Strategic Challenges in the Middle East

Streaming video requires RealPlayer to view.The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.General John P. Abizaid is former Commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), overseeing American military operations in a 27-country region that includes the Horn of Africa, Arabian Peninsula, South and Central Asia, and much of the Middle East. CENTCOM oversees 250,000 U.S. troops.Ohio State University. Mershon Center for International Security StudiesEvent webpage, streaming video, flier 1, flier 2, poster, event photo

Sirolimus-eluting coronary stents: a review

The sirolimus-eluting coronary stent received CE Mark approval in Europe in April 2002. In the US, FDA approval followed in April 2003. Since the preliminary results from the First-in-Man feasibility study were presented, several randomized, controlled trials have documented the profound antiproliferative effects of sirolimus, a macrolide antibiotic and potent cytostatic inhibitor of smooth muscle cell proliferation. Subsequently, the body of clinical evidence was increased by the second wave of evidence from trials in more complex lesions (such as in-stent restenosis, small vessels, chronic total occlusions) and “high-risk” patients such as those with diabetes. More recently we have had the opportunity to compare the two commercially available drug-eluting stents following the presentation of data from six head-to-head trials. As a result of numerous single and multi-center, national and international studies in which the safety and efficacy of sirolimus-eluting coronary stents have been subjected to close scrutiny, the global interventional cardiology community now has a wealth of evidence in support of the use of this technology resulting in dramatically improved patient outcomes after percutaneous intervention

Session 2-3-G: Starving to Gamble: Hunger and gambling-related craving interact to heighten persistent play among problem gamblers

Describes how hunger and gambling-related cravings relate to problem gambling

Changes in NPY staining in the arcuate nucleus during and after food restriction in lactating rats

This study investigated the effects of food restriction on Neuropeptide Y (NPY) staining in the arcuate nucleus of lactating rats to evaluate a role for NPY in the maintenance of lactational diestrus in food restricted rats. NPY staining was compared on days 15, 20 and 25 of lactation between animals fed ad libitum (AL) and animals food restricted on days 8-14 postpartum (FR). To determine the contribution of nursing underfed pups to any differences observed, litters were switched daily between an additional AL and FR group from day 15 postpartum and dams were sacrificed on day 20 postpartum. Twenty four hrs. prior to sacrifice animals received 1$\mu$g of colchicine icv. Animals were perfused and their brains were processed for NPY immunocytochemistry. FR dams had a higher number of NPY stained cells in the arcuate nucleus on day 15 of lactation than AL dams, and this effect persisted for five days after refeeding (p $<$.05). Increases in NPY staining in food restricted rats were unrelated to the nutritional status of their litters. Finally, data revealed that dams that remained in lactational diestrus on day 25, tended to have more NPY-stained cells in the arcuate nucleus than dams that had shown an estrous smear (p =.08). These results indicate that food restriction affects NPY immunoreactivity in the arcuate nucleus and the time course of these changes suggest that NPY may play a role in prolonging lactational diestrus

Food restriction attenuates the hormonal and neuronal responses to the positive feedback effects of estradiol to prolong lactational diestrus in rats

Food restriction prolongs lactational infertility in rats. The experiments presented in this thesis were done to investigate the possibility that this effect is due to an attenuated response to the positive feedback effects of estradiol (E2) that stimulate the surge in luteinizing hormone (LH) release. Furthermore, the hypothesis that the hypothalamus is one site affected by food restriction in attenuating E2 induced LH surges was examined. The first series of experiments examined the ability of E2 to induce LH surges in both ad lib fed and food restricted dams at different times of lactation. Results were that on day 20 postpartum (pp) ad lib fed dams showed LH surges after E2 treatment, but food restricted dams did not. Ovariectomy (OVX) or RU486 treatment restored the ability of E2 to induce LH surges in food restricted dams, and chronic progesterone (P) reduced E2-induced LH surges in ad lib fed OVX dams. The second series of experiments showed that food restricted dams had less Fos-like immunoreactive (FOS-ir) cells in the anteroventral preoptic area (AVPV) than ad lib fed dams on day 20 pp. These effects were reflected in a reduced ability of E2 to induce P receptor (PR) immunoreactivity, but not in the number of E2 receptors (ERÌ) in the AVPV. As with the LH surge, the effects of food restriction on E2 induction of PRs were mediated by P. Results suggest that the lactational diestrus is prolonged by a decrease in sensitivity to E2 in the AVPV, and this effect is mediated by the high levels of P in food restricted dams

Chopped Arms &#x26; Big Macs: ERP Correlates of Viewing and Imagining Aversive and Food Photos

OBJECTIVES&#xd;&#xa;We investigated the Event-Related Potential (ERP) correlates of perceived and imagined food photos and their relation to the perception and imagery of unpleasant emotional photos. Our aim was to determine whether similar or different patterns of neural activity were associated with viewing and imagining food photos versus emotional photos. &#xd;&#xa;&#xd;&#xa;METHODS &#xd;&#xa;Nine volunteers with prescreened normal mood and anxiety levels wore a 32 channel Cap with embedded electrodes (10/20 international system) connected to a high-density low-noise Neuroscan EEG system. Participants were tested during two different blocks: a hunger block (containing 25 neutral and food photos) and an emotional block (containing 3 sets of 20 neutral, unpleasant and pleasant photos). The photos were selected from the International Affective Picture System (Lang, Bradley, &#x26; Cuthbert, 1999). In both blocks, each trial began with a blank screen followed by presentation of a centered fixation point, displayed for 1 second. A photo was displayed for 3 seconds followed by a 1-second blank mask. For the next 3 seconds, participants were asked to form a mental image of the photo they had just viewed and then rate its vividness (i.e., the self-reported imagery intensity, D&#x2019;Angiulli &#x26; Reeves, 2002) on a 5-point rating scale (1 = no image, 5 = very vivid). &#xd;&#xa;&#xd;&#xa;RESULTS&#xd;&#xa;Grand averages of ERPs recorded during perception of unpleasant and food photos revealed an early negative deflection (150-250 milliseconds post-stimulus) in the anterior areas (Centro-Frontal electrodes) followed by a late positive waveform (850-950 milliseconds post-stimulus) in the posterior areas (Parietal and Occipital electrodes). A similar pattern was observed for the ERPs recorded during the imagery of unpleasant photos, except that it was observed across the entire scalp and at significantly lower amplitudes. For food imagery, we found a negative deflection (450-550 milliseconds post-stimuli) followed by a late positive waveform for all anterior and posterior areas. Importantly, unpleasant imagery was rated as less vivid than food imagery. &#xd;&#xa;&#xd;&#xa;CONCLUSION &#xd;&#xa;These results suggest that unpleasant and food photos involve similar top-down EEG activation patterns during perception, but not during imagery. Indeed, the vividness data strongly suggest that the negative deflection may indicate suppression of unpleasant imagery. Our findings may have important application for desensitization and conditioning in the treatment of eating disorders.&#xd;&#xa