The Effect of Nature on Pain Perception

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of nature on perception of pain. Previous research has indicated that focusing on pleasant stimuli leads to increased pain tolerance. Previous research has also indicated that patients in hospitals recovering from surgery had shorter stays and fewer surgical complications when their windows faced trees and nature in comparison to those whose windows faced a wall. We examined whether images of nature altered perceptions of pain more than pleasant non-nature images. Participants were randomly assigned to condition. Participants in the nature condition viewed a six-minute slideshow of pleasant nature images (e.g., trees, flowers, clouds). Participants in the pleasant, non-nature condition viewed a six-minute slideshow of pleasant, non-nature images (e.g., clowns, balloons, money). Participants in the control condition read neutral text from a style manual for six minutes. After completing this task, each participant was asked to submerge her hand in a refrigerated bath (water temperature = 4°C). The researcher recorded pain threshold (the elapsed time when the participant first felt pain) and pain tolerance (the total time the participant left her hand submerged). After removing her hand, the participant completed ratings of pain intensity, unpleasantness, and distress. We hypothesized that pain threshold and pain tolerance would be greatest among those who had viewed the pleasant, nature slideshow. We hypothesized that pain threshold and pain tolerance would be lowest among those who had read the neutral text. These results show that it may be beneficial for hospitals to incorporate more nature scenes such as windows or indoor plants into their facilities to improve patients’ pain perceptions while hospitalized. This study provides evidence for the effectiveness of a non-pharmacological method of pain management

Race and food store availability in an inner-city neighbourhood

Abstract available at publisher's web site

Protective Role of Bacillus anthracis Exosporium in Macrophage-Mediated Killing by Nitric Oxide▿

The ability of the endospore-forming, gram-positive bacterium Bacillus anthracis to survive in activated macrophages is key to its germination and survival. In a previous publication, we discovered that exposure of primary murine macrophages to B. anthracis endospores upregulated NOS 2 concomitant with an ·NO-dependent bactericidal response. Since NOS 2 also generates O2·−, experiments were designed to determine whether NOS 2 formed peroxynitrite (ONOO−) from the reaction of ·NO with O2·− and if so, was ONOO− microbicidal toward B. anthracis. Our findings suggest that ONOO− was formed upon macrophage infection by B. anthracis endospores; however, ONOO− does not appear to exhibit microbicidal activity toward this bacterium. In contrast, the exosporium of B. anthracis, which exhibits arginase activity, protected B. anthracis from macrophage-mediated killing by decreasing ·NO levels in the macrophage. Thus, the ability of B. anthracis to subvert ·NO production has important implications in the control of B. anthracis-induced infection