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1.
Rheumatol Adv Pract ; 8(2): rkae050, 2024.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38660024

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To identify non-pharmacological fatigue interventions and determine the effectiveness of these non-pharmacological interventions in reducing fatigue immediately and over time in OA. Methods: A review protocol (CRD42020163730) was developed and registered with the PROSPERO database. Included studies comprised peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examined the effects of conservative interventions on fatigue in people with upper and lower limb OA. Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing the risk of bias (ROB-2) was used to assess the quality of evidence of studies. Narrative synthesis was used to summarize the effectiveness of identified fatigue interventions. Results: Out of 2644 citations identified from databases, 32 reports were included after screening for titles, abstracts and full texts. Of these reports, 30 parallel RCTs, one cluster and one cross-over RCT were included. 13 RCTs were of low ROB, 6 had some concerns and 13 had high ROB. The narrative synthesis identified interventions for fatigue including exercise, activity pacing, cognitive behavioural therapy, telerehabilitation and complementary alternative therapies. Exercise interventions showed the most significant beneficial effects on fatigue. Conclusions: Diverse interventions for fatigue management among individuals with upper and lower limb OA were identified. Of these, exercise interventions appear to be the most promising with the majority of these interventions favouring fatigue improvement. While cognitive behavioural therapy has limited evidence of beneficial effects, there is insufficient evidence regarding the effectiveness of other identified interventions, including complementary and alternative therapies, and telerehabilitation.

2.
Health Sci Rep ; 7(2): e1848, 2024 Feb.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38299208

ABSTRACT

Background and Aims: Personality traits, such as neuroticism and extraversion, are emerging as important predictors of falls. Despite their significance, existing fall prevention programs often overlook these traits, creating a notable research gap. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive scoping review to explore the existing literature on the relationships among personality traits, falls, and fall-related psychological concerns (FrPCs). Methods: This scoping review will adhere to the framework established by Arksey and O'Malley, incorporating extensions recommended by the Joanna Briggs Institute and using the PRISMA-ScR checklist. A thorough search strategy will be employed, aligning with the population, concept, and context (PCC) selection criteria. Electronic databases, including MEDLINE, APA PsycINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, and SPORTDiscus, will be searched from their inception to the present. Additionally, a manual search of the reference lists of identified and relevant full-text articles will be conducted. Two independent reviewers will screen titles and abstracts, perform full-text reviews, and extract data from pertinent articles. Discussion: Personality traits are increasingly recognized as influential predictors of falls and related psychological concerns. This review aims to make a substantial contribution to the existing literature by being the first to comprehensively explore and provide a descriptive synthesis of the relationship between personality traits and falls, as well as FrPCs in adults. It is hoped that the outcomes of this review will enhance our comprehension of the role of personality traits in falls, potentially informing future research and strategies for this critical area of study. Scoping Review Registration: This scoping review protocol was registered with Open Science Framework (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/KR74X).

3.
Am J Trop Med Hyg ; 2022 May 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35533697

ABSTRACT

Uptake of a vaccine is complete if individuals are aware of the associated risks of the vaccine, accept the vaccine, and respond positively to the nudges (activation) to increase the uptake, and respond when the vaccine is made accessible and affordable. We mapped systematically the existing literature concerning the 5As-acceptability, accessibility, affordability, awareness, and activation-of COVID-19 vaccination among adults and, specifically, older adults (55 years and older) in Africa. We searched multiple databases from 2020 to December 2021. Using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, two reviewers screened citations, conducted title and abstract screening, and extracted data independently. We included 68 articles conducted in 33 African countries, primarily cross-sectional studies (n = 49, 72%). None of the articles focused on older adults only, but 22 articles (32%) included at least one older adult (55 years and older) in their sample size. Acceptance (n = 58, 85%) was the most commonly researched aspect of vaccine uptake, followed by accessibility (n = 17, 25%), awareness (n = 13, 19%), and affordability (n = 5, 7.0%). We found only one report on activation. Factors affecting acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in Africa were grouped into sociodemographic factors; knowledge-, attitude-, and belief-related factors; a COVID-19 vaccine efficacy and safety concern factor; and trust in government and public health authorities. The governments of African nations should focus on strategies to influence the modifiable factors identified in this review. More studies are needed to evaluate the impact of nudges (activation) to improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake in African nations.

4.
J Glob Health ; 11: 15002, 2021.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34327003

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In 2040, the older population's growth rate in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will be faster than those experienced by developed nations since 1950. In preparation for this growth, the National Institute on Aging commissioned the National Academies' Committee on Population to organize a workshop on advancing aging research in Africa. This meeting provided a platform for discussing some areas requiring improvement in aging research in SSA regions. We believed that conducting a systematic review of peer-reviewed articles to set priorities for aging research in SSA is warranted. Therefore, this article is the first in a Four-Part series that summaries the types and trends of peer-reviewed studies in SSA. METHODS: This systematic mapping review followed the Search-Appraisal-Synthesis-Analysis Framework. We systematically searched multiple databases from inception till February 2021 and included peer-reviewed articles conducted with/for older adults residing in SSA. Conventional content analysis was employed to categorize studies into subject-related areas. RESULTS: We included 512 studies (quantitative = 426, qualitative = 71 and mixed-method = 15). Studies were conducted in 32 countries. Quantitative studies included were observational studies: cross-sectional (n = 250, 59%), longitudinal (n = 126, 30%), and case-control (n = 12, 3%); and experimental studies: pre-post design (n = 4, 1%), randomized control trial (RCT, n = 12, 3%); and not reported (n = 21, 5%). Fifteen qualitative studies did not state their study design; where stated, study design ranged from descriptive (n = 14, 20%), ethnography (n = 12, 17%), grounded theory (n = 7, 10%), narrative (n = 5, 7%), phenomenology (n = 10, 14%), interpretative exploratory (n = 4, 6%), case studies (n = 4, 6%). Of the 15 mixed-method studies, seven did not state their mixed-method design. Where stated, design includes concurrent (n = 1), convergent (n = 1), cross-sectional (n = 3), informative (n = 1), sequential exploratory (n = 1) and retrospective (n = 2). Studies were classified into 30 (for quantitative studies) and seven (for qualitative and mixed-method) subject-related areas. HIV/AIDs-related and non-communicable diseases-related studies were the most predominant subject-related areas. No studies explored the transdisciplinary co-production of interventions. CONCLUSIONS: There are glaring gaps in ageing research in SSA, especially mixed-methods and RCTs. A large number of studies focused on HIV/AIDs and non-communicable disease-related studies. National and international funding agencies should set up priority funding competitions for transdisciplinary collaborations in ageing research.


Subject(s)
Aging , Research , Africa South of the Sahara , Aged , Humans , Observational Studies as Topic , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Research/organization & administration
5.
Exp Brain Res ; 235(7): 2181-2188, 2017 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28434022

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to establish the effect of vestibular lesion on vestibular imagery. Subjects were required to estimate verbally their passively travelled rotation angles in complete darkness, i.e., to activate vestibular imagery. During motion, the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) was measured. Thus, we examined the coherence between the vestibulo-ocular reflex and self-rotation imagery, with vestibular-lesioned patients and healthy participants. Unilateral acute and chronic patients, bilateral patients, and healthy subjects were compared. The stimulus was a sequence of eight successive passive rotations, with four amplitudes (from 90° to 360°) in two directions. The VOR gain was lower in patients with unilateral lesions, for ipsilateral rotations. The healthy subjects had the highest gain and the bilateral group the lowest, on both rotation sides. Thanks to vestibular compensation after acute unilateral neuritis, the VOR gain increased in lesion side and decreased in healthy side, resulting in a similar gain in both sides. A deficit of vestibular imagery was found exclusively in patients with bilateral hyporeflexia, on both sides. The performance in vestibular imagery was good in the control group and correct in the unilateral patients. Finally, we found a significant correlation between the efficiency of the VOR and that of vestibular imagery, exclusively in the bilateral patients. The present study shows the complex relationship between vestibular imagery and the VOR. This imagery test contributes to another assessment of the spatial handicap of vestibular patients. It seems particularly interesting for patients with bilateral canal paresis and could be used to confirm this diagnosis.


Subject(s)
Imagination/physiology , Reflex, Vestibulo-Ocular/physiology , Vestibular Diseases/physiopathology , Vestibule, Labyrinth/physiopathology , Adaptation, Physiological/physiology , Adult , Aged , Analysis of Variance , Female , Functional Laterality , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Rotation
6.
J Ethnopharmacol ; 188: 153-8, 2016 Jul 21.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27154407

ABSTRACT

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Crassocephalum rubens is found throughout tropical Africa including the Indian Ocean islands. The leaves are commonly eaten in form of soups and sauces in South-Western Nigeria, also in other humid zones of Africa. Traditionally, it is used as an antidote against any form of poisoning; used to treat stomach and liver complaints; and externally to treat burns, sore eyes, earache, leprosy and breast cancer. In this study, acute and subacute toxicity of aqueous extract of C. rubens leaves was evaluated in rats in order to assess its safety profile. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In acute toxicity study, rats were given a single oral administration of aqueous extract of C. rubens leaves at graded doses (250-5000mg/kg). The animals were monitored for behavioural changes and possible mortality over a period of 24h and thereafter, for 14 days. In the subacute toxicity study, rats of both sexes were administered C. rubens orally at doses of 250mg/kg, 500mg/kg, 750mg/kg and 1000mg/kg body weight daily, for 28 days. Rats were observed weekly for any changes in general behaviour and body weights. In addition, other relevant parameters were assayed at the end of the main and reversibility study periods. RESULTS: There was no observed adverse effect; including mortality in the animals. The extract caused no significant difference in the body weights as well as organs weights of treated groups when compared with the control groups. Haematological and biochemical parameters also revealed no toxic effects of the extract on rats. Histological assessments were normal in liver and kidney. CONCLUSIONS: It can therefore be suggested based on the results from this study that aqueous extract of C. rubens leaves, at dosage levels up to 1000mg/kg, is non-toxic and could also offer protection on some body tissues. Aqueous extract of C. rubens could therefore, be considered safe. This study supports the application of Crassocephalum rubens in traditional medicine.


Subject(s)
Asteraceae/chemistry , Plant Extracts/toxicity , Plant Leaves/chemistry , Solvents/chemistry , Toxicity Tests, Acute , Toxicity Tests, Subacute , Water/chemistry , Animals , Biomarkers/blood , Biomarkers/urine , Body Weight/drug effects , Drinking/drug effects , Eating/drug effects , Female , Male , No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level , Organ Size/drug effects , Phytotherapy , Plant Extracts/isolation & purification , Plants, Medicinal , Rats, Wistar , Risk Assessment , Time Factors
7.
Neurosci Lett ; 554: 34-8, 2013 Oct 25.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24021798

ABSTRACT

In order to analyze spatial linear navigation through a task of self-controlled reproduction, healthy participants were passively transported on a mobile robot at constant velocity, and then had to reproduce the imposed distance of 2-8m in two conditions: "with vision" and "without vision". Our hypothesis was that the reproduction of distances would be longer with than without visual information. Indeed, with visual information the reproduction of all distances was overshot. In the "without vision" condition the reproduced distances were quite close to the imposed ones, but only for the shortest distances (2 and 4m) as the longest ones were clearly undershot. With vision the reproduction error was less than 10% for all distances; however the error could be smaller without vision at short distances, and therefore vision was not necessary.


Subject(s)
Distance Perception , Orientation , Vision, Ocular , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Robotics , Young Adult
8.
Nuklearmedizin ; 52(1): 36-42, 2013.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23303224

ABSTRACT

AIM: The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility, dosimetry, tolerability and efficacy of systemically administrated p-[(131)I]iodo-L-phenylalanine ((131)IPA) combined with hypo-fractionated external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). PATIENTS, METHODS: Five patients (2 women, 3 men, aged 27-69) with recurrent GBM and exhaustion of regular therapy options were included. All had a positive O-(2-[(18)F]Fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine positron emission tomography (FET-PET) and pretherapeutic dosimetry was performed. Tumour targeting was verified by (131)IPA-SPECT up to six days after radiotracer administration. After (131)IPA therapy, patients were treated with hypo-fractionated EBRT in six fractions of 5 Gy (n = 4) or in eleven fractions of 2 Gy in one case. RESULTS: Based on the individual dosimetry, the patients received a single intravenous administration of 2 to 7 GBq of (131)IPA, resulting in radiation absorbed doses to the blood of 0.80-1.47 Gy. The treatment was well tolerated; only minor complaints of nausea and vomiting that responded to ondansetron and pantoprazol were noticed in the first two patients. After preventive medication, the last three patients had no complaints during therapy. In none of the patients a decrease of leukocyte or thrombocyte counts below the baseline level or the lower normal limit was observed. Tumour doses from (131)IPA were low (≤ 1 Gy) and all patients died three to eight (median 5.5) months after therapy. CONCLUSION: In this initial experience, treatment of GBM with (131)IPA in combination with EBRT was demonstrated to be safe and well tolerated, but less effective than suggested by the animal studies.


Subject(s)
Brain Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Glioblastoma/radiotherapy , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/radiotherapy , Phenylalanine/analogs & derivatives , Radiotherapy, Conformal/methods , Adult , Aged , Brain Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Female , Glioblastoma/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/diagnostic imaging , Phenylalanine/therapeutic use , Pilot Projects , Radionuclide Imaging , Radiopharmaceuticals/therapeutic use , Radiotherapy Dosage , Treatment Outcome
9.
J Vestib Res ; 22(4): 173-80, 2012.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23142831

ABSTRACT

The internal representation of the body is intimately related to postural orientation. This assists us to correctly identify our position relative to the earth-vertical. The postural orientation about the pitch-Y axis is by default forward tilted while there is no such default about the roll-X axis. We hypothetized that the internal representation of body position would be different between the Y and X axes. We designed a study to assess the accuracy of self-driven whole-body orienting to the horizontal and the vertical about the X (roll) and Y (pitch) axes, with healthy seated subjects in complete darkness. Consistent with our hypothesis, the results showed that when trying to reach the horizontal with the X-axis, subjects remained on the same tilted direction as the initial posture. On the return way to the vertical, the subjects did not cross this (vertical) line. Whereas when reaching the horizontal with the Y-axis, there was an undershoot on the supine direction, and an overshoot on the prone direction: this discrepancy could be due to somatosensory cues to subjects in seated posture. The relevant mechanisms related to the internal representation of the body and graviceptive systems underlying the construction of an head-foot line are discussed.


Subject(s)
Orientation , Posture , Adult , Darkness , Female , Humans , Male , Postural Balance , Prone Position , Rotation , Supine Position , Vestibule, Labyrinth/physiology
10.
J Struct Biol ; 162(2): 277-89, 2008 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18321727

ABSTRACT

Many critical biologic processes involve dynamic interactions between proteins and nucleic acids. Such dynamic processes are often difficult to delineate by conventional static methods. For example, while a variety of nucleic acid polymerase structures have been determined at atomic resolution, the details of how some multi-protein transcriptase complexes actively produce mRNA, as well as conformational changes associated with activation of such complexes, remain poorly understood. The mammalian reovirus innermost capsid (core) manifests all enzymatic activities necessary to produce mRNA from each of the 10 encased double-stranded RNA genes. We used rapid freezing and electron cryo-microscopy to trap and visualize transcriptionally active reovirus core particles and compared them to inactive core images. Rod-like density centered within actively transcribing core spike channels was attributed to exiting nascent mRNA. Comparative radial density plots of active and inactive core particles identified several structural changes in both internal and external regions of the icosahedral core capsid. Inactive and transcriptionally active cores were partially digested with trypsin and identities of initial tryptic peptides determined by mass spectrometry. Differentially-digested peptides, which also suggest transcription-associated conformational changes, were placed within the known three-dimensional structures of major core proteins.


Subject(s)
Capsid Proteins/chemistry , RNA, Viral/genetics , Reoviridae/chemistry , Capsid , Cryoelectron Microscopy , Mass Spectrometry , Protein Conformation , Reoviridae/genetics , Reverse Transcription
11.
J Vestib Res ; 17(5-6): 239-49, 2007.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18626135

ABSTRACT

Temporal intervals production of one second was found to be more variable during self-motion compared to no motion situations. Moreover, the temporal intervals production rhythm during self-motion deceleration decreased whereas it increased during self-motion acceleration, whatever the direction of motion. As somatosensory cues were not excluded in this previous experiment, we now examined whether the same temporal perturbation would occur without variable somatosensory information. In order to isolate the contribution of the vestibular system from that of the somatosensory system, the participants were required to perform a one second temporal interval production task (pressing a button each second) during the post-rotatory illusion following self-rotation. The intervals produced during the vestibular illusion were compared to those produced before the imposed rotation and during self-motion. The production regularity was affected as the temporal intervals were more variable with vestibular stimulation (real and illusory self-motion) than without. Furthermore, during post-rotatory illusion, the production rhythm decreased along the trial, as it was observed during self-motion deceleration. These findings suggest that vestibular stimulation (even vestibular illusion) impaired time estimation.


Subject(s)
Rotation , Task Performance and Analysis , Time Perception , Adult , Female , Humans , Illusions , Male
12.
Neurosci Lett ; 402(3): 244-8, 2006 Jul 24.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-16701949

ABSTRACT

The vestibular system detects the velocity of the head even in complete darkness, and thus contributes to spatial orientation. However, during vestibular estimation of linear passive self-motion distance in darkness, healthy human subjects mainly rely on time, and they replicate also stimulus duration when required to reproduce previous self-rotation. We then made the hypothesis that the perception of vestibular-sensed motion duration is embedded within encoding of motion kinetics. The ability to estimate time during passive self-motion in darkness was examined with a self-rotation reproduction paradigm. Subjects were required to replicate through self-driven transport the plateau velocity (30, 60 and 90 degrees /s) and duration (2, 3 and 4s) of the previously imposed whole-body rotation (trapezoid velocity profile) in complete darkness; the rotating chair position was recorded (500 Hz) during the whole trials. The results showed that the peak velocity, but not duration, of the plateau phase of the imposed rotation was accurately reproduced. Suspecting that the velocity instruction had impaired the duration reproduction, we added a control experiment requiring subjects to reproduce two successive identical rotations separated by a momentary motion interruption (MMI). The MMI was of identical duration to the previous plateau phase. MMI duration was fidelitously reproduced whereas that of the plateau phase was hypometric (i.e. lesser reproduced duration than plateau) suggesting that subjective time is shorter during vestibular stimulation. Furthermore, the accurate reproduction of the whole motion duration, that was not required, indicates an automatic process and confirms that vestibular duration perception is embedded within motion kinetics.


Subject(s)
Motion Perception , Vestibule, Labyrinth , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Rotation , Time Perception
13.
Exp Brain Res ; 163(4): 540-6, 2005 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-15937701

ABSTRACT

In self-rotation reproduction tasks, subjects appear to estimate the displacement angle and then reproduce this angle without necessarily replicating the entire temporal velocity profile. In contrast, subjects appear to reproduce the entire temporal velocity profile during linear motion stimulating the otoliths. To investigate what happens during combined rotation and translation, we investigated in darkness the central processing of vestibular cues during eccentric rotation. Controlling a centrifuge with a joystick, nine healthy subjects were asked to reproduce the angle of the previously imposed rotation. Rotations were either ON-center, or 50 cm OFF-center with inter-aural centripetal acceleration. Rotation duration was either variable (proportional to the traveled angle), or constant. We examined whether the stimulation of the otoliths during OFF-center rotation changes self-rotation reproduction, and whether rotation duration is processed differently by the nervous system with and without otolith stimulation. As postulated, the subjects indeed reproduced more closely the stimulus velocity profile when OFF-center. But the primary result is that the additional supra-threshold linear acceleration cues, measured by the otoliths, did not improve performance. More specifically, to our surprise, the ability to reproduce rotation angle degraded slightly in the presence of additional information from the otolith organs, with the linear acceleration cues appearing to interfere with the reproduction of movement duration.


Subject(s)
Cues , Kinesthesis/physiology , Motion Perception/physiology , Postural Balance/physiology , Vestibule, Labyrinth/physiology , Acceleration , Adult , Feedback/physiology , Female , Humans , Male , Otolithic Membrane/physiology , Reproducibility of Results , Rotation
14.
Ann N Y Acad Sci ; 1039: 306-13, 2005 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-15826984

ABSTRACT

A whole-body, self-driven return from passive rotation (90 degrees to 270 degrees ) test was executed by male and female subjects, and by professional female ballet dancers. To accomplish the return task, subjects were free to use the egocentered reference frame (inversion) or the exocentered one (completion). The results show that with inversion all kinetic parameters were reproduced, whereas the completion performance was highly variable. Although inversion was the default strategy, female subjects used more completions than male subjects, and female dancers still more, although not more accurately. The high variability noted in completion shows a deficiency in integrating vestibular signals for updating the egocentric representation of an external target during passive body rotations, even in dancers. Furthermore, with completions after 180 degrees stimuli, the results suggest that both ego- and exocentered reference frames cannot be used simultaneously.


Subject(s)
Dancing , Memory/physiology , Vestibule, Labyrinth/physiology , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Posture/physiology , Sex Characteristics
15.
J Immunol ; 173(2): 1327-35, 2004 Jul 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-15240727

ABSTRACT

Macrophages play a critical role in the pathogenesis of Kilham rat virus (KRV)-induced autoimmune diabetes in diabetes-resistant BioBreeding (DR-BB) rats. This investigation was initiated to determine the role of macrophage-derived soluble mediators, particularly NO, in the pathogenesis of KRV-induced diabetes in DR-BB rats. We found that the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), an enzyme responsible for NO production, was significantly increased during the early phase of KRV infection. Inhibition of iNOS by aminoguanidine (AG) treatment resulted in the prevention of diabetes in KRV-infected animals. The expression of IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, and IL-12 was significantly decreased in the spleen of AG-treated, KRV-infected DR-BB rats compared with PBS-treated, KRV-infected control rats. Subsequent experiments revealed that AG treatment exerted its preventive effect in KRV-infected rats by maintaining the finely tuned immune balance normally disrupted by KRV, evidenced by a significant decrease in the expression of IFN-gamma, but not IL-4, and a decrease in Th1-type chemokine receptors CCR5, CXCR3, and CXCR4. We also found that iNOS inhibition by AG decreased the KRV-induced expression of MHC class II molecules and IL-2R alpha-chain, resulting in the suppression of T cell activation, evidenced by the decreased cytolytic activity of CD8(+) T cells. We conclude that NO plays a critical immunoregulatory role by up-regulating macrophage-derived proinflammatory cytokines, up-regulating the Th1 immune response, and activating T cells, leading to type 1 diabetes after KRV infection, whereas suppression of NO production by AG treatment prevents KRV-induced autoimmune diabetes in DR-BB rats.


Subject(s)
Autoimmunity/physiology , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/immunology , Nitric Oxide/physiology , Animals , Autoimmunity/immunology , Cytokines/biosynthesis , Cytokines/genetics , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/virology , Macrophages/enzymology , Macrophages/physiology , Macrophages/virology , Nitric Oxide Synthase/antagonists & inhibitors , Nitric Oxide Synthase/metabolism , Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II , Parvovirus/immunology , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Rats , Spleen/enzymology , Spleen/virology , T-Lymphocytes/physiology , Up-Regulation
16.
Int J Psychophysiol ; 53(1): 21-8, 2004 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-15172132

ABSTRACT

As the vestibular system is the only sensory organ whose primary function is self-motion detection, we examined the conditions under which the otoliths, which detect the linear acceleration of the head, could be used to estimate traveled distance. In order to isolate the contribution of the otoliths (with the somatosensory system) from contributions of the visual and motor systems subjects were transported in darkness. We initially hypothesized that self-transport with continuously varying linear velocity should facilitate distance computation by continuously stimulating the otoliths, and that active control of self-motion should also help subjects estimate the distance traveled. However, it was found that the distance covered during self-motion is actually better estimated when transport velocity is quasi-constant. Nevertheless, such estimates strongly depend upon velocity magnitude; subjects show an idiosyncratic preferred self-motion velocity for which distance measurements are most accurate. Furthermore, the active control of self-transport improves estimates of self-motion mainly because the subjects can then adopt a constant velocity, and more precisely their preferred one. It was finally found that subjects mentally count in order to assess their displacement length, and that time perception is indeed disturbed by varying self-motion velocity.


Subject(s)
Distance Perception/physiology , Time Perception/physiology , Acceleration , Acoustic Stimulation , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Motion Perception/physiology , Orientation/physiology , Otolithic Membrane/physiology , Photic Stimulation , Somatosensory Cortex/physiology
17.
Horm Behav ; 44(3): 156-60, 2003 Sep.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-14609537

ABSTRACT

Aggression and violence are concerns that engage us across society as moral and cultural issues. They are also critical issues for mental health research--both for survivors and for understanding how such behaviors occur. Interpersonal violence often explodes in deliberate acts of physical force leaving survivors behind with a diminished sense of control that is often shadowed by persistent fear and anxiety. The treatment of the victims is a clear and immediate concern; from their perspectives the medical consequences require effective attention whether they suffered as a result of acts of nature, mental disease, ideology, or combinations of these. At the same time preventing violent behavior from happening in the first place is a compelling challenge for public health research.


Subject(s)
Aggression/psychology , Violence/psychology , Animals , Cognition/physiology , Female , Humans , Male , Sex Characteristics
18.
Virology ; 311(2): 289-304, 2003 Jul 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-12842619

ABSTRACT

Reovirus is an enteric virus comprising eight structural proteins that form a double-layered capsid. During reovirus entry into cells, the outermost capsid layer (composed of proteins sigma3 and mu1C) is proteolytically processed to generate an infectious subviral particle (ISVP) that is subsequently uncoated to produce the transcriptionally active core particle. Kinetic studies suggest that protein sigma3 is rapidly removed from virus particles and then protein mu1C is cleaved. Initial cleavage of mu1C has been well described and generates an amino (N)-terminal delta peptide and a carboxyl (C)-terminal phi peptide. However, cleavage and removal of sigma3 is an extremely rapid event that has not been well defined. We have treated purified reovirus serotype 1 Lang virions with a variety of endoproteases. Time-course digestions with chymotrypsin, Glu-C, pepsin, and trypsin resulted in the initial generation of two peptides that were resolved in SDS-PAGE and analyzed by in-gel tryptic digestion and MALDI-Qq-TOFMS. Most tested proteases cut sigma3 within a "hypersensitive" region between amino acids 217 and 238. In addition, to gain a better understanding of the sequence of subsequent proteolytic events that result in generation of reovirus subviral particles, time-course digestions of purified particles were performed under physiologic salt conditions and released peptide fragments ranging from 500 to 5000 Da were directly analyzed by MALDI-Qq-TOFMS. Trypsin digestion initially released a peptide that corresponded to the C-terminus of mu1C, followed by a peptide that corresponded to amino acids 214-236 of the sigma3 protein. Other regions of mu1C were not observed until protein sigma3 was completely digested. Similar experiments with Glu-C indicated the hypersensitive region of sigma3 was cut first when virions were treated at pH values of 4.5 or 7.4, but treatment of virions with pepsin at pH 3.0 released different sigma3 peptides, suggesting acid-induced conformational changes in this outer capsid protein. These studies also revealed that the N-terminus of sigma3 is acetylated.


Subject(s)
Capsid Proteins/chemistry , Capsid Proteins/metabolism , Endopeptidases/metabolism , Orthoreovirus, Mammalian/chemistry , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Cell Line , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Kinetics , Mass Spectrometry , Mice , Models, Molecular , Molecular Sequence Data , Protein Conformation , Trypsin/metabolism , Virion/chemistry
19.
Ann N Y Acad Sci ; 1008: 1-10, 2003 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-14998867

ABSTRACT

Advances in the treatment of mental illness depend, in part, on the elimination of barriers to the use of new basic research findings. Some of the barriers originate in the different research perspectives adopted by clinical and basic researchers. Clinical research is driven by the need to recruit and examine classes of individuals, and so the conceptual framework focuses largely on categories of disorders. Basic researchers, including psychologists and behavioral neuroscientists, investigate fundamental features of behavior such as emotion regulation, attention, or arousal; therefore, disorders are commonly approached from a "dimensional" framework. In the broadest sense dimensions are those features that are common to multiple disorders. Categories are an effort to draw distinctions among disorders. The differences between these frameworks, and the perspectives held among clinicians and basic scientists, are not dichotomous. Many clinicians investigate fundamental aspects of pathophysiology and behavior that apply to multiple disorders, and many basic researchers are developing animal "models" of categorical disorders. It is timely and important to examine these approaches critically, and to work toward formulating perspectives that capture the strengths of each group of researchers so that their common goal of translating research findings into treatments for childhood mental health disorders is strengthened.


Subject(s)
Brain/physiopathology , Child Behavior Disorders/physiopathology , Child Behavior Disorders/psychology , Mental Disorders/physiopathology , Mental Disorders/psychology , Neurosciences , Affect/physiology , Anxiety, Separation/psychology , Child , Child Behavior Disorders/genetics , Humans , Inhibition, Psychological , Mental Disorders/genetics , Object Attachment
20.
Exp Brain Res ; 134(1): 66-73, 2000 Sep.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11026727

ABSTRACT

The main aim of this study was to examine how postrotatory effects, induced by passive whole-body rotations in darkness, could alter the perception of motion and eye movements during a subsequent rotation. Perception of angle magnitude was assessed in a reproduction task: blindfolded subjects were first submitted to a passive rotation about the earth-vertical axis on a mobile robot. They were then asked to reproduce this angle by controlling the robot with a joystick. Stimulus rotations ranged from 80 degrees to 340 degrees. Subjects were given one of two delay instructions: after the stimulus, they either had to await the end of postrotatory sensations before starting reproduction (condition free delay, FD), or they had to start immediately after the end of the stimulus rotation (no delay, ND). The delay in FD was used as an incidental measure of the subjective duration of these sensations. Eye movements were recorded with an infrared measuring system (IRIS). Results showed that in both conditions subjects accurately reproduced rotation angles, though they did not reproduce the stimulus dynamics. Peak velocities reached in ND were higher than in FD. This difference suggests that postrotatory effects induced a bias in the perception of angular velocity in the ND condition.


Subject(s)
Motion Perception/physiology , Reflex, Vestibulo-Ocular/physiology , Vestibule, Labyrinth/physiology , Acceleration , Adult , Darkness , Humans , Middle Aged , Nystagmus, Physiologic/physiology , Rotation
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