Touro College

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel virus that causes COVID-19 infection, has recently emerged and caused a deadly pandemic. Studies have shown that this virus causes worse outcomes and a higher mortality rate in older adults and those with comorbidities such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and chronic kidney disease (CKD). A significant percentage of older American adults have these diseases, putting them at a higher risk of infection. Additionally, many adults with hypertension, diabetes, and CKD are placed on angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers. Studies have shown that these medications upregulate the ACE-2 receptor, the very receptor that the SARS-CoV-2 virus uses to enter host cells. Although it has been hypothesized that this may cause a further increased risk of infection, more studies on the role of these medications in COVID-19 infections are necessary. In this review, we discuss the transmission, symptomatology, and mortality of COVID-19 as they relate to older adults, and possible treatments that are currently under investigation. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:926-929, 2020.

Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is widely used by behavioral scientists to recruit research participants. MTurk offers advantages over traditional student subject pools, but it also has important limitations. In particular, the MTurk population is small and potentially overused, and some groups of interest to behavioral scientists are underrepresented and difficult to recruit. Here we examined whether online research panels can avoid these limitations. Specifically, we compared sample composition, data quality (measured by effect sizes, internal reliability, and attention checks), and the non-naivete of participants recruited from MTurk and Prime Panels-an aggregate of online research panels. Prime Panels participants were more diverse in age, family composition, religiosity, education, and political attitudes. Prime Panels participants also reported less exposure to classic protocols and produced larger effect sizes, but only after screening out several participants who failed a screening task. We conclude that online research panels offer a unique opportunity for research, yet one with some important trade-offs.

The problems of determinants and mechanisms of child development are the most important and difficult problems in child psychology. In contemporary Western psychology, there are detailed studies of the development of perception, memory, cognition, and other mental processes in each period of the child's life. But, what is almost always missing is an explanation of why the child transits from one period of development to the next. Even such a giant of child psychology as Jean Piaget could not give a satisfactory answer to this question. His explanation of the reasons for the child's transitions from one stage to the next was that these transitions "become necessary with development" (Piaget, 1971, p. 9). The weakness of such an explanation was formulated by Piaget (1971) himself: "This solution is difficult to prove. It is even difficult to express or to explain" (p. 9). Dissatisfaction of developmental and child psychologists with the absence of a powerful theory of child development reveals itself in the advocation by some of them of reductionist approaches, in which, as an example, developmental biology is suggested as a "metatheory for cognitive development" (Bjorklund, 1997, p. 144).

There have been recent trends of parents in Western countries refusing to vaccinate their children due to numerous reasons and perceived fears. While opposition to vaccines is as old as the vaccines themselves, there has been a recent surge in the opposition to vaccines in general, specifically against the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine, most notably since the rise in prominence of the notorious British ex-physician, Andrew Wakefield, and his works. This has caused multiple measles outbreaks in Western countries where the measles virus was previously considered eliminated. This paper evaluates and reviews the origins of the anti-vaccination movement, the reasons behind the recent strengthening of the movement, role of the internet in the spread of anti-vaccination ideas, and the repercussions in terms of public health and safety.

alleles in CD and PD provides refined insight into disease mechanisms and may have major implications for the treatment of these two seemingly unrelated diseases.

As the fear of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic subsides, countries around the globe are now dealing with a fear of the epidemic surrounding the prevalence of monkeypox cases in various regions. Previously endemic to regions of Africa, the majority of monkeypox cases associated with the 2022 outbreak are being noted in countries around Europe and in the western hemisphere. While contact-tracing projects are being conducted by various organizations, it is unknown how this outbreak began. Monkeypox virus is one of the many zoonotic viruses that belong to the Orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family. Monkeypox cases received global attention during the 1970s, after the global eradication of smallpox. The smallpox vaccine provided cross-immunity to the monkeypox virus. Upon the cessation of smallpox vaccine administration, monkeypox cases became more prevalent. It was not until the 2003 US outbreak that monkeypox truly gained global attention. Despite the virus being named monkeypox, monkeys are not the origin of the virus. Several rodents and small mammals have been attributed as the source of the virus; however, it is unknown what the true origin of monkeypox is. The name monkeypox is due to the viral infection being first witnessed in macaque monkeys. Though human-to-human transmission of monkeypox is very rare, it is commonly attributed to respiratory droplets or direct contact with mucocutaneous lesions of an infected individual. Currently, there is no treatment allocated for infected individuals, however, supportive treatments can be administered to provide symptom relief to individuals; Medications such as tecovirimat may be administered in very severe cases. These treatments are subjective, as there are no exact guidelines for symptom relief.

OBJECTIVE: To propose criteria for diagnosis of the night eating syndrome (NES). METHOD: An international research meeting was held in April 2008, and consensus criteria for NES diagnosis were determined. RESULTS: The core criterion is an abnormally increased food intake in the evening and nighttime, manifested by (1) consumption of at least 25% of intake after the evening meal, and/or (2) nocturnal awakenings with ingestions at least twice per week. Awareness of the eating episodes is required, as is distress or impairment in functioning. Three of five modifiers must also be endorsed. These criteria must be met for a minimum duration of 3 months. DISCUSSION: These criteria help standardize the definition of NES. Additional aspects of the nosology of NES yet to be fully elaborated include its relationship to other eating and sleep disorders. Assessment and analytic tools are needed to assess these new criteria more accurately.

Curcumin exerts a wide range of beneficial physiological and pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anti-amyloid, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-neoplastic, immune-modulating, metabolism regulating, anti-depressant, neuroprotective and tissue protective effects. However, its poor solubility and poor absorption in the free form in the gastrointestinal tract and its rapid biotransformation to inactive metabolites greatly limit its utility as a health-promoting agent and dietary supplement. Recent advances in micro- and nano-formulations of curcumin with greatly enhanced absorption resulting in desirable blood levels of the active forms of curcumin now make it possible to address a wide range of potential applications, including pain management, and as tissue protective. Using these forms of highly bioavailable curcumin now enable a broad spectrum of appropriate studies to be conducted. This review discusses the formulations designed to enhance bioavailability, metabolism of curcumin, relationships between solubility and particle size relative to bioavailability, human pharmacokinetic studies involving formulated curcumin products, the widely used but inappropriate practice of hydrolyzing plasma samples for quantification of blood curcumin, current applications of curcumin and its metabolites and promising directions for health maintenance and applications.

This meta-analytic review of 11 studies examined the relationship between psychotherapy dropout and therapeutic alliance in adult individual psychotherapy. Results of the meta-analysis demonstrate a moderately strong relationship between psychotherapy dropout and therapeutic alliance (d = .55). Findings indicate that clients with weaker therapeutic alliance are more likely to drop out of psychotherapy. The meta-analysis included a total of 1,301 participants, with an average of 118 participants per study, a standard deviation of 115 participants, and a range from 20 to 451 participants per study. Exploratory analyses were conducted to determine the influence of variables moderating the relationship between alliance and dropout. Client educational history, treatment length, and treatment setting were found to moderate the relationship between alliance and dropout. Studies with a larger percentage of clients who completed high school or higher demonstrated weaker relationships between alliance and dropout. Studies with lengthier treatments demonstrated stronger relationships between alliance and dropout. Inpatient settings demonstrated significantly larger effects than both counseling centers and research clinics. No significant differences were found between client-rated, therapist-rated, and observer/staff-rated alliance. Recommendations for clinicians and researchers are discussed.

BACKGROUND: Significant gender disparities exist in life expectancy and major disease morbidity. There is a need to understand the major issues related to men's health that contributes to these significant disparities. It is hypothesized that, high-risk behaviors and low utilization of all and preventive health services contribute to the higher mortality and the higher and earlier morbidity in men. METHODS: Data was collected from CDC: Health United States, 2007; Health Behavior of Adults: United States 2002-04; and National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2005 Summary. RESULTS: In United States, men are more likely to be regular and heavy alcohol drinkers, heavier smokers who are less likely to quit, non-medical illicit drug users, and are more overweight compared to women. Men are less likely to utilize health care visits to doctor's offices, emergency departments (ED), and physician home visits than women. They are also less likely to make preventive care, hospice care, dental care visits, and have fewer hospital discharges and shorter hospital stays than women. CONCLUSIONS: High-risk behaviors and low utilization of health services may contribute to the lower life expectancy in men. In the context of public health, behavioral and preventive interventions are needed to reduce the gender disparity.

Wound healing involves a series of carefully modulated steps, from initial injury and blood clot to the final reconstituted tissue or scar. A dynamic reciprocity exists throughout between the wound, blood elements, extracellular matrix, and cells that participate in healing. Multiple cytokines and signal transduction pathways regulate these reactions. A major component throughout most of the process is hyaluronan, a straight-chain carbohydrate extracellular matrix polymer. Hyaluronan occurs in multiple forms, chain length being the only distinguishing characteristic between them. Levels of hyaluronan in its high-molecular-weight form are prominent in the earliest stages of wound repair. Progressively more fragmented forms occur in a manner not previously appreciated. We outline here steps in the wound healing cascade in which hyaluronan participates, as well as providing a review of its metabolism. Although described by necessity in a series of quantum steps, the healing process is constituted by a smooth continuum of overlapping reactions. The prevalence of hyaluronan in the wound (initially termed "hexosamine-containing mucopolysaccharide"), particularly in its early stages, was pointed out over half a century ago by the Harvard surgeon J. Engelbert Dunphy. It appears we are now returning to where we started.

This study examined the performance of preschool children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, both typically developing and with low language ability, on a word-learning task. A pretest-teach-posttest method was used to compare a mediation group to a no-mediation group. Children in the mediation group were taught naming strategies using mediated learning experience (MLE). Results indicated that typically developing and low language ability children were differentiated on the basis of pretest-posttest change and that dynamic measures (e.g., posttest scores of single-word labeling and modifiability ratings from the mediation sessions) predicted the ability groups better than static measures (e.g., pretest scores of single-word labeling, description, and academic concepts). These results suggest that dynamic assessment approaches may effectively differentiate language difference from language disorder.

Exposure to stress during gestation results in physiological and behavioral alterations that persist into adulthood. This study examined the effects of prenatal stress on the postnatal expression of sexually differentiated cognitive, hormonal, and neurochemical profiles in male and female rats. Pregnant dams were subjected to restraint stress three times daily for 45 min during d 14-21 of pregnancy. The offspring of control and prenatally stressed dams were tested for anxiety-related and cognitive behaviors, stress and gonadal steroid hormone levels, as well as monoamines and metabolite levels in selected brain regions. Postnatal testosterone levels (measured at 1 and 5 d) did not differ between controls and prenatally stressed animals. In adulthood, the serum corticosterone response to stress was attenuated in prenatally stressed females, eliminating the sex difference normally observed in this parameter. Prenatally stressed females exhibited higher anxiety levels, evidenced by longer open field entry latencies. Prenatal stress had no effect on object recognition memory, but eliminated the advantage normally seen in the male performance of a spatial memory task. Neurochemical profiles of prenatally stressed females were altered toward the masculine phenotype in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus. Thus, prenatal stress altered subsequent cognitive, endocrine, and neurochemical responses in a sex-specific manner. These data reinforce the view that prenatal stress affects multiple aspects of brain development, interfering with the expression of normal behavioral, neuroendocrine, and neurochemical sex differences. These data have implications for the effects of prenatal stress on the development of sexually dimorphic endocrine and neurological disorders.

The natural polyamine spermidine and spermine have been reported to ameliorate aging and aging-induced dementia. However, the mechanism is still confused. An aging model, the senescence accelerated mouse-8 (SAMP8), was used in this study. Novel object recognition and the open field test results showed that oral administration of spermidine, spermine and rapamycin increased discrimination index, modified number, inner squares distance and times. Spermidine and spermine increased the activity of SOD, and decreased the level of MDA in the aging brain. Spermidine and spermine phosphorylate AMPK and regulate autophagy proteins (LC3, Beclin 1 and p62). Spermidine and spermine balanced mitochondrial and maintain energy for neuron, with the regulation of MFN1, MFN2, DRP1, COX IV and ATP. In addition, western blot results (Bcl-2, Bax and Caspase-3, NLRP3, IL-18, IL-1β) showed that spermidine and spermine prevented apoptosis and inflammation, and elevate the expression of neurotrophic factors, including NGF, PSD95and PSD93 and BDNF in neurons of SAMP8 mice. These results indicated that the effect of spermidine and spermine on anti-aging is related with improving autophagy and mitochondrial function.

Abstract OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of performance on the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI; Beery, 1997) to handwriting legibility in children attending kindergarten. The relationship of using lined versus unlined paper on letter legibility, based on a modified version of the Scale of Children’s Readiness in PrinTing (Modified SCRIPT; Weil & Cunningham Amundson, 1994) was also investigated. METHOD. Fifty-four typically developing kindergarten students were administered the VMI; 30 students completed the Modified SCRIPT with unlined paper, 24 students completed the Modified SCRIPT with lined paper. Students were assessed in the first quarter of the kindergarten school year and scores were analyzed using correlational and nonparametric statistical measures. RESULTS. Strong positive relationships were found between VMI assessment scores and student’s ability to legibly copy letterforms. Students who could copy the first nine forms on the VMI performed significantly better than students who could not correctly copy the first nine VMI forms on both versions of the Modified SCRIPT. CONCLUSION. Visual-motor integration skills were shown to be related to the ability to copy letters legibly. These findings support the research of Weil and Cunningham Amundson. Findings from this study also support the conclusion that there is no significant difference in letter writing legibility between students who use paper with or without lines.

The present study was a randomised controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of the Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) approach compared to traditional Psychological Skills Training (PST) for the mental health and sport performance of female collegiate athletes. Two hypotheses were proposed: (a) participants in the MAC group would demonstrate reduced behavioural issues, emotional distress, and psychological symptoms, and increased athletic performance when compared to those in the PST group; (b) MAC participants would exhibit reduced emotion dysregulation and increased psychological flexibility and dispositional mindfulness, compared to PST participants. Participants included 18 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III female student athletes who were randomly assigned into either the MAC or PST group based upon pre-intervention levels of distress; and were assessed pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at 1-month follow-up. A mixed-model ANOVA analysis revealed that the MAC effectively reduced Substance Use, Hostility, and Emotion Dysregulation over time when compared to the PST group. Several within-group differences also emerged, as MAC participants demonstrated reduced Generalised Anxiety, Eating Concerns, and Psychological Distress, as well as increased psychological flexibility from post-intervention to one-month follow-up. As per coach ratings, MAC participants also evidenced improved sport performance from pre-intervention to post-intervention. Results suggest that the MAC is an effective intervention for the mental health and sport performance needs of female collegiate athletes.

Behavioral, electrophysiological, and imaging data reveal impaired visual processing and altered retinal morphology in Parkinson disease. Are visual changes epiphenomena? We report the presence of misfolded α-synuclein in the retina, not hitherto shown, in discrete retinal neurons within the inner retina. They demonstrate the histopathology that may underlie impaired vision and retinal remodeling in Parkinson disease. Furthermore, the histological localization of α-synuclein gives clues to the nonsynaptic mode of α-synuclein propagation.

Pneumomediastinum (PM) is defined as the presence of free air in the mediastinal cavity. It is often regarded as a revealing sign of a more serious medical condition. PM is broken down into two categories, one, with an instigating event, referred to as secondary PM. The other is when free air is discovered in the mediastinal cavity without a clear etiology, referred to as spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SPM). Often misdiagnosed due to the vague nature of presenting symptoms, SPM must be part of the differential diagnosis of a chest pain patient to expedite discovery and if necessary, management. A MedLine/PubMED search was performed identifying all relevant articles with "SPM" in the title. Six case series were reviewed to determine what clinical scenario constitutes a possible case of SPM. Results showed that almost all patients with SPM exhibited some chest pain, but Hamman's crunch was present in only one-fifth of patients. Patients with certain pre-existing pulmonary diseases showed a greater propensity for the presence of free air in the mediastinal cavity. SPM must be diagnosed and managed promptly due to rare, but serious complications and any chest pain with an unknown etiology should contain SPM in the differential diagnosis.

Plant-made vaccines have been the subject of intense interest because they can be produced economically in large scale without the use of animal-derived components. Plant-made therapeutic vaccines against challenging chronic diseases, such as cancer, have received little research attention, and no previous human clinical trials have been conducted in this vaccine category. We document the feasibility of using a plant viral expression system to produce personalized (patient-specific) recombinant idiotype vaccines against follicular B cell lymphoma and the results of administering these vaccines to lymphoma patients in a phase I safety and immunogenicity clinical trial. The system allowed rapid production and recovery of idiotypic single-chain antibodies (scFv) derived from each patient's tumor and immunization of patients with their own individual therapeutic antigen. Both low and high doses of vaccines, administered alone or co-administered with the adjuvant GM-CSF, were well tolerated with no serious adverse events. A majority (>70%) of the patients developed cellular or humoral immune responses, and 47% of the patients developed antigen-specific responses. Because 15 of 16 vaccines were glycosylated in plants, this study also shows that variation in patterns of antigen glycosylation do not impair the immunogenicity or affect the safety of the vaccines. Collectively, these findings support the conclusion that plant-produced idiotype vaccines are feasible to produce, safe to administer, and a viable option for idiotype-specific immune therapy in follicular lymphoma patients.

The neo-Vygotskian approach to child development is introduced to English-speaking readers. Russian followers of Vygotsky have elaborated his ideas into a theory that integrates cognitive, motivational, and social aspects of child development with an emphasis on the role of children's activity as mediated by adults in their development. This theory has become the basis for an innovative analysis of periods in child development and of the mechanism of children's transitions from one period to the next. In this book, the discussion of the neo-Vygotskians' approach to child development is supported by a review of their empirical data, much of which has never before been available to English-speaking readers. The discussion is also supported by a review of recent empirical findings of Western researchers, which are highly consistent with the neo-Vygotskian analysis of child development.