898 research outputs found
The Education of Multiple Family Members and the Life-Course Pathways to Cognitive Impairment
OBJECTIVES: This article asks how the educational attainments of multiple family members, including parents and offspring, are associated with the cognitive health of older adults in the United States.
METHODS: We use panel data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (2000-2012) to examine how the education of an individual, their parent(s), and their offspring are associated with the prevalence of moderate/severe cognitive impairment and the onset of cognitive impairment among older adults using logistic regression and discrete-time event history analysis, respectively.
RESULTS: We found that when combined, only the education of the individual is inversely associated with cognitive impairment at baseline. However, both the educational attainments of an individual and their offspring are negatively associated with the risk of becoming cognitively impaired, among individuals who were not already cognitively impaired. Conversely, parental education was not predictive of being cognitively impaired or the onset of impairment. Furthermore, we found that respondent gender did not moderate the relationship between a family member\u27s education and respondent cognitive health.
DISCUSSION: This study adds to current research by asking how resources from earlier and subsequent generations matter for older adults\u27 cognitive health. Although we found little evidence that parental education matters at this life stage, results suggest that offspring education has a salient positive effect on later-life cognitive health. This finding underscores an overlooked source of health disparities-offspring resources-and highlights how a family perspective remains a powerful tool for understanding health inequalities in later life
Prelacteal feeding practices in Pakistan: A mixed-methods study
Background: Prelacteal feeding, the feeding a newborn substances or liquids before breastfeeding, is a common cultural practice in Pakistan, but is associated with neonatal morbidity and mortality because it delays early initiation of breastfeeding. In this study, we sought to examine the social and cultural factors associated with prelacteal feeding in Pakistan.Methods: This mixed-method study used data from the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) 2012-13. Findings from the survey were complemented by qualitative interviews with mothers and healthcare providers. In a subset of PDHS dyads (n = 1361) with children (0-23 months), descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis examined factors associated with prelacteal feeding. The qualitative study included in-depth interviews with six mothers and six health care providers, which were analyzed using NVivo software version 10.Results: In PDHS, a majority of children (64.7%) received prelacteal feeding. The most common prelacteal food was milk other than breast milk (24.5%), while over a fifth (21.8%) of mothers reported giving honey and sugar water. Factors associated with prelacteal feeding included: birth at public health facilities (AOR 0.46, 95% CI 0.02, 0.95), maternal primary education (AOR 2.28, 95% CI 1.35, 3.85), and delayed breastfeeding initiation (AOR 0.03, 95% CI 0.01, 0.61). In our qualitative study, the major themes found associated with prelacteal feedings included: easy access to prelacteal substances at health facilities, deliveries in private health facilities, prelacteals as a family tradition for socialization, insufficient breast milk, Sunna of Holy Prophet, and myths about colostrum.Conclusions: These data indicate that prelacteal feeding is a well-established practice and social norm in Pakistan. Policies and interventions aimed at promoting breastfeeding need to take these customs into consideration to achieve the desired behavioral changes
Early-Life Origins of the Race Gap in Men's Mortality
Using a life course framework, we examine the early life origins of the race gap in menās all-cause mortality. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Older Men (1966ā1990), we evaluate major social pathways by which early life conditions differentiate the mortality experiences of blacks and whites. Our findings indicate that early life socioeconomic conditions, particularly parental occupation and family structure, explain part of the race gap in mortality. Black menās higher rates of death are associated with lower socioeconomic standing in early life and living in homes lacking both biological parents. However, these effects operate indirectly through adult socioeconomic achievement processes, as education, family income, wealth, and occupational complexity statistically account for the race gap in menās mortality. Our findings suggest that policy interventions to eliminate race disparities in mortality and health should address both childhood and adult socioeconomic conditions
Light-activated azobenzene peptide inhibitor of the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction
Inhibiting the PD-1/PD-L1 proteināprotein interaction is a key immunotherapy for cancer. Antibodies dominate the clinical space but are costly, with limited applicability and immune side effects. We developed a photo-controlled azobenzene peptide that selectively inhibits the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction when in the cis isomer only. Activity is demonstrated in in vitro and cellular assays
Family structure and multiple domains of child well-being in the United States: a cross-sectional study
We examine the association between family structure and childrenās health care utilization, barriers to health care access, health, and schooling and cognitive outcomes and assess whether socioeconomic status (SES) accounts for those family structure differences. We advance prior research by focusing on understudied but increasingly common family structures including single father families and five different family structures that include grandparents. Our data on United States children aged birth through 17 (unweighted Nā=ā198,864) come from the 1997ā2013 waves of the National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative, publicly available, household-based sample. We examine 17 outcomes across nine family structures, including married couple, cohabiting couple, single mother, and single father families, with and without grandparents, and skipped-generation families that include children and grandparents but not parents. The SES measures include family income, home ownership, and parentsā or grandparentsā (depending on who is in the household) employment and education. Compared to children living with married couples, children in single mother, extended single mother, and cohabiting couple families average poorer outcomes, but children in single father families sometimes average better health outcomes. The presence of grandparents in single parent, cohabiting, or married couple families does not buffer children from adverse outcomes. SES only partially explains family structure disparities in childrenās well-being. All non-married couple family structures are associated with some adverse outcomes among children, but the degree of disadvantage varies across family structures. Efforts to understand and improve child well-being might be most effective if they recognize the increasing diversity in childrenās living arrangements.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12963-015-0038-
Genome-Wide Copy Number Analysis in Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Using High-Density Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Arrays
We applied whole-genome single-nucleotide polymorphism arrays to define a comprehensive genetic profile of 23 esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) primary tumor biopsies based on loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and DNA copy number changes. Alterations were common, averaging 97 (range, 23-208) per tumor. LOH and gains averaged 33 (range, 3-83) and 31 (range, 11-73) per tumor, respectively. Copy neutral LOH events averaged 27 (range, 7-57) per EAC. We noted 126 homozygous deletions (HD) across the EAC panel (range, 0-11 in individual tumors). Frequent HDs within FHIT (17 of 23), WWOX (8 of 23), and DMD (6 of 23) suggest a role for common fragile sites or genomic instability in EAC etiology. HDs were also noted for known tumor suppressor genes (TSG), including CDKN2A, CDKN2B, SMAD4, and GALR1, and identified PDE4D and MGC48628 as potentially novel TSGs. All tumors showed LOH for most of chromosome 17p, suggesting that TSGs other than TP53 may be targeted. Frequent gains were noted around MYC (13 of 23), BCL9 (12 of 23), CTAGE1 (14 of 23), and ZNF217 (12 of 23). Thus, we have confirmed previous reports indicating frequent changes to FHIT, CDKN2A, TP53, and MYC in EAC and identified additional genes of interest. Meta-analysis of previous genome-wide EAC studies together with the data presented here highlighted consistent regions of gain on 8q, 18q, and 20q and multiple LOH regions on 4q, 5q, 17p, and 18q, suggesting that more than one gene may be targeted on each of these chromosome arms. The focal gains and deletions documented here are a step toward identifying the key genes involved in EAC development
Self-reported pain treatment practices among U.S. and Canadian adults : Findings from a population survey
Peer reviewe
Prospective Longitudinal Study of Putative Agents Involved in Complex Gill Disorder in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
Complex gill disorder (CGD) is an important condition in Atlantic salmon aquaculture, but the roles of the putative aetiological agents in the pathogenesis are uncertain. A longitudinal study was undertaken on two salmon farms in Scotland to determine the variations in loads of CGD-associated pathogens (Desmozoon lepeophtherii, Candidatus Branchiomonas cysticola, salmon gill pox virus (SGPV) and Neoparamoeba perurans) estimated by quantitative PCR. In freshwater, Ca. B. cysticola and SGPV were detected in both populations, but all four pathogens were detected on both farms during the marine stage. Candidatus B. cysticola and D. lepeophtherii were detected frequently, with SGPV detected sporadically. In the marine phase, increased N. perurans loads associated significantly (p 0.05) with changes in HSG. This study also showed that water temperature (season) and certain management factors were associated with higher HGS. This increase in histological gill lesions will have a deleterious impact on fish health and welfare, and production performanc
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Limitations to recording larger mammalian predators in savannah using camera traps and spoor
Traditionally, spoor (tracks, pug marks) have been used as a cost effective tool to assess the presence of larger mammals. Automated camera traps are now increasingly utilized to monitor wildlife, primarily as the cost has greatly declined and statistical approaches to data analysis have improved. While camera traps have become ubiquitous, we have little understanding of their effectiveness when compared to traditional approaches using spoor in the field. Here, we a) test the success of camera traps in recording a range of carnivore species against spoor; b) ask if simple measures of spoor size taken by amateur volunteers is likely to allow individual identification of leopards and c) for a trained tracker, ask if this approach may allow individual leopards to be followed with confidence in savannah habitat. We found that camera traps significantly under-recorded mammalian top and meso-carnivores, with camera traps more likely under-record the presence of smaller carnivores (civet 64%; genet 46%, Mellerās mongoose 45%) than larger (jackal sp. 30%, brown hyena 22%), while leopard was more likely to be recorded by camera trap (all recorded by camera trap only). We found that amateur trackers could be beneficial in regards to collecting presence data; however the large variance in measurements of spoor taken in the field by volunteers suggests that this approach is unlikely to add further data. Nevertheless, the use of simple spoor measurements in the field by a trained field researcher increases their ability to reliably follow a leopard trail in difficult terrain. This allows researchers to glean further data on leopard behaviour and habitat utilisation without the need for complex analysis
Ruffling the calm of the ocean floor: merging practice, policy and researching assessment in Scotland
The formative Assessment for Learning proposals outlined by Black and Wiliam (e.g. Black et al, 2002) have been well publicised. Since 2002, in its Assessment is for Learning programme, the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) has been exploring ways of bringing research, policy and practice in assessment into closer alignment using research on both assessment and transformational change. This paper focuses on one project within Assessment is for Learning, in which pilot primary and secondary schools across Scotland were encouraged to develop formative assessment approaches in classrooms. They were supported in this by researchers, curriculum developers and local and national policy makers. The paper examines the rationale and methods behind the enactment of formative assessment in these schools. It draws upon evidence provided by the interim and final reports of participating schools to draw conclusions about areas of success within the project and potential barriers to the projectās future in its evolution from pilot to national programme
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