Racial Differences in Self-Report of Mental Illness and Mental Illness Treatment in the Community: An Analysis of Jail Intake Data.

Jails and prisons in the United States house people with elevated rates of mental health and substance use disorders. The goal of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the frequency of racial/ethnic differences in the self-report of mental illness and psychiatric medication use at jail entry. Our sample included individuals who had been incarcerated between 2016 and 2020 at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction, located in Billerica, MA. We used data from the "Offender Management System," the administrative database used by the jail containing data on people who are incarcerated, and COREMR, the electronic medical record (EMR) used in the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction. We evaluated two primary outcomes (1) self-reported mental illness history and (2) self-reported use of psychiatric medication, with the primary indicator of interest as race/ethnicity. At intake, over half (57%) of the sample self-reported history of mental illness and 20% reported the use of psychiatric medications. Among people who self-reported a history of mental illness, Hispanic (AOR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.60-0.90), Black (AOR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.43-0.64), Asian/Pacific Islander (Non-Hispanic) people (AOR: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.13-0.74), and people from other racial/ethnic groups (AOR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.11-0.93) all had decreased odds of reporting psychiatric medications. Mental illness was reported in about one-half of people who entered jail, but only 20% reported receiving medications in the community prior to incarceration. Our findings build on the existing literature on jail-based mental illness and show racial disparities in self-report of psychiatric medications in people who self-reported mental illness. The timing, frequency, and equity of mental health services in both the community and the jail setting deserves further research, investment, and improvement.

Resolving 500 Years of Anthropogenic Impacts in a Mesotrophic Lake: Nutrients Outweigh Other Drivers of Lake Change.

Interactions among multiple stressors, legacies of past perturbations, and the lack of historical information make it difficult to determine the influence of individual anthropogenic impacts on lakes and separate them from natural ecosystem variability. In the present study, we coupled paleolimnological approaches, historical data, and ecological experiments to disentangle the impacts of multiple long-term stressors on lake ecosystem structure and function. We found that the lake structure and function remained resistant to the impacts of catchment deforestation and erosion, and the introduction of several exotic fish species. Changes in ecosystem structure and function were consistent, with nutrient enrichment being the primary driver of change. Significant and sustained changes in the lake diatom community structure (and their nutrient requirements), bacterial community function, and paleolimnological proxies of ecosystem function coincided with nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers in the catchment. The results highlight that the effects of increased nutrient inputs are much stronger than the influence of other, potentially significant, drivers of ecosystem change, and that the degree of nutrient impact can be underestimated by environmental monitoring due to its diffuse and accumulative nature. Delineating the effects of multiple anthropogenic drivers requires long-term records of both impacts and lake ecosystem change across multiple trophic levels.

Lake microbial communities are not resistant or resilient to repeated large-scale natural pulse disturbances.

Opportunities to study community-level responses to extreme natural pulse disturbances in unaltered ecosystems are rare. Lake sediment records that span thousands of years can contain well-resolved sediment pulses, triggered by earthquakes. These palaeorecords provide a means to study repeated pulse disturbances and processes of resistance (insensitivity to disturbance) and ecological resilience (capacity to regain structure, function and process). In this study, sedimentary DNA was extracted from a sediment core from Lake Paringa (New Zealand) that is situated in a near natural catchment. Metabarcoding and inferred functions were used to assess the lake microbial community over the past 1100 years - a period that included four major earthquakes. Microbial community composition and function differed significantly between highly perturbed (postseismic, ~50 years) phases directly after the earthquakes and more stable (interseismic, ~250 years) phases, indicating a lack of community resistance. Although community structure differed significantly in successive postseismic phases, function did not, suggesting potential functional redundancy. Significant differences in composition and function in successive interseismic phases demonstrate that communities are not resilient to large-scale natural pulse disturbances. The clear difference in structure and function, and high number of indicator taxa (responsible for driving differences in communities between phases) in the fourth interseismic phase probably represents a regime shift, possibly due to the two-fold increase in sediment and terrestrial biospheric organic carbon fluxes recorded following the fourth earthquake. Large pulse disturbances that enhance sediment inputs into lake systems may produce an underappreciated mechanism that destabilises lake ecosystem processes.

Health Data Disparities in Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths From 1999 to 2018 in the United States.

Objectives. To examine temporal trends in the classification of opioid-involved overdose deaths (OODs) and racial variation in the classification of specific types of opioids used. Methods. We analyzed OODs coded as other or unspecified narcotics from 1999 to 2018 in the United States using data from the National Vital Statistics System and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Results. The total proportion of OODs from unspecified narcotics decreased from 32.4% in 1999 to 1.9% in 2018. The proportion of OODs from unspecified narcotics among African American persons was approximately 2-fold greater than that of non-Hispanic White persons until 2012. Similarly, the proportion of OODs from unspecified narcotics among Hispanic persons was greater than that of White persons until 2015. After we controlled for death investigation system, African American persons had a higher incidence rate of OODs from unspecified narcotics compared with White persons. Conclusions. There have been significant improvements in the specification OODs over the past 20 years, and there has been significant racial disparity in the classification of OODs until about 2015. The findings suggest a health data disparity; the excessive misclassification of OODs is likely attributable to the race/ethnicity of the decedent.

Recent warming reduces the reproductive advantage of large size and contributes to evolutionary downsizing in nature.

Body size is a key functional trait that is predicted to decline under warming. Warming is known to cause size declines via phenotypic plasticity, but evolutionary responses of body size to warming are poorly understood. To test for warming-induced evolutionary responses of body size and growth rates, we used populations of mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) recently established (less than 100 years) from a common source across a strong thermal gradient (19-33°C) created by geothermal springs. Each spring is remarkably stable in temperature and is virtually closed to gene flow from other thermal environments. Field surveys show that with increasing site temperature, body size distributions become smaller and the reproductive advantage of larger body size decreases. After common rearing to reveal recently evolved trait differences, warmer-source populations expressed slowed juvenile growth rates and increased reproductive effort at small sizes. These results are consistent with an adaptive basis of the plastic temperature-size rule, and they suggest that temperature itself can drive the evolution of countergradient variation in growth rates. The rapid evolution of reduced juvenile growth rates and greater reproduction at a small size should contribute to substantial body downsizing in populations, with implications for population dynamics and for ecosystems in a warming world.

Prey adaptation along a competition-defense tradeoff cryptically shifts trophic cascades from density- to trait-mediated.

Trophic cascades have become a dominant paradigm in ecology, yet considerable debate remains about the relative strength of density- (consumptive) and trait-mediated (non-consumptive) effects in trophic cascades. This debate may, in part, be resolved by considering prey experience, which shapes prey traits (through genetic and plastic change) and influences prey survival (and therefore density). Here, we investigate the cascading role of prey experience through the addition of mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) from predator-experienced or predator-naïve sources to mesocosms containing piscivorous largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), zooplankton, and phytoplankton. These two sources were positioned along a competition-defense tradeoff. Results show that predator-naïve mosquitofish suffered higher depredation rates, which drove a density-mediated cascade, whereas predator-experienced mosquitofish exhibited higher survival but fed less, which drove a trait-mediated cascade. Both cascades were similar in strength, leading to indistinguishable top-down effects on lower trophic levels. Therefore, the accumulation of prey experience with predators can cryptically shift cascade mechanisms from density- to trait-mediated.

Local adaptation reduces the metabolic cost of environmental warming.

Metabolism shapes the ecosystem role of organisms by dictating their energy demand and nutrient recycling potential. Metabolic theory (MTE) predicts consumer metabolic and recycling rates will rise with warming, especially if body size declines, but it ignores potential for adaptation. We measured metabolic and nutrient excretion rates of individuals from populations of a globally invasive fish that colonized sites spanning a wide temperature range (19-37°C) on two continents within the last 100 yr. Fish body size declined across our temperature gradient and MTE predicted large rises in population energy demand and nutrient recycling. However, we found that the allometry and temperature dependency of metabolism varied in a countergradient pattern with local temperature in a way that offset predictions of MTE. Scaling of nutrient excretion was more variable and did not track temperature. Our results suggest that adaptation can reduce the metabolic cost of warming, increasing the prospects for population persistence under extreme warming scenarios.

Drivers of nitrogen transfer in stream food webs across continents.

Studies of trophic-level material and energy transfers are central to ecology. The use of isotopic tracers has now made it possible to measure trophic transfer efficiencies of important nutrients and to better understand how these materials move through food webs. We analyzed data from thirteen 15 N-ammonium tracer addition experiments to quantify N transfer from basal resources to animals in headwater streams with varying physical, chemical, and biological features. N transfer efficiencies from primary uptake compartments (PUCs; heterotrophic microorganisms and primary producers) to primary consumers was lower (mean 11.5%, range <1% to 43%) than N transfer efficiencies from primary consumers to predators (mean 80%, range 5% to >100%). Total N transferred (as a rate) was greater in streams with open compared to closed canopies and overall N transfer efficiency generally followed a similar pattern, although was not statistically significant. We used principal component analysis to condense a suite of site characteristics into two environmental components. Total N uptake rates among trophic levels were best predicted by the component that was correlated with latitude, DIN:SRP, GPP:ER, and percent canopy cover. N transfer efficiency did not respond consistently to environmental variables. Our results suggest that canopy cover influences N movement through stream food webs because light availability and primary production facilitate N transfer to higher trophic levels.

Population divergence in fish elemental phenotypes associated with trophic phenotypes and lake trophic state.

Studies of ecological stoichiometry typically emphasize the role of interspecific variation in body elemental content and the effects of species or family identity. Recent work suggests substantial variation in body stoichiometry can also exist within species. The importance of this variation will depend on insights into its origins and consequences at various ecological scales, including the distribution of elemental phenotypes across landscapes and their role in nutrient recycling. We investigated whether trophic divergence can produce predictable patterns of elemental phenotypes among populations of an invasive fish, the white perch (Morone americana), and whether elemental phenotypes predict nutrient excretion. White perch populations exhibited a gradient of trophic phenotypes associated with landscape-scale variation in lake trophic state. Perch body chemistry varied considerably among lakes (from 0.09 for % C to 0.31-fold for % P) casting doubt on the assumption of homogenous elemental phenotypes. This variation was correlated with divergence in fish body shape and other trophic traits. Elemental phenotypes covaried (r (2) up to 0.84) with lake trophic state. This covariation likely arose in contemporary time since many of these perch populations were introduced in the last century and the trophic state in many of the lakes has changed in the past few decades. Nutrient excretion varied extensively among populations, but was not readily related to fish body chemistry or lake trophic state. This suggests that predictable patterns of fish body composition can arise quickly through trophic specialization to lake conditions, but such elemental phenotypes may not translate to altered nutrient recycling by fish.

A systematic review of evidence on integrated management of psychiatric disorders in youth who use cannabis.

Given the risks to mental health associated with cannabis use in youth and the increase in cannabis legalization worldwide and in the U.S., there is a need to understand existing evidence-based approaches to integrated management of psychiatric disorders in youth who use cannabis. This systematic review aimed to appraise the current evidence on integrated treatment for adolescents and young adults with common psychiatric disorders who engage in regular cannabis use. A total of 989 studies were screened for inclusion. Study's titles and abstracts were screened and advanced to full text review for further screening by two independent reviewers. Thirty-five full-text articles were reviewed, with five articles ultimately meeting all criteria for inclusion. Five randomized controlled trials examined the effects of therapeutic interventions in youth with common psychiatric disorders who used cannabis, including two studies on depression, one on bipolar disorder, one on anxiety and one on PTSD were reviewed. No studies were considered high in risk of bias. Overall, there is a paucity of research on the treatment of comorbid adolescent mental health disorders and cannabis use, which limits the ability to draw evidence-based treatment recommendations.

Antiseptic management of critical wounds: differential bacterial response upon exposure to antiseptics and first insights into antiseptic/phage interactions.

BACKGROUND: With the antibiotic crisis, the topical antibacterial control including chronic wounds gains increasing importance. However, little is known regarding tolerance development when bacteria face repetitive exposure to the identical antiseptics as commonly found in clinical practice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clinical isolates foremost of chronic wounds were exposed in vitro to dilutions of two antiseptics used for wound therapy: polyhexanide or octenidine. Adaptive response was determined by growth/kill curves, minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), and whole genome sequencing. Antiseptic/bacteriophage combinations were studied by liquid-infection assays and bacterial plating. RESULTS: Polyhexanide acted stronger against Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis while octenidine was more potent against Staphylococcus aureus . Otherwise, the antiseptic efficacy varied across isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and Acinetobacter baumannii . Upon repetitive exposure with constant antiseptic concentrations P. aeruginosa and P. mirabilis adaptation was evident by a reduced lag-phase and a twofold increased MIC. Under increasing octenidine concentrations, P. aeruginosa adapted to an eightfold higher dosage with mutations in smvA , opgH , and kinB affecting an efflux pump, alginate and biofilm formation, respectively. S. aureus adapted to a fourfold increase of polyhexanide with a mutation in the multiple peptide resistance factor MprF, also conferring cross-resistance to daptomycin. Antiseptic/bacteriophage combinations enhanced bacterial inhibition and delayed adaptation. CONCLUSION: Different bacterial species/strains respond unequally to low-level antiseptic concentrations. Bacterial adaptation potential at phenotypic and genotypic levels may indicate the necessity for a more nuanced selection of antiseptics. Bacteriophages represent a promising yet underexplored strategy for supporting antiseptic treatment, which may be particularly beneficial for the management of critical wounds.

Neuroendocrine phenotype alteration and growth suppression through apoptosis by MK-2206, an allosteric inhibitor of AKT, in carcinoid cell lines in vitro.

Carcinoids are neuroendocrine malignancies characterized by their overproduction of various bioactive hormones that lead to the carcinoid syndrome. We have shown previously that AKT serves as a key regulator of growth and phenotypic expression of tumor markers in carcinoids by the genetic depletion of AKT expression. However, no small-molecule inhibitor of AKT kinase activity has been developed until recently. MK-2206, a novel allosteric inhibitor of AKT, is currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors. In this study, we explored the effect of MK-2206 on carcinoid cell proliferation and bioactive hormone production in vitro in two carcinoid cell lines - pancreatic carcinoid BON and bronchopulmonary H727. Treatment with MK-2206 effectively suppressed AKT phosphorylation at serine 473 and significantly reduced cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Most importantly, MK-2206 treatment resulted in a significant reduction in ASCL1, CgA, and NSE expression, collectively recognized as markers of neuroendocrine tumor malignancy. Furthermore, MK-2206-treated cells showed an increase in levels of cleaved PARP and cleaved caspase-3, with a concomitant reduction in levels of Mcl-1 and XIAP, indicating that the antiproliferative effect of MK-2206 occurs through the induction of apoptosis. In conclusion, MK-2206 suppresses carcinoid tumor growth, and alters its neuroendocrine phenotype, indicating that this drug may be beneficial for patients with carcinoid syndrome. These studies merit further clinical investigation.

Multigenerational exposure to increased temperature reduces metabolic rate but increases boldness in Gambusia affinis.

Acute exposure to warming temperatures increases minimum energetic requirements in ectotherms. However, over and within multiple generations, increased temperatures may cause plastic and evolved changes that modify the temperature sensitivity of energy demand and alter individual behaviors. Here, we aimed to test whether populations recently exposed to geothermally elevated temperatures express an altered temperature sensitivity of metabolism and behavior. We expected that long-term exposure to warming would moderate metabolic rate, reducing the temperature sensitivity of metabolism, with concomitant reductions in boldness and activity. We compared the temperature sensitivity of metabolic rate (acclimation at 20 vs. 30°C) and allometric slopes of routine, standard, and maximum metabolic rates, in addition to boldness and activity behaviors, across eight recently divergent populations of a widespread fish species (Gambusia affinis). Our data reveal that warm-source populations express a reduced temperature sensitivity of metabolism, with relatively high metabolic rates at cool acclimation temperatures and relatively low metabolic rates at warm acclimation temperatures compared to ambient-source populations. Allometric scaling of metabolism did not differ with thermal history. Across individuals from all populations combined, higher metabolic rates were associated with higher activity rates at 20°C and bolder behavior at 30°C. However, warm-source populations displayed relatively bolder behavior at both acclimation temperatures compared to ambient-source populations, despite their relatively low metabolic rates at warm acclimation temperatures. Overall, our data suggest that in response to warming, multigenerational exposure (e.g., plasticity, adaptation) may not result in trait change directed along a simple "pace-of-life syndrome" axis, instead causing relative decreases in metabolism and increases in boldness. Ultimately, our data suggest that multigenerational warming may produce a novel combination of physiological and behavioral traits, with consequences for animal performance in a warming world.

Adolescent Substance Use Disorders.

Adolescent Substance Use DisordersSubstance use disorders contribute to the leading causes of death among adolescents, including homicide and suicide. Here, Simon et al. review the most recent published data on adolescent substance use disorders and the implications for clinical practice.

Disentangling the influence of microplastics and their chemical additives on a model detritivore system.

Microplastics (MPs) can negatively impact freshwater organisms via physical effects of the polymer itself and/or exposure to chemicals added to plastic during production to achieve desired characteristics. Effects on organisms may result from direct exposure to plastic particles and/or chemical additives or effects may manifest as indirect effects through ecological interactions between organisms (e.g., reduced food availability that impairs a consumer). To disentangle these issues, we used a simplified freshwater food web interaction comprising microbes and macroinvertebrate detritivores to evaluate the toxicity of 1) polyvinyl chloride (PVC) MPs without added chemicals (virgin), 2) the common chemical additive dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and 3) PVC MPs with incorporated DBP. Exposure to virgin PVC MPs (0.33 and 3.3 mg/L) caused negligible ecological effect with the exception of reduced macroinvertebrate feeding rates at 3.3 mg/L. Exposure to DBP (1 mg/L) both individually and when incorporated into the PVC MPs negatively impacted all tested endpoints, including microbial and macroinvertebrate respiration, feeding rate and assimilation efficiency. DBP leached rapidly from the MPs into the water, and also accumulated in macroinvertebrates and their food, providing multiple routes of exposure. Our findings suggest that additives which are intentionally incorporated into MPs could play a key role in MP toxicity and contribute to the disruption of key ecological interactions underpinning ecosystem processes, such as leaf litter decomposition.

Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety Among Black Medical Students: the Role of Peer Connectedness and Perceived Discrimination.

This study examined the association between discrimination, peer connectedness, and mental health symptoms among Black medical students. Data were collected from a convenience sample of Black medical students via an anonymous electronic questionnaire (n = 733) in year 2020. The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Depression and Anxiety forms were used to measure depression and anxiety symptoms. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the association between discrimination, peer connectedness, and mental health symptoms (Mplus 7.3). The majority of the participants were female (80%), approximately 40% were third or fourth year medical school students, and 13% had a clinical diagnosis of depression/anxiety before medical school. About half of the students reported being watched more closely than their classmates, and 66% reported feeling the need to work twice as hard as others to get the same treatment or evaluation. The majority of students reported that their peers were supportive of their academic success (60.7%), and 53% reported that students often or always invited them to social outings. The mean T-score for depressive symptoms was 53.6 (SD = 7.8), and the mean T-score for anxiety symptoms was 58.6 (SD = 8.4). Overall, findings indicated a high prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms among Black medical students, and increased discrimination was associated with more mental health symptoms among males. Additionally, increased peer connectedness was associated with fewer symptoms of anxiety among males and females and fewer depressive symptoms among females. Addressing discrimination among medical students may improve mental health among Black medical students.

Experiences and Perspectives on Stressors and Organizational Strategies to Bolster Resiliency During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study of Health Care Workers at a Tertiary Medical Center.

OBJECTIVE: This qualitative study included a sample of health care workers (HCWs) at a tertiary care center providing direct care to patients with COVID-19 to explore experiences and perceptions regarding care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as factors that helped HCWs cope with the challenges of the pandemic. Methods: Grounded theory methodology was used to conduct virtual focus groups with a semistructured interview guide May to June 2020. Results: We identified major themes related to (1) HCWs' emotions during the pandemic, (2) the perceived triggers of these feelings, (3) organizational factors that made HCWs feel more supported and appreciated, and (4) personal factors that helped HCWs cope with the pandemic. Conclusion: Results highlighted the stress and challenges associated with exposure to SARS-CoV-2. The findings can help inform interventions to support HCWs during pandemics and other crises.