Biobehavioral effects of Tai Chi Qigong in men with prostate cancer: Study design of a three-arm randomized clinical trial.

Fatigue is often one of the most commonly reported symptoms in prostate cancer survivors, but it is also one of the least understood cancer-related symptoms. Fatigue is associated with psychological distress, disruptions in sleep quality, and impairments in health-related quality of life. Moreover, inflammatory processes and changes related to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and/or autonomic nervous system may also play a role in cancer-related fatigue. Thus, effective treatments for fatigue in prostate cancer survivors represent a current unmet need. Prior research has shown that Tai Chi Qigong, a mind-body exercise intervention, can improve physical and emotional health. Herein, we describe the protocol of the ongoing 3-arm randomized controlled Health Empowerment & Recovery Outcomes (HERO) clincal trial. One hundred sixty-six prostate cancer survivors with fatigue are randomized to a modified Tai Chi Qigong intervention (TCQ), intensity-matched body training intervention (BT), or usual care (UC) condition. Guided by biopsychosocial and psychoneuroimmunology models, we propose that TCQ, as compared to BT or UC will: i) reduce fatigue (primary outcome) in prostate cancer survivors; ii) reduce inflammation; and iii) regulate the expression of genes from two major functional clusters: a) inflammation, vasodilation and metabolite sensing and b) energy and adrenergic activation. Assessments are conducted at baseline, the 6-week midpoint of the intervention, and 1 week, 3 months, and 12 months post-intervention. If our findings show that TCQ promotes recovery from prostate cancer and its treatment, this type of intervention can be integrated into survivorship care plans as the standard of care. The study's findings will also provide novel information about underlying biobehavioral mechanisms of cancer-related fatigue. Trial registration number:NCT03326713; clinicaltrials.gov

Paranoia and post-traumatic stress disorder in the months after a physical assault: a longitudinal study examining shared and differential predictors.

Background: Being physically assaulted is known to increase the risk of the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms but it may also skew judgements about the intentions of other people. The objectives of the study were to assess paranoia and PTSD after an assault and to test whether theory-derived cognitive factors predicted the persistence of these problems. Method: At 4 weeks after hospital attendance due to an assault, 106 people were assessed on multiple symptom measures (including virtual reality) and cognitive factors from models of paranoia and PTSD. The symptom measures were repeated 3 and 6 months later. Results: Factor analysis indicated that paranoia and PTSD were distinct experiences, though positively correlated. At 4 weeks, 33% of participants met diagnostic criteria for PTSD, falling to 16% at follow-up. Of the group at the first assessment, 80% reported that since the assault they were excessively fearful of other people, which over time fell to 66%. Almost all the cognitive factors (including information-processing style during the trauma, mental defeat, qualities of unwanted memories, self-blame, negative thoughts about self, worry, safety behaviours, anomalous internal experiences and cognitive inflexibility) predicted later paranoia and PTSD, but there was little evidence of differential prediction. Conclusions: Paranoia after an assault may be common and distinguishable from PTSD but predicted by a strikingly similar range of factors

Au-delà de l’ethnicité et de la parenté en Afghanistan : une approche ethnographique des liens transversaux de coopération

La persistance du tribalisme et les tensions ethniques sont régulièrement invoquées pour expliquer la prolongation de la guerre en Afghanistan. Le cas des Hazaras traité ici illustre la logique segmentaire inhérente à l’anthropologie politique de l’Afghanistan. L’émergence progressive de la dimension ethnique sur la scène politique afghane ainsi que le poids persistant des relations de parenté ne doivent pas conduire à négliger la prégnance des liens transversaux de solidarité qui peuvent se développer entre voisins, camarades de classe ou collègues. Les relations sociales quotidiennes suivent des logiques complexes. Pour faire face à l’insécurité et diminuer les risques, les Afghans tendent à diversifier leurs relations sociales, mais aussi leurs activités économiques et leurs affiliations politiques. La fragmentation sociale et le factionnalisme politique apparaissent dès lors comme des éléments structurels qui tendent à un certain équilibre des entités politiques en présence.L’ethnicisation de la scène politique afghane est située dans son contexte historique ; elle apparaît dès lors comme le résultat plus que la cause de la guerre.The persistence of tribalism and ethnic tensions are regularly invoked to explain the prolongation of the war in Afghanistan. The case of the Hazaras, treated here, illustrates the segmentary logic inherent in the political anthropology of Afghanistan. The gradual emergence of the ethnic dimension on the Afghan political scene and the lasting weight of kinship must not lead us to overlook the significance of transversal ties of solidarity, which can develop between neighbors, classmates or colleagues. Everyday social relations follow complex patterns. To cope with uncertainty and reduce risks, the Afghans tend to diversify their social relations as well as their economic activities and political affiliations. Social fragmentation and political factionalism therefore appear as structural elements that tend to keep a balance between political blocks. The ethnicization of the Afghan political scene is situated in its historical context; it appears thus to be the result more than the cause of the war

British Women Writers and the French Revolution. Citizens of the World

Le récent article de Matthew O. Grenby dans le n° 342 d’octobre-décembre 2005 des Annales Historiques de la Révolution française soulignait la vitalité et l’abondance des travaux anglo-saxons concernant l’impact de la Révolution française sur la littérature anglaise, ce dont témoignait la riche bibliographie qui suivait son analyse historiographique. Le nouvel ouvrage d’Adriana Craciun, spécialiste de littérature britannique, en est un exemple. Il s’insère dans la lignée de ses recherches pré..

Speech Communication

Contains reports on three research projects.National Institutes of Health (Grant 2 ROI NS04332)National Institutes of Health (Training Grant 5 T32 NS07040)C. J. LeBel FellowshipsNational Institutes of Health (Grant 5 RO1 NS13028)National Science Foundation (Grant BNS76-80278)National Science Foundation (Grant BNS77-26871

The varved succession of Crawford Lake, Milton, Ontario, Canada as a candidate Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the Anthropocene series

An annually laminated succession in Crawford Lake, Ontario, Canada is proposed as the Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Anthropocene as a series/epoch with a base dated at 1950 CE. Varve couplets of organic matter capped by calcite precipitated each summer in alkaline surface waters reflect environmental change at global to local scales. Spheroidal carbonaceous particles and nitrogen isotopes record an increase in fossil fuel combustion in the early 1950s, coinciding with fallout from nuclear and thermonuclear testing—239+240Pu and 14C:12C, the latter more than compensating for the effects of old carbon in this dolomitic basin. Rapid industrial expansion in the North American Great Lakes region led to enhanced leaching of terrigenous elements by acid precipitation during the Great Acceleration, and calcite precipitation was reduced, producing thin calcite laminae around the GSSP that is marked by a sharp decline in elm pollen (Dutch Elm disease). The lack of bioturbation in well-oxygenated bottom waters, supported by the absence of fossil pigments from obligately anaerobic purple sulfur bacteria, is attributed to elevated salinities and high alkalinity below the chemocline. This aerobic depositional environment, unusual in a meromictic lake, inhibits the mobilization of 239Pu, the proposed primary stratigraphic guide for the Anthropocene

US Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter 2017: Community Report

This white paper summarizes the workshop "U.S. Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter" held at University of Maryland on March 23-25, 2017.Comment: 102 pages + reference

Atomic Resonance and Scattering

Contains reports on two research projects.National Science Foundation (Grant PHY 87-06560)Joint Services Electronics Program (Contract DAAL03-86-K-O002)U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research (Contract N00014-83-K-0695)National Science Foundation (Grant PHY 86-05893

Remodeling of cortical bone allografts mediated by adherent rAAV-RANKL and VEGF gene therapy

Structural allograft healing is limited because of a lack of vascularization and remodeling. To study this we developed a mouse model that recapitulates the clinical aspects of live autograft and processed allograft healing. Gene expression analyses showed that there is a substantial decrease in the genes encoding RANKL and VEGF during allograft healing. Loss-of-function studies showed that both factors are required for autograft healing. To determine whether addition of these signals could stimulate allograft vascularization and remodeling, we developed a new approach in which rAAV can be freeze-dried onto the cortical surface without losing infectivity. We show that combination rAAV-RANKL- and rAAV-VEGF-coated allografts show marked remodeling and vascularization, which leads to a new bone collar around the graft. In conclusion, we find that RANKL and VEGF are necessary and sufficient for efficient autograft remodeling and can be transferred using rAAV to revitalize structural allografts

Gene expression analysis in human osteoblasts exposed to dexamethasone identifies altered developmental pathways as putative drivers of osteoporosis

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis, a disease of decreased bone mineral density represents a significant and growing burden in the western world. Aging population structure and therapeutic use of glucocorticoids have contributed in no small way to the increase in the incidence of this disease. Despite substantial investigative efforts over the last number of years the exact molecular mechanism underpinning the initiation and progression of osteoporosis remain to be elucidated. This has meant that no significant advances in therapeutic strategies have emerged, with joint replacement surgery being the mainstay of treatment. METHODS: In this study we have used an integrated genomics profiling and computational biology based strategy to identify the key osteoblast genes and gene clusters whose expression is altered in response to dexamethasone exposure. Primary human osteoblasts were exposed to dexamethasone in vitro and microarray based transcriptome profiling completed. RESULTS: These studies identified approximately 500 osteoblast genes whose expression was altered. Functional characterization of the transcriptome identified developmental networks as being reactivated with 106 development associated genes found to be differentially regulated. Pathway reconstruction revealed coordinate alteration of members of the WNT signaling pathway, including frizzled-2, frizzled-7, DKK1 and WNT5B, whose differential expression in this setting was confirmed by real time PCR. CONCLUSION: The WNT pathway is a key regulator of skeletogenesis as well as differentiation of bone cells. Reactivation of this pathway may lead to altered osteoblast activity resulting in decreased bone mineral density, the pathological hallmark of osteoporosis. The data herein lend weight to the hypothesis that alterations in developmental pathways drive the initiation and progression of osteoporosis