Are energy drinks unique mixers in terms of their effects on alcohol consumption and negative alcohol-related consequences?

© 2018 Johnson et al. Introduction: Previous research has suggested that consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AMED) increases overall alcohol consumption. However, there is limited research examining whether energy drinks are unique in their effects when mixed with alcohol, when compared with alcohol mixed with other caffeinated mixers (AOCM). Therefore, the aim of this survey was to investigate alcohol consumption on AMED occasions, to that on other occasions when the same individuals consumed AOCM or alcohol only (AO). Methods: A UK-wide online student survey collected data on the frequency of alcohol consumption and quantity consumed, as well as the number of negative alcohol-related consequences reported on AO, AMED and AOCM occasions (N=250). Results: Within-subjects analysis revealed that there were no significant differences in the number of alcoholic drinks consumed on a standard and a heavy drinking session between AMED and AOCM drinking occasions. However, the number of standard mixers typically consumed was significantly lower on AMED occasions compared with AOCM occasions. In addition, when consuming AMED, students reported significantly fewer days consuming 5 or more alcohol drinks, fewer days mixing drinks, and fewer days being drunk, compared with when consuming AOCM. There were no significant differences in the number of reported negative alcohol-related consequences on AMED occasions to AOCM occasions. Of importance, alcohol consumption and negative alcohol-related consequences were significantly less on both AMED and AOCM occasions compared with AO occasions. Conclusion: The findings that heavy alcohol consumption occurs significantly less often on AMED occasions compared with AOCM occasions is in opposition to some earlier claims implying that greatest alcohol consumption occurs with AMED. The overall greatest alcohol consumption and associated negative consequences were clearly associated with AO occasions. Negative consequences for AMED and AOCM drinking occasions were similar, suggesting that energy drink was comparable with AOCM in this regard

Corals of the genus Porites are a locally abundant component of the epibiont community on mangrove prop roots at Calabash Caye, Turneffe Atoll, Belize

Mangroves are generally regarded as inhospitable for corals, but recent reports suggest they provide ecological refuge for some species. We surveyed diverse mangrove habitats on Turneffe Atoll, Belize, documenting 127 colonies of Porites divaricata (Thin Finger Coral) along 1858 m of mangrove prop roots at Calabash Caye and a much more diverse coral assemblage at Crooked Creek. At Calabash, corals were highly clumped, and varied widely in size and morphology, including large well-arborized colonies, encrusting forms with few branches, and new recruits with no branches, suggesting an age-structuredpopulation exhibiting extensive morphological plasticity. The data described here contributeto an emerging picture of mangroves as potentially critical habitat for many Caribbeancoral species.Accepted manuscrip

Decision making in slow and rapid reaching : Sacrificing success to minimize effort

Acknowledgement This work was supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation (Scholar Award to ARH). Supplementary Material Data available at: https://zenodo.org/record/3604284Peer reviewedPostprin

A systematic review of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of peer education and peer support in prisons.

BACKGROUND: Prisoners experience significantly worse health than the general population. This review examines the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of peer interventions in prison settings. METHODS: A mixed methods systematic review of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness studies, including qualitative and quantitative synthesis was conducted. In addition to grey literature identified and searches of websites, nineteen electronic databases were searched from 1985 to 2012. Study selection criteria were: Population: Prisoners resident in adult prisons and children resident in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs). INTERVENTION: Peer-based interventions Comparators: Review questions 3 and 4 compared peer and professionally led approaches. OUTCOMES: Prisoner health or determinants of health; organisational/ process outcomes; views of prison populations. STUDY DESIGNS: Quantitative, qualitative and mixed method evaluations. RESULTS: Fifty-seven studies were included in the effectiveness review and one study in the cost-effectiveness review; most were of poor methodological quality. Evidence suggested that peer education interventions are effective at reducing risky behaviours, and that peer support services are acceptable within the prison environment and have a positive effect on recipients, practically or emotionally. Consistent evidence from many, predominantly qualitative, studies, suggested that being a peer deliverer was associated with positive effects. There was little evidence on cost-effectiveness of peer-based interventions. CONCLUSIONS: There is consistent evidence from a large number of studies that being a peer worker is associated with positive health; peer support services are also an acceptable source of help within the prison environment and can have a positive effect on recipients. Research into cost-effectiveness is sparse. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO ref: CRD42012002349

Motives for mixing alcohol with energy drinks and other non-alcoholic beverages and its effects on overall alcohol consumption among UK students

© 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Introduction: A UK student survey examined the motivations for consuming energy drinks alone and mixed with alcohol, and aimed to determine whether the type of motive had a differential effect on overall alcohol consumption. Methods: The online survey (N = 1873) assessed alcohol consumption and motivations for consumption when mixed with energy drinks (AMED) and mixed with other non-alcoholic beverages (AMOB) using a within-subject design. Results: The most frequent neutral motives reported for AMED consumption included "I like the taste" (66.5%), and "to celebrate a special occasion" (35.2%). 52.6% of AMED consumers reported consuming AMED for at least one of five negative motives, primarily "to get drunk" (45.6%). Despite these negative motives those students reported consuming significantly less alcohol and fewer negative alcohol-related consequences on AMED occasions compared to alcohol-only (AO) occasions. Although the motives for consuming AMED and AMOB were comparable, more participants reported consuming AMED "to celebrate a special occasion", "to get drunk", because they "received the drink from someone else" or "because others drink it as well". However, significantly more students reported consuming AMOB than AMED because "It feels like I can drink more alcohol". Alcohol consumption was significantly less on AMED occasions compared to AMOB occasions, and both occasions significantly less than AO occasions. Conclusion: The majority of reasons for consuming AMED relate to neutral motives. Although 52.6% of students reported one or more negative motives for AMED consumption (predominantly "to get drunk") this had no differential effect on total alcohol consumption. The differences in motives suggest AMED is consumed more to enjoy special occasions and as a group-bonding experience, however alcohol consumption is significantly lower on such occasions in comparison to when AMOB or AO are consumed

Children’s Agency in Translocal Roma Families

Peer reviewe

Germline pathogenic variants in neuroblastoma patients are enriched in BARD1 and predict worse survival.

BACKGROUND: Neuroblastoma is an embryonal cancer of the developing sympathetic nervous system. The genetic contribution of rare pathogenic or likely pathogenic germline variants in patients without a family history remains unclear. METHODS: Germline DNA sequencing was performed on 786 neuroblastoma patients. The frequency of rare cancer predisposition gene pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in patients was compared with 2 cancer-free control cohorts. Matched tumor DNA sequencing was evaluated for second hits, and germline DNA array data from 5585 neuroblastoma patients and 23 505 cancer-free control children were analyzed to identify rare germline copy number variants. Patients with germline pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants were compared with those without to test for association with clinical characteristics, tumor features, and survival. RESULTS: We observed 116 pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants involving 13.9% (109 of 786) of neuroblastoma patients, representing a statistically significant excess burden compared with cancer-free participants (odds ratio [OR] = 1.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.27 to 2.00). BARD1 harbored the most statistically significant enrichment of pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants (OR = 32.30, 95% CI = 6.44 to 310.35). Rare germline copy number variants disrupting BARD1 were identified in patients but absent in cancer-free participants (OR = 29.47, 95% CI = 1.52 to 570.70). Patients harboring a germline pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant had a worse overall survival compared with those without (P = 8.6 x 10-3). CONCLUSIONS: BARD1 is an important neuroblastoma predisposition gene harboring both common and rare germline pathogenic or likely pathogenic variations. The presence of any germline pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant in a cancer predisposition gene was independently predictive of worse overall survival. As centers move toward paired tumor-normal sequencing at diagnosis, efforts should be made to centralize data and provide an infrastructure to support cooperative longitudinal prospective studies of germline pathogenic variation

A qualitative synthesis of the positive and negative impacts related to delivery of peer-based health interventions in prison settings

Background Peer interventions involving prisoners in delivering peer education and peer support in a prison setting can address health need and add capacity for health services operating in this setting. This paper reports on a qualitative synthesis conducted as part of a systematic review of prison-based peer interventions. One of the review questions aimed to investigate the positive and negative impacts of delivering peer interventions within prison settings. This covered organisational and process issues relating to peer interventions, including prisoner and staff views. Methods A qualitative synthesis of qualitative and mixed method studies was undertaken. The overall study design comprised a systematic review involving searching, study selection, data extraction and validity assessment. Studies reporting interventions with prisoners or ex-prisoners delivering education or support to prisoners resident in any type of prison or young offender institution, all ages, male and female, were included. A thematic synthesis was undertaken with a subset of studies reporting qualitative data (n=33). This involved free coding of text reporting qualitative findings to develop a set of codes, which were then grouped into thematic categories and mapped back to the review question. Results Themes on process issues and wider impacts were grouped into four thematic categories: peer recruitment training and support; organisational support; prisoner relationships; prison life. There was consistent qualitative evidence on the need for organisational support within the prison to ensure smooth implementation and on managing security risks when prisoners were involved in service delivery. A suite of factors affecting the delivery of peer interventions and the wider organisation of prison life were identified. Alongside reported benefits of peer delivery, some reasons for non-utilisation of services by other prisoners were found. There was weak qualitative evidence on wider impacts on the prison system, including better communication between staff and prisoners. Gaps in evidence were identified. Conclusions The quality of included studies limited the strength of the conclusions. The main conclusion is that peer interventions cannot be seen as independent of prison life and health services need to work in partnership with prison services to deliver peer interventions. More research is needed on long-term impacts

A cluster-randomized trial of mass drug administration with a gametocytocidal drug combination to interrupt malaria transmission in a low endemic area in Tanzania

Contains fulltext : 96570.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Effective mass drug administration (MDA) with anti-malarial drugs can clear the human infectious reservoir for malaria and thereby interrupt malaria transmission. The likelihood of success of MDA depends on the intensity and seasonality of malaria transmission, the efficacy of the intervention in rapidly clearing all malaria parasite stages and the degree to which symptomatic and asymptomatic parasite carriers participate in the intervention. The impact of MDA with the gametocytocidal drug combination sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) plus artesunate (AS) plus primaquine (PQ, single dose 0.75 mg/kg) on malaria transmission was determined in an area of very low and seasonal malaria transmission in northern Tanzania. METHODS: In a cluster-randomized trial in four villages in Lower Moshi, Tanzania, eight clusters (1,110 individuals; cluster size 47- 209) were randomized to observed treatment with SP+AS+PQ and eight clusters (2,347 individuals, cluster size 55- 737) to treatment with placebo over three days. Intervention and control clusters were 1 km apart; households that were located between clusters were treated as buffer zones where all individuals received SP+AS+PQ but were not selected for the evaluation. Passive case detection was done for the entire cohort and active case detection in 149 children aged 1-10 year from the intervention arm and 143 from the control arm. Four cross-sectional surveys assessed parasite carriage by microscopy and molecular methods during a five-month follow-up period. RESULTS: The coverage rate in the intervention arm was 93.0% (1,117/1,201). Parasite prevalence by molecular detection methods was 2.2-2.7% prior to the intervention and undetectable during follow-up in both the control and intervention clusters. None of the slides collected during cross-sectional surveys had microscopically detectable parasite densities. Three clinical malaria episodes occurred in the intervention (n = 1) and control clusters (n = 2). CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates the possibility to achieve high coverage with a three-day intervention but also the difficulty in defining suitable outcome measures to evaluate interventions in areas of very low malaria transmission intensity. The decline in transmission intensity prior to the intervention made it impossible to assess the impact of MDA in the chosen study setting. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00509015