Differential expression of pro-inflammatory and oxidative stress mediators induced by nitrogen dioxide and ozone in primary human bronchial epithelial cells

NO2 and O3 are ubiquitous air toxicants capable of inducing lung damage to the respiratory epithelium. Due to their oxidizing capabilities, these pollutants have been proposed to target specific biological pathways, but few publications have compared the pathways activated

Lettuce not be salty: An update of a common secondary education experiment measuring seed germination under salt-stressed conditions

A laboratory exercise for undergraduates.Assessing the ecological impact of deicing roadways is a well-documented high school and undergraduate toxicology laboratory experiment. Most commonly, this experiment has been done using different concentrations of rock salt (NaCl) as the toxicant/deicer and buttercrunch lettuce seeds for the bioassay. However, as we are becoming a more environmentally conscious society, people, businesses, and city governments have explored substituting NaCl as a deicer for more eco-friendly alternatives, although the impact of these rock salt alternatives have not been well explored in the literature or in the classroom. Thus, the aim of this article is to update the common deicer experiment by having students compare the toxicity of rock salt to that of two different rock salt alternatives (beet salt and calcium chloride, CaCl2). The students then have to provide a recommendation for which deicer to use under different scenarios (for a homeowner, for a business, and for a city) and defend their choices based on an extensive literature search. By designing this experiment to have the students defend their recommendations, they will be utilizing higher-level thinking per Bloom’s Taxonomy, and they will be getting additional hands-on laboratory training in making solutions and performing serial dilutions by examining three deicers rather than just one. Thus, we believe that our update to this laboratory exercise should be considered for faculty interested in having their students conduct toxicology-based laboratory experiments.This project was partially funded through SUNY Discovery Challenge award and the Center for Environmental Medicine and Informatics at SUNY ESF

Education matters: cumulative advantages and disadvantages amongst Portuguese older men

Our paper sought to analyse the influence of the educational background over various dimensions of the lives of Portuguese older men (age 60+) across the life course. Drawing on the theory of cumulative advantages and disadvantages we used biographical research, namely narrative interviews with men from different educational background: men with a very low educational background and men with a medium/high educational background. Our results show the influence of educational background in the life course, and how it can contribute to accumulation of advantages/disadvantages that explain their biographies and the very different situations in which they live today.Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT): project UID/SOC/04020/2013info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Parents' postnatal depressive symptoms and their children's academic attainment at 16 years: Pathways of risk transmission

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.The aim of the study was to examine whether parents’ increased postnatal depressive symptoms predicted children’s academic attainment over time, and whether the parent-child relationship, children’s prior academic attainment and mental health mediated this association. We conducted secondary analyses on the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children data (12,607 mothers, 9,456 fathers). Each parent completed the Edinburgh-Postnatal Depression Scale at 8 weeks after the child’s birth (predictor) and a questionnaire about the mother-child and father-child relationship at 7 years and 1 month (mediator). The children’s mental health problems were assessed with the teacher version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at 10-11 years (mediator). We used data on the children’s academic attainment on UK Key Stage 1 (5-7 years; mediator) and Key Stage 4 (General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)16 years) (outcome). We adjusted for the parents’ education, and child gender and cognitive ability. The results revealed that parents’ depressive symptoms at 8 weeks predicted lower academic performance in children at 16 years. Mothers’ postnatal depressive symptoms had an indirect effect through children’s mental health problems on academic outcomes at 16 years via negative mother-child relationship, and prior academic attainment. There was a significant negative indirect effect of fathers’ postnatal depressive symptoms on academic attainment at 16 years via negative father-child relationship on child mental health. The findings suggest that the family environment (parental mental health and parent-child relationship) and children’s mental health should be potential targets for support programmes for children of depressed parents.Medical Research Council (MRC)Wellcome Trus

Sex differences in health at ages 11, 13 and 15

This paper tests the hypothesis of an emerging or increasing female excess in general ill-health and physical symptoms, as well as psychological distress, during early to mid-adolescence. Self-reported data on general health (longstanding illness and health in the last 12 months), recent symptoms (classified as ‘physical’ and ‘malaise’) and depressive mood were obtained from a large, Scottish, school-based cohort at ages 11, 13 and 15. Generally high levels of health problems at age 11 tended to increase with age, these increases being greater for females than males, not only in respect of depression and ‘malaise’ symptoms, but also limiting illness, ‘poor’ self-rated health, headaches, stomach problems and dizziness. The consequence, by age 15, is the emergence of a female excess in general ill-health and depressive mood, and a substantial strengthening of the small excess in both ‘physical’ and ‘malaise’ symptoms already apparent at 11 years. These findings are discussed in relation to explanations for the adult female excess in poorer health, and the emergence of a female excess of depression during adolescence

Social Psychology of Mental Health: The Social Structure and Personality Perspective

La investigación previa ha puesto de manifiesto la existencia de una asociación entre estructura social y salud mental. Sin embargo, la mayoría de los investigadores se ha centrado en los aspectos psicológicos y psicosociales de dicha relación. El presente trabajo defiende la necesidad de incluir en nuestros modelos teóricos las bases sociales y estructurales del deterioro psicológico. Partiendo de un modelo general, nuestra investigación consideró el papel jugado por diversas variables sociales, ambientales y estructurales (posición social, estresores sociales e integración social), psicológicas (autoestima) y psicosociales (apoyo social percibido). El modelo teórico se puso a prueba utilizando una muestra española (N = 401) que incluía diversas posiciones sociales. Los resultados obtenidos, utilizando el análisis de ecuaciones estructurales, apoyaron nuestro modelo, mostrando el relevante papel jugado por los factores psicológicos, psicosociales y estructurales. A la luz de estos datos, se discuten tanto las implicaciones teóricas como las correspondientes a la intervención.Previous research has revealed a persistent association between social structure and mental health. However, most researchers have focused only on the psychological and psychosocial aspects of that relationship. The present paper indicates the need to include the social and structural bases of distress in our theoretical models. Starting from a general social and psychological model, our research considered the role of several social, environmental, and structural variables (social position, social stressors, and social integration), psychological factors (self-esteem), and psychosocial variables (perceived social support). The theoretical model was tested working with a group of Spanish participants (N = 401) that covered a range of social positions. The results obtained using structural equation modeling support our model, showing the relevant role played by psychosocial, psychological and social, and structural factors. Implications for theory and intervention are discussed

Social Involvement in Religious Institutions and God-Mediated Control Beliefs: A Longitudinal Investigation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74707/1/j.1468-5906.2007.00375.x.pd

Symptoms of depression and cardiovascular reactions to acute psychological stress: Evidence from a population study

Depression and exaggerated cardiovascular reactivity are considered risk factors for cardiovascular disease, possibly as a result of common antecedents, such as altered autonomic nervous system function. We examined the association between depressive symptomatology and cardiovascular reactions to psychological stress in 1608 adults (875 women) comprising three distinct age cohorts: 24-, 44-, and 63-year olds. Depression was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Blood pressure and heart rate were measured at baseline and during the paced auditory serial arithmetic test. Depression scores were negatively associated with systolic blood pressure and heart rate reactions, after adjustment for likely confounders such as sex, cohort, occupational status, body mass index, stress task performance score, baseline cardiovascular activity, antidepressant and antihypertensive medication. The direction of association was opposite to that which would be expected if excessive reactivity were to mediate the association between depression and cardiovascular disease outcomes or if they shared common antecedents

A novel approach for measuring residential socioeconomic factors associated with cardiovascular and metabolic health

Individual-level characteristics, including socioeconomic status, have been associated with poor metabolic and cardiovascular health; however, residential area-level characteristics may also independently contribute to health status. In the current study, we used hierarchical clustering to aggregate 444 US Census block groups in Durham, Orange, and Wake Counties, NC, USA into six homogeneous clusters of similar characteristics based on 12 demographic factors. We assigned 2254 cardiac catheterization patients to these clusters based on residence at first catheterization. After controlling for individual age, sex, smoking status, and race, there were elevated odds of patients being obese (odds ratio (OR) = 1.92, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.39, 2.67), and having diabetes (OR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.57, 3.04), congestive heart failure (OR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.39, 2.83), and hypertension (OR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.38, 3.11) in a cluster that was urban, impoverished, and unemployed, compared with a cluster that was urban with a low percentage of people that were impoverished or unemployed. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of applying hierarchical clustering to an assessment of area-level characteristics and that living in impoverished, urban residential clusters may have an adverse impact on health

Ozone exposure is associated with acute changes in inflammation, fibrinolysis, and endothelial cell function in coronary artery disease patients

Air pollution is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, of which ozone is a major contributor. Several studies have found associations between ozone and cardiovascular morbidity, but the results have been inconclusive. We investigated associations between ozone and changes across biological pathways associated with cardiovascular disease