The Co-occurrence of child and intimate partner maltreatment in the family: characteristics of the violent perpetrators

This study considers the characteristics associated with mothers and fathers who maltreat their child and each other in comparison to parents who only maltreat their child. One hundred and sixty-two parents who had allegations of child maltreatment made against them were considered. The sample consisted of 43 fathers (Paternal Family—PF) and 23 mothers (Maternal Family—MF) who perpetrated both partner and child maltreatment, together with 23 fathers (Paternal Child—PC) and 26 mothers (Maternal Child—MC) who perpetrated child maltreatment only. In addition, 2 fathers (Paternal Victim—PV) and 23 mothers (Maternal Victim—MV) were victims of intimate partner maltreatment and perpetrators of child maltreatment and 7 fathers (Paternal Non-abusive Carer—PNC) and 15 mothers (Maternal Non-abusive Carer—MNC) did not maltreat the child but lived with an individual who did. Within their family unit, 40.7% of parents perpetrated both intimate partner and child maltreatment. However, fathers were significantly more likely to maltreat both their partner and child than mothers and mothers were significantly more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence than fathers. PF fathers conducted the highest amount of physical and/or sexual child maltreatment while MC and MV mothers perpetrated the highest amount of child neglect. Few significant differences between mothers were found. PF fathers had significantly more factors associated with development of a criminogenic lifestyle than PC fathers. Marked sex differences were demonstrated with PF fathers demonstrating significantly more antisocial characteristics, less mental health problems and fewer feelings of isolation than MF mothers. MC mothers had significantly more childhood abuse, mental health problems, parenting risk factors and were significantly more likely to be biologically related to the child than PC fathers. This study suggests that violent families should be assessed and treated in a holistic manner, considering the effects of partner violence upon all family members, rather than exclusively intervening with the violent man

Sequence-based prediction for vaccine strain selection and identification of antigenic variability in foot-and-mouth disease virus

Identifying when past exposure to an infectious disease will protect against newly emerging strains is central to understanding the spread and the severity of epidemics, but the prediction of viral cross-protection remains an important unsolved problem. For foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) research in particular, improved methods for predicting this cross-protection are critical for predicting the severity of outbreaks within endemic settings where multiple serotypes and subtypes commonly co-circulate, as well as for deciding whether appropriate vaccine(s) exist and how much they could mitigate the effects of any outbreak. To identify antigenic relationships and their predictors, we used linear mixed effects models to account for variation in pairwise cross-neutralization titres using only viral sequences and structural data. We identified those substitutions in surface-exposed structural proteins that are correlates of loss of cross-reactivity. These allowed prediction of both the best vaccine match for any single virus and the breadth of coverage of new vaccine candidates from their capsid sequences as effectively as or better than serology. Sub-sequences chosen by the model-building process all contained sites that are known epitopes on other serotypes. Furthermore, for the SAT1 serotype, for which epitopes have never previously been identified, we provide strong evidence - by controlling for phylogenetic structure - for the presence of three epitopes across a panel of viruses and quantify the relative significance of some individual residues in determining cross-neutralization. Identifying and quantifying the importance of sites that predict viral strain cross-reactivity not just for single viruses but across entire serotypes can help in the design of vaccines with better targeting and broader coverage. These techniques can be generalized to any infectious agents where cross-reactivity assays have been carried out. As the parameterization uses pre-existing datasets, this approach quickly and cheaply increases both our understanding of antigenic relationships and our power to control disease

Proceedings of the 13th annual conference of INEBRIA

CITATION: Watson, R., et al. 2016. Proceedings of the 13th annual conference of INEBRIA. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 11:13, doi:10.1186/s13722-016-0062-9.The original publication is available at https://ascpjournal.biomedcentral.comENGLISH SUMMARY : Meeting abstracts.https://ascpjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13722-016-0062-9Publisher's versio

The Relationship Between a Functional Throwing Performance Test and Strength of Various Scapular Muscles

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the strength of the upper trapezius, middle trapezius, lower trapezius, and serratus anterior, and overhead throwing accuracy in 52 female collegiate softball players. The correlation between manual muscle testing (MMT) and hand-held dynamometry (HHD) was also examined. The Functional Throwing Performance Index (FTPI) was used to measure throwing accuracy. Spearman’s correlation analysis demonstrated no correlation between the strength assessments and throwing accuracy, as measured by the FTPI. Moderate correlations were found between MMT and HHD strength assessments of the lower and middle trapezius and serratus anterior muscles. A poor correlation was found between the two types of strength assessments of the upper trapezius muscle. The results of this study do not support the premise that scapular muscle strength and throwing accuracy are related. Although a moderate statistically significant correlation was found between MMT and HHD, clinical significance was poor. Further research is necessary to substantiate these findings

Wildfire impacts on seedbank and vegetation dynamics in Calluna heath

Acknowledgements – We would like to thank Michael Bruce and Eric Baird of Glen Tanar Estate for providing maps and information about the wildfires. We also thank Ann Forret and Emily Schofield who provided help in the greenhouse. Funding – This study was funded by a studentship from the Macaulay Development Trust for NN. RJP and AJH were funded by the Scottish Government's Strategic Research Programme.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The number of smokers needed to screen and treat in a smoking cessation programme

OBJECTIVE: Smoking cessation is an important factor in reducing cardiovascular mortality, but considerable effort is needed to successfully persuade patients to quit smoking. We studied the efficiency of the Minimal Intervention Strategy (C-MIS) in addition to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for smoking cessation in cardiovascular outpatients in relation to the outcome of mortality. DESIGN: Prospective cohort data studying the C-MIS in three outpatient clinics: cardiology, vascular surgery and vascular medicine. METHODS: Two thousand, two hundred and seventy-five consecutive patients attending the clinics for first or routine follow-up visits were screened for atherosclerosis and smoking. The efficiency of the C-MIS was expressed as the number of smokers needed to screen and needed to treat in relation to the number of deaths prevented over a 5-year period. Mortality estimates were derived from the literature. RESULTS: One thousand, four hundred and thirty-one patients were screened at first-time follow-up visits and 1294 at routine follow-up visits. With a rate of effectiveness of 4.3% for the C-MIS, the number needed to treat was 240 (min-max: 64-infinity) to prevent one death. The corresponding number needed to screen was 687 (min-max: 141-infinity) in the cardiology clinic, 574 (min-max: 134-infinity) in the vascular surgery clinic and 444 (min-max: 90-infinity) in the vascular medicine clinic. Within 5 years, 10 (min-max: 0-58) deaths could be prevented in all three clinics together. With the effectiveness of the C-MIS for first-time and routine follow-up attendees, only six (min-max: 0-36) and zero (min-max: 0-25) deaths could be prevented, respectively. CONCLUSION: In terms of the efficiency of the C-MIS in addition to nicotine replacement therapy, there is some benefit for first-time attendees and no benefit for routine follow-up attendees in preventing deat

Adherence to nicotine replacement patch therapy in cardiovascular patients

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is the most frequently used pharmacological intervention for smoking cessation. Research on the effect of NRT showed serious nonadherence among users. We investigated adherence to NRT in cardiovascular patients. A number of 174 outpatients (N = 174), who smoked > 5 cigarettes a day, received free patches and intensive instructions from nurses. Questionnaires were sent to patients assessing patient characteristics, adherence to a 7-8 weeks time frame and appliance instructions, side effects/withdrawal symptoms, and reasons for nonadherence. Only 38% of the patients was adherent to the time frame. Appliance instructions were followed in 76-96% of the cases, except for smoking; 50% continued to smoke during NRT. In conclusion, despite considerable attention to appliance instructions, access to free patches and additional behavioral support, adherence to NRT in these patients is rather lo