Activity Deprivation Induces Neuronal Cell Death: Mediation by Tissue-Type Plasminogen Activator

Spontaneous activity is an essential attribute of neuronal networks and plays a critical role in their development and maintenance. Upon blockade of activity with tetrodotoxin (TTX), neurons degenerate slowly and die in a manner resembling neurodegenerative diseases-induced neuronal cell death. The molecular cascade leading to this type of slow cell death is not entirely clear. Primary post-natal cortical neurons were exposed to TTX for up to two weeks, followed by molecular, biochemical and immunefluorescence analysis. The expression of the neuronal marker, neuron specific enolase (NSE), was down-regulated, as expected, but surprisingly, there was a concomitant and striking elevation in expression of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA). Immunofluorescence analysis indicated that tPA was highly elevated inside affected neurons. Transfection of an endogenous tPA inhibitor, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), protected the TTX-exposed neurons from dying. These results indicate that tPA is a pivotal player in slowly progressing activity deprivation-induced neurodegeneration

Minor physical anomalies: Modifiers of environmental risk for psychopathology

Tested the hypothesis that minor physical anomalies (MPAs) modify an adolescent\u27s vulnerability to environmental risk factors for psychopathology. 118 male 17-yr-olds who had been evaluated as 7-year-olds received a comprehensive neuropsychiatric evaluation. The evaluation included standardized assessments of environmental risk factors for psychiatric impairment, neurological signs, IQ, MPAs, and psychiatric impairment. The relationship between psychiatric status and environmental risk was examined as a function of the MPA profile. There was a significant interaction between MPAs and environmental risk in predicting psychiatric status. Environmental risk was more predictive of psychiatric impairment at age 17 in Ss with high scores on the MPA scale than in Ss with low scores on the scale. This relationship was particularly apparent in Ss with conduct disorder. MPAs also exhibited relationships with 2 childhood factors, neurological soft signs and Verbal IQ, that had been shown to predict adolescent psychopathology in prior reports on this cohort

Inhibition of EZH2 Ameliorates Lupusâ Like Disease in MRL/lpr Mice

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151823/1/art40931_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151823/2/art40931.pd

The Pandemic Anxiety Inventory: A validation study

The Pandemic Anxiety Inventory (PAI) assesses anxiety symptoms individuals attribute to the presence of a pandemic. We conducted this study of 379 British adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that the PAI exhibited excellent reliability and solid criterion validity. Pandemic anxiety was associated with reduced social support, anticipated life changes, financial strain, job loss, economic insecurity, and the hospitalization or death of a close friend or relative. Using correlational and bifactor analyses, we found that the PAI demonstrated solid convergent and discriminant validity. The findings suggest that the PAI can be used in research and clinical practice

The Pandemic Anxiety Inventory: A validation study

The Pandemic Anxiety Inventory (PAI) assesses anxiety symptoms individuals attribute to the presence of a pandemic. We conducted this study of 379 British adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that the PAI exhibited excellent reliability and solid criterion validity. Pandemic anxiety was associated with reduced social support, anticipated life changes, financial strain, job loss, economic insecurity, and the hospitalization or death of a close friend or relative. Using correlational and bifactor analyses, we found that the PAI demonstrated solid convergent and discriminant validity. The findings suggest that the PAI can be used in research and clinical practice

Anyons in discrete gauge theories with Chern-Simons terms

We study the effect of a Chern-Simons term in a theory with discrete gauge group H, which in (2+1)-dimensional space time describes (non-abelian) anyons. As in a previous paper, we emphasize the underlying algebraic structure, namely the Hopf algebra D(H). We argue on physical grounds that the addition of a Chern-Simons term in the action leads to a non-trivial 3-cocycle on D(H). Accordingly, the physically inequivalent models are labelled by the elements of the cohomology group H^3(H,U(1)). It depends periodically on the coefficient of the Chern-Simons term which model is realized. This establishes a relation with the discrete topological field theories of Dijkgraaf and Witten. Some representative examples are worked out explicitly.Comment: 18 page

Suicide Associated with Military Service

Suicide rates among soldiers and veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) have been steadily growing since 2004, with sharp increases observed more recently. Suicides in the Army are a growing concern on Capitol Hill and in the media. Last month, the Senate Armed Services Committee held hearings on the growing incidence of suicides across the armed forces (Federal city digest, 2009, March 18). The Associated Press (AP) underlined the increasing suicide rates among Army personnel (Army reports sharp rise in suicides in January, 2009, Feb. 5). According to the AP, there were 64 suicides in 2004, and this number has doubled in 2008, with 128 confirmed deaths and 15 pending investigation. This is the largest number of suicides among active-duty soldiers in the Army observed in the past 28 years (Kuehn, 2009)

Quantumgroups in the Higgs Phase

In the Higgs phase we may be left with a residual finite symmetry group H of the condensate. The topological interactions between the magnetic- and electric excitations in these so-called discrete H gauge theories are completely described by the Hopf algebra or quantumgroup D(H). In 2+1 dimensional space time we may add a Chern-Simons term to such a model. This deforms the underlying Hopf algebra D(H) into a quasi-Hopf algebra by means of a 3-cocycle H. Consequently, the finite number of physically inequivalent discrete H gauge theories obtained in this way are labelled by the elements of the cohomology group H^3(H,U(1)). We briefly review the above results in these notes. Special attention is given to the Coulomb screening mechanism operational in the Higgs phase. This mechanism screens the Coulomb interactions, but not the Aharonov-Bohm interactions. (Invited talk given by Mark de Wild Propitius at `The III International Conference on Mathematical Physics, String Theory and Quantum Gravity', Alushta, Ukraine, June 13-24, 1993. To be published in Theor. Math. Phys.)Comment: 19 pages in Latex, ITFA-93-3

Distorted maternal mental representations and atypical behavior in a clinical sample of violence-exposed mothers and their toddlers

Objective: To determine whether maternal violence-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reflective functioning (RF), and/or quality of mental representations of her child predicts maternal behavior within a referred sample of mothers exposed to interpersonal violence and their children (aged 8–50 months). Method: A total of 41 dyads completed 2 videotaped visits including measures of maternal mentalrepresentations and behavior. Results: Negative and distorted maternal mental representations predicted atypical behavior (Cohen’s d \u3e 1.0). Although maternal PTSD and RF impacted mental representations, no significant relationships were found between PTSD, RF, and overall atypical caregiving behavior. Severity of maternal PTSD was, however, positively correlated with the avoidant caregiving behaviorsubscale. Conclusions: Maternal mental representations of her child are useful risk indicators that mark dysregulation of trauma-associated emotions in the caregiver