Pilot Study of the Mastery Lifestyle Intervention.

Background: Recognizing the effects of acculturation on quality of life and emotional health, especially during pregnancy, we developed an intervention that would target these factors in order to improve maternal well-being during the prenatal period and potentially improve infant outcomes, particularly preterm birth for Mexican-American women (Latinas).

Objective: The purpose of these pilot studies was to test the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of the mastery lifestyle intervention (MLI) to decrease depressive and anxiety symptoms and improve coping as implemented in prenatal clinics with culturally homogenous groups of Latinas.

Methods: The MLI was tested in three small pilot studies (n = 15), one in El Paso, Texas (an urban area), and two in Bastrop, Texas (a rural area outside Austin), for acceptability and feasibility.

Micro RNA clusters in maternal plasma are associated with preterm birth and infant outcomes.

The current study examined micro RNA (miRNAs) clusters from the maternal plasma to determine their association with preterm birth (PTB) and infant birth outcomes. A subsample of 42 participants who spontaneously delivered either preterm (≤37 weeks) or term was selected from a parent sample of 515 pregnant Mexican American women. Plasma samples and prenatal data were collected at a single mid-gestation time point (22-24 weeks' gestation) and birth outcomes were obtained from medical records after delivery.

How to accommodate women with mobility limitations in biological studies.

People with disabilities should be routinely included in research studies if there is no specific reason for their exclusion. Regardless, they may be inadvertently excluded because of the procedures of the study. By conducting a community-based biological study with women aging with mobility limitations, these authors gained further understanding of their accommodation needs during research participation.

Chronic social stress in puberty alters appetitive male sexual behavior and neural metabolic activity.

Repeated social subjugation in early puberty lowers testosterone levels. We used hamsters to investigate the effects of social subjugation on male sexual behavior and metabolic activity within neural systems controlling social and motivational behaviors. Subjugated animals were exposed daily to aggressive adult males in early puberty for postnatal days 28 to 42, while control animals were placed in empty clean cages.

Acculturation and biobehavioral profiles in pregnant women of Hispanic origin: generational differences.

In Hispanics, acculturation may lead to negative health outcomes. This study used a cross-sectional design to investigate the psychosocial and biological risks in acculturating pregnant women of Hispanic origin (n = 470). Psychosocial risks-depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress-were assessed by self-report, whereas biological measures included stress-related and reproductive hormones.

Acculturation, depressive symptoms, estriol, progesterone, and preterm birth in Hispanic women.

We examined the effects of acculturation, depressive symptoms, progesterone, and estriol (E3) as predictors of preterm birth (PTB) in pregnant Hispanic women. This cross-sectional study recruited a sample of 470 Hispanic women between 22- and 24-week gestation from physician practices and community clinics. We used the CES-D to measure maternal depressive symptoms.

Relationships among maternal nutrient intake and placental biomarkers during the 1st trimester in low-income women.

Purpose: Pre-eclampsia is a multi-system disorder caused by inadequate placentation in early pregnancy; however, little is known about the influence of nutrient intake on placental development during the crucial 1st trimester. The objective of this study was to examine the relationships between nutrient intake and the raw values and ratios of angiogenic [placental growth factor (PlGF)] and antiangiogenic [soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and soluble endoglin (sEng)] placental biomarkers in the 1st trimester.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of low-income, pregnant women (n = 118).

Interleukin-10 predicts preterm birth in acculturated Hispanics.

Objective: Among Hispanics living in the United States, acculturation is associated with an increased risk for preterm birth. Inflammatory pathways are also associated with preterm birth. As such, the current study sought to investigate the potential relationships among preterm birth, acculturation of Hispanic women, and inflammatory markers.

Stress, aggression, and puberty: neuroendocrine correlates of the development of agonistic behavior in golden hamsters.

During puberty, agonistic behaviors undergo significant transitions. In golden hamsters, puberty is marked by a transition from play fighting to adult aggression. During early puberty, male golden hamsters perform play-fighting attacks.

Cortisol controls the pubertal development of agonistic behavior in male golden hamsters via type II corticosteroid receptors.

In male golden hamsters, agonistic behavior undergoes a pubertal transition from play fighting to adult aggression. Previous studies have shown that this aspect of behavioral development is associated with pubertal increases in glucocorticoids and that daily social stress or injections of a synthetic glucocorticoid accelerate the transition. The goals of this study were to confirm the effects of cortisol on the development of agonistic behavior and to investigate the role of type II corticosteroid receptors in this process.

Characterization of offensive responses during the maturation of play-fighting into aggression in male golden hamsters.

In hamsters, the maturation of aggression during puberty is associated with a gradual reduction of offensive responses. The purpose of this study was to analyze the changes during this decrease to provide an enhanced description of the behavior. During early puberty, play-fighting is characterized by long and continuous contact duration throughout the encounter and repetitive attacks within bouts of agonistic interaction.

Repeated social stress and the development of agonistic behavior: individual differences in coping responses in male golden hamsters.

In male golden hamsters, repeated social subjugation during puberty accelerates the development of adult aggressive behavior and enhances its intensity in the presence of smaller individuals. The current study is focused on the characterization of the hormonal and behavioral responses to social subjugation during puberty. Subjugation consisted of daily exposure to an aggressive adult for 20-min periods from postnatal day 28 (P-28) to P-42, while controls were placed into an empty clean cage.

Stress and the development of agonistic behavior in golden hamsters.

Aggressive behavior can be studied as either offensive or defensive responses to a stimulus. The studies discussed in this review are focused on the peripubertal development of offensive aggression in male golden hamsters and its responsiveness to repeated social stress. Quantitative and qualitative changes in offensive responses were analyzed during this period.

Repeated exposure to social stress alters the development of agonistic behavior in male golden hamsters.

In male golden hamsters, exposure to social stress during puberty alters aggressive behavior. Interestingly, agonistic behavior undergoes two major transitions during puberty: a decline in attack frequency and a shift from play fighting to adult-like aggression. Based on previous observations, we developed an approach for characterizing offensive responses as play fighting or adult-like.

Chronic social stress during puberty enhances tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity within the limbic system in golden hamsters.

The present study was carried out to determine the effects of chronic exposure to social stress during puberty on the dopamine system in male golden hamsters. Experimental animals were socially subjugated between postnatal days 28 (P28) and 42. All animals were sacrificed on P46 and their brains processed for immunocytochemistry to tyrosine hydroxylase (TH).