Trends in absolute socioeconomic inequalities in mortality in Sweden and New Zealand. A 20-year gender perspective

BACKGROUND: Both trends in socioeconomic inequalities in mortality, and cross-country comparisons, may give more information about the causes of health inequalities. We analysed trends in socioeconomic differentials by mortality from early 1980s to late 1990s, comparing Sweden with New Zealand. METHODS: The New Zealand Census Mortality Study (NZCMS) consisting of over 2 million individuals and the Swedish Survey of Living Conditions (ULF) comprising over 100, 000 individuals were used for analyses. Education and household income were used as measures of socioeconomic position (SEP). The slope index of inequality (SII) was calculated to estimate absolute inequalities in mortality. Analyses were based on 3–5 year follow-up and limited to individuals aged 25–77 years. Age standardised mortality rates were calculated using the European population standard. RESULTS: Absolute inequalities in mortality on average over the 1980s and 1990s for both men and women by education were similar in Sweden and New Zealand, but by income were greater in Sweden. Comparing trends in absolute inequalities over the 1980s and 1990s, men's absolute inequalities by education decreased by 66% in Sweden and by 17% in New Zealand (p for trend <0.01 in both countries). Women's absolute inequalities by education decreased by 19% in Sweden (p = 0.03) and by 8% in New Zealand (p = 0.53). Men's absolute inequalities by income decreased by 51% in Sweden (p for trend = 0.06), but increased by 16% in New Zealand (p = 0.13). Women's absolute inequalities by income increased in both countries: 12% in Sweden (p = 0.03) and 21% in New Zealand (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Trends in socioeconomic inequalities in mortality were clearly most favourable for men in Sweden. Trends also seemed to be more favourable for men than women in New Zealand. Assuming the trends in male inequalities in Sweden were not a statistical chance finding, it is not clear what the substantive reason(s) was for the pronounced decrease. Further gender comparisons are required

Associations between Body Mass and the Outcome of Surgery for Scoliosis in Chinese Adults

BACKGROUND: In this study we intended to prove that being overweight has an unfavorable impact on the surgical treatment outcome of adult idiopathic scoliosis (AdIS). METHODS: This is a retrospective study on the surgical treatment of seventy-one more than 30 years old (58 females and 13 males; mean age 42.9±12.2) idiopathic scoliotic patients with a minimum follow up of at least 2 years. The patients were divided into an overweight group (BMI≥23) and a non-overweight group (BMI<23). Preoperative, postoperative first erect and final follow-up radiographic measures, perioperative data, the Oswestry disability index (ODI), and the visual analog scale (VAS) were reviewed and compared. FINDINGS: In the overweight group, no significant differences in radiographic measures, perioperative data, preoperative comorbidities, or postoperative complications, except for the more frequent concomitance of preoperative thoracic kyphosis 37.9±7.7 vs. 26.5±11.8 (P = 0.000) and thoracolumbar kyphosis 14.9±10.1 overweighted group vs. 6.5±9.9 non-overweighted group respectively (P = 0.002) were found. A higher morbidity of hypertension 36.8% vs. 9.6% (P = 0.004) was also observed in the overweight group. Postoperative ODI and VAS improved significantly in both groups compared to pre-operative values. The postoperative ODI of the overweight group (19.6±12.4) was significantly higher than that of the non-overweight group (12.4±7.9) (P = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: Overweight adult idiopathic scoliotic patients had more frequent concomitance of preoperative thoracic kyphosis and thoracolumbar kyphosis and more serious postoperative pain. However, BMI did not affect the outcomes of surgical correction for coronal and sagittal scoliotic deformity and their postoperative complication rates were not significantly affected

Quality of life and salivary output in patients with head-and-neck cancer five years after radiotherapy

BACKGROUND: To describe long-term changes in time of quality of life (QOL) and the relation with parotid salivary output in patients with head-and-neck cancer treated with radiotherapy. METHODS: Forty-four patients completed the EORTC-QLQ-C30(+3) and the EORTC-QLQ-H&N35 questionnaires before treatment, 6 weeks, 6 months, 12 months, and at least 3.5 years after treatment. At the same time points, stimulated bilateral parotid flow rates were measured. RESULTS: There was a deterioration of most QOL items after radiotherapy compared with baseline, with gradual improvement during 5 years follow-up. The specific xerostomia-related items showed improvement in time, but did not return to baseline. Global QOL did not alter significantly in time, although 41% of patients complained of moderate or severe xerostomia at 5 years follow-up. Five years after radiotherapy the mean cumulated parotid flow ratio returned to baseline but 20% of patients had a flow ratio <25%. The change in time of xerostomia was significantly related with the change in flow ratio (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Most of the xerostomia-related QOL scores improved in time after radiotherapy without altering the global QOL, which remained high. The recovery of the dry mouth feeling was significantly correlated with the recovery in parotid flow ratio

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Search for pair-produced long-lived neutral particles decaying to jets in the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter in ppcollisions at √s=8TeV

The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN is used to search for the decay of a scalar boson to a pair of long-lived particles, neutral under the Standard Model gauge group, in 20.3fb−1of data collected in proton–proton collisions at √s=8TeV. This search is sensitive to long-lived particles that decay to Standard Model particles producing jets at the outer edge of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter or inside the hadronic calorimeter. No significant excess of events is observed. Limits are reported on the product of the scalar boson production cross section times branching ratio into long-lived neutral particles as a function of the proper lifetime of the particles. Limits are reported for boson masses from 100 GeVto 900 GeV, and a long-lived neutral particle mass from 10 GeVto 150 GeV

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Characterisation of CART-containing neurons and cells in the porcine pancreas, gastro-intestinal tract, adrenal and thyroid glands

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The peptide CART is widely expressed in central and peripheral neurons, as well as in endocrine cells. Known peripheral sites of expression include the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the pancreas, and the adrenal glands. In rodent pancreas CART is expressed both in islet endocrine cells and in nerve fibers, some of which innervate the islets. Recent data show that CART is a regulator of islet hormone secretion, and that CART null mutant mice have islet dysfunction. CART also effects GI motility, mainly via central routes. In addition, CART participates in the regulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal-axis. We investigated CART expression in porcine pancreas, GI-tract, adrenal glands, and thyroid gland using immunocytochemistry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CART immunoreactive (IR) nerve cell bodies and fibers were numerous in pancreatic and enteric ganglia. The majority of these were also VIP IR. The finding of intrinsic CART containing neurons indicates that pancreatic and GI CART IR nerve fibers have an intrinsic origin. No CART IR endocrine cells were detected in the pancreas or in the GI tract. The adrenal medulla harboured numerous CART IR endocrine cells, most of which were adrenaline producing. In addition CART IR fibers were frequently seen in the adrenal cortex and capsule. The capsule also contained CART IR nerve cell bodies. The majority of the adrenal CART IR neuronal elements were also VIP IR. CART IR was also seen in a substantial proportion of the C-cells in the thyroid gland. The majority of these cells were also somatostatin IR, and/or 5-HT IR, and/or VIP IR.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>CART is a major neuropeptide in intrinsic neurons of the porcine GI-tract and pancreas, a major constituent of adrenaline producing adrenomedullary cells, and a novel peptide of the thyroid C-cells. CART is suggested to be a regulatory peptide in the porcine pancreas, GI-tract, adrenal gland and thyroid.</p

Facts, values, and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): an update on the controversies

The Hastings Center, a bioethics research institute, is holding a series of 5 workshops to examine the controversies surrounding the use of medication to treat emotional and behavioral disturbances in children. These workshops bring together clinicians, researchers, scholars, and advocates with diverse perspectives and from diverse fields. Our first commentary in CAPMH, which grew out of our first workshop, explained our method and explored the controversies in general. This commentary, which grows out of our second workshop, explains why informed people can disagree about ADHD diagnosis and treatment. Based on what workshop participants said and our understanding of the literature, we make 8 points. (1) The ADHD label is based on the interpretation of a heterogeneous set of symptoms that cause impairment. (2) Because symptoms and impairments are dimensional, there is an inevitable "zone of ambiguity," which reasonable people will interpret differently. (3) Many other variables, from different systems and tools of diagnosis to different parenting styles and expectations, also help explain why behaviors associated with ADHD can be interpreted differently. (4) Because people hold competing views about the proper goals of psychiatry and parenting, some people will be more, and others less, concerned about treating children in the zone of ambiguity. (5) To recognize that nature has written no bright line between impaired and unimpaired children, and that it is the responsibility of humans to choose who should receive a diagnosis, does not diminish the significance of ADHD. (6) Once ADHD is diagnosed, the facts surrounding the most effective treatment are complicated and incomplete; contrary to some popular wisdom, behavioral treatments, alone or in combination with low doses of medication, can be effective in the long-term reduction of core ADHD symptoms and at improving many aspects of overall functioning. (7) Especially when a child occupies the zone of ambiguity, different people will emphasize different values embedded in the pharmacological and behavioral approaches. (8) Truly informed decision-making requires that parents (and to the extent they are able, children) have some sense of the complicated and incomplete facts regarding the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD

Assimilating Seizure Dynamics

Observability of a dynamical system requires an understanding of its state—the collective values of its variables. However, existing techniques are too limited to measure all but a small fraction of the physical variables and parameters of neuronal networks. We constructed models of the biophysical properties of neuronal membrane, synaptic, and microenvironment dynamics, and incorporated them into a model-based predictor-controller framework from modern control theory. We demonstrate that it is now possible to meaningfully estimate the dynamics of small neuronal networks using as few as a single measured variable. Specifically, we assimilate noisy membrane potential measurements from individual hippocampal neurons to reconstruct the dynamics of networks of these cells, their extracellular microenvironment, and the activities of different neuronal types during seizures. We use reconstruction to account for unmeasured parts of the neuronal system, relating micro-domain metabolic processes to cellular excitability, and validate the reconstruction of cellular dynamical interactions against actual measurements. Data assimilation, the fusing of measurement with computational models, has significant potential to improve the way we observe and understand brain dynamics