TRANSACTIONS BETWEEN THINNESS EXPECTANCIES AND DEPRESSION IN THE PREDICTION OF ADOLESCENT WEIGHT RESTRICTING BEHAVIORS

Both the transdiagnostic risk associated with depression and the eating disorder-specific risk associated with expectancies for reinforcement from thinness have been identified as risk factors for the development of weight restricting behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine if these risk factors transact to further predict risk in youth. Depression, thinness expectancies, and weight restriction were assessed in 1,907 adolescents three times during the transitional period between middle school and high school. We compared three different possible transactional processes. Mediation tests demonstrated that depression in 8th grade predicted an increase in the number of weight restricting behaviors endorsed in 10th grade through its predictive influence on thinness expectancies in 9th grade. However, our results were not consistent with a mediational process in which thinness expectancies predicted depression to further predict weight restriction. The two risk factors interacted to predict subsequent weight restriction, such that at higher levels of depression, the association between thinness expectancies and weight restriction was stronger. It appears that transdiagnostic and disorder-specific risk factors transact to increase risk. These findings contribute to the understanding of the developmental risk process for weight restricting behavior in youth

Social support as a moderator in the relationship between intrusive thoughts and anxiety among Spanish-speaking Latinas with breast cancer.

ObjectiveIntrusive thoughts, defined as unwanted and recurrent thoughts about a stressful experience, are associated with psychological distress in women with breast cancer. This study assessed moderating effects of various social support dimensions on associations between intrusive thoughts and psychological distress among Latina breast cancer survivors.MethodsWe used baseline data from a randomized controlled trial of a stress management intervention delivered to 151 Spanish-speaking Latinas with nonmetastatic breast cancer within 1 year of diagnosis. Intrusive thoughts, four dimensions of social support (emotional/informational, tangible, affectionate, and positive social interaction), and symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed through in-person interviews. Information on age, time since diagnosis, breast cancer variables, history of depression, and marital status served as covariates. Generalized linear models were used to investigate bivariate and multivariate associations and to explore moderation effects of the four dimensions of social support.ResultsIn bivariate models, intrusive thoughts were associated positively with depression (β = .024, .001) and anxiety (β = .047, P < .001) symptoms. Adjusting for other factors, intrusive thoughts remained associated with depression symptoms (β = .022, .008), regardless of level of social support (for all support dimensions). For anxiety, there were significant interactions of tangible (β = -.013, .034) and affectionate (β = -.022, .005) support with intrusive thoughts. Intrusive thoughts were associated more strongly with anxiety symptoms among women reporting less tangible and affectionate support than those with higher levels of these types of support.ConclusionsTangible and affectionate support have protective effects on anxiety symptoms among Spanish-speaking Latina breast cancer survivors experiencing intrusive thoughts, but not depression symptoms

Scaling properties of a low-actuation pressure microfluidic valve

Using basic physical arguments, we present a design and method for the fabrication of microfluidic valves using multilayer soft lithography. These on-off valves have extremely low actuation pressures and can be used to fabricate active functions, such as pumps and mixers in integrated microfluidic chips. We characterized the performance of the valves by measuring both the actuation pressure and flow resistance over a wide range of design parameters, and compared them to both finite element simulations and alternative valve geometries

El sistema de traducción automática castellano-catalán interNOSTRUM

Este artículo describe interNOSTRUM, un sistema de traducción automática (TA) castellano-catalán actualmente en desarrollo que alcanza una gran velocidad mediante el uso de tecnología de estados finitos (lo que permite su integracion en navegadores de internet) y obtiene una precisión razonable utilizando una estrategia de transferencia morfológica avanzada (lo que permite producir rápidamente borradores de traducciones listos para una postedición ligera).Este trabajo ha sido financiado por la Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo y por el Vicerrectorado de Nuevas Tecnologías de la Universitat d'Alacant, y más recientemente por la Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología a través del proyecto TIC2000-1599-C02-02

Patterns of impact resulting from a 'sit less, move more' web-based program in sedentary office employees.

PURPOSE: Encouraging office workers to 'sit less and move more' encompasses two public health priorities. However, there is little evidence on the effectiveness of workplace interventions for reducing sitting, even less about the longer term effects of such interventions and still less on dual-focused interventions. This study assessed the short and mid-term impacts of a workplace web-based intervention (Walk@WorkSpain, W@WS; 2010-11) on self-reported sitting time, step counts and physical risk factors (waist circumference, BMI, blood pressure) for chronic disease. METHODS: Employees at six Spanish university campuses (n=264; 42±10 years; 171 female) were randomly assigned by worksite and campus to an Intervention (used W@WS; n=129; 87 female) or a Comparison group (maintained normal behavior; n=135; 84 female). This phased, 19-week program aimed to decrease occupational sitting time through increased incidental movement and short walks. A linear mixed model assessed changes in outcome measures between the baseline, ramping (8 weeks), maintenance (11 weeks) and follow-up (two months) phases for Intervention versus Comparison groups. RESULTS: A significant 2 (group) × 2 (program phases) interaction was found for self-reported occupational sitting (F[3]=7.97, p=0.046), daily step counts (F[3]=15.68, p=0.0013) and waist circumference (F[3]=11.67, p=0.0086). The Intervention group decreased minutes of daily occupational sitting while also increasing step counts from baseline (446±126; 8,862±2,475) through ramping (+425±120; 9,345±2,435), maintenance (+422±123; 9,638±3,131) and follow-up (+414±129; 9,786±3,205). In the Comparison group, compared to baseline (404±106), sitting time remained unchanged through ramping and maintenance, but decreased at follow-up (-388±120), while step counts diminished across all phases. The Intervention group significantly reduced waist circumference by 2.1cms from baseline to follow-up while the Comparison group reduced waist circumference by 1.3cms over the same period. CONCLUSIONS: W@WS is a feasible and effective evidence-based intervention that can be successfully deployed with sedentary employees to elicit sustained changes on "sitting less and moving more"

Iron bioavailability in two commercial cultivars of wheat: a comparison between wholegrain and white flour and the effects of nicotianamine and 2'-deoxymugineic acid on iron uptake into Caco-2 cells

Iron bioavailability in unleavened white and wholegrain bread made from two commercial wheat varieties was assessed by measuring ferritin production in Caco-2 cells. The breads were subjected to simulated gastrointestinal digestion and the digests applied to the Caco-2 cells. Although Riband grain contained a lower iron concentration than Rialto, iron bioavailability was higher. No iron was taken up by the cells from white bread made from Rialto flour or from wholegrain bread from either variety, but Riband white bread produced a small ferritin response. The results probably relate to differences in phytate content of the breads, although iron in soluble monoferric phytate was demonstrated to be bioavailable in the cell model. Nicotianamine, an iron chelator in plants involved in iron transport, was a more potent enhancer of iron uptake into Caco-2 cells than ascorbic acid or 2'-deoxymugineic acid, another metal chelator present in plants

Gender differences in the plasma concentration of the GAS6-TAM system in COVID-19 patients

Resumen del trabajo presentado en el 4th European Congress on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, celebrado en Gante (Bélgica), los días 14 y 15 de octubre de 2021Background: SARS-CoV-2 induces an immune response with potentially harmful effects for the patient due to an uncontrolled release of inflammatory factors, specially at the capillary wall. The vitamin K-dependent plasma protein GAS6 and the TAM (TYRO3, AXL, and MERTK) receptors play a relevant role among restorative mechanisms that counterbalance pro-inflammatory responses at the endothelial interface. Aims: To study the influence of gender on the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the GAS6/TAM system, as reflected by plasma concentration at patient admittance at the emergency ward. Methods: The plasma content of GAS6, AXL, and MERTK was analyzed in a first group of 132 patients, 68 females and 64 males consecutively admitted to the emergency ward during the first peak of COVID-19. A confirmatory group was studied from the second wave of contagions. An analysis of gender differences in relation to the GAS6/TAM concentrations in plasma was performed on this population. Results: In accordance with recently published GAS6 levels, significantly higher in the SARS-CoV-2 positive than in negative patients, increased progressively with the severity of the disease in SARS-CoV-2 positive individual irrespective of the gender of the patient. In contrast, while soluble AXL exhibited higher plasma concentration in deceased patients and no significant differences were observed in MERTK concentration, differential gender analysis suggest differences in soluble TAM receptors. While a COVID-19 related increase in sAXL was observed in men, this was not the case in women. Oppositely, MERTK differences due to COVID-19 infection were only significant in women. Summary/Conclusion: GAS6-TAM system of ligands and receptors is implicated in the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in patients from both genders. Plasma GAS6 levels paralleled COVID-19 severity being an early marker of disease prognosis in both sexes. In contrast, soluble TAM receptors presented a gender-specific behavior. Sex-related differences in sAXL and sMERTK expression in COVID-19 patients could affect therapy efficacy deserving further investigation

Characterization of Novel Pathogenic Variants Leading to Caspase-8 Cleavage-Resistant RIPK1-Induced Autoinflammatory Syndrome

Pathogenic RIPK1 variants have been described as the cause of two different inborn errors of immunity. Biallelic loss-of-function variants cause the recessively inherited RIPK1 deficiency, while monoallelic variants impairing the caspase-8-mediated RIPK1 cleavage provoke a novel autoinflammatory disease (AID) called cleavage-resistant RIPK1-induced autoinflammatory (CRIA) syndrome. The aim of this study was to characterize the pathogenicity of two novel RIPK1 variants located at the cleavage site of caspase-8 detected in patients with dominantly-inherited, early-onset undefined AID. RIPK1 genotyping was performed by Sanger and next-generation sequencing. Clinical and analytical data were collected from medical charts, and in silico and in vitro assays were performed to evaluate the functional consequences. Genetic analyses identified two novel heterozygous RIPK1 variants at the caspase-8 cleavage site (p.Leu321Arg and p.Asp324Gly), which displayed a perfect intrafamilial phenotype-genotype segregation following a dominant inheritance pattern. Structural analyses suggested that these variants disrupt the normal RIPK1 structure, probably making it less accessible to and/or less cleavable by caspase-8. In vitro experiments confirmed that the p.Leu321Arg and p.Asp324Gly RIPK1 variants were resistant to caspase-8-mediated cleavage and induced a constitutive activation of necroptotic pathway in a similar manner that previously characterized RIPK1 variants causing CRIA syndrome. All these results strongly supported the pathogenicity of the two novel RIPK1 variants and the diagnosis of CRIA syndrome in all enrolled patients. Moreover, the evidences here collected expand the phenotypic and genetic diversity of this recently described AID, and provide interesting data about effectiveness of treatments that may benefit future patients

A genome-wide association study follow-up suggests a possible role for PPARG in systemic sclerosis susceptibility

Introduction: A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) comprising a French cohort of systemic sclerosis (SSc) reported several non-HLA single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showing a nominal association in the discovery phase. We aimed to identify previously overlooked susceptibility variants by using a follow-up strategy.<p></p> Methods: Sixty-six non-HLA SNPs showing a P value <10-4 in the discovery phase of the French SSc GWAS were analyzed in the first step of this study, performing a meta-analysis that combined data from the two published SSc GWASs. A total of 2,921 SSc patients and 6,963 healthy controls were included in this first phase. Two SNPs, PPARG rs310746 and CHRNA9 rs6832151, were selected for genotyping in the replication cohort (1,068 SSc patients and 6,762 healthy controls) based on the results of the first step. Genotyping was performed by using TaqMan SNP genotyping assays. Results: We observed nominal associations for both PPARG rs310746 (PMH = 1.90 × 10-6, OR, 1.28) and CHRNA9 rs6832151 (PMH = 4.30 × 10-6, OR, 1.17) genetic variants with SSc in the first step of our study. In the replication phase, we observed a trend of association for PPARG rs310746 (P value = 0.066; OR, 1.17). The combined overall Mantel-Haenszel meta-analysis of all the cohorts included in the present study revealed that PPARG rs310746 remained associated with SSc with a nominal non-genome-wide significant P value (PMH = 5.00 × 10-7; OR, 1.25). No evidence of association was observed for CHRNA9 rs6832151 either in the replication phase or in the overall pooled analysis.<p></p> Conclusion: Our results suggest a role of PPARG gene in the development of SSc