Understanding social network support, composition, and structure among cancer caregivers.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the social network support, composition, and structure of pediatric cancer caregivers. METHODS: We used a self-report survey to collect egocentric social network data from 107 caregivers of pediatric cancer patients and calculated descriptive statistics to examine cancer-related support network composition, function, and structure. We then ran logistic regressions to examine the relationships between network characteristics and overall satisfaction with social support. RESULTS: Family members were the most common source of emotional support and logistical support, and health care providers were the most common source of informational support. Participants perceived the "most helpful" forms of support as being: (1) emotional support from family and health care providers; (2) informational support from health care providers and other cancer caregivers; and (3) logistical support from family. Overall, caregivers wished that 9.8% of their network ties had provided more support, with family members being the most common alter type to disappoint caregivers and offer less support than needed/expected. Caregivers who reported higher network disappointment (having network members who offered less support than needed/expected) were significantly less satisfied with emotional support than those with lower network disappointment (Odds Ratio = 0.18, p = 0.02), and caregivers with higher network disappointment were significantly less satisfied with logistical support compared to those with lower network disappointment (Odds Ratio = 0.14, p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Our results show differences in the nature of social support provided by different types of network members. These findings have implications for tailoring social network interventions to improve caregiver and family outcomes.

An initial investigation of using smartphone-enabled micro-temporal data collection to increase acceptability, feasibility, and validity of research on cancer caregiving.

PURPOSE: Smartphone-enabled micro-temporal data collection has potential to increase reliability, validity, and feasibility of participant-reported data and is a promising strategy for pediatric oncology supportive care and quality-of-life research. Given the demands of pediatric cancer caregiving, we sought to understand the feasibility and acceptability of smartphone data collection that included short surveys administered daily for 14 days via text message link. METHODS: We recruited pediatric cancer caregivers, whose children (ages 0-18 years) were on active treatment, to complete a 14-day daily survey study via smartphone. We implemented our study procedures and examined feasibility through study enrollment rates, reasons for refusal, retention rates, number of reminders and number of completed surveys. We examined acceptability using caregiver ratings of survey length, burden, and ease of completion on a smartphone. RESULTS: We recruited (N = 75) caregivers to the study and had an 84% enrollment rate. Reasons for declining participation included passive refusal (n = 13) and too busy (n = 1). The participant retention rate was 100% and compliance with daily survey completion was 99%. Most surveys were completed following two prompts and took participants 5 minutes or less to complete. Caregivers rated the surveys as easy to complete, low burden, and just right in length. CONCLUSION: A daily self-report, using a brief (≤5 minutes) survey administered on a smartphone via text message prompt, is a feasible and acceptable method. Future research should extend these findings to understand the generalizability across pediatric cancer caregiving contexts.

gom1 Mutant Mice as a Model of Otitis Media.

Otitis media (OM) disease is a common cause of hearing loss that is primarily the result of middle ear infection. At present, our understanding of the mechanisms leading to OM is limited due to the lack of animal models of OM with effusion (OME). Here, we report that the mice with genetic otitis media one (gom1) mutants are prone to OM. gom1 Mice were produced by the N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenesis program as an animal model to study OM. These mice demonstrate many common features of OM, such as middle ear effusion and hearing impairment. We revealed that gom1 mice display various signs of middle ear and inner ear dysfunctions, including elevated thresholds of auditory-evoked brainstem response (ABR) and lack of cochlear microphonic responses. Decreased compliance in tympanometry measurements indicates tympanic membrane and ossicular chain malfunction. We confirmed through histological examinations of middle ear structures that 34/34 (100 %) of the mutant mice suffered from severe OME. While individual ears had different levels of effusion and inflammatory cells in the middle ear cavity, all had thickened middle ear mucosa and submucosa compared to control mice (B6). Moreover, the mutant mice displayed cochlear hair cell loss. These observations also suggested the craniofacial abnormalities in the gom1 mouse model. Together, these results indicate that gom1 mice could be valuable for investigating the genetic contribution to the development of middle ear disease.

Structural measures of personal networks predict migrants' cultural backgrounds: an explanation from Grid/Group theory.

Culture and social structure are not separated analytical domains but intertwined phenomena observable in personal networks. Drawing on a personal networks dataset of migrants in the United States and Spain, we show that the country of origin, a proxy for diverse languages and cultural institutions, and religion may be predicted by specific combinations of personal network structural measures (closeness, clustering, betweenness, average degree, etc). We obtain similar results applying three different methods (a multinomial logistic regression, a Random Forest algorithm, and an artificial neural network). This finding is explained within the framework of the Grid/Group theory that has long posed the interdependence of social structural and cultural features of human groups.

Stressful social environment and financial strain drive depressive symptoms, and reveal the effects of a FKBP5 variant and male sex, in African Americans living in Tallahassee.

OBJECTIVES: The World Health Organization estimates that almost 300 million people suffer from depression worldwide. African Americans are understudied for depression-related phenotypes despite widespread racial disparities. In our study of African Americans, we integrated information on psychosocial stressors with genetic variation in order to better understand how these factors associated with depressive symptoms. METHODS: Our research strategy combined information on financial strain and social networks with genetic data to investigate variation in symptoms of depression (CES-D scores). We collected self-report data on depressive symptoms, financial strain (difficulty paying bills) and personal social networks (a model of an individual's social environment), and we genotyped genetic variants in five genes previously implicated in depressive disorders (HTR1a, BDNF, GNB3, SLC6A4, and FKBP5) in 128 African Americans residing in Tallahassee, Florida. We tested for direct and gene-environment interactive effects of the psychosocial stressors and genetic variants on depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Significant associations were identified between high CES-D scores and a stressful social environment (i.e., a high percentage of people in participants' social network who were a source of stress) and high financial strain. Only one genetic variant (rs1360780 in FKBP5) was significantly associated with CES-D scores and only when psychosocial stressors were included in the model; the T allele had an additive effect on depressive symptoms. Sex was also significantly associated with CES-D score in the model with psychosocial stressors and genetic variants; males had higher CES-D scores. No significant interactive effects were detected. CONCLUSIONS: A stressful social environment and material disadvantage increase depressive symptoms in the study population. Additional associations with FKBP5 and male sex were revealed in models that included both psychosocial and genetic data. Our results suggest that incorporating psychosocial stressors may empower future genetic association studies and help clarify the biological consequences of social and financial stress.

HIV Risk among trafficked women: a systematic review of the global literature.

This review examines the global literature concerning HIV/STI risk among trafficked female sex workers (FSWs), in relation to sex trafficking and drug use. The compound effects of sexual and drug-related risk merit a systematic literature review to grant a better understanding of their role in HIV/STI transmission. The current review synthesizes the results of 21 studies conducted in multiple cultural settings. Though the selected studies similarly found heightened HIV risks faced by trafficked FSWs, the focuses varied from the effect of trafficking on HIV, to the effect of entry age to sex work on HIV, to the effects of various forms of violence on HIV, to the effect of HIV risk behaviors on HIV, and to the relationship between HIV and other STIs. While focuses and findings varied, they are in consensus that various forms of violence and diminished autonomy, as a result of sex trafficking, accelerate the FSWs' risks of HIV/STIs even in comparison to women who voluntarily enter the sex trade. Variations in findings may be attributed to specific socio-cultural settings and various research methods as well as differences in the risk factors being studied. This points to the need for more empirical studies - particularly those that specifically target trafficked FSWs and the mechanisms of HIV/STI transmissions among the highly vulnerable population..

Great minds think alike, or do they often differ? Research topic overlap and the formation of scientific teams.

Over the last century scientific research has become an increasingly collaborative endeavor. Commentators have pointed to different factors which contribute to this trend, including the specialization of science and growing need for diversity of interest and expertise areas in a scientific team. Very few studies, however, have precisely evaluated how the diversity of interest topics between researchers is related to the emergence of collaboration. Existing theoretical arguments suggest a curvilinear relationship between topic similarity and collaboration: too little similarity can complicate communication and agreement, yet too much overlap can increase competition and limit the potential for synergy. We test this idea using data on six years of publications across all disciplines at a large U.S. research university (approximately 14,300 articles, 12,500 collaborations, and 3,400 authors). Employing topic modelling and network statistical models, we analyze the relationship between topic overlap and the likelihood of coauthorship between two researchers while controlling for potential confounders. We find an inverted-U relationship in which the probability of collaboration initially increases with topic similarity, then rapidly declines after peaking at a similarity "sweet spot". Collaboration is most likely at low-to-moderate levels of topic overlap, which are substantially lower than the average self-similarity of scientists or research groups. These findings - which we replicate for different units of analysis (individuals and groups), genders of collaborators, disciplines, and collaboration types (intra- and interdisciplinary) - support the notion that researchers seek collaborators to augment their scientific and technical human capital. We discuss implications for theories of scientific collaboration and research policy.

ACE gene haplotypes and social networks: Using a biocultural framework to investigate blood pressure variation in African Americans.

Deaths due to hypertension in the US are highest among African Americans, who have a higher prevalence of hypertension and more severe hypertensive symptoms. Research indicates that there are both genetic and sociocultural risk factors for hypertension. Racial disparities in hypertension also likely involve genetic and sociocultural factors, but the factors may interact and manifest differently across racial groups. Here we use a biocultural approach to integrate genetic and social network data to better understand variation in blood pressure. We assay genetic variation at the angiotensin I converting enzyme gene (ACE) and analyze social network composition and structure in African Americans living in Tallahassee, FL (n = 138). We demonstrate that models including both genetic and social network data explain significantly more variation in blood pressure and have better model diagnostics than do models including only one datatype. Specifically, optimal models for systolic and diastolic blood pressure explain a notable 35% and 21%, respectively, of blood pressure variation. Analysis of the social networks reveals that individuals whose networks are dominated by family connections and are more fragmented have higher blood pressure. Historically, family support has been associated with better mental and physical health, but our results suggest that those family connections can also take a toll on health. These findings raise compelling questions regarding the roles of genetics, family, and social environment in hypertension in the African American community and suggest that interactions among these factors may help explain racial disparities in hypertension more accurately than any of the factors alone.

Network and Individual Factors Associated with Drug Use among Female Sex Workers (FSWs) in Southern China: A Mixed-Method Approach.

Research on women who engage both in drug use and sex work has been limited, as most previous studies have focused on these risk behaviors separately. The current study examines the network properties as well as the demographic and behavioral factors associated with drug use among female sex workers (FSWs) in southern China. We collected survey data (n = 175) in the Hainan province during our 26 months of ethnographic fieldwork in China. Our analyses included Fisher's exact chi-square tests, independent-samples t-tests, Mann-Whitney U, binary logistic regression (LR), as well as ethnographic data analysis. Multivariate analysis showed that women who were younger age, single, more educated, and earning a higher income were more likely to use drugs. Pertaining to network properties, FSWs with a lower percentage of long-term clients (and men) in ego networks were more likely to use drugs; this would imply a mechanism by which drug-using FSWs are more at risk, as the women take a greater number of transient clients. In addition, FSWs who were influential network members (i.e., higher betweenness centrality) and were closely related to other network members (i.e., higher closeness centrality) were more likely to use drugs; this may suggest that drug use is a means of sustaining the high functionality of the workers. Our ethnographic data also showed that club drug use was easily accessible in entertainment venues and was often a means of socialization in FSW communities. Network characteristics correlated to HIV-related risks among FSWs should be further examined in future studies.

Androgen receptor deficiency in monocytes/macrophages does not alter adiposity or glucose homeostasis in male mice.

Androgen deprivation in men leads to increased adiposity, but the mechanisms underlying androgen regulation of fat mass have not been fully defined. Androgen receptor (AR) is expressed in monocytes/macrophages, which are resident in key metabolic tissues and influence energy metabolism in surrounding cells. Male mice bearing a cell-specific knockout of the AR in monocytes/macrophages (M-ARKO) were generated to determine whether selective loss of androgen signaling in these cells would lead to altered body composition. Wild-type (WT) and M-ARKO mice (12-22 weeks of age, n = 12 per group) were maintained on a regular chow diet for 8 weeks and then switched to a high-fat diet for 8 additional weeks. At baseline and on both the regular chow and high-fat diets, no differences in lean mass or fat mass were observed between groups. Consistent with the absence of differential body weight or adiposity, no differences in food intake (3.0 ± 0.5 g per day for WT mice vs 2.8 ± 0.4 g per day for M-ARKO mice) or total energy expenditure (0.6 ± 0.1 Kcal h-1 for WT mice vs 0.5 ± 0.1 Kcal h-1 for M-ARKO mice) were evident between groups during high-fat feeding. Liver weight was greater in M-ARKO than that in WT mice (1.5 ± 0.1 g vs 1.3 ± 0.0 g, respectively, P = 0.02). Finally, M-ARKO mice did not exhibit impairments in glucose tolerance or insulin sensitivity relative to WT mice at any study time point. In aggregate, these findings suggest that AR signaling specifically in monocytes/macrophages does not contribute to the regulation of systemic energy balance, adiposity, or insulin sensitivity in male mice.

Detecting and analyzing research communities in longitudinal scientific networks.

A growing body of evidence shows that collaborative teams and communities tend to produce the highest-impact scientific work. This paper proposes a new method to (1) Identify collaborative communities in longitudinal scientific networks, and (2) Evaluate the impact of specific research institutes, services or policies on the interdisciplinary collaboration between these communities. First, we apply community-detection algorithms to cross-sectional scientific collaboration networks and analyze different types of co-membership in the resulting subgroups over time. This analysis summarizes large amounts of longitudinal network data to extract sets of research communities whose members have consistently collaborated or shared collaborators over time. Second, we construct networks of cross-community interactions and estimate Exponential Random Graph Models to predict the formation of interdisciplinary collaborations between different communities. The method is applied to longitudinal data on publication and grant collaborations at the University of Florida. Results show that similar institutional affiliation, spatial proximity, transitivity effects, and use of the same research services predict higher degree of interdisciplinary collaboration between research communities. Our application also illustrates how the identification of research communities in longitudinal data and the analysis of cross-community network formation can be used to measure the growth of interdisciplinary team science at a research university, and to evaluate its association with research policies, services or institutes.

APOBEC1 complementation factor (A1CF) is dispensable for C-to-U RNA editing in vivo.

Editing of the human and murine ApoB mRNA by APOBEC1, the catalytic enzyme of the protein complex that catalyzes C-to-U RNA editing, creates an internal stop codon within the APOB coding sequence, generating two protein isoforms. It has been long held that APOBEC1-mediated editing activity is dependent on the RNA binding protein A1CF. The function of A1CF in adult tissues has not been reported because a previously reported null allele displays embryonic lethality. This work aimed to address the function of A1CF in adult mouse tissues using a conditional A1cf allele. Unexpectedly, A1cf-null mice were viable and fertile with modest defects in hematopoietic, immune, and metabolic parameters. C-to-U RNA editing was quantified for multiple targets, including ApoB, in the small intestine and liver. In all cases, no changes in RNA editing efficiency were observed. Blood plasma analysis demonstrated a male-specific increase in solute concentration and increased cellularity in the glomeruli of male A1cf-null mice. Urine analysis showed a reduction in solute concentration, suggesting abnormal water homeostasis and possible kidney abnormalities exclusive to the male. Computational identification of kidney C-to-U editing sites from polyadenylated RNA-sequencing identified a number of editing sites exclusive to the kidney. However, molecular analysis of kidney C-to-U editing showed no changes in editing efficiency with A1CF loss. Taken together, these observations demonstrate that A1CF does not act as the APOBEC1 complementation factor in vivo under normal physiological conditions and suggests new roles for A1CF, specifically within the male adult kidney.

Social networks and participation with others for youth with learning, attention, and autism spectrum disorders.

BACKGROUND: Social participation involves activities and roles providing interactions with others, including those within their social networks. PURPOSE: This study sought to characterize social networks and participation with others for 36 youth, ages 11 to 16 years, with (n = 19) and without (n = 17) learning disability, attention disorder, or high-functioning autism. METHOD: Social networks were measured using methods of personal network analysis. The Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment With Whom dimension scores were used to measure participation with others. Youth from the clinical group were interviewed regarding their experiences within their social networks. FINDINGS: Group differences were observed for six social network variables and in the proportion of overall, physical, recreational, social, and informal activities engaged with family and/or friends. Qualitative findings explicated strategies used in building, shaping, and maintaining social networks. IMPLICATIONS: Social network factors should be considered when seeking to understand social participation.

Mixed-Method Exploration of Social Network Links to Participation.

The people who regularly interact with an adolescent form that youth's social network (SN), which may impact participation. We investigated the relationship of SNs to participation using personal network analysis and individual interviews. The sample included 36 youth, aged 11 to 16 years. Nineteen had diagnoses of learning disability, attention disorder, or high-functioning autism, and 17 were typically developing. Network analysis yielded 10 network variables, of which 8 measured network composition and 2 measured network structure, with significant links to at least I measure of participation using the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE). Interviews from youth in the clinical group yielded description of strategies used to negotiate social interactions, as well as processes and reasoning used to remain engaged within SNs. Findings contribute to understanding the ways SNs are linked to youth participation and suggest the potential of SN factors for predicting rehabilitation outcomes.

Herbal remedy knowledge acquisition and transmission among the Yucatec Maya in Tabi, Mexico: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Ethnobotanical knowledge continues to be important for treating illness in many rural communities, despite access to health care clinics and pharmaceuticals. However, access to health care clinics and other modern services can have an impact on the distribution of medical ethnobotanical knowledge. Many factors have been shown to be associated with distributions in this type of knowledge. The goal of the sub-analyses reported in this paper was to better understand the relationship between herbal remedy knowledge, and two such factors, age and social network position, among the Yucatec Maya in Tabi, Yucatan. METHODS: The sample consisted of 116 Yucatec Maya adults. Cultural consensus analysis was used to measure variation in herbal remedy knowledge using competence scores, which is a measure of participant agreement within a domain. Social network analysis was used to measure individual position within a network using in-degree scores, based on the number of people who asked an individual about herbal remedies. Surveys were used to capture relevant personal attributes, including age. RESULTS: Analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between age and the herbal medicine competence score for individuals 45 and under, and no relationship for individuals over 45. There was an insignificant relationship between in-degree and competence scores for individuals 50 and under and a significant positive correlation for those over 50. CONCLUSIONS: There are two possible mechanisms that could account for the differences between cohorts: 1) knowledge accumulation over time; and/or 2) the stunting of knowledge acquisition through delayed acquisition, competing treatment options, and changes in values. Primary ethnographic evidence suggests that both mechanisms may be at play in Tabi. Future studies using longitudinal or cross-site comparisons are necessary to determine the whether and how the second mechanism is influencing the different cohorts.

Designing a CTSA-Based Social Network Intervention to Foster Cross-Disciplinary Team Science.

This paper explores the application of network intervention strategies to the problem of assembling cross-disciplinary scientific teams in academic institutions. In a project supported by the University of Florida (UF) Clinical and Translational Science Institute, we used VIVO, a semantic-web research networking system, to extract the social network of scientific collaborations on publications and awarded grants across all UF colleges and departments. Drawing on the notion of network interventions, we designed an alteration program to add specific edges to the collaboration network, that is, to create specific collaborations between previously unconnected investigators. The missing collaborative links were identified by a number of network criteria to enhance desirable structural properties of individual positions or the network as a whole. We subsequently implemented an online survey (N = 103) that introduced the potential collaborators to each other through their VIVO profiles, and investigated their attitudes toward starting a project together. We discuss the design of the intervention program, the network criteria adopted, and preliminary survey results. The results provide insight into the feasibility of intervention programs on scientific collaboration networks, as well as suggestions on the implementation of such programs to assemble cross-disciplinary scientific teams in CTSA institutions.

Developmental cis-regulatory analysis of the cyclin D gene in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus.

Cyclin D genes regulate the cell cycle, growth and differentiation in response to intercellular signaling. While the promoters of vertebrate cyclin D genes have been analyzed, the cis-regulatory sequences across an entire cyclin D locus have not. Doing so would increase understanding of how cyclin D genes respond to the regulatory states established by developmental gene regulatory networks, linking cell cycle and growth control to the ontogenetic program. Therefore, we conducted a cis-regulatory analysis on the cyclin D gene, SpcycD, of the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, during embryogenesis, identifying upstream and intronic sequences, located within six defined regions bearing one or more cis-regulatory modules each.

Changes in personal networks of women in residential and outpatient substance abuse treatment.

Changes in personal network composition, support and structure over 12 months were examined in 377 women from residential (n=119) and intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment (n=258) through face-to-face interviews utilizing computer based data collection. Personal networks of women who entered residential treatment had more substance users, more people with whom they had used alcohol and/or drugs, and fewer people from treatment programs or self- help groups than personal networks of women who entered intensive outpatient treatment. By 12 months post treatment intake, network composition improved for women in residential treatment; however, concrete support was still lower and substance users are still more prevalent in their networks. Network composition of women in outpatient treatment remained largely the same over time. Both groups increased cohesiveness within the network over 12 months. Targeting interventions that support positive changes in personal networks may heighten positive long term outcomes for women entering treatment.

Cross-cultural and site-based influences on demographic, well-being, and social network predictors of risk perception in hazard and disaster settings in Ecuador and Mexico: predictors of risk perception in hazard and disaster settings in Ecuador and Mexico.

Although virtually all comparative research about risk perception focuses on which hazards are of concern to people in different culture groups, much can be gained by focusing on predictors of levels of risk perception in various countries and places. In this case, we examine standard and novel predictors of risk perception in seven sites among communities affected by a flood in Mexico (one site) and volcanic eruptions in Mexico (one site) and Ecuador (five sites). We conducted more than 450 interviews with questions about how people feel at the time (after the disaster) regarding what happened in the past, their current concerns, and their expectations for the future. We explore how aspects of the context in which people live have an effect on how strongly people perceive natural hazards in relationship with demographic, well-being, and social network factors. Generally, our research indicates that levels of risk perception for past, present, and future aspects of a specific hazard are similar across these two countries and seven sites. However, these contexts produced different predictors of risk perception-in other words, there was little overlap between sites in the variables that predicted the past, present, or future aspects of risk perception in each site. Generally, current stress was related to perception of past danger of an event in the Mexican sites, but not in Ecuador; network variables were mainly important for perception of past danger (rather than future or present danger), although specific network correlates varied from site to site across the countries.

Evidence of emerging hookah use among university students: a cross-sectional comparison between hookah and cigarette use.

BACKGROUND: The emergence of hookah is being noted on college campuses and in large U.S. cities and evidence points to an increasing trend for college students. The purpose of this study was to assess hookah use and identify associations with cigarette smoking and demographic factors. METHODS: An intercept sampling method was used at various locations on a large university campus in the southeastern United States, yielding a high participation rate (52%). A total of 1,203 participants completed a computer-aided survey that assessed the use of tobacco products. The sample characteristics were then weighted to match the University population of students enrolled during the same semester. Bivariate (chi-square and t-test) and multivariate (logistic regression) tests of association were conducted to assess differences between cigarette and hookah users. RESULTS: Hookah smoking exceeded cigarette smoking for both ever use (46.4% vs 42.1%) and past year use (28.4% vs 19.6%). Females and males used hookah at similar rates. Hispanic respondents had the highest prevalence of current use of hookah (18.9%) and cigarettes (16.4%). CONCLUSIONS: As hookah surpasses cigarette use, efforts need to be made to slow the increase in new tobacco products that are attractive to young adults and that pose many of the same health risks as those related to traditional tobacco products. Prevalence of all emerging tobacco products, including hookah, and the relationship with cigarette use needs to be monitored on an ongoing basis.