94 research outputs found
Problematic online gaming. Is it real and does it matter to our teenagers?
Background: Video games and social media have become an ubiquitous part of our society. Video games have been associated with both positive and negative health consequences. There is a growing body of literature supporting the idea that users can develop problematic interactive media use. We hypothesized that teenagers who screened positive for internet gaming disorder would have correlations with other psychosocial and behavioral concerns when compared to their peers.
Methods: An urban cohort of high school students aged 14-18 years completed validated self-reported questionnaires to screen for internet gaming disorder, risk of depression, daytime sleepiness, and quality of life measures.
Results: Internet gaming disorder was present in 11.9% of participants. Teens screening positive for problematic online gaming also had significantly elevated risk of depression and a lower quality of life.
Conclusion: High school aged students were screened for video game addiction through a self-reported questionnaire. Participants were separated into two groups, those who were identified as meeting criteria for video game addiction and those who did not. The group who screened positive for video game addiction also were at a higher risk for depression and scored lower on a quality-of-life survey. Video game addiction, although likely not causative, may be an indicator of other psychosocial issues faced by high school aged teenagers
Comparing call-based versus subunit-based methods for categorizing Norwegian killer whale, Orcinus orca, vocalizations
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2010. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Animal Behaviour 81 (2011): 377-386, doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.09.020.Students of animal communication face significant challenges when deciding how to
categorise calls into subunits, calls, and call series. Here, we use algorithms designed to parse
human speech to test different approaches for categorising calls of killer whales. Killer whale
vocalisations have traditionally been categorised by humans into discrete call types. These calls
often contain internal spectral shifts, periods of silence, and synchronously produced low and
high frequency components, suggesting that they may be composed of subunits. We describe
and compare three different approaches for modelling Norwegian killer whale calls. The first
method considered the whole call as the basic unit of analysis. Inspired by human speech
processing techniques, the second and third methods represented the calls in terms of subunits.
Subunits may provide a more parsimonious approach to modelling the vocal stream since (1)
there were fewer subunits than call types; (2) nearly 75% of all call types shared at least one
subunit. We show that contour traces from stereotyped Norwegian killer whale calls yielded
similar automatic classification performance using either whole calls or subunits. We also
demonstrate that subunits derived from Norwegian stereotyped calls were detected in some
Norwegian variable (non-stereotyped) calls as well as the stereotyped calls of other killer whale
populations. Further work is required to test whether killer whales use subunits to generate and
categorize their vocal repertoire.The undergraduate students were
supported by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Program office and the Ocean Life Institute (OLI) at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
(WHOI). Field work was financed by the OLI, National Geographic Society and WWF Sweden.
A. D. Shapiro was funded by a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship
and the WHOI Academic Programs Office
Developmental delay in Rett syndrome: data from the natural history study
Background: Early development appears normal in Rett syndrome (OMIM #312750) and may be more apparent than real. A major purpose of the Rett Syndrome (RTT) Natural History Study (NHS) was to examine achievement of developmental skills or abilities in classic and atypical RTT and assess phenotype-genotype relations in classic RTT. Methods: Developmental skills in four realms, gross and fine motor, and receptive and expressive communication from initial enrollment and longitudinal assessments for up to 7 years, were assessed from 542 females meeting criteria for classic RTT and 96 females with atypical RTT divided into two groups: 50 with better and 46 with poorer functional scores. Data were analyzed for age at acquisition and loss of developmental features and for phenotype-genotype effects. Acquired, lost, and retained skills were compared between classic RTT and atypical RTT with better or poorer functional scores using Fisher's Exact test. To examine if the mean total score from the Motor Behavioral Assessment during follow-up differed for acquiring a skill, we used a generalized estimating equation assuming compound symmetry correlation structure within a subject. A general linear model was used to examine whether the mean age of acquisition or loss of a developmental skill differed by mutation type. P values <0.05 were considered significant and were two-sided without adjustment for multiple testing. Statistical analyses utilized SAS 9.3 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). Results: Early developmental skills or abilities were often acquired albeit later than normal. More complex motor and communication acquisitions were delayed or absent. Clinical severity was less in those achieving the respective skill. Individuals with R133C, R294X, and R306C point mutations and 3′ truncations tended to have better developmental outcomes. Conclusions: Early developmental skills were acquired by many, but clear differences from normal emerged, particularly in skills expected after age 6 months. When comparing clinical severity, greater acquisition of specific skills was associated with specific mutations, confirming the impression that these mutations confer milder developmental abnormalities. These data may serve for planning and interpretation of early intervention studies in RTT. Trial registration This NHS study, clinicaltrials.gov (NCT00296764), represents the largest group of RTT participants assessed repeatedly by direct examination
Caretaker Quality of Life in Rett Syndrome: Disorder Features and Psychological Predictors
ObjectiveRett syndrome is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder affecting approximately one in 10,000 female births. The clinical features of Rett syndrome are known to impact both patients' and caretakers' quality of life in Rett syndrome. We hypothesized that more severe clinical features would negatively impact caretaker physical quality of life but would positively impact caretaker mental quality of life.MethodsParticipants were individuals enrolled in the Rett Natural History Study with a diagnosis of classic Rett syndrome. Demographic data, clinical disease features, caretaker quality of life, and measures of family function were assessed during clinic visits. The Optum SF-36v2 Health Survey was used to assess caretaker physical and mental quality of life (higher scores indicate better quality of life). Descriptive, univariate, and multivariate analyses were used to characterize relationships between child and caretaker characteristics and caretaker quality of life.ResultsCaretaker physical component scores (PCS) were higher than mental component scores (MCS): 52.8 (9.7) vs 44.5 (12.1). No differences were demonstrated between the baseline and 5-year follow-up. In univariate analyses, disease severity was associated with poorer PCS (PÂ =Â 0.006) and improved MCS (PÂ =Â 0.003). Feeding problems were associated with poorer PCS (PÂ =Â 0.007) and poorer MCS (PÂ =Â 0.018). In multivariate analyses, limitations in caretaker personal time and home conflict adversely affected PCS. Feeding problems adversely impacted MCS.ConclusionsCaretaker quality of life in Rett syndrome is similar to that for caretakers in other chronic diseases. Disease characteristics significantly impact quality of life, and feeding difficulties may represent an important clinical target for improving both child and caretaker quality of life. The stability of quality-of-life scores between baseline and five years adds important value
Highly Volcanic Exoplanets, Lava Worlds, and Magma Ocean Worlds:An Emerging Class of Dynamic Exoplanets of Significant Scientific Priority
Highly volcanic exoplanets, which can be variously characterized as 'lava
worlds', 'magma ocean worlds', or 'super-Ios' are high priority targets for
investigation. The term 'lava world' may refer to any planet with extensive
surface lava lakes, while the term 'magma ocean world' refers to planets with
global or hemispherical magma oceans at their surface. 'Highly volcanic
planets', including super-Ios, may simply have large, or large numbers of,
active explosive or extrusive volcanoes of any form. They are plausibly highly
diverse, with magmatic processes across a wide range of compositions,
temperatures, activity rates, volcanic eruption styles, and background
gravitational force magnitudes. Worlds in all these classes are likely to be
the most characterizable rocky exoplanets in the near future due to
observational advantages that stem from their preferential occurrence in short
orbital periods and their bright day-side flux in the infrared. Transit
techniques should enable a level of characterization of these worlds analogous
to hot Jupiters. Understanding processes on highly volcanic worlds is critical
to interpret imminent observations. The physical states of these worlds are
likely to inform not just geodynamic processes, but also planet formation, and
phenomena crucial to habitability. Volcanic and magmatic activity uniquely
allows chemical investigation of otherwise spectroscopically inaccessible
interior compositions. These worlds will be vital to assess the degree to which
planetary interior element abundances compare to their stellar hosts, and may
also offer pathways to study both the very young Earth, and the very early form
of many silicate planets where magma oceans and surface lava lakes are expected
to be more prevalent. We suggest that highly volcanic worlds may become second
only to habitable worlds in terms of both scientific and public long-term
interest.Comment: A white paper submitted in response to the National Academy of
Sciences 2018 Exoplanet Science Strategy solicitation, from the NASA Sellers
Exoplanet Environments Collaboration (SEEC) of the Goddard Space Flight
Center. 6 pages, 0 figure
Insomnio infantil: \ubfpor qu\ue9 Chris no puede dormir?
Los ni\uf1os de todas las edades experimentan dificultad para conciliar el sue\uf1a y mantenerlo, circunstancia conocida como insomnio infantil. El insomnio es un s\uedntoma que puede deberse a un trastorno primario del sue\uf1o o bien tener relaci\uf3n con otras alteraciones de sue\uf1o, m\ue9dicas y psiqui\ue1tricas. Los trastornos del sue\uf1o provocan importante alteraci\uf3n del funcionamiento diurno y repercuten de manera negativa en la vida familiar. Los problemas de este tipo se atienden sobre todo mediante m\ue9todos conductuales o cognoscitivos-conductuales. Con frecuencia se prescriben medicamentos, pero no se cuenta con datos de estudios con placebo para sustentar el uso de agentes farmacol\uf3gicos en el tratamiento del insomnio infantil
Recommended from our members
Low bone mineral mass is associated with decreased bone formation and diet in girls with Rett syndrome.
The aim of the present study was to characterize biomarkers of bone turnover and their relation with bone mineral mass in a cross-sectional cohort of girls with Rett syndrome (RTT) and to examine the role of dietary, biochemical, hormonal, and inflammatory factors on bone mineral mass and bone biomarkers in this disorder.Total body bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) were determined by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Dietary nutrient intakes were determined from 3-day food records. Biomarkers of bone turnover, bone metabolites, vitamin D metabolites, hormones, and inflammatory markers were measured by standard clinical laboratory methods.Serum osteocalcin, bone alkaline phosphatase, and C-telopeptide showed significant inverse relations with age in the RTT cohort. Mean osteocalcin concentrations were significantly lower and mean bone alkaline phosphatase concentrations were significantly higher for individual age groups in the RTT cohort than mean values for their respective age ranges in the reference population. Significant inverse associations were identified between urinary calcium losses, expressed as calcium:creatinine ratios, and total body BMC and BMD z scores. Dietary protein, calcium, and phosphorus intakes, expressed as a proportion of Dietary Reference Intakes for age and sex, showed significant positive associations with total body BMD z scores.The present study suggests decreased bone formation instead of increased bone resorption may explain in part the deficits in bone mineral mass in RTT and that attention to the adequacy of dietary protein, calcium, and phosphorus intakes may offer an opportunity to improve bone health in RTT
- …