Background: Uric acid (UA) is associated with cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, as well as a wide range of other health conditions and behaviors. A non-invasive measure of UA would be particularly useful in biobehavioral health and clinical research. We examined the validity and stability of salivary UA as a noninvasive measure of serum UA.
Methods: To interrogate the validity of salivary UA as a marker of systemic UA, we measured UA levels in blood and saliva samples collected on a single occasion from healthy adults (n=99; age 18-36 years, 54% male). We examined the serum-saliva correlation for UA and associations between salivary UA and inflammatory markers in serum and saliva, and with self-reported oral health indices. We also tested whether associations of UA with adiponectin and C-reactive protein, circulating markers of cardiovascular health, are evident in saliva. Using longitudinal data from young adults (n=182; age 18-31 years; 46% male) we examined salivary UA stability. Correlations and latent state-trait modeling examined the stability of salivary UA levels; the percent of variance in salivary UA estimates attributable to trait and state-components; and associations of the salivary UA trait component with body mass index (BMI) and sex.
Results: We found a strong positive association between salivary and serum UA. Neither the direction nor the magnitude of this association was related to total protein in saliva, blood leakage into oral fluid, proinflammatory cytokines, or biobehavioral indices of poor oral health. Results also revealed robust inverse associations between UA and adiponectin in both serum and saliva. Salivary UA levels were also highly correlated within and between assessment points 3 hours as well as 2 months apart. Advanced statistical modeling showed the majority (62-66%) of the variance in salivary UA could be attributed to a latent trait component suggesting relative stability in salivary UA levels. Furthermore, BMI and sex were associated with the stable trait-like component of salivary UA.
Conclusions: The findings demonstrate strong measurement validity and stability when UA is measured in saliva, and provide evidence supporting salivary UA as a robust indicator of systemic UA activity. These finding suggest that salivary UA could serve as a biomarker for a wide range of potential conditions and disease states.
An exploratory analysis of the joint contribution of HPA axis activation and motivation to early adolescent depressive symptoms.
Background:
This study examines the interactive contribution of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and approach-avoidance motivation systems to longitudinal changes in depressive symptoms across the adolescent transition. In the summer prior to, or fall of, 4th grade, 132 youth (68 girls; 64 boys; M age = 9.46 years) participated in a social challenge task and reported on their depressive symptoms. In the winter of 6th grade, youth completed a semi-structured interview of depression and a self-report measure of approach-avoidance motivations. Analyses revealed two profiles of risk for adolescent depressive symptoms, with some gender differences: (1) excessive disengagement, reflected in HPA underactivation along with low approach motivation or high avoidance motivation; and (2) excessive engagement, reflected in HPA overactivation along with high approach motivation. This research highlights the importance of a multi-system perspective on development, suggesting that the implications of HPA dysregulation for depressive symptoms are contingent on adolescents’ tendencies toward approach versus avoidance.
Salivary Bioscience PhD Scholarship Opportunity at the University of New South Wales, Sydney
A unique opportunity for PhD study at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, has become available. The UNSW Scientia PhD Scholarship Scheme aims to attract the best and brightest people into strategic research areas and provide them with an enhanced culture of research excellence, mentoring, career development, leadership and community, with:
* $40,000 stipend per annum, for 4 years
* 4 years of funding to complete PhD at UNSW
* Travel/support package of up to $10k per annum to support international relocation costs, career development activities
* Open to domestic and international candidates
Exceptional students interested in PhD study focused on salivary biomarkers associated with callous-unemotional traits, psychopathology and aggression can apply here: https://www.2025.unsw.edu.au/apply/scientia-phd-scholarships/salivary-hormones-risk-and-resiliency-factors-mental-illness within the Parent-Child Research Clinic that provides evidence-based assessment and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) intervention to children with conduct problems.
The preferred higher-degree research (HDR) candidate will have exceptional critical thinking, written/oral communication, and statistical skills. Candidates with prior experience in saliva collection, extraction, and analysis are preferred. Candidates who have experience in conducting research with children and/or clinical populations are highly encouraged to apply.
Applications open May 28 2018 and deadlines are:
July 20 2018 to contact supervisors re: support
Sep 3 2018 to submit online application
Offers will be made to successful candidates from November 5 2018 on.
For more information about the UNSW Scientia PhD Scholarship Program see Frequently Asked Questions. Interested candidates please contact Associate Professor Eva Kimonis with a copy of your CV, transcript, and writing sample.
Call for Papers on Salivary Bioscience in Behavioral Medicine
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE
Letter of Intent Deadline: November 15, 2018
Facilitated by advances in salivary bioscience, great strides over the past several decades have been made in understanding how psychological and social factors “get under the skin.” Research utilizing salivary markers of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, sympathetic nervous system activation, as well as other neuroendocrine and immune processes has greatly contributed to research in behavioral medicine. This has included more precise identification of the biological pathways by which such factors influence health and disease. Behavioral medicine research increasingly integrates advanced clinical and laboratory assessments of relevant immune system and neuroendocrine markers in saliva to identify mechanisms, stress processes, and evaluate the impact of clinical intervention on physiological systems. This special call aims to highlight novel contributions of salivary bioscience to behavioral medicine with emphasis on research relevant to chronic management, the influence of psychological and social factors on disease processes and understanding stress processes. This can include observational, experimental, and intervention research. In fact, papers that document how changes in salivary levels of health-relevant biomarkers in response to behavioral interventions contribute to intervention efficacy are encouraged. Research that bridges the intersections of behavioral medicine and other areas of research (e.g., neuroscience, medical practice, nursing, public health, health psychology) are likely to make a strong contribution.
Prenatal and postnatal cigarette and cannabis exposure: Effects on Secretory Immunoglobulin A in early childhood.
Background:
AIMS: Secretory Immunoglobulin A (SIgA) plays a critical role in immune functioning by preventing pathogens from adhering to epithelial mucosa. Most infectious agents enter the body via mucosal surfaces, thus SIgA serves in the defense against respiratory, intestinal, and urinogenitary infections, as well as periodontal disease and caries. This study examined the possibility that pre- and postnatal exposure to cigarette and cannabis is associated with individual differences in Secretory Immunoglobulin A (SIgA) levels in early childhood.
METHODS: Participants were 50 mother/infant (29 boys; 35% Caucasian) dyads recruited at their first prenatal appointment in a large northeastern community hospital in the United States. Repeated assessments of pre- and postnatal cigarette and cannabis were conducted beginning in the first trimester of pregnancy, using multiple methods (i.e., saliva, meconium, self-report). Infants were grouped into those prenatally exposed to either cigarette only (n = 19), cigarette and cannabis (n = 19), or with no prenatal substance exposure (n = 12). At age 5 years, the children’s saliva was collected and assayed for SIgA.
RESULTS: There were group differences in SIgA levels as a function of prenatal exposure to cigarette and cannabis – children in the cigarette only and the cigarette and cannabis groups had higher SIgA levels compared to the non-exposed children. Children who experienced the combination of postnatal exposure to cigarette and cannabis had higher levels of SIgA, even after accounting for prenatal exposures and other covariates relevant to immune system functioning.
CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal and postnatal exposure to cigarette and cannabis may be associated with hyperactivity of mucosal immunity in early childhood. Links between cigarette and cannabis exposure and health problems in early childhood may be partially explained by prenatal and postnatal exposure-related changes in mucosal immunity.
Early adversity and internalizing symptoms in adolescence: Mediation by individual differences in latent trait cortisol.
Background:
Research suggests that early adversity places individuals at risk for psychopathology across the life span. Guided by concepts of allostasis and allostatic load, the present study examined whether early adversity contributes to the development of subsequent internalizing symptoms through its association with traitlike individual differences in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation. Early adolescent girls (n = 113; M age = 12.30 years) provided saliva samples at waking, 30 min postwaking, and bedtime over 3 days (later assayed for cortisol). Objective contextual stress interviews with adolescents and their mothers were used to assess the accumulation of nine types of early adversity within the family environment. Greater early adversity predicted subsequent increases in internalizing symptoms through lower levels of latent trait cortisol. Traitlike individual differences in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity may be among the mechanisms through which early adversity confers risk for the development of psychopathology.
Peer Networks, Psychobiology of Stress Response, and Adolescent Development
From the Oxford Handbook of Evolution, Biology, and Society:
A consistent focus of research has been on understanding how social relationships shape the activity of the biological stress response system. Progress has been made in characterizing these dynamics at the level of the individual, but significantly less is known about the role of social networks as a proximal ecology in which the stress response system is activated and contributes to human development. The focus of this chapter is on adolescence—a developmental period in which social relationships with peers represent both sources of social stress and opportunities for social buffering. It is proposed that considering peer social networks in which adolescents are embedded will augment understanding of the social context of psychosocial processes, including social status, rejection, isolation, bullying and victimization, and support, that are related to psychobiology of stress.
Testosterone and Proactive-Reactive Aggression in Youth: the Moderating Role of Harsh Discipline.
Background:
This study tests a biosocial model of the link between testosterone and proactive-reactive aggression in youth at varying levels of harsh discipline. Given that proactive aggression is used to gain power and status and the importance of social learning in its formation, we hypothesized that testosterone would be associated with proactive aggression at higher levels of harsh discipline, and that this relationship would be more pronounced in boys than girls. Participants (n = 445; 50% male; M age = 11.92 years; 80% African-American) and their caregivers completed questionnaires including demographics, conflict tactics, and proactive-reactive aggression. Youth also provided a saliva sample for testosterone. Analyses revealed an interaction between testosterone and harsh discipline on proactive aggression in both boys and girls, and an interaction between testosterone and harsh discipline on reactive aggression in boys only. For those experiencing high levels of harsh discipline, testosterone was positively associated with proactive aggression, with the magnitude of the association increasing as harsh discipline increased. For below average levels of harsh discipline, there were protective effects of high testosterone for boy’s reactive aggression and for girl’s proactive aggression. The findings support basic tenets of the biosocial model which suggest that links between testosterone and aggressive behavior are dependent on contextual forces, highlighting the complex relationship between hormones, social context, and aggression. Novel findings include protective effects of high testosterone for those exposed to low levels of harsh discipline. Findings are discussed in light of the context-contingency effect and also within the differential susceptibility framework.
Anticipatory stress associated with functional magnetic resonance imaging: Implications for psychosocial stress research.
Background:
Stress tasks performed during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) elicit a relatively small cortisol response compared to stress tasks completed in a traditional behavioral laboratory, which may be due to apprehension of fMRI that elicits an anticipatory stress response. The present study investigated whether anticipatory stress is greater prior to research completed in an MRI environment than in a traditional behavioral laboratory. Anticipatory stress (indexed by cortisol) was greater prior to testing in the MRI environment than traditional behavioral laboratory. Furthermore, anticipation of fMRI elicited a cortisol response commensurate with the response to the stress task in the behavioral laboratory. However, in the MRI environment, post-stress cortisol was significantly lower than baseline cortisol. Taken together, these findings suggest the stress elicited by anticipation of fMRI may lead to acute elevations in cortisol prior to scanning, which may in turn disrupt the cortisol response to stress tasks performed during scanning.
Employment Opportunity: Two-Year Postdoctoral Fellowship in Community-Based Early Childhood Prevention Research
Two-Year Postdoctoral Fellowship in Community-Based Early Childhood Prevention Research
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
The University of Maryland School of Social Work is seeking a postdoctoral fellow to begin no later than September 1, 2018. The fellowship provides an opportunity to join an existing research team conducting basic and intervention research related to risk and protective factors for early parenting and infant/toddler socioemotional development. The fellow will be provided time, space, and mentoring to develop his/her early career scholarship.
The postdoctoral fellow will work primarily with Dr. Lisa Berlin to analyze data from existing research projects, collaborate on empirical papers, and take an active role in an ongoing prevention research project (Buffering Children from Toxic Stress through Attachment-Based Intervention: An Early Head Start-University Partnership; Administration for Children and Families; Co-PI’s Lisa Berlin and Brenda Jones Harden). The “Partners for Parenting” Project is a community-based randomized trial of Early Head Start services for low income families with infants and toddlers. The trial examines the effects of home-based Early Head Start with a supplemental parenting intervention, the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (“ABC”) program. The postdoctoral fellow’s project-related responsibilities will focus on analysis and writing up of survey, observational, and physiological data from both mothers and their children. The fellow will also assist with the development and application of quantitative coding schemes.
The postdoctoral fellowship is a 12-month, full-time appointment, renewable for a second year. Reappointment for additional years may be possible, depending on the fellow’s performance and the availability of additional funds. Salary is commensurate with NIH guidelines for postdoctoral fellows (see https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-16-134.html).
See http://medschool.umaryland.edu/postdoc/ for more information on postdoctoral training and benefits at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore, located on 32 acres in downtown Baltimore, is known as the “Campus of the Professions” and comprised of seven professional schools (Social Work, Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Law, and Graduate). Also located on campus is the University of Maryland Medical Center. The School of Social Work is one of the ten largest schools of Social Work in the country. Currently ranked 17th by U.S. News & World Report, the School has also been ranked 5th in the nation in publication productivity. The postdoctoral fellow will have access to the UMB Office of Postdoctoral Scholars, which provides resources for career development, writing support, funding opportunities, and collaboration.
Requirements:
A doctoral degree in Social Work, Human Development, Psychology, Public Health, Epidemiology, or a related field is required. Applicants must have defended their dissertation prior to beginning the fellowship, and must
be within three years of completing their doctorate. Preferred candidates will have:
- Substantive expertise in prevention science, early parenting, and/or infant stress regulation
- Strong computer and quantitative analysis skills including ability to use statistical packages such as
SPSS and MPlus - Excellent empirical writing skills and strong organizational, time management, and interpersonal
abilities, including oral/written communication
To Apply:
Please submit the following materials to lberlin@ssw.umaryland.edu:
- Cover letter describing training, skills, research interests, career aspirations, and how they fit with those
of the postdoctoral fellowship - Up-to-date CV
- Three writing samples (preferably at least one first-authored publication)
- Three letters of reference (can be emailed directly from the referring individual).
Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until a suitable candidate is selected. The University of Maryland, Baltimore is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate. Minorities, women, protected veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 9
- Next Page »