Chronic pain and substance use disorders among older HIV-infected sexual minority men: implications for engagement in care

Accepted versio

Dates of birth and seasonal changes in well-being among 4904 subjects completing the seasonal pattern assessment questionnaire

Background: Abnormal distributions of birthdates, suggesting intrauterine aetiological factors, have been found in several psychiatric disorders, including one study of out-patients with Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.). We investigated birthdate distribution in relation to seasonal changes in well-being among a cohort who had completed the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). Method: A sample of 4904 subjects, aged 16 to 64, completed the SPAQ. 476 were cases of S.A.D. on the SPAQ and 580 were cases of sub-syndromal S.A.D. (S-S.A.D.). 92 were interview confirmed cases of S.A.D. Months and dates of birth were compared between S.A.D. cases and all others, between S.A.D. and S-S.A.D. cases combined and all others, and between interview confirmed cases and all others. Seasonality, as measured through seasonal fluctuations in well-being on the Global Seasonality Scores (GSS) of the SPAQ, was compared for all subjects by month and season of birth. Results: There was no evidence of an atypical pattern of birthdates for subjects fulfilling criteria for S.A.D., for the combined S.A.D. / S-S.A.D. group or for interview confirmed cases. There was also no relationship between seasonality on the GSS and month or season of birth. Limitations: Diagnoses of S.A.D. made by SPAQ criteria are likely to be overinclusive. Conclusion: Our findings differ from studies of patients with more severe mood disorders, including psychiatric out-patients with S.A.D. The lack of association between seasonality and birthdates in our study adds credence to the view that the aetiology of S.A.D. relates to separable factors predisposing to affective disorders and to seasonality

Management Issues: Large effect sizes do not mean most people get better - clinical significance and the importance of individual results

Background: This paper seeks to compare group statistical analysis with effect size, group measures of clinical significance (Reliable Change Index and normative comparison), and individual analysis of clinical significance. Method: Measures of variables important to parenting and child behavior improvement (Parenting Scale, Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory, and Parenting Stress Index [PSI]) were administered pre and post for a 9‐ to 10‐week group Behavioral Parent Training Intervention. Analysis compares traditional group statistical significance testing with group measure of clinical significance and individual analysis of clinical significance. Results: All three measures demonstrated statistically significant differences from pre to post, with large effect sizes. Group measures of clinical significance, however, demonstrated meaningful change only on the PSI, while individual analysis showed improvements of 54% of participants at best and 0% at worst. Conclusions: Individual analysis of clinical significance provides valuable information in treatment outcomes and should be included as a standard practice in outcomes research

Time out for sibling aggression: An analysis of effective durations in a natural setting

Time-out is a ubiquitous strategy to reduce problem behaviors. The current study sought to find the shortest effective duration(s) of time-out for sibling aggression in a community sample of girls ages 3–7. All participants reached a minimum reduction in sibling aggression of 60% after experiencing a 1-minute time-out. The majority (75%) of participants also demonstrated clear reversals of behavior when returned to the baseline condition. The current findings suggest that a 1-minute time-out may be sufficient for low-level sibling aggression in children as old as seven. Limitations include the presence of a graduate assistant during sibling play and unclear generalizability

Quantitating the epigenetic transformation contributing to cholesterol homeostasis using Gaussian process.

To understand the impact of epigenetics on human misfolding disease, we apply Gaussian-process regression (GPR) based machine learning (ML) (GPR-ML) through variation spatial profiling (VSP). VSP generates population-based matrices describing the spatial covariance (SCV) relationships that link genetic diversity to fitness of the individual in response to histone deacetylases inhibitors (HDACi). Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1) is a Mendelian disorder caused by >300 variants in the NPC1 gene that disrupt cholesterol homeostasis leading to the rapid onset and progression of neurodegenerative disease. We determine the sequence-to-function-to-structure relationships of the NPC1 polypeptide fold required for membrane trafficking and generation of a tunnel that mediates cholesterol flux in late endosomal/lysosomal (LE/Ly) compartments. HDACi treatment reveals unanticipated epigenomic plasticity in SCV relationships that restore NPC1 functionality. GPR-ML based matrices capture the epigenetic processes impacting information flow through central dogma, providing a framework for quantifying the effect of the environment on the healthspan of the individual

Effect of lateral perturbations on psychophysical acceleration detection thresholds

BACKGROUND: In understanding how the human body perceives and responds to small slip-like motions, information on how one senses the slip is essential. The effect of aging and plantar sensory loss on detection of a slip can also be studied. Using psychophysical procedures, acceleration detection thresholds of small lateral whole-body perturbations were measured for healthy young adults (HYA), healthy older adults (HOA) and older adults with diabetic neuropathy (DOA). It was hypothesized that young adults would require smaller accelerations than HOA's and DOA's to detect perturbations at a given displacement. METHODS: Acceleration detection thresholds to whole-body lateral perturbations of 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 mm were measured for HYAs, HOAs, and DOAs using psychophysical procedures including a two-alternative forced choice protocol. Based on the subject's detection of the previous trial, the acceleration magnitude of the subsequent trial was increased or decreased according to the parameter estimation by sequential testing methodology. This stair-stepping procedure allowed acceleration thresholds to be measured for each displacement. RESULTS: Results indicate that for lateral displacements of 1 and 2 mm, HOAs and DOAs have significantly higher acceleration detection thresholds than young adults. At displacements of 8 and 16 mm, no differences in threshold were found among groups or between the two perturbation distances. The relationship between the acceleration threshold and perturbation displacement is of particular interest. Peak acceleration thresholds of approximately 10 mm/s(2 )were found at displacements of 2, 4, 8, and 16 mm for HYAs; at displacements of 4, 8, and 16 mm for HOAs; and at displacements of 8 and 16 mm for DOAs. Thus, 2, 4, and 8 mm appear to be critical breakpoints for HYAs, HOAs, and DOAs respectively, where the psychometric curve deviated from a negative power law relationship. These critical breakpoints likely indicate a change in the physiology of the system as it responds to the stimuli. CONCLUSION: As a function of age, the displacement at which the group deviates from a negative power law relationship increases from 2 mm to 4 mm. Additionally, the displacement at which subjects with peripheral sensory deficits deviate from the negative power law relations increases to 8 mm. These increases as a function of age and peripheral sensory loss may help explain the mechanism of falls in the elderly and diabetic populations

A Large Catalog of Homogeneous Ultra-Violet/Optical GRB Afterglows: Temporal and Spectral Evolution

We present the second Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow catalog, greatly expanding on the first Swift UVOT GRB afterglow catalog. The second catalog is constructed from a database containing over 120,000 independent UVOT observations of 538 GRBs first detected by Swift, the High Energy Transient Explorer 2 (HETE2), the INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), the Interplanetary Network (IPN), Fermi, and Astro-rivelatore Gamma a Immagini Leggero (AGILE). The catalog covers GRBs discovered from 2005 Jan 17 to 2010 Dec 25. Using photometric information in three UV bands, three optical bands, and a `white' or open filter, the data are optimally co-added to maximize the number of detections and normalized to one band to provide a detailed light curve. The catalog provides positional, temporal, and photometric information for each burst, as well as Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) and X-Ray Telescope (XRT) GRB parameters. Temporal slopes are provided for each UVOT filter. The temporal slope per filter of almost half the GRBs are fit with a single power-law, but one to three breaks are required in the remaining bursts. Morphological comparisons with the X-ray reveal that approximately 75% of the UVOT light curves are similar to one of the four morphologies identified by Evans et al. (2009). The remaining approximately 25% have a newly identified morphology. For many bursts, redshift and extinction corrected UV/optical spectral slopes are also provided at 2000, 20,000, and 200,000 seconds.Comment: 44 pages, 14 figures, to be published in Astrophysical Journal Supplementa

Librarians as Natural Disaster Stress Response Facilitators: Building Evidence for Trauma-Informed Library Education and Practice

Public librarians are on the front line of catastrophic events that, each year, leave millions of people with significant mental health consequences; in the midst of these tragedies, librarians are often called upon to address community needs, often while neglecting their personal hardships. In this paper, we propose research, education, and practice opportunities centered on SOLAR, a community-based therapeutic approach that will allow librarians to recognize and assist patrons with symptoms just short of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to natural disasters. This proposed therapy offers public librarians an opportunity to engage with a treatment framework to meaningfully support their patrons while benefiting from the self-care often overlooked in times of crisis. This work may be a template for contextually sensitive, community-facilitated mental health services critical for communities that lack financial and geographical access to larger health infrastructures. We include opportunities for research in librarians’ trauma response to inform public librarians’ education and practice to improve disaster preparedness and community well-being

Tales from Ginderup Mound in Thisted County, Denmark: Further Investigations of Female Mobility in the Nordic Bronze Age

The preservation of organic and human remains in Early Nordic Bronze Age mounds (1700 BCE -1100 BCE) permits new provenance work on this important period. Studies have shown that different mobility/non-mobility patterns were exercised by elite women during this time. To extend the database, we conducted strontium isotope analyses of the enamel from the second and third molars from the elite female grave from Ginderup in Thisted County, Denmark. Among other items, this grave included the textile remains of a possible corded skirt or fringed blanket. We complemented analyses of this woman’s enamel with strontium isotope analyses of the first molar from Grave B as well as osteological analysis of the individuals from Early Nordic Bronze Age Graves A, B and C. Our results revealed that the strontium isotope ratios obtained from the woman wearing a possible corded skirt yielded one local ratio (M2) and one non-local ratio (M3). The results from Grave B yielded a ratio which falls within the local baseline of present-day Denmark.  Our results suggest that the Ginderup Woman was probably of local origin, but that she also was repeatedly mobile during her life. These data are further evidence for the Nordic Bronze Age’s complex socio-dynamics.&nbsp