532 research outputs found
Clinical characteristics of familial generalized anxiety disorder
The authors seek to determine whether the clinical characteristics of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) differ in individuals with a high vs. low familial vulnerability to illness. We identified 486 personally interviewed female twins from a populationâbased register who had both an interviewed coâtwin and a lifetime history of GAD using modified DSMâIIIâR criteria which required a oneâmonth minimum duration of illness. We attempted to predict risk for GAD in the coâtwin from the clinical features of the GAD in the proband twin using the Cox proportional hazard model, controlling for year of birth and zygosity. Only two variables uniquely predicted an increased risk for GAD in the coâtwin: number of GAD symptoms endorsed and comorbidity with bulimia. Variables that did not uniquely predict risk of illness in the coâtwin included age at onset, duration of the longest episode and number of episodes. The familial vulnerability to GAD can be meaningfully indexed by clinical features of the syndrome. These results suggest that if the syndrome of GAD is to be narrowed, it would, from a familial perspective, be more valid to increase the minimum number of required symptoms rather than to increase the minimum duration of illness. Anxiety 1:186â191 (1994/1995). © 1995 WileyâLiss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/101797/1/3070010407_ftp.pd
In-Training Practice Patterns of Combined Emergency Medicine/Internal Medicine Residents, 2003â2007
<p>Introduction: This study seeks to evaluate the practice patterns of current combined emergency medicine/internal medicine (EM/IM) residents during their training and compare them to the typical practice patterns of EM/IM graduates. We further seek to characterize how these current residents perceive the EM/IM physicianâs niche.</p> <p>Methods: This is a multi-institution, cross-sectional, survey-based cohort study. Between June 2008 and July 2008, all 112 residents of the 11 EM/IM programs listed by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education were contacted and asked to complete a survey concerning plans for certification, fellowship, and practice setting.</p> <p>Results: The adjusted response rate was 71%. All respondents anticipated certifying in both specialties, with 47% intending to pursue fellowships. Most residents (97%) allotted time to both EM and IM, with a median time of 70% and 30%, respectively. Concerning academic medicine, 81% indicated intent to practice academic medicine, and 96% planned to allocate at least 10% of their future time to a university/academic setting. In evaluating satisfaction, 94% were (1) satisfied with their residency choice, (2) believed that a combined residency will advance their career, and (3) would repeat a combined residency if given the opportunity.</p> <p>Conclusion: Current EM/IM residents were very content with their training and the overwhelming majority of residents plan to devote time to the practice of academic medicine. Relative to the practice patterns previously observed in EM/IM graduates, the current residents are more inclined toward pursuing fellowships and practicing both specialties. [West J Emerg Med. 2011;12(4):530â536.]</p
A Novel EEG Paradigm to Simultaneously and Rapidly Assess the Functioning of Auditory and Visual Pathways
Objective assessment of the sensory pathways is crucial for understanding their development across the lifespan and how they may be affected by neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., autism) and neurological pathologies (e.g., stroke, multiple sclerosis, etc.). Quick and passive measurements, for example using electroencephalography (EEG), are especially important when working with infants and young children, and with patient populations having communication deficits (e.g., aphasia). However, many EEG paradigms are limited to measuring activity from one sensory domain at a time, may be time consuming, and target only a subset of possible responses from that particular sensory domain (e.g., only auditory brainstem responses or only auditory P1-N1-P2 evoked potentials). Thus, we developed a new multisensory paradigm that enables simultaneous, robust, and rapid (6-12 minute) measurements of both auditory and visual EEG activity, including auditory brainstem responses (ABRs), auditory and visual evoked potentials, as well as auditory and visual steady-state responses. This novel method allows us to examine neural activity at various stations along the auditory and visual hierarchies with an ecologically valid continuous speech stimulus, while an unrelated video is playing. Both the speech stimulus and the video can be customized for any population of interest. Furthermore, by using two simultaneous visual steady-state stimulation rates, we demonstrate the ability of this paradigm to track both parafoveal and peripheral visual processing concurrently. We report results from twenty-five healthy young adults, which validate this new paradigm
A test of the equal-environment assumption in twin studies of psychiatric illness
The traditional twin method is predicated on the equal-environment assumption (EEA)âthat monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins are equally correlated in their exposure to environmental events of etiologic importance for the trait under study. In 1968, Scarr proposed a test of the EEA which examines the impact of phenotypic similarity in twins of perceived versus true zygosity. We apply this test for the EEA to five common psychiatric disorders (major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, phobia, bulimia, and alcoholism), as assessed by personal interview, in 1030 female-female twin pairs from the Virginia Twin Registry with known zygosity. We use a newly developed model-fitting approach which treats perceived zygosity as a form of specified familial environment. In 158 of the 1030 pairs (15.3%), one or both twins disagreed with the project-assigned zygosity. Model fitting provided no evidence for a significant influence of perceived zygosity on twin resemblance for any of the five disorders. Although limited in power, these results support the validity of the EEA in twin studies of psychiatric disorders.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44108/1/10519_2005_Article_BF01067551.pd
From salty to freshâsalinity processes in the Upper-ocean Regional Study-2 (SPURS-2) : diagnosing the physics of a rainfall-dominated salinity minimum
Author Posting. © The Oceanography Society, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of The Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 28, no. 1 (2015): 150-159, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2015.15.One of the notable features of the global ocean is that the salinity of the North Atlantic is about 1 psu higher than that of the North Pacific. This contrast is thought to be due to one of the large asymmetries in the global water cycle: the transport of water vapor by the trade winds across Central America and the lack of any comparable transport into the Atlantic from the Sahara Desert. Net evaporation serves to maintain high Atlantic salinities, and net precipitation lowers those in the Pacific. Because the effects on upper-ocean physics are markedly different in the evaporating and precipitating regimes, the next phase of research in the Salinity Processes in the Upper-ocean Regional Study (SPURS) must address a high rainfall region. It seemed especially appropriate to focus on the eastern tropical Pacific that is freshened by the water vapor carried from the Atlantic. In a sense, the SPURS-2 Pacific region will be looking at the downstream fate of the freshwater carried out of the SPURS-1 North Atlantic region. Rainfall tends to lower surface density and thus inhibit vertical mixing, leading to quite different physical structure and dynamics in the upper ocean. Here, we discuss the motivations for the location of SPURS-2 and the scientific questions we hope to address
The association between levels of alcohol consumption and mental health problems and academic performance among young university students
Purpose: Mental health problems and harmful alcohol consumption have been found to be high among young university students compared to the general population in Australia. This research aimed to investigate the association between levels of drinking and mental health problems and academic performance among university students aged 18 to 24 years. Methods: This study used a quantitative cross-sectional design using data that were collected in 2014 as part of the Youth Alcohol Project (YAP). Participants were randomly drawn from a cross sectional sample of 6000 undergraduate students. Included in the study were only students who were within the age of 18-24, undergraduate, and internally enrolled at the main campus. A total of 2518 undergraduate students aged 18 to 24 years who were enrolled internally at Curtin University Bentley campus were randomly recruited. Data were collected through an online survey. Students were invited to participate in the study through their student email address. The email invitations coincided with the release of semester results to increase the likelihood of students accessing their emails. A further 628 students were randomly recruited through face to face intercept survey during the campus market days. Data were collected by trained research assistants. Validated instruments were used to collected data on levels of alcohol consumption, mental health, and academic performance. Results: A considerable proportion of participants (44%) reported consuming alcohol at hazardous or harmful levels. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that students who were consuming alcohol at hazardous levels were 1.2 times more likely to report psychological distress than those with lower levels of alcohol consumption (aOR 1.2, 95% CI: 1.1-1.5). In addition, being late for class (aOR 1.7, 95% CI:1.1-2.4), missing classes (aOR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.9-2.6), inability to concentrate in class (aOR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.9-3.4), and inability to complete assignments (aOR = 3.5, 95% CI 2.0-6.0) independently predicted for moderate or hazardous alcohol consumption. Conclusion: The study shows that a considerable proportion of undergraduate students at university consume alcohol at hazardous or harmful levels. In addition, high levels of alcohol consumption are associated with poor academic performance and mental health outcomes among students. The results of the study warrant multi-strategy interventions that focus on policy, organisational, educational, environmental and economic strategies that will help to reduce alcohol related harms among university students
Status of Early-Career Academic Cardiology, A Global Perspective
Early career academic cardiologists, whom many believe are an important component of the future of cardiovascular care, face a myriad of challenges. The Early Career Section Academic Working Group of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) along with senior leadership support, assessed the progress of this cohort from 2013â2016 with a global perspective. Data consisted of accessing National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) public information, American Heart Association and international organizations providing data, and a membership-wide survey. Although NHBLI increased funding of career development grants, only a small number of early career ACC members have benefited as funding of the entire cohort has decreased. Personal motivation, institutional support, and collaborators continued to be positive influential factors. Surprisingly, mentoring ceased to correlate positively with obtaining external grants. Totality of findings suggests that the status of early career academic cardiologists remain challenging; therefore, we recommend a set of attainable solutions
The Peculiar SN 2005hk: Do Some Type Ia Supernovae Explode as Deflagrations?
We present extensive u'g'r'i'BVRIYJHKs photometry and optical spectroscopy of
SN 2005hk. These data reveal that SN 2005hk was nearly identical in its
observed properties to SN 2002cx, which has been called ``the most peculiar
known type Ia supernova.'' Both supernovae exhibited high ionization SN
1991T-like pre-maximum spectra, yet low peak luminosities like SN 1991bg. The
spectra reveal that SN 2005hk, like SN 2002cx, exhibited expansion velocities
that were roughly half those of typical type Ia supernovae. The R and I light
curves of both supernovae were also peculiar in not displaying the secondary
maximum observed for normal type Ia supernovae. Our YJH photometry of SN 2005hk
reveals the same peculiarity in the near-infrared. By combining our optical and
near-infrared photometry of SN 2005hk with published ultraviolet light curves
obtained with the Swift satellite, we are able to construct a bolometric light
curve from ~10 days before to ~60 days after B maximum. The shape and unusually
low peak luminosity of this light curve, plus the low expansion velocities and
absence of a secondary maximum at red and near-infrared wavelengths, are all in
reasonable agreement with model calculations of a 3D deflagration which
produces ~0.25 M_sun of 56Ni.Comment: Accepted by PASP, to appear in April 2007 issue, 63 pages, 16
figures, 11 table
Testing hypotheses about direction of causation using cross-sectional family data
We review the conditions under which cross-sectional family data (e.g., data on twin pairs or adoptees and their adoptive and biological relatives) are informative about direction of causation. When two correlated traits have rather different modes of inheritance (e.g., family resemblance is determined largely by family background for one trait and by genetic factors for the other trait), cross-sectional family data will allow tests of strong unidirectional causal hypotheses (A and B are correlated âbecause of the causal influence of A on Bâ versus âbecause of the causal influence of B on Aâ) and, under some conditions, also of the hypothesis of reciprocal causation. Possible sources of errors of inference are considered. Power analyses are reported which suggest that multiple indicator variables will be needed to ensure adequate power of rejecting false models in the presence of realistic levels of measurement error. These methods may prove useful in cases where conventional methods to establish causality, by intervention, by prospective study, or by measurement of instrumental variables, are infeasible economically, ethically or practically.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44109/1/10519_2005_Article_BF01067552.pd
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