The Lausanne Infant Crying Stress Paradigm: Validation of an Early Postpartum Stress Paradigm with Women at Low vs. High Risk of Childbirth-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Stress reactivity is typically investigated in laboratory settings, which is inadequate for mothers in maternity settings. This study aimed at validating the Lausanne Infant Crying Stress Paradigm (LICSP) as a new psychosocial stress paradigm eliciting psychophysiological stress reactivity in early postpartum mothers (n = 52) and to compare stress reactivity in women at low (n = 28) vs. high risk (n = 24) of childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD). Stress reactivity was assessed at pre-, peri-, and post-stress levels through salivary cortisol, heart rate variability (high-frequency (HF) power, low-frequency (LF) power, and LF/HF ratio), and perceived stress via a visual analog scale. Significant time effects were observed for all stress reactivity outcomes in the total sample (all p < 0.01). When adjusting for perceived life threat for the infant during childbirth, high-risk mothers reported higher perceived stress (p < 0.001, d = 0.91) and had lower salivary cortisol release (p = 0.023, d = 0.53), lower LF/HF ratio (p < 0.001, d = 0.93), and marginally higher HF power (p = 0.07, d = 0.53) than low-risk women. In conclusion, the LICSP induces subjective stress and autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity in maternity settings. High-risk mothers showed higher perceived stress and altered ANS and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal reactivity when adjusting for infant life threat. Ultimately, the LICSP could stimulate (CB-)PTSD research

Higher education and unemployment in Europe : an analysis of the academic subject and national effects

This paper examines the impact of an academic degree and field of study on short and long-term unemployment across Europe (EU15). Labour Force Survey (LFS) data on over half a million individuals are utilised for that purpose. The harmonized LFS classification of level of education and field of study overcomes past problems of comparability across Europe. The study analyses (i) the effect of an academic degree at a European level, (ii) the specific effect of 14 academic subjects and (iii) country specific effects. The results indicate that an academic degree is more effective on reducing the likelihood of short-term than long-term unemployment. This general pattern even though it is observed for most of the academic subjects its levels show significant variation across disciplines and countries

Emotional eating is related with temperament but not with stress biomarkers in preschool children.

Emotional eating (EE) corresponds to a change in eating behavior in response to distress and results in an increase of food intake (overeating (EOE)) or in food avoidance (undereating (EUE)). EE has been related to temperament (i.e. negative emotionality) and dysregulated stress biomarkers in school-aged children; parenting has been understood to influence this relationship in older children. The aim of the study was to investigate to which extent stress biomarkers and negative emotionality are related to EE and to understand the role of parenting in this relationship. The sample consisted of 271 children aged 2-6 years of the Swiss cohort study SPLASHY. We assessed the child's EE, negative emotionality and parenting by parent based reports. Salivary samples were collected over two days to analyze cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase levels. From the whole sample of children, 1.1% showed EOE and 32.9% EUE. Negative emotionality was related to EOE and EUE (0.13 (CI 0.06, 021), p < 0.001; 0.25 (CI 0.14, 0.35), p < 0.001). There was no relationship between stress biomarkers and EE and parenting had any moderating role (all p > 0.05). Similar to a Danish study, parents reported more often EUE than EOE of their child. Both are related to the temperament. Even though the course of EE has not yet been well documented, we conclude that a certain subgroup of children with difficult temperament could be at-risk for eat and weight regulation problems in later childhood

Multipartite Entanglement and Frustration

Some features of the global entanglement of a composed quantum system can be quantified in terms of the purity of a balanced bipartition, made up of half of its subsystems. For the given bipartition, purity can always be minimized by taking a suitable (pure) state. When many bipartitions are considered, the requirement that purity be minimal for all bipartitions can engender conflicts and frustration arises. This unearths an interesting link between frustration and multipartite entanglement, defined as the average purity over all (balanced) bipartitions.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

The Flexible Ocean and Climate Infrastructure Version 1 (FOCI1): Mean State and Variability

A new Earth system model, the Flexible Ocean and Climate Infrastructure (FOCI), is introduced. A first version of FOCI consists of a global high-top atmosphere (ECHAM6.3) and an ocean model (NEMO3.6) as well as sea ice (LIM2) and land surface model components (JSBACH), which are coupled through the OASIS3-MCT software package. FOCI includes a number of optional modules which can be activated depending on the scientific question of interest. In the atmosphere, interactive stratospheric chemistry can be used (ECHAM6-HAMMOZ) to study, for example, the effects of the ozone hole on the climate system. In the ocean, a biogeochemistry model (MOPS) is available to study the global carbon cycle. A unique feature of FOCI is the ability to explicitly resolve mesoscale ocean eddies in specific regions. This is realized in the ocean through nesting; first examples for the Agulhas Current and the Gulf Stream systems are described here. FOCI therefore bridges the gap between coarse-resolution climate models and global high-resolution weather prediction and ocean-only models. It allows to study the evolution of the climate system on regional and seasonal to (multi-) decadal scales. The development of FOCI resulted from a combination of the long-standing expertise in ocean and climate modeling in several research units and divisions at GEOMAR. FOCI will thus be used to complement and interpret long-term observations in the Atlantic, enhance the process understanding of the role of mesoscale oceanic eddies for large-scale oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns, study feedback mechanisms with stratospheric processes, estimate future ocean acidification, improve the simulation of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation changes and their influence on climate, ocean chemistry and biology. In this paper we present both the scientific vision for the development of FOCI as well as some technical details. This includes a first validation of the different model components using several configurations of FOCI. Results show that the model in its basic configuration runs stably under pre-industrial control as well as under historical forcing, and produces a mean climate and variability which compares well with observations, reanalysis products and other climate models. The nested configurations reduce some long-standing biases in climate models and are an important step forward to include the atmospheric response in multi-decadal eddy-rich configurations

Study protocol to investigate the effect of a lifestyle intervention on body weight, psychological health status and risk factors associated with disease recurrence in women recovering from breast cancer treatment

Background Breast cancer survivors often encounter physiological and psychological problems related to their diagnosis and treatment that can influence long-term prognosis. The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of a lifestyle intervention on body weight and psychological well-being in women recovering from breast cancer treatment, and to determine the relationship between changes in these variables and biomarkers associated with disease recurrence and survival. Methods/design Following ethical approval, a total of 100 patients will be randomly assigned to a lifestyle intervention (incorporating dietary energy restriction in conjunction with aerobic exercise training) or normal care control group. Patients randomised to the dietary and exercise intervention will be given individualised healthy eating dietary advice and written information and attend moderate intensity aerobic exercise sessions on three to five days per week for a period of 24 weeks. The aim of this strategy is to induce a steady weight loss of up to 0.5 Kg each week. In addition, the overall quality of the diet will be examined with a view to (i) reducing the dietary intake of fat to ~25% of the total calories, (ii) eating at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, (iii) increasing the intake of fibre and reducing refined carbohydrates, and (iv) taking moderate amounts of alcohol. Outcome measures will include body weight and body composition, psychological health status (stress and depression), cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life. In addition, biomarkers associated with disease recurrence, including stress hormones, estrogen status, inflammatory markers and indices of innate and adaptive immune function will be monitored. Discussion This research will provide valuable information on the effectiveness of a practical, easily implemented lifestyle intervention for evoking positive effects on body weight and psychological well-being, two important factors that can influence long-term prognosis in breast cancer survivors. However, the added value of the study is that it will also evaluate the effects of the lifestyle intervention on a range of biomarkers associated with disease recurrence and survival. Considered together, the results should improve our understanding of the potential role that lifestyle-modifiable factors could play in saving or prolonging lives

Current transport versus continental inputs in the eastern Indian Ocean: Radiogenic isotope signatures of clay size sediments

Analyses of radiogenic neodymium (Nd), strontium (Sr), and lead (Pb) isotope compositions of clay-sized detrital sediments allow detailed tracing of source areas of sediment supply and present and past transport of particles by water masses in the eastern Indian Ocean. Isotope signatures in surface sediments range from −21.5 (ɛNd), 0.8299 (87Sr/86Sr), and 19.89 (206Pb/204Pb) off northwest Australia to +0.7 (ɛNd), 0.7069 (87Sr/86Sr), and 17.44 (206Pb/204Pb) southwest of Java. The radiogenic isotope signatures primarily reflect petrographic characteristics of the surrounding continental bedrocks but are also influenced by weathering-induced grain size effects of Pb and Sr isotope systems with superimposed features that are caused by current transport of clay-sized particles, as evidenced off Australia where a peculiar isotopic signature characterizes sediments underlying the southward flowing Leeuwin Current and the northward flowing West Australian Current (WAC). Gravity core FR10/95-GC17 off west Australia recorded a major isotopic change from Last Glacial Maximum values of −10 (ɛNd), 0.745 (87Sr/86Sr), and 18.8 (206Pb/204Pb) to Holocene values of −22 (ɛNd), 0.8 (87Sr/86Sr), and 19.3 (206Pb/204Pb), which documents major climatically driven changes of the WAC and in local riverine particle supply from Australia during the past 20 kyr. In contrast, gravity core FR10/95-GC5 located below the present-day pathway of the Indonesian throughflow (ITF) shows a much smaller isotopic variability, indicating a relatively stable ITF hydrography over most of the past 92 kyr. Only the surface sediments differ significantly in their isotopic composition, indicating substantial changes in erosional sources attributed to a change of the current regime during the past 5 kyr

Alexithymia and interleukin variations in somatoform disorder

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate if somatoform disorders (SFD) are associated with changes in the normal serum levels of important interleukins, and further, to establish if these changes are related to the presence and severity of alexithymia in patients with SFD. Methods: Twenty-four unmedicated patients who met the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) diagnostic criteria for SFD completed the psychological questionnaire to assess alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale), symptom reporting (SCL-90-R) and diagnostic criteria for SFD (Screening for Somatoform Symptoms scale). Serum concentrations of soluble interleukin 2 receptor α (sIL-2 Rα), IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-12 were determined in patients with SFD and in 9 healthy subjects. Results: In patients with SFD, serum levels of IL-6 (p < 0.001), IL-10 (p = 0.047) and immunoglobulin E (p = 0.045) were significantly increased in comparison with healthy controls. Additionally, a negative correlation was observed between the level of alexithymia ('total' Toronto Alexithymia Scale score) and the serum levels of sIL-2 Rα (r = -0.538) in SFD. Conclusions: Taken together, these results suggest that SFD, with clinically significant alexithymia, are associated with a reduction in Th1-mediated immune function and an increase in the activation of the Th2 immune function, indicated by the augmented serum levels of IL-6 and IL-10 and elevated immunoglobulin E. Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG