Perinatal and sociodemographic factors at birth predicting conduct problems and violence to age 18 years: comparison of Brazilian and British birth cohorts.

Background: Many low- and middle-income countries have high levels of violence. Research in high-income countries shows that risk factors in the perinatal period are significant precursors of conduct problems which can develop into violence. It is not known whether the same early influences are important in lower income settings with higher rates of violence.

National record linkage study of mortality for a large cohort of opioid users ascertained by drug treatment or criminal justice sources in England, 2005-2009.

Background: Globally, opioid drug use is an important cause of premature mortality. In many countries, opioid using populations are ageing. The current study investigates mortality in a large cohort of opioid users; with a focus on testing whether excess mortality changes with age.

Genomic influences on alcohol problems in a population-based sample of young adults.

Aims: Alcohol problems (AP) contribute substantially to the global disease burden. Twin and family studies suggest that AP are genetically influenced, although few studies have identified variants or genes that are robustly associated with risk. This study identifies genetic and genomic influences on AP during young adulthood, which is often when drinking habits are established.

Childhood behaviour problems predict crime and violence in late adolescence: Brazilian and British birth cohort studies.

Purpose: Most children live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), many of which have high levels of violence. Research in high-income countries (HICs) shows that childhood behaviour problems are important precursors of crime and violence. Evidence is lacking on whether this is also true in LMICs.

Re-evaluating cost effectiveness of universal meningitis vaccination (Bexsero) in England: modelling study.

Objective: To use mathematical and economic models to predict the epidemiological and economic impact of vaccination with Bexsero, designed to protect against group B meningococcal disease, to help inform vaccine policy in the United Kingdom.

Design: Modelling study.

Setting: England.

HCV treatment rates and sustained viral response among people who inject drugs in seven UK sites: real world results and modelling of treatment impact.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) antiviral treatment for people who inject drugs (PWID) could prevent onwards transmission and reduce chronic prevalence. We assessed current PWID treatment rates in seven UK settings and projected the potential impact of current and scaled-up treatment on HCV chronic prevalence. Data on number of PWID treated and sustained viral response rates (SVR) were collected from seven UK settings: Bristol (37-48% HCV chronic prevalence among PWID), East London (37-48%), Manchester (48-56%), Nottingham (37-44%), Plymouth (30-37%), Dundee (20-27%) and North Wales (27-33%).

Mental fixation and metacognitive predictions of insight in creative problem solving.

Five experiments examined the influence of exposure to fixating information on metacognitive judgements of insight in creative problem solving. Participants were briefly presented with a series of Remote Associates Test problems and were asked to predict the likelihood of solving the problems at a later time. Before making predictions, however, participants were exposed to cue-response pairs designed to induce fixation.

Evaluating the role of a galanin enhancer genotype on a range of metabolic, depressive and addictive phenotypes.

There is a large body of pre-clinical and some clinical data to link the neuropeptide galanin to a range of physiological and pathological functions that include metabolism, depression, and addiction. An enhancer region upstream of the human GAL transcriptional start site has previously been characterised. In-vitro transfection studies in rat hypothalamic neurons demonstrated that the CA allele was 40% less active than the GG allele in driving galanin expression.

Direct comparison of the efficacy and safety of oral treatments with oleylphosphocholine (OlPC) and miltefosine in a mouse model of L. major cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) represents a range of skin diseases caused by infection with Leishmania parasites and associated with tissue inflammation and skin ulceration. CL is clinically widespread in both the Old and New World but lacks treatments that are well tolerated, effective and inexpensive. Oleylphosphocholine (OlPC) is a new orally bioavailable drug of the alkylphosphocholine family with potent antileishmanial activity against a broad range of Leishmania species/strains.

Adolescent alcohol use is positively associated with later depression in a population-based U.K. cohort.

Objective: Alcohol use and internalizing problems are often positively associated during adolescence and adulthood. However, the basis of this relationship remains poorly understood, and longitudinal data collected in population-based samples could improve the development of etiological models.

Method: Using a prospective population-based U.

Origin replication complex binding, nucleosome depletion patterns, and a primary sequence motif can predict origins of replication in a genome with epigenetic centromeres.

Unlabelled: Origins of DNA replication are key genetic elements, yet their identification remains elusive in most organisms. In previous work, we found that centromeres contain origins of replication (ORIs) that are determined epigenetically in the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. In this study, we used origin recognition complex (ORC) binding and nucleosome occupancy patterns in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Kluyveromyces lactis to train a machine learning algorithm to predict the position of active arm (noncentromeric) origins in the C.

Prevalence of chlamydia in young adulthood and association with life course socioeconomic position: birth cohort study.

Background: Few estimates are available of chlamydia prevalence in the general population. Existing studies have limited scope to explore potential selection bias or associations with socioeconomic position.

Methods: We examined the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection and associations with life-course socioeconomic position in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children in England.

The association between depressive symptoms from early to late adolescence and later use and harmful use of alcohol.

Depressive symptoms and alcohol misuse contribute substantially to the global health burden. These phenotypes often manifest, and frequently co-occur, during adolescence. However, few studies have examined whether both baseline levels of depressive symptoms and change in symptoms are associated with alcohol outcomes.

Associations of cannabis and cigarette use with psychotic experiences at age 18: findings from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

Background: A clearer understanding of the basis for the association between cannabis use and psychotic experiences (PEs) is required. Our aim was to examine the extent to which associations between cannabis and cigarette use and PEs are due to confounding.

Method: A cohort study of 1756 adolescents with data on cannabis use, cigarette use and PEs.

A stepped wedge cluster randomized control trial of dried blood spot testing to improve the uptake of hepatitis C antibody testing within UK prisons.

Background: The prevalence of hepatitis C (HCV) is elevated within prison populations, yet diagnosis in prisons remains low. Dried blood spot testing (DBST) is a simple procedure for the detection of HCV antibodies; its impact on testing in the prison context is unknown.

Methods: We carried out a stepped-wedge cluster-randomized control trial of DBST for HCV among prisoners within five male prisons and one female prison.

Pharmacokinetic evaluation of intravenous artesunate in adults with uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Kenya: a phase II study.

Background: Alternatives to treatment for malaria treatment of travellers are needed in the USA and in Europe for travellers who return with severe malaria infections. The objective of this study is to show the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of intravenous artesunate (AS), which was manufactured under good manufacturing practice (GMP) conditions, in adults with uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Kenya.

Methods: The PK parameters of intravenous AS manufactured under current cGMP were evaluated after a single dose of drug at 2.

Barriers and facilitators to HPV vaccination of young women in high-income countries: a qualitative systematic review and evidence synthesis.

Background: Vaccination against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is recommended for adolescent young women prior to sexual debut to reduce cervical cancer related mortality and morbidity. Understanding factors affecting decision-making of HPV vaccination of young women is important so that effective interventions can be developed which address barriers to uptake in population groups less likely to receive the HPV vaccine.

Methods: We undertook a qualitative systematic review and evidence synthesis to examine decision-making relating to the HPV vaccination of young women in high-income countries.

Errors in reported degrees and respondent driven sampling: implications for bias.

Background: Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) is a network or chain sampling method designed to access individuals from hard-to-reach populations such as people who inject drugs (PWID). RDS surveys are used to monitor behaviour and infection occurence over time; these estimations require adjusting to account for over-sampling of individuals with many contacts. Adjustment is done based on individuals' reported total number of contacts, assuming these are correct.

Socioeconomic status and alcohol-related behaviors in mid- to late adolescence in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

Objective: Prior studies of the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and alcohol consumption and problems in adolescence have been inconclusive. Few studies have examined all three major SES indicators and a broad range of alcohol-related outcomes at different ages.

Method: In the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children cohort, we examined (by logistic regression, with differential weighting to control for attrition) the relationship between family income and parental education and occupational status, and five alcohol outcomes assessed at ages 16 and 18 years.

Multiple risk behaviour in adolescence and socio-economic status: findings from a UK birth cohort.

Background: Patterns of risk behaviour during teenage years may vary by socio-economic status (SES). We aimed to examine possible associations between individual and multiple risk behaviours and three measures of SES in mid-adolescence.

Methods: The sample (n = 6406) comprised participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a UK birth cohort.

Directional relationships between alcohol use and antisocial behavior across adolescence.

Background: The co-occurrence of alcohol use and antisocial behavior is well established, but different hypotheses exist regarding the direction of effects between the 2 behaviors. We used longitudinal data to examine the directional relationship between the 2 behaviors across adolescence.

Methods: A cross-lagged model was applied to longitudinal data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.