Psychometric properties of the Resilience Scale – 14 in a sample of college students from France

Introduction

In recent years, the integration of resilience in several psychological and medical studies underscores a need for resilience assessment measures with robust psychometric properties. This study aimed to evaluate the underlying structure of the French version of the Resilience Scale (RS-14), a widely used measure to assess resilience both in general and clinical population.

ADAMTS14基因单核苷酸多态性与汉族女性颞下颌关节骨关节炎的相关性研究

目的：探讨ADAMTS14基因rs4747096位点单核苷酸多态性与中国汉族女性颞下颌关节骨关节炎之间的相关性。方法：采用病例-对照研究,纳入213例受试者,均为中国汉族女性,其中病例组103例,健康对照组110例。从采集的外周静脉血中提取基因组DNA,通过聚合酶链式反应扩增目的片段,对反应产物测序确定基因分型并进行统计分析。病例组及实验组的年龄分布采用t检验,基因型及等位基因频率分布采用卡方检验。结果：病例组103例中基因型频率为38.8%（AA）、55.4%（AG）、5.8%（GG）,对照组110例中基因型频率为40.9%（AA）、43.6%（AG）、15.5%（GG）。基因型频率在两组中的差异有统计学意义（P=0.047）,等位基因频率在两组中差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。显性遗传模式中,病例组基因型频率为94.2%（AA或AG）、5.8%（GG）,对照组基因型频率为84.5%（AA或AG）、15.5%（GG）,病例组中AA、AG型明显高于对照组,是发病的风险因素（OR=1.114,95% CI：1.015~1.223,P=0.028）。结论：ADAMTS14基因rs4747096位点的单核苷酸多态性与中国汉族女性人群颞下颌关节骨关节炎之间存在明显相关性,rs4747096位点的单核苷酸多态性在颞下颌关节骨关节炎患者及健康人群中的分布存在差异。     

The effects of the age of onset of strabismus on monocular and binocular visual function in genetically identical twins

Objective

Both genetic and environmental factors are thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of strabismus and subsequent ocular dominance and amblyopia. Our purpose was to compare the characteristics of sensory visual function in 2 adult monozygotic (genetically identical) twins who presented with esotropia at different ages.

Connectivity of cone photoreceptor telodendria in the zebrafish retina

The connectivity amongst photoreceptors is critical to their function, as it underpins lateral inhibition and effective translation of stimuli into neural signals. Despite much work characterizing second‐order interneurons in the outer retina, the synapses directly connecting photoreceptors have often been overlooked. Telodendria are fine processes that connect photoreceptor pedicles. They have been observed in diverse vertebrate groups, yet their roles in vision remain speculative. Here, we visualize telodendria via fluorescent protein expression in photoreceptor subtypes. We characterized short wavelength cone telodendria in adult and larval zebrafish retina. Additionally, in the larval retina, we investigated rod telodendria and UV cone telodendria in mutant and transgenic retinas with altered complements of cone types. In the adult retina, telodendria are twice as abundant and branch almost twice as often on blue cones compared to UV cones. Pedicles of neighboring UV and blue cones typically converge into contiguous pairs, despite the regular spacing of their cell bodies. In contrast to adults, larval UV cone telodendria are more numerous (1.3 times) than blue cone telodendria. UV cone telodendria are not detectably affected by ablation of blue cones, and are reduced twofold in mutant larval retina with few UV cones. We thus saw no evidence that telodendria increase in number in the absence of their typical cellular neighbors. We also found that larval rod telodendria are less abundant than short wavelength cone telodendria. In summary, we describe the development and morphology of zebrafish photoreceptor synaptic connectivity toward appreciating the function of telodendria in visual signal processing.     

The roles of TRPV1, TRPA1 and TRPM8 channels in chemical and thermal sensitivity of the mouse oral mucosa

Spices in food and beverages and compounds in tobacco smoke interact with sensory irritant receptors of the transient receptor potential (TRP) cation channel family. TRPV1 (vanilloid type 1), TRPA1 (ankyrin 1) and TRPM8 (melastatin 8) not only elicit action potential signaling through trigeminal nerves, eventually evoking pungent or cooling sensations, but by their calcium conductance they also stimulate the release of calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP). This is measured as an index of neuronal activation to elucidate the chemo‐ and thermosensory transduction in the isolated mouse buccal mucosa of wild types and pertinent knockouts. We found that the lipophilic capsaicin, mustard oil and menthol effectively get access to the nerve endings below the multilayered squamous epithelium, while cigarette smoke and its gaseous phase were weakly effective releasing CGRP. The hydrophilic nicotine was ineffective unless applied unprotonated in alkaline (pH9) solution, activating TRPA1 and TRPV1. Also, mustard oil activated both these irritant receptors in millimolar but only TRPA1 in micromolar concentrations; in combination (1 mm ) with heat (45 °C), it showed supraadditive, that is heat sensitizing, effects in TRPV1 and TRPA1 knockouts, suggesting action on an unknown heat‐activated channel and mustard oil receptor. Menthol caused little CGRP release by itself, but in subliminal concentration (2 mm ), it enabled a robust cold response that was absent in TRPM8^?/? but retained in TRPA1^?/? and strongly reduced by TRPM8 inhibitors. In conclusion, all three relevant irritant receptors are functionally expressed in the oral mucosa and play their specific roles in inducing neurogenic inflammation and sensitization to heat and cold.     

Timing of Direct Enteral Tube Placement and Outcomes after Acute Stroke

Background: Direct enteral feeding tube (DET) placement for dysphagia after stroke is associated with poor outcomes. However, the relationship between timing of DET placement and poststroke mortality and disability is unknown. We sought to determine the risk of mortality and severe disability in patients who receive DET at different times after stroke. Methods: We used the Ontario Stroke Registry and linked administrative databases to identify patients with acute ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage between 2003 and 2013 who received DET (gastrostomy or jejunostomy) during their hospital admission. We grouped patients by week of DET placement and evaluated mortality at 30 days and 6 months after DET insertion, and disability at discharge. We used Cox proportional hazard models and multiple logistic regression to determine the association between time from admission to DET placement and outcomes, adjusting for patient and hospital factors. Results: In the study sample of 1367 patients, the median time from admission to DET placement was 17 days. After adjustment, each week of delay to DET placement was associated with lower mortality at 30 days (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] .88, 95% confidence interval [CI] .79-.98), but not at 6 months (aHR .98, 95% CI .91- 1.05), and a higher likelihood of severe disability at discharge (adjusted odds ratio 1.35, 95% CI 1.13- 1.60). Conclusions: Later DET placement after stroke was associated with lower 30-day mortality but higher severe disability at discharge. Further research is needed to understand the reasons for these observations and to optimize patient selection and timing of DET.     

14‐3‐3 epsilon plays an important role in testicular germ cell apoptosis: A functional proteomic study of experimental varicocele

The latest perspective indicates that apoptotic dysregulation is an important mechanism in male infertility induced by varicocele. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of apoptosis caused by varicocele, we used proteomics (2D‐MALDI‐TOF MS) to identify the altered proteins in the testes of experimental varicocele rats compared with the control. Here, 21 significantly different protein spots were detected by proteomics technology. 14‐3‐3 epsilon (14‐3‐3ε) was our subsequent research target because of its function in apoptosis. The expression of 14‐3‐3ε in rat testes was confirmed by Western blot and immunohistochemistry, and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) method was used to analyse the apoptosis of germ cells. GC‐1 spg cells transfected with small interfering RNA were used to confirm the function of 14‐3‐3ε in vitro. 14‐3‐3ε protein expression decreased, accompanied by a higher apoptosis index in rat testes of the varicocele group. Furthermore, 14‐3‐3ε siRNA‐treated GC‐1 spg cells caused the upregulation of the apoptotic rate detected by flow cytometry. The expression of Bax and Bcl‐2 was found to be regulated by 14‐3‐3ε in vitro. Our investigation demonstrated the pro‐apoptotic function of the downregulation of 14‐3‐3ε, which may play an important role in germ cell apoptosis induced by varicocele.     

Role of tristetraprolin phosphorylation in paediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND Intestinal inflammation and epithelial injury are the leading actors of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD), causing an excessive pro-inflammatory cytokines expression. Tristetraprolin(TTP), an m RNA binding protein, plays a role in regulating the inflammatory factors, recognizing specific sequences on the 3' untranslated region of cytokine m RNAs. TTP activity depends on its phosphorylation state: the unphosphorylated TTP degrades pro-inflammatory cytokine m RNAs; on the contrary, the phosphorylated TTP fails to destabilize m RNAs furthering their expression. The phospho-TTP forms a complex with the chaperone protein 14-3-3. This binding could be one of the factors that promote intestinal inflammation as a cause of disease progression.AIM To assess if TTP phosphorylation has a role in paediatric IBD.METHODS The study was carried out on a cohort of paediatric IBD patients. For each patient enrolled, a specimen of inflamed and non-inflamed colonic mucosa was collected.Furthermore, the experiments were conducted on macrophages differentiated from blood samples of the same patients. Macrophages from healthy donors' blood were used as controls. Co-immunoprecipitation assay and immunoblotting analyses were performed to observe the formation of the phospho-TTP/14-3-3 complex. In the same samples TNF-α expression was also evaluated as major factor of the pro-inflammatory activity.RESULTS In this work we studied indirectly the phosphorylation of TTP through the binding with the chaperone protein 14-3-3. In inflamed and non-inflamed colon mucosa of IBD paediatric patients immunoblot assay demonstrated a higher expression of the TTP in inflamed samples respect to the non-inflamed; the coimmunoprecipitated 14-3-3 protein showed the same trend of expression. In the TNF-α gene expression analysis higher levels of the cytokine in inflamed tissues compared to controls were evident. The same experiments were conducted on macrophages from IBD paediatric patients and healthy controls. The immunoblot results demonstrated a high expression of both TTP and co-immunoprecipitated 14-4-3 protein in IBD-derived macrophages in comparison to healthy donors.TNF-α protein levels from macrophages lysates showed the same trend of expression in favour of IBD paediatric patients compared to healthy controls.CONCLUSION In this work, for the first time, we describe a relation between phospho-TTP/14-3-3 complex and IBD. Indeed, a higher expression of TTP/14-3-3 was recorded in IBD samples in comparison to controls.