Clarifying Relations Between Thought-Action Fusion, Religiosity, and Obsessive–Compulsive Symptoms Through Consideration of Intent

Conflicting findings regarding the relations between thought-action fusion (TAF), religiosity, and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) may be due to a lack of clarity regarding the intent associated with the negative thoughts under consideration. In Study 1, we examined the perceptions of the immorality of intentional and unwanted morally-relevant thoughts (Moral TAF) and their relations with OCD symptoms, religiosity, and obsessive beliefs in a non-clinical sample. In Study 2, we randomly assigned participants to complete one of two versions of a previously used sentence neutralization task that was varied in terms of intent. Perception of the immorality of intentional negative thoughts but not unwanted negative thoughts was associated with Protestant/Catholic affiliation and greater prayer frequency, and perception of the immorality of unwanted thoughts was consistently associated with obsessive beliefs. Neither form of Moral TAF was associated with OCD symptoms. Further, reaction to the modified non-intentional neutralization task was associated with OCD symptoms, thought-action fusion, and scrupulosity, while reaction to the original intentional task was only associated with Moral TAF. Overall, the findings suggest that individuals differ in their perceptions of intentional versus unintentional thoughts. Perceptions of intentional morally-relevant thoughts appear related to religiosity, while perceptions of unintentional thoughts are likely to be of greater relevance to our understanding of OCD.     

The prognostic value of normal exercise myocardial perfusion imaging and exercise echocardiography: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this work was to determine the prognostic value of normal exercise myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) tests and exercise echocardiography tests, and to determine the prognostic value of these imaging modalities in women and men. BACKGROUND: Exercise MPI and exercise echocardiography provide prognostic information that is useful in the risk stratification of patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: We searched the PubMed, Cochrane, and DARE databases between January 1990 and May 2005, and reviewed bibliographies of articles obtained. We included prospective cohort studies of subjects who underwent exercise MPI or exercise echocardiography for known or suspected CAD, and provided data on primary outcomes of myocardial infarction (MI) and cardiac death with at least 3 months of follow-up. Secondary outcomes (unstable angina, revascularization procedures) were abstracted if provided. Studies performed exclusively in patients with CAD were excluded. RESULTS: The negative predictive value (NPV) for MI and cardiac death was 98.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 98.5 to 99.0) over 36 months of follow-up for MPI, and 98.4% (95% CI 97.9 to 98.9) over 33 months for echocardiography. The corresponding annualized event rates were 0.45% per year for MPI and 0.54% per year for echocardiography. In subgroup analyses, annualized event rates were <1% for each MPI isotope, and were similar for women and men. For secondary events, MPI and echocardiography had annualized event rates of 1.25% and 0.95%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Both exercise MPI and exercise echocardiography have high NPVs for primary and secondary cardiac events. The prognostic utility of both modalities is similar for both men and women.     

Human cytomegalovirus persists in myeloid progenitors and is passed to the myeloid progeny in a latent form

CD34+ progenitor cells can harbour latent human cytomegalovirus (HCMV); however, the mechanisms of HCMV latency remain unclear. We have investigated the effects of the haematopoietic lineage restriction on the establishment and spread of the latent HCMV to progeny cells. In vitro-infected and latently-infected haematopoietic progenitor cells derived from HCMV seropositive donors were studied. The presence of HCMV DNA in bone marrow progenitor (BMP) cells was determined by single colony polymerase chain reaction and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). The presence of CMV DNA was found to be restricted to myeloid progenitors and the percentage of HCMV-infected cells was lower in naturally-infected cells than in in vitro-infected cells. Erythroid differentiation resulted in an abortive infection with persistence of the viral nucleic acids in red cell precursors. In BMP cells from HCMV seronegative donors, HCMV DNA was localized in the nucleus. Bone marrow progenitors in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GMCSF) maintained HCMV DNA for extended periods of time. No viral production could be detected throughout the culture but the comparison of the numbers of latently-infected cells prior to and after the culture suggests that proliferation of haematopoietic progenitor cells may lead to the expansion of latently-infected cells.     

Sit-to-stand performance depends on sensation,speed, balance,and psychological status in addition to strength in older people

BACKGROUND: Sit-to-stand (STS) performance is often used as a measure of lower-limb strength in older people and those with significant weakness. However, the findings of recent studies suggest that performance in this test is also influenced by factors associated with balance and mobility. We conducted a study to determine whether sensorimotor, balance, and psychological factors in addition to lower-limb strength predict sit-to-stand performance in older people. METHODS: Six hundred and sixty nine community-dwelling men and women aged 75-93 years (mean age 78.9, SD = 4.1) underwent quantitative tests of strength, vision, peripheral sensation, reaction time, balance, health status, and sit-to-stand performance. RESULTS: Many physiological and psychological factors were significantly associated with sit-to-stand times in univariate analyses. Multiple regression analysis revealed that visual contrast sensitivity, lower limb proprioception, peripheral tactile sensitivity, reaction time involving a foot-press response, sway with eyes open on a foam rubber mat, body weight, and scores on the Short-Form 12 Health Status Questionnaire pain, anxiety, and vitality scales in addition to knee extension, knee flexion, and ankle dorsiflexion strength were significant and independent predictors of STS performance. Of these measures, quadriceps strength had the highest beta weight, indicating it was the most important variable in explaining the variance in STS times. However, the remaining measures accounted for more than half the explained variance in STS times. The final regression model explained 34.9% of the variance in STS times (multiple R =.59). CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that, in community-dwelling older people, STS performance is influenced by multiple physiological and psychological processes and represents a particular transfer skill, rather than a proxy measure of lower limb strength.     

Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency in pediatric renal transplant recipients

Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in the pediatric CKD population. Recognizing that renal transplant recipients have CKD, we assessed the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency in pediatric renal transplant recipients, compared to a healthy pediatric population. We prospectively studied 25(OH)D levels in 29 pediatric renal transplant recipients and 45 control patients over one yr. The overall prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency was common in both populations, at 76% (95% CI: 61, 87%) in the pediatric renal transplant recipients and 91% (95% CI: 80, 98%) in the control group. In the paired renal transplant samples, the mean 25(OH)D level was 52.3 ± 17.9 nmol/L in the winter and 65.6 ± 18.8 nmol/L in the summer (95% CI diff.: 3.9, 22.7), in keeping with a significant seasonal difference. The mean dietary intake of vitamin D in the renal transplant recipients, assessed by three‐day dietary record, was 5.7 μg/day, with a vitamin D intake below the EAR in the majority. We did not find an association between vitamin D intake and 25(OH)D levels in this study, likely due to the low dietary intake of vitamin D within the transplant population, identifying a potential area for intervention and improvement.