Psychological Recovery from Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: The Use of Complementary Therapies

This study explored the use of complementary therapies that patients pursued after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and its relation to psychological recovery, particularly postoperative distress. Information about post-CABG surgery depression and general distress, health-care practice thereafter, perceived social support, and chronic conditions other than cardiac disease was gathered from a sample of 151 patients through two questionnaires. Additional cardiac, surgical, and demographic data were obtained from medical records. Structural equation modeling (LISREL 8) was used to test the hypothesis that patients' health-care practices improved psychological adjustment after CABG. Of the sample, 85% practiced complementary approaches, especially prayer, exercise, and lifestyle-diet modification. The number of other chronic illnesses strongly predicted post-CABG depression and general distress. CABG patients who pursued complementary approaches, particularly exercise and prayer, had better psychological recovery.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63178/1/acm.1997.3.343.pd

Understanding well-being at work: Development and validation of the eudaimonic workplace well-being scale

Given the amount of time and effort individuals pour into work, scholars and practitioners alike have spent considerable time and resources trying to understand well-being in the workplace. Unfortunately, much of the current research and measurement focuses on workplace well-being from only one perspective (i.e. hedonic well-being rather than eudaimonic well-being) or by generalizing between workplace well-being and general well-being. In this study, we sought to integrate the workplace context into the current eudaimonic perspective to develop an 8-item measure of eudaimonic workplace well-being. Using multi-wave data, we developed and validated a reliable, two-dimensional eudaimonic workplace well-being scale (EWWS). The measure replicated over seven samples and across 1346 participants and showed strong convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. Furthermore, we combined EWWS with an existing measure of hedonic workplace well-being and the resulting model of overall workplace well-being explained a significant amount of variance in key organizational constructs over and above existing hedonic well-being measures. Overall, the present study suggests that the EWWS is a valuable and valid measure and, when taken together with hedonic workplace well-being, captures what it means to have a holistic sense of well-being at work

N3-ligated Nickel(II) Diketonate Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization and Evaluation of O2 Reactivity

Interest in O2-dependent aliphatic carbon–carbon (C–C) bond cleavage reactions of first row divalent metal diketonate complexes stems from the desire to further understand the reaction pathways of enzymes such as DKE1 and to extract information to develop applications in organic synthesis. A recent report of O2-dependent aliphatic C–C bond cleavage at ambient temperature in Ni(II) diketonate complexes supported by a tridentate nitrogen donor ligand [(MBBP)Ni(PhC(O)CHC(O)Ph)]Cl (7-Cl; MBBP = 2,6-bis(1-methylbenzimidazol-2-yl)pyridine) in the presence of NEt3 spurred our interest in further examining the chemistry of such complexes. A series of new TERPY-ligated Ni(II) diketonate complexes of the general formula [(TERPY)Ni(R2-1,3-diketonate)]ClO4 (1: R = CH3; 2: R = C(CH3)3; 3: R = Ph) was prepared under air and characterized using single crystal X-ray crystallography, elemental analysis, 1H NMR, ESI-MS, FTIR, and UV-vis. Analysis of the reaction mixtures in which these complexes were generated using 1H NMR and ESI-MS revealed the presence of both the desired diketonate complex and the bis-TERPY derivative [(TERPY)2Ni](ClO4)2 (4). Through selective crystallization 1–3 were isolated in analytically pure form. Analysis of reaction mixtures leading to the formation of the MBBP analogs [(MBBP)Ni(R2-1,3-diketonate)]X (X = ClO4: 5: R = CH3; 6: R = C(CH3)3; 7-ClO4: R = Ph; X = Cl: 7-Cl: R = Ph) using 1H NMR and ESI-MS revealed the presence of [(MBBP)2Ni](ClO4)2 (8). Analysis of aerobic acetonitrile solutions of analytically pure 1–3, 5 and 6 containing NEt3 and in some cases H2O using 1H NMR and UV-vis revealed evidence for the formation of additional bis-ligand complexes (4 and 8) but suggested no oxidative diketonate cleavage reactivity. Analysis of the organic products generated from 3, 7-ClO4 and 7-Cl revealed unaltered dibenzoylmethane. Our results therefore indicate that N3-ligated Ni(II) complexes of unsubstituted diketonate ligands do not exhibit O2-dependent aliphatic C–C bond clevage at room temperature, including in the presence of NEt3 and/or H2O

War-Related Trauma and Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Adult Kosovar Refugees

Since 1999, almost 16,000 Kosovar refugees have entered the United States. Few studies have investigated trauma and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in this population. We conducted a caseworker-assisted survey of 129 Kosovar refugees (aged 18 to 79 years, 55% male). Of these individuals, 78 (60.5%) showed the likely presence of PTSD. The mean number of war-related traumatic events reported was 15 ( SD = 4.5). Higher PTSD scores were associated with more traumatic events and female gender.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43100/1/10960_2004_Article_367655.pd

Automatic anatomical foot and ankle coordinate toolbox

Accurate analysis of bone position and orientation in foot and ankle studies relies on anatomical coordinate systems (ACS). Reliable ACSs are necessary for many biomechanical and clinical studies, especially those including weightbearing computed tomography and biplane fluoroscopy. Existing ACS approaches suffer from limitations such as manual input, oversimplifications, or non-physiological methods. To address these shortcomings, we introduce the Automatic Anatomical Foot and Ankle Coordinate Toolbox (AAFACT), a MATLAB-based toolbox that automates the calculation of ACSs for the major fourteen foot and ankle bones. In this manuscript, we present the development and evaluation of AAFACT, aiming to provide a standardized coordinate system toolbox for foot and ankle studies. The AAFACT was evaluated using a dataset of fifty-six models from seven pathological groups: asymptomatic, osteoarthritis, pilon fracture, progressive collapsing foot deformity, clubfoot, Charcot Marie Tooth, and cavovarus. Three analyses were conducted to assess the reliability of AAFACT. Firstly, ACSs were compared between automatically and manually segmented bone models to assess consistency. Secondly, ACSs were compared between individual bones and group mean bones to assess within-population precision. Lastly, ACSs were compared between the overall mean bone and group mean bones to assess the overall accuracy of anatomical representation. Statistical analyses, including statistical shape modeling, were performed to evaluate the reliability, accuracy, and precision of AAFACT. The comparison between automatically and manually segmented bone models showed consistency between the calculated ACSs. Additionally, the comparison between individual bones and group mean bones, as well as the comparison between the overall mean bone and group mean bones, revealed accurate and precise ACSs calculations. The AAFACT offers a practical and reliable solution for foot and ankle studies in clinical and engineering settings. It accommodates various foot and ankle pathologies while accounting for bone morphology and orientation. The automated calculation of ACSs eliminates the limitations associated with manual input and non-physiological methods. The evaluation results demonstrate the robustness and consistency of AAFACT, making it a valuable tool for researchers and clinicians. The standardized coordinate system provided by AAFACT enhances comparability between studies and facilitates advancements in foot and ankle research

Maternal Prenatal Cortisol Programs the Infant Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis

One of the key proposed agents of fetal programming is exposure to maternal glucocorticoids. Experimental animal studies provide evidence that prenatal exposure to elevated maternal glucocorticoids has consequences for hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis functioning in the offspring. There are very few direct tests of maternal glucocorticoids, such as cortisol, during human pregnancy and associations with infant cortisol reactivity. The current study examined the link between maternal prenatal cortisol trajectories and infant cortisol reactivity to the pain of inoculation in a sample of 152 mother-infant (47.4% girls) pairs. The results from the current study provide insight into fetal programming of the infant HPA axis, demonstrating that elevated prenatal maternal cortisol is associated with a larger infant cortisol response to challenge at both 6 and 12 months of age

Preparing for Climatic Change: The Water, Salmon, and Forests of the Pacific Northwest

The impacts of year-to-year and decade-to-decade climatic variations on some of the Pacific Northwest’s key natural resources can be quantified to estimate sensitivity to regional climatic changes expected as part of anthropogenic global climatic change. Warmer, drier years, often associated with El Niño events and/or the warm phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, tend to be associated with below-average snowpack, streamflow, and flood risk, below-average salmon survival, below-average forest growth, and above-average risk of forest fire. During the 20th century, the region experienced a warming of 0.8 ◦C. Using output from eight climate models, we project a further warming of 0.5–2.5 ◦C (central estimate 1.5 ◦C) by the 2020s, 1.5–3.2 ◦C (2.3◦C) by the 2040s, and an increase in precipitation except in summer. The foremost impact of a warming climate will be the reduction of regional snowpack, which presently supplies water for ecosystems and human uses during the dry summers. Our understanding of past climate also illustrates the responses of human management systems to climatic stresses, and suggests that a warming of the rate projected would pose significant challenges to the management of natural resources. Resource managers and planners currently have few plans for adapting to or mitigating the ecological and economic effects of climatic change

Preparing for Climatic Change: The Water, Salmon, and Forests of the Pacific Northwest

The impacts of year-to-year and decade-to-decade climatic variations on some of the Pacific Northwest’s key natural resources can be quantified to estimate sensitivity to regional climatic changes expected as part of anthropogenic global climatic change. Warmer, drier years, often associated with El Niño events and/or the warm phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, tend to be associated with below-average snowpack, streamflow, and flood risk, below-average salmon survival, below-average forest growth, and above-average risk of forest fire. During the 20th century, the region experienced a warming of 0.8 ◦C. Using output from eight climate models, we project a further warming of 0.5–2.5 ◦C (central estimate 1.5 ◦C) by the 2020s, 1.5–3.2 ◦C (2.3◦C) by the 2040s, and an increase in precipitation except in summer. The foremost impact of a warming climate will be the reduction of regional snowpack, which presently supplies water for ecosystems and human uses during the dry summers. Our understanding of past climate also illustrates the responses of human management systems to climatic stresses, and suggests that a warming of the rate projected would pose significant challenges to the management of natural resources. Resource managers and planners currently have few plans for adapting to or mitigating the ecological and economic effects of climatic change

Enriched Dietary Saturated Fatty Acids Induce Trained Immunity via Ceramide Production that Enhances Severity of Endotoxemia and clearance of infection

Trained immunity is an innate immune memory response that is induced by a primary inflammatory stimulus that sensitizes monocytes and macrophages to a secondary pathogenic challenge, reprogramming the host response to infection and inflammatory disease. Dietary fatty acids can act as inflammatory stimuli, but it is unknown if they can act as the primary stimuli to induce trained immunity. Here we find mice fed a diet enriched exclusively in saturated fatty acids (ketogenic diet; KD) confer a hyper-inflammatory response to systemic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and increased mortality, independent of diet-induced microbiome and hyperglycemia. We find KD alters the composition of the hematopoietic stem cell compartment and enhances the response of bone marrow macrophages, monocytes, and splenocytes to secondary LPS challenge. Lipidomics identified enhanced free palmitic acid (PA) and PA-associated lipids in KD-fed mice serum. We found pre-treatment with physiologically relevant concentrations of PA induces a hyper-inflammatory response to LPS in macrophages, and this was dependent on the synthesis of ceramide. In vivo, we found systemic PA confers enhanced inflammation and mortality in response to systemic LPS, and this phenotype was not reversible for up to 7 days post-PA-exposure. Conversely, we find PA exposure enhanced clearance of Candida albicans in Rag1-/- mice. Lastly, we show that oleic acid, which depletes intracellular ceramide, reverses PA-induced hyper-inflammation in macrophages and enhanced mortality in response to LPS. These implicate enriched dietary SFAs, and specifically PA, in the induction of long-lived innate immune memory and highlight the plasticity of this innate immune reprogramming by dietary constituents