Development and acceptability of an educational video about a smoking cessation quitline for use in adult outpatient mental healthcare.

Tobacco use is a leading preventable cause of early mortality and is prevalent among adults with mental health diagnoses, especially in the southern USA. Increasing cessation resources in outpatient mental health care and targeting individuals most receptive to changing their behavior may improve cessation. Drawing on the transtheoretical model, our goals were to develop an educational video about the Louisiana Tobacco Quitline and evaluate its acceptability.

Using the emergency department to investigate smoking in young adults.

Purpose: Smoking in young adults identifies the population at risk for future tobacco-related disease. We investigated smoking in a young adult population and within high-risk groups using emergency department (ED) data in a metropolitan area.

Methods: Using the electronic health record, we performed a retrospective study of smoking in adults aged 18-30 years presenting to the ED.

Early pregnancy maternal vitamin D concentrations and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus.

Background: While associations of vitamin D deficiency with type 2 diabetes have been well demonstrated, investigations of vitamin D and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) reported inconsistent findings. We examined associations of vitamin D status with GDM.

Methods: In a nested case-cohort study (135 GDM cases and 517 non-GDM controls), we measured maternal serum vitamin D status (total 25[OH]D and 25[OH]D3 ) in early pregnancy (16 weeks on average) using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy.

Association of serum vitamin D with symptoms of depression and anxiety in early pregnancy.

Unlabelled: Abstract Objective: To evaluate associations between early pregnancy 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations and antepartum depression and anxiety symptoms and potential modifiers thereof.

Materials And Methods: In a pregnancy cohort (N=498), we examined cross-sectional associations of early pregnancy (mean=15.4 weeks gestation) serum 25[OH]D concentrations and depression and anxiety symptoms.

Iron deficiency anemia, cigarette smoking and risk of abruptio placentae.

Aim: A higher frequency of abruptio placentae among anemic patients has been documented in some, but not all previously published studies. Altered feto-placental angiogenesis during early pregnancy in anemic women may partially explain this increased risk. The present study assesses the iron deficiency anemia-abruptio placentae association in pregnant women from the Pacific Northwest.

Specific immunoassays for placental alkaline phosphatase as a tumor marker.

Human placental (hPLAP) and germ cell (PLAP-like) alkaline phosphatases are polymorphic and heat-stable enzymes. This study was designed to develop specific immunoassays for quantifying hPLAP and PLAP-like enzyme activity (EA) in sera of cancer patients, pregnant women, or smokers. Polyclonal sheep anti-hPLAP antibodies were purified by affinity chromatography with whole hPLAP protein (ICA-PLAP assay) or a synthetic peptide (aa 57-71) of hPLAP (ICA-PEP assay); the working range was 0.

Interleukin-6 inhibits hepatic growth hormone signaling via upregulation of Cis and Socs-3.

Cytokines may cause an acquired growth hormone (GH) resistance in patients with inflammatory diseases. Anabolic effects of GH are mediated through activation of STAT5 transcription factors. We have reported that TNF-alpha suppresses hepatic GH receptor (GHR) gene expression, whereas the cytokine-inducible SH2-containing protein 1 (Cis)/suppressors of cytokine signaling (Socs) genes are upregulated by TNF-alpha and IL-6 and inhibit GH activation of STAT5.