Exercise motivational regulations and exercise addiction: The mediating role of passion

Background and aims The study explored the mediating role of forms of passion in the relationship between motivational regulations in exercise and exercise addiction (EA). Methods A total of 485 university students (368 males and 117 females; Mage = 20.43, SD = 3.21) completed a questionnaire measuring the frequency and intensity of exercise, motivational regulations in exercise, passion for exercise, and EA. Controlling the effects of age, frequency, and intensity of practice, the relationships between the study variables were examined though a path analysis. Results Both self-determined and non-self-determined forms of motivation showed positive association with EA. The forms of motivation with greatest predictive power for EA were introjected and integrated regulations. Both forms of motivation had positive direct and indirect effects through obsessive passion (OP) on EA; however, integrated regulation also showed negative indirect effects through harmonious passion on EA. Conclusions Both forms of passion and, especially, OP, seem to affect how motivational regulations are associated with EA. These findings clarify the association found in previous studies between self-determined forms of motivation and EA

Experimental trial on surgical treatment for transverse fractures of the proximal phalanx: technique using intramedullary conical compression screw versus lateral compression plate

AbstractObjectiveTo compare the mechanical parameters between two methods for stabilization through compression: 1.5mm axial compression plate versus conical compression screw used as an intramedullary tutor.MethodsPolyurethane models (Sawbone®) that simulated transverse fractures of the proximal phalanx were used. The models were divided into three groups: lateral plate, conical screw and no implant.ResultsGreater force was needed to result in fatigue in the synthesis using an intramedullary plate. Thus, this model was proven to be mechanically superior to the model with the lateral plate.ConclusionStabilization using the Acutrak® screw for treating fractures in the model used in this trial presents mechanical results that are statistically significantly superior to those from the axial compression technique using the lateral plate (Aptus Hand®)

Transcriptional epigenetic regulation of Fkbp1/Pax9 genes is associated with impaired sensitivity to platinum treatment in ovarian cancer

Background: In an effort to contribute to overcoming the platinum resistance exhibited by most solid tumors, we performed an array of epigenetic approaches, integrating next-generation methodologies and public clinical data to identify new potential epi-biomarkers in ovarian cancer, which is considered the most devastating of gynecological malignancies. Methods: We cross-analyzed data from methylome assessments and restoration of gene expression through microarray expression in a panel of four paired cisplatin-sensitive/cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cell lines, along with publicly available clinical data from selected individuals representing the state of chemoresistance. We validated the methylation state and expression levels of candidate genes in each cellular phenotype through Sanger sequencing and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, respectively. We tested the biological role of selected targets using an ectopic expression plasmid assay in the sensitive/resistant tumor cell lines, assessing the cell viability in the transfected groups. Epigenetic features were also assessed in 189 primary samples obtained from ovarian tumors and controls. Results: We identified PAX9 and FKBP1B as potential candidate genes, which exhibited epigenetic patterns of expression regulation in the experimental approach. Re-establishment of FKBP1B expression in the resistant OVCAR3 phenotype in which this gene is hypermethylated and inhibited allowed it to achieve a degree of platinum sensitivity similar to the sensitive phenotype. The evaluation of these genes at a translational level revealed that PAX9 hypermethylation leads to a poorer prognosis in terms of overall survival. We also set a precedent for establishing a common epigenetic signature in which the validation of a single candidate, MEST, proved the accuracy of our computational pipelines. Conclusions: Epigenetic regulation of PAX9 and FKBP1B genes shows that methylation in non-promoter areas has the potential to control gene expression and thus biological consequences, such as the loss of platinum sensitivity. At the translational level, PAX9 behaves as a predictor of chemotherapy response to platinum in patients with ovarian cancer. This study revealed the importance of the transcript-specific study of each gene under potential epigenetic regulation, which would favor the identification of new markers capable of predicting each patient’s progression and therapeutic response.The study was financially supported by FIS (ISCIII) and ERDF/FSE funds (PI15/00186, PI18/0050, and ERDF/FSE, A way to make Europe). The authors gratefully acknowledge the Colombian Ministry for Science, Technology and Innovation (MINCIENCIAS), Code 568-2012, for providing J.S. with partial funding for this study

An open secret in porcine acute myocardial infarction models: The relevance of anaesthetic regime and breed in ischaemic outcomes.

Large animal models of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) play a crucial role in translating novel therapeutic approaches to patients as denoted by their use in the right-before-human testing platform. At present, the porcine model of AMI is used most frequently as it mimics the human condition and its anatomopathological features accurately. We want to describe to, and share with, the translational research community our experience of how different anaesthetic protocols (sevoflurane, midazolam, ketamine+xylazine+midazolam, and propofol) and pig breeds [Large White and Landrace x Large White (LLW)] can dramatically modify the outcomes of a well-established porcine model of closed-chest AMI. Our group has extensive experience with the porcine model of reperfused AMI and, over time, we reduced the time of ischaemia used to induce the disease from 90 to 50 min to increase the salvageable myocardium for cardioprotection studies. For logistical reasons, we changed both the anaesthetic protocol and the pig breed used, but these resulted in a dramatic reduction in the size of the myocardial infarct, to almost zero in some cases (sevoflurane, 50-min ischaemia, LLW, 2.4 ± 3.9% infarct size), and the cardiac function was preserved. Therefore, we had to re-validate the model by returning to 90 min of ischaemia. Here, we report the differences in infarct size and cardiac function, measured by different modalities, for each combination of anaesthetic protocol and pig breed we have used. Furthermore, we discuss these combinations and the limited literature pertaining to how these two factors influence cardiac function and infarct size in the porcine model of AMI.This research was funded by a grant (PI18/00277) from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Spain—Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). FJ is the recipient of the Ayudas para la formación de profesorado Universitario (FPU19/04925) grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. IDIBAPS belongs to the CERCA Programme and receives partial funding from the Generalitat de Catalunya.S

Information and Discrimination from b Quark Production on Z Resonance

We introduce and define operatively in a model independent way a new ``heavy" b-vertexparameter, $\eta_b$, that can be derived from the measurement of a special polarization asymmetry for production of b-quarks on Z resonance. We show that the combination of the measurement of $\eta_b$ with that of a second and previously defined ``heavy" b-vertex parameter $\delta_{bV}$ can discriminate a number of models of New Physics that remain associated to different ``trajectories" in the plane of the variations of the two parameters. This is shown in particular for some popular SUSY and technicolor-type models. In general, this discrimination is possible if a measurement of \underline{both} parameters is performed.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures available by air mail upon request, (e-mail [email protected] PM/94-04, UTS-DFT-94-02 .( revised version with corrected references

Hepatic venous pressure gradient predicts risk of hepatic decompensation and liver-related mortality in patients with MASLD.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a leading cause of advanced chronic liver disease (ACLD). Portal hypertension drives hepatic decompensation and is best diagnosed by hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) measurement. Here we investigate the prognostic value of HVPG in compensated (cACLD) MASLD. METHODS This European multicentre study included MASLD-cACLD patients characterised by HVPG at baseline. Hepatic decompensation (variceal bleeding/ ascites/hepatic encephalopathy) and liver-related mortality were considered the primary events of interest. RESULTS 340 MASLD-cACLD patients [56.2% men; age: 62 (55-68) years; MELD: 8 (7-9); 71.2% diabetes] were included. Clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH; i.e., HVPG ≥10 mmHg) was found in 209 patients (61.5%). During a median follow-up of 41.5 (27.5-65.8) months, 65 patients developed hepatic decompensation with a cumulative incidence of 10.0% after 2 years (2Y) and 30.7% after 5 years (5Y) in MASLD-cACLD with CSPH, compared to 2.4% after 2Y and 9.4% after 5Y in patients without CSPH. Variceal bleeding did not occur without CSPH. CSPH (subdistribution hazard ratio, SHR:5.13; p<0.001) was associated with an increased decompensation risk and a higher HVPG remained an independent risk factor in the multivariable model (aSHR per mmHg:1.12; p<0.001). Liver-related mortality occurred in 37 patients with a cumulative incidence of 3.3% after 2Y and 21.4% after 5Y in CSPH. Without CSPH, the incidence after 5Y was 0.8%. Accordingly, a higher HVPG was also independently associated with a higher risk of liver-related death (aSHR per mmHg:1.20; p<0.001). CONCLUSION HVPG measurement is of high prognostic value in MASLD-cACLD. While MASLD-cACLD patients without CSPH show a very low short-term risk of decompensation and liver-related mortality is rare, the presence of CSPH substantially increases both risks. IMPACT AND IMPLICATIONS While the incidence of compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD) due to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is increasing worldwide, insights into the impact of clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) on the risk of liver-related events in MASLD-cACLD remain limited. Based on the findings of this European multicentre study including 340 MASLD-cACLD, we could show that increasing HVPG values and the presence of CSPH in particular were associated with a significantly higher risk of first hepatic decompensation and liver-related mortality. In contrast, the short-term incidence of decompensation in MASLD-cACLD patients without CSPH was low and the risk of liver-mortality remained negligible. Thus, HVPG measurements can provide important prognostic information for individualised risk-stratification in MASLD-cACLD and may help facilitate the study of novel and promising treatment possibilities for MASLD

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected

Defining new pathways to manage the ongoing emergence of bat rabies in Latin America

Rabies transmitted by common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) has been known since the early 1900s but continues to expand geographically and in the range of species and environments affected. In this review, we present current knowledge of the epidemiology and management of rabies in D. rotundus and argue that it can be reasonably considered an emerging public health threat. We identify knowledge gaps related to the landscape determinants of the bat reservoir, reduction in bites on humans and livestock, and social barriers to prevention. We discuss how new technologies including autonomously-spreading vaccines and reproductive suppressants targeting bats might manage both rabies and undesirable growth of D. rotundus populations. Finally, we highlight widespread under-reporting of human and animal mortality and the scarcity of studies that quantify the efficacy of control measures such as bat culling. Collaborations between researchers and managers will be crucial to implement the next generation of rabies management in Latin America