Meditation, Compassionate Love, and Mental Health in Later Life.

PURPOSE: Understanding of the mechanisms by which meditation imparts beneficial effects on later-life mental health is limited. The current study assessed the role of compassionate love in mediating the relationship between meditation and mental health in later life. METHOD: Using data from a nationwide web-based survey (N = 1,861), we examined the indirect effects of meditation on depressive symptoms and anxiety via compassionate love. RESULTS: Participants who practiced meditation (compared to those who did not) had significantly higher feelings of being loved (b = 0.11, p < 0.05); those who experienced more love had lower depressive symptoms (b = -2.10, p < 0.001) and anxiety (b = -0.99, p < 0.001). Meditation also had significant indirect effects (via compassionate love) on depressive symptoms (b = -0.23, p < 0.05) and anxiety (b = -0.11, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study underscores the need for contemplative interventions that foster compassionate love to improve mental health in later life. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 50(3), 40-50.].

Genomic analysis of "microphenotypes" in epilepsy.

Large international consortia examining the genomic architecture of the epilepsies focus on large diagnostic subgroupings such as "all focal epilepsy" and "all genetic generalized epilepsy". In addition, phenotypic data are generally entered into these large discovery databases in a unidirectional manner at one point in time only. However, there are many smaller phenotypic subgroupings in epilepsy, many of which may have unique genomic risk factors. Such a subgrouping or "microphenotype" may be defined as an uncommon or rare phenotype that is well recognized by epileptologists and the epilepsy community, and which may or may not be formally recognized within the International League Against Epilepsy classification system. Here we examine the genetic structure of a number of such microphenotypes and report in particular on two interesting clinical phenotypes, Jeavons syndrome and pediatric status epilepticus. Although no single gene reached exome-wide statistical significance to be associated with any of the diagnostic categories, we observe enrichment of rare damaging variants in established epilepsy genes among Landau-Kleffner patients (GRIN2A) and pediatric status epilepticus patients (MECP2, SCN1A, SCN2A, SCN8A).

Feasibility of an electronic stethoscope system for monitoring neonatal bowel sounds.

OBJECTIVE: Bowel dysfunction remains a major problem in neonates. Traditional auscultation of bowel sounds as a diagnostic aid in neonatal gastrointestinal complications is limited by skill and inability to document and reassess. Consequently, we built a unique prototype to investigate the feasibility of an electronic monitoring system for continuous assessment of bowel sounds. METHOD: We attained approval by the Institutional Review Boards for the investigational study to test our system. The system incorporated a prototype stethoscope head with a built-in microphone connected to a digital recorder. Recordings made over extended periods were evaluated for quality. We also considered the acoustic environment of the hospital, where the stethoscope was used. The stethoscope head was attached to the abdomen with a hydrogel patch designed especially for this purpose. We used the system to obtain recordings from eight healthy, full-term babies. A scoring system was used to determine loudness, clarity, and ease of recognition comparing it to the traditional stethoscope. The recording duration was initially two hours and was increased to a maximum of eight hours. RESULTS: Median duration of attachment was three hours (3.75, 2.68). Based on the scoring, the bowel sound recording was perceived to be as loud and clear in sound reproduction as a traditional stethoscope. We determined that room noise and other noises were significant forms of interference in the recordings, which at times prevented analysis. However, no sound quality drift was noted in the recordings and no patient discomfort was noted. Minimal erythema was observed over the fixation site which subsided within one hour. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated the long-term recording of infant bowel sounds. Our contributions included a prototype stethoscope head, which was affixed using a specially designed hydrogel adhesive patch. Such a recording can be reviewed and reassessed, which is new technology and an improvement over current practice. The use of this system should also, theoretically, reduce risk of infection. Based on our research we concluded that while automatic assessment of bowel sounds is feasible over an extended period, there will be times when analysis is not possible. One limitation is noise interference. Our larger goals include producing a meaningful vital sign to characterize bowel sounds that can be produced in real-time, as well as providing automatic control for patient feeding pumps.

Farming termites determine the genetic population structure of Termitomyces fungal symbionts.

Symbiotic interactions between macrotermitine termites and their fungal symbionts have a moderate degree of specificity. Consistent with horizontal symbiont transmission, host switching has been frequent over evolutionary time so that single termite species can often be associated with several fungal symbionts. However, even in the few termite lineages that secondarily adopted vertical symbiont transmission, the fungal symbionts are not monophyletic. We addressed this paradox by studying differential transmission of fungal symbionts by alate male and female reproductives, and the genetic population structure of Termitomyces fungus gardens across 74 colonies of Macrotermes bellicosus in four west and central African countries. We confirm earlier, more limited, studies showing that the Termitomyces symbionts of M. bellicosus are normally transmitted vertically and clonally by dispersing males. We also document that the symbionts associated with this termite species belong to three main lineages that do not constitute a monophyletic group. The most common lineage occurs over the entire geographical region that we studied, including west, central and southern Africa, where it is also associated with the alternative termite hosts Macrotermes subhyalinus and Macrotermes natalensis. While Termitomyces associated with these alternative hosts are horizontally transmitted and recombine freely, the genetic population structure of the same Termitomyces associated with M. bellicosus is consistent with predominantly clonal reproduction and only occasional recombination. This implies that the genetic population structure of Termitomyces is controlled by the termite host and not by the Termitomyces symbiont.

Quaking and miR-155 interactions in inflammation and leukemogenesis.

Quaking (QKI) is a tumor-suppressor gene encoding a conserved RNA-binding protein, whose expression is downregulated in several solid tumors. Here we report that QKI plays an important role in the immune response and suppression of leukemogenesis. We show that the expression of Qki is reduced in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged macrophages, suggesting that Qki is a key regulator of LPS signaling pathway. Furthermore, LPS-induced downregulation of Qki expression is miR-155-dependent. Qki overexpression impairs LPS-induced phosphorylation of JNK and particularly p38 MAPKs, in addition to increasing the production of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. In contrast, Qki ablation decreases Fas expression and the rate of Caspase3/7 activity, while increasing the levels of IL-1α, IL-1ß and IL-6, and p38 phosphorylation. Similarly, the p38 pathway is also a target of QKI activity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)-derived MEC2 cells. Finally, B-CLL patients show lower levels of QKI expression compared with B cells from healthy donor, and Qki is similarily downregulated with the progression of leukemia in Eµ-miR-155 transgenic mice. Altogether, these data implicate QKI in the pathophysiology of inflammation and oncogenesis where miR-155 is involved.

An unusual recurrence of dysembroplastic neuroepithelial tumours after a seizure-free period of 8 years.

Dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumours (DNETs) are grade 1 central nervous tumours, which can be diagnosed judiciously based on clinical features and radiological investigations, having a good prognosis after surgical resection. However, the recurrence of tumours due to variable epileptic zones leading to persistence of seizures can make the management of such cases challenging. We present a case of DNET where the patient had recurrence of the tumour with worsening of seizure activity 8 years after initial surgical resection.

Becker's nevus syndrome with quadriparesis.

A 12-year-old girl presented to Manipal Teaching Hospital with quadriparesis of 8 months' duration. Examination revealed a hyperpigmented patch over the chest wall with overlying hypertrichosis, musculoskeletal anomalies, upper limb asymmetry and ipsilateral breast hypoplasia. MRI scan revealed cranio-vertebral junction anomaly and spina bifida occulta at the cervical spine level. Histopathological examination of the skin revealed findings consistent with Becker's nevus. Based on the patient's clinical presentation and investigations, a diagnosis of Becker's nevus syndrome was made. However, she was managed conservatively as surgical intervention was not suitable in her case. The authors review Becker's nevus syndrome and its clinical manifestations below.

Adenosquamous carcinoma of the lacrimal gland.

A 48-year-old man presented with proptosis of the left eye, which on excisional biopsy proved to be primary adenosquamous carcinoma of the lacrimal gland. The lesion was excised radically by a limited frontotemporo-orbitozygomatic approach and any further surgeries, such as exenteration, were avoided in view of the patient's wish to preserve the eye and vision. Long-term follow-up is planned to look for any metastasis or recurrence of the tumour. Primary adenosquamous carcinoma of the lacrimal gland is a very rare entity and, following a thorough literature review, only two cases of lacrimal gland adenosquamous carcinoma have been reported so far.