United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Office of Human-Vehicle Performance Research

The Impact of Driver Inattention on Near-Crash/Crash Risk: An Analysis Using the 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study Data

Negative emotions can intensify a variety of health threats. We provide a broad framework relating negative emotions to a range of diseases whose onset and course may be influenced by the immune system; inflammation has been linked to a spectrum of conditions associated with aging, including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, Alzheimer's disease, frailty and functional decline, and periodontal disease. Production of proinflammatory cytokines that influence these and other conditions can be directly stimulated by negative emotions and stressful experiences. Additionally, negative emotions also contribute to prolonged infection and delayed wound healing, processes that fuel sustained proinflammatory cytokine production. Accordingly, we argue that distress-related immune dysregulation may be one core mechanism behind a large and diverse set of health risks associated with negative emotions. Resources such as close personal relationships that diminish negative emotions enhance health in part through their positive impact on immune and endocrine regulation.

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Emotions, morbidity, and mortality: new perspectives from psychoneuroimmunology.

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How to Research

Antiretroviral therapy has dramatically improved survival of HIV-infected individuals and reduced the incidence of AIDS-defining cancer but may have—directly or indirectly—increased cases of non–AI...

Incidence of Types of Cancer among HIV-Infected Persons Compared with the General Population in the United States, 1992–2003

This introductory text on the design and analysis of sample surveys emphasizes the practical aspects of survey problems. It begins with brief chapters on the role of sample surveys in the modern world. Thereafter, each chapter introduces a sample survey design or estimation procedure by describing the pertinent practical problem. The authors describe the methodology proposed for solving the problem and provide the details of the estimation procedure, including a compact presentation of the formulas needed to complete the analysis. Then, a practical example is worked out in complete detail. At the end of each chapter, a wealth of exercises gives students ample opportunity to practice the techniques and stretch their grasp of ideas.

Elementary Survey Sampling

Recent changes in veterinary medicine have required quantitative epidemiological techniques for designing field surveys, identifying risk factors for multifactorial diseases, and assessing diagnostic tests. Several relevant techniques are brought together in the package of veterinary epidemiological computer software, WIN EPISCOPE 2.0, described in this paper. It is based on Microsoft Windows and includes modules for the design and analysis of field surveys, control campaigns and observational studies, and a simple mathematical model. It provides comprehensive 'Help' screens and should therefore be useful not only in field investigations but also for teaching veterinary epidemiology.

WIN EPISCOPE 2.0: improved epidemiological software for veterinary medicine

Statistics in epidemiology: methods, techniques, and applications

A case-control study of 953 dogs with pyometra and 10,660 unmatched control dogs was used to investigate the relationships between age, parity, hormonal therapy and breed, and pyometra in Finnish dogs. Cases were reported in animals between nine months and 18 years of age, with a median age at diagnosis of nine years. Nulliparous bitches had a moderately higher risk of developing pyometra than primiparous and multiparous animals (adjusted odds ratio point estimate, 6.63). The administration of oestrogen increased the risk of pyometra in bitches up to four years of age (odds ratio point estimate > 6). No significant risk-enhancing effect of progestin treatment was detected and it is unlikely that such a risk, if present, is high (likelihood of the odds ratio exceeding 2 < 0.18). Seventeen breeds had an increased risk, and the wire-haired dachshund and mongrels had a decreased risk of developing the condition.

Associations between age, parity, hormonal therapy and breed, and pyometra in Finnish dogs.

Human brucellosis has been found to be prevalent in the urban areas of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. A cross-sectional study was designed to generate precise information on the prevalence of brucellosis in cattle and risk factors for the disease in its urban and peri-urban dairy farming systems. The adjusted herd prevalence of brucellosis was 6.5% (11/177, 95% CI: 3.6%-10.0%) and the adjusted individual animal prevalence was 5.0% (21/423, 95% CI: 2.7% - 9.3%) based on diagnosis using commercial kits of the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CELISA) for Brucella abortus antibodies. Mean within-herd prevalence was found to be 25.9% (95% CI: 9.7% - 53.1%) and brucellosis prevalence in an infected herd ranged from 9.1% to 50%. A risk factor could not be identified at the animal level but two risk factors were identified at the herd level: large herd size and history of abortion. The mean number of milking cows in a free-grazing herd (5.0) was significantly larger than a herd with a movement restricted (1.7, p < 0.001). Vaccination should be targeted at commercial large-scale farms with free-grazing farming to control brucellosis in cattle in and around Kampala city.

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Herd prevalence of bovine brucellosis and analysis of risk factors in cattle in urban and peri-urban areas of the Kampala economic zone, Uganda

Records of 243 cases of non-accidental injury (NAI) in dogs, and 182 cases in cats, submitted by a sample of small animal practitioners in the UK, revealed a wide range of injuries. These included bruises, fractures, repetitive injuries, burns and scalds, stab and incised wounds, poisoning, asphyxiation and drowning (which showed remarkable similarities to NAI in children), as well as sexual abuse and injuries specifically caused by firearms. Traumatic skeletal injuries in the dogs were more commonly found in the anterior part of the skeleton, in comparison with those resulting from road traffic accidents. Young male dogs and young cats were particularly at risk of NAI. A moderately increased risk was identified in the Staffordshire bull terrier, cross-breed dogs and the domestic shorthaired cat, whereas the Labrador retriever showed a decreased risk. No single injury or group of injuries, when divorced from the circumstances surrounding a suspect case, could be considered to indicate, conclusively, NAI. Repetitive injuries, however, were highly suggestive of NAI.

Michael Thrusfield

Papers

WIN EPISCOPE 2.0: improved epidemiological software for veterinary medicine

Statistics in epidemiology: methods, techniques, and applications

Associations between age, parity, hormonal therapy and breed, and pyometra in Finnish dogs.

Herd prevalence of bovine brucellosis and analysis of risk factors in cattle in urban and peri-urban areas of the Kampala economic zone, Uganda

'Battered pets': non-accidental physical injuries found in dogs and cats.