Contemporaneous Factors Research Articles

Risk Factors of Post-Traumatic Stress in Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant Recipients.

Life with end-stage organ failure is accompanied by an accumulation of traumatic medical or surgical experiences. Despite recovery after solid organ transplantation (SOT), many children and adolescents develop post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). PTSS remain underappreciated as a major comorbidity in SOT programs, despite their association with decreased quality of life. We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study of 86 pediatric SOT recipients (17 heart, 44 kidney, and 25 liver) to evaluate potential determinants of PTSS. Trauma symptoms were measured by the Child Trauma Screening Questionnaire (CTSQ). Demographic, baseline, and contemporaneous factors were tested for independent association with CTSQ scores. The median post-transplant CTSQ score was 2 (IQR 1-4), and 22% were identified as high risk (score ≥5) for PTSD. Higher CTSQ scores were independently associated with the number of ICU days within the previous 12 months, the number of medications (complexity), and involvement with foster care in the primary model (R2 [adj.] = 0.26). The addition of the Family Impact Module improved the overall model (R2 [adj.] = 0.33), wherein higher family functioning was independently associated with lower CTSQ scores. An exploratory analysis of pre-transplant patients (n = 34) found a median pre-transplant CTSQ of 2 (IQR 1-6), suggesting that PTSS are onset before transplant and persist afterward. PTSS are highly prevalent in the SOT population. Risk factors include recent adverse medical experiences and complexity, whereas family stability may be protective. Additional research is needed to improve early ascertainment and support for patients at high risk of developing PTSS throughout their transplant journey.

A semiparametric approach to estimating reference price effects in sales response models

It is well known that store-level brand sales may not only depend on contemporaneous influencing factors like current own and competitive prices or other marketing activities, but also on past prices representing customer response to price dynamics. On the other hand, non- or semiparametric regression models have been proposed in order to accommodate potential nonlinearities in price response, and related empirical findings for frequently purchased consumer goods indicate that price effects may show complex nonlinearities, which are difficult to capture with parametric models. In this contribution, we combine nonparametric price response modeling and behavioral pricing theory. In particular, we propose a semiparametric approach to flexibly estimating price-change or reference price effects based on store-level sales data. We compare different representations for capturing symmetric vs. asymmetric and proportional vs. disproportionate price-change effects following adaptation-level and prospect theory, and further compare our flexible autoregressive model specifications to parametric benchmark models. Functional flexibility is accommodated via P-splines, and all models are estimated within a fully Bayesian framework. In an empirical study, we demonstrate that our semiparametric dynamic models provide more accurate sales forecasts for most brands considered compared to competing benchmark models that either ignore price dynamics or just include them in a parametric way.

Changes in labour market histories and their relationship with paid work around state pension age: evidence from three British longitudinal studies

AbstractMany countries have implemented policies to extend working lives in response to population ageing, yet there remains little understanding of what drives paid work in later life, nor how this is changing over time. This paper utilises the 1988/89 Survey of Retirement and Retirement Plans, the 1999 British Household Panel Survey and the 2008 English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, to investigate drivers of paid work in the ten years surrounding state pension age (SPA) for women and men in, comparing cohorts born in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Using optimal matching analysis with logistic and multinomial regression models, the study assesses the relative importance of lifecourse histories, socio-economic circumstances and contemporaneous factors, in determining paid work in mid- and later life. Participation in paid work in the five years preceding and beyond SPA increased markedly for men and women across cohorts, with women's lifecourses and engagement with paid work changing considerably in these periods. However, for women, a lifetime history of paid work remained a crucially important predictor of paid work in later life, and this relationship has strengthened over time. Experiencing divorce has also become an important driver of paid work around SPA for the youngest cohort. Having children later, and still having a mortgage, also independently predict labour force participation for women and men. Across all cohorts and for women and men, working at these older ages was a function of higher income and better health. These findings suggest that policies which enable people to maintain ties to paid work across the lifecourse may be more effective at encouraging later-life employment than those concerned only with postponing the retirement transition.

Neighboring houses: Report from an archaeological trench at Store Sandvika, Hasvik, Finnmark

In august of 2018, a minor excavation was made across two adjoining Stone Age house pit features at the newly discovered site of Store Sandvika (Site ID: 221255, Hasvik municipality, Finnmark county), as part of the Stone Age Demographics project at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. The objectives mainly concerned: To look for stratigraphically identifiable features useful for the understanding of house contemporaneity and the identification of multiple occupation phases. To look for the preservation of organics, such as bone/wood tools or organic refuse. To identify datable material from multiple horizons within each house. Shoreline displacement suggests that the terrace was suitable for habitation already at the earliest post-glacial colonization, and that the isostatic uplift made the lower laying terrace of 12-10 masl inhabitable by approx. 10.000 years ago (cal BP). However, the transgression of the entire lower terrace would make the upper terrace into the only inhabitable surface in the Store Sandvika bay for millennia. This now also appears to be confirmed by the dates produced from the site. Datable material was only retrievable from one of the houses, all centering on 3600 BC. The lack of datable material from the other house made it difficult to determine questions of contemporaneity and temporal relatedness, yet stratigraphic evidence suggest variable age and possible reuse of the houses given the stark variation in peat thickness covering the adjoining houses, as well as the apparent secondary dug-down in one of the houses. Repeated reuse of the site seems likely based on both the identification of debitage from chert/silicified slate below the house floor of what stratigraphically speaking should be the oldest house – as well as dates most likely indicating tightly spaced, yet separate habitation events. No artifacts or debitage whatsoever was uncovered within the house areas. The dates should imply that the houses most likely would contain rich slate tool inventories as is common for house features of this period. The lack of finds may solely be credited to the very minimal spatial extent of the investigation – however specific waste management practices favored by the steep and ocean-front terrace, may also contribute to less within house debitage. The report ends with a contextualization of the site focusing on the specificity of Younger Stone Age sites located atop fluvial deltas elevated significantly above contemporaneous sea level and factors that might affect the data catchment and inventories from such sites – such as waste management practices.

Post-traumatic stress as a determinant of quality of life in pediatric solid-organ transplant recipients.

Living with end-stage organ failure is associated with an accumulation of traumatic medical events, and despite recovery after solid-organ transplantation (SOT), many children continue to exhibit lower quality of life (QOL). Few studies have examined the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and QOL among pediatric SOT recipients. We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional review of 61 pediatric SOT recipients (12 heart, 30 kidney, and 19 liver) to evaluate the association of PTSD with self-reported QOL. PTSD was measured by the Child Trauma Screening Questionnaire (CTSQ), and QOL was measured using the PedsQL and PedsQL Transplant Module (PedsQL-TM) surveys. Demographics, baseline, and contemporaneous factors were tested for independent association. SOT recipients were 15.2 (12.1-17.6) years old at survey completion. Median CTSQ score was 2 (1-3), highest in kidney recipients, and 13% were identified as high risk for PTSD. Median PedsQL score was 83 (70-91) and significantly associated with the CTSQ score (r=-.68, p<.001). Median PedsQL Transplant Module score was 89 (83-95) and similarly associated with the CTSQ score (r=-.64, p<.001). Age at time of surveys and presence of any disability were also independently associated with PedsQL and PedsQL-TM, respectively. When adjusted for Emotional Functioning, CTSQ remained associated with PedsQL subscores (r=-.65, p<.001). Trauma symptoms are a major modifiable risk factor for lower self-perceived QOL and represent a potentially important target for post-transplant rehabilitation. Additional research is needed to understand the root contributors to PTSD and potential treatments in this population.

Contemporaneous Risk Factors for Visual Acuity in Non-Infectious Uveitis

ABSTRACT Introduction We evaluated the associations of clinical and demographic characteristics with visual acuity (VA) with over 5 years in a subspecialty noninfectious uveitis population. Methods Retrospective data from 5,530 noninfectious uveitis patients were abstracted by expert reviewers, and contemporaneous associations of VA with demographic and clinical factors were modeled. Results Patients were a median of 41 years old, 65% female, and 73% white. Eyes diagnosed ≥5 years prior to cohort entry had worse VA (−1.2 lines) than those diagnosed <6 months prior, and eyes with cataract surgery performed prior to entry had worse VA (−5.9 lines) than those performed during follow-up. Vitreous haze (−4.2 lines for 3+ vs quiet), hypotony (−2.5 lines for ≤5 mm Hg vs 6–23 mm Hg), and CNV (−1.8 lines) all were strongly associated with reduced VA. Conclusion Factors associated with reduced VA included well-known structural complications, and lack of subspecialty care during cataract surgery.

The impact of adverse childhood experiences on the health and health behaviors of young Australian women

BackgroundAdverse childhood experiences have been linked to poor health and adverse health behavior in adulthood. ObjectiveThis study aimed to estimate the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences among young Australian women (aged 20–25) and examine associations between adverse childhood experiences and adult health behaviors and physical and mental health. Participants and SettingsData were from the 1989−95 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health, who completed the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale at Survey 3 in 2015 (N = 8609). MethodsOutcomes included: self-rated health, sexual health, psychological distress, depression, anxiety, suicide ideation, self-harm, substance abuse (drinking, smoking, illicit drugs), severe obesity, and exercise. Prevalence of childhood adversities were presented, with the association between childhood adversity and outcomes evaluated using log-binomial multivariable regressions (99% CI). ResultsWhile 59% of women reported experiencing at least one childhood adversity, 10% of participants reported adverse childhood experiences across four or more categories, indicating a significant burden of risk for young Australian women. Women reporting four or more categories had higher rates of poor physical health (adjPR = 1.79, 99% CI = 1.51–2.12), sexually transmitted infections (adjPR = 1.36, 99% CI = 1.11–1.67), and poor mental health (adjPR = 2.78, 99% CI = 2.34–3.32), and increased rates of severe obesity (adjPR = 2.14, 99% CI = 1.61–2.86) and smoking (adjPR = 2.23, 99% CI = 1.89–2.64). ConclusionUsing nationally representative data, this study shows adverse childhood experiences directly impact physical and mental health, and health behaviors in adulthood among young Australian women. The management of health and wellbeing in adulthood should look beyond the contemporaneous factors, incorporating a focus on how childhood adversity may negatively influence health behavior, health and wellbeing in later life.

Physical activity and its correlates in a pediatric solid-organ transplant population.

PA has been shown to have benefits in SOT patients. Studies assessing physical activity levels and its correlates in a pediatric solid-organ transplant population are limited. The aim of this study was to assess PA levels and identify baseline and contemporaneous factors that contribute to PA in a pediatric SOT population. A retrospective cross-sectional review was performed on 58 pediatric transplant patients (16 heart, 29 kidney, and 13 liver transplant). PA was measured by PAQ-C or PAQ-A. Demographics, baseline, and contemporaneous factors were collected. There were no significant differences in baseline and contemporaneous characteristics between heart, kidney, and liver transplant recipients. SOT recipients were 15.2 [12.3-17.3] years old at time of completing the PAQ. Median PAQ score was 2.2 [1.7-2.9]. There were no significant differences in PAQ scores between organ transplant type or between genders. Lower PAQ score was associated with sensory disability (9 vs 49 without disability; P=<.01) and age at time of completing the PAQ (r=-.50, P=<.01). These results suggest that older age at time of completing the PAQ and presence of sensory disability may influence PA levels in the pediatric SOT population.

Perinatal promotive and protective factors for women with histories of childhood abuse and neglect.

Integrative research summarizing promotive and protective factors that reduce the effects of childhood abuse and neglect on pregnant women and their babies' healthy functioning is needed. This narrative systematic review synthesized the quantitative literature on protective and promotive factors that support maternal mental health and maternal-infant bonding among women exposed to childhood adversity, including childhood abuse and neglect. Using a comprehensive list of key terms related to the perinatal period, childhood adversity, and protective/promotive factors, 8423 non-duplicated articles were identified through database searches in PsychInfo and Web of Science, and references in retrieved articles. Thirty-seven full text articles were inspected; of those 18 were included. Protective and promotive factors fell into three categories: a) women's internal capacities (e.g., self-esteem, coping ability), b) external early resources (e.g., positive childhood experiences) and c) external contemporaneous resources (e.g., social support). Although all three categories were associated with more resilient outcomes, external contemporaneous factors, and specifically, social support, were the most commonly-studied protective and/or promotive factor. Social support from family and romantic partners during the perinatal period was particularly protective for women with histories of childhood abuse and neglect and was examined across several dimensions of support and contexts. The presence of women's internal capacities, and external early and contemporaneous resources help to foster more positive outcomes during the perinatal period for women with histories of childhood adversity. Future research should study co-occurring multilevel promotive and protective factors to inform how they integratively deter the intergenerational transmission of risk.

サンフランシスコ講和期における沖縄「日本復帰」の同時代的要因

サンフランシスコ講和期における沖縄「日本復帰」の同時代的要因

The role of prediction in suicide prevention

It is widely believed that suicide prevention involves the consideration of risk and protective factors and related interventions. Preventative interventions can be classified as "universal" (targeting whole populations), "selective" (targeting higher-risk groups), and "indicated" (protecting individuals). This review explores the range of preventative measures that might be used commensurately with different types of suicide prediction. The author concludes that the best prospects for suicide prevention lie in universal prevention strategies. While risk assessments do generate some information about future suicide, suicide risk categorization results in an unacceptably high false positive rate, misses many fatalities, and therefore, is unable to usefully guide prevention strategies. The assessment of suicidal patients should focus on contemporaneous factors and the needs of the patient, rather than probabilistic notions of suicide risk.

Variations in Children\u2019s Affective Subjective Well-Being at Seven Years Old: an Analysis of Current and Historical Factors

There is a growing amount of evidence on children’s subjective well-being in general, but research on this topic with younger children is still scarce. In the UK, Wave 4 of the Millennium Cohort Study asked questions about positive and negative affect to a nationally representative sample of over 13,000 children aged around seven years old. The study also contains other information reported by children about their friendships, family relationships, experiences of school and of being bullied; and extensive data gathered from parents across four survey waves starting when the child was nine months old. This paper analyses the extent to which variations in children’s positive and negative affect (happiness and sadness) at the age of seven years old are associated with contemporaneous factors reported by children (e.g. bullying) and parents (e.g. household income, parent-child relationships). It also analyses the extent to which socio-economic and family factors earlier in childhood can predict children’s affective subjective well-being at seven years old. A comparison is made between findings for affective subjective well-being and for emotional and behavioural difficulties. The analysis identifies important differences in factors associated with variations in positive affect, negative affect and emotional and behavioural difficulties. The paper considers the implications of these findings for future research and also in terms of the potential to improve children’s experience of childhood.

Geochemistry of Aegean Sea sediments: implications for surface- and bottom-water conditions during sapropel deposition since MIS 5

Piston cores collected from the Aegean Sea provide a record of sapropel sequence S1, S3-S5. Primary productivity calculations using the equations of Muller and Suess suggest surface paleoproductivities ranged from 180 to 995 g C m-2 year-1 for sapropels and from 40 to 180 g C m-2 year-1 for nonsapropel sediments with corresponding total organic carbon values of 9%-12% and 1%-3%, respectively. The higher paleoproductivities exceed those in the most fertile modern upwelling zones, so are probably overestimated. Instead, enhanced preservation, particularly for S4 and S5, likely resulted from poor bottom-water ventilation beneath a salinity-stratified water column. If the preservation factor in the equations of Howell and Thunell is increased to account for such conditions, more realistic paleoproductivity estimates ensue. The interpreted presence of a deep chlorophyll maximum layer for S3-S5 within the lower part of the photic zone may account for high marine organic carbon and increased export production. A deep chlorophyll maximum layer is not advocated for S1 because of the presence of N. Pachyderma (d) immediately below S1. The organic geochemical data show that both marine and terrestrial organic matter contributed equally to sapropels S3, S4, and S5. Sapropels S3-S5 were deposited under normal marine conditions with very limited and temporary establishment of near-euxinic bottom-water conditions. Highly depleted and somewhat uniform Δ34S values together with the absence of fully euxinic conditions during sapropel intervals suggest that bacterially mediated sulfate reduction took place consistently below the sediment-water interface. It is believed that climbing levels of primary productivity triggered the onset of sapropel deposition, but that other contemporaneous factors extended and enhanced the conditions necessary for sapropel deposition, including increased nutrient supply from riverine inflow, water column stratification and reduced oxygenation of bottom waters, and buffering of low bottom-water oxygen levels by accumulating terrestrial organic carbon.

Designing obedience in the lab: Milgram’s shock simulator and human factors engineering

This article probes the design history of Stanley Milgram’s simulated shock generator by comparing drawings and notes from Milgram’s archive in the Sterling Memorial Library at Yale with laboratory equipment and apparatus catalogues from the Archives of the History of American Psychology, University of Akron. By applying contemporaneous human factors engineering principles to the generator’s control panel layout, sequencing, and display optimisation, an argument emerges that suggests the tailor-made device had an influential role in facilitating the behaviour witnessed in the laboratory and generalised as obedience. Such an approach puts forward a new reading of Milgram’s experiment design, his penchant for dramaturgy, and reconsiders his generalisation of obedience to social authority.

Population Change among the Elderly: International Patterns

this essay is in the spirit of the first type of study. rather than dealing with the entire population, however, it restricts its attention to ages above 65, where population changes reflect, amplify, and reshape the broad patterns associated with the demographic transition. in this study, we develop and apply a demographic accounting model adapted to the segment of the population above age 65. through an assessment of the terms in this model, we estimate the contribution of contemporaneous factors and their historical antecedents to rates of growth of the older population.

Substance Use in Adolescence and Early Adulthood: Which Best Predicts Violence in Early Adulthood?

Waves I and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) were used to test the contributions of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, LSD, PCP, and other illicit drugs to violence in early adulthood (e.g., took part in a gang fight, pulled a knife or gun, used a weapon in a fight, used a weapon to get something). The two main hypotheses were that well-known, non-substance abuse risk factors for violence in adolescence (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, poverty, adolescent violence, school failure) would continue to elevate the risk for violence in early adulthood. Furthermore, substance use in early adulthood would eclipse the contribution of substance use in adolescence, thus increasing the risk for early adult violence. Results supported both hypotheses. Substance use in adolescence may not have a lasting influence on adult violence. In addition, the risk for early adult violence may be subject to contemporaneous influences of substance use as well as historical and contemporaneous non-substance use risk factors.

Life course influences on quality of life at age 50 years: evidence from the National Child Development Study (1958 British birth cohort study)

The objectives of this study were to investigate whether prospective data reveal life course influences on quality of life at older ages; to establish a baseline for the evolution of quality of life through the Third Age; and to estimate the relative importance of direct and indirect effects in these life course relationships. We used the age 50 years sweep of the National Child Development Study (1958 British birth cohort study) that included the CASP measure of positive quality of life at older ages, allowing prospective path analysis of life course influences on quality of life at the start of the Third Age. We found that material (social class; deprivation) and psycho-social (family conflict; family fracture) circumstances in childhood and adulthood were linked using path analysis to CASP scores at age 50 years. The strength of these relationships was modest; and their influence was primarily indirect via well-recognised contemporaneous factors. Prospective data revealed life course influences on quality of life at the start of the Third Age. We conclude that the influence of these longitudinal factors is weak in comparison with that of contemporaneous circumstances. In this respect quality of life differs from health.

Irreplaceable Mortality: Is It?

Peterson et al. (2009) presented an analysis of mortality rates of herbivorous insects using published life tables. For each mortality factor in each life table, they estimated the marginal attack rate (hereinafter, “marginal mortality rate”), i.e., the mortality rate expected in the absence of contemporaneous mortality factors assuming independence of occurrence and making some assumption concerning the outcome of their joint occurrence. Using these marginal mortalities, they calculated rates of irreplaceable mortality (“indispensable mortality”, Southwood 1978), i.e., the decrease in total mortality when a given mortality factor or group of factors is excluded from the life table. They compared irreplaceable mortalities for six categories of factors and found that irreplaceable mortality because of non-natural enemies (primarily abiotic factors) was significantly higher than that because of natural enemies. Characterizing irreplaceable mortality because of natural enemies as “very low”, they concluded that natural enemies typically have little impact on insect populations at temperate latitudes and in agricultural systems. They suggested that the impact of natural enemies may be higher in ecosystems with higher stability. They also presented an example based on Kuhar et al. (2002) of using irreplaceable mortality to assess the value of biological control agents. Unfortunately, problems with estimation and application of irreplaceable mortality weaken or invalidate their conclusions. It is important to consider proper usage of irreplaceable mortality because its misuse can result in misleading generalizations concerning insect ecology and in poor pest management decisions. ### Irreplaceable Mortality: Suitable Measure of the Effect of Mortality Factors on Population Growth Rate? Peterson et al. (2009) used irreplaceable mortality as a measure of the effect of mortality factors on population growth rate in comparisons among life tables. However, as pointed out by Bellows and Van Driesche (1999) and discussed in this section, irreplaceable mortality is generally inappropriate for such comparisons. For discrete generations, population growth rate is measured as the net multiplication rate per generation ( R …

Why we need to rethink the strategy and time frame for achieving health-related Millennium Development Goals

Targets and interventions for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) related to reducing hunger (MDG 1) and child mortality (MDG 4) have ignored the role of intergenerational influences on health. In this study, the comparative importance of intergenerational and contemporaneous factors for achieving MDGs 1 and 4 targets was evaluated. A database of 735970 children from 109 Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 1991 and 2008 in 54 countries was compiled. Modified Poisson regression models were used to estimate the association between child mortality/undernutrition and maternal education, wealth and height. Stochastic simulations of regression results were then used to evaluate changes in maternal height, education and wealth required to halve stunting and underweight and to reduce mortality by two-thirds. At mean height, 25 years of education were needed to achieve a two-thirds reduction in mortality, and halving the prevalence of stunting and underweight required 23 years and 17 years of education, respectively, for the poorest wealth quintile. When height was increased from the mean by 25cm, the prevalence of both growth outcomes was halved, even for those with no education and in the poorest wealth quintile. These results indicate that contemporaneous interventions will achieve MDG targets more readily in populations with greater accumulated health stock.

Origins of Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease: Birth Weight, Body Mass Index, and Young Adult Systolic Blood Pressure in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

We evaluated the contributions of birth weight and current body mass index (BMI) to racial/ethnic disparities in systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the United States. Participants were 10,046 young adults (ages 24-32) in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. SBP, BMI, and other contemporaneous factors were assessed at Wave IV (2007-2008); birth weight and other early life factors were reported at Wave I (1994-1995). Data were analyzed using sex- and race-stratified multivariable regression models. Racial/ethnic disparities in SBP were limited to black and white females. The black-white female disparity in SBP was 3.36 mmHg and was partially explained by current BMI, but not birth weight. Associations between birth weight and SBP were limited to males, in whom we found a decrease of 1.05 mmHg in SBP per 1-kg increase in birth weight (95% confidence interval, -1.90, -0.20). This inverse relationship strengthened after adjusting for BMI and other factors, and was strongest among black and white males. A significant association between BMI and SBP was found in all racial/ethnic and sex subgroups. In this U.S. national cohort, birth weight is negatively associated with SBP among black and white young adult males.