The relationship between structural game characteristics and gambling behavior: a population-level study

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the structural characteristics and gambling behavior among video lottery terminal (VLT) gamblers. The study was ecological valid, because the data consisted of actual gambling behavior registered in the participants natural gambling environment without intrusion by researchers. Online behavioral tracking data from Multix, an eight game video lottery terminal, were supplied by Norsk-Tipping (the state owned gambling company in Norway). The sample comprised the entire population of Multix gamblers (N = 31,109) who had gambled in January 2010. The individual number of bets made across games was defined as the dependent variable, reward characteristics of a game (i.e., payback percentage, hit frequency, size of winnings and size of jackpot) and bet characteristics of a game (i.e., range of betting options and availability of advanced betting options) served as the independent variables. Control variables were age and gender. Two separate cross-classified multilevel random intercepts models were used to analyze the relationship between bets made, reward characteristics and bet characteristics, where the number of bets was nested within both individuals and within games. The results show that the number of bets is positively associated with payback percentage, hit frequency, being female and age, and negatively associated with size of wins and range of available betting options. In summary, the results show that the reward characteristics and betting options explained 27 % and 15 % of the variance in the number of bets made, respectively. It is concluded that structural game characteristics affect gambling behavior. Implications of responsible gambling are discussed

Maternal hormone levels among populations at high and low risk of testicular germ cell cancer

Ethnic differences in maternal oestrogen levels have been suggested as explaining the significantly higher risk of testicular germ cell tumours (TGCT) of white men than black men in the United States. We therefore examined levels of maternal oestrogens, as well as testosterone and alphafetoprotein (AFP), in 150 black and 150 white mothers in the Collaborative Perinatal Project. Serum levels of estradiol (total, free and bioavailable), estriol, testosterone (total, free and bioavailable), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and AFP were examined during first and third trimesters. We found that the black mothers, rather than the white mothers, had significantly higher estradiol levels in first trimester (P=0.05). Black mothers also had significantly higher levels of all testosterone (P<0.001) and AFP (P<0.001) in both trimesters. In addition, the ratios of sex hormones (estradiol/testosterone) were significantly lower among black mothers. These findings provide little support to the oestrogen hypothesis, but are consistent with higher levels of testosterones and/or AFP being associated with reduced risk of TGCT; alternatively, lower oestrogen/androgen ratios may be associated with reduced risk

Natural images from the birthplace of the human eye

Here we introduce a database of calibrated natural images publicly available through an easy-to-use web interface. Using a Nikon D70 digital SLR camera, we acquired about 5000 six-megapixel images of Okavango Delta of Botswana, a tropical savanna habitat similar to where the human eye is thought to have evolved. Some sequences of images were captured unsystematically while following a baboon troop, while others were designed to vary a single parameter such as aperture, object distance, time of day or position on the horizon. Images are available in the raw RGB format and in grayscale. Images are also available in units relevant to the physiology of human cone photoreceptors, where pixel values represent the expected number of photoisomerizations per second for cones sensitive to long (L), medium (M) and short (S) wavelengths. This database is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial Unported license to facilitate research in computer vision, psychophysics of perception, and visual neuroscience.Comment: Submitted to PLoS ON

Psychometric properties of the Italian versions of the Gambling Urge Scale (GUS) and the Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GRSEQ)

Gambling urges and gambling refusal self-efficacy beliefs play a major role in the development and maintenance of problem gambling. This study aimed to translate the Gambling Urge Scale (GUS) and the Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GRSEQ) from English to Italian (GUS-I, GRSEQ-I) and to test their factor structure, internal consistency, construct validity, concurrent validity, and gender differences in 513 individuals from the Italian community. Factor structure and construct validity were tested through Confirmatory Factor Analysis, internal consistency through Cronbach’s alpha, concurrent validity through correlations with gambling-related cognitions (GRCS-I), probable pathological gambling (SOGS-I), and gambling functioning (GFA-R-I). Results confirmed that the 6 items of the GUS-I load highly on one dimension of Gambling Urge, and each of the 26 items of the GRSEQ-I load highly on their relevant sub-dimension, among the following: situations/thoughts, drugs, positive emotions, negative emotions. Both scales are internally consistent and show concurrent validity with gambling-related cognitions, probable pathological gambling, and gambling functioning. Males score higher than females at the GUS-I; females score higher than males at the GRSEQ-I. The findings from the present study suggest that the GUS-I and the GRSEQ-I are internally consistent and valid scales for the assessment of gambling urges and gambling refusal self-efficacy in Italian individuals from the community, with significant repercussions in terms of assessment, prevention, and intervention

CD3Z Genetic Polymorphism in Immune Response to Hepatitis B Vaccination in Two Independent Chinese Populations

Vaccination against hepatitis B virus is an effective and routine practice that can prevent infection. However, vaccine-induced immunity to hepatitis B varies among individuals. CD4+ T helper cells, which play an important role in both cellular and humoral immunity, are involved in the immune response elicited by vaccination. Polymorphisms in the genes involved in stimulating the activation and proliferation of CD4+ T helper cells may influence the immune response to hepatitis B vaccination. In the first stage of the present study, a total of 111 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 17 genes were analyzed, using the iPLEX MassARRAY system, among 214 high responders and 107 low responders to hepatitis B vaccination. Three SNPs (rs12133337 and rs10918706 in CD3Z, rs10912564 in OX40L) were associated significantly with the immune response to hepatitis B vaccination (P = 0.008, 0.041, and 0.019, respectively). The three SNPs were analyzed further with the TaqMan-MGB or TaqMan-BHQ probe-based real-time polymerase chain reaction in another independent population, which included 1090 high responders and 636 low responders. The minor allele ‘C’ of rs12133337 continued to show an association with a lower response to hepatitis B vaccination (P = 0.033, odds radio = 1.28, 95% confidence interval = 1.01–1.61). Furthermore, in the stratified analysis for both the first and second populations, the association of the minor allele ‘C’ of rs12133337 with a lower response to hepatitis B vaccination was more prominent after individuals who were overweight or obese (body mass index ≥25 kg/m2) were excluded (1st stage: P = 0.003, 2nd stage: P = 0.002, P-combined = 9.47e-5). These findings suggest that the rs12133337 polymorphism in the CD3Z gene might affect the immune response to hepatitis B vaccination, and that a lower BMI might increase the contribution of the polymorphism to immunity to hepatitis B vaccination

Electrical Stimulation Influences Satellite Cell Proliferation and Apoptosis in Unloading-Induced Muscle Atrophy in Mice

Muscle atrophy caused by disuse is accompanied by adverse physiological and functional consequences. Satellite cells are the primary source of skeletal muscle regeneration. Satellite cell dysfunction, as a result of impaired proliferative potential and/or increased apoptosis, is thought to be one of the causes contributing to the decreased muscle regeneration capacity in atrophy. We have previously shown that electrical stimulation improved satellite cell dysfunction. Here we test whether electrical stimulation can also enhance satellite cell proliferative potential as well as suppress apoptotic cell death in disuse-induced muscle atrophy. Eight-week-old male BALB/c mice were subjected to a 14-day hindlimb unloading procedure. During that period, one limb (HU-ES) received electrical stimulation (frequency: 20 Hz; duration: 3 h, twice daily) while the contralateral limb served as control (HU). Immunohistochemistry and western blotting techniques were used to characterize specific proteins in cell proliferation and apoptosis. The HU-ES soleus muscles showed significant improvement in muscle mass, cross-sectional area, and peak tetanic force relative to the HU limb (p<0.05). The satellite cell proliferative activity as detected within the BrdU+/Pax7+ population was significantly higher (p<0.05). The apoptotic myonuclei (detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling) and the apoptotic satellite cells (detected by cleaved Poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase co-labeled with Pax7) were reduced (p<0.05) in the HU-ES limb. Furthermore the apoptosis-inducing factor and cleaved caspase-3 were down-regulated while the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein was up-regulated (p<0.05), in the HU-ES limb. These findings suggest that the electrical stimulation paradigm provides an effective stimulus to rescue the loss of myonuclei and satellite cells in disuse muscle atrophy, thus maintaining a viable satellite cell pool for subsequent muscle regeneration. Optimization of stimulation parameters may enhance the outcome of the intervention

Treatment of complicated skin and soft-tissue infections caused by resistant bacteria: value of linezolid, tigecycline, daptomycin and vancomycin

Antibiotic-resistant organisms causing both hospital-and community-acquired complicated skin and soft-tissue infections (cSSTI) are increasingly reported. A substantial medical and economical burden associated with MRSA colonisation or infection has been documented. The number of currently available appropriate antimicrobial agents is limited. Good quality randomised, controlled clinical trial data on antibiotic efficacy and safety is available for cSSTI caused by MRSA. Linezolid, tigecycline, daptomycin and vancomycin showed efficacy and safety in MRSA-caused cSSTI. None of these drugs showed significant superiority in terms of clinical cure and eradication rates. To date, linezolid offers by far the greatest number of patients included in controlled trials with a strong tendency of superiority over vancomycin in terms of eradication and clinical success

Elevated miR-499 Levels Blunt the Cardiac Stress Response

The heart responds to myriad stresses by well-described transcriptional responses that involve long-term changes in gene expression as well as more immediate, transient adaptations. MicroRNAs quantitatively regulate mRNAs and thus may affect the cardiac transcriptional output and cardiac function. Here we investigate miR-499, a microRNA embedded within a ventricular-specific myosin heavy chain gene, which is expressed in heart and skeletal muscle.We assessed miR-499 expression in human tissue to confirm its potential relevance to human cardiac gene regulation. Using a transgenic mouse model, we found that elevated miR-499 levels caused cellular hypertrophy and cardiac dysfunction in a dose-dependent manner. Global gene expression profiling revealed altered levels of the immediate early stress response genes (Egr1, Egr2 and Fos), ß-myosin heavy chain (Myh7), and skeletal muscle actin (Acta1). We verified the effect of miR-499 on the immediate early response genes by miR-499 gain- and loss-of-function in vitro. Consistent with a role for miR-499 in blunting the response to cardiac stress, asymptomatic miR-499-expressing mice had an impaired response to pressure overload and accentuated cardiac dysfunction.Elevated miR-499 levels affect cardiac gene expression and predispose to cardiac stress-induced dysfunction. miR-499 may titrate the cardiac response to stress in part by regulating the immediate early gene response

Influence of Psychological Factors on Pain and Disability in Anterior Knee Pain Patients

AKP patients express chronic pain but also disability. However, the correlation between pain and disability is not complete and linear. Some patients with a lot of pain show mild disability while others with much less pain also show great disability. The disability is profoundly influenced by other emotional and cognitive factors that are associated with the perception of pain. Therefore, the clinical efforts do not have to be focused only on treating the pain as a feeling but on identifying and modifying these factor