Clonality Determination by Detecting Unmodified Monoclonal Serum Free Light Chains Using On-Probe Extraction Coupled with Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

BACKGROUND: Serum free light chains (FLCs) are an essential clinical biomarker for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with plasma cell neoplasms. The current widely used immunoassay methods quantify total serum FLCs, which include monoclonal FLCs as well as FLCs in the polyclonal background. Patients with chronic diseases, inflammatory disorders, or renal dysfunction can have elevated total FLCs that lead to ambiguous results. These patients may benefit from a direct measurement of monoclonal FLCs. The purpose of this study was to develop a method that couples on-probe extraction (OPEX) with liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HR-MS), abbreviated to OPEX-MS, to directly determine the clonality of FLCs. METHODS: OPEX immunocapture was performed using microprobes loaded with anti-kappa or anti-lambda light chain antibodies. Captured proteins were separated by reversed-phase LC and analyzed by HR-MS. RESULTS: Four cohorts of samples from unique patients were tested based on immunoassay FLC results. The LC-HR-MS analysis in the OPEX-MS method provides both a unique retention time along with deconvoluted masses of FLC monomers and dimers for each clone. The study found that 16 out of 49 (33%) kappa FLC elevated samples as well as 83 out of 100 (83%) dual kappa and lambda FLC elevated samples did not have monoclonal FLCs, which is consistent with the knowledge that there is often no clonal population in samples with mildly elevated FLC immunoassay results. CONCLUSIONS: The OPEX-MS method can serve as a complementary approach to directly determine clonality in patients with difficult-to-interpret FLC immunoassay results.

Comparing code-free and bespoke deep learning approaches in ophthalmology.

AIM: Code-free deep learning (CFDL) allows clinicians without coding expertise to build high-quality artificial intelligence (AI) models without writing code. In this review, we comprehensively review the advantages that CFDL offers over bespoke expert-designed deep learning (DL). As exemplars, we use the following tasks: (1) diabetic retinopathy screening, (2) retinal multi-disease classification, (3) surgical video classification, (4) oculomics and (5) resource management. METHODS: We performed a search for studies reporting CFDL applications in ophthalmology in MEDLINE (through PubMed) from inception to June 25, 2023, using the keywords 'autoML' AND 'ophthalmology'. After identifying 5 CFDL studies looking at our target tasks, we performed a subsequent search to find corresponding bespoke DL studies focused on the same tasks. Only English-written articles with full text available were included. Reviews, editorials, protocols and case reports or case series were excluded. We identified ten relevant studies for this review. RESULTS: Overall, studies were optimistic towards CFDL's advantages over bespoke DL in the five ophthalmological tasks. However, much of such discussions were identified to be mono-dimensional and had wide applicability gaps. High-quality assessment of better CFDL applicability over bespoke DL warrants a context-specific, weighted assessment of clinician intent, patient acceptance and cost-effectiveness. We conclude that CFDL and bespoke DL are unique in their own assets and are irreplaceable with each other. Their benefits are differentially valued on a case-to-case basis. Future studies are warranted to perform a multidimensional analysis of both techniques and to improve limitations of suboptimal dataset quality, poor applicability implications and non-regulated study designs. CONCLUSION: For clinicians without DL expertise and easy access to AI experts, CFDL allows the prototyping of novel clinical AI systems. CFDL models concert with bespoke models, depending on the task at hand. A multidimensional, weighted evaluation of the factors involved in the implementation of those models for a designated task is warranted.

Medicinal cannabis use among young adults during California's transition from legalized medical use to adult-use: a longitudinal analysis.

Background: In 2016, California transitioned from legalized medical cannabis use to adult-use. Little is known about how this policy change affected medicinal cannabis use among young adults.Objectives: To identify longitudinal groups of medicinal cannabis users and concurrent changes in health- and cannabis use-related characteristics among young adults in Los Angeles between 2014 and 2021.Methods: Cannabis users (210 patients and 156 non-patients; 34% female; ages 18-26 at baseline) were surveyed annually across six waves. Longitudinal latent class analysis derived groups from two factors - cannabis patient status and self-reported medicinal use. Trajectories of health symptoms, cannabis use motives, and cannabis use (daily/near daily use, concentrate use, and problematic use) were estimated across groups.Results: Three longitudinal latent classes emerged: Recreational Users (39.3%) - low self-reported medicinal use and low-to-decreasing patient status; Recreational Patients (40.4%) - low self-reported medicinal use and high-to-decreasing patient status; Medicinal Patients (20.3%) - high self-reported medicinal use and high-to-decreasing patient status. At baseline, Medicinal Patients had higher levels of physical health symptoms and motives than recreational groups (p < .05); both patient groups reported higher level of daily/near daily and concentrate use (p < .01). Over time, mental health symptoms increased in recreational groups (p < .05) and problematic cannabis use increased among Recreational Patients (p < .01).Conclusions: During the transition to legalized adult-use, patterns of medicinal cannabis use varied among young adults. Clinicians should monitor increases in mental health symptoms and cannabis-related problems among young adults who report recreational - but not medicinal - cannabis use.

Mental and Physical Health-Related Cannabis Motives Mediate the Relationship between Childhood Trauma and Problematic Cannabis Use over Time among Emerging Adult Cannabis Users.

BACKGROUND: While growing evidence has identified mental and physical health-related cannabis use motives as significant mechanisms between childhood trauma and problematic cannabis use (PCU) for emerging adults (EA), there is a need to understand the longitudinal stability of these pathways and how they impact PCU as cannabis users age into later adulthood. METHODS: The current study extends an analysis examining the impact of childhood trauma (e.g., emotional abuse, sexual abuse) on multiple indicators of PCU through a range of cannabis use motives. 339 medical cannabis patient and non-patient EA users from the Los Angeles area were sampled at baseline (mean age = 21.23; SD = 2.48). The present analysis used four waves of follow-up data collected from 2016 to 2018 (W3, W4) and 2019-2020 (W5, W6). RESULTS: Use of cannabis to cope with nausea, sleep, pain, and emotional distress mediated the relationships between some types of childhood abuse and PCU at W4, though most associations attenuated by later adulthood (W6). Specifically, greater emotional distress and nausea motives were associated with greater PCU in models of emotional abuse and neglect and sexual abuse, with emotional distress continuing to mediate at W6. Conversely, sleep and pain motives were associated with lower PCU in models for emotional neglect. CONCLUSIONS: Mental and physical health-related motives reflect potential intervenable factors that predict PCU in emerging adulthood among EA cannabis users with histories of childhood trauma. Results highlight the importance of and value for assessing a wide range of motives and PCU outcomes to target and address areas for intervention.

Neutral-Coating Capillary Electrophoresis Coupled with High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry for Top-Down Identification of Hemoglobin Variants.

BACKGROUND: Identification of hemoglobin (Hb) variants is of significant value in the clinical diagnosis of hemoglobinopathy. However, conventional methods for identification of Hb variants in clinical laboratories can be inadequate due to the lack of structural characterization. We describe the use of neutral-coating capillary electrophoresis coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (CE-HR-MS) to achieve high-performance top-down identification of Hb variants. METHODS: An Orbitrap Q-Exactive Plus mass spectrometer was coupled with an ECE-001 capillary electrophoresis (CE) unit through an EMASS-II ion source. A PS1 neutral-coating capillary was used for CE. Samples of red blood cells were lysed in water and diluted in 10 mM ammonium formate buffer for analysis. Deconvolution of raw mass spectrometry data was carried out to merge multiple charge states and isotopic peaks of an analyte to obtain its monoisotopic mass. RESULTS: The neutral-coating CE could baseline separate individual Hb subunits dissociated from intact Hb forms, and the HR-MS could achieve both intact-protein analysis and top-down analysis of analytes. A number of patient samples that contain Hb subunit variants were analyzed, and the variants were successfully identified using the CE-HR-MS method. CONCLUSIONS: The CE-HR-MS method has been demonstrated as a useful tool for top-down identification of Hb variants. With the ability to characterize the primary structures of Hb subunits, the CE-HR-MS method has significant advantages to complement or partially replace the conventional methods for the identification of Hb variants.

COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Attitudes Within Two Cohorts of Younger Adult Cannabis Users.

It is crucial to understand COVID-19 vaccine uptake and attitudes among young adult cannabis users given the lowest vaccination rates among young adults and negative association between cannabis use and willingness to get vaccinated. 18-21-year-old and 26-33-year-old cohorts of cannabis users, recruited in California, were surveyed about the COVID-19 vaccine uptake/attitudes between March-August 2021. Cannabis use/demographic differences were investigated by vaccination status. Vaccine attitudes data were categorized and presented descriptively. 44.4% of the older and 71.8% of the younger cohorts were vaccinated. Non-Hispanic Black/African American race/ethnicity, lack of health insurance, and medicinal orientation towards cannabis use were negatively associated with vaccine receipt within the older cohort. For both cohorts, top reasons for vaccine hesitancy and rejection were concerns about speed of development, potential side effects, natural immunity, and lack of trust of vaccines. Our results highlight greater vaccine hesitance/rejection and need for targeted interventions among mid-20's-early-30's cannabis users.

Coping Motives Mediate the Association of Trauma History with Problematic Cannabis Use in Young Adult Medical Cannabis Patients and Non-Patient Cannabis Users.

Background: Despite evidence of the contribution of childhood trauma to the development of problematic cannabis use, its mediating pathways are largely unknown. Given the link between cannabis motives with trauma and problematic cannabis use, motives of use may represent a construct through which trauma impacts problematic cannabis use. Methods: A sample of 339 medical cannabis patient and non-patient young adult users from the Los Angeles area were sampled at baseline and one year later. The current study examined the impact of childhood trauma on problematic use through a variety of cannabis use motives. Results: Controlling for age, socioeconomic status, perceived stress, and baseline problematic use, endorsing the use of cannabis to cope with distress at baseline uniquely mediated the associations between different childhood trauma types (e.g., physical abuse, neglect, sexual trauma) and problematic use one year later. Experience of any childhood trauma was positively associated with coping motives, whereas emotional and physical abuse were positively associated with pain motives, and sexual abuse was positively associated with sleep motives. Using cannabis for coping and increasing attention/focus were also positively associated with higher problematic use, whereas using cannabis for sleep was inversely associated with problematic use one year later. Conclusions: The motives of coping with distress and inattention may represent intermediate constructs through which trauma leads to later problematic cannabis use. Results highlight the need to clarify the pathways between health and non-health-oriented motives and cannabis use over time.

COVID-19's Impact on Substance Use and Well-Being of Younger Adult Cannabis Users in California: A Mixed Methods Inquiry.

Few qualitative studies have examined the impact of COVID-19 on cannabis and alcohol use, and overall well-being among cannabis users. Cannabis users (aged 26-32) were surveyed quantitatively (n=158) and interviewed qualitatively (n=29) in April 2020-May 2021 in Los Angeles. 63.3% of the quantitative sample reported increasing use of either cannabis (29.1%) or alcohol (15.2%) or both (19.0%) following the COVID-19 outbreak. Qualitative data revealed that increases in cannabis and alcohol use were largely attributed to changes in employment and staying at home resulting in fewer impediments and boredom. Themes of loneliness and utilization of various coping strategies were more pronounced among those who increased cannabis and/or alcohol use. For some, increases in cannabis/alcohol use were temporary until participants adjusted to "a new normal" or embraced more adaptive coping strategies. Results suggest monitoring cannabis/alcohol use trends and identifying coping strategies to reduce the pandemic's impact on substance use and mental health.

Pain Profiles among Young Adult Cannabis Users: An Analysis of Antecedent Factors and Distal Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Pain is a primary reason for medical cannabis use among young adults, however little is known about the patterns of pain in this group. This study identified pain profiles among young adult cannabis users and examined related antecedents and distal outcomes. METHODS: Past 30-day cannabis users aged 18-26, both medical cannabis patients and non-patients, were enrolled in Los Angeles in 2014-2015. A latent class analysis was used to identify pain classes based on history of chronic pain conditions and recent non-minor pain. The study assessed the predictors of membership in pain classes and examined the association of classes with recent mental health characteristics, cannabis use motives and practices. RESULTS: Three classes were identified: Low pain (56.3%), Multiple pain (27.3%), and Nonspecific pain (16.4%). In adjusted models, lifetime insomnia was associated with membership in Multiple pain and Nonspecific pain classes versus the Low pain class. Medical cannabis patients and Hispanics/Latinos were more likely to belong to the Multiple pain class than the other classes. Regarding recent outcomes, the Multiple pain and Nonspecific pain classes were more likely than the Low pain class to use cannabis to relieve physical pain. Additionally, the Multiple pain class had a higher probability of psychological distress, self-reported medical cannabis use, consuming edibles, and using cannabis to sleep compared to one or both other classes. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that young adult cannabis users can be separated into distinct groups with different pain profiles. The Multiple pain profile was associated with medically-oriented cannabis use motives and practices.

Impact of ambulatory antimicrobial stewardship on prescribing patterns for urinary tract infections.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Currently, there are limited data on ambulatory antimicrobial stewardship (AAMS) programmes in the primary care setting. The purpose of this study was to implement a pharmacist-led AAMS programme for uncomplicated cystitis (UC) and pyelonephritis in a hospital-based family medicine residency clinic. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was used to assess clinician prescribing habits and identify areas of inappropriate prescribing. Females between 18 and 64 years old diagnosed with UC or pyelonephritis were included in the analysis. The primary objective was a composite of appropriate choice of antibiotic based on first-line recommendations, appropriate dose and appropriate duration of therapy. The intervention included development of a guideline-based antibiotic treatment summary accessible in the electronic health record (EHR), clinician education sessions for medical residents and faculty, and treatment defaults in the EHR. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Eighty-one patients were included in the pre-intervention group and 81 in the post-intervention group. In the pre-intervention group, 37% of patients met the composite primary outcome vs. 71.6% in the post-intervention group (P < .001) for UC and pyelonephritis combined. This was primarily driven by improvement in appropriate duration of therapy for both diagnoses which increased from 44.4% to 84.0% (P < .001). WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSIONS: A pharmacist-led AAMS programme significantly improved guideline-based treatment adherence for UC and pyelonephritis based on the composite of appropriate choice of antibiotic, appropriate dose and appropriate duration of therapy in a primary care family medicine setting.

The Role of Life Events/Contextual Factors and Cannabis Use in Patterns of Other Drug Use Among Young Adult Cannabis Users in Los Angeles: A Qualitative Inquiry.

This analysis examined the role of impactful life events/stressful contextual factors and cannabis use in the patterns of illicit drug use. It utilized semi-structured qualitative interviews with 40 young adult medical cannabis patients and 22 non-patient users collected in Los Angeles during 2014-2015. Three patterns of illicit drug use emerged based on participants' narratives: regular/problematic, recreational/occasional, and never users. Among regular/problematic users, a common theme was the lasting impact of traumatic life events or stressful contextual factors on transition to and away from problematic drug use, and using cannabis to cope with negative after effects of drug use. In contrast, most recreational/occasional and never users, who reported impactful life events or stressful contextual factors, used cannabis to cope with those experiences. Family history of addiction and acceptance of cannabis use within a family as protective factors against illicit drug use among some recreational/occasional and never users was an unexpected finding.

Marijuana sources in a medical marijuana environment: dynamics in access and use among a cohort of young adults in Los Angeles, California.

While a range of sources exist for marijuana users to acquire marijuana for medical or personal use, prior research on marijuana sources primarily focused on single sources. In this analysis, we longitudinally examined characteristics of multiple sources selected by marijuana users, motivations to use sources, and how a blend of marijuana sources accommodated users' needs. Young adult marijuana users (n=60) in Los Angeles, CA, where marijuana has been legal for medical use since 1996, completed two annual qualitative interviews on marijuana use practices and sources between 2014 and 2016. Approximately two-thirds were medical marijuana patients and one-third were non-patient users. Participants reported acquiring marijuana from the following primary sources across two interviews: dispensaries and delivery services, private sellers in the illicit market, friends and family, and marijuana events/conferences. While patients with legal medical access to marijuana typically purchased marijuana from dispensaries or delivery services, they often supplemented from other illicit sources. Non-patients often accessed marijuana through dispensary diversion but also other sources. As patients became non-patients and vice versa during the study period, source type changed too. Broad access to marijuana via legal and illicit sources in this sample is indicative of societal trends towards normalization of marijuana use.

Visualizing Air Pollution: Communication of Environmental Health Information in a Chinese Immigrant Community.

This study developed and evaluated a visual approach to promoting environmental health literacy about highway pollution. The Interactive Map of Chinatown Traffic Pollution was the centerpiece of a communication approach designed to make complex scientific information about traffic-related air pollution comprehensible to Chinese immigrants with limited English proficiency. The map enabled visualization of the spatial distribution of ultrafine particles (less than 100 nanometers in diameter), a toxic and invisible form of air pollution, in Boston Chinatown. A university-community partnership enabled design of intergenerational training sessions aimed toward empowering community members to take health-promoting actions that reduce exposure to ultrafine particulate pollution. A mixed methods approach was taken to evaluation. Nine high school youth learned to use the map and then tutored adults recruited from English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and from a community workshop. Seventy-three of these adults completed a pre-post survey measuring change in three domains: pollution knowledge, attitudes toward environmental issues, and self-efficacy in using maps. Adult participants demonstrated statistically significant improvements in all three domains (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, all p < 0.01). Seventeen adults and nine youth participated in interviews. Interview participants reported adjusting daily routines to reduce exposure to pollution.

Density of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries and Current Marijuana Use among Young Adult Marijuana Users in Los Angeles.

Background: While tobacco and alcohol studies have focused on density of outlets as a determinant of consumption, research has begun examining the effects of medical marijuana (MM) dispensaries on marijuana use. Objectives: Examine the relationship between density of MM dispensaries and frequency of marijuana use among young adult medical marijuana patients (MMP) and nonpatient users (NPU). Methods: Young adult marijuana users (n = 329) aged 18- to 26-year old were sampled in Los Angeles in 2014-2015 and separated into MMP (n = 198) and NPU (n = 131). In 2014, 425 operational MM dispensaries were identified within the City of Los Angeles. Sequential multilevel Poisson random effect models examined density of MM dispensaries per square mile and 90 d marijuana use among MMP and NUP at the ZIP code level while controlling for demographic, behavioral, and community characteristics. Results: Density of MM dispensaries was not related to 90 d use of marijuana (days of use or hits per day) among either MMP or NPU. MMP reported significantly greater days of marijuana use in the past 90 d compared to NPU but no differences were found for hits per day. African-Americans reported significantly greater hits per day compared to whites. Hispanics reported significantly fewer hits per day compared to non-Hispanics. Conclusion: Concentration of MM dispensaries surrounding young adult marijuana users in Los Angeles was unrelated to days of marijuana use irrespective of having a MM recommendation or not. Rather, individual factors related to consumer choices and behaviors were more important in determining recent marijuana use among MMP and NPU.

Network correlates of sexual health advice seeking and substance use among members of the Los Angeles House and Ball communities.

House and Ball communities (HBCs), represent a prime context for human immunodeficiency virus prevention with African American young men who have sex with men and transgender persons. This study sought to understand the composition and function of social support and sexual networks of HBC members in Los Angeles, California (N = 263). Participants were recruited using venue-based sampling and asked to report on sexual health advice seeking, alcohol use and illicit substance use. Participants were more likely to seek sexual health advice from social support network members compared with sexual network members [odds ratio (OR): 2.50, P < 0.001]. HBC members were more likely to get drunk (OR: 1.57; P < 0.05) and use illicit substances (OR: 1.87; P < 0.10) with House members and sexual network members compared with non-House members and social support network members. Health promotion programs tailored for the HBC should encourage open communication regarding sexual health; these interventions must include information about the role of substance use in sexual risk taking.

Minority stress experiences and psychological well-being: the impact of support from and connection to social networks within the Los Angeles House and Ball communities.

African American young men who have sex with men (AAYMSM) from the House and Ball communities are at high risk for HIV infection. Because these communities are not only sources of risk but also support for AAYMSM, researchers must also consider the resources these communities possess. This knowledge will assist in the formulation of more effective prevention strategies and intervention approaches. Using minority stress theory as a framework, the current study illustrates the impact minority stress has on the psychological well-being of a sample of MSM from the Los Angeles House and Ball communities and investigates how these factors affect the relationship between minority stress and psychological well-being. Surveys were administered to participants over the course of a year. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate a model of the associations between minority stressors, support, connection to social network, and psychological well-being/distress (N = 233). The results indicated significant associations between different sources of minority stress, including distal minority stress (e.g., racism, homophobia), gay identification, and internalized homophobia. Minority stressors were in turn significantly associated with greater distress. However, greater instrumental support significantly reduced the effects of distal minority stress on distress. Greater connection to social network also significantly reduced stress associated with gay identification on distress. The findings captured the diverse sources of minority stress faced by this population and how these stressors are interrelated to impact mental health. The results also illustrate how support from and connection to social networks can reduce the negative impact of minority stress experiences.

The role of saliency maps in enhancing ophthalmologists' trust in artificial intelligence models.

PURPOSE: Saliency maps (SM) allow clinicians to better understand the opaque decision-making process in artificial intelligence (AI) models by visualising the important features responsible for predictions. This ultimately improves interpretability and confidence. In this work, we review the use case for SMs, exploring their impact on clinicians' understanding and trust in AI models. We use the following ophthalmic conditions as examples: (1) glaucoma, (2) myopia, (3) age-related macular degeneration, and (4) diabetic retinopathy. METHOD: A multi-field search on MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science was conducted using specific keywords. Only studies on the use of SMs in glaucoma, myopia, AMD, or DR were considered for inclusion. RESULTS: Findings reveal that SMs are often used to validate AI models and advocate for their adoption, potentially leading to biased claims. Overlooking the technical limitations of SMs, and the conductance of superficial assessments of their quality and relevance, was discerned. Uncertainties persist regarding the role of saliency maps in building trust in AI. It is crucial to enhance understanding of SMs' technical constraints and improve evaluation of their quality, impact, and suitability for specific tasks. Establishing a standardised framework for selecting and assessing SMs, as well as exploring their relationship with other reliability sources (e.g. safety and generalisability), is essential for enhancing clinicians' trust in AI. CONCLUSION: We conclude that SMs are not beneficial for interpretability and trust-building purposes in their current forms. Instead, SMs may confer benefits to model debugging, model performance enhancement, and hypothesis testing (e.g. novel biomarkers).

Latent transition analysis of time-varying cannabis use motives to inform adaptive interventions.

OBJECTIVE: The rising prevalence of daily cannabis use among older adolescents and young adults in the United States has significant public health implications. As a result, more individuals may be seeking or in need of treatment for adverse outcomes (e.g., cannabis use disorder) arising from excessive cannabis use. Our objective was to explore the potential of self-reported motives for cannabis use as a foundation for developing adaptive interventions tailored to reduce cannabis consumption over time or in certain circumstances. We aimed to understand how transitions in these motives, which can be collected with varying frequencies (yearly, monthly, daily), predict the frequency and adverse outcomes of cannabis use. METHOD: We conducted secondary analyses on data collected at different frequencies from four studies: the Medical Cannabis Certification Cohort Study (n = 801, biannually), the Cannabis, Health, and Young Adults Project (n = 359, annually), the Monitoring the Future Panel Study (n = 7,851, biennially), and the Text Messaging Study (n = 87, daily). These studies collected time-varying motives for cannabis use and distal measures of cannabis use from adolescents, young adults, and adults. We applied latent transition analysis with random intercepts to analyze the data. RESULTS: We identified the types of transitions in latent motive classes that are predictive of adverse outcomes in the future, specifically transitions into or staying in classes characterized by multiple motives. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of such transitions has direct implications for the development of adaptive interventions designed to prevent adverse health outcomes related to cannabis use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Erythrocyte adenosine deaminase: diagnostic value for Diamond-Blackfan anaemia.

Diamond-Blackfan anaemia (DBA) is an inherited bone marrow failure syndrome (IBMFS) characterized by red cell aplasia. Mutations in ribosomal genes are found in more than 50% of cases. Elevated erythrocyte adenosine deaminase (eADA) was first noted in DBA in 1983. In this study we determined the value of eADA for the diagnosis of DBA compared with other IBMFS; the association of eADA in DBA with age, gender or other haematological parameters; and the association with known DBA-related gene mutations. For the diagnosis of DBA compared with non-DBA patients with other bone marrow failure syndromes, eADA had a sensitivity of 84%, specificity 95%, and positive and negative predictive values of 91%. In patients with DBA there was no association between eADA and gender, age, or other haematological parameters. Erythrocyte ADA segregated with, as well as independent of, known DBA gene mutations. While eADA was an excellent confirmatory test for DBA, 16% of patients with classical clinical DBA had a normal eADA.

Personal social network factors associated with overdose prevention training participation.

We investigated social network factors associated with participation in overdose prevention training among injection drug users (IDUs). From 2008 to 2010, 106 IDUs who had witnessed an overdose in the past year from two syringe exchange programs in Los Angeles provided data on overdose prevention training status (trained vs. untrained), social networks, history of overdose, and demographics. In multivariate logistic regression, naming at least one network member who had been trained in overdose prevention was significantly associated with being trained (Adjusted Odds Ratio 3.25, 95% Confidence Interval 1.09, 9.68). Using social network approaches may help increase training participation. Limitations are noted.