Generation and quality control of lipidomics data for the alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative cohort.

Alzheimers disease (AD) is a major public health priority with a large socioeconomic burden and complex etiology. The Alzheimer Disease Metabolomics Consortium (ADMC) and the Alzheimer Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) aim to gain new biological insights in the disease etiology. We report here an untargeted lipidomics of serum specimens of 806 subjects within the ADNI1 cohort (188 AD, 392 mild cognitive impairment and 226 cognitively normal subjects) along with 83 quality control samples. Lipids were detected and measured using an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadruple/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF MS) instrument operated in both negative and positive electrospray ionization modes. The dataset includes a total 513 unique lipid species out of which 341 are known lipids. For over 95% of the detected lipids, a relative standard deviation of better than 20% was achieved in the quality control samples, indicating high technical reproducibility. Association modeling of this dataset and available clinical, metabolomics and drug-use data will provide novel insights into the AD etiology. These datasets are available at the ADNI repository at http://adni.loni.usc.edu/

Governors' Budgets for FY 2013 - What Is Proposed for Medicaid?

Examines trends in governors' Medicaid budget proposals, including expected shortfalls, fiscal priorities, additional spending cuts, policy actions to control Medicaid costs, and targeted investments, as well as tax cuts and fiscal reform proposals

Substantial improvements not seen in health behaviors following corner store conversions in two Latino food swamps.

BackgroundThe effectiveness of food retail interventions is largely undetermined, yet substantial investments have been made to improve access to healthy foods in food deserts and swamps via grocery and corner store interventions. This study evaluated the effects of corner store conversions in East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights, California on perceived accessibility of healthy foods, perceptions of corner stores, store patronage, food purchasing, and eating behaviors.MethodsHousehold data (n = 1686) were collected at baseline and 12- to 24-months post-intervention among residents surrounding eight stores, three of which implemented a multi-faceted intervention and five of which were comparisons. Bivariate analyses and logistic and linear regressions were employed to assess differences in time, treatment, and the interaction between time and treatment to determine the effectiveness of this intervention.ResultsImprovements were found in perceived healthy food accessibility and perceptions of corner stores. No changes were found, however, in store patronage, purchasing, or consumption of fruits and vegetables.ConclusionsResults suggest limited effectiveness of food retail interventions on improving health behaviors. Future research should focus on other strategies to reduce community-level obesity

Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) demonstration: delivery, take-up, and outcomes of in-work training support for lone parents (Research report No 727)

"This report focuses on the delivery, take-up and outcomes of the in-work training support provided through the Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) demonstration... The ERA demonstration was designed to test the effectiveness of a programme to improve the labour market prospects of low-paid workers and long-term unemployed people." - page 4

From Gatekeeping to Engagement: A Multicontextual, Mixed Method Study of Student Academic Engagement in Introductory STEM Courses.

The lack of academic engagement in introductory science courses is considered by some to be a primary reason why students switch out of science majors. This study employed a sequential, explanatory mixed methods approach to provide a richer understanding of the relationship between student engagement and introductory science instruction. Quantitative survey data were drawn from 2,873 students within 73 introductory science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses across 15 colleges and universities, and qualitative data were collected from 41 student focus groups at eight of these institutions. The findings indicate that students tended to be more engaged in courses where the instructor consistently signaled an openness to student questions and recognizes her/his role in helping students succeed. Likewise, students who reported feeling comfortable asking questions in class, seeking out tutoring, attending supplemental instruction sessions, and collaborating with other students in the course were also more likely to be engaged. Instructional implications for improving students' levels of academic engagement are discussed

European market integration and the political economy of corporate adjustment: OTE and Telecom Italia, 1949-2009

Despite the common challenges posed by European market integration and liberalisation, the behaviour of telecommunications operators across Europe suggests a variety of modes of adjustment and paths to privatisation. The article examines the puzzle of divergent responses to liberalisation by OTE and Telecom Italia (TI), casting light on their distinct paths to privatisation and internationalisation. The cases are considered in the context of the Varieties of Capitalism frame, which challenges the perspective that global market integration will lead to convergence in strategies and structures. Thus, the article suggests that the observed differences are largely explained by the domestic actors' preferences, and to a much lesser extent attributed to the globalising forces of technological change and competition

Implementation of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention: three case studies from the PrEP for women initiative in Washington, D.C.

BACKGROUND: Women account for 19% of new HIV diagnoses in the United States, with women of color (WOC) comprising 83% of this group. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a safe and effective method of HIV prevention for women. Yet, prescribing to WOC remains disproportionately low, leaving a major gap in HIV prevention options for this population. The purpose of this study was to examine PrEP implementation barriers and facilitators in a high HIV incidence setting in order to identify strategies to better provide comprehensive HIV prevention options for WOC. METHODS: This study used a case study approach with qualitative data collection to examine PrEP implementation for WOC as it happened in the “real world” in three clinical settings: a community-based clinic, a pediatric emergency department, and a Federally Qualified Health Center. Guided by the integrated-Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (i-PARIHS) implementation science framework, two rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted with clinical staff and providers. Data analysis was completed according to the five steps of the Framework Method. RESULTS: By the end of the one-year implementation period, only three WOC had been prescribed PrEP out of the targeted 387. Staff cited support of PrEP provision among staff and leadership, PrEP alignment with their clinics’ missions, having a centralized PrEP coordinator, and relationships with other implementing sites and within the local community as implementation facilitators. Despite these supportive factors, staff reported time limitations, resistance to PrEP prescribing, discomfort with PrEP counseling, and managing different and changing priorities across clinic departments as implementation barriers. CONCLUSION: Though the clinics seemed well-positioned for PrEP implementation, significant challenges impeded their success. To successfully provide PrEP to women, implementation should include clarifying staff roles and responsibilities, engaging staff and providers through ongoing and targeted feedback, and ensuring care is focused on women’s needs and experiences. The HIV epidemic can only be fought by utilizing all available HIV prevention tools in combination with HIV treatment, delivered with consideration of the local context and population. Specific practice recommendations identified will support clinics as they provide PrEP to WOC

Resective surgery prevents progressive cortical thinning in temporal lobe epilepsy

Focal epilepsy in adults is associated with progressive atrophy of the cortex at a rate more than double that of normal ageing. We aimed to determine whether successful epilepsy surgery interrupts progressive cortical thinning. In this longitudinal case-control neuroimaging study, we included subjects with unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) before (n = 29) or after (n = 56) anterior temporal lobe resection and healthy volunteers (n = 124) comparable regarding age and sex. We measured cortical thickness on paired structural MRI scans in all participants and compared progressive thinning between groups using linear mixed effects models. Compared to ageing-related cortical thinning in healthy subjects, we found progressive cortical atrophy on vertex-wise analysis in TLE before surgery that was bilateral and localized beyond the ipsilateral temporal lobe. In these regions, we observed accelerated annualized thinning in left (left TLE 0.0192 ± 0.0014 versus healthy volunteers 0.0032 ± 0.0013 mm/year, P < 0.0001) and right (right TLE 0.0198 ± 0.0016 versus healthy volunteers 0.0037 ± 0.0016 mm/year, P < 0.0001) presurgical TLE cases. Cortical thinning in these areas was reduced after surgical resection of the left (0.0074 ± 0.0016 mm/year, P = 0.0006) or right (0.0052 ± 0.0020 mm/year, P = 0.0006) anterior temporal lobe. Directly comparing the post- versus presurgical TLE groups on vertex-wise analysis, the areas of postoperatively reduced thinning were in both hemispheres, particularly, but not exclusively, in regions that were affected preoperatively. Participants who remained completely seizure-free after surgery had no more progressive thinning than that observed during normal ageing. Those with postoperative seizures had small areas of continued accelerated thinning after surgery. Thus, successful epilepsy surgery prevents progressive cortical atrophy that is observed in TLE and may be potentially neuroprotective. This effect was more pronounced in those who remained seizure-free after temporal lobe resection, normalizing the rate of atrophy to that of normal ageing. These results provide evidence of epilepsy surgery preventing further cerebral damage and provide incentives for offering early surgery in refractory TLE