genome Atlas–colorectal cancer and Human Protein Atlas. Colorectal cancer cell lines, LoVo and HT29 cells, were used as in vitro cell model to assess the effect of demethylation on bridging integrator-3 expression. Results showed that bridging integrator-3 was downregulated in colorectal cancer tissues compared to normal colon and rectum tissues. Heatmap of bridging integrator-3 messenger RNA expression, exon expression, and DNA methylation indicated a negative correlation between bridging integrator-3 expression and methylation of some CpG sites within the coding sequence. Demethylation treatment significantly increased bridging integrator-3 expression in LoVo and HT29 cells. Low bridging integrator-3 messenger RNA and exon expression were associated with significantly worse overall survival ( P = .015 and .013, respectively). Multivariate analysis confirmed that low bridging integrator-3 messenger RNA expression was an independent prognostic factor of unfavorable overall survival (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 1.596, 95% confidence interval: 1.024-2.486; P = .039). High bridging integrator-3 DNA methylation was also associated with significantly worse overall survival ( P = .013). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis indicated that the genes correlated with bridging integrator-3 (absolute Pearson r ≥ 0.3, n = 121) were enriched in sphingolipid signaling pathway, natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity, p53 signaling pathway, and apoptosis. Based on these findings, we infer that DNA hypermethylation might be an important mechanism of suppressed bridging integrator-3 expression in colorectal cancer . Its low expression is an independent predictor of unfavorable survival in patients with primary colorectal cancer . Bridging integrator-3 might act as a tumor suppressor via modulating natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity, p53 signaling pathway, and apoptosis.
Dosimetric Study and Neurocognitive Function of Hippocampal-Sparing Whole-Brain Radiotherapy
Authors: Wang Baohong , Li Hongfei , Kong Fanyang , Xu Dandan , Zhang Xudong , Jia Fei , Lin Yalei , Li Guowen
Published: December 2017

Objective:

To investigate the feasibility of hippocampal-sparing whole-brain radiotherapy and reduction in neurocognitive function impairment after radiotherapy.

Methods:

Forty-three patients with brain metastases were selected. Whole-brain radiotherapy was performed in 22 patients, with 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy in parallel opposed fields. Twenty-one patients had significant difference. Planning parameter values and neurocognitive function scores in 2 groups were statistically analyzed.

Results:

Homogeneity index in the 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy group and tomotherapy group was 0.12 ± 0.02 and 0.36 ± 0.03, respectively, with a significant difference ( P < .05). The homogeneity of target doses was better in the tomotherapy group than in the 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy group. There was a statistical significance in Dmean and Dmax between the 2 groups ( P < .05). The dose in hippocampal was less in the tomotherapy group than in the other group. Dmean and Dmax of the left hippocampus declined to 20.14% and 35.39% of prescription dose, respectively, and Dmean and Dmax of the right hippocampus declined to 19.92% and 35.14% of prescription dose, respectively. Neurocognitive function score between the 2 groups before treatment and 1 month after treatment had no significant difference ( P > .05), while there was a significant difference in 3 and 6 months after treatment ( P < .05). Neurocognitive function score was higher in the tomotherapy group than in the other group. No level III or above adverse reactions were observed.

Conclusions:

Hippocampal-sparing whole-brain radiotherapy in brain metastases treatment is feasible. Homogeneity index value is higher in the tomotherapy group than in the 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy group. All V95% in the 2 groups meet the requirements. Hippocampal sparing could avoid neurocognitive function impairment to some extent.
Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activities of the Essential Oil From Salvia mirzayanii Leaves
Authors: Zomorodian Kamiar , Moein Mahmoodreza , Pakshir Keyvan , Karami Forough , Sabahi Zahra
Published: December 2017

Resistance of many pathogens to available drugs is a global challenge and is leading to growing interest in natural alternative products. In this study, chemical composition and in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities of the essential oil from Salvia mirzayanii were investigated. The chemical constituents of essential oil from S mirzayanii were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The antimicrobial activity was determined by broth microdilution. The main identified compounds were 1,8-cineole (41.2 ± 1.3%), linalool acetate (11.0 ± 0.5%), and α-terpinyl acetate (6.0 ± 0.4%) (mL of essential oil/g of plant material). The MIC95 were 0.03 to 0.5 µL/mL and 16 to 128 µL/mL for gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, respectively. These results indicated that Salvia mirzayanii essential oil significantly inhibited the growth of standard and clinically isolated tested yeasts by MIC50 0.03 to 1 µL/mL. Potent antibacterial and antifungal activities of Salvia mirzayanii essential oil may be considered in future study, particularly against antibiotic-resistant cases.
Health System and Policy Perspectives of Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) Control in India
Authors: Samal Janmejaya
Published: December 2017

Despite the lack of reliable information on multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) epidemiology, research shows an increasing trend of MDR-TB incidence in India. Of several determinants attributable to the rising trend of MDR-TB, health systems and policy (HSP) determinants play a pivotal role. With this article, an attempt has been made to unravel the HSP challenges for the control of MDR-TB and recommend strategies to overcome that. Ten different strategies have been recommended in this article that includes operations research (OR), molecular epidemiological studies, drug susceptibility test (DST), surveillance system, advocacy communication and social mobilisation (ACSM), nutrition and livelihood support, contribution of private practitioners (PPs), human resources for health (HRH), social determinants of health and information systems. Methods of OR with the right technical expertise can help in decision-making and evaluation of the TB control programme. Molecular epidemiological studies further help identify the right strain and can help in institutionalising the right therapeutic regimen. Similarly, the DST allows extended treatment strategies, including second-line drugs. A proper surveillance system can enable the availability of the right information for public health decision-making. Communication enables and empowers the community in accessing health services and helps policymakers take informed decisions. Nutrition and livelihood support are essential in TB control as it mostly affects the poor and people in the productive age group. Further, tapping PPs is equally important as more than 50 per cent of TB patients visit them. Proper orientation of the PPs about the TB control programme is non-negotiable given these facts. The HRH issues are pertinent—staff members lack the required motivation owing to delay in payment of salaries and the lack of job promotion. The HRH form the backbone of any health system, as the mere presence of drugs, technologies and infrastructure do not suffice for the provision of healthcare. Attention on the neglected social determinants of health is required as well. Finally, all these suggestions need to be implemented in coordination with each other to bring down the scourge of MDR-TB in India.
Mutant calreticulin knockin mice develop thrombocytosis and myelofibrosis without a stem cell self-renewal advantage
Authors: Li Juan , Prins Daniel , Park Hyun Jung , Grinfeld Jacob , Gonzalez-Arias Carlos , Loughran Stephen , Dovey Oliver M. , Klampfl Thorsten , Bennett Cavan , Hamilton Tina L. , Pask Dean C. , Sneade Rachel , Williams Matthew , Aungier Juliet , Ghevaert Cedric , Vassiliou George S. , Kent David G. , Green Anthony R.
Published: December 2017

Key Points

Mutant CALR drives ET and MF in knockin mice. Mutant CALR expression results in expansion of phenotypic HSCs without a self-renewal advantage.
Effectiveness of a job vacancy referral scheme
Authors: Bollens Joost , Cockx Bart
Published: December 2017

ᅟ

The public employment service (PES) makes use in many countries of vacancy referrals as to facilitate the matching between unemployed workers and vacancies. Based on a “timing-of-events” approach to control for selective participation, this study evaluates whether this policy instrument enhanced the transition to employment in Flanders (region in northern Belgium). Three referral types are distinguished: (1) referrals actively matched by a caseworker by phone or by e-mail; (2) automatic referrals, in which the match is accomplished by a software without caseworker intervention; and (3) invitations, in which the referral is transmitted to the unemployed in a meeting with a caseworker. All three referral instruments are found to be effective, even many months after the transmission of the referral: the first and third referral types more than triples, respectively, double the transition rate to employment both in short- and long-run, while the automatic referrals enhance this rate by 50% in the first 2 months and double it in the long-run.

JEL Classification

C41, J63, J64, J65, J68
Improving learning and confidence through small group, structured otoscopy teaching: A prospective interventional study
Authors: You Peng , Chahine Saad , Husein Murad
Published: December 2017

Background

Otologic diseases are common and associated with significant health care costs. While accurate diagnosis relies on physical exam, existing studies have highlighted a lack of comfort among trainees with regards to otoscopy. As such, dedicated otoscopy teaching time was incorporated into the undergraduate medical curriculum in the form of a small group teaching session. In this study, we aimed to examine the effect of a small-group, structured teaching session on medical students’ confidence with and learning of otoscopic examination.

Methods

Using a prospective study design, an otolaryngologist delivered an one-hour, small group workshop to medical learners. The workshop included introduction and demonstration of otoscopy and pneumatic otoscopy followed by practice with peer feedback. A survey exploring students’ confidence with otoscopy and recall of anatomical landmarks was distributed before(T1), immediately after(T2), and 1 month following the session(T3).

Results

One hundred and twenty five learners participated from February 2016 to February 2017. Forty nine participants with complete data over T1-T3 demonstrated significant improvement over time in confidence ( Wilk's lambda = .09, F(2,48) = 253.31 p < .001, η 2  = .91) and learning ( Wilk's lambda = 0.34, F(2,47) = 24.87 p < .001, η 2  = .66).

Conclusions

A small-group, structured teaching session had positive effects on students’ confidence with otoscopy and identification of otologic landmarks. Dedicated otoscopy teaching sessions may be a beneficial addition to the undergraduate medical curriculum.
Assessment of Treatment Patterns for Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma in Brazil
Authors: Bergerot Paulo G. , Bergerot Cristiane D. , Dizman Nazli , Zequi Stenio , Fay Andre , Dara Yash , Maia Manuel Caitano , Cotta Brendan N. , Gonçalves Edna Prado , Formiga Maria Nirvana , Tariki Milena Shizue , Clavijo Diego Abreu , Choueiri Toni K. , Lopes Gilberto , Pal Sumanta K.
Published: December 2017

Background

Although multiple therapies have emerged for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), it is unclear whether application of these agents is consistent in developed and developing countries. We sought to determine patterns of care for mRCC in Brazil as a representative developing country.

Material and Methods

A commercial database was used to acquire information pertaining to patients with mRCC receiving treatment at private or public hospitals in Brazil between March 2013 and October 2016. Basic clinical and demographic criteria were available, as well as information to ascertain the International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium risk. Treatment-related data across multiple lines of therapy were collected.

Results

Of 4,379 patients assessed, 3,990 (91%) had metastatic disease, and 26%, 48%, and 26% of patients had good, intermediate, and poor International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium risk disease, respectively. Although 3,149 patients (79%) received first-line therapy, only 641 (20%) and 152 (5%) received second- and third-line therapy, respectively. In the first-line setting, vascular endothelial growth factor–directed agents represented the most commonly used therapy, whereas in the second-line setting, vascular endothelial growth factor– and mammalian target of rapamycin–directed agents were used with similar frequency. Marked differences were seen in receipt of systemic therapy on the basis of treatment in private or public hospitals.

Conclusion

Relative to developed countries, marked attrition is noted between each subsequent line of therapy in Brazil. Patterns of care also vary greatly in private and public settings, pointing to financial constraints as a potential cause for discordances in treatment.
Improved Synthesis of the A–E Ring Segment of Ciguatoxin CTX3C by Using Intramolecular Allylations
Authors: Tanaka Tokihiro , Asakura Hiroki , Fujiwara Rie , Kumamoto Kentaro , Izuka Hiroaki , Shiroma Kengo , Takamura Hiroyoshi , Kadota Isao
Published: December 2017

An improved synthesis of the A–E ring segment of ciguatoxin CTX3C is described. The E ring segment was synthesized by the intramolecular reaction of allylic stannane and aldehyde with high stereoselectivity. Construction of the A–E ring framework was performed by using the intramolecular allylation of α-acetoxy ether followed by ring-closing metathesis.
Statistical research into low-power solar flares. Main phase duration
Authors: Боровик Александр , Borovik Aleksandr , Жданов Антон , Zhdanov Anton
Published: December 2017

This paper is a sequel to earlier papers on time parameters of solar flares in the Hα line. Using data from the International Flare Patrol, an electronic database of solar flares for the period 1972–2010 has been created. The statistical analysis of the duration of the main phase has shown that it increases with increasing flare class and brightness. It has been found that the duration of the main phase depends on the type and features of development of solar flares. Flares with one brilliant point have the shortest main phase; flares with several intensity maxima and two-ribbon flares, the longest one. We have identified more than 3000 cases with an ultra-long duration of the main phase (more than 60 minutes). For 90 % of such flares the duration of the main phase is 2–3 hrs, but sometimes it reaches 12 hrs.
North-south asymmetry of ultra-low-frequency oscillations of Earth’s electromagnetic field
Authors: Гульельми Анатолий , Guglielmi Anatol , Клайн Борис , Klain Boris , Потапов Александр , Potapov Alexander
Published: December 2017

In the paper, we present the result of an experimental study of north-south asymmetry of ultra-low-frequency electromagnetic oscillations IPCL. This study is based on observations made at obs. Mirny (Antarctica). IPCL are excited in the dayside sector of the auroral oval in the range of 3–10 min periods and represent one of the most powerful types of oscillations of Earth’s magnetosphere. These oscillations were discovered in the 1970s during IPhE AS USSR polar expeditions organized by Prof. V.A. Troitskaya. We have shown that IPCL activity in Mirny depends on the inclination (north-south asymmetry) of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) lines to the plane of the geomagnetic equator before the front of the magnetosphere. The result suggests a controlling exposure of IMF on the magnetospheric oscillations and gives rise to the hypothesis that IPCL are forced oscillations of a nonlinear dynamical system whose major structural elements are dayside polar cusps. The paper is dedicated to the memory of Professor V.A. Troitskaya (1917–2010).
Synchronization of geomagnetic and ionospheric disturbances over Kazan station
Authors: Бархатова Оксана , Barhatova Oksana , Косолапова Наталья , Kosolapova Natal'ya , Бархатов Николай , Barhatov Nikolay , Ревунов Сергей , Revunov Sergey
Published: December 2017

We have analyzed the phenomena which accompany synchronization of night-time ionospheric and geomagnetic disturbances in an ULF range with periods 35–50 min near the mid-latitude station Kazan during a global magnetically quiet period. The comparison between dynamic spectra and wavelet patterns of these disturbances has revealed that spectral features of simultaneous disturbances of the F2-layer critical frequency and H, D, Z geomagnetic field components are similar. By studying spectral features of the F2-layer critical frequency over Kazan and disturbances of the H and D geomagnetic field components at magnetic stations which differ from Kazan in longitude and latitude, we have established that the disturbances considered belong to the class of fast magnetosonic waves. The analysis of solar wind parameters, interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), and values of the auroral index AL in the period under study has shown that this event is associated with IMF Bz component disturbances and occurs during substorm development.