Work stress and alcohol consumption among adolescents: moderation by family and peer influences

Excessive alcohol use in adolescence can be detrimental to health and academic performance. Few studies consider the moderating effects of parental and peer influence within the context of adolescent work outside of the school environment. This study aims to examine work stress among adolescents and the association with alcohol use and drunkenness, in the context of parental and peer influences. Grade 12 students who participated in Monitoring the Future surveys between 2005 and 2009 (n = 12,341) were included in this study. Independent variables included work stress (job satisfaction, perceived safety, and perceived safety of possessions), self-reported perceptions towards academics and influence from parents and peers. Frequency of alcohol use and drunkenness were measured for lifetime, last 30 days and 12 months. The moderating effects of academic aspiration, parental, and peer influence were assessed on the relationship between work stress and alcohol use. Any work stress was positively associated with alcohol use over the past 12 months (odds ratio = 1.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-1.23). Stratified analysis found that peer influence significantly moderated the relationship between work stress and alcohol use over the lifetime and past 12 months. Among adolescents with work stress, odds ratios of alcohol use over the lifetime was 0.83 (95% CI 0.71-0.97) for those with low negative peer influence and 1.09 (95% CI 0.97-1.22) for those with high negative peer influence. Problematic drinking patterns were more apparent among high school students who experienced stress at work. Positive peer influence, however, may buffer the adverse effect of work stress on alcohol use

Productive Hepatitis C Virus Infection of Stem Cell-Derived Hepatocytes Reveals a Critical Transition to Viral Permissiveness during Differentiation

Primary human hepatocytes isolated from patient biopsies represent the most physiologically relevant cell culture model for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, but these primary cells are not readily accessible, display individual variability, and are largely refractory to genetic manipulation. Hepatocyte-like cells differentiated from pluripotent stem cells provide an attractive alternative as they not only overcome these shortcomings but can also provide an unlimited source of noncancer cells for both research and cell therapy. Despite its promise, the permissiveness to HCV infection of differentiated human hepatocyte-like cells (DHHs) has not been explored. Here we report a novel infection model based on DHHs derived from human embryonic (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). DHHs generated in chemically defined media under feeder-free conditions were subjected to infection by both HCV derived in cell culture (HCVcc) and patient-derived virus (HCVser). Pluripotent stem cells and definitive endoderm were not permissive for HCV infection whereas hepatic progenitor cells were persistently infected and secreted infectious particles into culture medium. Permissiveness to infection was correlated with induction of the liver-specific microRNA-122 and modulation of cellular factors that affect HCV replication. RNA interference directed toward essential cellular cofactors in stem cells resulted in HCV-resistant hepatocyte-like cells after differentiation. The ability to infect cultured cells directly with HCV patient serum, to study defined stages of viral permissiveness, and to produce genetically modified cells with desired phenotypes all have broad significance for host-pathogen interactions and cell therapy

HPV Vaccine utilization, Alberta 2008/09 – 2013/14 School year

Article deposited according to BioMed Central policy: http://www.biomedcentral.com/submissions/copyright-and-license [February 4, 2016]Background In Canada both bivalent (bHPV) vaccine and quadrivalent HPV vaccine (qHPV) are authorized for use. In Alberta, while both vaccines are available for private purchase, only qHPV is publicly funded for school girls in grades 5 and 9 as of 2013. We describe HPV vaccine uptake in Alberta, by school year, from the start of the publicly funded program in the Fall of 2008 through to August 31st 2014 and estimate the cumulative proportion of the female population who were vaccinated by the end of the 2013/14 school year. Methods We used data from the Alberta Ministry of Health Immunization and Adverse Reaction to Immunization repository (publicly funded vaccine), the population-based Pharmaceutical Information Network information systems (privately purchased vaccine) for the period September 1, 2008 to August 31, 2014 and demographic data from the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan Registry. We estimate vaccine uptake rates and explore them by attributes of person, time, place, vaccine funding, and number of doses received. We estimated the cumulative proportions of the female population (by age group and number of doses received) who had received HPV vaccine by the end of the 2013/14 school year. Results Of the 169,259 unique individuals who received one or more doses of HPV vaccine over the period, 98.3 % were females, and 83.8 % received publicly funded vaccines. Vaccine uptake increased over the period. The cumulative proportion of females aged 9–26 years as of 2013/14 who had received two or more doses of vaccine was 34.3 %; for those aged 10–11 years 59.6 % and for those aged 14–15 years, 76.0 %. For those aged 9–26 years, 31.3 % had received three doses of vaccine. Conclusion HPV vaccine uptake rates have increased in Alberta over the study period, most prominently among the age groups targeted by the publicly funded school-girl vaccine program.YesUniversity of Calgary Open Access Author's Fun

Are we speaking the same language? an argument for the consistent use of terminology and definitions for childhood vaccination indicators

Vaccination indicators are used to measure the health status of individuals or populations and to evaluate the effectiveness of vaccination programs or policies. Ensuring that vaccination indicators are clearly and consistently defined is important for effective communication of outcomes, accurate program evaluation, and comparison between different populations, times, and contexts. The purpose of this commentary is to describe commonly used vaccination indicators and to highlight inconsistencies in how childhood vaccine researchers use and define these terms. The indicators we describe are vaccine coverage, uptake, and rate; vaccination status, initiation, and completion; and up-to-date, timely, partial, and incomplete vaccination. We conclude that many vaccination indicators are not explicitly defined within published research studies and/or are used quite differently across studies. We also note that the choice of indicator in a given study is often driven by program or vaccine specific factors, may be constrained by data availability, and should be chosen to best reflect the outcome of interest. We conclude that the use of consistent language and definitions would promote more effective communication of research findings. We also propose some standardized definitions for common indicators, with the goal of provoking discussion and debate on the issue

Epidemiology of pertussis in Alberta, Canada 2004–2015

Abstract Background We describe the epidemiology of pertussis in Alberta, Canada by person, place, and time between 2004 and 2015, identify outbreak years, and examine vaccination coverage and vaccination timeliness. Methods We used health data from Alberta’s Communicable Disease Registry System for the period of January 1, 2004 through August 31, 2015 to identify unique cases of pertussis. Unique cases were deterministically linked to data in Alberta’s immunization repository and health care insurance plan registry. Population estimates and vaccination coverage were extracted from Alberta’s online Interactive Health Data Application. We estimated pertussis incidence rates per 100,000 persons by year, age group, gender, and health zone. Outbreak years were identified using a one-sided cumulative sum (CUSUM) analysis by comparing annual incidence rates to baseline rates. Results Over the period, 3510 cases of pertussis were confirmed by laboratory testing or epidemiological linkage. Incidence rates per 100,000 persons were highest in 2004 (20.5), 2005 (13.6), and 2015 (10.4) for all age groups. Incidence rates were highest among the youngest age groups and decreased as age groups increased. Based on CUSUM analysis, 2008 and 2012 met the criteria for outbreak years. Vaccination coverage was over 90% among the general population, however only 61% of cases received at least one dose. About 60% of cases were diagnosed 5+ years after receiving the vaccine. Approximately 87–91% of vaccinated cases did not receive the first three vaccine doses in a timely manner. Conclusion Pertussis incidence rates fluctuated over the period across all age groups. The majority of cases had no record of vaccination or were delayed in receiving vaccines. CUSUM analysis was an effective method for identifying outbreaks