Alcohol consumption is associated with increased all-cause mortality in Russian men and women: a cohort study based on the mortality of relatives

Objectives: To examine the relationships between frequency of alcohol consumption and of binge drinking and adult mortality in Russian men and women.Methods : Using modified indirect demographic techniques, a convenience cohort was constructed based on survey respondents? information about their close relatives. A random sample general population of the Russian Federation of 7172 respondents (response rate 61%) provided information on 10475 male and 3129 female relatives, including age, vital status and frequency of alcohol consumption and binge drinking. These relatives formed the cohort analysed in this report. The outcome measure was all-cause mortality after the age of 30 years.Findings: There was a strong linear relationship between frequency of drinking and of binge drinking and all-cause mortality in men; after controlling for smoking and calendar period of birth, the relative risk of death in daily drinkers compared to occasional drinkers was 1.52 (95% CI 1.33 ?1.75). Male binge drinkers had higher mortality than drinkers who did not binge, which persisted after adjustment for drinking frequency (adjusted RR 1.09 (1.00-1.19). In women, the increased mortality was confined to a small group of those who binged at least once a month (adjusted relative risk 2.68, 1.54-4.66). Conclusions: The results suggest a positive association between alcohol and mortality in Russia. There was no evidence for the protective effect of drinking seen in western populations. Alcohol appears to have contributed to the high long-term mortality rates in Russian men, but it is unlikely to be a major cause of female mortality. Objectives: To examine the relationships between frequency of alcohol consumption and of binge drinking and adult mortality in Russian men and women.Methods : Using modified indirect demographic techniques, a convenience cohort was constructed based on survey respondents? information about their close relatives. A random sample general population of the Russian Federation of 7172 respondents (response rate 61%) provided information on 10475 male and 3129 female relatives, including age, vital status and frequency of alcohol consumption and binge drinking. These relatives formed the cohort analysed in this report. The outcome measure was all-cause mortality after the age of 30 years.Findings: There was a strong linear relationship between frequency of drinking and of binge drinking and all-cause mortality in men; after controlling for smoking and calendar period of birth, the relative risk of death in daily drinkers compared to occasional drinkers was 1.52 (95% CI 1.33 ?1.75). Male binge drinkers had higher mortality than drinkers who did not binge, which persisted after adjustment for drinking frequency (adjusted RR 1.09 (1.00-1.19). In women, the increased mortality was confined to a small group of those who binged at least once a month (adjusted relative risk 2.68, 1.54-4.66). Conclusions: The results suggest a positive association between alcohol and mortality in Russia. There was no evidence for the protective effect of drinking seen in western populations. Alcohol appears to have contributed to the high long-term mortality rates in Russian men, but it is unlikely to be a major cause of female mortality

The Smallest Particles in Saturn's A and C Rings

Radio occultations of Saturn's main rings by spacecraft suggest a power law particle size-distribution down to sizes of the order of 1 cm (Marouf et al., 1983), (Zebker et al., 1985). The lack of optical depth variations between ultraviolet and near-IR wavelengths indicate a lack of micron-sized particles. Between these two regimes, the particle-size distribution is largely unknown. A cutoff where the particle-size distribution turns over must exist, but the position and shape of it is not clear from existing studies. Using a series of solar occultations performed by the VIMS instrument on-board Cassini in the near-infrared, we are able to measure light forward scattered by particles in the A and C rings. With a model of diffraction by ring particles, and the previous radio work as a constraint on the slope of the particle size distribution, we estimate the minimum particle size using a truncated power-law size distribution. The C Ring shows a minimum particle size of $4.1^{+3.8}_{-1.3}$ mm, with an assumed power law index of q=3.1 and a maximum particle size of 10 m. The A Ring signal shows a similar level of scattered flux, but modeling is complicated by the presence of self-gravity wakes and higher optical depths. If q<3, our A Ring model requires a minimum particle size below one millimeter (< 0.34 mm for an assumed q=2.75, or $0.56^{+0.35}_{-0.16}$ mm for a steeper q=2.9) to be consistent with VIMS observations. These results might seem to contradict previous optical(Dones et al., 1993) and infrared (French and Nicholson, 2000) work, which implied that there were few particles in the A Ring smaller than 1 cm. But, because of the shallow power law, relatively little optical depth (between 0.03 and 0.16 in extinction, or 0.015 - 0.08 in absorption) is provided by these particles.Comment: 47 pages, 16 figures, 3 Table

A spatio-temporal entropy-based approach for the analysis of cyber attacks (demo paper)

Computer networks are ubiquitous systems growing exponentially with a predicted 50 billion devices connected by 2050. This dramatically increases the potential attack surface of Internet networks. A key issue in cyber defense is to detect, categorize and identify these attacks, the way they are propagated and their potential impacts on the systems affected. The research presented in this paper models cyber attacks at large by considering the Internet as a complex system in which attacks are propagated over a network. We model an attack as a path from a source to a target, and where each attack is categorized according to its intention. We setup an experimental testbed with the concept of honeypot that evaluates the spatiotemporal distribution of these Internet attacks. The preliminary results show a series of patterns in space and time that illustrate the potential of the approach, and how cyber attacks can be categorized according to the concept and measure of entropy

Radiation effects on silver and zinc battery electrodes, III Interim report, Oct. 1965 - Jan. 1966

Radiation effects on silver-zinc battery electrode

Socio-economic status over the life-course and depressive symptoms in men and women in Eastern Europe

Objective: Research into social inequalities in depression has studied western populations but data from non-western countries are sparse. In this paper, we investigate the extent of social inequalities in depression in Eastern Europe, the relative importance of social position at different points of the life-course, and whether social patterning of depression differs between men and women.Method: A cross-sectional study examined 12,053 men and 13,582 women in Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic. Depressive symptoms (16 or above on the CESD-20) were examined in relation to socio-economic circumstances at three phases of the life-course: childhood (household amenities and father's education); own education; current circumstances (financial difficulties and possession of household items).Results: Pronounced social differences in depression exist in men and women throughout Eastern Europe. Depression was largely influenced by current circumstances rather than by early life or education, with effects stronger in Poland and Russia. Odds ratios in men for current disadvantage were 3.16 [95% CI: 2.57-3.89], 3.16 [2.74-3.64] and 2.17 [1.80-2.63] in Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic respectively. Social variables did not explain the female excess in depression, which varied from 2.91 [2.58-3.27] in Russia to 1.90 [1.74-2.08] in Poland. Men were more affected by adult disadvantage than women, leading to narrower sex differentials in the presence of disadvantage.Limitations: Cross-sectional data with recall of childhood conditions were used.Conclusion: Current social circumstances are the strongest influence on increased depressive symptoms in countries which have recently experienced social changes. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Make me think! Exploring library UX through the lens of (critical) information literacy

While (critical) information literacy (IL) acknowledges the political, economic, and social forces that shape complex information environments, library user experience (UX) typically centers efficiency and ‘seamlessness,’ ignoring the power structures and values that condition learning. In this paper, we explore the tensions between IL and UX values and practices, with the aim of starting a conversation about how these two related fields can become more closely aligned

Coexpression of rat P2X2 and P2X6 subunits in Xenopus oocytes.

Transcripts for P2X(2) and P2X(6) subunits are present in rat CNS and frequently colocalize in the same brainstem nuclei. When rat P2X(2) (rP2X(2)) and rat P2X(6) (rP2X(6)) receptors were expressed individually in Xenopus oocytes and studied under voltage-clamp conditions, only homomeric rP2X(2) receptors were fully functional and gave rise to large inward currents (2-3 microA) to extracellular ATP. Coexpression of rP2X(2) and rP2X(6) subunits in Xenopus oocytes resulted in a heteromeric rP2X(2/6) receptor, which showed a significantly different phenotype from the wild-type rP2X(2) receptor. Differences included reduction in agonist potencies and, in some cases (e.g., Ap(4)A), significant loss of agonist activity. ATP-evoked inward currents were biphasic at the heteromeric rP2X(2/6) receptor, particularly when Zn(2+) ions were present or extracellular pH was lowered. The pH range was narrower for H(+) enhancement of ATP responses at the heteromeric rP2X(2/6) receptor. Also, H(+) ions inhibited ATP responses at low pH levels (<pH 6.3). The pH-dependent blocking activity of suramin was changed at this heteromeric receptor, although the potentiating effect of Zn(2+) on ATP responses was unchanged. Thus, the rP2X(2/6) receptor is a functionally modified P2X(2)-like receptor with a distinct pattern of pH modulation of ATP activation and suramin blockade. Although homomeric P2X(6) receptors function poorly, the P2X(6) subunit can contribute to functional heteromeric P2X channels and may influence the phenotype of native P2X receptors in those cells in which it is expressed