Positive mental health in adults reporting sexual abuse in childhood

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a history of child sexual abuse can impact Positive Mental Health in Canadian adults and how frequency of child sexual abuse as well as perceived social support impact Positive Mental Health scores for this population. Data was collected from the Canadian Community Health Survey- Mental Health 2012 and included a sample of 20,529 adults aged 18 and older, living across ten provinces. A one-way ANOVA showed a significant difference between Positive Mental Health scores for individuals reporting a history of child sexual abuse compared to those reporting no history of child sexual abuse. A regression analysis found that reported frequency of child sexual abuse did not significantly impact Positive Mental Health scores for individuals reporting child sexual abuse. It also found that perception of social support was positively related to Positive Mental Health scores and accounted for 25% of the variance in Positive Mental Health scores for individuals reporting child sexual abuse. The implications of these findings are discussed in this study

Comparing Ecological Sensitivity with Stream Flow Rates in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin

Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The conventionality of real valued quantities

The representational theory of measurement provides a collection of results that specify the conditions under which an attribute admits of numerical representation. The original architects of the theory interpreted the formalism operationally and explicitly acknowledged that some aspects of their representations are conventional. There have been a number of recent efforts to reinterpret the formalism to arrive at a more metaphysically robust account of physical quantities. In this paper we argue that the conventional elements of the representations afforded by the representational theory of measurement require careful scrutiny as one moves toward such an interpretation. To illustrate why, we show that there is a sense in which the very number system in which one represents a physical quantity such as mass or length is conventional. We argue that this result does not undermine the project of reinterpreting the representational theory of measurement for metaphysical purposes in general, but it does undermine a certain class of inferences about the nature of physical quantities that some have been tempted to draw

Changes in invasive pneumococcal disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 1 following introduction of pcv10 and pcv13 : Findings from the pserenade project

Funding Information: Funding: The PSERENADE project is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as part of the World Health Organization Pneumococcal Vaccines Technical Coordination Project, grant num‐ ber INV‐010429/OPP1189065. Funding Information: Conflicts of Interest: KH conducted the study and analyses while working at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health but is an employee at Pfizer, Inc. as of 26 October 2020. MDK reports grants from Merck, personal fees from Merck, and grants from Pfizer, outside the submitted work. JCB reports funding from Pfizer in the past year, unrelated to the submitted work. JAS reports grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, the UK MRC, National Institute of Health Research, outside the submitted work. MCB reports lectures fee from MSD outside from submitted work. AS reports grants and personal fees from Pfizer and personal fees from MSD and Sanofi Pasteur, outside the submitted work. ML has been a member of advisory boards and has received speakers honoraria from Pfizer and Merck. German pneumococcal surveillance has been supported by Pfizer and Merck. SD reports grant from Pfizer, outside the submitted work. KA re‐ ports a grant from Merck, outside the submitted work. AvG as received researching funding from Pfizer (last year 2017, Pfizer Investigator‐Initiated Research [IIR] Program IIR WI 194379); attended advisory board meetings for Pfizer and Merck. CMA reports grants and personal fees from Pfizer, Qiagen and BioMerieux and grants from Genomica SAU, outside the submitted work. AM‐research support to my institution from Pfizer and Merck; honoraria for advisory board membership from GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Pfizer. SNL performs contract research for GSK, Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur on behalf of St. George’s University of London, but receives no personal remuneration. IY stated she was a member of mRNA‐1273 study group and has received funding to her institution to conduct clinical research from BioFire, MedImmune, Regeneron, PaxVax, Pfizer, GSK, Merck, Novavax, Sanofi‐Pasteur, and Micron. RD has received grants/research support from Pfizer, Merck Sharp & Dohme and Medimmune; has been a scientific consultant for Pfizer, MeMed, Merck Sharp & Dohme, and Biondvax; had served on advisory boards of Pfizer, Merck Sharp & Dohme and Biondvax and has been a speaker for Pfizer. LLH reports research grants to her institution from GSK, Pfizer and Merck. JDK has received an unrestricted grant‐in‐aid from Pfizer Canada that sup‐ ports, in part, the CASPER invasive pneumococcal disease surveillance project. MH received an educational grant from Pfizer AG for partial support of this project. However, Pfizer AG had no role in the data analysis and content of the manuscript. MC has previously received a professional fee from Pfizer (Ireland), an unrestricted research grant from Pfizer Ireland (2007–2016) and an In‐ vestigator Initiated Reward from Pfizer Ireland in 2018 (W1243730). CLB, MD has intellectual prop‐ erty in BioFire Diagnostics and receives royalties through the University of Utah. CLB is an advisor to IDbyDNA. AK reports personal fees from Pfizer, outside the submitted work. MT reports grants from GlaxoSmithKline and grants from Pfizer Inc. to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare for research projects outside the submitted work, in which she has been a co‐investigator. JCS re‐ ports had received assistance from Pfizer for attending to scientific meetings outside the submitted work. SCGA received travel grant from Pfizer. BL had two research grants from Pfizer on Strepto‐ coccus pneumoniae. EV reports grants from French public health agency, during the conduct of the study; grants from Pfizer, grants from Merck, outside the submitted work. NBZ has received inves‐ tigator‐initiated research grants from GlaxoSmithKline, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Merck and the Se‐ rum Institute of India, all unrelated to this research. CGS reports grant funding from Pfizer, Merck, and AstraZeneca in the past 3 years. NMvS reports grants and fee for service from Pfizer, fee for service from MSD and GSK, outside the submitted work; In addition, NMvS has a patent WO 2013/020090 A3 with royalties paid to University of California San Diego (inventors: Nina van Sorge/Victor Nizet). All other authors did not declare any conflicts of interest. The funders had no Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 1 (ST1) was an important cause of invasive pneumococ-cal disease (IPD) globally before the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) con-taining ST1 antigen. The Pneumococcal Serotype Replacement and Distribution Estimation (PSERE‐ NADE) project gathered ST1 IPD surveillance data from sites globally and aimed to estimate PCV10/13 impact on ST1 IPD incidence. We estimated ST1 IPD incidence rate ratios (IRRs) compar-ing the pre‐PCV10/13 period to each post‐PCV10/13 year by site using a Bayesian multi‐level, mixed-effects Poisson regression and all‐site IRRs using a linear mixed‐effects regression (N = 45 sites). Following PCV10/13 introduction, the incidence rate (IR) of ST1 IPD declined among all ages. After six years of PCV10/13 use, the all‐site IRR was 0.05 (95% credibility interval 0.04–0.06) for all ages, 0.05 (0.04–0.05) for <5 years of age, 0.08 (0.06–0.09) for 5–17 years, 0.06 (0.05–0.08) for 18–49 years, 0.06 (0.05–0.07) for 50–64 years, and 0.05 (0.04–0.06) for ≥65 years. PCV10/13 use in infant immunization programs was followed by a 95% reduction in ST1 IPD in all ages after approximately 6 years. Limited data availability from the highest ST1 disease burden countries using a 3+0 schedule constrains generalizability and data from these settings are needed.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Cutaneous tactile allodynia associated with microvascular dysfunction in muscle

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cutaneous tactile allodynia, or painful hypersensitivity to mechanical stimulation of the skin, is typically associated with neuropathic pain, although also present in chronic pain patients who do not have evidence of nerve injury. We examine whether deep tissue microvascular dysfunction, a feature common in chronic non-neuropathic pain, contributes to allodynia.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Persistent cutaneous allodynia is produced in rats following a hind paw ischemia-reperfusion injury that induces microvascular dysfunction, including arterial vasospasms and capillary slow flow/no-reflow, in muscle. Microvascular dysfunction leads to persistent muscle ischemia, a reduction of intraepidermal nerve fibers, and allodynia correlated with muscle ischemia, but not with skin nerve loss. The affected hind paw muscle shows lipid peroxidation, an upregulation of nuclear factor kappa B, and enhanced pro-inflammatory cytokines, while allodynia is relieved by agents that inhibit these alterations. Allodynia is increased, along with hind paw muscle lactate, when these rats exercise, and is reduced by an acid sensing ion channel antagonist.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results demonstrate how microvascular dysfunction and ischemia in muscle can play a critical role in the development of cutaneous allodynia, and encourage the study of how these mechanisms contribute to chronic pain. We anticipate that focus on the pain mechanisms associated with microvascular dysfunction in muscle will provide new effective treatments for chronic pain patients with cutaneous tactile allodynia.</p

MRC Clinical Trials Unit, UK

www.ias-cipher.org

Population-level risks of alcohol consumption by amount, geography, age, sex, and year: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020

Background: The health risks associated with moderate alcohol consumption continue to be debated. Small amounts of alcohol might lower the risk of some health outcomes but increase the risk of others, suggesting that the overall risk depends, in part, on background disease rates, which vary by region, age, sex, and year. Methods: For this analysis, we constructed burden-weighted dose–response relative risk curves across 22 health outcomes to estimate the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL) and non-drinker equivalence (NDE), the consumption level at which the health risk is equivalent to that of a non-drinker, using disease rates from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020 for 21 regions, including 204 countries and territories, by 5-year age group, sex, and year for individuals aged 15–95 years and older from 1990 to 2020. Based on the NDE, we quantified the population consuming harmful amounts of alcohol. Findings: The burden-weighted relative risk curves for alcohol use varied by region and age. Among individuals aged 15–39 years in 2020, the TMREL varied between 0 (95% uncertainty interval 0–0) and 0·603 (0·400–1·00) standard drinks per day, and the NDE varied between 0·002 (0–0) and 1·75 (0·698–4·30) standard drinks per day. Among individuals aged 40 years and older, the burden-weighted relative risk curve was J-shaped for all regions, with a 2020 TMREL that ranged from 0·114 (0–0·403) to 1·87 (0·500–3·30) standard drinks per day and an NDE that ranged between 0·193 (0–0·900) and 6·94 (3·40–8·30) standard drinks per day. Among individuals consuming harmful amounts of alcohol in 2020, 59·1% (54·3–65·4) were aged 15–39 years and 76·9% (73·0–81·3) were male. Interpretation: There is strong evidence to support recommendations on alcohol consumption varying by age and location. Stronger interventions, particularly those tailored towards younger individuals, are needed to reduce the substantial global health loss attributable to alcohol. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns in prevalence of chewing tobacco use in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019: A systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Chewing tobacco and other types of smokeless tobacco use have had less attention from the global health community than smoked tobacco use. However, the practice is popular in many parts of the world and has been linked to several adverse health outcomes. Understanding trends in prevalence with age, over time, and by location and sex is important for policy setting and in relation to monitoring and assessing commitment to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Methods: We estimated prevalence of chewing tobacco use as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019 using a modelling strategy that used information on multiple types of smokeless tobacco products. We generated a time series of prevalence of chewing tobacco use among individuals aged 15 years and older from 1990 to 2019 in 204 countries and territories, including age-sex specific estimates. We also compared these trends to those of smoked tobacco over the same time period. Findings: In 2019, 273·9 million (95% uncertainty interval 258·5 to 290·9) people aged 15 years and older used chewing tobacco, and the global age-standardised prevalence of chewing tobacco use was 4·72% (4·46 to 5·01). 228·2 million (213·6 to 244·7; 83·29% [82·15 to 84·42]) chewing tobacco users lived in the south Asia region. Prevalence among young people aged 15–19 years was over 10% in seven locations in 2019. Although global age-standardised prevalence of smoking tobacco use decreased significantly between 1990 and 2019 (annualised rate of change: –1·21% [–1·26 to –1·16]), similar progress was not observed for chewing tobacco (0·46% [0·13 to 0·79]). Among the 12 highest prevalence countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, Sri Lanka, and Yemen), only Yemen had a significant decrease in the prevalence of chewing tobacco use, which was among males between 1990 and 2019 (−0·94% [–1·72 to –0·14]), compared with nine of 12 countries that had significant decreases in the prevalence of smoking tobacco. Among females, none of these 12 countries had significant decreases in prevalence of chewing tobacco use, whereas seven of 12 countries had a significant decrease in the prevalence of tobacco smoking use for the period. Interpretation: Chewing tobacco remains a substantial public health problem in several regions of the world, and predominantly in south Asia. We found little change in the prevalence of chewing tobacco use between 1990 and 2019, and that control efforts have had much larger effects on the prevalence of smoking tobacco use than on chewing tobacco use in some countries. Mitigating the health effects of chewing tobacco requires stronger regulations and policies that specifically target use of chewing tobacco, especially in countries with high prevalence. Funding: Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation