Post-disaster health status of train derailment victims with posttraumatic growth

In July 2013, a train derailment causing explosions and a fire in downtown Lac-Mégantic (Municipalité Régionale de Comté du Granit, Quebec, Canada) resulted in the death of 47 people and the destruction of many homes and other buildings. This article compares the physical and psychological health of 624 adults from the Granit area exposed to this disaster three years after the tragedy, comparing based on the presence or absence of posttraumatic growth. Women, people with high levels of social support, lower levels of education, and with lower incomes were more likely to show posttraumatic growth. For psychological health, the presence of post-traumatic stress symptoms and the use of antidepressants were positively related to posttraumatic growth. Our study demonstrates that, over time, many people managed to initiate a recovery process and to see benefits from this disaster

Ocular Application of the Kinin B1 Receptor Antagonist LF22-0542 Inhibits Retinal Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Streptozotocin-Diabetic Rats

Purpose: Kinin B1 receptor (B1R) is upregulated in retina of Streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats and contributes to vasodilation of retinal microvessels and breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier. Systemic treatment with B 1R antagonists reversed the increased retinal plasma extravasation in STZ rats. The present study aims at determining whether ocular application of a water soluble B1R antagonist could reverse diabetes-induced retinal inflammation and oxidative stress. Methods: Wistar rats were made diabetic with STZ (65 mg/kg, i.p.) and 7 days later, they received one eye drop application of LF22-0542 (1 % in saline) twice a day for a 7 day-period. The impact was determined on retinal vascular permeability (Evans blue exudation), leukostasis (leukocyte infiltration using Fluorescein-isothiocyanate (FITC)-coupled Concanavalin A lectin), retinal mRNA levels (by qRT-PCR) of inflammatory (B1R, iNOS, COX-2, ICAM-1, VEGF-A, VEGF receptor type 2, IL-1b and HIF-1a) and anti-inflammatory (B2R, eNOS) markers and retinal level of superoxide anion (dihydroethidium staining). Results: Retinal plasma extravasation, leukostasis and mRNA levels of B 1R, iNOS, COX-2, VEGF receptor type 2, IL-1b and HIF-1a were significantly increased in diabetic retinae compared to control rats. All these abnormalities were reversed to control values in diabetic rats treated with LF22-0542. B1R antagonist also significantly inhibited the increased production of superoxide anion in diabetic retinae. Conclusion: B1R displays a pathological role in the early stage of diabetes by increasing oxidative stress and proinflammator

Ethnic differences in body fat distribution among Asian pre-pubertal children: A cross-sectional multicenter study

Background Ethnic differences in body fat distribution contribute to ethnic differences in cardiovascular morbidities and diabetes. However few data are available on differences in fat distribution in Asian children from various backgrounds. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore ethnic differences in body fat distribution among Asian children from four countries. Methods A total of 758 children aged 8-10 y from China, Lebanon, Malaysia and Thailand were recruited using a non-random purposive sampling approach to enrol children encompassing a wide BMI range. Height, weight, waist circumference (WC), fat mass (FM, derived from total body water [TBW] estimation using the deuterium dilution technique) and skinfold thickness (SFT) at biceps, triceps, subscapular, supraspinale and medial calf were collected. Results After controlling for height and weight, Chinese and Thai children had a significantly higher WC than their Lebanese and Malay counterparts. Chinese and Thais tended to have higher trunk fat deposits than Lebanese and Malays reflected in trunk SFT, trunk/upper extremity ratio or supraspinale/upper extremity ratio after adjustment for age and total body fat. The subscapular/supraspinale skinfold ratio was lower in Chinese and Thais compared with Lebanese and Malays after correcting for trunk SFT. Conclusions Asian pre-pubertal children from different origins vary in body fat distribution. These results indicate the importance of population-specific WC cut-off points or other fat distribution indices to identify the population at risk of obesity-related health problems

Abnormal Wnt and PI3Kinase Signaling in the Malformed Intestine of lama5 Deficient Mice

Laminins are major constituents of basement membranes and are essential for tissue homeostasis. Laminin-511 is highly expressed in the intestine and its absence causes severe malformation of the intestine and embryonic lethality. To understand the mechanistic role of laminin-511 in tissue homeostasis, we used RNA profiling of embryonic intestinal tissue of lama5 knockout mice and identified a lama5 specific gene expression signature. By combining cell culture experiments with mediated knockdown approaches, we provide a mechanistic link between laminin α5 gene deficiency and the physiological phenotype. We show that laminin α5 plays a crucial role in both epithelial and mesenchymal cell behavior by inhibiting Wnt and activating PI3K signaling. We conclude that conflicting signals are elicited in the absence of lama5, which alter cell adhesion, migration as well as epithelial and muscle differentiation. Conversely, adhesion to laminin-511 may serve as a potent regulator of known interconnected PI3K/Akt and Wnt signaling pathways. Thus deregulated adhesion to laminin-511 may be instrumental in diseases such as human pathologies of the gut where laminin-511 is abnormally expressed as it is shown here

Ammonia emissions in Europe, part I: Development of a dynamical ammonia emission inventory

Nitrogen input from agricultural ammonia emissions into the environment causes numerous environmental and health problems. The purpose of this study is to present and evaluate an improved ammonia emission inventory based on a dynamical temporal parameterization suitable to compare and assess ammonia abatement strategies. The setup of the dynamical time profile (DTP) consists of individual temporal profiles for ammonia emissions, calculated for each model grid cell, depending on temperature, crop type, fertilizer and manure application, as well as on local legislation. It is based on the method of Skjøth et al., 2004 and Gyldenkærne et al., 2005. The method has been modified to cover the study area and to improve the performance of the emission model. To compare the results of the dynamical approach with the results of the static time profile (STP) the ammonia emission parameterizations have been implemented in the SMOKE for Europe emission model. Furthermore, the influence on secondary aerosol formation in the North Sea region and possible changes triggered through the use of a modified temporal distribution of ammonia emissions were analysed with the CMAQ chemistry transport model. The results were evaluated with observations of the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP). The correlation coefficient of NH3 improved significantly for 12 out of 16 EMEP measurement stations and an improvement in predicting the Normalized Mean Error can be seen for particulate NH4+ and NO3−. The prediction of the 95th percentile of the daily average concentrations has improved for NH3, NH4+ and NO3−. The NH3 concentration modelled with the STP is 157% higher in winter, and about 22% lower in early summer than the one modelled with the new DTP. Consequently, the influence of the DTP on the formation of secondary aerosols is particularly noticeable in winter, when the PM2.5 concentration is 25% lower in comparison to the use of STP for temporal disaggregation. Besides, the formation of particulate SO42− is not influenced by the use of the DTP