Callous-unemotional traits, low cortisol reactivity and physical aggression in children: findings from the Wirral Child Health and Development Study

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits are thought to confer risk for aggression via reduced amygdala responsivity to distress cues in others. Low cortisol reactivity is thought to confer risk for aggression via reduced arousal and this effect may be confined to boys. We tested the hypothesis that the association between childhood CU traits and aggression would be greatest in the absence of the inhibitory effects of cortisol reactivity, and that this effect would be sex dependent. Participants were 283 members of a stratified subsample within an epidemiological longitudinal cohort (WCHADS). Cortisol reactivity to a social stressor was assessed at 5 years. CU traits were reported by mothers at 5 years, and physical aggression by mothers and teachers at age 7. Results showed that CU traits were associated with elevated aggression at 7 years controlling for earlier aggression. There was no main effect of cortisol reactivity on regression. The association between CU traits and aggression was moderated by cortisol reactivity (p = .011) with a strong association between CU traits and aggression in the presence of low reactivity, and a small and non-significant association in the presence of high reactivity. This association was further moderated by child sex (p = .041) with the joint effect of high CU traits and low cortisol reactivity seen only in boys (p = .016). We report first evidence that a combined deficit in inhibitory processes associated with CU traits and low cortisol reactivity increases risk for childhood aggression, in a sex-dependent manner

Endometrial stromal sarcoma: a population-based analysis

To determine independent prognostic factors for the survival of patients with endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS), data were abstracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database of the National Cancer Institute from 1988 to 2003. Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazards models were used for analyses. Of 831 women diagnosed with ESS, the median age was 52 years (range: 17–96 years). In total, 59.9% had stage I, 5.1% stage II, 14.9% stage III, and 20.1% had stage IV disease. Overall, 13.0, 36.1, and 34.7% presented with grades 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Patients with stage I–II vs III–IV disease had 5 years DSS of 89.3% vs 50.3% (P<0.001) and those with grades 1, 2, and 3 cancers had survivals of 91.4, 95.4, and 42.1% (P<0.001). In multivariate analysis, older patients, black race, advanced stage, higher grade, lack of primary surgery, and nodal metastasis were independent prognostic factors for poorer survival. In younger women (<50 years) with stage I–II disease, ovarian-sparing procedures did not adversely impact survival (91.9 vs 96.2%; P=0.1). Age, race, primary surgery, stage, and grade are important prognostic factors for ESS. Excellent survival in patients with grade 1 and 2 disease of all stages supports the concept that these tumors are significantly different from grade 3 tumors. Ovarian-sparing surgeries may be considered in younger patients with early-stage disease

Cyclophosphamide-Induced Cystitis Increases Bladder CXCR4 Expression and CXCR4-Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor Association

BACKGROUND: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in cystitis and a non-cognate ligand of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 in vitro. We studied whether CXCR4-MIF associations occur in rat bladder and the effect of experimental cystitis. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Twenty male rats received saline or cyclophosphamide (40 mg/kg; i.p.; every 3(rd) day) to induce persistent cystitis. After eight days, urine was collected and bladders excised under anesthesia. Bladder CXCR4 and CXCR4-MIF co-localization were examined with immunhistochemistry. ELISA determined MIF and stromal derived factor-1 (SDF-1; cognate ligand for CXCR4) levels. Bladder CXCR4 expression (real-time RTC-PCR) and protein levels (Western blotting) were examined. Co-immunoprecipitations studied MIF-CXCR4 associations.Urothelial basal and intermediate (but not superficial) cells in saline-treated rats contained CXCR4, co-localized with MIF. Cyclophosphamide treatment caused: 1) significant redistribution of CXCR4 immunostaining to all urothelial layers (especially apical surface of superficial cells) and increased bladder CXCR4 expression; 2) increased urine MIF with decreased bladder MIF; 3) increased bladder SDF-1; 4) increased CXCR4-MIF associations. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate CXCR4-MIF associations occur in vivo in rat bladder and increase in experimental cystitis. Thus, CXCR4 represents an alternative pathway for MIF-mediated signal transduction during bladder inflammation. In the bladder, MIF may compete with SDF-1 (cognate ligand) to activate signal transduction mediated by CXCR4

Understanding How University Students Use Perceptions of Consent, Wantedness, and Pleasure in Labeling Rape.

While the lack of consent is the only determining factor in considering whether a situation is rape or not, there is sufficient evidence that participants conflate wantedness with consent and pleasurableness with wantedness. Understanding how people appraise sexual scenarios may form the basis to develop appropriate educational packages. We conducted two large-scale qualitative studies in two UK universities in which participants read vignettes describing sexual encounters that were consensual or not, wanted or unwanted and pleasurable or not pleasurable. Participants provided free-text responses as to whether they perceived the scenarios to be rape or not and why they made these judgments. The second study replicated the results of the first and included a condition where participants imagined themselves as either the subject or initiator of the sexual encounter. The results indicate that a significant portion of our participants held attitudes reflecting rape myths and tended to blame the victim. Participants used distancing language when imagining themselves in the initiator condition. Participants indicated that they felt there were degrees of how much a scenario reflected rape rather than it simply being a dichotomy (rape or not). Such results indicate a lack of understanding of consent and rape and highlight avenues of potential educational materials for schools, universities or jurors