An analysis of intersectional disparities in alcohol consumption in the US.

Alcohol is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States (US). Prior research has demonstrated that alcohol consumption and related mortality are socially patterned; however, no study has investigated intersectional disparities in alcohol consumption, i.e.

Increased TRPV4 Channel Expression Enhances and Impairs Blood Vessel Function in Hypertension.

Background: Endothelial cell TRPV4 (transient receptor potential vanilloid 4) channels provide a control point that is pivotal in regulating blood vessel diameter by mediating the Ca-dependent release of endothelial-derived vasoactive factors. In hypertension, TRPV4-mediated control of vascular function is disrupted, but the underlying mechanisms and precise physiological consequences remain controversial.

Methods: Here, using a comprehensive array of methodologies, endothelial TRPV4 channel function was examined in intact mesenteric resistance arteries from normotensive Wistar-Kyoto and spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Socioeconomic Disparities in Healthcare Access and Implications for All-Cause Mortality among US Adults: A 2000-2019 Record Linkage Study.

The United States (US) has witnessed a notable increase in socioeconomic disparities in all-cause mortality since 2000. While this period is marked by significant macroeconomic and health policy changes, the specific drivers of these mortality trends remain poorly understood. In this study, we assessed healthcare access variables and their association with socioeconomic status (SES)-related differences (exposure) in US all-cause mortality (outcome), since 2000.

How can agent-based modelling provide new insights into the impact of minimum unit pricing in Scotland?

In recent years we have gained insight into the impact of minimum unit pricing (MUP)-a legal floor price below which a given volume of alcohol cannot be sold-on population-level reductions in alcohol sales, consumption and harm. However, several questions remain unanswered including how individual-level purchasing changes impact the local economy (e.g.

Signalling switches maintain intercellular communication in the vascular endothelium.

Background And Purpose: The single layer of cells lining all blood vessels, the endothelium, is a sophisticated signal co-ordination centre that controls a wide range of vascular functions including the regulation of blood pressure and blood flow. To co-ordinate activities, communication among cells is required for tissue level responses to emerge. While a significant form of communication occurs by the propagation of signals between cells, the mechanism of propagation in the intact endothelium is unresolved.

Commentary on Antosz et al. (2023): The role of macro-micro-macro frameworks and critical realism in agent-based modelling.

Antosz and colleagues' review of the role of theory in agent-based modelling (ABM) makes important recommendations for modelling practitioners. However, macro-micro-macro frameworks are not necessarily as reliant on existing theory as the review suggests. Adopting a critical realist perspective to ABM design would help to deliver the recommendations, within which macro-micro-macro frameworks can play an important enabling role.

Alcoholic beverage types consumed by population subgroups in the United States: Implications for alcohol policy to address health disparities.

Introduction: We aimed to identify alcoholic beverage types more likely to be consumed by demographic subgroups with greater alcohol-related health risk than others, mainly individuals with low socio-economic status, racial/ethnic minority status and high drinking levels.

Methods: Fractional logit modelling was performed using a nationally representative sample of US adult drinkers (analytic N = 37,657) from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions Waves 2 (2004-2005) and 3 (2012-2013). The outcomes were the proportions of pure alcohol consumed as beer, wine, liquor and coolers (defined as wine-/malt-/liquor-based coolers, hard lemonade, hard cider and any prepackaged cocktails of alcohol and mixer).

The Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption, BMI, and Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-analysis.

Background: Moderate alcohol use may be associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Previous reviews have reached mixed conclusions.

Purpose: To quantify the dose-response relationship between alcohol consumption and T2DM, accounting for differential effects by sex and BMI.

How does alcohol use impact morbidity and mortality of liver cirrhosis? A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.

Background: Alcohol consumption is the most important risk factor responsible for the disease burden of liver cirrhosis (LC). Estimates of risk relationships available usually neither distinguish between different causes such as alcohol-related LC or hepatitis-related LC, nor differentiate between morbidity and mortality as outcome. We aimed to address this research gap and identify dose-response relationships between alcohol consumption and LC, by cause and outcome.

Can lifestyle factors explain racial and ethnic inequalities in all-cause mortality among US adults?

Background: Racial and ethnic inequalities in all-cause mortality exist, and individual-level lifestyle factors have been proposed to contribute to these inequalities. In this study, we evaluate the extent to which the association between race and ethnicity and all-cause mortality can be explained by differences in the exposure and vulnerability to harmful effects of different lifestyle factors.

Methods: The 1997-2014 cross-sectional, annual US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) linked to the 2015 National Death Index was used.

Can Social Norms Explain Long-Term Trends in Alcohol Use? Insights from Inverse Generative Social Science.

Social psychological theory posits entities and mechanisms that attempt to explain observable differences in behavior. For example, dual process theory suggests that an agent's behavior is influenced by intentional (arising from reasoning involving attitudes and perceived norms) and unintentional (i.e.

Can lifestyle factors explain racial and ethnic inequalities in all-cause mortality among US adults?

Racial and ethnic inequalities in all-cause mortality exist, and individual-level lifestyle factors have been proposed to contribute to these inequalities. In this study, we evaluate the extent to which the association between race and ethnicity and all-cause mortality can be explained by differences in the exposure and vulnerability to harmful effects of different lifestyle factors. The 1997-2014 cross-sectional, annual US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) linked to the 2015 National Death Index was used.

Mapping the Transcriptome Underpinning Acute Corticosteroid Action within the Cortical Collecting Duct.

Key Points: We report the transcriptomes associated with acute corticosteroid regulation of ENaC activity in polarized mCCD collecting duct cells. Nine genes were regulated by aldosterone (ALDO), 0 with corticosterone alone, and 151 with corticosterone when 11βHSD2 activity was inhibited. We validated three novel ALDO-induced genes, , , and , in primary cells isolated from a novel principal cell reporter mouse.

Endothelial PAR2 activation evokes resistance artery relaxation.

Protease-activated receptor-1 & -2 (PAR1 and PAR2) are expressed widely in cardiovascular tissues including endothelial and smooth muscle cells. PAR1 and PAR2 may regulate blood pressure via changes in vascular contraction or relaxation mediated by endothelial Ca signaling, but the mechanisms are incompletely understood. By using single-cell Ca imaging across hundreds of endothelial cells in intact blood vessels, we explored PAR-mediated regulation of blood vessel function using PAR1 and PAR2 activators.

Mitochondrial ATP Production is Required for Endothelial Cell Control of Vascular Tone.

Arteries and veins are lined by nonproliferating endothelial cells that play a critical role in regulating blood flow. Endothelial cells also regulate tissue perfusion, metabolite exchange, and thrombosis. It is thought that endothelial cells rely on ATP generated via glycolysis, rather than mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, to fuel each of these energy-demanding processes.

Trends in mortality from alcohol, opioid, and combined alcohol and opioid poisonings by sex, educational attainment, and race and ethnicity for the United States 2000-2019.

Background: The ongoing opioid epidemic and increases in alcohol-related mortality are key public health concerns in the USA, with well-documented inequalities in the degree to which groups with low and high education are affected. This study aimed to quantify disparities over time between educational and racial and ethnic groups in sex-specific mortality rates for opioid, alcohol, and combined alcohol and opioid poisonings in the USA.

Methods: The 2000-2019 Multiple Cause of Death Files from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) were used alongside population counts from the Current Population Survey 2000-2019.

Behavioral stability of alcohol consumption and socio-demographic correlates of change among a nationally representative cohort of US adults.

Aims: To estimate the probability of transitioning between different categories of alcohol use (drinking states) among a nationally representative cohort of United States (US) adults and to identify the effects of socio-demographic characteristics on those transitions.

Design, Setting And Participants: Secondary analysis of data from the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a prospective cohort study conducted in 2001-02 and 2004-05; a US nation-wide, population-based study. Participants included 34 165 adults (mean age = 45.

Small-world connectivity dictates collective endothelial cell signaling.

Every blood vessel is lined by a single layer of highly specialized, yet adaptable and multifunctional endothelial cells. These cells, the endothelium, control vascular contractility, hemostasis, and inflammation and regulate the exchange of oxygen, nutrients, and waste products between circulating blood and tissue. To control each function, the endothelium processes endlessly arriving requests from multiple sources using separate clusters of cells specialized to detect specific stimuli.

Educational Attainment and Lifestyle Risk Factors Associated With All-Cause Mortality in the US.

Importance: The US has experienced increasing socioeconomic inequalities and stagnating life expectancy. Past studies have not disentangled 2 mechanisms thought to underlie socioeconomic inequalities in health, differential exposure and differential vulnerability, that have different policy implications.

Objective: To evaluate the extent to which the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and all-cause mortality can be decomposed into a direct effect of SES, indirect effects through lifestyle factors (differential exposure), and joint effects of SES with lifestyle factors (differential vulnerability).

Comparative Studies of Renin-Null Zebrafish and Mice Provide New Functional Insights.

Background: The renin-angiotensin system is highly conserved across vertebrates, including zebrafish, which possess orthologous genes coding for renin-angiotensin system proteins, and specialized mural cells of the kidney arterioles, capable of synthesising and secreting renin.

Methods: We generated zebrafish with CRISPR-Cas9-targeted knockout of renin () to investigate renin function in a low blood pressure environment. We used single-cell (10×) RNA sequencing analysis to compare the transcriptome profiles of renin lineage cells from mesonephric kidneys of with zebrafish and with the metanephric kidneys of and mice.

Improved estimates for individual and population-level alcohol use in the United States, 1984-2020.

Aims: While nationally representative alcohol surveys are a mainstay of public health monitoring, they underestimate consumption at the population level. This paper demonstrates how to adjust individual-level survey data using aggregated alcohol per capita (APC) data for improved individual- and population-level consumption estimates.

Design And Methods: For the period 1984-2020, data on self-reported alcohol consumption in the past 30 days were taken from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) involving participants (18+ years) in the United States (US).