Automatic effects of illness schema activation on behavioral manifestations of illness.

Objective: Relatively little research has directly evaluated the schematic nature of illness representations proposed by the common sense model of illness. Four studies tested the hypothesis that illness schema activation leads directly and automatically to behavioral manifestations of illness. Method: Study 1 was a survey (N = 970) that evaluated the proposition that the mental representation of common cold symptom experience includes functional deviation from the usual prototypical self. Studies 2 and 3 were experiments that tested effects of cold schema activation using a subliminal priming paradigm on walking speed (Study 2, N = 53) and free recall in a memory task (Study 3, N = 30). Study 4 (N = 65) used a 2 (cold prime vs. control) × 2 (alternate self vs. control) experimental design to investigate attenuation of the effect of the cold prime on free recall. Results: Study 1 confirmed the multifactorial nature of functional self-deviations representing the common cold symptomology. Studies 2 and 3 showed that participants primed with the common cold schema walked more slowly and performed worse on a memory recall task relative to controls in whom the schema was not activated. These effects were automatic in the sense that participants were not aware of the prime or of this influence. In Study 4, priming an alternative self-identity overcame the deleterious effect of automatic common cold schema activation on free recall in a memory task. Conclusions: Subliminal activation of a schematic representation of illness automatically activates behavioral manifestations of illness

Pubertal onset with adulthood lung function mediated by height growth in adolescence

BACKGROUND: Age of pubertal onset is associated with height and lung function in adulthood. It is unknown whether height growth in adolescence mediates the association of age at puberty with early adult lung function. METHODS: Data from the Isle of Wight (IOW) birth cohort (n=1261) were examined in the study. Ages of pubertal events, height at ages 10 and 18 years and lung function parameters (forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV)) at 26 years were included in a path analysis to assess the mediation effects of height growth. Findings were tested in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) birth cohort. RESULTS: In females in the IOW cohort, age at menarche and body hair growth showed a positive indirect association with FVC (menarche: indirect effect coefficient (IEC)=0.13, 95% CI 0.05-0.20, p=1.28×10; body hair growth: IEC=0.08, 95% CI 0.01-0.15, p=0.017) and FEV (menarche: IEC=0.09, 95% CI 0.01-0.17, p=0.028; body hair growth: IEC=0.07, 95% CI 0.01-0.14, p=0.043) at 26 years through height growth and lung function at 18 years. In males, age at body hair growth (IEC=0.08; 95% CI 0.01-0.15, p=0.047), growth spurt (IEC=0.09; 95% CI 0.01-0.17, p=0.034) and facial hair growth (IEC=0.09; 95% CI 0.02-0.16, p=0.014) had positive indirect effects on FVC at 26 years, but voice deepening did not show statistically significant indirect effects (p\u3e0.05). For pubertal events available in the ALSPAC cohort, results consistent with the IOW cohort were found for both females and males. CONCLUSION: Effects of age of puberty on FVC in early adulthood are likely mediated by height growth during adolescence

Mutation Linked to Autosomal Dominant Nocturnal Frontal Lobe Epilepsy Reduces Low-Sensitivity α4β2, and Increases α5α4β2, Nicotinic Receptor Surface Expression

A number of mutations in α4β2-containing (α4β2*) nicotinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptors (nAChRs) are linked to autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (ADNFLE), including one in the β2 subunit called β2V287L. Two α4β2* subtypes with different subunit stoichiometries and ACh sensitivities co-exist in the brain, a high-sensitivity subtype with (α4)2(β2)3 subunit stoichiometry and a low-sensitivity subtype with (α4)3(β2)2 stoichiometry. The α5 nicotinic subunit also co-assembles with α4β2 to form a high-sensitivity α5α4β2 nAChR. Previous studies suggest that the β2V287L mutation suppresses low-sensitivity α4β2* nAChR expression in a knock-in mouse model and also that α5 co-expression improves the surface expression of ADNFLE mutant nAChRs in a cell line. To test these hypotheses further, we expressed mutant and wild-type (WT) nAChRs in oocytes and mammalian cell lines, and measured the effects of the β2V287L mutation on surface receptor expression and the ACh response using electrophysiology, a voltage-sensitive fluorescent dye, and superecliptic pHluorin (SEP). The β2V287L mutation reduced the EC50 values of high- and low-sensitivity α4β2 nAChRs expressed in Xenopus oocytes for ACh by a similar factor and suppressed low-sensitivity α4β2 expression. In contrast, it did not affect the EC50 of α5α4β2 nAChRs for ACh. Measurements of the ACh responses of WT and mutant nAChRs expressed in mammalian cell lines using a voltage-sensitive fluorescent dye and whole-cell patch-clamping confirm the oocyte data. They also show that, despite reducing the maximum response, β2V287L increased the α4β2 response to a sub-saturating ACh concentration (1 μM). Finally, imaging SEP-tagged α5, α4, β2, and β2V287L subunits showed that β2V287L reduced total α4β2 nAChR surface expression, increased the number of β2 subunits per α4β2 receptor, and increased surface α5α4β2 nAChR expression. Thus, the β2V287L mutation alters the subunit composition and sensitivity of α4β2 nAChRs, and increases α5α4β2 surface expression

Rabies Virus in Raccoons, Ohio, 2004

In 2004, the raccoon rabies virus variant emerged in Ohio beyond an area where oral rabies vaccine had been distributed to prevent westward spread of this variant. Our genetic investigation indicates that this outbreak may have begun several years before 2004 and may have originated within the vaccination zone

Culture shapes how we look at faces

Background: Face processing, amongst many basic visual skills, is thought to be invariant across all humans. From as early as 1965, studies of eye movements have consistently revealed a systematic triangular sequence of fixations over the eyes and the mouth, suggesting that faces elicit a universal, biologically-determined information extraction pattern. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we monitored the eye movements of Western Caucasian and East Asian observers while they learned, recognized, and categorized by race Western Caucasian and East Asian faces. Western Caucasian observers reproduced a scattered triangular pattern of fixations for faces of both races and across tasks. Contrary to intuition, East Asian observers focused more on the central region of the face. Conclusions/Significance: These results demonstrate that face processing can no longer be considered as arising from a universal series of perceptual events. The strategy employed to extract visual information from faces differs across cultures

Investigation of the behavior of serum and plasma in a microfluidics system

There are common problems with adsorption of analytes on the surfaces of microfluidic systems with physiological samples such as blood serum, plasma, and urine. The authors\u27 investigation involves the interaction of serum components with fused-silica surfaces under various flow regimes in microcapillaries. Their focus will include the individual components of serum as well as fresh whole serum. The authors studied the whole serum components in our microfluidic system to uncover the responses of proteins in capillary and microchannel surfaces when influenced by the highly variable serum constituents. They have observed the whole serum with a total protein assay by using the bicinchoninic acid assay in combination with a characterization method, such as SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and repeated observations for any change of flow rate in fused-silica capillaries (50 mu m inside diameter) under continuous flow. The authors\u27 preliminary results contradict anecdotal evidence that proteins and other components of serum clog or prevent flow at steady low flow rates

Illness Schema Activation and the Effects of Illness Seasonality on Accessibility of Implicit Illness-Related Information

The Common-Sense Model (CSM) of illness self-regulation is a leading theoretical framework describing the process by which an individual recognizes that he or she is physically ill and subsequently attempts to manage that illness state. The CSM proposes that people possess schematically organized implicit cognitive representations of health threats comprising information about illness such as symptoms, causes, label, duration, consequences, and procedures for managing threat [1, 2, 3, 4]. The proposed function of these stored knowledge structures is to activate a self-regulation process that might protect or restore a state of well-being [5]. The CSM proposes that the schematic representation is centrally activated by detection of deviations from the normal functioning self (i.e., experienced symptoms). The identification of illness and the initiation of self-management attempts follow from the search for illness-relevant cognitive structures and the matching of the content of illness schema to the symptomatic experience. For example, a headache (a symptomatic deviation from normal somatic experience) might activate illness schemata containing the cognitive representation of “headache” such as “hangover,” “dehydration,” or “flu.” The matching of the symptom to a particular illness schema will follow from the search and match to other aspects of plausible illness representations, such as its probable cause or duration (timeline).Full Tex

Breast MRI in the Diagnostic and Preoperative Workup Among Medicare Beneficiaries With Breast Cancer

We compared the frequency and sequence of breast imaging and biopsy use for the diagnostic and preoperative workup of breast cancer according to breast MRI use among older women

Optimising reproductive and child health outcomes by building evidence-based research and practice in South East Asia (SEA-ORCHID): study protocol

Background Disorders related to pregnancy and childbirth are a major health issue in South East Asia. They represent one of the biggest health risk differentials between the developed and developing world. Our broad research question is: Can the health of mothers and babies in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia be improved by increasing the local capacity for the synthesis of research, implementation of effective interventions, and identification of gaps in knowledge needing further research? Methods/Design The project is a before-after study which planned to benefit from and extend existing regional and international networks. Over five years the project was designed to comprise five phases; pre-study, pre-intervention, intervention, outcome assessment and reporting/dissemination. The study was proposed to be conducted across seven project nodes: four in South East Asia and three in Australia. Each South East Asian study node was planned to be established within an existing department of obstetrics and gynaecology or neonatology and was intended to form the project coordinating centre and focus for evidence-based practice activities within that region. Nine hospitals in South East Asia planned to participate, representing a range of clinical settings. The three project nodes in Australia were intended to provide project support. The intervention was planned to consist of capacity-strengthening activities targeted at three groups: generators of evidence, users of evidence and teachers of evidence. The primary outcome was established as changes in adherence to recommended clinical practices from baseline to completion of the project and impact on health outcomes. Discussion The SEA-ORCHID project was intended to improve care during pregnancy and the perinatal period of mothers and their babies in South East Asia. The possible benefits extend beyond this however, as at the end of this project there is hoped to be an existing network of South East Asian researchers and health care providers with the capacity to generalise this model to other health priority areas. It is anticipated that this project facilitate ongoing development of evidence-based practice and policy in South East Asia through attracting long-term funding, expansion into other hospitals and community-based care and the establishment of nodes in other countries.David J Henderson-Smart, Pisake Lumbiganon, Mario R Festin, Jacqueline J Ho, Hakimi Mohammad, Steve J McDonald, Sally Green and Caroline A Crowther for the SEA-ORCHID Study Grou