176 research outputs found
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Gait unsteadiness and fall risk in two affective disorders: a preliminary study
BACKGROUND: In older adults, depression has been associated with increased fall risk, but the reasons for this link are not fully clear. Given parallels between major depression and Parkinson's disease, we hypothesized that major depression and related affective disorders would be associated with impairment in the ability to regulate the stride-to-stride fluctuations in gait cycle timing. METHODS: We measured stride-to-stride fluctuations of patients with two forms of mood disorders, unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder, and compared their gait to that of a healthy control group. The primary outcomes were two measures of gait unsteadiness that have been associated with fall risk: stride time variability and swing time variability. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the two patient groups tended to walk more slowly and with decreased swing time and increased stride time. However, none of these differences was statistically significant. Compared to the control group, swing time variability was significantly larger in the subjects with bipolar disorder (p < 0.0001) and in the subjects with MDD (p < 0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with MDD and patients with bipolar disorder display gait unsteadiness. This perturbation in gait may provide a mechanistic link connecting depression and falls. The present findings also suggest the possibility that measurement of variability of gait may provide a readily quantifiable objective approach to monitoring depression and related affective disorders
Metalloproteinase-Mediated, Context-Dependent Function of Amphiregulin and HB-EGF in Human Keratinocytes and Skin
Human keratinocytes (KCs) express multiple EGF receptor (EGFR) ligands; however, their functions in specific cellular contexts remain largely undefined. To address this issue, first we measured mRNA and protein levels for multiple EGFR ligands in KCs and skin. Amphiregulin (AREG) was by far the most abundant EGFR ligand in cultured KCs, with >19 times more mRNA and >7.5 times more shed protein than any other family member. EGFR ligand expression in normal skin was low (<8‰ of RPLP0/36B4); however, HB-EGF and AREG mRNAs were strongly induced in human skin organ culture. KC migration in scratch wound assays was highly metalloproteinase (MP)- and EGFR dependent, and was markedly inhibited by EGFR ligand antibodies. However, lentivirus-mediated expression of soluble HB-EGF, but not soluble AREG, strongly enhanced KC migration, even in the presence of MP inhibitors. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)-induced ERK phosphorylation was also strongly EGFR and MP dependent and markedly inhibited by neutralization of HB-EGF. In contrast, autocrine KC proliferation and ERK phosphorylation were selectively blocked by neutralization of AREG. These data show that distinct EGFR ligands stimulate KC behavior in different cellular contexts, and in an MP-dependent fashion
Identifying Opportunities for Aligning Production and Consumption in the U.S. Fisheries by Considering Seasonality
Seasonality is a natural feature of wild caught fisheries that introduces variation in food supply, and which often is amplified by fisheries management systems. Seasonal timing of landings patterns and linkages to consumption patterns can have a potentially strong impact on income for coastal communities as well as import patterns. This study characterizes the relationship between seasonality in seafood production and consumption in the United States by analyzing monthly domestic fisheries landings and imports and retail sales of farmed and wild seafood from 2017 to 2019. Analyses were conducted for total seafood sales, by product form, by species group, and by region of the United States. The data reveal strong seasonal increases in consumption around December and March. Seasonal increases in consumption in Spring and Summer occurred in parallel with domestic fishing production. Domestic landings vary by region, but most regions have peak fishing seasons between May and October. Alaska has the largest commercial fishery in the United States and seasonal peaks in Alaska (July/August, February/March) strongly influence seasonality in national landings. Misalignment between domestic production and consumption in some seasons and species groups creates opportunities for imports to supplement demand and lost opportunities for domestic producers.publishedVersio
Actinide covalency measured by pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy
Our knowledge of actinide chemical bonds lags far behind our understanding of the bonding regimes of any other series of elements. This is a major issue given the technological as well as fundamental importance of f-block elements. Some key chemical differences between actinides and lanthanides—and between different actinides—can be ascribed to minor differences in covalency, that is, the degree to which electrons are shared between the f-block element and coordinated ligands. Yet there are almost no direct measures of such covalency for actinides. Here we report the first pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of actinide compounds. We apply the hyperfine sublevel correlation technique to quantify the electron-spin density at ligand nuclei (via the weak hyperfine interactions) in molecular thorium(III) and uranium(III) species and therefore the extent of covalency. Such information will be important in developing our understanding of the chemical bonding, and therefore the reactivity, of actinides
Search for Higgs Bosons in e+e- Collisions at 183 GeV
The data collected by the OPAL experiment at sqrts=183 GeV were used to
search for Higgs bosons which are predicted by the Standard Model and various
extensions, such as general models with two Higgs field doublets and the
Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The data correspond to an
integrated luminosity of approximately 54pb-1. None of the searches for neutral
and charged Higgs bosons have revealed an excess of events beyond the expected
background. This negative outcome, in combination with similar results from
searches at lower energies, leads to new limits for the Higgs boson masses and
other model parameters. In particular, the 95% confidence level lower limit for
the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson is 88.3 GeV. Charged Higgs bosons
can be excluded for masses up to 59.5 GeV. In the MSSM, mh > 70.5 GeV and mA >
72.0 GeV are obtained for tan{beta}>1, no and maximal scalar top mixing and
soft SUSY-breaking masses of 1 TeV. The range 0.8 < tanb < 1.9 is excluded for
minimal scalar top mixing and m{top} < 175 GeV. More general scans of the MSSM
parameter space are also considered.Comment: 49 pages. LaTeX, including 33 eps figures, submitted to European
Physical Journal
A Measurement of the Product Branching Ratio f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) in Z0 Decays
The product branching ratio, f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X), where
Lambda_b denotes any weakly-decaying b-baryon, has been measured using the OPAL
detector at LEP. Lambda_b are selected by the presence of energetic Lambda
particles in bottom events tagged by the presence of displaced secondary
vertices. A fit to the momenta of the Lambda particles separates signal from B
meson and fragmentation backgrounds. The measured product branching ratio is
f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) = (2.67+-0.38(stat)+0.67-0.60(sys))%
Combined with a previous OPAL measurement, one obtains
f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) = (3.50+-0.32(stat)+-0.35(sys))%.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 3 eps figs included, submitted to the European
Physical Journal
Measurement of the Michel Parameters in Leptonic Tau Decays
The Michel parameters of the leptonic tau decays are measured using the OPAL
detector at LEP. The Michel parameters are extracted from the energy spectra of
the charged decay leptons and from their energy-energy correlations. A new
method involving a global likelihood fit of Monte Carlo generated events with
complete detector simulation and background treatment has been applied to the
data recorded at center-of-mass energies close to sqrt(s) = M(Z) corresponding
to an integrated luminosity of 155 pb-1 during the years 1990 to 1995. If e-mu
universality is assumed and inferring the tau polarization from neutral current
data, the measured Michel parameters are extracted. Limits on non-standard
coupling constants and on the masses of new gauge bosons are obtained. The
results are in agreement with the V-A prediction of the Standard Model.Comment: 32 pages, LaTeX, 9 eps figures included, submitted to the European
Physical Journal
Genetic architecture of spatial electrical biomarkers for cardiac arrhythmia and relationship with cardiovascular disease
The 3-dimensional spatial and 2-dimensional frontal QRS-T angles are measures derived from the vectorcardiogram. They are independent risk predictors for arrhythmia, but the underlying biology is unknown. Using multi-ancestry genome-wide association studies we identify 61 (58 previously unreported) loci for the spatial QRS-T angle (N = 118,780) and 11 for the frontal QRS-T angle (N = 159,715). Seven out of the 61 spatial QRS-T angle loci have not been reported for other electrocardiographic measures. Enrichments are observed in pathways related to cardiac and vascular development, muscle contraction, and hypertrophy. Pairwise genome-wide association studies with classical ECG traits identify shared genetic influences with PR interval and QRS duration. Phenome-wide scanning indicate associations with atrial fibrillation, atrioventricular block and arterial embolism and genetically determined QRS-T angle measures are associated with fascicular and bundle branch block (and also atrioventricular block for the frontal QRS-T angle). We identify potential biology involved in the QRS-T angle and their genetic relationships with cardiovascular traits and diseases, may inform future research and risk prediction
Catalyzing Transcriptomics Research in Cardiovascular Disease : The CardioRNA COST Action CA17129
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death worldwide and, despite continuous advances, better diagnostic and prognostic tools, as well as therapy, are needed. The human transcriptome, which is the set of all RNA produced in a cell, is much more complex than previously thought and the lack of dialogue between researchers and industrials and consensus on guidelines to generate data make it harder to compare and reproduce results. This European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action aims to accelerate the understanding of transcriptomics in CVD and further the translation of experimental data into usable applications to improve personalized medicine in this field by creating an interdisciplinary network. It aims to provide opportunities for collaboration between stakeholders from complementary backgrounds, allowing the functions of different RNAs and their interactions to be more rapidly deciphered in the cardiovascular context for translation into the clinic, thus fostering personalized medicine and meeting a current public health challenge. Thus, this Action will advance studies on cardiovascular transcriptomics, generate innovative projects, and consolidate the leadership of European research groups in the field.COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding organization for research and innovation networks (www.cost.eu)
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