Transscleral Pars Plana Choroid Ablation Using the Iridex Laser System Yields Improvements for Surgical Insertion of the Port Delivery Implant in a Minipig Model.

Purpose: To evaluate an alternative surgical approach for Port Delivery System with ranibizumab (PDS) implant and a novel application of Iridex laser system in Gottingen minipig model.

Methods: A total of seventeen male minipigs (Part 1: 9 animals in non-recovery and Part 2: 8 animals observed for 8-days post-surgery Part 2) received PDS implant insertion into each eye. The effect of Iridex 810 nm infrared diode laser with varying energy (power or duration) on transscleral pars plana ablation, surrounding ocular tissue and postsurgical vitreous hemorrhage (VH) was investigated.

Stability of ranibizumab during continuous delivery from the Port Delivery Platform.

The Port Delivery System with ranibizumab (PDS) is an innovative intraocular drug delivery system that has the potential to reduce treatment burden in patients with retinovascular diseases. The Port Delivery Platform (PD-P) implant is a permanent, indwelling device that can be refilled in situ through a self-sealing septum and is designed to continuously deliver ranibizumab by passive diffusion through a porous titanium release control element. We present results for the studies carried out to characterize the stability of ranibizumab for use with the PD-P.

The Port Delivery System with ranibizumab: a new paradigm for long-acting retinal drug delivery.

The Port Delivery System with ranibizumab (PDS) is an innovative intraocular drug delivery system designed for the continuous delivery of ranibizumab into the vitreous for 6 months and beyond. The PDS includes an ocular implant, a customized formulation of ranibizumab, and four dedicated ancillary devices for initial fill, surgical implantation, refill-exchange, and explantation, if clinically indicated. Ranibizumab is an ideal candidate for the PDS on account of its unique physicochemical stability and high solubility.

End-of-Study Results for the Ladder Phase 2 Trial of the Port Delivery System with Ranibizumab for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Purpose: To report the end-of-study results from the Ladder clinical trial of the Port Delivery System with ranibizumab (PDS) for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD).

Design: Multicenter, randomized, active treatment-controlled phase 2 clinical trial.

Participants: Patients diagnosed with nAMD with a documented response to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment who received study treatment (N = 220).

Statewide Policy Change in Pediatric Dental Care, and the Impact on Pediatric Dental and Physician Visits.

Introduction In 2007, the California signed legislation mandating a dental visit for all children entering kindergarten or first grade; no such mandate was made for physician visits. This study examines the impact of this policy change on the risk factors associated with obtaining pediatric dental and physician health care visits. Methods Every 2 years, California Health Interview Survey conducts a statewide survey on a representative community sample.

Racial/ethnic differences in life-course heavy drinking from adolescence to midlife.

Information on heavy drinking over the life course might help to explain racial/ethnic disparities in alcohol-related problems, morbidity, and mortality. Using data from the 2009-2010 U.S.

Applicability of Type A/B alcohol dependence in the general population.

Background: This study examined the concurrent and predictive validity of Type A/B alcohol dependence in the general population-a typology developed in clinical populations to gauge severity of dependence.

Methods: Data were drawn from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). The sample included 1,172 alcohol-dependent drinkers at baseline who were reinterviewed three years later.

Disparities in the use and quality of alcohol treatment services and some proposed solutions to narrow the gap.

Objectives: This study assessed racial-ethnic disparities in access to high-quality treatment for at-risk drinking and alcohol abuse in the United States and simulated strategies to narrow the gap.

Methods: Longitudinal data collected in 2001-2002 and 2004-2005 from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions were analyzed to examine racial-ethnic disparities in receipt of alcohol interventions that were provided in primary care and specialty treatment settings and that met published clinical guidelines. The sample consisted of 9,116 respondents who met criteria for at-risk drinking or alcohol abuse in 2001-2002.

Toward a better understanding of when to apply propensity scoring: a comparison with conventional regression in ethnic disparities research.

Purpose: Despite growing popularity of propensity score (PS) methods used in ethnic disparities studies, many researchers lack clear understanding of when to use PS in place of conventional regression models. One such scenario is presented here: When the relationship between ethnicity and primary care utilization is confounded with and modified by socioeconomic status. Here, standard regression fails to produce an overall disparity estimate, whereas PS methods can through the choice of a reference sample (RS) to which the effect estimate is generalized.

Life course outcomes on mental and physical health: the impact of foster care on adulthood.

Objective: We compared the prevalence rates of mental health and physical health problems between adults with histories of childhood foster care and those without.

Methods: We used 2003-2005 California Health Interview Survey data (n = 70,456) to test our hypothesis that adults with childhood histories of foster care will report higher rates of mental and physical health concerns, including those that affect the ability to work, than will those without.

Results: Adults with a history of childhood foster care had more than twice the odds of receiving Social Security Disability Insurance because they were unable to work owing to mental or physical health problems for the past year, even after stratifying by age and adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

Common needs but divergent interventions for U.S. homeless and foster care children: results from a systematic review.

Many children living in homeless situations in the U.S. have temporary stays in foster care, and both populations suffer disproportionately higher rates of physical, psychological and social difficulties compared with other children.

Sources of biased inference in alcohol and drug services research: an instrumental variable approach.

Objective: This study examined the potential for biased inference due to endogeneity when using standard approaches for modeling the utilization of alcohol and drug treatment.

Method: Results from standard regression analysis were compared with those that controlled for endogeneity using instrumental variables estimation. Comparable models predicted the likelihood of receiving alcohol treatment based on the widely used Aday and Andersen medical care-seeking model.

Faecal occult blood screening: knowledge, attitudes, and practice in four Hong Kong primary care clinics.

OBJECTIVES. To assess primary care patients for their awareness, knowledge, and attitude towards colorectal cancer and screening, to report on the uptake of faecal occult blood test screening and the results of screening, and explore predictors of screening uptake. DESIGN.

Do Alcohol Warning Labels Influence Men's and Women's Attempts to Deter Others from Driving When Intoxicated?

Research on the federally mandated alcohol warning label has found mixed results, but some findings are consistent with a modest influence on precautionary behaviors to reduce drinkers' self-reported drunk driving. We hypothesized that warnings would also influence the likelihood of intervening to deter other's driving after drinking. Using data from 1376 adult drinkers in a US national survey, a conceptual model reflecting effects of exposure to the label's drunk driving message on taking actions to avert another's driving under the influence was tested in a structural equation modeling framework.

Long-term and chronic homelessness in homeless women and women with children.

The Chronic Homelessness initiative has directed millions of federal dollars to services for single "unaccompanied homeless" individuals, specifically excluding women living with their children. Using a data set with a nationally representative sample of homeless adults, we calculated the prevalence rates and profiles of long-term homelessness in homeless women (n = 849). With the exception of the criterion of being a single "unaccompanied individual," many women, including women with children, met the criteria for chronic homelessness including having a disability of mental health or substance abuse problems.

Modeling cognitive influences on drinking and alcohol problems.

Objective: We explored the relationships between two domains of alcohol-related cognitions (expectations and reasons for drinking) and their associations with alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence. It is hypothesized that alcohol-related cognitions will relate directly to drinking behaviors and indirectly to alcohol dependence.

Method: Data came from the 1995 National Alcohol Survey, which included black and Hispanic oversamples.

The link between homeless women's mental health and service system use.

Objective: With high rates of psychiatric and substance use problems, homeless women need a wide variety of services. This study, focusing on homeless women with and without symptoms of mental illness, examined the association of predisposing, enabling, and need factors (based on Aday-Andersen's health services utilization model) with use of behavioral, medical, and human services.

Methods: Data from 738 homeless women from the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients were analyzed.

Concurrent and simultaneous drug and alcohol use: results of the 2000 National Alcohol Survey.

This study estimates the prevalence, assesses predictors and evaluates factors associated with concurrent and simultaneous use of drugs and alcohol in the United States population. Using data from the 2000 National Alcohol Survey (n=7612), respondents were asked if they used specific drugs in the last 12 months. Current drinkers who reported using each type of drug were asked if they used alcohol and the drug at the same time.

Impact of adulthood trauma on homeless mothers.

Using the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients (NSHAPC), we found that among homeless mothers (n = 588), those living without their children were more likely to: be older than 35 years, unmarried, have been incarcerated, have been homeless for at least 1 year, and to have used psychiatric medication. Many homeless mothers had histories of childhood trauma, but it was the accumulation of adulthood traumas that was associated with not living with one's children. Without mental health treatment, younger homeless mothers living with their children today may become the homeless mothers living without their children in the future.

Secreted PDZD2 exerts concentration-dependent effects on the proliferation of INS-1E cells.

PDZD2 (PDZ domain containing 2) is a multi-PDZ protein expressed in pancreas and many other tissues. PDZD2 shows extensive homology to pro-interleukin-16 (pro-IL-16) and is localized mainly to the endoplasmic reticulum. We have recently demonstrated that PDZD2, like pro-IL-16, is proteolytically cleaved at its C-terminus to generate a secreted protein, sPDZD2 (for secreted PDZD2).

Adverse childhood events, substance abuse, and measures of affiliation.

Adverse childhood events may influence later behaviors, including adulthood substance use and social affiliation. Studies have noted high prevalence rates of adverse childhood experiences and adulthood substance abuse among homeless adults. Using an existing longitudinal, countywide probability sample of 397 homeless adults, we examine the relationships among adverse childhood events on adulthood substance use, and the relationship of these variables to affiliation.

Longitudinal perspective: adverse childhood events, substance use, and labor force participation among homeless adults.

Objectives: We examined the long-term effects of adverse childhood events on adulthood substance use, social service utilization, and subsequent labor force participation.

Methods: A county-wide probability sample of 397 homeless adults was interviewed three times in a 15-month period. By using a path model, literature-based relationships between adverse childhood events and labor force participation with the mediating effects of adulthood substance use and service use were tested.

Substance use and separation of homeless mothers from their children.

Objectives: This study examined whether homeless mothers with substance use problems were more likely to experience separations from their children and whether recent substance use had an impact on the family's ability to receive public entitlement income consistently over the 15-month study period.

Methods: This study used an existing longitudinal data set consisting of a county-wide probability sample of 104 homeless women who had children under 18 years old.

Results: Only 29.

Disaffiliation, substance use, and exiting homelessness.

This study tested whether social affiliation was associated with exits from homelessness for a county-wide probability sample of 397 homeless adults who were followed over a 15-month period culminating in 1992. For the total sample, support from family or friends and service use were related to an increased likelihood of exiting from homelessness. Surprisingly, exits from homelessness were associated with social affiliation (i.