Psychophysiological measures of stress in caregivers of individuals with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review

Purpose: Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often self-report heightened levels of stress and physical health problems. This paper reviewed studies assessing physiological measures of stress among parents of children with ASD.

Methods: Systematic database searches identified 15 studies meeting inclusion criteria. Studies were reviewed to determine: (a) control group characteristics; (b) caregiver and care recipient characteristics; (c) setting; (d) physiological measures employed; (e) physiological outcomes; and (f) stressor type. A measure of methodological quality was also applied.

Results: Salivary cortisol was the most common physiological measure employed. A pattern of blunted physiological activity emerged within the reviewed studies, though some studies reported normal or even higher physiological activity among this population.

Conclusions: Findings suggested dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis and autonomic nervous system for some, but not all, parents of children with ASD. Further research is warranted.     

Neural Correlates of Failed Inhibitory Control as an Early Marker of Disordered Eating in Adolescents

BackgroundBinge eating and other forms of disordered eating behavior (DEB) are associated with failed inhibitory control. This study investigated the neural correlates of failed inhibitory control as a potential biomarker for DEB.MethodsThe study used prospective longitudinal data from the European IMAGEN study adolescent cohort. Participants completed baseline assessments (questionnaires and a brain scan [functional magnetic resonance imaging]) at 14 years of age and a follow-up assessment (questionnaires) at 16 years of age. Self-reported binge eating and/or purging were used to indicate presence of DEB. Neural correlates of failed inhibition were assessed using the stop signal task. Participants were categorized as healthy control subjects (reported no DEB at both time points), maintainers (reported DEB at both time points), recoverers (reported DEB at baseline only), and developers (reported DEB at follow-up only). Forty-three individuals per group with complete scanning data were matched on gender, age, puberty, and intelligence (N = 172).ResultsAt baseline, despite similar task performance, incorrectly responding to stop signals (failed inhibitory control) was associated with greater recruitment of the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex in the developers compared with healthy control subjects and recoverers.ConclusionsGreater recruitment of the medial prefrontal and anterior cingulate regions during failed inhibition accords with abnormal evaluation of errors contributing to DEB development. As this precedes symptom onset and is evident despite normal task performance, neural responses during failed inhibition may be a useful biomarker of vulnerability for DEB. This study highlights the potential value of prospective neuroimaging studies for identifying markers of illness before the emergence of behavior changes.     

Contribution to the rheological testing of pharmaceutical semisolids

Rheological behaviour of pharmaceutical semisolid preparations significantly affects manufacturing process, administration, stability, homogeneity of incorporated drug, accuracy of dosing, adhesion in the place of application, drug release, and resulting therapeutic effect of the product. We performed test of consistency by penetrometry, rotational, oscillation and creep tests, and squeeze and tack tests of model samples to introduce methods suitable for characterization and comparison of semisolids in practice. Penetrometry is a simple method allowing sorting the semisolids to low and high stress-resistant materials but deficient for rheological characterization of semisolids. Value of yield stress, generally considered to be appropriate feature of semisolids, is significantly influenced by the method of testing and the way of evaluation. The hysteresis loops of model semisolids revealed incomplete thixotropy, therefore, three-step thixotropy test was employed. Semisolids showed nonlinear response in the creep phase of tests and partial recovery of structure by storing energy in the recovery phase. Squeeze and tack tests seem to be convenient ways for comparison of semisolids. Our study can contribute to a better understanding of different flow behaviour of semisolids given by different physicochemical properties of excipients and can bring useful approaches to evaluation and comparison of semisolids in practice.     

The need for new control strategies for particulate matter in parenterals

An undesirable characteristic in lyophilized parenteral products is the potential presence of particulate matter in the final product, which may affect patient safety. In this study, quality risk management tools described in the International Conference on Harmonization Guideline Q9 were used to estimate the risks for a pharmaceutical manufacturing line, based on three critical quality attributes: (1) visible particulate matter; (2) lyo-cake collapse traces; and (3) lyo-cake melt-back traces. Together with a Process Failure Mode Effect Analysis (PFMEA), an input-output analysis of the individual unit operations identified seven major material classes of extrinsic particulate matter. In addition to the process assessment, an experimental investigation of the location of impurities in lyophilized products was performed. To that end, intentionally contaminated vials were examined to locate the particulate matter and its possible migration. The results emphasize the importance of a full transmission mode release testing since the particles may enter the interior of the lyo-cake. A theoretical explanation of the observed impurity locations is provided.     

Lycopene and resveratrol ameliorate zinc oxide nanoparticles-induced oxidative stress in Nile tilapia,Oreochromis niloticus

Industrial products contained nano-zinc oxide (ZnONP) can gain access to the aquaculture environment causing hazardous effects on the living biota. Therefore, this work was planned to examine the ameliorative effects of dietary supplementation of lycopene (LYC) and/or resveratrol (RES) against ZnONP toxicity in Nile tilapia. Five groups with 20 fish each were used; Control, received tap water only; ZnONP group, was intoxicated with ZnONP (50 mg/L); ZnONP-LYC group, was exposed to ZnONP and LYC (500 mg/ kg of the diet); ZnONP-RES group, was exposed to ZnONP and RES (50 mg/kg of the diet); ZnONP-LYC-RES group, was exposed to ZnONP and a combination of LYC and RES. The experiment was continued for 30 days. Fish blood and tissues were then assembled for determination of liver and kidney function and oxidative stress status in liver, kidney, and gills tissue. Results revealed a considerable elevation of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), cholesterol, urea, and creatinine with a noticeable lowering of total proteins and albumin serum levels in response to ZnONP intoxication. In addition, there were significant increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduction in the reduced-glutathione (GSH) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities. However, treatment with LYC and/or RES ameliorated the ZnONP-inflicted oxidative stress which possibly attributed to their beneficial antioxidant activities.     

接受供精人工授精夫妇生育压力和生活质量研究

目的：调查接受供精人工授精（AID）夫妇的生育压力与生活质量，了解生育压力和生活质量的关系，为这些夫妇进行心理和生活质量干预时提供理论依据。方法：采用患者夫妇一般情况调查表、生育压力量表（FPI量表）和生活质量量表（FertiQoL量表）对北京大学第三医院2018年5—9月生殖中心门诊就诊的129对准备接受AID助孕的夫妇进行横断面调查，比较夫妇双方生育压力和生活质量的差异，分析生育压力和生活质量之间的关系。结果：接受AID的女性患者FPI总分为（159.00±17.52）分，FertiQoL总分为（62.27±9.26）分；男性配偶FPI总得分为（153.91±19.96）分，男性配偶FertiQoL总分为（65.12±11.62）分。女性FPI总分高于男性（t=2.436，P=0.016），女性无子女压力维度得分高于男性（t=3.145，P=0.002）。男性FertiQol总分高于女性（t=-2.881，P=0.005），女性情感反应维度得分高于男性（t=3.681，P=0.000），男性身心关系维度得分高于女性（t=-11.401，P=0.000）。Pearson 相关分析结果显示，接受AID助孕的女性FPI总分及性压力、夫妻关系、父母角色需求压力三个维度与其生活质量呈负相关（P＜0.05），接受AID男性配偶FPI总分和社会压力、性压力、夫妻关系维度、父母角色需求压力这4个维度与其生活质量呈负相关（P＜0.05）。多重线性回归显示，生育压力、居住地、文化程度是影响接受AID助孕女性患者生活质量的重要影响因素（F=3.485，R2=0.168，P＜0.05），生育压力、文化程度、家庭月收入是影响接受AID助孕男性配偶生活质量的重要影响因素（F=4.390，R2=0.203，P＜0.01）。结论：接受AID女性患者生育压力高于男性配偶，生活质量低于男性配偶；生育压力是影响AID夫妇生活质量的重要因素，夫妇双方生育压力越大，生活质量越低。     

Wnt/β-catenin links oxidative stress to podocyte injury and proteinuria

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