Visuospatial tasks suppress craving for cigarettes.

The Elaborated Intrusion (EI) theory of desire posits that visual imagery plays a key role in craving. We report a series of experiments testing this hypothesis in a drug addiction context. Experiment 1 showed that a mental visual imagery task with neutral content reduced cigarette craving in abstaining smokers, but that an equivalent auditory task did not. The effect of visual imagery was replicated in Experiment 2, which also showed comparable effects of non-imagery visual working memory interference. Experiment 3 showed that the benefit of visual over auditory interference was not dependent upon imagery being used to induce craving. Experiment 4 compared a visuomotor task, making shapes from modeling clay, with a verbal task (counting back from 100), and again showed a benefit of the visual over the non-visual task. We conclude that visual imagery supports craving for cigarettes. Competing imagery or visual working memory tasks may help tackle craving in smokers trying to quit

Positive correlation between serum immunoreactivity to Demodex-associated Bacillus proteins and erythematotelangiectatic rosacea

Background Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the skin of the face and the eyes. Erythematotelangiectatic rosacea is characterized by flushing, oedema and telangiectasia. Patients with rosacea demonstrate elevated densities of Demodex mites in their skin compared with controls. A bacterium (Bacillus oleronius) isolated from Demodex mites from a patient with papulopustular rosacea has been demonstrated to produce antigenic proteins that may play a role in papulopustular and ocular rosacea. Objectives To establish whether there was a correlation between the reactivity of sera from patients with erythematotelangiectatic rosacea to Bacillus antigens, and to characterize the proteins to which these patients showed reactivity. Methods Serum samples from patients with erythematotelangiectatic rosacea and controls were examined for reactivity to Bacillus proteins by Western blot analysis. Proteins to which the sera reacted were excised from gels, trypsin digested, and putative identities were assigned following liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. Results Eighty per cent (21 ⁄26) of patients with erythematotelangiectatic rosacea showed serum reactivity to the 62- and 83-kDa proteins of B. oleronius, compared with 40% (9 ⁄22) of controls (P = 0Æ004). The 62-kDa protein was characterized by LC-MS and showed homology to groEL chaperonin, which provokes a strong immune response in mammals. The 83-kDa protein showed homology to aconitate hydratase, of which expression is increased in bacteria under oxidative stress, and which is highly immunogenic. Conclusions The majority of patients with erythematotelangiectatic rosacea show serum reactivity to two proteins from B. oleronius, suggesting that this bacterium may play a role in the induction of this condition. The two proteins to which patient sera reacted were found to be similar to a heat shock protein and an enzyme involved in regulating the stress response of the bacterium

Lifetimes by Doppler shift using solid and gaseous stopping media

Lifetime values or limits for low-lying levels in 33S, 38Ar and 40K have been found from γ-ray Doppler shift attenuation (DSA) in Au, Cu, and C solids, and for levels in 33S and 43Ca by DSA in Xe and Ar gases at various pressures up to 30 kg/cm2

Under the lash: Demodex mites in human diseases

Demodex mites, class Arachnida and subclass Acarina, are elongated mites with clear cephalothorax and abdomens, the former with four pairs of legs. There are more than 100 species of Demodex mite, many of which are obligatory commensals of the pilosebaceous unit of mammals including cats, dogs, sheep, cattle, pigs, goats, deer, bats, hamsters, rats and mice. Among them, Demodex canis, which is found ubiquitously in dogs, is the most documented and investigated. In excessive numbers D. canis causes the inflammatory disease termed demodicosis (demodectic mange, follicular mange or red mange), which is more common in purebred dogs and has a hereditary predisposition in breeding kennels1. Two distinct Demodex species have been confirmed as the most common ectoparasite in man. The larger Demodex folliculorum, about 0.3–0.4 mm long, is primarily found as a cluster in the hair follicle (Figure 1a), while the smaller Demodex brevis, about 0.2–0.3 mm long with a spindle shape and stubby legs, resides solitarily in the sebaceous gland (Figure 1b). These two species are also ubiquitously found in all human races without gender preference. The pathogenic role of Demodex mites in veterinary medicine is not as greatly disputed as in human diseases. In this article, we review the key literature and our joint research experience regarding the pathogenic potential of these two mites in causing inflammatory diseases of human skin and eye. We hope that the evidence summarized herein will invite readers to take a different look at the life of Demodex mites in several common human diseases

Mite-related bacterial antigens stimulate inflammatory cells in rosacea

Background Patients with papulopustular rosacea have a higher density of Demodex folliculorum mites on their faces than normal subjects but the role, if any, of their mites in initiating inflammation is disputed. Selective antibiotics are effective in reducing the inflammatory changes of papulopustular rosacea, but their mode of action is unknown. Objectives To investigate whether a D. folliculorum-related bacterium was capable of expressing antigens that could stimulate an inflammatory immune response in patients with rosacea. Methods A bacterium (Bacillus oleronius) was isolated from a D. folliculorum mite extracted from the face of a patient with papulopustular rosacea, and was investigated further. Results This bacterium produced antigens capable of stimulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells proliferation in 16 of 22 (73%) patients with rosacea but only five of 17 (29%) control subjects (P = 0�0105). This antigenic preparation was fractionated into 70 subfractions and the proteins in each fraction were visualized by sodium dodecyl sulphate�polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Western blot analysis revealed the presence of two antigenic proteins of size 62 and 83 kDa in fractions when probing with sera from patients with rosacea. No immunoreactivity to these proteins was recorded when probing with sera from control patients. Two-dimensional electrophoretic separation was used to isolate these proteins and matrix-assisted laser desorption �ionization time-of-flight analysis was employed to identify the relevant peptides. The 62-kDa immunoreactive protein shared amino acid sequence homology with an enzyme involved in carbohydrate metabolism and signal transduction while the 83-kDa protein was similar to bacterial heat shock proteins. Conclusions Antigenic proteins related to a bacterium (B. oleronius), isolated from a D. folliculorum mite, have the potential to stimulate an inflammatory response in patients with papulopustular rosacea

The driving mechanisms of particle precipitation during the moderate geomagnetic storm of 7 January 2005

International audienceThe arrival of an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) triggered a sudden storm commencement (SSC) at ~09:22 UT on the 7 January 2005. The ICME followed a quiet period in the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). We present global scale observations of energetic electron precipitation during the moderate geomagnetic storm driven by the ICME. Energetic electron precipitation is inferred from increases in cosmic noise absorption (CNA) recorded by stations in the Global Riometer Array (GLORIA). No evidence of CNA was observed during the first four hours of passage of the ICME or following the sudden commencement (SC) of the storm. This is consistent with the findings of Osepian and Kirkwood (2004) that SCs will only trigger precipitation during periods of geomagnetic activity or when the magnetic perturbation in the magnetosphere is substantial. CNA was only observed following enhanced coupling between the IMF and the magnetosphere, resulting from southward oriented IMF. Precipitation was observed due to substorm activity, as a result of the initial injection and particles drifting from the injection region. During the recovery phase of the storm, when substorm activity diminished, precipitation due to density driven increases in the solar wind dynamic pressure (Pdyn) were identified. A number of increases in Pdyn were shown to drive sudden impulses (SIs) in the geomagnetic field. While many of these SIs appear coincident with CNA, SIs without CNA were also observed. During this period, the threshold of geomagnetic activity required for SC driven precipitation was exceeded. This implies that solar wind density driven SIs occurring during storm recovery can drive a different response in particle precipitation to typical SCs

Computer aided diagnosis of early vascular disease from ultrasound images

This thesis consists of 2 separate ultrasound (US) based studies, performed with the common aim of improving the diagnosis of early vascular disease from US images. Study 1 Introduction: Flow mediated dilatation (FMD) is an endothelium-dependent process reflecting the dilatation of a conduit artery when it is exposed to increased blood flow and therefore increased shear stress. FMD requires a healthy endothelium and is depressed in those with cardiovascular risk factors. Current 2D US assessment is limited as a research tool only secondary to variable reproducibility, technical difficulties and difficulties determining true diameter measurement. To our knowledge this is the first study comparing 2D and 3D US assessment of FMD. Methods: This was a cross sectional reproducibility study with 27 male patients. 2D and 3D FMD were performed on both study visits. Nitrate induced dilatation (NID) was performed as a control. We hypothesised that 3D US would eliminate the systematic underestimation of diameter that we believe occurs using 2D US. We believe this is secondary to probe malalignment errors occurring in 2D US that are eliminated using 3D US. Furthermore, we tested if 3D FMD is more reproducible than 2D FMD. Results: We discovered 3D diameter to be greater than 2D diameter with between visit FMD correlation and reproducibility being similar in both 3D and 2D. Conclusion: Findings suggest 3D US gives a greater and more accurate measurement of diameter, however this should be confirmed with an arterial phantom bench study comparing 2D and 3D US diameter measurements. With real-time high resolution 4D US likely to provide better temporal resolution, the advent of 4D FMD is only around the corner. This is likely to be more accurate, reproducible and user friendly than 2D and may soon find its way into clinical practice. We believe by identifying 3D US as a useful and comparable tool to 2D US in the assessment of FMD, this will provide a stepping stone for this to happen, thereby facilitating better quantification of endothelial function. Study 2 Introduction: Pre-eclampsia (PET) results in hypertension and proteinuria in pregnancy. It is associated with increased prevalance of cardiovascular risk factors and future cardiovascular risk, including increased intima-media thickness (IMT) and arterial stiffness. We used 2D US to assess for subtle alterations in vascular structure and function in young women with and without a history of gestational hypertension (GH) or PET. Methods: This was a phase 2 cohort study of 40 women with at least 1 pregnancy in the last 5 years. Alterations in IMT distribution and compression patterns between the 3 groups were assessed according to multiple angles of insonation in the distal common carotid artery (CCA), and along the vascular tree (proximal versus distal CCA versus bifurcation (BIF) versus internal carotid artery (ICA)). Arterial stiffness within the proximal and distal CCA was also assessed. Using ANOVA we tested the hypotheses that the PET group would illustrate different values to the other groups. Results: In women with a history of pre-eclampsia, IMT was greater in areas of the vascular tree with a predilection for atherosclerosis i.e. the medial wall of the common carotid artery and within the ICA. IMT compression in PET differed according to vascular tree and angle. Arterial stiffness was increased in the GH and PET groups with less compliant and distensible arteries in the distal CCA when compared to normotensives. Conclusion: Women with PET have greater IMT than those without such a history. The pattern of IMT distribution by angle and along the vascular tree has been seen in previous studies, however to our knowledge never in such a group of asymptomatic women. A stepwise increase of IMT along the vascular tree was observed in the normal and GH groups with a subsequent decrease in IMT in the ICA, however, there was a further increase in IMT in the ICA in the PET group, suggesting an accelerated atherosclerotic process. Increased CCA stiffness in the PET and GH groups further supports this statement. Our results warrant further evaluation in other pre-eclampsia sufferers and perhaps similar asymptomatic groups using more novel non-invasive ultrasound techniques studying vascular wall structure and mechanics

Assessment of motivation to control alcohol use: The motivational thought frequency and state motivation scales for alcohol control

publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Assessment of motivation to control alcohol use: The motivational thought frequency and state motivation scales for alcohol control journaltitle: Addictive Behaviors articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.02.038 content_type: article copyright: © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Observational evidence of the influence of Antarctic stratospheric ozone variability on middle atmosphere dynamics

Modeling results have suggested that the circulation of the stratosphere and mesosphere in spring is strongly affected by the perturbations in heating induced by the Antarctic ozone hole. Here using both mesospheric MF radar wind observations from Rothera Antarctica (67°S, 68°W) as well as stratospheric analysis data, we present observational evidence that the stratospheric and mesospheric wind strengths are highly anti-correlated, and show their largest variability in November. We find that these changes are related to the total amount of ozone loss that occurs during the Antarctic spring ozone hole and particularly with the ozone gradients that develop between 57.5°S and 77.5°S. The results show that with increasing ozone loss during spring, winter conditions in the stratosphere and mesosphere persist longer into the summer. These results are discussed in the light of observations of the onset and duration of the Antarctic polar mesospheric cloud seaso

Understanding the Photocatalytic Activity of La₅Ti₂AgS₅O₇ and La₅Ti₂CuS₅O₇ for Green Hydrogen Production:Computational Insights

[Image: see text] Green production of hydrogen is possible with photocatalytic water splitting, where hydrogen is produced while water is reduced by using energy derived from light. In this study, density functional theory (DFT) is employed to gain insights into the photocatalytic performance of La(5)Ti(2)AgS(5)O(7) and La(5)Ti(2)CuS(5)O(7)—two emerging candidate materials for water splitting. The electronic structure of both bulk materials was calculated by using hybrid DFT, which indicated the band gaps and charge carrier effective masses are suitable for photocatalytic water splitting. Notably, the unique one-dimensional octahedral TiO(x)S(6–x) and tetragonal MS(4) channels formed provide a structural separation for photoexcited charge carriers which should inhibit charge recombination. Band alignments of surfaces that appear on the Wulff constructions of 12 nonpolar symmetric surface slabs were calculated by using hybrid DFT for each of the materials. All surfaces of La(5)Ti(2)AgS(5)O(7) have band edge positions suitable for hydrogen evolution; however, the small overpotentials on the largest facets likely decrease the photocatalytic activity. In La(5)Ti(2)CuS(5)O(7), 72% of the surface area can support oxygen evolution thermodynamically and kinetically. Based on their similar electronic structures, La(5)Ti(2)AgS(5)O(7) and La(5)Ti(2)CuS(5)O(7) could be effectively employed in Z-scheme photocatalytic water splitting