Loneliness, Depression, and Inflammation: Evidence from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Objective Both objective and subjective aspects of social isolation have been associated with alterations in immune markers relevant to multiple chronic diseases among older adults. However, these associations may be confounded by health status, and it is unclear whether these social factors are associated with immune functioning among relatively healthy adults. The goal of this study was to examine the associations between perceived loneliness and circulating levels of inflammatory markers among a diverse sample of adults. Methods Data come from a subset of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (n = 441). Loneliness was measured by three items derived from the UCLA Loneliness Scale. The association between loneliness and C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen was assessed using multivariable linear regression analyses. Models were adjusted for demographic and health characteristics. Results Approximately 50% of participants reported that they hardly ever felt lonely and 17.2% felt highly lonely. Individuals who were unmarried/unpartnered or with higher depressive symptoms were more likely to report being highly lonely. There was no relationship between perceived loneliness and ln(CRP) (β = -0.051, p = 0.239) adjusting for demographic and health characteristics. Loneliness was inversely associated with ln(fibrinogen) (β = -0.091, p = 0.040), although the absolute magnitude of this relationship was small. Conclusion These results indicate that loneliness is not positively associated with fibrinogen or CRP among relatively healthy middle-aged adults

The "About Me" questionnaire: Factorial structure and measurement invariance

The "About Me" Questionnaire (AMQ) has been used to measure components of social identity, academic self-concept and self-worth in children and adolescents in the United Kingdom and abroad. Studies have reported simple reliability statistics but a comprehensive assessment of the scale's psychometric properties has not been conducted. Confirmatory factor analysis, using a sample of 5,082 children aged 6 to 18 years from combined datasets of five cross-sectional research studies, was used to establish the psychometric soundness of the 29-item AMQ. Analysis revealed generally adequate reliability with the seven-factor structure confirmed in a replication sample. Results provide evidence of adequate psychometric properties, optimized with the omission of reverse-coded item and selected items, suggesting it is suitable for assessing social identity and academic self-concept of children and adolescents in applied settings. Tests for measurement invariance showed that the assessment of parallel constructs was strongly supported across males and females and partially supported across primary and secondary school–age groups

Teaching Integration outside the Traditional Classroom

Today\u27s educational environment is being transformed by online technologies that open new venues for teaching and make education accessible far beyond the traditional classroom environment. How rrught these changes affect the ways we teach the integration of psychology and Christianity? Three faculty members dialogue about such integration opportunities, advantages, and potential disadvantages

An Exploration of Service Needs and Preferences of Dementia Caregivers in Kentucky

As Americans live longer, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias will increase. Caregivers are critical to the care and life quality of people with dementia. Yet, dementia caregivers are at increased risk for health issues, social isolation, and financial challenges. To help educators with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service work with their local Alzheimer’s Association and the University of Louisville to better support dementia families, we explored caregiver needs and service utilization using an online survey. Our findings highlighted the need for counseling/support, care management skills, resource education, self-care strategies, and legal services. Extension Service Educators can use this information to inform program development and support dementia families

Exploring the Relationship Between Fidelity of Implementation and Academic Achievement in a Third-Grade Gifted Curriculum: A Mixed-Methods Study

This study used sequential mixed-methods analyses to investigate the effectiveness of a research-based language arts curriculum for gifted third graders. Using analytic induction, researchers found that teachers’ beliefs and expectations (time, sense of autonomy, expectations for students, professional expertise) influenced the degree to which they implemented the research intervention with fidelity to its design. Next, maximum variation sampling and quantitative analysis of student outcomes determined that postassessment achievement test scores are higher for students in classrooms with teachers who show high fidelity or adherence to the intervention

Use of lip protecting agents in the prevention of Actinic cheilitis, Herpes labialis and cancer of lip: a systematic review

Background: Actinic cheilitis, herpes labialis and lip cancer are relatively common conditions presenting on the lips associated with exposure to periods of sun exposure and thereby ultraviolet radiation. Objective: This systematic review aimed to determine the efficacy of the application of sunscreen-containing lip-protecting agents (LPA) in the prevention of actinic cheilitis (AC), recurrent herpes labialis (RHL) and lip cancer (LC). Methods: This review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines and registered with the PROSPERO database. A literature search was conducted using SCOPUS, Google Scholar, Medline (Ovid), Pubmed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library databases and manual search using search terms actinic cheilitis (AC), recurrent herpes labialis (RHL) and lip cancer (LC) along with lip protecting agents and their variations as keywords. A total of 1,567 papers were yielded. Of them, nine studies were eligible for qualitative data synthesis. Results: Nine articles (3 AC, 5 RHL, 1 LC) were deemed eligible and thus selected for qualitative synthesis. Three studies on AC identified approximately 21.7% lower prevalence of lesions when some form of lip protection was used. Eighty percent of studies on RHL identified that the application of LPA is effective in preventing RHL. Subjects who applied LPA more than once daily only had half the risk of having LC compared to those who applied once daily. Conclusion: This review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies supports the use of LPA as an effective method in preventing lip-associated lesions. Further, RCTs and observational studies should aim at determining a definitive LPA application regime and optimal SPF strength to prevent lip-associated lesions

Novel components of the Toxoplasma inner membrane complex revealed by BioID.

UNLABELLED:The inner membrane complex (IMC) of Toxoplasma gondii is a peripheral membrane system that is composed of flattened alveolar sacs that underlie the plasma membrane, coupled to a supporting cytoskeletal network. The IMC plays important roles in parasite replication, motility, and host cell invasion. Despite these central roles in the biology of the parasite, the proteins that constitute the IMC are largely unknown. In this study, we have adapted a technique named proximity-dependent biotin identification (BioID) for use in T. gondii to identify novel components of the IMC. Using IMC proteins in both the alveoli and the cytoskeletal network as bait, we have uncovered a total of 19 new IMC proteins in both of these suborganellar compartments, two of which we functionally evaluate by gene knockout. Importantly, labeling of IMC proteins using this approach has revealed a group of proteins that localize to the sutures of the alveolar sacs that have been seen in their entirety in Toxoplasma species only by freeze fracture electron microscopy. Collectively, our study greatly expands the repertoire of known proteins in the IMC and experimentally validates BioID as a strategy for discovering novel constituents of specific cellular compartments of T. gondii. IMPORTANCE:The identification of binding partners is critical for determining protein function within cellular compartments. However, discovery of protein-protein interactions within membrane or cytoskeletal compartments is challenging, particularly for transient or unstable interactions that are often disrupted by experimental manipulation of these compartments. To circumvent these problems, we adapted an in vivo biotinylation technique called BioID for Toxoplasma species to identify binding partners and proximal proteins within native cellular environments. We used BioID to identify 19 novel proteins in the parasite IMC, an organelle consisting of fused membrane sacs and an underlying cytoskeleton, whose protein composition is largely unknown. We also demonstrate the power of BioID for targeted discovery of proteins within specific compartments, such as the IMC cytoskeleton. In addition, we uncovered a new group of proteins localizing to the alveolar sutures of the IMC. BioID promises to reveal new insights on protein constituents and interactions within cellular compartments of Toxoplasma

Predictors of Alcohol Consumption Among Younger Adults During the First Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic may lead to negative mental health effects but the effect on alcohol consumption among younger adults is unclear. We assess predictors of change in alcohol consumption during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic among younger adults. Methods: This cross-sectional internet-based survey was part of an overarching project, the Corona Drug Survey, which was conducted from April 30 to August 4, 2020. Participants of any sex and >= 18 years old were included. The primary outcome measure was change in alcohol consumption during the early COVID-19 pandemic. We implemented an ordinal logistic regression to assess the effect (odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence interval [CI]) of the following predictors: quarantine restrictions on leaving the residence, number of individuals in the household, problematic alcohol consumption before the pandemic (CAGE [cutting down, annoyance by criticism, guilty feeling, and eye-opener] score), personal concern regarding the pandemic, age, and sex. Results: 3,321 participants with a mean age of 32 (SD: 13) years were included in this study. 70.4% of participants reported less or unchanged alcohol consumption in the recent 4 weeks of the pandemic compared to before the pandemic. A higher number of individuals in the household was associated with a reduced alcohol consumption (OR = 0.869; 95% CI = 0.815-0.927). No quarantine restrictions on leaving the residence (OR = 1.593; 95% CI = 1.397-1.817), a higher age (1.006; 1.001-1.011), and female sex (compared to males: 1.206; 1.062-1.371) were associated with an increase in alcohol consumption. The CAGE score before the pandemic (OR = 0.983; 95% CI = 0.931-1.037) and the pandemic concern (0.927; 0.857-1.003) were not associated with a significant change in alcohol consumption. Celebrations were no longer frequent drinking occasions during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic. The majority of participants (60.9%) did not use alcohol drinking as a coping mechanism to mitigate negative effects of the pandemic. Interpretation: In this cohort of younger adults with fewer celebratory drinking occasions, restrictions on leaving the residence and the number of persons in the household were the strongest predictors of reduced alcohol consumption during the early phase of the pandemic.</p