A cross-sectional study of disparities in suicide ideation between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white female adolescents

Suicide is recognized as a major public health and clinical problem in the United States. One fifth of adolescents in the United States seriously consider suicide each year, and about 8% of high school students attempt suicide at least once. Hispanic ethnicity constitutes a risk factor for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, with Hispanic females at highest risk. Nevertheless, published studies on suicidal behavior in Hispanic female adolescents are extremely limited and focus on suicidal ideation in school samples. Given the severity of the problem and the paucity of information on this topic, more research on ethnic differences in suicidal ideation in community samples of high-risk children is urgently needed. This cross-sectional study delineated differences in suicide ideation between Hispanic female adolescents and non-Hispanic white female adolescents attending a mental health clinic and examined the association of ethnicity with suicide ideation independent of other known risk factors. Data were accrued between June 2004 and December 2008 in a Harris County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Association (MHMRA) clinic. Data were limited to adolescents who were Harris County Residents between the ages of 10 to 17 years when they were admitted to the clinic. The objective of this study was to determine whether differences in socio-demographic and clinical variables play a significant role in ethnic disparities in suicide ideation. A series of logistic regressions were performed to estimate the association between ethnicity and suicide ideation after controlling for potentially confounding factors. ^ Results showed an interaction between Hispanic ethnicity and having a history of treatment: Hispanic girls having history of treatment had lower odds of having suicide ideation than Hispanic girls without such a history. After adjusting for treatment history, family problems, substance use, juvenile justice involvement, current treatment, and age, Hispanic girls had 1.86 times the odds of having suicide ideation than non Hispanic girls (OR=1.86, 95% CI=0.88-1.46). Although additional studies on community samples of high risk adolescents are needed to verify these findings, our study highlights the fact that Hispanic girls are at significantly higher risk and need to be targeted for prevention and treatment efforts. ^

A methodologic study of pain assessment in Anglo and Hispanic children with cancer

There is growing clinical evidence that even young children experience pain and accompanying anxiety. Few instruments have been validated to assess pain characteristics in children. The study of related demographic, illness, psychologic and parental factors in children has also been limited. This study examines the reliability and validity of pain assessment tools in an outpatient pediatric cancer population. A total of 78 children from three to fifteen years of age were observed and interviewed about the pain of invasive procedures. The effect of cultural factors and the stress of acculturation were examined by comparing data from two cultural groups, Anglo and Hispanic.^ Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scales were administered to children and parents prior to an invasive procedure. The Procedure Behavioral Checklist (PBCL) was used for observation of the child's response during the procedure. The Children's Procedural Interview (CPI) which contains items on the PBCL and visual analogues (scales of faces indicating varying degrees of pain and anxiety) was administered following the procedure.^ Reliability coefficients for Anglos were.78 on the PBCL,.79 on the CPI and.85 on the visual analogue scales. For Hispanics, the reliability for the PBCL was.54, while the CPI had a reliability of.72 and the visual analogue scales,.87. Construct validity was demonstrated by high correlations between the PBCL and CPI scores for both ethnic groups (.66 for Anglos and.64 for Hispanics) and by the significant correlation of State anxiety scores with both PBCL and CPI scores. Age was inversely correlated with PBCL and CPI scores for both ethnic groups. Hispanic parents' anxiety scores were higher than Anglo parents, but were not highly correlated with their child's PBCL, CPI or State-Trait anxiety scores. Caregivers' ratings were correlated with the PBCL scores for Anglos but not for Hispanics.^ The findings of this study indicate that pain responses may be reliably assessed using both observational and self-report methods in children, though differences in Anglo and Hispanic cultures exist. Differences in pain symptomatology and assessment in the two cultural groups warrant further study. ^

AROUSAL, FATIGUE AND MENTAL PERFORMANCE: THE EFFECTS OF FASTING ON COGNITION

This study examined the effects of skipping breakfast on selected aspects of children's cognition, specifically their memory (both immediate and one week following presentation of stimuli), mental tempo, and problem solving accuracy. Test instruments used included the Hagen Central/Incidental Recall Test, Matching Familiar Figures Test, McCarthy Digit Span and Tapping Tests. The study population consisted of 39 nine-to eleven year old healthy children who were admitted for overnight stays at a clinical research setting for two nights approximately one week apart. The study was designed to be able to adequately monitor and control subjects' food consumption. The design chosen was the cross-over design where randomly on either the first or second visit, the child skipped breakfast. In this way, subjects acted as their own controls. Subjects were tested at noon of both visits, this representing an 18-hour fast.^ Analysis focused on whether or not fasting for this period of time affected an individual's performance. Results indicated that for most of the tests, subjects were not significantly affected by skipping breakfast for one morning. However, on tests of short-term central and incidental recall, subjects who had skipped breakfast recalled significantly more of the incidental cues although they did so at no apparent expense to their storing of central information. In the area of problem-solving accuracy, subjects skipping breakfast at time two made significantly more errors on hard sections of the MFF Test. It should be noted that although a large number of tests were conducted, these two tests showed the only significant differences.^ These significant results in the areas of short-term incidental memory and in problem solving accuracy were interpreted as being an effect of subject fatigue. That is, when subjects missed breakfast, they were more likely to become fatigued and in the novel environment presented in the study setting, it is probable that these subjects responded by entering Class II fatigue which is characterized by behavioral excitability, diffused attention and altered performance patterns. ^

Entre la universidad, la empresa y el estado : Trayectorias personales, saberes y prácticas en la génesis del diseño industrial y de la comunicación visual en la Argentina. Décadas 1950 y 1960

El trabajo se propone analizar diferentes relaciones entre la universidad, la empresa privada y el Estado al momento del surgimiento del diseño industrial y de la comunicación visual, inscriptas bajo el ala del diseño como disciplina institucionalizada. Para tal fin haremos hincapié en las trayectorias de individuos y grupos que promovieron los nuevos espacios como cátedras, carreras, institutos, y departamentos en las universidades, departamentos y agencias en las empresas, e impulsaron la investigación y la formación especializada en una agencia estatal. A este respecto nos planteamos la reconstrucción y análisis de las posiciones y los tramas de relaciones sociales entre los actores, los liderazgos e ideas que confluyeron en ese marco institucionalizador. A fines de la década del ´50 se abrieron espacios en instituciones estatales ?universidades nacionales y agencias del Estado- desde los que se promovió la formación e investigación en diseño industrial y comunicación visual. Al mismo tiempo, en medio del proceso de industrialización que demandaba nuevos especialistas, las empresas privadas abrieron secciones específicas dedicadas a proyectar diseños integrales para sus productos. Para entender los sistemas de valores sobre los que se originaron estos espacios indagaremos en los documentos, artículos, libros y bienes materiales ?entre otros- que los propios actores pusieron en circulación en ese tiempo y lugar. Haremos foco en las categorías de análisis y en las definiciones por ellos dictadas en ese momento sobre el diseño. El impulso a esta nueva disciplina se abordará desde la complejidad de las trayectorias de estos agentes entendiendo la pluralidad de intereses, afinidades y razones dadas en los ámbitos público y privado. Desde esta perspectiva intentaremos dar cuenta de las historias de los individuos involucrados y de los grupos que integraron esos espacios, y su injerencia en la creación de una agencia estatal. Así podremos constatar los factores que determinaron las políticas de cambio, las prácticas y los métodos de estudio propuestos en la universidad, la empresa privada y el Estado

Entre la universidad, la empresa y el estado : Trayectorias personales, saberes y prácticas en la génesis del diseño industrial y de la comunicación visual en la Argentina. Décadas 1950 y 1960

El trabajo se propone analizar diferentes relaciones entre la universidad, la empresa privada y el Estado al momento del surgimiento del diseño industrial y de la comunicación visual, inscriptas bajo el ala del diseño como disciplina institucionalizada. Para tal fin haremos hincapié en las trayectorias de individuos y grupos que promovieron los nuevos espacios como cátedras, carreras, institutos, y departamentos en las universidades, departamentos y agencias en las empresas, e impulsaron la investigación y la formación especializada en una agencia estatal. A este respecto nos planteamos la reconstrucción y análisis de las posiciones y los tramas de relaciones sociales entre los actores, los liderazgos e ideas que confluyeron en ese marco institucionalizador. A fines de la década del ´50 se abrieron espacios en instituciones estatales ?universidades nacionales y agencias del Estado- desde los que se promovió la formación e investigación en diseño industrial y comunicación visual. Al mismo tiempo, en medio del proceso de industrialización que demandaba nuevos especialistas, las empresas privadas abrieron secciones específicas dedicadas a proyectar diseños integrales para sus productos. Para entender los sistemas de valores sobre los que se originaron estos espacios indagaremos en los documentos, artículos, libros y bienes materiales ?entre otros- que los propios actores pusieron en circulación en ese tiempo y lugar. Haremos foco en las categorías de análisis y en las definiciones por ellos dictadas en ese momento sobre el diseño. El impulso a esta nueva disciplina se abordará desde la complejidad de las trayectorias de estos agentes entendiendo la pluralidad de intereses, afinidades y razones dadas en los ámbitos público y privado. Desde esta perspectiva intentaremos dar cuenta de las historias de los individuos involucrados y de los grupos que integraron esos espacios, y su injerencia en la creación de una agencia estatal. Así podremos constatar los factores que determinaron las políticas de cambio, las prácticas y los métodos de estudio propuestos en la universidad, la empresa privada y el Estado

Entre la universidad, la empresa y el estado : Trayectorias personales, saberes y prácticas en la génesis del diseño industrial y de la comunicación visual en la Argentina. Décadas 1950 y 1960

El trabajo se propone analizar diferentes relaciones entre la universidad, la empresa privada y el Estado al momento del surgimiento del diseño industrial y de la comunicación visual, inscriptas bajo el ala del diseño como disciplina institucionalizada. Para tal fin haremos hincapié en las trayectorias de individuos y grupos que promovieron los nuevos espacios como cátedras, carreras, institutos, y departamentos en las universidades, departamentos y agencias en las empresas, e impulsaron la investigación y la formación especializada en una agencia estatal. A este respecto nos planteamos la reconstrucción y análisis de las posiciones y los tramas de relaciones sociales entre los actores, los liderazgos e ideas que confluyeron en ese marco institucionalizador. A fines de la década del ´50 se abrieron espacios en instituciones estatales ?universidades nacionales y agencias del Estado- desde los que se promovió la formación e investigación en diseño industrial y comunicación visual. Al mismo tiempo, en medio del proceso de industrialización que demandaba nuevos especialistas, las empresas privadas abrieron secciones específicas dedicadas a proyectar diseños integrales para sus productos. Para entender los sistemas de valores sobre los que se originaron estos espacios indagaremos en los documentos, artículos, libros y bienes materiales ?entre otros- que los propios actores pusieron en circulación en ese tiempo y lugar. Haremos foco en las categorías de análisis y en las definiciones por ellos dictadas en ese momento sobre el diseño. El impulso a esta nueva disciplina se abordará desde la complejidad de las trayectorias de estos agentes entendiendo la pluralidad de intereses, afinidades y razones dadas en los ámbitos público y privado. Desde esta perspectiva intentaremos dar cuenta de las historias de los individuos involucrados y de los grupos que integraron esos espacios, y su injerencia en la creación de una agencia estatal. Así podremos constatar los factores que determinaron las políticas de cambio, las prácticas y los métodos de estudio propuestos en la universidad, la empresa privada y el Estado

Abundance and biomass of zooplankton collected in 1995 and 1998 in the frontal zone between the Gulf Stream and the Labrador current

Vertical distribution of meso- and macroplankton was studied in the region of the most sharply pronounced climatic frontal zone between the Gulf Stream and the Labrador current. Hauls with a plankton net BR 113/140 and visual counts of macroplankton from the Mir submersible were used. In the frontal zone a contact occurs between arctic-boreal communities and communities of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. The community of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre is more mature in terms of succession; many macroplanktonic carnivores-scavengers (mainly shrimps Acanthephyra) develop there and form a ''living network'' feeding on those transported from the north rich arctic-boreal mesoplankton. As a result biomass of shrimps appears to be significantly higher than biomass of their preys. Peculiarities of vertical distribution and population structure of shrimps were analyzed. Data on quantitative vertical distribution of total biomass of meso- and macroplankton and its principal groups, including gelatinous animals (ctenophores, medusas, and siphonophores) were obtained. Variations of the role of different plankton groups with depth were considered; these data enable a conclusion that frontal variations of the community structure embrace the depth range from the surface down to 2000 m.

Comparisons of observed ice properties and Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) data during Nathanial B. Palmer cruise NBP09-01 and Oden cruise OSO08/09

Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) Wide Swath Mode (WSM) images are used to derive C-band HH-polarization normalized radar cross sections (NRCS). These are compared with ice-core analysis and visual ship-based observations of snow and ice properties observed according to the Antarctic Sea Ice Processes and Climate (ASPeCt) protocol during two International Polar Year summer cruises (Oden 2008 and Palmer 2009) in West Antarctica. Thick first-year (TFY) and multi-year (MY) ice were the dominant ice types. The NRCS value ranges between -16.3 ± 1.1 and -7.6 ± 1.0 dB for TFY ice, and is -12.6 ± 1.3 dB for MY ice; for TFY ice, NRCS values increase from ~-15 dB to -9 dB from December/January to mid-February. In situ and ASPeCt observations are not, however, detailed enough to interpret the observed NRCS change over time. Co-located Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) vertically polarized 37 GHz brightness temperatures (TB37V), 7 day and 1 day averages as well as the TB37V difference between ascending and descending AMSR-E overpasses suggest the low NRCS values (-15 dB) are associated with snowmelt being still in progress, while the change towards higher NRCS values (-9dB) is caused by commencement of melt-refreeze cycles after about mid-January.

Age determination and stable oxygen isotope record of ODP Hole 167-1017E

Oxygen isotopic (d18O) climatic stratigraphy and radiocarbon chronology, at high resolution, have been used to establish an age model for Ocean Drilling Program Hole 1017E, a continuous 25-m sequence of hemipelagic sediments from the continental slope (956 m water depth), east of Point Arguella, Southern California. The upper part of Hole 1017E from ~33 ka (7.445 mbsf) was dated using 13 calendar-corrected radiocarbon ages of mixed planktonic foraminiferal assemblages. Benthic oxygen isotopic stratigraphy records a continuous 130-k.y. sequence ranging from marine isotope Stage 6 to the present day. The benthic d18O curve, representing the last two interglacial and glacial cycles, closely resembles the well-dated, deep-sea reference sequence, providing a detailed chronologic framework. Sedimentation rates remained relatively constant throughout the sequence at ~18 cm/k.y. and were sufficiently rapid to provide considerable potential for high-resolution paleoceanographic/paleoclimatic investigations. Planktonic foraminiferal oxygen isotopic stratigraphy based on the surface-dwelling form Globigerina bulloides defines an almost complete sequence of interstadial/stadial oscillations (Dansgaard/Oeschger cycles [D/O]). Combined use of radiocarbon chronology, deep-sea oxygen isotopic datums, and visual pattern matching has enabled us to identify the sequence of D/O cycles as described for the Greenland (GRIP2) ice core. This has strengthened the stratigraphic framework for the last 60 k.y. in the sequence as a basis for further paleoenvironmental investigations.

(Table 2) Geochemistry of K-feldspars and associated plagioclase phenocrysts and rims at DSDP Legs 69, 52, 51 and 19

Basalts from some holes of the Deep Sea Drilling Project contain secondary K-feldspar which forms pseudomorphs after calcic (>76% An) Plagioclase cores, whereas Plagioclase of rims and microlites (68-74% An) remains unaltered. In basalts of Hole 504B two such grains with relics of Plagioclase in the central parts of phenocysts were recovered. The composition of the Plagioclase rims and of non-replaced phenocrysts is An79-81; the composition of relics is An83. The An and Ab contents of the K-feldspar is higher than in K-feldspar from altered basalt in Hole 418A in the Atlantic Ocean near the Bermuda Rise. Replacement of plagioclases by K-feldspar evidently is caused by oxygen-rich nearbottom sea water penetrating into basalts. The temperature interval of K-feldspathization is probably in the range 30 to 80°C, more-calcic Plagioclase being replaced by K-feldspar at higher temperatures.

(Supplementary Table 1) Proportions of methane (C1) to ethane (C2) and the stable isotope composition of methane (d13CCH4) of gas and oil collected by gas bubble sampler during cruise M 114 in the southern Gulf of Mexico

Hydrocarbon seepage is a widespread process at the continental margins of the Gulf of Mexico. We used a multidisciplinary approach, including multibeam mapping and visual seafloor observations with different underwater vehicles to study the extent and character of complex hydrocarbon seepage in the Bay of Campeche, southern Gulf of Mexico. Our observations showed that seafloor asphalt deposits previously only known from the Chapopote Knoll also occur at numerous other knolls and ridges in water depths from 1230 to 3150 m. In particular the deeper sites (Chapopopte and Mictlan knolls) were characterized by asphalt deposits accompanied by extrusion of liquid oil in form of whips or sheets, and in some places (Tsanyao Yang, Mictlan, and Chapopote knolls) by gas emission and the presence of gas hydrates in addition. Molecular and stable carbon isotopic compositions of gaseous hydrocarbons suggest their primarily thermogenic origin. Relatively fresh asphalt structures were settled by chemosynthetic communities including bacterial mats and vestimentiferan tube worms, whereas older flows appeared largely inert and devoid of corals and anemones at the deep sites. The gas hydrates at Tsanyao Yang and Mictlan Knolls were covered by a 5-to-10 cm-thick reaction zone composed of authigenic carbonates, detritus, and microbial mats, and were densely colonized by 1-2 m-long tube worms, bivalves, snails, and shrimps. This study increased knowledge on the occurrences and dimensions of asphalt fields and associated gas hydrates at the Campeche Knolls. The extent of all discovered seepage structure areas indicates that emission of complex hydrocarbons is a widespread, thus important feature of the southern Gulf of Mexico.