Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for the Major Habitats and Species in Lung Ngoc Hoang Nature Reserve, Vietnamese Mekong Delta

The study assessed the vulnerability of habitats and species to climate change in Lung Ngoc Hoang Nature Reserve (NR), Vietnam. The vulnerability assessment tools for habitat and species were developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Community members, NR managers and experts in the fields of environment, economic and rural development were involved in this study. The results showed that saltwater intrusion and inundation could cause serious threats to habitats (i.e., open water, Lung, agricultural and Melaleuca habitats) and freshwater species. The combined impacts of drought and high temperature potentially increase forest fires for the Melaleuca habitat and decrease the quantity and quality of open water habitats. The Melaleuca and Lung habitats have a high baseline conservation status, in which Melaleuca habitats are more vulnerable than Lung habitats. Conversely, open water and agricultural habitats are at low baseline conservation status, but open water habitats are more vulnerable. In addition, the proliferation of invasive alien species, encroachment on agricultural cultivation, and the degradation of water quality are also great threats to the NR. Key species, including Melaleuca cajuputi, Elaeocarpus hygrophilus, Chitala ornate, Channa micropeltes, were at low threat of climate change. However, C. ornate and C. micropeltes are seriously endangered by seawater intrusion, drought and poor water quality. The findings of this study can provide essential information for NR managers to formulate water management plans for the protection and management of the habitats and species in Lung Ngoc Hoang NR

Startle responding in the context of visceral pain

This study aimed to investigate affective modulation of eye blink startle by aversive visceral stimulation. Startle blink EMG responses were measured in 31 healthy participants receiving painful, intermittent balloon distentions in the distal esophagus during 4 blocks (positive, negative, neutral or no pictures), and compared with startles during 3 ‘safe’ blocks without esophageal stimulations (positive, negative or neutral emotional pictures). Women showed enhanced startle during blocks with distentions (as compared with ‘safe’ blocks), both when the balloon was in inflated and deflated states, suggesting that fear and/or expectations may have played a role. Men's startle did not differ between distention and non-distention blocks. In this particular study context affective picture viewing did not further impose any effect on startle eye blink responses. The current results may contribute to a better understanding of emotional reactions to aversive interoceptive stimulation

Acute anxiety and anxiety disorders are associated with impaired gastric accommodation in patients with functional dyspepsia

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is associated with impaired gastric accommodation, as well as gastric hypersensitivity, delayed emptying, and psychosocial comorbidities. In healthy people, acute anxiety impairs gastric accommodation, which is traditionally quantified as the average increase in gastric volume after a meal over 1 hour. However, this quantification approach does not address the complex time course of the gastric accommodation response to a meal. We modeled gastric accommodation in patients with FD as a function of postprandial time, to investigate whether it is associated with psychosocial factors (state anxiety, anxiety disorder, depression) and gastric sensorimotor function (sensitivity, emptying). METHODS: We studied gastric sensorimotor function in 259 consecutive patients diagnosed with FD based on Rome II at the University Hospitals Leuven from January 2002 through February 2009. Subjects underwent a gastric barostat and breath test; psychiatric comorbidity was assessed by questionnaires. Subjects completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory to measure levels of state anxiety immediately before and after gastric barostat analysis. The time course of the accommodation response was analyzed using mixed models. Psychological and sensorimotor variables were added to the model as continuous (state anxiety) or dichotomous (gastric sensitivity and emptying, anxiety disorders, depression) covariates, including their interaction with the time effects. RESULTS: In subjects with FD, delayed emptying (β = 50.3 ± 15.9; P = .002) and lower state anxiety (β = -1.7 ± 0.7; P = .012) were associated with an upward shift of the accommodation curve. There was a significant interaction between comorbid anxiety disorder and linear (β = 8.2 ± 3.5; P = .02), quadratic (β = -0.4 ± 0.1; P = .004), and cubic (β = 0.005 ± 0.002; P = .002) effects of time: patients with a comorbid anxiety disorder had significantly slower initial increases in gastric volume to a lower maximum, and a slower return to baseline, compared with patients without anxiety disorder. Depression and gastric sensitivity were not associated significantly with gastric accommodation. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with FD, state anxiety and comorbid anxiety disorders are associated with impaired accommodation; gastric emptying also is associated with accommodation in these patients. These findings help elucidate the complex interactions between psychological processes and disorders, gastric sensorimotor dysfunction, and symptom reporting in patients with FD.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Acute Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders Are Associated With Impaired Gastric Accommodation in Patients With Functional Dyspepsia journaltitle: Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2015.03.032 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2015 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Differential brain responses to gradual intragastric nutrient infusion and gastric balloon distension: A role for gut peptides?

Rapid gastric balloon distension to discomfort threshold activates the "pain neuromatrix" and deactivates exteroceptive sensory and "default mode network" regions. However, little is known about brain mechanisms underlying tolerance of meal-induced gastric distension. We aimed to directly compare brain responses to gradual balloon distension and intragastric nutrient infusion and to explore the role of differential gut peptide release in these responses.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Differential brain responses to gradual intragastric nutrient infusion and gastric balloon distension: A role for gut peptides? journaltitle: NeuroImage articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.09.032 content_type: article copyright: © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Role of ghrelin in differential brain responses to continuous intra-gastric nutrient infusion and gastric balloon distension: a H215O-PET study

status: publishe

Different regional brain activity during continuous nutrient infusion and gastric balloon distension

status: accepte

Increased cerebral cannabinoid-1 receptor availability is a stable feature of functional dyspepsia: a [18F]-MK9470 PET study

BACKGROUND: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID) defined by chronic epigastric symptoms in the absence of organic abnormalities likely to explain them. Comorbidity with mood and anxiety disorders as well as with other FGIDs and functional somatic syndrome (FSS) is high. FD is characterized by abnormal regional cerebral activity in cognitive/affective pain modulatory circuits, but it is unknown which neurotransmitter systems are involved. The authors aimed to assess and compare in vivo cerebral cannabinoid-1 (CB1) receptor availability between FD patients and age-, gender- and BMI-matched healthy controls (HC). METHODS: Twelve FD patients and 12 matched HC were investigated using positron emission tomography (PET) with the CB1 receptor radioligand [(18)F]MK-9470. Nine of the patients received a second PET scan after a naturalistic follow-up period of 36 ± 9.6 months (range: 25.2-50.4 months). RESULTS: FD patients had significantly higher CB1 receptor availability in the cerebral regions involved in (visceral) nociception (brainstem, insula, anterior cingulate cortex) as well as in the homeostatic and hedonic regulation of food intake [hypothalamus, (ventral) striatum] (p < 0.05 corrected for multiple testing, region of interest analysis), which persisted after a follow-up period of 36 ± 9.6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Although these findings need replication in larger samples, they suggest that the abnormal brain activity in several of these regions, previously demonstrated in FD, may be due to a sustained endocannabinoid system dysfunction, identifying it as a potential novel target for treatment and warranting further studies to elucidate whether it is also a feature of other FGIDs or FSSs.status: publishe