Genetic Polymorphisms in Genes Related to Oxidative Stress (GSTP1, GSTM1, GSTT1, CAT, MnSOD, MPO, eNOS) and Survival of Rectal Cancer Patients after Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy exerts part of its antineoplastic effect by generating oxidative stress, therefore genetic variation in oxidative stress-related enzymes may influence survival of rectal cancer patients. We hypothesized that genetic polymorphisms associated with higher amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that exaggerate cytotoxic activity could improve survival after radiotherapy. We followed 114 rectal cancer patients who received radiotherapy for an average of 42.5 months. Associations between genotypes (GSTP1, GSTM1, GSTT1, CAT, MnSOD, MPO and eNOS) and overall survival were assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression. As hypothesized, patients carrying low ROS producing eNOS Glu298Asp asparagine allele showed an increased hazard of death compared to homozygous carriers of the glutamine allele (hazard ratio (HR): 2.10, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01–4.38). However, carriers of low ROS producing MPO G463A A allele had a decreased hazard of death compared to patients homozygous for the G allele (HR: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.21–0.93) although patients homozygous for the A allele had a slightly increased hazard (HR: 1.12, 95% CI: 0.25–5.08). This explorative study provides first results and highlights the need for further, larger studies to investigate association between genetic variation in oxidative stress genes and survival of rectal cancer patients who received radiotherapy

Temperature- and Light-Induced Spin Crossover Observed by X-ray Spectroscopy on Isolated Fe(II) Complexes on Gold

Using X-ray absorption techniques, we show that temperature- and light-induced spin crossover properties are conserved for a submonolayer of the [Fe(H2B(pz)2)2(2,2′-bipy)] complex evaporated onto a Au(111) surface. For a significant fraction of the molecules, we see changes in the absorption at the L2,3 edges that are consistent with those observed in bulk and thick film references. Assignment of these changes to spin crossover is further supported by multiplet calculations to simulate the X-ray absorption spectra. As others have observed in experiments on monolayer coverages, we find that many molecules in our submonolayer system remain pinned in one of the two spin states. Our results clearly demonstrate that temperature- and light-induced spin crossover is possible for isolated molecules on surfaces but that interactions with the surface may play a key role in determining when this can occur

Die Rolle des Benefit-Finding für die Qualität der Anpassung an das Leben nach dem Spitzensport

Die Lebensereignisforschung postuliert, dass die Anpassung an eine durch ein kritisches Ereignis veränderte Situation durch Benefit-Finding gefördert wird, indem Menschen Gewinnbringendes für ihr Leben erkennen (Filipp & Aymanns, 2010). Während in der frühen Forschung zum oft als kritisches Lebensereignis beschriebenen Karriereende im Spitzensport Benefit-Finding mitbedacht wurde, wird es in der aktuellen Forschung nur punktuell berücksichtigt (z.B. Curtis & Ennis, 1988, Wippert, 2011). Basierend auf dem Konzept Kritisches Lebensereignis (Filipp, 1995) untersucht die vorliegende Studie die Rolle des Benefit-Finding für die kurz-, mittel- und langfristige Qualität der Anpassung an das Karriereende. Methods: 290 Schweizer Spitzenathleten (Frauenanteil: 32.8%) aus 64 Sportarten wurden etwa 7.46 Jahre nach ihrem Karriereende mittels Fragebogen zum Benefit-Finding, Erleben des Karriereendes, zur Dauer und subjektiven Qualität der Anpassung an das Karriereende sowie zum psychischen Wohlbefinden befragt. Die Datenauswertung erfolgte mittels Strukturgleichungsmodellierung. Results: Das Modell zur Vorhersage der langfristigen Anpassungsqualität (psychische Wohlbefinden) an das Karriereende mit einer Varianzaufklärung von R2 = .26 passt recht gut zu den Daten (χ2 = 114.764, p ≤ .001, df = 56, CFI = .93, SRMR = .06, RMSEA = .06; AGFI = .91). Wie postuliert, hat das Ausmass von Benefit-Finding einen – über die kurz- und mittelfristige Anpassungsqualität (positive Emotionen, Anpassungsdauer und subjektive Anpassungsqualität) – vermittelten Effekt auf das psychische Wohlbefinden im Leben nach dem Spitzensport. Discussion/Conclusion: Das Konzept Kritisches Lebensereignis kristallisierte sich als zielführender Ansatz für die Analyse von zusammenwirkenden Faktoren hinsichtlich Qualität der Anpassung an das Leben nach dem Spitzensport heraus. Die Befunde indizieren, dass sportpsychologische Interventionen mit Fokus auf Benefit-Finding, zusammen mit anderen Elementen der gängigen Career-Assistance-Programme, kurzfristig für eine gelingende Transition und langfristig ein günstiges psychisches Wohlbefinden sinnvoll sind. References: Curtis, J. & Ennis, R. (1988). Negative consequences of leaving competitive sport? Comparative findings for former elite-level hockey players. Sociology of Sport Journal, 5, 87-106. Filipp, S.-H. (Hrsg.) (1995). Kritische Lebensereignisse (3. Aufl.). Weinheim: Beltz. Filipp, S.-H. & Aymanns, P. (2010). Kritische Lebensereignisse und Lebenskrisen. Vom Umgang mit den Schattenseiten des Lebens. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Wippert, P.-M. (2011). Kritische Lebensereignisse in Hochleistungsbiografien. Untersuchungen an Spitzensportlern, Tänzern und Musikern. Lengerich: Pabst

The effects of benefit finding on athletes’ quality of adjustment to career termination

Retirement from elite sports requires athletes to cope with adjustments on an occupational, financial, physical, social or emotional level. Research on critical life events (e.g., Filipp & Aymanns, 2010) suggests that benefit finding, defined as “the process of deriving positive growth from adversity” (Cassidy et al., 2014), may have a positive impact on this transition. The present study examined the effects of benefit finding on the quality of adjustment to career termination in the short, middle and long term. Former Swiss elite athletes (N = 290) completed a written survey collecting information on a) their emotional reaction to career termination, b) the amount of adjustment in various respects, c) situational characteristics of their career termination, d) the duration and quality of the transition, and e) their subjective well-being. Using Latent Variable Modelling, finding benefit in career termination was found to have both a direct and an indirect effect on long-term well-being (γ=.18). It predicts favorable emotional reactions to career termination (γ = .53) and less adjustment (γ = -.38) which in turn shortens the transition duration (β = -.15 and β = .55, respectively) and quality (β = -.15), and finally augments well-being (β = .41). The data suggest that a focus on benefit finding in both crisis-prevention and crisis-coping interventions may prove useful to prevent crisis transitions

Novel P335-like Phage Resistance Arises from Deletion within Putative Autolysin <i>yccB</i> in <i>Lactococcus lactis</i>

Lactococcus lactis and Lactococcus cremoris are broadly utilized as starter cultures for fermented dairy products and are inherently impacted by bacteriophage (phage) attacks in the industrial environment. Consequently, the generation of bacteriophage-insensitive mutants (BIMs) is a standard approach for addressing phage susceptibility in dairy starter strains. In this study, we characterized spontaneous BIMs of L. lactis DGCC12699 that gained resistance against homologous P335-like phages. Phage resistance was found to result from mutations in the YjdB domain of yccB, a putative autolysin gene. We further observed that alteration of a fused tail-associated lysin-receptor binding protein (Tal-RBP) in the phage restored infectivity on the yccB BIMs. Additional investigation found yccB homologs to be widespread in L. lactis and L. cremoris and that different yccB homologs are highly correlated with cell wall polysaccharide (CWPS) type/subtype. CWPS are known lactococcal phage receptors, and we found that truncation of a glycosyltransferase in the cwps operon also resulted in resistance to these P335-like phages. However, characterization of the CWPS mutant identified notable differences from the yccB mutants, suggesting the two resistance mechanisms are distinct. As phage resistance correlated with yccB mutation has not been previously described in L. lactis, this study offers insight into a novel gene involved in lactococcal phage sensitivity