Adherence to a Mindfulness App for College Students with Depression: Patterns, Predictors, and Outcomes

National trends indicate that mental health concerns, particularly rates of depression, continue to rise on college campuses; however, treatment utilization remains low. Technology-based mental health interventions, such as mental health apps (MHapps), are a promising means of overcoming treatment barriers. MHapps are effective in improving psychological outcomes, but low rates of adherence are a noted limitation. The current study explored patterns of adherence to a MHapp, investigated the bidirectional relation between adherence and depression, and identified motivational predictors of adherence rates. Undergraduate students (N= 66) reporting clinically-elevated depressive symptoms completed a three-month trial using Headspace, a mindfulness MHapp. Patterns of Headspace use revealed subsets of students who never initiated Headspace use or discontinued within the first month, and adherence declined markedly by the end of the second month. Further, depressive symptoms at the end of the first month predicted fewer minutes of Headspace completed during the second month. Connections were not found between depression and adherence for metrics of module completion, mental health practice, or depression practice. Finally, motivational factors of perceived and expected benefit, self-regulation, and behavioral intention predicted increases in the completion of depression content. The implications of these results for clinicians, college administrations, and users of MHapps are discussed, as well as directions for future research

Ciliated Sensory Neuron Defects in Caenorhabditis elegans

Thesis advisor: John WingPresented here is research investigating genes that are involved in the development and maintenance of ciliated nerve endings in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. C. elegans utilizes a subset of neurons, referred to as ciliated sensory neurons, to sense certain changes in its environment. There are two amphid sensilla (sense organs) that mediate exposure of these ciliated endings to the animal's external environment. Those ciliated endings that penetrate the cuticle are responsible for a myriad of behaviors that range from chemotaxis to osmotic avoidance, but in general function for the reception of environmental cues and stimuli. The intraflagellar transport (IFT) process facilitates the morphogenesis of these ciliated endings, and animals lacking intact ciliated endings may not be able to detect nourishment, hazardous environments, or other worms for mating. Mutant strains used in this study were generated by EMS mutagenesis of wild-type N2 animals and a subsequent screen of those worms displaying significant cilia dysfunction as evidenced by their dye-filling defective (Dyf) phenotype. Cilia-mediated uptake of lipophilic DiI into six pairs of amphid sensory neurons and two pairs of phasmid sensory neurons is expected in wild-type (N2) animals, but in Dyf animals, this dye-filling is disrupted, either through morphological defects, or deleterious mutations in the IFT process. To investigate the morphogenesis of cilia in C. elegans, we analyzed two specific mutant strains, WX737 dyf-3(og022)IV and PK841 dyf-15(pk841)V, that are defective in the uptake of fluorescent dye DiI and abnormal in sensory cilium structure. Through a variety of genetic mapping techniques, we were able to successfully map experimental gene dyf-15(pk841) to an interval of 2.84cM on chromosome V, and identify og022 as an allele of the gene dyf-3. It has been previously shown that dyf-3 expression is detected in 26 chemosensory neurons, including six IL2 neurons, eight pairs of amphid neurons (ASE, ADF, ASG, ASH, ASI, ASJ, ASK and ADL) and two pairs of phasmid neurons (PHA and PHB). Analysis of cilium malformation and the presence of a recognition sequence for the DAF-19 transcription factor suggest that dyf-3 is involved in the intraflagellar transport system complex B.Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2008.Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Biology.Discipline: College Honors Program

Cell Adhesion Molecules, Leukocyte Trafficking, and Strategies to Reduce Leukocyte Infiltration

Leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions are mediated by various cell adhesion molecules. These interactions are important for leukocyte extravasation and trafficking in all domestic animal species. An initial slowing of leukocytes on the vascular endothelium is mediated by selectins. This event is followed by (1) activation of β2 integrins after leukocyte exposure to cytokines and proinflammatory mediators, (2) adherence of leukocyte β2 integrins to vascular endothelial ligands (eg, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 [ICAM-1]), (3) extravasation of leukocytes into tissues through tight junctions of endothelial cells mediated by platelet and endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1), and (4) perivascular migration through the extracellular matrix via β1 integrins. Inhibiting excessive leukocyte egress and subsequent free radical-mediated damage caused by leukocyte components may attenuate or eliminate tissue damage. Several methods have been used to modify leukocyte infiltration in various animal models. These methods include nonspecific inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators and adhesion molecules by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and glucocorticoids, inhibition of cytokines and cytokine receptors, and inhibition of specific types of cell adhesion molecules, with inhibitors such as peptides and antibodies to β2integrins, and inhibitors of selectins, ICAMs, and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). By understanding the cellular and molecular events in leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions, therapeutic strategies are being developed in several animal models and diseases in domestic animal species. Such therapies may have clinical benefit in the future to overcome tissue damage induced by excessive leukocyte infiltration

Fear of Missing Out: A Moderated Mediation Approach to Social Media Use

This study explores whether fear of missing out (FOMO) mediates the relation between social networking site (SNS) use and negative mental health outcomes, with moderators of Facebook activities and individual-level characteristics included. Short-term longitudinal data was collected from undergraduate students (N=296). Mediation analyses indicated that intensity of Facebook use did not predict anxiety or depression, as mediated by FOMO. Further, Facebook activities did not moderate the relation between intensity of Facebook use and FOMO, and social comparison and social connectedness did not moderate the relations between FOMO and negative mental health outcomes. Post-hoc analyses showed that social connectedness moderated the relation between FOMO and anxiety. Passive behaviors on social media indirectly predicted higher levels of anxiety and depression through increases in FOMO. This study gives pause in making sweeping negative conclusions about SNS use, finding that specific uses of SNSs may be more important than duration of time spent online

Adsorption of strontium onto synthetic iron(III) oxide up to high ionic strength systems

In this work, the adsorption behavior of Sr onto a synthetic iron(III) oxide (hematite with traces of goethite) has been studied. This solid, which might be considered a representative of Fe$^{3+}$ solid phases (iron corrosion products), was characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and its specific surface area was determined. Both XRD and XPS data are consistent with a mixed solid containing more than 90% hematite and 10% goethite. The solid was further characterized by fast acid-base titrations at different NaCl concentrations (from 0.1 to 5 M). Subsequently, for each background NaCl concentration used for the acid-base titrations, Sr-uptake experiments were carried out involving two different levels of Sr concentration (1 × 10$^{-5}$ and 5 × 10$^{-5}$ M, respectively) at constant solid concentration (7.3 g/L) as a function of −log([H$^{+}$]/M). A Surface Complexation Model (SCM) was fitted to the experimental data, following a coupled Pitzer/surface complexation approach. The Pitzer model was applied to aqueous species. A Basic Stern Model was used for interfacial electrostatics of the system, which includes ion-specific effects via ion-specific pair-formation constants, whereas the Pitzer-approach involves ion-interaction parameters that enter the model through activity coefficients for aqueous species. A simple 1-pK model was applied (generic surface species, denoted as >XOH$^{-1/2}$). Parameter fitting was carried out using the general parameter estimation software UCODE, coupled to a modified version of FITEQL2. The combined approach describes the full set of data reasonably well and involves two Sr-surface complexes, one of them including chloride. Monodentate and bidentate models were tested and were found to perform equally well. The SCM is particularly able to account for the incomplete uptake of Sr at higher salt levels, supporting the idea that adsorption models conventionally used in salt concentrations below 1 M are applicable to high salt concentrations if the correct activity corrections for the aqueous species are applied. This generates a self-consistent model framework involving a practical approach for semi-mechanistic SCMs. The model framework of coupling conventional electrostatic double layer models for the surface with a Pitzer approach for the bulk solution earlier tested with strongly adsorbing solutes is here shown to be successful for more weakly adsorbing solutes