Core Beliefs, Self-Perception, and Cognitive Organization in Depressed Adolescents

The relationships between cognitive products (e.g., self-perception) and cognitive structure (or organization) in clinically depressed adolescents and nonpsychiatric controls (average age = 14.68) were examined. Adolescents with major depressive disorder showed significantly higher scores than did controls on the Young Schema Questionnaire domains of Disconnection, Impaired Autonomy, and Impaired Limits. These individuals also demonstrated poorer self-concept than controls on scholastic abilities, social acceptance, athletic competence, physical appearance, job competence, behavioral conduct, and global self-worth, as well as perceptions of limited social networks. The organization of self-referent adjectives was more tightly interconnected for negative content and less interconnected for positive content in depressed adolescents than in nonpsychiatric controls. Specificity of cognitive organization to themes of interpersonal and achievement beliefs/self-perceptions was also found, particularly for positive content. Implications of the findings for the cognitive vulnerability model of depression and future directions are discussed

Environmental forcing by submarine canyons: Evidence between two closely situated cold-water coral mounds (Porcupine Bank Canyon and Western Porcupine Bank, NE Atlantic)

Within the Porcupine Bank Canyon (NE Atlantic), cold-water coral (CWC) mounds are mostly found clustered along the canyon lip, with individual disconnected mounds occurring nearby on the western Porcupine Bank. Remotely operated vehicle-mounted vibrocoring was utilized to acquire cores from both of these sites. This study is the first to employ this novel method when aiming to precisely sample two closely situated areas. Radiometric ages constrain the records from the early to mid-Holocene (9.1 to 5.6 ka BP). The cores were then subjected to 3D segmented computer tomography to capture mound formation stages. The cores were then further examined using stable isotopes and benthic foraminiferal assemblages, to constrain the paleoenvironmental variation that influenced CWC mound formation of each site. In total, mound aggradation rate in the Porcupine Bank Canyon and western Porcupine Bank was comparable to other Holocene CWC mounds situated off western Ireland. Results derived from multiproxy analysis, show that regional climatic shifts define the environmental conditions that allow positive coral mound formation. In addition, the aggradation rate of coral mounds is higher adjacent to the Porcupine Bank Canyon than on the western Porcupine Bank. Benthic foraminifera assemblages and planktic foraminiferal δ13C reveal that higher quality organic matter is more readily available closer to the canyon lip. As such, we hypothesize that coral mound formation in the region is likely controlled by an interplay between enhanced shelf currents and the existence of the Eastern North Atlantic Water-Mediterranean Outflow Water-Transition Zone. The geomorphology of the canyon promotes upwelling of these water masses that are enriched in particles, including food and sediment supply. The higher availability of these particles support the development and succession of ecological hotspots along the canyon lip and adjacent areas of the seafloor. These observations provide a glimpse into the role that submarine canyons play in influencing macro and micro benthic fauna distributions and highlights the importance of their conservation

Using novel methods to track British and Irish Ice Sheet dynamics since the Late Pleistocene, along the west Porcupine Bank, NE Atlantic

Extensive research has been undertaken to elucidate the glacial history of the British Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) in the NE Atlantic. BRITICE-CHRONO has compiled terrestrial and marine based evidence, to provide an empirical reconstruction of ice sheet expansion and retreat during the Late Pleistocene. Across the Irish margin, particular focus has been given to seafloor sediments which contain ice-rafted debris (IRD). However, there are few publications on IRD from areas proximal to the maximum extent of the BIIS, which would offer further insights on the behaviour of the ice sheet during (de)glacial events. Previous exploratory surveys of the west Porcupine Bank (wPB) visually identified IRD on the seafloor and these present a new study site to investigate the extent of the BIIS and the course of its icebergs. Moreover, there are uncertainties about the effects of icebergs on the marine life and cold-water corals occupying the nearby Porcupine Bank Canyon. Assessing a sediment core containing an IRD analogue for the wPB would thus, have a dual purpose. In the past however, coring missions of the wPB using traditional coring methods (i.e. piston and gravity cores) were unsuccessful. Here, we utilized a novel ROV-mounted vibrocoring procedure to capture a 0.75 m IRD-bearing sediment core from the wPB. Then further novel analytical methods (computed tomography-based IRD-detection) were used to quantify IRD every 0.02 cm to provide the highest resolution record of BIIS related IRD to date. From this, several fluxes of IRD deposition onto the wPB between 31.6 and 9 ka BP were revealed and corroborated by other published records from across the NE Atlantic. It was shown that the wPB IRD fluxes occur simultaneously with other parts of the margin. The IRD signal also shows that iceberg calving occurred on the wPB during the Younger Dryas. Grain-size analysis of the core allowed for a reconstruction and interpretation of the palaeoenvironmental conditions during these IRD flux events and shows that BIIS-derived glaciers had a major impact on hydrodynamic conditions in the wPB. Subsequently, intensive scouring led to a major hiatus in the core during 27.3â 17.2 ka BP. These results are a useful addition to BIIS literature on this part of the shelf. Furthermore, it shows that bottom currents were influenced by (de)glacial events, an important finding when considering the presence of nearby current-dependant benthos

Clinical presentation of eating disorders in young males at a tertiary setting

Abstract Background Young males with eating disorders are a neglected study population in eating disorders. The aim of this study was to provide knowledge about the clinical presentation of eating disorders in young males. Methods The data source was the Helping to Outline Paediatric Eating Disorders (HOPE) Project (N ~ 1000), a prospective, ongoing registry comprising consecutive paediatric (<18 years) tertiary eating disorder referrals. Young males with DSM-5 eating disorders (n = 53) were compared with young females with eating disorders (n = 704). Results There was no significant difference in the prevalence of diagnosis of bulimia nervosa (2 % vs 11 %, p = 0.26) among sexes. Males had comparable duration of illness (9 months; p = 0.28) and a significantly earlier age of onset (M = 12 years; p <0.001). Shape concern (2.39 vs 3.57, p <0.001) and weight concern (1.97 vs 3.09, p <0.001) were lower in males, and body mass index z score (−1.61 vs −1.42, p = 0.29) and medical compromise (odds ratio [OR] = 0.64, 95 % CI: 0.36, 1.12) were comparable. Males had a two-folder higher odds of being diagnosed with unspecified feeding or eating disorders (40 % vs 22 % for females, p = 0.004). Driven exercise to control weight and shape was common and comparable in prevalence among males and females (51 % vs 47 %, p = 0.79) and males were less likely to present with self-induced vomiting (OR = 0.23, 95 % CI: 0.09, 0.59). Conclusion Boys with eating disorders are an understudied group with similarities and differences in clinical presentation from girls with eating disorders. Parents and physicians are encouraged to consider changes in weight, disturbed vital signs, and driven, frequent exercise for the purposes of controlling weight or shape, as possible signs of eating disorders among male children. Diagnostic classification, assessment instruments, conceptualisation, and treatment methods need to be refined to improve application to young males

Evolutionary consequences of intra-patient phage predation on microbial populations

The impact of phage predation on bacterial pathogens in the context of human disease is not currently appreciated. Here, we show that predatory interactions of a phage with an important environmentally transmitted pathogen, Vibrio cholerae, can modulate the evolutionary trajectory of this pathogen during the natural course of infection within individual patients. We analyzed geographically and temporally disparate cholera patient stool samples from Haiti and Bangladesh and found that phage predation can drive the genomic diversity of intra-patient V. cholerae populations. Intra-patient phage-sensitive and phage-resistant isolates were isogenic except for mutations conferring phage resistance, and moreover, phage-resistant V. cholerae populations were composed of a heterogeneous mix of many unique mutants. We also observed that phage predation can significantly alter the virulence potential of V. cholerae shed from cholera patients. We provide the first molecular evidence for predatory phage shaping microbial community structure during the natural course of infection in humans. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03497.00

Enhanced ozone loss by active inorganic bromine chemistry in the tropical troposphere

Abstract Bromine chemistry, particularly in the tropics, has been suggested to play an important role in tropospheric ozone loss (Theys et al., 2011) although a lack of measurements of active bromine species impedes a quantitative understanding of its impacts. Recent modelling and measurements of bromine monoxide (BrO) by Wang et al. (2015) have shown current models under predict BrO concentrations over the Pacific Ocean and allude to a missing source of BrO. Here, we present the first simultaneous aircraft measurements of atmospheric bromine monoxide, BrO (a radical that along with atomic Br catalytically destroys ozone) and the inorganic Br precursor compounds HOBr, BrCl and Br2 over the Western Pacific Ocean from 0.5 to 7 km. The presence of 0.17-€“1.64 pptv BrO and 3.6-8 pptv total inorganic Br from these four species throughout the troposphere causes 10-20% of total ozone loss, and confirms the importance of bromine chemistry in the tropical troposphere; contributing to a 6 ppb decrease in ozone levels due to halogen chemistry. Observations are compared with a global chemical transport model and find that the observed high levels of BrO, BrCl and HOBr can be reconciled by active multiphase oxidation of halide (Br- and Cl-ˆ’) by HOBr and ozone in cloud droplets and aerosols. Measurements indicate that 99% of the instantaneous free Br in the troposphere up to 8 km originates from inorganic halogen photolysis rather than from photolysis of organobromine species

Acetazolamide reduces exercise capacity following a 5-day ascent to 4559 m in a randomised study

To assess whether acetazolamide (Az), used prophylactically for acute mountain sickness (AMS), alters exercise capacity at high altitude.Az (500 mg daily) or placebo was administered to 20 healthy adults (aged 36±20 years, range 21-77), who were paired for age, sex, AMS susceptibility and weight, in a double-blind, randomised manner. Participants ascended over 5 days to 4559 m, then exercised to exhaustion on a bicycle ergometer, while recording breath-by-breath gas measurements. Comparisons between groups and matched pairs were done via Mann-Whitney U and Pearson's χ2 tests, respectively.Comparing paired individuals at altitude, those on Az had greater reductions in maximum power output (Pmax) as a percentage of sea-level values (65±14.1 vs 76.6±7.4 (placebo); P=0.007), lower VO2max (20.7±5.2 vs 24.6±5.1 mL/kg/min; P<0.01), smaller changes from rest to Pmax for VO2 (9.8±6.2 vs 13.8±4.9 mL/kg/min; P=0.04) and lower heart rate at Pmax (154±25 vs 167±16, P<0.01) compared with their placebo-treated partners. Correlational analysis (Pearson's) indicated that with increasing age Pmax (r=-0.83: P<0.005) and heart rate at Pmax (r=-0.71, P=0.01) reduced more in those taking Az.Maximum exercise performance at altitude was reduced more in subjects taking Az compared with placebo, particularly in older individuals. The age-related effect may reflect higher tissue concentrations of Az due to reduced renal excretion. Future studies should explore the effectiveness of smaller Az doses (eg, 250 mg daily or less) in older individuals to optimise the altitude-Az-exercise relationships

The influence of intention, outcome and question-wording on children's and adults' moral judgments

The influence of intention and outcome information on moral judgments was investigated by telling children aged 4-8 years and adults (N=169) stories involving accidental harms (positive intention, negative outcome) or attempted harms (negative intention, positive outcome) from two studies (Helwig, Zelazo, & Wilson, 2001; Zelazo, Helwig, & Lau, 1996). When the original acceptability (wrongness) question was asked, the original findings were closely replicated: children’s and adults’ acceptability judgments, and children’s punishment judgments, were primarily outcome-based. However, when this question was rephrased, 4-5-year-olds’ judgments were approximately equally influenced by intention and outcome, and from 5-6 years they were primarily intention-based. These findings indicate that, for methodological reasons, children’s (and adults’) ability to make intention-based judgment has often been substantially underestimated

Maternal feeding practices and fussy eating in toddlerhood: A discordant twin analysis

Background: Parental feeding practices are thought to play a causal role in shaping a child's fussiness; however, a child-responsive model suggests that feeding practices may develop in response to a child's emerging appetitive characteristics. We used a novel twin study design to test the hypothesis that mothers vary their feeding practices for twin children who differ in their 'food fussiness', in support of a child-responsive model. Methods: Participants were mothers and their 16 month old twin children (n=2026) from Gemini, a British twin birth cohort of children born in 2007. Standardized psychometric measures of maternal 'pressure to eat', 'restriction' and 'instrumental feeding', as well as child 'food fussiness', were completed by mothers. Within-family analyses examined if twin-pair differences in 'food fussiness' were associated with differences in feeding practices using linear regression models. In a subset of twins (n=247 pairs) who were the most discordant (highest quartile) on 'food fussiness' (difference score≥.50), Paired Samples T-test were used to explore the magnitude of differences in feeding practices between twins. Between-family analyses used Complex Samples General Linear Models to examine associations between feeding practices and 'food fussiness'. Results: Within-pair differences in 'food fussiness' were associated with differential 'pressure to eat' and 'instrumental feeding' (ps<.001), but not with 'restriction'. In the subset of twins most discordant on 'food fussiness', mothers used more pressure (p<.001) and food rewards (p<.05) with the fussier twin. Between-family analyses indicated that 'pressure to eat' and 'instrumental feeding' were positively associated with 'food fussiness', while 'restriction' was negatively associated with 'food fussiness' (ps<.001). Conclusions: Mothers appear to subtly adjust their feeding practices according to their perceptions of their toddler's emerging fussy eating behavior. Specifically, the fussier toddler is pressured more than their less fussy co-twin, and is more likely to be offered food rewards. Guiding parents on how to respond to fussy eating may be an important aspect of promoting feeding practices that encourage food acceptance