Impact of stress reduction on negative school behavior in adolescents

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of stress reduction via the Transcendental Meditation program on school rule infractions in adolescents. METHODS: Forty-five African American adolescents (ages 15–18 years) with high normal systolic blood pressure were randomly assigned to either Transcendental Meditation (n = 25) or health education control (n = 20) groups. The meditation group engaged in 15-min sessions at home and at school each day for 4 months. The control group was presented 15-min sessions of health education at school each day for 4 months. Primary outcome measures were changes in absenteeism, school rule infractions and suspension days during the four-month pretest period prior to randomization compared with the four-month intervention period. RESULTS: Comparing the pretest and intervention periods, the meditation group exhibited a mean decrease of 6.4 absentee periods compared to an increase of 4.8 in the control group (p < .05). The meditation group exhibited a mean decrease of 0.1 infractions over the four months compared to an increase of 0.3 in the control group (p < .03). There was a mean reduction of 0.3 suspension days due to behavior-related problems in the meditation group compared to an increase of 1.2 in the control group (p < .04). CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate that the Transcendental Meditation program conducted in the school setting has a beneficial impact upon absenteeism, rule infractions, and suspension rates in African American adolescents

Mapping Developmental Precursors of Cyber-Aggression: Trajectories of Risk Predict Perpetration and Victimization

Technologically mediated contexts are social arenas in which adolescents can be both perpetrators and victims of aggression. Yet, there remains little understanding of the developmental etiology of cyber aggression, itself, as experienced by either perpetrators or victims. The current study examines 3-year latent within-person trajectories of known correlates of cyber-aggression: problem behavior, (low) self-esteem, and depressed mood, in a large and diverse sample of youth (N = 1,364; 54.6 % female; 12–14 years old at T1). Findings demonstrate that developmental increases in problem behavior across grades 8–10 predict both cyber-perpetration and victimization in grade 11. Developmental decreases in self-esteem also predicted both grade 11 perpetration and victimization. Finally, early depressed mood predicted both perpetration and victimization later on, regardless of developmental change in depressed mood in the interim. Our results reveal a clear link between risky developmental trajectories across the early high school years and later cyber-aggression and imply that mitigating trajectories of risk early on may lead to decreases in cyber-aggression at a later date

Molecular profiling of experimental endometriosis identified gene expression patterns in common with human disease

OBJECTIVE: To validate a rat model of endometriosis using cDNA microarrays by identifying common gene expression patterns beween experimental and natural disease. DESIGN: Autotransplantation rat model. SETTING: Medical school department. ANIMALS: Female Sprague-Dawley rats. INTERVENTIONS: Endometriosis was surgically-induced by suturing uterine horn implants next to the small intestine’s mesentery. Control rats received sutures with no implants. After 60 days, endometriotic implants and uterine horn were obtained. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Gene expression levels determined by cDNA microarrays and QRT-PCR. METHODS: Cy5-labeled cDNA was synthesized from total RNA obtained from endometriotic implants. Cy3-labeled cDNA was synthesized using uterine RNA from a control rat. Gene expression levels were analyzed after hybridizing experimental and control labeled cDNA to PIQOR(™) Toxicology Rat Microarrays (Miltenyi Biotec) containing 1,252 known genes. Cy5/Cy3 ratios were determined and genes with >2-fold higher or <0.5-fold lower expression levels were selected. Microarray results were validated by QRT-PCR. RESULTS: We observed differential expression of genes previously shown to be upregulated in patients, including growth factors, inflammatory cytokines/receptors, tumor invasion/metastasis factors, adhesion molecules, and anti-apoptotic factors. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents evidence in support of using this rat model to study the natural history of endometriosis and test novel therapeutics for this incurable disease

“You know, it feels like you can trust them”: mixed methods implementation research to inform the scale up of a health disparities-responsive COVID-19 school testing program

Abstract Background Health disparities lead to negative COVID-19 outcomes for Hispanic/Latino communities. Rapid antigen testing was an important mitigation tool for protecting schools and their communities as in-person learning resumed. Within the context of a 3-middle-school non-inferiority trial we assessed acceptability and appropriateness of at-home and school-based COVID-19 antigen testing and implementation barriers and facilitators to facilitate district-wide scale up. Methods Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and acceptability and appropriateness implementation outcomes, we collected post-implementation qualitative (n = 30) and quantitative (n = 454) data in English and Spanish from trial participants, in-depth feedback sessions among program implementers (n = 19) and coded 137 project meeting minutes. Verbatim transcripts were thematically analyzed. We used multivariate linear models to evaluate program acceptability and appropriateness by COVID-19 testing modality and mixed qualitative and quantitative findings for interpretation. Results Questionnaire respondents closely matched school demographics (> 80% Hispanic/Latino and 8% Filipino/Asian Pacific Islander). While both testing modalities were rated as highly acceptable and appropriate, at-home testing was consistently favorable. Qualitative findings provided actionable areas for at-home testing program refinement, guiding district-wide scale up including: maintaining a learning climate to accommodate modifications as guidelines changed, needs of the school community, and implementation challenges; ensuring an engaged school leadership and sufficient human resources; improving educational communication about COVID-19 and technology ease of use; and increased time for pre-implementation planning and engagement. Conclusions Results underscore the value of the CFIR to inform program implementation, particularly programs to reduce disparities during a public health emergency. Results support optimal testing implementation strategies centering the needs and perspectives of Hispanic/Latinos

Distribution of influenza virus types by age using case-based global surveillance data from twenty-nine countries, 1999-2014

Background: Influenza disease burden varies by age and this has important public health implications. We compared the proportional distribution of different influenza virus types within age strata using surveillance data from twenty-nine countries during 1999-2014 (N=358,796 influenza cases)

The epidemiological signature of influenza B virus and its B/Victoria and B/Yamagata lineages in the 21st century

We describe the epidemiological characteristics, pattern of circulation, and geographical distribution of influenza B viruses and its lineages using data from the Global Influenza B Study. We included over 1.8 million influenza cases occurred in thirty-one countries during 2000-2018. We calculated the proportion of cases caused by influenza B and its lineages; determined the timing of influenza A and B epidemics; compared the age distribution of B/Victoria and B/Yamagata cases; and evaluated the frequency of lineage-level mismatch for the trivalent vaccine. The median proportion of influenza cases caused by influenza B virus was 23.4%, with a tendency (borderline statistical significance, p = 0.060) to be higher in tropical vs. temperate countries. Influenza B was the dominant virus type in about one every seven seasons. In temperate countries, influenza B epidemics occurred on average three weeks later than influenza A epidemics; no consistent pattern emerged in the tropics. The two B lineages caused a comparable proportion of influenza B cases globally, however the B/Yamagata was more frequent in temperate countries, and the B/Victoria in the tropics (p = 0.048). B/Yamagata patients were significantly older than B/Victoria patients in almost all countries. A lineage-level vaccine mismatch was observed in over 40% of seasons in temperate countries and in 30% of seasons in the tropics. The type B virus caused a substantial proportion of influenza infections globally in the 21st century, and its two virus lineages differed in terms of age and geographical distribution of patients. These findings will help inform health policy decisions aiming to reduce disease burden associated with seasonal influenza