COVID-19 Risk Perception, Trust in Institutions and Negative Affect Drive Positive COVID-19 Vaccine Intentions.

Objectives: To investigate country-specific drivers and barriers of positive COVID-19 vaccine intentions in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), one of the two entities comprising Bosnia and Herzegovina. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used, using an online behavioural insights survey tool adapted to the context of FBiH. Three survey waves, each including approximately 1,000 adults, were conducted in July, September and December 2020. Fixed-effects regression analysis was used to explore the drivers, barriers and attitudes towards accepting a future COVID-19 vaccine. Results: COVID-19 risk perception, trust in health institutions and negative affect were positive predictors of positive COVID-19 vaccine intentions, as were living in urban areas and having a college education (versus having primary or secondary education). Conversely, being female, feeling that the pandemic was overhyped by the media and the country of vaccine production were negative predictors. Conclusion: This study provided snapshots on the state of attitudes regarding a future COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy in 2020. These findings provided useful insights into the efforts to introduce and roll out the COVID-19 vaccines in FBiH. Further efforts should focus on better understanding the demographic, cultural and behavioural contexts of COVID-related vaccination perceptions in FBiH.

Does Obesity Influence Body Mass Index Changes in Nulliparous Adolescent Users of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives?

OBJECTIVES: To compare body mass index (BMI) changes in adolescents using long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), specifically, the etonogestrel subdermal implant (ENG-implant), levonorgestrel intrauterine device (LNG-IUD), and copper IUD (Cu-IUD), by initial BMI category from the time of LARC insertion to within 6-18 months after insertion. DESIGN: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: We reviewed electronic health records from our large health system to identify and follow a cohort of 196 adolescents aged 14-19 years with LARCs inserted from 2010 to 2016. We excluded adolescents with conditions or medications affecting weight, including childbirth. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: BMI change from LARC insertion to first BMI documented after 6-18 months RESULTS: Mean age was 17.2 ± 0.2 years; 59% of the cohort was Hispanic and 29% Black. Mean BMI was 26.4 ± 7.1 kg/m2. Of the total cohort of adolescents, 51% were underweight/normal, 24% overweight, and 25% obese. Mean time to first BMI documented after LARC insertion was 10.1 ± 3.2 months. Mean BMI change for the total cohort was +0.73 ± 1.8 kg/m2, indicating weight gain. Mean BMI change for the ENG-implant + LNG-IUD users (n = 127) was larger than for Cu-IUD users (n = 69) (+0.92 ± 1.9 kg/m2 vs +0.37 ± 1.6 kg/m2, respectively, P < .05). Two-way analysis of variance showed that both initial BMI category (P = .001) and type of LARC (P = .011) had an independent significant main effect on BMI change. A significant interaction effect (P = .017) showed that obese adolescents had a larger increase in BMI when they were using a progestin-releasing LARC, either ENG-implant or LNG-IUD, as compared to a Cu-IUD (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Adolescents using progestin-releasing LARCs had a larger increase in BMI within 6-18 months after device insertion than those using Cu-IUDs. The disproportionate increase in BMI with progestin-releasing LARCs was primarily contributed by obese users.

Evolution of brain lateralization: A shared hominid pattern of endocranial asymmetry is much more variable in humans than in great apes.

Brain lateralization is commonly interpreted as crucial for human brain function and cognition. However, as comparative studies among primates are rare, it is not known which aspects of lateralization are really uniquely human. Here, we quantify both pattern and magnitude of brain shape asymmetry based on endocranial imprints of the braincase in humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. Like previous studies, we found that humans were more asymmetric than chimpanzees, however so were gorillas and orangutans, highlighting the need to broaden the comparative framework for interpretation. We found that the average spatial asymmetry pattern, previously considered to be uniquely human, was shared among humans and apes. In humans, however, it was less directed, and different local asymmetries were less correlated. We, thus, found human asymmetry to be much more variable compared with that of apes. These findings likely reflect increased functional and developmental modularization of the human brain.

Contraceptive Needs of Adolescents with Chronic Illness.

Contraception and sexual health form a key part of comprehensive health care for all adolescents, including those who suffer from chronic illness. Multiple studies have shown that adolescents with chronic illness have rates of sexual activity equal to or greater than their healthy counterparts. Primary care pediatricians have the most comprehensive view of the health of their medically complex patients and the benefit of a longstanding relationship. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have created a comprehensive guide that provides advice on safe contraceptive options for patients with complex medical conditions. Here we review three cases of adolescents with common chronic medical conditions: von Willebrand disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, and sickle cell disease. [Pediatr Ann. 2019;48(2):e78-e85.].

Covariation of the endocranium and splanchnocranium during great ape ontogeny.

That great ape endocranial shape development persists into adolescence indicates that the splanchnocranium succeeds brain growth in driving endocranial development. However, the extent of this splanchnocranial influence is unknown. We applied two-block partial least squares analyses of Procrustes shape variables on an ontogenetic series of great ape crania to explore the covariation of the endocranium (the internal braincase) and splanchnocranium (face, or viscerocranium). We hypothesized that a transition between brain growth and splanchnocranial development in the establishment of final endocranial form would be manifest as a change in the pattern of shape covariation between early and adolescent ontogeny. Our results revealed a strong pattern of covariation between endocranium and splanchnocranium, indicating that chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans share a common tempo and mode of morphological integration from the eruption of the deciduous dentition onwards to adulthood: a reflection of elongating endocranial shape and continuing splanchnocranial prognathism. Within this overarching pattern, we noted that species variation exists in magnitude and direction, and that the covariation between the splanchnocranium and endocranium is somewhat weaker in early infancy compared to successive age groups. When correcting our covariation analyses for allometry, we found that an ontogenetic signal remains, signifying that allometric variation alone is insufficient to account for all endocranial-splanchnocranial developmental integration. Finally, we assessed the influence of the cranial base, which acts as the interface between the face and endocranium, on the shape of the vault using thin-plate spline warping. We found that not all splanchnocranial shape changes during development are tightly integrated with endocranial shape. This suggests that while the developmental expansion of the brain is the main driver of endocranial shape during early ontogeny, endocranial development from infancy onwards is moulded by the splanchnocranium in conjunction with the neurocranium.

Cortical specificity in neurovascular coupling.

Despite mounting contrary evidence, the metabolic hypothesis is viewed as the predominant theory underlying neurovascular coupling, or the link between neural activity and cerebral blood flow. In a recent study, Huo et al. (Huo BX, Smith JB, Drew PJ. J Neurosci 34: 10975-10981, 2014) combined multimodal imaging and electrophysiology in experiments using awake, voluntarily moving mice to explore whether neurovascular coupling is uniform throughout the cortex. Whereas their results can be viewed as demonstrating that neural activity and blood flow are uncoupled in the frontal cortex during movement, the importance of this study is the elucidation that the metabolic hypothesis may not be the principle facilitator of neurovascular coupling in some regions of the cortex.

Reconstructed Homo habilis type OH 7 suggests deep-rooted species diversity in early Homo.

Besides Homo erectus (sensu lato), the eastern African fossil record of early Homo has been interpreted as representing either a single variable species, Homo habilis, or two species. In the latter case, however, there is no consensus over the respective groupings, and which of the two includes OH 7, the 1.8-million-year-old H. habilis holotype. This partial skull and hand from Olduvai Gorge remains pivotal to evaluating the early evolution of the Homo lineage, and by priority names one or other of the two taxa. However, the distorted preservation of the diagnostically important OH 7 mandible has hindered attempts to compare this specimen with other fossils. Here we present a virtual reconstruction of the OH 7 mandible, and compare it to other early Homo fossils. The reconstructed mandible is remarkably primitive, with a long and narrow dental arcade more similar to Australopithecus afarensis than to the derived parabolic arcades of Homo sapiens or H. erectus. We find that this shape variability is not consistent with a single species of early Homo. Importantly, the jaw morphology of OH 7 is incompatible with fossils assigned to Homo rudolfensis and with the A.L. 666-1 Homo maxilla. The latter is morphologically more derived than OH 7 but 500,000 years older, suggesting that the H. habilis lineage originated before 2.3 million years ago, thus marking deep-rooted species diversity in the genus Homo. We also reconstructed the parietal bones of OH 7 and estimated its endocranial volume. At between 729 and 824 ml it is larger than any previously published value, and emphasizes the near-complete overlap in brain size among species of early Homo. Our results clarify the H. habilis hypodigm, but raise questions about its phylogenetic relationships. Differences between species of early Homo appear to be characterized more by gnathic diversity than by differences in brain size, which was highly variable within all taxa.

Incidental findings in neuroimaging research: a framework for anticipating the next frontier.

While strategies for handling unusual and possibly clinically significant anatomical findings on brain scans of research volunteers have been developed and implemented across neuroimaging laboratories worldwide, few concrete steps have been taken to consider the next frontier: functional anomalies. Drawing on the genetics literature, early work in neuroimaging considered actionability to be a driving force for determining if and when findings should be disclosed to individuals in whom they are detected, as inherent uncertainty raises potential ethical dilemmas of misdiagnosing and mislabelling people as patients. Here we consider the possibility of incidental findings in brain function during the resting state. Our approach does not anchor the resting state as the sine qua non of functional incidental findings, but as a path to thinking about where they may emerge in the future and how our professional communities need to think about thinking about them. We suggest that considering the issues proactively today, within a framework that is maximally flexible and open to modification, is better than responding reactively after the fact and with no framework at all. We argue that there is a duty to consider possible incidental findings despite the ambiguities of data interpretation, while working hard to prevent unnecessary alarm.

Hemodynamic responses evoked by neuronal stimulation via channelrhodopsin-2 can be independent of intracortical glutamatergic synaptic transmission.

Maintenance of neuronal function depends on the delivery of oxygen and glucose through changes in blood flow that are linked to the level of ongoing neuronal and glial activity, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Using transgenic mice expressing the light-activated cation channel channelrhodopsin-2 in deep layer pyramidal neurons, we report that changes in intrinsic optical signals and blood flow can be evoked by activation of a subset of channelrhodopsin-2-expressing neurons in the sensorimotor cortex. We have combined imaging and pharmacology to examine the importance of glutamatergic synaptic transmission in this form of neurovascular coupling. Blockade of ionotropic glutamate receptors with the antagonists CNQX and MK801 significantly reduced forepaw-evoked hemodynamic responses, yet resulted in no significant reduction of channelrhodopsin-evoked hemodynamic responses, suggesting that stimulus-dependent coupling of neuronal activity to blood flow can be independent of local excitatory synaptic transmission. Together, these results indicate that channelrhodopsin-2 activation of sensorimotor excitatory neurons produces changes in intrinsic optical signals and blood flow that can occur under conditions where synaptic activation of neurons or other cells through ionotropic glutamate receptors would be blocked.

Soluble ephrin a1 is necessary for the growth of HeLa and SK-BR3 cells.

BACKGROUND: Ephrin A1 (EFNA1) is a member of the A-type ephrin family of cell surface proteins that function as ligands for the A-type Eph receptor tyrosine kinase family. In malignancy, the precise role of EFNA1 and its preferred receptor, EPHA2, is controversial. Several studies have found that EFNA1 may suppress EPHA2-mediated oncogenesis, or enhance it, depending on cell type and context. However, little is known about the conditions that influence whether EFNA1 promotes or suppresses tumorigenicity. EFNA1 exists in a soluble form as well as a glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI) membrane attached form. We investigated whether the contradictory roles of EFNA1 in malignancy might in part be related to the existence of both soluble and membrane attached forms of EFNA1 and potential differences in the manner in which they interact with EPHA2. RESULTS: Using a RNAi strategy to reduce the expression of endogenous EFNA1 and EPHA2, we found that both EFNA1 and EPHA2 are required for growth of HeLa and SK-BR3 cells. The growth defects could be rescued by conditioned media from cells overexpressing soluble EFNA1. Interestingly, we found that overexpression of the membrane attached form of EFNA1 suppresses growth of HeLa cells in 3D but not 2D. Knockdown of endogenous EFNA1, or overexpression of full-length EFNA1, resulted in relocalization of EPHA2 from the cell surface to sites of cell-cell contact. Overexpression of soluble EFNA1 however resulted in more EPHA2 distributed on the cell surface, away from cell-cell contacts, and promoted the growth of HeLa cells. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that soluble EFNA1 is necessary for the transformation of HeLa and SK-BR3 cells and participates in the relocalization of EPHA2 away from sites of cell-cell contact during transformation.