Effects of Big Five Personality Traits on Self-Perceived Anxiety Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Previous researchers have demonstrated correlations between openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism with one’s perceived anxiety levels. People who tend to be highly neurotic indicate greater levels of anxiety, while those who are open and conscientious tend to portray the opposite. The Big Five Personality Traits were examined in the predictive effects they had on the self-perception of anxiety prior to and during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students attending Union College were asked to report their anxiety levels from the academic year prior to COVID-19 and the year during COVID, as well as the Ten-Item Personality Inventory. Participants high in neuroticism reported having higher levels of pre-COVID anxiety, while participants high in openness reported having lower levels of pre-COVID anxiety. Furthermore, participants who were highly neurotic demonstrated greater levels of anxiety during COVID as well. Results from this study outlined an association between those who were highly neurotic and high levels of anxiety felt during the pandemic. Such findings can be implemented to develop preventive measures and treatments

ALGAE TO BIODIESEL

In the spring of 2010, a CBE 459 design team focused on cultivating algae with the SimgaeTM Algal Biomass Production System, extracting algal lipids using OriginOilTM single-step extraction technology, and converting lipids into green diesel fuel. It was determined that the process was profitable, but required a staggering capital investment of 2.8 billion dollars. In the past year, both public and private institutions have joined the race to produce biofuels from an algal feedstock in an economically responsible manner that is by maintaining profitability while minimizing high capital costs. The intention of this report is to contribute to the global discourse on alternative-fuels and to reevaluate the promise of algae as a renewable resource for alternative fuels in light of the latest research and technological advances. The algae-to-biofuel venture was segmented into three modules: algal cultivation, lipid extraction and lipid processing. Each module was studied thoroughly and several strategies were proposed for the reduction of its associated fixed, capital and variable costs. As contrasted with a previous study, it was concluded that heterotrophic algal cultivation and transesterification lipid- processing technologies would improve the efficiency and reduce the total capital investment. Once each module was designed in detail, the three segments were stitched together to perform an overall economic analysis. Based on the current market price of $3.30 per gallon for pure biodiesel, a project life of 15 years, and a 15$1.3 billion and the Return on Investment (ROI) was determined to be 32%. Although these economic results are promising, they are based on an analysis that necessarily invoked highly uncertain postulates in the dearth of published data. For example, the kinetics used to model the lipid-processing module were based on data collected for palm oil at similar conditions, while the details of lipid-extraction energy usage for a high-density slurry were approximated on the basis of results for low-density slurry. Furthermore, it was concluded that the income from the sale of the algal biomass byproduct of lipid-extraction is a critical factor in the profitability. Based on its protein content, this report considered the use of algal biomass as animal feed and determined its economic worth accordingly. However, to ensure the economic success of biodiesel production, an additional analysis should focus on algal usage of biomass as a feedstock and confirm the safety of its use. Further analyses could examine other potential applications for the byproduct, including opportunities within the pharmaceutical and power generation industries. Overall, in order to convince investors that the attractive economics published in this report may be translated into actual earnings, it is critical to move beyond modeling. Pilot studies must be conducted in order to bolster the proposed algae-to-biodiesel venture with experimental data and identify possible pitfalls

Oleic Acid Protects Caenorhabditis Mothers From Mating-Induced Death and the Cost of Reproduction

Reproduction comes at a cost, including accelerated death. Previous studies of the interconnections between reproduction, lifespan, and fat metabolism in C. elegans were predominantly performed in low-reproduction conditions. To understand how increased reproduction affects lifespan and fat metabolism, we examined mated worms; we find that a Δ9 desaturase, FAT-7, is significantly up-regulated. Dietary supplementation of oleic acid (OA), the immediate downstream product of FAT-7 activity, restores fat storage and completely rescues mating-induced death, while other fatty acids cannot. OA-mediated lifespan restoration is also observed in C. elegans mutants suffering increased death from short-term mating, and in mated C. remanei females, indicating a conserved role of oleic acid in post-mating lifespan regulation. Our results suggest that increased reproduction can be uncoupled from the costs of reproduction from somatic longevity regulation if provided with the limiting lipid, oleic acid

Transition and Reflection in the Use of Health Information: The Case of Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Caregivers

ABSTRACT The impact of health information on caregivers is of increasing interest to HCI/CSCW in designing systems to support the social and emotional dimensions of managing health. Drawing on an interview study, as well as corroborating data including a multi-year ethnography, we detail the practices of caregivers (particularly parents) in a bone marrow transplant (BMT) center. We examine the interconnections between information and emotion work performed by caregivers through a liminal lens, highlighting the BMT experience as a time of transition and reflection in which caregivers must quickly adapt to the new social world of the hospital and learn to manage a wide range of patient needs. The transition from parent to 'caregiver' is challenging, placing additional emotional burdens on the intensive information work for managing BMT. As a time of reflection, the BMT experience also provides an occasion for generative thinking and alternative approaches to health management. Our study findings call for health systems that reflect a design paradigm focused on 'transforming lives' rather than 'transferring information.' Autho

Med25 Limits Master Regulators That Govern Adipogenesis

Mediator 25 (Med25) is a member of the mediator complex that relays signals from transcription factors to the RNA polymerase II machinery. Multiple transcription factors, particularly those involved in lipid metabolism, utilize the mediator complex, but how Med25 is involved in this context is unclear. We previously identified Med25 in a translatome screen of adult cardiomyocytes (CMs) in a novel cell type-specific model of LMNA cardiomyopathy. In this study, we show that Med25 upregulation is coincident with myocardial lipid accumulation. To ascertain the role of Med25 in lipid accumulation, we utilized iPSC-derived and neonatal CMs to recapitulate the in vivo phenotype by depleting lamins A and C (lamin A/C) in vitro. Although lamin A/C depletion elicits lipid accumulation, this effect appears to be mediated by divergent mechanisms dependent on the CM developmental state. To directly investigate Med25 in lipid accumulation, we induced adipogenesis in Med25-silenced 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and detected enhanced lipid accumulation. Assessment of pertinent mediators driving adipogenesis revealed that C/EBPα and PPARγ are super-induced by Med25 silencing. Our results indicate that Med25 limits adipogenic potential by suppressing the levels of master regulators that govern adipogenesis. Furthermore, we caution the use of early-developmental-stage cardiomyocytes to model adult-stage cells, particularly for dissecting metabolic perturbations emanating from LMNA mutations

The impacts of using smartphone dating applications on sexual risk behaviours in college students in Hong Kong

© 2016 Choi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Dating applications (apps) on smartphones have become increasingly popular. The aim of this study was to explore the association between the use of dating apps and risky sexual behaviours. Data were collected in four university campuses in Hong Kong. Subjects completed a structured questionnaire asking about the use of dating apps, sexual behaviours, and sociodemographics. Multiple linear and logistics regressions were used to explore factors associated with sexual risk behaviours. Six hundred sixty-six subjects were included in the data analysis. Factors associated with having unprotected sexual intercourse with more lifetime sexual partners included use of dating apps (β = 0.93, p < 0.01), having one's first sexual intercourse before 16 years of age (β = 1.74, p < 0.01), being older (β = 0.4, p < 0.01), currently being in a relationship (= 0.69, p < 0.05), having a monthly income at least HKD $5,000 (β = 1.34, p < 0.01), being a current smoker (β = 1.52, p < 0.01), and being a current drinker (β = 0.7, p < 0.01). The results of a multiple logistic regression analysis found that users of dating apps (adjust odds ratio: 0.52, p < 0.05) and current drinkers (adjust odds ratio: 0.40, p < 0.01) were less likely to have consistent condom use. Users of dating apps (adjust odds ratio: 1.93, p < 0.05), bisexual/homosexual subjects (adjust odds ratio: 2.57, p < 0.01) and female subjects (adjust odds ratio: 2.00, p < 0.05) were more likely not to have used condoms the last time they had sexual intercourse. The present study found a robust association between using dating apps and sexual risk behaviours, suggesting that app users had greater sexual risks. Interventions that can target app users so that they can stay safe when seeking sexual partners through dating apps should be developed.published_or_final_versio

Adherence to Cancer Prevention Guidelines in 18 African Countries

Background Cancer rates in Africa are projected to double by 2030 due to aging and increased exposure to cancer risk factors, including modifiable risk factors. We assessed adherence to 5 modifiable cancer risk factors across 18 African countries. Methods Data on adults 18 years and older were obtained from the 2002–2004 World Health Survey. Adherence to current World Cancer Research Fund guidelines on smoking, alcohol, body weight, physical activity, and nutrition was assessed. Adherence scores ranged from 0 (no guideline met) to 5 (all guidelines met). Determinants of adherence were assessed using multivariable linear regression adjusted for individual and country level characteristics. Results Across all countries, adherence to the guidelines among adults was high for smoking (72%–99%) and alcohol (85%–100%), but low for body weight (1.8%–78%), physical activity (3.4%–84%) and nutrition (1.4%–61%). Overall adherence score ranged from 2.32 in Mali to 3.72 in Comoros. In multivariable models, residing in low versus high SES households was associated with reduced adherence by 0.24 and 0.21 points for men and women respectively after adjusting for age, gender, education, and marital status (p<0.001). Every % increase in GDP spent on health was associated with increased adherence by 0.03 in men and 0.09 in women (p<0.001). Conclusions The wide variation in adherence to cancer prevention guidelines observed across countries and between population sub-groups suggests the need for targeted public health efforts to improve behaviors related to body weight, physical activity and nutrition

Progressive Motor Neuron Pathology and the Role of Astrocytes in a Human Stem Cell Model of VCP-Related ALS.

Motor neurons (MNs) and astrocytes (ACs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but their interaction and the sequence of molecular events leading to MN death remain unresolved. Here, we optimized directed differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into highly enriched (> 85%) functional populations of spinal cord MNs and ACs. We identify significantly increased cytoplasmic TDP-43 and ER stress as primary pathogenic events in patient-specific valosin-containing protein (VCP)-mutant MNs, with secondary mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Cumulatively, these cellular stresses result in synaptic pathology and cell death in VCP-mutant MNs. We additionally identify a cell-autonomous VCP-mutant AC survival phenotype, which is not attributable to the same molecular pathology occurring in VCP-mutant MNs. Finally, through iterative co-culture experiments, we uncover non-cell-autonomous effects of VCP-mutant ACs on both control and mutant MNs. This work elucidates molecular events and cellular interplay that could guide future therapeutic strategies in ALS