Examining the Interactive Effect of Conformity to the Thinness Ideal and Depression on Risky Sexual Behavior

Compared to White women, Black women are at increased risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (CDC, 2018). Previous research on predominantly White women has shown that negative body image reflects conformity to the thinness ideal (James et al., 2001) and predicts high-risk sexual behaviors (Larson et al., 2011; Kvalem et al., 2011). This may have similar relevance for Black women in conferring risk—and this effect may be amplified by depressive symptoms (Thames et al., 2018). We focus on young adulthood given the greater saliency of thinness norms and increased risky sexual behavior during this period (Voelker et al., 2015). It was hypothesized that the relationship between conformity to the thinness ideal and risky sexual behavior is moderated by depressive symptoms such that for women who are relatively higher on depressive symptoms, there will be an increased effect. A community sample of 117 self-identified African American/Black women (M age=21, SD=2.25) were recruited from the Washington, D.C. area. Participants completed self-report measures of thinness conformity (modified version of the Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory; Mahalik et al., 2005), depressive symptoms (Depression Subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory; Derogatis, 2001), and sexual risk behavior (Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System; CDC, 2013). Depressive symptoms moderated the effect of thinness ideal on risky sexual behavior (b =-.03, p =.039), but only for women who were relatively high on depressive symptoms. Moreover, this effect was in the negative direction, contrary to our hypothesis. For women at the mean level of depressive symptoms as well as those below the mean level, there was no effect of thinness ideal on risky sexual behavior. Overall, the model predicted 5% of the variance in risky sexual behavior, F(3,79)=3.19, p =.028. The current findings indicate that women who are nonconforming to feminine norms (e.g., thinness ideal) may externalize depressive symptoms in ways associated with traditional masculinity (e.g., risky sexual behavior). Future research should examine if the thinness ideal adequately applies to African American women.NIDA Grant R03 DA035878. PI/Faculty Mentor: Dr. Cristina Risc

The IOC consensus statement: Beyond the female athlete triad-Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)

Protecting the health of the athlete is a goal of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC convened an expert panel to update the 2005 IOC Consensus Statement on the Female Athlete Triad. This Consensus Statement replaces the previous and provides guidelines to guide risk assessment, treatment and return-to-play decisions. The IOC expert working group introduces a broader, more comprehensive term for the condition previously known as ‘Female Athlete Triad’. The term ‘Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport’ (RED-S), points to the complexity involved and the fact that male athletes are also affected. The syndrome of RED-S refers to impaired physiological function including, but not limited to, metabolic rate, menstrual function, bone health, immunity, protein synthesis, cardiovascular health caused by relative energy deficiency. The cause of this syndrome is energy deficiency relative to the balance between dietary energy intake and energy expenditure required for health and activities of daily living, growth and sporting activities. Psychological consequences can either precede RED-S or be the result of RED-S. The clinical phenomenon is not a ‘triad’ of the three entities of energy availability, menstrual function and bone health, but rather a syndrome that affects many aspects of physiological function, health and athletic performance. This Consensus Statement also recommends practical clinical models for the management of affected athletes. The ‘Sport Risk Assessment and Return to Play Model’ categorises the syndrome into three groups and translates these classifications into clinical recommendations

Athletes’ Relationships with Training Scale (ART)

The Athletes’ Relationships with Training Scale (ART)* is a self-report measure of unhealthy training behaviors and beliefs in athletes. The ART was designed for use by clinicians and athletic trainers to help identify athletes who are engaging in unhealthy training practices which could be associated with an eating disorder. The ART may also be helpful for tracking clinical outcomes in athletes with eating disorders who are receiving treatment. This record contains the 15-item ART as well as scoring instructions and guidelines for interpreting total scores

The influence of exercise identity and social physique anxiety on exercise dependence

Background Previous research has identified exercise identity and social physique anxiety as two independent factors that are associated with exercise dependence. Aims The purpose of our study was to investigate the unique and interactive effect of these two known correlates of exercise dependence in a sample of 1,766 female runners. Methods Regression analyses tested the main effects of exercise identity and social physique anxiety on exercise dependence. An interaction term was calculated to examine the potential moderating effect of social physique anxiety on the exercise identity and exercise dependence relationship. Results Results indicate a main effect for exercise identity and social physique anxiety on exercise dependence; and the interaction of these factors explained exercise dependence scores beyond the independent effects. Thus, social physique anxiety acted as a moderator in the exercise identity and exercise dependence relationship. Discussion Our results indicate that individuals who strongly identify themselves as an exerciser and also endorse a high degree of social physique anxiety may be at risk for developing exercise dependence. Conclusions Our study supports previous research which has examined factors that may contribute to the development of exercise dependence and also suggests a previously unknown moderating relationship for social physique anxiety on exercise dependence

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts

Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas

Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin

Spatial Organization and Molecular Correlation of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Using Deep Learning on Pathology Images

Beyond sample curation and basic pathologic characterization, the digitized H&E-stained images of TCGA samples remain underutilized. To highlight this resource, we present mappings of tumorinfiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) based on H&E images from 13 TCGA tumor types. These TIL maps are derived through computational staining using a convolutional neural network trained to classify patches of images. Affinity propagation revealed local spatial structure in TIL patterns and correlation with overall survival. TIL map structural patterns were grouped using standard histopathological parameters. These patterns are enriched in particular T cell subpopulations derived from molecular measures. TIL densities and spatial structure were differentially enriched among tumor types, immune subtypes, and tumor molecular subtypes, implying that spatial infiltrate state could reflect particular tumor cell aberration states. Obtaining spatial lymphocytic patterns linked to the rich genomic characterization of TCGA samples demonstrates one use for the TCGA image archives with insights into the tumor-immune microenvironment