Number Of Licenses Research Articles

The Effect of Different Regimens of Vaccination against Pneumococcal Infection on the Clinical Course of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Focus on Changes in Sputum Microorganism Population

The objective: development of the best vaccination regimen against pneumococcal infection in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with consideration of changes in microbiological and clinical parameters.Subjects and Methods. 115 patients with COPD were randomized into 4 pneumococcal vaccination groups, they were examined and followed up for 4 years; 112 patients completed the study complying with the protocol. Detail medical history of all subjects was collected. To verify the diagnosis of COPD, all subjects underwent external respiratory function test and bronchodilator test (salbutamol, 400 μg) according to the standard method. The classic microbiological assessment was used in this study. The clinical effectiveness of vaccination was assessed. Statistical processing of the results was performed using StatPlus Pro 6.2.0.0 software (license number 2883).Results. Сonsecutive vaccination with pneumococcal conjugate and polysaccharide vaccines leads to decreased isolation rate of pneuniococcus from the sputum of CODP patients. The frequency of exacerbations, the need for antibiotic chemotherapy and hospitalizations also goes down.

Brain Structure and Physical Activity Levels in Middle-Aged and Elderly Individuals: A Bidirectional Longitudinal Population-Based Study

Background: To prevent and reduce age-related brain changes, it is crucial to identify modifiable factors that might contribute to preserving brain health during aging. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the bidirectional associations of physical activity with brain structure in middle-aged and elderly individuals. Methods: Overall, 4,365 participants (64.01±10.82 years; 56% females) from the Rotterdam Study had physical activity and brain structure assessed on at least one of two timepoints (‘baseline’: 2006-2012 or ‘follow-up’: 2012-2017, median duration between visits: 5 years). Physical activity was assessed through the LASA Physical Activity Questionnaire. T1-weighted MRI and diffusion tensor imaging were used to quantify brain volumes and white matter microstructure, respectively. Cross-lagged panel models were performed to estimate bidirectional associations, and linear mixed-effects models to investigate the consistency of findings. False discovery rate (FDR) was used to correct for multiple testing. Findings: Larger total brain volume (β = 0.067, 95%CI 0.035;0.099, pFDR=0.001), gray matter volume (β= 0.063, 0.031;0.096, pFDR=0.002), and white matter volume (β= 0.051, 0.020;0.083, pFDR=0.013) were associated with an increase in sport participation over time. Lower global mean diffusivity was associated with an increase in walking levels over time (β= -0.074, -0.111;-0.037, pFDR=0.001). No associations were found between physical activity and changes in brain metrics over time. Interpretation: Physical activity was not associated with a healthier brain structure over time in elderly individuals. In contrast, brain structure was associated with individuals remaining physically active over time. Funding: Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, and Netherlands Organization for the Health Research and Development. Declaration of Interests: We declare no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: The Rotterdam Study has been approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Erasmus MC (registration number MEC 02.1015) and by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (Population Screening Act WBO, license number 1071272-159521-PG). The Rotterdam Study Personal Registration Data collection is filed with the Erasmus MC Data Protection Officer under registration number EMC1712001. Trial Registration: The Rotterdam Study has been registered at the Netherlands National Trial Register (NTR; www.trialregister.nl) and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP; www.who.int/ictrp/network/primary/en/) under shared catalogue number NTR6831.

How are social-psychological factors related to consumer preferences for plug-in electric vehicles? Case studies from two cities in China

To facilitate market penetration of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), situational factors such as policy incentives and technical attributes have been widely examined in the literature. Studies have confirmed the contributions of financial incentives and license number plate restrictions to PEV diffusion in mega-cities in China. However, it is difficult to explain the growth of PEV uptake after 2017 in non-first- and second-tier cities. This study aims to provide insights into the possible influences in the social system across different types of cities. Specifically, this study compares the impacts of social-psychological factors on consumers' preferences for attributes of passenger PEVs as well as willingness to pay in a second-tier city Hangzhou and a third-tier city Linyi. Three groups of social-psychological factors are generated, namely, knowledge (i.e., knowledge of PEV and subsidies), social influence (i.e., interpersonal communication and neighborhood effects), and personality (i.e., environmental concern, innovativeness and social followers). The factors are integrated with an object-case best-worst scaling experiment via a hybrid choice model. The findings show that these factors affect consumers' preferences and willingness to pay differently in these two cities. Knowledge and environmental concern have weaker impacts on preferences compared to social influence and innovativeness. The results indicate that in cities like Linyi, policy clarification is necessary to deepen citizens’ knowledge of PEVs and subsidies. In large cities such as Hangzhou, social influence and innovativeness may work complementally to increase PEV uptake. In addition, highlighting technological development and building a clean power network may encourage PEV uptake in both cities.

Medication Error at the Prescribing Phase

Medication errors are accidental failures in a therapeutic process that lead to and have the potential to cause or harm the patient. Medication errors can endanger patient safety, inconvenience and economic burdens. Medication errors can occur at the prescribing, recording, issuing, and administering stages. Reducing the risk of medication errors is a shared responsibility among patients, healthcare professionals, regulators and the pharmaceutical industry at all levels of healthcare delivery. This research is a quantitative research with a descriptive approach. The population taken was 912 prescriptions written by general practitioners at the PKU Muhammadiyah Cepu Hospital in March-May 2019. The sampling technique used was non-probability sampling, which was total sampling. The instrument used in this study was an observation sheet, then the collected data were processed by editing, coding, scoring, and tabulating stages which were then concluded descriptively. The results showed that the incidence of drug prescribing errors in inpatients at PKU Muhammadiyah Cepu Hospital in March 2019 found that all written prescriptions were 100% administratively incomplete. The incidence of prescription medication errors, especially the doctor's name, was 65.9%, the doctor's practice license number was 100%, the date of the prescription was 48.9%, the sign of R/70.9%, the doctor's initial 48.7% and the patient's address 97.4%. Incomplete administrative prescription writing can result in medication errors that are detrimental to health and add to the economic burden of patients.

Identifikasi Kandungan Hidrokuinon pada Krim Pemutih yang Beredar di Pasar Tradisional Wilayah Kabupaten Banjarnegara

Cosmetics that are sold in the market are in great demand by many women. The type of cosmetics that is often used is a whitening cream. This cream can provide a whitening effect on facial skin so that it can increase self-confidence. One of the ingredients that have skin whitening properties and is often added to whitening creams is hydroquinone. This material has the effect of inhibiting the formation of melanin so that it can whiten the skin. The use of hydroquinone without medical supervision is not allowed because it can have negative effects such as allergies, skin redness, and a burning feeling. In this paper, we will report the identification results of the hydroquinone content in the whitening cream which is not a distribution license number from the BPOM (Indonesia Food and Drug Supervisory Agency) which is marketed in the Banjarnegara Region area. Samples were taken from the Banjarnegara area and the analysis was carried out at the Pharmacy Laboratory of the Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. The analytical method used was the identification of the hydroquinone content carried out by the TLC-densitometry method. Qualitative analysis used TLC, where the stationary phase used was silica GF254 while the mobile phase used was toluene - glacial acetic acid at a ratio of 8: 2. Samples were dotted using a microsyringe of 25 µL after extraction. Furthermore, the spot identification was carried out under 254 nm UV light and then the Rf value was calculated. Quantitative analysis was used. It was carried out by densitometry by looking at the area produced by the spots on TLC. In this analysis, the level calculation was carried out by comparing the area of the hydroquinone sample with the area of the positive control hydroquinone multiplied by the known hydroquinone level in the positive control. The results of the qualitative analysis showed that of the 21 samples, there were 6 samples or 28.57% of the samples containing hydroquinone. Quantitative analysis shows the levels in the six samples containing hydroquinone, namely sample no.11: 7,12%, sample no.12: 3.69%, sample no.15: 0.06%, sample no.16: 11.18%, sample no.18: 4.67%, and sample no.19: 1.07%. Based on the results of the analysis, several preparations contain hydroquinone exceeding a safe level of 5%, so it is necessary to regularly check testing and supervision from the authorized institution so that the circulating whitening cream is safe for use by the public.

Konsep Regulasi Berbasis Risiko: Telaah Kritis dalam Penerapannya pada Undang-Undang Cipta Kerja

The Law on Job Creation emphasizes the ease of doing business. One of the things that is of concern is the simplification of business permit. The concept of risk-based regulation is attractive to simplify the programs due to the assumption that it may cut off a number of licenses. However, the application of risk analysis to screen permits is something different from other countries. In addition, the application of risk-based regulations also needs to pay attention to the critique that is not accommodated in the Law. This paper describes 4 (four) critiques of the application of risk-based regulation in the Law, (i) the omnibus format confuses risk assessment, (ii) volatility risk has not been considered, (iii) systemic risk has not been considered and (iv) potential “regulatory capture”. Conceptually, the application of risk-based regulation has sparked an academic discourse regarding the broad understanding of regulation that has evolved far from the narrow meaning in academic discourse in Indonesia which defines it only as a statutory regulation.

The Relationship between Patents, Technology Transfer and Desorptive Capacity in Korean Universities

This study sought to examine the relationship between patent rights and technology transfer performances of Korean universities and to analyze the moderating effect of the desorptive capacity of industry-academic cooperation foundations. Through this, we study the impact of universities’ patents on both the number of licenses and the license incomes of the universities. We also examine the meaning of the desorptive capacity between them. Regression analysis and structural equation modeling are performed by using the number of patents registered as an independent variable, the number of licenses and license incomes as dependent variables and the desorptive capacity as a moderating variable. The analysis shows that the patent had a positive relationship with both the number of licenses and license incomes. Desorptive capacity had no significant effect between patents and the number of technology transfers. However, it is seen as having a moderating effect between patents and licensing fees from the technology transfers. This paper meaningfully illustrates the desorptive capacity of the industry-academic cooperation foundation from the perspective of outbound open innovation and analyzes the moderating effect of desorptive capacity in relation to patent rights and technology transfer performances.

Moral distress among nurses: A mixed-methods study.

Moral distress is recognized as a problem affecting healthcare professionals globally. Unaddressed moral distress may lead to withdrawal from the moral dimensions of patient care, burnout, or leaving the profession. Despite the importance, studies related to moral distress are scant in Thailand. This study aims to describe the experience of moral distress and related factors among Thai nurses. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was used. The quantitative and qualitative data were collected in parallel using the Measure of Moral Distress for Healthcare Professionals and interview guide. The analysis was conducted separately and then integrated. Participants were Thai nurses from two large tertiary care institutions in a Southern province of Thailand. This study was approved by our organization's Institutional Review Board for Health Sciences Research, and by the Institutional Review Boards of the two local institutions in Thailand. Permission from the publisher was received to translate and utilize the Measure of Moral Distress (MMD-HP) under the license number: 4676990097151. A total of 462 participants completed the survey questions. The top 7 causes of moral distress were related to system-level root causes and end-of-life care situations. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that work units, considering leaving position, and number of moral distress episodes in the past year were significant predictors of moral distress. Twenty interviews demonstrated three main themes of distressing causes: (1) powerlessness (at patients/family-, team-, and organizational-levels), (2) end-of-life issues, and (3) poor team function (poor communication and collaboration, incompetent healthcare providers, and inappropriate behavior of colleagues). The integration of data from both components indicated that the qualitative interviews enrich the quantitative findings, especially as related to the top 7 causes of moral distress. Although the experience of moral distress among Thai nurses is similar to studies conducted elsewhere, the patient's and family's religious perspective that ties into the concept of moral distress needs to be explored. Although the root causes of moral distress are similar among different cultures, the experience of Thai nurses may vary according to culture and context.

Heme Oxygenase-1-Modified Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Perfusion Using a Normothermic Machine Perfusion System Reduces the Acute Rejection of Liver Transplantation by Regulating Natural Killer T Cell Co-Inhibitory Receptors

Background: Acute rejection (ACR) remains an important risk factor affecting the survival of recipients following liver transplantation (LT). Immunosuppressive agents are associated with many complications. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) are used in the treatment of organ transplantation; however, there is limited colonization in the target organs and a short survival time following systemic BMMSCs application. Methods: BMMSCs were isolated from rat bone marrow and modified with the adenovirus for heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) gene. HO-1/BMMSCs were perfused into the donor liver in vitro using a normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) system, followed by LT. The severity of ACR was evaluated and Gene chip technology was used to detect differential gene expression, then the flow cytometry was used to analyze changes in natural killer (NK) T cells. Findings: NMP can induce BMMSCs to colonize the donor liver during in vitro preservation, and the survival of HO-1/BMMSCs in the liver after transplantation was significantly longer than that of BMMSCs. When the donor liver contained HO-1/BMMSCs, the ACR of LT is obviously controlled, and the survival time was significantly prolonged. Interpretation: The application of HO-1/BMMSCs reduces the number of NKT cells in the liver following transplantation, increases the expression of the NKT cell co-inhibitory receptors, BTLA and CD160, and reduces the level of NKT cell expression of IFN-γ. Thus, NK cell and CD8+ T cell activation was inhibited, which reduced the ACR. Funding Information: The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82070639, 81670574, 81441022 and 81270528). Declaration of Interests: All of the authors declared no conflict of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: All animal protocols were based on the National Institutes of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (National Institutes of Health publication 85 - 23, Bethesda, MD). All procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of Tianjin First Central Hospital (license number: 2016-03-A1).

Automatic Vehicle Number Plate Recognition System Using Machine Learning

The number plate recognition (NPR) system is one of the categories of smart transportation and detection mechanism (STDM). This is a combination of the technology in which the application enables the system to detect and automatically read the license id of number plate of vehicle from digitally captured images. Automatically capturing the license plate is the process of detecting and transforming the pixels data of a digital image into the plain text data or ASCII text of the number plate. Our project contains a method for the vehicle number plate recognition from the image using mathematical morphological operations (erosion, dilation). The main objective is to use and combine different morphological operations in such a way that the license plate of the certain vehicle can be detected and translatedeffectively. This is based on various operation such as image improvement, Gray scale transformation, Bilateral Filtering edge detection and getting the number plate from the picture of vehicle. After the completion of the above-mentioned steps, now the process of segmentation is being applied to detect the text present on number plate by making use ofmatching of template and OCR. This system is able to detect the license number accurately as well as quickly from the vehicle’s picture.

Vehicle Registration and Traffic Violation Details Detection System by Capturing the Vehicle Number Plate in Sri Lanka

In most parts of the world, traffic law violations have been identified as a significant cause of road fatalities, with the majority occurring in developing countries. It is impossible for a police officer to distinguish between the license numbers of vehicles that break the laws and the license numbers of speeding vehicles. The main objective of this study is quickly identify vehicles that have broken traffic rules and collect information about their owners. For vehicle identification, this device employs image detection and character recognition technologies. The extracted vehicle number can be compared with database to see whether this vehicle belongs to the right person or not, as well as vehicle details, driver reference, and traffic violation details etc. As a result, developing such a method as a solution to various traffic problems is critical.

Alcohol availability and prevalent Chlamydia trachomatis in young Australians: a multi-level analysis.

Background Prevalence of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) has been associated with availability of alcohol. This paper investigates potential associations between prevalent cases of chlamydia in young people in Australia and the availability of alcohol within their local area, defined as postcode of residence. Methods Alcohol availability was determined at the postcode level using liquor licensing data, classified as total number of licences, number of 'take-away' licences and number of licenses by population. Participant data were drawn from a survey targeting Australians aged 16-29years in rural and regional Australia, capturing demographic details including postcode of residence, indicators of sexual behaviour including condom use and chlamydia test results. Mixed-effects logistic regression was used to examine potential associations between first, alcohol availability and chlamydia, and second, between condom use and chlamydia. Results We found little evidence of associations between alcohol availability and chlamydia in either unadjusted or adjusted models. After adjusting for alcohol availability, we observed significant associations between inconsistent condom use and chlamydia prevalence, whether alcohol availability was measured as total number (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.20; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20, 3.70), number of take-away licenses (AOR 2.19; 95% CI1.30, 3.69) or licenses per 1000 population (AOR 2.19; 95% CI 1.30, 3.68). Conclusion Little evidence of association between alcohol availability and chlamydia at the postcode level was found. Further research is required to determine appropriate measures of 'local area' and how characteristics thereof may impact on sexual health.

Understanding operation patterns of urban online ride-hailing services: A case study of Xiamen

Online ride-hailing has gradually become a popular travel choice worldwide, while it also brought policy challenges to balance the traditional taxi industry and online ride-hailing services. Understanding the operation patterns of urban online ride-hailing services is essential for government policy-making. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the operating characteristics of online ride-hailing vehicles due to limited empirical data. This paper proposes a cluster analysis framework for the identification of different operation patterns of urban online ride-hailing. The customer order and GPS data of online ride-hailing vehicles and traditional taxis in Xiamen, China is used in this study. The k-means++ clustering algorithm is used based on the proposed intensity and stability indices of ride-hailing vehicle operating characteristics. The results show that there are three types of online ride-hailing operation patterns, namely full-time (which accounts for 52.801%), part-time (29.502%), and occasional (17.697%). The operation pattern of full-time ride-hailing vehicles is similar to that of traditional taxis, but with lower intensity and stability due to a reduced workload and flexible time schedule. Part-time ride-hailing vehicles are operated unsteadily and irregularly in the drivers’ spare time, and the working time periods are mainly concentrated in the morning and evening peak hours. Occasional ride-hailing vehicles provide very limited service. Finally, several policy suggestions for online ride-hailing from the perspective of government management, e.g., the number of licenses and operation places and time periods, are proposed based on the results.

Optimizing SARS-CoV-2 Molecular Diagnostic Using N Gene Target

Background: Molecular diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 is a huge challenge to many countries around the world. The cost of tests to check infected people is inaccessible since specialized teams and equipment are not disposable in remote locations. Herein, we compared the fitness of two primers sets to the SARS-CoV-2 N gene in the molecular diagnosis of COVID-19.Methods: The 1029 patient samples were tested to presense/abscence molecular test using in house US CDC protocol. We compared the fitness of two primers sets to two different regions of N gene targets.Findings: Both targets, N1 and N2 displayed similar fitness during testing with no differences between Ct or measurable viral genome copies. In addition, we verified security ranges Cts related to positive diagnostic with Ct above 35 value failuring in 66,6% after retesting of samples.Interpretation: Our data suggest that it is secure to use just one primer set to the N gene to identify SARS-CoV-2 in samples and the labs should be careful to set positive samples in high Ct values using high cutoffs.Funding: Associação Baiana de Produtores de Algodão (ABAPA); Associação Baiana de Agricultores Irrigantes da Bahia (AIBA); Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia (FAPESB) (Grant Number: #1381/2020); FINEP (Grant Number: # 0418000600); CNPq; CAPES, MEC, MCTIC.Declaration of Interests: None to declare.Ethics Approval Statement: The Research Ethics Committee of UFOB approved this study in 2020 (license number: 30629520.6.0000.0008). All clinical investigations were conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki.

Observational study of the association between diverse licensed premises types and alcohol-related violence in an inner-London borough

BackgroundAn ecological correlation has been observed between licensed premises and alcohol-related violence (ARV). In the UK to date, no evidence directly connects alcohol-related harm to a single premises type. Recent...

Empowered or engaged employees? A fuzzy set analysis on knowledge transfer professionals

PurposeThis paper combines the literature on knowledge transfer and that on organizational behavior to analyze how perceived empowerment and perceived engagement affect knowledge transfer offices’ (KTOs’) performance, measured in terms of the number of license agreements.Design/methodology/approachThe authors measured the cognitions which constitute perceived empowerment and perceived engagement through a survey sent to Italian KTOs’ professionals. The authors performed “fuzzy set qualitative analysis” to investigate if this cognition, together or in isolation, may influence KTOs’ management performance, measured by the number of license agreements.FindingsThe results highlight the role of individual cognitions in influencing KTOs’ performance. Furthermore, an important finding from the analysis of the main configurations is that the co-presence of perceived engagement and perceived empowerment leads to more license agreements only in the presence of specific individual cognitions. More precisely, the level of organizational citizenship behavior, the degree to which an individual influences results at work (degree of impact) and the value of a work goal (degree of meaning) are the cognitions which lead to a higher number of license agreements.Originality/valueDespite the growing interest in the investigation of the determinants of KTOs’ performance, a relevant research gap still concerns the explanation of KTOs’ performance considering individual cognitions such as attitudes, norms, perceived behavioral control and intentions. This study looks at the combined effect of the individual cognition of perceived engagement and perceived empowerment on KTOs’ performances.

Efficiency changes in bottom trawling for flatfish species as a result of the replacement of mechanical stimulation by electric stimulation

AbstractAlthough fishing with electricity is illegal in the European Union, a number of temporary licences allowed converting beam trawlers to pulse trawling. To analyse how the adaption of pulse trawling changed this fishery, we studied fishing speeds and landings per unit effort as proxies for catch efficiencies for the main target species. Compared to conventional tickler chain beam trawls, pulse trawls were towed at lower speeds (small vessels −10%, large vessels −23%). Large vessels that switched from conventional beam trawls to pulse trawls at the end of 2009 gradually increased catch efficiency for sole over the period of almost 1 year. While pulse trawling was found to have higher catch rates (kg/h) for sole (small vessels +74%, large vessels +17%), lower catch rates were observed for plaice (small vessels −31%, large vessels −32%). Vessels that switched later achieved immediate gains in catch efficiency for sole. The change in catch efficiency is likely due to the difference in cramp response between the species.

HUNTING PRESSURE MODULATES PRION INFECTION RISK IN MULE DEER HERDS.

The emergence of chronic wasting disease, an infectious prion disease of multiple deer species, has motivated international calls for sustainable, socially accepted control measures. Here, we describe long-term, spatially replicated relationships in Colorado, US, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) herds that show hunting pressure can modulate apparent epidemic dynamics as reflected by prevalence trends. Across 12 areas in Colorado studied between 2002-18, those with the largest declines in annual hunting license numbers (pressure) showed the largest increases in the proportion of infected adult (≥2-yr-old) male deer killed by hunters (prevalence); prevalence trends were comparatively flat in most areas where license numbers had been maintained or increased. The mean number of licenses issued in the 2 yr prior best explained observed patterns: increasing licenses lowered subsequent risk of harvesting an infected deer, and decreasing licenses increased that risk. Our findings suggest that harvesting mule deer with sufficient hunting pressure might control chronic wasting disease-especially when prevalence is low-but that harvest prescriptions promoting an abundance of mature male deer contribute to the exponential growth of epidemics.

Features of laboratory data in the early diagnosis of tumors and ovarian tumours

At the moment, there are a huge number of risk factors for the development of a tumor process in the ovaries. One of the fundamental niches that allow us to suspect the presence of an imbalance in the body, and the presence of neoplasms is laboratory diagnostics. The purpose of our work was to evaluate changes in laboratory blood tests as a predictor of the development of oncological tumor process in the ovaries in patients of reproductive age (18-40 years). The collection and processing of laboratory data of 168 outpatient and inpatient medical histories of patients of reproductive age, operated on the basis of the Department of oncogynecology of the sbuz SOKOD for tumors and ovarian tumours from 2012 to 2015. Statistical analysis was performed using the statistical package SPSS21, license number 20130626-3 (An IBM Company; USA) and Microsoft Excel (Microsoft; USA). To achieve this goal, the patients were divided into groups according to the who morphological classification of 2013. A study of clinical blood analysis and biochemical blood analysis at the preoperative and early postoperative stages of treatment was conducted. The CA-125 titer was evaluated in two stages: as a qualitative and quantitative indicator. A study was also conducted for the presence of a genetic mutation in the BRCA 1 and 2 genes by taking a blood sample. In conclusion, we can conclude that on the basis of laboratory data it is impossible to conduct a differential diagnosis between tumors and tumor-like formations of the ovaries. When evaluating changes in General clinical blood tests, no significant changes were detected. Our work in a group of patients of reproductive age revealed the absence of mutations in the BRCA 1 and 2 genes. There was a significant increase in the tumor marker of the CA-125 titer (p = 0.015) in a group of patients with tumors and ovarian tumours aged 18–40 years.

Over the limit? Testing non-linear associations between alcohol outlets and young adults' alcohol consumption.

By specifying a threshold at which the number of liquor licences has the most impact on local populations, authorities can work to restrict licence approvals and help prevent alcohol-related harm. Raine Study Generation 2 participants reported their alcohol intake at 22 years (n = 843) and liquor licences within 1600 m of participants' homes were mapped. Analyses examined associations between licences (all licences, on-premise licences, liquor stores) and alcohol intake (g ethanol per day). Two models were fitted: (i) forced a straight-line relationship; and (ii) allowed a curved relationship via restricted cubic splines. The straight-line and curved models showed significant relationships with all licences (P = 0.002 and P = 0.002 respectively) and on-premise licences (P = 0.006 and P = 0.01 respectively), but not liquor stores (P = 0.065 and P = 0.13 respectively). The straight-line model indicated that alcohol consumption increased, on average, by 0.15 g per day for each additional licence and 0.17 g per day for each additional on-premise licence. The curved model indicated that consumption increased by around 0.4 g per day for each additional licence from 0 to 10, but increases were negligible for additional licences beyond 10. The curved model provided a better overall fit to the data than the straight-line model (R2 9.52% vs. 9.18%), but the improvement in fit did not quite reach statistical significance (P = 0.08). The curvature was similar, but less pronounced for on-premise licences (R2 9.11% vs. 8.95%; P = 0.23). Results suggest a possible saturation point at which additional licences have a smaller effect on the alcohol intake of 22-year-olds living in metropolitan Perth.