Severity of Depression, Anxious Distress and the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in a Swedish Population-Based Cohort.

Background: Depression is known to be associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD). This population-based cohort study aimed to determine the association between depression of varying severity and risk for CVD and to study the effect of concomitant anxious distress on this association. Methods: We utilized data from a longitudinal cohort study of mental health, work and relations among adults (20–64 years), with a total of 10,443 individuals. Depression and anxious distress were assessed using psychiatric rating scales and defined according to DSM-5. Outcomes were register-based and self-reported cardiovascular diseases. Findings: Overall increased odds ratios of 1.5 to 2.6 were seen for the different severity levels of depression, with the highest adjusted OR for moderate depression (OR 2.1 (95% CI 1.3, 3.5). Similar odds ratios were seen for sub-groups of CVD: ischemic/hypertensive heart disease and stroke, 2.4 (95% CI 1.4, 3.9) and OR 2.1 (95%CI 1.2, 3.8) respectively. Depression with anxious distress as a specifier of severity showed OR of 2.1 (95% CI 1.5, 2.9) for CVD. Conclusion: This study found that severity level of depression seems to be of significance for increased risk of CVD among depressed persons, although not in a dose-response manner which might be obscured due to treatment of depression. Further, we found a higher risk of CVD among depressed individuals with symptoms of anxious distress

From Parent to Gamete: Vertical Transmission of Symbiodinium (Dinophyceae) ITS2 Sequence Assemblages in the Reef Building Coral Montipora capitata

Parental effects are ubiquitous in nature and in many organisms play a particularly critical role in the transfer of symbionts across generations; however, their influence and relative importance in the marine environment has rarely been considered. Coral reefs are biologically diverse and productive marine ecosystems, whose success is framed by symbiosis between reef-building corals and unicellular dinoflagellates in the genus Symbiodinium. Many corals produce aposymbiotic larvae that are infected by Symbiodinium from the environment (horizontal transmission), which allows for the acquisition of new endosymbionts (different from their parents) each generation. In the remaining species, Symbiodinium are transmitted directly from parent to offspring via eggs (vertical transmission), a mechanism that perpetuates the relationship between some or all of the Symbiodinium diversity found in the parent through multiple generations. Here we examine vertical transmission in the Hawaiian coral Montipora capitata by comparing the Symbiodinium ITS2 sequence assemblages in parent colonies and the eggs they produce. Parental effects on sequence assemblages in eggs are explored in the context of the coral genotype, colony morphology, and the environment of parent colonies. Our results indicate that ITS2 sequence assemblages in eggs are generally similar to their parents, and patterns in parental assemblages are different, and reflect environmental conditions, but not colony morphology or coral genotype. We conclude that eggs released by parent colonies during mass spawning events are seeded with different ITS2 sequence assemblages, which encompass phylogenetic variability that may have profound implications for the development, settlement and survival of coral offspring

Chemotherapy-Induced Late Transgenerational Effects in Mice

To our knowledge, there is no report on long-term reproductive and developmental side effects in the offspring of mothers treated with a widely used chemotherapeutic drug such as doxorubicin (DXR), and neither is there information on transmission of any detrimental effects to several filial generations. Therefore, the purpose of the present paper was to examine the long-term effects of a single intraperitoneal injection of DXR on the reproductive and behavioral performance of adult female mice and their progeny. C57BL/6 female mice (generation zero; G0) were treated with either a single intraperitoneal injection of DXR (G0-DXR) or saline (G0-CON). Data were collected on multiple reproductive parameters and behavioral analysis for anxiety, despair and depression. In addition, the reproductive capacity and health of the subsequent six generations were evaluated. G0-DXR females developed despair-like behaviors; delivery complications; decreased primordial follicle pool; and early lost of reproductive capacity. Surprisingly, the DXR-induced effects in oocytes were transmitted transgenerationally; the most striking effects being observed in G4 and G6, constituting: increased rates of neonatal death; physical malformations; chromosomal abnormalities (particularly deletions on chromosome 10); and death of mothers due to delivery complications. None of these effects were seen in control females of the same generations. Long-term effects of DXR in female mice and their offspring can be attributed to genetic alterations or cell-killing events in oocytes or, presumably, to toxicosis in non-ovarian tissues. Results from the rodent model emphasize the need for retrospective and long-term prospective studies of survivors of cancer treatment and their offspring

Use of MicroRNA Let-7 to Control the Replication Specificity of Oncolytic Adenovirus in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

Highly selective therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains an unmet medical need. In present study, we found that the tumor suppressor microRNA, let-7 was significantly downregulated in a proportion of primary HCC tissues (12 of 33, 36.4%) and HCC cell lines. In line with this finding, we have engineered a chimeric Ad5/11 fiber oncolytic adenovirus, SG7011let7T, by introducing eight copies of let-7 target sites (let7T) into the 3′ untranslated region of E1A, a key gene associated with adenoviral replication. The results showed that the E1A expression (both RNA and protein levels) of the SG7011let7T was tightly regulated according to the endogenous expression level of the let-7. As contrasted with the wild-type adenovirus and the control virus, the replication of SG7011let7T was distinctly inhibited in normal liver cells lines (i.e. L-02 and WRL-68) expressing high level of let-7 (>300 folds), whereas was almost not impaired in HCC cells (i.e. Hep3B and PLC/PRF/5) with low level of let-7. Consequently, the cytotoxicity of SG7011let7T to normal liver cells was successfully decreased while was almost not attenuated in HCC cells in vitro. The antitumor ability of SG7011let7T in vivo was maintained in mice with Hep3B xenograft tumor, whereas was greatly decreased against the SMMC-7721 xenograft tumor expressing a high level of let-7 similar with L-02 when compared to the wild-type adenovirus. These results suggested that SG7011let7T may be a promising anticancer agent or vector to mediate the expression of therapeutic gene, broadly applicable in the treatment for HCC and other cancers where the let-7 gene is downregulated

Depression and HIV in Botswana: A Population-Based Study on Gender-Specific Socioeconomic and Behavioral Correlates

Depression is a leading contributor to the burden of disease worldwide, a critical barrier to HIV prevention and a common serious HIV co-morbidity. However, depression screening and treatment are limited in sub-Saharan Africa, and there are few population-level studies examining the prevalence and gender-specific factors associated with depression.We conducted a cross-sectional population-based study of 18–49 year-old adults from five districts in Botswana with the highest prevalence of HIV-infection. We examined the prevalence of depressive symptoms, using a Hopkins Symptom Checklist for Depression (HSCL-D) score of ≥1.75 to define depression, and correlates of depression using multivariate logistic regression stratified by sex.Of 1,268 participants surveyed, 25.3% of women and 31.4% of men had depression. Among women, lower education (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.07, 95% confidence interval [1.30–3.32]), higher income (1.77 [1.09–2.86]), and lack of control in sexual decision-making (2.35 [1.46–3.81]) were positively associated with depression. Among men, being single (1.95 [1.02–3.74]), living in a rural area (1.63 [1.02–2.65]), having frequent visits to a health provider (3.29 [1.88–5.74]), anticipated HIV stigma (fearing discrimination if HIV status was revealed) (2.04 [1.27–3.29]), and intergenerational sex (2.28 [1.17–4.41]) were independently associated with depression.Depression is highly prevalent in Botswana, and its correlates are gender-specific. Our findings suggest multiple targets for screening and prevention of depression and highlight the need to integrate mental health counseling and treatment into primary health care to decrease morbidity and improve HIV management efforts

Persistent Place-Making in Prehistory: the Creation, Maintenance, and Transformation of an Epipalaeolithic Landscape

Most archaeological projects today integrate, at least to some degree, how past people engaged with their surroundings, including both how they strategized resource use, organized technological production, or scheduled movements within a physical environment, as well as how they constructed cosmologies around or created symbolic connections to places in the landscape. However, there are a multitude of ways in which archaeologists approach the creation, maintenance, and transformation of human-landscape interrelationships. This paper explores some of these approaches for reconstructing the Epipalaeolithic (ca. 23,000–11,500 years BP) landscape of Southwest Asia, using macro- and microscale geoarchaeological approaches to examine how everyday practices leave traces of human-landscape interactions in northern and eastern Jordan. The case studies presented here demonstrate that these Epipalaeolithic groups engaged in complex and far-reaching social landscapes. Examination of the Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic (EP) highlights that the notion of “Neolithization” is somewhat misleading as many of the features we use to define this transition were already well-established patterns of behavior by the Neolithic. Instead, these features and practices were enacted within a hunter-gatherer world and worldview

The Herschel-SPIRE Legacy Survey (HSLS): the scientific goals of a shallow and wide submillimeter imaging survey with SPIRE

A large sub-mm survey with Herschel will enable many exciting science opportunities, especially in an era of wide-field optical and radio surveys and high resolution cosmic microwave background experiments. The Herschel-SPIRE Legacy Survey (HSLS), will lead to imaging data over 4000 sq. degrees at 250, 350, and 500 micron. Major Goals of HSLS are: (a) produce a catalog of 2.5 to 3 million galaxies down to 26, 27 and 33 mJy (50% completeness; 5 sigma confusion noise) at 250, 350 and 500 micron, respectively, in the southern hemisphere (3000 sq. degrees) and in an equatorial strip (1000 sq. degrees), areas which have extensive multi-wavelength coverage and are easily accessible from ALMA. Two thirds of the of the sources are expected to be at z > 1, one third at z > 2 and about a 1000 at z > 5. (b) Remove point source confusion in secondary anisotropy studies with Planck and ground-based CMB data. (c) Find at least 1200 strongly lensed bright sub-mm sources leading to a 2% test of general relativity. (d) Identify 200 proto-cluster regions at z of 2 and perform an unbiased study of the environmental dependence of star formation. (e) Perform an unbiased survey for star formation and dust at high Galactic latitude and make a census of debris disks and dust around AGB stars and white dwarfs

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

Localization and broadband follow-up of the gravitational-wave transient GW150914

A gravitational-wave (GW) transient was identified in data recorded by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors on 2015 September 14. The event, initially designated G184098 and later given the name GW150914, is described in detail elsewhere. By prior arrangement, preliminary estimates of the time, significance, and sky location of the event were shared with 63 teams of observers covering radio, optical, near-infrared, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths with ground- and space-based facilities. In this Letter we describe the low-latency analysis of the GW data and present the sky localization of the first observed compact binary merger. We summarize the follow-up observations reported by 25 teams via private Gamma-ray Coordinates Network circulars, giving an overview of the participating facilities, the GW sky localization coverage, the timeline, and depth of the observations. As this event turned out to be a binary black hole merger, there is little expectation of a detectable electromagnetic (EM) signature. Nevertheless, this first broadband campaign to search for a counterpart of an Advanced LIGO source represents a milestone and highlights the broad capabilities of the transient astronomy community and the observing strategies that have been developed to pursue neutron star binary merger events. Detailed investigations of the EM data and results of the EM follow-up campaign are being disseminated in papers by the individual teams

Measurement of b hadron lifetimes in exclusive decays containing a J/psi in p-pbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96TeV

We report on a measurement of $b$-hadron lifetimes in the fully reconstructed decay modes B^+ -->J/Psi K+, B^0 --> J/Psi K*, B^0 --> J/Psi Ks, and Lambda_b --> J/Psi Lambda using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.3 ${\rm fb}^{-1}$, collected by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. The measured lifetimes are $\tau$B^+ = $1.639 \pm 0.009 ({\rm stat}) \pm 0.009 {\rm (syst) ~ ps}$, $\tau$B^0 = $1.507 \pm 0.010 ({\rm stat}) \pm 0.008 {\rm (syst) ~ ps}$ and $\tau$Lambda_b = $1.537 \pm 0.045 ({\rm stat}) \pm 0.014 {\rm (syst) ~ ps}$. The lifetime ratios are $\tau$B^+/$\tau$B^0 = $1.088 \pm 0.009 ({\rm stat})\pm 0.004 ({\rm syst})$ and $\tau$Lambda_b/$\tau$B^0 = $1.020 \pm 0.030 ({\rm stat})\pm 0.008 ({\rm syst})$. These are the most precise determinations of these quantities from a single experiment.Comment: revised version. accepted for PRL publicatio