Defining the Independence of the Liver Circadian Clock.

Mammals rely on a network of circadian clocks to control daily systemic metabolism and physiology. The central pacemaker in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is considered hierarchically dominant over peripheral clocks, whose degree of independence, or tissue-level autonomy, has never been ascertained in vivo. Using arrhythmic Bmal1-null mice, we generated animals with reconstituted circadian expression of BMAL1 exclusively in the liver (Liver-RE). High-throughput transcriptomics and metabolomics show that the liver has independent circadian functions specific for metabolic processes such as the NAD+ salvage pathway and glycogen turnover. However, although BMAL1 occupies chromatin at most genomic targets in Liver-RE mice, circadian expression is restricted to ∼10% of normally rhythmic transcripts. Finally, rhythmic clock gene expression is lost in Liver-RE mice under constant darkness. Hence, full circadian function in the liver depends on signals emanating from other clocks, and light contributes to tissue-autonomous clock function.

Discrimination, critical consciousness, and mental health in American youth of color.

To resist and cope with oppression, youth of color may use the process of critical consciousness which involves understanding racial injustices (critical reflection), developing motivation to fight these injustices (critical motivation), and taking action to enact sociopolitical change (critical action). However, little is known about how each dimension of critical consciousness affects mental health in adolescents of color. In a sample of 367 ethnically and racially diverse American adolescents of color (age range = 13-17; 68.9% girls, 28.6% boys, and 2.5% gender minority; 84.4% US-born), we conducted multivariate regressions in Mplus to examine the cross-sectional links between each critical consciousness dimension (reflection, motivation, and action) and mental health outcomes (anxiety, depression, and stress) over and above the impact of everyday discrimination. We also investigated the interaction between critical consciousness and discrimination in predicting mental health outcomes. Controlling for age, gender, nativity, and social class, we found that discrimination and critical action were both positively associated with anxiety, depression, and stress. For our covariates, girls and gender minority adolescents reported worse outcomes. No interactions were significant. Overall, critical action, while necessary to enact societal change, may have a complex relationship with youth's depression, anxiety, and psychological stress symptoms and warrants careful exploration. Future research should focus on understanding the longitudinal mechanisms of critical action and how we can maximize the benefits by protecting youth from those negative effects.

Coping with ethnic-racial discrimination: Protective-reactive effects of shift-and-persist coping on internalizing symptoms among Black American adolescents.

Ethnic-racial discrimination has pervasive negative effects on Black youth's mental health; therefore, it is crucial to identify factors that provide resilience against discrimination. Two promising factors to help youth cope are ethnic-racial identity (how one feels about their ethnicity/race) and shift-and-persist coping (reappraising and accepting an uncontrollable stressor while remaining optimistic about the future). While there is existing scholarship on ethnic-racial identity among Black youth, this work has not yet assessed the impacts of shift-and-persist in this population. Using a sample of 155 Black youth (ages 13-17), the current study examined the interplay between discrimination, ethnic-racial identity, shift-and-persist coping, and internalizing symptoms. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were positively associated with discrimination and negatively associated with shift-and-persist. Significant interactions between discrimination and shift-and-persist predicting both depressive and anxiety symptoms revealed significant negative associations between shift-and-persist and internalizing symptoms at low and average, but not high discrimination levels. Effects are, thus, protective-reactive; the protective effects of shift-and-persist are not significant for youth facing high levels of discrimination. Ethnic-racial identity, surprisingly, was not significantly associated with either depressive or anxiety symptoms, nor did it interact with shift-and-persist as it has in studies of Latinx youth. By understanding the protective benefits of shift-and-persist and ethnic-racial identity in Black youth, during a pivotal period for mental health, we can provide this growing population with tools to lessen the maladaptive outcomes associated with discrimination.

Measurement invariance of the LGBT People of Color Microaggressions Scale among LGBTQ+ youth.

The LGBT People of Color Microaggressions Scale (LGBT-PCMS) is a widely used measure of intersectional microaggression experiences among sexual and gender minority people of color. Although it is widely used-and increasingly used in adolescent and young adult samples-it is unknown whether the LGBT-PCMS demonstrates similar measurement properties across subgroups of sexual and gender minority youth of color (SGMYOC). Among 4142 SGMYOC (ages 13-17) we found evidence for either partial or full scalar invariance (item loadings and intercepts were generally equal) across sexual orientation, race-ethnicity, and gender identity groups for all three subscales. Specific patterns of invariance and noninvariance across groups, as well as implications for the use of the LGBT-PCMS and its subscales among SGMYOC are discussed.

Parental ethnic-racial socializations messages direct and indirect associations with shift-and-persist coping among minoritized American adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: The current cross-sectional study examined whether parental cultural socialization, preparation for bias messages, and adolescents' ethnic-racial identity (ERI) were associated with shift-and-persist coping strategy characterized by reappraising and accepting uncontrollable stressors (e.g., discrimination, poverty) while maintaining purpose and a positive future orientation. METHOD: Participants were 367 diverse ethnically/racially minoritized (42.2% Black, 25.9% Latinx, 16.1% Asian/Asian American, 12.5% multiracial, 3.3% from other groups) adolescents (Mage = 15.85, SD = 1.17, 68.9% girls). Structural equation models examined the direct effects of parental cultural socialization and preparation for bias messages on youth's ERI and shift-and-persist, as well as the indirect effects of socialization messages on shift-and-persist. RESULTS: Preparation for bias and cultural socialization were directly related to a stronger ERI for adolescents, but only cultural socialization was directly associated with greater shift-and-persist. Stronger ERI was associated with greater shift-and-persist, and both cultural socialization and preparation for bias were indirectly associated with greater shift-and-persist. CONCLUSIONS: Frequent parental preparation for bias may be indirectly associated with minoritized adolescent's shift-and-persist coping, whereas cultural socialization impacts youth's shift-and-persisting both directly and indirectly. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

It's how I was raised: How ethnic-racial socialization patterns influence antiracism actions in minoritized emerging adults.

OBJECTIVES: Research highlights the benefits of critical action on individual and community well-being; however, more needs to be understood about the ways ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) influences emerging adults' participation in antiracism actions. METHOD: The present study examined patterns of parental ERS messages received by a sample of 668 racially and ethnically minoritized emerging adult college students (Mage = 18.76, SD = 1.23; female = 81.8%), and their associations with the emerging adults' demographic characteristics and three forms of antiracism actions. RESULTS: A latent profile analysis revealed a five-profile solution and showed variability in patterns of parental cultural socialization and preparation for bias messages. Participants in profiles reflecting far higher than average frequencies of both messages (high frequency) and those who received mean preparation for bias and above-average cultural socialization (culturally focused) tended to engage most frequently across all forms of antiracism. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest the importance of parental ERS messages for fostering engagement in antiracism actions among diverse college students. Results are informative for those who work with minoritized emerging adults navigating racist contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Critical consciousness and anti-racist action as rooted in family processes.

Racially ethnically marginalized communities in the United States are exposed to structural and interpersonal forms of racism that have harmful effects on their health, wealth, education, and employment (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Racism and Health. https://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/racism-disparities/index.html, 2021). Although a plethora of research exists outlining these harmful effects, research examining how youth from diverse backgrounds effectively combat racism is lacking. Emerging research demonstrates that families may play a key role in the development of critical consciousness and participation in anti-racist actions (Bañales et al., Journal of Social Issues, 2021, 77, 964; Blanco Martinez et al., American Journal of Community Psychology, 2022, 70, 278; Lozada et al., Journal of Black Psychology, 2017, 43, 493). Yet, many key family processes have not been examined in relation to youth development of anti-racist practices. The current study included a sample of 327 racially ethnically diverse emerging adults (Mage = 18.80, SD = 1.28, range = 18-25), and explored the association between ethnic-racial socialization (cultural socialization, preparation for bias) and youth critical consciousness (reflection, motivation, action) and anti-racist (interpersonal, communal, political change) actions, and how familism values impact these associations. Results found that ethnic-racial socialization was positively associated with all aspects of critical consciousness and anti-racist actions. Results also found that familism significantly interacted with ethnic-racial socialization to predict some aspects of critical consciousness and anti-racist actions, but not others. Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.

Mexican-Origin Children's Trajectories of Ethnic-Racial Pride from Childhood through Emerging Adulthood: Associations with Mothers and Fathers' Trajectories.

Ethnic-racial pride (positive feelings about one's ethnic-racial group) is critical to healthy identity development across the lifespan. Research on ethnic-racial pride development among Latinx populations has focused exclusively on youth, without regard to pride development amongst parents and relations between pride within family units. Using multivariate Latent Growth Curve Modelling among 674 Mexican-origin youth and their parents (673 mothers; 437 fathers), the trajectory of youth's pride from 5th grade through emerging adulthood (14 years/12 waves of data) as well as relations with parental pride trajectories were examined. Respondents' pride generally decreased from waves 1 to 7 (~age 11-17 in youth) and increased after wave 7. Youth's and mothers' trajectories were unrelated, but complex associations emerged between youth's and fathers' trajectories. This study supports the dynamic nature of ethnic-racial pride across distinct life stages and underscores the complex interplay of youth and parental pride trajectories, emphasizing the pivotal role parents may play in co-shaping identity development alongside their children.

SSpro/ACCpro 6: almost perfect prediction of protein secondary structure and relative solvent accessibility using profiles, deep learning and structural similarity.

MOTIVATION: Accurately predicting protein secondary structure and relative solvent accessibility is important for the study of protein evolution, structure and an early-stage component of typical protein 3D structure prediction pipelines. RESULTS: We present a new improved version of the SSpro/ACCpro suite of predictors for the prediction of protein secondary structure (in three and eight classes) and relative solvent accessibility. The changes include improved, TensorFlow-trained, deep learning predictors, a richer set of profile features (232 features per residue position) and sequence-only features (71 features per position), a more recent Protein Data Bank (PDB) snapshot for training, better hyperparameter tuning and improvements made to the HOMOLpro module, which leverages structural information from protein segment homologs in the PDB. The new SSpro 6 outperforms the previous version (SSpro 5) by 3-4% in Q3 accuracy and, when used with HOMOLPRO, reaches accuracy in the 95-100% range. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The predictors' software, data and web servers are available through the SCRATCH suite of protein structure predictors at http://scratch.proteomics.ics.uci.edu. To maximize comptatibility and ease of use, the deep learning predictors are re-implemented as pure Python/numpy code without TensorFlow dependency. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Longitudinal links between maternal cultural socialization, peer ethnic-racial discrimination, and ethnic-racial pride in Mexican American youth.

This paper used cross-lagged panel models to test the longitudinal interplay between maternal cultural socialization, peer ethnic-racial discrimination, and ethnic-racial pride across 5th to 11th grade among Mexican American youth (N = 674, Mage  = 10.86; 72% born in the United States; 50% girls; Wave 1 collected 2006-2008). Maternal cultural socialization predicted increases in subsequent youth ethnic-racial pride, and youth ethnic-racial pride prompted greater maternal cultural socialization. However, peer ethnic-racial discrimination was associated with subsequent decreases in ethnic-racial pride. The magnitude of these associations was consistent across 5th to 11th grades suggesting that maternal cultural socialization messages are necessary to maintain ethnic-racial pride across adolescence, thus families must continually support the development of ethnic-racial pride in their youth to counter the effects of discrimination.

Ethnic-racial identity and ethnic-racial socialization competency: How minoritized parents "walk the talk".

OBJECTIVES: Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) has important implications for individual psychosocial functioning as well as familial processes. For example, parents' ERI can shape children's developmental contexts through ethnic-racial socialization (ERS). Yet, existing research has tended to focus on the content or frequency of socialization messages themselves rather than on internal factors like socialization competence. Such competence, as reflected through confidence, skills, and stress, represents critical dimensions that permeate the socialization process and can impact the delivery of messages. The present study examines whether parents' ERI (i.e., private regard, centrality, exploration) is related to perceptions of their socialization competence. METHOD: Data from 203 Black, 194 Asian American, and 188 Latinx parents (N = 585, Mage = 44.46 years, SD = 9.14, 59.70% mothers) of adolescents between the ages of 10-18 were collected via Qualtrics panels. RESULTS: Across all parents, private regard, centrality, and ethnic-racial exploration were positively associated with perceived confidence and skills in engaging in ERS. Regard was additionally associated with lower socialization stress. CONCLUSIONS: The results point to consistent benefits of ERI in helping parents navigate ERS, furthering the understanding of ERI's developmental implications through parents' comfort with and ability to "walk the talk" with their children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Gender differences in perceived racism threat and activism during the Black Lives Matter social justice movement for Black young adults.

A longitudinal study involving 455 Black young adults living in Canada investigated whether gender and autonomous motivation influenced the relationship between perceived racism threat and Black Lives Matter (BLM) activism, and whether BLM activism influenced life satisfaction over time. A moderated mediation analysis using PROCESS Macro Model 58 tested the indirect effect of autonomous motivation on the relationship between perceived racism threat and BLM activism varying by gender. Multiple linear regression assessed how well BLM activism predicted life satisfaction. Black women perceived greater racism threat than Black men related to increases in BLM activism via the influence of autonomous motivation. BLM activism had a positive influence on life satisfaction over time, regardless of gender. This research suggests Black young women are playing pivotal roles in the BLM movement and helps us understand how motivation may be influencing involvement and well-being in social justice issues.

Identification of oncolytic vaccinia restriction factors in canine high-grade mammary tumor cells using single-cell transcriptomics.

Mammary carcinoma, including triple-negative breast carcinomas (TNBC) are tumor-types for which human and canine pathologies are closely related at the molecular level. The efficacy of an oncolytic vaccinia virus (VV) was compared in low-passage primary carcinoma cells from TNBC versus non-TNBC. Non-TNBC cells were 28 fold more sensitive to VV than TNBC cells in which VV replication is impaired. Single-cell RNA-seq performed on two different TNBC cell samples, infected or not with VV, highlighted three distinct populations: naïve cells, bystander cells, defined as cells exposed to the virus but not infected and infected cells. The transcriptomes of these three populations showed striking variations in the modulation of pathways regulated by cytokines and growth factors. We hypothesized that the pool of genes expressed in the bystander populations was enriched in antiviral genes. Bioinformatic analysis suggested that the reduced activity of the virus was associated with a higher mesenchymal status of the cells. In addition, we demonstrated experimentally that high expression of one gene, DDIT4, is detrimental to VV production. Considering that DDIT4 is associated with a poor prognosis in various cancers including TNBC, our data highlight DDIT4 as a candidate resistance marker for oncolytic poxvirus therapy. This information could be used to design new generations of oncolytic poxviruses. Beyond the field of gene therapy, this study demonstrates that single-cell transcriptomics can be used to identify cellular factors influencing viral replication.

Shift-&-Persist and discrimination predicting depression across the life course: An accelerated longitudinal design using MIDUSI-III.

Life course theorists posit that sensitive periods exist during life span development where risk and protective factors may be particularly predictive of psychological outcomes relative to other periods in life. While there have been between-cohort studies trying to examine differences in discrimination and depressive symptoms, these studies have not been designed to identify these sensitive periods, which are best modeled by examining intra-individual change across time. To identify sensitive periods where discrimination and shift-&-persist (S&P) - a coping strategy that may protect against the negative impact of discrimination - are most strongly predictive of depressive symptoms, we employed latent growth curve modeling using an accelerated longitudinal design to track intra-individual change in depressive symptoms from ages 20-69. Participants were 3,685 adults measured at three time points ~10 years apart from the Midlife in the United States study (Mage = 37.93, SD = 6.948 at Wave I). Results identified two sensitive periods in development where high levels of S&P interacted with discrimination to protect against depressive symptoms; during the 30s and a lagged effect where 40's S&P protected against depressive symptoms when participants were in their 50s. Implications for the life course study of discrimination, coping, and depression are discussed.

Concordant and Discordant Patterns of Parental Racial Socialization among Biracial Black-White Adolescents: Correlates and Consequences.

Multiracial-Black youth are one of the fastest-growing populations in the U.S., but little is known about their racialized developmental experiences. This study uses Latent Profile Analysis to identify patterns of parental racial socialization among Biracial Black-White adolescents and explore whether those profiles relate to demographics and racial identity outcomes. The sample consisted of 330 Biracial Black-White adolescents living in the U.S. (67% boys; Mage = 14.8, SD = 1.5). The analysis yielded a four-profile solution based on (1) the frequency of socialization messages youth received and (2) the concordance of those messages across both of their parents (i.e., whether socialization frequency is similar or different between Black and white parents). Profile membership differed based on youth gender and racialized appearance (i.e., whether youth presented physically as Black, white, or racially ambiguous). Ultimately, adolescents in the profile with the highest frequency and concordance of parental racial socialization reported more adaptive racial identity attitudes including a sense of pride in being Black and Biracial. Youth in that profile also felt the most comfortable navigating the intersections of their racial identities, which coupled with racial pride has promising implications for their development and wellbeing.

Examining the promotive versus the protective impact of culturally informed shift-&-persist coping in the context of discrimination, anxiety, and health behaviors.

This study aims to better understand how racially/ethnically minoritized youth exhibit adaptive psychological functioning (less anxiety) and health behaviors (better sleep and less binge drinking) in the context of discrimination, ethnic-racial identity and coping. Among 364 minoritized emerging adults (Mage = 18.79, 85.2% female), we utilized higher-order factor analysis to examine how culturally informed shift-&-persist (S&P), a higher-order construct explaining associations between coping factors (shift, persist, spiritually based coping, civic engagement), and ethnic-racial identity were related to anxiety, binge drinking, and sleep in the context of discrimination. Culturally informed S&P promoted better sleep and less anxiety controlling for discrimination. No significant effects were observed for binge drinking and no moderated effects were observed across outcomes. The harmful effect of discrimination on sleep was intensified for those with stronger ethnic-racial identities. The promotive and potentially protective effects of culturally informed S&P coping differs across mental health and health behavior outcomes.

The effects of art therapy on anxiety, depression, and quality of life in adults with cancer: a systematic literature review.

PURPOSE: While there is increasing evidence for the effectiveness of psychosocial support programs for cancer patients, little attention has been paid to creativity or art as a way of addressing their psychological problems and improving quality of life. This review provides an overview of interventional studies that investigate the effects of art therapy interventions on anxiety, depression, and quality of life in adults with cancer. METHODS: We conducted a literature review with a systematic search. The databases PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and EMBASE were searched for articles on art therapy among adult (18 years and above) cancer patients, published between September 2009 up to September 2019. Search terms were established for each database specifically. A total of 731 publications was assessed for relevance by title and abstract. The remaining 496 articles were examined using three inclusion criteria: interventions were guided by an artist or art therapist, participants were actively involved in the creative process, and anxiety, depression, and/or quality of life were included as outcome measures. Methodological quality of the included studies was appraised using specific checklists. RESULTS: Seven papers met the inclusion criteria. Data was extracted from three non-randomized intervention studies and four randomized controlled trials. All studies used a quantitative design with validated outcome measures. Four articles described positive effects of art therapy on anxiety, depression, or quality of life in adults with cancer. CONCLUSION: Art therapy could possibly help decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression, and improve quality of life in adult cancer patients. However, because of the heterogeneity of the interventions and limited methodological quality of the studies, further research using stringent methods is needed.

A person-centered analysis of ethnic-racial socialization patterns and their identity correlates in multiracial college students.

OBJECTIVES: Little is understood about how Multiracial individuals are socialized around race and ethnicity, and how these socialization messages are related to ethnic-racial identity development. METHOD: This study utilizes a person-centered framework with a diverse sample of 286 Multiracial college students to examine the patterns of ethnic-racial socialization messages individuals received from their primary caregiver. RESULTS: A latent profile analysis of caregivers' socialization messages produced a four-profile solution: Typical Messages (socialization messages with average frequency), Minority Messages (frequent cultural socialization and preparation for bias geared toward minority group membership), High Mistrust (frequent promotion of mistrust messages), and Low Frequency (all socialization messages at low frequency). Overall, profile differences were evident with respect to ethnic-racial identity endorsement, where participants in the Minority Messages profile endorsed the greatest levels of ethnic/racial exploration. In addition, individuals in the Minority Messages profile also endorsed higher levels of ethnic/racial identity resolution and affirmation than the High Mistrust and Low Frequency Messages profile. Individuals in the High Mistrust profile endorsed greater levels of identity conflict than the Minority Messages profile. CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides evidence that the pattern of socialization messages Multiracial participants received growing up impact their ethnic-racial identity endorsement. Results highlight the need for continued quantitative and person-centered work when studying socialization and identity in Multiracials. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Culturally informed shift-&-persist: A higher-order factor model and prospective associations with discrimination and depressive symptoms.

OBJECTIVES: Based on the conceptual overlap between shift-&-persist (S&P) and culturally based strategies (critical civic engagement [CCE] and spiritually based coping), this study tests whether associations between these three previously disparate strategies are attributable to the existence of a higher-order coping construct: culturally informed S&P. METHODS: Among 364 diverse minoritized youth (Mage = 18.79, 85.2% female), we tested for the existence of this higher-order factor through confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS: We found theoretical and empirical support for the existence of a higher-order factor structure and for our higher-order factor-culturally informed S&P. Culturally informed S&P promotes fewer depressive symptoms as a main effect in addition to completely protecting against the negative impact of discrimination on depressive symptoms when culturally informed S&P is high. CONCLUSIONS: The current study illustrates relations between three previously distinct coping strategies through their association with culturally informed S&P. Results highlight culturally informed S&P's promotive and protective effects in the face of ethnic-racial discrimination. Implications for subsequent study of culturally based coping are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Differentiating Pathways between Ethnic-Racial Identity and Critical Consciousness.

Critical consciousness is one way in which minoritized youth can resist oppression and move towards sociopolitical change, but little is known about how it evolves alongside developmentally-relevant assets such as ethnic-racial identity. Among 367 ethnically-racially diverse youth (Mage = 15.85, 68.9% female, 85% U.S-born), links between multiple identity constructs (oppressed minority identity, centrality, public regard) and critical consciousness (reflection, motivation, action) were examined using structural equation modeling. Oppressed minority ideology and centrality were associated with more reflection, more motivation, but less critical action. In contrast, public regard was associated with less reflection, less motivation, but more action. The results suggest that different identity processes should be cultivated to help promote these largely independent dimensions of critical consciousness. Further implications of the findings and ideas for future research are discussed.