THE DRINKING PATTERNS OF AMERICAN AND POLISH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A CROSS-NATIONAL STUDY

This is the post-print version of an article published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence located at http://www.journals.elsevier.com/drug-and-alcohol-dependence/. No DOI is listed for this article.Other research PUBLICATIONS and PAPERS on university students drinking, drug use and health concerns and behaviors can be found at: https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/17130/browse?type=title; https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/17127/browse?type=title and https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/17124/browse?type=title. Further information about the questionnaire, calculations, and the original data base used can be found in the following item records within IUScholarworks repository. Details about the reliability and validity of the SAQ are found at: http://hdl.handle.net/2022/17337; http://hdl.handle.net/2022/17154; http://hdl.handle.net/2022/17181. The classic 1975 copy of the SAQ is found at http://hdl.handle.net/2022/17153. ALL QUESTIONNAIRES developed by Engs are found in the repository at: https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/17141/browse?type=dateissuedA study of 3375 American and 1408 Polish university students was accomplished to test the hypotheses that cultural differences influence drinking patterns and beverage preferences between countries. Using the same questionnaire in both samples, the results revealed that significantly (p < .001) more drinks per week were consumed by both Polish male (24.9) and female (15.2) students compared to American male (15.0) and female (7.6) students. Significantly (p < .001) more wine was consumed by Polish (8.7) compared to the American (0.8) students. American female students consumed more beer than Polish female students. There was no difference between beer and spirits consumption between American and Polish males and Polish students in latter school years consumed more alcohol compared to students in the first years of school. It was concluded that the samples of students in this study reflected their cultures in terms of drinking patterns and beverage preference

HIV induces expression of complement component C3 in astrocytes by NF-κB-dependent activation of interleukin-6 synthesis

Background Abnormal activation of the complement system contributes to some central nervous system diseases but the role of complement in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) is unclear. Methods We used real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry to detect complement expression in postmortem brain tissue from HAND patients and controls. To further investigate the basis for viral induction of gene expression in the brain, we studied the effect of HIV on C3 expression by astrocytes, innate immune effector cells, and targets of HIV. Human fetal astrocytes (HFA) were infected with HIV in culture and cellular pathways and factors involved in signaling to C3 expression were elucidated using pharmacological pathway inhibitors, antisense RNA, promoter mutational analysis, and fluorescence microscopy. Results We found significantly increased expression of complement components including C3 in brain tissues from patients with HAND and C3 was identified by immunocytochemistry in astrocytes and neurons. Exposure of HFA to HIV in culture-induced C3 promoter activity, mRNA expression, and protein production. Use of pharmacological inhibitors indicated that induction of C3 expression by HIV requires NF-κB and protein kinase signaling. The relevance of NF-κB regulation to C3 induction was confirmed through detection of NF-κB translocation into nuclei and inhibition through overexpression of the physiological NF-κB inhibitor, I-κBα. C3 promoter mutation analysis revealed that the NF-κB and SP binding sites are dispensable for the induction by HIV, while the proximal IL-1β/IL-6 responsive element is essential. HIV-treated HFA secreted IL-6, exogenous IL-6 activated the C3 promoter, and anti-IL-6 antibodies blocked HIV activation of the C3 promoter. The activation of IL-6 transcription by HIV was dependent upon an NF-κB element within the IL-6 promoter. Conclusions These results suggest that HIV activates C3 expression in primary astrocytes indirectly, through NF-κB-dependent induction of IL-6, which in turn activates the C3 promoter. HIV induction of C3 and IL-6 in astrocytes may contribute to HIV-mediated inflammation in the brain and cognitive dysfunction

Age and other risk factors of pneumonia among residents of Polish long-term care facilities

SummaryBackgroundPneumonia is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the elderly population. Nursing home-acquired pneumonia (NHAP) is probably the largest health problem in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). It is the second most common infection in LTCFs and frequently requires hospitalization. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence rate of NHAP among LTCF residents, its microbial etiology, and the frequency of multidrug-resistant microorganisms. Risk factors for NHAP were analyzed.MethodsThis was a prospective study conducted on a group of 217 elderly subjects aged ≥65 years, recruited from the inhabitants of LTCFs, with disabled elderly individuals living in the community serving as controls. Continuous surveillance was carried out from December 1, 2009 to November 30, 2010.ResultsThe incidence rate of NHAP in the observed population of Polish residents was 0.6/1000 resident-days. Vulnerability to NHAP was due to the poor general condition of residents, expressed by low Barthel index values (relative risk (RR) 1.6), the activities of daily living (ADL) score (RR 1.7), the Katz scale (RR 1.2), and limited physical activity (RR 1.6). Also significant were malnutrition (RR 2.3), the use of a bladder catheter (RR 1.3), dysphagia (RR 1.7), tracheotomy tube (RR 3.1), and gastric feeding tube (RR 3.5). Enterobacteriaceae were the predominant etiological agents of NHAP (56.3%).ConclusionsThe significance of risk factors for NHAP among residents in LTCFs was confirmed. Unfortunately, we also found that a lack of proper supervision with regard to the microbiology of infections is characteristic of Polish health care and LTCFs. There is an opportunity to improve the medical care of patients with severe disabilities, limit the rise in antimicrobial resistance and the need for hospitalization, and improve the prognosis

Problemy identyfikacji oraz koszty zakażeń szpitalnych

Identification difficulties and costs of hospital acquired infectionsThe aim of this work is to analyze epidemiological data collected in the active HI programme between 2002 and 2004 in forty Polish hospitals and to assess some of the economic consequences of hospital infections. The average cumulative incidence, incidence density and mortality of nosocomial pneumoniae (PNEU), bloodstream infections (BSI), urinary tract infections (UTI) and surgical site infections were calculated. A separate analysis of some costs of hospital infections was also performed in this study. The extra costs of stay in hospital overextended due to SSI, PNEU, BSI and UTI, was assessed for three hospitals of different kind. It is very difficult to assess the total costs of HIs in throughout Poland without a specific study designed for this particular purpose. While the need for such research is obvious, this would be a costly and time-consuming task, unlikely to be carried out without engaging the state’s authorities and central budget

Rola interleukiny-5 i eotaksyny-2 w powstawaniu nacieków eozynofilowych w tkance polipów nosa

The paper presents the problem of etiopathogenesis of nasal polyps, presentation the role of eosinophilic infiltration in nasal polyps genesis as well as description of the current partition of them. The paper also presents the discussion on the role of polyps’ factor creation, which causes the increase of inflammatory cells proliferation — interleukin-5 as well as stimulation of their chemotaxis — eotaxin-2.W pracy przedstawiono problem etiopatogenezy polipów błony śluzowej nosa. Przedstawiono rolę nacieków eozynofilowych w ich genezie oraz zaprezentowano obecnie obowiązujący ich podział. Omówiono znaczenie czynnika wzmagającego proliferację komórek zapalnych, to jest interleukiny-5, oraz czynnika pobudzającego ich chemotaksję, to jest eotaksyny-2, w powstawaniu polipów nosa

Rapid sequence-independent cellular response to oligodeoxynucleotides

AbstractThe presence of receptors for oligodeoxynucleotides (OdN) on the surface of L929 cells has previously been described. To study the possible coupling of the receptor to cellular signal transducing systems, the effect of phosphodiester OdN of different sequences on cellular phospholipase C and protein kinase C (PKC) activities in L929 fibroblasts was studied. Treatment of cells with OdN induced an increase in 32P labeling of phosphatidic acid which was accompanied by a gradual decrease in diacylglycerol. These effects seem to be independent of the OdN sequence. PKC activity in membranes isolated from OdN-treated cells was found to be lower than that in membranes of control cells. SDS-PAGE of the 32P-labeled cellular proteins revealed that OdN treatment caused a decrease in phosphorylation of the 26 and 73 kDa cellular proteins in the cells

Arc expression identifies the lateral amygdala fear memory trace

Memories are encoded within sparsely distributed neuronal ensembles. However, the defining cellular properties of neurons within a memory trace remain incompletely understood. Using a fluorescence-based Arc reporter, we were able to visually identify the distinct subset of lateral amygdala (LA) neurons activated during auditory fear conditioning. We found that Arc-expressing neurons have enhanced intrinsic excitability and are preferentially recruited into newly encoded memory traces. Furthermore, synaptic potentiation of thalamic inputs to the LA during fear conditioning is learning-specific, postsynaptically mediated and highly localized to Arc-expressing neurons. Taken together, our findings validate the immediate-early gene Arc as a molecular marker for the LA neuronal ensemble recruited during fear learning. Moreover, these results establish a model of fear memory formation in which intrinsic excitability determines neuronal selection, whereas learning-related encoding is governed by synaptic plasticity

The influence of early exposure to vitamin D for development of diseases later in life

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D deficiency is common among otherwise healthy pregnant women and may have consequences for them as well as the early development and long-term health of their children. However, the importance of maternal vitamin D status on offspring health later in life has not been widely studied. The present study includes an in-depth examination of the influence of exposure to vitamin D early in life for development of fractures of the wrist, arm and clavicle; obesity, and type 1 diabetes (T1D) during child- and adulthood. METHODS/DESIGN: The study is based on the fact that in 1961 fortifying margarine with vitamin D became mandatory in Denmark and in 1972 low fat milk fortification was allowed. Apart from determining the influences of exposure prior to conception and during prenatal life, we will examine the importance of vitamin D exposure during specific seasons and trimesters, by comparing disease incidence among individuals born before and after fortification. The Danish National databases assure that there are a sufficient number of individuals to verify any vitamin D effects during different gestation phases. Additionally, a validated method will be used to determine neonatal vitamin D status using stored dried blood spots (DBS) from individuals who developed the aforementioned disease entities as adults and their time and gender-matched controls. DISCUSSION: The results of the study will contribute to our current understanding of the significance of supplementation with vitamin D. More specifically, they will enable new research in related fields, including interventional research designed to assess supplementation needs for different subgroups of pregnant women. Also, other health outcomes can subsequently be studied to generate multiple health research opportunities involving vitamin D. Finally, the results of the study will justify the debate of Danish health authorities whether to resume vitamin D supplementation policies

Zakażenia szpitalne oraz nadzór po zakończeniu hospitalizacji w wybranych procedurach chirurgii naczyń

Background. Nosocomial infections are an unwanted complication present in almost every hospital. Among patients of highly specialized departments, including vascular surgery wards, the most prevalent form of clinical infection are Surgical Site Infections (SSIs). SSIs significantly extend the patient's stay in the hospital, increase costs and above all can be the direct cause of death after vascular procedures. Material and methods. This paper presents the results of studies on infection epidemiology in vascular surgery in the years 2002-2006 (9,573 surgical procedures) as well as a targeted study which included 413 patients of two highly specialized wards in the year 2005. The registration of infections was based on definitions formulated on the basis of CDC guidelines, and included postdischarge cases. Results. Within the Active Surveillance System, 207 cases of SSI have been identified (incidence 2.2%) and 99 cases of hospital acquired pneumonia (incidence 1.0%); other forms of infection accounted for 21 cases. The overall incidence among patients undergoing surgical procedures (vascular surgery) was 3.4%. The targeted study allowed for a detailed analysis of SSI incidence with consideration of the SSI standardized infection ratio. The cumulated incidence rate of SSIs was 2.6% in site I and 5.6% in site II. Among the etiological factors isolated from materials taken from patients with symptoms of SSI, staphylococci were in the majority, among them Stapylococcus aureus. In the targeted study, almost half of the isolated S. aureus strains (40%) manifested a resistance to methicillin (MRSA) as well as macrolides, lincosamides and streptogramin B (MLS&#946;). Conclusions. The Active Infection Surveillance System confirmed that in the patients of the studied population the most prevalent form of infection was SSI; however, a high incidence of hospital acquired pneumonia was also noticed. In the targeted study, the SSI incidence in site no. I was within the expected values. The possibility of performing postdischarge registration of infections was confirmed as well as the purposefulness of systematic infection control conducted by experienced personnel. The study showed the need for an improvement in microbiological surveillance in infection control, as well as the necessity of performing further detailed studies regarding the relationship of the operating team experience to the incidence of SSIs within Polish vascular surgery wards. We claim that in certain cases the division, together with the later reconstruction, of the left renal vein may facilitate the course of reconstructive operation of the abdominal aorta and decreases the risk of haemo-rrhage complications. Moreover, this manoeuvre does not influence postoperative renal function.Wstęp. Zakażenia szpitalne są niepożądanym powikłaniem występującym praktycznie w każdym szpitalu. Wśród pacjentów oddziałów wysokospecjalistycznych, w tym w chirurgii naczyń, dominującą formę kliniczną tych zakażeń stanowią zakażenia miejsca operowanego. W istotny sposób przedłużają one pobyt pacjenta w szpitalu, zwiększają koszty, a przede wszystkim mogą być bezpośrednią przyczyną śmierci chorych po zabiegu w zakresie naczyń. Materiał i metody. Zaprezentowano wyniki badań dotyczących epidemiologii zakażeń w chirurgii naczyniowej w latach 2002-2006 (9573 zabiegi operacyjne) oraz badania celowanego, którym objęto łącznie 413 pacjentów dwóch oddziałów wysokospecjalistycznych w 2005 roku. Rejestracja zakażeń opierała się na definicjach opracowanych na podstawie zaleceń Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) i uwzględniała przypadki wykryte po zakończeniu hospitalizacji. Wyniki. Wśród dominujących zakażeń szpitalnych w ramach Systemu Czynnego Nadzoru rozpoznano 207 przypadków zakażenia miejsca operowanego (zachorowalność 2,2%) i 99 szpitalnych zapaleń płuc (zachorowalność 1,0%), inne formy zakażeń stanowiły 21 przypadków. Zachorowalność w grupie pacjentów operowanych - chirurgia naczyniowa - wyniosła ogółem: 3,4%. Badanie celowane umożliwiło szczegółową analizę zachorowalności zakażeń miejsc operowanych z uwzględnieniem standaryzowanego indeksu ryzyka. Współczynniki zachorowalności skumulowanej zakażeń miejsc operowanych wyznaczono na poziomie 2,6% w ośrodku I oraz 5,6% w ośrodku II. Wśród czynników etiologicznych izolowanych z materiałów pochodzących od pacjentów z objawami zakażenia miejsca operowanego dominowały gronkowce, a wśród nich gatunek Stapylococcus aureus. W badaniu celowanym prawie połowa z izolowanych szczepów S. aureus (40%) to szczepy oporne na metycylinę (MRSA) oraz makrolidy, linkozamidy i streptograminy B (MLSb). Wnioski. System Czynnego Nadzoru potwierdził, że w badanej populacji pacjentów dominującą formą zakażenia jest zakażenie miejsca operowanego, jednak zaobserwowano również wysoką zachorowalność dotyczącą szpitalnych zapaleń płuc. W badaniu celowanym stwierdzona zachorowalność zakażenia miejsca operowanego w przypadku I pierwszego badanego ośrodka odpowiadała oczekiwanym wartościom. Potwierdzono możliwość prowadzenia rejestracji zakażeń manifestujących się po zakończeniu hospitalizacji chorego oraz celowość systematycznej kontroli zakażeń prowadzonej przez doświadczony personel. Wykazano konieczność poprawy wykorzystania nadzoru mikrobiologicznego w kontroli zakażeń oraz dalszych szczegółowych badań w zakresie związku pomiędzy doświadczeniem zespołu operującego a zachorowalnością na oddziałach chirurgii naczyniowej w Polsce

Late-onset bloodstream infections of Very-Low-Birth-Weight infants: data from the Polish Neonatology Surveillance Network in 2009–2011

BACKGROUND: Late-Onset Bloodstream Infections (LO-BSI) continue to be one of the most important complications associated with hospitalization of infants born with very low birth weight (VLBW). The aims of this study were to assess the epidemiology of LO-BSI together with the risk factors and the distribution of causative pathogens at six Polish neonatal intensive care units that participated in the Polish Neonatology Surveillance Network from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2011. METHODS: The surveillance covered 1,695 infants whose birth weights were <1501 grams (VLBW) in whom LO-BSI was diagnosed >72 hours after delivery. Case LO-BSI patients were defined according to NeoKISS. RESULTS: Four hundred twenty seven episodes of LO-BSI were diagnosed with a frequency of 25.3% and an incidence density of 6.7/1000 patient-days (pds). Results of our multivariate analysis demonstrated that surgical procedures and lower gestational age were significantly associated with the risk of LO-BSI. Intravascular catheters were used in infants with LO-BSI significantly more frequently and/or for longer duration: Central venous cathters (CVC) (OR 1.29) and Peripheral venous catheters (PVC) (OR 2.8), as well as, the total duration of total parenteral nutrition (13 vs. 29 days; OR 1.81). Occurrence of LO-BSI was significantly associated with increased the length of mechanical ventilation (MV) (OR 2.65) or the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) (OR 2.51), as well as, the duration of antibiotic use (OR 2.98). The occurrence of more than one infection was observed frequently (OR 9.2) with VLBW with LO-BSI. Microorganisms isolated in infants with LO-BSI were dominated by Gram-positive cocci, and predominantly by coagulase-negative staphylococci (62.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Independent risk factor for LO-BSI in VLBV infants are: low gestational age and requirement for surgery. The incidence rates of LO-BSI especially CVC-BSI were higher in the Polish NICUs surveillance than those of other national networks, similar to the central- and peripheral utilization ratio