Preventing and treating childhood obesity: time to target fathers.

Objective: To examine the long-term effects of having one overweight or obese parent on child weight status and determine whether these effects vary according to parent sex.

Design: Prospective study: Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC).

Subjects: Two-parent families (N=3285) from the LSAC were included if height and weight data were available for both parents and their child at the 2004 and 2008 time points.

Attempting to explain heterogeneous HIV epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa: potential role of historical changes in risk behaviour and male circumcision.

Background: A key conclusion of the Four Cities Study, carried out to explore reasons for heterogeneity in the HIV epidemic between two cities in sub-Saharan Africa with relatively low prevalence (Cotonou and Yaoundé) and two with high prevalence (Kisumu and Ndola), was that differences in biological cofactors outweighed differences in sexual risk behaviours. The authors explore an alternative hypothesis, that risk behaviours were historically higher in the high-prevalence cities. They also investigate the effects of different prevalence of male circumcision on the HIV epidemics in the four cities.

'A frightening experience': detainees' and carers' experiences of being detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act.

Aims: This research reports on the views of detainees and their carers of their experiences of being detained under Section 136 (S136) of the Mental Health Act 1983. Individual interviews were conducted with 18 detainees and six carers.

Method: A semi-structured questionnaire was administered face-to-face to gather qualitative data, which was analysed using a grounded theory approach.

Safety of tranexamic acid in women with heavy menstrual bleeding: an open-label extension study.

Aims: An open-label, extension clinical study was conducted to assess the safety of a novel, oral formulation of tranexamic acid (TA) in women with cyclic heavy menstrual bleeding.

Patients & Methods: Eligible patients who completed either a three- or six-cycle double-blinded clinical trial of TA were offered enrollment into a study of nine cycles with TA (1.3 g orally three times/day for a maximum of 5 days per cycle).

Age-related eye disease and mobility limitations in older adults.

Purpose: To examine the extent of mobility limitations in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, or Fuchs' corneal dystrophy compared with that in a control group of older adults with good vision.

Methods: Two hundred seventy-two patients (68 with AMD, 49 with Fuchs' dystrophy, 82 with glaucoma, and 73 controls) from the ophthalmology clinics of Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital (Montreal, Canada) participated in a cross-sectional study from September 2009 until February 2011. Control patients who had normal visual acuity and visual fields were recruited from the same clinics.

Numbers and time doubly dissociate.

The magnitude dimensions of number, time and space have been suggested to share some common magnitude processing, which may imply symmetric interaction among dimensions. Here we challenge these suggestions by presenting a double dissociation between two neuropsychological patients with left (JT) and right (CB) parietal lesions and selective impairment of number and time processing respectively. Both patients showed an influence of task-irrelevant number stimuli on time but not space processing.

Thermal stabilization of tissues and the preservation of protein phosphorylation states for two-dimensional gel electrophoresis.

2-DE is typically capable of discriminating proteins differing by a single phosphorylation or dephosphorylation event. However, a reliable representation of protein phosphorylation states as they occur in vivo requires that both phosphatases and kinases are rapidly and completely inactivated. Thermal stabilization of mouse cerebral cortex homogenates effectively inactivated these enzymes, as evidenced by comparison with unstabilized tissues where abscissal pI shifts were a common feature in 2-D gels.

A dose-response study of a novel, oral tranexamic formulation for heavy menstrual bleeding.

Objective: We sought to assess the efficacy and safety of 2 dosing regimens of a novel, oral tranexamic acid formulation (Lysteda; Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc, Parsippany, NJ) in women with cyclic heavy menstrual bleeding.

Study Design: This was a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, parallel-group trial for 3 menstrual cycles (n = 304). Women with mean menstrual blood loss (MBL) of ≥ 80 mL/cycle were randomized to receive either 1.

Higher DHEA-S (dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate) levels are associated with depressive symptoms during the menopausal transition: results from the PENN Ovarian Aging Study.

The influence of sex hormones on mood during the menopausal transition has been the subject of ongoing investigation. Because dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) has been associated with several indicators of healthy aging, we conducted a population-based study of midlife women to determine the relationship between DHEA-S levels and depressive symptoms and major depression during the transition through menopause. Unexpectedly, the original report revealed a positive correlation between DHEA-S levels and depressive symptoms at baseline.

The SCIRehab project: social work and case management. Social work and case management treatment time during inpatient spinal cord injury rehabilitation.

Background: There is a lack of published evidence regarding the amount and type of social work and case management (SW/CM) services that an individual with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) receives during acute inpatient rehabilitation. Such information is needed to assist in resource planning, benchmarking, and research on interventions and outcomes.

Methods: As part of the SCIRehab study social workers and case managers at six inpatient rehabilitation facilities documented details (including time spent) about the interventions provided to 600 patients with traumatic SCI during acute inpatient rehabilitation.

Looming sounds enhance orientation sensitivity for visual stimuli on the same side as such sounds.

Several recent multisensory studies show that sounds can influence visual processing. Some visual judgments can be enhanced for visual stimuli near a sound occurring around the same time. A recent TMS study (Romei et al.

The responses of professional groups to the use of Section 136 of the Mental Health Act (1983, as amended by the 2007 Act) in Gloucestershire.

Background: Section 136 (S136) of the Mental Health Act (1983, as amended by the 2007 Act) empowers the police to detain those suspected of being mentally disordered in a public place and to convey them to a place of safety (POS) for further assessment. Gloucestershire has not had a specialist facility for S136 detentions and individuals were taken to the police cells or occasionally A&E departments for assessment.

Aims: This paper forms one part of three aspects under investigation.

Interrelationship of serum testosterone, dominance and ovarian cyclicity status in female African elephants.

The African elephant population in North American zoos is not self-sustaining, in part due to the prevalence of ovarian acyclicity. While little is known about the cause of this condition, earlier research has shown that females without cyclic corpus luteum (CL) function rank higher in the dominance hierarchy than females with cyclic CL function. The goal of this study was to measure longitudinal serum testosterone concentrations in captive female African elephants to determine if there is a relationship among serum testosterone concentrations, social dominance rank and ovarian cyclicity status.

Re-engineering multicloning sites for function and convenience.

Multicloning sites (MCSs) in standard expression vectors are widely used and thought to be benign, non-interacting elements that exist for mere convenience. However, MCSs impose a necessary distance between promoter elements and genes of interest. As a result, the choice of cloning site defines the genetic context and may introduce significant mRNA secondary structure in the 5'-untranslated region leading to strong translation inhibition.

Osteopathic graduate medical education 2011.

The authors report on the status of osteopathic graduate medical education training for the 2009-2010 academic year. Data are presented on approved programs and trainee positions, including distribution by state and by specialty. An update on the impact of restructuring the internship year into specialty residencies is provided, indicating no net loss of training positions related to this initiate.

Effects of reproductive history on symptoms of menopause: a brief report.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between reproductive history and menopausal symptoms among urban women.

Methods: This was a cohort study of women aged 35 to 47 years recruited in Philadelphia, PA. Two hundred ninety-one premenopausal women meeting the study eligibility criteria and contributing reproductive health history and infertility information completed the assessments of occurrence and severity of several menopausal symptoms over a 14-year period.

Duration of menopausal hot flushes and associated risk factors.

Objective: To estimate the duration of moderate-to-severe menopausal hot flushes and identify potential risk factors for hot flush duration.

Methods: The Penn Ovarian Aging Study cohort was monitored for 13 years. Hot flushes were evaluated at 9-month to 12-month intervals through in-person interviews.

Social matching of food intake and the need for social acceptance.

In a social eating context individuals tend to match their food intake to that of eating companions, regardless of whether the other person is eating a large amount. However, relatively little is known about the underlying processes of food intake matching. Findings from behavioural mimicry research suggest that individuals may copy how those around them act in order to facilitate social interactions and ingratiate themselves.

Analysis of the mitochondrial proteome in multiple sclerosis cortex.

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been proposed to play a role in the neuropathology of multiple sclerosis (MS). Previously, we reported significant alterations in the transcription of nuclear-encoded electron transport chain genes in MS and confirmed translational alterations for components of Complexes I and III that resulted in reductions in their activity. To more thoroughly and efficiently elucidate potential alterations in the expression of mitochondrial and related proteins, we have characterized the mitochondrial proteome in postmortem MS and control cortex using Surface-Enhanced Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS).

The Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool revised for adolescents (PSST-A): prevalence of severe PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder in adolescents.

The Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool was modified for use in adolescents and piloted in 578 girls at three international sites. Nearly one third (29.6%) reported experiencing severe PMS or PMDD, with irritability being the most commonly reported symptom.

A comparison of sung and spoken phonation onset gestures using high-speed digital imaging.

Phonation onset is important in the maintenance of healthy vocal production for speech and singing. The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine differences in vocal fold vibratory behavior between sung and spoken phonation onset gestures. Given the greater degree of precision required for the abrupt onset sung gestures, we hypothesize that differences exist in the timing and coordination of the vocal fold adductory gesture with the onset of vocal fold vibration.

Efficacy of escitalopram for hot flashes in healthy menopausal women: a randomized controlled trial.

Context: Concerns regarding the risks associated with estrogen and progesterone to manage menopausal symptoms have resulted in its declining use and increased interest in nonhormonal treatments with demonstrated efficacy for hot flashes.

Objective: To determine the efficacy and tolerability of 10 to 20 mg/d escitalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, in alleviating the frequency, severity, and bother of menopausal hot flashes.

Design, Setting, And Patients: A multicenter, 8-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial that enrolled 205 women (95 African American; 102 white; 8 other) between July 2009 and June 2010.

Towards a consensus on diagnostic criteria, measurement and trial design of the premenstrual disorders: the ISPMD Montreal consensus.

Premenstrual disorders (PMD) are characterised by a cluster of somatic and psychological symptoms of varying severity that occur during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and resolve during menses (Freeman and Sondheimer, Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry 5:30-39, 2003; Halbreich, Gynecol Endocrinol 19:320-334, 2004). Although PMD have been widely recognised for many decades, their precise cause is still unknown and there are no definitive, universally accepted diagnostic criteria. To consider this issue, an international multidisciplinary group of experts met at a face-to-face consensus meeting to review current definitions and diagnostic criteria for PMD.