Perfectionism and eating disorder symptoms in female university students: The central role of perfectionistic self-presentation

Purpose: Numerous studies have found perfectionism to show positive relations with eating disorder symptoms, but so far no study has examined whether perfectionistic self-presentation can explain these relations or whether the relations are the same for different eating disorder symptom groups. Methods: A sample of 393 female university students completed self-report measures of perfectionism (self-oriented perfectionism, socially prescribed perfectionism), perfectionistic self-presentation (perfectionistic self-promotion, nondisplay of imperfection, nondisclosure of imperfection), and three eating disorder symptom groups (dieting, bulimia, oral control). In addition, students reported their weight and height so their body mass index (BMI) could be computed. Results: Results of multiple regression analyses controlling for BMI indicated that socially prescribed perfectionism positively predicted all three symptom groups, whereas self-oriented perfectionism positively predicted dieting only. Moreover, perfectionistic self-presentation explained the positive relations that perfectionism showed with dieting and oral control, but not with bulimia. Further analyses indicated that all three aspects of perfectionistic self-presentation positively predicted dieting, whereas only nondisclosure of imperfection positively predicted bulimia and oral control. Overall, perfectionistic self-presentation explained 10.4-23.5% of variance in eating disorder symptoms, whereas perfectionism explained 7.9-12.1%. Conclusions: The findings suggest that perfectionistic self-presentation explains why perfectionistic women show higher levels of eating disorder symptoms, particularly dieting. Thus perfectionistic self-presentation appears to play a central role in the relations of perfectionism and disordered eating and may warrant closer attention in theory, research, and treatment of eating and weight disorders

Local hypoxia is produced at sites of intratumour injection

Intratumour injection, commonly used for gene or drug delivery but also associated with needle biopsy or insertion of invasive measuring devices, may damage tumour microvessels. To examine this possibility, SCCVII tumours grown subcutaneously in C3H mice were injected with a 26 gauge needle containing 0.1 ml of the fluorescent dye Hoechst 33342 to label cells lining the track of the needle. Hoechst-labelled cells sorted from these tumours were more sensitive to killing by hypoxic cell cytotoxins (tirapazamine, RSU-1069) and less sensitive to damage by ionizing radiation. Hoechst-labelled cells also bound the hypoxia marker pimonidazole when given by i.p. injection. Intratumour injection transiently increased hypoxia from 18 to 70% in the tumour cells adjacent to the track of the needle. The half-time for return to pre-treatment oxygenation was about 30 min; oxygenation of tumour cells along the track had recovered by 20 h after intratumour injection. This effect could have significant implications for intratumour injection of drugs, cytokines or vectors that are affected by the oxygenation status of the tumour cells as well as potential effects on biodistribution via local microvasculature

Surfactant status and respiratory outcome in premature infants receiving late surfactant treatment.

BACKGROUND:Many premature infants with respiratory failure are deficient in surfactant, but the relationship to occurrence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is uncertain. METHODS:Tracheal aspirates were collected from 209 treated and control infants enrolled at 7-14 days in the Trial of Late Surfactant. The content of phospholipid, surfactant protein B, and total protein were determined in large aggregate (active) surfactant. RESULTS:At 24 h, surfactant treatment transiently increased surfactant protein B content (70%, p < 0.01), but did not affect recovered airway surfactant or total protein/phospholipid. The level of recovered surfactant during dosing was directly associated with content of surfactant protein B (r = 0.50, p < 0.00001) and inversely related to total protein (r = 0.39, p < 0.0001). For all infants, occurrence of BPD was associated with lower levels of recovered large aggregate surfactant, higher protein content, and lower SP-B levels. Tracheal aspirates with lower amounts of recovered surfactant had an increased proportion of small vesicle (inactive) surfactant. CONCLUSIONS:We conclude that many intubated premature infants are deficient in active surfactant, in part due to increased intra-alveolar metabolism, low SP-B content, and protein inhibition, and that the severity of this deficit is predictive of BPD. Late surfactant treatment at the frequency used did not provide a sustained increase in airway surfactant

Determination of the efficacy and side-effect profile of lower doses of intrathecal morphine in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Intrathecal (IT) morphine provides excellent post-operative analgesia, but causes multiple side effects including nausea and vomiting (PONV), pruritus and respiratory depression, particularly at higher doses. The lowest effective dose of spinal morphine in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty is not known.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We evaluated the analgesic efficacy and side effect profile of 100 – 300 μg IT morphine in patients undergoing elective total knee replacement in this prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blind study. Sixty patients over the age of 60 undergoing elective knee arthroplasty were enrolled. Patients were randomized to receive spinal anaesthesia with 15 mg Bupivacaine and IT morphine in three groups: (i) 100 μg; (ii) 200 μg; and (iii) 300 μg.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both 200 μg and 300 μg IT morphine provided comparable levels of postoperative analgesia. However, patients that received 100 μg had greater pain postoperatively, with higher pain scores and a greater requirement for supplemental morphine. There were no differences between groups with regard to PONV, pruritus, sedation, respiratory depression or urinary retention.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Both 200 μg and 300 μg provided comparable postoperative analgesia, which was superior to that provided by 100 μg IT morphine in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty. Based on these findings, we recommend that 200 μg IT morphine be used in these patients.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT00695045</p

De novo assembly of the cattle reference genome with single-molecule sequencing.

BackgroundMajor advances in selection progress for cattle have been made following the introduction of genomic tools over the past 10-12 years. These tools depend upon the Bos taurus reference genome (UMD3.1.1), which was created using now-outdated technologies and is hindered by a variety of deficiencies and inaccuracies.ResultsWe present the new reference genome for cattle, ARS-UCD1.2, based on the same animal as the original to facilitate transfer and interpretation of results obtained from the earlier version, but applying a combination of modern technologies in a de novo assembly to increase continuity, accuracy, and completeness. The assembly includes 2.7 Gb and is &gt;250× more continuous than the original assembly, with contig N50 &gt;25 Mb and L50 of 32. We also greatly expanded supporting RNA-based data for annotation that identifies 30,396 total genes (21,039 protein coding). The new reference assembly is accessible in annotated form for public use.ConclusionsWe demonstrate that improved continuity of assembled sequence warrants the adoption of ARS-UCD1.2 as the new cattle reference genome and that increased assembly accuracy will benefit future research on this species

Fundamental Strings, Holography, and Nonlinear Superconformal Algebras

We discuss aspects of holography in the AdS_3 \times S^p near string geometry of a collection of straight fundamental heterotic strings. We use anomalies and symmetries to determine general features of the dual CFT. The symmetries suggest the appearance of nonlinear superconformal algebras, and we show how these arise in the framework of holographic renormalization methods. The nonlinear algebras imply intricate formulas for the central charge, and we show that in the bulk these correspond to an infinite series of quantum gravity corrections. We also makes some comments on the worldsheet sigma-model for strings on AdS_3\times S^2, which is the holographic dual geometry of parallel heterotic strings in five dimensions.Comment: 25 page

The Role of Age and Exposure to Plasmodium falciparum in the Rate of Acquisition of Naturally Acquired Immunity: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: The rate of acquisition of naturally acquired immunity (NAI) against malaria predominantly depends on transmission intensity and age, although disentangling the effects of these is difficult. We used chemoprophylaxis to selectively control exposure to P. falciparum during different periods in infancy and explore the effect of age in the build-up of NAI, measured as risk of clinical malaria.\ud \ud Methods and Findings: A three-arm double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial was conducted in 349 infants born to Mozambican HIV-negative women. The late exposure group (LEG) received monthly Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) plus Artesunate (AS) from 2.5–4.5 months of age and monthly placebo from 5.5–9.5 months; the early exposure group (EEG) received placebo from 2.5–4.5 months and SP+AS from 5.5–9.5 months; and the control group (CG) received placebo from 2.5–9.5 months. Active and passive case detection (PCD) were conducted from birth to 10.5 and 24 months respectively. The primary endpoint was time to first or only episode of malaria in the second year detected by PCD. The incidence of malaria during the second year was of 0.50, 0.51 and 0.35 episodes/PYAR in the LEG, EEG and CG respectively (p = 0.379 for the adjusted comparison of the 3 groups). The hazard ratio of the adjusted comparison between the LEG and the CG was 1.38 (0.83–2.28, p = 0.642) and that between the EEG and the CG was 1.35 (0.81–2.24, p = 0.743).\ud \ud Conclusions: After considerably interfering with exposure during the first year of life, there was a trend towards a higher risk of malaria in the second year in children who had received chemoprophylaxis, but there was no significant rebound. No evidence was found that the age of first exposure to malaria affects the rate of acquisition of NAI. Thus, the timing of administration of antimalarial interventions like malaria vaccines during infancy does not appear to be a critical determinant

High Diversity of the Saliva Microbiome in Batwa Pygmies

We describe the saliva microbiome diversity in Batwa Pygmies, a former hunter-gatherer group from Uganda, using next-generation sequencing of partial 16S rRNA sequences. Microbial community diversity in the Batwa is significantly higher than in agricultural groups from Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. We found 40 microbial genera in the Batwa, which have previously not been described in the human oral cavity. The distinctive composition of the salvia microbiome of the Batwa may have been influenced by their recent different lifestyle and diet

Age-Related Attenuation of Dominant Hand Superiority

The decline of motor performance of the human hand-arm system with age is well-documented. While dominant hand performance is superior to that of the non-dominant hand in young individuals, little is known of possible age-related changes in hand dominance. We investigated age-related alterations of hand dominance in 20 to 90 year old subjects. All subjects were unambiguously right-handed according to the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. In Experiment 1, motor performance for aiming, postural tremor, precision of arm-hand movement, speed of arm-hand movement, and wrist-finger speed tasks were tested. In Experiment 2, accelerometer-sensors were used to obtain objective records of hand use in everyday activities

The incidence of experimental smoking in school children: an 8-year follow-up of the child and adolescent behaviors in long-term evolution (CABLE) study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies have established that most regular adult smokers become addicted in their adolescent years. We investigated the incidence of and risk factors associated with initial experimental smoking among a group of school children who were followed for 8 years.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used cohort data collected as part of the Child and Adolescent Behaviors in Long-term Evolution (CABLE) study, which selected nine elementary schools each from an urban area (Taipei City) and a rural area (Hsingchu county) in northern Taiwan. From 2002 to 2008, children were asked annually whether they had smoked in the previous year. An accelerated lifetime model with Weibull distribution was used to examine the factors associated with experimental smoking.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In 2001, 2686 4^th-graders participated in the study. For each year from 2002 to 2008, their incidences of trial smoking were 3.1%, 4.0%, 2.8%, 6.0%, 5.3%, 5.0% and 6.0%, respectively. There was an increase from 7^thto 8^thgrade (6.0%). Children who were males, lived in rural areas, came from single-parent families, had parents who smoked, and had peers who smoked were more likely to try smoking earlier. The influence of parents and peers on experimental smoking demonstrated gradient effects.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study used a cohort to examine incidence and multiple influences, including individual factors, familial factors, and community factors, on experimental smoking in adolescents. The findings fit the social ecological model, highlighting the influences of family and friends. School and community attachment were associated with experimental smoking in teenagers.</p