Positivity of the English language

Over the last million years, human language has emerged and evolved as a fundamental instrument of social communication and semiotic representation. People use language in part to convey emotional information, leading to the central and contingent questions: (1) What is the emotional spectrum of natural language? and (2) Are natural languages neutrally, positively, or negatively biased? Here, we report that the human-perceived positivity of over 10,000 of the most frequently used English words exhibits a clear positive bias. More deeply, we characterize and quantify distributions of word positivity for four large and distinct corpora, demonstrating that their form is broadly invariant with respect to frequency of word use.Comment: Manuscript: 9 pages, 3 tables, 5 figures; Supplementary Information: 12 pages, 3 tables, 8 figure

CHronic hypERtension and L-citRulline studY (CHERRY): an Early-Phase Randomised Controlled Trial in Pregnancy.

Oral supplementation with L-citrulline, which is sequentially converted to L-arginine then nitric oxide, improves vascular biomarkers and reduces blood pressure in non-pregnant, hypertensive human cohorts and pregnant mice with a pre-eclampsia-like syndrome. This early-phase randomised feasibility trial assessed the acceptability of L-citrulline supplementation to pregnant women with chronic hypertension and its effects on maternal BP and other vascular outcomes. Pregnant women with chronic hypertension were randomised at 12-16 weeks to receive 3-g L-citrulline twice daily (n = 24) or placebo (n = 12) for 8 weeks. Pregnant women reported high acceptability of oral L-citrulline. Treatment increased maternal plasma levels of citrulline, arginine and the arginine:asymmetric dimethylarginine ratio, particularly in women reporting good compliance. L-citrulline had no effect on diastolic BP (L-citrulline: - 1.82 95% CI (- 5.86, 2.22) vs placebo: - 5.00 95% CI (- 12.76, 2.76)), uterine artery Doppler or angiogenic biomarkers. Although there was no effect on BP, retrospectively, this study was underpowered to detect BP changes < 9 mmHg, limiting the conclusions about biological effects. The increase in arginine:asymmetric dimethylarginine ratio was less than in non-pregnant populations, which likely reflects altered pharmacokinetics of pregnancy, and further pharmacokinetic assessment of L-citrulline in pregnancy is advised.Trial Registration EudraCT 2015-005792-25 (2017-12-22) and ISRCTN12695929 (2018-09-20) In pregnant women with chronic hypertension, L-citrulline is an acceptable intervention which increased plasma L-citrulline bioavailability but did not affect BP, potentially due to altered pharmacokinetics of pregnancy

The design of a community lifestyle programme to improve the physical and psychological well-being of pregnant women with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or more

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obesity is a global public health issue. Having a BMI of 30 kg/m²or more (classifying a person as obese) at the start of pregnancy is a significant risk factor for maternal and fetal morbidity. There is a dearth of evidence to inform suitable inteventions to support pregnant women with a BMI of 30 kg/m²or more. Here we describe a study protocol to test the feasibility of a variety of potential healthy lifestyle interventions for pregnant women with a BMI of 30 kg/m²or more in a community based programme.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Four hundred women will be approached to attend a 10-week community lifestyle programme. The programme will be provided as a supplement to standard antenatal care. The programme is multi-faceted, aimed at equipping participants with the skills and knowledge needed to adopt healthy behaviours. The social (cognitive) learning theory will be used as a tool to encourage behaviour change, the behaviour change techniques are underpinned by five theoretical components; self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, goal setting, feedback and positive reinforcement.</p> <p>The main outcomes are pregnancy weight gain and caesarean section rate. Other important outcomes include clinical outcomes (e.g., birth weight) and psychological outcomes (e.g., well-being). Secondary outcomes include women's experience of pregnancy and health care services, amount of physical activity, food intake and the suitability of the intervention components.</p> <p>A prospective study using quantitative and qualitative methods will inform the feasibility of implementing the community lifestyle programme with pregnant women with a BMI of 30 kg/m²or more. Mixed methods of data collection will be used, including diaries, focus groups/interviews, pedometers, validated and specifically designed questionnaires, a programme register, weight gain during pregnancy and perinatal outcome data.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Findings from this current feasibility study will inform future interventions and NHS services and add to the evidence-base by providing information about the experiences of pregnant women with a BMI of 30 kg/m²or more undertaking a community lifestyle programme. The study will lead on to a randomised control trial of a suitable intervention to improve the pregnancy outcomes of this target group.</p> <p>Trail Registration</p> <p>ISRCTN29860479.</p

Effects of dietary nitrate supplementation, from beetroot juice, on blood pressure in hypertensive pregnant women: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled feasibility trial

Chronic hypertension in pregnancy is associated with significant adverse pregnancy outcomes, increasing the risk of pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction and preterm birth. Dietary nitrate, abundant in green leafy vegetables and beetroot, is reduced in vivo to nitrite and subsequently nitric oxide, and has been demonstrated to lower blood pressure, improve vascular compliance and enhance blood flow in non-pregnant humans and animals. The primary aims of this study were to determine the acceptability and efficacy of dietary nitrate supplementation, in the form of beetroot juice, to lower blood pressure in hypertensive pregnant women. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled feasibility trial, 40 pregnant women received either daily nitrate supplementation (70 mL beetroot juice, n = 20) or placebo (70 mL nitrate-depleted beetroot juice, n = 20) for 8 days. Blood pressure, cardiovascular function and uteroplacental blood flow was assessed at baseline and following acute (3 h) and prolonged (8 days) supplementation. Plasma and salivary samples were collected for analysis of nitrate and nitrite concentrations and acceptability of this dietary intervention was assessed based on questionnaire feedback. Dietary nitrate significantly increased plasma and salivary nitrate/nitrite concentrations compared with placebo juice (p < 0.001), with marked variation between women. Compared with placebo, there was no overall reduction in blood pressure in the nitrate-treated group; however there was a highly significant correlation between changes in plasma nitrite concentrations and changes in diastolic blood pressure in the nitrate-treated arm only (r = −0.6481; p = 0.0042). Beetroot juice supplementation was an acceptable dietary intervention to 97% of women. This trial confirms acceptability and potential efficacy of dietary nitrate supplementation in pregnant women. Conversion of nitrate to nitrite critically involves oral bacterial nitrate reductase activities. We speculate that differences in efficacy of nitrate supplementation relate to differences in the oral microbiome, which will be investigated in future studies

CHronic hypERtension and L-citRulline studY (CHERRY):an Early-Phase Randomised Controlled Trial in Pregnancy

Oral supplementation with L-citrulline, which is sequentially converted to L-arginine then nitric oxide, improves vascular biomarkers and reduces blood pressure in non-pregnant, hypertensive human cohorts and pregnant mice with a pre-eclampsia-like syndrome. This early-phase randomised feasibility trial assessed the acceptability of L-citrulline supplementation to pregnant women with chronic hypertension and its effects on maternal BP and other vascular outcomes. Pregnant women with chronic hypertension were randomised at 12-16 weeks to receive 3-g L-citrulline twice daily (n = 24) or placebo (n = 12) for 8 weeks. Pregnant women reported high acceptability of oral L-citrulline. Treatment increased maternal plasma levels of citrulline, arginine and the arginine:asymmetric dimethylarginine ratio, particularly in women reporting good compliance. L-citrulline had no effect on diastolic BP (L-citrulline: - 1.82 95% CI (- 5.86, 2.22) vs placebo: - 5.00 95% CI (- 12.76, 2.76)), uterine artery Doppler or angiogenic biomarkers. Although there was no effect on BP, retrospectively, this study was underpowered to detect BP changes &lt; 9 mmHg, limiting the conclusions about biological effects. The increase in arginine:asymmetric dimethylarginine ratio was less than in non-pregnant populations, which likely reflects altered pharmacokinetics of pregnancy, and further pharmacokinetic assessment of L-citrulline in pregnancy is advised.Trial Registration EudraCT 2015-005792-25 (2017-12-22) and ISRCTN12695929 (2018-09-20) In pregnant women with chronic hypertension, L-citrulline is an acceptable intervention which increased plasma L-citrulline bioavailability but did not affect BP, potentially due to altered pharmacokinetics of pregnancy.</p

A tendency to worse course of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children with obesity: MultiOrgan Inflammatory Syndromes COVID-19 related study

International audienceBackground A new disease entity called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare consequence of COVID-19 infection. The pathophysiology and risk factors of MIS-C are still unclear, and the clinical manifestation ranges from milder forms to cases needing intensive care unit treatment. Based on available data, obesity is linked to pro-inflammatory stimulation. Moreover, several studies showed that obesity could play a role in COVID-19 severity and its comorbidities among the adult and children’s populations. This study aimed to investigate the influence of overweightedness/obesity in childhood for the course of MIS-C in Poland. Methods This study presented data from the national MultiOrgan Inflammatory Syndromes COVID-19 Related Study (MOIS-CoR) collected between 4 March 2020 and 20 February 2021. Of the 371 patients that met the Polish MIS-C criteria, 306 were included for further analysis. Results Children who are obese (OB with body mass index (BMI) ≥95th percentile) and overweight (OV with BMI ≥85th percentile but &lt;95th percentile) (28 and 49 patients, respectively) represented 25.1% (n=77) of all recruited patients. Complete recovery at the time of discharge presented in 93% of normal body weight (NW) participants and 90% of OV children (p&gt;0.05). Among OB children, 76% recovered fully, which differed from the NW group (p=0.01). Calculated odds ratio (OR) of incomplete recovery for OB children was 4.2. Irrespective of body weight, there were no differences (p&gt;0.05) in the length of hospitalization and the duration of symptoms (for OB, 13 and 16.5 days; for OV and NW, 10 and 14 days, respectively), as well as in the frequency of cardiovascular abnormalities, necessity of oxygen therapy (OB, 26.9%; OV, 23.9%; and NW, 20.7%), and intravenous immunoglobulin and glucocorticosteroid (GCS) treatment. Conclusion The higher risk of incomplete recovery and observed tendency toward a worsening course of MIS-C in patients with obesity suggest the need for further studies to confirm and understand our findings