Brown University

Introduction Suicide is a Latinx leading cause of death. A deeper understanding of the cultural factors that can inform suicide prevention efforts among specific Latinx subgroups, such as Puerto Ricans, is needed. This study aimed to explore the cultural values and beliefs of Puerto Rican adults pertaining to suicide and its prevention. Methodology The Ethnonursing Research Method, a qualitative approach, was used for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom with 27 Puerto Rican adults in the U.S. Southwest. Data were analyzed using Leininger’s four phases of data analysis. Results Three major themes were abstracted: (a) family should play a central role in suicide prevention, (b) a concern for what people will say or think can influence help-seeking, and (c) suicide prevention includes the provision of care that fosters confianza (relational trust, safe space). Discussion Culture care values, such as confianza and familismo, must inform suicide prevention efforts and stigma campaigns targeting Puerto Rican communities in the U.S. mainland.

Highly visual social media (SM) provide novel opportunities for adolescents’ exposure to idealized appearance content. This chapter outlines the current literature regarding adolescents’ SM use, body image concerns, and disordered eating. Our focus is on the broad spectrum of body image concerns and disordered eating, rather than clinical disorders. Recent research has suggested that SM may lead adolescents and young adults to engage in frequent upward social comparisons with attractive peers, celebrities, and “influencers” and to internalize appearance ideals, leading to body image concerns (e.g., body dissatisfaction, self-objectification) and disordered eating (e.g., caloric restriction). Highly visual SM also present unique opportunities for presenting an idealized version of oneself, which aligns with key self-presentational goals during this developmental period, and which may lead to preoccupation with one’s online appearance. Although research has primarily focused on young women, initial findings suggest that online appearance concerns are relevant for young men’s body dissatisfaction and disordered eating as well. Most research has been conducted in Anglophone, industrialized countries, with little attention to culturally relevant appearance concerns specific to adolescents of color, LGBTQ+ youth, or adolescents in the Global South. We provide a call for future research priorities as well as recommendations relevant for clinicians, parents, and policymakers.

Adolescents are immersed in digital technologies, raising concerns among parents, teachers, scholars, and policymakers on how use may be affecting adolescent development. The affordances of digital technologies bear special relevance to declines in self-esteem and body image perceptions that occur during adolescence. One element of digital technologies that may be especially relevant for self-esteem and body image is the occurrence of digital cruelty, in which digital technologies can be used to transmit and reflect negative or hurtful commentary and feedback. This review considers how digital cruelty may unfold in digital spaces and how it may relate to self-esteem and body image concerns, with special attention given to how digital cruelty may occur in the appearance domain. Past research has demonstrated that appearance-oriented digital cruelty may be rare, heterogeneous in how it occurs, and not always linked to poorer self-esteem and greater body image concerns. However, much work is to be done that considers the nuances of how digital cruelty can occur and the individual differences and contexts in which negative effects may manifest. We discuss areas of future research and conclude with recommendations on how to combat digital cruelty as it occurs among adolescents.

The prevalence of anxiety disorders among youth has increased over the last decade. At the same time, the use of screens including smartphones and social media has become ubiquitous. The ways in which screen media use may either exacerbate or alleviate symptoms of anxiety remain an area of ongoing research. Increasingly, studies are suggesting that the impact of screen media use on anxiety symptoms, and vice versa, is influenced by how these technologies are used, as well as the individual characteristics of the youth using them. This chapter briefly summarizes the current literature on anxiety and screen media use among the youth, offers recommendations for clinical providers and parents/caregivers for supporting their healthy screen habits, and outlines future research directions.

The molecular mechanism by which inborn errors of the human RNA lariat–debranching enzyme 1 (DBR1) underlie brainstem viral encephalitis is unknown. We show here that the accumulation of RNA lariats in human DBR1-deficient cells interferes with stress granule (SG) assembly, promoting the proteasome degradation of at least G3BP1 and G3BP2, two key components of SGs. In turn, impaired assembly of SGs, which normally recruit PKR, impairs PKR activation and activity against viruses, including HSV-1. Remarkably, the genetic ablation of PKR abolishes the corresponding antiviral effect of DBR1 in vitro. We also show that Dbr1Y17H/Y17H mice are susceptible to similar viral infections in vivo. Moreover, cells and brain samples from Dbr1Y17H/Y17H mice exhibit decreased G3BP1/2 expression and PKR phosphorylation. Thus, the debranching of RNA lariats by DBR1 permits G3BP1/2- and SG assembly-mediated PKR activation and cell-intrinsic antiviral immunity in mice and humans. DBR1-deficient patients are prone to viral disease because of intracellular lariat accumulation, which impairs G3BP1/2- and SG assembly-dependent PKR activation.

Background Over the past several years, there have been several changes affecting the available options for oral HIV preexposure prophylaxis, including approvals for tenofovir alafenamide with emtricitabine in 2019 and a generic formulation of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate with emtricitabine in 2020. Methods In order to better understand providers’ decision-making processes when deciding between these two drugs for pre-exposure prophylaxis, we conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with resident, fellow and attending physicians in internal medicine and infectious diseases between May 2020 and March 2021. These interviews were analyzed to identify emergent codes, which were utilized in an inductive thematic analysis to identify major themes pertinent to pre-exposure prophylaxis decision-making. Results Of 21 participants, 18 expressed a general preference for prescribing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate with emtricitabine, 2 preferred tenofovir alafenamide with emtricitabine and 1 had no specific preference. Providers perceived similar efficacy of the two formulations, and their clinical decisions were influenced primarily by whether HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis users belonged to a population with an indication for each of the two drugs (e.g. gender-related restrictions for tenofovir alafenamide), the medications’ differing side effect profiles, cost and insurance considerations, prior personal and collective experience with each of these medications, and personal preferences. Respondents also noted that both providers and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis users were influenced by external factors, including institutional prescribing guidance, advertising, and social influences, including from peers and colleagues. Conclusions Our findings suggest that unbiased educational campaigns for both prescribers and users of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis will be important to support evidence-based prescribing practices and cost-effective decisions among oral pre-exposure prophylaxis options.

Behavioral testing is an essential tool for evaluating cognitive function and dysfunction in preclinical research models. This is of special importance in the study of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. However, the reproducibility of classic behavioral assays is frequently compromised by interstudy variation, leading to ambiguous conclusions about the behavioral markers characterizing the disease. Here, we identify age- and genotype-driven differences between 3xTg-AD and non-transgenic control mice using a low-cost, highly customizable behavioral assay that requires little human intervention. Through behavioral phenotyping combining both supervised and unsupervised behavioral classification methods, we are able to validate the preventative effects of the immunosuppressant cyclosporine A in a rodent model of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as the partially ameliorating effects of candidate drugs nebivolol and cabozantinib.

The Europa Imaging System (EIS) consists of a Narrow-Angle Camera (NAC) and a Wide-Angle Camera (WAC) that are designed to work together to address high-priority science objectives regarding Europa’s geology, composition, and the nature of its ice shell. EIS accommodates variable geometry and illumination during rapid, low-altitude flybys with both framing and pushbroom imaging capability using rapid-readout, 8-megapixel (4k × 2k) detectors. Color observations are acquired using pushbroom imaging with up to six broadband filters. The data processing units (DPUs) perform digital time delay integration (TDI) to enhance signal-to-noise ratios and use readout strategies to measure and correct spacecraft jitter. The NAC has a 2.3° × 1.2° field of view (FOV) with a 10-μrad instantaneous FOV (IFOV), thus achieving 0.5-m pixel scale over a swath that is 2 km wide and several km long from a range of 50 km. The NAC is mounted on a 2-axis gimbal, ±30° cross- and along-track, that enables independent targeting and near-global (≥90%) mapping of Europa at ≤100-m pixel scale (to date, only ∼15% of Europa has been imaged at ≤900 m/pixel), as well as stereo imaging from as close as 50-km altitude to generate digital terrain models (DTMs) with ≤4-m ground sample distance (GSD) and ≤0.5-m vertical precision. The NAC will also perform observations at long range to search for potential erupting plumes, achieving 10-km pixel scale at a distance of one million kilometers. The WAC has a 48° × 24° FOV with a 218-μrad IFOV, achieving 11-m pixel scale at the center of a 44-km-wide swath from a range of 50 km, and generating DTMs with 32-m GSD and ≤4-m vertical precision. The WAC is designed to acquire three-line pushbroom stereo and color swaths along flyby ground-tracks.

Taylor K, Eastwood S, Walker V, et al. Incidence of diabetes after SARS-CoV-2 infection in England and the implications of COVID-19 vaccination: a retrospective cohort study of 16 million people. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2024;12:558-568. 39054034.

Purpose To summarize advances in research on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of Kawasaki Disease (KD), a systemic inflammatory illness of unknown etiology that affects children globally. Recent Findings The epidemiology of KD was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and advances in molecular immunology and machine learning have enabled research into its pathogenesis. There is ongoing research into agents that can be used to intensify initial treatment and accumulating evidence supporting the use of certain rescue regimens for refractory disease over others. There is promise surrounding a new coronary artery aneurysm prediction model. Research into the post-acute morbidity of KD continues. Summary The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily reduced the incidence of KD. The NLRP3 inflammasome plays a key role in KD pathogenesis. Intensified initial treatment benefits high-risk patients, yet no intensification regimen shows superiority over another. Corticosteroids, infliximab, or combination therapy with IVIg plus another agent may be superior rescue regimens compared to IVIg alone for refractory KD. The Son score, developed in North America, predicted coronary artery lesions in Japanese and Italian cohorts. Patients with a history of KD may carry long-term physical and emotional burdens that persist into adulthood yet appear to have typical neurocognitive development. Successful transition to adult healthcare presents a challenge.