The IBER study: a feasibility randomised controlled trial of imagery based emotion regulation for the treatment of anxiety in bipolar disorder

BACKGROUND: Intrusive mental imagery is associated with anxiety and mood instability within bipolar disorder and therefore represents a novel treatment target. Imagery Based Emotion Regulation (IBER) is a brief structured psychological intervention developed to enable people to use the skills required to regulate the emotional impact of these images. METHODS: Participants aged 18 and over with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and at least a mild level of anxiety were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive IBER plus treatment as usual (IBER + TAU) or treatment as usual alone (TAU). IBER was delivered in up to 12 sessions overs 16 weeks. Clinical and health economic data were collected at baseline, end of treatment and 16-weeks follow-up. Objectives were to inform the recruitment process, timeline and sample size estimate for a definitive trial and to refine trial procedures. We also explored the impact on participant outcomes of anxiety, depression, mania, and mood stability at 16-weeks and 32-weeks follow-up. RESULTS: Fifty-seven (28: IBER + TAU, 27: TAU) participants from two sites were randomised, with 50 being recruited within the first 12 months. Forty-seven (82%) participants provided outcome data at 16 and 32-weeks follow-up. Thirty-five participants engaged in daily mood monitoring at the 32-week follow-up stage. Retention in IBER treatment was high with 27 (96%) attending ≥ 7 sessions. No study participants experienced a serious adverse event. DISCUSSION: The feasibility criteria of recruitment, outcome completion, and intervention retention were broadly achieved, indicating that imagery-focused interventions for bipolar disorder are worthy of further investigation

Gene expression profiling revealed novel mechanism of action of Taxotere and Furtulon in prostate cancer cells

BACKGROUND: Both Taxotere and Capecitabine have shown anti-cancer activity against various cancers including prostate cancer. In combination, Taxotere plus Capecitabine has demonstrated higher anti-cancer activity in advanced breast cancers. However, the molecular mechanisms of action of Taxotere and Capecitabine have not been fully elucidated in prostate cancer. METHODS: The total RNA from PC3 and LNCaP prostate cells untreated and treated with 2 nM Taxotere, 110 μM Furtulon (active metabolite of Capecitabine), or 1 nM Taxotere plus 50 μM Furtulon for 6, 36, and 72 hours, was subjected to Affymetrix Human Genome U133A Array analysis. Real-time PCR and Western Blot analysis were conducted to confirm microarray data. RESULTS: Taxotere and Furtulon down-regulated some genes critical for cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, transcription factor, cell signaling, and oncogenesis, and up-regulated some genes related to the induction of apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and differentiation in both cell lines. Taxotere and Furtulon also up-regulated some genes responsible for chemotherapeutic resistance, suggesting the induction of cancer cell resistance to these agents. CONCLUSIONS: Taxotere and Furtulon caused the alternation of a large number of genes, many of which may contribute to the molecular mechanisms by which Taxotere and Furtulon inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells. This information could be utilized for further mechanistic research and for devising optimized therapeutic strategies against prostate cancer

The burden on informal caregivers of people with bipolar disorder.

Caregivers of people with bipolar disorder may experience a different quality of burden than is seen with other illnesses. A better understanding of their concerns is necessary to improve the training of professionals working with this population. Conceptualizing caregiver burden in a conventional medical framework may not focus enough on issues important to caregivers, or on cultural and social issues. Perceptions of caregivers about bipolar disorder have important effects on levels of burden experienced. It is important to distinguish between caregivers' experience of this subjective burden and objective burden as externally appraised. Caregivers' previous experiences of health services may influence their beliefs about the illness. Caregiver burden is associated with depression, which affects patient recovery by adding stress to the living environment. The objective burden on caregivers of patients with bipolar disorder is significantly higher than for those with unipolar depression. Caregivers of bipolar patients have high levels of expressed emotion, including critical, hostile, or over-involved attitudes. Several measures have been developed to assess the care burden of patients with depressive disorders, but may be inappropriate for patients with bipolar disorder because of its cyclical nature and the stresses arising from manic and hypomanic episodes. Inter-episode symptoms pose another potential of burden in patients with bipolar disorder. Subsyndromal depressive symptoms are common in this phase of the illness, resulting in severe and widespread impairment of function. Despite the importance of assessing caregiver burden in bipolar disorder, relevant literature is scarce. The specific effects of mania and inter-episode symptoms have not been adequately addressed, and there is a lack of existing measures to assess burden adequately, causing uncertainty regarding how best to structure family interventions to optimally alleviate burden. The relatively few studies into caregiver burden in bipolar disorder may largely reflect experiences in the US Veterans Affairs health service, but the findings may be limited in their generalizability. Nevertheless, available data suggest that caregiver burden is high and largely neglected in bipolar disorder. Clinically effective, well-targeted and practically viable interventions are needed. However, services cannot be enhanced on a rational basis without an improved understanding and capacity to measure and target caregiver burden the impact of any change in services be evaluated

Data, Meta Data and Pattern Data: How Franz Boas Mobilized Anthropometric Data, 1890 and Beyond

AbstractBetween 1890 and 1911, the German-American anthropologist Franz Boas conducted a whole suite of anthropometric studies, which all in all generated data from body measurements carried out on about 27,000 individuals. To this day, this data is being re-analyzed by researchers with a range of disciplinary interests. In my chapter, I will take a close look at a small subset of the original datasheets Boas used in his surveys, and how he and other scientists processed the data in later publications. My analysis will reveal that the extraordinary potential for travel and re-use of Boas’s data crucially depended on the way in which he designed his surveys. Alongside recording standard anthropometric variables, Boas collected genealogical and geographical information on the individuals measured, which allowed him to flexibly classify data in a variety of ways. It is this richness in structure, or “pattern data,” that explains why the data from Boas’s anthropometric projects remain valuable for researchers from a variety of disciplines to this very day.</jats:p

Exine export in pollen

Pollen as a sperm cell carrier is mainly protected by outer pollen wall (called exine) from physical and biological stresses. The major composition of exine is the highly resistant biopolymer sporopollenin, which mainly consists of hydrophobic lipids, phenylpropanoids, and aromatic compounds. The biosynthesis of these constituents has been shown to be catalyzed by enzymes preferentially expressed in the sporophytic tapetal layer, a nutritive tissue supporting pollen development. How the synthesized sporopollenin precursors are exported from tapetal cells onto the surface of microspore for pollen exine formation remains largely unknown. Here, we review the structure of tapetal cella and pollen exine in the model monocot rice (Oryza sativa) and the model dicot Arabidopsis thaliana. In addition, we highlight the update understanding on the role of ATP-binding cassette (ABC), lipid transfer protein (LTP), and multidrug and toxic efflux (MATE) transporters in trafficking of sporopollenin precursors across tapetal cells for exine development in rice and Arabidopsis. We also discuss the future research focus on the transport of sporopollenin precursors for exine synthesis.Dabing Zhang and Hui L