Mutual pathways between peer and own e-cigarette use among youth in the United States: a cross-lagged model.

BACKGROUND: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have become the most common tobacco product used among adolescents in the United States (US). Prior research has shown that peer e-cigarette use was associated with increased risk of own e-cigarette use. Nonetheless, there is little empirical evidence on the directionality of these associations-if peer use predicts own use (peer influence) or if own use predicts peer use (peer selection). METHODS: We estimated the association between peer and own e-cigarette use among US adolescents 12-17 years of age. We used the cross-lagged model to investigate the mutual relationship between peer and own e-cigarette use over time using data from a population-based longitudinal study, Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health. Stratified analyses were conducted by sex and age subgroups. RESULTS: Results from a cross-lagged model showed a statistically significant predicting path leading from peer use at the prior time point to own use at the following time point, but not vice versa. CONCLUSIONS: We found strong relationships between peer e-cigarette use and own e-cigarette use at within-individual levels. Peer influence paths were more robust than peer selection paths for e-cigarette use. Incorporating peers into prevention and intervention programs may help enhance these strategies.

Social Preference in Preschoolers: Effects of Morphological Self-Similarity and Familiarity.

Adults prefer to interact with others that are similar to themselves. Even slight facial self-resemblance can elicit trust towards strangers. Here we investigate if preschoolers at the age of 5 years already use facial self-resemblance when they make social judgments about others. We found that, in the absence of any additional knowledge about prospective peers, children preferred those who look subtly like themselves over complete strangers. Thus, subtle morphological similarities trigger social preferences well before adulthood.

Sleep disturbances and suicidality: a common association to look for in clinical practise and preventive care.

Suicidality and suicide has been associated with many risk factors, while recent clinical and epidemiological studies increasingly point to a potential link between sleep loss or sleep disturbances and suicidality. This review on studies of sleep disturbances associated with suicidality, i.e., suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and completed suicide suggests a frequent association especially with insomnia and nightmares but also hypersomnia and sleep panic attacks. In suicidal insomniacs with comorbid psychiatric disorders, there is some evidence for an even independent predictive nature of sleep problems for suicidality. Considerations on the shared neurobiology, risk assessment and treatment options complement the overview. Thus, sleep disturbances may qualify as an individual treatable target of personalised medicine in the clinical routine as well as in suicide prevention programmes. A more detailed assessment of sleep problems and identification of specific risk domains in primary or secondary prevention of suicidality seem to be a future area of high importance.

High and low response in relation to nitric oxide formation but not to lipid peroxidation in patients with sepsis.

OBJECTIVES: Nitric oxide overproduction in sepsis syndrome was suspected to be responsible for hemodynamic derangement and, by induction of lipid peroxidation, for tissue damage. Therefore, nitric oxide formation and lipid peroxidation were quantified in septic patients (SP) vs. patients with localized infection (IF) or without inflammation (C). Nitric oxide formation in sepsis was additionally compared with data for clinical status. DESIGN: Prospective study with consecutive sampling of patients. SETTING: A university hospital intensive care unit and research laboratories. PATIENTS: SP, 24 patients; IP, 7; and C, 13. INTERVENTIONS: Plasma measurement of nitrate, lipid peroxides (primary endpoints), and N-hydroxy-L-arginine (secondary end point) MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: For nitrate, there was a sequence of C < IP = SP. Among SP, one group with significantly higher nitrate (high-responders for nitric oxide; SP-HR) vs. IP and C and a second group (low-responders; SP-LR) with increased concentration only vs. C could be identified. For SP-HR vs. IP, a strong time kinetics in nitric oxide formation was obvious, indicated by significant nitrate increase already 1 day before sepsis started, tripling up to the peak concentration, and then a lowering but still increased value on the first day after sepsis. N-hydroxy-L-arginine was significantly increased in SP-HR vs. C. For lipid peroxides, the concentrations were comparable in SP and IP, but both significantly increased vs. C. Clustering and coincident kinetics of lipid peroxidation related to nitric oxide were not obvious. Furthermore, there was no strong correlation of clinical data and nitric oxide clustering in sepsis. CONCLUSIONS: High- and low-responders for nitric oxide were identified among septic patients. This finding was not associated with significant differences in lipid peroxidation or clinical data.