Masculine Traits and Depressive Symptoms in Older and Younger Men and Women

Evidence suggests that men who strongly endorse masculine traits display an atypical presentation of depression, including more externalizing symptoms (e.g., anger or substance use), but fewer typical, internalizing symptoms (e.g., depressed mood or crying). This phenomenon has not been adequately explored in older adults or women. The current study used the externalizing subscale of the Masculine Depression Scale in older and younger men and women to detect atypical symptoms. It was predicted that individuals who more strongly endorsed masculine traits would have higher scores on the measure of externalizing symptoms relative to a measure of typical depressive symptoms Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression Scale. It was anticipated that results would differ by age-group but not by gender. Multigroup path analysis was used to test the hypothesis. The hypothesized path model, in which endorsement of masculine traits was associated with lower scores on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression Scale and with scores on the externalizing, but not internalizing, factor of the Masculine Depression Scale, fit the data well. Results differed significantly by age-group and gender. Masculine individuals reported lower levels of typical depressive symptoms relative to externalizing symptoms, but further research is needed within age- and gender groups. Results are consistent with the gendered responding framework and suggest that current assessment tools, which tend to focus on internalizing symptoms of depression, may not detect depression in individuals who endorse masculine traits

Diet-microbiome-immune interplay in multiple sclerosis: Understanding the impact of phytoestrogen metabolizing gut bacteria

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and progressive autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS), with both genetic and environmental factors contributing to the pathobiology of the disease. Although HLA genes have emerged as the strongest genetic factor linked to MS, consensus on the environmental risk factors is lacking. Recently, the gut microbiota has garnered increasing attention as a potential environmental factor in MS, as mounting evidence suggests that individuals with MS exhibit microbial dysbiosis (changes in the gut microbiome). Thus, there has been a strong emphasis on understanding the role of the gut microbiome in the pathobiology of MS, specifically, factors regulating the gut microbiota and the mechanism(s) through which gut microbes may contribute to MS. Among all factors, diet has emerged to have the strongest influence on the composition and function of gut microbiota. As MS patients lack gut bacteria capable of metabolizing dietary phytoestrogen,we will specifically discuss the role of a phytoestrogen diet and phytoestrogen metabolizing gut bacteria in the pathobiology of MS. A better understanding of these mechanisms will help to harness the enormous potential of the gut microbiota as potential therapeutics to treat MS and other autoimmune diseases

Spatial variation of subduction zone fluids during progressive subduction: Insights from Serpentinite Mud Volcanoes

Geological processes at subduction zones control seismicity, plutonism and volcanism, and geochemical cycling between the oceans, crust, and mantle. The down-going plate experiences metamorphism, and the associated dehydration and fluid flow alters the physical properties of the plate interface and mantle wedge, as well as controlling the composition of material descending into the mantle. Any direct study of slab evolution during subduction is inhibited by the prohibitive depths at which these processes occur. To examine these processes we use serpentinite mud volcanoes in the Mariana forearc, that permit sampling of serpentinite materials and their pore waters that ascend from the subduction channel. We present new pore water chemical data from the summit and flanks of three serpentinite mud volcanoes that were drilled during International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 366 which are reflective of reactions within the crust and mantle during the early, shallow (<20 km) stages of subduction. We show, via thermodynamic modelling, that our new data on the evolution of pore water chemical compositions reflect mineralogical characteristics of a predominately basaltic source from the downgoing Pacific Plate. However, a component from sedimentary sources is likely, especially for those mud volcanoes near the trench. Other potential slab-derived constituents, such as lithospheric serpentinite, carbonate-rich sediments, or seamount basalts with an intraplate geochemical character, are not required to explain our results. Our results indicate that with progressive subduction the lawsonite-epidote mineral transformation boundary at ∼250 °C may help drive slab carbonate destabilisation, despite its apparent thermodynamic stability at such temperatures and projected pressures (∼300 °C and ∼0.6 GPa). New dissolved gas data also point to primary thermodynamic controls over methane/ethane production within the subduction channel as depths-to-slab increase. Our findings provide direct evidence for the progressive mineralogical and chemical evolution of a subducting oceanic plate, which liberates a progressively evolving fluid phase into the subduction channel

Reasoning with comparative moral judgements: an argument for Moral Bayesianism

The paper discusses the notion of reasoning with comparative moral judgements (i.e judgements of the form “act a is morally superior to act b”) from the point of view of several meta-ethical positions. Using a simple formal result, it is argued that only a version of moral cognitivism that is committed to the claim that moral beliefs come in degrees can give a normatively plausible account of such reasoning. Some implications of accepting such a version of moral cognitivism are discussed

Black Hole Data via a Kerr-Schild Approach

We present a new approach for setting initial Cauchy data for multiple black hole spacetimes. The method is based upon adopting an initially Kerr-Schild form of the metric. In the case of non-spinning holes, the constraint equations take a simple hierarchical form which is amenable to direct numerical integration. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated by solving analytically the problem of initial data in a perturbed Schwarzschild geometry.Comment: 13 pages, RevTeX forma

Evaluation of Progesterone Agent Utilization and Birth Outcomes in a State Medicaid Plan

An analysis of medication adherence and birth outcomes among members receiving progesterone for the prevention of preterm birth in a state Medicaid program. Data is also used to evaluate the association between member characteristics and medication adherence and birth outcomes as well as whether there was a change in the cost of care

Probing the extragalactic fast transient sky at minute timescales with DECam

Searches for optical transients are usually performed with a cadence of days to weeks, optimised for supernova discovery. The optical fast transient sky is still largely unexplored, with only a few surveys to date having placed meaningful constraints on the detection of extragalactic transients evolving at sub-hour timescales. Here, we present the results of deep searches for dim, minute-timescale extragalactic fast transients using the Dark Energy Camera, a core facility of our all-wavelength and all-messenger Deeper, Wider, Faster programme. We used continuous 20s exposures to systematically probe timescales down to 1.17 minutes at magnitude limits $g > 23$ (AB), detecting hundreds of transient and variable sources. Nine candidates passed our strict criteria on duration and non-stellarity, all of which could be classified as flare stars based on deep multi-band imaging. Searches for fast radio burst and gamma-ray counterparts during simultaneous multi-facility observations yielded no counterparts to the optical transients. Also, no long-term variability was detected with pre-imaging and follow-up observations using the SkyMapper optical telescope. We place upper limits for minute-timescale fast optical transient rates for a range of depths and timescales. Finally, we demonstrate that optical $g$-band light curve behaviour alone cannot discriminate between confirmed extragalactic fast transients such as prompt GRB flashes and Galactic stellar flares.Comment: Published in MNRA

Effectiveness of Ledipasvir/Sofosbuvir and Predictors of Treatment Failure in Members with Hepatitis C Genotype 1: A Retrospective Cohort Study in a Medicaid Population

An evaluation of the effectiveness of HCV genotype 1 treatment with Harvoni® (ledipasvir/sofosbuvir) as measured by a sustained virological response (SVR) of 12 weeks in the MassHealth fee-for-service and Primary Care Clinician plan population. The analysis concluded that treatment was associated with a a high rate of SVR12, which means that Hepatitis C is not detected in the blood after 12 weeks