Pre-surgical Caregiver Burden and Anxiety Are Associated with Post-Surgery Cortisol over the Day in Caregivers of Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery Patients.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between pre-surgical distress and diurnal cortisol following surgery has not been investigated prospectively in caregivers of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients before. We aimed to examine the relationship between pre-surgical anxiety and caregiver burden and diurnal cortisol measured 2 months after the surgery in the caregivers of CABG patients. METHOD: We used a sample of 103 caregivers of elective CABG patients that were assessed 28.86 days before and 60.94 days after patients' surgery. Anxiety and caregiver burden were assessed using the anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Oberst Burden Scale respectively. Saliva samples were collected to measure cortisol area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg) and diurnal cortisol slope. Anxiety and caregiver burden were entered into linear regression models simultaneously. RESULTS: While high levels of pre-surgical anxiety were positively associated with increased follow-up levels of AUCg (β = 0.30, p = 0.001), greater pre-surgery perceived burden score was associated with steeper cortisol slope (β = 0.27, p = 0.017) after controlling for a wide range of covariates. CONCLUSION: These outcomes support the utility of psychological interventions aimed to increase the awareness of caregiving tasks and demands in informal caregivers

The first report of the species Thrips italicus (Thys.: Thripidae) from Iran

The thrips fauna of the orchards of the cities of Yasuj and Sisakht (Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province) was studied during 2012-2013. The species Thrips italicus (Bagnall), which was collected on red apple trees in Sisakht, is reported for the first time in Iran

Depression, C-reactive protein and length of post-operative hospital stay in coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients.

This study aimed to explore the role of C-reactive protein (CRP) in mediating the association between greater pre-operative depression symptoms and longer post-operative length of stay in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. We used a sample of 145 elective CABG patients and measured depression symptoms using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) prior to surgery and collected baseline measures of CRP. Participants were followed up during their in-hospital stay to measure early (1-3days post-surgery) and persistent (4-8days post-surgery) CRP responses to surgery. We found that compared with participants with low depression symptoms, those with elevated depression symptoms (BDI>10) prior to CABG were at increased odds of a hospital stay of greater than one week (OR 3.51, 95% CI 1.415-8.693, p=0.007) and that greater persistent CRP responses mediated this association. Further work is needed to explore the exact physiological pathways through which depression and CRP interact to affect recovery in CABG patients

The combined association of depression and socioeconomic status with length of post-operative hospital stay following coronary artery bypass graft surgery: data from a prospective cohort study.

To understand the association between pre-operative depression symptoms, including cognitive and somatic symptom subtypes, and length of post-operative stay in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, and the role of socioeconomic status (SES)

Obesity and PCOS radically alters the snRNA composition of follicular fluid extracellular vesicles

IntroductionThe ovarian follicle consists of the oocyte, somatic cells, and follicular fluid (FF). Proper signalling between these compartments is required for optimal folliculogenesis. The association between polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and extracellular vesicular small non-coding RNAs (snRNAs) signatures in follicular fluid (FF) and how this relates to adiposity is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine whether FF extracellular vesicle (FFEV)-derived snRNAs are differentially expressed (DE) between PCOS and non-PCOS subjects; and if these differences are vesicle-specific and/or adiposity-dependent.MethodsFF and granulosa cells (GC) were collected from 35 patients matched by demographic and stimulation parameters. FFEVs were isolated and snRNA libraries were constructed, sequenced, and analyzed.ResultsmiRNAs were the most abundant biotype present, with specific enrichment in exosomes (EX), whereas in GCs long non-coding RNAs were the most abundant biotype. In obese PCOS vs. lean PCOS, pathway analysis revealed target genes involved in cell survival and apoptosis, leukocyte differentiation and migration, JAK/STAT, and MAPK signalling. In obese PCOS FFEVs were selectively enriched (FFEVs vs. GCs) for miRNAs targeting p53 signalling, cell survival and apoptosis, FOXO, Hippo, TNF, and MAPK signalling.DiscussionWe provide comprehensive profiling of snRNAs in FFEVs and GCs of PCOS and non-PCOS patients, highlighting the effect of adiposity on these findings. We hypothesize that the selective packaging and release of miRNAs specifically targeting anti-apoptotic genes into the FF may be an attempt by the follicle to reduce the apoptotic pressure of the GCs and stave off premature apoptosis of the follicle observed in PCOS

Deep analysis of neuroblastoma core regulatory circuitries using online databases and integrated bioinformatics shows their pan-cancer roles as prognostic predictors.

AIM: Neuroblastoma is a heterogeneous childhood cancer derived from the neural crest. The dual cell identities of neuroblastoma include Mesenchymal (MES) and Adrenergic (ADRN). These identities are conferred by a small set of tightly-regulated transcription factors (TFs) binding super enhancers, collectively forming core regulatory circuitries (CRCs). The purpose of this study was to gain a deep understanding of the role of MES and ADRN TFs in neuroblastoma and other cancers as potential indicators of disease prognosis, progression, and relapse. METHODS: To that end, we first investigated the expression and mutational profile of MES and ADRN TFs in neuroblastoma. Moreover, we established their correlation with neuroblastoma risk groups and overall survival while establishing their extended networks with long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Furthermore, we analysed the pan-cancer expression and mutational profile of these TFs and their correlation with patient survival and finally their network connectivity, using a panel of bioinformatic tools including GEPIA2, human pathology atlas, TIMER2, Omicsnet, and Cytoscape. RESULTS: We show the association of multiple MES and ADRN TFs with neuroblastoma risk groups and overall survival and find significantly higher expression of various MES and ADRN TFs compared to normal tissues and their association with overall survival and disease-free survival in multiple cancers. Moreover, we report the strong correlation of the expression of these TFs with the infiltration of stromal and immune cells in the tumour microenvironment and with stemness and metastasis-related genes. Furthermore, we reveal extended pan-cancer networks comprising these TFs that influence the tumour microenvironment and metastasis and may be useful indicators of cancer prognosis and patient survival. CONCLUSION: Our meta-analysis shows the significance of MES and ADRN TFs as indicators of patient prognosis and the putative utility of these TFs as potential novel biomarkers

The Impact of Caregiving Burden on Mental Well-Being in Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery Caregivers: The Mediatory Role of Perceived Social Support.

An increase in caregiver burden and a decrease in social support have both been identified as predictors of poor caregiver psychological distress. However, little is known about the role of these factors in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) caregivers. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether change in perceived social support from pre to post surgery mediated the relationship between change in caregiver burden and caregiver depressive symptoms and subjective well-being post surgery. A sample of 101 caregivers of elective CABG patients were assessed 28 days before and 62 days after patients' surgery. Caregivers completed the Oberst Burden Scale, the Enhancing Recovery in Coronary Heart Disease (ENRICHD) Social Support Instrument, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Control, Autonomy, Self-Realisation, and Pleasure (CASP-19) scale. Simple mediation analyses showed that change in social support significantly mediated both the relationship between change in caregiver burden and post-surgery depressive symptoms (unstandardised β = 0.041, 95% CI (0.005, 0.112)) and the relationship between change in caregiver burden and post-surgery subjective well-being (unstandardised β = 0.071, 95% CI (0.001, 0.200)). Psychological interventions aimed at the CABG caregiver population should promote social support to deal with the increase of caregivers' tasks and demands after the patients' surgery

Individual variation in levels of haptoglobin-related protein in children from Gabon

Background: Haptoglobin related protein (Hpr) is a key component of trypanosome lytic factors (TLF), a subset of highdensity lipoproteins (HDL) that form the first line of human defence against African trypanosomes. Hpr, like haptoglobin (Hp) can bind to hemoglobin (Hb) and it is the Hpr-Hb complexes which bind to these parasites allowing uptake of TLF. This unique form of innate immunity is primate-specific. To date, there have been no population studies of plasma levels of Hpr, particularly in relation to hemolysis and a high prevalence of ahaptoglobinemia as found in malaria endemic areas. Methods and Principal Findings: We developed a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to measure levels of plasma Hpr in Gabonese children sampled during a period of seasonal malaria transmission when acute phase responses (APR), malaria infection and associated hemolysis were prevalent. Median Hpr concentration was 0.28 mg/ml (range 0.03-1.1). This was 5-fold higher than that found in Caucasian children (0.049 mg/ml, range 0.002-0.26) with no evidence of an APR. A general linear model was used to investigate associations between Hpr levels, host polymorphisms, parasitological factors and the acute phase proteins, Hp, C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin. Levels of Hpr were associated with Hp genotype, decreased with age and were higher in females. Hpr concentration was strongly correlated with that of Hp, but not CRP

A kinetic equation for economic value estimation with irrationality and herding

A kinetic inhomogeneous Boltzmann-type equation is proposed to model the dynamics of the number of agents in a large market depending on the estimated value of an asset and the rationality of the agents. The interaction rules take into account the interplay of the agents with sources of public information, herding phenomena, and irrationality of the individuals. In the formal grazing collision limit, a nonlinear nonlocal Fokker-Planck equation with anisotropic (or incomplete) diffusion is derived. The existence of global-in-time weak solutions to the Fokker-Planck initial-boundary-value problem is proved. Numerical experiments for the Boltzmann equation highlight the importance of the reliability of public information in the formation of bubbles and crashes. The use of Bollinger bands in the simulations shows how herding may lead to strong trends with low volatility of the asset prices, but eventually also to abrupt corrections