Grief intensity,coping and psychological health among family members and friends following a terrorist attack

Abstract

This study investigates the association of psychological health with grief intensity and coping style among family members and friends of terror victims. The data was collected from 164 bereaved individuals, on average, 18?months after the bombings occurred. The results demonstrated the significant role of problem-focused social support, and religious coping in dealing with grief intensity and contributing to the psychological health. The findings may be of considerable importance in therapeutic situations by providing direction for coping with both the effects of traumatic event and a traumatic loss, and for maintaining emotional stability through reworking relationships with the deceased.     

Renal involvement in the Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl syndrome: report of five cases

.We report five patients with Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl syndrome (LMBBS) who had renal involvement. Intravenous pyelography showed bilateral or unilateral calyceal clubbing and blunting in all patients. In addition, one patient had a parapelvic cyst in the left kidney and another had bilateral lobulated renal outlines of the fetal type. One patient had a urinary concentrating defect and two patients showed increased fractional sodium excretion. Estimated tubular phosphate reabsorption values were in normal limits in all of five patients. No patient had a urine acidification defect, proteinuria, glycosuria, or hyperaminoaciduria. One patient died from end-stage renal failure. The remaining four patients had normal serum creatinine values and estimated creatinine clearances. ^99mTechnetium-diethylenetriamine pentaacetate renal scanning showed prolonged and delayed concentration and delayed excretion in three of the four patients who survived. A focal scar was determined on the left kidney of one of four patients by ^99mtechnetium-dimercaptosuccinic acid renal scanning. All LMBBS cases with or without renal symptoms should be routinely evaluated for renal abnormalities. Renal scanning is a valuable method, especially for determining the renal involvement in the early stage of disease. Received November 14, 1995; received in revised form and accepted May 23, 1996     

Normothermic renal artery perfusion: A comparison of perfusates

Hypothermia and preservative perfusates have been used to decrease ischemic renal injury. This study was performed to identify the preservative function of perfusates independent of the effects of hypothermia. Rats underwent 45 minutes of renal ischemia. Rectal and renal parenchyma temperatures were monitored and maintained within 1° C of normal. Perfusates were University of Wisconsin solution (UW), Euro-Collins solution, normal saline solution, and Ringer's lactate solution. A nonperfused ischemic control and a nonischemic control group were also evaluated. Parameters evaluated included serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels, renal ischemic injury grade, renal weight, and gross appearance of the injured kidney. Rats treated with UW solution were found to have a significantly lower creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and injury grade than the other three perfused groups. The external gross appearance of the UW-treated kidneys was normal, whereas that of the other groups demonstrated moderate to severe injury. Although the mean right/left renal weight difference of the UW-treated group was lower than that of the other three groups, this was not statistically significant. Under normothermic conditions in rats, UW solution affords significant renal protection from ischemia. Euro-Collins, normal saline, and Ringer's lactate solutions display no significant protective effect.Presented at the Twentieth Annual Meeting of the Peripheral Vascular Surgery Society, New Orleans, La., June 10, 1995.     

The effect of Bosentan on healing of colonic anastomosis

Background  

Ischemia is the most important factor compromises wound healing in colonic anastomosis. Mesenteric vessels are ligated at first while performing colonic resection and following anastomosis. Therefore blood supply of the related segments of colon temporarily interrupted and ischemia can easily occur. This study was carried out to explore whether Bosentan, an endothelin-receptor antagonist, can eliminate vasoconstruction, increase blood flow in the splanchnic area and anastomotic region and therefore possibly facilitate wound healing and prevent intra-abdominal adhesion formation.     

Effects of fibrinogen on lipid peroxidation in patients with coronary heart disease and in vitro

In patients with coronary heart disease oxidizability of lipids during Cu²⁺-induced oxidation of blood plasma inversely correlated with fibrinogen content. A positive correlation was found between the amount of lipid peroxidation products in the plasma from these patients and fibrinogen content. The increase in fibrinogen content was associated with high levels of total lipids and triglycerides and low concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. In vitro experiments demonstrated that fibrinogen reduces oxidizability of blood plasma. Our results suggest that the decrease in lipid oxidizability at high concentration of fibrinogen in patients with coronary heart disease is related to predominant oxidation of fibrinogen and its competition with plasma lipids during Cu²⁺-induced oxidation.     

Dynamics of formation of primary and secondary lipid peroxidation products upon copper-dependent oxidation of low-density lipoproteins isolated from blood serum of patients with ischemic heart disease

The kinetics of copper-induced oxidation of lipids in serum low-density lipoproteins from healthy subjects and patients with ischemic heart disease and documented coronary atherosclerosis is studied. After a 4-h incubation with 40 μM CuSO₄, the oxidizability of patients' lipoproteins is higher, judging from the contents of diene conjugates and oxidation products reacting with thiobarbituric acid. Intergroup differences in the kinetics of the diene conjugate formation are revealed. Statistical analysis shows that in all studied individuals there is no relationship between the oxidizability of low-density lipoproteins and the cholesterol content in lipoproteins and serum. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 122, No. 7, pp. 32–36, July, 1996     

Regional redistribution of blood in unanesthetized rats after blood loss

Relative changes in local blood volume in 46 vascular regions of the body after moderate and severe blood loss are described. Moderate blood loss caused a redistribution of blood from the skin of the chest and hind limbs, most organs of the abdomen and pelvis, the muscular and bony tissues of the abdomen, pelvis, and limbs to the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, stomach and to the muscles of the head and neck. After severe blood loss the changes were similar but the blood volume in the kidneys and stomach was reduced; a relative increase in the blood volume in the muscular and bony tissues of the thorax also was observed. The intensity of the redistributive response to severe blood loss was less than to a moderate blood loss.Central Research Laboratory, S. M. Kirov Leningrad Postgraduate Medical Institute. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR P. N. Veselkin.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 82, No. 9, pp. 1045–1047, September, 1976.     

Carbamazepine-induced sperm disorders can be associated with the altered expressions of testicular KCNJ11/miR-let-7a and spermatozoal CFTR/miR-27a

Male infertility is a global health problem, and the underlying molecular mechanisms are not clearly known. Ion channels and microRNAs (miRNAs), known to function in many vital functions in cells, have been shown to play a significant role in male infertility through changes in their expressions. The study aimed to evaluate the alterations of testicular and/or spermatozoal potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily J member 11 (KCNJ11), Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), miR-let-7a and miR-27a expressions in carbamazepine-related male infertility. Here, we showed that carbamazepine reduced sperm motility, increased abnormal sperm morphology, and impaired hormonal balance as well as increased relative testis weight and decreased relative seminal vesicle weight. On the other hand, downregulated KCNJ11 and upregulated miR-let-7a expressions were determined in testis (p < .05). Also, downregulated KCNJ11 and upregulated CFTR and miR-27a expressions were found in spermatozoa (p < .05). Interestingly, altered testicular KCNJ11 and miR-let-7a expressions were correlated with decreased sperm motility and elevated sperm tail defect. Besides, spermatozoal CFTR and miR-27a expressions positively correlated with sperm tail defects. The results indicated a significant relationship between ion channel and/or miRNA expression alterations and impaired sperm parameters due to carbamazepine usage.