Alcohol, drug and related health and wellbeing issues among young people completing an online screen.

Objective: Despite high levels of alcohol use, drug use and risky behaviors, rates of help-seeking amongst young people are typically low. This study explored the profile of young people (under the age of 25 years) completing an online screen, assessing substance use problem severity and wellbeing in comparison with adults completing the same screen, so as to inform development of better targeted approaches for this in-need population. Methods: Between 2012 and 2014, an online alcohol and drug screen was promoted across Australia on a national online counseling service. The screen assessed severity of substance use, mental health and wellbeing. Results: A total of 2939 screens were completed between December 2012 and May 2014, with 18% completed by young people. Young people reported a high severity of substance use problems (44% reported likely drug dependence) and reported significantly poorer mental health and wellbeing than adults completing the screen. This suggests that there is a population of young people in need of support who could be initially engaged through online screening. Conclusions: Online screening should be a key component of engagement strategies for adolescent and early adult help-seeking

Brown Dwarfs in Young Moving Groups from Pan-STARRS1. I. AB Doradus

Substellar members of young ($\lesssim$150 Myr) moving groups are valuable benchmarks to empirically define brown dwarf evolution with age and to study the low-mass end of the initial mass function. We have combined Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) proper motions with optical$-$IR photometry from PS1, 2MASS and $\textit{WISE}$ to search for substellar members of the AB Dor Moving Group within $\approx$50 pc and with spectral types of late-M to early-L, corresponding to masses down to $\approx$30 M$_{Jup}$ at the age of the group ($\approx$125 Myr). Including both photometry and proper motions allows us to better select candidates by excluding field dwarfs whose colors are similar to young AB~Dor Moving Group members. Our near-IR spectroscopy has identified six ultracool dwarfs (M6$-$L4; $\approx$30$-$100 M$_{Jup}$) with intermediate surface gravities (INT-G) as candidate members of the AB Dor Moving Group. We find another two candidate members with spectra showing hints of youth but consistent with field gravities. We also find four field brown dwarfs unassociated with the AB Dor Moving Group, three of which have INT-G gravity classification. While signatures of youth are present in the spectra of our $\approx$125 Myr objects, neither their $J-K$ nor $W1-W2$ colors are significantly redder than field dwarfs with the same spectral types, unlike younger ultracool dwarfs. We also determined PS1 parallaxes for eight of our candidates and one previously identified AB Dor Moving Group candidate. Although radial velocities (and parallaxes, for some) are still needed to fully assess membership, these new objects provide valuable insight into the spectral characteristics and evolution of young brown dwarfs.Comment: ApJ, accepte

Global Processing Makes People Happier Than Local Processing

Past research demonstrates that mood can influence level of perceptual processing (global vs. local). The present research shows that level of perceptual processing can influence mood as well. In four studies, we manipulated people’s level of perceptual processing using a Navon letter task (Study 1), landscape scenery (Study 2), and Google Maps Street View images (Studies 3 and 4). Results from these studies and a meta-analysis support the conclusion that global processing results in higher happiness than local processing. In conjunction with previous findings that mood affects level of cognitive processing, these results suggest that the link between level of processing and mood may be reciprocal and bidirectional

Recovery identity and wellbeing: is it better to be 'recovered' or 'in recovery'?

While there has been debate about the meaning of recovery, there has been little discussion about how people characterise their own recovery experience, in particular whether people describe themselves as 'recovered' (as with a therapeutic community (TC) philosophy) or as 'in recovery' (typically those engaged in 12-step). The paper assesses differences in wellbeing as a function of recovery self-ascriptions, based on the UK Life in Recovery survey. Those who described themselves as 'recovered' or 'ex-addicts' reported better psychological health and lower identification with addicts and recovery, and showed stronger recovery functioning. There are clearly multiple pathways to recovery, and philosophy may impact on both trajectory of recovery and the social identity mechanisms underpinning change

Two Transiting Earth-size Planets Near Resonance Orbiting a Nearby Cool Star

Discoveries from the prime Kepler mission demonstrated that small planets (< 3 Earth-radii) are common outcomes of planet formation. While Kepler detected many such planets, all but a handful orbit faint, distant stars and are not amenable to precise follow up measurements. Here, we report the discovery of two small planets transiting K2-21, a bright (K = 9.4) M0 dwarf located 65$\pm$6 pc from Earth. We detected the transiting planets in photometry collected during Campaign 3 of NASA's K2 mission. Analysis of transit light curves reveals that the planets have small radii compared to their host star, 2.60 $\pm$ 0.14% and 3.15 $\pm$ 0.20%, respectively. We obtained follow up NIR spectroscopy of K2-21 to constrain host star properties, which imply planet sizes of 1.59 $\pm$ 0.43 Earth-radii and 1.92 $\pm$ 0.53 Earth-radii, respectively, straddling the boundary between high-density, rocky planets and low-density planets with thick gaseous envelopes. The planets have orbital periods of 9.32414 days and 15.50120 days, respectively, and have a period ratio of 1.6624, very near to the 5:3 mean motion resonance, which may be a record of the system's formation history. Transit timing variations (TTVs) due to gravitational interactions between the planets may be detectable using ground-based telescopes. Finally, this system offers a convenient laboratory for studying the bulk composition and atmospheric properties of small planets with low equilibrium temperatures.Comment: Updated to ApJ accepted version; photometry available alongside LaTeX source; 10 pages, 7 figure

Examining the association of life course neurocognitive ability with real-world functioning in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders

There is considerable variability in neurocognitive functioning within schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, and neurocognitive performance ranges from severe global impairment to normative performance. Few investigations of neurocognitive clusters have considered the degree to which deterioration relative to premorbid neurocognitive abilities is related to key illness characteristics. Moreover, while neurocognition and community functioning are strongly related, understanding of the sources of variability in the association between these two domains is also limited; it is unknown what proportion of participants would over-perform or under-perform the level of functioning expected based on current neurocognitive performance vs. lifelong attainment. This study examined data from 954 outpatients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders across three previous studies. Neurocognition, community functioning, and symptoms were assessed. Neurocognitive subgroups were created based on current neurocognition, estimated premorbid IQ, and degree of deterioration from premorbid using z-score cut-offs; functional subgroups were created with cluster analysis based on the Specific Level of Functioning Scale and current neurocognition. The sample was neurocognitively heterogeneous; 65% displayed current neurocognitive impairment and 84% experienced some level of deterioration. Thirty percent of our sample was relatively higher functioning despite significant neurocognitive impairment. Individuals with better community functioning, regardless of neurocognitive performance, had lower symptom severity compared to those with worse functioning. These results highlight the variability in neurocognition and its role in functioning. Understanding individual differences in neurocognitive and functional profiles and the interaction between prior and current cognitive functioning can guide individualized treatment and selection of participants for clinical treatment studies

Intervention for children with word-finding difficulties: a parallel group randomised control trial

Purpose: The study investigated the outcome of a word-web intervention for children diagnosed with word-finding difficulties (WFDs). Method: Twenty children age 6–8 years with WFDs confirmed by a discrepancy between comprehension and production on the Test of Word Finding-2, were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 11) and waiting control (n = 9) groups. The intervention group had six sessions of intervention which used word-webs and targeted children’s meta-cognitive awareness and word-retrieval. Result: On the treated experimental set (n = 25 items) the intervention group gained on average four times as many items as the waiting control group (d = 2.30). There were also gains on personally chosen items for the intervention group. There was little change on untreated items for either group. Conclusion: The study is the first randomised control trial to demonstrate an effect of word-finding therapy with children with language difficulties in mainstream school. The improvement in word-finding for treated items was obtained following a clinically realistic intervention in terms of approach, intensity and duration

Glucose regulation in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: Interaction between pancreatic islets and the liver

The degree of fasting hyperglycemia in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is dependent on the rate of hepatic glucose production. The basal rate of hepatic glucose production is increased in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and there is a positive correlation between hepatic glucose production and fasting glucose levels. Diminished secretion of insulin, impaired hepatic sensitivity to insulin's effects, or a combination of these factors could contribute to the elevated hepatic glucose production in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The relationship between insulin secretion and hepatic glucose production is regulated by a closed feedback loop operating between glucose levels and pancreatic beta cells. Although fasting insulin levels are usually comparable between patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and normal subjects, insulin secretion is markedly impaired in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in relation to the degree of hyperglycemia present. In fact, the degree of fasting hyperglycemia in a given patient with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is closely related to the degree of impaired pancreatic beta-cell responsiveness to glucose. Such findings suggest that impaired insulin secretion leads to increased hepatic glucose production, which raises the plasma glucose level. The resulting hyperglycemia helps to maintain relatively normal basal insulin output. Chronic sulfonylurea drug therapy of patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus enhances pancreatic islet sensitivity to glucose, leading to increased insulin secretion, suppression of hepatic glucose production, and a decline in the steady-state fasting glucose level.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25595/1/0000139.pd