Non-random Mating and Convergence Over Time for Mental Health, Life Satisfaction, and Personality: The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study

Earlier studies have shown evidence for various sources of observed spousal similarity regarding different traits and characteristics. We explored the relative contribution of non-random mating and convergence to spouse similarity with respect to global mental health, life satisfaction, optimism, and type A personality. We used population-based data collected for the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (1984–1986) and prospective registry information about when and with whom people entered into marriage/cohabitation between 1970 and 2000 for 19,599 married/cohabitating couples and 1,551 future couples that entered into marriage/cohabitation during the 16 years after data collection. Couples were categorized by interval between data collection and entry into marriage/cohabitation. Age-adjusted polychoric correlations calculated for each group were used as the dependent variables in non-linear, segmented regression analysis, with time since or until marriage/cohabitation as the independent variable. Initial correlations between partners-to-be were low to moderate, typically around one-half of the values estimated in existing couples, indicating both non-random mating and early convergence. There appeared to be moderate divergence during the first 20 years of marriage/cohabitation and moderate convergence during the rest of life.     

Virulence and thrombocyte affectation of two Aspergillus terreus isolates differing in amphotericin B susceptibility

Aspergillus terreus-induced invasive infections exhibit high lethality, partly due to the intrinsic resistance for amphotericin B (AmB). We compared the virulence and pathogenesis of an AmB-resistant isolate of A. terreus (ATR) with that of a rare variant showing enhanced sensitivity for AMB (ATS). The modifications that result in enhanced AmB sensitivity of isolates are not associated with reduced virulence in vivo; instead, the ATS-infected mice died even faster than the ATR-infected animals. Since A. terreus enters the blood stream in most patients and frequently induces thrombosis, we studied a putative correlation between virulence of the two A. terreus isolates and their effect on thrombocytes. Those mice infected with the more virulent ATS isolate had lower thrombocyte numbers and more phosphatidylserine exposure on platelets than ATR-infected mice. In vitro experiments confirmed that ATS and ATR differ in their effect on thrombocytes. Conidia, aleurioconidia and hyphae of ATS were more potent than ATR to trigger thrombocyte stimulation, and thrombocytes adhered better to ATS than to ATR fungal structures. Furthermore, ATS secreted more soluble factors that triggered platelet stimulation than ATR. Thus, it might be suggested that the capacity of a fungal isolate to modulate thrombocyte parameters contributes to its virulence in vivo.     

Tau pathology modulates Pin1 post-translational modifications and may be relevant as biomarker

A prerequisite to dephosphorylation at Ser–Pro or Thr–Pro motifs is the isomerization of the imidic peptide bond preceding the proline. The peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase named Pin1 catalyzes this mechanism. Through isomerization, Pin1 regulates the function of a growing number of targets including the microtubule-associated tau protein and is supposed to be deregulated Alzheimer's disease (AD). Using proteomics, we showed that Pin1 is posttranslationally modified on more than 5 residues, comprising phosphorylation, N-acetylation, and oxidation. Although Pin1 expression remained constant, Pin1 posttranslational two-dimensional pattern was modified by tau overexpression in a tau-inducible neuroblastoma cell line, in our THY-Tau22 mouse model of tauopathy as well as in AD. Interestingly, in all of these systems, Pin1 modifications were very similar. In AD brain tissue when compared with control, Pin1 is hyperphosphorylated at serine 16 and found in the most insoluble hyperphosphorylated tau fraction of AD brain tissue. Furthermore, in all tau pathology conditions, acetylation of Pin1 may also contribute to the differences observed. In conclusion, Pin1 displays several posttranslational modifications, which are specific in tauopathies and may be useful as biomarker.     

Simultaneous infection with multiple herpesviruses.

Active dual infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) was observed in four otherwise healthy persons with mononucleosis syndromes. A secondary serologic response to EBV occurred in three patients as determined by the presence of antibodies to EBV-induced nuclear antigen (EBNA) early in the illness. All four patients lacked heterophil antibodies; in the one case tested, immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies specific for EBV viral capsid antigen (VCA) were absent as well. The Guillain-Barré syndrome occurred in one patient, who also had active infection with herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). In a fifth patient, herpes zoster developed complicating heterophil-positive infectious mononucleosis due to primary infection with EBV.These five cases demonstrate that mononucleosis syndromes may occur in association with dual or multiple herpesvirus infections and that reactivation of EBV may be common during heterophil-negative mononucleosis. Reactivation of latent virus is most likely related to depressed cellular immunity due to a primary infection with another herpesvirus. An alternate hypothesis is that viral DNA polymerase induced by infection with one herpesvirus might simultaneously permit the productive replication of a second herpesvirus previously latent within the same cell. Thus, reactivation may result from molecular interactions between viruses at the cellular level.The possibility of multiple infections must be considered whenever determining the specific viral etiology of heterophil-negative mononucleosis.     

Wavelet analysis of cutaneous blood flow in melanocytic skin lesions

Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) is frequently used to study the microcirculation. Usually LDF time series are analyzed by conventional linear methods, mainly Fourier analysis. The aim of this study was to observe dynamic blood perfusion of the skin in malignant and benign melanocytic skin lesions. Wavelet transformation was performed on each LDF time series in order to calculate a vasomotion field. First, the differences in vasomotion between healthy and pigmented skin were evaluated visually on six different time scales of the vasomotion field. In order to quantify the findings, vasomotion scale variance (VSV) was calculated for each scale plane of the vasomotion field. These VSV were compared using contrast DeltaVSV to determine the difference between healthy skin and a pigmented skin lesion in the same patient. After the measurements, the skin lesions were excised and examined histologically. We found that wavelet analysis of LDF time series is a specific, sensitive method for the in vivo identification of malignant melanoma. It is a non-invasive procedure and takes minimal time to be carried out.     

The effect of continuous enteral nutrition on gastric acidity in humans.

The effect of continuous intraduodenal enteral nutrition on gastric pH was compared with the effects of fasting and of parenteral and standard nutrition control regimens containing equal amounts of carbohydrate, protein, and lipid. Eleven healthy volunteers underwent four 24-hour intragastric pH-metry studies; serum glucose, calcium, immunoreactive insulin and gastrin levels were determined during fasting and enteral and parenteral regimens. Median 24-hour gastric pH during enteral nutrition (group median pH 1.4) was lower than during parenteral nutrition (pH 1.9; P = 0.0039 vs. enteral) but was not different from fasting (pH 1.4) or standard nutrition (pH 1.6) values. Median 24-hour serum glucose levels during enteral nutrition (group median, 4.8 mmol/L) were higher than during fasting (4.0 mmol/L; P = 0.00098 vs. enteral) and lower than during parenteral nutrition (5.3 mmol/L; P = 0.0039 vs. enteral). Median 24-hour serum insulin levels during enteral nutrition (group median, 22.9 mU/L) were higher than during fasting (group median, 9.2 mU/L; P = 0.00098 vs. enteral) but similar to levels during parenteral nutrition (23.3 mU/L). Neither median 24-hour gastrin levels nor calcium levels were affected by any nutrition regimen. Thus, continuous enteral nutrition produces gastric pH values similar to those seen with fasting or standard nutrition, suggesting that, under most physiological conditions, gastric acidity is subject to close feedback control. Parenteral nutrition increases gastric pH, suggesting that systemic nutrients may influence this feedback mechanism.     

In-session seizures during low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with epilepsy

Low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is emerging as a therapeutic tool for patients with intractable epilepsy. Although seizures during treatment have been reported as adverse events in some patients, the nature and severity of seizures that may be provoked by low-frequency rTMS in patients with epilepsy have not been extensively studied. Accordingly, this article documents seizures in patients (n = 5) with intractable epilepsy and average seizure frequency greater than one per day who underwent 1-Hz rTMS for seizure suppression. We report three observations in the present case series: (1) in each instance the in-session seizure was typical in semiology to the patient’s habitual seizures, (2) the duration of each documented seizure was either the same as or shorter than the patients’ baseline seizures, and (3) the overall neurological outcome on follow-up was not affected by the in-session seizures. More data will be required for valid conclusions with respect to safety and tolerability of low-frequency rTMS in patients with epilepsy, but it is noteworthy from our perspective that seizures during rTMS in this series were similar to the patients’ habitual seizures, occurred in patients with epilepsy with baseline seizure frequency exceeding one per day, and did not correlate with a poor neurological outcome or with absence of clinical response to rTMS.