Environmental Factors in the Relapse and Recurrence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease:A Review of the Literature

The causes of relapse in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are largely unknown. This paper reviews the epidemiological and clinical data on how medications (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, estrogens and antibiotics), lifestyle factors (smoking, psychological stress, diet and air pollution) may precipitate clinical relapses and recurrence. Potential biological mechanisms include: increasing thrombotic tendency, imbalances in prostaglandin synthesis, alterations in the composition of gut microbiota, and mucosal damage causing increased permeability

Are researchers deliberately bypassing the technology transfer office? An analysis of TTO awareness

Most universities committed to the commercialization of academic research have established technology transfer offices (TTOs). Nonetheless, many researchers bypass these TTOs and take their inventions directly to the marketplace. While TTO bypassing has typically been portrayed as deliberate and undesirable behavior, we argue that it could be unintentional as many researchers may simply be unaware of the TTO’s existence. Taking an information-processing perspective and using data on 3250 researchers in 24 European universities, we examine researcher attributes associated with TTO awareness. Our evidence confirms that only a minority of researchers are aware of the existence of a TTO at their university. TTO awareness is greater among researchers who possess experience as entrepreneurs, closed many research and consulting contracts with industry partners, conduct research in medicine, engineering or life sciences, or occupy postdoctoral positions. Policy implications of these findings are discussed

Residentes em psiquiatria têm documentado problemas relacionados ao álcool em pacientes ambulatoriais? Do psychiatry residents document outpatients' alcohol problems?

INTRODUÇÃO: O consumo de álcool por pacientes que fazem tratamento psiquiátrico pode trazer inúmeras consequências negativas. Os objetivos deste estudo foram identificar o uso problemático de álcool entre pacientes psiquiátricos ambulatoriais e verificar se esse consumo foi documentado nos prontuários por residentes de psiquiatria. MÉTODO: Estudo descritivo, transversal, realizado em serviço ambulatorial de clínica psiquiátrica de hospital universitário localizado em Ribeirão Preto (SP). Foi utilizada uma amostra de conveniência formada por pacientes psiquiátricos ambulatoriais (n = 127). A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevista (dados sociodemográficos e instrumento de rastreamento de abuso de álcool - CAGE) e pela leitura de todas as anotações feitas por residentes de psiquiatria nos prontuários dos pacientes entrevistados (ficha para coleta de dados do prontuário). Para a análise dos dados, foram utilizados os pontos de corte > 1 e > 2 para o CAGE. RESULTADOS: Com CAGE > 1, 33,9% pontuaram positivo (n = 43) e, entre estes, 60,5% (n = 26) não tinham registros em seus prontuários sobre o uso de álcool (qui-quadrado = 20,12; p < 0,001). Com CAGE > 2, 16,5% pontuaram positivo (n = 21) e, entre estes, 38,1% (n = 8) não tinham registros em seus prontuários referentes ao consumo de bebidas alcoólicas (qui-quadrado = 29,10; p < 0,001). CONCLUSÃO: O número de subnotificações encontrado foi alto. Sugere-se que, no treinamento dos residentes de psiquiatria, sejam incluídos conteúdos relacionados a identificação precoce e intervenções para a prevenção de problemas relacionados ao uso de álcool.<br>INTRODUCTION: Consumption of alcohol by psychiatric patients can lead to many negative consequences. The objectives of this study were to identify the problematic use of alcohol in a group of psychiatric outpatients and to verify if this consumption was documented in their medical records by psychiatry medical residents. METHODS: Descriptive and cross-sectional study, carried out at the psychiatric outpatient clinic of a university hospital located in Ribeirão Preto, stat of São Paulo, Brazil. A convenience sample comprising 127 psychiatric outpatients was used. Data were collected using an interview (sociodemographic data and alcohol disorder screening instrument - CAGE) and by means of a review of all the notes written by psychiatry residents on medical charts (questionnaire for collecting data from the records). For data analysis, the CAGE cutoff points > 1 and > 2 were used. RESULTS: At CAGE > 1, 33.9% were CAGE positive (n = 43). Among the individuals with a positive CAGE score, 60.5% (n = 26) had no record of alcohol use on their medical charts (chi-square = 20.12; p < 0.001). At CAGE > 2, 16.5% were CAGE positive (n = 21). In 38.1% (n = 8) of these cases, alcohol use was not documented on their medical charts (chi-square = 29.10; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Undernotification of alcohol use was high. Topics related to early identification of and intervention for alcohol use-related problems should be included in the training of psychiatry residents

Anxiety and Depression Symptoms Among Farmers: The HUNT Study, Norway

Agriculture has undergone profound changes, and farmers face a wide variety of stressors. Our aim was to study the levels of anxiety and depression symptoms among Norwegian farmers compared with other occupational groups. Working participants in the HUNT3 Survey (The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study, 2006–2008), aged 19–66.9 years, were included in this cross-sectional study. We compared farmers (women, n = 317; men, n = 1,100) with HUNT3 participants working in other occupational groups (women, n = 13,429; men, n = 10,026), classified according to socioeconomic status. We used the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to measure anxiety and depression symptoms. Both male and female farmers had higher levels of depression symptoms than the general working population, but the levels of anxiety symptoms did not differ. The differences in depression symptom levels between farmers and the general working population increased with age. In an age-adjusted logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio (OR) for depression caseness (HADS-D ≥8) when compared with the general working population was 1.49 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.22–1.83) in men and 1.29 (95% CI: 0.85–1.95) in women. Male farmers had a higher OR of depression caseness than any other occupational group (OR = 1.94, 95% CI: 1.52–2.49, using higher-grade professionals as reference). Female farmers had an OR similar to men (2.00, 95% CI: 1.26–3.17), but lower than other manual occupations. We found that farmers had high levels of depression symptoms and average levels of anxiety symptoms compared with other occupational groups