Examining the Link Between Domestic Violence Victimization and Loneliness in a Dutch Community Sample: A Comparison Between Victims and Nonvictims by Type D Personality

The current study investigated whether differences in loneliness scores between individuals with a distressed personality type (type D personality) and subjects without such a personality varied by domestic violence victimization. Participants (N = 625) were recruited by random sampling from the Municipal Basic Administration of the Dutch city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch and were invited to fill out a set of questionnaires on health status. For this study, only ratings for domestic violence victimization, type D personality, feelings of loneliness, and demographics were used. Statistical analyses yielded main effects on loneliness for both type D personality and history of domestic violence victimization. Above and beyond these main effects, their interaction was significantly associated with loneliness as well. However, this result seemed to apply to emotional loneliness in particular. Findings were discussed in light of previous research and study limitations

Astrocyte scar formation aids central nervous system axon regeneration

Transected axons fail to regrow in the mature central nervous system. Astrocytic scars are widely regarded as causal in this failure. Here, using three genetically targeted loss-of-function manipulations in adult mice, we show that preventing astrocyte scar formation, attenuating scar-forming astrocytes, or ablating chronic astrocytic scars all failed to result in spontaneous regrowth of transected corticospinal, sensory or serotonergic axons through severe spinal cord injury (SCI) lesions. By contrast, sustained local delivery via hydrogel depots of required axon-specific growth factors not present in SCI lesions, plus growth-activating priming injuries, stimulated robust, laminin-dependent sensory axon regrowth past scar-forming astrocytes and inhibitory molecules in SCI lesions. Preventing astrocytic scar formation significantly reduced this stimulated axon regrowth. RNA sequencing revealed that astrocytes and non-astrocyte cells in SCI lesions express multiple axon-growth-supporting molecules. Our findings show that contrary to the prevailing dogma, astrocyte scar formation aids rather than prevents central nervous system axon regeneration

Lung cancer: Mechanisms of carcinogenesis by asbestos

Lung cancers have typically been reported in asbestos-exposed cohorts in smokers, and interactions between cigarette smoke and asbestos may be additive or multiplicative in the development of tumors. Research has indicated that some cellular and molecular events elicited by exposures to chemical carcinogens in cigarette smoke or asbestos fibers are different in lung epithelial cells, the target cells of lung carcinomas. We describe here contemporary concepts of lung cancer development and recent experimental studies providing an understanding of how asbestos and components of cigarette smoke act alone and together to cause lung cancers. We emphasize the importance of the tumor microenvironment including inflammation and fibrosis, interactions between different cell types in the lung that culminate in these events, and the role of epigenetics, a relatively new tool in understanding a number of common molecular events in carcinogenesis. Lastly, we provide a perspective on the multiple properties of different asbestos fiber types that may be critical in assessing their toxicity and carcinogenicity in lung tissue and the development of a quantitative model to predict the pathogenicity of mineral fibers in lung cancers