Preventative care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease in the Veterans Health Administration.

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have underlying immune dysregulation. Immunosuppressive medications put them at risk of infection. This study assessed rates of recommended vaccinations and preventative screening in patients with IBD.

Comorbidity Correlates of Death Among New Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan Deployment.

Background: Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who receive care in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) have high disease burden. Distinct comorbidity patterns have been shown to be differentially associated with adverse outcomes, including death. This study determined correlates of 5-year mortality.

Postoperative 30-day Readmission: Time to Focus on What Happens Outside the Hospital.

Objective: The aim of this study is to understand the relative contribution of preoperative patient factors, operative characteristics, and postoperative hospital course on 30-day postoperative readmissions.

Background: Determining the risk of readmission after surgery is difficult. Understanding the most important contributing factors is important to improving prediction of and reducing postoperative readmission risk.

Protective and Risk Factors for 5-Year Survival in the Oldest Veterans: Data from the Veterans Health Administration.

Objectives: To characterize physical and mental diseases and use of healthcare services and identify factors associated with mortality in the oldest individuals using the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Design: Retrospective study with 5-year survival follow-up.

Setting: VHA, system-wide.

Changes of multi-scale structure during mimicked DSC heating reveal the nature of starch gelatinization.

A thorough understanding of starch gelatinization is extremely important for precise control of starch functional properties for food processing and human nutrition. Here we reveal the molecular mechanism of starch gelatinization by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in conjunction with a protocol using the rapid viscosity analyzer (RVA) to generate material for analysis under conditions that simulated the DSC heating profiles. The results from DSC, FTIR, Raman, X-ray diffraction and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analyses all showed that residual structural order remained in starch that was heated to the DSC endotherm end temperature in starch:water mixtures of 0.

Knowledge and beliefs about electronic cigarettes among quitline cessation staff.

Introduction: Smokers are asking health practitioners for guidance about using e-cigarettes as an aid to quitting. Several studies have surveyed physicians. However, in North America many smokers seek help from telephone quitlines rather than physicians.

Racial-Ethnic Differences in Psychiatric Diagnoses and Treatment Across 11 Health Care Systems in the Mental Health Research Network.

Objective: The objective of this study was to characterize racial-ethnic variation in diagnoses and treatment of mental disorders in large not-for-profit health care systems.

Methods: Participating systems were 11 private, not-for-profit health care organizations constituting the Mental Health Research Network, with a combined 7,523,956 patients age 18 or older who received care during 2011. Rates of diagnoses, prescription of psychotropic medications, and total formal psychotherapy sessions received were obtained from insurance claims and electronic medical record databases across all health care settings.

Presurgical Psychological Assessments as Correlates of Effectiveness of Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Pain Reduction.

Background: Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) is a surgically implanted device for patients with certain types of chronic pain. While some studies show the value of psychological screening of potential SCS candidates, no consensus exists. This single-site study analyzed the association of SCS success with psychological assessments (e.

New depression diagnosis following prescription of codeine, hydrocodone or oxycodone.

Purpose: Longer duration of prescription opioid use is associated with risk of major depression after controlling for daily morphine equivalent dose and pain. It is not known if risk of depression varies as a function of the type of opioid prescribed.

Methods: A retrospective cohort design was used to model onset of new depression diagnosis among 11 462 Veterans Health Administration (VA) patients who were prescribed only codeine, only hydrocodone or only oxycodone for >30 days.

Increased Risk of Depression Recurrence After Initiation of Prescription Opioids in Noncancer Pain Patients.

Unlabelled: Several studies have shown that chronic opioid analgesic use is associated with increased risk of new-onset depression. It is not known if patients with remitted depression are at increased risk of relapse after exposure to opioid analgesics. A retrospective cohort design using patient data from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA; n = 5,400), and Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH; n = 842) was performed with an observation period in the VHA from 2002 to 2012 and in the BSWH from 2003 to 2012.

Retrogradation enthalpy does not always reflect the retrogradation behavior of gelatinized starch.

Starch retrogradation is a term used to define the process in which gelatinized starch undergoes a disorder-to-order transition. A thorough understanding of starch retrogradation behavior plays an important role in maintaining the quality of starchy foods during storage. By means of DSC, we have demonstrated for the first time that at low water contents, the enthalpy change of retrograded starch is higher than that of native starch.

Molecular disassembly of rice and lotus starches during thermal processing and its effect on starch digestibility.

The molecular disassembly of starch during thermal processing is a major determinant for the susceptibility of starch to enzymatic digestion. In the present study, the effects of thermal processing on the disassembly of the granular structure and the in vitro enzymatic digestibility of rice and lotus starches were investigated. After heating at 50 °C, rice and lotus starches did not show significant changes in granular morphology, long-range crystallinity and short-range molecular order.

Survival outcomes of obese patients in type II endometrial cancer: Defining the prognostic impact of increasing BMI.

Objective: To investigate the role of obesity as a risk factor for type II endometrial cancer (EC), as well as the prognostic significance of increasing body mass index (BMI) on survival.

Methods: A single institution retrospective analysis of 154 type II EC cases from 1987 to 2010 was conducted. Patients were categorized into cohorts by BMI (normal (<25), overweight (25-29.

A Prospective, Comparative Study for the Evaluation of Postoperative Pain and Quality of Recovery in Patients Undergoing Robotic Versus Open Hysterectomy for Staging of Endometrial Cancer.

Study Objective: To measure and compare postoperative pain and patient satisfaction in patients undergoing either robotic or open laparotomy for surgical staging of endometrial cancer.

Design: Prospective, comparative study (Canadian Task Force classification II).

Setting: University hospital.

Prescription Opioid Duration, Dose, and Increased Risk of Depression in 3 Large Patient Populations.

Purpose: Recent results suggests the risk of a new onset of depression increases with longer duration of opioid analgesic use. It is unclear whether new-onset depression related to opioid analgesic use is a function of the dose prescribed or the duration of use or both.

Methods: Using a retrospective cohort design, we collected patient data from 2000 to 2012 from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and from 2003 to 2012 from both Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH) and the Henry Ford Health System (HFHS).

Documentation of Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Pregnancy Among Women Presenting for Gynecologic Oncology Consultation.

Objective: The aim of the study was to describe pregnancy risk assessment, reproductive goals, and incidence of pregnancy among the reproductive age population seen by gynecologic oncologists at a tertiary care center.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted among 18- to 45-year-old women evaluated by a gynecologic oncologist from January 2000 to December 2011. Data abstracted included the following: diagnosis, cancer treatment, parity, pregnancy risk factors (eg, menstrual patterns, sexual activity, and use of contraception), reproductive goals, type of referral, and pregnancy.

THE IMPORTANCE OF DIETARY CARBOHYDRATE IN HUMAN EVOLUTION.

ABSTRACT We propose that plant foods containing high quantities of starch were essential for the evolution of the human phenotype during the Pleistocene. Although previous studies have highlighted a stone tool-mediated shift from primarily plant-based to primarily meat-based diets as critical in the development of the brain and other human traits, we argue that digestible carbohydrates were also necessary to accommodate the increased metabolic demands of a growing brain. Furthermore, we acknowledge the adaptive role cooking played in improving the digestibility and palatability of key carbohydrates.

Soy biodiesel emissions have reduced inflammatory effects compared to diesel emissions in healthy and allergic mice.

Toxicity of exhaust from combustion of petroleum diesel (B0), soy-based biodiesel (B100), or a 20% biodiesel/80% petrodiesel mix (B20) was compared in healthy and house dust mite (HDM)-allergic mice. Fuel emissions were diluted to target fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) concentrations of 50, 150, or 500 μg/m(3).

Safety of Botulinum Toxin Type A for Children With Nonambulatory Cerebral Palsy.

Objective: To determine safety of intramuscular botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) injections to reduce spasticity and improve care and comfort of nonambulatory children with cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods: Nonambulatory children with CP were randomly allocated to receive either BoNT-A (n = 23) or sham procedure (n = 18) in Cycle 1. In Cycle 2, the BoNT-A group received a second episode of BoNT-A (n = 20) and sham group received their first episode of BoNT-A (n = 17).

Association between diabetes and esophageal cancer, independent of obesity, in the United States Veterans Affairs population.

In the past 30 years, the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) has increased more rapidly than any other cancer in the United States. The prevalence of obesity and diabetes mellitus has drastically increased as well. We explored the potential association between obesity, diabetes mellitus, and EAC.

The Role of Self-Compassion in Buffering Symptoms of Depression in the General Population.

Self-compassion, typically operationalized as the total score of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS; Neff, 2003b), has been shown to be related to increased psychological well-being and lower depression in students of the social sciences, users of psychology websites and psychotherapy patients. The current study builds on the existing literature by examining the link between self-compassion and depressive symptomatology in a sample representative of the German general population (n = 2,404). The SCS subscales of self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification, and the "self-coldness", composite score, which encompass these three negative subscales, consistently differed between subsamples of individuals without any depressive symptoms, with any depressive syndromes, and with major depressive disorder.

Adherence to common cardiovascular medications in patients with schizophrenia vs. patients without psychiatric illness.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine whether individuals with diagnoses of schizophrenia were differentially adherent to their statin or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (ACEI/ARB) medications compared to individuals without psychiatric illness.

Method: Using electronic medical record data across 13 Mental Health Research Network sites, individuals with diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder receiving two or more medication dispensings of a statin or an ACEI/ARB in 2011 (N=710) were identified and matched on age, sex and Medicare status to controls with no documented mental illness and two or more medication dispensings of a statin in 2011 (N=710). Medication adherence, and sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the study population were assessed.

Graft Detachment Rate in DSEK/DSAEK After Same-Day Complete Air Removal.

Purpose: We retrospectively analyzed the rate of graft detachment from 310 Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK)/Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) cases performed by a single surgeon over a 10-year period using same-day complete air removal. Secondary outcome measures including primary graft failure, late endothelial graft failure, rejection events, and steroid-induced ocular hypertension were also analyzed.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed on all patients receiving DSEK/DSAEK for any cause by the same surgeon at 2 separate institutions from January 2005 to December 2014.