Turkish mothers’ attachment orientations and mental representations of their children

Objective: This study aims to investigate a group of Turkish mothers’ internal working models and their critical correlates, including their self-reported attachment orientations and their children’s problem behaviours. Background: The mental representations that mothers hold for their children are a valuable source of information for caregiving behaviours, yet they have seldom been investigated in non-Western cultures. In order to examine the role of mothers’ mental representations in children’s behavioural outcomes with a cultural perspective, we adapted the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI) into Turkish, and then examined its predictive power. Considering culture-specific caregiving characteristics, we expected that the mental representations mothers have for their children would be systematically associated with their attachment avoidance rather than attachment anxiety in the Turkish context. Furthermore, maternal education was also hypothesised to be a critical factor in the mental representations of the mothers. Methods: First, mothers (N = 30) were interviewed using the WMCI by two trained researchers, and then they were asked to complete the measures of adult attachment and child adjustment. Results: The findings supported the validity of the WMCI in Turkey and demonstrated that the distribution of mothers in balanced, disengaged and distorted categories was similar to those found in Western cultures. As expected, mothers’ attachment orientations, especially attachment avoidance, and maternal education were significantly associated with the mental representations they hold for their children. Conclusion: Mothers’ attachment avoidance and low level of maternal education appeared to be the critical risk factors for their mental representations about their children. The findings were discussed considering culture-specific aspects of maternal representations, attachment orientations and caregiving behaviours.     

RNA interference-mediated knock-down of Bla g 1 in the German cockroach, Blattella germanica L., implicates this allergen-encoding gene in digestion and nutrient absorption

We used RNA interference (RNAi) to silence the expression of a gene encoding Bla g 1, a human allergen produced by the German cockroach, Blattella germanica L., to study its function in cockroach physiology. Females injected with 1 µg of double-stranded RNA contained 64% less Bla g 1 protein and Bla g 1 mRNA abundance was reduced by 91.4% compared to sham-injected females. Bla g 1 knockdown slowed the pace of weight gain, midgut growth, and colleterial gland and basal oocyte maturation, resulting in delayed egg case formation and lower fecundity. Exogenous juvenile hormone treatments rescued reproduction in RNAi-treated females, suggesting that Bla g 1 silencing lowered endogenous juvenile hormone, probably by reducing food intake and nutrient absorption.     

Antipsychotic activity of standardized Bacopa extract against ketamine-induced experimental psychosis in mice: Evidence for the involvement of dopaminergic,serotonergic, and cholinergic systems

Abstract

Context: Schizophrenia is a chronic disabling psychiatric disorder affecting 1% of the population worldwide. Due to the adverse effects of available antipsychotic medications, recent investigations have focused on the search for well-tolerated, safe molecules from natural resources to control the severity and progression of schizophrenia.

Objective: To screen the standardized extract of Bacopa monniera Linn. (Scrophulariaceae) (BM) for its antipsychotic potential in the ketamine-induced psychosis model with mice.

Materials and methods: Graded dose of BM (40, 80, and 120?mg/kg, p.o.) were given to the mice 1?h prior to ketamine administration and tested for positive symptoms and cognitive deficits. A chronic ketamine treatment regimen was used to study the effect of BM on negative symptoms such as immobility enhancement. Each mouse was used once for the behavioral studies.

Results: BM reduced ketamine-induced hyperactivity with an EC₅₀ value of 76.60?mg/kg. The 80?mg/kg dose was used for all other behavior analysis. Pretreatment with BM at 80?mg/kg showed two-fold increases in transfer latency time (TLT) in passive avoidance task. Chronic BM pretreatment (80?mg/kg p.o. daily?×?10?d) ameliorated the ketamine-induced enhanced immobility effect by 21% in the forced swim test. BM treatment reversed ketamine-induced increase in monoamine oxidase activity in both cortex and striatum and normalized the acetylcholinesterase activity and the glutamate levels in the hippocampus.

Discussion and conclusion: Overall our findings suggest that BM possesses antipsychotic properties which might be due to its modulatory action on dopamine, serotonin, and glutamate neurotransmission.     

Relationship between childhood diseases and food avoidances in rural south India

This study examines the selection of foods for children by mothers in rural South India. The mothers’ explanations of the reasons for food avoidances were verbally recorded and analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods used in cognitive psychology. The results revealed that the choice of foods considered as suitable for consumption by the child was governed by concerns related to three major childhood health problems, thokam, mandham & perali, and karpan rather than by the food categories (for example, the ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ foods). The interpretations of the health problems were based on the traditional theories of Siddha and Ayurvedic medicine prevalent in India. The implications of these findings with respect to child nutrition and nutrition education are discussed.     

Production of native and modified recombinant Der p 1 molecules in tobacco plants

Background As a complex molecule requiring post‐translational processing, it has been difficult to produce the Der p 1 major allergen from the Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus house dust mite in a recombinant form. Objective Here, we tested whether transgenic tobacco plants are suitable to express Der p 1, either as a wild‐type molecule or as variants lacking N‐glycosylation sites (Gly^?) and/or cysteine protease activity (Enz^?). Methods Using Agrobacterium tumefaciens‐based transformation, pro Der p 1 molecules bearing mutations within either the N‐glycosylation sites (N34Q, N150Q) and/or the cysteine protease‐active site (C132V) were expressed in tobacco plants. After purification by ion exchange chromatography, allergens were characterized using immunoblotting, circular dichroism (CD), as well as basophil and T lymphocyte stimulation assays. Results Four forms of recombinant Der p 1 (i.e. wild‐type Gly⁺/Enz⁺, as well as Gly^?/Enz⁺, Gly⁺/Enz^? or Gly^?/Enz^? variants) were successfully expressed in tobacco leaves as pro Der p 1 molecules. Spontaneous cleavage of the pro‐peptide was observed in tobacco leaf extracts for all forms of recombinant Der p 1 (r Der p 1). CD confirmed that all r Der p 1 molecules, with the exception of the Gly^?/Enz^? variant, exhibited secondary structures comparable to the natural protein. A cysteine protease activity was associated only with the Gly⁺/Enz⁺ form. All these molecules exhibit a profile similar to natural Der p 1 with respect to IgE immunoreactivity, basophil activation and T cell recognition. Conclusion A tobacco plant expression system allows the production of various forms of mature Der p 1, which could be used for diagnostic or immunotherapeutic purposes.     

The non-specific lipid transfer protein, Ara h 9, is an important allergen in peanut

Background Plant food allergy in the Mediterranean area is mainly caused by non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTP). The aim of this study was to characterize peanut nsLTP in comparison with peach nsLTP, Pru p 3, and assess its importance in peanut allergy.
Methods Peanut-allergic patients from Spain ( n =32) were included on the basis of a positive case history and either a positive skin prick test or specific IgE to peanut. For comparison, sera of 41 peanut-allergic subjects from outside the Mediterranean area were used. Natural Ara h 9 and two isoforms of recombinant Ara h 9, expressed in Pichia pastoris , were purified using a two-step chromatographic procedure. Allergen characterization was carried out by N-terminal sequencing, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, immunoblotting, IgE inhibition tests and basophil histamine release assays.
Results Compared with natural peanut nsLTP, the recombinant proteins could be purified in high amounts from yeast supernatant (45 mg/L). The identity of the proteins was verified by N-terminal amino acid sequencing and with rabbit nsLTP-specific antibodies. CD spectroscopy revealed similar secondary structures for all preparations and Pru p 3. The Ara h 9 isoforms showed 62–68% amino acid sequence identity with Pru p 3. IgE antibody reactivity to rAra h 9 was present in 29/32 Spanish and 6/41 non-Mediterranean subjects. Recombinant Ara h 9 showed strong cross-reactivity to nPru p 3 and similar IgE-binding capacity as nAra h 9. The two Ara h 9 isoforms displayed similar IgE reactivity. In peanut-allergic patients with concomitant peach allergy, Ara h 9 showed a weaker allergenic potency than Pru p 3 in histamine release assays.
Conclusions Ara h 9 is a major allergen in peanut-allergic patients from the Mediterranean area. Ara h 9 is capable of inducing histamine release from basophils, but to a lesser extent than Pru p 3.