Young adults are at high risk for increases in loneliness and mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study examined increases in loneliness in a young adult sample, for whom ...increases were greater, and association with increases in depression and anxiety.
Data from 564 young adults (ages 22-29, 60.7% women) were collected in January 2020 (pre-pandemic) and April/May 2020 (during pandemic).
Loneliness increased from January to April/May and changes in loneliness were greater for females, those with higher perceived social support in January, and those with greater concerns about the pandemic's social impacts. Depression (but not anxiety) increased during this time with changes in loneliness accounting for much of the increase in depression.
Intervention strategies with young adults need to address loneliness and feelings of reduced social support during this time, especially for those who may have had greater disruption in their social lives.
Vaccination may be critical to curtailing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, but herd immunity can only be realized with high vaccination coverage. There is a ...need to identify empirically supported strategies to increase uptake, especially among young adults as this subpopulation has shown relatively poor adherence to physical distancing guidelines. Social norms – estimates of peers’ behavior and attitudes – are robust predictors of health behaviors and norms-based intervention strategies may increase COVID vaccine uptake, once available. This study examined the extent that vaccination intentions and attitudes were associated with estimated social norms as an initial proof-of-concept test.
In November of 2020, 647 undergraduate students (46.21% response rate) completed online surveys in which they reported intentions to get COVID and influenza vaccines, perceived importance of these vaccines for young adults, and estimated social norms regarding peers’ vaccination behaviors and attitudes.
Students reported significantly greater intentions to get a COVID vaccine (91.64%) than an influenza vaccine (76.04%), and perceived COVID vaccination as significantly more important than influenza vaccination. The sample generally held strong intentions to receive a COVID vaccine and thought that doing so was of high importance, but participants, on average, perceived that other young adults would be less likely to be vaccinated and would not think vaccination was as important. Multiple regression models indicated that estimated social norms were positively associated with participants’ own intentions and perceived importance of getting a COVID vaccine.
These significant associations highlight the potential value in developing and testing norms-based intervention strategies, such as personalized normative feedback, to improve uptake of forthcoming COVID vaccines among young adults.
The growth hormone receptor (GHR), although most well known for regulating growth, has many other important biological functions including regulating metabolism and controlling physiological ...processes related to the hepatobiliary, cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, and reproductive systems. In addition, growth hormone signaling is an important regulator of aging and plays a significant role in cancer development. Growth hormone activates the Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathway, and recent studies have provided a new understanding of the mechanism of JAK2 activation by growth hormone binding to its receptor. JAK2 activation is required for growth hormone-mediated activation of STAT1, STAT3, and STAT5, and the negative regulation of JAK-STAT signaling comprises an important step in the control of this signaling pathway. The GHR also activates the Src family kinase signaling pathway independent of JAK2. This review covers the molecular mechanisms of GHR activation and signal transduction as well as the physiological consequences of growth hormone signaling.
This article reports the n−3 fatty acid portion of a randomized, placebo-controlled, two-by-two factorial trial of vitamin D and marine n−3 fatty acids in the primary prevention of cancer and ...cardiovascular disease. Fatty acids did not lead to a lower incidence of major cardiovascular events or cancer.
Current knowledge of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) relies on data predominantly collected from white, middle- / upper-middle-class participants and focuses on experiences within the home. ...Using a more socioeconomically and racially diverse urban population, Conventional and Expanded (community-level) ACEs were measured to help understand whether Conventional ACEs alone can sufficiently measure adversity, particularly among various subgroups.
Participants from a previous large, representative, community-based health survey in Southeast Pennsylvania who were aged ≥18 years were contacted between November 2012 and January 2013 to complete another phone survey measuring ACEs. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to test associations between Conventional and Expanded ACEs scores and demographic characteristics. Analysis was conducted in 2013 and 2014.
Of 1,784 respondents, 72.9% had at least one Conventional ACE, 63.4% at least one Expanded ACE, and 49.3% experienced both. A total of 13.9% experienced only Expanded ACEs and would have gone unrecognized if only Conventional ACEs were assessed. Certain demographic characteristics were associated with higher risk for Conventional ACEs but were not predictive of Expanded ACEs, and vice versa. Few adversities were associated with both Conventional and Expanded ACEs.
To more accurately represent the level of adversity experienced across various sociodemographic groups, these data support extending the Conventional ACEs measure.
In the adult central nervous system, the vasculature of the neurogenic niche regulates neural stem cell behavior by providing circulating and secreted factors. Age-related decline of neurogenesis and ...cognitive function is associated with reduced blood flow and decreased numbers of neural stem cells. Therefore, restoring the functionality of the niche should counteract some of the negative effects of aging. We show that factors found in young blood induce vascular remodeling, culminating in increased neurogenesis and improved olfactory discrimination in aging mice. Further, we show that GDF11 alone can improve the cerebral vasculature and enhance neurogenesis. The identification of factors that slow the age-dependent deterioration of the neurogenic niche in mice may constitute the basis for new methods of treating age-related neurodegenerative and neurovascular diseases.
Nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most commonly used analgesics due to their lack of addictive potential. However, NSAIDs have the potential to cause serious ...gastrointestinal, renal, and cardiovascular adverse events. CYP2C9 polymorphisms influence metabolism and clearance of several drugs in this class, thereby affecting drug exposure and potentially safety. We summarize evidence from the published literature supporting these associations and provide therapeutic recommendations for NSAIDs based on CYP2C9 genotype (updates at www.cpicpgx.org).
In 2007, the NASA Hyperspectral InfraRed Imager (HyspIRI) mission was recommended in Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond (Decadal Survey) to ...address critical science questions in multiple areas, in particular ecosystems and natural hazards. HyspIRI is comprised of two instruments, a visible to short-wavelength infrared (VSWIR) imaging spectrometer and a thermal infrared (TIR) multispectral imager, together with an Intelligent Payload Module (IPM) for onboard processing and rapid downlink of selected data. The VSWIR instrument will have 10nm contiguous bands and cover the 380–2500nm spectral range with 30m spatial resolution and a revisit of 16days. The TIR instrument will have 8 discrete bands in the 4–13μm range with 60m spatial resolution and a revisit of 5days. With these two instruments in low Earth orbit, HyspIRI will be able to address key science and applications questions in a wide array of fields, ranging from ecosystem function and diversity to human health and urbanization.
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•The HyspIRI mission was recommended in the 2007 Earth Science Decadal Survey.•HyspIRI would have 2 instruments: a VSWIR imaging spectrometer and a multiband TIR.•Global coverage, frequent revisits (5–16days), good spatial resolution (30–60m)•HyspIRI addresses unique and urgent Earth science and applications objectives.
Phenytoin is an antiepileptic drug with a narrow therapeutic index and large interpatient pharmacokinetic variability, partly due to genetic variation in CYP2C9. Furthermore, the variant allele ...HLA‐B*15:02 is associated with an increased risk of Stevens–Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis in response to phenytoin treatment. We summarize evidence from the published literature supporting these associations and provide therapeutic recommendations for the use of phenytoin based on CYP2C9 and/or HLA‐B genotypes (updates on cpicpgx.org).
Context:
Total 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) is a marker of vitamin D status and is lower in African Americans than in whites. Whether this difference holds for free 25OHOD (f25OHD) is unclear, ...considering reported genetic-racial differences in vitamin D binding protein (DBP) used to calculate f25OHD.
Objectives:
Our objective was to assess racial-geographic differences in f25OHD and to understand inconsistencies in racial associations with DBP and calculated f25OHD.
Design:
This study used a cross-sectional design.
Setting:
The general community in the United States, United Kingdom, and The Gambia were included in this study.
Participants:
Men in Osteoporotic Fractures in Men and Medical Research Council studies (N = 1057) were included.
Exposures:
Total 25OHD concentration, race, and DBP (GC) genotype exposures were included.
Outcome Measures:
Directly measured f25OHD, DBP assessed by proteomics, monoclonal and polyclonal immunoassays, and calculated f25OHD were the outcome measures.
Results:
Total 25OHD correlated strongly with directly measured f25OHD (Spearman r = 0.84). Measured by monoclonal assay, mean DBP in African-ancestry subjects was approximately 50% lower than in whites, whereas DBP measured by polyclonal DBP antibodies or proteomic methods was not lower in African-ancestry. Calculated f25OHD (using polyclonal DBP assays) correlated strongly with directly measured f25OHD (r = 0.80–0.83). Free 25OHD, measured or calculated from polyclonal DBP assays, reflected total 25OHD concentration irrespective of race and was lower in African Americans than in US whites.
Conclusions:
Previously reported racial differences in DBP concentration are likely from monoclonal assay bias, as there was no racial difference in DBP concentration by other methods. This confirms the poor vitamin D status of many African-Americans and the utility of total 25OHD in assessing vitamin D in the general population.
We found no racial or genetic differences in serum vitamin D binding protein. Free 25OHD, directly measured or calculated from DBP (using polyclonal antibodies), was low in Afro-Americans, compared to US whites or blacks from The Gambia.
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