Who shall be served? Issues in screening for emotional and behavioral problems in school

Journal of Prevention - The major issues involved in the design and implementation of effective school screening programs are addressed, using data from a longitudinal study following over 500...     

From the Cover: Science in support of the Deepwater Horizon response

This introduction to the Special Feature presents the context for science during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response, summarizes how scientific knowledge was integrated across disciplines and statutory responsibilities, identifies areas where scientific information was accurate and where it was not, and considers lessons learned and recommendations for future research and response. Scientific information was integrated within and across federal and state agencies, with input from nongovernmental scientists, across a diverse portfolio of needs—stopping the flow of oil, estimating the amount of oil, capturing and recovering the oil, tracking and forecasting surface oil, protecting coastal and oceanic wildlife and habitat, managing fisheries, and protecting the safety of seafood. Disciplines involved included atmospheric, oceanographic, biogeochemical, ecological, health, biological, and chemical sciences, physics, geology, and mechanical and chemical engineering. Platforms ranged from satellites and planes to ships, buoys, gliders, and remotely operated vehicles to laboratories and computer simulations. The unprecedented response effort depended directly on intense and extensive scientific and engineering data, information, and advice. Many valuable lessons were learned that should be applied to future events.     

Autoantibodies to heat shock protein 90 in the human natural antibody repertoire

The present study demonstrates the presence of natural autoantibodies of the IgG isotype directed against heat shock protein 90 (HSP90). The binding properties of affinity-purified anti-HSP antibodies were compared with those of natural antibodies specific for other self antigens, including anti-thyroglobulin and anti-myoglobin autoantibodies, by using semiquantitative immunoblotting, with solubilized proteins from normal liver tissue as antigens, and cross-blot analysis using purified self proteins. Affinity-purified anti-HSP90 antibodies were polyreactive and the non-HSP90-specific fraction of normal IgG was depleted in its natural autoantibody content. We further observed that self antigens including HSP, myosin, tubulin and aldolase with highly conserved structures show similar patterns of binding with natural antibodies, and form a well-defined cluster as demonstrated by cluster analysis of immunoreactivity data, whereas the less-conserved self and non-self antigens remained unclustered. The results favor the hypothesis that HSP90 belongs to a subset of highly conserved and immunodominant self antigens that are the primary target for natural autoantibodies in normal human IgG.     

Status epilepticus induces a TrkB to p75 neurotrophin receptor switch and increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor interaction with p75 neurotrophin receptor: an initial event in neuronal injury induction

In neuronal cultures it has been demonstrated that neurotrophins can elicit neuronal death through the p75 neurotrophic receptor (p75ntr) in the absence of concomitant Trk signaling. However, it was suggested that p75ntr induces neuronal death after status epilepticus (SE) in neuronal populations that express relatively high quantities of tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB). Here, using Western blot and immunohistochemistry analyses in the hippocampus, we found that 3-h SE caused a remarkable decrease in TrkB expression and phosphorylation, and a significant increase in p75ntr. TrkB modification occurs before the overexpression of the tumor suppressor protein p53, accompanies the cell damage taking place in the dentate gyrus, and precedes the CA1 neuronal injury as assessed by Fluoro-Jade B and Nissl staining. Co-immunoprecipitation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) or its immature form proBDNF showed increased interaction with p75ntr after its binding to TrkB was reduced. Interestingly, proBDNF also increases its binding with p75ntr after seizures that do not cause neuronal death (animals injected with pilocarpine that fail to enter SE). However, in those animals, TrkB protein levels remained unchanged and its phosphorylation increased. Our results indicate an intrinsic capacity of neurons in vivo to modify final neurotrophin output by changing the proportion of their receptors' expression and the receptors' interaction with their ligands. These early events support the idea that neurotrophins may be involved in the induction of neuronal death in vivo under pathological conditions.     

Social Capital,Perceived Economic Affluence,and Smoking During Adolescence: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Smoking is among the health risk behaviors taken up by many adolescents with lifelong consequences and associations with multiple health risk behaviors. Smoking and smoking initiation in adolescence involves an interaction between micro-, meso-, and macro systems, including neighborhoods and the greater community. Objectives: To examine the associations of individual social and economic capital with self-reported health, life satisfaction, and smoking behavior in adolescents. Methods: Using a multistage random sampling of junior high school students (16–18 years old) in Crete, Greece, 703 adolescents (90.2% 16 years old; 55.6% girls, participation rate 84.2%) completed an anonymous questionnaire based on HBSC study and the Youth Social Capital Scale (YSCS) during April–June 2008. Multiple logistic regression models were performed adjusted for potential confounders. Results: Adolescents with high participation in their neighborhoods and communities (higher structural social capital) displayed lower odds for daily smoking; those feeling unsafe (lower cognitive social capital) were at greater odds of daily smoking. Adolescents with less friends and acquaintances had lower odds of having tried tobacco products. Smoking was not related to any economic capital variables (perceived affluence, paternal and maternal employment status). Adolescents with low/medium versus high total social capital were at higher odds for low life satisfaction and fair/bad versus excellent self-rated health. Conclusions/Importance: Social capital theory may provide a better understanding in identifying the social context that is protective or harmful to adolescents' smoking. Public health organizations at all levels need to incorporate social capital theory in their interventions.     

Multiple behavioral risk factors for chronic diseases in adults aged 50+: regional differences across eleven European countries

Aim

The aim of this study was to estimate the differences in prevalence of multiple behavioral risk factors (MBRFs) for chronic diseases in European adults, from eleven North, Central and South European countries.

Subjects and methods

We used data from 26,656 adults, aged 50+ years, participating in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004/05). Physical inactivity, high body weight, smoking and risky alcohol consumption were assessed and estimated based on sampling weights, controlling for socioeconomic characteristics.

Results

53.4 % of adults had 2+ MBRFs. Prevalence in the total sample was highest for physical inactivity (71.2 %) and lowest for smoking (18.1 %). The cluster of high body weight and physical inactivity had the highest prevalence of MBRFs (35.4 %), with higher prevalence in Southern Europe (p?<?0.05). Smoking and alcohol consumption presented the greatest degree of clustering (observed to expected ratio?=?2.44). Spain and Greece had the highest prevalence of clustering 2+ MBRFs, whereas Southern European countries had a higher mean number of MBRFs, compared to North and Central European regions (p?<?0.05).

Conclusion

Prevalence of MBRFs varied between countries, with Southern European countries engaging in more risky behaviors. Primary prevention programmes should be developed to reduce MBRFs in this population.     

Otolith fibers and terminals in chick vestibular nuclei

The distribution of gravity-sensing, otolith afferent fibers and terminals was studied in the vestibular nuclei of 4-5-day hatchling chicks by using single and double labeling of fibers and terminals with biocytin conjugated to Alexa Fluor and confocal imaging. The vestibular nuclei are represented in a series of five transverse sections of the brainstem immunolabeled with MAP2. Saccular fibers entered the medulla posterior to and at the level of the posterior tangential vestibular nucleus and coursed through ventral parts, producing ascending and descending branches. Small saccular terminals contacted a few dendrites in the tangential nucleus. In contrast, small saccular terminals contacted many dendrites and a few neuron cell bodies in the ventrolateral vestibular nucleus, vestibulocerebellar nucleus, and descending vestibular nuclei. Utricular fibers coursed through ventral parts of the central tangential nucleus before bifurcating into ascending and descending branches. In the tangential nucleus, utricular fibers formed a few large axosomatic terminals (spoon terminals) and a few small terminals on dendrites. In addition, small utricular terminals contacted numerous dendrites and a few neuron cell bodies in the ventrolateral, vestibulocerebellar, and descending vestibular nuclei. Thus, there was negligible overlap in the distribution of the otolith nerves, although each otolith afferent shared common regions with the canal afferents, previously shown, suggesting that some second-order vestibular neurons process convergent inputs from otolith and canal afferents. Taken together with previous results, the present findings identify discrete regions of the chick vestibular nuclei where second-order vestibular neurons likely process directly convergent otolith and canal inputs.     

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Complex Post-traumatic Stress in Pregnant Teens: A Pilot Study

Maternal and Child Health Journal - Pregnant teens are seen as a group at risk, yet one area that remains understudied is the impact of trauma on their mental health, maternal fetal attachment and...     

Relationship between sonographic parameters and YKL-40 levels in rheumatoid arthritis

YKL-40, also known as human cartilage glycoprotein 39, is a member of the “mammalian chitinase-like proteins” family without chitinase activity. Increased serum concentrations are associated with inflammatory processes and several types of cancer. In this study, we evaluated YKL-40 levels in serum and synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in comparison with the ultrasonographic findings. YKL-40 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 25 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis and in 40 healthy subjects. B mode and power Doppler were performed to determine synovial thickening and vascularization. Serum YKL-40 level in patients was significantly higher than the concentration in healthy controls (P < 0.01). In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the level of the glycoprotein in synovial fluid was remarkably elevated compared to the serum level (P = 0.003). The B mode and power Doppler scores correlated to YKL-40 in serum and synovial fluid (P = 0.07). Serum YKL-40 levels were related positively to serum markers of inflammation such as C-reactive protein (P = 0.004) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P = 0.003). This study is the first to demonstrate a relationship between YKL-40 levels and ultrasonographic examinations in Bulgarian patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The findings suggest that YKL-40 might be implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease and could indicate the level of joint inflammation.     

Peptide mimotopes as prototypic templates of broad-spectrum surrogates of carbohydrate antigens for cancer vaccination

Mechanisms of broad cross-protection, as seen in viral infection and also applied to vaccines, emphasize preexisting antibodies, CD8+ memory T cells, and accelerated B-cell responses reactive with conserved regions in antigens. Another practical application to induce broad-spectrum responses is making use of multispecific antigen recognition by antibodies and T cells. Antibody polyreactivity can be related to the capacity of the antigen-combining site to accommodate a number of different small epitopes or to attain different conformations. A better understanding of the functionality of molecular interactions with graded specificity might help the design of polyreactive immunogens inducing antibody responses to a predefined set of target antigens. We have found this approach useful in targeting tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens in cancer vaccine development. Using combinatorial libraries and pharmacophore design principles, carbohydrate mimetic peptides were created that not only induce antibodies with multiple specificities, but also cellular responses that inhibit tumor growth in vivo.