The Effect of Water Immersion during Exercise on Cerebral Blood Flow

Introduction: Regular exercise induces recurrent increases in cerebrovascular perfusion. In peripheral arteries, such episodic increases in perfusion are responsible for improvement in arterial function and health. We examined the hypothesis that exercise during immersion augments cerebral blood flow velocity compared with intensity-matched land-based exercise. Methods: Fifteen normotensive participants were recruited (26 ± 4 yr, 24.3 ± 1.9 kg·m−2). We continuously assessed mean arterial blood pressure, HR, stroke volume, oxygen consumption, and blood flow velocities through the middle and posterior cerebral arteries before, during, and after 20-min bouts of water- and land-based stepping exercise of matched intensity. The order in which the exercise conditions were performed was randomized between subjects. Water-based exercise was performed in 30°C water to the level of the right atrium. Results: The water- and land-based exercise bouts were closely matched for oxygen consumption (13.3 mL·kg−1·min−1 (95% confidence interval (CI), 12.2–14.6) vs 13.5 mL·kg−1·min−1 (95% CI, 12.1–14.8), P = 0.89) and HR (95 bpm (95% CI, 90–101) vs 96 bpm (95% CI, 91–102), P = 0.65). Compared with land-based exercise, water-based exercise induced an increase in middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (74 cm·s−1 (95% CI, 66–81) vs 67 cm·s−1 (95% CI, 60–74) P < 0.001), posterior cerebral artery blood flow velocity (47 cm·s−1 (95% CI, 40–53) vs 43 cm·s−1 (95% CI, 37–49), P < 0.001), mean arterial blood pressure (106 mm Hg (95% CI, 100–111) vs 101 mm Hg (95% CI, 95–106), P < 0.001), and partial pressure of expired CO2 (P ≤ 0.001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that water-based exercise augments cerebral blood flow, relative to land-based exercise of similar intensity, in healthy humans

The role of the right temporoparietal junction in perceptual conflict: detection or resolution?

The right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) is a polysensory cortical area that plays a key role in perception and awareness. Neuroimaging evidence shows activation of rTPJ in intersensory and sensorimotor conflict situations, but it remains unclear whether this activity reflects detection or resolution of such conflicts. To address this question, we manipulated the relationship between touch and vision using the so-called mirror-box illusion. Participants' hands lay on either side of a mirror, which occluded their left hand and reflected their right hand, but created the illusion that they were looking directly at their left hand. The experimenter simultaneously touched either the middle (D3) or the ring finger (D4) of each hand. Participants judged, which finger was touched on their occluded left hand. The visual stimulus corresponding to the touch on the right hand was therefore either congruent (same finger as touch) or incongruent (different finger from touch) with the task-relevant touch on the left hand. Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was delivered to the rTPJ immediately after touch. Accuracy in localizing the left touch was worse for D4 than for D3, particularly when visual stimulation was incongruent. However, following TMS, accuracy improved selectively for D4 in incongruent trials, suggesting that the effects of the conflicting visual information were reduced. These findings suggest a role of rTPJ in detecting, rather than resolving, intersensory conflict

Fine-tuning polyoxometalate non-linear optical chromophores: a molecular electronic “Goldilocks” effect

A new aryl-imido polyoxometalate non-linear optical chromophore (POMophore) with a diphenylamino donor group attains the highest βzzz, 0 value (196 × 10−30 esu by Hyper-Rayleigh Scattering, HRS), and best transparency/non-linearity trade off yet for such materials. Stark spectroscopic and DFT investigation of this compound, plus NMe2 and carbazole analogues, show that its high performance results from a combination of strongly dipolar electronic transitions, and strong electronic communication across the π-system

Benzodiazepine-Free Cardiac Anesthesia for Reduction of Postoperative Delirium (B-Free): A protocol for a multi-centre randomized cluster crossover trial

Delirium is common after cardiac surgery and is associated with adverse outcomes. Administration of benzodiazepines before and after cardiac surgery is associated with delirium; guidelines recommend minimizing their use. Benzodiazepine administration during cardiac surgery remains common because of its recognized benefits. Th

Genome-wide linkage analysis of 972 bipolar pedigrees using single-nucleotide polymorphisms.

Because of the high costs associated with ascertainment of families, most linkage studies of Bipolar I disorder (BPI) have used relatively small samples. Moreover, the genetic information content reported in most studies has been less than 0.6. Although microsatellite markers spaced every 10 cM typically extract most of the genetic information content for larger multiplex families, they can be less informative for smaller pedigrees especially for affected sib pair kindreds. For these reasons we collaborated to pool family resources and carried out higher density genotyping. Approximately 1100 pedigrees of European ancestry were initially selected for study and were genotyped by the Center for Inherited Disease Research using the Illumina Linkage Panel 12 set of 6090 single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Of the ~1100 families, 972 were informative for further analyses, and mean information content was 0.86 after pruning for linkage disequilibrium. The 972 kindreds include 2284 cases of BPI disorder, 498 individuals with bipolar II disorder (BPII) and 702 subjects with recurrent major depression. Three affection status models (ASMs) were considered: ASM1 (BPI and schizoaffective disorder, BP cases (SABP) only), ASM2 (ASM1 cases plus BPII) and ASM3 (ASM2 cases plus recurrent major depression). Both parametric and non-parametric linkage methods were carried out. The strongest findings occurred at 6q21 (non-parametric pairs LOD 3.4 for rs1046943 at 119 cM) and 9q21 (non-parametric pairs logarithm of odds (LOD) 3.4 for rs722642 at 78 cM) using only BPI and schizoaffective (SA), BP cases. Both results met genome-wide significant criteria, although neither was significant after correction for multiple analyses. We also inspected parametric scores for the larger multiplex families to identify possible rare susceptibility loci. In this analysis, we observed 59 parametric LODs of 2 or greater, many of which are likely to be close to maximum possible scores. Although some linkage findings may be false positives, the results could help prioritize the search for rare variants using whole exome or genome sequencing

Can information affect sensory perceptions? Evidence from a survey on Italian organic food consumers

This paper aims to investigate the influence of information on consumers’ preferences and sensory perceptions of organic food using a sample of 301 Italian organic food consumers. Consumers stated their preferences for “core organic” attributes, labels and information on food products and performed blind and informed tests on strawberry yoghurts and cookies. Data were analysed using descriptive analysis, Mann-Whitney U tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results revealed that consumers appreciate “core organic” attributes, like artisanal production and variability of sensory attributes. Comparing blind and informed tests, results showed that information affects the overall liking of products and consumers’ perception of product-specific sensory attributes. However, the influence of information on sensory perceptions depends on the product category, sensory attributes and the type of information provided

Genetic Associations with Plasma B12, B6, and Folate Levels in an Ischemic Stroke Population from the Vitamin Intervention for Stroke Prevention (VISP) Trial

Background: B vitamins play an important role in homocysteine metabolism, with vitamin deficiencies resulting in increased levels of homocysteine and increased risk for stroke. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 2,100 stroke patients from the Vitamin Intervention for Stroke Prevention (VISP) trial, a clinical trial designed to determine whether the daily intake of high-dose folic acid, vitamins B6, and B12 reduce recurrent cerebral infarction. Methods: Extensive quality control (QC) measures resulted in a total of 737,081 SNPs for analysis. Genome-wide association analyses for baseline quantitative measures of folate, Vitamins B12, and B6 were completed using linear regression approaches, implemented in PLINK. Results: Six associations met or exceeded genome-wide significance (P ≤ 5 × 10−08). For baseline Vitamin B12, the strongest association was observed with a non-synonymous SNP (nsSNP) located in the CUBN gene (P = 1.76 × 10−13). Two additional CUBN intronic SNPs demonstrated strong associations with B12 (P = 2.92 × 10−10 and 4.11 × 10−10), while a second nsSNP, located in the TCN1 gene, also reached genome-wide significance (P = 5.14 × 10−11). For baseline measures of Vitamin B6, we identified genome-wide significant associations for SNPs at the ALPL locus (rs1697421; P = 7.06 × 10−10 and rs1780316; P = 2.25 × 10−08). In addition to the six genome-wide significant associations, nine SNPs (two for Vitamin B6, six for Vitamin B12, and one for folate measures) provided suggestive evidence for association (P ≤ 10−07). Conclusion: Our GWAS study has identified six genome-wide significant associations, nine suggestive associations, and successfully replicated 5 of 16 SNPs previously reported to be associated with measures of B vitamins. The six genome-wide significant associations are located in gene regions that have shown previous associations with measures of B vitamins; however, four of the nine suggestive associations represent novel finding and warrant further investigation in additional populations

Conservation of copy number profiles during engraftment and passaging of patient-derived cancer xenografts

Patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) are resected human tumors engrafted into mice for preclinical studies and therapeutic testing. It has been proposed that the mouse host affects tumor evolution during PDX engraftment and propagation, affecting the accuracy of PDX modeling of human cancer. Here, we exhaustively analyze copy number alterations (CNAs) in 1,451 PDX and matched patient tumor (PT) samples from 509 PDX models. CNA inferences based on DNA sequencing and microarray data displayed substantially higher resolution and dynamic range than gene expression-based inferences, and they also showed strong CNA conservation from PTs through late-passage PDXs. CNA recurrence analysis of 130 colorectal and breast PT/PDX-early/PDX-late trios confirmed high-resolution CNA retention. We observed no significant enrichment of cancer-related genes in PDX-specific CNAs across models. Moreover, CNA differences between patient and PDX tumors were comparable to variations in multiregion samples within patients. Our study demonstrates the lack of systematic copy number evolution driven by the PDX mouse host

Substrate protein folds while it is bound to the ATP-independent chaperone Spy

Chaperones assist the folding of many proteins in the cell. While the most well studied chaperones use cycles of ATP binding and hydrolysis to assist protein folding, a number of chaperones have been identified that promote protein folding in the absence of highenergy cofactors. Precisely how ATP-independent chaperones accomplish this feat is unclear. Here we have characterized the kinetic mechanism of substrate folding by the small, ATP-independent chaperone, Spy. Spy rapidly associates with its substrate, Immunity protein 7 (Im7), eliminating its potential for aggregation. Remarkably, Spy then allows Im7 to fully fold into its native state while remaining bound to the surface of the chaperone. These results establish a potentially widespread mechanism whereby ATP-independent chaperones can assist in protein refolding. They also provide compelling evidence that substrate proteins can fold while continuously bound to a chaperone

Determinants of quality of life in children with psychiatric disorders

Objective: To assess factors that, in addition to childhood psychopathology, are associated with Quality of Life (QoL) in children with psychiatric problems. Methods: In a referred sample of 252 8 to 18-year-olds, information concerning QoL, psychopathology and a broad range of child, parent, and family/ social network factors was obtained from children, parents, teachers and clinicians. Results: Poor child, parent, and clinician reported QoL was associated with child psychopathology, but given the presence of psychopathology, also with child factors, such as low self-esteem, and poor social skills, and family/social network factors, such as poor family functioning, and poor social support. In multiple linear regression analyses the importance of parent factors, such as parenting stress, was almost negligible. Conclusion: To increase QoL of children with psychiatric problems, treatment of symptoms is important, but outcome might improve if treatment is also focussed on other factors that may affect QoL. Results are discussed in relation to current treatment programs. © Springer 2005