Relationship between hedonic hunger and subjectively assessed sleep quality and perceived stress among university students: A cross-sectional study.

Purpose: This study examined the relationship between hedonic hunger (HH), sleep quality, and stress levels among university students in the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Bahrain. Methods: We used a cross-sectional design with participants (N = 565) recruited via convenience sampling. Data were collected with a self-administered, standardized, and validated online questionnaire. HH was assessed with the Palatable Eating Motives Scale (PEMS) and Power of Food Scale (PFS), sleep quality and sleep components were assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), stress was evaluated with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and physical activity was examined with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used to assess the relationship between HH and sleep quality and perceived stress. Results: There were positive associations between total PSQI scores and total PEMS (ß = 0.14, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.06-0.25, P = 0.001) and PFS (ß = 0.21, 95% CI: 0.45-1.04, P < 0.001). The likelihood of poor sleep quality increased by 8% (odds ratio [OR] = 1.08, P = 0.020) and 43% (OR = 1.43, P < 0.001) for each one-unit increase in PEMS and PFS scores, respectively. We also found positive associations between PSS scores and total PEMS (ß = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.26-0.63, P < 0.001) and PFS (ß = 0.23, 95% CI: 1.04-2.22, P < 0.001) scores. Conclusion: Reducing HH and stress levels may help to enhance sleep quality among university students. Conversely, improving sleep quality and reducing stress levels could improve HH in this population.

Sense of community belonging among immigrants: perspective of immigrant service providers.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the barriers and facilitators to community belonging for immigrants in Alberta, Canada. STUDY DESIGN: The study used a qualitative descriptive research design. METHODS: A total of 53 immigrant service providers in the province of Alberta participated in interviews and focus groups. The sample was purposively recruited through immigrant service organizations in the province. Interviews lasted approximately 45 min, whereas focus groups lasted approximately 1.5 h. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed with the aid of NVivo qualitative software. RESULTS: Participants discuss two forms of community belonging in this study: (a) belonging to an ethnocultural group; and (b) belonging within mainstream Canadian society. Barriers to mainstream community belonging for immigrants include employment barriers, language barriers, and discrimination. Recent immigrants often experience a sense of belonging to their ethnic group within the host country before feeling connected to others in their local geographic community. A major factor contributing to this trend is the lack of ethnocultural diversity in local community organizations in the areas where immigrants live. Immigrant service agencies and religious institutions compensate for this deficiency through creating avenues for social connection within and across ethnocultural groups and to mainstream Canadian society. CONCLUSIONS: Local community organizations should address issues of ethnocultural diversity and discrimination to improve the mental health of immigrants by fostering community belonging. Supporting programs in immigrant service agencies and religious institutions to increase social participation and engagement would, also, help strengthen community belonging and improve immigrant mental health.

An in vitro model of lissencephaly: expanding the role of DCX during neurogenesis.

Lissencephaly comprises a spectrum of brain malformations due to impaired neuronal migration in the developing cerebral cortex. Classical lissencephaly is characterized by smooth cerebral surface and cortical thickening that result in seizures, severe neurological impairment and developmental delay. Mutations in the X-chromosomal gene DCX, encoding doublecortin, is the main cause of classical lissencephaly. Much of our knowledge about DCX-associated lissencephaly comes from post-mortem analyses of patient's brains, mainly since animal models with DCX mutations do not mimic the disease. In the absence of relevant animal models and patient brain specimens, we took advantage of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology to model the disease. We established human iPSCs from two males with mutated DCX and classical lissencephaly including smooth brain and abnormal cortical morphology. The disease was recapitulated by differentiation of iPSC into neural cells followed by expression profiling and dissection of DCX-associated functions. Here we show that neural stem cells, with absent or reduced DCX protein expression, exhibit impaired migration, delayed differentiation and deficient neurite formation. Hence, the patient-derived iPSCs and neural stem cells provide a system to further unravel the functions of DCX in normal development and disease.

Heterorhabditis pakistanense n. sp. (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae) a new entomopathogenic nematode from Pakistan.

A new entomopathogenic nematode species of Heterorhabditis, described as H. pakistanense n. sp., was isolated from soil samples around the roots of grass at Malir, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The new species is characterized morphologically by features of males: body size 819 µm (720-1013 µm), D% ((distance from anterior end to excretory pore divided by pharynx length) × 100) 119 (110-126), SW% ((spicule length divided by anal body diameter) × 100) 156 (144-191), GS% ((gubernaculum length divided by spicule length) × 100) 58 (48-65) and variations in the number of bursal papillae of the terminal group: 8th and 9th papillae sometimes absent on both sides, sometimes eight papillae present on the right side whereas six papillae present on the left side. On the right side the arrangement of papillae is 1 + 2 + 3 + 2 whereas on the left side it is 1 + 2 + 3. The hermaphrodite has a prominent post-anal swelling and a conoid tail 82 µm (64-95 µm) long with a pointed terminus. Hermaphrodites of H. pakistanense n. sp. can be distinguished from all species of Heterorhabditis except H. downesi by having a mucronate tail. Infective juveniles have a medium-sized body (581 µm (558-624 µm)), long pharynx (117 µm (113-125 µm)), ensheathed tail (99 µm (95-110 µm)) and E% ((distance from anterior end to excretory pore divided by tail length) × 100) 100 (95-107). The new species can be distinguished from all species of Heterorhabditis by the absence of the 7th, 8th and 9th bursal papillae. Heterorhabditis pakistanense is further characterized by the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the D2D3 region of the 28S rDNA gene. The closest species H. indica, H. gerrardi, H. amazonensis and H. noenieputensis being separated by 9, 7, 66 and 15 bp, respectively, in the ITS region. Molecular phylogenetic trees based on sequences of ITS rDNA, D2D3 regions and the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene support the description of H. pakistanense as a new species.

Pro-survival function of MEF2 in cardiomyocytes is enhanced by ß-blockers.

ß1-Adrenergic receptor (ß1-AR) stimulation increases apoptosis in cardiomyocytes through activation of cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA) signaling. The myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) proteins function as important regulators of myocardial gene expression. Previously, we reported that PKA signaling directly represses MEF2 activity. We determined whether (a) MEF2 has a pro-survival function in cardiomyocytes, and (b) whether ß-adrenergic/PKA signaling modulates MEF2 function in cardiomyocytes. Initially, we observed that siRNA-mediated gene silencing of MEF2 induces cardiomyocyte apoptosis as indicated by flow cytometry. ß1-AR activation by isoproterenol represses MEF2 activity and promotes apoptosis in cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes. Importantly, ß1-AR mediated apoptosis was abrogated in cardiomyocytes expressing a PKA-resistant form of MEF2D (S121/190A). We also observed that a ß1-blocker, Atenolol, antagonizes isoproterenol-induced apoptosis while concomitantly enhancing MEF2 transcriptional activity. ß-AR stimulation modulated MEF2 cellular localization in cardiomyocytes and this effect was reversed by ß-blocker treatment. Furthermore, Kruppel-like factor 6, a MEF2 target gene in the heart, functions as a downstream pro-survival factor in cardiomyocytes. Collectively, these data indicate that (a) MEF2 has an important pro-survival role in cardiomyocytes, and (b) ß-adrenergic signaling antagonizes the pro-survival function of MEF2 in cardiomyocytes and ß-blockers promote it. These observations have important clinical implications that may contribute to novel strategies for preventing cardiomyocyte apoptosis associated with heart pathology.

AN ADAPTIVE TRACKING ALGORITHM OF LUNG TUMORS IN FLUOROSCOPY USING ONLINE LEARNED COLLABORATIVE TRACKERS.

Accurate tracking of tumor movement in fluoroscopic video sequences is a clinically significant and challenging problem. This is due to blurred appearance, unclear deforming shape, complicate intra- and inter- fractional motion, and other facts. Current offline tracking approaches are not adequate because they lack adaptivity and often require a large amount of manual labeling. In this paper, we present a collaborative tracking algorithm using asymmetric online boosting and adaptive appearance model. The method was applied to track the motion of lung tumors in fluoroscopic sequences provided by radiation oncologists. Our experimental results demonstrate the advantages of the method.

Direct interaction between myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) and protein phosphatase 1alpha represses MEF2-dependent gene expression.

The myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) transcription factors play important roles in neuronal, cardiac, and skeletal muscle tissues. MEF2 serves as a nuclear sensor, integrating signals from several signaling cascades through protein-protein interactions with kinases, chromatin remodeling factors, and other transcriptional regulators. Here, we report a novel interaction between the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 1alpha (PP1alpha) and MEF2. Interaction occurs within the nucleus, and binding of PP1alpha to MEF2 potently represses MEF2-dependent transcription. The interaction utilizes uncharacterized domains in both PP1alpha and MEF2, and PP1alpha phosphatase activity is not obligatory for MEF2 repression. Moreover, a MEF2-PP1alpha regulatory complex leads to nuclear retention and recruitment of histone deacetylase 4 to MEF2 transcription complexes. PP1alpha-mediated repression of MEF2 overrides the positive influence of calcineurin signaling, suggesting PP1alpha exerts a dominant level of control over MEF2 function. Indeed, PP1alpha-mediated repression of MEF2 function interferes with the prosurvival effect of MEF2 in primary hippocampal neurons. The PP1alpha-MEF2 interaction constitutes a potent locus of control for MEF2-dependent gene expression, having potentially important implications for neuronal cell survival, cardiac remodeling in disease, and terminal differentiation of vascular, cardiac, and skeletal muscle.

Registration of lung tissue between fluoroscope and CT images: determination of beam gating parameters in radiotherapy.

Significant research has been conducted in radiation beam gating technology to manage target and organ motions in radiotherapy treatment of cancer patients. As more and more on-board imagers are installed onto linear accelerators, fluoroscopic imaging becomes readily available at the radiation treatment stage. Thus, beam gating parameters, such as beam-on timing and beam-on window can be potentially determined by employing image registration between treatment planning CT images and fluoroscopic images. We propose a new registration method on deformable soft tissue between fluoroscopic images and DRR (Digitally Reconstructed Radiograph) images from planning CT images using active shape models. We present very promising results of our method applied to 30 clinical datasets. These preliminary results show that the method is very robust for the registration of deformable soft tissue. The proposed method can be used to determine beam-on timing and treatment window for radiation beam gating technology, and can potentially greatly improve radiation treatment quality.

[Evoked brain stem potentials. Study of their adaptation in multiple sclerosis]. / Potentiels provoqués du tronc cérébral. Etude de l'adaptation dans les scléroses en plaques.

This study of the Brainstem evoked Response has been done to try to find the exact location of neurologic disorders. The authors wanted to see if there were differences between normal subjects and patients with multilocular sclerosis, when the auditory stimulus in increasing from 10 pps to 50 pps. From 15 normal subjects (30 ears) the results have been compared to those obtained from 6 patients. The findings were: -- there is no adaptation phenomenon in the Brainstem (the conduction time in the Brainstem is absolutely constant). -- there is an adaptation which occurs before the first peak, happening later at 50 pps than at 10 pps. -- in the multilocular sclerosis the findings were: augmentation of the peak to peak delay no synchronisation of the peaks so that is very difficult to recognize each peaks. And the peaks are easier to recognize at 50 pps than at 10 pps which fact unexpectable. This dyssynchronisation at the compression and rarefaction click is for the authors an important factor for the multilocular sclerosis diagnosis.