Exploring Associations Between Self-Compassion, Self-Criticism, Mental Health, and Quality of Life in Adults with Cystic Fibrosis: Informing Future Interventions.

Self-compassion is increasingly recognised as an important and beneficial factor in quality of life and mental health-related research, but research within the adult cystic fibrosis (CF) population is scarce. In a cross-sectional study, 114 (56 female, 58 male) adults with CF completed and returned a series of validated questionnaires that assessed CF-related quality of life, negative emotional states (depression, anxiety and stress), self-compassion, and self-criticism. Quality of life and self-compassion were positively correlated, and each in turn were inversely correlated with negative emotional states and self-criticism. Negative emotional states correlated positively to self-criticism. Self-compassion and/or self-criticism moderated ten relationships between various sub-domains of quality of life and negative emotions. Psychological interventions that increase self-compassion may be beneficial for enhancing mental health and quality of life for adults with CF.

Ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging assessment of joint disease in symptomatic patients with cystic fibrosis arthropathy.

OBJECTIVES: Cystic fibrosis arthropathy (CFA) is a term commonly used for joint pain with and without swelling seen in some patients with CF. Early studies into CFA focused on the presence of rheumatoid factor and immunological changes on synovial biopsy, with parallels drawn between respiratory and joint activity. Identification of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP) as a marker of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), along with increased access to sensitive imaging techniques including ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), offer great potential to investigate and more accurately understand the type(s) of inflammatory arthritis that may underlie CFA. The aim of this study was to phenotype an active CFA cohort using serology and imaging, as a basis for further work in this understudied area. METHODS: This was a prospective observational cohort study of symptomatic CFA patients presenting with joint pain. Participants underwent serological testing, clinical and US joint and entheseal assessment, as well as MRI of the most symptomatic joint/joint area. RESULTS: Ten symptomatic patients were studied with 9/10 having positive clinical findings. Inflammatory changes on US were seen in 8/10 cases. Five patients had positive findings on MRI (3 of whom had received IV gadolinium contrast). This included patients with significant erosive changes. One patient was anti-CCP positive suggestive of RA, and two were anti-nuclear antibody positive. CONCLUSION: Imaging, and to a lesser extent serology, identified inflammatory joint pathology in a proportion of cases, providing important data to explore in a large CFA cohort examining the clinical and imaging phenotype of this group.

Magnetic flux noise in dc SQUIDs: temperature and geometry dependence.

The spectral density S(Φ)(f) = A(2)/(f/1 Hz)(α) of magnetic flux noise in ten dc superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) with systematically varied geometries shows that α increases as the temperature is lowered; in so doing, each spectrum pivots about a nearly constant frequency. The mean-square flux noise, inferred by integrating the power spectra, grows rapidly with temperature and at a given temperature is approximately independent of the outer dimension of a given SQUID. These results are incompatible with a model based on the random reversal of independent, surface spins.

Driven dynamics and rotary echo of a qubit tunably coupled to a harmonic oscillator.

We have investigated the driven dynamics of a superconducting flux qubit that is tunably coupled to a microwave resonator. We find that the qubit experiences an oscillating field mediated by off-resonant driving of the resonator, leading to strong modifications of the qubit Rabi frequency. This opens an additional noise channel, and we find that low-frequency noise in the coupling parameter causes a reduction of the coherence time during driven evolution. The noise can be mitigated with the rotary-echo pulse sequence, which, for driven systems, is analogous to the Hahn-echo sequence.

The evaluation of extracorporeal shockwave therapy in naturally occurring osteoarthritis of the stifle joint in dogs.

Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) has expanded from the original uses of human urinary calculi treatment to veterinary orthopaedic applications. This paper investigates the feasibility and efficacy of treating dogs with osteoarthritis of the stifle joint with ESWT. In this study, dogs with persistent stifle lameness despite previous surgical or medical treatment were either treated with ESWT or served as untreated controls. The more lame rear limb of each dog was determined by force platform analysis. The range of motion (ROM) of the stifle joints was assessed by goniometry. Force platform gait analysis and goniometry were performed on both groups for four visits at three-week intervals and a final examination four weeks later. Shock wave therapy was performed three times on the treated dogs, once at each of the first three examinations. A placebo treatment consisting of clipping and wetting the hair was performed on the control dogs. The vertical forces were evaluated for objective analysis of treatment response. For peak vertical force (PVF), four of seven treated dogs improved, while only one of five of control dogs improved. The PVF for the within group analysis did not show any significant change for the treated group, however, the control group has a significant decrease (p = 0.05) in PVF consistent with an increase in lameness. The range of motion (ROM) of the stifle joint improved in five of seven treated dogs and three of five controls. Dogs in the treated group had a trend toward increased ROM (p = 0.07) and a 'positive slope' when compared to dogs in the control group which did not have a significant change (p = 0.78) and had a negative slope indicating the dogs were developing a decrease in ROM. The subjective data provided by client questionnaire did not show significant difference between groups.

Allelic variants of ovine prion protein gene (PRNP) in Oklahoma sheep.

1,144 sheep belonging to 21 breeds and known crosses were sequence analyzed for polymorphisms in the ovine PRNP gene. Genotype and allele frequencies of polymorphisms in PRNP known to confer resistance to scrapie, a fatal neurodegenerative disease of sheep, are reported. Known polymorphisms at codons 136 (A/V), 154 (H/R) and 171 (Q/R/H/K) were identified. The frequency of the 171R allele known to confer resistance to type C scrapie was 53.8% and the frequency of the 136A allele known to influence the resistance to type A scrapie was 96.01%. In addition, we report the identification of five new polymorphisms at codons 143 (H/R), 167 (R/S), 180 (H/Y), 195 (T/S) and 196 (T/S). We also report the identification of a novel allele (S/R) at codon 138.

Parents' accounts of wheeze and asthma related symptoms: a qualitative study.

AIMS: To examine parents' accounts of how they recognise and judge respiratory symptoms in children, and to investigate their interpretations of respiratory survey questions about wheeze, shortness of breath, and cough. METHODS: Qualitative study using semistructured interviews. Data were analysed using the constant comparative method. Nineteen parents of children aged under 6 years were recruited from a cohort of parents who had responded to an earlier respiratory symptom survey and from one general practice. RESULTS: Parents judged respiratory symptoms using a range of cues, including changes in the sound of breathing and changes in appearance and behaviour. Experiential resources and contextual factors played an important role in parents' judgements. Interpretations of questions about respiratory symptoms were varied, particularly in relation to the terms "attacks of wheeze" and "shortness of breath". Parents' descriptions of wheeze differed from descriptions of the sound of wheeze used in some survey questionnaires. Parents drew fine distinctions between different "types" of cough and identified a distinct "asthma" cough. CONCLUSIONS: Attention needs to be given to the complexity of reporting respiratory symptoms in children and to the importance of contextual factors in parents' judgements. We suggest that questions which require parents to report on children's internal feelings or states be avoided. Consideration should be given to providing parents with explicit direction on what cues to attend to or ignore in reporting symptoms, and to clarifying some questions that are currently used in clinical practice and in surveys.

An in vitro biomechanical investigation of an intramedullary nailing technique for repair of third metacarpal and metatarsal fractures in neonates and foals.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a dorsoproximal extra-articular approach for insertion of 8.25-mm, solid-titanium, intramedullary (IM) interlocking nails into ostectomized foal third metacarpal (MC3) and third metatarsal (MT3) bones; to compare the monotonic mechanical properties of IM nail constructs with paired intact bones; and to determine the effects of age, body weight, fore- or hindlimb, and left or right limb on the mechanical testing variables. ANIMAL OR SAMPLE POPULATION: Twenty bone pairs (10 MC3, 10 MT3) collected from 10 foals of various weights and ages. METHODS: One bone from each pair was randomly selected to be ostectomized and stabilized using an 8.25-mm, solid-titanium IM nail, and four 3.7-mm titanium interlocking screws (construct). Constructs and contralateral intact bone specimens were tested in axial compression and palmaro-/plantarodorsal (PD) 4-point bending. Monotonic mechanical properties were compared between intact specimens and constructs with an ANOVA; significance was set at P <.05. RESULTS: Nail insertion caused bone failure in 6 MC3 and 2 MT3. In general, mean mechanical testing values indicated that intact specimens were significantly stronger and stiffer than constructs for all age and weight ranges when tested in compression and PD 4-point bending (P <.05). Bone strength and stiffness of intact specimens tested in compression and bending tended to increase linearly with age and weight. CONCLUSION: IM interlocking nail fixation of gap-ostectomized MC3 and MT3 with 8.25-mm IM nails and 3.7-mm interlocking screws did not achieve sufficient strength or stiffness to be recommended as the sole means of repair for comminuted MC3 and MT3 fractures in young foals. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: IM interlocking nail fixation of foal cannon bone fractures may be useful to decrease soft-tissue disruption at the fracture site; however, there is a risk of bone failure associated with extra-articular insertion. This method should be combined with other forms of external coaptation for added stability in axial compression and PD bending.

Activation of renal afferent pathways following furosemide treatment. I. Effects Of survival time and renal denervation.

Three experiments were performed to determine whether renal afferent pathways were activated by the diuretic drug, furosemide. It was hypothesized that activated neurons of the renal afferent pathway would express the protein product Fos of the c-fos immediate early gene and be identified by immunocytochemical staining for Fos in the cell nucleus. In the first two experiments, rats were injected with either furosemide (5 mg) or vehicle solution (sterile isotonic saline) and sacrificed either 1.75 h (short-survival experiment) or 3.5 h (long-survival experiment) after injection. In both experiments, the furosemide-treated rats had significantly more Fos-positive cell nuclei than vehicle-treated rats in the subfornical organ (SFO), organum vasculosum lamina terminalis (OVLT), supraoptic nuclei (SON), and magnocellular region of the paraventricular nuclei (PVN) - areas previously shown to be activated by hypovolemia or peripheral angiotensin. In the short-survival experiment, the furosemide-treated rats had more Fos-positive cell nuclei in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) and in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord at spinal levels T(11), T(12), and T(13). In contrast, furosemide treatment did not produce more Fos-positive cell nuclei in the NTS and dorsal horn of the spinal cord in the long-survival experiment. These results suggest that the activation of the SFO, OVLT, SON and PVN may be via a different mechanism than that of NTS or spinal cord dorsal horn. Based upon our previous work, we hypothesized that the NTS and spinal cord dorsal horn labeling was due to activation of sympathetic afferents originating in the kidney and labeling in forebrain structures was due to stimulation by angiotensin generated by renal renin release. To test this hypothesis, a third experiment was devised that was identical to the short-survival experiment, except that all rats had bilateral renal denervation surgery 1 week previously. In this experiment, furosemide administration increased the number of Fos-positive cells in the SFO, OVLT, SON and PVN, but not in the caudal thoracic spinal cord or NTS. These results together with the results of first two experiments lend support to our hypothesis that furosemide-induced neuronal activation in the thoracic spinal cord and NTS is due to activation of second- and/or third-order neurons of a renal sympathetic afferent pathway. Furosemide-induced activation in the SFO, OVLT, SON and PVN does not depend on renal innervation. It is hypothesized that activation in these forebrain regions depends on the action of angiotensin II that is generated after furosemide treatment. Our results indicate that both a hormonal pathway and a renal sympathetic afferent pathway conduct information from the kidney to the central nervous system (CNS) after furosemide treatment.

Activation of renal afferent pathways following furosemide treatment. II. Effect Of angiotensin blockade.

The goal here and in the accompanying paper was to evaluate the two pathways used by the kidney to provide information to the central nervous system (CNS); e.g., the indirect, hormonal route via activation of the renin-angiotensin system and the direct pathway via activation of sympathetic afferents in the caudal thoracic spinal cord. Here, three experiments were designed to evaluate the actions of angiotensin elicited by subcutaneous injection of furosemide on neural activation of the CNS. The number of neurons immunocytochemically staining for the protein product (Fos) of the c-fos gene was used as an index of neuronal activation. In the first experiment, furosemide injection was preceded by treatment with a dose of Captopril, CAP, (an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor) that blocks the peripheral but not the central formation of angiotensin II. In the second experiment, furosemide injection was preceded by treatment with a higher dose of CAP; this dosage blocks the peripheral and central formation of angiotensin II. In the third experiment, furosemide injection was preceded by treatment with Losartan, a competitive receptor antagonist of type I angiotensin II receptors at a dose that would block central and peripheral angiotensin receptors. Control animals in each experiment received injections of vehicle (sterile isotonic saline) instead of furosemide. In each experiment, rats were sacrificed 1.75 h following furosemide or saline injection by transcardial perfusion and tissues were immunocytochemically processed for demonstration of Fos antigen. Rats receiving furosemide plus the low CAP dose showed more Fos-positive cells than control rats in the subfornical organ (SFO), organum vasculosum lamina terminalis (OVLT), supraoptic nucleus (SON), magnocellular region of the paraventricular nucleus, nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), and caudal thoracic/rostral lumbar spinal cord dorsal horn. Rats receiving furosemide plus Losartan or furosemide plus the higher CAP dose did not show increased Fos immunoreactivity in any of the abovementioned structures relative to their respective control animals. We conclude that the receptor-mediated action of angiotensin II is in some way involved in the activation of the pathway that occurs in the SFO, OVLT, SON, and magnocellular region of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) in response to furosemide treatment. It is possible that the furosemide-induced activation in the SON and PVN is not due to direct actions of angiotensin II on angiotensin receptors in those structures, but instead occurs synaptically as a result of inputs from the SFO and OVLT, which have themselves been activated directly by angiotensin II. In the accompanying paper, furosemide-induced activation in the NTS and caudal thoracic spinal cord is abolished by prior bilateral renal denervation, meaning that these neurons are likely part of a renal afferent pathway. Here, these structures did not elaborate Fos in animals injected with furosemide plus the high CAP dose or furosemide plus Losartan. Thus, the present results also suggest that the central blockade of the formation of angiotensin II or blockade of the actions of angiotensin II prevents in some way the activation of the renal afferent pathway mediated by the renal nerves (the direct pathway) in response to the actions of furosemide. Therefore, these results suggest that central angiotensin II is somehow involved in "priming" or increasing the sensitivity of the direct renal afferent pathway. Taken together with the accompanying paper, our results indicate that interruption of the direct pathway via renal denervation did not interfere with the elaboration of Fos in the lamina terminalis; in contrast, modification of the humoral renal afferent pathway can affect the sensitivity of the direct pathway. These results may have important implications for pathophysiological changes associated with fluid balance disorders including renal hypertension.

A comparison of the interpretation of digitized and videotape recorded echocardiograms.

Conventional echocardiograms are typically recorded on videotape and later reviewed and interpreted by a physician. Although videotape recording is an excellent medium for this purpose, it does have several disadvantages, which may be overcome by digital storage. This study compared the diagnostic accuracy of digitized and videotape recorded echocardiograms. Echocardiographic examinations (n = 110) were recorded simulta-neously on videotape and were digitized with a commercially available frame grabber system. Images were transmitted by an Ethernet link to the network-based computer system and compressed with a nondestructive compression algorithm. Images were reviewed on a personal computer. Images were interpreted by 3 observers, and differences in interpretation were documented. There were 274 findings in 110 patients. Exact agreement in interpretation was found in 83%. A major discrepancy occurred in 2%, and a minor discrepancy occurred in 15%. Most discrepancies occurred in the setting of valvular heart disease. When compared with a consensus interpretation, no significant difference was seen in the number of errors between the digital and videotape interpretation. We conclude that the interpretation of a properly recorded digitized echocardiographic examination yields interpretations equivalent to those of videotape recordings.

Ultrasonic evaluation for the time of ovulation in ewes treated with norgestomet and norgestomet followed by pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin.

Progestogens and follicular stimulants have proved reasonably successful for estrus synchronization, but time of ovulation relative to removal of the progestogen is not clearly established. We monitored time of ovulation in ewes following synchronized estrus. Ovaries of 40 Dorset and Rambouillet x Dorset ewes were evaluated during the spring and fall (20/replicate). Ewes were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups (n = 20/group): implant-only (I) ewes received a norgestomet implant for 10 d; and implant + PMSG (PI) ewes received a norgestomet implant for 10 d with an i.m. injection of 500 IU of PMSG at implant removal. Time of estrus onset was detected with the HeatWatch Estrus Detection System. Following the initiation of estrus, ovaries were monitored via rectal ultrasonography every 6 h to determine the interval from implant removal to ovulation (OVUL), and onset of estrus to ovulation (INT). Four I and PI ewes that lost implants before scheduled removal on d 10 were removed from the study. Estrus was detected in 13 of 16 (81%) I and 14 of 16 (88%) PI ewes within 108 h after implant removal. The interval from implant removal to estrus (EST), INT, and OVUL were not affected by replicate. The INT was not different in I (33.8 h) and PI (35.0 h) ewes. Mean OVUL was greater (P < .01) in I (79.8 h) than in PI ewes (68.6 h), and mean EST was also greater (P < .01) for I (46.0 h) than for PI ewes (32.6 h). The present data indicate that ovulation occurs on average 70 to 80 h after implant removal in ewes treated with norgestomet, and PMSG reduces the interval from implant removal to ovulation.

Increased renal interstitial hydrostatic pressure causes c-fos expression in the rat's spinal cord dorsal horn.

To describe a sympathetic afferent circuit, interstitial hydrostatic pressure in the left kidney was increased in anesthetized rats for 1.5 h to activate renal mechanoreceptor afferents. Following renal afferent stimulation, the number of immunocytochemically stained cells for the immediate early gene c-fos was increased within the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Relative to the surgical control procedure, increasing renal interstitial hydrostatic pressure produced more immunocytochemically stained cells per tissue section in laminae I and II of the dorsal horn both ipsilateral and contralateral to the stimulated kidney in the three most caudal thoracic spinal segments. Further, the number of c-fos immunocytochemically stained cells per section in the dorsal horn ipsilateral to the stimulated kidney was 28% greater than the number of stained cells contralateral to it. The staining patterns in the dorsal horns of stimulated and control animals were similar with most labeled cells in laminae I and II. These results indicate that (1) c-fos immunocytochemical staining may be useful for tracing specific sympathetic afferent pathways, (2) sensory pathways affected by increased renal interstitial hydrostatic pressure include spinal neurons located at lower thoracic levels, and (3) some of this sympathetic afferent pathway is located contralateral to the stimulated kidney. Neurons in the contralateral dorsal horn activated by renal stimulation may mediate renorenal reflexes.

Ureteral ligation induces Fos expression in the dorsal horn.

To describe a sympathetic afferent circuit, the left ureter was ligated in anesthetized rats for 1.5-2 h followed by immunocytochemical processing to localize expression of either the immediate early gene (IEG) c-fos or Krox-24 in the spinal cord or dorsal root ganglia (DRG). No IEG expression was detected in DRG. Both Fos and Krox-24 expression was found in the dorsal horn. More Fos immunocytochemically stained cells were found in the dorsal horn both ipsi- and and contralateral to the ligated ureter at spinal segments T10-T13 after ureteral than after either sham ligation or anesthesia control procedures. More Fos stained cells were in the dorsal horn ipsilateral to the ligated ureter than on the contralateral side. The Fos staining patterns in the dorsal horn of ligated and sham-ligated animals were similar with most labeled cells in dorsomedial portions of laminae I and II. In contrast, the Fos staining pattern in the dorsal horn in anesthetized animals (unoperated controls) was noticeably different from operated animals with the most Fos cells in the ventrolateral part of laminae I-II. These results indicate that (1) Fos Immunocytochemistry may be useful for tracing sympathetic afferent pathways, (2) the sensory pathway activated by ureteral ligation enters the spinal cord at lower thoracic levels, where renal and upper ureteral afferents are terminating, and (3) some of this sympathetic afferent pathway is located contralateral to the stimulated kidney. Neurons activated by ureteral ligation in the contralateral dorsal horn may mediate reno-renal reflexes.

Color coding of digitized echocardiograms: description of a new technique and application in detecting and correcting for cardiac translation.

Color coding is a new software application for digitized echocardiograms that displays a reference image of end diastole throughout the cardiac cycle. With color-coded digitized echocardiograms, we determined the frequency of, and corrected for cardiac translation in 21 bicycle stress echocardiograms in patients who were known to be without significant coronary artery disease or wall motion abnormalities. Translation was present in 4%, 40%, and 74% of rest, postexercise, and peak exercise images, respectively, and was noted most frequently in the apical views, 59% of four-chamber views and 40% of two-chamber views. Interobserver and intraobserver agreement for detection of translation was 81% and 86%, respectively. Translation was corrected by shifting digitized images to eliminate transverse displacement of the mitral valve anulus and restore normal basal-to-apical shortening. Ventricular contraction was assessed as normal in 92% of the images in which correction for translation was performed. In the remaining images, poor image quality (3%) and apparent wall motion abnormalities (5%) prevented the studies from being graded as normal. We conclude that color coding of digitized echocardiograms is a useful new technique that can be applied to detect and correct for cardiac translation.

Effects of octopamine on miniature excitatory junction potentials from developing and adult moth muscle.

Intracellular recordings of excitatory junction potentials (EJPs) and miniature EJPs (MEJPs) were made from the dorsal longitudinal muscle of Manduca sexta to determine the sites of action of octopamine. MEJPs increased in amplitude and frequency as the moth developed during the 3 days before eclosion. DL-Octopamine (5 X 10(-6) M) increased the amplitude of excitatory junction potentials in both immature moths (one day before eclosion) and adults. Octopamine (10(-5) M) also increased the amplitude and frequency of MEJPs from immature animals (one and two days before eclosion) but had the opposite effect on adults and pharate adults ready to eclose. Treatment with octopamine (10(-5) M) resulted in a decrease in input resistance and a hyperpolarization in both immature and adult muscle fibers. The results suggest that octopamine acts both presynaptically and postsynaptically but that the increase in the amplitude of the evoked response is due primarily to influences on presynaptic processes.

Effects of octopamine and forskolin on excitatory junction potentials of developing and adult moth muscle.

Intracellular recordings were made from the dorsal longitudinal muscle of Manduca sexta to determine the effects of development and octopamine on the excitatory junction potential (EJP) produced in response to electrical stimulation of the motor nerve. Observations were made on pharate moths during the last 3 days before eclosion and on adults. In saline, the highest values for EJP amplitude and maximum rate of rise and for resting membrane potential are reached on the nineteenth day of the pupal period, the day the animal ecloses; adult values are slightly lower. In animals of all ages tested, DL-octopamine (5 X 10(-6) M) increases EJP amplitude and maximum rate of rise. Increases in amplitude are greater in animals at stage day 17 and 18 than in animals at stage day 19 and adult. Octopamine has no effect on EJP rise time (onset to peak) or recovery time (peak of EJP to 70% recovery). Octopamine causes a hyperpolarization of about 6 mV. The results show that developmental changes in synapse properties are paralleled only in part by changes induced by octopamine. Both development and octopamine increase EJP amplitude and maximum rate of rise, and neither alter rise time. EJP recovery time changes with development but not in response to octopamine. Forskolin (10(-4) M) mimics the effects of octopamine on day 17 animals. EJP amplitude and maximum rate of rise are increased by forskolin, and rise time and recovery time are unaffected. Forskolin, like octopamine, causes a 6 mV hyperpolarization of the muscle fiber. These results suggest that octopaminergic modulation at the Manduca sexta dorsal longitudinal neuromuscular junction may be mediated by changes in intracellular levels of cyclic AMP.