The relation between anger coping strategies, anger mood and somatic complaints in children and adolescents

Attempts to explain the experience of somatic complaints among children and adolescents suggest that they may in part result from the influence of particular strategies for coping with anger on the longevity of negative emotions. To explore these relationships British (n = 393) and Dutch (n = 299) children completed a modified version of the Behavioral Anger Response Questionnaire (BARQ), and two additional questionnaires assessing anger mood and somatic complaints. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that for both the UK and Dutch samples two coping styles, Social support-seeking and Rumination, made a significant contribution to somatic complaints, over and above the variance explained by anger mood. A tendency to repeatedly think or talk about an angering event as a way of coping seems to underlie the observed negative health effects. In addition, tentative support is given for a broader range of strategies to cope with anger than just the traditionally studied anger-out and anger-in styles. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Chapitre 14: Phytopathogènes et stratégies de contrôle en aquaponie

peer reviewedAmong the diversity of plant diseases occurring in aquaponics, soil-borne pathogens, such as Fusarium spp., Phytophthora spp. and Pythium spp., are the most problematic due to their preference for humid/aquatic environment conditions. Phytophthora spp. and Pythium spp. which belong to the Oomycetes pseudo-fungi require special attention because of their mobile form of dispersion, the so-called zoospores that can move freely and actively in liquid water. In coupled aquaponics, curative methods are still limited because of the possible toxicity of pesticides and chemical agents for fish and beneficial bacteria (e.g. nitrifying bacteria of the biofilter). Furthermore, the development of biocontrol agents for aquaponic use is still at its beginning. Consequently, ways to control the initial infection and the progression of a disease are mainly based on preventive actions and water physical treatments. However, suppressive action (suppression) could happen in aquaponic environment considering recent papers and the suppressive activity already highlighted in hydroponics. In addition, aquaponic water contains organic matter that could promote establishment and growth of heterotrophic bacteria in the system or even improve plant growth and viability directly. With regards to organic hydroponics (i.e. use of organic fertilisation and organic plant media), these bacteria could act as antagonist agents or as plant defence elicitors to protect plants from diseases. In the future, research on the disease suppressive ability of the aquaponic biotope must be increased, as well as isolation, characterisation and formulation of microbial plant pathogen antagonists. Finally, a good knowledge in the rapid identification of pathogens, combined with control methods and diseases monitoring, as recommended in integrated plant pest management, is the key to an efficient control of plant diseases in aquaponics.Cos

Exosomes: From “Dust” to Design in Proteome Medicine

Four properties define exosomes. First, they are tiny bodies–as small as 35 nm in diameter, 1,000 times less than the width of a human hair—that perform key assignments in cell signaling and other biological processes. Second, their size aids in transiting hard-to-navigate tissue boundaries in the body, such as the brain–blood barrier and the gut–blood barrier, optioning an oral administration of therapy in some instances. Third, since they can convey protein peptides, nucleic acids, and small molecule drugs, they represent an amalgam of proteomic, genomic, and lipidomic concepts in biomedicine. And fourth, it is conceivable, exosomes can address any human disease—many of which cannot be accessed today—even using material from other species. Two research groups—in St. Louis and Montreal—first characterized them almost simultaneously in 1984, offering an explanation of how immature red blood cells lost their iron-transporting transferrin receptor when they matured. Their role as intercellular communicators grew in 1996 when researchers at the University of Utrecht showed how exosomes induced a powerful immune response that caused cancerous tumors to regress. They travel in every body fluid: blood, lymph, urine, tears, saliva, cerebrospinal, and mother’s milk. Originally seen in electron micrographs and thought to be inconsequential, they now have a presence in biotechnology as a new platform for diagnostics and therapy, broadly representing proteome medicine. As yet, they have not reached a critical mass for clinical adoption, though their prospects are tantalizing. This piece ends with a prediction—that by 2034, the 50th anniversary of the term exosome, proteome medicine will have several generally recognized as safe and effective exosome-based prescriptions, with China leading the way

Structural flexibility in the Burkholderia mallei genome

The complete genome sequence of Burkholderia mallei ATCC 23344 provides insight into this highly infectious bacterium's pathogenicity and evolutionary history. B. mallei, the etiologic agent of glanders, has come under renewed scientific investigation as a result of recent concerns about its past and potential future use as a biological weapon. Genome analysis identified a number of putative virulence factors whose function was supported by comparative genome hybridization and expression profiling of the bacterium in hamster liver in vivo. The genome contains numerous insertion sequence elements that have mediated extensive deletions and rearrangements of the genome relative to Burkholderia pseudomallei. The genome also contains a vast number (>12,000) of simple sequence repeats. Variation in simple sequence repeats in key genes can provide a mechanism for generating antigenic variation that may account for the mammalian host's inability to mount a durable adaptive immune response to a B. mallei infection