Personality factors in exercise addiction: a pilot study exploring the role of narcissism, extraversion, and agreeableness

Despite the increased evidence and acceptance of exercise being classed as a behavioral addiction, there is limited research examining personality characteristics within exercise addicts. The purpose of this study was to examine three personality traits (narcissism, extraversion, and agreeableness) and to examine their role in exercise addiction. The sample comprised 114 voluntary participants (74 females and 40 males) who completed the (i) Exercise Addiction Inventory, (ii) Narcissistic Personality Inventory, and (iii) Ten-Item Personality Inventory, as well as demographic questions and questions concerning their engagement and intensity levels of exercise. Results indicated a low incidence of individuals who were classed as at risk of exercise addiction (7%), but a high incidence of symptomatic individuals (75%). Results suggested that extraversion and narcissism may be underlying factors in exercise addiction with no effect for agreeableness. Exercise engagement and intensity were also related to exercise addiction. Further research examining the relationship between personality types and exercise addiction may be useful in identifying individuals at risk for developing exercise addiction

CpG-ODN and MPLA Prevent Mortality in a Murine Model of Post-Hemorrhage-Staphyloccocus aureus Pneumonia

Infections are the most frequent cause of complications in trauma patients. Post-traumatic immune suppression (IS) exposes patients to pneumonia (PN). The main pathogen involved in PN is Methicillin Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Dendritic cells () may be centrally involved in the IS. We assessed the consequences of hemorrhage on pneumonia outcomes and investigated its consequences on DCs functions. A murine model of hemorrhagic shock with a subsequent MSSA pneumonia was used. Hemorrhage decreased the survival rate of infected mice, increased systemic dissemination of sepsis and worsened inflammatory lung lesions. The mRNA expression of Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α), Interferon-beta (IFN-β) and Interleukin (IL)-12p40 were mitigated for hemorrhaged-mice. The effects of hemorrhage on subsequent PN were apparent on the pDCs phenotype (reduced MHC class II, CD80, and CD86 molecule membrane expression). In addition, hemorrhage dramatically decreased CD8+ cDCs- and CD8- cDCs-induced allogeneic T-cell proliferation during PN compared with mice that did not undergo hemorrhage. In conclusion, hemorrhage increased morbidity and mortality associated with PN; induced severe phenotypic disturbances of the pDCs subset and functional alterations of the cDCs subset. After hemorrhage, a preventive treatment with CpG-ODN or Monophosphoryl Lipid A increased transcriptional activity in DCs (TNF-α, IFN-β and IL-12p40) and decreased mortality of post-hemorrhage MSSA pneumonia

The Global Burden of Alveolar Echinococcosis

Human alveolar echinococcosis (AE), caused by the larval stage of the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis, is amongst the world's most dangerous zoonoses. Transmission to humans is by consumption of parasite eggs which are excreted in the faeces of the definitive hosts: foxes and, increasingly, dogs. Transmission can be through contact with the definitive host or indirectly through contamination of food or possibly water with parasite eggs. We made an intensive search of English, Russian, Chinese and other language databases. We targeted data which could give country specific incidence or prevalence of disease and searched for data from every country we believed to be endemic for AE. We also used data from other sources (often unpublished). From this information we were able to make an estimate of the annual global incidence of disease and disease burden using standard techniques for calculation of DALYs. Our studies suggest that AE results in a median of 18,235 cases globally with a burden of 666,433 DALYs per annum. This is the first estimate of the global burden of AE both in terms of global incidence and DALYs and demonstrates the burden of AE is comparable to several diseases in the neglected tropical disease cluster

The limits of corporate social responsibility : Techniques of neutralization, stakeholder management and political CSR

Since scholarly interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) has primarily focused on the synergies between social and economic performance, our understanding of how (and the conditions under which) companies use CSR to produce policy outcomes that work against public welfare has remained comparatively underdeveloped. In particular, little is known about how corporate decision-makers privately reconcile the conflicts between public and private interests, even though this is likely to be relevant to understanding the limitations of CSR as a means of aligning business activity with the broader public interest. This study addresses this issue using internal tobacco industry documents to explore British-American Tobacco’s (BAT) thinking on CSR and its effects on the company’s CSR Programme. The article presents a three-stage model of CSR development, based on Sykes and Matza’s theory of techniques of neutralization, which links together: how BAT managers made sense of the company’s declining political authority in the mid-1990s; how they subsequently justified the use of CSR as a tool of stakeholder management aimed at diffusing the political impact of public health advocates by breaking up political constituencies working towards evidence-based tobacco regulation; and how CSR works ideologically to shape stakeholders’ perceptions of the relative merits of competing approaches to tobacco control. Our analysis has three implications for research and practice. First, it underlines the importance of approaching corporate managers’ public comments on CSR critically and situating them in their economic, political and historical contexts. Second, it illustrates the importance of focusing on the political aims and effects of CSR. Third, by showing how CSR practices are used to stymie evidence-based government regulation, the article underlines the importance of highlighting and developing matrices to assess the negative social impacts of CSR

Dopamine Receptor Activation Increases HIV Entry into Primary Human Macrophages

Macrophages are the primary cell type infected with HIV in the central nervous system, and infection of these cells is a major component in the development of neuropathogenesis and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. Within the brains of drug abusers, macrophages are exposed to increased levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that mediates the addictive and reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse such as cocaine and methamphetamine. In this study we examined the effects of dopamine on HIV entry into primary human macrophages. Exposure to dopamine during infection increased the entry of R5 tropic HIV into macrophages, irrespective of the concentration of the viral inoculum. The entry pathway affected was CCR5 dependent, as antagonizing CCR5 with the small molecule inhibitor TAK779 completely blocked entry. The effect was dose-dependent and had a steep threshold, only occurring above 108 M dopamine. The dopamine-mediated increase in entry required dopamine receptor activation, as it was abrogated by the pan-dopamine receptor antagonist flupenthixol, and could be mediated through both subtypes of dopamine receptors. These findings indicate that the effects of dopamine on macrophages may have a significant impact on HIV pathogenesis. They also suggest that drug-induced increases in CNS dopamine may be a common mechanism by which drugs of abuse with distinct modes of action exacerbate neuroinflammation and contribute to HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders in infected drug abusers

Heterogeneity and changes in preferences for dying at home:a systematic review

Background Home-based models of hospice and palliative care are promoted with the argument that most people prefer to die at home. We examined the heterogeneity in preferences for home death and explored, for the first time, changes of preference with illness progression. Methods We searched for studies on adult preferences for place of care at the end of life or place of death in MEDLINE (1966-2011), EMBASE (1980-2011), psycINFO (1967-2011), CINAHL (1982-2011), six palliative care journals (2006-11) and reference lists. Standard criteria were used to grade study quality and evidence strength. Scatter plots showed the percentage preferring home death amongst patients, lay caregivers and general public, by study quality, year, weighted by sample size. Results 210 studies reported preferences of just over 100,000 people from 33 countries, including 34,021 patients, 19,514 caregivers and 29,926 general public members. 68% of studies with quantitative data were of low quality; only 76 provided the question used to elicit preferences. There was moderate evidence that most people prefer a home death-this was found in 75% of studies, 9/14 of those of high quality. Amongst the latter and excluding outliers, home preference estimates ranged 31% to 87% for patients (9 studies), 25% to 64% for caregivers (5 studies), 49% to 70% for the public (4 studies). 20% of 1395 patients in 10 studies (2 of high quality) changed their preference, but statistical significance was untested. Conclusions Controlling for methodological weaknesses, we found evidence that most people prefer to die at home. Around four fifths of patients did not change preference as their illness progressed. This supports focusing on home-based care for patients with advanced illness yet urges policy-makers to secure hospice and palliative care elsewhere for those who think differently or change their mind. Research must be clear on how preferences are elicited. There is an urgent need for studies examining change of preferences towards death

Outlet type constipation in Parkinson's disease: results of botulinum toxin treatment

Constipation is one of the most common autonomic dysfunctions observed in Parkinson's disease