Education as inefficient resource against depressive symptoms in the Czech Republic: Cross-sectional analysis of the HAPIEE study

Background: Increasing educational level of the population could be a strategy to prevent depression. We investigated whether education may offer a greater benefit for mental health to women and to individuals living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study using data on 6964 Czech participants of the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial factors in Eastern Europe study (on average 58 years old; 53% women). Binary logistic regression was used to examine the association of education with depressive symptoms, adjusting for several groups of covariates. Interactions were tested between education and sex as well as between education and socioeconomic advantage of the area of residence. Results: Higher education was strongly associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms, independently of sociodemographic characteristics, health behavior and somatic diseases. This association was attenuated after adjusting for other markers of individual socioeconomic position (work activity, material deprivation and household items). There were no interactions between education and either sex or socioeconomic advantage of the area of residence. Conclusions: We did not find an independent association between education and depressive symptoms after controlling for other socioeconomic markers in a sample with a formative history of communistic ideologies. Women or individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas do not seem to gain a larger mental health benefit from education

Mass Transport Study of Combined Gas Phase and Surface Diffusion in Porous Glass Membrane

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Elevated Incidence of Dental Caries in a Mouse Model of Cystic Fibrosis

Saliva bicarbonate constitutes the main buffering system which neutralizes the pH fall generated by the plaque bacteria during sugar metabolism. We found that the saliva pH is severely decreased in a mouse model of cystic fibrosis disease (CF). Given the close relationship between pH and caries development, we hypothesized that caries incidence might be elevated in the mouse CF model.). are enhanced at low pH values, we speculate that the decrease in the bicarbonate content and pH buffering of the saliva is at least partially responsible for the increased severity of lesions observed in the CF mouse

Socioeconomic position in childhood and depressive symptoms in later adulthood in the Czech Republic

Background: Depression risk may partly originate from socioeconomic hardship in childhood. We investigated the association of childhood socioeconomic position with depressive symptoms in later adulthood in a Central and Eastern European country. Methods: We analyzed data from the Czech arm of the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial factors In Eastern Europe (HAPIEE) study. We estimated the associations of three indicators of childhood socioeconomic position (access to household amenities at age of 10 years, father´s education and mother´s education) with high depressive symptoms, operationalized as ≥16 points on the Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression 20 scale, controlling for age and sex, current socioeconomic position and other social and health-related factors. Results: The analytical sample included 4,213 individuals (mean age 58 years, 54% women). All three indicators of childhood socioeconomic position were inversely associated with depressive symptoms in age-sex adjusted models (p for trends: access to household amenities p<0.001; mother´s education p<0.001; father´s education p=0.03). Adjustment for current socioeconomic position attenuated the associations of depressive symptoms with access to household amenities (p for trend 0.04) and mother´s education (p for trend 0.05) and virtually eliminated the association with father´s education (p for trend 0.82). Limitations: Individuals with higher depressive symptoms and more adverse socioeconomic position are likely to be underrepresented in the study sample. Data on childhood socioeconomic position may be reported inaccurately. Conclusions: Socioeconomic hardship in childhood may have long-lasting consequences on mental health in later adulthood

Single component and competitive adsorption of propane, carbon dioxide and butane on Vycor glass

Equilibrium of gas phase adsorption on Vycor glass has been investigated. Adsorption isotherms for propane, carbon dioxide and butane as pure gases, binary mixtures and ternary mixtures were determined experimentally as a function of temperature using a volumetric method. The single-component isotherms were described with the Langmuir and Freundlich equations. Additionally, a second order isotherm based on statistical thermodynamics and an isotherm equation based on vacancy solution theory taking into account real phase behavior were used for fitting single-component equilibrium data. In order to describe the measured partial isotherms for binary mixtures, at first simple extensions of the single-component isotherm models were used, i.e., the conventional competitive Langmuir model and a multi-Freundlich equation based on the ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAS). Since these two simple isotherm models failed to represent the unusual competitive behavior observed, three model extensions using additional mixture parameters were applied, i.e., two modified multi-Langmuir equations based on: (a) statistical thermodynamics and (b) vacancy solution theory and a modified multi-Freundlich IAS model correcting spreading pressure uncertainties. These three model equations were found to be capable to describe the observed behavior better. Finally, the measured partial adsorption equilibrium data of the ternary system were correlated based on the extended equations using the determined additional binary parameters. The results obtained reveal the difficulty to predict accurately multi-component adsorption equilibria. Copyright © 2007 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved