A Randomized Depression Prevention Trial Comparing Interpersonal Psychotherapy—Adolescent Skills Training To Group Counseling In Schools

Given the rise in depression disorders in adolescence, it is important to develop and study depression prevention programs for this age group. The current study examined the efficacy of Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST), a group prevention program for adolescent depression, in comparison to group programs that are typically delivered in school settings. In this indicated prevention trial, 186 adolescents with elevated depression symptoms were randomized to receive IPT-AST delivered by research staff or group counseling (GC) delivered by school counselors. Hierarchical linear modeling examined differences in rates of change in depressive symptoms and overall functioning from baseline to the 6-month follow-up assessment. Cox regression compared rates of depression diagnoses. Adolescents in IPT-AST showed significantly greater improvements in self-reported depressive symptoms and evaluator-rated overall functioning than GC adolescents from baseline to the 6-month follow-up. However, there were no significant differences between the two conditions in onset of depression diagnoses. Although both intervention conditions demonstrated significant improvements in depressive symptoms and overall functioning, results indicate that IPT-AST has modest benefits over groups run by school counselors which were matched on frequency and duration of sessions. In particular, IPT-AST outperformed GC in reduction of depressive symptoms and improvements in overall functioning. These findings point to the clinical utility of this depression prevention program, at least in the short-term. Additional follow-up is needed to determine the long-term effects of IPT-AST, relative to GC, particularly in preventing depression onset

Technical Appendix: Economic Impact of Commercial Fisheries on Local County Economies from Catch in California National Marine Sanctuaries 2010, 2011 and 2012

This report documents the data and methods of estimation used in estimating the economic impact of commercial fishing catch from all four National Marine Sanctuaries in California on local county economies in terms of harvest revenue received by fishermen and the associated economic impacts, including multiplier impacts, on total output, value added, income and the number of full- and part-time jobs. This report is part of a series of reports meeting the priorities in the “Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) West Coast Region Socioeconomic Plan FY 2013 – FY 2014” and “national program priorities” on establishing the connection between sanctuary resource uses and local, regional and national economies. This report documents how economic impact estimates were made for the commercial fisheries in all four California National Marine Sanctuaries (NMS); Cordell Bank, Channel Islands, Gulf of the Farallones, and Monterey Bay

Technical Appendix: Economic Impact of the Commercial Fisheries on Local County Economies from Catch in California National Marine Sanctuaries 2010, 2011 and 2012. Marine Sanctuaries Conservation Series ONMS-13-07

This report documents the data and methods of estimation used in estimating the economic impact of commercial fishing catch from all four National Marine Sanctuaries in California on local county economies in terms of harvest revenue received by fishermen and the associated economic impacts, including multiplier impacts, on total output, value added, income and the number of full- and part-time jobs

Economic Impact of the Commercial Fisheries on Local County Economies from Catch in All California National Marine Sanctuaries 2010, 2011 and 2012

This report estimates the economic impact of commercial fishing within all California National Marine Sanctuaries (CA NMS) according to the California Ocean Fish Harvester Economic Model (COFHE). The methodology applies county multipliers to estimates of harvest revenue from CA NMS in order to calculate output, income, value added and employment. This report also describes a profile of the commercial fish industry in the CA NMS. CA NMS includes all existing National Marine Sanctuary sites in California: Channel Islands (CINMS), Monterey Bay (MBNMS), Cordell Bank (CBNMS) and Gulf of the Farallones (GFNMS). The three-year average for 2010 to 2012 finds that landings of commercial fish catch from CA NMS generated over $69.2 million in harvest revenue, almost$114 million in output, $76.9 million in value added,$69.8 million in total income and 1,841 full- and part-time jobs across 15 counties. Consequently, almost one third of all CA commercial fish catch comes from CA NMS. During the study period harvest revenue demonstrated a consistent decline from almost $75.7 million in 2010 to almost$64.9 million in 2012. In 2012 the top five species/species groups caught in CA NMS were Dungeness crab, Squid, Salmon, Urchin and Groundfish. These top five species/species groups accounted for almost 86% of all CA NMS landings in 2012. In 2012 the top four ports where catch from the CA NMS was landed were Princeton-Half Moon, San Francisco, Moss Landing and Santa Barbara Harbor. Dependency on the sanctuaries for total port landings varied, ranging from a high of over 96% at Princeton Half-Moon to a low of almost 60% at San Francisco. In addition, the largest numbers of vessels in CA NMS were out of the San Francisco, Monterey and Santa Barbara Harbor port complexes

Factors Affecting Consumers' Responses to Direct-to-Consumer Advertising.

Pharmaceutical companies utilize Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) advertising to generate consumer discussions with physicians and increase prescriptions. The dissertation seeks to answer a question not fully addressed in the literature: which consumers respond to DTC by intending to discuss the message with their doctor and why? Five hundred and twenty four respondents between the ages of thirty and fifty-five provided information about their opinion of DTC advertising, previous DTC-initiated discussion experience, personality characteristics, and health behaviors as well as information related to elevated cholesterol, treatment strategies, and level of concern. The investigator evaluated nine hypotheses including that intent to discuss DTC messages with physicians would be significantly higher in individuals for whom the medical condition is highly self-relevant and whose regulatory focus is promotion, compared to those whose regulatory focus is prevention, with this difference most apparent when benefits and risks were both perceived as high. Other evaluated factors include impact on discussion intent of consumers’ proactivity in addressing their health, relationships with health professionals, and personality characteristics. Self-relevance was measured as the level of concern regarding respondent’s personal cholesterol level. Regulatory focus of respondents was determined using the eleven-item Regulatory Focus Questionnaire, and a health-specific question. Respondents were randomly assigned in a 2 (high or low self-relevance) x 2 (promotion or prevention) x 2 (message A or B) design to view a non-product written message with either promotion or prevention framing and one of two product-specific television advertisements. Intent to discuss messages and ads was measured on a 5-point scale from very low to very high. Results indicate that high self-relevance is associated with higher discussion intent. Promotion-focused consumers are more responsive to benefit messages and tolerant of product risks. Prevention-focused consumers have lower discussion intent due to greater sensitivity to drug risks. Discussions are more likely when consumers take a proactive approach to health and have trusting physician and pharmacist relationships. Previous discussion experience predisposes one to future discussions. Personality characteristics are of limited significance with regard to discussion intent. The results raise questions regarding the current FDA requirements for communication of risk information. Future research opportunities are identified.Ph.D.Health Services Organization and Policy and Business AdminUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60809/1/kirkrs_1.pd

Description of Maribacter forsetii sp nov., a marine Flavobacteriaceae isolated from North Sea water, and emended description of the genus Maribacter

Three rod-shaped, Gram-negative, chemo-organotrophic, heterotrophic, strictly aerobic, gliding bacterial strains, KT02ds18-4, KT02ds18-5 and KT02ds18-6T, were isolated from North Sea surface waters near the island of Helgoland, Germany. Their taxonomic position was investigated by a polyphasic approach. The three strains were light yellow, oxidase- and catalase-positive, and grew optimally at 25 degrees C, at pH 7.5, and in the presence of 2.5 % (w/v) NaCl. The Chargaff's coefficient was 34.2-34.4 mol%. The three strains shared >90 % DNA-DNA relatedness and an identical 16S rRNA gene sequence. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis allocated the three strains to the genus Maribacter in the family Flavobacteriaceae, with similarities of 97.0-97.4 % to five of the recognized Maribacter species. Their low level of DNA-DNA relatedness (<20 %) with these species and differentiating phenotypic characteristics demonstrated that they constitute a new Maribacter species for which the name Maribacter forsetii sp. nov. is proposed. Strain KT02ds18-6T (=CIP 109504T=DSM 18668T) is the type strain. An emended description of the genus Maribacter is also proposed

Toward Absolute Molecular Numbers in DNA-PAINT

Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) has revolutionized optical microscopy, extending resolution down to the level of individual molecules. However, the actual counting of molecules relies on preliminary knowledge of the blinking behavior of individual targets or on a calibration to a reference. In particular for biological applications, great care has to be taken because a plethora of factors influence the quality and applicability of calibration-dependent approaches to count targets in localization clusters particularly in SMLM data obtained from heterogeneous samples. Here, we present localization-based fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (lbFCS) as the first absolute molecular counting approach for DNA-points accumulation for imaging in nanoscale topography (PAINT) microscopy and, to our knowledge, for SMLM in general. We demonstrate that lbFCS overcomes the limitation of previous DNA-PAINT counting and allows the quantification of target molecules independent of the localization cluster density. In accordance with the promising results of our systematic proof-of-principle study on DNA origami structures as idealized targets, lbFCS could potentially also provide quantitative access to more challenging biological targets featuring heterogeneous cluster sizes in the future

A bacterial cytolinker couples positioning of magnetic organelles to cell shape control

Magnetotactic bacteria maneuver within the geomagnetic field by means of intracellular magnetic organelles, magnetosomes, which are aligned into a chain and positioned at midcell by a dedicated magnetosome-specific cytoskeleton, the "magnetoskeleton." However, how magnetosome chain organization and resulting magnetotaxis is linked to cell shape has remained elusive. Here, we describe the cytoskeletal determinant CcfM (curvature-inducing coiled-coil filament interacting with the magnetoskeleton), which links the magneto-skeleton to cell morphology regulation in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense. Membrane-anchored CcfM localizes in a filamentous pattern along regions of inner positive-cell curvature by its coiled-coil motifs, and independent of the magnetoskeleton. CcfM overexpression causes additional circumferential localization patterns, associated with a dramatic increase in cell curvature, and magnetosome chain mislocalization or complete chain disruption. In contrast, deletion of ccfM results in decreased cell curvature, impaired cell division, and predominant formation of shorter, doubled chains of magnetosomes. Pleiotropic effects of CcfM on magnetosome chain organization and cell morphology are supported by the finding that CcfM interacts with the magnetoskeleton-related MamY and the actin-like MamK via distinct motifs, and with the cell shape-related cytoskeleton via MreB. We further demonstrate that CcfM promotes motility and magnetic alignment in structured environments, and thus likely confers a selective advantage in natural habitats of magnetotactic bacteria, such as aquatic sediments. Overall, we unravel the function of a prokaryotic cytoskeletal constituent that is widespread in magnetic and nonmagnetic spirilla-shaped Alphaproteobacteria