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Food insecurity contributes to racial/ethnic disparities in health. This is the first study to examine associations among food insecurity, sleep, and cardiometabolic outcomes in urban American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth.Participants were 142 urban AI/AN youth (mean age = 14 years, 58% female). Food insecurity and self-reported sleep disturbance were measured using validated surveys. A multi-dimensional sleep health composite was derived using questionnaires (ie, satisfaction, alertness) and actigraphy-derived indices (ie, duration, efficiency, regularity, timing). Cardiometabolic measures included body mass index, blood pressure, glycosylated hemoglobin, waist circumference, cholesterol, and triglycerides. Covariates were sex, age, and single-parent household.Greater food insecurity was significantly associated with greater body mass index (b = 0.12, p = .015), higher systolic blood pressure (b = 0.93, p = .03), and greater sleep disturbance (b = 1.49, p.001), and marginally associated with lower sleep health composite scores (b = -0.09, p = .08). There was a significant indirect path from greater food insecurity to greater waist circumference through poorer sleep health (0.11, 95% bootstrapping CI: [0.01, 0.30]).Food insecurity is an important correlate of sleep and cardiometabolic health among urban AI/AN youth and should be addressed to reduce emerging health risks during this important developmental period. Policies to reduce food insecurity and increase access to healthy foods as well as sleep interventions for these youth could help, as preliminary findings suggest that sleep health may mediate the negative impact of food insecurity on cardiometabolic risks.

Purpose: This study examined differences in measures of health-related physical fitness in adolescents before and after extended school closures due to COVID-19. Method: The sample consisted of 298 students (135 males and 163 females) from a laboratory high school. Data were collected through FITNESSGRAM assessments. A repeated-measures multivariate analysis of covariance was calculated to analyze differences in fitness before and after COVID-19 closures, including McNemar–Bowker and McNemar tests. Results: Statistically significant differences were identified for Progressive Aerobic Capacity Endurance Run (−4.2%; 1.8 ml·kg−1·min−1) and curl-up (−12.5%; 7.9 repetitions). In addition, 18.8% fewer students were classified within the Healthy Fitness Zone for Progressive Aerobic Capacity Endurance Run, 4% for curl-up, 10.8% for push-up, and 6.4% for sit and reach. Conclusion: Results of this study demonstrate that there was a significant decline in physical fitness for secondary students during extended school closures and social isolation as a result of COVID-19.

The death of a spouse is associated with maladaptive immune alterations; grief severity may exacerbate this link. We investigated whether high grief symptoms were associated with an amplified inflammatory response to subsequent stress among 111 recently bereaved older adults. Participants completed a standardized psychological stressor and underwent a blood draw before, 45 min after, and 2 hr after the stressor. Those experiencing high grief symptoms (i.e., scoring > 25 on the Inventory of Complicated Grief) experienced a 45% increase in interleukin-6 (IL-6; a proinflammatory cytokine) per hour, whereas those experiencing low grief symptoms demonstrated a 26% increase. In other words, high grief was related to a 19% increase in IL-6 per hour relative to low grief. The grief levels of recently bereaved people were associated with the rate of change in IL-6 following a subsequent stressor, above and beyond depressive symptoms. This is the first study to demonstrate that high grief symptoms promote inflammation following acute stress.

Expectations for behavior that might influence early-stage attraction in romantic relationships are likely to be influenced by cultural values, such as those found in cultures of honor. Honor-based ideals emphasize reputation maintenance and create powerful expectations for the behaviors of men and women. This study sought to examine the role of masculine honor norms in how college women in the southern United States respond to behavioral cues presented by a man in an online dating simulation. Specifically, women who more strongly endorsed masculine honor norms demonstrated an insensitivity to aggressive behavior reported by a man who was a potential romantic partner compared to women who did not endorse these same honor norms. Results indicate that honor-oriented women reported strong romantic interest in a male even when he reveals aggressive actions in his online dating profile. However, women who do not strongly endorse masculine honor norms reported significantly less romantic interest in the aggressive male compared to an otherwise-equivalent non-aggressive male. These results suggest that the impact of honor values on relational patterns can begin as early as the initial attraction stage before any interaction occurs.

The gut microbiome consists of the trillions of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that inhabit the digestive tract. These communities are sensitive to disruption from environmental exposures ranging from diet changes to illness. Disruption of the community of lactic acid producing bacteria,Lactobaccillacea, has been well documented in mood disorders and stress exposure. In fact, oral supplement with manyLactobacillusspecies can ameliorate these effects, preventing depression- and anxiety-like behavior. Here, for the first time, we utilize a gnotobiotic mouse colonized with the Altered Schaedler Flora to remove the two native species ofLactobaccillacea. Using this novel microbial community, we found that theLactobacillusspecies themselves, and not the disrupted microbial communities are protective from environmental stressors. Further, we determine thatLactobaccillaceaare maintaining homeostatic IFNγ levels which are mediating these behavioral and circuit level responses. By utilizing the Altered Schaedler Flora, we have gained new insight into how probiotics influence behavior and give novel methods to study potential therapies developed to treat mood disorders.

Freshwater biodiversity is declining at a fast pace despite significant efforts directed towards the management and conservation of aquatic systems. Specifically, amphibians are among the most threatened taxa, with loss of aquatic habitat and alteration of habitat quality among important drivers of decline. Eastern Hellbenders are one of North America’s most iconic stream amphibian species, a sentinel of stream health, and are experiencing rapid population declines throughout most of their range. Common conservation strategies include headstarting (raising animals in captivity from wild eggs until 3–4 years old) and releasing them into streams. However, the success of this strategy for rebuilding hellbender populations and the most optimal release scenarios have largely been unassessed. In this study, we use a cohort of 205 headstart animals released in several Ohio watersheds in 2018 to evaluate the success of headstarting and reintroduction efforts over 3 years. Using PIT-tag surveys over 25 occasions between July 2018 and November 2021 and capture-recapture models, we found that 3-year apparent survival post-release was 0.162 ± 0.061, with lower survival in the first year (0.383 ± 0.058) and higher in years 2 (0.696 ± 0.086) and 3 (0.609 ± 0.154). We used demographic simulations integrating survival data from this study and from the literature to evaluate the number of releases and timing of releases required for building self-sustaining populations. We found that, given the low survival post-release, releasing cohorts of N = 100 individuals at fewer suitable sites several times (e.g., 3 releases, 2 or 3 years apart) would be a better strategy to achieve a high number of breeding adults compared to single release events across multiple sites. In addition, Eastern Hellbender headstarting programs using wild eggs are highly beneficial in producing more animals reaching adulthood (up to 7 times) compared to allowing eggs to develop in the wild. This study emphasizes the need to monitor the success of reintroduction programs, particularly for species with cryptic lifestyles. It also provides evidence that headstarting can be a viable strategy for rebuilding Eastern Hellbender populations, particularly if implemented in tandem with other management actions such as improving habitat and water quality and mitigating other threats.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has profoundly affected sleep, although little research has focused on high-risk populations for poor sleep health, including American Indian/ Alaska Native (AI/AN) adolescents. METHODS: This is the first longitudinal study to examine changes in sleep with surveys completed before the pandemic and during the early months of COVID-19 in a sample of urban AI/AN adolescents (N=118; mean age= 14 years at baseline; 63% female). We use a mixed-methods approach to explore how COVID-19 affected urban AI/AN adolescents’ sleep, daily routines, and interactions with family and culture. Quantitative analysis examined whether pandemic-related sleep changes were significant and potential moderators of COVID-19’s effect on sleep, including family and community cohesion and engagement in traditional practices. RESULTS: Findings demonstrate changes in sleep, including increases in sleep duration, delays in bedtimes and waketimes, and increases in sleep-wake disturbances (p’s

In this article, the authors examine similarities between violent extremism and substance dependence. They review evidence from psychology, neuroscience, sociology, and public health that suggests that there are similarities in violent extremism and substance dependence in terms of the underlying neural pathways, social and psychological causes, behavioral patterns, and opportunities for prevention and intervention.

The polymerization of 1,4-benzenediboronic acid (BDBA) on mica to form a covalent organic framework (COF-1) reveals a dramatic increase in crystallinity when physically confined by exfoliated graphene. COF-1 domains formed under graphene confinement are highly geometric in shape and on the order of square micrometers in size, while outside of the exfoliated flakes, the COF-1 does not exhibit long-range mesoscale structural order, according to atomic force microscopy imaging. Micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirms the presence of COF-1 both outside and underneath the exfoliated graphene flakes, and density functional theory calculations predict that higher mobility and self-assembly are not causes of this higher degree of crystallinity for the confined COF-1 domains. The most likely origin of the confined COF-1's substantial increase in crystallinity is from enhanced dynamic covalent crystallization due to the water confined beneath the graphene flake.

The loss of a spouse is considered one of the most significant life change-related stressors. Bereaved spouses have significantly increased risk of chronic inflammation, and ultimately greater morbidity and mortality. High levels of proinflammatory cytokines are related to negative health outcomes. In bereavement, the ability to successfully regulate emotion is a vital skill for healthy coping and may represent a key psychological mechanism accounting for varying degrees of resilience. Psychological distancing is a frequently adaptive emotion regulation strategy in which an individual appraises a negative situation by taking a step back and distancing oneself, and coolly evaluates what is happening. The objective of the present work was to investigate whether psychological distancing, implementedParticipants (We found that LD was significantly associated with a panel of a priori proinflammatory stimulated cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IFN-γ, IL-17A, and IL-2), bereavement-related health indices, and the relationship between grief symptoms and inflammation varied depending on the participants' implementation of LD.LD may have a buffering effect for this vulnerable population. This work elucidates novel dependencies among language, emotion, and health. This work identifies resilience factors and probes the translational value of LD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The negative emotions generated following stressful life events can increase one’s risk of depressive symptoms and promote higher levels of perceived stress. The process model of emotion regulation can help distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies to determine who may be at the greatest risk of worse psychological health across the lifespan. Heart rate variability (HRV) may affect these relationships as it indexes aspects of self-regulation, including emotion and behavioral regulation, that enable an individual to dynamically adapt to the changing demands of both internal and external environments. In this study, we expected individual differences in resting vagally mediated HRV to moderate the influence of emotion regulatory strategies among our sample of 267 adults. We found support for the hypothesis that higher vagally mediated HRV buffers against the typical adverse effects of expressive suppression when evaluating depressive symptoms and found weak support when considering perceived stress. There was no evidence for an interaction between cognitive reappraisal and vagally mediated HRV but there was a significant, negative association between cognitive reappraisal and depressive symptoms and perceived stress. Future work may determine if intervening on either emotion regulation strategies or HRV may change these within-persons over time.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted sweeping changes to behavioral health care delivery in the Military Health System (MHS), which turned to telehealth to minimize disruptions and ensure continuity of care for service members. Four to seven months into the pandemic, MHS behavioral health staff at ten military treatment facilities shared their experiences using telehealth and their perspectives on its utility, barriers to its wider integration in the MHS, and concerns about its use in the post-pandemic future. Telehealth use was previously low across the MHS, but it increased dramatically with the onset of the pandemic. At the time they were interviewed, nearly all providers who treated service members with posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, or substance use disorders were using audio-only telehealth in some capacity. Although most were not using video telehealth, three-quarters expressed an openness to using it in the future. However, the widespread integration of telehealth in the MHS will need to include efforts to overcome technical and administrative barriers and to address provider concerns about telehealth modalities for behavioral health care delivery—for example, the need for clinical guidance on using telehealth with specific types of patients, and provider and patient orientation on using telehealth technology.

Background Recent trials have suggested use of balanced crystalloids may decrease the incidence of major adverse kidney events compared to saline in critically ill adults. The effect of crystalloid composition on biomarkers of early acute kidney injury remains unknown. Methods From February 15 to July 15, 2016, we conducted an ancillary study to the Isotonic Solutions and Major Adverse Renal Events Trial (SMART) comparing the effect of balanced crystalloids versus saline on urinary levels of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) among 261 consecutively-enrolled critically ill adults admitted from the emergency department to the medical ICU. After informed consent, we collected urine 36 ± 12 h after hospital admission and measured NGAL and KIM-1 levels using commercially available ELISAs. Levels of NGAL and KIM-1 at 36 ± 12 h were compared between patients assigned to balanced crystalloids versus saline using a Mann-Whitney U test. Results The 131 patients (50.2%) assigned to the balanced crystalloid group and the 130 patients (49.8%) assigned to the saline group were similar at baseline. Urinary NGAL levels were significantly lower in the balanced crystalloid group (median, 39.4 ng/mg [IQR 9.9 to 133.2]) compared with the saline group (median, 64.4 ng/mg [IQR 27.6 to 339.9]) (P P = 0.36). Conclusions In this ancillary analysis of a clinical trial comparing balanced crystalloids to saline among critically ill adults, balanced crystalloids were associated with lower urinary concentrations of NGAL and similar urinary concentrations of KIM-1, compared with saline. These results suggest only a modest reduction in early biomarkers of acute kidney injury with use of balanced crystalloids compared with saline. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT02444988. Date registered: May 15, 2015.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a T cell-driven autoimmune disease that attacks the myelin of the central nervous system (CNS) and currently has no cure. MS etiology is linked to both the gut flora and external environmental factors but this connection is not well understood. One immune system regulator responsive to nonpathogenic external stimuli is the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). The AHR, which binds diverse molecules present in the environment in barrier tissues, is a therapeutic target for MS. However, AHR’s precise function in T lymphocytes, the orchestrators of MS, has not been described. Here, we show that in a mouse model of MS, T cell-specific Ahr knockout leads to recovery driven by a decrease in T cell fitness. At the mechanistic level, we demonstrate that the absence of AHR changes the gut microenvironment composition to generate metabolites that impact T cell viability, such as bile salts and short chain fatty acids. Our study demonstrates a newly emerging role for AHR in mediating the interdependence between T lymphocytes and the microbiota, while simultaneously identifying new potential molecular targets for the treatment of MS and other autoimmune diseases.

Rationale: Clinical interest in combining targeted radionuclide therapies (TRT) with immunotherapies is growing. External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) activates a type 1 interferon (IFN1) response mediated via stimulator of interferon genes (STING), and this is critical to its therapeutic interaction with immune checkpoint blockade. However, little is known about the time course of IFN1 activation after EBRT or whether this may be induced by decay of a TRT source. Methods: We examined the IFN1 response and expression of immune susceptibility markers in B78 and B16 melanomas and MOC2 head and neck cancer murine models using qPCR and western blot. For TRT, we used 90Y chelated to NM600, an alkylphosphocholine analog that exhibits selective uptake and retention in tumor cells including B78 and MOC2. Results: We observed significant IFN1 activation in all cell lines, with peak activation in B78, B16, and MOC2 cell lines occurring 7, 7, and 1 days, respectively, following RT for all doses. This effect was STING-dependent. Select IFN response genes remained upregulated at 14 days following RT. IFN1 activation following STING agonist treatment in vitro was identical to RT suggesting time course differences between cell lines were mediated by STING pathway kinetics and not DNA damage susceptibility. In vivo delivery of EBRT and TRT to B78 and MOC2 tumors resulted in a comparable time course and magnitude of IFN1 activation. In the MOC2 model, the combination of 90Y-NM600 and dual checkpoint blockade therapy reduced tumor growth and prolonged survival compared to single agent therapy and cumulative dose equivalent combination EBRT and dual checkpoint blockade therapy. Conclusions: We report the time course of the STING-dependent IFN1 response following radiation in multiple murine tumor models. We show the potential of TRT to stimulate IFN1 activation that is comparable to that observed with EBRT and this may be critical to the therapeutic integration of TRT with immunotherapies.

Imminent death donation (IDD) is described as living organ donation prior to a planned withdrawal of life-sustaining care in an imminently dying patient. Although IDD was ethically justified by United Network for Organ Sharing, the concept remains controversial due to presumed lack of public support. The aim of this study was to evaluate the public's attitudes towards IDD. A cross-sectional survey was conducted of US adults age >18 years (n = 2644). The survey included a case scenario of a patient with a devastating brain injury. Responses were assessed on a 5-point Likert scale. Results showed that 68% - 74% of participants agreed or strongly agreed with IDD when posed as a general question and in relation to the case scenario. Participants were concerned about "recovery after a devastating brain injury" (34%), and that "doctors would not try as hard to save a patient's life" (33%). Only 9% of participants would be less likely to trust the organ donation process. In conclusion, our study demonstrates strong public support for IDD in the case of a patient with a devastating brain injury. Notably, participants were not largely concerned with losing trust in the organ donation process. These results justify policy change towards imminent death donation.

Children’s career aspirations are affected by cultural stereotypes about gender. We investigated rudimentary implicit associations and explicit gender attitudes about occupations with a diverse sample of fifty-eight (29 girls, 29 boys) 10-year-old children. We tested implicit gender associations using an adapted auditory Stroop task and tested explicit gender attitudes using the Gender-Stereotyped Attitude Scale for Children (GASC). We also modified a version of the GASC to assess children’s attitudes about a female and a male firefighter-paramedic seen in a brief video. Children also judged the firefighter-paramedics’ job skills. Children did not display implicit associations between occupations and one’s gender based on differences in the response times between the congruent and incongruent test trials that paired male and female voices with occupations, t(1762) = 0.65, p = .52, d = 0.03. Auditory voice stimuli might have confounded the tested associations between gender and occupations. The GASC findings highlighted gender stereotype flexibility about men and women. Girls were more flexible than boys on the job component of the GASC, t(56) = −2.12, p = .039, d = 0.55. The level of children’s gender stereotype flexibility varied by occupation. Children exhibited the most flexibility for who should be a doctor and the least flexibility for who should be a ballet dancer/teacher. Lastly, we assessed attitudes toward the specific woman featured in the video; children overwhelmingly saw her as a potentially good fire chief (vs. the man featured in the video; 91% selected Kate or both for who would be a better fire chief).

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a T cell driven autoimmune disease that attacks the myelin of the central nervous system and currently has no cure. MS etiology is linked to both the gut flora and external environmental factors but this connection is not well understood. One immune system regulator responsive to non-pathogenic external stimuli is the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). The AHR, which binds diverse molecules present in the environment in barrier tissues, is a therapeutic target for MS. However, AHR’s precise function in T lymphocytes, the orchestrators of MS, has not been described. Here we show that in a mouse model of MS, T cell specificAhrknockout leads to recovery driven by a decrease in T cell fitness. At the mechanistic level, we demonstrate that the absence of AHR changes the gut microenvironment composition to generate metabolites that impact T cell viability, such as bile salts and short chain fatty acids. Our study demonstrates a newly emerging role for AHR in mediating the interdependence between T lymphocytes and the microbiota, while simultaneously identifying new potential molecular targets for the treatment of MS and other autoimmune diseases.

Identity development during emerging adulthood helps lay down the structure of values, social bonds, and decision-making patterns that help determine adult outcomes, including patterns of substance use. Managing cultural identity may pose unique challenges for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) emerging adults in "urban" areas (away from tribal lands or reservations), who are relatively isolated from social and cultural connections. This isolation is in turn a product of cultural genocide and oppression, both historically and in the present day. This paper uses qualitative data from 13 focus groups with urban AI/AN emerging adults, parents, and providers to explore how cultural dynamics are related to substance use outcomes for urban AI/AN emerging adults. We found that cultural isolation as well as ongoing discrimination presents challenges to negotiating cultural identity, and that the AI/AN social and cultural context sometimes presented risk exposures and pathways for substance use. However, we also found that culture provided a source of strength and resilience for urban AI/AN emerging adults, and that specific cultural values and traditions - such as mindfulness, connection to nature, and a deep historical and cosmological perspective - offer "binding pathways" for positive behavioral health. We conclude with two suggestions for substance use prevention and intervention for this population: (1) incorporate these "binding pathways" for health and resilience explicitly into intervention materials; (2) emphasize and celebrate emerging adulthood itself as a sacred cultural transition.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42844-022-00058-w.