Racial and ethnic harassment and discrimination: in the eye of the beholder?

The nature, rate, and higher-order relationships among facets of racial/ethnic harassment (REH) and discrimination (RED) were examined across five racial/ethnic groups in a sample of 5,000 US military personnel. Using a hierarchical, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis approach, results suggest that the nature of REH and RED do not differ by race, with behavioral items equally representing REH and RED across the different groups. Further, higher-order relationships among the facets of REH and RED do not vary across race, with a single second-order factor accounting for the relationships. This single factor is theorized to represent a root intergroup prejudice that leads to harassment and discrimination. However, as anticipated, individuals from minority groups generally reported higher levels of REH and RED once measurement equivalence has been established. Together, the results suggest that both intergroup prejudice (which is multidirectional) and racism (which originates in powerful groups against other groups) are operating in REH and RED experiences.     

The Sleep of the Ring: Comparison of the ŌURA Sleep Tracker Against Polysomnography

Objective/Background: To evaluate the performance of a multisensor sleep-tracker (ōURA ring) against polysomnography (PSG) in measuring sleep and sleep stages. Participants: Forty-one healthy adolescents and young adults (13 females; Age: 17.2 ± 2.4 years). Methods: Sleep data were recorded using the ōURA ring and standard PSG on a single laboratory overnight. Metrics were compared using Bland-Altman plots and epoch-by-epoch (EBE) analysis. Results: Summary variables for sleep onset latency (SOL), total sleep time (TST), and wake after sleep onset (WASO) were not different between ōURA ring and PSG. PSG-ōURA discrepancies for WASO were greater in participants with more PSG-defined WASO (p < .001). Compared with PSG, ōURA ring underestimated PSG N3 (~20 min) and overestimated PSG REM (~17 min; p < .05). PSG-ōURA differences for TST and WASO lay within the ≤ 30 min a-priori-set clinically satisfactory ranges for 87.8% and 85.4% of the sample, respectively. From EBE analysis, ōURA ring had a 96% sensitivity to detect sleep, and agreement of 65%, 51%, and 61%, in detecting “light sleep” (N1), “deep sleep” (N2 + N3), and REM sleep, respectively. Specificity in detecting wake was 48%. Similarly to PSG-N3 (p < .001), “deep sleep” detected with the ōURA ring was negatively correlated with advancing age (p = .001). ōURA ring correctly categorized 90.9%, 81.3%, and 92.9% into PSG-defined TST ranges of < 6 hr, 6–7 hr, > 7 hr, respectively. Conclusions: Multisensor sleep trackers, such as the ōURA ring have the potential for detecting outcomes beyond binary sleep–wake using sources of information in addition to motion. While these first results could be viewed as promising, future development and validation are needed.     

Examining How Racial Discrimination Impacts Sleep Quality in African Americans: Is Perseveration the Answer?

Background: African Americans experience more problematic and disordered sleep than White Americans. Racial discrimination has been implicated in this disparity. However, the mechanisms by which discrimination disrupts sleep are unclear. It has been theorized that Perseverative Cognition (PC), characterized by recurrent patterns of reflective (i.e., rumination) and anticipatory (i.e., worry) negative thinking about personally relevant stressors, may reflect the functional mechanism linking discrimination to sleep. The present study is the first to empirically examine the dual components of PC as a candidate functional mechanism in the association between racial discrimination and subjective sleep quality. Participants: Sixty-eight self-identified African American college students (55.9% female; M_age = 20.18, SD = 2.93) were recruited at a large predominantly white public university in the Midwest. Methods: The participants completed the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire (PEDQ), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), and Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS). Results: After adjusting for age, gender, and social class, results revealed a significant indirect effect of racial discrimination (RD) on subjective sleep quality through rumination, 95% CI [.008, .125], but not worry. RD was positively associated with rumination, b =.50, SE =.16, p = .003, and rumination, in turn, was positively associated with poorer sleep quality, b = .09, SE = .04, p = .012. Conclusions: As both RD and poor sleep quality have been directly linked to heart disease, diabetes, depression, and a number of other maladies, our findings suggest that RD, sleep, and coping strategies (e.g., rumination) employed to manage RD experiences may be important targets for addressing racial disparities in health.     

Protein Expression Analysis: From ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ to a Global Method

In this review I will describe the advances that have recently been made in ‘traditional’ two-dimensional gel based protein expression analysis. A major jump has been made toward the automation of gel image analysis and comparison, one of the major bottlenecks in the analysis chain as well as the automation of spot excision and preparation for mass spectrometric analysis. Currently the gel-based ‘proteome mapping’ approach is highly effective and 300 gels and over 10,000 spots a week can be analysed. Very recently, viable alternatives to the use of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis have emerged and these approaches are discussed here. In combination with the recently developed stable isotopic tagging methods for peptide quantitation and new mass spectrometers, this emerging technology will be a rapid and highly effective alternative to gel-based methods with few of the latter''s shortcomings.     

TB infection in the nonhuman primate biomedical model: Tip of the iceberg?

Biomedical research in the 21st century increasingly relies on pathogen-free nonhuman primates (NHPs) to model human pathophysiology. Despite adherence to protocols designed to maintain pathogen-free colonies, reports of tuberculosis regularly appear. We hypothesize that, undetected by standard screening protocols, mycobacteria of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) continue to circulate in established NHP colonies and may, in addition, be periodically reintroduced with newly imported animals. The tuberculin skin test (TST), the accepted standard screening test for tuberculosis, relies on the host's immune response to detect infection, but empirical data suggest that TST lacks both specificity and, particularly in certain NHP species and in immune compromised animals, sensitivity. In order to improve the detection of MTBC infection in NHP colonies we propose new screening protocols that incorporate molecular methods to detect mycobacteria. These new tests do not rely on the host's immune response and may allow for strain typing of the pathogens - enhancing our ability to elucidate patterns of disease transmission. Moreover, the ability to rapidly and noninvasively collect specimens could lead to an improved appreciation of the burden of MTBC circulating in populations of NHPs and humans, including drug-resistant strains, data that are invaluable to public health efforts.     

Does Depression Screening in Schools Reduce Adolescent Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Accessing Treatment?

Although placing mental health services in schools increases access to care, racial/ethnic disparities persist within the scope of school-based mental health services. Universal mental health screening is a potential strategy to increase problem detection and reduce disparities in care provision. However, no study has experimentally tested the effect of universal screening on patterns of service utilization across racial groups and the potential to reduce disparities. Using a cluster randomized design, we compared service linkage patterns among 7th- and 8th-grade Asian American and Latino students (N = 2,494; M_age = 13.65) in schools that either conducted or did not conduct universal depression screening. Multilevel analyses showed that enrollment in a universal screening school, Latino ethnicity, and low academic performance were associated with greater likelihood of referral. However, these factors were not related to caregiver consent or treatment initiation. Screening-triggered referrals were less likely to result in caregiver consent compared to routine referrals. Furthermore, universal screening did not result in a statistically significant reduction in racial/ethnic disparities in treatment referral. Implications for engaging ethnic minority families beyond the point of problem recognition and referral are discussed.     

Immigration and Sleep Problems in a Southern European Country: Do Immigrants Get the Best Sleep?

This study analyzes the differences in the prevalence of insomnia symptoms and nonrestorative sleep (NRS) between people born in Spain and immigrants from 7 countries with most immigrants in Spain. Data come from the 2006 Spanish National Health Survey. The sample was composed of all individuals aged 16 to 64 years from Spain and the 7 countries with most immigrants in Spain (N = 22,224). In both sexes, people from Bolivia had a higher prevalence of insomnia symptoms and NRS. Conversely, people from Ecuador, Morocco, and Romania had less insomnia symptoms and NRS than Spanish-born participants. No differences were found between Spanish-born participants and Colombian, Peruvian, and Argentinian women. Poor living conditions in the country of origin and in the host country, discrimination, and culturally related lifestyles could be related to poorer sleep health among Bolivian men. Acculturation may explain the similar sleep health patterns noted between Spanish-born participants and long-term immigrants.     

Sleep Duration and Obesity in Children: Is the Association Dependent on Age and Choice of the Outcome Parameter?

Study Objectives:

To assess the association between sleep duration in children and different markers of body fat by age and weight status.

Design:

Nation-wide health survey. Measurement of BMI and body fat percentage (KFA) calculated from weight, height, skin fold thickness, age, and sex. Sleep duration and potential confounding variables were assessed in a parent questionnaire.

Setting:

N/A

Participants:

7767 German resident children from 3 to 10 years of age.

Interventions:

N/A

Measurements and Results:

Prolongation of sleep duration from the lowest to the highest percentile accounted for a similar mean decrease in BMI (−0.235, 95%-CI −0.321; −0.149) and KFA (−0.182, 95% CI −0.271; −0.092) z-scores. The given association is adjusted for confounding variables and did not show a systematic age dependency. The greatest effects of sleep duration were seen for the upper tails of the BMI and KFA distributions, which were about four as high as the lower tails.

Conclusions:

The association between sleep duration and weight status is of similar size through ages 3 to 10 years. The sleep-associated changes in BMI are likely to be a consequence of higher body fat and primarily affect children whose BMI or KFA is already elevated. These findings favor hormonal pathways nurturing adipose tissue playing a key role in the underlying physiological mechanisms.

Citation:

Bayer O; Rosario AS; Wabitsch M; von Kries R. Sleep duration and obesity in children: is the association dependent on age and choice of the outcome parameter? SLEEP 2009;32(9):1183-1189.     

The Sleep–Waking Cycle and Experimental Models of Mutations in the Panx1 Gene

Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology - Objectives. To confirm the authors’ previous suggestion that mutations in the Panx1 gene (pannexin-1) may play an important role in the development of...     

Measurement of Tip Trajectories in the Cardiac Reentry

Reentrant impulse in the myocardium is considered to be a major factor promoting electrophysiological abnormalities or even leading to ventricular tachycardias (VTs) and ventricular fibrillations (VFs). Tip trajectory of the reentrant wave can reflect stability of the electrical propagation and area of the reentrant movement, thereby being considered as one of the most concerned parameters in studying electrical activities during VT/VF. The purpose of the present study is to propose a practical method to find out tip trajectories using a computational approach. In this study Luo-Rudy 1991 mathematical model of the ventricular cell was used. The operator splitting method was utilized to integrate the partial differential equations in the two-dimensional tissue. And spiral waves were initiated by the cut wave front technique. Through experiments we found it was difficult to find out the tips by finding intersection of the two isovoltage lines as proposed in most papers. Therefore, we suggested that tip points were detected by seeking the shortest distance of the two adjacent isovoltage contour lines. The results showed that tip trajectories of these spiral waves found in our way were very near to the tips observed, implying validation of our method in measuring tip trajectories in cardiac reentry.     

Are Inflammatory and Coagulation Biomarkers Related to Sleep Characteristics in Mid-Life Women?: Study of Women's Health Across the Nation Sleep Study

Study Objectives:

Inflammation and pro-coagulation biomarkers may be a link between sleep characteristics and risk for cardiometabolic disorders. We tested the hypothesis that worse sleep characteristics would be associated with C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, factor VIIc, and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 in a multi-ethnic subsample of mid-life women enrolled in the Study of Women''s Health across the Nation.

Design:

Cross-sectional.

Measurements and Results:

African American, Chinese, and Caucasian women (N = 340) participated in 3 days of in-home polysomnographic (PSG) monitoring and had measures of inflammation and coagulation. Regression analyses revealed that each of the biomarkers were associated with indicators of sleep disordered breathing after adjusting for age, duration between sleep study and blood draw, site, menopausal status, ethnicity, residualized body mass index, smoking status, and medications that affect sleep or biomarkers. Among African American women, those who had higher levels of CRP had shorter PSG-sleep duration and those who had higher levels of fibrinogen had less efficient sleep in multivariate models.

Conclusions:

These results suggest that inflammation and pro-coagulation processes may be an important pathway connecting sleep disordered breathing and cardiometabolic disorders in women of these ethnic groups and that inflammation may be a particularly important pathway in African Americans.

Citation:

Matthews KA; Zheng H; Kravitz HM; Sowers M; Bromberger JT; Buysse DJ; Owens JF; Sanders M; Hall M. Are inflammatory and coagulation biomarkers related to sleep characteristics in mid-life women?: Study of Women''s Health Across the Nation Sleep Study. SLEEP 2010;33(12):1649-1655.     

The interaction of lexical and sublexical information in spelling: What's the point?

Most theories of spelling propose two major processes for translating between orthography and phonology: a lexical process for retrieving the spellings of familiar words and a sublexical process for assembling the spellings of unfamiliar letter strings based on knowledge of the systematic correspondences between phonemes and graphemes. We investigated how the lexical and sublexical processes function and interact in spelling by selectively interfering with the sublexical process in a dysgraphic individual. By comparing spelling performance under normal conditions and under conditions of sublexical disruption we were able to gain insight into the functioning and the unique contributions of the sublexical process. The results support the hypothesis that the sublexical process serves to strengthen a target word and provide it with a competitive advantage over orthographically and phonologically similar word neighbours that are in competition with the target for selection.     

The interaction of lexical and sublexical information in spelling: What's the point?

Most theories of spelling propose two major processes for translating between orthography and phonology: a lexical process for retrieving the spellings of familiar words and a sublexical process for assembling the spellings of unfamiliar letter strings based on knowledge of the systematic correspondences between phonemes and graphemes. We investigated how the lexical and sublexical processes function and interact in spelling by selectively interfering with the sublexical process in a dysgraphic individual. By comparing spelling performance under normal conditions and under conditions of sublexical disruption we were able to gain insight into the functioning and the unique contributions of the sublexical process. The results support the hypothesis that the sublexical process serves to strengthen a target word and provide it with a competitive advantage over orthographically and phonologically similar word neighbours that are in competition with the target for selection.     

The Organization of Sleep in Krushinskii–Molodkina Rats after Sleep Deprivation and Audiogenic Convulsive Seizures of Different Intensities

The organization of sleep after audiogenic paroxysmal seizures of different intensities induced in animals with a normal daily sleep-waking cycle was studied in Krushinskii–Molodkina rats, which have an inherited predisposition to audiogenic convulsions; sleep organization was also studied after 12-h deprivation of fast-wave sleep on a platform or 6-h total sleep deprivation by waking. In all these conditions, intense audiogenic seizures with clonic or clonic-tonic convulsions produced long-lasting and significant disorders of sleep organization in rats, expressed predominantly as impairments to the functional mechanisms triggering the fast-wave phase of sleep. While paroxysmal seizures evoked after experimental sleep deprivation consisted only of motor arousal without any clear signs of convulsions, this type of seizure could even to some extent promote the faster onset of recovery after deprivation and did not induce functional disorganization of the brain system responsible for triggering and maintaining fast-wave sleep.     

Where are the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Providers and Where are They Needed? A Geographic Assessment

Although it is widely acknowledged that there are not enough clinicians trained in either Behavioral Sleep Medicine (BSM) in general or in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) in specific, what is unclear is whether this problem is more acute in some regions relative to others. Accordingly, a geographic approach was taken to assess this issue. Using national directories as well as e-mail listservs (Behavioral Sleep Medicine group and Behavioral Treatment for Insomnia Roster), the present study evaluated geographic patterning of CBSM and BSM providers by city, state, and country. Overall, 88% of 752 BSM providers worldwide live in the United States (n = 659). Of these, 58% reside in 12 states with ≥ 20 providers (CA, NY, PA, IL, MA, TX, FL, OH, MI, MN, WA, and CO), and 19% reside in just 2 states (NY and CA). There were 4 states with no BSM providers (NH, HI, SD, and WY). Of the 167 U.S. cities with a population of > 150,000, 105 cities have no BSM providers. These results clearly suggest that a targeted effort is needed to train individuals in both the unserved and underserved areas.     

The role of estrogens in seizures and epilepsy: The bad guys or the good guys?

Estrogens influence neuronal activity and are important for normal brain functions. Effects of estrogens on seizures are contradictory. It is commonly accepted that estrogens may increase neuronal excitability and thus mediate proconvulsant effects. However, clinical and animal data show that estrogen may also have no effect or anticonvulsant effects. The action of estrogens on seizures depends on various factors, such as treatment duration and latency prior to the seizure testing, estrogen dose, hormonal status (naïve vs gonadectomized animals), estrogenic substance, the region/neurotransmitter system involved, the seizure type/model used, and sex.