Purpose: Healthy diets are believed to be associated with a reduced risk of experiencing common mental disorders (CMDs) and related symptomatology (such as ruminative thinking), and with healthier brain chemistry and structure, especially in the frontal regions implicated in CMDs, cognitive control, and food choice. Nevertheless, there is very limited research on the relationship between diet health/quality and brain function. In this study we assessed the associations between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC) of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) with the whole brain and whether this connectivity would be associated with ruminative thinking as a transdiagnostic factor for CMDs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe island of Sri Lanka was part of the South Asian mainland for the majority of the past 115,000 years, and connected most recently during the Last Glacial Maximum via the now submerged Palk Strait. The degree to which rising sea levels shaped past human adaptations from the Pleistocene and into the mid to late Holocene in Sri Lanka has remained unclear, in part because the earliest reliable records of human occupation come from the island's interior, where cave sites have revealed occupation of tropical forest ecosystems extending back to 48 thousand years (ka). The island's earliest known open-air sites are all much younger in date, with ages beginning at 15 ka and extending across the Holocene.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTrait narcissism is characterized by significant heterogeneity across individuals. Despite advances in the conceptualization of narcissism, including the increasing recognition that narcissism is a multidimensional construct, the sources of this heterogeneity remain poorly understood. Here, we used a neural trait approach to help better understand "how," and shed light on "why," individuals vary in facets of trait narcissism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) has created complex pressures and challenges for healthcare systems worldwide; however, little is known about the impacts COVID-19 has had on regional/rural healthcare workers. The Loddon Mallee Healthcare Worker COVID-19 Study (LMHCWCS) cohort was established to explore and describe the immediate and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on regional and rural healthcare workers.
Methods: Eligible healthcare workers employed within 23 different healthcare organisations located in the Loddon Mallee region of Victoria, Australia, were included.
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in substantial pressures for healthcare workers across the world. The association between fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress, and the role of psychological resilience have gained research interest. The current study aimed to investigate the cross-sectional association between fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress, in Australian rural/regional healthcare workers and determine whether resilience modifies this association.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCoronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading cause of death in women. Although exercise mitigates CAD, the mechanisms by which exercise impacts epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) are unknown. We hypothesized that exercise promotes an anti-inflammatory microenvironment in EAT from female pigs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is emerging interest regarding the potential beneficial effects of creatine supplementation on indices of brain health and function. Creatine supplementation can increase brain creatine stores, which may help explain some of the positive effects on measures of cognition and memory, especially in aging adults or during times of metabolic stress (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Psychopharmacol
December 2022
Background: Previous magnetic resonance imaging studies in regular cannabis users report altered grey matter volume (GMV) in brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex (PFC), putamen and hippocampus. However, most studies have tended to recruit recreational users with high levels of cannabis use, and have not controlled for the possible confounding effects of tobacco use. We attempt to address these limitations in the present study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman alterations to the marine environment such as an oil spill can induce oxidative stress in phytoplankton. Exposure to oil has been shown to be lethal to most phytoplankton species, but some are able to survive and grow at unaffected or reduced growth rates, which appears to be independent of the class and phylum of the phytoplankton and their ability to consume components of oil heterotrophically. The goal of this article is to test the role of core metabolism plasticity in the oil-resisting ability of phytoplankton.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Negative emotions can promote smoking relapse during a quit attempt. The use of cognitive reappraisal to self-regulate these emotions may therefore aid smoking cessation. Determining whether smokers exhibit difficulties in the use of reappraisal, and which factors are associated with such difficulties, may aid smoking cessations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe use of aqueous film forming foams (AFFFs) as fire retardants is an critical point-source for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) pollution into the aquatic environment. This study investigated PFASs pollution in the surface waters and biota (shellfish and fish) of Galveston Bay, following AFFFs use to extinguish a petrochemical fire (March 17th to 20th, 2019) of oil storage tanks at the International Terminals Company (ITC) in Deer Park (Houston, TX). The levels of up to twelve EPA priority PFASs were measured in surface waters and biota from March-November 2019.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Depression and low mood are leading contributors to disability worldwide. Research indicates that clinical depression may be associated with low creatine concentrations in the brain and low prefrontal grey matter volume. Because subclinical depression also contributes to difficulties in day-to-day life, understanding the neural mechanisms of depressive symptoms in all individuals, even at a subclinical level, may aid public health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The addition of graphic health warnings to cigarette packets can facilitate smoking cessation, primarily through their ability to elicit a negative affective response. Smoking has been linked to COVID-19 mortality, thus making it likely to elicit a strong affective response in smokers. COVID-19-related health warnings (C19HW) may therefore enhance graphic health warnings compared to traditional health warnings (THW).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe antiquity and nature of coastal resource procurement is central to understanding human evolution and adaptations to complex environments. It has become increasingly apparent in global archaeological studies that the timing, characteristics, and trajectories of coastal resource use are highly variable. Within Africa, discussions of these issues have largely been based on the archaeological record from the south and northeast of the continent, with little evidence from eastern coastal areas leaving significant spatial and temporal gaps in our knowledge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The COVID-19 pandemic is creating immense psychosocial disturbance. While global, broad-based research is being conducted, little is known about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on health and well-being or how protective and resilience factors influence the human response in Australian rural and regional communities. Rural and regional communities often have less resources to deal with such public health emergencies and face additional environmental adversity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmerican alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) inhabit freshwater wetlands that are vulnerable to salinization caused by anthropogenic alterations to freshwater flow, in addition to storm surges, sea level rise, and droughts. Salinization of coastal freshwater habitats is a growing concern in a changing climate due to increased frequency and intensity of storm surges and drought conditions. This study opportunistically sampled juvenile male and female wild alligators in various salinities each month excluding November, December, and January for one year at Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in coastal Louisiana.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Diabetes Self Manag Care
February 2021
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to review the literature for Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) to ensure the National Standards for DSMES (Standards) align with current evidence-based practices and utilization trends.
Methods: The 10 Standards were divided among 20 interdisciplinary workgroup members. Members searched the current research for diabetes education and support, behavioral health, clinical, health care environment, technical, reimbursement, and business practice for the strongest evidence that guided the Standards revision.
Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol
October 2021
The origin and evolution of hominin mortuary practices are topics of intense interest and debate. Human burials dated to the Middle Stone Age (MSA) are exceedingly rare in Africa and unknown in East Africa. Here we describe the partial skeleton of a roughly 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Neuropsychopharmacol
August 2021
Background: Real-life decisions are often complex because they involve making sequential choices that constrain future options. We have previously shown that to render such multi-step decisions manageable, people 'prune' (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCigarette smoking is still the largest contributor to disease and death worldwide. Successful cessation is hindered by decreases in prefrontal glutamate concentrations and gray matter volume due to daily smoking. Because nondaily, intermittent smoking also contributes greatly to disease and death, understanding whether infrequent tobacco use is associated with reductions in prefrontal glutamate concentrations and gray matter volume may aid public health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF