Prevalence and distribution of QPX, Quahog Parasite Unknown, in hard clams Mercenaria mercenaria in Virginia, USA

In July 1996, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science initiated a sampling program to examine wild and cultured hard clams Mercenaria mercenaria for QPX, Quahog Parasite Unknown, a protistan parasite associated with severe mortalities of hard clams in localized areas in maritime Canada and Massachusetts, USA. The sampling program set out to seasonally monitor wild clams from one site, James River, Virginia, and cultured clams from 2 sites, Chincoteague Bay and Mattawoman Creek, Virginia. Histological examination of initial samples revealed 8% prevalence of the parasite in 1-2 yr old cultured clams in Chincoteague Bay. This is the first documentation of QPX in Virginia. To ascertain the distribution of the parasite in Virginia, the survey was expanded between August 1996 and July 1997 to include 16 additional sites. A total of 1305 wild and cultured clams was sampled from Chesapeake Bay tributaries and coastal areas where harvest and culture occur. QPX was not found in Chesapeake Bay, but was present in cultured clams from 3 coastal embayments-the original Chincoteague Bay site, Burton Bay and Quinby Inlet. The parasite was found in Chincoteague Bay at each sample period at prevalences ranging from 8 to 48 %. Infections were generally Light to moderate intensity and were most often observed in mantle and gill tissues. The maximum prevalence was observed in May 1997 and coincided with notable clam mortalities. QPX prevalences at the other sites were low, ranging from 4 to 15%. To date QPX has not had a significant impact on Virginia\u27s hard clam fishery and aquaculture industry; however, the presence of the pathogen in 3 of the state\u27s most productive hard clam growout areas warrants continued monitoring and research

Timing storytime to maximize children\u27s ability to retain new vocabulary

\ua9 2021 The AuthorsShared storybook reading is a key aid to vocabulary acquisition during childhood. However, word learning research has tended to use unnaturalistic (explicit) training regimes. Using a storybook paradigm, we examined whether children (particularly those with weaker vocabularies) are more likely to retain new words if they learn them closer to sleep. Parents read their children (5- to 7-year-olds; N = 237) an alien adventure story that contained 12 novel words with illustrations at one of two training times: at bedtime or 3–5 h before bedtime. Using online tasks, parents tested their children\u27s ability to recall the new words (production) and associate them with pictures (comprehension) immediately after hearing the story and again the following morning. As hypothesized, we replicated two findings. First, children showed overnight improvements in their ability to produce and comprehend new words when tested again the next day. Second, children with better existing vocabulary knowledge showed larger overnight gains in new word comprehension. Counter to expectations, overnight gains in comprehension were larger if the story was read 3–5 h before bedtime rather than at bedtime. These ecologically valid findings are consistent with theories that characterize word learning as a prolonged process supported by mechanisms such as consolidation and retrieval practice, with existing vocabulary knowledge acting as an important source of variability in retention. The findings provide preliminary evidence that encountering new words in stories later in the day (but not too close to sleep) may help to harness vocabulary growth and may be more beneficial than leaving shared storybook reading just for bedtime

Combining the high-dose/refuge strategy and self-limiting transgenic insects in resistance management - a test in experimental mesocosms

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.The high-dose/refuge strategy has been the primary approach for resistance management in transgenic crops engineered with Bacillus thuringiensis toxins. However, there are continuing pressures from growers to reduce the size of Bt toxin-free refugia, which typically suffer higher damage from pests. One complementary approach is to release male transgenic insects with a female-specific self-limiting gene. This technology can reduce population sizes and slow the evolution of resistance by introgressing susceptible genes through males. Theory predicts that it could be used to facilitate smaller refugia or reverse the evolution of resistance. In this study, we used experimental evolution with caged insect populations to investigate the compatibility of the self-limiting system and the high-dose/refuge strategy in mitigating the evolution of resistance in diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella. The benefits of the self-limiting system were clearer at smaller refuge size, particularly when refugia were inadequate to prevent the evolution of resistance. We found that transgenic males in caged mesocosms could suppress population size and delay resistance development with 10% refugia and 4% - 15% initial resistance allele frequency. Fitness costs in hemizygous transgenic insects are particularly important for introgressing susceptible alleles into target populations. Fitness costs of the self-limiting gene in this study (P. xylostella OX4139 line L) were incompletely dominant, and reduced fecundity and male mating competitiveness. The experimental evolution approach used here illustrates some of the benefits and pitfalls of combining mass-release of self-limiting insects and the high dose/refuge strategy, but does indicate that they can be complementary.This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [grant numbers BB/L00948X/1 to MBB and NA, and BB/L00819X/1&2 to BR]

Stronger Associations Between Sleep and Mental Health in Adults with Autism: A UK Biobank Study

\ua9 2021, The Author(s). This study examined sleep and its cognitive and affective correlates in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD), utilizing UK Biobank data. There were no group differences in subjective sleep duration [n = 220 ASD; n = 2200 general population (GP)]. Accelerometer measures of sleep duration or nighttime activity did not differ by group, but sleep efficiency was marginally lower in ASD (n = 83 ASD; n = 824 GP). Sleep efficiency was associated with wellbeing and mental health, and pathways between accelerometer sleep measures and wellbeing and mental health were significantly stronger for adults with ASD (who also reported substantially poorer wellbeing and > 5 7 likelihood of experiencing mental distress). These findings highlight the need to monitor sleep to maintain good mental health in adult ASD

Social group connections support mental health following wildfire

Purpose: As environmental disasters become more common and severe due to climate change, there is a growing need for strategies to bolster recovery that are proactive, cost-effective, and which mobilise community resources. Aims: We propose that building social group connections is a particularly promising strategy for supporting mental health in communities affected by environmental disasters. Methods: We tested the social identity model of identity change in a disaster context among 627 people substantially affected by the 2019–2020 Australian fires. Results: We found high levels of post-traumatic stress, strongly related to severity of disaster exposure, but also evidence of psychological resilience. Distress and resilience were weakly positively correlated. Having stronger social group connections pre-disaster was associated with less distress and more resilience 12–18 months after the disaster, via three pathways: greater social identification with the disaster-affected community, greater continuity of social group ties, and greater formation of new social group ties. New group ties were a mixed blessing, positively predicting both resilience and distress. Conclusions: We conclude that investment in social resources is key to supporting mental health outcomes, not just reactively in the aftermath of disasters, but also proactively in communities most at risk

Do naps benefit novel word learning? Developmental differences and white matter correlates

\ua9 2022 The Author(s). Memory representations of newly learned words undergo changes during nocturnal sleep, as evidenced by improvements in explicit recall and lexical integration (i.e., after sleep, novel words compete with existing words during online word recognition). Some studies have revealed larger sleep-benefits in children relative to adults. However, whether daytime naps play a similar facilitatory role is unclear. We investigated the effect of a daytime nap (relative to wake) on explicit memory (recall/recognition) and lexical integration (lexical competition) of newly learned novel words in young adults and children aged 10–12 years, also exploring white matter correlates of the pre- and post-nap effects of word learning in the child group with diffusion weighted MRI. In both age groups, a nap maintained explicit memory of novel words and wake led to forgetting. However, there was an age group interaction when comparing change in recall over the nap: children showed a slight improvement whereas adults showed a slight decline. There was no evidence of lexical integration at any point. Although children spent proportionally more time in slow-wave sleep (SWS) than adults, neither SWS nor spindle parameters correlated with over-nap changes in word learning. For children, increased fractional anisotropy (FA) in the uncinate fasciculus and arcuate fasciculus were associated with the recognition of novel words immediately after learning, and FA in the right arcuate fasciculus was further associated with changes in recall of novel words over a nap, supporting the importance of these tracts in the word learning and consolidation process. These findings point to a protective role of naps in word learning (at least under the present conditions), and emphasize the need to better understand both the active and passive roles that sleep plays in supporting vocabulary consolidation over development

Socio-economic status influences the relationship between obesity and antenatal depression: Data from a prospective cohort study

Background Obesity has been associated with increased risk of antenatal depression, but little is known about this relationship. This study tested whether socio-economic status (SES) influences the relationship between obesity and antenatal depression. Methods Data were taken from the Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints (SCOPE) cohort. BMI was calculated from measured height and weight at 15±1 weeks' gestation. Underweight women were excluded. SES was indicated by self-reported household income (dichotomised around the median: low SES ≤£45,000; high SES >£45,000). Antenatal depression was defined as scoring ≥13 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at both 15±1 and 20±1 weeks' gestation, to identify persistently elevated symptoms of depression. Results Five thousand five hundred and twenty two women were included in these analyses and 5.5% had persistently elevated antenatal depression symptoms. There was a significant interaction between SES and BMI on the risk of antenatal depression (p=0.042). Among high SES women, obese women had approximately double the odds of antenatal depression than normal weight controls (AOR 2.11, 95%CI 1.16–3.83, p=0.014, adjusted for confounders). Among low SES women there was no association between obesity and antenatal depression. The interaction effect was robust to alternative indicators of SES in sensitivity analyses. Limitations 1) Antenatal depression was assessed with a self-reported screening measure; and 2) potential mediators such as stigma and poor body-image could not be examined. Conclusions Obesity was only associated with increased risk of antenatal depression among high SES women in this sample. Healthcare professionals should be aware that antenatal depression is more common among low SES women, regardless of BMI category

Prevalence and predictors of alcohol use during pregnancy: findings from international multicentre cohort studies

Objectives To compare the prevalence and predictors of alcohol use in multiple cohorts. Design Cross-cohort comparison of retrospective and prospective studies. Setting Population-based studies in Ireland, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Participants 17 244 women of predominantly Caucasian origin from two Irish retrospective studies (Growing up in Ireland (GUI) and Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System Ireland (PRAMS Ireland)), and one multicentre prospective international cohort, Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints (SCOPE) study. Primary and secondary outcome measures Prevalence of alcohol use pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy across cohorts. Sociodemographic factors associated with alcohol consumption in each cohort. Results Alcohol consumption during pregnancy in Ireland ranged from 20% in GUI to 80% in SCOPE, and from 40% to 80% in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Levels of exposure also varied substantially among drinkers in each cohort ranging from 70% consuming more than 1–2 units/week in the first trimester in SCOPE Ireland, to 46% and 15% in the retrospective studies. Smoking during pregnancy was the most consistent predictor of gestational alcohol use in all three cohorts, and smokers were 17% more likely to drink during pregnancy in SCOPE, relative risk (RR)=1.17 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.22), 50% more likely to drink during pregnancy in GUI, RR=1.50 (95% CI 1.36 to 1.65), and 42% more likely to drink in PRAMS, RR=1.42 (95% CI 1.18 to 1.70). Conclusions Our data suggest that alcohol use during pregnancy is prevalent and socially pervasive in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. New policy and interventions are required to reduce alcohol prevalence both prior to and during pregnancy. Further research on biological markers and conventions for measuring alcohol use in pregnancy is required to improve the validity and reliability of prevalence estimates