Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Tobacco Control: Are We Appropriately Training Future Health Professionals, Francisco Soto Mas, Chiehwen Hsu

Francisco Soto Mas

Information on how health professionals perceive tobacco use as well as their attitudes toward tobacco control is scarce. This study assessed the attitudes and perceptions of public health students toward tobacco use and tobacco control, which constitutes a necessary first step in designing effective training strategies. Although the majority of respondents agreed that tobacco use constitutes a relevant public health problem, they did not perceive tobacco control to be a public health priority. Academic institutions may not be properly training public health students, and may therefore be missing the opportunity to advance tobacco control at the national and global levels.

Differential Impairment As An Indicator Of Sex Bias In Dsm-Iv Criteria For Four Personality Disorders, Christina D. Boggs, Leslie C. Morey, Andrew E. Skodol, M. Tracie Shea, Charles A. Sanislow, Carlos M. Grilo, Thomas H. Mcglashan, Mary C. Zanarini, John G. Gunderson

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the possibility of sex bias in the diagnostic criteria for borderline, schizotypal, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders. A clinical sample of 668 individuals was evaluated for personality disorder criteria using a semistructured interview, and areas of functional impairment were assessed with both self-report and semistructured interview. The authors used a regression model of bias to identify bias as differences in slopes or intercepts between men and women in the relationship between each diagnostic criterion and level of impairment. The results suggest that most of the diagnostic criteria examined do not seem …

Preliminary Evidence For Medication Effects On Functional Abnormalities In The Amygdala And Anterior Cingulate In Bipolar Disorder, Hilary P. Blumberg, Nelson H. Donegan, Charles A. Sanislow, Susan Collins, Cheryl Lacadie, Pawel Skudlarski, Ralitza Gueorguieva, Robert K. Fulbright, Thomas H. Mcglashan, John C. Gore, John H. Krystal

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

RATIONALE: Abnormal amygdala and frontocortical responses to emotional stimuli are implicated in bipolar disorder (BD) and have been proposed as potential treatment targets.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate amygdala and frontocortical responses to emotional face stimuli in BD and the influences of mood-stabilizing medications on these responses.

METHODS: Functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed while 17 BD participants (5 unmedicated) and 17 healthy comparison (HC) participants viewed faces with happy, sad, fearful, or neutral expressions.

RESULTS: The group by stimulus-condition interaction was significant (p<0.01) for amygdala activation, with the greatest effects in the happy face condition. Relative to HC, amygdala increases were greater in unmedicated BD, but lower in medicated BD. Rostral anterior cingulate (rAC) activation was decreased in unmedicated BD compared to HC; however, BD participants taking medication demonstrated rAC activation similar to HC participants.

CONCLUSIONS: Although the sample sizes were small, these preliminary results suggest that …

Biosecurity And The Role Of Statisticians, Ron Brookmeyer

Ron Brookmeyer

No abstract provided.

The Changing Treatment Paradigm In Patients With Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma: Implications For Nursing, Joseph Tariman

Joseph D Tariman PhD

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Readiness And Training Needs Of Non-Urban Physicians In Public Health Emergency And Response, Chiehwen Ed Hsu

Chiehwen Ed Hsu

No abstract provided.

Hispanic Physicians' Tobacco Intervention Practices: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study, Francisco Soto Mas, Chiehwen Ed Hsu

Chiehwen Ed Hsu

Background: U.S. Hispanic physicians constitute a considerable professional collective, and they may be most suited to attend to the health education needs of the growing U.S. Hispanic population. These educational needs include tobacco use prevention and smoking cessation. However, there is a lack of information on Hispanic physicians' tobacco intervention practices, their level of awareness and use of cessation protocols, and the type of programs that would best address their tobacco training needs. The purpose of this study was to assess the tobacco intervention practices and training needs of Hispanic physicians. Methods: Data was collected through a validated survey instrument …

Spiroplasma Penaei Sp. Nov., Associated With Mortalities In Penaeus Vannamei, Pacific White Shrimp, Linda M. Nunan, Donald V. Lightner, Marietta A. Oduori, Gail E. Gasparich

Gail Gasparich

The Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study (Clps): Overview And Implications, Andrew E. Skodol, John G. Gunderson, M. Tracie Shea, Thomas H. Mcglashan, Leslie C. Morey, Charles A. Sanislow, Donna S. Bender, Carlos M. Grilo, Mary C. Zanarini, Shirley Yen, Maria E. Pagano, Robert L. Stout

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

The Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study (CLPS; Gunderson et al., 2000) was developed to fill gaps in our understanding of the nature, course, and impact of personality disorders (PDs). Here, we review published findings to date, discuss their implications for current conceptualizations of PDs, and raise questions that warrant future consideration. We have found that PDs are more stable than major depressive disorder, but that meaningful improvements are possible and not uncommon. We have confirmed also that PDs constitute a significant public health problem, with respect to associated functional impairment, extensive treatment utilization, negative prognostic impact on major depressive disorder, …

Dimensional Representations Of Dsm-Iv Personality Disorders: Relationships To Functional Impairment, Andrew E. Skodol, John M. Oldham, Donna S. Bender, Ingrid R. Dyck, Robert L. Stout, Leslie C. Morey, M. Tracie Shea, Mary C. Zanarini, Charles A. Sanislow, Carlos M. Grilo, Thomas H. Mcglashan, John G. Gunderson

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared three-dimensional representations of DSM-IV personality disorders and standard categories with respect to their associations with psychosocial functioning.

METHOD: Six hundred sixty-eight patients with semistructured interview diagnoses of schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, or obsessive-compulsive personality disorders or with major depressive disorder and no personality disorder completed questionnaires assessing three-factor and five-factor dimensional models of personality. Personality disorder categories, dimensional representations of the categories based on criteria counts, and three- and five-factor personality dimensions were compared on their relationships to impairment in seven domains of functioning, as measured by the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation-Baseline Version.

RESULTS: Both the categorical …

Arrhythmia Knowledge: A Qualitative Study, Kathryn B. Keller, Deborah A. Raines

Deborah A. Raines, PhD, EdS, RN, ANEF, FAAN

No abstract provided.

Using Fmri To Investigate A Component Process Of Reflection: Prefrontal Correlates Of Refreshing A Just-Activated Representation, Marcia K. Johnson, Carol L. Raye, Karen J. Mitchell, Erich J. Greene, William A. Cunningham, Charles A. Sanislow

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Using fMRI, we investigated the functional organization of prefrontal cortex (PFC) as participants briefly thought of a single just-experienced item (i.e., refreshed an active representation). The results of six studies, and a meta-analysis including previous studies, identified regions in left dorsolateral, anterior, and ventrolateral PFC associated in varying degrees with refreshing different types of information (visual and auditory words, drawings, patterns, people, places, or locations). In addition, activity increased in anterior cingulate with selection demands and in orbitofrontal cortex when a nonselected item was emotionally salient, consistent with a role for these areas in cognitive control (e.g., overcoming "mental rubbernecking"). …

Avoidant Personality Disorder And Social Phobia: Distinct Enough To Be Separate Disorders?, Elizabeth Ralevski, Charles A. Sanislow, Carlos M. Grilo, Andrew E. Skodol, John G. Gunderson, M. Tracie Shea, Shirley Yen, Donna S. Bender, Mary C. Zanarini, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Objective: Existing evidence from anxiety disorder research indicates that social phobics (SP) with avoidant personality disorder (AVPD) experience more anxiety and show more impairment than patients with SP alone. The purpose of this study was to examine whether in patients diagnosed with AVPD, the co-occurrence of SP adds to its severity. We hypothesized that the addition of SP will not add to the severity of AVPD alone.

Method: Two groups of patients (AVPD = 224; AVPD/SP = 101) were compared at baseline and 2 years later on multiple demographic and clinical variables.

Results: Patients with AVPD and an additional diagnosis …

Self-Collection Of Stool: An Alternative To Digital Rectal Examination For Fecal Occult Blood Testing In The Emergency Department, Paris B. Lovett

Paris B Lovett, MD, MBA, FACEP, FACHE

Study Objectives: Our objective was to evaluate a new technique for collection of stool for fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) in the emergency department (ED). We sought to compare the new approach, Self-Collection of Stool (SCS), against the traditional Digital Rectal Examination (DRE).

Methods: Patients were eligible for enrollment if they required stool sampling for FOBT, as judged by their physician. We excluded patients who required DRE for reasons other than stool collection: those requiring assessment of prostatic or rectal anatomy, rectal tone or sensation. Subjects were enrolled on a convenience basis and randomized to SCS or DRE. Blinded data …

Workplace Organization, Labor Process Control And Occupational Health. Ph. D. Dissertation, Linda A. Treiber

Linda A. Treiber

Perioperative Beta-Blocker Therapy And Mortality After Major Noncardiac Surgery, Peter K. Lindenauer, Penelope Susan Pekow, Kaijun Wang, Dheeresh K. Mamidi, Benjamin Gutierrez, Evan M. Benjamin

Peter Lindenauer MD

Background: Despite limited evidence from randomized trials, perioperative treatment with beta-blockers is now widely advocated. We assessed the use of perioperative beta-blockers and their association with in-hospital mortality in routine clinical practice.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients 18 years of age or older who underwent major noncardiac surgery in 2000 and 2001 at 329 hospitals throughout the United States. We used propensity-score matching to adjust for differences between patients who received perioperative beta-blockers and those who did not receive such therapy and compared in-hospital mortality using multivariable logistic modeling.

Results: Of 782,969 patients, 663,635 (85 percent) …

Tobacco Control: Are We Appropriately Training Future Health Professionals, Francisco Soto Mas, Chiehwen Ed Hsu

Chiehwen Ed Hsu

Information on how health professionals perceive tobacco use as well as their attitudes toward tobacco control is scarce. This study assessed the attitudes and perceptions of public health students toward tobacco use and tobacco control, which constitutes a necessary first step in designing effective training strategies. Although the majority of respondents agreed that tobacco use constitutes a relevant public health problem, they did not perceive tobacco control to be a public health priority. Academic institutions may not be properly training public health students, and may therefore be missing the opportunity to advance tobacco control at the national and global levels.

Tobacco Control: Are We Appropriately Training Future Health Professionals, Francisco Soto Mas, Chiehwen Ed Hsu

Francisco Soto Mas

Information on how health professionals perceive tobacco use as well as their attitudes toward tobacco control is scarce. This study assessed the attitudes and perceptions of public health students toward tobacco use and tobacco control, which constitutes a necessary first step in designing effective training strategies. Although the majority of respondents agreed that tobacco use constitutes a relevant public health problem, they did not perceive tobacco control to be a public health priority. Academic institutions may not be properly training public health students, and may therefore be missing the opportunity to advance tobacco control at the national and global levels.

The Effects Of Non-Contingent Extrinsic And Intrinsic Rewards On Memory Consolidation, Kristy Nielson, Ted Bryant

Kristy Nielson

Emotional and arousing treatments given shortly after learning enhance delayed memory retrieval in animal and human studies. Positive affect and reward induced prior to a variety of cognitive tasks enhance performance, but their ability to affect memory consolidation has not been investigated before. Therefore, we investigated the effects of a small, non-contingent, intrinsic or extrinsic reward on delayed memory retrieval. Participants (n = 108) studied and recalled a list of 30 affectively neutral, imageable nouns. Experimental groups were then given either an intrinsic reward (e.g., praise) or an extrinsic reward (e.g., $1). After a one-week delay, participants’ retrieval performance for …

Longitudinal Comparison Of Depressive Personality Disorder And Dysthymic Disorder, John C. Markowitz, Andrew E. Skodol, Eva Petkova, Hui Xie, Jianfeng Cheng, David J. Hellerstein, John G. Gunderson, Charles A. Sanislow, Carlos M. Grilo, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have compared the related diagnostic constructs of depressive personality disorder (DPD) and dysthymic disorder (DD). The authors attempted to replicate findings of Klein and Shih in longitudinally followed patients with personality disorder or major depressive disorder (MDD) in the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study.

METHODS: Subjects (N = 665) were evaluated at baseline and over 2 years (n = 546) by reliably trained clinical interviewers using semistructured interviews and self-report personality questionnaires.

RESULTS: Only 44 subjects (24.6% of 179 DPD and 49.4% of 89 early-onset dysthymic subjects) met criteria for both disorders at baseline. Depressive personality disorder …

Sacred Disease Of Our Times: Failure Of The Infectious Disease Model Of Spongiform Encephalopathy, Vivian Mcalister

Vivian C. McAlister

BACKGROUND: Public health and agricultural policy attempts to keep bovine spongiform encephalopathy out of North America using infectious disease containment policies. Inconsistencies of the infectious disease model as it applies to the spongiform encephalopathies may result in failure of these policies.

METHODS: Review of historical, political and scientific literature to determine the appropriate disease model of spongiform encephalopathy.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Spongiform encephalopathy has always occurred sporadically in man and other animals. Hippocrates may have described it in goats and cattle. Transmission of spongiform encephalopathy between individuals is too uncommon for it to be usefully considered an infection. Spongiform encephalopathy is …

Two-Year Prevalence And Stability Of Individual Dsm-Iv Criteria For Schizotypal, Borderline, Avoidant, And Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders: Toward A Hybrid Model Of Axis Ii Disorders, Thomas H. Mcglashan, Carlos M. Grilo, Charles A. Sanislow, Elizabeth Ralevski, Leslie C. Morey, John G. Gunderson, Andrew E. Skodol, M. Tracie Shea, Mary C. Zanarini, Donna S. Bender, Robert L. Stout, Shirley Yen, Maria E. Pagano

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

OBJECTIVE: This study tracked the individual criteria of four DSM-IV personality disorders-borderline, schizotypal, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders-and how they change over 2 years.

METHOD: This clinical sample of patients with personality disorders was derived from the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study and included all participants with borderline, schizotypal, avoidant, or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder for whom complete 24-month blind follow-up assessments were obtained (N=474). The authors identified and rank-ordered criteria for each of the four personality disorders by their variation in prevalence and changeability (remission) over time.

RESULTS: The most prevalent and least changeable criteria over 2 years were paranoid …

Repeatability Of Corneal Topography Measurement In Keratoconus With The Tms-1, Larry Davis, Timothy T. Mcmahon, Robert J. Anderson, Cynthia Roberts, Ashraf M. Mahmoud, Loretta B. Szczotka-Flynn, Thomas W. Raasch, Nina E. Friedman

Larry Davis

Implementing Infant Hearing Screening At Maternal And Child Health Clinics: Context And Interactional Processes, De Wet Swanepoel, René Hugo, Brenda Louw

Brenda Louw

The Importance Of Experimental Design In Proteomic Mass Spectrometry Experiments: Some Cautionary Tales, Jeffrey S. Morris, Jianhua Hu, Kevin R. Coombes, Keith A. Baggerly

Jeffrey S. Morris

Proteomic expression patterns derived from mass spectrometry have been put forward as potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. This approach has generated much excitement and has led to a large number of new experiments and vast amounts of new data. The data, derived at great expense, can have very little value if careful attention is not paid to the experimental design and analysis. Using examples from surfaceenhanced laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight (SELDI-TOF) and matrix-assisted laser desorption–ionisation/time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) experiments, we describe several experimental design issues that can corrupt a dataset. Fortunately, the problems we identify can be …

Proliferative And Apoptotic Activity At The Tumour Invasive Front In Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Ngeow W. C., Rosnah Binti Zain, Abidin Z., Phaik K. S., Kumar S.

Prof. Dr. Rosnah Binti Zain

Introduction: the tumour invasive front of squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has long been recognized as an important area which harbour prognostic information. The aim of the present study was to describe the expression of K1-67, MDM2 and Bcl-2 at the tumour invasive front in the buccal mucosa and also to investigate whether there is any association between the expression of K1-67, MDM2 and Bcl-2 with the certain sociodemographic characteristics, clinical and histopathological parameters. Materials and Methods: The sample of this study consisted of 31 biopsy cases of OSCC from the buccal mucosa. Immunohistochemistry was used with specific antibodies to K1-67, …

Stability Of Functional Impairment In Patients With Schizotypal, Borderline, Avoidant, Or Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder Over Two Years, Andrew E. Skodol, Maria E. Pagano, Donna S. Bender, M. Tracie Shea, John G. Gunderson, Shirley Yen, Robert L. Stout, Leslie C. Morey, Charles A. Sanislow, Carlos M. Grilo, Mary C. Zanarini, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

BACKGROUND: A defining feature of personality disorder (PD) is an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that is stable over time. Follow-up and follow-along studies have shown considerable diagnostic instability of PDs, however, even over short intervals. What, then, about personality disorder is stable? The purpose of this study was to determine the stability of impairment in psychosocial functioning in patients with four different PDs, in contrast to patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and no PD, prospectively over a 2-year period.

METHOD: Six hundred treatment-seeking or treated patients were recruited primarily from clinical services in four metropolitan areas …

What Communities Should Do Pre-Event To Support Public Health Post-Event Assessments, Surveillance And Monitoring, Thomas Lyons Carr Iii

Thomas Lyons (Thom) Carr III Appl.Sc., CEM

[Abstract written March 2008, TLC] Under worst-case planning assumptions used by some major metropolitan areas, a Neighbor-to-Neighbor self-help program model is the primary link between citizens and the professional response personnel of the responsible government agencies.

In the Neighbor-to-Neighbor self-help program model or a Community Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) calls on the citizens in neighborhoods to identify and establish cluster emergency preparedness committees, Cluster Emergency Coordination Centers (CECC) and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). Missing from these plans or what is not articulated is how constant Public Health Post-Event Surveillance, Monitoring and Assessments will be done. Given the worst-case planning …

Demarcated Truncal Jaundice: A Sign Of Retroperitoneal Bile Leakage, Vivian C. Mcalister, Alp Sener

Vivian C. McAlister

The characteristic feature of the clinical sign described here is the demarcation between jaundiced and unaffected areas of the body. The flanks and the genitalia are stained more than would be expected by examination of the sclera or estimation of bilirubin level. Superiorly, a horizontal line about 3 cm below the clavicles, corresponding to the insertion of the fascia of Scarpa into the clavipectoral fascia, allows an easy comparison between the jaundiced trunk and unaffected adjacent areas, such as the neck, shoulder, and arm. Similarly, a line 3 cm below the groin skin crease corresponds to the insertion of the …

Two-Year Prospective Naturalistic Study Of Remission From Major Depressive Disorder As A Function Of Personality Disorder Comorbidity, Carlos M. Grilo, Charles A. Sanislow, M. Tracie Shea, Andrew E. Skodol, Robert L. Stout, John G. Gunderson, Shirley Yen, Donna S. Bender, Maria E. Pagano, Mary C. Zanarini, Leslie C. Morey, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

In this study, the authors examined prospectively the 24-month natural course of remission from major depressive disorder (MDD) as a function of personality disorder (PD) comorbidity. In 302 participants (196 women, 106 men), psychiatric and PDs were assessed at baseline with diagnostic interviews, and the course of MDD was assessed with the Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation at 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow-ups. Survival analyses revealed an overall 24-month remission rate of 73.5% for MDD that differed little by gender. Participants with MDD who had certain forms of coexisting PD psychopathology (schizotypal, borderline, or avoidant) as their primary PD diagnoses had …