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OBJECTIVE Innovative strategies are needed to reduce young adult drinking. Real-time feedback via mobile health (mHealth) technology (e.g., smartphone devices/apps) may facilitate moderate drinking, yet requires evidence of feasibility, acceptability, and usability. METHOD Young adults reporting frequent heavy drinking (N = 99, Mage = 23, 51% male) participated in a manualized, brief, motivational interview on recent typical and peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC), then were randomized to use 1 of the 3 forms of technology: (a) smartphone breathalyzer device/app; (b) app that estimates BAC based on factors including sex, weight, number/types of drinks over time; or (c) self-text messaging after each drink. Technologies were tested initially in small-group laboratory alcohol self-administration sessions. Participants then completed a 2-week field test wherein they had free access to all three technologies. Participants reported on usability and acceptability. RESULTS Laboratory alcohol self-administration did not differ significantly by technology condition. The smartphone breathalyzer and BAC estimator app had favorable acceptability and usability. Participants used at least one form of technology on 67% of drinking days in the field period. In exploratory analyses, alcohol use during the field period was significantly lower than the baseline including a decrease of nearly one drink per drinking day. CONCLUSIONS These findings support the feasibility of research combining lab and field methods to test moderate drinking technologies in young adults. Findings further support the acceptability and usability of these technologies, along with young adults' openness to using them. Exploratory results suggest potential efficacy of combined mobile technology intervention to be tested in subsequent controlled studies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Graphical abstract, Highlights • We report repaired URCS defect concomitant with coronary bypass surgery. • Systematic TEE was used to determine the etiology of isolated dilatation of right heart. • A diagram including the complete spectrum of URCS is provided.

BACKGROUND Previous studies have demonstrated that carefully selected donor hearts (DHs) with poor left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) may be transplanted with long-term survival equivalent to hearts with normal function. The purpose of this study is to facilitate their selection. METHODS Using the United Network for Organ Sharing database, we reviewed all adult heart transplants between January 2000 and March 2016. Regression models were developed to estimate hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals of post-transplant 1-year mortality and failure of EF to recover at 1 year for DHs with EF ≥50%, EF 40%-49.9%, and EF 30%-30.9%. RESULTS During the study period, 31,979 DHs were transplanted. Compared with DHs with left ventricular ejection fraction ≥50%, DHs with reduced EF were younger and had slightly lower body mass index. There were no differences in the mechanism of death between groups and no differences in recipient characteristics, except for a higher incidence of African American recipients of hearts with an EF of 40%-49.9%. Of the variables analyzed, only a 1-hour increase in ischemia time had different hazard ratios for 1-year mortality between groups, with increasing hazard as EF diminished. It was also the only variable that predicted failure of recovery of normal EF and that was in the lowest EF group. CONCLUSIONS The impact of DH traits associated with adverse outcomes after heart transplantation that we studied are similar between DHs with EF

BackgroundBehavioral economic theory predicts that low access to environmental reward is a risk factor for alcohol use disorder (AUD). The Substance-Free Activity Session (SFAS) is a behavioral economic supplement to standard brief alcohol interventions that attempts to increase environmental reward and may therefore have beneficial effects, particularly for individuals with low levels of environmental reward.MethodsParticipants were 393 college students who reported at least 2heavy-drinking episodes in the past month. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions following a baseline assessment: a standard alcohol-focused brief motivational intervention plus relaxation training session (BMI+RT), BMI plus Substance-Free Activity Session (BMI+SFAS), or an assessment-only control condition (AO). In a secondary analysis of the data from this study, we used person-centered statistical techniques to describe trajectories of alcohol severity and environmental reward over a 16-month follow-up and examined whether environmental reward levels moderated the effectiveness of the interventions.ResultsPiecewise growth mixture modeling identified 2 trajectories of reward availability: low increasing (LR; n=120) and high stable (HR; n=273). Depressive symptoms, cannabis use, sensation seeking, and low life satisfaction were associated with a greater probability of classification in the LR trajectory. Alcohol severity was greater in the LR trajectory than the HR trajectory. For students in the LR trajectory, at 1, 6, and 12 months, BMI+SFAS led to greater increases in reward availability and reduced levels of alcohol severity compared with the BMI+RT and AO conditions and at 16months compared with AO.ConclusionsYoung adults with low levels of environmental reward are at heightened risk for greater alcohol severity and may show greater benefit from brief alcohol interventions that focus on increasing substance-free reward than individuals who are not deficient in reward availability.

Background We examined the effect of cold ischemic interval on modern outcomes to determine whether advances in patient management have made an impact. Methods Using the United Network of Organ Sharing database, we reviewed adult heart transplants between January 2000 and March 2016. We divided donor age into terciles: younger than 18 years, 18 to 33 years, and 34 years and older. Within each tercile, transplants were divided by cold ischemic interval of less than 4 hours, 4 to 6 hours, and more than 6 hours. Survival curves were compared between cold ischemic interval categories within each tercile. Covariate-adjusted and donor age-stratified Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate overall mortality and graft failure hazards ratios. Results Of 29,192 transplants, no significant differences between cold ischemic interval groups in survival or graft failure were apparent in the group aged younger than 18. For donors older than 18, significant differences were found for survival and graft failure with cold ischemic interval exceeding 4 hours in both univariate and multivariate analysis, and survival functions at different ischemic intervals continued to diverge beyond 1 year. The interaction effect between donor age and cold ischemic interval on overall mortality was not significant when analyzed as continuous variables, however younger donor age appeared to attenuate increase in overall mortality with longer cold ischemic intervals. Conclusions Despite advances in perioperative management during the past 30 years, for donors older than 18 years, cold ischemic interval exceeding 4 hours is associated with gradual but significantly diminished survival that persists well beyond the perioperative period. Comparison to historical data suggests that advances in management have somewhat attenuated the hazard associated with longer ischemic times.

Objective Despite small single-center reports demonstrating acceptable outcomes using donor hearts with left ventricular dysfunction, 19% of potential donor hearts are currently unused exclusively because of left ventricular dysfunction. We investigated modern long-term survival of transplanted donor hearts with left ventricular dysfunction using a large, diverse cohort. Methods Using the United Network for Organ Sharing database, we reviewed all adult heart transplants between January 2000 and March 2016. Baseline and postoperative characteristics and Kaplan–Meier survival curves were compared. A covariates-adjusted Cox regression model was developed to estimate post-transplant mortality. To address observed variation in patient profile across donor ejection fraction, a propensity score was built using Cox predictors as covariates in a generalized multiple linear regression model. All the variables in the original Cox model were included. For each recipient, a predicted donor ejection fraction was generated and exported as a new balancing score that was used in a subsequent Cox model. Cubic spline analysis suggested that at most 3 and perhaps no ejection fraction categories were appropriate. Therefore, in 1 Cox model we added donor ejection fraction as a grouped variable (using the spline-directed categories) and in the other as a continuous variable. Results A total of 31,712 donor hearts were transplanted during the study period. A total of 742 donor hearts were excluded for no recorded left ventricular ejection fraction, and 20 donor hearts were excluded for left ventricular ejection fraction less than 20%. Donor hearts with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction were from younger donors, more commonly male donors, and donors with lower body mass index than normal donor hearts. Recipients of donor hearts with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction were more likely to be on mechanical ventilation. Kaplan–Meier curves revealed no significant differences in recipient survival up to 15 years of follow-up (P = .694 log-rank test). Cox regression analysis showed that after adjustment for propensity variation, transplant year, and region, ejection fraction had no statistically significant impact on mortality when analyzed as a categoric or continuous variable. Left ventricular ejection fraction at approximately 1 year after transplantation was normal for all groups. Conclusions Carefully selected donor hearts with even markedly diminished left ventricular ejection fraction can be transplanted with long-term survival equivalent to normal donor hearts and therefore should not be excluded from consideration on the basis of depressed left ventricular ejection fraction alone. Functional recovery of even the most impaired donor hearts in this study suggests that studies of left ventricular function in the setting of brain death should be interpreted cautiously.

Tailgating drinking prior to a football game is a type of event-specific drinking associated with increased alcohol use and related problems. Personalized drinking feedback interventions (PFI) are efficacious in reducing alcohol use and problems. The current study aimed to advance understanding of event-specific interventions by examining: (1) the efficacy of an event-specific, text message PFI on tailgating alcohol outcomes, and (2) the extent to which intervention effects generalize to "typical" alcohol outcomes at 1-month follow-up. College students (N = 130; 71% female; 92% white) who reported tailgating within the past 30 days and binge drinking when tailgating in the past year completed assessments on tailgating and typical alcohol use. They were randomly assigned to one of two text message conditions delivered on the morning of a home football game: event-specific PFI (TXT PFI) or a control condition. Multilevel modeling examined the association of treatment condition on tailgating and 1-month alcohol outcomes. When tailgating, participants in TXT PFI reported lower estimated peak blood alcohol concentration (eBAC) and consumed less drinks than the control condition. At the 1-month "typical" drinking follow-up, participants in TXT PFI reported lower peak eBAC and fewer alcohol-related problems than the control condition. Perceived tailgating drinking norms were found to statistically mediate the relationship between condition and alcohol outcome at tailgating and 1-month follow-ups. Findings provide preliminary support for the efficacy of an event-specific, text message PFI in reducing both tailgating and typical drinking alcohol outcomes. Event-specific TXT PFI can be used for prevention/intervention of alcohol misuse.

Author(s): Acuff, Samuel F; Voss, Andrew T; Dennhardt, Ashley A; Borsari, Brian; Martens, Matthew P; Murphy, James G | Abstract: BackgroundAlcohol-induced blackouts, a form of anterograde amnesia that restricts the encoding of short-term memories into long-term ones, are among the most severe alcohol-related consequences. College students are at high risk of experiencing alcohol-induced blackouts, and there is a need to determine whether alcohol interventions can effectively reduce blackouts in this population. The current study uses data from 3 randomized clinical trials to examine the effect of various intervention approaches on alcohol-induced blackouts.MethodsFour interventions were compared over 3 studies: (i) a computerized feedback intervention (electronic Check-Up To Go [e-Chug]; Study 1); (ii) a single-session brief motivational intervention (BMI; Study 1); (iii) a BMI plus behavioral economic session focused on increasing substance-free activities (BMI + Substance-Free Activity Session [SFAS]; Studies 2 and 3); and (iv) a BMI plus supplemental Relaxation Training session (BMI + Relaxation Training; Studies 2 and 3). Studies 1 and 3 also included an assessment-only control condition. For each study, participants reported whether they had experienced an alcohol-induced blackout at each time point; binary logistic regressions examined differential likelihood of experiencing an alcohol-induced blackout over time.ResultsNeither the single-session BMI nor e-Chug reduced alcohol-induced blackouts over assessment only; however, participants in the BMI + SFAS or BMI + Relaxation Training condition were significantly less likely to experience an alcohol-induced blackout compared to assessment only at 1-month (Wald = 4.77, odds ratio [OR] = 0.53, p = 0.03) and 6-month follow-ups (Wald = 5.72, OR = 0.52, p = 0.02). Study 2 also revealed a larger effect for the BMI + SFAS over the BMI + Relaxation Training condition at 6 months (Wald = 4.11 OR = 0.22, p = 0.043), although this was not replicated in Study 3. The effects for the 2-session BMIs lasted 6 months, at which point maturation effects diminished differences between assessment-only and intervention conditions.ConclusionsTwo sessions of BMI are a substantial enough dose to result in reductions in alcohol-induced blackouts among college student heavy drinkers.

Many returning OIF/OEF/OND Veterans are seeking higher education in an effort to develop a meaningful career and financial stability. Evidence suggests that student service members/veterans (SSM/Vs) are experiencing less academic success than other students. The purpose of this review is to identify the unique challenges of SSM/Vs and evaluate current campus efforts to facilitate their retention and academic performance. With a focus on SSM/Vs attending colleges and universities, we obtained 57 peer-reviewed and 73 gray literature records published between 2001 and 2015. The current SSM/V literature contains an abundance of gray literature, and the empirical research tends to be limited by cross-sectional design and small sample sizes. SSM/Vs encounter significant personal and environmental challenges when transitioning from the military to college campuses. A variety of services have been developed to address the needs of the SSM/V population, but the efficacy of these services remains largely unknown. In conclusion, there is a clear need to provide education to faculty, students, and staff regarding the experiences of SSM/Vs. Efforts to enhance screening for, availability of, and SSM/V engagement in mental health services would also be beneficial, as would improved availability of and SSM/V access to academic support. All future programs designed to address the unique challenges of SSM/Vs in the academic environment should also be systematically implemented and evaluated. (PsycINFO Database Record

College students’ use of protective behavioral strategies (PBS; e.g., determining not to exceed a set number of drinks, avoiding drinking games) is related to lower levels of alcohol consumption and problems. The present study evaluated the efficacy of a novel brief, single-session group PBS skills training intervention aimed at increasing college students’ use of PBS and reducing risky drinking and consequences. Participants (N = 226) were heavy-drinking incoming first-year college women randomized to either a PBS skills training intervention or study skills control condition. Participants attended a 45-min group session and completed online surveys pre- and postintervention (1 month and 6 months). We conducted a series of 2 × 2 × 3 repeated-measures ANCOVAs with condition and baseline mental health (anxiety/depression) as the between-subjects factors and time as the within-subjects factor. Intervention participants, relative to controls, reported significantly greater increases in PBS use and reductions in both heavy episodic drinking and alcohol consequences. The intervention was particularly effective in increasing PBS use at 1 month among participants with high anxiety. Further, tests of moderated mediation showed a significant conditional indirect effect of condition on 1-month consequences through PBS use among participants with high levels of anxiety. Findings provide preliminary support for a brief PBS-specific group intervention to reduce alcohol risk among college women, particularly anxious women. Future research is needed to strengthen the long-term effectiveness of the present approach and further explore the moderating effects of mental health.

Behavioral economic demand curves measure alcohol consumption as a function of price and may capture clinically relevant individual differences in alcohol-reinforcing efficacy. This study used a novel, behavioral-economic, hypothetical demand-curve paradigm to examine the association between family history of alcohol misuse and individual differences in both alcohol demand and the relative sensitivity of alcohol demand to next-day responsibilities.Participants were 207 college students (47% male, 68.5% White, 27.4% African American, Mage = 19.5 years) who reported at least one heavy drinking episode (5/4 or more drinks on one occasion for a man/woman) in the past month and completed two versions of an alcohol purchase task (APT) that assessed hypothetical alcohol consumption across 17 drink prices. In one APT (standard), students imagined they had no next-day responsibilities, and in the other, they imagined having a 10:00 a.m. test the next day.A series of analyses of covariance indicated that participants with at least one biological parent or grandparent who had misused alcohol reported similar levels of alcohol demand on the standard APT but significantly less sensitivity to the next-day academic responsibility as measured by the percentage of reduction in demand intensity and breakpoint across the no-responsibility and next-day-test conditions.These findings provide initial evidence that APTs might clarify one potential mechanism of risk conferred by family history. Young adult heavy drinkers with a family history of problematic drinking may be less sensitive to next-day responsibilities that might modulate drinking in drinkers without a family history of alcohol problems.

There has been a rapid growth in the field of remote sensing and its various applications in the area of water management. Nowadays, there are several remote sensing techniques that can be used as a source to derive bathymetry data along coastal areas. The key techniques are: sonar (sound navigating and ranging), LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and high-resolution satellite images. The present paper describes a method which was developed and used to create a shallow water bathymetry data along the Dutch side of Sint Maarten Island by combining sonar measurements and satellite images in a nonlinear machine learning technique. The purpose of this work is to develop a bathymetry dataset that can be used to set up physically-based models for coastal flood modelling work. The nonlinear machine learning technique used in the work is a support vector machine (SVM) model. The sonar data were used as an output whereas image data were used as an input into the SVM model. The results were analysed for three depth ranges and the findings are promising. It remains to further verify the capacity of the new method on a dataset with higher resolution satellite imagery.

Brief alcohol interventions (BAIs) have been widely adopted for use with college students and are associated with significant reductions in drinking and problems. However, many students do not respond to these approaches and little is known about risk factors for poor response. The current study investigated one possible risk factor by examining the impact of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms on BAI efficacy. This study presents pooled data from two randomized clinical trials that examined the efficacy of counselor-administered BAIs compared with computerized interventions. Participants were 207 college students (53.1% women, 68.1% White/Caucasian, 16.9% with elevated post-traumatic stress) who reported past-month heavy episodic drinking. Follow-up assessments were completed six months post-intervention. Analyses testing differences in frequency of past-month heavy episodic drinking revealed a significant post-traumatic stress by time interaction (F(1,165) = 8.27, p = .005) such that individuals screening positive for PTS showed larger reductions in heavy episodic drinking at follow-up. A significant three-way interaction between time, PTS, and intervention condition (F(2,167) = 5.76, p = .004) was found for alcohol related consequences. Specifically, among individuals screening positive for PTS, only those that received the counselor-administered BAI showed a significant reduction in consequences at follow-up. These results suggest that overall college students with PTS may respond well to BAIs and that counselor-delivered BAIs may be more efficacious than computer-delivered interventions for reducing alcohol problems for these high-risk students.

Objective To estimate the cumulative risk of a false-positive screening result in European mammographic screening programmes, and examine the rates and procedures of further assessment. Methods A literature review was conducted to identify studies of the cumulative risk of a false-positive result in European screening programmes (390,000 women). We then examined aggregate data, cross-sectional information about further assessment procedures among women with positive results in 20 mammographic screening programmes from 17 countries (1.7 million initial screens, 5.9 million subsequent screens), collected by the European Network for Information on Cancer project (EUNICE). Results The estimated cumulative risk of a false-positive screening result in women aged 5069 undergoing 10 biennial screening tests varied from 8% to 21% in the three studies examined (pooled estimate 19.7%). The cumulative risk of an invasive procedure with benign outcome ranged from 1.8% to 6.3% (pooled estimate 2.9%). The risk of undergoing surgical intervention with benign outcome was 0.9% (one study only). From the EUNICE project, the proportions of all screening examinations in the programmes resulting in needle biopsy were 2.2% and 1.1% for initial and subsequent screens, respectively, though the rates differed between countries; the corresponding rates of surgical interventions among women without breast cancer were 0.19% and 0.07%. Conclusion The specific investigative procedures following a recall should be considered when examining the cumulative risk of a false-positive screening result. Most women with a positive screening test undergo a non-invasive assessment procedure. Only a small proportion of recalled women undergo needle biopsy, and even fewer undergo surgical intervention.

The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effect of protective behavioral strategies on the relationship between negative urgency and alcohol outcomes.Participants were college students who endorsed participating in club/intramural or varsity athletics. The students (N = 234; 73.9% female) completed measures of negative urgency, protective behavioral strategies, alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems. Separate hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted for each subscale of the Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale to test for moderation.Results indicated that protective behavioral strategies aimed at serious harm reduction moderated the relationship between negative urgency and alcohol use, whereas strategies aimed at avoiding excessive or rapid drinking moderated the relationship between negative urgency and alcohol-related problems. Strategies that involved planning drinking activities in advance did not moderate the relationship between negative urgency and alcohol outcomes.The current investigation provides further evidence for the role of protective behavioral strategies against known risk factors for alcohol use and related problems. Further, the paper suggests that type of strategy used matters when attempting to mitigate the relationship between negative urgency and alcohol outcomes. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Several studies have shown that demand curve indices of the reinforcing efficacy of alcohol (i.e., reports of hypothetical alcohol consumption and expenditures across a range of drink prices) are associated with alcohol-related outcomes. A next logical step in this area of research is to examine potential mediators of this direct relationship. It is possible that enhancement and coping drinking motives serve as an intermediary of the reinforcing efficacy-alcohol use relationship, such that higher reinforcing efficacy is associated with increased motivation to drink, which is then associated with greater alcohol use and problems.Data were collected from 215 college undergraduates who reported drinking in the past 30 days.The demand curve reinforcing efficacy indices O(max) (maximum alcohol expenditure) and intensity (consumption level when drinks were free) demonstrated the strongest and most consistent associations with alcohol use, problems, and motives. Results from two structural equation models indicated that enhancement and coping motives mediated the relationship between reinforcing efficacy and alcohol use and alcohol-related problems.These results suggest that the motivational effects of the behavioral economic variable reinforcing efficacy on problematic alcohol use are in part mediated by increases in enhancement and coping motives for drinking.

Background: Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are specific cognitive-behavioral strategies designed to reduce alcohol consumption and resulting negative consequences. A host of studies have examined the cross-sectional relationship between such strategies and alcohol use in the high-risk population of United States college students, but prospective studies on the construct are lacking. The primary purposes of this study were to determine if PBS use prospectively predicted subsequent alcohol use/alcohol-related problems and if changes in PBS use were associated with less alcohol use and fewer problems. Methods: Data were examined from 521 heavy drinking college students (60% male, 84% White, mean age=18.9 years). Participants completed questionnaires assessing alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and PBS use at baseline, 6-month, and 12-month follow-ups. Results: Analysis of residualized change scores indicated that increases in some PBS across time were associated with less alcohol use and fewer alcohol-related problems at follow-up. Findings regarding the prospective relationship between PBS use and subsequent alcohol use/problems were equivocal. Discussion: Results from the study suggest that PBS may have value in alcohol-related interventions among college students. Clinicians who help clients increase their use of PBS may help those clients increase the probability of drinking less and experiencing fewer alcohol-related problems in the future. Language: en

What is already known about this subject • Brief motivational interventions have been found to be efficacious for obesity in older adult populations. • Brief motivational interventions including delivery of personalized feedback have been found to be efficacious for reducing college student drinking. What this study adds • First study to test the efficacy of a one-session, brief motivational intervention for obesity among college students. • One session brief motivational interventions may have an impact on the reduction of calorie-dense foods and beverages. • A brief, one-session motivational interview with personalized feedback may not be an intensive enough intervention for obesity treatment among college students. Summary Young adults are at an increased risk for weight gain as they begin college and this has implications for the onset of future health consequences. Brief motivational interventions (BMIs) have been found to be effective with college students for reducing risky health behaviours such as alcohol consumption, but have not been developed and tested with a primary goal of reducing obesity. BMIs have been developed and tested for the treatment of obesity and weight-related health behaviours (WRHB) in other populations, such as adults and adolescents, with promising results. The purpose of the following study was to develop and test the efficacy of a BMI for weight loss among overweight and obese college students. Seventy undergraduate students (85.7% female, 57.1% African–American) completed an assessment about WRHBs and then were randomized to either receive a single 60-min BMI plus a booster phone call or to assessment only. At 3 months post-intervention, effect sizes within the intervention group were twice as large as within the assessment-only group on reductions in high-calorie foods and beverages. However, there were no statistically significant differences between groups on body mass index or WRHBs. The one-session nature of the session might not have been enough to produce significant change in weight.

Background: Propensity score (PS) methods focus on balancing confounders between groups to estimate an unbiased treatment or exposure effect. However, there is lack of attention in actually measuring, reporting and using the information on balance, for instance for model selection. Objectives: To describe and evaluate measures for balance in PS methods: the overlapping coefficient, the Kolmogorov- Smirnov distance, and the Levy distance, and mean based measures for balance. Methods: We performed simulation studies to estimate the association between these three and several mean based measures for balance and bias (i.e., discrepancy between the true and the estimated treatment effect). Results: For large sample sizes (n=2000) the average Pearson's correlation coefficients between bias and Kolmogorov- Smirnov distance (r=0.89), the Levy distance (r=0.89) and the absolute standardized mean difference (r=0.90) were similar, whereas this was lower for the overlapping coefficient (r= -0.42). When sample size decreased to 400, mean based measures of balance had stronger correlations with bias. Models including all confounding variables, their squares and interaction terms resulted in smaller bias than models that included only main terms for confounding variables. Conclusions: We conclude that measures for balance are useful for reporting the amount of balance reached in propensity score analysis and can be helpful in selecting the final PS model.

AIMS: To examine the relationship between direct alcohol and non-alcohol sponsorship and drinking in Australian sportspeople. METHODS: Australian sportspeople (N = 652; 51% female) completed questionnaires on alcohol and non-alcohol industry sponsorship (from bars, cafes etc.), drinking behaviour (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)) and known confounders. RESULTS: 31% reported sponsorship (29.8% alcohol industry; 3.7% both alcohol and non-alcohol industry and 1.5% non-alcohol industry only) Multivariate regression showed that receipt of alcohol industry sponsorship was predictive of higher AUDIT scores (β(adj) = 1.67, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.56-2.78), but non-alcohol industry sponsorship and combinations of both were not (β(adj) = 0.18, 95% CI: -2.61 to 2.68; and β(adj) = 2.58, 95% CI: -0.60 to 5.76, respectively). CONCLUSION: Governments should consider alternatives to alcohol industry sponsorship of sport. Hypothecated taxes on tobacco have been used successfully for replacing tobacco sponsorship of sport in some countries, and may show equal utility for the alcohol industry's funding of sport. Language: en

Purpose: Although functional bladder capacity, as expressed by maximum voided volume and other frequency-volume chart parameters, are important determinants of lower urinary tract symptoms, to our knowledge no population based data are available on changes in voided volume. We determined changes in and determinants of voided volume and voiding frequency with advancing age and with time, as measured by frequency-volume charts.Materials and Methods: We performed a longitudinal, population based study in 1,688 men 50 to 78 years old with followup at 2.1, 4.2 and 6.5 years. Data were obtained using frequency-volume charts for maximum, 24-hour and average voided volume, and 24-hour voiding frequency as well as physical and urological measurements, and self-administered questionnaires. We used a linear mixed effect model to determine factors predicting volume changes.Results: Median maximum and average voided volume decreased with time from 400 to 380 and 245 to 240 ml, respectively, and were smaller in older age groups while 24-hour voided volume showed no change. The 24-hour voiding frequency increased with time and with advancing age. Maximum, 24-hour and average voided volumes were positively related to alcohol intake. Maximum and average voided volumes were negatively related to higher age at baseline and the passage of time. Hypertension, diuretics and post-void residual volume were related to higher 24-hour voided volume.Conclusions: In older men maximum and average voided volume show a small but statistically significant decrease with time and with advancing age while 24-hour voided volume does not. Factors predicting the change in maximum or average voided volume are alcohol intake and higher age.

Background: The search for biomarkers of appetite is very active. Objectives: The aims were to compare dynamics of hunger and fullness ratings on a visual analog scale (VAS) with dynamics of glucagon-like peptide 1, peptide tyrosine-tyrosine, ghrelin, glucose, and insulin concentrations throughout different meal patterns-and thus different timings of nutrient delivery to the gut-by using a statistical approach that focuses on within-subject relations of these observations and to investigate whether appetite ratings are synchronized with or lag behind or in front of changes in hormone and glucose concentrations. Design: Subjects (n = 38) with a mean (+/- SD) age of 24 +/- 6 y and BMI (in kg/m(2)) of 25.1 +/- 3.1 came to the university twice for consumption of a 4-course lunch in 0.5 or 2 h (randomized crossover design). Per subject regression slopes and R(2) values of VAS scores on hormone and glucose concentrations were calculated. We tested whether the means of the slopes were different from zero. Regarding possible lags in the relations, the analyses were repeated with VAS scores related to hormone and glucose concentrations of the relevant previous and following measurement periods. Results: VAS scores and hormone and glucose concentrations changed synchronously (P

College athletes are an at-risk population for excessive alcohol use and subsequent alcohol-related harms. The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of an electronically delivered personalized drinking feedback (PDF) intervention targeted specifically to college athletes, both in comparison with a standard (i.e., nontargeted) PDF intervention and an education-only (EO) condition that also included targeted information. Data were collected on 263 intercollegiate athletes from three colleges (76% women, 86% White) who were randomly assigned to one of the conditions. Results provided partial support for the efficacy of the targeted PDF intervention. Students in the targeted PDF condition reported a lower peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at the 6-month follow-up than those in the other conditions. Heavy drinking students in the targeted PDF condition reported a lower peak BAC than those in the other conditions at the 1-month follow-up and a lower peak BAC than those in the EO condition at the 6-month follow-up. Finally, in-season athletes in the targeted PDF condition reported fewer drinks per week than those in the PDF-standard condition at the 1-month follow-up. These findings provide preliminary support for the use of targeted PDF interventions with at-risk alcohol users, such as college athletes.

Cardiac tissue engineering aims to create functional tissue constructs that can reestablish the structure and function of injured myocardium. Engineered constructs can also serve as high-fidelity models for studies of cardiac development and disease. In a general case, the biological potential of the cell—the actual “tissue engineer”—is mobilized by providing highly controllable three-dimensional environments that can mediate cell differentiation and functional assembly. For cardiac regeneration, some of the key requirements that need to be met are the selection of a human cell source, establishment of cardiac tissue matrix, electromechanical cell coupling, robust and stable contractile function, and functional vascularization. We review here the potential and challenges of cardiac tissue engineering for developing therapies that could prevent or reverse heart failure.

This study examined the effectiveness of three peer-facilitated brief alcohol interventions-small group motivational interviewing, motivationally enhanced peer theater, and an interactive alcohol-education program-with students engaging in high-risk drinking who were referred for alcohol policy violations.Undergraduate students referred for alcohol policy violations (N = 695) at a large northeastern public university were randomized to one of the three conditions. Six-month follow-up data were collected on drinking frequency and quantity, negative consequences, use of protective behaviors, and perceptions of peers' drinking norms.There were no statistically significant overall pre-post effects or treatment effects. However, exploratory analyses indicated that decreases in perceived norms and increases in use of protective behavioral strategies were associated with reductions in alcohol use and alcohol-related problems at follow-up (p.01).The presence of nonsignificant pre-post or main effects is, in part, consistent with recent research indicating that sanctioned college students may immediately reduce drinking in response to citation and that brief interventions may not contribute to additional behavioral change. The presence of statistically significant correlations between alcohol use and related problems with corrections in norms misperceptions and increased use of protective behaviors at the individual level holds promise for both research and practice. The integration of elements addressing social norms and use of protective behaviors within brief cognitive-behavioral intervention protocols delivered by trained peer facilitators warrants further study using randomized clinical trials.

Background In this study, we sought to confirm which types of device-related infections impact bridge-to-transplant rates. We also aimed to determine the effect of device-related infections on post-transplant survival and post-transplant infection. Methods We retrospectively reviewed paper and electronic medical records for 149 patients undergoing left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation as a bridge to transplantation at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center between 2000 and 2006. The primary outcome measures were survival to transplantation, post-transplant infection and post-transplant survival. Results Patients with sepsis were less likely to be successfully bridged to cardiac transplantation (7 of 22 vs 103 of 127, 31.8% vs 81.1%, p = 0.01). However, if transplanted, their survival rates at 1 year were not decreased (6 of 7 vs 85 of 103, 85.7% vs 82.5%, p = 1.00). No other pre-transplant device-related infection affected post-transplant survival at 1 year (22 of 27 vs 69 of 83, 81.5% vs 83.1%, p = 1.00). Pre-transplant drive-line infections predicted post-transplant infection in former drive-line or pocket sites (11 of 16 vs 14 of 94, 68.8% vs 14.9%, p = 0.01) and increased overall post-transplant hospital length of stay (16 vs 19 days, p = 0.04). They did not, however, affect post-transplant survival at 1 year (22 of 25 vs 69 of 85, 88% vs 81.2%, p = 0.56). Conclusions Although survival to transplantation was diminished in LVAD patients with sepsis, if successfully transplanted, post-transplant survival was unaffected. Patients with local device infections and signs of early sepsis may warrant evaluation for urgent transplantation. A pre-transplant drive-line infection was associated with post-transplant infection in either the former pocket or drive-line site, and increased overall length of stay, but it did not decrease post-transplant survival.