Research Priorities for Optimizing Geriatric Pharmacotherapy: An International Consensus.

Medication management is becoming increasingly challenging for older people, and there is limited evidence to guide medication prescribing and administration for people with multimorbidity, frailty, or at the end of life. Currently, there is a lack of clear research priorities in the field of geriatric pharmacotherapy. To address this issue, international experts from 5 research groups in geriatric pharmacotherapy and pharmacoepidemiology research were invited to attend the inaugural Optimizing Geriatric Pharmacotherapy through Pharmacoepidemiology Network workshop.

Removal of metals from industrial wastewater and urban runoff by mineral and bio-based sorbents.

The study was performed to evaluate chemically modified biosorbents, hydrochloric acid treated peat (HCl-P) and citric acid treated sawdust (Citric acid-SD) for their metal removal capacity from dilute industrial wastewater and urban runoff and compare their efficiency with that of commercially available mineral sorbents (AQM PalPower M10 and AQM PalPower T5M5 magnetite). Batch and column experiments were conducted using real water samples to assess the sorbents' metal sorption capacity. AQM PalPower M10 (consisting mainly of magnesium, iron and silicon oxides) exhibited excellent Zn removal from both industrial wastewater and spiked runoff water samples even at low dosages (0.

Antipsychotics and mortality in a nationwide cohort of 29,823 patients with schizophrenia.

Introduction: It has remained controversial if antipsychotic treatment is associated with increased or decreased mortality among patients with schizophrenia, and if there are any clinically meaningful differences between specific agents and routes of administration.

Methods: We linked prospectively gathered nationwide register-based data during 2006-2013 to study all-cause mortality among all patients aged 16-64years with schizophrenia in Sweden (N=29,823 in total; N=4603 in the incident cohort). Multivariate Cox regression models were adjusted for clinical and sociodemographic covariates.

Comparative Effectiveness of Antipsychotic Drugs for Rehospitalization in Schizophrenia-A Nationwide Study With 20-Year Follow-up.

Very little is known about the comparative long-term effectiveness of novel antipsychotics in relapse prevention, especially in first-episode schizophrenia. Nationwide data from Finnish health care registers were gathered prospectively for all persons with periods of inpatient care due to schizophrenia in Finland during 1972-2014. Altogether 62250 persons were included in the prevalent cohort, and 8719 in the incident (first-episode schizophrenia) cohort.

The repetitive landscape of the 5100 Mbp barley genome.

Background: While transposable elements (TEs) comprise the bulk of plant genomic DNA, how they contribute to genome structure and organization is still poorly understood. Especially in large genomes where TEs make the majority of genomic DNA, it is still unclear whether TEs target specific chromosomal regions or whether they simply accumulate where they are best tolerated.

Results: Here, we present an analysis of the repetitive fraction of the 5100 Mb barley genome, the largest angiosperm genome to have a near-complete sequence assembly.

Properties of vanadium-loaded iron sorbent after alkali regeneration.

The aim of this research was to investigate the regeneration and reuse of a commercial granular iron sorbent (mainly goethite) when used in vanadium removal. A regeneration rate of 3 M NaOH was the highest (85%) achieved, followed by 2 M NaOH (79%) and 1 M NaOH (68%). The breakthrough curves show that the regenerated material can be reused.

Risk of death associated with new benzodiazepine use among persons with Alzheimer disease: A matched cohort study.

Objective: To investigate the risk of death associated with new benzodiazepine and related drug (BZDR) use in a nationwide cohort of persons with Alzheimer disease (AD).

Methods: The register-based MEDALZ cohort, including all community-dwelling Finns diagnosed with AD during 2005 to 2011 (n = 70 718), was used. Clinically verified AD diagnoses were obtained from the Special Reimbursement Register.

Detection of subclonal L1 transductions in colorectal cancer by long-distance inverse-PCR and Nanopore sequencing.

Long interspersed nuclear elements-1 (L1s) are a large family of retrotransposons. Retrotransposons are repetitive sequences that are capable of autonomous mobility via a copy-and-paste mechanism. In most copy events, only the L1 sequence is inserted, however, they can also mobilize the flanking non-repetitive region by a process known as 3' transduction.

Enhancing peat metal sorption and settling characteristics.

Peat is an excellent material for metal sorption since it naturally contains different kinds of functional groups that can sorb metal cations from water. The main objective of this work was to test low-cost treatment (acid and alkali) methods for natural peat, which would improve the settling properties of peat particles while maintaining its metal removal efficiency. Particularly, the poor settling properties of peat hinder its practical application.

On electrophysiological signal complexity during biological neuronal network development and maturation.

Developing neuronal populations are assumed to increase their synaptic interactions and generate synchronized activity, such as bursting, during maturation. These effects may arise from increasing interactions of neuronal populations and increasing simultaneous intra-population activity in developing networks. In this paper, we investigated the neuronal network activity and its complexity by means of self-similarity during neuronal network development.

Is Alzheimer's Disease Associated with Previous Opioid Use?

Objective: We investigated whether opioid use, duration of use, and cumulative dose are associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: A Finnish nationwide nested case-control study, MEDALZ, included 70,718 individuals with AD and up to four age-, sex-, and region of residence-matched comparison individuals. The cohort included all Finnish persons with a clinically verified AD diagnosis during 2005 to 2011; the mean age was 80 years (SD = 7 years), and 65% were women.

Genome-wide association study and meta-analysis in Northern European populations replicate multiple colorectal cancer risk loci.

Genome-wide association studies have been successful in elucidating the genetic basis of colorectal cancer (CRC), but there remains unexplained variability in genetic risk. To identify new risk variants and to confirm reported associations, we conducted a genome-wide association study in 1,701 CRC cases and 14,082 cancer-free controls from the Finnish population. A total of 9,068,015 genetic variants were imputed and tested, and 30 promising variants were studied in additional 11,647 cases and 12,356 controls of European ancestry.

Multigenerational Effects on Children's Cognitive and Socioemotional Outcomes: A Within-Child Investigation.

Associations between grandparental investment and child outcomes were investigated using three waves of a longitudinal British Millennium Cohort Study that included children between the ages of 9 months and 5 years (n = 24,614 person-observations from 13,744 children). Grandparental investment was measured by parent-grandparent contact frequency and grandparental financial support. Child cognitive development was measured using the British Ability Scale and socioemotional outcomes using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire.

Intergenerational relations before and after offspring arrive: A within-person investigation.

The birth of a child may re-orientate the relations between adult children and their parents; however, the previous studies on the topic are both scarce and methodologically limited. The current study investigates whether younger adults' entry into parenthood (i.e.

Drug exposure in register-based research-An expert-opinion based evaluation of methods.

Background: In register-based pharmacoepidemiological studies, construction of drug exposure periods from drug purchases is a major methodological challenge. Various methods have been applied but their validity is rarely evaluated. Our objective was to conduct an expert-opinion based evaluation of the correctness of drug use periods produced by different methods.

Pro-inflammatory fatty acid profile and colorectal cancer risk: A Mendelian randomisation analysis.

Background: While dietary fat has been established as a risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC), associations between fatty acids (FAs) and CRC have been inconsistent. Using Mendelian randomisation (MR), we sought to evaluate associations between polyunsaturated (PUFA), monounsaturated (MUFA) and saturated FAs (SFAs) and CRC risk.

Methods: We analysed genotype data on 9254 CRC cases and 18,386 controls of European ancestry.

Risk of head and traumatic brain injuries associated with antidepressant use among community-dwelling persons with Alzheimer's disease: a nationwide matched cohort study.

Background: Antidepressant use has been associated with an increased risk of falling, but no studies have been conducted on whether antidepressant use is associated with an increased risk of head injuries which often result from falling among older persons. The objective of this study was to investigate the risk of head and brain injuries associated with antidepressant use among community-dwelling persons with Alzheimer's disease.

Methods: A matched cohort study was conducted by comparing new antidepressant users (n = 10,910) with two matched nonusers (n = 21,820) in the MEDALZ study cohort.

No Association Between Proton Pump Inhibitor Use and Risk of Alzheimer's Disease.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to investigate whether proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use is associated with an increased risk of clinically verified Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: A Finnish nationwide nested case-control study MEDALZ includes all community-dwelling individuals with newly diagnosed AD during 2005-2011 (N=70,718), and up to four age-, sex-, and region of residence-matched comparison individuals for each case (N=282,858). Data were extracted from Finnish nationwide health-care registers.

Lead field theory provides a powerful tool for designing microelectrode array impedance measurements for biological cell detection and observation.

Background: Our aim is to introduce a method to enhance the design process of microelectrode array (MEA) based electric bioimpedance measurement systems for improved detection and viability assessment of living cells and tissues. We propose the application of electromagnetic lead field theory and reciprocity for MEA design and measurement result interpretation. Further, we simulated impedance spectroscopy (IS) with two- and four-electrode setups and a biological cell to illustrate the tool in the assessment of the capabilities of given MEA electrode constellations for detecting cells on or in the vicinity of the microelectrodes.

Comprehensive Evaluation of Protein Coding Mononucleotide Microsatellites in Microsatellite-Unstable Colorectal Cancer.

Approximately 15% of colorectal cancers exhibit microsatellite instability (MSI), which leads to accumulation of large numbers of small insertions and deletions (indels). Genes that provide growth advantage to cells via loss-of-function mutations in microsatellites are called MSI target genes. Several criteria to define these genes have been suggested, one of them being simple mutation frequency.

Real-World Effectiveness of Antipsychotic Treatments in a Nationwide Cohort of 29 823 Patients With Schizophrenia.

Importance: It has remained unclear whether there are clinically meaningful differences between antipsychotic treatments with regard to preventing relapse of schizophrenia, owing to the impossibility of including large unselected patient populations in randomized clinical trials, as well as residual confounding from selection biases in observational studies.

Objective: To study the comparative real-world effectiveness of antipsychotic treatments for patients with schizophrenia.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Prospectively gathered nationwide databases were linked to study the risk of rehospitalization and treatment failure from July 1, 2006, to December 31, 2013, among all patients in Sweden with a schizophrenia diagnosis who were 16 to 64 years of age in 2006 (29 823 patients in the total prevalent cohort; 4603 in the incident cohort of newly diagnosed patients).

Pharmacological treatments and risk of readmission to hospital for unipolar depression in Finland: a nationwide cohort study.

Background: Little is known about the comparative effectiveness of long-term pharmacological treatments for severe unipolar depression. We aimed to study the effectiveness of pharmacological treatments in relapse prevention in a nationwide cohort of patients who had been admitted to hospital at least once as a result of unipolar depression.

Methods: Our nationwide cohort study investigated the risk of readmission to hospital in 1996-2012 in all patients in Finland who had been admitted to hospital at least once for unipolar depression (without a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder) in Finland between Jan 1, 1987, and Dec 31, 2012.

Long-term use of proton pump inhibitors among community-dwelling persons with and without Alzheimer's disease.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of use and long-term use (≥180 days) of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and associated factors among community-dwellers with and without Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: MEDALZ cohort encompassed all persons who received a verified diagnosis of AD in Finland during the years 2005-2011 and their age-, sex-, and region of residence-matched comparison persons, including 69,353 persons with and 69,353 persons without AD. Data was derived from several Finnish administrative registers.

Screening approach for identifying candidate drugs and drug-drug interactions related to hip fracture risk in persons with Alzheimer disease.

Purpose: To assess whether a "drugome-wide" screen with case-crossover design is a feasible approach for identifying candidate drugs and drug-drug interactions.

Methods: All community-dwelling residents of Finland who received a clinically verified Alzheimer disease diagnosis in 2005 to 2011 and experienced incident hip fracture (HF) afterwards (N = 4851). Three scenarios were used to test the sensitivity of this approach (1) hazard period 0 to 30 and control period 31 to 61 days before HF, (2) hazard period 0 to 30 and control period 336 to 366 days before HF, and (3) hazard period 0 to 14 and control period 16 to 30 days before HF.

Incident Use of a Potentially Inappropriate Medication and Hip Fracture in Community-Dwelling Older Persons With Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) increase the risk of adverse drug reactions and events and have been associated with greater health care service use, such as an increased risk of hospitalization.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between PIM use and hip fractures in a nationwide cohort of community-dwelling persons ≥65 years old with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: The study, which is based on the Finnish nationwide MEDALZ cohort, included all persons diagnosed with AD between 2005 and 2011 (n = 70 718).