Association analysis between the human interleukin 1beta (-511) gene polymorphism and susceptibility to febrile convulsions

This study was designed to examine whether anxious personality, i.e. trait anxiety, influences the autonomic nervous functions in humans without manipulation of experimental stressors. The degrees of state and trait anxiety, blood pressure, heart rate, pupillary light reflex (PLR), and body temperature were measured at the same hour on four different days in 14 healthy college students. A multiple regression analysis showed that trait anxiety predominantly influenced state anxiety and the PLR parameters. A single regression analysis showed that trait anxiety positively correlated to the initial pupillary diameter and the constricted diameter of PLR and negatively to the amplitude of PLR. It was concluded that trait anxiety predicts state anxiety and a smaller amplitude of PLR in humans at rest.     

The utility of measures of child and adolescent anxiety: a meta-analytic review of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, and the Child Behavior Checklist.

We evaluated the ability of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to (a) discriminate between youth with an anxiety disorder and youth without a disorder, (b) discriminate between youth with an anxiety disorder and youth with either externalizing disorders or affective disorders, and (c) measure treatment change. In addition, variables, including age and sex, were explored as possible moderators of instrument utility. A meta-analysis of 43 articles was conducted. A large effect size was found when the instruments were used to compare youth with an anxiety disorder to youth without a disorder. When comparing anxious youth to psychiatric control groups, the picture was mixed; the instruments were found to be useful when discriminating between youth with an anxiety disorder and youth with an externalizing disorder, but not between youth with an anxiety disorder and children and adolescents with an affective disorder. The RCMAS, STAIC, and CBCL were found to be moderately sensitive to treatment gains.     

How to stay motivated: A focus group study of Norwegian caregivers' experiences with community healthcare services to their parents with dementia

Motivation to provide care is a significant predictor of informal caregiving among family caregivers of persons with dementia. Adequate support is an important source of help and relief to caregivers, but fragmentation of dementia care services is common and better ways of supporting these caregivers are needed. Knowledge of adult-child caregivers' motivation and how this motivation is influenced by community healthcare services is lacking. The aim of this study is therefore to describe and explore adult children's experiences with community healthcare services for their home-dwelling parent with dementia and how these influence their caregiver motivation. The study applied a qualitative design based on three focus group interviews with 15 of these caregivers (40–69 years) in Norway in 2017. The study results indicate three categories supporting adult children's sustained motivation as caregivers: (a) caregivers prioritize their parent's need for healthcare services over their own need for support; (b) caregivers need acknowledgement through respect and involvement; and (c) caregivers need timely information and competence as the dementia progresses. To stimulate collaboration among adult-child caregivers, their parents with dementia, and community healthcare services, we claim that a relationship-centred care framework could be emphasised as a way of supporting sustained motivation among caregivers to parents with dementia as part of community healthcare services.     

Patterns of E-Cigarette Use Among Primary Care Patients at an Urban Community Center

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the US. The number of tobacco products has grown over the past decade. E-cigarette use has increased rapidly in recent years, but patterns and correlates of use have not been thoroughly assessed. We examined relationships among demographic factors, e-cigarette and conventional cigarette use in a large sample (N?=?12,409) of adult patients at a community health center in the Northeastern US. Overall, 13% (N?=?1675) of the sample reported ever using e-cigarettes. In logistic regression models, ever having used e-cigarettes was associated with younger age (ages 18–25; OR?=?3.5, p?<?0.001). Being transgender (OR?=?1.8, p?<?0.001), bisexual (OR?=?1.5, p?<?0.001), un-partnered (OR?=?1.5, p?<?0.001), having a lower income (OR?=?1.6, p?<?0.001) or a high BMI (OR?=?1.4, p?=?0.009) were associated with increased odds of use, whereas being a woman (OR?=?0.7, p?<?0.001) or Black/African American (OR?=?0.7, p?=?0.007) were associated with lower odds of use. Of the participants who reported e-cigarette use, a majority also endorsed current or former use of conventional cigarettes. Individuals who formerly used conventional cigarettes were nearly three times more likely to report daily e-cigarette use than current users. Among primary care patients at a community health center, e-cigarette use was reported by a sizeable portion of the sample. Overall, odds of use were higher in certain patient populations, and individuals who formally used cigarettes were more likely to report e-cigarette use than individuals who currently smoke, suggesting that e-cigarettes may be functioning as a cessation aid or a strategy to reduce conventional cigarette use.

     

Typical and partial cat eye syndrome: identification of the marker chromosome by FISH

Three children are reported with typical cat eye syndrome (CES) and three more children with partial CES because of absence of coloboma, in which the supernumerary marker chromosome was studied by FISH. Using a genomic library, and also a centromeric and particularly a cosmid probe of 22q11, partial tetrasomy was shown in all cases.     

Myelin glycosphingolipid/cholesterol-enriched microdomains selectively sequester the non-compact myelin proteins CNP and MOG

Plasma membranes are complex arrays of protein and lipid subdomains. Detergent-insoluble, glycosphingolipid/cholesterol-enriched micro-domains (DIGCEMs) have been implicated in protein sorting and/or as sites for signaling cascades in the plasma membrane. We previously identified the presence of DIGCEMs in oligodendrocytes in culture and purified myelin and characterized a novel DIGCEM-associated tetraspan protein, MVP17/rMAL (Kim et al. (1995) Journal of Neuroscience Research 42, 413–422). We have now analyzed the association of known myelin proteins with DIGCEMs in order to provide a better understanding of their roles during myelin biogenesis. We used four well-established criteria to identify myelin DIGCEM-associated proteins: insolubility in a non-ionic detergent Triton X-100 at low temperature (4°C), flotation of the insoluble complexes to low density fractions in sucrose gradients, and TX-100 solubilization at 37°C, or at 4°C following treatment with the cholesterol-binding detergent saponin. We demonstrate that these proteins fall into four distinct groups. Although all tested proteins could be floated to a low-density fraction, proteolipid protein (PLP), myelin basic protein (MBP) and myelin associated glycoprotein (MAG) were solubilized by the detergent extraction, and connexin32 (Cx32) and oligodendrocyte-specific protein (OSP) met only some of the criteria for DIGCEMs. Only the non-compact myelin proteins 2,3-cyclic nucleotide 3-phosphodiesterase (CNP) and myelin/oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) satisfied all four criteria for DIGCEM-associated proteins. Significantly, only 40% of CNP and MOG were selectively associated with DIGCEMs. This suggests that they may have both non-active soluble, and functionally active DIGCEM-associated, forms in the membrane, consistent with current views that DIGCEMs provide platforms for bringing together and activating components of the signal transduction apparatus. We therefore propose that CNP and MOG may have unique roles among the major myelin proteins in signaling pathways mediated by lipid-protein microdomains formed in myelin.     

Eine Skala zur Messung von Beschwerden bei degenerativen Veränderungen der Halswirbelsäule (HWS) Hilfe zur Indikationsstellung und zur Evaluation des Operationserfolgs

A scale for measuring symptoms related to degenerative diseases of the cervical spine is presented. Twenty typical symptoms are listed, e. g., neck pain, dysesthesia, and reduced mobility. Responses are assessed via a 6-point scaling ("did not have symptom" - "had symptom and suffered very strongly".) The cervical spine scale was tested in three samples: patients having undergone cervical spine surgery (n = 70), patients with other orthopedic diagnoses (n = 104), and healthy students (n = 100). The single items of the scale were aggregated into four scores: total number of symptoms, degree of overall symptom distress, functional disability, and pain/psychological distress. Statistical analyses proved the high reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.85 to 0.95) and validity (content, convergent, discriminant) of all scores. The scale differs clearly between cervical spine patients, other orthopedic patients and healthy individuals, and between cervical spine patients with different subjective operative outcomes. For applied clinical purposes the cervical spine scale can be included in a quality of life profile (QL-profile); this allows for a readily understandable graphic depiction of individual patients' QL-status.