Elevated Serum Amyloid A Levels Contribute to Increased Platelet Adhesion in COVID-19 Patients

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) patients are prone to thrombotic complications that may increase morbidity and mortality. These complications are thought to be driven by endothelial activation and tissue damage promoted by the systemic hyperinflammation associated with COVID-19. However, the exact mechanisms contributing to these complications are still unknown. To identify additional mechanisms contributing to the aberrant clotting observed in COVID-19 patients, we analyzed platelets from COVID-19 patients compared to those from controls using mass spectrometry. We identified increased serum amyloid A (SAA) levels, an acute-phase protein, on COVID-19 patients’ platelets. In addition, using an in vitro adhesion assay, we showed that healthy platelets adhered more strongly to wells coated with COVID-19 patient serum than to wells coated with control serum. Furthermore, inhibitors of integrin aIIbβ3 receptors, a mediator of platelet–SAA binding, reduced platelet adhesion to recombinant SAA and to wells coated with COVID-19 patient serum. Our results suggest that SAA may contribute to the increased platelet adhesion observed in serum from COVID-19 patients. Thus, reducing SAA levels by decreasing inflammation or inhibiting SAA platelet-binding activity might be a valid approach to abrogate COVID-19-associated thrombotic complications.     

Are associations between parental divorce and children's adjustment genetically mediated? An adoption study.

The hypothesis that the association between parental divorce and children's adjustment is mediated by genetic factors was examined in the Colorado Adoption Project, a prospective longitudinal study of 398 adoptive and biological families. In biological families, children who experienced their parents' separation by the age of 12 years exhibited higher rates of behavioral problems and substance use, and lower levels of achievement and social adjustment, compared with children whose parents' marriages remained intact. Similarly, adopted children who experienced their (adoptive) parents' divorces exhibited elevated levels of behavioral problems and substance use compared with adoptees whose parents did not separate, but there were no differences on achievement and social competence. The findings for psychopathology are consistent with an environmentally mediated explanation for the association between parent divorce and children's adjustment; in contrast, the findings for achievement and social adjustment are consistent with a genetically mediated explanation involving passive genotype–environment correlation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interaction between impulsivity and neighborhood context on offending: The effects of impulsivity are stronger in poorer neighborhoods.

This research blends 2 traditions of theorizing on the causes of crime, one focused on the role of individual differences and the other focused on structural and contextual variables. Two related studies examined the relations among impulsivity, neighborhood context, and juvenile offending. The first, cross-sectional study uses a large sample of 13-yr-old inner-city boys, whereas the second, longitudinal study offers a conceptual replication using 17-yr-old inner-city boys who are a subset of the original sample. Across both studies, results indicate that the effects of impulsivity on juvenile offending are stronger in poorer neighborhoods. Furthermore, nonimpulsive boys in poor neighborhoods were at no greater risk for delinquency than nonimpulsive boys in better-off neighborhoods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring impulsivity and examining its relationship to delinquency.

A multimethod, multisource assessment of impulsivity was conducted in a sample of more than 400 boys (mean age 10.2 yrs at screening) who were members of a longitudinal study of the development of antisocial behavior. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the 11 different impulsivity measures revealed 2 impulsivity factors: Cognitive and Behavioral. Cognitive and behavioral impulsivity had similar correlations with socioeconomic status. Cognitive impulsivity was more strongly related to IQ than was behavioral impulsivity. Behavioral impulsivity was more strongly related to delinquency at ages 10 yrs and 12–23 yrs than was cognitive impulsivity. Consistent with theoretical prediction, results also indicate that behavioral impulsivity was especially related to serious delinquency that is stable over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rebellious teens? Genetic and environmental influences on the social attitudes of adolescents.

Genetic and environmental influences in social attitudes were investigated in adopted and nonadopted children (N = 654) and their biological and adoptive relatives in the Colorado Adoption Project. Conservatism and religious attitudes were measured in the children annually from ages 12 to 15 and in the parents during the 12-year-old visit. Multivariate genetic model fitting indicated that both conservatism and religious attitudes, are strongly influenced by shared-family environmental factors throughout adolescence. In contrast to previous findings from twin studies, which suggest that genetic influence on social attitudes does not emerge until adulthood, the present study detected significant genetic influence in conservatism as early as age 12. There was no evidence of genetic influence, however, on religious attitudes during adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comorbidity between abuse of an adult and DSM-III-R mental disorders: evidence from an epidemiological study

The nonuniform distribution of thrombocytes in a microvessel is considered in terms of a previously advanced phenomenological theory, which describes the relationship between the mean blood velocity and thrombus growth rate.     

Comorbid mental disorders: Implications for treatment and sample selection.

Disorders from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) were assessed in a birth cohort of 961 young adults. Comorbid cases exceeded single-disordered cases in chronic history of mental illness, use of treatments, physical health problems, functional interference in daily life, and impaired adaptation across domains such as work, education, health, and social-support networks. Single-disorder cases were also more impaired than nondisordered cases, but comorbid cases were the most severely impaired. Our findings suggest that (a) samples that underrepresent comorbidity (pure single-disorder cases or student samples) will underestimate effect sizes for relations between a disorder and its correlates, whereas samples that overrepresent comorbidity (clinical or adjudicated samples) will overestimate effect sizes, (b) comorbidity is accompanied by complications that challenge treatment planning, compliance, and coordination of service delivery, and (c) comorbidity is associated with physical, educational, and economic problems that make it a broad societal concern. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergenerational Relationships in Young Adulthood and Their Life Course, Mental Health, and Personality Correlates.

To evaluate effects of life-course events and experiences of young adults, as well as personality and mental-health history on intergenerational relationships in young adulthood, the authors examined dyadic relationship data drawn from a sample of more than 900 New Zealand 26-year-olds and their mothers and fathers. Results indicated that intergenerational relations were more positive when young adults were childless, not unemployed, married, and living away from home, but these factors did not interact with family relationship history in predicting relationship outcomes. Intergenerational relationships were less positive when children scored low on positive emotionality and constraint and high on negative emotionality and mental disorders, though these attributes did not account for the effect of life-course factors. Results are discussed in terms of the openness of the parent-child relationship in adulthood to further development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When parents have a history of conduct disorder: How is the caregiving environment affected?

Individuals with early-emerging conduct problems are likely to become parents who expose their children to considerable adversity. The current study tested the specificity of and alternative explanations for this trajectory. The sample included 246 members of a prospective, 30-year cohort study and their 3-year-old children. Parents who had a history of conduct disorder were specifically at elevated risk for socioeconomic disadvantage and relationship violence, but suboptimal parenting and offspring temperament problems were common to parents with any history of disorder. Recurrent disorder, comorbidity, and adversity in the family of origin did not fully account for these findings. The cumulative consequences of early-onset conduct disorder and assortative mating for antisocial behavior may explain the long-term effects of conduct disorder on young adult functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The protective effects of neighborhood collective efficacy on British children growing up in deprivation: A developmental analysis.

This article reports on the influence of neighborhood-level deprivation and collective efficacy on children’s antisocial behavior between the ages of 5 and 10 years. Latent growth curve modeling was applied to characterize the developmental course of antisocial behavior among children in the E-Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, an epidemiological cohort of 2,232 children. Children in deprived versus affluent neighborhoods had higher levels of antisocial behavior at school entry (24.1 vs. 20.5, p