bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Episodic Heavy Drinking and 20‐Year Total Mortality Among Late‐Life Moderate Drinkers
Authors: Holahan Charles J. , Schutte Kathleen K. , Brennan Penny L. , Holahan Carole K. , Moos Rudolf H. 
Published: March 2014

BackgroundAnalyses of moderate drinking have focused overwhelmingly on average consumption, which masks diverse underlying drinking patterns. This study examined the association between episodic heavy drinking and total mortality among moderate‐drinking older adults.MethodsAt baseline, the sample was comprised of 446 adults aged 55 to 65; 74 moderate drinkers who engaged in episodic heavy drinking and 372 regular moderate drinkers. The database at baseline also included a broad set of sociodemographic, behavioral, and health status covariates. Death across a 20‐year follow‐up period was confirmed primarily by death certificate.ResultsIn multiple logistic regression analyses, after adjusting for all covariates, as well as overall alcohol consumption, moderate drinkers who engaged in episodic heavy drinking had more than 2 times higher odds of 20‐year mortality in comparison with regular moderate drinkers.ConclusionsAmong older moderate drinkers, those who engage in episodic heavy drinking show significantly increased total mortality risk compared to regular moderate drinkers. Episodic heavy drinking—even when average consumption remains moderate—is a significant public health concern.
Consequences of Adolescent or Adult Ethanol Exposure on Tone and Context Fear Retention: Effects of an Acute Ethanol Challenge During Conditioning
Authors: Broadwater Margaret , Spear Linda P. 
Published: March 2014

BackgroundAn acute ethanol (EtOH) challenge prior to fear conditioning typically disrupts fear retention to contextual cues to a greater degree than fear retention to a discrete tone cue, and adolescent rats are less sensitive than adults to these EtOH‐induced disruptions of context fear memory. Given that some research suggests that repeated EtOH exposure during adolescence may “lock‐in” adolescent‐typical EtOH sensitivity into adulthood, the purpose of this study was to determine whether adults exposed to EtOH as adolescents would be less sensitive to EtOH‐induced disruptions of context fear.MethodsMale Sprague–Dawley rats were given 4 g/kg intragastric EtOH (25% v/v) or water every 48 hours for a total of 11 exposures during adolescence (postnatal day [P] 28 to 48) or adulthood (P70–90). After a 22‐day non‐EtOH period, animals were acutely challenged with 1 g/kg intraperitoneal EtOH or saline 10 minutes prior to tone or context (noncued) fear conditioning. Tone and context fear retention was subsequently examined.ResultsRegardless of age or exposure history, typical deficits in context fear retention were evident after EtOH challenge during conditioning. Similarly, tone fear retention was disrupted in all animals that were trained in the presence of EtOH, which was somewhat surprising given the relative resistance of tone fear retention to an acute EtOH challenge.ConclusionsThese results do not support the notion of a “lock‐in” of adolescent‐typical EtOH sensitivity as there was no influence of exposure age on sensitivity to the disruptive effects of an acute EtOH challenge. Thus, it appears that not all adolescent‐like EtOH sensitivities persist into adulthood after prior EtOH exposure during adolescence.
Clarifying the Measurement and the Role of the Behavioral Inhibition System in Alcohol Misuse
Authors: Keough Matthew T. , O'Connor Roisin M. 
Published: March 2014

BackgroundIn response to conflicting reward (Behavioral Approach System [BAS]) and/or punishment cues (Fight‐Flight‐Freeze System [FFFS]) the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) inhibits behavior, leading to increased attention to threat, high anxiety, and behavioral ambivalence. The role of BIS in alcohol misuse is complex, as anxiety promotes self‐medication drinking, while attention to threat (e.g., negative outcomes of heavy drinking) may reduce risk. Theory suggests that a concurrent strong BAS may bias BIS‐conflict in favor of alcohol approach, while a concurrent strong FFFS may increase the likelihood of alcohol avoidance. However, few studies measure BIS as a conflict system, and no studies incorporate such a measure into examinations of alcohol misuse. Our study goals were to (i) test the Motivational Flanker Task (MFT) as a new laboratory measure of the BIS, BAS, and FFFS; and (ii) use the MFT, in conjunction with self‐report measures, to test BAS and FFFS as moderators of the BIS‐alcohol misuse relation. We hypothesized that an elevated BIS would predict heavy drinking and alcohol‐related problems, but only when BAS was high. Further, we expected an elevated BIS to be associated with reduced alcohol misuse, but only when FFFS was high.MethodsStudents (N = 198) completed self‐reports of BIS/BAS/FFFS and drinking behavior, and 2 reaction time tasks: MFT and Point Scoring Reaction Time Task (PSRTT). The PSRTT is a published measure of the revised BIS.ResultsMFT BIS conflict was associated with self‐report and PSRTT measures. MFT BAS, but not FFFS, was associated with self‐reports. As expected, elevated BIS was associated with heavy drinking, but only when BAS‐Drive and BAS‐Fun Seeking was also high. FFFS was not supported as a moderator of the BIS‐alcohol misuse association.ConclusionsResults support the MFT as a promising measure of the revised BIS. Considering the joint effects of BIS and BAS clarified risk for alcohol misuse.
Evaluation of anti‐Mullerian hormone in the first trimester as a predictor for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and other adverse pregnancy outcomes
Authors: Shand Antonia W. , Whitton Katherine , Pasfield Adam , Nassar Natasha , McShane Monika , Han XuGuang , Henry Amanda 
Published: March 2014

BackgroundPrediction of pre‐eclampsia and adverse pregnancy outcomes with biomarkers has been proposed. AMH is an ovary‐specific growth factor, used to predict ovarian reserve, which changes with age similar to the change in age‐related fertility.AimsThe aim of the study was to determine whether AMH tested in the first trimester of pregnancy was associated with pregnancy hypertension or adverse pregnancy outcomes.Materials and MethodsRetrospective cohort study of women who delivered singleton fetuses ≥20 weeks' gestation at Royal Hospital for Women, Sydney, Australia (n = 331). AMH was tested in 2011 via Beckman‐Coulter Gen II ELISA method on frozen serum collected at the time of first trimester aneuploidy screening (10–13 + 6 weeks' gestation). Outcome data were obtained from the hospital database (ObstetriX). Main outcome measures were pregnancy hypertension (pre‐eclampsia and gestational hypertension) and composite adverse pregnancy outcome.ResultsThe median AMH level was 9.7pmol/L (interquartile range (IQR) 3.9–17.3). There was a trend towards women with pregnancy hypertension having lower AMH levels than women without pregnancy hypertension (median 5.1pmol/L, IQR 1.5–13.2 vs 9.4 IQR 3.9–17.3; P = 0.06). After adjusting for BMI ≥25, parity ≥1 and age ≥35, women with an AMH less than the 10th centile had a 3.3‐fold increased risk of pregnancy hypertension (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.2–8.7, P = 0.01). There were no other associations between low AMH concentration and adverse maternal or neonatal outcomes.ConclusionsWomen with a very low AMH (1.5 pmol/L) in early pregnancy may have an increased risk of pregnancy hypertension. No other adverse pregnancy outcomes were identified.
Acylated and unacylated ghrelin inhibit doxorubicin‐induced apoptosis in skeletal muscle
Authors: Yu A. P. , Pei X. M. , Sin T. K. , Yip S. P. , Yung B. Y. , Chan L. W. , Wong C. S. , Siu P. M. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractAimDoxorubicin, a potent chemotherapeutic drug, has been demonstrated previously as an inducer of apoptosis in muscle cells. Extensive induction of apoptosis may cause excessive loss of muscle cells and subsequent functional decline in skeletal muscle. This study examined the effects of acylated ghrelin, a potential agent for treating cancer cachexia, on inhibiting apoptotic signalling in doxorubicin‐treated skeletal muscle. Unacylated ghrelin, a form of ghrelin that does not bind to GHSR‐1a, is also employed in this study to examine the GHSR‐1a signalling dependency of the effects of ghrelin.MethodsAdult C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to saline control (CON), doxorubicin (DOX), doxorubicin with treatment of acylated ghrelin (DOX+Acylated Ghrelin) and doxorubicin with treatment of unacylated ghrelin (DOX+Unacylated Ghrelin). Mice in all groups that involved DOX were intraperitoneally injected with 15 mg of doxorubicin per kg body weight, whereas mice in CON group received saline as placebo. Gastrocnemius muscle tissues were harvested after the experimental period for analysis.ResultsThe elevation of apoptotic DNA fragmentation and number of TUNEL‐positive nuclei were accompanied with the upregulation of Bax in muscle after exposure to doxorubicin, but all these changes were neither seen in the muscle treated with acylated ghrelin nor unacylated ghrelin after doxorubicin exposure. Protein abundances of autophagic markers including LC3 II‐to‐LC3 I ratio, Atg12‐5 complex, Atg5 and Beclin‐1 were not altered by doxorubicin but were upregulated by the treatment of either acylated or unacyated ghrelin. Histological analysis revealed that the amount of centronucleated myofibres was elevated in doxorubicin‐treated muscle while muscle of others groups showed normal histology.ConclusionsCollectively, our data demonstrated that acylated ghrelin administration suppresses the doxorubicin‐induced activation of apoptosis and enhances the cellular signalling of autophagy. The treatment of unacylated ghrelin has similar effects as acylated ghrelin on apoptotic and autophagic signalling, suggesting that the effects of ghrelin are probably mediated through a signalling pathway that is independent of GHSR‐1a. These findings were consistent with the hypothesis that acylated ghrelin inhibits doxorubicin‐induced upregulation of apoptosis in skeletal muscle while treatment of unacylated ghrelin can achieve similar effects as the treatment of acylated ghrelin. The inhibition of apoptosis and enhancement of autophagy induced by acylated and unacylated ghrelin might exert myoprotective effects on doxorubicin‐induced toxicity in skeletal muscle.
The incidence and risk factors for developing depression after being diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease: a cohort study
Authors: Panara A. J. , Yarur A. J. , Rieders B. , Proksell S. , Deshpande A. R. , Abreu M. T. , Sussman D. A. 
Published: March 2014

SummaryBackgroundStudies have found that depression is more frequent in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) than the general population. Clinicians are now trying to pinpoint risk factors for psychological impairment in the IBD population.AimsTo examine the demographic and phenotypic variables associated with the development of depression among a diverse cohort of IBD patients. We also sought to describe psychotropic therapy prescribed to IBD patients.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study including patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) without a prior psychiatric diagnosis and followed in the gastroenterology clinics of the private university hospital and public safety net hospital at a large academic centre in Miami (Florida). Predictive variables included demographic characteristics, IBD phenotype, exposure to IBD medications, history of a surgical stoma or seton placement, extra‐intestinal manifestations, laboratory indices, aggressive disease and disease activity (based on imaging and endoscopic parameters). Proportional hazard regression models and stepwise Cox regression analysis were used for statistical analysis.ResultsIndependent predictors of depression were female gender [HR: 1.3 (95% CI: 1.1–1.7), P = 0.01], aggressive disease [HR: 1.4 (95% CI: 1.02–1.9), P = 0.03] and active disease [HR: 1.5 (95% CI: 1.1–2.0), P = 0.04]. In the group that did develop a depressive disorder, 65% received pharmacologic therapy with one or more psychotropic agents.ConclusionsWe found female gender, aggressive disease and increased endoscopic/radiological activity to be independently associated with the development of depression in inflammatory bowel disease.
Systematic review with meta‐analysis: meat consumption and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Luo J. , Yang Y. , Liu J. , Lu K. , Tang Z. , Liu P. , Liu L. , Zhu Y. 
Published: March 2014

SummaryBackgroundThe association between meat consumption and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still inconclusive.AimTo conduct a systematic review and meta‐analysis to quantitatively assess the relationship between meat intake and the risk of HCC.MethodsWe searched the PubMed, Web of Science and EMBASE databases for relevant studies published before July 2013. The summary relative risks were pooled using the fixed‐effects model when no substantial heterogeneity was detected, otherwise, the random‐effects model was used. Heterogeneity and publication bias were also analysed.ResultsFinally, seven cohort studies and 10 case–control studies were included. The pooled relative risks (RRs) of HCC for the highest vs. lowest consumption levels were 1.10 (95% confidence interval, CI: 0.85–1.42) for red meat, 1.01 (95% CI: 0.79–1.28) for processed meat and 0.97 (95% CI: 0.85–1.11) for total meat. Moreover, white meat and fish consumption were found to be inversely associated with HCC risk, the summary RRs were 0.69 (95% CI: 0.58–0.81) and 0.78 (95% CI: 0.67–0.90) respectively, and the results remained quite stable after stratification by the confounding factors.ConclusionsThe present meta‐analysis indicates that a high level of white meat or fish consumption can reduce the risk of HCC significantly, while intake of red meat, processed meat or total meat is not associated with HCC risk. Our findings suggest that dietary intervention may be a promising approach for prevention of HCC, which still need to be confirmed by further well‐designed prospective studies and experimental research.
An Ethical Analysis of the Second Amendment: The Right to Pack Heat at Work
Authors: Martin William M. , LaVan Helen , Lopez Yvette P. , Naquin Charles E. , Katz Marsha 
Published: March 2014

AbstractWe examine the issues concerning the legality and ethicality of the Second Amendment right to bear arms balanced by the employer's duty to provide a safe workplace for its employees. Two court rulings highlight this balancing act: McDonald et al. v. City of Chicago et al. and District of Columbia v. Heller. “Stand Your Ground” and “Castle Doctrine” laws in the recent Trayvon Martin shooting on February 26, 2012 are also applicable. Various ethical frameworks examine the firearms debate by viewing the Second Amendment from three perspectives. These include a pro‐gun perspective drawing upon libertarianism and fundamental rights; a moderate gun perspective drawing upon consequentialism and stakeholder theory; and finally, an anti‐gun perspective drawing upon a Public Health Ethics and peace ethics approach. We explore the issue of gun control from a business perspective as employers face ethical decisions in responding to legislation that allows guns in the workplace and/or in employer parking lots while still being responsible to provide a safe workplace for their employees. We make recommendations regarding how companies should manage by proactively avoiding legal challenges to employees' rights to own and carry guns into the workplace. This includes emphasis on enhanced security, Human Resource policies and monitoring rapidly changing laws.
Bipolar II disorder in patients with a current diagnosis of recurrent depression
Authors: Mosolov Sergey , Ushkalova Anna , Kostukova Elena , Shafarenko Alexey , Alfimov Pavel , Kostyukova Anastasiya , Angst Jules 
Published: March 2014

ObjectivesThe prevalence of bipolar II disorder (BD‐II) in Russia has never been studied. Therefore, we sought to identify patients meeting diagnostic criteria for BD‐II among patients with a current diagnosis of recurrent depressive disorder (RDD) through the use of the Russian versions of the Hypomania Checklist (HCL‐32) and Bipolarity Index scales for differentiating between BD‐II and RDD.MethodsIn a non‐interventional diagnostic study, we selected 409 patients aged between 18 and 65 years from two medical settings with (i) a current diagnosis of RDD, (ii) an illness duration of at least three years, and (iii) at least two affective episodes. The diagnosis was based on clinical assessment and confirmed by the Russian version of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. All patients were assessed by the HCL‐32, the Bipolarity Index, and the Personal and Social Performance Scale.ResultsAmong patients with a current diagnosis of RDD, 40.8% had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder (bipolar I disorder: 4.9%; BD‐II: 35.9%). The average time lag from onset to a correct diagnosis of BD‐II was 15 years and patients were treated only with antidepressants. The sensitivity of the Russian version of the HCL‐32 at the optimal cutoff point (≥14.0) was 83.7%, and its specificity was 71.9%. The Bipolarity Index showed significant differences between the total scores of the patients with BD‐II and RDD (31.8 versus 20.2; p < 0.0001). The optimal threshold was ≥22.0 (sensitivity 73.5%; specificity 72.3%).ConclusionsIn Russia, diagnostic errors are an important cause of the non‐detection of bipolar disorder, particularly BD‐II. The Russian version of the HCL‐32 and the Bipolarity Index, as additional tools, could be useful for bipolarity screening.
Parametric bootstrap methods for testing multiplicative terms in GGE and AMMI models
Authors: Forkman Johannes , Piepho Hans‐Peter 
Published: March 2014

SummaryThe genotype main effects and genotype‐by‐environment interaction effects (GGE) model and the additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model are two common models for analysis of genotype‐by‐environment data. These models are frequently used by agronomists, plant breeders, geneticists and statisticians for analysis of multi‐environment trials. In such trials, a set of genotypes, for example, crop cultivars, are compared across a range of environments, for example, locations. The GGE and AMMI models use singular value decomposition to partition genotype‐by‐environment interaction into an ordered sum of multiplicative terms. This article deals with the problem of testing the significance of these multiplicative terms in order to decide how many terms to retain in the final model. We propose parametric bootstrap methods for this problem. Models with fixed main effects, fixed multiplicative terms and random normally distributed errors are considered. Two methods are derived: a full and a simple parametric bootstrap method. These are compared with the alternatives of using approximate F‐tests and cross‐validation. In a simulation study based on four multi‐environment trials, both bootstrap methods performed well with regard to Type I error rate and power. The simple parametric bootstrap method is particularly easy to use, since it only involves repeated sampling of standard normally distributed values. This method is recommended for selecting the number of multiplicative terms in GGE and AMMI models. The proposed methods can also be used for testing components in principal component analysis.
Accelerated intensity frailty model for recurrent events data
Authors: Liu Bo , Lu Wenbin , Zhang Jiajia 
Published: March 2014

SummaryIn this article we propose an accelerated intensity frailty (AIF) model for recurrent events data and derive a test for the variance of frailty. In addition, we develop a kernel‐smoothing‐based EM algorithm for estimating regression coefficients and the baseline intensity function. The variance of the resulting estimator for regression parameters is obtained by a numerical differentiation method. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the finite sample performance of the proposed estimator under practical settings and demonstrate the efficiency gain over the Gehan rank estimator based on the AFT model for counting process (Lin et al., 1998). Our method is further illustrated with an application to a bladder tumor recurrence data.
A statistical approach to set classification by feature selection with applications to classification of histopathology images
Authors: Jung Sungkyu , Qiao Xingye 
Published: March 2014

SummarySet classification problems arise when classification tasks are based on sets of observations as opposed to individual observations. In set classification, a classification rule is trained with N sets of observations, where each set is labeled with class information, and the prediction of a class label is performed also with a set of observations. Data sets for set classification appear, for example, in diagnostics of disease based on multiple cell nucleus images from a single tissue. Relevant statistical models for set classification are introduced, which motivate a set classification framework based on context‐free feature extraction. By understanding a set of observations as an empirical distribution, we employ a data‐driven method to choose those features which contain information on location and major variation. In particular, the method of principal component analysis is used to extract the features of major variation. Multidimensional scaling is used to represent features as vector‐valued points on which conventional classifiers can be applied. The proposed set classification approaches achieve better classification results than competing methods in a number of simulated data examples. The benefits of our method are demonstrated in an analysis of histopathology images of cell nuclei related to liver cancer.
Impact of comorbidity on health‐related quality of life after prostate cancer treatment: combined analysis of two prospective cohort studies
Authors: Reeve Bryce B. , Chen Ronald C. , Moore Dominic T. , Deal Allison M. , Usinger Deborah S. , Lyons Jessica C. , Talcott James A. 
Published: March 2014

ObjectiveTo improve and individualise estimates of treatment outcomes for men diagnosed with prostate cancer, we examined the impact of baseline comorbidity on health‐related quality of life (HRQL) outcomes in an analysis of two pooled, prospective cohort studies.Patients and MethodsWe studied 697 patients from three academic hospitals who received radical prostatectomy (RP), external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), or brachytherapy (BT). Measures of patient‐reported bowel, urinary, and sexual symptoms along with physical and mental health were prospectively collected before treatment and 3, 12, 24, and 36 months after treatment. We assessed baseline comorbidity by the validated Index of Co‐Existent Disease (ICED), abstracted from medical records. Regression mixed‐models were built for each treatment group and HRQL outcome controlling for baseline age, education, marital status, risk group and patient‐reported general health.ResultsAbout 71% of patients had one or more comorbid conditions at baseline. After adjusting for covariates, we found baseline comorbidity was independently associated with poorer sexual function after BT (P = 0.04) and RP (P = 0.03) but not EBRT (P = 0.35). Physical health was significantly worse for men receiving BT with more comorbidities (P = 0.02). Baseline comorbid conditions were not associated with urinary incontinence or bowel functioning.ConclusionsComorbidity at baseline is significantly associated with poorer sexual function after prostate BT or RP. This information may help patients and their physicians anticipate outcomes after surgical and radiation treatments.