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High Vs (high + v)
Selected AbstractsNeuroticism, extraversion, stressful life events and asthma: a cohort study of middle-aged adultsALLERGY, Issue 10 2009A. Loerbroks Background:, Stressful life events can trigger asthma exacerbations, but could also contribute to the development of incident asthma. However, only few studies have investigated the association between stressful life events and adult asthma prospectively. Likewise, stress-related personality traits (e.g. neuroticism and extraversion) may increase asthma risk, but this has been examined in only one prospective study. We therefore aimed to investigate the association between neuroticism, extraversion, stressful life events and incident asthma. Methods:, A population-based sample of 5114 middle-aged adults completed questionnaires between 1992 and 1995. Among those alive in 2002/2003, 4010 (83%) were followed-up by questionnaires. Exposures of interest included neuroticism, extraversion and three stressful life events (unemployment, having broken off a life partnership and death of a close person). Associations with incident asthma were estimated by multivariable risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) using Poisson regression. Results:, High vs low neuroticism predisposed to developing asthma (RR = 3.07, 95% CI = 1.71,5.48), but high extraversion did not (RR = 1.30, 95% CI = 0.79,2.15). Having broken off a life partnership significantly increased asthma risk (RR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.20,4.21) in contrast to death of a close person (RR = 1.06, 95% CI = 0.64,1.75) or unemployment (RR = 1.65, 95% CI = 0.72,3.78). Conclusions:, High levels of neuroticism may increase the risk of asthma in middle-aged adults. Having broken off a life partnership was the only stressful event, which was associated with incident asthma. Synthesized with evidence from earlier studies, this could reflect that interpersonal conflicts may increase asthma risk, possibly along an immunological pathway. [source] Effects of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1C toxin on the metabolic rate of Cry1C resistant and susceptible Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)PHYSIOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 5 2004Beatrice N. Dingha Abstract., The effects of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry1C toxin on the metabolic rate of Cry1C resistant and susceptible Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) are investigated using closed-system respirometry. Mechanisms of resistance to the Bt toxin may be associated with an energetic cost that can be measured as an increase in metabolic rate compared with Bt-susceptible insects. This hypothesis is tested using third- and fifth-instar larvae and 1,7-day-old pupae. Metabolic rate is measured as the amount of O2 consumed and CO2 produced. V,O2 and V,CO2 (mL g,1 h,1) of third-instar Cry1C resistant larvae reared continuously on a diet containing 320 µg Cry1C toxin per g diet (CryonT) are significantly greater than third-instar Cry1C resistant larvae reared on toxin for 5 days and reared thereafter on untreated diet (Cry5dT), Cry1C resistant larvae reared on untreated diet (CryReg) and the susceptible parental strain (SeA) reared on untreated diet. There are no differences in V,O2 and V,CO2 (mL g,1 h,1) among treatment groups for fifth-instar larvae. CryonT larvae and pupae weigh significantly less than larvae and pupae receiving other treatments. Smaller body mass may be an important biological cost to individuals exposed continuously to Bt toxin. One-day-old pupae of all treatment groups exhibit a high V,O2 (mean approximately 0.174 mL g,1 h,1) with CryonT having a significantly greater value than all other treatments; there are no differences among the other treatments. Pupal metabolic rates of all treatment groups decline to a minimum between days 2 and 4 then increase linearly between days 4 and 7 until adult emergence. These results demonstrate no difference in metabolic rates, and possibly fitness costs, between resistant (CryReg and Cry5dT) and susceptible (SeA) S. exigua except when larvae were reared continuously on toxin (CryonT). [source] Individual differences in socioaffective skills influence the neural bases of fear processing: The case of alexithymiaHUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 10 2010Lydia Pouga Abstract Being exposed to fear signals makes us feel threatened and prompts us to prepare an adaptive response. In our previous studies, we suggested that amygdala (AMG) and premotor cortex (PM) play a role in the preparation of the observers' motor response required by the situation. The present experiment aimed at assessing how interindividual differences in alexithymia,a personality trait associated with deficits in emotional reactivity and regulation,influence the neural network associated with the perception of fear. Using fMRI, we scanned 34 healthy subjects while they were passively observing fearful body expressions. Applying a dimensional approach, we performed correlation analyses between fear-related brain areas and alexithymia scores among all participants. Using a categorical approach, we conducted a between-group comparison (13 high vs. 12 low-alexithymia subjects). Our results were threefold. First, the right AMG activity in response to fearful stimuli was negatively correlated with the level of difficulty to identify emotions. Second, PM activity was linked to reduced subjective emotional reactivity. Third, the between-group comparison revealed greater activity in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) for high than low-alexithymia scorers. Moreover, the relationship between ACC and PM was in opposite direction in individuals with high (negative link) and low (positive link) alexithymia. Therefore, compared to our previous findings, we hereby further reveal how ACC interacts with PM to sustain self-regulation of one's own emotional state in response to threatening social signals. Moreover, this neural mechanism could account for the description of the "cold-blooded" personality of individuals with alexithymia. Hum Brain Mapp, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Global map of the prevalence of symptoms of rhinoconjunctivitis in children: The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase ThreeALLERGY, Issue 1 2009N. Aït-Khaled Background:, Phase One of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) measured the global patterns of prevalence and severity of symptoms of rhinoconjunctivitis in children in 1993,1997. Methods:, International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood Phase Three was a cross-sectional survey performed 5,10 years after Phase One using the same methodology. Phase Three covered all of the major regions of the world and involved 1 059 053 children of 2 age groups from 236 centres in 98 countries. Results:, The average overall prevalence of current rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms was 14.6% for the 13- to 14-year old children (range 1.0,45%). Variation in the prevalence of severe rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms was observed between centres (range 0.0,5.1%) and regions (range 0.4% in western Europe to 2.3% in Africa), with the highest prevalence being observed mainly in the centres from middle and low income countries, particularly in Africa and Latin America. Co-morbidity with asthma and eczema varied from 1.6% in the Indian sub-continent to 4.7% in North America. For 6- to 7-year old children, the average prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms was 8.5%, and large variations in symptom prevalence were also observed between regions, countries and centres. Discussion:, Wide global variations exist in the prevalence of current rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms, being higher in high vs low income countries, but the prevalence of severe symptoms was greater in less affluent countries. Co-morbidity with asthma is high particularly in Africa, North America and Oceania. This global map of symptom prevalence is of clinical importance for health professionals. [source] Expression of double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase in small-size peripheral adenocarcinoma of the lungPATHOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 11 2005Mee Sook Roh The authors investigated the protein expression of double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase (PKR), which was identified by using a previous cDNA microarray study, to discover PKR's correlations with several pathological parameters and to elucidate its role in neoplastic transformation and progression of lung adenocarcinomas. Immunohistochemistry for PKR was performed and a semiquantitative scoring method was calculated based on staining intensity and percentage of immunoreactive tumor cells (high vs low) for one bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC), 16 adenocarcinomas consisting of BAC and invasive carcinoma (mixed) and 21 invasive adenocarcinomas without BAC (invasive). The BAC had high-grade expression and the mixed type tended to more frequently show high-grade expression than the invasive type (P = 0.028). There were no significant associations with age, tumor size, lymph node metastasis, lymphovascular invasion or the pathological stage. The Kaplan,Meier survival curves demonstrated that the patients with high-grade PKR expression had significantly shorter survival periods than those patients with low-grade PKR expression (P = 0.018). These results do not support the concept of PKR as a tumor suppressor in small-size peripheral adenocarcinomas of the lung. [source] Magnitude of nighttime transpiration does not affect plant growth or nutrition in well-watered ArabidopsisPHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM, Issue 3 2009Mairgareth A. Christman Significant water loss occurs throughout the night via partially open stomata in many C3 and C4 plant species. Although apparently wasteful in terms of water use, nighttime transpiration (Enight) is hypothesized to benefit plants by enhancing nutrient supply. We tested the hypothesis that plants with greater Enight would have improved plant nutrient status and greater fitness, estimated as pre-bolting biomass, for Arabidopsis thaliana. Two very different levels of Enight were generated in plants by exposing them to high vs low nighttime leaf-to-air vapor pressure deficits (VPDleaf) in controlled environment chambers. An assessment of responses of nighttime leaf conductance (gnight) to VPDleaf indicated that Enight differed by at least 80% between the treatments. This large difference in Enight, imposed over the entire vegetative growth phase of Arabidopsis, had no effect on leaf nutrient content (N, Ca, K) or pre-bolting rosette biomass. The lack of response to differences in Enight held true for both a high and a low nitrogen (N) treatment, even though the low N treatment decreased leaf N and biomass by 40,60%. The N treatment had no effect on gnight. Thus, higher Enight did not provide a nutrient or growth benefit to Arabidopsis, even when the plants were N-limited. [source] Carbonic anhydrase IX and pathological features as predictors of outcome in patients with metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma receiving vascular endothelial growth factor-targeted therapyBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 6 2010Toni K. Choueiri Study Type , Prognosis (retrospective cohort) Level of Evidence 2b OBJECTIVE To investigate the utility of tumour carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) expression and histological features for predicting the outcome in patients with metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) treated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS We identified 118 patients with mRCC initiating first-line VEGF-targeted therapy, including 94 with clinical and histological data, and available tissue. The primary endpoint was to detect an interaction between sorafenib vs sunitinib treatment and CAIX status on tumour shrinkage. Other treatment outcomes were also assessed. RESULTS There was heterogeneity in tumour responsiveness to sunitinib or sorafenib according to CAIX status; the mean shrinkage was ,17% vs ,25% for sunitinib-treated patients with high vs low tumour CAIX expression, compared to ,13% vs +9% for sorafenib-treated patients (P interaction, 0.05). A higher tumour clear-cell component was independently associated with greater tumour shrinkage (P= 0.02), response (P= 0.02) and treatment duration (P= 0.02). CONCLUSIONS Although CAIX expression had no prognostic value in patients with clear-cell mRCC treated with VEGF-targeted therapy, it might be a predictive biomarker for response to sorafenib treatment. Patients with a higher clear-cell component in their tumours are likely to have a superior clinical benefit from VEGF-targeted therapy. [source] | |||||||||||||