Studies of clinical populations that combine MRI data generated at multiple sites are increasingly common. The Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression (CAN-BIND; www.canbind.ca) is a ...national depression research program that includes multimodal neuroimaging collected at several sites across Canada. The purpose of the current paper is to provide detailed information on the imaging protocols used in a number of CAN-BIND studies. The CAN-BIND program implemented a series of platform-specific MRI protocols, including a suite of prescribed structural and functional MRI sequences supported by real-time monitoring for adherence and quality control. The imaging data are retained in an established informatics and databasing platform. Approximately 1300 participants are being recruited, including almost 1000 with depression. These include participants treated with antidepressant medications, transcranial magnetic stimulation, cognitive behavioural therapy and cognitive remediation therapy. Our ability to analyze the large number of imaging variables available may be limited by the sample size of the substudies. The CAN-BIND program includes a multimodal imaging database supported by extensive clinical, demographic, neuropsychological and biological data from people with major depression. It is a resource for Canadian investigators who are interested in understanding whether aspects of neuroimaging — alone or in combination with other variables — can predict the outcomes of various treatment modalities.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of neighbourhood disorder around alcohol outlets to pedestrian injury risk.
A spatial analysis was conducted on census block groups in ...Baltimore City. Data included pedestrian injury EMS records from 1 January 2014 to 15 April 2015 (n=858), off-premise alcohol outlet locations for 2014 (n=693) and neighbourhood disorder indicators and demographics. Negative binomial regression models were used to determine the relationship between alcohol outlet count and pedestrian injuries at the block group level, controlling for other neighbourhood factors. Attributable risk was calculated by comparing the total population count per census block group to the injured pedestrian count.
Each one-unit increase in the number of alcohol outlets was associated with a 14.2% (95% CI 1.099 to 1.192, P<0.001) increase in the RR of neighbourhood pedestrian injury, adjusting for traffic volume, pedestrian volume, population density, per cent of vacant lots and median household income. The attributable risk was 10.4% (95% CI 7.7 to 12.7) or 88 extra injuries. Vacant lots was the only significant neighbourhood disorder indicator in the final adjusted model (RR=1.016, 95% CI 1.007 to 1.026, P=0.003). Vacant lots have not been previously investigated as possible risk factors for pedestrian injury.
This study identifies modifiable risk factors for pedestrian injury previously unexplored in the literature and may provide evidence for alcohol control strategies (eg, liquor store licencing, zoning and enforcement).
Abstract The objective of this study was to examine the sensitivity and specificity of a performance-based measure of functional capacity, the UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment (UPSA), for the ...prediction of independent living status in patients with chronic schizophrenia-related conditions. A sample of 434 adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder was administered the UPSA and assessed for independent living status. Participants were classified as “independent” if they were living alone in an apartment, house, or single-resident occupancy (e.g., hotel room) and non-independent if they resided in a care facility (e.g., Board-and-Care home, Skilled Nursing Facility). Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated with the UPSA and Mattis’ Dementia Rating Scale (DRS) scores as predictor variables and residential independence as the state variable. Of the 434 participants, 99 (23%) were living independently at the time of assessment. The discriminant validity of the UPSA was adequate (ROC area under the curve = 0.74; 95% CI: 0.68–0.79), with greatest dichotomization for the UPSA at a cutoff score of 75 (68% accuracy, 69% sensitivity, 66% specificity), or 80 (68% accuracy, 59% sensitivity, 76% specificity). The UPSA was also a significantly better predictor of living status than was the DRS, based on ROC ( z = 2.43, p = .015). The UPSA is a brief measure of functional capacity that predicts the ability of patients with schizophrenia to reside independently in the community.
Cognitive impairments in schizophrenia are well documented and correlated with functional disability. Although some patients demonstrate normal neuropsychological (NP) functioning, little is known ...about their functional disability. We examined the cross-sectional functional implications of NP normality and symptomatic remission in older outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, who were administered a NP battery and performance-based measures of functional and social competence, with their real-world functioning rated by case managers. NP status was classified by the General Deficit Score (GDS) and remission status was based on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), yielding four subsamples of patients: NP normal-remitted (n = 21), NP normal-symptomatic (n = 22), NP impaired-remitted (n = 90), and NP impaired-symptomatic (n = 97). NP normal patients demonstrated better functional and social competence and better ratings of real world functioning, after controlling for premorbid abilities. However, compared to normative date, NP normal patients manifested disability in several real-world domains, including residential status. These results suggest that NP status is a better predictor of functional outcome then symptom status or the interaction of the two factors. The disability seen in NP normal cases indicates that factors other than cognitive impairments may determine aspects of everyday outcomes in schizophrenia.
For most of their history, the U.S. courts of appeals have toiled in obscurity, well out of the limelight of political controversy. But as the number of appeals has increased dramatically, while the ...number of cases heard by the Supreme Court has remained the same, the courts of appeals have become the court of last resort for the vast majority of litigants. This enhanced status has been recognized by important political actors, and as a result, appointments to the courts of appeals have become more and more contentious since the 1990s. This combination of increasing political salience and increasing political controversy has led to the rise of serious empirical studies of the role of the courts of appeals in our legal and political system.
At once building on and contributing to this wave of scholarship,The View from the Bench and Chambersmelds a series of quantitative analyses of judicial decisions with the perspectives gained from in-depth interviews with the judges and their law clerks. This multifaceted approach yields a level of insight beyond that provided by any previous work on appellate courts in the United States, makingThe View from the Bench and Chambersthe most comprehensive and rich account of the operation of these courts to date.
Our aim was to identify proteins that reflect an acute systemic response to prolonged hyperbaric stress and discover potential biomarker pathways for pulmonary O2 toxicity. The study was a ...double-blind, randomized, crossover design in trained male Navy diver subjects. Each subject completed two dry resting hyperbaric chamber dives separated by a minimum of one week. One dive exposed the subject to 6.5 h of 100% oxygen (O2) at 2ATA. The alternate dive exposed the subjects to an enhanced air nitrox mixture (EAN) containing 30.6% O2 at the same depth for the same duration. Venous blood samples collected before (PRE) and after (POST) each dive were prepared and submitted to LC-MS/MS analysis (2 h runs). A total of 346 total proteins were detected and analyzed. A total of 12 proteins were significantly increased at EANPOST (vs. EANPRE), including proteins in hemostasis and immune signaling and activation. Significantly increased proteins at O2PRE (vs. O2POST) included neural cell adhesion molecule 1, glycoprotein Ib, catalase, hemoglobin subunit beta, fibulin-like proteins, and complement proteins. EANPOST and O2POST differed in biomarkers related to coagulation, immune signaling and activation, and metabolism. Of particular interest is (EANPOST vs. O2POST), which is protective against oxidative stress.
Homologs of the tumor suppressor p53, called p63
and p73, have been identified. The p63 and p73 family members
possess a domain structure similar to p53, but contain
variable C-terminal extensions. ...We find that some of the
C-terminal extensions contain Sterile Alpha Motif (SAM)
domains. SAM domains are protein modules that are involved
in protein–protein interactions. Consistent with
this role, the C-terminal SAM domains of the p63 and p73
may regulate function by recruiting other protein effectors.
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