An Investigation into the Link Between Heart Rate Variability and Intrusive Thoughts: Implications for Cancer Survivors

Psychology: 3rd Place (The Ohio State University Denman Undergraduate Research Forum)Cancer survivors often suffer from long-term health problems like cardiac dysfunction, chronic stress, fatigue, and depression. One common underlying factor for these problems is low heart-rate variability (HRV), exhibiting less variation in the time interval between heartbeats, which is also linked to all-cause mortality. Research has found that stress in the form of persistent, negative thoughts is also linked to poor health and thought to have a direct, harmful impact on somatic disease; however, only a handful of studies investigating this theory have been conducted in cancer populations. Our study examined the relationship between HRV and intrusive thoughts among cancer survivors. We hypothesized that female breast cancer survivors who experience higher levels of intrusive thoughts will exhibit lower HRV than those who experience lower levels of intrusive thoughts. Stage 0-IIIA breast cancer survivors (N = 200) were recruited for a larger study exploring the effects of yoga on survivors’ stress, fatigue, and inflammation. Subject’s baseline intrusive thoughts using the Impact of Events Scale (IES) were compared to their baseline HRV levels. Analyses revealed that cancer survivors with higher IES scores (intrusive thoughts) have lower HRV than those with lower IES scores (r=-0.169, p=0.031). Effects remained significant when controlling for age, cancer stage, time of treatment to baseline visit, and body mass index. These results confirm our hypothesis, indicating that women more distressed about their cancer diagnosis exhibited lower HRV than those who were less distressed; establishing an important, novel link between survivors’ vulnerability to certain health problems and the impact that mental, emotional cancer-related distress has on somatic health. Early identification of those experiencing traumatic cancer-related distress upon diagnosis, as indexed by intrusive thoughts, will be important in helping to prolong the long-term health of cancer survivors.Undergraduate Student Pelotonia Cancer Research FellowshipAcademic Major: NeuroscienceAcademic Major: Psycholog

Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds

Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world’s oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, South Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans. Plastic exposure risk varies greatly among species and populations, and between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Exposure risk is disproportionately high for Threatened species. Outside the Mediterranean and Black seas, exposure risk is highest in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the USA, Japan, and the UK. Birds generally had higher plastic exposure risk outside the EEZ of the country where they breed. We identify conservation and research priorities, and highlight that international collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastic on wide-ranging species

Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds

Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world’s oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, South Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans. Plastic exposure risk varies greatly among species and populations, and between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Exposure risk is disproportionately high for Threatened species. Outside the Mediterranean and Black seas, exposure risk is highest in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the USA, Japan, and the UK. Birds generally had higher plastic exposure risk outside the EEZ of the country where they breed. We identify conservation and research priorities, and highlight that international collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastic on wide-ranging species

Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds

Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world's oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, South Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans. Plastic exposure risk varies greatly among species and populations, and between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Exposure risk is disproportionately high for Threatened species. Outside the Mediterranean and Black seas, exposure risk is highest in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the USA, Japan, and the UK. Birds generally had higher plastic exposure risk outside the EEZ of the country where they breed. We identify conservation and research priorities, and highlight that international collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastic on wide-ranging species.B.L.C., C.H., and A.M. were funded by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative’s Collaborative Fund sponsored by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. E.J.P. was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council C-CLEAR doctoral training programme (Grant no. NE/S007164/1). We are grateful to all those who assisted with the collection and curation of tracking data. Further details are provided in the Supplementary Acknowledgements. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Peer reviewe

Sensitivity of South American tropical forests to an extreme climate anomaly

The tropical forest carbon sink is known to be drought sensitive, but it is unclear which forests are the most vulnerable to extreme events. Forests with hotter and drier baseline conditions may be protected by prior adaptation, or more vulnerable because they operate closer to physiological limits. Here we report that forests in drier South American climates experienced the greatest impacts of the 2015–2016 El Niño, indicating greater vulnerability to extreme temperatures and drought. The long-term, ground-measured tree-by-tree responses of 123 forest plots across tropical South America show that the biomass carbon sink ceased during the event with carbon balance becoming indistinguishable from zero (−0.02 ± 0.37 Mg C ha −1 per year). However, intact tropical South American forests overall were no more sensitive to the extreme 2015–2016 El Niño than to previous less intense events, remaining a key defence against climate change as long as they are protected

PhD

dissertationLosing a close relationship is consistently rated as one of life's most stressful events, and has been found to be among the most robust predictors of major depression in adolescence. Surprising, little work has examined who is most at risk for postloss depressive symptoms in adolescence. The current study examined how adolescents' attachment insecurity and autonomic nervous system functioning assessed at age 14 was prognostic of postloss depressive symptoms in late adolescence. Adolescents with greater attachment anxiety to their mother at age 14 reported higher levels of postloss depressive symptoms to a subsequent relationship loss between ages 16 and18 if they were also characterized by heightened activation of the sympathetic nervous system during experimentally-induced stress at age 14 (as assessed via skin conductance level). Adolescents who reported higher levels of attachment avoidance to their mother at age 14 reported higher levels of postloss depressive symptoms if they were characterized by low levels of parasympathetic nervous system activity during experimentally-induced stress at age 14 (as assessed via respiratory sinus arrhythmia or RSA). The findings suggest that the maladaptive effects of poor mother-child relationships (indexed by attachment insecurity) for postloss depressive symptoms may largely depend upon one's biological predispositions for self-regulation

MS

thesisSixty young adults who had recently experienced a breakup were prospectively followed over a four-week period in order to access (a) the degree of change in individuals' conscious treatment and unconscious cognitive perceptions of ex-partners as attachment figures, (b) how these changes are associated with corresponding changes in individual's breakup resistance and their emotional adjustment (c) whether changes in each of these domains is associated with the individual's attachment style, coping strategies, and post breakup behavior. Results showed that individuals unconsciously treated their ex-partner as an attachment figure after the breakup and desired to utilize their ex-partner as an attachment figure after the breakup more than they actually did. Individual differences in attachment style were not associated with conscious detachment but highly anxious individuals showed less of a decline in unconscious cognitive responses to the ex-partner as an attachment figure. Rumination was associated with less change in depressive symptoms and distraction was associated with greater change in breakup resistance. Partner contact and sex with ex-partner was associated with less conscious detachment, while committing to a new relationship was associated with greater unconscious detachment

eHealth and mHealth interventions in the treatment of fatigued cancer survivors : a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: To (1) evaluate existing eHealth/mHealth interventions developed to help manage cancer‐related fatigue (CRF); and (2) summarize the best available evidence on their effectiveness. Methods: A comprehensive literature search of PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library up to November 2016 was conducted. Study outcomes were extracted, tabulated, and summarized. Random effects meta‐analyses were conducted for the primary outcome (fatigue), and the secondary outcomes quality of life and depression, yielding pooled effect sizes (r), and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: For eHealth interventions, our search of published papers identified 9 completed studies and 6 protocols for funded projects underway. No studies were identified for mHealth interventions that met our inclusion criteria. A meta‐analysis of the 9 completed eHealth studies revealed a statistically significant beneficial effect of eHealth interventions on CRF (r = .27, 95% CI [.1109 – .4218], P < 0.01). Therapist‐guided eHealth interventions were more efficacious then self‐guided interventions (r = .58, 95% CI: [.3136 – .5985, P < 0.001). Small to moderate therapeutic effects were also observed for HRQoL (r = .17, 95% CI [.0384 – .3085], P < 0.05) and depression (r = .24, 95% CI [.1431 – .3334], P < 0.001). Conclusions: eHealth interventions appear to be effective for managing fatigue in cancer survivors with CRF. Continuous development of eHealth interventions for the treatment of CRF in cancer survivors and their testing in long‐term, large‐scale efficacy outcome studies is encouraged. The degree to which mHealth interventions can change CRF in cancer survivors need to be assessed systematically and empirically

The Effects of Strain-Based Work&ndash;Parenting Conflict on Dual Income Couples&rsquo; Energy

(1) Background: Gender differences between men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s parenting roles are well-documented as the &ldquo;second shift&rdquo;. We examined the main effects and interaction of work distress and parenting distress with energy (i.e., vigor) in a sample of 310 dual-income, different-sex couples with kids married for approximately nine years. (2) Methods: We used actor&ndash;partner interdependence modeling (APIM) to examine how spouses&rsquo; distress was associated with their energy. (3) Results: For both wives and husbands, there were negative associations between the actor&rsquo;s parenting distress and their energy level and between the actor&rsquo;s work distress and their energy level. However, only wives experienced a significant interaction of work and parenting distress such that high levels of both forms of distress were associated with low levels of energy, indicating that only wives experience this form of work&ndash;family conflict. (4) Conclusions: When women experience more strain at home than men, they may need more time to recover from their work and family duties. If they cannot do so, they will have less energy to carry out their responsibilities and may be at a higher risk of future adverse health outcomes

Cognitive reappraisal and nasal cytokine production following experimental rhinovirus infection

Following exposure to the common cold (i.e., rhinovirus), locally produced nasal cytokines (rather than the infection itself) drive the progression of one’s symptoms (Hendley et al., 1973; Cohen et al., 1999). Stress-induced local inflammation exacerbates local cytokine production (e.g., marital hostility; Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2005). An individual’s ability to effectively manage their emotions is a critical component of positive health and well-being. Here, we evaluated whether one’s self-reported frequency of cognitive reappraisal, an adaptive emotion regulation strategy, predicts nasal cytokine production following experimental rhinovirus exposure. Emotion regulation strategies were assessed at baseline prior to experimental infection. After the baseline assessment, each participant was exposed to a strain of rhinovirus (RV-39) and followed for 5 days in quarantine. Nasal interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 and subjective symptoms were assessed at baseline and on each of the 5 days of quarantine. A multilevel analysis of the data for 159 participants with documented infection demonstrated that less frequent use of cognitive reappraisal predicted heightened production of the nasal cytokine composite. Those who self-reported using cognitive reappraisal strategies less frequently displayed elevated nasal IL-6 and IL-8. Among the 63 participants with clinical cold, less frequent use of cognitive reappraisal was associated with heightened production of nasal IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8. In ancillary analyses, the composite of nasal cytokines was associated with the severity of one’s subjective symptoms across the 5 days. Findings suggest that emotion regulation strategies, particularly cognitive reappraisal, influence illness trajectories during rhinovirus infection