Reversible Inactivation of the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis Blocks Reinstatement But Not Renewal of Extinguished Fear

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is thought to be involved in the expression of fear to shock-associated contexts, but not to discrete conditional stimuli (CSs) paired with shock. Because context plays an important role in the extinction and relapse of fear, we sought to examine the contribution of the BNST to two different relapse phenomena: renewal and reinstatement. In the renewal experiment, male Long-Evans rats received 5 tone-shock trials for conditioning in “context A”; 24 hours later they received 45 tone–alone (extinction) trials in either “context B” or “context C”. Ten minutes prior to a retrieval test (5 tone-alone trials), rats were infused with either selective agonist for GABAA receptors, muscimol or vehicle in the BNST. In the reinstatement experiment, rats underwent a similar procedure, but were presented with an unsignaled ‘reminder’ shock in the extinction context to reinstate fear. As before, we examined the influence of muscimol inactivation of the BNST during a retrieval testing 24-hours after the reinstatement shock. In the reinstatement test, rats with muscimol infusion showed significantly less freezing than did rats with vehicle infusion. In contrast, BNST inactivation did not attenuate the renewal of fear to an extinguished CS outside the extinction context. These data indicate that the BNST is involved in forms of fear relapse that depend on direct associations of the test context with an aversive US

Developing a cultural competence assessment tool for people in recovery from racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds: the journey, challenges and lessons learned.

In 1997, Maryland implemented a new managed care mental health system. Consumer satisfaction, evaluation and cultural competency were considered high priorities for the new system. While standardized tools for measuring consumer satisfaction were readily available, no validated, reliable and standardized tool existed to measure the perception of people from minority groups receiving mental health services. The MHA*/MHP* Cultural Competency Advisory Group (CCAG) accepted the challenge of developing a consumer assessment tool for cultural competency. The CCAG, composed of people in recovery, clinicians and administrators used their collective knowledge and experiences to develop a 52-item tool that met standards for validity and reliability. Consultation from a researcher helped to further develop the tool into one possessing tremendous potential for statewide implementation within Maryland's Public Mental Health System. Recognizing the limitations of the study and the need for further research, this instrument is a work in progress. Strategies to improve the instrument are currently underway with the Mental Hygiene Administration's Systems Evaluation Center of the University of Maryland and several national researchers

Family Support and Readiness to Consider Smoking Cessation among Chinese and Vietnamese American Male Smokers

Introduction. Smoking prevalence is disproportionately high among Asian American immigrant men with limited English proficiency. Understanding the role of family support may provide insights into culturally acceptable strategies to promote smoking cessation. Aims. This study examined how family support was associated with readiness to consider smoking cessation among Chinese and Vietnamese American male daily smokers. Methods. We analyzed baseline data (N = 340) from a cluster randomized trial of a family-based healthy lifestyle intervention. We assessed the frequency of receiving family support in various forms (encouraging use of cessation resources, praising efforts, checking in, and reminding of familial role). Multiple regression analysis was used to determine associations between family support areas and readiness to consider smoking cessation, controlling for covariates. Results/Findings. Reporting a higher frequency of receiving praise and encouragement for one’s efforts to quit was positively associated with readiness to consider cessation. Other areas of family support were not significant. Conclusions. These findings provide evidence to explore specific areas of family support in enhancing Asian American smokers’ readiness to consider cessation. As there is high interest from Asian American family members to support their smokers for quitting, culturally specific and acceptable strategies are needed to promote smoking cessation among Asian Americans

Susceptibility of hamsters to clostridium difficile isolates of differing toxinotype

Clostridium difficile is the most commonly associated cause of antibiotic associated disease (AAD), which caused ~21,000 cases of AAD in 2011 in the U.K. alone. The golden Syrian hamster model of CDI is an acute model displaying many of the clinical features of C. difficile disease. Using this model we characterised three clinical strains of C. difficile, all differing in toxinotype; CD1342 (PaLoc negative), M68 (toxinotype VIII) and BI-7 (toxinotype III). The naturally occurring non-toxic strain colonised all hamsters within 1-day post challenge (d.p.c.) with high-levels of spores being shed in the faeces of animals that appeared well throughout the entire experiment. However, some changes including increased neutrophil influx and unclotted red blood cells were observed at early time points despite the fact that the known C. difficile toxins (TcdA, TcdB and CDT) are absent from the genome. In contrast, hamsters challenged with strain M68 resulted in a 45% mortality rate, with those that survived challenge remaining highly colonised. It is currently unclear why some hamsters survive infection, as bacterial and toxin levels and histology scores were similar to those culled at a similar time-point. Hamsters challenged with strain BI-7 resulted in a rapid fatal infection in 100% of the hamsters approximately 26 hr post challenge. Severe caecal pathology, including transmural neutrophil infiltrates and extensive submucosal damage correlated with high levels of toxin measured in gut filtrates ex vivo. These data describes the infection kinetics and disease outcomes of 3 clinical C. difficile isolates differing in toxin carriage and provides additional insights to the role of each toxin in disease progression

Aortoiliac hemodynamic and morphologic adaptation to chronic spinal cord injury

BackgroundReduced lower limb blood flow and resistive hemodynamic conditions potentially promote aortic inflammation and aneurysmal degeneration. We used abdominal ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging, and computational flow modeling to determine the relationship between reduced infrarenal aortic blood flow in chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) subjects and risk for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) disease.MethodsAortic diameter in consecutive SCI subjects (n = 123) was determined via transabdominal ultrasonography. Aortic anatomic and physiologic data were acquired via magnetic resonance angiography (MRA; n = 5) and cine phase-contrast magnetic resonance flow imaging (n = 4) from SCI subjects whose aortic diameter was less than 3.0 cm by ultrasonography. Computational flow models were constructed from magnetic resonance data sets. Results were compared with those obtained from ambulatory control subjects (ultrasonography, n = 129; MRA/phase-contrast magnetic resonance flow imaging, n = 6) who were recruited at random from a larger pool of risk factor–matched individuals without known AAA disease.ResultsAge, sex distribution, and smoking histories were comparable between the SCI and control groups. In the SCI group, time since injury averaged 26 ± 13 years (mean ± SD). Aortic diameter was larger (P < .01), and the prevalence of large (≥2.5 cm; P < .01) or aneurysmal (≥3.0 cm; P < .05) aortas was greater in SCI subjects. Paradoxically, common iliac artery diameters were reduced in SCI subjects (<1.0 cm; 48% SCI vs 26% control; P < .0001). Focal preaneurysmal enlargement was noted in four of five SCI subjects by MRA. Flow modeling revealed normal flow volume, biphasic and reduced oscillatory flow, slower pressure decay, and reduced wall shear stress in the SCI infrarenal aorta.ConclusionsCharacteristic aortoiliac hemodynamic and morphologic adaptations occur in response to chronic SCI. Slower aortic pressure decay and reduced wall shear stress after SCI may contribute to mural degeneration, enlargement, and an increased prevalence of AAA disease

Candidate LBV stars in galaxy NGC 7793 found via HST photometry + MUSE spectroscopy

Only about 19 Galactic and 25 extragalactic bonafide luminous blue variables (LBVs) are known to date. This incomplete census prevents our understanding of this crucial phase of massive star evolution which leads to the formation of heavy binary black holes via the classical channel. With large samples of LBVs one could better determine the duration and maximum stellar luminosity which characterize this phase. We search for candidate LBVs (cLBVs) in a new galaxy, NGC 7793. For this purpose, we combine high spatial resolution images from two Hubble Space Telescope (HST) programs with optical spectroscopy from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE). By combining PSF-fitting photometry measured on F547M, F657N, and F814W images, with restrictions on point-like appearance (at HST resolution) and H α luminosity, we find 100 potential cLBVs, 36 of which fall in the MUSE fields. Five of the latter 36 sources are promising cLBVs which have MV ≤ −7 and a combination of: H α with a P-Cygni profile; no [O I]λ6300 emission; weak or no [O III]λ5007 emission; large [N II]/H α relative to H II regions; and [S II]λ6716/[S II]λ6731∼1⁠. It is not clear if these five cLBVs are isolated from O-type stars, which would favour the binary formation scenario of LBVs. Our study, which approximately covers one fourth of the optical disc of NGC 7793, demonstrates how by combining the above HST surveys with multi-object spectroscopy from 8-m class telescopes, one can efficiently find large samples of cLBVs in nearby galaxies

Vibronic coupling and band gap trends in CuGeO3 nanorods

We measured the optical response of CuGeO3 nanorods in order to reveal size effects on the electronic properties. The vibronically activated d-to-d color band excitations are activated by the 131 and 478 cm−1 phonons, with the relative contribution of the lower frequency O-Cu-O bending mode increasing with decreasing size until it dominates the process. We also uncover trends in the direct band gap, with the charge transfer edge hardening with decreasing size. These findings advance the understanding of size effects in low-dimensional copper oxides