Perceived stress, caregiver burden, and emotional distress in caregivers of head and neck cancer and lung cancer

2019 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.Caregiving research focuses highly on the impact burden of care has on the mental health of caregivers (Nightingale et al., 2014; Northouse et al., 2012; Perz et al., 2011). However, little research focuses on how stress, as an independent construct contributes to the emotional distress caregivers of Head and Neck and Lung Cancer patients experience (Luchesia et al., 2016). This project aims to investigate the relationship between caregiver burden, perceived stress, and emotional distress (depression and anxiety) of caregivers of HNC and LC patients. Results revealed positive and significant relationships between predictor variables (perceived stress and caregiver burden) and emotional distress. Results further revealed higher perceived stress is indicative of higher caregiver burden. Additionally, preliminary results suggested the relationship between caregiver burden and emotional distress is moderated by the caregiver's level of perceived stress. Explanations and implications of all investigated relationships are discussed. This study highlights that in fact, perceived stress as a construct is important to explore when understanding the mental health needs of caregivers of Head and Neck and Lung Cancer patients

Existential concerns and risky behavior in college students

2021 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Substance use and sexual behavior are highly prevalent on college campuses (Arria et al., 2017; American College Health Association, 2018; Schulenberg et al., 2017). Substance misuse and risky sex can lead to adverse consequences (Furman & Collibee, 2014; Patrick & Terry-McElrath, 2016; Read, Haas. Radomski, Wickham, & Borish, 2016). There is high comorbidity between anxiety, substance use, and substance use disorders (Wolitzky et al., 2018). Existential anxiety may be a form of anxiety that is relevant to the college experience because college aged emerging adults are coping with existential issues, e.g., freedom, isolation, meaninglessness, and death, often for the first time. In a sample of undergraduate students, existential concerns predicted higher reports of binge drinking behavior. Existential concerns did not predict cannabis use or unprotected vaginal sex. Moderation analyses indicated that variables such as coping, and mindfulness are variables of interest that require further research to understand their influence on risky behavior as they relate to existential anxiety. Supplemental analyses revealed that a focus on construct validity and continued measurement development for assessing existential concerns is critical. Various existential themes (i.e., isolation, meaning, freedom) were found to be more strongly associated with risky behavior. This study demonstrates the importance of considering the role existential anxiety plays in engagement of high-risk behaviors among college students

Rediscovery of the nucleolinus, a dynamic RNA-rich organelle associated with the nucleolus, spindle, and centrosomes

Author Posting. © The Authors, 2010. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of National Academy of Sciences for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107 (2010): 13718-13723, doi:10.1073/pnas.1008469107.The nucleolinus is an RNA-rich compartment, closely apposed to or embedded within the nucleolus. Discovered over 150 years ago, fewer than two dozen articles have been published on the nucleolinus, probably because complex histochemical stains are required for its visualization in the great majority of cells. The nucleolinus has been reported in invertebrate oocytes, mammalian and amphibian epithelial cells, neurons, and several transformed cell lines. A prominent nucleolinus, clearly visible with transmitted light microscopes at 10x magnification, is present in each oocyte of the surf clam, Spisula solidissima. We observed a consistent relationship between the nucleolinus and the developing meiotic apparatus following Spisula oocyte activation. Through sonication and sucrose gradient fractionation of purified oocyte nuclei, we isolated nucleolini, extracted their RNA, and prepared an in situ riboprobe (NLi-1) that is associated specifically with the nucleolinus, confirming its unique composition. Other in situ observations revealed a NLi-1 and nucleolinar association with the developing spindle and centrosomes. Laser microsurgery that targeted the nucleolinus resulted in failed meiotic cell division in parthenogenetically activated oocytes and failed mitosis in fertilized oocytes. Although the nucleolinus may be a forgotten organelle, its demonstrated role in spindle formation suggests it deserves renewed attention.This work was supported by grants from the NIH (GM088503) and NSF (MCB0843092) to MCA. J.H. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation (IOB 05-16799) and the Directors of the MBL Embryology Cours

The karyomastigont as an evolutionary seme

Author Posting. © University of Chicago Press, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of University of Chicago Press for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Quarterly Review of Biology 87 (2012): 315-324, doi:10.1086/668165.The problem of eukaryogenesis—the evolutionary mechanism whereby eukaryotic cells evolved from prokaryotes—remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of cell biology, possibly due to the reductionist tendency of most scientists to work only within their subdisciplines. Communication between biologists who conduct research on the nucleus and those working on the cytoskeleton or endomembrane system are sometimes wanting, and yet, all of these quintessentially eukaryotic elements of the cell are interdependent, and are physically associated in many protists as the karyomastigont organellar system: nucleus, one or more basal bodies and flagella, nuclear connector, and Golgi apparatus. Here we suggest a more holistic view of the karyomastigont as not simply an organellar system, but an evolutionary seme, the archaic state of the eukaryotic cell. We also present a scheme whereby the karyomastigont may have dissociated, giving rise in more derived cells to one or more free nuclei and discrete flagellar apparati (akaryomastigonts).Mark C. Alliegro is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIGMS) and National Science Foundation.2013-12-0

Composition and dynamics of the nucleolinus, a link between the nucleolus and cell division apparatus in surf clam (Spisula) oocytes

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Biological Chemistry 287 (2012): 6702-6713, doi:10.1074/jbc.M111.288506.The nucleolinus is a little-known cellular structure, discovered over 150 years ago (1) and thought by some investigators in the late 19th to mid-20th century to function in the formation of the centrosomes or spindle. A role for the nucleolinus in formation of the cell division apparatus has recently been confirmed in oocytes of the surf clam, Spisula solidissima (2). However, we know so little about the composition and dynamics of this compartment, it is difficult to construct mechanistic hypotheses or even to be sure that prior reports were describing analogous structures in the cells of mammals, amphibians, plants, and other organisms where it was observed. Surf clam oocytes are an attractive model to approach this problem because the nucleolinus is easily visible by light microscopy, making it accessible by laser microsurgery as well as isolation by common cell fractionation techniques. In this report we analyze the macromolecular composition of isolated Spisula nucleolini and examine the relationship of this structure to the nucleolus and cell division apparatus. Analysis of nucleolinar RNA and protein revealed a set of molecules that overlaps with, but is nevertheless distinct from the nucleolus. The proteins identified were primarily ones involved in nucleic acid metabolism and cell cycle regulation. Monoclonal antibodies generated against isolated nucleolini revealed centrosomal forerunners in the oocyte cytoplasm. Finally, induction of damage to the nucleolinus by laser microsurgery altered the trafficking of α- and γ-tubulin after fertilization. These observations strongly support a role for the nucleolinus in cell division and represent our first clues regarding mechanism.This work was supported by a grant from the NIH (GM088503) to M.C.A

About one long-range contribution to K+ -> pi+ l+ l- decays

We investigate the mechanism of K+ -> pi+ l+ l- (l= e, mu) decays in which a virtual photon is emitted either from the incoming K+ or the outgoing pi+. We point out some inconsistencies with and between two previous calculations, discuss the possible experimental inputs, and estimate the branching fractions. This mechanism alone fails to explain the existing experimental data by more than one order-of-magnitude. But it may show itself by its interference with the leading long-range mechanism dominated by the a_1^+ and rho^0 mesons.Comment: 12 pages, RevTeX, epsf.sty, 2 embedded figure

Rare Kaon Decays in the 1/Nc1/N_c-Expansion

We study the unknown coupling constants that appear at order $p^4$ in the Chiral Perturbation Theory analysis of $K \to \pi \gamma^* \to \pi l^+ l^-$, $K^{+-} \to \pi^{+-} \gamma \gamma$ and $K \to \pi \pi \gamma$ decays. To that end, we compute the chiral realization of the $\Delta S \, = \, 1$ Hamiltonian in the framework of the $1/N_c$-expansion of the low-energy action. The phenomenological implications are also discussed.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX, CPT-92/P.279

Two Photon Contribution to Polarization in K+→π+μ+μ−K^+ \rightarrow \pi^+ \mu^+ \mu^-

Short distance physics involving virtual top and charm quarks contributes to $\mu^+$ (and $\mu^-$) polarization in the decay $K^+ \rightarrow \pi^+ \mu^+ \mu^-$. Measurement of the parity violating asymmetry $(\Gamma_R - \Gamma_L)/(\Gamma_R + \Gamma_L)$, where $\Gamma_R$ and $\Gamma_L$ are the rates to produce right and left-handed $\mu^+$, may provide valuable information on the unitarity triangle. The parity violating asymmetry also gets a contribution from Feynman diagrams with two photon intermediate states. We estimate this two photon contribution to the asymmetry and discuss briefly the two photon contribution to time reversal odd asymmetries that involve both the $\mu^+$ and $\mu^-$ polarizations.Comment: (19 pages, 5 figures available on request. Uses phyzzx), CALT-68-1798, UCSD/PTH 92-2

Running mass of the rho0 meson's implication for the dilepton mass spectrum and the mu+mu-/e+e- branching ratio in the K+ --> pi+l+l- decays

We make an attempt to resolve the discrepancy of the observed e+e- mass spectrum in the K+ --> pi+e+e- decay with that predicted by meson dominance. To this end we investigate the properties of the rho0 propagator. We use dispersion relations to evaluate the running mass squared m_rho^2(t) of the rho0 resonance without adjustable parameters. To improve the convergence of the dispersion integral, the momentum dependence of strong vertices is taken from the flux-tube-breaking model of Kokoski and Isgur. The obtained behavior of m_rho^2(t) at small momentum squared t makes the K+ --> pi+e+e- form factor rise faster with increasing $t$ than in the original meson-dominance calculation and more in agreement with the published data. As a consequence, the meson-dominance prediction of the mu+mu-/e+e- branching ratio changes slightly, from 0.224 to 0.236. We do not see any possibility to accommodate into the meson-dominance approach an even steeper e+e- spectrum, indicated by the preliminary data of the E865 collaboration at BNL AGS.Comment: 13 pages, RevTeX, epsf.sty, 4 embedded figure

The centrosome and spindle as a ribonucleoprotein complex

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Chromosome Research 19 (2011): 367-376, doi:10.1007/s10577-011-9186-7.The presence of nucleic acids in centrosomes and the spindle have been proposed, observed, and reported since the 1950s. Why did the subject remain, perhaps even until today, such a controversial issue? The explanation is manifold, and includes legitimate concern over contamination from other cellular compartments in biochemical preparations. With a typically high background of cytoplasmic ribosomes, even microscopic images of stained intact cells could be difficult to interpret. Also, evidence for RNA and DNA in centrosomes accumulated for approximately 40 years but was interspersed with contradictory studies, primarily regarding the presence of DNA (reviewed in Johnson and Rosenbaum, 1991; Marshall and Rosenbaum, 2000). Perhaps less tangible but still a likely cause for lingering controversy is that the presence of nucleic acids in the spindle or centrosomes will require us to look differently at these structures from a functional, and more to the point, evolutionary standpoint.This work was supported by grants from the NIH (GM088503) and NSF (MCB0843092) to MCA