Effects of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate on the incorporation of labelled precursors into RNA, DNA and protein in epidermis, dermis and subcutis from precancerous mouse skin with reference to enhanced tumorigenesis

The effects of a single application of 1.8 nmol 12-O-tetra-decanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) on precursor incorporation into RNA, DNA and protein in the epidermis, dermis and subcutis from 3-methylcholanthrene (MCA) injected precancerous mouse skin were studied at various time points between 3 and 96 h. In the precancerous tissues, the rates of incorporation of [3H]uridine into RNA did not alter appreciably from those in the control tissues; while the rates of [3H]methylthymidine incorporation into DNA were elevated with peaks appearing between 6 and 12 h, at 24 h and at 72 h in epidermis, dermis and subcutis. The rate of incorporation of [14C] leucine into protein was markedly elevated in all the three tissues which showed 3-4 sharp peaks. The maximum stimulation ranged between 14 and 20 times that of the control. A single application of TPA to the precancerous mouse skin induced early stimulation of precursor incorporation into all the three macromolecules in epidermis, dermis and subcutis. The increased stimulation was maintained for 36- 72 h. The patterns of incorporation of [3H]methylthymidine into DNA gave rise to 2-3 peaks of elevated uptake in each tissue up to 36-48 h. A lowered rate of DNA synthesis between 48 and 60 h was followed by a peak at 72 h. In each group, epidermal mitotic activity correlated well with spurts of precursor incorporation into cellular DNA. The observations indicate that TPA recruits more cells into the DNA synthetic phase and accelerates selective growth of preneoplastic cells during tumor progression

Evaluation of carcinogenic/co-carcinogenic activity of a common chewing product, pan masala, in mouse skin, stomach and esophagus

Pan masala, a dry powdered mixture of areca nut, catechu, lime, unspecified spices and flavoring agents, has gained widespread popularity as a chewing substitute in India. In this study, the carcinogenic and tumor-promoting potential of an ethanolic pan masala extract (EPME) was determined using skin of S/RVCri-ba mice and forestomach and esophagus of ICRC mice as the target tissues. Carcinogenic activity of pan masala was tested by painting the mouse skin for 40 weeks with EPME or by gavage feeding for 6 months. Following initiation with 9,10-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA), carcinogenesis of mouse skin was promoted with different doses of EPME, while gastric- and esophageal-tumor-promoting activity was determined by administering EPME by gavage to animals initiated with diethylnitrosamine (DEN). The ability of EPME to effect progression of skin papilloma to carcinoma and cutaneous alterations after a single or multiple EPME treatment were also evaluated. EPME at 25 mg per dose promoted skin-papilloma formation between 30 and 40 weeks of treatment and enhanced the rate of conversion of papilloma to carcinoma. Induction of mild epidermal hyperplasia, dermal edema, increase in epidermal mitotic activity and the rate of epidermal and dermal DNA synthesis by EPME correlated well with its skin-tumor-promoting potential. In ICRC mice, EPME was inactive as a complete carcinogen, but effectively promoted the development of forestomach and esophageal papilloma and carcinoma in a concentration-dependent manner. The tumor incidence at 25 mg EPME per dose was comparable with that obtained in the 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13 acetate(TPA)-treated group. The findings indicate that habitual pan-masala use may exert carcinogenic and co-carcinogenic influence

An investigation of home advantage in the Summer Paralympic Games

Purpose: There is a paucity of home advantage research set in the context of para-sport events. It is this gap in the knowledge that this paper addresses by investigating the prevalence and size of home advantage in the Summer Paralympic Games. Methods: Using a standardised measure of success, we compared the performances of nations when competing at home with their own performances away from home in the competition between 1960 and 2016. Both country level and individual sport level analysis was conducted for this time frame. A Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to determine whether there was a genuine difference in nations' performance under host and non-host conditions. Spearman's rank-order correlation was run to assess the relationship between nation quality and home advantage. Results: Strong evidence of a home advantage effect in the Summer Paralympic Games was found at country level (p 0.10). Conclusion: While our results confirm that home advantage is prevalent in the Summer Paralympic Games at an overall country level and within specific sports, they do not explain fully why such an effect does exist. Future studies should investigate the causes of home advantage in the competition and also draw comparisons with the Summer Olympic Games in order to explore any differences between para-sport events and able-bodied events

Postnatal depressive symptoms and child psychological development at 10 years: a prospective study of longitudinal data from the South African Birth to Twenty cohort.

BACKGROUND: In high-income countries, maternal postnatal depression is associated with adverse outcomes in the child. However, few studies have investigated this relation in countries of low and middle income. Furthermore, to our knowledge, no studies have followed up cohorts into later childhood. We aimed to investigate whether maternal depression 6 months after birth is associated with psychological difficulties in a socioeconomically disadvantaged South African cohort of children at age 10 years. METHODS: Birth to Twenty is a prospective, longitudinal, birth-cohort study based in the Soweto area of Johannesburg, South Africa. Mothers and children in this cohort have been followed up at timepoints ranging from before birth to age 10 years. Maternal mood was measured at 6 months with the Pitt depression inventory and at 10 years with the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies depression scale (CES-D). Child psychological functioning was assessed at 10 years with the South African child assessment schedule (SACAS). Our primary outcome was psychological development of children at age 10 years, measured by total score on the SACAS. Secondary outcomes were scores on externalising and internalising subscales of the SACAS. We used t tests to compare psychological outcomes between children whose mother had postnatal depression at 6 months and those whose mother did not have postnatal depression. We examined associations between maternal postnatal depression and child psychological outcomes by multivariate linear-regression analysis, adjusting for socioeconomic status and maternal depression at 10 years, and we used logistic regression to provide odds ratios for associations identified by linear regression. FINDINGS: 1866 mothers completed the Pitt depression inventory 6 months after the birth of their child; of these, 453 (24%) had symptoms of postnatal depression. At the 10-year assessment, 1012 mothers completed the CES-D questionnaire, of whom 747 (74%) were judged to have depression. Sociodemographic characteristics did not differ between mothers with and without depression at both 6 months and 10 years. After adjusting for socioeconomic status and maternal depression at 10 years, children whose mothers had postnatal depression at 6 months were more than twice as likely to have significant psychological difficulties 10 years later compared with children whose mothers did not have postnatal depression at 6 months (adjusted odds ratio 2·26, 95% CI 1·23-4·16). INTERPRETATION: Maternal postnatal depression is associated with adverse psychological outcomes in children up to 10 years later in countries of low and middle income. In view of the increased prevalence of postnatal depression in these settings, this finding has important implications for policy and interventions for children and their mothers. FUNDING: Wellcome Trust (UK), Medical Research Council of South Africa, Human Science Research Council (South Africa), University of the Witwatersrand

Long-term carcinogenicity of pan masala in Swiss mice

Carcinogenicity of pan masala, a dry powdered chewing mixture of areca nut, catechu, lime, spices and flavoring agents was evaluated by means of the long-term animal bio-assay 6- to 7-week old male and female S/RVCri mice were divided randomly into intermediate and lifetime exposure groups and fed normal diet without pan masala - (zero dose) or diet containing 2.5% and 5% pan masala. Animals in the intermediate-exposure group (n = 10/gender/dose group) were killed after 6, 12 or 18 months of treatment, while those in the lifetime-exposure group (n = 54/gender/dose group) were killed when moribund or at the termination of the experiment at 24 months. Several tissues were processed for histopathological examination. The body weight and survival rate of mice fed pan masala were lower than that of the controls. Histopathological observations of tissues from control animals did not reveal any neoplastic alterations. However, lifetime feeding of pan masala induced adenoma of the liver, stomach, prostate and sebaceous glands, also forestomach papilloma, liver hamartoma, hepatoma and hemangioma, carcinoma of the forestomach, adenocarcinoma of the lung and liver, and testicular lymphoma. Neoplastic lesions appeared mainly in the liver (n = 13), stomach (n = 3) and lung (n = 8). Lung adenocarcinoma, the most frequent malignant tumor type, was observed in 2/120 mice in the intermediate-exposure group and in 8/216 animals in the lifetime-exposure group. Statistical analysis of tumor-induction data revealed a significant dose-related increase in lung adenocarcinomas but not in liver and stomach neoplasms indicating that lung is the major target tissue for the carcinogenic action of pan masala

The home advantage over the first 20 seasons of the English Premier League: Effects of shirt colour, team ability and time trends

This study explored the relationship between teams' home shirt colour and the magnitude of the home advantage in English professional soccer. Secondary aims were to explore the consistency of the home advantage over time and the relationship between the home advantage and team ability. Archival data from 7720 matches contested over the first 20 seasons of the English Premier League were analysed. The data show that teams wearing red are more successful than teams wearing other colours, and that teams are more successful in home games than in away games (home advantage index = 0.608). The home advantage has also remained consistent over time (1992/1993-2011/2012) and is greater in low-ability teams (teams with lower league positions) than in high-ability teams. After controlling for team ability, it was found that teams opting for red shirts in their home games did not show a greater home advantage than teams opting for other colour shirts. Two possibilities for this finding are offered: (1) shirt colour is not a contributing factor to team success, or (2) changes in psychological functioning associated with viewing or wearing red stay with team members after the shirt colour has been changed. It is recommended that researchers continue to explore the effect of shirt colour on athlete and team behaviour and further explore how team ability can affect the magnitude of the home-field advantage. © 2012 International Society of Sport Psychology

Salivary cortisol response to infant distress in pregnant women with depressive symptoms.

The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis has been proposed as a potential underlying biological mechanism linking prenatal depression with adverse offspring outcomes. However, it is unknown whether the reactivity of this system to stress is altered in pregnant women experiencing depression. The objective of this study was to investigate whether salivary cortisol response to a distressed infant film is enhanced in pregnant women with symptoms of depression compared with non-depressed controls. Salivary cortisol and subjective mood responses to the film were measured in 53 primiparous women, between 11 and 18 weeks gestation. Both groups showed similar increases in state anxiety in response to the film, but there was a significantly increased cortisol response in women experiencing symptoms of depression. Depression during pregnancy is associated with increased reactivity of the HPA axis. This is consistent with altered HPA axis functioning being a key mechanism by which prenatal mood disturbance can impact upon fetal development

Adapting and testing a brief intervention to reduce maternal anxiety during pregnancy (ACORN): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: National guidelines in the UK, United States of America, Canada, and Australia have recently stressed the importance of identifying and treating antenatal anxiety and depression. However, there is little research into the most effective and acceptable ways of helping women manage their symptoms of anxiety and stress during pregnancy. Research indicates the necessity to consider the unique needs and concerns of perinatal populations to ensure treatment engagement, highlighting the need to develop specialised treatments which could be integrated within routine antenatal healthcare services. This trial aims to develop a brief intervention for antenatal anxiety, with a focus on embedding the delivery of the treatment within routine antenatal care. METHODS/DESIGN: This study is a two-phase feasibility trial. In phase 1 we will develop and pilot a brief intervention for antenatal anxiety, blended with group support, to be led by midwives. This intervention will draw on cognitive behavioural principles and wider learning from existing interventions that have been used to reduce anxiety in expectant mothers. The intervention will then be tested in a pilot randomised controlled trial in phase 2. The following outcomes will be assessed: (1) number of participants meeting eligibility criteria, (2) number of participants consenting to the study, (3) number of participants randomised, (4) number of sessions completed by those in the intervention arm, and (5) number of participants completing the post-intervention outcome measures. Secondary outcomes comprise: detailed feedback on acceptability, which will guide further development of the intervention; and outcome data on symptoms of maternal and paternal anxiety and depression, maternal quality of life, quality of couple relationship, mother-child bonding, infant temperament and infant sleep. DISCUSSION: The study will provide important data to inform the design of a future full-scale randomised controlled trial of a brief intervention for anxiety during pregnancy. This will include information on its acceptability and feasibility regarding implementation within current antenatal services, which will inform whether ultimately this provision could be rolled out widely in healthcare settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN95282830 . Registered on 29 October 2014

A comparative study of etomidate and propofol as induction agent for intubation in patients coming to emergency medicine department

Background & Aims: An ideal induction agent for intubation in the emergency department should have hemodynamic stability, minimal respiratory side effects and rapid clearance. Etomidate and Propofol are popular rapid-acting inducing agents; our aim is to compare hemodynamic changes and adverse effects occurring between them when used as induction agents in the emergency department. Material and Methods: A study sample of 200 patients who required intubation in the emergency department were enrolled after satisfying the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were divided into two equal groups. After assessing the primary survey of airway, baseline hemodynamic parameters, Group A was given Inj. Etomidate 0.3–0.5 mg/kg iv and Group B was given Inj. Propofol 0.5–1.5 mg/kg iv as an induction agent, followed by that Heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), respiratory rate (RR), oxygen saturation, myoclonus, nausea, and vomiting were monitored after induction and intubation at one, five and fifteen minutes. Result: The mean changes in HR, SBP, DBP, and MAP of groups A and B were compared, there was significant reduction in all three parameters in Propofol compared to Etomidate. In group A, out of 100 patients, 25 had myoclonus, 15 had vomiting, and no side effect was observed in the other 60 patients. In group B, out of 100 patients, 22 had apnea,14 had vomiting, and no side effect was observed in the remaining 64 patients. Conclusion: This study concludes that Etomidate is a better agent for induction than Propofol in view of hemodynamic stability. The incidence of apnea was higher with Propofol, and myoclonus more with Etomidate