Social Networking Technology, Social Network Composition, and Reductions in Substance Use Among Homeless Adolescents

Peer-based prevention programs for homeless youth are complicated by the potential for reinforcing high-risk behaviors among participants. The goal of this study is to understand how homeless youth could be linked to positive peers in prevention programming by understanding where in social and physical space positive peers for homeless youth are located, how these ties are associated with substance use, and the role of social networking technologies (e.g., internet and cell phones) in this process. Personal social network data were collected from 136 homeless adolescents in Los Angeles, CA. Respondents reported on composition of their social networks with respect to: home-based peers and parents (accessed via social networking technology; e.g., the internet, cell phone, texting), homeless peers and agency staff (accessed face-to-face) and whether or not network members were substance-using or non-substance-using. Associations between respondent’s lifetime cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine use and recent (previous 30 days) alcohol and marijuana use were assessed by the number of non-substance-using versus substance-using ties in multivariate linear regression models. 43% of adolescents reported a non-substance-using home-based tie. More of these ties were associated with less recent alcohol use. 62% of adolescents reported a substance-using homeless tie. More of these ties were associated with more recent marijuana use as well as more lifetime heroin and methamphetamine use. For homeless youth, who are physically disconnected from positive peers, social networking technologies can be used to facilitate the sorts of positive social ties that effective peer-based prevention programs require

Research priorities for non-pharmacological therapies for common musculoskeletal problems: nationally and internationally agreed recommendations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Musculoskeletal problems such as low back pain, neck, knee and shoulder pain are leading causes of disability and activity limitation in adults and are most frequently managed within primary care. There is a clear trend towards large, high quality trials testing the effectiveness of common non-pharmacological interventions for these conditions showing, at best, small to moderate benefits. This paper summarises the main lessons learnt from recent trials of the effectiveness of non-pharmacological therapies for common musculoskeletal conditions in primary care and provides agreed research priorities for future clinical trials.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Consensus development using nominal group techniques through national (UK) and international workshops. During a national Clinical Trials Thinktank workshop in April 2007 in the UK, a group of 30 senior researchers experienced in clinical trials for musculoskeletal conditions and 2 patient representatives debated the possible explanations for the findings of recent high quality trials of non-pharmacological interventions. Using the qualitative method of nominal group technique, these experts developed and ranked a set of priorities for future research, guided by the evidence from recent trials of treatments for common musculoskeletal problems. The recommendations from the national workshop were presented and further ranked at an international symposium (hosted in Canada) in June 2007.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>22 recommended research priorities were developed, of which 12 reached consensus as priorities for future research from the UK workshop. The 12 recommendations were reduced to 7 agreed priorities at the international symposium. These were: to increase the focus on implementation (research into practice); to develop national musculoskeletal research networks in which large trials can be sited and smaller trials supported; to use more innovative trial designs such as those based on stepped care and subgrouping for targeted treatment models; to routinely incorporate health economic analysis into future trials; to include more patient-centred outcome measures; to develop a core set of outcomes for new trials of interventions for musculoskeletal problems; and to focus on studies that advance methodological approaches for clinical trials in this field.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A set of research priorities for future trials of non-pharmacological therapies for common musculoskeletal conditions has been developed and agreed through national (UK) and international consensus processes. These priorities provide useful direction for researchers and research funders alike and impetus for improvement in the quality and methodology of clinical trials in this field.</p

The spotted gar genome illuminates vertebrate evolution and facilitates human-teleost comparisons

To connect human biology to fish biomedical models, we sequenced the genome of spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus), whose lineage diverged from teleosts before teleost genome duplication (TGD). The slowly evolving gar genome has conserved in content and size many entire chromosomes from bony vertebrate ancestors. Gar bridges teleosts to tetrapods by illuminating the evolution of immunity, mineralization and development (mediated, for example, by Hox, ParaHox and microRNA genes). Numerous conserved noncoding elements (CNEs; often cis regulatory) undetectable in direct human-teleost comparisons become apparent using gar: functional studies uncovered conserved roles for such cryptic CNEs, facilitating annotation of sequences identified in human genome-wide association studies. Transcriptomic analyses showed that the sums of expression domains and expression levels for duplicated teleost genes often approximate the patterns and levels of expression for gar genes, consistent with subfunctionalization. The gar genome provides a resource for understanding evolution after genome duplication, the origin of vertebrate genomes and the function of human regulatory sequences

Respiratory Burst Process in Diabetic Children

Background Increased rate of infections in diabetes mellitus (DM) is an accepted fact. Pathophysiologically, several tasks of the immune system could be involved including polymorphonuclear (PMN) functions. Objectives The aim of this research was to evaluate the respiratory burst process of PMNs that is an essential part of phagocytosis, in children with DM. Patients and Methods Fifty two children with insulin dependent diabetes and 29 non-diabetic children were enrolled in this cross sectional study from 2010 to 2011. Nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) test was done on PMNs taken from their heparinized blood. The resultant data was analyzed by SPSS version 16. P values were considered significant when it was under 0.05. Results Mean NBTs were 72.1 ± 15.84 and 94.68 ± 5.31 in diabetics and non-diabetics, respectively (P < 0.001). Using Pearson correlation, there was no significant correlation between the NBT level and age, gender, duration of diabetes, daily insulin usage and blood HbA1C level. Conclusions Compared to non-diabetics, respiratory burst process of polymorphonuclears is obviously decreased in diabetic children. This can explain one of the mechanisms involved in the increased rate of infections in DM

Neuroscience : Mapping the semantic representation of the brain

Introducing the concept of semantic representation in the brain as well as highlighting their relevance for day-to-day human functioning. Presenting a brief overview of different theoretical viewpoints on semantic representation in the brain along with empirical evidence implicating brain areas designated for semantic processing. Illustrating how statistical semantics and semantic spaces have been utilized within the realm of neuroscience in order to decipher the neural substrates of numerous semantic categories. Reconciling findings from conventional research on semantic representation with those from novel data-driven approaches. Specifying strengths and weaknesses of statistical semantics as an approach to neuroscientific issues as well as raising potential problems of the method and outstanding questions for future research

Adolescent health and high school dropout : a prospective cohort study of 9000 Norwegian adolescents (the young-HUNT).

BACKGROUND: High school dropout is of major concern in the western world. Our aims were to estimate the risk of school dropout in adolescents following chronic somatic disease, somatic symptoms, psychological distress, concentration difficulties, insomnia or overweight and to assess to which extent the family contributes to the association between health and school dropout. METHODS: A population of 8950 school-attending adolescents (13-21 years) rated their health in the Young-HUNT 1 Study (90% response rate) in 1995-1997. High school dropout or completion, was defined with the Norwegian National Education Database in the calendar year the participant turned 24 years old. Parental socioeconomic status was defined by using linkages to the National Education Database, the National Insurance Administration and the HUNT2 Survey. We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios and risk differences of high school dropout, both in the whole population and among siblings within families differentially exposed to health problems. RESULTS: All explored health dimensions were strongly associated with high school dropout. In models adjusted for parental socioeconomic status, the risk differences of school dropout according to health exposures varied between 3.6% (95% CI 1.7 to 5.5) for having ≥ 1 somatic disease versus none and 11.7% (6.3 to 17.0) for being obese versus normal weight. The results from the analyses comparing differentially exposed siblings, confirmed these results with the exception of weaker associations for somatic diseases and psychological distress. School dropout was strongly clustered within families (family level conditional intraclass correlation 0.42). CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent health problems are markers for high school dropout, independent of parental socioeconomic status. Although school dropout it strongly related to family-level factors, also siblings with poor health have reduced opportunity to complete high school compared to healthy siblings. Public health policy should focus on ensuring young people with poor health the best attainable education.<p>Copyright ©2013 De Ridder et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.</p