Abstract Objective Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with a range of negative health outcomes, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and neurocognitive deficits. ...This study identified symptom profiles in adult patients undergoing neuropsychological evaluations for ADHD and examined the association between these profiles and ACEs. Methods Utilizing unsupervised machine learning models, the study analyzed data from 208 adult patients. Results The Gaussian Mixture Model revealed two distinct symptom profiles: “Severely Impaired” and “Moderately Impaired”. The “Severely Impaired” profile, 23.6% of the sample, was characterized by more severe ADHD symptomatology in childhood and worse neurocognitive performance. The “Moderately Impaired” profile, 76.4% of the sample, had scores in the average range for self-reported internalizing and externalizing psychopathology and better neurocognitive performance. There was a greater number of ACEs reported by patients in the Severely Impaired profile than the Moderately Impaired profile (p = .022). Specifically, using an ACEs cutoff of ≥4, 53.1% of patients in the Severely Impaired profile reported four or more ACEs, compared with 34.6% in the Moderately Impaired profile (p = .020). Profiles were not related to clinician-ascribed diagnosis. Conclusions Findings underscore the association between ACEs and worse symptom profiles marked by impaired neurocognitive function, increased internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, and heightened perceived stress in adults with ADHD. Future research may explore the effect of ACEs on symptom profiles in diverse populations and potential moderators or mediators of these associations. Findings offers valuable insights for clinicians in their assessment and treatment planning.
Beans improve serum lipids and may reduce the risk of colon cancer by increasing colonic SCFA formation. We assessed whether pinto bean consumption affects in vitro fecal bacterial fermentation and ...production of SCFA, colonic bacterial populations, and serum lipids. Adults grouped as premetabolic syndrome (pre-MetSyn) (n = 40) or controls (n = 40) were randomly assigned to consume either a bean entrée 1/2 cup (130 g) of dried, cooked pinto beans or an isocaloric chicken soup entrée daily for 12 wk. Measurements included in vitro fecal fermentation of various resistant starch substrates, fecal bacterial speciation, and blood lipids. When expressed as a difference between baseline and treatment, propionate production from fecal material fermented in vitro with bean flour was higher (P < 0.02) in volunteers consuming beans than in those consuming soup. During the treatment period alone, bean consumption did not affect propionic acid production with any substrate but lowered (P < 0.02) butyric acid production when cornstarch was the substrate. In all volunteers, bean consumption decreased fecal production of isovaleric (P < 0.05) and isobutyric (P < 0.002) acids from cornstarch by as much as 50%. Of the bacterial populations tested, only Eubacterium limosum was affected by bean consumption and was ~50% lower than in those consuming soup. Beans lowered serum total cholesterol (P < 0.014) by ~8% in the controls and 4% in the pre-MetSyn group. Bean consumption lowered serum HDL-cholesterol (P < 0.05) and LDL-cholesterol (P < 0.05) in both groups without affecting serum triglycerides, VLDL cholesterol, or glucose. This study provides evidence that bean consumption can improve lipid profiles associated with cardiovascular disease, but does not clearly confer health benefits related to colon cancer risk.
Selenium (Se) is an essential nutrient, and Se deficiency is associated with disease conditions and general impairment of the immune system. Supplementation of Se to humans already consuming the RDA ...may help to prevent certain cancers. A convincing argument can be made for augmenting the food supply with Se, and Se-enhanced plants may be the best means of accomplishing this. Plants accumulate varying amounts of Se in different chemical forms; some plants accumulate Se in direct relationship to the amount available from the soil, whereas others (Se-accumulators) may accumulate Se in concentrations many orders of magnitude above that in the soil. There are many different chemical forms of Se in plants, and the form partially dictates the metabolism of Se by the animal that consumes the plant. The Se content and the chemical form of Se within plants may be altered by manipulation of plant genetics or by agricultural production conditions. However, attempts to maximize Se in plants may have unintended consequences and must be carefully monitored.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are commonly reported in individuals presenting for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) evaluation. Performance validity tests (PVTs) and symptom ...validity tests (SVTs) are essential to ADHD evaluations in young adults, but extant research suggests that those who report ACEs may be inaccurately classified as invalid on these measures. The current study aimed to assess the degree to which ACE exposure differentiated PVT and SVT performance and ADHD symptom reporting in a multi-racial sample of adults presenting for ADHD evaluation.
This study included 170 adults referred for outpatient neuropsychological ADHD evaluation who completed the ACE Checklist and a neurocognitive battery that included multiple PVTs and SVTs. Analysis of variance was used to examine differences in PVT and SVT performance among those with high (≥4) and low (≤3) reported ACEs.
Main effects of the ACE group were observed, such that high ACE group reporting demonstrated higher scores on SVTs assessing ADHD symptom over-reporting and infrequent psychiatric and somatic symptoms on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form. Conversely, no significant differences emerged in total PVT failures across ACE groups.
Those with high ACE exposure were more likely to have higher scores on SVTs assessing over-reporting and infrequent responses. In contrast, ACE exposure did not affect PVT performance. Thus, ACE exposure should be considered specifically when evaluating SVT performance in the context of ADHD evaluations, and more work is needed to understand factors that contribute to different patterns of symptom reporting as a function of ACE exposure.
In this study, blueberry pomace was soaked in pH 1, 4, or 7 solution for 10 min followed by boiling hydrolysis. Nine anthocyanins and 11 other phenolic compounds were released after acid hydrolysis. ...The highest anthocyanin release (4.70 mg/g) was achieved by boiling at pH 1 for 15 min followed by 3.94 mg/g at pH 4 and 3.46 mg/g at pH 7. Phenolics were released more quickly than anthocyanins during boiling. The change of antioxidant activity of the pomace during boiling was correlated with the total phenolic content but not anthocyanin content. The degradation rate of anthocyanins during boiling eventually surpassed the release rate from the pomace. Protocatechuic acid and catechin continuously increased during heating. Dry heat resulted in continuous degradation of anthocyanins and other phenolics in the pomace. The reduction in antioxidant activity of the pomace during dry heating was correlated with both the phenolic and anthocyanin contents.
Nutrition science–based dietary advice urges changes that may have a great impact on agricultural systems. For example, the 2016 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends greatly increased ...fruit and vegetable consumption, but the present domestic production is insufficient to accommodate large-scale adoption of these guidelines. Increasing production to the extent needed to meet the DGA will necessitate changes in an already stressed agriculture and food system and will require nutrition and agriculture professionals to come together in open and collegial discourse. All involved need to understand the stress placed on the food system by increasing populations, changing diets, and changing environments, and recognize the major diet-based public health challenges. Furthermore, there is a need to understand the intricate interplay of the myriad parts of the food system and the vast amount of work necessary to make even small changes. New systems approaches are needed, especially at the research level, where nutrition, public health, agriculture, and the food industry work together to solve interconnected problems. Future well-being depends on a sustainable food system that continues to deliver optimal health with minimal impact on the environment.
Dietetic professionals urge Americans to increase fruit and vegetable intakes. The American Institute of Cancer Research estimates that if the only dietary change made was to increase the daily ...intake of fruits and vegetables to 5 servings per day, cancer rates could decline by as much as 20%. Among the reasons cited for this health benefit are that fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They also contain nonnutritive components that may provide substantial health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Examples of the latter are the glucosinolate hydrolysis products, sulforaphane, and indole-3-carbinol. Epidemiological studies provide evidence that the consumption of cruciferous vegetables protects against cancer more effectively than the total intake of fruits and vegetables. This review describes the anticarcinogenic bioactivities of glucosinolate hydrolysis products, the mineral selenium derived from crucifers, and the mechanisms by which they protect against cancer. These mechanisms include altered estrogen metabolism, protection against reactive oxygen species, altered detoxification by induction of phase II enzymes, decreased carcinogen activation by inhibition of phase I enzymes, and slowed tumor growth and induction of apoptosis.
Selenium is an essential trace element for human health, and it has received considerable attention for its possible role as an anticarcinogenic agent. The purpose of the present study was to ...determine whether changes in the amount and the chemical form of selenium would affect DNA methylation and whether this effect would be modified by arsenic. Caco-2 cells, a human colon cancer cell line, were exposed to 0, 1 or 2 μmol supplemental selenite/L and 0, 1 or 2 μmol supplemental arsenite/L for 7 d. DNA isolated from Caco-2 cells not treated with selenite was significantly (P < 0.0001) hypomethylated compared with that from cells treated with 1 or 2 μmol selenite/L. DNA isolated from Caco-2 cells not treated with arsenite was significantly (P < 0.0001) hypomethylated compared with DNA isolated from cells treated with 1 or 2 μmol arsenite/L. In addition, methylation of the p53 promoter region of Caco-2 cells decreased when cells were cultured in the absence of selenite and in the absence of arsenite. Sixty weanling male Fischer 344 rats were fed a torula yeast–based diet supplemented with 0, 0.1 or 2 mg selenium/kg diet as either selenite or selenomethionine in the presence or absence of 5 mg arsenic/kg diet as arsenite for 6 wk. Similar to the results with Caco-2 cells, rats fed selenium-deficient diets had significantly (P < 0.0001) hypomethylated liver and colon DNA compared with rats fed 0.1 or 2.0 μg selenium/g diets as either selenite or selenomethionine. Thus, alterations in DNA methylation may be a potential mechanism, whereby deficient dietary selenium increases liver and colon tumorigenesis.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and circulating free fatty acids (FFAs) are known risk factors associated with cardiovascular inflammation. The influence of ...14 dietary FFAs (including saturated, mono- and polyunsaturated, and trans) on the expression of inflammatory markers in human coronary arterial smooth muscle (HCASM) and endothelial (HCEC) cells using a cell culture model was investigated. HCASM and HCEC cell cultures were incubated with 200 μM of each FFA for 8 or 24 h, respectively, at 37 °C in a 5% CO2 humidified incubator. Inflammatory markers were assessed by ELISA or Western blot in the supernatant or cell lysates respectively. Results showed significant differences in the expression of inflammatory markers among the fatty acid treatments and the control, with myristic and palmitic acids being identified as the most and linoleic acid as the least pro-inflammatory. This suggests that FFAs may induce low-grade inflammation in human coronary arterial cells and provides more information on mode of action.
Objective: The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) is a common test of learning and memory with established embedded validity indicators (EVIs), including the Effort Score (ES) and Forced ...Choice (FC) recognition. Currently, the literature lacks a head-to-head comparison of the classification accuracy of ES and FC for detecting invalid test performance. This study aimed to cross-validate ES and FC in two large, diverse, independent samples. Method: This cross-sectional study included a mixed neuropsychiatric (n = 209) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) sample (n = 544). Validity groups were established using multiple criterion performance validity tests (PVTs), resulting in 242 valid/57 invalid and 480 valid/64 invalid performances in the neuropsychiatric and ADHD samples, respectively. Results: ES and FC both demonstrated robust classification accuracy. The optimal ES cut score was significantly higher for the ADHD (≤13; 41% sensitivity/90% specificity) than the neuropsychiatric (≤3; 33% sensitivity/89% specificity) sample. Classification accuracies of FC ranged from weak in the ADHD (area under the curve AUC = 0.67) to excellent in the neuropsychiatric (AUC = 0.80) sample. The FC cut score was ≤12 (54% sensitivity/91% specificity) in the neuropsychiatric and ≤14 in the ADHD (41% sensitivity/93% specificity) sample. Both EVIs were significant predictors of validity status when examined in combination. Conclusions: Both the RAVLT-ES and RAVLT-FC were effective as PVTs; however, their relative utility varied by sample such that FC had stronger classification statistics in the neuropsychiatric sample (which included a higher incidence of cognitive impairment and dementia), whereas ES was more robust in the adult ADHD sample. Moreover, considering both EVIs may result in greater accuracy than isolation.
Public Significance Statement
This study showed that two embedded performance validity indicators in the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, the Effort Score and Forced Choice, are both able to detect invalid test performance across multiple, independent clinical samples; thus, allowing for accurate assessment of verbal learning and memory abilities with minimal additional testing time/burden or associated costs.
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