The Role of Organic Peroxides in the Induction of Mutations

The discovery by Wyss, Stone, and Clark' that bacteria grown on a substrate recently exposed to ultra-violet light are subject to high mutation rates shows clearly that some meta-stable chemical substance, probably of no great complexity, is an intermediate in at least a part of the mutagenic action of ultra-violet light. It was supposed that hydrogen peroxide might be responsible for these results, but subsequent work has shown that this cannot be the whole explanation. [2] However, organic peroxides are known to be formed by the action of ultra-violet light on many compounds and such peroxides might very well be the intermediate agents producing the substrate irradiation effect

The impact of life events on adult physical and mental health and well being: longitudinal analysis using the GoWell Health and Well-being Survey

Background: It is recognised that life events (LEs) which have been defined as incidents necessitating adjustment to habitual life either permanently or temporarily, not only have the potential to be detrimental to health and well-being, but research suggests some LEs may be beneficial. This study aimed to determine the individual and cumulative occurrence of LEs; and to establish their effect on health and well-being. Results: Demographic factors (gender, age and highest educational attainment), LE occurrence and self-reported health data were collected as part of the longitudinal GoWell community health and wellbeing survey (2008–2011). Self-reported health was measured using the SF-12 questionnaire for physical (SF-12 PCS) and mental health (SF-12 MCS) and the Warwick–Edinburgh mental well-being scale (WEMWBS) for well-being. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSSv21 and level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Results showed that the sample was 61.6 % (n = 768) female; 20.4 % (n = 254) were aged 16–39 years, 46.1 % (n = 575) 40–64 years and 33.5 % (n = 418) were over 65 years; 68.8 % (n = 819) had no qualifications/Scottish leaving certificates, with the remaining 31.2 % (n = 372) having their highest educational qualification above Scottish leaving certificates. Health score means were 49.3 SF-12 mental health component score (SF-12 MCS); 42.1 SF-12 physical health component score (SF-12 PCS); and 49.2 WEMWBS. Participants experienced 0–7 LEs over a three year period, with the most common being: housing improvement (44.9 %), house move (36.8 %), health event (26.3 %) and bereavement (25.0 %). Overall, an increase in LEs was associated with a health score decrease. Five LEs (relationship breakdown, health event, bereavement, victimisation and house move) had negative impacts on SF-12 MCS and two (new job/promotion and parenthood) had positive impacts. For SF-12 PCS only three (health event, bereavement and housing improvement) had a negative impact. Six (health event, victimisation, bereavement, relationship breakdown housing move and improvement) had negative impacts on well-being and two (new job/promotion, marriage) had positive effects. Conclusions: Findings from the current study confirm LEs have both detrimental and beneficial impacts on health and well-being. Further research is required to disentangle the complexity of LEs and the ways they affect health and well-being

Control of eye movements while recording from single units in the pigmented rat

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/23073/1/0000647.pd

Hypothesis Article Signatures of a Shadow Biosphere

Abstract Astrobiologists are aware that extraterrestrial life might differ from known life, and considerable thought has been given to possible signatures associated with weird forms of life on other planets. So far, however, very little attention has been paid to the possibility that our own planet might also host communities of weird life. If life arises readily in Earth-like conditions, as many astrobiologists contend, then it may well have formed many times on Earth itself, which raises the question whether one or more shadow biospheres have existed in the past or still exist today. In this paper, we discuss possible signatures of weird life and outline some simple strategies for seeking evidence of a shadow biosphere

The variable functional effects of the pacing site in normal and scarred ventricles

The pacing site has been shown to influence functional improvement with cardiac resynchronization therapy. We evaluated the effects of the pacing site on left ventricular (LV) function in an animal model. Equilibrium radionuclide angiography was acquired in sinus rhythm (NSR) and with ventricular pacing, from three pacing sites in seven normal and eight infarcted dogs. QRS duration, electrical activation pattern, wall motion, LV ejection fraction (EF), synchrony of ventricular contraction, and mean arterial pressure (MAP), were related to the pacing site and infarct size, during each of 120 episodes. Little changed during pacing in normals. In infarcted dogs, LV wall motion, and synchrony worsened, LVEF and MAP often fell. These changes related to altered activation patterns which were influenced by the pacing site but were not related to infarct size. Hemodynamic and functional LV changes after infarction were found to vary with the pacing site and associated conduction and synchrony

The Scientific Investigation of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) Using Multimodal Ground-based Observatories

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Vegetarian diets are associated with healthy mood states: a cross-sectional study in Seventh Day Adventist adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The physical health status of vegetarians has been extensively reported, but there is limited research regarding the mental health status of vegetarians, particularly with regard to mood. Vegetarian diets exclude fish, the major dietary source of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), critical regulators of brain cell structure and function. Omnivorous diets low in EPA and DHA are linked to impaired mood states in observational and experimental studies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We examined associations between mood state and polyunsaturated fatty acid intake as a result of adherence to a vegetarian or omnivorous diet in a cross-sectional study of 138 healthy Seventh Day Adventist men and women residing in the Southwest. Participants completed a quantitative food frequency questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), and Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaires.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Vegetarians (VEG:n = 60) reported significantly less negative emotion than omnivores (OMN:n = 78) as measured by both mean total DASS and POMS scores (8.32 ± 0.88 vs 17.51 ± 1.88, <it>p </it>= .000 and 0.10 ± 1.99 vs 15.33 ± 3.10, <it>p </it>= .007, respectively). VEG reported significantly lower mean intakes of EPA (<it>p </it>< .001), DHA (<it>p </it>< .001), as well as the omega-6 fatty acid, arachidonic acid (AA; <it>p </it>< .001), and reported higher mean intakes of shorter-chain α-linolenic acid (<it>p </it>< .001) and linoleic acid (<it>p </it>< .001) than OMN. Mean total DASS and POMS scores were positively related to mean intakes of EPA (<it>p </it>< 0.05), DHA (<it>p </it>< 0.05), and AA (<it>p </it>< 0.05), and inversely related to intakes of ALA (<it>p </it>< 0.05), and LA (<it>p </it>< 0.05), indicating that participants with low intakes of EPA, DHA, and AA and high intakes of ALA and LA had better mood.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The vegetarian diet profile does not appear to adversely affect mood despite low intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.</p

Lateral spread of light adaptation in the rat retina

Recordings from the rat optic tract fibers were used to assess changes in sensitivity under various conditions of adaptation. An adapting background which excites only a small fraction of the rods can yet cause a several-fold change in sensitivity. A small adapting spot much more effectively decreases the cell's sensitivity to a superimposed test than to test spots in positions far from the adapting locus. Thus, adaptation spreads laterally but not uniformly throughout the ganglion cell center. Scattered light does not account for the spread, since a displaced adapting spot can be more effective than one superimposed on the test spot.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/23063/1/0000635.pd

Effects of the endpoint adjudication process on the results of a randomised controlled trial: The ADVANCE trial

BACKGROUND Endpoint adjudication committees (EPAC) are widely used in clinical trials. The aim of the present analysis is to assess the effects of the endpoint adjudication process on the main findings of the ADVANCE trial (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00145925). METHODS AND FINDINGS The ADVANCE trial was a multicentre, 2×2 factorial randomised controlled trial of blood pressure lowering and intensive blood glucose control in 11140 patients with type 2 diabetes. Primary outcomes were major macrovascular (nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke and cardiovascular death) and microvascular (new or worsening nephropathy and retinopathy) events. Suspected primary outcomes were initially reported by the investigators at the 215 sites with subsequent adjudication by the EPAC. The EPAC also adjudicated upon potential events identified directly by ongoing screening of all reported events. Over a median follow-up of 5 years, the site investigators reported one or more primary outcomes among 2443 participants. After adjudication these events were confirmed for 2077 (85%) with 48 further events added through the EPAC-led database screening process. The estimated relative risk reductions (95% confidence intervals) in the primary outcome for the blood pressure lowering comparison were 8% (−1 to 15%) based on the investigator-reported events and 9% (0 to 17%) based on the EPAC-based events (P for homogeneity = 0.70). The corresponding findings for the glucose comparison were 8% (1 to 15%) and 10% (2% to 18%) (P for homogeneity = 0.60). The effect estimates were also highly comparable when studied separately for macrovascular events and microvascular events for both comparisons (all P for homogeneity>0.6). CONCLUSIONS The endpoint adjudication process had no discernible impact on the main findings in ADVANCE. These data highlight the need for careful consideration of the likely impact of an EPAC on the findings and conclusions of clinical trials prior to their establishment.Jun Hata, Hisatomi Arima, Sophia Zoungas,, Greg Fulcher, Carol Pollock, Mark Adams, John Watson, Rohina Joshi, Andre Pascal Kengne, Toshiharu Ninomiya, Craig Anderson, Mark Woodward, Anushka Patel, Giuseppe Mancia, Neil Poulter, Stephen MacMahon, John Chalmers, Bruce Neal, on behalf of the ADVANCE Collaborative Grou