Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia as an Index of Vagal Activity during Stress in Infants: Respiratory Influences and Their Control

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is related to cardiac vagal outflow and the respiratory pattern. Prior infant studies have not systematically examined respiration rate and tidal volume influences on infant RSA or the extent to which infants' breathing is too fast to extract a valid RSA. We therefore monitored cardiac activity, respiration, and physical activity in 23 six-month old infants during a standardized laboratory stressor protocol. On average, 12.6% (range 0–58.2%) of analyzed breaths were too short for RSA extraction. Higher respiration rate was associated with lower RSA amplitude in most infants, and lower tidal volume was associated with lower RSA amplitude in some infants. RSA amplitude corrected for respiration rate and tidal volume influences showed theoretically expected strong reductions during stress, whereas performance of uncorrected RSA was less consistent. We conclude that stress-induced changes of peak-valley RSA and effects of variations in breathing patterns on RSA can be determined for a representative percentage of infant breaths. As expected, breathing substantially affects infant RSA and needs to be considered in studies of infant psychophysiology

Birth cohorts in asthma and allergic diseases: Report of a NIAID/NHLBI/MeDALL joint workshop

Population-based birth cohorts on asthma and allergies increasingly provide new insights into the development and natural history of the diseases. Over 130 birth cohorts focusing on asthma and allergy have been initiated in the last 30 years. A NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), NHLBI (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute), MeDALL (Mechanisms of the Development of Allergy, Framework Programme 7 of the European Commission) joint workshop was held in Bethesda, MD, USA September 11–12, 2012 with 3 objectives (1) documenting the knowledge that asthma/allergy birth cohorts have provided, (2) identifying the knowledge gaps and inconsistencies and (3) developing strategies for moving forward, including potential new study designs and the harmonization of existing asthma birth cohort data. The meeting was organized around the presentations of 5 distinct workgroups: (1) clinical phenotypes, (2) risk factors, (3) immune development of asthma and allergy, (4) pulmonary development and (5) harmonization of existing birth cohorts. This manuscript presents the workgroup reports and provides web links (AsthmaBirthCohorts.niaid.nih.gov or www.medall-fp7.eu) where the reader will find tables describing the characteristics of the birth cohorts included in this report, type of data collected at differing ages, and a selected bibliography provided by the participating birth cohorts

Lifetime maternal experiences of abuse and risk of pre-natal depression in two demographically distinct populations in Boston

Background To investigate lifetime history of interpersonal abuse and risk of pre-natal depression in socio-economically distinct populations in the same city. Methods We examined associations of physical and sexual abuse with the risk of pre-natal depression in two cohorts in the Boston area, including 2128 participants recruited from a large urban- and suburban-managed care organization (Project Viva) and 1509 participants recruited primarily from urban community health centres (Project ACCESS). Protocols for the studies were designed in parallel to allow us to merge data to enhance ethnic and socio-economic diversity in the combined sample. In mid-pregnancy, the Personal Safety Questionnaire and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were administered in both cohorts. An EPDS score ≥13 indicated probable pre-natal depression. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) of pre-natal depression associated with lifetime abuse history. Results Project ACCESS participants were twice as likely as Project Viva participants to report symptoms consistent with pre-natal depression: 22% of Project ACCESS participants had EPDS scores ≥13, compared with 11% of Project Viva participants. Fifty-seven percent of women in ACCESS and 46% in Viva reported lifetime physical and/or sexual abuse. In merged analysis, women reporting lifetime physical or sexual abuse had an OR for mid-pregnancy depression of 1.63 [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.29–2.07], adjusted for age and race/ethnicity. Lifetime histories of physical abuse [OR 1.48 (95% CI 1.15–1.90)] and sexual abuse [OR 1.68 (95% CI 1.24–2.28)] were independently associated with pre-natal depression. When child/teen, pre-pregnancy adult and pregnancy life periods were considered simultaneously, abuse in childhood was independently associated with an OR of 1.23 (95% CI 1.00–1.59), pre-pregnancy adult abuse with an OR of 1.70 (95% CI 1.31–2.21) and abuse during pregnancy with an OR of 1.77 (95% CI 1.14–2.74). Further adjustment for childhood socio-economic position made no material difference, and there were no clear interactions between abuse and adult socio-economic position. Conclusions Physical and sexual abuse histories were positively associated with pre-natal depression in two economically and ethnically distinct populations. Stronger associations with recent abuse may indicate that the association of abuse with depression wanes with time or may result from less accurate recall of remote events

Racial discrimination, response to unfair treatment, and depressive symptoms among pregnant black and African American women in the United States

Purpose To assess the association between self-reported racial discrimination and prenatal depressive symptoms among black women. Methods Our study population consisted of two cohorts of pregnant women: the Asthma Coalition on Community, Environment, and Social Stress project (ACCESS) and Project Viva. We measured self-reported racial discrimination among black women using a modified Experiences of Discrimination scale (score 0–8). We assessed elevated depressive symptoms (EDS) with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (≥13 on a 0–30 scale). Results Fifty-four percent of ACCESS and 78% of Viva participants reported experiencing racial discrimination. After adjusting for age, marital status, income, education, and nativity, a 1-U increment in Experiences of Discrimination score was associated with 48% increased odds of EDS (odds ratio, 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.24–1.76) for ACCESS participants but was not significantly associated among Viva participants (odds ratio, 1.12; 95% confidence interval, 0.92–1.37). In both cohorts, responding to unfair treatment by talking to others was associated with the lowest odds of EDS. Conclusions Our findings suggest that higher levels of perceived racial discrimination may increase depressive symptoms during pregnancy among U.S. black women. Interventions involving talking to others may aid in reducing the risk of depressive symptoms among black women experiencing higher levels of racial discrimination

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

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

White paper supplement to the proposal submitted by the HSLS science team to ESA for Herschel open-time programsA 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

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

White paper supplement to the proposal submitted by the HSLS science team to ESA for Herschel open-time programsA 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

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

White paper supplement to the proposal submitted by the HSLS science team to ESA for Herschel open-time programsA 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