Case Studies of the Practices Used by a Select Group of Retatlers and Consumers1in Selecting Dresses for Pre-school Girls

Clothing, Textiles, and Merchandisin

Major depressive disorder in a family study of obsessive–compulsive disorder with pediatric probands

Objective: This study examined the comorbidity of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) with major depressive disorder (MDD) in a family study of OCD with pediatric probands. Method: This study assessed the lifetime prevalence of MDD in 141 first‐degree relatives (FDR) and 452 second‐degree relatives (SDR) of pediatric probands with OCD and healthy controls, and identified variables associated with MDD in case FDR. All available FDR were directly interviewed blind to proband status; parents were also interviewed to assess the family psychiatric history of FDR and SDR. Best‐estimate diagnoses were made using all sources of information. Data were analyzed with logistic regression and robust Cox regression models. Results: Lifetime MDD prevalence was significantly higher in case than in control FDR (30.4 versus 15.4%). Lifetime MDD prevalence was significantly higher in FDR of case probands with MDD than in FDR of case probands without MDD or control FDR (46.3 versus 19.7 versus 15.4%, respectively). MDD in case FDR was significantly associated with MDD in case probands and with age and OCD in those relatives. Lifetime MDD prevalence was similar in case and control SDR. However, lifetime MDD prevalence was significantly higher in SDR of case probands with MDD than in SDR of case probands without MDD or control SDR (31.9 versus 16.8 versus 15.4%, respectively). Conclusions: MDD prevalence was significantly higher in both FDR and SDR of case probands with MDD than in relatives of case probands without MDD or control relatives, suggesting that pediatric OCD comorbid with MDD is a complex familial syndrome. Depression and Anxiety, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87090/1/20824_ftp.pd

Depressive symptoms in people with vision impairment: a cross-sectional study to identify who is most at risk

Objective: To identify the risk factors for significant depressive symptoms in people with visual impairment in England and Wales to provide information on who is most at risk and to whom support services could be targeted in future. Design: A cross-sectional study using baseline data from a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. Setting and participants: 990 participants aged 18 or over attending 1 of 14 low-vision rehabilitation primary care optometry-based clinics in South Wales or two hospital clinics in London. Outcome measure: A score of ≥6 on the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 was classed as clinically significant depressive symptoms. Results: In a multivariable logistic regression model, significant depressive symptoms were associated with age (adjusted OR (AOR)=0.82, 95% CI: 0.66 to 0.90, p<0.001), ethnicity (AOR non-white compared with white=1.72, 95% CI: 1.05 to 2.81, p=0.031), total number of eye conditions (AOR for two vs one condition=0.98, 95% CI: 0.67 to 1.43; three or more vs one condition=0.34, 95% CI: 0.15 to 0.75, p=0.026), self-reported health (AOR for excellent vs poor=0.01, 95% CI: 0.00 to 0.12; very good vs poor=0.06, 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.13; good vs poor=0.14, 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.24; fair vs poor=0.28, 95% CI: 0.18 to 0.46, p<0.001) and self-reported visual functioning (AOR=1.45, 95% CI: 1.31 to 1.61, p<0.001). Conclusion: Younger age, a non-white ethnicity, fewer eye conditions and poorer self-reported health and visual function are risk factors for significant depressive symptoms in this population. Trial registration number: ISRCTN46824140; Pre-results

Exile Vol. XVI No. 2

PREFACE 3 ESSAY Observations At The Gap by Paul A. Dimitruk 4 Those Who Choose Words By Keith McWalter 5-6 On Victoria\u27s England by Paul A. Dimitruk 7-8 Facts Are The Enemy of Truth by Nancy Gutierrez FICTION Harmon by Barbara Mackey 22-25 Pilgrimage by Keith McWalter 35-44 ARTWORK by Wandi Solez: 6, 15, 23, 27 by Ken Wernz 10 by Stephen Swift 11 by Laura M. Hyslop 12 by Skip Staudt 19 by W. A. Hoffman 25 by Mary Ann Kowaski 34 by Jo Ann Orgo 40 PHOTOGRAPHY by Roger Block 16 by Tim Heath- all other POETRY My Poems by Susan Hallock 13 Counter-Fugue At Six-Thirty by Sherry Stodola 14-16 Apple Tree Poem by Darby Williams 17 When Snow Falls Into A Pond by Bruce Kidd 17 Woman-Man by Darby Williams 18 Transcendence by Wandi Solez 20 Paris Reflection by Wandi Solez 20 A Sleepless Night In Valencia, Spain by Wandi Solez 21 # 319 by Wandi Solez 21 Strange Lady by John Gillespie 26 Strange Lady II by John Gillespie 26 Where The Hell Is Rembrandt? by John Loveland 26 Years Ago by John Whitt 29 I\u27ve Finished Growing Now by Keith McWalter 29 Charisma by John Whitt 30 I Thought Of Cutting by John Loveland 31 Make Me Eat Peanut Butter by Fred Walton 31 The Cat by John Loveland 32 On The Rim by John Whitt 33 Undercurrent by Keith McWalter 33 Cover: Gail Lutsch Layouts: Keith McWalte

The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study: Population Survey Results and Serum Concentrations for Polychlorinated Dioxins, Furans, and Biphenyls

Background: The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study was undertaken to address concerns that the discharge of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) from the Dow Chemical Company in the Midland, Michigan, area had resulted in contamination of soils in the Tittabawassee River floodplain and the city of Midland, leading to an increase in residents’ body burdens of these compounds. Objective: In this article we present descriptive statistics from the resident survey and sampling of human serum, household dust, and soil and compare them with other published values. Methods: From a multistage random sample of populations in four areas of Midland and Saginaw counties and from a distant referent population, we interviewed 946 adults, who also donated blood for analysis of PCDDs, PCDFs, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Samples of household dust and house perimeter soil were collected from consenting subjects who owned their property. Results: All five study populations were comparable in age, race, sex, and length of residence in their current home. Regional differences existed in employment history, personal contact with contaminated soils, and consumption of fish and game from contaminated areas. Median soil concentrations were significantly increased around homes in the Tittabawassee River floodplain (11.4 ppt) and within the city of Midland (58.2 ppt) compared with the referent population (3.6 ppt). Median serum toxic equivalencies were significantly increased in people who lived in the floodplain (23.2 ppt) compared with the referent population (18.5 ppt). Conclusions: Differences in serum dioxin concentrations among the populations were small but statistically significant. Regression modeling is needed to identify whether the serum concentrations of PCDDs, PCDFs, and PCBs are associated with contaminated soils, household dust, and other factors

Unlocking the health system barriers to maximise the uptake and utilisation of molecular diagnostics in low- and middle- income country setting

The study was funded by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), grant TWENDE-EDCTP-CSA-2014-283.Background : Early access to diagnosis is crucial for effective management of any disease including tuberculosis (TB). We investigated the barriers and opportunities to maximise uptake and utilisation of molecular diagnostics in routine healthcare settings. Methods : Using the implementation of World Health Organisation approved TB diagnostics, Xpert MTB/RIF and Line Probe Assay (LPA) as a benchmark we evaluated the barriers and how they could be unlocked to maximise uptake and utilisation of molecular diagnostics. Results : Health officers representing 190 districts/counties participated in the survey across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The survey findings were corroborated by 145 healthcare facility (HCF) audits and 11 policymaker engagement workshops. Xpert MTB/RIF coverage was 66%, falling behind microscopy and clinical diagnosis by 33% and 1% respectively. Stratified by HCF type, Xpert MTB/RIF implementation was 56%, 96% and 95% at district-, regional- and national referral- hospital levels. LPA coverage was 4%, 3% below culture across the three countries. Out of 111 HCFs with Xpert MTB/RIF, 37 (33%) utilised it to full capacity, performing ≥8 tests per day of which 51% of these were level five (zonal consultant and national referral) HCFs. Likewise, 75% of LPA was available at level five HCFs. Underutilisation of Xpert MTB/RIF and LPA was mainly attributed to inadequate- utilities, 26% and human resource, 22%. Underfinancing was the main reason underlying failure to acquire molecular diagnostics. Second to underfinancing was lack of awareness with 33% healthcare administrators and 49% practitioners were unaware of LPA as TB diagnostic. Creation of a health tax and decentralising its management was proposed by policymakers as a booster of domestic financing needed to increase access to diagnostics. Conclusion : Our findings suggest higher uptake and utilisation of molecular diagnostics at tertiary level HCFs contrary to the WHO recommendation. Country-led solutions are crucial for unlocking barriers to increase access to diagnostics.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study: Predictors of Human Serum Dioxin Concentrations in Midland and Saginaw, Michigan

Background: We conducted a population-based human exposure study in response to concerns among the population of Midland and Saginaw counties, Michigan, that discharges by the Dow Chemical Company of dioxin-like compounds into the nearby river and air had led to an increase in residents’ body burdens of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), here collectively referred to as “dioxins.” Objectives: We sought to identify factors that explained variation in serum dioxin concentrations among the residents of Midland and Saginaw counties. Exposures to dioxins in soil, river sediments, household dust, historic emissions, and contaminated fish and game were of primary interest. Methods: We studied 946 people in four populations in the contaminated area and in a referent population, by interview and by collection of serum, household dust, and residential soil. Linear regression was used to identify factors associated with serum dioxins. Results: Demographic factors explained a large proportion of variation in serum dioxin concentrations. Historic exposures before 1980, including living in the Midland/Saginaw area, hunting and fishing in the contaminated areas, and working at Dow, contributed to serum dioxin levels. Exposures since 1980 in Midland and Saginaw counties contributed little to serum dioxins. Conclusions: This study provides valuable insights into the relationships between serum dioxins and environmental factors, age, sex, body mass index, smoking, and breast-feeding. These factors together explain a substantial proportion of the variation in serum dioxin concentrations in the general population. Historic exposures to environmental contamination appeared to be of greater importance than recent exposures for dioxins

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected

The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study: Methods for an Environmental Exposure Study of Polychlorinated Dioxins, Furans, and Biphenyls

Background: The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study (UMDES) was undertaken in response to concerns that the discharge of dioxin-like compounds from the Dow Chemical Company facilities in Midland, Michigan, resulted in contamination of soils in the Tittabawassee River floodplain and areas of the city of Midland, leading to an increase in residents’ body burdens of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans. Objectives: The UMDES is a hypothesis-driven study designed to answer important questions about human exposure to dioxins in the environment of Midland, where the Dow Chemical Company has operated for \u3e 100 years, and in neighboring Saginaw, Michigan. In addition, the UMDES includes a referent population from an area of Michigan in which there are no unusual sources of dioxin exposure and from which inferences regarding the general Michigan population can be derived. A central goal of the study is to determine which factors explain variation in serum dioxin levels and to quantify how much variation each factor explains. Conclusions: In this article we describe the study design and methods for a large population-based study of dioxin contamination and its relationship to blood dioxin levels. The study collected questionnaire, blood, dust, and soil samples on 731 people. This study provides a foundation for understanding the exposure pathways by which dioxins in soils, sediments, fish and game, and homegrown produce lead to increased body burdens of these compounds

Cytomegalovirus distribution and evolution in hominines

Herpesviruses are thought to have evolved in very close association with their hosts. This is notably the case for cytomegaloviruses (CMVs; genus Cytomegalovirus) infecting primates, which exhibit a strong signal of co-divergence with their hosts. Some herpesviruses are however known to have crossed species barriers. Based on a limited sampling of CMV diversity in the hominine (African great ape and human) lineage, we hypothesized that chimpanzees and gorillas might have mutually exchanged CMVs in the past. Here, we performed a comprehensive molecular screening of all 9 African great ape species/subspecies, using 675 fecal samples collected from wild animals. We identified CMVs in eight species/subspecies, notably generating the first CMV sequences from bonobos. We used this extended dataset to test competing hypotheses with various degrees of co-divergence/number of host switches while simultaneously estimating the dates of these events in a Bayesian framework. The model best supported by the data involved the transmission of a gorilla CMV to the panine (chimpanzee and bonobo) lineage and the transmission of a panine CMV to the gorilla lineage prior to the divergence of chimpanzees and bonobos, more than 800,000 years ago. Panine CMVs then co-diverged with their hosts. These results add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that viruses with a double-stranded DNA genome (including other herpesviruses, adenoviruses, and papillomaviruses) often jumped between hominine lineages over the last few million years.Peer Reviewe