Social Support and Smoking Abstinence among Incarcerated Adults in the United States: A Longitudinal Study

Background: In the United States, tobacco use among prisoners is nearly three times that of the general population. While many American prisons and jails are now tobacco-free, nearly all inmates return to smoking as soon as they are released back into the community. Methods: To better understand the role that personal relationships may play in enabling return to smoking, we enrolled former-smokers who were inmates in a tobacco-free prison. Baseline assessments were conducted six weeks prior to inmates’ scheduled release and included measures of smoking prior to incarceration, motivation, confidence and plans for remaining quit after release. We also assessed global social support (ISEL) and a measure of social support specific to quitting smoking (SSQ). Smoking status was assessed three weeks after prison release and included 7-day point-prevalence abstinence validated by urine cotinine, days to first cigarette and smoking rate. Results: A diverse sample comprised of 35% women, 20% Hispanic, and 29% racial minorities (average age 35.5 years) provided baseline data (n = 247). Over 90% of participants provided follow up data at 3-weeks post-release. Prior to incarceration participants had smoked an average of 21.5 (SD = 11.7) cigarettes per day. Only 29.2% had definite plans to remain smoking-abstinent after release. Approximately half of all participants reported that “most” or “all” of their family (42.2%) and friends (68%) smoked, and 58.8% reported their spouse or romantic partner smoked. SSQ scores were not significantly predictive of smoking outcomes at three weeks, however, social support from family and friends were each significantly and positively correlated with motivation, confidence, and plans for remaining abstinent (all p values Conclusions: Inmates of smoke-free prisons have a head-start on being smoke-free for life. They have been abstinent well past the duration of nicotine withdrawal and have great financial incentive not to begin smoking again. However, this advantage may be offset by a lack of non-smoking role models among their family and friends, and perceived lack of support for remaining smoke-free. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0168499

Superdotação/altas habilidades percebidas por pais e professores do ensino fundamental, nível I

The inclusionary educational policies propose measures that guarantee the right of participation and development of gifted/highly rated students, however, there is a major challenge in their identification. Therefore, the accomplishment of this essay aims to identify the perception of parents and teachers regarding the characteristics of highly gifted/high abilities of their children and students. The research was performed with parents and teachers of Elementary School, Level I, of a small city in the Metropolitan Region of Campinas, state of São Paulo. The study was based on a questionnaire for parents and teachers to collect information. Analysis of the data revealed that parents expressed high expectations about their children's potential, teachers were more thoughtful when selecting the indicators for the potential of their students. Parents and teachers presented superficial knowledge on the subject. Still, there was a very low number of teachers that indicated Creativity, indispensable element in this process, because it involves originality of thought and ability to solve problems.Las políticas educativas de inclusión proponen medidas que garantizan la participación y el desarrollo de estudiantes con sobredotación/altas capacidades, sin embargo existe un gran desafio en lo que se refiere a su identificación. La realización de esta investigación tuvo como objetivo identificar la percepción de los padres y docentes en relación con las características en sus hijos y estudiantes con superdotación/altas capacidades. La investigación fue realizada con estudiantes del nível Básico, 1° grado de primaria de una ciudad pequeña del estado de San Paulo. Se utilizaron cuestionarios para padres y professores con la finalidad de obtener información. El análisis de los datos reveló que los padres demostraron grandes expectativas en relación con el potencial de sus hijos, mientras que los professores fueron más ponderados al elegir los indicadores referentes al potencial de los alumnos. Ambos manifestaron conociminetos superficiales con el assunto de la investigación, y los profesores hicieron pocas observaciones en relación al item: Creatividad, elemento indispensable en el processo, pues involucra originalidad de pensamiento en la solución del problema.As políticas educacionais de inclusão propõem medidas que garantem a participação e desenvolvimento de estudantes com superdotação/altas habilidades, todavia, há um grande desafio no que tange à sua identificação. A realização deste estudo objetivou identificar a percepção de pais e professores quanto às características de superdotação/altas habilidades de seus filhos e alunos. O estudo foi realizado no Ensino Fundamental, Nível I, de uma cidade de pequeno porte no estado de São Paulo. Utilizou-se questionários para pais e professores a fim de realizar coleta de informações. A análise dos dados revelou que os pais demonstraram grandes expectativas quanto ao potencial de seus filhos, enquanto que os professores foram mais ponderados ao escolher os indicadores referentes ao potencial de seus alunos. Ambos apresentaram conhecimento superficial quanto ao assunto e os professores fizeram poucas indicações no item Criatividade, elemento indispensável no processo, pois envolve originalidade de pensamento na solução de problemas

A data-driven study of Alzheimer's disease related amyloid and tau pathology progression

Amyloid-beta is thought to facilitate the spread of tau throughout the neocortex in Alzheimer's disease, though how this occurs is not well understood. This is because of the spatial discordance between amyloid-beta, which accumulates in the neocortex, and tau, which accumulates in the medial temporal lobe during aging. There is evidence that in some cases amyloid-beta-independent tau spreads beyond the medial temporal lobe where it may interact with neocortical amyloid-beta. This suggests that there may be multiple distinct spatiotemporal subtypes of Alzheimer's-related protein aggregation, with potentially different demographic and genetic risk profiles. We investigated this hypothesis, applying data-driven disease progression subtyping models to post-mortem neuropathology and in vivo PET based measures from two large observational studies: the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative and the Religious Orders Study and Rush Memory and Aging Project. We consistently identified 'amyloid-first' and 'tau-first' subtypes using cross-sectional information from both studies. In the amyloid-first subtype, extensive neocortical amyloid-beta precedes the spread of tau beyond the medial temporal lobe, while in the tau-first subtype mild tau accumulates in medial temporal and neocortical areas prior to interacting with amyloid-beta. As expected, we found a higher prevalence of the amyloid-first subtype among apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele carriers while the tau-first subtype was more common among APOE ε4 non-carriers. Within tau-first APOE ε4 carriers, we found an increased rate of amyloid-beta accumulation (via longitudinal amyloid PET), suggesting that this rare group may belong within the Alzheimer's disease continuum. We also found that tau-first APOE ε4 carriers had several fewer years of education than other groups, suggesting a role for modifiable risk factors in facilitating amyloid-beta-independent tau. Tau-first APOE ε4 non-carriers, in contrast, recapitulated many of the features of Primary Age-related Tauopathy. The rate of longitudinal amyloid-beta and tau accumulation (both measured via PET) within this group did not differ from normal aging, supporting the distinction of Primary Age-related Tauopathy from Alzheimer's disease. We also found reduced longitudinal subtype consistency within tau-first APOE ε4 non-carriers, suggesting additional heterogeneity within this group. Our findings support the idea that amyloid-beta and tau may begin as independent processes in spatially disconnected regions, with widespread neocortical tau resulting from the local interaction of amyloid-beta and tau. The site of this interaction may be subtype-dependent: medial temporal lobe in amyloid-first, neocortex in tau-first. These insights into the dynamics of amyloid-beta and tau may inform research and clinical trials that target these pathologies

Dynamic and volumetric variables reliably predict fluid responsiveness in a porcine model with pleural effusion

Background: The ability of stroke volume variation (SVV), pulse pressure variation (PPV) and global end-diastolic volume (GEDV) for prediction of fluid responsiveness in presence of pleural effusion is unknown. The aim of the present study was to challenge the ability of SVV, PPV and GEDV to predict fluid responsiveness in a porcine model with pleural effusions. Methods: Pigs were studied at baseline and after fluid loading with 8 ml kg−1 6% hydroxyethyl starch. After withdrawal of 8 ml kg−1 blood and induction of pleural effusion up to 50 ml kg−1 on either side, measurements at baseline and after fluid loading were repeated. Cardiac output, stroke volume, central venous pressure (CVP) and pulmonary occlusion pressure (PAOP) were obtained by pulmonary thermodilution, whereas GEDV was determined by transpulmonary thermodilution. SVV and PPV were monitored continuously by pulse contour analysis. Results: Pleural effusion was associated with significant changes in lung compliance, peak airway pressure and stroke volume in both responders and non-responders. At baseline, SVV, PPV and GEDV reliably predicted fluid responsiveness (area under the curve 0.85 (p<0.001), 0.88 (p<0.001), 0.77 (p = 0.007). After induction of pleural effusion the ability of SVV, PPV and GEDV to predict fluid responsiveness was well preserved and also PAOP was predictive. Threshold values for SVV and PPV increased in presence of pleural effusion. Conclusions: In this porcine model, bilateral pleural effusion did not affect the ability of SVV, PPV and GEDV to predict fluid responsiveness

Treatment planning systems dosimetry auditing project in Portugal

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The Medical Physics Division of the Portuguese Physics Society (DFM_SPF) in collaboration with the IAEA, carried out a national auditing project in radiotherapy, between September 2011 and April 2012. The objective of this audit was to ensure the optimal usage of treatment planning systems. The national results are presented in this paper. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The audit methodology simulated all steps of external beam radiotherapy workflow, from image acquisition to treatment planning and dose delivery. A thorax CIRS phantom lend by IAEA was used in 8 planning test-cases for photon beams corresponding to 15 measuring points (33 point dose results, including individual fields in multi-field test cases and 5 sum results) in different phantom materials covering a set of typical clinical delivery techniques in 3D Conformal Radiotherapy. RESULTS: All 24 radiotherapy centers in Portugal have participated. 50 photon beams with energies 4-18 MV have been audited using 25 linear accelerators and 32 calculation algorithms. In general a very good consistency was observed for the same type of algorithm in all centres and for each beam quality. CONCLUSIONS: The overall results confirmed that the national status of TPS calculations and dose delivery for 3D conformal radiotherapy is generally acceptable with no major causes for concern. This project contributed to the strengthening of the cooperation between the centres and professionals, paving the way to further national collaborations

Light regime characterization in an airlift photobioreactor for production of microalgae with high starch content

The slow development of microalgal biotechnology is due to the failure in the design of large-scale photobioreactors (PBRs) where light energy is efficiently utilized. In this work, both the quality and the amount of light reaching a given point of the PBR were determined and correlated with cell density, light path length, and PBR geometry. This was made for two different geometries of the downcomer of an airlift PBR using optical fiber technology that allows to obtain information about quantitative and qualitative aspects of light patterns. This is important since the ability of microalgae to use the energy of photons is different, depending on the wavelength of the radiation. The results show that the circular geometry allows a more efficient light penetration, especially in the locations with a higher radial coordinate (r) when compared to the plane geometry; these observations were confirmed by the occurrence of a higher fraction of illuminated volume of the PBR for this geometry. An equation is proposed to correlate the relative light intensity with the penetration distance for both geometries and different microalgae cell concentrations. It was shown that the attenuation of light intensity is dependent on its wavelength, cell concentration, geometry of PBR, and the penetration distance of light.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Investigating neuromagnetic brain responses against chromatic flickering stimuli by wavelet entropies

BACKGROUND: Photosensitive epilepsy is a type of reflexive epilepsy triggered by various visual stimuli including colourful ones. Despite the ubiquitous presence of colorful displays, brain responses against different colour combinations are not properly studied. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we studied the photosensitivity of the human brain against three types of chromatic flickering stimuli by recording neuromagnetic brain responses (magnetoencephalogram, MEG) from nine adult controls, an unmedicated patient, a medicated patient, and two controls age-matched with patients. Dynamical complexities of MEG signals were investigated by a family of wavelet entropies. Wavelet entropy is a newly proposed measure to characterize large scale brain responses, which quantifies the degree of order/disorder associated with a multi-frequency signal response. In particular, we found that as compared to the unmedicated patient, controls showed significantly larger wavelet entropy values. We also found that Renyi entropy is the most powerful feature for the participant classification. Finally, we also demonstrated the effect of combinational chromatic sensitivity on the underlying order/disorder in MEG signals. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results suggest that when perturbed by potentially epileptic-triggering stimulus, healthy human brain manages to maintain a non-deterministic, possibly nonlinear state, with high degree of disorder, but an epileptic brain represents a highly ordered state which making it prone to hyper-excitation. Further, certain colour combination was found to be more threatening than other combinations