The Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study incorporates a comprehensive range of measures assessing predictors and outcomes related to both mental and physical health across ...childhood and adolescence. The workgroup developed a battery that would assess a comprehensive range of domains that address study aims while minimizing participant and family burden. We review the major considerations that went into deciding what constructs to cover in the demographics, physical health and mental health domains, as well as the process of selecting measures, piloting and refining the originally proposed battery. We present a description of the baseline battery, as well as the six-month interim assessments and the one-year follow-up assessments. This battery includes assessments from the perspectives of both the parent and the target youth, as well as teacher reports. This battery will provide a foundational baseline assessment of the youth’s current function so as to permit characterization of stability and change in key domains over time. The findings from this battery will also be utilized to identify both resilience markers that predict healthy development and risk factors for later adverse outcomes in physical health, mental health, and substance use and abuse.
Background Very few studies have been performed to understand the underlying neural substrates of adolescent major depressive disorder (MDD). Studies in depressed adults have demonstrated that the ...subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) plays a pivotal role in depression and have revealed aberrant patterns of resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC). Here, we examine the RSFC of the sgACC in medication-naïve first-episode adolescents with MDD. Methods Twenty-three adolescents with MDD and 36 well-matched control subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess the RSFC of the sgACC. Results We observed elevated connectivity between the sgACC and the insula and between the sgACC and the amygdala in the MDD group compared with the control subjects. Decreased connectivity between the sgACC and the precuneus was also found in the MDD group relative to the control subjects. Within the MDD group, higher levels of depression significantly correlated with decreased connectivity between the sgACC and left precuneus. Increased rumination was significantly associated with reduced connectivity between sgACC and the middle and inferior frontal gyri in the MDD group. Conclusions Our study is the first to examine sgACC connectivity in medication-naïve first-episode adolescents with MDD compared with well-matched control participants. Our results suggest aberrant functional connectivity among the brain networks responsible for salience attribution, executive control, and the resting-state in the MDD group compared with the control participants. Our findings raise the possibility that therapeutic interventions that can restore the functional connectivity among these networks to that typical of healthy adolescents might be a fruitful avenue for future research.
Abstract
This paper explores the use of big data in understanding population movements in the context of environmental change, with particular attention to publicly available information from social ...media and newspapers. After discussing causal factors, the paper discusses the benefits and challenges of using big data, and mathematical models that may help capture the complexity of human mobility in the context of environmental change. We conclude that big data can be an important part of a toolkit in discerning drivers of migration and displacement. It is no panacea, however; the paper discusses potential problems in its use, particularly if big data are analysed to prevent people from moving out of harm's way. Therefore, partnerships between computer scientists and subject matter experts and practitioners are essential to ensuring that what is gathered from big data is usable, credible, and protects the privacy and rights of those who may be displaced.
Abstract
Despite the converging agreement on the linkages between climate and broader environmental change and human (im)mobilities, evidence gaps persist that often relate to data challenges. It ...remains necessary to improve knowledge and data to better map, understand, project, and address environmental migration, displacement, planned relocation, and immobilities. Analyses of continuing data gaps and strategies for innovative data use are key to rise to the challenge. This Special Section of International Migration highlights these gaps and presents innovative strategies to address them.
The November 2020 election will be one of the most important in U.S. history, comparable, for example, to the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln and the 1932 election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Each ...of these marked a turning point in American history as voters elected Presidents committed, respectively, to abolishing slavery and establishing federal safety nets in the midst of economic disaster. In this election, voters have the opportunity to reverse the nativist, racist and xenophobic policies of Donald G. Trump, restore the U.S.’ international reputation and leadership, and tackle issues of pressing global and domestic concern, not least of which is the COVID‐19 pandemic. Trump made immigration a first‐order issue in his 2016 campaign for the presidency. During his term in office, he and his administration repeatedly issued executive orders, proposed regulations, and otherwise sought to overturn prior policies. These included travel bans, extreme cuts in refugee resettlement, measures to gut protections for asylum seekers, separation of children from their families, attempt to rescind the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and efforts to reduce legal admissions. The administration used the COVID‐19 crisis as an excuse for still more draconian policies, including repatriation of asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors in violation of U.S. legislation and international legal commitments.
ARN-509 is a novel androgen receptor (AR) antagonist for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). ARN-509 inhibits AR nuclear translocation and AR binding to androgen response ...elements and, unlike bicalutamide, does not exhibit agonist properties in the context of AR overexpression. This first-in-human phase I study assessed safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and antitumor activity of ARN-509 in men with metastatic CRPC.
Thirty patients with progressive CRPC received continuous daily oral ARN-509 at doses between 30 and 480 mg, preceded by administration of a single dose followed by a 1-week observation period with pharmacokinetic sampling. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging was conducted to monitor (18)Ffluoro-α-dihydrotestosterone (FDHT) binding to AR in tumors before and during treatment. Primary objective was to determine pharmacokinetics, safety, and recommended phase II dose.
Pharmacokinetics were linear and dose proportional. Prostate-specific antigen declines at 12 weeks (≥ 50% reduction from baseline) were observed in 46.7% of patients. Reduction in FDHT uptake was observed at all doses, with a plateau in response at ≥ 120-mg dose, consistent with saturation of AR binding. The most frequently reported adverse event was grade 1/2 fatigue (47%). One dose-limiting toxicity event (grade 3 abdominal pain) occurred at the 300-mg dose. Dose escalation to 480 mg did not identify a maximum-tolerated dose.
ARN-509 was safe and well tolerated, displayed dose-proportional pharmacokinetics, and demonstrated pharmacodynamic and antitumor activity across all dose levels tested. A maximum efficacious dose of 240 mg daily was selected for phase II exploration based on integration of preclinical and clinical data.
Immigration makes America what it is and is formative for what it will become. America was settled by three different models of immigration, all of which persist to the present. The Virginia Colony ...largely equated immigration with the arrival of laborers, who had few rights. Massachusetts welcomed those who shared the religious views of the founders but excluded those whose beliefs challenged the prevailing orthodoxy. Pennsylvania valued pluralism, becoming the most diverse colony in religion, language, and culture. This book traces the evolution of these three models of immigration as they explain the historical roots of current policy debates and options. Arguing that the Pennsylvania model has best served the country, the final chapter makes recommendations for future immigration reform. Given the highly controversial nature of immigration in the United States, this book provides thoughtful analysis, valuable to both academic and policy audiences.
Late adolescence (ie, 16-20 years of age) is a period characterized by escalation of drinking and alcohol use problems for many and by the onset of an alcohol use disorder for some. This heightened ...period of vulnerability is a joint consequence of the continuity of risk from earlier developmental stages and the unique neurologic, cognitive, and social changes that occur in late adolescence. We review the normative neurologic, cognitive, and social changes that typically occur in late adolescence, and we discuss the evidence for the impact of these transitions on individual drinking trajectories. We also describe evidence linking alcohol abuse in late adolescence with neurologic damage and social impairments, and we discuss whether these are the bases for the association of adolescent drinking with increased risks of mental health, substance abuse, and social problems in adulthood. Finally, we discuss both the challenges and successes in the treatment and prevention of adolescent drinking problems.
The adolescent brain undergoes profound structural changes which is influenced by many factors. Screen media activity (SMA; e.g., watching television or videos, playing video games, or using social ...media) is a common recreational activity in children and adolescents; however, its effect on brain structure is not well understood. A multivariate approach with the first cross-sectional data release from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study was used to test the maturational coupling hypothesis, i.e. the notion that coordinated patterns of structural change related to specific behaviors. Moreover, the utility of this approach was tested by determining the association between these structural correlation networks and psychopathology or cognition. ABCD participants with usable structural imaging and SMA data (N = 4277 of 4524) were subjected to a Group Factor Analysis (GFA) to identify latent variables that relate SMA to cortical thickness, sulcal depth, and gray matter volume. Subject scores from these latent variables were used in generalized linear mixed-effect models to investigate associations between SMA and internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, as well as fluid and crystalized intelligence. Four SMA-related GFAs explained 37% of the variance between SMA and structural brain indices. SMA-related GFAs correlated with brain areas that support homologous functions. Some but not all SMA-related factors corresponded with higher externalizing (Cohen's d effect size (ES) 0.06–0.1) but not internalizing psychopathology and lower crystalized (ES: 0.08–0.1) and fluid intelligence (ES: 0.04–0.09). Taken together, these findings support the notion of SMA related maturational coupling or structural correlation networks in the brain and provides evidence that individual differences of these networks have mixed consequences for psychopathology and cognitive performance.
•Screen media activity is a common recreational activity in children and adolescents.•The manuscript focuses on how screen media activity is related to structural brain characteristics.•Structural correlation networks were identified supporting the maturational coupling hypothesis.•Some networks were associated with for externalizing psychopathology, fluid and crystallized intelligence.
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