Prospective memory impairment in chronic heart failure

Although cognitive deficits are common in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), no study to date has investigated whether these deficits extend to the capacity to execute delayed intentions (prospective memory, PM). This is a surprising omission given the critical role PM plays in correctly implementing many important CHF self-care behaviors. The present study aimed to provide the first empirical assessment of PM function in people with CHF. The key dependent measure was a laboratory measure of PM that closely simulates PM tasks in daily life - Virtual Week. A group comparison design was used, with 30 CHF patients compared to 30 demographically matched controls. Background measures assessing executive functions, working memory, and verbal memory were also administered. The CHF group exhibited significant PM impairment, with difficulties generalizing across different types of PM tasks (event, time, regular, irregular). The CHF group also had moderate deficits on several of the background cognitive measures. Given the level of impairment remained consistent even on tasks that imposed minimal demands on memory for task content, CHF-related difficulties most likely reflects problems with the prospective component. However, exploratory analyses suggest that difficulties with retrospective memory and global cognition (but not executive control), also contribute to the PM difficulties seen in this group. The implications of these data are discussed, and in particular, it is argued that problems with PM may help explain why patient engagement in CHF self-care behaviors is often poor. (JINS, 2015, 21, 1-10)</p

An Arabic Version of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale

This article reports on two studies to develop and validate an Arabic language version of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS). The first study was a pilot study at a major government university in Jordan (N = 75, students). The second and main study was conducted in 5 large regional hospitals in Jordan (N = 63, patients). The SWBS was translated from English to Arabic and reviewed by an expert panel for language, cultural, and spiritual consistency. The Arabic version of the SWBS was revised after the results of the pilot study and further reviewed by an expert panel. The resulting data were subjected to descriptive and factor analysis. Results showed that the final version of the SWBS used in the main study had a two-factor structure consistent with previous studies. Descriptive data for a range of demographic variables are presented. Issues of inadequate translation and lack of variation in responses for some items are identified and the results discussed in light of dominant Islamic theological frameworks. © 2012 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Influence of N- methylation and conformation on almiramide anti-leishmanial activity

The almiramide N-methylated lipopeptides exhibit promising activity against trypanosomatid parasites. A structure–activity relationship study has been performed to examine the influences of N-methylation and conformation on activity against various strains of leishmaniasis protozoan and on cytotoxicity. The synthesis and biological analysis of twenty-five analogs demonstrated that derivatives with a single methyl group on either the first or fifth residue amide nitrogen exhibited greater activity than the permethylated peptides and relatively high potency against resistant strains. Replacement of amino amide residues in the peptide, by turn inducing α‑amino γ‑lactam (Agl) and N-aminoimidazalone (Nai) counterparts, reduced typically anti-parasitic activity; however, peptide amides possessing Agl residues at the second residue retained significant potency in the unmethylated and permethylated series. Systematic study of the effects of methylation and turn geometry on anti-parasitic activity indicated the relevance of an extended conformer about the central residues, and conformational mobility by tertiary amide isomerization and turn geometry at the extremities of the active peptides

Complex Reorganization and Predominant Non-Homologous Repair Following Chromosomal Breakage in Karyotypically Balanced Germline Rearrangements and Transgenic Integration

We defined the genetic landscape of balanced chromosomal rearrangements at nucleotide resolution by sequencing 141 breakpoints from cytogenetically-interpreted translocations and inversions. We confirm that the recently described phenomenon of “chromothripsis” (massive chromosomal shattering and reorganization) is not unique to cancer cells but also occurs in the germline where it can resolve to a karyotypically balanced state with frequent inversions. We detected a high incidence of complex rearrangements (19.2%) and substantially less reliance on microhomology (31%) than previously observed in benign CNVs. We compared these results to experimentally-generated DNA breakage-repair by sequencing seven transgenic animals, and revealed extensive rearrangement of the transgene and host genome with similar complexity to human germline alterations. Inversion is the most common rearrangement, suggesting that a combined mechanism involving template switching and non-homologous repair mediates the formation of balanced complex rearrangements that are viable, stably replicated and transmitted unaltered to subsequent generations

Phenotype Enhancement Screen of a Regulatory spx Mutant Unveils a Role for the ytpQ Gene in the Control of Iron Homeostasis

Spx is a global regulator of genes that are induced by disulfide stress in Bacillus subtilis. The regulon that it governs is comprised of over 120 genes based on microarray analysis, although it is not known how many of these are under direct Spx control. Most of the Spx-regulated genes (SRGs) are of unknown function, but many encode products that are conserved in low %GC Gram-positive bacteria. Using a gene-disruption library of B. subtilis genomic mutations, the SRGs were screened for phenotypes related to Spx-controlled activities, such as poor growth in minimal medium and sensitivity to methyglyoxal, but nearly all of the SRG mutations showed little if any phenotype. To uncover SRG function, the mutations were rescreened in an spx mutant background to determine which mutant SRG allele would enhance the spx mutant phenotype. One of the SRGs, ytpQ was the site of a mutation that, when combined with an spx null mutation, elevated the severity of the Spx mutant phenotype, as shown by reduced growth in a minimal medium and by hypersensitivity to methyglyoxal. The ytpQ mutant showed elevated oxidative protein damage when exposed to methylglyoxal, and reduced growth rate in liquid culture. Proteomic and transcriptomic data indicated that the ytpQ mutation caused the derepression of the Fur and PerR regulons of B. subtilis. Our study suggests that the ytpQ gene, encoding a conserved DUF1444 protein, functions directly or indirectly in iron homeostasis. The ytpQ mutant phenotype mimics that of a fur mutation, suggesting a condition of low cellular iron. In vitro transcription analysis indicated that Spx stimulates transcription from the ytpPQR operon within which the ytpQ gene resides. The work uncovers a link between Spx and control of iron homeostasis

Effect of staged practices and motivational climate on goal orientation and sportsmanship in community youth sport experiences

Significant acts of poor sportsmanship and aggression are becoming increasingly prevalent in youth sports. Youth who have negative experiences as a result of witnessing or being directly involved in such poor sportsmanship experiences are less likely to participate in future sport activities, thereby contributing to sedentary lifestyles and a number of health related problems. Goal orientation theory provides a basis for understanding why many of these unsporting acts may occur. “Task-oriented” participants focus on their intra-individual growth and development in sports and tend to be much less involved in aggression and poor sportsmanship. In contrast, “Egooriented” participants judge success in terms of displays of superiority over opponents, frequently giving rise to incidents of aggression and poor sportsmanship. This paper describes a study that evaluated the effects of specially designed (“staged”) practice sessions during a youth basketball program on development of task orientation among youth participants. Participants were registered for a youth basketball league that included 12 weekly practices and 8 games. Two teams took part in the league without any intervention on the part of researchers while two additional teams engaged in practices specifically designed to promote task-orientation in the young athletes. Measures of motivational climate, task- and ego-orientation, and sportsmanship were collected near the end of each practice. Results support the position that a task orientated motivational climate during practice sessions facilitates development of sportsmanship attitudes in youth basketball players. Professionals in the parks, recreation, and tourism field can use these results in a multitude of ways. Creating mastery motivational climates within youth sport programs through the use of simple techniques could help practitioners promote individual task-orientation as well as sportsmanship among players, particularly if done over an extended period of time. Promoting individual goal achievement, skill clinics, and increased practice time are all relatively inexpensive and easy additions to current programs that could be employed by administrators to heighten the focus on individual improvement. Practitioners should also be careful to minimize the exposure of participants to environments that promote an ego orientation by limiting elimination tournaments, win/loss records, and other aspects of programs that focus on comparative success

Good (youth) sports: Using benefits-based programming to increase sportsmanship

Sportsmanship problems in youth sport have recently become a more prominent issue for parks and recreation professionals. Benefits-based programming is one method these professionals could use to address the issues of sportsmanship in their youth leagues. Recent studies and programs have successfully employed prosocial behavior techniques in this process as a means of improving the sportsmanship atmosphere in youth leagues. Previous research, however, has yet to compare the efficacy of such programs in comparison to a control group. Data for this study were gathered through observations of positive and negative sportsmanship behaviors youth basketball games at two local community centers. Three specific groups were involved: A control group (in which no intervention took place); PHPFPF only (in which prosocial behavior techniques were employed); and PHPFPF + refs (in which prosocial behavior techniques were employed along with referees trained in prosocial behavior). All games involved third through sixth graders and observations included players, coaches, and spectators. In addition, measures of fun were collected from participants at each game using a “fun-o-meter.” Results suggest that intentional programming can be successfully employed to increase sportsmanship in youth sports. The youth sport league that did not utilize the benefits-based programming model displayed lower levels of positive sportsmanship and higher levels of negative sportsmanship for both age groups. The parks and recreation professionals at the second site, however, were able to develop a plan that enabled them to accomplish their goals by intentionally determining that sportsmanship and fun were two benefits being promoted in the league. Several lessons resulting from this study can be utilized in order to improve youth sport programs. Administrators who are hoping to create a more positive sportsmanship atmosphere may want to employ the benefits-based programming model. Furthermore, several of the prosocial behavior techniques employed in this study can be used to help professionals improve the sportsmanship in their leagues. A basic program was successfully used that was both easy and inexpensive to incorporate. An additional feature of training referees to use prosocial behavior can then be added for even greater results. By intentionally focusing their efforts on improving sportsmanship, both through increasing positive behaviors and decreasing negative ones, youth sport programs can be more fun for participants, which should lead to better overall experiences and hopefully help these youth to maintain participation in the future.