Association of participation in a mindfulness program with measures of PTSD, depression and quality of life in a veteran sample

Objectives: To assess outcomes of veterans who participated in mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR). Design: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression, functional status, behavioral activation, experiential avoidance, and mindfulness were assessed at baseline, and 2 and 6 months after enrollment. Results: At 6 months, there were significant improvements in PTSD symptoms (standardized effect size, d = ‐0.64, p< 0.001); depression (d = ‐0.70, p<0.001); behavioral activation (d = 0.62, p<0.001); mental component summary score of the Short Form‐8 (d = 0.72, p<0.001); acceptance (d = 0.67, p<0.001); and mindfulness (d = 0.78, p<0.001), and 47.7% of veterans had clinically significant improvements in PTSD symptoms. Conclusions: MBSR shows promise as an intervention for PTSD and warrants further study in randomized controlled trials. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 68:1–16, 2012.     

Recurrent deletion of 3p13 targets multiple tumour suppressor genes and defines a distinct subgroup of aggressive ERG fusion‐positive prostate cancers

Deletion of 3p13 has been reported from about 20% of prostate cancers. The clinical significance of this alteration and the tumour suppressor gene(s) driving the deletion remain to be identified. We have mapped the 3p13 deletion locus using SNP array analysis and performed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis to search for associations between 3p13 deletion, prostate cancer phenotype and patient prognosis in a tissue microarray containing more than 3200 prostate cancers. SNP array analysis of 72 prostate cancers revealed a small deletion at 3p13 in 14 (19%) of the tumours, including the putative tumour suppressors FOXP1, RYBP and SHQ1. FISH analysis using FOXP1‐specific probes revealed deletions in 16.5% and translocations in 1.2% of 1828 interpretable cancers. 3p13 deletions were linked to adverse features of prostate cancer, including advanced stage (p < 0.0001), high Gleason grade (p = 0.0125), and early PSA recurrence (p = 0.0015). In addition, 3p13 deletions were linked to ERG⁺ cancers and to PTEN deletions (p < 0.0001 each). A subset analysis of ERG⁺ tumours revealed that 3p13 deletions occurred independently from PTEN deletions (p = 0.3126), identifying tumours with 3p13 deletion as a distinct molecular subset of ERG⁺ cancers. mRNA expression analysis confirmed that all 3p13 genes were down regulated by the deletion. Ectopic over‐expression of FOXP1, RYBP and SHQ1 resulted in decreased colony‐formation capabilities, corroborating a tumour suppressor function for all three genes. In summary, our data show that deletion of 3p13 defines a distinct and aggressive molecular subset of ERG⁺ prostate cancers, which is possibly driven by inactivation of multiple tumour suppressors. Copyright © 2013 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The patterns of cell death and of macrophages in the developing forebrain of the tree shrew Tupaia belangeri

The patterns of cell death and of macrophages were investigated in the forebrain and eyes of the tree shrew Tupaia belangeri during five phases of optic cup formation. Seventeen embryos were studied. Three- dimensional reconstructions were made from one embryo of each phase. In phase 1 (V-shaped optic evagination) a midline band of cell death passes through the closing anterior neuroporus. From phases 2 (optic vesicle) to 5 (far-advanced invagination) the midline band of cell death extends in the dorsal wall of the forebrain to its rostral pole and, further, into its ventral wall. At the approximate future position of the optic chiasm this ventral pycnotic area, predicted but so far unidentified by others, is connected to a previously described second band of cell death passing through the optic anlagen. Recently, evidence has been presented that chicken embryos develop holoprosencephaly and cyclopia when ventral forebrain structures are lost secondary to experimentally induced apoptosis. Our findings in Tupaia suggest that, in cases of spontaneous malformations of this kind, such an atypical pycnotic area in the ventral telencephalon might result from the defective regulation of cell death processes during optic cup formation. In the forebrain and eyes of Tupaia, the occurrence of bands of cell death precedes the appearance of the earliest intraepithelial macrophages. From phase 3 (onset of invagination) onwards almost all of them are concentrated along the band of cell death.     

Detection and correction of endotracheal-tube position in premature neonates

Due to the short airways in premature children, an accurate position of the endotracheal tube (ETT) is crucial for adequate mechanical ventilation. Verification of ETT-position is done in chest radiographs. However, ETT-position varies substantially with head movement. When the head is flexed, the tube might appear too deeply inserted, and inadvertent extubation may occur in cases of retraction of ETT after radiography. Extension of the cervical spine will suggest an inappropriately high ETT-position, so that intended corrections can lead to main-stem intubation. Radiographic visible skeletal structures could serve as reference points to allow the detection of head declination and imperfect positioning of ETT. Ratios of anatomical landmarks were used to estimate head position.In this study, 111 radiographs of 24 preterm neonates with a gestational age of 24-29 weeks and weights of 500-1,000 g were analyzed. A mathematical algorithm for the detection and correction of ETT-positions, based on common chest radiographs, was developed. In 108 cases (97.3%), ETT-distance from the midtracheal level was less than 2 mm after use of the proposed correction.Thus, the suggested correction equation for head position enables verification of the actual ETT-position without requiring a defined placement of the head during radiography. Moreover, it can be helpful for estimating the depth of ETT-insertion in conditions when radiography is not available.     

A bronchogenic cyst of the right ventricular endocardium

In a 73-year-old male patient with a history of prostate cancer, a right ventricular endoluminal tumor was diagnosed by echocardiography. An endocardial papillary fibroelastoma or myxoma appeared possible; a malignant tumor could not be ruled out. The tumor was resected using extracorporeal circulation and cardioplegic arrest. Histopathology study revealed a bronchogenic cyst with ciliated epithelium.     

Lipid-mediated resistance of Gram-negative bacteria against various pore-forming antimicrobial peptides

Lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) play a dual role as target and as effector molecules. The knowledge of the LPS-induced activation of human immune cells is increasing; however, surprisingly, much less effort seems to be directed towards the understanding of the mechanisms leading to the killing of the bacterial organisms, which eventually results in the release of LPS from the bacterial surface into the blood circulation. We demonstrate mechanisms of interaction of peptides of the innate immune system (e.g. defensins and cathelicidins) as well as of externally administered antibiotics (e.g. Polymyxin B) with Gram-negative bacteria. The main focus is directed on data derived from electrical measurements on a reconstitution system of the outer membrane as an asymmetric bilayer composed on one side of LPS and on the other of phospholipids. All these antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are membrane-active and induce the permeabilization of the reconstituted membranes by the formation of lesions. We found that differences in the activity of the AMPs against various sensitive and resistant Gram-negative bacteria can be explained solely by variations in the chemical structure of LPS, e.g. in the composition of the sugar head group. A reduction of the net negative charge of LPS is responsible for a reduced interaction with the polycationic AMPs and thus for resistance. A most important side effect of positively charged AMPs is the neutralization of the negatively charged LPS released from the bacterial surface as a consequence of AMP-induced killing.