COVID-19-Anxiety and Using Substances to Cope: Differences Across Race and Gender in a New York State College Student Sample

College students, a high risk group for substance use and problems (White & Kingston, 2013), have reported heightened mental health concerns over the past few years (Oswalt et al, 2020). Prior research examining substance misuse and mental health concerns indicate the two tend to co-occur (Cranford et al., 2009). One of the greatest risk factors for future substance use disorder is using substances to cope with negative affect (Patrick et al., 2011). Research on the effect of the pandemic on college student’s mental health has documented increased levels of stress and anxiety, with women reporting worse well-being compared to men (Hoyt et al., 2020). Given the increased psychological distress during the coronavirus pandemic (Martinez & Nguyen, 2020), it is important to examine the relationship between substance use and anxiety surrounding COVID-19 among this population. Research on coronavirus infection and mortality has demonstrated a disparity in health outcomes across racial identities (Gross et al., 2020). It is critical to examine discrepancies in substance use behaviors and the impact of the pandemic on mental health across college student men and women identifying as racial and ethnic minorities. The purpose of this study was to examine prevalence rates of alcohol use, marijuana use, and reports of using substances to cope. Further, we examined whether COVID-anxiety, defined as anxiety specific to the pandemic, and alcohol- and marijuana-coping motives, differed as a function of race and gender after controlling for general psychological distress. Participants were 1,492 students at a large public university in the Northeast. Participants completed measures on alcohol and marijuana use, alcohol and marijuana coping motives, psychological distress and COVID-anxiety. White students reported the highest frequencies of alcohol use, whereas Hispanic/Latinx students reported the highest rates of risky alcohol use. About 25% of Biracial and Hispanic/Latinx students reported past month marijuana use, which was the highest among the racial groups. Biracial students reported the highest rates of psychological distress, COVID-anxiety, and increased substance use due to COVID-related stress. Asian/Asian American students reported the lowest rates of substance use across all indices. About 20% of cis-women and cis-men reported past month marijuana use. Cis-women reported higher frequencies of past month alcohol use, risky alcohol use, psychological distress, COVID-anxiety and increased substance use due to COVID-related stress. Two MANCOVAs examined differences in race and gender in COVID-anxiety, and substance-related coping motives while controlling for psychological distress. The interaction between race and gender on COVID-anxiety and alcohol coping motives was significant, (F8, 1398= 1.93, p =.05;Wilks’Λ = .978). The main effects for race (p=.008) and gender (p=.000) were significant, with slightly larger effect sizes for gender in comparison to race. The model examining COVID-anxiety and marijuana coping motives failed to demonstrate a significant race by gender interaction (p=.585), however main effects for race (p=.002) and gender (p=.017) were significant, with larger effect sizes for race in comparison to gender. Findings support race and gender identity as important determinants of COVID-anxiety and substance-related coping motives. Implications for research, targeted prevention initiatives, and clinical work will be discussed

An experimental testbed for NEAT to demonstrate micro-pixel accuracy

NEAT is an astrometric mission proposed to ESA with the objectives of detecting Earth-like exoplanets in the habitable zone of nearby solar-type stars. In NEAT, one fundamental aspect is the capability to measure stellar centroids at the precision of 5e-6 pixel. Current state-of-the-art methods for centroid estimation have reached a precision of about 4e-5 pixel at Nyquist sampling. Simulations showed that a precision of 2 micro-pixels can be reached, if intra and inter pixel quantum efficiency variations are calibrated and corrected for by a metrology system. The European part of the NEAT consortium is designing and building a testbed in vacuum in order to achieve 5e-6 pixel precision for the centroid estimation. The goal is to provide a proof of concept for the precision requirement of the NEAT spacecraft. In this paper we give the basic relations and trade-offs that come into play for the design of a centroid testbed and its metrology system. We detail the different conditions necessary to reach the targeted precision, present the characteristics of our current design and describe the present status of the demonstration.Comment: SPIE proceeding

Raman Spectral Signatures of Cervical Exfoliated Cells from Liquid-Based Cytology Samples

It is widely accepted that cervical screening has significantly reduced the incidence of cervical cancer worldwide. The primary screening test for cervical cancer is the Papanicolaou (Pap) test, which has extremely variable specificity and sensitivity. There is an unmet clinical need for methods to aid clinicians in the early detection of cervical precancer. Raman spectroscopy is a label-free objective method that can provide a biochemical fingerprint of a given sample. Compared with studies on infrared spectroscopy, relatively few Raman spectroscopy studies have been carried out to date on cervical cytology. The aim of this study was to define the Raman spectral signatures of cervical exfoliated cells present in liquid-based cytology Pap test specimens and to compare the signature of high-grade dysplastic cells to each of the normal cell types. Raman spectra were recorded from single exfoliated cells and subjected to multivariate statistical analysis. The study demonstrated that Raman spectroscopy can identify biochemical signatures associated with the most common cell types seen in liquid-based cytology samples; superficial, intermediate, and parabasal cells. In addition, biochemical changes associated with high-grade dysplasia could be identified suggesting that Raman spectroscopy could be used to aid current cervical screening tests

Which primary care practitioners have poor human papillomavirus (HPV) knowledge? A step towards informing the development of professional education initiatives

Background: Primary care practitioners (PCP) play key roles in cervical cancer prevention. Human papillomavirus (HPV) knowledge is an important influence on PCPs’ cervical cancer prevention-related behaviours. We investigated HPV knowledge, and associated factors, among general practitioners (GPs) and practice nurses. Methods: A survey, including factual questions about HPV infection and vaccination, was mailed to GPs and practice nurses in Ireland. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine which PCPs had low knowledge (questions correctly answered: infection ≤5/11; vaccination: ≤4/10). Questions least often answered correctly were identified. Results: 697 PCPs participated. For HPV infection, GPs and practice nurses answered a median of nine and seven questions correctly, respectively (p⅓ of PCPs. Conclusions: There are important limitations in HPV infection and vaccination knowledge among PCPs. By identifying factors associated with poor knowledge, and areas of particular uncertainty, these results can inform development of professional education initiatives thereby ensuring women have access to uniformly high-quality HPV-related information and advice

Raman Spectroscopic Detection of High-Grade Cervical Cytology: Using Morphologically Normal Appearing Cells

This study aims to detect high grade squamous intraepithelial cells (HSIL) by investigating HSIL associated biochemical changes in morphologically normal appearing intermediate and superficial cells using Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectra (n = 755) were measured from intermediate and superficial cells from negative cytology ThinPrep specimens (n = 18) and from morphologically normal appearing intermediate and superficial cells from HSIL cytology ThinPrep specimens (n = 17). The Raman data was subjected to multivariate algorithms including the standard principal component analysis (PCA)-linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) together with random subsets cross-validation for discriminating negative cytology from HSIL. The PCA-LDA method yielded sensitivities of 74.9%, 72.8%, and 75.6% and specificities of 89.9%, 81.9%, and 84.5%, for HSIL diagnosis based on the dataset obtained from intermediate, superficial and mixed intermediate/superficial cells, respectively. The PLS-DA method provided improved sensitivities of 95.5%, 95.2% and 96.1% and specificities of 92.7%, 94.7% and 93.5% compared to the PCA-LDA method. The results demonstrate that the biochemical signatures of morphologically normal appearing cells can be used to discriminate between negative and HSIL cytology. In addition, it was found that mixed intermediate and superficial cells could be used for HSIL diagnosis as the biochemical differences between negative and HSIL cytology were greater than the biochemical differences between intermediate and superficial cell types

The clinical Transferability of Raman Micro-Spectroscopic Systems for Cervical Cytopathology

The clinical potential for Raman microscopic systems is well established for early diagnosis via cytology. Although Raman systems offer a complementary diagnostic tool providing molecular information, it is not yet utilised substantially in clinics. A few challenges for the clinical implementation of Raman spectroscopy are system and user variability. In this study, we asked how much variability occurs due to different Raman systems or users. To address these questions, we measured the same set of cells using two different Raman microscopes and by two different users. And classification models were generated using multivariate partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and analysed for clinical implementation. Raman spectra were measured from single exfoliated cells (n=400) from ThinPrep samples with negative cytology (n=10) and high-grade cytology (n=10). Raman spectra were acquired from the same set of cells via two identical HORIBA Jobin Yvon XploRATM systems (Villeneuve d\u27Ascq, France), as well as two different users. The Raman data was subjected to PLS-DA and cross-validated via leave-one-patient out. The study\u27s findings suggest that the data acquired from the two Raman systems are 99% identical. However, the observed classification accuracy for the data obtained by user-1 was 92%, whereas by user-2 was 99%

First experimental results of very high accuracy centroiding measurements for the neat astrometric mission

NEAT is an astrometric mission proposed to ESA with the objectives of detecting Earth-like exoplanets in the habitable zone of nearby solar-type stars. NEAT requires the capability to measure stellar centroids at the precision of 5e-6 pixel. Current state-of-the-art methods for centroid estimation have reached a precision of about 2e-5 pixel at two times Nyquist sampling, this was shown at the JPL by the VESTA experiment. A metrology system was used to calibrate intra and inter pixel quantum efficiency variations in order to correct pixelation errors. The European part of the NEAT consortium is building a testbed in vacuum in order to achieve 5e-6 pixel precision for the centroid estimation. The goal is to provide a proof of concept for the precision requirement of the NEAT spacecraft. In this paper we present the metrology and the pseudo stellar sources sub-systems, we present a performance model and an error budget of the experiment and we report the present status of the demonstration. Finally we also present our first results: the experiment had its first light in July 2013 and a first set of data was taken in air. The analysis of this first set of data showed that we can already measure the pixel positions with an accuracy of about 1e-4 pixel.Comment: SPIE conference proceeding

The Heating of Thermal Electrons in Fast Collisionless Shocks: The Integral Role of Cosmic Rays

Understanding the heating of electrons to quasi-thermal energies at collisionless shocks has broad implications for plasma astrophysics. It directly impacts the interpretation of X-ray spectra from shocks, is important for understanding how energy is partitioned between the thermal and cosmic ray populations, and provides insight into the structure of the shock itself. In Ghavamian, Laming & Rakowski (2007) we presented observational evidence for an inverse square relation between the electron-to-proton temperature ratio and the shock speed at the outer blast waves of supernova remnants in partially neutral interstellar gas. There we outlined how lower hybrid waves generated in the cosmic ray precursor could produce such a relationship by heating the electrons to a common temperature independent of both shock speed and the strength of the ambient magnetic field. Here we explore the mechanism of lower hybrid wave heating of electrons in more detail. Specifically we examine the growth rate of the lower hybrid waves for both the kinetic (resonant) and reactive cases. We find that only the kinetic case exhibits a growing mode. At low Alfv\'en Mach numbers (~15) the growth of lower hybrid waves can be faster than the magnetic field amplification by modified Alfv\'en waves.Comment: Accepted to ApJ, 25 pages single column, 3 figure

A detector interferometric calibration experiment for high precision astrometry

Context: Exoplanet science has made staggering progress in the last two decades, due to the relentless exploration of new detection methods and refinement of existing ones. Yet astrometry offers a unique and untapped potential of discovery of habitable-zone low-mass planets around all the solar-like stars of the solar neighborhood. To fulfill this goal, astrometry must be paired with high precision calibration of the detector. Aims: We present a way to calibrate a detector for high accuracy astrometry. An experimental testbed combining an astrometric simulator and an interferometric calibration system is used to validate both the hardware needed for the calibration and the signal processing methods. The objective is an accuracy of 5e-6 pixel on the location of a Nyquist sampled polychromatic point spread function. Methods: The interferometric calibration system produced modulated Young fringes on the detector. The Young fringes were parametrized as products of time and space dependent functions, based on various pixel parameters. The minimization of func- tion parameters was done iteratively, until convergence was obtained, revealing the pixel information needed for the calibration of astrometric measurements. Results: The calibration system yielded the pixel positions to an accuracy estimated at 4e-4 pixel. After including the pixel position information, an astrometric accuracy of 6e-5 pixel was obtained, for a PSF motion over more than five pixels. In the static mode (small jitter motion of less than 1e-3 pixel), a photon noise limited precision of 3e-5 pixel was reached

Identifying novel hypoxia-associated markers of chemoresistance in ovarian cancer

BACKGROUND Ovarian cancer is associated with poor long-term survival due to late diagnosis and development of chemoresistance. Tumour hypoxia is associated with many features of tumour aggressiveness including increased cellular proliferation, inhibition of apoptosis, increased invasion and metastasis, and chemoresistance, mostly mediated through hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α. While HIF-1α has been associated with platinum resistance in a variety of cancers, including ovarian, relatively little is known about the importance of the duration of hypoxia. Similarly, the gene pathways activated in ovarian cancer which cause chemoresistance as a result of hypoxia are poorly understood. This study aimed to firstly investigate the effect of hypoxia duration on resistance to cisplatin in an ovarian cancer chemoresistance cell line model and to identify genes whose expression was associated with hypoxia-induced chemoresistance. METHODS Cisplatin-sensitive (A2780) and cisplatin-resistant (A2780cis) ovarian cancer cell lines were exposed to various combinations of hypoxia and/or chemotherapeutic drugs as part of a 'hypoxia matrix' designed to cover clinically relevant scenarios in terms of tumour hypoxia. Response to cisplatin was measured by the MTT assay. RNA was extracted from cells treated as part of the hypoxia matrix and interrogated on Affymetrix Human Gene ST 1.0 arrays. Differential gene expression analysis was performed for cells exposed to hypoxia and/or cisplatin. From this, four potential markers of chemoresistance were selected for evaluation in a cohort of ovarian tumour samples by RT-PCR. RESULTS Hypoxia increased resistance to cisplatin in A2780 and A2780cis cells. A plethora of genes were differentially expressed in cells exposed to hypoxia and cisplatin which could be associated with chemoresistance. In ovarian tumour samples, we found trends for upregulation of ANGPTL4 in partial responders and down-regulation in non-responders compared with responders to chemotherapy; down-regulation of HER3 in partial and non-responders compared to responders; and down-regulation of HIF-1α in non-responders compared with responders. CONCLUSION This study has further characterized the relationship between hypoxia and chemoresistance in an ovarian cancer model. We have also identified many potential biomarkers of hypoxia and platinum resistance and provided an initial validation of a subset of these markers in ovarian cancer tissues