Sample records for abdominal diameter sad

  1. The population distribution of the sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) and SAD/height ratio among Finnish adults.

    PubMed

    Kahn, H S; Rissanen, H; Bullard, K M; Knekt, P

    2014-12-01

    Sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD; 'abdominal height' measured in supine position) may improve upon conventional anthropometry for predicting incident cardiometabolic diseases. However, the SAD is used infrequently by practitioners and epidemiologists. A representative survey of Finnish adults in 2000-2001 collected body measurements including SAD (by sliding-beam calliper) using standardized protocols. Sampled non-pregnant adults (ages 30+ years; 79% participation) provided 6123 SAD measurements from 80 health centre districts. Through stratified, complex survey design, these data represented 2.86 million adults at ages 30+ years. SAD ranged from 13.5 to 38.0 cm, with a population mean (standard error) of 21.7 (0.05) cm and median (interquartile range) of 21.0 (19.1-23.4). Median SAD was higher at ages 50+ years compared with ages 30-49 both for men (22.4 [20.5-24.6] vs. 20.8 [19.3-22.7]) and women (21.7 [19.6-23.9] vs. 19.4 [17.8-21.4]). The SAD/height ratio was similar (0.118) for both sexes at 30-39 years, rising more steeply with age for women than men. Attaining only a basic education, compared with a high level, was associated with increased mean (95% confidence interval) SADs for men (22.6 [22.3-22.8] vs. 22.0 [21.7-22.2]) and women (21.8 [21.5-22.0] vs. 20.6 [20.4-20.8]). Finland's early experience with nationally representative SAD measurements provides normative reference values and physiological insights useful for investigations of cardiometabolic risk. © 2014 World Obesity.

  2. Population distribution of the sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) from a representative sample of US adults: comparison of SAD, waist circumference and body mass index for identifying dysglycemia.

    PubMed

    Kahn, Henry S; Gu, Qiuping; Bullard, Kai McKeever; Freedman, David S; Ahluwalia, Namanjeet; Ogden, Cynthia L

    2014-01-01

    The sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) measured in supine position is an alternative adiposity indicator that estimates the quantity of dysfunctional adipose tissue in the visceral depot. However, supine SAD's distribution and its association with health risk at the population level are unknown. Here we describe standardized measurements of SAD, provide the first, national estimates of the SAD distribution among US adults, and test associations of SAD and other adiposity indicators with prevalent dysglycemia. In the 2011-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, supine SAD was measured ("abdominal height") between arms of a sliding-beam caliper at the level of the iliac crests. From 4817 non-pregnant adults (age ≥ 20; response rate 88%) we used sample weights to estimate SAD's population distribution by sex and age groups. SAD's population mean was 22.5 cm [95% confidence interval 22.2-22.8]; median was 21.9 cm [21.6-22.4]. The mean and median values of SAD were greater for men than women. For the subpopulation without diagnosed diabetes, we compared the abilities of SAD, waist circumference (WC), and body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)) to identify prevalent dysglycemia (HbA1c ≥ 5.7%). For age-adjusted, logistic-regression models in which sex-specific quartiles of SAD were considered simultaneously with quartiles of either WC or BMI, only SAD quartiles 3 (p<0.05 vs quartile 1) and 4 (p<0.001 vs quartile 1) remained associated with increased dysglycemia. Based on continuous adiposity indicators, analyses of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) indicated that the dysglycemia model fit for SAD (age-adjusted) was 0.734 for men (greater than the AUC for WC, p<0.001) and 0.764 for women (greater than the AUC for WC or BMI, p<0.001). Measured inexpensively by bedside caliper, SAD was associated with dysglycemia independently of WC or BMI. Standardized SAD measurements may enhance assessment of dysfunctional adiposity.

  3. Sagittal Abdominal Diameter as a Surrogate Marker of Insulin Resistance in an Admixtured Population--Brazilian Metabolic Syndrome Study (BRAMS).

    PubMed

    Vasques, Ana Carolina J; Cassani, Roberta S L; Forti, Adriana C e; Vilela, Brunna S; Pareja, José Carlos; Tambascia, Marcos Antonio; Geloneze, Bruno

    2015-01-01

    Sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) has been proposed as a surrogate marker of insulin resistance (IR). However, the utilization of SAD requires specific validation for each ethnicity. We aimed to investigate the potential use of SAD, compared with classical anthropometrical parameters, as a surrogate marker of IR and to establish the cutoff values of SAD for screening for IR. A multicenter population survey on metabolic disorders was conducted. A race-admixtured sample of 824 adult women was assessed. The anthropometric parameters included: BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio and SAD. IR was determined by a hyperglycemic clamp and the HOMA-IR index. After adjustments for age and total body fat mass, SAD (r = 0.23 and r = -0.70) and BMI (r = 0.20 and r = -0.71) were strongly correlated with the IR measured by the HOMA-IR index and the clamp, respectively (p < 0.001). In the ROC analysis, the optimal cutoff for SAD in women was 21.0 cm. The women with an increased SAD presented 3.2 (CI 95%: 2.1-5.0) more likelihood of having IR, assessed by the HOMA-IR index compared with those with normal SAD (p < 0.001); whereas women with elevated BMI and WC were 2.1 (95% CI: 1.4-3.3) and 2.8 (95% CI: 1.7-4.5) more likely to have IR (p < 0.001), respectively. No statistically significant results were found for waist-to-hip ratio. SAD can be a suitable surrogate marker of IR. Understanding and applying routine and simplified methods is essential because IR is associated with an increased risk of obesity-related diseases even in the presence of normal weight, slight overweight, as well as in obesity. Further prospective analysis will need to verify SAD as a determinant of clinical outcomes, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular events, in the Brazilian population.

  4. Sagittal Abdominal Diameter as a Surrogate Marker of Insulin Resistance in an Admixtured Population—Brazilian Metabolic Syndrome Study (BRAMS)

    PubMed Central

    Cassani, Roberta S. L.; Forti, Adriana C. e; Vilela, Brunna S.; Tambascia, Marcos Antonio

    2015-01-01

    Background Sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) has been proposed as a surrogate marker of insulin resistance (IR). However, the utilization of SAD requires specific validation for each ethnicity. We aimed to investigate the potential use of SAD, compared with classical anthropometrical parameters, as a surrogate marker of IR and to establish the cutoff values of SAD for screening for IR. Methods A multicenter population survey on metabolic disorders was conducted. A race-admixtured sample of 824 adult women was assessed. The anthropometric parameters included: BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio and SAD. IR was determined by a hyperglycemic clamp and the HOMA-IR index. Results After adjustments for age and total body fat mass, SAD (r = 0.23 and r = -0.70) and BMI (r = 0.20 and r = -0.71) were strongly correlated with the IR measured by the HOMA-IR index and the clamp, respectively (p < 0.001). In the ROC analysis, the optimal cutoff for SAD in women was 21.0 cm. The women with an increased SAD presented 3.2 (CI 95%: 2.1-5.0) more likelihood of having IR, assessed by the HOMA-IR index compared with those with normal SAD (p < 0.001); whereas women with elevated BMI and WC were 2.1 (95% CI: 1.4-3.3) and 2.8 (95% CI: 1.7-4.5) more likely to have IR (p < 0.001), respectively. No statistically significant results were found for waist-to-hip ratio. Conclusions SAD can be a suitable surrogate marker of IR. Understanding and applying routine and simplified methods is essential because IR is associated with an increased risk of obesity-related diseases even in the presence of normal weight, slight overweight, as well as in obesity. Further prospective analysis will need to verify SAD as a determinant of clinical outcomes, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular events, in the Brazilian population. PMID:25951458

  5. Correlation and Comparison of Various Anthropometric Measurements of Body Fat Distribution and Sagittal Abdominal Diameter as a Screening Tool for Cardio Metabolic Risk Factors and Ischaemic Heart Disease in Elderly Population.

    PubMed

    Sharda, Meenaxi; Jain, Pankaj; Gupta, Atul; Nagar, Deepti; Soni, Anil

    2015-01-01

    Primary objective of this study was to assess utility of sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) as a cardio vascular risk predictor and compare various anthropometric measurement of body fat distribution in elderly patients. Four hundred patients were enrolled in study. Elderly patients more than 60 year of age attending medical OPD, geriatric OPD and suitable indoor patients who were willing to participate in the study were included. SAD was significantly higher in patient with ischaemic heart disease (group 1) than patient without ischaemic heart disease (Group 2) (P < 0.001 for male and female). SAD was better than WC to ascertain individual cardio metabolic risk factors in male, especially FBS (Pearson correlation .33 vs. .29), total cholesterol (Pearson correlation .24 vs. .20) as well as LDL cholesterol (Pearson correlation .13 vs. .05), while in female WC and SAD showed equal correlation with individual cardio metabolic risk factors. In patient with metabolic syndrome IHD group showed considerably higher mean SAD values. SAD also showed very good correlation with individual cardio metabolic risk factors especially in elderly male, while in female both SAD and.WC were almost equivalent.

  6. Evaluation of normal abdominal aortic diameters in the Indian population using computed tomography.

    PubMed

    Jasper, A; Harshe, G; Keshava, S N; Kulkarni, G; Stephen, E; Agarwal, S

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to establish normal diameters for the suprarenal and infrarenal abdominal aorta measured at T12 and L3 vertebral levels in the Indian population and to study the variation in aortic diameters with age, sex, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), and body surface area (BSA). One hundred and forty-two patients who underwent helical contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scans of the abdomen for non-cardiovascular reasons were recruited.. The mean internal diameters of the suprarenal and infrarenal abdominal aorta (maximum anteroposterior and transverse diameter) were measured at T12 and L3 vertebral levels and tabulated according to various age groups for both men and women. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the correlation between aortic diameters, height, weight, BSA, and BMI. The mean diameters of the suprarenal and infrarenal abdominal aorta measured at T12 and L3 vertebral levels, in men were 19.0 ± 2.3 and 13.8 ± 1.9 mm and in women 17.1 ± 2.3 and 12.0 ± 1.6 mm, respectively. The aortic diameter progressively increased in caliber with increasing age of the patients and was smaller in women than men. A significant positive correlation was found in men between the suprarenal and infrarenal aortic diameters and weight, BSA, and BMI. In women, this correlation was significant in the infrarenal aorta but not in the suprarenal aorta. We obtained a set of normal values for the abdominal aorta in the Indian population. The aortic diameters correlated with age, gender, and body size of the patients as seen with previously published data in the Western population. A brief comparison of data between Indian and Western population showed that the values obtained were less than published elsewhere and hence, this should be considered while formulating intervention protocols.

  7. Automated estimation of abdominal effective diameter for body size normalization of CT dose.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Phillip M

    2013-06-01

    Most CT dose data aggregation methods do not currently adjust dose values for patient size. This work proposes a simple heuristic for reliably computing an effective diameter of a patient from an abdominal CT image. Evaluation of this method on 106 patients scanned on Philips Brilliance 64 and Brilliance Big Bore scanners demonstrates close correspondence between computed and manually measured patient effective diameters, with a mean absolute error of 1.0 cm (error range +2.2 to -0.4 cm). This level of correspondence was also demonstrated for 60 patients on Siemens, General Electric, and Toshiba scanners. A calculated effective diameter in the middle slice of an abdominal CT study was found to be a close approximation of the mean calculated effective diameter for the study, with a mean absolute error of approximately 1.0 cm (error range +3.5 to -2.2 cm). Furthermore, the mean absolute error for an adjusted mean volume computed tomography dose index (CTDIvol) using a mid-study calculated effective diameter, versus a mean per-slice adjusted CTDIvol based on the calculated effective diameter of each slice, was 0.59 mGy (error range 1.64 to -3.12 mGy). These results are used to calculate approximate normalized dose length product values in an abdominal CT dose database of 12,506 studies.

  8. Abdominal adipose tissue thickness measured using magnetic resonance imaging is associated with lumbar disc degeneration in a Chinese patient population.

    PubMed

    Yang, Lili; Mu, Liangshan; Huang, Kaiyu; Zhang, Tianyi; Mei, Zihan; Zeng, Wenrong; He, Jiawei; Chen, Wei; Liu, Xiaozheng; Ye, Xinjian; Yan, Zhihan

    2016-12-13

    The relationship between abdominal adiposity and disc degeneration remains largely uninvestigated. Here, we investigated the association between abdominal adipose tissue thickness and lumbar disc degeneration in a cross-sectional study of 2415 participants from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. All subjects were scanned with a 3T Magnetic Resonance Imaging system to evaluate the degree of lumbar disc degeneration. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that men in the highest quartiles for abdominal diameter (AD), sagittal diameter (SAD), and ventral subcutaneous thickness (VST) were at higher odds ratio for severe lumbar disc degeneration than men in the lowest quartiles. The adjusted model revealed that women in the highest quartiles for AD and SAD were also at higher odds ratio for severe lumbar disc degeneration than women in the lowest quartiles. Our results suggest that abdominal obesity might be one of underlying mechanisms of lumbar disc degeneration, and preventive strategies including weight control could be useful to reduce the incidence of lumbar disc degeneration. Prospective studies are needed to this confirm these results and to identify more deeper underlying mechanisms.

  9. Comparing Measures of General and Abdominal Adiposity as Predictors of Blood Pressure in College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abshire, Demetrius A.; Mudd-Martin, Gia; Moser, Debra K.; Lennie, Terry A.

    2018-01-01

    Objective: To compare anthropometric measures of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) as predictors of blood pressure in college students. Participants: Students (N = 116) were recruited from November 2012 to May 2014 at an urban university and rural community…

  10. EFFECTS OF FOOD AND DRINK INGESTION ON BODY COMPOSITION VARIABLES OF ABDOMINAL BIOELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE.

    PubMed

    Fernández Vázquez, Rosalía; Martínez Blanco, Javier; García Vega, María del Mar; Barbancho, Miguel Ángel; Alvero-Cruz, José Ramón

    2015-11-01

    to know the changes in trunk fat and visceral fat level determined by abdominal bioelectrical impedance (BIA) as well as other anthropometric measures related to the central or abdominal fat after the ingestion of a lunch. the experimental study was conducted to assess a longitudinal intervention descriptive study. 21 subjects (10 male and 11 female), volunteers who have access to a medical assessment, with an age of 74 ± 13.43 years. Maximal waist circumference in standing position, waist circumference at navel level in supine position and sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD). In the same position trunk fat and visceral fat level by abdominal bioelectrical impedance analysis with Tanita AB-140 (ViScan) were obtained before and after meal. anthropometric measures as waist circumference in supine position and SAD did not show significant differences (P > 0.05), after food ingestion, except for a significant increase of the maximal waist circumference in standing position (P < 0.05). In addition trunk fat and visceral fat ratio did not change (P > 0.05). The percentage changes of the measures were less than 2% for waist circumference in standing position, waist circumference by Viscan, sagittal abdominal diameter and trunk fat and 5.9% for visceral fat ratio. the effects on trunk fat and visceral fat ratio by abdominal bioelectrical impedance are minimal after the ingestion of a portion of food and drink, although it is always recommended to do it in fasting conditions. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  11. Indicators of abdominal size relative to height associated with sex, age, socioeconomic position and ancestry among US adults.

    PubMed

    Kahn, Henry S; Bullard, Kai McKeever

    2017-01-01

    The supine sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) and standing waist circumference (WC) describe abdominal size. The SAD/height ratio (SADHtR) or WC/height ratio (WHtR) may better identify cardiometabolic disorders than BMI (weight/height2), but population-based distributions of SADHtR and WHtR are not widely available. Abdominal adiposity may differ by sociodemographic characteristics. Anthropometry, including SAD by sliding-beam caliper, was performed on 9894 non-pregnant adults ≥20 years in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys of 2011-2014. Applying survey design factors and sampling weights, we estimated nationally representative SADHtR and WHtR distributions by sex, age, educational attainment, and four ancestral groups. The median (10th percentile, 90th percentile) for men's SADHtR was 0.130 (0.103, 0.165) and WHtR 0.569 (0.467, 0.690). For women, median SADHtR was 0.132 (0.102, 0.175) and WHtR 0.586 (0.473, 0.738). Medians for SADHtR and WHtR increased steadily through age 79. The median BMI, however, reached maximum values at ages 40-49 (men) or 60-69 (women) and then declined. Low educational attainment, adjusted for age and ancestry, was associated with elevated SADHtR more strongly than elevated BMI. While non-Hispanic Asians had substantially lower BMI compared to all other ancestral groups (adjusted for sex, age and education), their relative reductions in SADHtR and WHtR, were less marked. These cross-sectional data are consistent with monotonically increasing abdominal adipose tissue through the years of adulthood but decreasing mass in non-abdominal regions beyond middle age. They suggest also that visceral adipose tissue, estimated by SADHtR, expands differentially in association with low socioeconomic position. Insofar as Asians have lower BMIs than other populations, employing abdominal indicators may attenuate the adiposity differences reported between ancestral groups. Documenting the distribution and sociodemographic features

  12. Three-dimensional workstation is useful for measuring the correct size of abdominal aortic aneurysm diameters.

    PubMed

    Ihara, Tsutomu; Komori, Kimihiro; Yamamoto, Kiyohito; Kobayashi, Masayoshi; Banno, Hiroshi; Kodama, Akio

    2013-02-01

    Abdominal aortic aneurysm diameter is usually measured by the maximum minor-axis diameter on axial computed tomography (CT). However, this "traditional" diameter may underestimate the real size, as the aorta is not always straight and the aneurysm shape is sometimes in the form of an ellipse along the cross section. Therefore, we measured maximum major-axis diameters using a three-dimensional (3D) workstation and compared them with the traditional maximum minor-axis diameters measured using thin-slice axial CT. CT data of 141 AAA patients (with fusiform aneurysms) were stored in a 3D workstation. These thin-slice CT images were reviewed on the 3D workstation to obtain curved multiplanar reconstruction images (CPR images). Using the CPR images, we measured the maximum major-axis and minor-axis diameters on CPR and the angle of the aneurysms to the body axis. The mean traditional maximum minor-axis diameter was 51.2 ± 8.2 mm, whereas the mean maximum major-axis diameter on CPR was 54.7 ± 10.1 mm. Sixty eight patients had a mean aneurysm size of <50 mm when measured by the traditional minor-axis diameter. Among these patients, five (7.4%) had a major-axis diameter >55 mm on CPR. The measurement of the traditional maximum minor-axis diameter of aneurysms is useful in the case of most patients. However, the traditional maximum minor-axis diameter may underestimate the real aneurysmal diameter, particularly in patients with an ellipse-shaped aneurysm. The maximum major-axis diameter as measured using CPR images is effective for representing the real aneurysmal size. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Echocardiographic nomograms for upper abdominal aorta Doppler systolic wave values and systo-diastolic diameters variations in children.

    PubMed

    Cantinotti, Massimiliano; Giordano, Raffaele; Corsini, Iuri; Dani, Carlo; Scalese, Marco; Murzi, Bruno; Assanta, Nadia; Spadoni, Isabella; Molinaro, Sabrina; Kutty, Shelby; Iervasi, Giorgio; Franchi, Eliana

    2018-04-01

    Abdominal aorta pulsatility and blood flow patterns are important diagnostic indicators in congenital heart disease. Reference values for these indexes are lacking. We prospectively studied abdominal aorta pulsed-wave Doppler systolic peak velocity, deceleration time, and wave duration, and two-dimensional vessel diameters in systole and diastole in healthy Caucasian children. Heteroscedasticity was accounted for by White or Breusch-Pagan test. Age, weight, height, heart rate (HR), and body surface area (BSA) were used as independent variables in different analyses to predict the mean values of each measurement. Structured Z-scores were then computed. In all, 853 subjects (age 0 days to 17 years; 45% females; BSA 0.12-2.12m 2 ) were studied. The predicted values and Z-score boundaries are presented. Data are also presented as mean±2 SDs for a given BSA. We report paediatric echocardiographic nomograms for multiple proximal abdominal aorta parameters including pulsed-wave Doppler systolic velocities, deceleration time, wave duration, and two-dimensional vessel diameter variations. Significant variations in these functional indexes with age were found that should be taken into account in clinical practice. At lower ages, steeper and shorter pulsed-wave Doppler peak velocity and limited pulsatility should be expected as physiologic findings. Copyright © 2017 Japanese College of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Sadness and Depression

    MedlinePlus

    ... Videos for Educators Search English Español Sadness and Depression KidsHealth / For Kids / Sadness and Depression Print en ... big difference in your life. When Sadness Is Depression When you're in a sad mood, it ...

  15. Neck circumference as a measure of neck fat and abdominal visceral fat in Chinese adults.

    PubMed

    Li, Hong-Xing; Zhang, Fen; Zhao, Dong; Xin, Zhong; Guo, Shu-Qin; Wang, Shu-Mei; Zhang, Jian-Jun; Wang, Jun; Li, Yan; Yang, Guang-Ran; Yang, Jin-Kui

    2014-04-04

    Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is a unique pathogenic fatty deposit, in that it is closely correlated with risk of cardiovascular diseases. The present study is to investigate the usefulness of neck circumference (NC) to indicate VAT. Participants aged 35 to 75 years who had taken abdomen and neck computer tomography (CT) examination were included in this study. Neck adipose tissue, abdominal VAT and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) areas, as well as sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) were measured by CT. Body anthropometrics and metabolic parameters including blood glucose, lipid profiles and blood pressure were also measured. A lower abdomen CT examination was carried out on a total of 177 patients (87 male and 90 female) with a mean age of 59 years. Of the 177 participants, 15 men and 15 women also took a neck CT examination. With a comparable age and BMI, neck adipose area was correlated with abdominal VAT area significantly in men (r = 0.57, p = 0.028) and women (r = 0.53, p = 0.041). NC is positively correlated with VAT both in men (r = 0.49, p < 0.001) and women (r = 0.25, p = 0.012). Meanwhile, SAD is the best predictor for visceral fat both in men (r = 0.83, p < 0.001) and women (r = 0.73, p < 0.001). Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist to height ratio (WHtR) correlated significantly with VAT both in men and women (r = 0.68, 0.42, 0.46 in men and 0.50, 0.23, 0.39 in women, p < 0.001), while waist hip ratio (WHR) displayed the weakest least correlation in men (r = 0.32, p = 0.001) and no correlation in women (r = 0.08, p = 0.442). Additionally, BMI was more strongly correlated with VAT than NC in both sexes (both p < 0.01). Significant correlation between NC and VAT was present in Chinese men and women, which may be accounted by the fact that neck fat area is significantly correlated with abdominal VAT. Meanwhile, SAD is the best predictor for visceral fat in

  16. Tomodensitometric survey of the distance between thoracic and abdominal vital organs and the wall according to BMI, abdominal diameter and gender: proposition of an indicative chart for the forensic activities.

    PubMed

    Venara, A; Gaudin, A; Lebigot, J; Airagnes, G; Hamel, J F; Jousset, N; Ridereau-Zins, C; Mauillon, D; Rouge-Maillart, C

    2013-06-10

    Forensic doctors are frequently asked by magistrates when dealing principally with knife wounds, about the depth of the blade which may have penetrated the victim's body. Without the use of imaging, it is often difficult to respond to this question, even in an approximate way. Knowledge of the various distances between organs and the skin wall would allow an assessment to be made of the minimum blade length required to obtain the injuries observed. The objective of this study is thus to determine average distances between the vital organs of the thorax and abdomen, and the skin wall, taking into account the person's body mass index (BMI). This is a prospective single-center study, carried out over a 2-month period at University Hospital in Angers. A sample of 200 people was studied. The inclusion criteria were as follows: all patients coming to the radiology department and the emergency department for an abdominal, thoracic or thoraco-abdominal scan with injection. The exclusion criteria included patients presenting a large lymphoma, a large abdominal or retroperitoneal tumor, a tumor in one of the organs targeted by our study and patients presenting ascites. The organs focused on were: the pericardium, pleura, aorta, liver, spleen, kidneys, abdominal aorta and femoral arteries. The shortest distance between the organ and the skin wall was noted. Median distances were calculated according to gender, abdominal diameter and BMI. We associated these values to propose an indicative chart which may be used by doctors in connection with their forensic activities. The problem of the depth of a wound is frequently exposed to the expert. Without a reliable tool, it is difficult to value and a personal interpretation is often done. Even if, in current days, tomodensitometry is frequently done in vivo or after death, measurement can be difficult because of the local conditions. We classified values according to the different factors of fat repartition (BMI, abdominal diameter

  17. Mass-induced instability of SAdS black hole in Einstein-Ricci cubic gravity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Myung, Yun Soo

    2018-05-01

    We perform the stability analysis of Schwarzschild-AdS (SAdS) black hole in the Einstein-Ricci cubic gravity. It shows that the Ricci tensor perturbations exhibit unstable modes for small black holes. We call this the mass-induced instability of SAdS black hole because the instability of small black holes arises from the massiveness in the linearized Einstein-Ricci cubic gravity, but not a feature of higher-order derivative theory giving ghost states. Also, we point out that the correlated stability conjecture holds for the SAdS black hole by computing the Wald entropy of SAdS black hole in Einstein-Ricci cubic gravity.

  18. Neck circumference as a measure of neck fat and abdominal visceral fat in Chinese adults

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is a unique pathogenic fatty deposit, in that it is closely correlated with risk of cardiovascular diseases. The present study is to investigate the usefulness of neck circumference (NC) to indicate VAT. Methods Participants aged 35 to 75 years who had taken abdomen and neck computer tomography (CT) examination were included in this study. Neck adipose tissue, abdominal VAT and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) areas, as well as sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) were measured by CT. Body anthropometrics and metabolic parameters including blood glucose, lipid profiles and blood pressure were also measured. Results A lower abdomen CT examination was carried out on a total of 177 patients (87 male and 90 female) with a mean age of 59 years. Of the 177 participants, 15 men and 15 women also took a neck CT examination. With a comparable age and BMI, neck adipose area was correlated with abdominal VAT area significantly in men (r = 0.57, p = 0.028) and women (r = 0.53, p = 0.041). NC is positively correlated with VAT both in men (r = 0.49, p < 0.001) and women (r = 0.25, p = 0.012). Meanwhile, SAD is the best predictor for visceral fat both in men (r = 0.83, p < 0.001) and women (r = 0.73, p < 0.001). Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist to height ratio (WHtR) correlated significantly with VAT both in men and women (r = 0.68, 0.42, 0.46 in men and 0.50, 0.23, 0.39 in women, p < 0.001), while waist hip ratio (WHR) displayed the weakest least correlation in men (r = 0.32, p = 0.001) and no correlation in women (r = 0.08, p = 0.442). Additionally, BMI was more strongly correlated with VAT than NC in both sexes (both p < 0.01). Conclusion Significant correlation between NC and VAT was present in Chinese men and women, which may be accounted by the fact that neck fat area is significantly correlated with abdominal VAT. Meanwhile, SAD is

  19. Efficacy of Transcerebellar Diameter/Abdominal Circumference Versus Head Circumference/Abdominal Circumference in Predicting Asymmetric Intrauterine Growth Retardation

    PubMed Central

    Bhimarao; Bhat, Venkataramana; Gowda, Puttanna VN

    2015-01-01

    Background The high incidence of IUGR and its low recognition lead to increasing perinatal morbidity and mortality for which prediction of IUGR with timely management decisions is of paramount importance. Many studies have compared the efficacy of several gestational age independent parameters and found that TCD/AC is a better predictor of asymmetric IUGR. Aim To compare the accuracy of transcerebellar diameter/abdominal circumference with head circumference/abdominal circumference in predicting asymmetric intrauterine growth retardation after 20 weeks of gestation. Materials and Methods The prospective study was conducted over a period of one year on 50 clinically suspected IUGR pregnancies who were evaluated with 3.5 MHz frequency ultrasound scanner by a single sonologist. BPD, HC, AC and FL along with TCD were measured for assessing the sonological gestational age. Two morphometric ratios- TCD/AC and HC/AC were calculated. Estimated fetal weight was calculated for all these pregnancies and its percentile was determined. Statistical Methods The TCD/AC and HC/AC ratios were correlated with advancing gestational age to know if these were related to GA. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and diagnostic accuracy (DA) for TCD/AC and HC/AC ratios in evaluating IUGR fetuses were calculated. Results In the present study, linear relation of TCD and HC in IUGR fetuses with gestation was noted. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV & DA were 88%, 93.5%, 77.1%, 96.3% & 92.4% respectively for TCD/AC ratio versus 84%, 92%, 72.4%, 95.8% & 90.4% respectively for HC/AC ratio in predicting IUGR. Conclusion Both ratios were gestational age independent and can be used in detecting IUGR with good diagnostic accuracy. However, TCD/AC ratio had a better diagnostic validity and accuracy compared to HC/AC ratio in predicting asymmetric IUGR. PMID:26557588

  20. Maximal aortic diameter affects outcome after endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

    PubMed

    Huang, Ying; Gloviczki, Peter; Duncan, Audra A; Kalra, Manju; Oderich, Gustavo S; Fleming, Mark D; Harmsen, William S; Bower, Thomas C

    2017-05-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether maximal aortic diameter affects outcome after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Clinical data of patients undergoing EVAR between 1997 and 2011 for nonruptured asymptomatic AAAs in a tertiary center were reviewed. Patients were classified according to diameter of AAA: group 1, <5.0 cm; group 2, 5.0 to 5.4 cm; group 3, 5.5 to 5.9 cm; and group 4, ≥6.0 cm. The primary end point was all-cause mortality; secondary end points were complications, reinterventions, and ruptures. There were 874 patients studied (female, 108 [12%]; group 1, 119; group 2, 246; group 3, 243; group 4, 266); mean age was 76 ± 7.2 years. The 30-day mortality rate was 1.0%, not significantly different between groups (P = .22); complication and reintervention rates were 13% and 4.1%, respectively, similar between groups (P < .05). Five-year survival was 68%; freedom from complications and reinterventions was 65% and 74%, respectively; rupture rate was 0.5%. Multivariate analysis revealed that factors associated with all-cause mortality included maximal aortic diameter, age, gender, surgical risk, cancer history, and endograft type (P < .05). Group 4 had increased risks of mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.38-2.85; P = .002) and complications (HR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.2-2.7; P = .009) relative to group 1. Reinterventions were more frequent for aneurysms ≥6.0 cm (HR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.2-3.3; P = .01). Late rupture rate after EVAR was not different between groups. Maximal aortic diameter is associated with long-term outcomes after elective EVAR. Patients with large AAAs (≥6.0 cm) have higher all-cause mortality, complication, and reintervention rates after EVAR than those with smaller aneurysms. We continue to recommend that AAAs be repaired when they reach 5.5 cm as recommended by the guidelines of the Society for Vascular Surgery. On the basis of our data, EVAR

  1. A comparison of standard definitions and sagittal abdominal ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MeTS) is the cluster of several clinical symptoms that together represent the strongest risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of MeTS in adolescents is difficult to estimate given that there are several, but no agreed upon definition of MeTS for this age group. It is important to estimate MeTS and identify at-risk adolescents early in order to provide effective interventions prior to the development of diabetes and coronary heart disease. Objective: Study objectives are to: (1) estimate the prevalence of MeTS in U.S. adolescents using three widely adopted definitions and (2) compare changes in prevalence of MeTS when utilizing sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) as a component of MeTS. Methods: Data from U.S. adolescents ages 12–19 years (N=970) in the NHANES (2011–2014) were analyzed. MeTS standard definitions developed by Cook et al. (2003), deFerranti et al. (2007), and the International Disease Federation (IDF, 2007) were applied to estimate the sex-stratified, weighted prevalence of MeTS and its individual components (i.e., high waist circumference (WC), hypertension, blood lipid abnormalities, and high fasting blood glucose (FBG)). The definitions were modified by substituting SAD for WC, and weighted MeTS prevalence was re-estimated. Results: Regardless of gender and definition, abnormal blood lipids and high WC were the most prevalent MeTS components. For both sexes, estimated prevalence of componen

  2. Sad music induces pleasant emotion

    PubMed Central

    Kawakami, Ai; Furukawa, Kiyoshi; Katahira, Kentaro; Okanoya, Kazuo

    2013-01-01

    In general, sad music is thought to cause us to experience sadness, which is considered an unpleasant emotion. As a result, the question arises as to why we listen to sad music if it evokes sadness. One possible answer to this question is that we may actually feel positive emotions when we listen to sad music. This suggestion may appear to be counterintuitive; however, in this study, by dividing musical emotion into perceived emotion and felt emotion, we investigated this potential emotional response to music. We hypothesized that felt and perceived emotion may not actually coincide in this respect: sad music would be perceived as sad, but the experience of listening to sad music would evoke positive emotions. A total of 44 participants listened to musical excerpts and provided data on perceived and felt emotions by rating 62 descriptive words or phrases related to emotions on a scale that ranged from 0 (not at all) to 4 (very much). The results revealed that the sad music was perceived to be more tragic, whereas the actual experiences of the participants listening to the sad music induced them to feel more romantic, more blithe, and less tragic emotions than they actually perceived with respect to the same music. Thus, the participants experienced ambivalent emotions when they listened to the sad music. After considering the possible reasons that listeners were induced to experience emotional ambivalence by the sad music, we concluded that the formulation of a new model would be essential for examining the emotions induced by music and that this new model must entertain the possibility that what we experience when listening to music is vicarious emotion. PMID:23785342

  3. Sad music induces pleasant emotion.

    PubMed

    Kawakami, Ai; Furukawa, Kiyoshi; Katahira, Kentaro; Okanoya, Kazuo

    2013-01-01

    In general, sad music is thought to cause us to experience sadness, which is considered an unpleasant emotion. As a result, the question arises as to why we listen to sad music if it evokes sadness. One possible answer to this question is that we may actually feel positive emotions when we listen to sad music. This suggestion may appear to be counterintuitive; however, in this study, by dividing musical emotion into perceived emotion and felt emotion, we investigated this potential emotional response to music. We hypothesized that felt and perceived emotion may not actually coincide in this respect: sad music would be perceived as sad, but the experience of listening to sad music would evoke positive emotions. A total of 44 participants listened to musical excerpts and provided data on perceived and felt emotions by rating 62 descriptive words or phrases related to emotions on a scale that ranged from 0 (not at all) to 4 (very much). The results revealed that the sad music was perceived to be more tragic, whereas the actual experiences of the participants listening to the sad music induced them to feel more romantic, more blithe, and less tragic emotions than they actually perceived with respect to the same music. Thus, the participants experienced ambivalent emotions when they listened to the sad music. After considering the possible reasons that listeners were induced to experience emotional ambivalence by the sad music, we concluded that the formulation of a new model would be essential for examining the emotions induced by music and that this new model must entertain the possibility that what we experience when listening to music is vicarious emotion.

  4. Reproducibility of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Diameter Measurement and Growth Evaluation on Axial and Multiplanar Computed Tomography Reformations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dugas, Alexandre; Therasse, Eric; Kauffmann, Claude

    2012-08-15

    Purpose: To compare different methods measuring abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) maximal diameter (Dmax) and its progression on multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scan. Materials and Methods: Forty AAA patients with two MDCT scans acquired at different times (baseline and follow-up) were included. Three observers measured AAA diameters by seven different methods: on axial images (anteroposterior, transverse, maximal, and short-axis views) and on multiplanar reformation (MPR) images (coronal, sagittal, and orthogonal views). Diameter measurement and progression were compared over time for the seven methods. Reproducibility of measurement methods was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis. Results: Dmax, as measuredmore » on axial slices at baseline and follow-up (FU) MDCTs, was greater than that measured using the orthogonal method (p = 0.046 for baseline and 0.028 for FU), whereas Dmax measured with the orthogonal method was greater those using all other measurement methods (p-value range: <0.0001-0.03) but anteroposterior diameter (p = 0.18 baseline and 0.10 FU). The greatest interobserver ICCs were obtained for the orthogonal and transverse methods (0.972) at baseline and for the orthogonal and sagittal MPR images at FU (0.973 and 0.977). Interobserver ICC of the orthogonal method to document AAA progression was greater (ICC = 0.833) than measurements taken on axial images (ICC = 0.662-0.780) and single-plane MPR images (0.772-0.817). Conclusion: AAA Dmax measured on MDCT axial slices overestimates aneurysm size. Diameter as measured by the orthogonal method is more reproducible, especially to document AAA progression.« less

  5. SAD effects on grantsmanship.

    PubMed

    Lozano, George A

    2015-01-01

    SAD is a state of depression induced by a lack of sufficient sunlight that occurs at high latitudes during the fall and winter. SAD causes people to be risk-adverse. Granting agencies of high latitude countries should time high-risk research competitions so they do not coincide with the SAD months. © 2015 WILEY Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Do you remember your sad face? The roles of negative cognitive style and sad mood.

    PubMed

    Caudek, Corrado; Monni, Alessandra

    2013-01-01

    We studied the effects of negative cognitive style, sad mood, and facial affect on the self-face advantage in a sample of 66 healthy individuals (mean age 26.5 years, range 19-47 years). The sample was subdivided into four groups according to inferential style and responsivity to sad mood induction. Following a sad mood induction, we examined the effect on working memory of an incidental association between facial affect, facial identity, and head-pose orientation. Overall, head-pose recognition was more accurate for the self-face than for nonself face (self-face advantage, SFA). However, participants high in negative cognitive style who experienced higher levels of sadness displayed a stronger SFA for sad expressions than happy expressions. The remaining participants displayed an opposite bias (a stronger SFA for happy expressions than sad expressions), or no bias. These findings highlight the importance of trait-vulnerability status in the working memory biases related to emotional facial expressions.

  7. Epidemiology and contemporary management of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

    PubMed

    Ullery, Brant W; Hallett, Richard L; Fleischmann, Dominik

    2018-05-01

    Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is most commonly defined as a maximal diameter of the abdominal aorta in excess of 3 cm in either anterior-posterior or transverse planes or, alternatively, as a focal dilation ≥ 1.5 times the diameter of the normal adjacent arterial segment. Risk factors for the development of AAA include age > 60, tobacco use, male gender, Caucasian race, and family history of AAA. Aneurysm growth and rupture risk appear to be associated with persistent tobacco use, female gender, and chronic pulmonary disease. The majority of AAAs are asymptomatic and detected incidentally on various imaging studies, including abdominal ultrasound, and computed tomographic angiography. Symptoms associated with AAA may include abdominal or back pain, thromboembolization, atheroembolization, aortic rupture, or development of an arteriovenous or aortoenteric fistula. The Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Efficiently (SAAAVE) Act provides coverage for a one-time screening abdominal ultrasound at age 65 for men who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes and women who have family history of AAA disease. Medical management is recommended for asymptomatic patients with AAAs < 5 cm in diameter and focuses on modifiable risk factors, including smoking cessation and blood pressure control. Primary indications for intervention in patients with AAA include development of symptoms, rupture, rapid aneurysm growth (> 5 mm/6 months), or presence of a fusiform aneurysm with maximum diameter of 5.5 cm or greater. Intervention for AAA includes conventional open surgical repair and endovascular aortic stent graft repair.

  8. Native SAD is maturing

    PubMed Central

    Rose, John P.; Wang, Bi-Cheng; Weiss, Manfred S.

    2015-01-01

    Native SAD phasing uses the anomalous scattering signal of light atoms in the crystalline, native samples of macromolecules collected from single-wavelength X-ray diffraction experiments. These atoms include sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, potassium and calcium. Native SAD phasing is challenging and is critically dependent on the collection of accurate data. Over the past five years, advances in diffraction hardware, crystallographic software, data-collection methods and strategies, and the use of data statistics have been witnessed which allow ‘highly accurate data’ to be routinely collected. Today, native SAD sits on the verge of becoming a ‘first-choice’ method for both de novo and molecular-replacement structure determination. This article will focus on advances that have caught the attention of the community over the past five years. It will also highlight both de novo native SAD structures and recent structures that were key to methods development. PMID:26175902

  9. Native SAD is maturing.

    PubMed

    Rose, John P; Wang, Bi-Cheng; Weiss, Manfred S

    2015-07-01

    Native SAD phasing uses the anomalous scattering signal of light atoms in the crystalline, native samples of macromolecules collected from single-wavelength X-ray diffraction experiments. These atoms include sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, potassium and calcium. Native SAD phasing is challenging and is critically dependent on the collection of accurate data. Over the past five years, advances in diffraction hardware, crystallographic software, data-collection methods and strategies, and the use of data statistics have been witnessed which allow 'highly accurate data' to be routinely collected. Today, native SAD sits on the verge of becoming a 'first-choice' method for both de novo and molecular-replacement structure determination. This article will focus on advances that have caught the attention of the community over the past five years. It will also highlight both de novo native SAD structures and recent structures that were key to methods development.

  10. Abdominal obesity, ethnicity and gastro‐oesophageal reflux symptoms

    PubMed Central

    Corley, Douglas A; Kubo, Ai; Zhao, Wei

    2007-01-01

    Objective To evaluate the associations between abdominal obesity and gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), and their interactions with ethnicity and gender. Design A cross‐sectional study. Participants completed detailed symptom questionnaires and underwent a standardised examination, including anthropometric measurements. Setting A large integrated healthcare system. Patients 80 110 members of the Kaiser Permanente multiphasic health check‐up cohort. Main outcome measures Gastro‐oesophageal reflux‐type symptoms. Results Recent reflux‐type symptoms were present in 11% of the population. The multivariate OR for symptoms with an abdominal diameter (adjusted for body mass index (BMI)) of ⩾26 vs <16.3 cm was 1.85 (95% CI 1.55 to 2.21) for the white population, 0.95 (95% CI 0.61 to 1.48) for the black population and 0.64 (95% CI 0.18 to 2.30) for Asians. The mean abdominal diameter was greater in men (22.0 cm, 95% CI 21.9 to 22.0) than in women (20.1 cm, 95% CI 20.0 to 20.1, p<0.01), but the risk of symptoms for any given diameter did not differ markedly by gender. The association between increasing BMI and symptoms was also much stronger among the white population than among the black population. The association between BMI and reflux‐type symptoms was partially mediated through abdominal diameter. Conclusions There was a consistent association between abdominal diameter (independent of BMI) and reflux‐type symptoms in the white population, but no consistent associations in the black population or Asians. The BMI association was also strongest among the white population. These findings, combined with the increased prevalence of abdominal obesity in male subjects, suggest that an increased obesity may disproportionately increase GORD‐type symptoms in the white population and in male subjects. PMID:17047097

  11. The financial costs of sadness.

    PubMed

    Lerner, Jennifer S; Li, Ye; Weber, Elke U

    2013-01-01

    We hypothesized a phenomenon that we term myopic misery. According to our hypothesis, sadness increases impatience and creates a myopic focus on obtaining money immediately instead of later. This focus, in turn, increases intertemporal discount rates and thereby produces substantial financial costs. In three experiments, we randomly assigned participants to sad- and neutral-state conditions, and then offered intertemporal choices. Disgust served as a comparison condition in Experiments 1 and 2. Sadness significantly increased impatience: Relative to median neutral-state participants, median sad-state participants accepted 13% to 34% less money immediately to avoid waiting 3 months for payment. In Experiment 2, impatient thoughts mediated the effects. Experiment 3 revealed that sadness made people more present biased (i.e., wanting something immediately), but not globally more impatient. Disgusted participants were not more impatient than neutral participants, and that lack of difference implies that the same financial effects do not arise from all negative emotions. These results show that myopic misery is a robust and potentially harmful phenomenon.

  12. Reproducibility of ECG-gated ultrasound diameter assessment of small abdominal aortic aneurysms.

    PubMed

    Bredahl, K; Eldrup, N; Meyer, C; Eiberg, J E; Sillesen, H

    2013-03-01

    No standardised ultrasound procedure to obtain reliable growth estimates for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) is currently available. We investigated the feasibility and reproducibility of a novel approach controlling for a combination of vessel wall delineation and cardiac cycle variation. Prospective comparative study. Consecutive patients (N = 27) with an AAA, attending their 6-month control as part of a medical treatment trial, were scanned twice by two ultrasound operators. Then, all ultrasound recordings were transferred to a core facility and analysed by a third person. The AAA diameter was determined in four different ways: from the leading edge of adventitia on the anterior wall to either the leading edge of the adventitia (method A) or leading edge of the intima (method B) on the posterior wall, with both measurements performed in systole and diastole. Inter-operator reproducibility was ± 3 mm for all methods applied. There was no difference in outcome between methods A and B; likewise, end-diastolic measurement did not improve reproducibility in preference to peak-systolic measurement. The use of a standardised ultrasound protocol including ECG-gating and subsequent off-line reading with minute calliper placement reduces variability. This may be of use in developing protocols to better detect even small AAA growth rates during clinical trials. Copyright © 2012 European Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Explaining Sad People's Memory Advantage for Faces.

    PubMed

    Hills, Peter J; Marquardt, Zoe; Young, Isabel; Goodenough, Imogen

    2017-01-01

    Sad people recognize faces more accurately than happy people (Hills et al., 2011). We devised four hypotheses for this finding that are tested between in the current study. The four hypotheses are: (1) sad people engage in more expert processing associated with face processing; (2) sad people are motivated to be more accurate than happy people in an attempt to repair their mood; (3) sad people have a defocused attentional strategy that allows more information about a face to be encoded; and (4) sad people scan more of the face than happy people leading to more facial features to be encoded. In Experiment 1, we found that dysphoria (sad mood often associated with depression) was not correlated with the face-inversion effect (a measure of expert processing) nor with response times but was correlated with defocused attention and recognition accuracy. Experiment 2 established that dysphoric participants detected changes made to more facial features than happy participants. In Experiment 3, using eye-tracking we found that sad-induced participants sampled more of the face whilst avoiding the eyes. Experiment 4 showed that sad-induced people demonstrated a smaller own-ethnicity bias. These results indicate that sad people show different attentional allocation to faces than happy and neutral people.

  14. A novel strategy to translate the biomechanical rupture risk of abdominal aortic aneurysms to their equivalent diameter risk: method and retrospective validation.

    PubMed

    Gasser, T C; Nchimi, A; Swedenborg, J; Roy, J; Sakalihasan, N; Böckler, D; Hyhlik-Dürr, A

    2014-03-01

    To translate the individual abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) patient's biomechanical rupture risk profile to risk-equivalent diameters, and to retrospectively test their predictability in ruptured and non-ruptured aneurysms. Biomechanical parameters of ruptured and non-ruptured AAAs were retrospectively evaluated in a multicenter study. General patient data and high resolution computer tomography angiography (CTA) images from 203 non-ruptured and 40 ruptured aneurysmal infrarenal aortas. Three-dimensional AAA geometries were semi-automatically derived from CTA images. Finite element (FE) models were used to predict peak wall stress (PWS) and peak wall rupture index (PWRI) according to the individual anatomy, gender, blood pressure, intra-luminal thrombus (ILT) morphology, and relative aneurysm expansion. Average PWS diameter and PWRI diameter responses were evaluated, which allowed for the PWS equivalent and PWRI equivalent diameters for any individual aneurysm to be defined. PWS increased linearly and PWRI exponentially with respect to maximum AAA diameter. A size-adjusted analysis showed that PWS equivalent and PWRI equivalent diameters were increased by 7.5 mm (p = .013) and 14.0 mm (p < .001) in ruptured cases when compared to non-ruptured controls, respectively. In non-ruptured cases the PWRI equivalent diameters were increased by 13.2 mm (p < .001) in females when compared with males. Biomechanical parameters like PWS and PWRI allow for a highly individualized analysis by integrating factors that influence the risk of AAA rupture like geometry (degree of asymmetry, ILT morphology, etc.) and patient characteristics (gender, family history, blood pressure, etc.). PWRI and the reported annual risk of rupture increase similarly with the diameter. PWRI equivalent diameter expresses the PWRI through the diameter of the average AAA that has the same PWRI, i.e. is at the same biomechanical risk of rupture. Consequently, PWRI equivalent diameter facilitates a

  15. Cloning and functional characterization of SAD genes in potato.

    PubMed

    Li, Fei; Bian, Chun Song; Xu, Jian Fei; Pang, Wan Fu; Liu, Jie; Duan, Shao Guang; Lei, Zun-Guo; Jiwan, Palta; Jin, Li-Ping

    2015-01-01

    Stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase (SAD), locating in the plastid stroma, is an important fatty acid biosynthetic enzyme in higher plants. SAD catalyzes desaturation of stearoyl-ACP to oleyl-ACP and plays a key role in determining the homeostasis between saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids, which is an important player in cold acclimation in plants. Here, four new full-length cDNA of SADs (ScoSAD, SaSAD, ScaSAD and StSAD) were cloned from four Solanum species, Solanum commersonii, S. acaule, S. cardiophyllum and S. tuberosum, respectively. The ORF of the four SADs were 1182 bp in length, encoding 393 amino acids. A sequence alignment indicated 13 amino acids varied among the SADs of three wild species. Further analysis showed that the freezing tolerance and cold acclimation capacity of S. commersonii are similar to S. acaule and their SAD amino acid sequences were identical but differed from that of S. cardiophyllum, which is sensitive to freezing. Furthermore, the sequence alignments between StSAD and ScoSAD indicated that only 7 different amino acids at residues were found in SAD of S. tuberosum (Zhongshu8) against the protein sequence of ScoSAD. A phylogenetic analysis showed the three wild potato species had the closest genetic relationship with the SAD of S. lycopersicum and Nicotiana tomentosiformis but not S. tuberosum. The SAD gene from S. commersonii (ScoSAD) was cloned into multiple sites of the pBI121 plant binary vector and transformed into the cultivated potato variety Zhongshu 8. A freeze tolerance analysis showed overexpression of the ScoSAD gene in transgenic plants significantly enhanced freeze tolerance in cv. Zhongshu 8 and increased their linoleic acid content, suggesting that linoleic acid likely plays a key role in improving freeze tolerance in potato plants. This study provided some new insights into how SAD regulates in the freezing tolerance and cold acclimation in potato.

  16. Sad Facial Expressions Increase Choice Blindness

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Yajie; Zhao, Song; Zhang, Zhijie; Feng, Wenfeng

    2018-01-01

    Previous studies have discovered a fascinating phenomenon known as choice blindness—individuals fail to detect mismatches between the face they choose and the face replaced by the experimenter. Although previous studies have reported a couple of factors that can modulate the magnitude of choice blindness, the potential effect of facial expression on choice blindness has not yet been explored. Using faces with sad and neutral expressions (Experiment 1) and faces with happy and neutral expressions (Experiment 2) in the classic choice blindness paradigm, the present study investigated the effects of facial expressions on choice blindness. The results showed that the detection rate was significantly lower on sad faces than neutral faces, whereas no significant difference was observed between happy faces and neutral faces. The exploratory analysis of verbal reports found that participants who reported less facial features for sad (as compared to neutral) expressions also tended to show a lower detection rate of sad (as compared to neutral) faces. These findings indicated that sad facial expressions increased choice blindness, which might have resulted from inhibition of further processing of the detailed facial features by the less attractive sad expressions (as compared to neutral expressions). PMID:29358926

  17. Sad Facial Expressions Increase Choice Blindness.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yajie; Zhao, Song; Zhang, Zhijie; Feng, Wenfeng

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have discovered a fascinating phenomenon known as choice blindness-individuals fail to detect mismatches between the face they choose and the face replaced by the experimenter. Although previous studies have reported a couple of factors that can modulate the magnitude of choice blindness, the potential effect of facial expression on choice blindness has not yet been explored. Using faces with sad and neutral expressions (Experiment 1) and faces with happy and neutral expressions (Experiment 2) in the classic choice blindness paradigm, the present study investigated the effects of facial expressions on choice blindness. The results showed that the detection rate was significantly lower on sad faces than neutral faces, whereas no significant difference was observed between happy faces and neutral faces. The exploratory analysis of verbal reports found that participants who reported less facial features for sad (as compared to neutral) expressions also tended to show a lower detection rate of sad (as compared to neutral) faces. These findings indicated that sad facial expressions increased choice blindness, which might have resulted from inhibition of further processing of the detailed facial features by the less attractive sad expressions (as compared to neutral expressions).

  18. The lived experience of feeling sad.

    PubMed

    Bunkers, Sandra Schmidt

    2010-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to enhance understanding of the lived experience of feeling sad. Parse's phenomenological-hermeneutic research method was used to answer the research question: What is the structure of the lived experience of feeling sad? Participants were 7 elders who had lost a pet. Data were collected with dialogical engagement. The major finding of the study is the structure: Feeling sad is penetrating anguish surfacing with contemplating absent-yet present intimacies, while prevailing amid misfortune. Feeling sad is discussed in relation to the principles of humanbecoming and in relation to how it can inform future nursing research and nursing practice.

  19. The Paradox of Music-Evoked Sadness: An Online Survey

    PubMed Central

    Taruffi, Liila; Koelsch, Stefan

    2014-01-01

    This study explores listeners’ experience of music-evoked sadness. Sadness is typically assumed to be undesirable and is therefore usually avoided in everyday life. Yet the question remains: Why do people seek and appreciate sadness in music? We present findings from an online survey with both Western and Eastern participants (N = 772). The survey investigates the rewarding aspects of music-evoked sadness, as well as the relative contribution of listener characteristics and situational factors to the appreciation of sad music. The survey also examines the different principles through which sadness is evoked by music, and their interaction with personality traits. Results show 4 different rewards of music-evoked sadness: reward of imagination, emotion regulation, empathy, and no “real-life” implications. Moreover, appreciation of sad music follows a mood-congruent fashion and is greater among individuals with high empathy and low emotional stability. Surprisingly, nostalgia rather than sadness is the most frequent emotion evoked by sad music. Correspondingly, memory was rated as the most important principle through which sadness is evoked. Finally, the trait empathy contributes to the evocation of sadness via contagion, appraisal, and by engaging social functions. The present findings indicate that emotional responses to sad music are multifaceted, are modulated by empathy, and are linked with a multidimensional experience of pleasure. These results were corroborated by a follow-up survey on happy music, which indicated differences between the emotional experiences resulting from listening to sad versus happy music. This is the first comprehensive survey of music-evoked sadness, revealing that listening to sad music can lead to beneficial emotional effects such as regulation of negative emotion and mood as well as consolation. Such beneficial emotional effects constitute the prime motivations for engaging with sad music in everyday life. PMID:25330315

  20. The paradox of music-evoked sadness: an online survey.

    PubMed

    Taruffi, Liila; Koelsch, Stefan

    2014-01-01

    This study explores listeners' experience of music-evoked sadness. Sadness is typically assumed to be undesirable and is therefore usually avoided in everyday life. Yet the question remains: Why do people seek and appreciate sadness in music? We present findings from an online survey with both Western and Eastern participants (N = 772). The survey investigates the rewarding aspects of music-evoked sadness, as well as the relative contribution of listener characteristics and situational factors to the appreciation of sad music. The survey also examines the different principles through which sadness is evoked by music, and their interaction with personality traits. Results show 4 different rewards of music-evoked sadness: reward of imagination, emotion regulation, empathy, and no "real-life" implications. Moreover, appreciation of sad music follows a mood-congruent fashion and is greater among individuals with high empathy and low emotional stability. Surprisingly, nostalgia rather than sadness is the most frequent emotion evoked by sad music. Correspondingly, memory was rated as the most important principle through which sadness is evoked. Finally, the trait empathy contributes to the evocation of sadness via contagion, appraisal, and by engaging social functions. The present findings indicate that emotional responses to sad music are multifaceted, are modulated by empathy, and are linked with a multidimensional experience of pleasure. These results were corroborated by a follow-up survey on happy music, which indicated differences between the emotional experiences resulting from listening to sad versus happy music. This is the first comprehensive survey of music-evoked sadness, revealing that listening to sad music can lead to beneficial emotional effects such as regulation of negative emotion and mood as well as consolation. Such beneficial emotional effects constitute the prime motivations for engaging with sad music in everyday life.

  1. Ultrasound, anthropometry and bioimpedance: a comparison in predicting fat deposition in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

    PubMed

    Vitturi, Nicola; Soattin, Marta; De Stefano, Fabio; Vianello, Daniela; Zambon, Alberto; Plebani, Mario; Busetto, Luca

    2015-06-01

    The aim of our study was the evaluation of anthropometric measurements [waist circumference and sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD)] and abdominal bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) (ViScan, TANITA) in comparison to several abdominal ultrasonographic (US) measurements to estimate visceral fat deposition and liver steatosis in a population of 105 subjects. All 105 patients underwent a complete anthropometric evaluation, blood sample for the determination of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, insulin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, BIA and US measurements (peritoneal, pre-peritoneal, peri-renal, para-renal and peri-hepatic fat thickness). All the ultrasonographic markers considered in our study are related to the presence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and so is true for SAD. Comparing ROC curves, peritoneal fat tissue thickness, SAD and ViScan visceral index are significantly better than waist circumference in predicting the presence of NAFLD (AUC 0.79 ± 0.04; 0.81 ± 0.05; 0.82 ± 0.04 vs 0.76 ± 0.05, respectively). According to our data, various methods may be useful in evaluating NAFLD, but only ViScan visceral index, US peritoneal fat thickness and SAD are better than waist circumference. Among them, SAD is the most promising, due to its small cost and time consumption.

  2. The Communicative Function of Sad Facial Expressions.

    PubMed

    Reed, Lawrence Ian; DeScioli, Peter

    2017-01-01

    What are the communicative functions of sad facial expressions? Research shows that people feel sadness in response to losses but it's unclear whether sad expressions function to communicate losses to others and if so, what makes these signals credible. Here we use economic games to test the hypothesis that sad expressions lend credibility to claims of loss. Participants play the role of either a proposer or recipient in a game with a fictional backstory and real monetary payoffs. The proposers view a (fictional) video of the recipient's character displaying either a neutral or sad expression paired with a claim of loss. The proposer then decided how much money to give to the recipient. In three experiments, we test alternative theories by using situations in which the recipient's losses were uncertain (Experiment 1), the recipient's losses were certain (Experiment 2), or the recipient claims failed gains rather than losses (Experiment 3). Overall, we find that participants gave more money to recipients who displayed sad expressions compared to neutral expressions, but only under conditions of uncertain loss. This finding supports the hypothesis that sad expressions function to increase the credibility of claims of loss.

  3. The long and the short of SAD-1 kinase.

    PubMed

    Kim, Joanne S M; Hung, Wesley; Zhen, Mei

    2010-05-01

    The Ser/Thr SAD kinases are evolutionarily conserved, critical regulators of neural development. Exciting findings in recent years have significantly advanced our understanding of the mechanism through which SAD kinases regulate neural development. Mammalian SAD-A and SAD-B, activated by a master kinase LKB1, regulate microtubule dynamics and polarize neurons. In C. elegans, the sad-1 gene encodes two isoforms, namely the long and the short, which exhibit overlapping and yet distinct functions in neuronal polarity and synaptic organization. Surprisingly, our most recent findings in C. elegans revealed a SAD-1-independent LKB1 activity in neuronal polarity. We also found that the long SAD-1 isoform directly interacts with a STRADalpha pseudokinase, STRD-1, to regulate neuronal polarity and synaptic organization. We elaborate here a working model of SAD-1 in which the two isoforms dimer/oligomerize to form a functional complex, and STRD-1 clusters and localizes the SAD-1 complex to synapses. While the mechanistic difference between the vertebrate and invertebrate SAD kinases may be puzzling, a recent discovery of the functionally distinct SAD-B isoforms predicts that the difference likely arises from our incomplete understanding of the SAD kinase mechanism and may eventually be reconciled as the revelation continues.

  4. Explaining Sad People’s Memory Advantage for Faces

    PubMed Central

    Hills, Peter J.; Marquardt, Zoe; Young, Isabel; Goodenough, Imogen

    2017-01-01

    Sad people recognize faces more accurately than happy people (Hills et al., 2011). We devised four hypotheses for this finding that are tested between in the current study. The four hypotheses are: (1) sad people engage in more expert processing associated with face processing; (2) sad people are motivated to be more accurate than happy people in an attempt to repair their mood; (3) sad people have a defocused attentional strategy that allows more information about a face to be encoded; and (4) sad people scan more of the face than happy people leading to more facial features to be encoded. In Experiment 1, we found that dysphoria (sad mood often associated with depression) was not correlated with the face-inversion effect (a measure of expert processing) nor with response times but was correlated with defocused attention and recognition accuracy. Experiment 2 established that dysphoric participants detected changes made to more facial features than happy participants. In Experiment 3, using eye-tracking we found that sad-induced participants sampled more of the face whilst avoiding the eyes. Experiment 4 showed that sad-induced people demonstrated a smaller own-ethnicity bias. These results indicate that sad people show different attentional allocation to faces than happy and neutral people. PMID:28261138

  5. Persistence of the cell-cycle checkpoint kinase Wee1 in SadA- and SadB-deficient neurons disrupts neuronal polarity.

    PubMed

    Müller, Myriam; Lutter, Daniela; Püschel, Andreas W

    2010-01-15

    Wee1 is well characterized as a cell-cycle checkpoint kinase that regulates the entry into mitosis in dividing cells. Here we identify a novel function of Wee1 in postmitotic neurons during the establishment of distinct axonal and dendritic compartments, which is an essential step during neuronal development. Wee1 is expressed in unpolarized neurons but is downregulated after neurons have extended an axon. Suppression of Wee1 impairs the formation of minor neurites but does not interfere with axon formation. However, neuronal polarity is disrupted when neurons fail to downregulate Wee1. The kinases SadA and SadB (Sad kinases) phosphorylate Wee1 and are required to initiate its downregulation in polarized neurons. Wee1 expression persists in neurons that are deficient in SadA and SadB and disrupts neuronal polarity. Knockdown of Wee1 rescues the Sada(-/-);Sadb(-/-) mutant phenotype and restores normal polarity in these neurons. Our results demonstrate that the regulation of Wee1 by SadA and SadB kinases is essential for the differentiation of polarized neurons.

  6. Feeling sad makes us feel older: Effects of a sad-mood induction on subjective age.

    PubMed

    Dutt, Anne J; Wahl, Hans-Werner

    2017-08-01

    A mood-induction paradigm was implemented in a sample of 144 adults covering midlife and old age (40-80 years) to investigate associations between mood and subjective age. Sad or neutral mood was induced by texts and music pieces. Subjective age was operationalized as felt age relative to chronological age. Participants receiving the sad-mood induction reported changes toward older felt ages from pre- to postinduction. Participants receiving the neutral-mood induction reported comparable levels of subjective age at pre- and postinduction. Effects were comparable across middle- and older aged participants. Results suggest that sad affective states might dampen subjective age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  7. The pleasures of sad music: a systematic review

    PubMed Central

    Sachs, Matthew E.; Damasio, Antonio; Habibi, Assal

    2015-01-01

    Sadness is generally seen as a negative emotion, a response to distressing and adverse situations. In an aesthetic context, however, sadness is often associated with some degree of pleasure, as suggested by the ubiquity and popularity, throughout history, of music, plays, films and paintings with a sad content. Here, we focus on the fact that music regarded as sad is often experienced as pleasurable. Compared to other art forms, music has an exceptional ability to evoke a wide-range of feelings and is especially beguiling when it deals with grief and sorrow. Why is it, then, that while human survival depends on preventing painful experiences, mental pain often turns out to be explicitly sought through music? In this article we consider why and how sad music can become pleasurable. We offer a framework to account for how listening to sad music can lead to positive feelings, contending that this effect hinges on correcting an ongoing homeostatic imbalance. Sadness evoked by music is found pleasurable: (1) when it is perceived as non-threatening; (2) when it is aesthetically pleasing; and (3) when it produces psychological benefits such as mood regulation, and empathic feelings, caused, for example, by recollection of and reflection on past events. We also review neuroimaging studies related to music and emotion and focus on those that deal with sadness. Further exploration of the neural mechanisms through which stimuli that usually produce sadness can induce a positive affective state could help the development of effective therapies for disorders such as depression, in which the ability to experience pleasure is attenuated. PMID:26257625

  8. The pleasures of sad music: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Sachs, Matthew E; Damasio, Antonio; Habibi, Assal

    2015-01-01

    Sadness is generally seen as a negative emotion, a response to distressing and adverse situations. In an aesthetic context, however, sadness is often associated with some degree of pleasure, as suggested by the ubiquity and popularity, throughout history, of music, plays, films and paintings with a sad content. Here, we focus on the fact that music regarded as sad is often experienced as pleasurable. Compared to other art forms, music has an exceptional ability to evoke a wide-range of feelings and is especially beguiling when it deals with grief and sorrow. Why is it, then, that while human survival depends on preventing painful experiences, mental pain often turns out to be explicitly sought through music? In this article we consider why and how sad music can become pleasurable. We offer a framework to account for how listening to sad music can lead to positive feelings, contending that this effect hinges on correcting an ongoing homeostatic imbalance. Sadness evoked by music is found pleasurable: (1) when it is perceived as non-threatening; (2) when it is aesthetically pleasing; and (3) when it produces psychological benefits such as mood regulation, and empathic feelings, caused, for example, by recollection of and reflection on past events. We also review neuroimaging studies related to music and emotion and focus on those that deal with sadness. Further exploration of the neural mechanisms through which stimuli that usually produce sadness can induce a positive affective state could help the development of effective therapies for disorders such as depression, in which the ability to experience pleasure is attenuated.

  9. Ball driven type MEMS SAD for artillery fuse

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seok, Jin Oh; Jeong, Ji-hun; Eom, Junseong; Lee, Seung S.; Lee, Chun Jae; Ryu, Sung Moon; Oh, Jong Soo

    2017-01-01

    The SAD (safety and arming device) is an indispensable fuse component that ensures safe and reliable performance during the use of ammunition. Because the application of electronic devices for smart munitions is increasing, miniaturization of the SAD has become one of the key issues for next-generation artillery fuses. Based on MEMS technology, various types of miniaturized SADs have been proposed and fabricated. However, none of them have been reported to have been used in actual munitions due to their lack of high impact endurance and complicated explosive train arrangements. In this research, a new MEMS SAD using a ball driven mechanism, is successfully demonstrated based on a UV LIGA (lithography, electroplating and molding) process. Unlike other MEMS SADs, both high impact endurance and simple structure were achieved by using a ball driven mechanism. The simple structural design also simplified the fabrication process and increased the processing yield. The ball driven type MEMS SAD performed successfully under the desired safe and arming conditions of a spin test and showed fine agreement with the FEM simulation result, conducted prior to its fabrication. A field test was also performed with a grenade launcher to evaluate the SAD performance in the firing environment. All 30 of the grenade samples equipped with the proposed MEMS SAD operated successfully under the high-G setback condition.

  10. The neural basis of attaining conscious awareness of sad mood.

    PubMed

    Smith, Ryan; Braden, B Blair; Chen, Kewei; Ponce, Francisco A; Lane, Richard D; Baxter, Leslie C

    2015-09-01

    The neural processes associated with becoming aware of sad mood are not fully understood. We examined the dynamic process of becoming aware of sad mood and recovery from sad mood. Sixteen healthy subjects underwent fMRI while participating in a sadness induction task designed to allow for variable mood induction times. Individualized regressors linearly modeled the time periods during the attainment of self-reported sad and baseline "neutral" mood states, and the validity of the linearity assumption was further tested using independent component analysis. During sadness induction the dorsomedial and ventrolateral prefrontal cortices, and anterior insula exhibited a linear increase in the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal until subjects became aware of a sad mood and then a subsequent linear decrease as subjects transitioned from sadness back to the non-sadness baseline condition. These findings extend understanding of the neural basis of conscious emotional experience.

  11. SAD phasing: History, current impact and future opportunities.

    PubMed

    Rose, John P; Wang, Bi-Cheng

    2016-07-15

    Single wavelength anomalous diffraction (SAD) can trace its beginnings to the early 1950s. Researchers at the time recognized that SAD offers some unique features that might be advantageous for crystallographic phasing, despite the fact that at that time recording accurate SAD data was problematic. In this review we will follow the trail from those early days, highlighting key advances in the field and interpreting them in terms on how they stimulated continued phasing development that produced the theoretical foundation for the routine macromolecular structure determination by SAD today. The technological advances over the past three decades in both hardware and software, which played a significant role in making SAD phasing a 'first choice method', will also be described. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Common iliac artery aneurysms in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms.

    PubMed

    Armon, M P; Wenham, P W; Whitaker, S C; Gregson, R H; Hopkinson, B R

    1998-03-01

    To determine the incidence of common iliac artery (CIA) aneurysms in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) and to evaluate the relationship between AAA and CIA diameter. Spiral CT angiography was used to measure the maximum diameters of the abdominal aorta and the common iliac arteries of 215 patients with AAA. The median CIA diameter was 1.7 cm--significantly greater than the published mean of 1.25 (2 S.D. = 0.85-1.65) cm of an age-matched, non-vascular population. Thirty-four patients (16%) had unilateral and 26 patients (12%) bilateral CIA aneurysms > or = 2.4 cm diameter. Eight-six vessels (20%) were affected. Right CIA diameters were wider than left CIA diameters (p < 0.0001, Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test). The correlation between AAA size and CIA diameter was weak. The AAA population has abnormally dilated common iliac arteries. In this population, common iliac artery aneurysms should be defined as those greater than 2.4 cm diameter. 20% of CIAs in patients with AAA are aneurysmal according to this definition.

  13. Friendship and the Socialization of Sadness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tillery, Rachel; Cohen, Robert; Parra, Gilbert R.; Kitzmann, Katherine M.; Sharp, Katianne M. Howard

    2015-01-01

    Children's ability to manage the expression of sadness is critical to their development and adjustment. Although parents have been the primary focus of research examining sadness socialization, many acknowledge the influence of other agents such as children's peers. The present research evaluated one type of emotion socialization--reactions to…

  14. The effect of sadness on global-local processing.

    PubMed

    von Mühlenen, Adrian; Bellaera, Lauren; Singh, Amrendra; Srinivasan, Narayanan

    2018-05-04

    Gable and Harmon-Jones (Psychological Science, 21(2), 211-215, 2010) reported that sadness broadens attention in a global-local letter task. This finding provided the key test for their motivational intensity account, which states that the level of spatial processing is not determined by emotional valence, but by motivational intensity. However, their finding is at odds with several other studies, showing no effect, or even a narrowing effect of sadness on attention. This paper reports two attempts to replicate the broadening effect of sadness on attention. Both experiments used a global-local letter task, but differed in terms of emotion induction: Experiment 1 used the same pictures as Gable and Harmon-Jones, taken from the IAPS dataset; Experiment 2 used a sad video underlaid with sad music. Results showed a sadness-specific global advantage in the error rates, but not in the reaction times. The same null results were also found in a South-Asian sample in both experiments, showing that effects on global/local processing were not influenced by a culturally related processing bias.

  15. Being Moved by Unfamiliar Sad Music Is Associated with High Empathy

    PubMed Central

    Eerola, Tuomas; Vuoskoski, Jonna K.; Kautiainen, Hannu

    2016-01-01

    The paradox of enjoying listening to music that evokes sadness is yet to be fully understood. Unlike prior studies that have explored potential explanations related to lyrics, memories, and mood regulation, we investigated the types of emotions induced by unfamiliar, instrumental sad music, and whether these responses are consistently associated with certain individual difference variables. One hundred and two participants were drawn from a representative sample to minimize self-selection bias. The results suggest that the emotional responses induced by unfamiliar sad music could be characterized in terms of three underlying factors: Relaxing sadness, Moving sadness, and Nervous sadness. Relaxing sadness was characterized by felt and perceived peacefulness and positive valence. Moving sadness captured an intense experience that involved feelings of sadness and being moved. Nervous sadness was associated with felt anxiety, perceived scariness and negative valence. These interpretations were supported by indirect measures of felt emotion. Experiences of Moving sadness were strongly associated with high trait empathy and emotional contagion, but not with other previously suggested traits such as absorption or nostalgia-proneness. Relaxing sadness and Nervous sadness were not significantly predicted by any of the individual difference variables. The findings are interpreted within a theoretical framework of embodied emotions. PMID:27695424

  16. On the interaction between sad mood and cognitive control: the effect of induced sadness on electrophysiological modulations underlying Stroop conflict processing.

    PubMed

    Nixon, Elena; Liddle, Peter F; Nixon, Neil L; Liotti, Mario

    2013-03-01

    The present study employed high-density ERPs to examine the effect of induced sad mood on the spatiotemporal correlates of conflict monitoring and resolution in a colour-word Stroop interference task. Neuroimaging evidence and dipole modelling implicates the involvement of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) regions in conflict-laden interference control. On the basis that these structures have been found to mediate emotion-cognition interactions in negative mood states, it was predicted that Stroop-related cognitive control, which relies heavily on anterior neural sources, would be affected by effective sad mood provocation. Healthy participants (N=14) were induced into transient sadness via use of autobiographical sad scripts, a well-validated mood induction technique (Liotti et al., 2000a, 2002). In accord with previous research, interference effects were shown at both baseline and sad states while Stroop conflict was associated with early (N450) and late (Late Positive Component; LPC) electrophysiological modulations at both states. Sad mood induction attenuated the N450 effect in line with our expectation that it would be susceptible to modulation by mood, given its purported anterior limbic source. The LPC effect was displayed at the typical posterior lateral sites but, as predicted, was not affected by sad mood. However, frontocentral LPC activity-presumably generated from an additional anterior limbic source-was affected at sad state, hinting a role in conflict monitoring. Although the neurophysiological underpinnings of interference control are yet to be clarified, this study provided further insight into emotion-cognition interactions as indexed by Stroop conflict-laden processing. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Automated anatomical labeling method for abdominal arteries extracted from 3D abdominal CT images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oda, Masahiro; Hoang, Bui Huy; Kitasaka, Takayuki; Misawa, Kazunari; Fujiwara, Michitaka; Mori, Kensaku

    2012-02-01

    This paper presents an automated anatomical labeling method of abdominal arteries. In abdominal surgery, understanding of blood vessel structure concerning with a target organ is very important. Branching pattern of blood vessels differs among individuals. It is required to develop a system that can assist understanding of a blood vessel structure and anatomical names of blood vessels of a patient. Previous anatomical labbeling methods for abdominal arteries deal with either of the upper or lower abdominal arteries. In this paper, we present an automated anatomical labeling method of both of the upper and lower abdominal arteries extracted from CT images. We obtain a tree structure of artery regions and calculate feature values for each branch. These feature values include the diameter, curvature, direction, and running vectors of a branch. Target arteries of this method are grouped based on branching conditions. The following processes are separately applied for each group. We compute candidate artery names by using classifiers that are trained to output artery names. A correction process of the candidate anatomical names based on the rule of majority is applied to determine final names. We applied the proposed method to 23 cases of 3D abdominal CT images. Experimental results showed that the proposed method is able to perform nomenclature of entire major abdominal arteries. The recall and the precision rates of labeling are 79.01% and 80.41%, respectively.

  18. Sad man's nose: Emotion induction and olfactory perception.

    PubMed

    Flohr, Elena L R; Erwin, Elena; Croy, Ilona; Hummel, Thomas

    2017-03-01

    Emotional and olfactory processing is frequently shown to be closely linked both anatomically and functionally. Depression, a disease closely related to the emotional state of sadness, has been shown to be associated with a decrease in olfactory sensitivity. The present study focuses on the state of sadness in n = 31 healthy subjects in order to investigate the specific contribution of this affective state in the modulation of olfactory processing. A sad or indifferent affective state was induced using 2 movies that were presented on 2 separate days. Afterward, chemosensory-evoked potentials were recorded after stimulation with an unpleasant (hydrogen sulfide: "rotten eggs") or a pleasant (phenyl ethyl alcohol: "rose") odorant. Latencies of N1 and P2 peaks were longer after induction of the sad affective state. Additionally, amplitudes were lower in a sad affective state when being stimulated with the unpleasant odorant. Processing of olfactory input has thus been reduced under conditions of the sad affective state. We argue that the affective state per se could at least partially account for the reduced olfactory sensitivity in depressed patients. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to show influence of affective state on chemosensory event-related potentials. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  19. In-house zinc SAD phasing at Cu Kα edge.

    PubMed

    Kim, Min-Kyu; Lee, Sangmin; An, Young Jun; Jeong, Chang-Sook; Ji, Chang-Jun; Lee, Jin-Won; Cha, Sun-Shin

    2013-07-01

    De novo zinc single-wavelength anomalous dispersion (Zn-SAD) phasing has been demonstrated with the 1.9 Å resolution data of glucose isomerase and 2.6 Å resolution data of Staphylococcus aureus Fur (SaFur) collected using in-house Cu Kα X-ray source. The successful in-house Zn-SAD phasing of glucose isomerase, based on the anomalous signals of both zinc ions introduced to crystals by soaking and native sulfur atoms, drove us to determine the structure of SaFur, a zinc-containing transcription factor, by Zn-SAD phasing using in-house X-ray source. The abundance of zinc-containing proteins in nature, the easy zinc derivatization of the protein surface, no need of synchrotron access, and the successful experimental phasing with the modest 2.6 Å resolution SAD data indicate that inhouse Zn-SAD phasing can be widely applicable to structure determination.

  20. Disgust, Sadness, and Appraisal: Disgusted Consumers Dislike Food More Than Sad Ones

    PubMed Central

    Motoki, Kosuke; Sugiura, Motoaki

    2018-01-01

    According to the affect-as-information framework, consumers base judgments on their feelings. Disgust is associated with two kinds of appraisal: one in which the consumer avoids and distances him/herself immediately from the object concerned, and another in which the consumer is disgusted due to contamination and impurities within the environment. The first instance indicates that disgust can decrease a consumer’s preference for a product, regardless of its category. In contrast, the second case suggests that a product’s degree of depreciation is greater in products vulnerable to contamination, such as foods. However, it remains largely unknown how incidental disgust affects product preferences in accordance with the two appraisal-related goals. The present research investigates how incidental disgust (as opposed to sadness, an equally valenced but distinct emotion of appraisal) influences consumer preferences for products with or without a risk of contamination. Twenty-four participants repeatedly judged foods or household products after seeing an emotional image (conveying disgust, sadness, or neutrality). Foods and household products are the two representative product categories in grocery stores, but only foods are associated with a risk of contamination. The results showed that incidental disgust led to negative evaluations of both types of products; however, compared to sadness, incidental disgust demonstrated a stronger negative effect on preference for foods than household products. These findings elucidate that disgust and the appraisal of contamination specifically devalue foods, and broaden the application of the appraisal-information framework in consumer settings. PMID:29467697

  1. Disgust, Sadness, and Appraisal: Disgusted Consumers Dislike Food More Than Sad Ones.

    PubMed

    Motoki, Kosuke; Sugiura, Motoaki

    2018-01-01

    According to the affect-as-information framework, consumers base judgments on their feelings. Disgust is associated with two kinds of appraisal: one in which the consumer avoids and distances him/herself immediately from the object concerned, and another in which the consumer is disgusted due to contamination and impurities within the environment. The first instance indicates that disgust can decrease a consumer's preference for a product, regardless of its category. In contrast, the second case suggests that a product's degree of depreciation is greater in products vulnerable to contamination, such as foods. However, it remains largely unknown how incidental disgust affects product preferences in accordance with the two appraisal-related goals. The present research investigates how incidental disgust (as opposed to sadness, an equally valenced but distinct emotion of appraisal) influences consumer preferences for products with or without a risk of contamination. Twenty-four participants repeatedly judged foods or household products after seeing an emotional image (conveying disgust, sadness, or neutrality). Foods and household products are the two representative product categories in grocery stores, but only foods are associated with a risk of contamination. The results showed that incidental disgust led to negative evaluations of both types of products; however, compared to sadness, incidental disgust demonstrated a stronger negative effect on preference for foods than household products. These findings elucidate that disgust and the appraisal of contamination specifically devalue foods, and broaden the application of the appraisal-information framework in consumer settings.

  2. Affinity for Poetry and Aesthetic Appreciation of Joyful and Sad Poems

    PubMed Central

    Kraxenberger, Maria; Menninghaus, Winfried

    2017-01-01

    Artworks with sad and affectively negative content have repeatedly been reported to elicit positive aesthetic appreciation. This topic has received much attention both in the history of poetics and aesthetics as well as in recent studies on sad films and sad music. However, poetry and aesthetic evaluations of joyful and sad poetry have received only little attention in empirical studies to date. We collected beauty and liking ratings for 24 sad and 24 joyful poems from 128 participants. Following previous studies, we computed an integrated measure for overall aesthetic appreciation based on the beauty and liking ratings to test for differences in appreciation between joyful and sad poems. Further, we tested whether readers' judgments are related to their affinity for poetry. Results show that sad poems are rated significantly higher for aesthetic appreciation than joyful poems, and that aesthetic appreciation is influenced by the participants' affinity for poetry. PMID:28119649

  3. Affinity for Poetry and Aesthetic Appreciation of Joyful and Sad Poems.

    PubMed

    Kraxenberger, Maria; Menninghaus, Winfried

    2016-01-01

    Artworks with sad and affectively negative content have repeatedly been reported to elicit positive aesthetic appreciation. This topic has received much attention both in the history of poetics and aesthetics as well as in recent studies on sad films and sad music. However, poetry and aesthetic evaluations of joyful and sad poetry have received only little attention in empirical studies to date. We collected beauty and liking ratings for 24 sad and 24 joyful poems from 128 participants. Following previous studies, we computed an integrated measure for overall aesthetic appreciation based on the beauty and liking ratings to test for differences in appreciation between joyful and sad poems. Further, we tested whether readers' judgments are related to their affinity for poetry. Results show that sad poems are rated significantly higher for aesthetic appreciation than joyful poems, and that aesthetic appreciation is influenced by the participants' affinity for poetry.

  4. The Pleasure Evoked by Sad Music Is Mediated by Feelings of Being Moved.

    PubMed

    Vuoskoski, Jonna K; Eerola, Tuomas

    2017-01-01

    Why do we enjoy listening to music that makes us sad? This question has puzzled music psychologists for decades, but the paradox of "pleasurable sadness" remains to be solved. Recent findings from a study investigating the enjoyment of sad films suggest that the positive relationship between felt sadness and enjoyment might be explained by feelings of being moved (Hanich et al., 2014). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether feelings of being moved also mediated the enjoyment of sad music. In Experiment 1, 308 participants listened to five sad music excerpts and rated their liking and felt emotions. A multilevel mediation analysis revealed that the initial positive relationship between liking and felt sadness ( r = 0.22) was fully mediated by feelings of being moved. Experiment 2 explored the interconnections of perceived sadness, beauty, and movingness in 27 short music excerpts that represented independently varying levels of sadness and beauty. Two multilevel mediation analyses were carried out to test competing hypotheses: (A) that movingness mediates the effect of perceived sadness on liking, or (B) that perceived beauty mediates the effect of sadness on liking. Stronger support was obtained for Hypothesis A. Our findings suggest that - similarly to the enjoyment of sad films - the aesthetic appreciation of sad music is mediated by being moved. We argue that felt sadness may contribute to the enjoyment of sad music by intensifying feelings of being moved.

  5. The Pleasure Evoked by Sad Music Is Mediated by Feelings of Being Moved

    PubMed Central

    Vuoskoski, Jonna K.; Eerola, Tuomas

    2017-01-01

    Why do we enjoy listening to music that makes us sad? This question has puzzled music psychologists for decades, but the paradox of “pleasurable sadness” remains to be solved. Recent findings from a study investigating the enjoyment of sad films suggest that the positive relationship between felt sadness and enjoyment might be explained by feelings of being moved (Hanich et al., 2014). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether feelings of being moved also mediated the enjoyment of sad music. In Experiment 1, 308 participants listened to five sad music excerpts and rated their liking and felt emotions. A multilevel mediation analysis revealed that the initial positive relationship between liking and felt sadness (r = 0.22) was fully mediated by feelings of being moved. Experiment 2 explored the interconnections of perceived sadness, beauty, and movingness in 27 short music excerpts that represented independently varying levels of sadness and beauty. Two multilevel mediation analyses were carried out to test competing hypotheses: (A) that movingness mediates the effect of perceived sadness on liking, or (B) that perceived beauty mediates the effect of sadness on liking. Stronger support was obtained for Hypothesis A. Our findings suggest that – similarly to the enjoyment of sad films – the aesthetic appreciation of sad music is mediated by being moved. We argue that felt sadness may contribute to the enjoyment of sad music by intensifying feelings of being moved. PMID:28377740

  6. Reading sadness beyond human faces.

    PubMed

    Chammat, Mariam; Foucher, Aurélie; Nadel, Jacqueline; Dubal, Stéphanie

    2010-08-12

    Human faces are the main emotion displayers. Knowing that emotional compared to neutral stimuli elicit enlarged ERPs components at the perceptual level, one may wonder whether this has led to an emotional facilitation bias toward human faces. To contribute to this question, we measured the P1 and N170 components of the ERPs elicited by human facial compared to artificial stimuli, namely non-humanoid robots. Fifteen healthy young adults were shown sad and neutral, upright and inverted expressions of human versus robotic displays. An increase in P1 amplitude in response to sad displays compared to neutral ones evidenced an early perceptual amplification for sadness information. P1 and N170 latencies were delayed in response to robotic stimuli compared to human ones, while N170 amplitude was not affected by media. Inverted human stimuli elicited a longer latency of P1 and a larger N170 amplitude while inverted robotic stimuli did not. As a whole, our results show that emotion facilitation is not biased to human faces but rather extend to non-human displays, thus suggesting our capacity to read emotion beyond faces. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Sad and lonely: body dissatisfaction among adolescent girls.

    PubMed

    Forste, Renata; Potter, Marina; Erickson, Lance

    2017-06-21

    Purpose To further understand the association between body dissatisfaction and sadness/loneliness among adolescent girls, we examine how this association, as reported by pre-teen and adolescent girls, is mediated or moderated by the quality of peer and family relationships. Methods Our data are from the Health Behavior of School-Aged Children 2009-2010, a nationally representative survey of school-aged children in the US. We analyze a sample of 5658 girls in Grades 5 through 10. We utilize ordinary least squares (OLS) regression techniques and adjust for the complex sampling design. We explore how the link between body dissatisfaction and sadness/loneliness is mediated or moderated by family and peer relationships and also include controls for age, race, media exposure, and physical health. Results We find that body dissatisfaction is predictive of sadness/loneliness for girls at all grade levels and that the quality of peer and family relationships mediates 27%-38% of this association, particularly among early adolescent girls. Positive peer relationships also moderate or help mitigate the association between body dissatisfaction and sadness/loneliness among pre-teens. Conclusion Our findings underscore the association between body dissatisfaction and sadness/loneliness among early adolescent girls. In addition, our results highlight the importance of quality peer and family relationships in terms of how girls think about their bodies and respond emotionally to them. To evaluate feelings of sadness and loneliness among early adolescent girls, health care professionals need to consider not only body dissatisfaction but also the context of peer and family relationships.

  8. Circulating Vascular Basement Membrane Fragments are Associated with the Diameter of the Abdominal Aorta and Their Expression Pattern is Altered in AAA Tissue.

    PubMed

    Holsti, Mari; Wanhainen, Anders; Lundin, Christina; Björck, Martin; Tegler, Gustaf; Svensson, Johan; Sund, Malin

    2018-04-12

    Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is characterised by enhanced proteolytic activity, and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling in the vascular wall. Type IV and XVIII collagen/endostatin are structural proteins in vascular basement membrane (VBM), a specialised ECM structure. Here the association between plasma levels of these collagens with the aortic diameter and expansion rate is studied, and their expression in aortic tissue characterised. This was a retrospective population based cohort study. Type IV and XVIII collagen/endostatin were analysed in plasma by ELISA assay in 615 men, divided into three groups based on the aortic diameter: 1) normal aorta ≤ 25 mm, 2) sub-aneurysmal aorta (SAA) 26-29 mm, and 3) AAA ≥ 30 mm. Follow up data were available for 159 men. The association between collagen levels and aortic diameter at baseline, and with the expansion rate at follow up were analysed in ordinal logistic regression and linear regression models, controlling for common confounding factors. Tissue expression of the collagens was analysed in normal aorta (n = 6) and AAA (n = 6) by immunofluorescence. Plasma levels of type XVIII collagen/endostatin (136 ng/mL [SD 29] in individuals with a normal aorta diameter, 154 ng/ml [SD 45] in SAA, and 162 ng/ml [SD 46] in AAA; p = .001) and type IV collagen (105 ng/mL [SD 42] normal aorta, 124 ng/ml [SD 46] SAA, and 127 ng/ml [SD 47] AAA; p = .037) were associated with a larger aortic diameter. A significant association was found between the baseline levels of type XVIII/endostatin and the aortic expansion rate (p = .035), but in the multivariable model, only the initial aortic diameter remained significantly associated with expansion (p = .005). Altered expression patterns of both collagens were observed in AAA tissue. Plasma levels of circulating type IV and XVIII collagen/endostatin increase with AAA diameter. The expression pattern of VBM proteins is altered in the aneurysm wall. Copyright

  9. Structure and inhibition analysis of the mouse SAD-B C-terminal fragment.

    PubMed

    Ma, Hui; Wu, Jing-Xiang; Wang, Jue; Wang, Zhi-Xin; Wu, Jia-Wei

    2016-10-01

    The SAD (synapses of amphids defective) kinases, including SAD-A and SAD-B, play important roles in the regulation of neuronal development, cell cycle, and energy metabolism. Our recent study of mouse SAD-A identified a unique autoinhibitory sequence (AIS), which binds at the junction of the kinase domain (KD) and the ubiquitin-associated (UBA) domain and exerts autoregulation in cooperation with UBA. Here, we report the crystal structure of the mouse SAD-B C-terminal fragment including the AIS and the kinase-associated domain 1 (KA1) at 2.8 Å resolution. The KA1 domain is structurally conserved, while the isolated AIS sequence is highly flexible and solvent-accessible. Our biochemical studies indicated that the SAD-B AIS exerts the same autoinhibitory role as that in SAD-A. We believe that the flexible isolated AIS sequence is readily available for interaction with KD-UBA and thus inhibits SAD-B activity.

  10. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

    MedlinePlus

    ... or early summer. Treatment for SAD may include light therapy (phototherapy), medications and psychotherapy. Don't brush off that yearly feeling as simply a case of the "winter blues" or a seasonal funk that you have to ...

  11. Distribution of serine/threonine kinase SAD-B in mouse peripheral nerve synapse.

    PubMed

    Hagiwara, Akari; Harada, Kenu; Hida, Yamato; Kitajima, Isao; Ohtsuka, Toshihisa

    2011-05-11

    The serine/threonine kinase SAD regulates neural functions such as axon/dendrite polarization and neurotransmitter release. In the vertebrate central nervous system, SAD-B, a homolog of Caenorhabditis elegans SAD-1, is associated with synaptic vesicles and the active zone cytomatrix in nerve terminals. However, the distribution of SAD-B in the peripheral nervous system remains elusive. Here, we show that SAD-B is specifically localized to neuromuscular junctions. Although the active zone protein bassoon showed a punctated signal indicating its localization to motor end plates, SAD-B shows relatively diffuse localization indicating its association with both the active zone and synaptic vesicles. Therefore, SAD kinase may regulate neurotransmitter release from motor end plates in a similar manner to its regulation of neurotransmitter release in the central nervous system.

  12. The effect of induced sadness and moderate depression on attention networks.

    PubMed

    Bellaera, Lauren; von Mühlenen, Adrian

    2017-09-01

    This study investigates how sadness and minor/moderate depression influences the three functions of attention: alerting, orienting, and executive control using the Attention Network Test. The aim of the study is to investigate whether minor-to-moderate depression is more similar to sadness or clinical depression with regard to attentional processing. It was predicted that both induced sadness and minor-to-moderate depression will influence executive control by narrowing spatial attention and in turn this will lead to less interference from the flanker items (i.e. less effects of congruency) due to a focused attentional state. No differences were predicted for alerting or orienting functions. The results from the two experiments, the first inducing sadness (Experiment 1) and the second measuring subclinical depression (Experiment 2), show that, as expected, participants who are sad or minor to moderately depressed showed less flanker interference compared to participants who were neither sad nor depressed. This study provides strong evidence, that irrespective of its aetiology, sadness and minor/moderate depression have similar effects on spatial attention.

  13. The Clinical Significance of Specific Antibody Deficiency (SAD) Severity in Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS).

    PubMed

    Keswani, Anjeni; Dunn, Neha M; Manzur, Angelica; Kashani, Sara; Bossuyt, Xavier; Grammer, Leslie C; Conley, David B; Tan, Bruce K; Kern, Robert C; Schleimer, Robert P; Peters, Anju T

    Despite the increased identification of specific antibody deficiency (SAD) in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), little is known about the relationship between SAD severity and the severity and comorbidities of CRS. The prevalence of an impaired antibody response in the general population is also unknown. The objective of this study was to determine if the SAD severity stratification applies to real-life data of patients with CRS. An electronic health record database was used to identify patients with CRS evaluated for humoral immunodeficiency with quantitative immunoglobulins and Streptococcus pneumoniae antibody titers before and after pneumococcal vaccine. SAD severity was defined, according to the guidelines, based on the numbers of titers ≥1.3 μg/dL after vaccination: severe (≤2 serotypes), moderate (3-6 serotypes), and mild (7-10 serotypes). Comorbidities and therapeutic response were assessed. The prevalence of an impaired antibody response in a normal population was assessed. Twenty-four percent of the patients with CRS evaluated for immunodeficiency had SAD, whereas 11% of a normal population had an impaired immune response to polysaccharide vaccination (P < .05). When evaluated by the practice parameter definition, 239 of 595 (40%) met the definition of SAD. Twenty-four (10%) had severe SAD, 120 (50%) had moderate SAD, and 95 (40%) had mild SAD. Patients with moderate-to-severe SAD had worse asthma, a greater likelihood of pneumonia, and more antibiotic courses in the 2 years after vaccination than patients with mild SAD. This study provides real world data supporting stratification of SAD by severity, demonstrating a significant increase in the comorbid severity of asthma and infections in CRS patients with moderate-to-severe SAD compared with those with mild SAD and those without SAD. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Function of child anger and sadness in response to a blocked goal.

    PubMed

    Tan, Lin; Smith, Cynthia L

    2018-06-01

    Drawing from the functional theory of emotion, anger is proposed to serve adaptive functions such as motivating children to persist in overcoming difficulties to achieve their goals, whereas sadness helps children to shift attention away from goals that they determine cannot be attained. Despite the theorized importance of anger to persistence, it does not always relate to persistence in expected ways empirically; the role that sadness might play in how anger relates to persistence is often not considered even though children often experience both anger and sadness when goals are blocked. We hypothesized that how anger relates to persistence would depend on the level of sadness that children felt and, thus, tested sadness as a moderator of the relation of anger to persistence. We expected that the relation of anger to persistence would be stronger when sadness is lower. Child anger, sadness, and persistence were observed in a locked-box frustration task when children were 4 or 5 years old (N = 116). Although higher levels of child anger were associated with more persistence, the association between anger and persistence was stronger when sadness was lower than when sadness was higher. The findings indicate that children's ability to use the motivational aspects of anger to promote persistence may depend on the levels of sadness felt. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. SU-F-J-63: Abdominal Diameter Changes in Children During Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT): Is Re-Planning Needed?

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Guerreiro, F; Janssens, G; Seravalli, E

    Purpose: To investigate the dosimetric impact of daily changes in patient’s diameter, due to weight gain/loss and air in the bowel, based on CBCT information during radiotherapy treatment of pediatric abdominal tumors. Methods: 10 pediatric patients with neuroblastoma (n=6) and Wilms’ (n=4) tumors were included. Available CBCTs were affinely registered to the planning CT for daily set-up variations corrections. A density override approach assigning air-density to the random air pockets and water-density to the remaining anatomy was used to determine the CBCT and CT dose. Clinical VMAT plans, with a PTV prescribed dose ranging between (14.4- 36) Gy, were re-optimizedmore » on the density override CT and re-calculated on each CBCT. Dose-volume statistics of the PTV and kidneys, delineated on each CBCT, were used to compare the daily and cumulative CBCT dose with the reference CT dose. Results: The average patient diameter variation was (0.5 ± 0.7) cm (maximum daily difference of 2.3 cm). The average PTV mean dose difference (MDD) between the CT and the cumulative CBCT plans was (0.1 ± 1.1) % (maximum daily MDD of 2%). A reduction in target coverage up to 3% and 7% was observed for the cumulative and daily CBCT plans, respectively. The average kidneys’ cumulative MDD was (−2.7 ± 3.6) % (maximum daily MDD of −12%), corresponding to an overdosage. Conclusion: Due to patient’s diameter changes, a target underdosage was assessed. Given the high local tumor control of neuroblastoma and Wilms’ diseases, the need of re-planning might be discarded. However, the assessed kidneys overdosage could represent a problem when the normal tissue tolerance is reached. The necessity of re-planning should then be considered to reduce the risk of long-term renal complications. Due to the poor softtissue contrast on CBCT, MRI-guidance is required to obtain a better assessment of the accumulated dose on the remaining OARs.« less

  16. Change in Abdominal Morphology After Surgical Correction of Thoracolumbar Kyphosis Secondary to Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Computed Tomographic Study.

    PubMed

    Ji, Ming-Liang; Qian, Bang-Ping; Qiu, Yong; Wang, Bin; Mao, Sai-Hu; Zhu, Ze-Zhang; Yu, Yang

    2015-12-01

    A computed tomographic study. To investigate the change in abdominal morphology in surgically treated patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and thoracolumbar kyphosis. Severe thoracolumbar kyphosis in patients with AS exerts pressure on the abdominal cavity and subsequently causes intra-abdominal complications. Several spinal osteotomy techniques have been widely used to correct AS-related thoracolumbar kyphosis. To date, the changed abdominal morphology in patients with AS undergoing surgical correction of thoracolumbar kyphosis has not been addressed. A total of 29 patients with AS undergoing lumbar pedicle subtraction osteotomy for correction of thoracolumbar kyphosis were retrospectively reviewed. Computed tomographic scans of the spine were used to measure the longitudinal, transverse, and anterior-posterior diameters of the abdominal cavity. Furthermore, the abdominal cavity was considered as an ellipsoid structure, thereby allowing calculation of its volume. Radiographical evaluations included global kyphosis (GK), thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis (LL), and angle of fusion levels (AFL). The longitudinal diameter of abdominal cavity significantly increased (P < 0.01), whereas the transverse and anterior-posterior diameters of the abdominal cavity did not change, postoperatively (P > 0.05). Significant changes in GK, LL, and AFL were observed (P < 0.01). The abdominal cavity volume (ACV) increased by an average of 652  mL. The change in ACV was significantly correlated with the changes in GK (r = 0.453, P = 0.014), LL (r = 0.42, P = 0.023), and AFL (r = 0.388, P = 0.037). The increased ACV after correction of thoracolumbar kyphosis was quantitatively confirmed by this study. Thus, the improvement in digestive function after correction of thoracolumbar kyphosis secondary to AS, which has been previously documented, may be because of an increase in ACV. Moreover, spine surgeons should be aware of the potential risk for

  17. Predicting Sympathy and Prosocial Behavior from Young Children's Dispositional Sadness.

    PubMed

    Edwards, Alison; Eisenberg, Nancy; Spinrad, Tracy L; Reiser, Mark; Eggum-Wilkens, Natalie D; Liew, Jeffrey

    2015-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine whether dispositional sadness predicted children's prosocial behavior and if sympathy mediated this relation. Constructs were measured when children ( N = 256 at Time 1) were 18-, 30-, and 42-months old. Mothers and non-parental caregivers rated children's sadness; mothers, caregivers, and fathers rated children's prosocial behavior; sympathy (concern and hypothesis testing) and prosocial behavior (indirect and direct, as well as verbal at older ages) were assessed with a task in which the experimenter feigned injury. In a panel path analysis, 30-month dispositional sadness predicted marginally higher 42-month sympathy; in addition, 30-month sympathy predicted 42-month sadness. Moreover, when controlling for prior levels of prosocial behavior, 30-month sympathy significantly predicted reported and observed prosocial behavior at 42 months. Sympathy did not mediate the relation between sadness and prosocial behavior (either reported or observed).

  18. Enjoying Sad Music: Paradox or Parallel Processes?

    PubMed Central

    Schubert, Emery

    2016-01-01

    Enjoyment of negative emotions in music is seen by many as a paradox. This article argues that the paradox exists because it is difficult to view the process that generates enjoyment as being part of the same system that also generates the subjective negative feeling. Compensation theories explain the paradox as the compensation of a negative emotion by the concomitant presence of one or more positive emotions. But compensation brings us no closer to explaining the paradox because it does not explain how experiencing sadness itself is enjoyed. The solution proposed is that an emotion is determined by three critical processes—labeled motivational action tendency (MAT), subjective feeling (SF) and Appraisal. For many emotions the MAT and SF processes are coupled in valence. For example, happiness has positive MAT and positive SF, annoyance has negative MAT and negative SF. However, it is argued that in an aesthetic context, such as listening to music, emotion processes can become decoupled. The decoupling is controlled by the Appraisal process, which can assess if the context of the sadness is real-life (where coupling occurs) or aesthetic (where decoupling can occur). In an aesthetic context sadness retains its negative SF but the aversive, negative MAT is inhibited, leaving sadness to still be experienced as a negative valanced emotion, while contributing to the overall positive MAT. Individual differences, mood and previous experiences mediate the degree to which the aversive aspects of MAT are inhibited according to this Parallel Processing Hypothesis (PPH). The reason for hesitancy in considering or testing PPH, as well as the preponderance of research on sadness at the exclusion of other negative emotions, are discussed. PMID:27445752

  19. The loss of the kinases SadA and SadB results in early neuronal apoptosis and a reduced number of progenitors.

    PubMed

    Dhumale, Pratibha; Menon, Sindhu; Chiang, Joanna; Püschel, Andreas W

    2018-01-01

    The neurons that form the mammalian neocortex originate from progenitor cells in the ventricular (VZ) and subventricular zone (SVZ). Newborn neurons are multipolar but become bipolar during their migration from the germinal layers to the cortical plate (CP) by forming a leading process and an axon that extends in the intermediate zone (IZ). Once they settle in the CP, neurons assume a highly polarized morphology with a single axon and multiple dendrites. The AMPK-related kinases SadA and SadB are intrinsic factors that are essential for axon formation during neuronal development downstream of Lkb1. The knockout of both genes encoding Sad kinases (Sada and Sadb) results not only in a loss of axons but also a decrease in the size of the cortical plate. The defect in axon formation has been linked to a function of Sad kinases in the regulation of microtubule binding proteins. However, the causes for the reduced size of the cortical plate in the Sada-/-;Sadb-/- knockout remain to be analyzed in detail. Here we show that neuronal cell death is increased and the number of neural progenitors is decreased in the Sada-/-;Sadb-/- CP. The reduced number of progenitors is a non-cell autonomous defect since they do not express Sad kinases. These defects are restricted to the neocortex while the hippocampus remains unaffected.

  20. Physical activity, sadness, and suicidality in bullied US adolescents.

    PubMed

    Sibold, Jeremy; Edwards, Erika; Murray-Close, Dianna; Hudziak, James J

    2015-10-01

    The consequences of bullying are well described, yet little is known about protective factors that may diminish the negative sequelae. One possible factor, physical activity (PA), improves mental health in general and clinical populations. The purpose of this study is to examine relationships among PA, sadness, and suicidality in bullied US adolescents. We hypothesized that physically active students would be less likely to feel sad or to report suicidal ideation or attempts, including bullied students. Using the 2013 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N = 13,583), regression models adjusted for age, sex, and race estimated the odds ratios among PA, sadness, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts, stratified by whether students were bullied. Overall, 30.0% of students reported sadness for 2 or more weeks, 22.2% reported suicidal ideation, and 8.2% reported suicide attempt in the previous 12 months. Bullied students were twice as likely to report feeling sad and 3 times as likely to report suicidal ideation or attempt. Students who reported exercising 4 to 5 days a week had lower adjusted odds of sadness, suicidal ideation, or suicide attempts than students who exercised 0 to 1 day a week (p ≤ .0001). After stratifying by bullying, similar but attenuated associations were observed. Overall, exercise for 4 or more days per week was associated with an approximate 23% reduction in suicidal ideation and attempt in bullied students. PA is inversely related to sadness and suicidality in adolescents, highlighting the relationship between PA and mental health in children, and potentially implicating PA as a salient option in the response to bullying in schools. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Prediction of Happy-Sad mood from daily behaviors and previous sleep history.

    PubMed

    Sano, Akane; Yu, Amy Z; McHill, Andrew W; Phillips, Andrew J K; Taylor, Sara; Jaques, Natasha; Klerman, Elizabeth B; Picard, Rosalind W

    2015-01-01

    We collected and analyzed subjective and objective data using surveys and wearable sensors worn day and night from 68 participants for ~30 days each, to address questions related to the relationships among sleep duration, sleep irregularity, self-reported Happy-Sad mood and other daily behavioral factors in college students. We analyzed this behavioral and physiological data to (i) identify factors that classified the participants into Happy-Sad mood using support vector machines (SVMs); and (ii) analyze how accurately sleep duration and sleep regularity for the past 1-5 days classified morning Happy-Sad mood. We found statistically significant associations amongst Sad mood and poor health-related factors. Behavioral factors including the frequency of negative social interactions, and negative emails, and total academic activity hours showed the best performance in separating the Happy-Sad mood groups. Sleep regularity and sleep duration predicted daily Happy-Sad mood with 65-80% accuracy. The number of nights giving the best prediction of Happy-Sad mood varied for different individuals.

  2. Sad facial cues inhibit temporal attention: evidence from an event-related potential study.

    PubMed

    Kong, Xianxian; Chen, Xiaoqiang; Tan, Bo; Zhao, Dandan; Jin, Zhenlan; Li, Ling

    2013-06-19

    We examined the influence of different emotional cues (happy or sad) on temporal attention (short or long interval) using behavioral as well as event-related potential recordings during a Stroop task. Emotional stimuli cued short and long time intervals, inducing 'sad-short', 'sad-long', 'happy-short', and 'happy-long' conditions. Following the intervals, participants performed a numeric Stroop task. Behavioral results showed the temporal attention effects in the sad-long, happy-long, and happy-short conditions, in which valid cues quickened the reaction times, but not in the sad-short condition. N2 event-related potential components showed sad cues to have decreased activity for short intervals compared with long intervals, whereas happy cues did not. Taken together, these findings provide evidence for different modulation of sad and happy facial cues on temporal attention. Furthermore, sad cues inhibit temporal attention, resulting in longer reaction time and decreased neural activity in the short interval by diverting more attentional resources.

  3. Can I solve my structure by SAD phasing? Anomalous signal in SAD phasing

    DOE PAGES

    Terwilliger, Thomas C.; Bunkóczi, Gábor; Hung, Li-Wei; ...

    2016-03-01

    A key challenge in the SAD phasing method is solving a structure when the anomalous signal-to-noise ratio is low. We present a simple theoretical framework for describing measurements of anomalous differences and the resulting useful anomalous correlation and anomalous signal in a SAD experiment. Here, the useful anomalous correlation is defined as the correlation of anomalous differences with ideal anomalous differences from the anomalous substructure. The useful anomalous correlation reflects the accuracy of the data and the absence of minor sites. The useful anomalous correlation also reflects the information available for estimating crystallographic phases once the substructure has been determined.more » In contrast, the anomalous signal (the peak height in a model-phased anomalous difference Fourier at the coordinates of atoms in the anomalous substructure) reflects the information available about each site in the substructure and is related to the ability to find the substructure. A theoretical analysis shows that the expected value of the anomalous signal is the product of the useful anomalous correlation, the square root of the ratio of the number of unique reflections in the data set to the number of sites in the substructure, and a function that decreases with increasing values of the atomic displacement factor for the atoms in the substructure. In conclusion, this means that the ability to find the substructure in a SAD experiment is increased by high data quality and by a high ratio of reflections to sites in the substructure, and is decreased by high atomic displacement factors for the substructure.« less

  4. Can I solve my structure by SAD phasing? Anomalous signal in SAD phasing.

    PubMed

    Terwilliger, Thomas C; Bunkóczi, Gábor; Hung, Li Wei; Zwart, Peter H; Smith, Janet L; Akey, David L; Adams, Paul D

    2016-03-01

    A key challenge in the SAD phasing method is solving a structure when the anomalous signal-to-noise ratio is low. A simple theoretical framework for describing measurements of anomalous differences and the resulting useful anomalous correlation and anomalous signal in a SAD experiment is presented. Here, the useful anomalous correlation is defined as the correlation of anomalous differences with ideal anomalous differences from the anomalous substructure. The useful anomalous correlation reflects the accuracy of the data and the absence of minor sites. The useful anomalous correlation also reflects the information available for estimating crystallographic phases once the substructure has been determined. In contrast, the anomalous signal (the peak height in a model-phased anomalous difference Fourier at the coordinates of atoms in the anomalous substructure) reflects the information available about each site in the substructure and is related to the ability to find the substructure. A theoretical analysis shows that the expected value of the anomalous signal is the product of the useful anomalous correlation, the square root of the ratio of the number of unique reflections in the data set to the number of sites in the substructure, and a function that decreases with increasing values of the atomic displacement factor for the atoms in the substructure. This means that the ability to find the substructure in a SAD experiment is increased by high data quality and by a high ratio of reflections to sites in the substructure, and is decreased by high atomic displacement factors for the substructure.

  5. Effect of regulating anger and sadness on decision-making.

    PubMed

    Szasz, Paul Lucian; Hofmann, Stefan G; Heilman, Renata M; Curtiss, Joshua

    2016-11-01

    The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of reappraisal, acceptance, and rumination for regulating anger and sadness on decision-making. Participants (N = 165) were asked to recall two autobiographical events in which they felt intense anger and sadness, respectively. Participants were then instructed to reappraise, accept, ruminate, or not use any strategies to regulate their feelings of anger and sadness. Following this manipulation, risk aversion, and decision-making strategies were measured using a computer-based measure of risk-taking and a simulated real-life decision-making task. Participants who were instructed to reappraise their emotions showed the least anger and sadness, the most adaptive decision-making strategies, but the least risk aversion as compared to the participants in the other conditions. These findings suggest that emotion regulation strategies of negative affective states have an immediate effect on decision-making and risk-taking behaviors.

  6. Native sulfur/chlorine SAD phasing for serial femtosecond crystallography

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nakane, Takanori; Song, Changyong; POSTECH, Pohang 790-784

    Sulfur SAD phasing facilitates the structure determination of diverse native proteins using femtosecond X-rays from free-electron lasers via serial femtosecond crystallography. Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) allows structures to be determined with minimal radiation damage. However, phasing native crystals in SFX is not very common. Here, the structure determination of native lysozyme from single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (SAD) by utilizing the anomalous signal of sulfur and chlorine at a wavelength of 1.77 Å is successfully demonstrated. This sulfur SAD method can be applied to a wide range of proteins, which will improve the determination of native crystal structures.

  7. C. elegans STRADalpha and SAD cooperatively regulate neuronal polarity and synaptic organization.

    PubMed

    Kim, Joanne S M; Hung, Wesley; Narbonne, Patrick; Roy, Richard; Zhen, Mei

    2010-01-01

    Neurons are polarized cells with morphologically and functionally distinct axons and dendrites. The SAD kinases are crucial for establishing the axon-dendrite identity across species. Previous studies suggest that a tumour suppressor kinase, LKB1, in the presence of a pseudokinase, STRADalpha, initiates axonal differentiation and growth through activating the SAD kinases in vertebrate neurons. STRADalpha was implicated in the localization, stabilization and activation of LKB1 in various cell culture studies. Its in vivo functions, however, have not been examined. In our present study, we analyzed the neuronal phenotypes of the first loss-of-function mutants for STRADalpha and examined their genetic interactions with LKB1 and SAD in C. elegans. Unexpectedly, only the C. elegans STRADalpha, STRD-1, functions exclusively through the SAD kinase, SAD-1, to regulate neuronal polarity and synaptic organization. Moreover, STRD-1 tightly associates with SAD-1 to coordinate its synaptic localizations. By contrast, the C. elegans LKB1, PAR-4, also functions in an additional genetic pathway independently of SAD-1 and STRD-1 to regulate neuronal polarity. We propose that STRD-1 establishes neuronal polarity and organizes synaptic proteins in a complex with the SAD-1 kinase. Our findings suggest that instead of a single, linear genetic pathway, STRADalpha and LKB1 regulate neuronal development through multiple effectors that are shared in some cellular contexts but distinct in others.

  8. Multi-crystal native SAD analysis at 6 keV.

    PubMed

    Liu, Qun; Guo, Youzhong; Chang, Yanqi; Cai, Zheng; Assur, Zahra; Mancia, Filippo; Greene, Mark I; Hendrickson, Wayne A

    2014-10-01

    Anomalous diffraction signals from typical native macromolecules are very weak, frustrating their use in de novo structure determination. Here, native SAD procedures are described to enhance signal to noise in anomalous diffraction by using multiple crystals in combination with synchrotron X-rays at 6 keV. Increased anomalous signals were obtained at 6 keV compared with 7 keV X-ray energy, which was used for previous native SAD analyses. A feasibility test of multi-crystal-based native SAD phasing was performed at 3.2 Å resolution for a known tyrosine protein kinase domain, and real-life applications were made to two novel membrane proteins at about 3.0 Å resolution. The three applications collectively serve to validate the robust feasibility of native SAD phasing at lower energy.

  9. Predicting Sympathy and Prosocial Behavior from Young Children’s Dispositional Sadness

    PubMed Central

    Edwards, Alison; Eisenberg, Nancy; Spinrad, Tracy L.; Reiser, Mark; Eggum-Wilkens, Natalie D.; Liew, Jeffrey

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine whether dispositional sadness predicted children's prosocial behavior and if sympathy mediated this relation. Constructs were measured when children (N = 256 at Time 1) were 18-, 30-, and 42-months old. Mothers and non-parental caregivers rated children’s sadness; mothers, caregivers, and fathers rated children’s prosocial behavior; sympathy (concern and hypothesis testing) and prosocial behavior (indirect and direct, as well as verbal at older ages) were assessed with a task in which the experimenter feigned injury. In a panel path analysis, 30-month dispositional sadness predicted marginally higher 42-month sympathy; in addition, 30-month sympathy predicted 42-month sadness. Moreover, when controlling for prior levels of prosocial behavior, 30-month sympathy significantly predicted reported and observed prosocial behavior at 42 months. Sympathy did not mediate the relation between sadness and prosocial behavior (either reported or observed). PMID:25663753

  10. Structural insight into the mechanism of synergistic autoinhibition of SAD kinases

    PubMed Central

    Wu, Jing-Xiang; Cheng, Yun-Sheng; Wang, Jue; Chen, Lei; Ding, Mei; Wu, Jia-Wei

    2015-01-01

    The SAD/BRSK kinases participate in various important life processes, including neural development, cell cycle and energy metabolism. Like other members of the AMPK family, SAD contains an N-terminal kinase domain followed by the characteristic UBA and KA1 domains. Here we identify a unique autoinhibitory sequence (AIS) in SAD kinases, which exerts autoregulation in cooperation with UBA. Structural studies of mouse SAD-A revealed that UBA binds to the kinase domain in a distinct mode and, more importantly, AIS nestles specifically into the KD-UBA junction. The cooperative action of AIS and UBA results in an ‘αC-out' inactive kinase, which is conserved across species and essential for presynaptic vesicle clustering in C. elegans. In addition, the AIS, along with the KA1 domain, is indispensable for phospholipid binding. Taken together, these data suggest a model for synergistic autoinhibition and membrane activation of SAD kinases. PMID:26626945

  11. Structural insight into the mechanism of synergistic autoinhibition of SAD kinases.

    PubMed

    Wu, Jing-Xiang; Cheng, Yun-Sheng; Wang, Jue; Chen, Lei; Ding, Mei; Wu, Jia-Wei

    2015-12-02

    The SAD/BRSK kinases participate in various important life processes, including neural development, cell cycle and energy metabolism. Like other members of the AMPK family, SAD contains an N-terminal kinase domain followed by the characteristic UBA and KA1 domains. Here we identify a unique autoinhibitory sequence (AIS) in SAD kinases, which exerts autoregulation in cooperation with UBA. Structural studies of mouse SAD-A revealed that UBA binds to the kinase domain in a distinct mode and, more importantly, AIS nestles specifically into the KD-UBA junction. The cooperative action of AIS and UBA results in an 'αC-out' inactive kinase, which is conserved across species and essential for presynaptic vesicle clustering in C. elegans. In addition, the AIS, along with the KA1 domain, is indispensable for phospholipid binding. Taken together, these data suggest a model for synergistic autoinhibition and membrane activation of SAD kinases.

  12. Verbal and facial-emotional Stroop tasks reveal specific attentional interferences in sad mood

    PubMed Central

    Isaac, Linda; Vrijsen, Janna N; Eling, Paul; van Oostrom, Iris; Speckens, Anne; Becker, Eni S

    2012-01-01

    Mood congruence refers to the tendency of individuals to attend to information more readily when it has the same emotional content as their current mood state. The aim of the present study was to ascertain whether attentional interference occurred for participants in sad mood states for emotionally relevant stimuli (mood-congruence), and to determine whether this interference occurred for both valenced words and valenced faces. A mood induction procedure was administered to 116 undergraduate females divided into two equal groups for the sad and happy mood condition. This study employed three versions of the Stroop task: color, verbal-emotional, and a facial-emotional Stroop. The two mood groups did not differ on the color Stroop. Significant group differences were found on the verbal-emotional Stroop for sad words with longer latencies for sad-induced participants. Main findings for the facial-emotional Stroop were that sad mood is associated with attentional interference for angry-threatening faces as well as longer latencies for neutral faces. Group differences were not found for positive stimuli. These findings confirm that sad mood is associated with attentional interference for mood-congruent stimuli in the verbal domain (sad words), but this mood-congruent effect does not necessarily apply to the visual domain (sad faces). Attentional interference for neutral faces suggests sad mood participants did not necessarily see valence-free faces. Attentional interference for threatening stimuli is often associated with anxiety; however, the current results show that threat is not an attentional interference observed exclusively in states of anxiety but also in sad mood. PMID:22574276

  13. Verbal and facial-emotional Stroop tasks reveal specific attentional interferences in sad mood.

    PubMed

    Isaac, Linda; Vrijsen, Janna N; Eling, Paul; van Oostrom, Iris; Speckens, Anne; Becker, Eni S

    2012-01-01

    Mood congruence refers to the tendency of individuals to attend to information more readily when it has the same emotional content as their current mood state. The aim of the present study was to ascertain whether attentional interference occurred for participants in sad mood states for emotionally relevant stimuli (mood-congruence), and to determine whether this interference occurred for both valenced words and valenced faces. A mood induction procedure was administered to 116 undergraduate females divided into two equal groups for the sad and happy mood condition. This study employed three versions of the Stroop task: color, verbal-emotional, and a facial-emotional Stroop. The two mood groups did not differ on the color Stroop. Significant group differences were found on the verbal-emotional Stroop for sad words with longer latencies for sad-induced participants. Main findings for the facial-emotional Stroop were that sad mood is associated with attentional interference for angry-threatening faces as well as longer latencies for neutral faces. Group differences were not found for positive stimuli. These findings confirm that sad mood is associated with attentional interference for mood-congruent stimuli in the verbal domain (sad words), but this mood-congruent effect does not necessarily apply to the visual domain (sad faces). Attentional interference for neutral faces suggests sad mood participants did not necessarily see valence-free faces. Attentional interference for threatening stimuli is often associated with anxiety; however, the current results show that threat is not an attentional interference observed exclusively in states of anxiety but also in sad mood.

  14. Sadness, Suicidality and Grades. NBER Working Paper No. 16239

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeSimone, Jeffrey S.

    2010-01-01

    This study examines the past year relationship between GPA and experiencing a combination of two primary depression symptoms, feeling sad and losing interest in usual activities for at least two consecutive weeks, among high school students during 2001-2009. The GPA loss associated with sadness, as defined above, falls from slightly less than a…

  15. Residents' perceptions of their own sadness--a qualitative study in Norwegian nursing homes.

    PubMed

    Iden, Kristina Riis; Ruths, Sabine; Hjørleifsson, Stefan

    2015-03-08

    Mood symptoms are highly prevalent among frail old people residing in nursing homes. Systematic diagnostics of depression is scarce, and treatment is not always in accordance with best evidence. The distinction between non-pathological sadness and depression may be challenging, and we know little of the older peoples' perspectives. The aim of this qualitative interview study was to explore residents' perceptions of their own sadness. We performed individual, semi-structured interviews with twelve older people residing in nursing homes with no dementia. The interview guide comprised questions on what made the informants sad and what prevented sadness. We recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed the interviews using systematic text condensation. The interviews revealed three main themes. I. Decay and loss of agency. The informants perceived their sadness to be caused by loss of health and functional ability, reliance on long-term care, dysfunctional technical aids and poor care. II. Loneliness in the middle of the crowd. Loss of family and friends, and lack of conversations with staff members and fellow patients were also sources of sadness. III. Relating and identity. The informants kept sadness at bay through: acceptance and re-orientation to their current life situation, maintaining narratives about their identity and belonging, and religiosity. Nursing home nurses and doctors should identify and respond to sadness that is a rational response to manageable causes. Further, identifying and supporting residents' resources and coping strategies is a salutogenetic approach that may alleviate sadness.

  16. The minor third communicates sadness in speech, mirroring its use in music.

    PubMed

    Curtis, Meagan E; Bharucha, Jamshed J

    2010-06-01

    There is a long history of attempts to explain why music is perceived as expressing emotion. The relationship between pitches serves as an important cue for conveying emotion in music. The musical interval referred to as the minor third is generally thought to convey sadness. We reveal that the minor third also occurs in the pitch contour of speech conveying sadness. Bisyllabic speech samples conveying four emotions were recorded by 9 actresses. Acoustic analyses revealed that the relationship between the 2 salient pitches of the sad speech samples tended to approximate a minor third. Participants rated the speech samples for perceived emotion, and the use of numerous acoustic parameters as cues for emotional identification was modeled using regression analysis. The minor third was the most reliable cue for identifying sadness. Additional participants rated musical intervals for emotion, and their ratings verified the historical association between the musical minor third and sadness. These findings support the theory that human vocal expressions and music share an acoustic code for communicating sadness.

  17. Computed tomographic evaluation of abdominal fat in minipigs.

    PubMed

    Chang, Jinhwa; Jung, Joohyun; Lee, Hyeyeon; Chang, Dongwoo; Yoon, Junghee; Choi, Mincheol

    2011-03-01

    Computed tomography (CT) exams were conducted to determine the distribution of abdominal fat identified based on the CT number measured in Hounsfield Units (HU) and to measure the volume of the abdominal visceral and subcutaneous fat in minipigs. The relationship between the CT-based fat volumes of several vertebral levels and the entire abdomen and anthropometric data including the sagittal abdominal diameter and waist circumference were evaluated. Moreover, the total fat volumes at the T11, T13, L3, and L5 levels were compared with the total fat volume of the entire abdomen to define the landmark of abdominal fat distribution. Using a single-detector CT, six 6-month-old male minipigs were scanned under general anesthesia. Three radiologists then assessed the HU value of visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat by drawing the region of interest manually at the T11, T13, L1, L3, and L5 levels. The CT number and abdominal fat determined in this way by the three radiologists was found to be correlated (intra-class coefficient = 0.9). The overall HU ranges for the visceral and subcutaneous fat depots were -147.47 to -83.46 and -131.62 to -90.97, respectively. The total fat volume of the entire abdomen was highly correlated with the volume of abdominal fat at the T13 level (r = 0.97, p < 0.0001). These findings demonstrate that the volume of abdominal adipose tissue measured at the T13 level using CT is a strong and reliable predictor of total abdominal adipose volume.

  18. Why Am I So Sad?

    MedlinePlus

    ... in you and care (like parents, friends, and teachers) can comfort you when you feel sad. Sometimes, just listening and understanding what you're going through is enough. Sometimes they can help you work out a problem or help you think of ...

  19. The effect of happiness and sadness on alerting, orienting, and executive attention.

    PubMed

    Finucane, Anne M; Whiteman, Martha C; Power, Mick J

    2010-05-01

    According to the attention network approach, attention is best understood in terms of three functionally and neuroanatomically distinct networks-alerting, orienting, and executive attention. An important question is whether the experience of emotion differentially influences the efficiency of these networks. This study examines 180 participants were randomly assigned to a happy, sad, or control condition and undertook a modified version of the Attention Network Test. The results showed no effect of happiness or sadness on alerting, orienting, or executive attention. However, sad participants showed reduced intrinsic alertness. This suggests that sadness reduces general alertness rather than impairing the efficiency of specific attention networks.

  20. Intra-Abdominal Hypertension and Abdominal Compartment Syndrome after Abdominal Wall Reconstruction: Quaternary Syndromes?

    PubMed

    Kirkpatrick, A W; Nickerson, D; Roberts, D J; Rosen, M J; McBeth, P B; Petro, C C; Berrevoet, Frederik; Sugrue, M; Xiao, Jimmy; Ball, C G

    2017-06-01

    Reconstruction with reconstitution of the container function of the abdominal compartment is increasingly being performed in patients with massive ventral hernia previously deemed inoperable. This situation places patients at great risk of severe intra-abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome if organ failure ensues. Intra-abdominal hypertension and especially abdominal compartment syndrome may be devastating systemic complications with systematic and progressive organ failure and death. We thus reviewed the pathophysiology and reported clinical experiences with abnormalities of intra-abdominal pressure in the context of abdominal wall reconstruction. Bibliographic databases (1950-2015), websites, textbooks, and the bibliographies of previously recovered articles for reports or data relating to intra-abdominal pressure, intra-abdominal hypertension, and the abdominal compartment syndrome in relation to ventral, incisional, or abdominal hernia repair or abdominal wall reconstruction. Surgeons should thus consider and carefully measure intra-abdominal pressure and its resultant effects on respiratory parameters and function during abdominal wall reconstruction. The intra-abdominal pressure post-operatively will be a result of the new intra-peritoneal volume and the abdominal wall compliance. Strategies surgeons may utilize to ameliorate intra-abdominal pressure rise after abdominal wall reconstruction including temporizing paralysis of the musculature either temporarily or semi-permanently, pre-operative progressive pneumoperitoneum, permanently removing visceral contents, or surgically releasing the musculature to increase the abdominal container volume. In patients without complicating shock and inflammation, and in whom the abdominal wall anatomy has been so functionally adapted to maximize compliance, intra-abdominal hypertension may be transient and tolerable. Intra-abdominal hypertension/abdominal compartment syndrome in the specific setting of

  1. Effects of induced sad mood on facial emotion perception in young and older adults.

    PubMed

    Lawrie, Louisa; Jackson, Margaret C; Phillips, Louise H

    2018-02-15

    Older adults perceive less intense negative emotion in facial expressions compared to younger counterparts. Prior research has also demonstrated that mood alters facial emotion perception. Nevertheless, there is little evidence which evaluates the interactive effects of age and mood on emotion perception. This study investigated the effects of sad mood on younger and older adults' perception of emotional and neutral faces. Participants rated the intensity of stimuli while listening to sad music and in silence. Measures of mood were administered. Younger and older participants' rated sad faces as displaying stronger sadness when they experienced sad mood. While younger participants showed no influence of sad mood on happiness ratings of happy faces, older adults rated happy faces as conveying less happiness when they experienced sad mood. This study demonstrates how emotion perception can change when a controlled mood induction procedure is applied to alter mood in young and older participants.

  2. Evaluating abdominal oedema during experimental sepsis using an isotope technique.

    PubMed

    Lattuada, Marco; Maripuu, Enn; Segerstad, Carl Hard af; Lundqvist, Hans; Hedenstierna, Göran

    2012-05-01

    Abdominal oedema is common in sepsis. A technique for the study of such oedema may guide in the fluid regime of these patients. We modified a double-isotope technique to evaluate abdominal organ oedema and fluid extravasation in 24 healthy or endotoxin-exposed ('septic') piglets. Two different markers were used: red blood cells (RBC) labelled with Technetium-99m ((99m)Tc) and Transferrin labelled with Indium111 ((111)In). Images were acquired on a dual-head gamma camera. Microscopic evaluation of tissue biopsies was performed to compare data with the isotope technique. No (99m)Tc activity was measured in the plasma fraction in blood sampled after labelling. Similarly, after molecular size gel chromatography, (111)In activity was exclusively found in the high molecular fraction of the plasma. Extravasation of transferrin, indicating the degree of abdominal oedema, was 4·06 times higher in the LPS group compared to the healthy controls (P<0·0001). Abdominal free fluid, studied in 3 animals, had as high (111)In activity as in plasma, but no (99m)Tc activity. Intestinal lymphatic vessel size was higher in LPS (3·7 ± 1·1 μm) compared to control animals (0·6 + 0·2 μm; P<0·001) and oedema correlated to villus diameter (R(2) = 0·918) and lymphatic diameter (R(2) = 0·758). A correlation between a normalized index of oedema formation (NI) and intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) was also found: NI = 0·46*IAP-3·3 (R(2) = 0·56). The technique enables almost continuous recording of abdominal oedema formation and may be a valuable tool in experimental research, with the potential to be applied in the clinic. © 2011 The Authors. Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging © 2011 Scandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine.

  3. The effects of sad prosody on hemispheric specialization for words processing.

    PubMed

    Leshem, Rotem; Arzouan, Yossi; Armony-Sivan, Rinat

    2015-06-01

    This study examined the effect of sad prosody on hemispheric specialization for word processing using behavioral and electrophysiological measures. A dichotic listening task combining focused attention and signal-detection methods was conducted to evaluate the detection of a word spoken in neutral or sad prosody. An overall right ear advantage together with leftward lateralization in early (150-170 ms) and late (240-260 ms) processing stages was found for word detection, regardless of prosody. Furthermore, the early stage was most pronounced for words spoken in neutral prosody, showing greater negative activation over the left than the right hemisphere. In contrast, the later stage was most pronounced for words spoken with sad prosody, showing greater positive activation over the left than the right hemisphere. The findings suggest that sad prosody alone was not sufficient to modulate hemispheric asymmetry in word-level processing. We posit that lateralized effects of sad prosody on word processing are largely dependent on the psychoacoustic features of the stimuli as well as on task demands. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Chocolate eating in healthy men during experimentally induced sadness and joy.

    PubMed

    Macht, M; Roth, S; Ellgring, H

    2002-10-01

    The study compared influences of qualitatively different emotions on eating. Motivation to eat, affective responses to chocolate and chewing of chocolate were investigated in healthy normal weight males during experimentally induced emotions. Subjects abstained from eating 2 h (n = 24) or 8 h (n = 24) before testing. They received pieces of chocolate after viewing film clips presented to induce anger, fear, sadness and joy. Motivation to eat and most affective responses to eating chocolate were higher after 8 h than after 2 h of deprivation. Sadness and joy affected motivation to eat in opposite directions: joy increased and sadness decreased appetite (p < 0.001). In joy, a higher tendency to eat more chocolate was reported (p < 0.001), and chocolate tasted more pleasant (p < 0.001) and was experienced as more "stimulating" than in sadness (p < 0.01). No effects of deprivation could be found for chewing time and number of chews. Results indicate that the quality of emotions can affect motivation to eat and affective responses to eating chocolate. Our findings on decreased eating responses to sadness in healthy males and the contradictory increased eating responses to sadness reported by others supports two types of emotion-induced changes of eating: emotion-congruent modulation of eating and eating to regulate emotions. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.

  5. Influence of time off feed on broiler viscera weight, diameter, and shear.

    PubMed

    Buhr, R J; Northcutt, J K; Lyon, C E; Rowland, G N

    1998-05-01

    The influence of time off feed on broiler viscera weight, intestinal diameter, and shear was studied by subjecting market-age male broilers (42, 44, or 48 d) to incremental feed withdrawal periods (0, 6, 12, 18, or 24 h). Body weight was determined prior to feed withdrawal and at the time of processing. After slaughter, scalding, and defeathering, the abdominal cavity was opened. Diameter and shear of the proventriculus-ventriculus junction, jejunum, and ileum segments were measured, as were gallbladder length and width. Thoracic and abdominal viscera, liver, and ventriculus weights were determined, and liver surface color was measured. Percentage body weight loss increased with longer feed withdrawal periods, as viscera, liver, and ventriculus weights decreased. Gallbladder length increased with time off feed, whereas its width did not change. Diameter of the proventriculus-ventriculus junction, jejunum, and ileum decreased with longer feed withdrawal periods. Shear values for the proventriculus-ventriculus junction, jejunum, and ileum were not influenced by time off feed. Positive correlations (P < 0.05 and r > 0.4) between viscera weight and intestinal diameter were detected. Correlations between all measured parameters and shear values were not significant. Liver color measurements indicated that longer feed withdrawal periods resulted in significant linear decreases in L* (lightness), +a* (redness), and +b* (yellowness). Longer feed withdrawal periods decreased viscera weight and intestinal diameter, which would lower the potential for cutting the intestine during automated evisceration. However, the resulting greater gallbladder length (5 mm) would increase the possibility of bile contamination during evisceration.

  6. Emotional eating and food intake after sadness and joy.

    PubMed

    van Strien, T; Cebolla, A; Etchemendy, E; Gutiérrez-Maldonado, J; Ferrer-García, M; Botella, C; Baños, R

    2013-07-01

    Do people with a high score on a scale for eating in response to negative emotions also show high food intake in response to positive emotions? We studied these effects in 60 female students that were preselected on the basis of extreme high or low scores on an emotional eating questionnaire. Using a between subject design we experimentally tested the difference in food intake following a mood induction designed to induce joy or sadness (the joy vs. sad mood condition). The high and low emotional eaters did not differ in their food intake, but emotional eating significantly moderated the relationship between mood condition and food intake. Whereas low emotional eaters ate similar amounts after the sad and after the joy mood condition, high emotional eaters ate significantly more after the sad mood condition than after the joy mood condition. A further finding was that a similar moderator effect for emotional eating was found for intake of sweet food but not for intake of salty food. These findings would suggest that eating in response to negative and to positive emotions refer to two different constructs. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. The pea SAD short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase: quinone reduction, tissue distribution, and heterologous expression.

    PubMed

    Scherbak, Nikolai; Ala-Häivälä, Anneli; Brosché, Mikael; Böwer, Nathalie; Strid, Hilja; Gittins, John R; Grahn, Elin; Eriksson, Leif A; Strid, Åke

    2011-04-01

    The pea (Pisum sativum) tetrameric short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase-like protein (SAD) family consists of at least three highly similar members (SAD-A, -B, and -C). According to mRNA data, environmental stimuli induce SAD expression. The aim of this study was to characterize the SAD proteins by examining their catalytic function, distribution in pea, and induction in different tissues. In enzyme activity assays using a range of potential substrates, the SAD-C enzyme was shown to reduce one- or two-ring-membered quinones lacking long hydrophobic hydrocarbon tails. Immunological assays using a specific antiserum against the protein demonstrated that different tissues and cell types contain small amounts of SAD protein that was predominantly located within epidermal or subepidermal cells and around vascular tissue. Particularly high local concentrations were observed in the protoderm of the seed cotyledonary axis. Two bow-shaped rows of cells in the ovary and the placental surface facing the ovule also exhibited considerable SAD staining. Ultraviolet-B irradiation led to increased staining in epidermal and subepidermal cells of leaves and stems. The different localization patterns of SAD suggest functions both in development and in responses to environmental stimuli. Finally, the pea SAD-C promoter was shown to confer heterologous wound-induced expression in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), which confirmed that the inducibility of its expression is regulated at the transcriptional level.

  8. Abdominal aortic aneurysm neck remodeling after open aneurysm repair.

    PubMed

    Falkensammer, Juergen; Oldenburg, W Andrew; Biebl, Matthias; Hugl, Beate; Hakaim, Albert G; Crook, Julia E; Berland, Todd L; Paz-Fumagalli, Ricardo

    2007-05-01

    Proximal endovascular aortic graft fixation and maintenance of hemostatic seal depends on the long-term stability of the aortic neck. Previous investigations of aortic neck dilation mostly focused on the infrarenal aortic diameter. Fenestrated and branched stent grafts facilitate suprarenal graft fixation and may thereby improve the long-term integrity of the aortic attachment site. For these devices, the natural history of the suprarenal aortic segment is also of interest. We investigated the natural history of the supra- and infrarenal aortic segment after open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. For this retrospective analysis, we reviewed the preoperative and the initial postoperative as well as the most recent CT series that were obtained from 52 patients undergoing conventional repair of an infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm between January 1998 and December 2002. Measurements were performed using electronic calipers on a "split screen", allowing direct comparison of subsequent CT series at corresponding levels along the vessel. Main outcome measures were changes in postoperative measures of the supra- and infrarenal aortic diameters. The first postoperative exam was at a mean (+/-SD) of 7.0 +/- 3.5 months, and the final exams were at 44.4 +/- 21 months. Over this time period, the estimated rate of change in suprarenal diameter was 0.18 mm/ y with 95% confidence interval (CI) from 0.08 to 0.27. The estimated rate of change for the infrarenal diameter was 0.16 (95% CI: 0.05 to 0.27). A clinically relevant diameter increase of >or=3 mm was observed in seven patients (13%). There was evidence of larger diameter increases associated with larger AAA diameters (P = .003 and <.001 for suprarenal and infrarenal diameters), an inverted funnel shape (P = .002 and <.001), and marginal evidence of association with a history of inguinal hernia (P = .043 and .066). Although there is statistically significant evidence of increases in the supra- and infrarenal aortic

  9. Endovascular abdominal aortic stenosis treatment with the OptiMed self-expandable nitinol stent.

    PubMed

    Ghazi, Payam; Haji-Zeinali, Ali-Mohammad; Shafiee, Nahid; Qureshi, Shakeel A

    2009-10-01

    To evaluate the safety and feasibility of self-expandable stents (OptiMed) for treatment of abdominal aortic stenosis in the situations in which the aortic stenosis locates near the origin of celiac, superior mesenteric, renal and inferior mesenteric arteries. Five consecutive patients scheduled for endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic stenosis by self-expandable nitinol stent (Sinus-Aorta/OptiMed) implantation. The diameter of the stent was chosen as 10-30% more than that of the normal portion of the aorta above the stenosis. Long stents of 60 mm or longer were chosen. After stent deployment, balloon postdilation was performed with a balloon in patients with residual gradient > 5 mm Hg. All patients were successfully treated with the OptiMed stents. The balloon predilation was performed in one patient due to severe stenosis. The mean diameter and length of the stents deployed were 20.4 +/- 2.9 (range, 16-24 mm) and 64 +/- 8.9 (range, 60-80 mm), respectively. The balloon postdilation was performed in all cases. The mean diameter of the balloons was 13.6 +/- 1.5 (range, 12-15 mm). The mean diameter of stenosis increased from 4.8 +/- 1.9 to 14.4 +/- 1.8 mm after stent placement. The mean peak systolic gradient decreased from 46.8 +/- 31.5 mm Hg to 0.8 +/- 1.8 mm Hg. During follow-up (22.8 +/- 14.3 months), none of the patients had restenosis within the stent, occlusion of any branches of the aorta, or other related complications. In our small series, we observed that abdominal aortic stenosis can be successfully and effectively treated with OptiMed stents in the situations in which the stenotic segment is located next to the origins of the main visceral branches of abdominal aorta.

  10. [Abdomen specific bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) methods for evaluation of abdominal fat distribution].

    PubMed

    Ida, Midori; Hirata, Masakazu; Hosoda, Kiminori; Nakao, Kazuwa

    2013-02-01

    Two novel bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) methods have been developed recently for evaluation of intra-abdominal fat accumulation. Both methods use electrodes that are placed on abdominal wall and allow evaluation of intra-abdominal fat area (IAFA) easily without radiation exposure. Of these, "abdominal BIA" method measures impedance distribution along abdominal anterior-posterior axis, and IAFA by BIA method(BIA-IAFA) is calculated from waist circumference and the voltage occurring at the flank. Dual BIA method measures impedance of trunk and body surface at the abdominal level and calculates BIA-IAFA from transverse and antero-posterior diameters of the abdomen and the impedance of trunk and abdominal surface. BIA-IAFA by these two BIA methods correlated well with IAFA measured by abdominal CT (CT-IAFA) with correlatipn coefficient of 0.88 (n = 91, p < 0.0001) for the former, and 0.861 (n = 469, p < 0.01) for the latter. These new BIA methods are useful for evaluating abdominal adiposity in clinical study and routine clinical practice of metabolic syndrome and obesity.

  11. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: Evolving Controversies and Uncertainties.

    PubMed

    Carino, Davide; Sarac, Timur P; Ziganshin, Bulat A; Elefteriades, John A

    2018-06-01

    Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is defined as a permanent dilatation of the abdominal aorta that exceeds 3 cm. Most AAAs arise in the portion of abdominal aorta distal to the renal arteries and are defined as infrarenal. Most AAAs are totally asymptomatic until catastrophic rupture. The strongest predictor of AAA rupture is the diameter. Surgery is indicated to prevent rupture when the risk of rupture exceeds the risk of surgery. In this review, we aim to analyze this disease comprehensively, starting from an epidemiological perspective, exploring etiology and pathophysiology, and concluding with surgical controversies. We will pursue these goals by addressing eight specific questions regarding AAA: (1) Is the incidence of AAA increasing? (2) Are ultrasound screening programs for AAA effective? (3) What causes AAA: Genes versus environment? (4) Animal models: Are they really relevant? (5) What pathophysiology leads to AAA? (6) Indications for AAA surgery: Are surgeons over-eager to operate? (7) Elective AAA repair: Open or endovascular? (8) Emergency AAA repair: Open or endovascular?

  12. Attentional Biases and the Persistence of Sad Mood in Major Depressive Disorder

    PubMed Central

    Clasen, Peter C.; Wells, Tony T.; Ellis, Alissa J.; Beevers, Christopher G.

    2013-01-01

    This study examined whether attentional biases for emotional information are associated with impaired mood recovery following a sad mood induction among individuals with and without major depressive disorder (MDD). Attentional biases were assessed with an exogenous cuing task using emotional facial expressions as cues among adults with (n = 48) and without (n = 224) current MDD. Mood reactivity and recovery were measured following a sad mood induction. Mood reactivity strongly predicted mood recovery; however, this relationship was moderated by attentional biases for negative emotional stimuli. Biases for sad and fear stimuli were associated with diminished mood recovery following mood induction across the sample. However, biases for sad stimuli were associated with significantly greater impairments in mood recovery among individuals with MDD than healthy controls. Furthermore, within the MDD group, impaired mood recovery was positively associated with depression severity. These results suggest that attentional biases maintain depression, in part, by facilitating the persistence of sad mood. PMID:22867117

  13. Uncovering a role for the tail of the Dictyostelium discoideum SadA protein in cell-substrate adhesion.

    PubMed

    Kowal, Anthony S; Chisholm, Rex L

    2011-05-01

    Previous work from our laboratory showed that the Dictyostelium discoideum SadA protein plays a central role in cell-substrate adhesion. SadA null cells exhibit a loss of adhesion, a disrupted actin cytoskeleton, and a cytokinesis defect. How SadA mediates these phenotypes is unknown. This work addresses the mechanism of SadA function, demonstrating an important role for the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail in SadA function. We found that a SadA tailless mutant was unable to rescue the sadA adhesion deficiency, and overexpression of the SadA tail domain reduced adhesion in wild-type cells. We also show that SadA is closely associated with the actin cytoskeleton. Mutagenesis studies suggested that four serine residues in the tail, S924/S925 and S940/S941, may regulate association of SadA with the actin cytoskeleton. Glutathione S-transferase pull-down assays identified at least one likely interaction partner of the SadA tail, cortexillin I, a known actin bundling protein. Thus, our data demonstrate an important role for the carboxy-terminal cytoplasmic tail in SadA function and strongly suggest that a phosphorylation event in this tail regulates an interaction with cortexillin I. Based on our data, we propose a model for the function of SadA.

  14. Childhood and Adult Sexual Abuse, Rumination on Sadness, and Dysphoria

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Conway, Michael; Mendelson, Morris; Giannopoulos, Constantina; Csank, Patricia A. R.; Holm, Susan L.

    2004-01-01

    Objective: The study addressed the hypothesis that adults reporting sexual abuse are more likely to exhibit a general tendency to ruminate on sadness. The relations between reported abuse, rumination on sadness, and dysphoria were also examined. Method: Undergraduate students (101 women and 100 men) reported on childhood and adult sexual abuse and…

  15. Influence of Gender on Parental Socialization of Children's Sadness Regulation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cassano, Michael; Perry-Parrish, Carisa; Zeman, Janice

    2007-01-01

    Mothers' (N = 60) and fathers' (N = 53) perceptions of and desire for change in their 6- to 11-year-old daughters' (N = 59) and sons' (N = 54) sadness regulation behaviors (i.e., inhibition, dysregulation, coping) were examined in addition to parental responses to children's hypothetical sadness displays. Results of multivariate analyses of…

  16. Effects of acute systemic inflammation on the interplay between sad mood and affective cognition.

    PubMed

    Benson, Sven; Brinkhoff, Alexandra; Lueg, Larissa; Roderigo, Till; Kribben, Andreas; Wilde, Benjamin; Witzke, Oliver; Engler, Harald; Schedlowski, Manfred; Elsenbruch, Sigrid

    2017-12-11

    Experimental endotoxemia is a translational model to study inflammatory mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of mood disorders including depression. Disturbed affective cognition constitutes a core aspect in depression, but has never been studied in the context of inflammation. We combined experimental endotoxemia with an established experimental mood induction procedure to assess the interaction between acute inflammation and sad mood and their effects on affective cognition. In this randomized cross-over study, N = 15 healthy males received endotoxin (0.8 ng/kg lipopolysaccharide iv) on one study day and placebo an otherwise identical study day. The affective Go/Nogo task was conducted after experimental induction of neutral and sad mood. Inflammatory markers were assessed hourly. Endotoxin application induced a transient systemic inflammation, characterized by increased leukocyte counts, TNF-alpha and interleukin-6 plasma concentrations (all p < 0.01, interaction effects). Mood induction led to greater sadness ratings, with highest ratings when sad mood was induced during inflammation (p < 0.05, interaction effect). Based on a 2 (endotoxin vs. placebo) × 2 (sad vs. neutral mood) × 2 (sad vs. happy Go/Nogo target words) factorial design, we observed a significant target × endotoxin condition interaction (p < 0.01) reflecting slower responses to sad targets during endotoxemia. Additionally, we found a valence × mood interaction (p < 0.05), reflecting slower reaction times to sad targets in sad mood. In summary, acute inflammation and sad mood are risk factors for disturbed affective cognition. The results may reflect a mood-congruency effect, with prolonged and sustained processing of mood-congruent information during acute inflammation, which may contribute to depression risk.

  17. Effects of mindfulness, reappraisal, and suppression on sad mood and cognitive resources.

    PubMed

    Keng, Shian-Ling; Tan, Elysia Li Yan; Eisenlohr-Moul, Tory A; Smoski, Moria J

    2017-04-01

    The present study investigated the relative effects of mindfulness, reappraisal and suppression in reducing sadness, and the extent to which implementation of these strategies affects cognitive resources in a laboratory context. A total of 171 Singaporean undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to receive brief training in mindfulness, reappraisal, or suppression prior to undergoing a sad mood induction. Individual adherence to Asian cultural values was assessed as a potential moderator of strategy effectiveness. Participants rated their mood and completed a Color-Word Stroop task before and after mood regulation instructions. Analyses using multi-level modelling showed that the suppression condition caused less robust declines in sadness over time compared to mindfulness. There was also a nonsignificant trend in which mindfulness was associated with greater sadness recovery compared to reappraisal. Suppression resulted in lower average sadness compared to mindfulness among those high on Asian cultural values, but not those low on Asian cultural values. Both mindfulness and reappraisal buffered against increases in Stroop interference from pre-to post-regulation compared to suppression. The findings highlight the advantage of mindfulness as a strategy effective not only in the regulation of sad mood, but also in the preservation of cognitive resources in the context of mood regulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Effects of mindfulness, reappraisal, and suppression on sad mood and cognitive resources

    PubMed Central

    Keng, Shian-Ling; Tan, Elysia Li Yan; Eisenlohr-Moul, Tory A.; Smoski, Moria J.

    2017-01-01

    The present study investigated the relative effects of mindfulness, reappraisal and suppression in reducing sadness, and the extent to which implementation of these strategies affects cognitive resources in a laboratory context. A total of 171 Singaporean undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to receive brief training in mindfulness, reappraisal, or suppression prior to undergoing a sad mood induction. Individual adherence to Asian cultural values was assessed as a potential moderator of strategy effectiveness. Participants rated their mood and completed a Color-Word Stroop task before and after mood regulation instructions. Analyses using multi-level modelling showed that the suppression condition caused less robust declines in sadness over time compared to mindfulness. There was also a nonsignificant trend in which mindfulness was associated with greater sadness recovery compared to reappraisal. Suppression resulted in lower average sadness compared to mindfulness among those high on Asian cultural values, but not those low on Asian cultural values. Both mindfulness and reappraisal buffered against increases in Stroop interference from pre-to post-regulation compared to suppression. The findings highlight the advantage of mindfulness as a strategy effective not only in the regulation of sad mood, but also in the preservation of cognitive resources in the context of mood regulation. PMID:28129574

  19. Streptococcal Adhesin P (SadP) contributes to Streptococcus suis adhesion to the human intestinal epithelium.

    PubMed

    Ferrando, Maria Laura; Willemse, Niels; Zaccaria, Edoardo; Pannekoek, Yvonne; van der Ende, Arie; Schultsz, Constance

    2017-01-01

    Streptococcus suis is a zoonotic pathogen, causing meningitis and septicemia. We previously demonstrated that the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is an entry site for zoonotic S. suis infection. Here we studied the contribution of Streptococcal adhesin Protein (SadP) to host-pathogen interaction at GIT level. SadP expression in presence of Intestinal Epithelial Cells (IEC) was compared with expression of other virulence factors by measuring transcript levels using quantitative Real Time PCR (qRT-PCR). SadP variants were identified by phylogenetic analysis of complete DNA sequences. The interaction of SadP knockout and complementation mutants with IEC was tested in vitro. Expression of sadP was significantly increased in presence of IEC. Sequence analysis of 116 invasive strains revealed five SadP sequence variants, correlating with genotype. SadP1, present in zoonotic isolates of clonal complex 1, contributed to binding to both human and porcine IEC and translocation across human IEC. Antibodies against the globotriaosylceramide Gb3/CD77 receptor significantly inhibited adhesion to human IEC. SadP is involved in the host-pathogen interaction in the GIT. Differences between SadP variants may determine different affinities to the Gb3/CD77 host-receptor, contributing to variation in adhesion capacity to host IEC and thus to S. suis zoonotic potential.

  20. Prediction of Happy-Sad Mood from Daily Behaviors and Previous Sleep History

    PubMed Central

    Sano, Akane; Yu, Amy; McHill, Andrew W.; Phillips, Andrew J. K.; Taylor, Sara; Jaques, Natasha; Klerman, Elizabeth B.; Picard, Rosalind W.

    2016-01-01

    We collected and analyzed subjective and objective data using surveys and wearable sensors worn day and night from 68 participants, for 30 days each, to address questions related to the relationships among sleep duration, sleep irregularity, self-reported Happy-Sad mood and other factors in college students. We analyzed daily and monthly behavior and physiology and identified factors that affect mood, including how accurately sleep duration and sleep regularity for the past 1-5 days classified the participants into high/low mood using support vector machines. We found statistically significant associations among sad mood and poor health-related factors. Behavioral factors such as the percentage of neutral social interactions and the total academic activity hours showed the best performance in separating the Happy-Sad mood groups. Sleep regularity was a more important discriminator of mood than sleep duration for most participants, although both variables predicted happy/sad mood with from 70-82% accuracy. The number of nights giving the best prediction of happy/sad mood varied for different groups of individuals. PMID:26737854

  1. Data-collection strategy for challenging native SAD phasing.

    PubMed

    Olieric, Vincent; Weinert, Tobias; Finke, Aaron D; Anders, Carolin; Li, Dianfan; Olieric, Natacha; Borca, Camelia N; Steinmetz, Michel O; Caffrey, Martin; Jinek, Martin; Wang, Meitian

    2016-03-01

    Recent improvements in data-collection strategies have pushed the limits of native SAD (single-wavelength anomalous diffraction) phasing, a method that uses the weak anomalous signal of light elements naturally present in macromolecules. These involve the merging of multiple data sets from either multiple crystals or from a single crystal collected in multiple orientations at a low X-ray dose. Both approaches yield data of high multiplicity while minimizing radiation damage and systematic error, thus ensuring accurate measurements of the anomalous differences. Here, the combined use of these two strategies is described to solve cases of native SAD phasing that were particular challenges: the integral membrane diacylglycerol kinase (DgkA) with a low Bijvoet ratio of 1% and the large 200 kDa complex of the CRISPR-associated endonuclease (Cas9) bound to guide RNA and target DNA crystallized in the low-symmetry space group C2. The optimal native SAD data-collection strategy based on systematic measurements performed on the 266 kDa multiprotein/multiligand tubulin complex is discussed.

  2. Native sulfur/chlorine SAD phasing for serial femtosecond crystallography.

    PubMed

    Nakane, Takanori; Song, Changyong; Suzuki, Mamoru; Nango, Eriko; Kobayashi, Jun; Masuda, Tetsuya; Inoue, Shigeyuki; Mizohata, Eiichi; Nakatsu, Toru; Tanaka, Tomoyuki; Tanaka, Rie; Shimamura, Tatsuro; Tono, Kensuke; Joti, Yasumasa; Kameshima, Takashi; Hatsui, Takaki; Yabashi, Makina; Nureki, Osamu; Iwata, So; Sugahara, Michihiro

    2015-12-01

    Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) allows structures to be determined with minimal radiation damage. However, phasing native crystals in SFX is not very common. Here, the structure determination of native lysozyme from single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (SAD) by utilizing the anomalous signal of sulfur and chlorine at a wavelength of 1.77 Å is successfully demonstrated. This sulfur SAD method can be applied to a wide range of proteins, which will improve the determination of native crystal structures.

  3. Congruence of happy and sad emotion in music and faces modifies cortical audiovisual activation.

    PubMed

    Jeong, Jeong-Won; Diwadkar, Vaibhav A; Chugani, Carla D; Sinsoongsud, Piti; Muzik, Otto; Behen, Michael E; Chugani, Harry T; Chugani, Diane C

    2011-02-14

    The powerful emotion inducing properties of music are well-known, yet music may convey differing emotional responses depending on environmental factors. We hypothesized that neural mechanisms involved in listening to music may differ when presented together with visual stimuli that conveyed the same emotion as the music when compared to visual stimuli with incongruent emotional content. We designed this study to determine the effect of auditory (happy and sad instrumental music) and visual stimuli (happy and sad faces) congruent or incongruent for emotional content on audiovisual processing using fMRI blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal contrast. The experiment was conducted in the context of a conventional block-design experiment. A block consisted of three emotional ON periods, music alone (happy or sad music), face alone (happy or sad faces), and music combined with faces where the music excerpt was played while presenting either congruent emotional faces or incongruent emotional faces. We found activity in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and fusiform gyrus (FG) to be differentially modulated by music and faces depending on the congruence of emotional content. There was a greater BOLD response in STG when the emotion signaled by the music and faces was congruent. Furthermore, the magnitude of these changes differed for happy congruence and sad congruence, i.e., the activation of STG when happy music was presented with happy faces was greater than the activation seen when sad music was presented with sad faces. In contrast, incongruent stimuli diminished the BOLD response in STG and elicited greater signal change in bilateral FG. Behavioral testing supplemented these findings by showing that subject ratings of emotion in faces were influenced by emotion in music. When presented with happy music, happy faces were rated as more happy (p=0.051) and sad faces were rated as less sad (p=0.030). When presented with sad music, happy faces were rated as less

  4. Laughter exaggerates happy and sad faces depending on visual context.

    PubMed

    Sherman, Aleksandra; Sweeny, Timothy D; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru

    2012-04-01

    Laughter is an auditory stimulus that powerfully conveys positive emotion. We investigated how laughter influenced the visual perception of facial expressions. We presented a sound clip of laughter simultaneously with a happy, a neutral, or a sad schematic face. The emotional face was briefly presented either alone or among a crowd of neutral faces. We used a matching method to determine how laughter influenced the perceived intensity of the happy, neutral, and sad expressions. For a single face, laughter increased the perceived intensity of a happy expression. Surprisingly, for a crowd of faces, laughter produced an opposite effect, increasing the perceived intensity of a sad expression in a crowd. A follow-up experiment revealed that this contrast effect may have occurred because laughter made the neutral distractor faces appear slightly happy, thereby making the deviant sad expression stand out in contrast. A control experiment ruled out semantic mediation of the laughter effects. Our demonstration of the strong context dependence of laughter effects on facial expression perception encourages a reexamination of the previously demonstrated effects of prosody, speech content, and mood on face perception, as they may be similarly context dependent.

  5. Laughter exaggerates happy and sad faces depending on visual context

    PubMed Central

    Sherman, Aleksandra; Sweeny, Timothy D.; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru

    2012-01-01

    Laughter is an auditory stimulus that powerfully conveys positive emotion. We investigated how laughter influenced visual perception of facial expressions. We simultaneously presented laughter with a happy, neutral, or sad schematic face. The emotional face was briefly presented either alone or among a crowd of neutral faces. We used a matching method to determine how laughter influenced the perceived intensity of happy, neutral, and sad expressions. For a single face, laughter increased the perceived intensity of a happy expression. Surprisingly, for a crowd of faces laughter produced an opposite effect, increasing the perceived intensity of a sad expression in a crowd. A follow-up experiment revealed that this contrast effect may have occurred because laughter made the neutral distracter faces appear slightly happy, thereby making the deviant sad expression stand out in contrast. A control experiment ruled out semantic mediation of the laughter effects. Our demonstration of the strong context dependence of laughter effects on facial expression perception encourages a re-examination of the previously demonstrated effects of prosody, speech content, and mood on face perception, as they may similarly be context dependent. PMID:22215467

  6. Non-response to sad mood induction: implications for emotion research.

    PubMed

    Rottenberg, Jonathan; Kovacs, Maria; Yaroslavsky, Ilya

    2018-05-01

    Experimental induction of sad mood states is a mainstay of laboratory research on affect and cognition, mood regulation, and mood disorders. Typically, the success of such mood manipulations is reported as a statistically significant pre- to post-induction change in the self-rated intensity of the target affect. The present commentary was motivated by an unexpected finding in one of our studies concerning the response rate to a well-validated sad mood induction. Using the customary statistical approach, we found a significant mean increase in self-rated sadness intensity with a moderate effect size, verifying the "success" of the mood induction. However, that "success" masked that, between one-fifth and about one-third of our samples (adolescents who had histories of childhood-onset major depressive disorder and healthy controls) reported absolutely no sadness in response to the mood induction procedure. We consider implications of our experience for emotion research by (1) commenting upon the typically overlooked phenomenon of nonresponse, (2) suggesting changes in reporting practices regarding mood induction success, and (3) outlining future directions to help scientists determine why some subjects do not respond to experimental mood induction.

  7. The effects of happiness and sadness on Children's snack consumption.

    PubMed

    Tan, Cin Cin; Holub, Shayla C

    2018-04-01

    Children appear to engage in emotional eating (i.e., eating in response to negative and positive emotions), but existing research has predominantly relied on parent-report and child-report, which may not necessarily reflect children's actual emotional eating behaviors. This study examined the effects of happiness and sadness on children's observed snack consumption and examined whether child characteristics (i.e., weight, gender, and age) interact with mood to predict snack consumption. To elicit mood, children (N = 91; M ages  = 6.8 years; 48 boys) were randomly assigned to one of the three mood induction conditions (happy, sad, or neutral); children's snack consumption was observed and measured after mood induction. Findings showed that children in the sad condition consumed more energy from chocolate, followed by children in the happy condition, and then the neutral condition. However, the reverse pattern was observed for goldfish crackers: children in the neutral condition consumed more energy from this savory snack than children in the happy condition, followed by children in sad condition. Child weight status and gender did not interact with mood to predict snack consumption. Child age did interact with mood: older children consumed more chocolates in the sad condition compared to younger children. Child age was not related to snack consumption in the happy and neutral conditions. This study suggests that emotional eating in response to positive and negative emotions is evident during early childhood, but that this is behavior is developing during this period. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. The effects of subliminal anger and sadness primes on agency appraisals.

    PubMed

    Yang, Zixu; Tong, Eddie M W

    2010-12-01

    Two studies examined whether appraisals can be differentially affected by subliminal anger and sadness primes. Participants from Singapore (Experiment 1) and China (Experiment 2) were exposed to either subliminal angry faces or subliminal sad faces. Supporting appraisal theories of emotions, participants exposed to subliminal angry faces were more likely to appraise negative events as caused by other people and those exposed to subliminal sad faces were more likely to appraise the same events as caused by situational factors. The results provide the first evidence for subliminal emotion-specific cognitive effects. They show that cognitive functions such as appraisals can be affected by subliminal emotional stimuli of the same valence.

  9. Fast iodide-SAD phasing for high-throughput membrane protein structure determination.

    PubMed

    Melnikov, Igor; Polovinkin, Vitaly; Kovalev, Kirill; Gushchin, Ivan; Shevtsov, Mikhail; Shevchenko, Vitaly; Mishin, Alexey; Alekseev, Alexey; Rodriguez-Valera, Francisco; Borshchevskiy, Valentin; Cherezov, Vadim; Leonard, Gordon A; Gordeliy, Valentin; Popov, Alexander

    2017-05-01

    We describe a fast, easy, and potentially universal method for the de novo solution of the crystal structures of membrane proteins via iodide-single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (I-SAD). The potential universality of the method is based on a common feature of membrane proteins-the availability at the hydrophobic-hydrophilic interface of positively charged amino acid residues with which iodide strongly interacts. We demonstrate the solution using I-SAD of four crystal structures representing different classes of membrane proteins, including a human G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), and we show that I-SAD can be applied using data collection strategies based on either standard or serial x-ray crystallography techniques.

  10. Hypoperfusion of the Adventitial Vasa Vasorum Develops an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

    PubMed Central

    Sasaki, Takeshi; Sano, Masaki; Yamamoto, Naoto; Saito, Takaaki; Inuzuka, Kazunori; Hayasaka, Takahiro; Goto-Inoue, Naoko; Sugiura, Yuki; Sato, Kohji; Kugo, Hirona; Moriyama, Tatsuya; Konno, Hiroyuki; Setou, Mitsutoshi; Unno, Naoki

    2015-01-01

    The aortic wall is perfused by the adventitial vasa vasorum (VV). Tissue hypoxia has previously been observed as a manifestation of enlarged abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). We sought to determine whether hypoperfusion of the adventitial VV could develop AAAs. We created a novel animal model of adventitial VV hypoperfusion with a combination of a polyurethane catheter insertion and a suture ligation of the infrarenal abdominal aorta in rats. VV hypoperfusion caused tissue hypoxia and developed infrarenal AAA, which had similar morphological and pathological characteristics to human AAA. In human AAA tissue, the adventitial VV were stenotic in both small AAAs (30–49 mm in diameter) and in large AAAs (> 50 mm in diameter), with the sac tissue in these AAAs being ischemic and hypoxic. These results indicate that hypoperfusion of adventitial VV has critical effects on the development of infrarenal AAA. PMID:26308526

  11. [Sensitivity and specificity of abdominal adiposity with metabolic syndrome in the elderly].

    PubMed

    Alvero-Cruz, José Ramón; Fernández Vázquez, Rosalía; García Vega, María Del Mar; García Lavigne, Juan Antonio; Rodríguez Linares, María Victoria; Martínez Blanco, Javier

    It is recognised that abdominal adiposity is associated with cardiovascular risk factors, such as intolerance to glucose, hypertension and dyslipidaemia. The objective of the present study was to assess the relationship of trunk fat and visceral fat index, obtained by anthropometric and bioelectrical impedance, with metabolic syndrome (SM) in an elderly population. The study included 208 subjects (78 men and 130 women) with a mean age of 82.5 years. Abdominal obesity was assessed by anthropometry and bioelectrical impedance. ROC curves were calculated in order to assess the ability of these variables to diagnose metabolic syndrome. There are differences between men and women in body mass index, waist to height ratio, waist circumference, and bioelectrical impedance measurements as trunk fat and visceral fat (p<.05). Also, found differences in anthropometric indices and variables and abdominal bioelectrical impedance between subjects with and without SM (p<.05) and only exist differences in blood glucose, triglycerides and HDL cholesterol (p<.05). There are significant correlations between anthropometric variables and abdominal bioelectrical impedance (p<.05). Areas under the curve (AUC) of waist to height index, waist circumference, sagittal abdominal diameter, and trunk fat were greater than 0.8 (all p<.01), and in women did not exceed values of 0.65. The cut-off points obtained for BMI were 26.81 and 23.53kg/m 2 , 102 and 91cm for waist circumference, 22.1 and 20.7cm for sagittal abdominal diameter, 34% and 43.7% for trunk fat, and 17 and 11.5 for visceral fat ratio in men and women, respectively. There are different levels of predictive ability for metabolic syndrome according to gender. Trunk fat and visceral fat index and anthropometric measures have higher predictive ability for metabolic syndrome in men than in women. Copyright © 2016 SEGG. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  12. Children's Rumination to Sadness and Anger: Implications for the Development of Depression and Aggression.

    PubMed

    Harmon, Sherelle L; Stephens, Haley F; Repper, Karla K; Driscoll, Kimberly A; Kistner, Janet A

    2017-08-25

    The current study examined the transdiagnostic nature of rumination in the development of childhood depression and aggression by examining the relation between two forms of rumination, sadness and anger, in a single study and assessing their unique and shared behavioral correlates. A community sample of 254 children (ages 7-14, 50.4% female, 66.5% Caucasian) completed self-report measures of rumination and depressive symptoms, and peer nominations of aggressive behaviors. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to assess unique and shared behavioral correlates. Anger rumination uniquely predicted aggression (β = .40, p < .001) and depressive symptoms (β = .62, p < .001), controlling for sadness rumination. Sadness rumination, controlling for anger rumination, did not predict depressive symptoms (β = -.10, p = .10) and negatively predicted aggressive symptoms (β = -.21, p = .003). In addition, a significant interaction between sadness rumination and anger rumination on aggressive behaviors was observed (β = -.24, p < .001), such that children who reported high anger and low sadness rumination tendencies were perceived as more aggressive by their peers than other children, including those with high levels of anger and sadness rumination. These results offer support for anger rumination as a transdiagnostic factor for children's depressive symptoms and aggression. Sadness rumination did not uniquely predict depressive symptoms, although it did moderate the association between anger rumination and aggression. These findings underscore the importance of assessing both anger and sadness rumination for increasing our understanding of children's risk for depression and aggression.

  13. Predicting suicide attempts with the SAD PERSONS scale: a longitudinal analysis.

    PubMed

    Bolton, James M; Spiwak, Rae; Sareen, Jitender

    2012-06-01

    The SAD PERSONS scale is a widely used risk assessment tool for suicidal behavior despite a paucity of supporting data. The objective of this study was to examine the ability of the scale in predicting suicide attempts. Participants consisted of consecutive referrals (N=4,019) over 2 years (January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010) to psychiatric services in the emergency departments of the 2 largest tertiary care hospitals in the province of Manitoba, Canada. SAD PERSONS and Modified SAD PERSONS (MSPS) scale scores were recorded for individuals at their index and all subsequent presentations. The 2 main outcome measures in the study included current suicide attempts (at index presentation) and future suicide attempts (within the next 6 months). The ability of the scales to predict suicide attempts was evaluated with logistic regression, sensitivity and specificity analyses, and receiver operating characteristic curves. 566 people presented with suicide attempts (14.1% of the sample). Both SAD PERSONS and MSPS showed poor predictive ability for future suicide attempts. Compared to low risk scores, high risk baseline scores had low sensitivity (19.6% and 40.0%, respectively) and low positive predictive value (5.3% and 7.4%, respectively). SAD PERSONS did not predict suicide attempts better than chance (area under the curve =0.572; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.51-0.64; P value nonsignificant). Stepwise regression identified 5 original scale items that accounted for the greatest proportion of future suicide attempt variance. High risk scores using this model had high sensitivity (93.5%) and were associated with a 5-fold higher likelihood of future suicide attempt presentation (odds ratio =5.58; 95% CI, 2.24-13.86; P<.001). In their current form, SAD PERSONS and MSPS do not accurately predict future suicide attempts. © Copyright 2012 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

  14. Responses to Children's Sadness: Mothers' and Fathers' Unique Contributions and Perceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cassano, Michael C.; Zeman, Janice L.; Sanders, Wesley M.

    2014-01-01

    Parental socialization of children's sadness was examined through self-report, spouse report, and a parent-child sadness discussion task. A total of 79 two-parent, predominantly White, middle-class families participated with one child in grades 2-5 (44 sons; M = 9 years, 8 months). Analyses revealed that mothers and fathers respond differently to…

  15. SAD kinases sculpt axonal arbors of sensory neurons through long and short-term responses to neurotrophin signals

    PubMed Central

    Lilley, Brendan N.; Pan, Y. Albert; Sanes, Joshua R.

    2013-01-01

    SUMMARY Extrinsic cues activate intrinsic signaling mechanisms to pattern neuronal shape and connectivity. We showed previously that three cytoplasmic Ser/Thr kinases, LKB1, SAD-A and SAD-B, control early axon-dendrite polarization in forebrain neurons. Here we assess their role in other neuronal types. We found that all three kinases are dispensable for axon formation outside of the cortex, but that SAD kinases are required for formation of central axonal arbors by subsets of sensory neurons. The requirement for SAD kinases is most prominent in NT-3 dependent neurons. SAD kinases transduce NT-3 signals in two ways through distinct pathways. First, sustained NT-3/TrkC signaling increases SAD protein levels. Second, short duration NT-3/TrkC signals transiently activate SADs by inducing dephosphorylation of C-terminal domains, thereby allowing activating phosphorylation of the kinase domain. We propose that SAD kinases integrate long- and short duration signals from extrinsic cues to sculpt axon arbors within the CNS. PMID:23790753

  16. SAD-Based Stereo Matching Using FPGAs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ambrosch, Kristian; Humenberger, Martin; Kubinger, Wilfried; Steininger, Andreas

    In this chapter we present a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) based stereo matching architecture. This architecture uses the sum of absolute differences (SAD) algorithm and is targeted at automotive and robotics applications. The disparity maps are calculated using 450×375 input images and a disparity range of up to 150 pixels. We discuss two different implementation approaches for the SAD and analyze their resource usage. Furthermore, block sizes ranging from 3×3 up to 11×11 and their impact on the consumed logic elements as well as on the disparity map quality are discussed. The stereo matching architecture enables a frame rate of up to 600 fps by calculating the data in a highly parallel and pipelined fashion. This way, a software solution optimized by using Intel's Open Source Computer Vision Library running on an Intel Pentium 4 with 3 GHz clock frequency is outperformed by a factor of 400.

  17. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity to a sad film predicts depression symptom improvement and symptomatic trajectory

    PubMed Central

    Panaite, Vanessa; Hindash, Alexandra Cowden; Bylsma, Lauren M.; Small, Brent J.; Salomon, Kristen; Rottenberg, Jonathan

    2015-01-01

    Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity, an index of cardiac vagal tone, has been linked to self-regulation and the severity and course of depression (Rottenberg, 2007). Although initial data supports the proposition that RSA withdrawal during a sad film is a specific predictor of depression course (Fraguas, 2007; Rottenberg, 2005), the robustness and specificity of this finding are unclear. To provide a stronger test, RSA reactivity to three emotion films (happy, sad, fear) and to a more robust stressor, a speech task, were examined in currently depressed individuals (n = 37), who were assessed for their degree of symptomatic improvement over 30 weeks. Robust RSA reactivity to the sad film uniquely predicted overall symptom improvement over 30 weeks. RSA reactivity to both sad and stressful stimuli predicted the speed and maintenance of symptomatic improvement. The current analyses provide the most robust support to date that RSA withdrawal to sad stimuli (but not stressful) has specificity in predicting the overall symptomatic improvement. In contrast, RSA reactivity to negative stimuli (both sad and stressful) predicted the trajectory of depression course. Patients’ engagement with sad stimuli may be an important sign to attend to in therapeutic settings. PMID:26681648

  18. Fast iodide-SAD phasing for high-throughput membrane protein structure determination

    PubMed Central

    Melnikov, Igor; Polovinkin, Vitaly; Kovalev, Kirill; Gushchin, Ivan; Shevtsov, Mikhail; Shevchenko, Vitaly; Mishin, Alexey; Alekseev, Alexey; Rodriguez-Valera, Francisco; Borshchevskiy, Valentin; Cherezov, Vadim; Leonard, Gordon A.; Gordeliy, Valentin; Popov, Alexander

    2017-01-01

    We describe a fast, easy, and potentially universal method for the de novo solution of the crystal structures of membrane proteins via iodide–single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (I-SAD). The potential universality of the method is based on a common feature of membrane proteins—the availability at the hydrophobic-hydrophilic interface of positively charged amino acid residues with which iodide strongly interacts. We demonstrate the solution using I-SAD of four crystal structures representing different classes of membrane proteins, including a human G protein–coupled receptor (GPCR), and we show that I-SAD can be applied using data collection strategies based on either standard or serial x-ray crystallography techniques. PMID:28508075

  19. Sadness and susceptibility to judgmental bias: the case of anchoring.

    PubMed

    Bodenhausen, G V; Gabriel, S; Lineberger, M

    2000-07-01

    In a wide range of empirical paradigms, sadness has been associated with more extensive and detail-oriented thinking than happiness, resulting in reductions in judgmental bias that arise from reliance on stereotypes and other simple decision heuristics. It was hypothesized that anchoring would constitute a significant exception to this general pattern. Recent research on anchoring indicates that an active thought process underlies the emergence of this bias. If sad people are likely to think more actively about the judgmental anchor than their neutral-mood counterparts, their subsequent judgments should be more likely to be assimilated toward this reference point. This prediction was confirmed in two experiments demonstrating that sad people are indeed more susceptible to anchoring bias than are people in a neutral mood. Moreover, this effect generalized over judgments in positive, neutral, and negative content domains.

  20. Development of a brief validated geriatric depression screening tool: the SLU "AM SAD".

    PubMed

    Chakkamparambil, Binu; Chibnall, John T; Graypel, Ernest A; Manepalli, Jothika N; Bhutto, Asif; Grossberg, George T

    2015-08-01

    Combining five commonly observed symptoms of late-life depression to develop a short depression screening tool with similar sensitivity and specificity as the conventional, more time-consuming tools. We developed the St. Louis University AM SAD (Appetite, Mood, Sleep, Activity, and thoughts of Death) questionnaire. The frequency of each symptom in the prior 2 weeks is quantified as 0, 1, or 2. Patients 65 years or older from our clinics were administered the AM SAD, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), and the St. Louis University Mental Status Exam (SLUMS). 100 patients were selected. AM SAD correlation with GDS was 0.72 and MADRS 0.80. AM SAD yielded a sensitivity and specificity of 79% and 62% against diagnosis of depression; of 88% and 62% with GDS-15; and 92% and 71% with MADRS. The AM SAD can be reliably used as a short depression screening tool in patients with a SLUMS score of 20 or higher. Copyright © 2015 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Why is happy-sad more difficult? Focal emotional information impairs inhibitory control in children and adults.

    PubMed

    Kramer, Hannah J; Lagattuta, Kristin Hansen; Sayfan, Liat

    2015-02-01

    This study compared the relative difficulty of the happy-sad inhibitory control task (say "happy" for the sad face and "sad" for the happy face) against other card tasks that varied by the presence and type (focal vs. peripheral; negative vs. positive) of emotional information in a sample of 4- to 11-year-olds and adults (N = 264). Participants also completed parallel "name games" (direct labeling). All age groups made more errors and took longer to respond to happy-sad compared to other versions, and the relative difficulty of happy-sad increased with age. The happy-sad name game even posed a greater challenge than some opposite games. These data provide insight into the impact of emotions on cognitive processing across a wide age range. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

  2. The behavioural expression of empathy to others' pain versus others' sadness in young children.

    PubMed

    Bandstra, Nancy F; Chambers, Christine T; McGrath, Patrick J; Moore, Chris

    2011-05-01

    Little is known about how children develop or express their empathy for another individual's pain. The current study compared the behavioural expression of empathy for pain with that for emotion, specifically sadness, in children. One hundred twenty children (60 boys, 60 girls) between the ages of 18 and 36 months (M=26.44 months; SD=5.17) were assessed for their empathy-related behavioural responses to simulations of an adult's pain and sadness, each presented separately. Children were more likely to be distressed by, but also more likely to be prosocially responsive to, another's sadness. Conversely, children were more likely to actively play during another's pain. Despite these differences, principal component analyses conducted separately for pain and sadness revealed conceptual similarities across simulation type. Components labelled as Empathic Concern and Personal Distress emerged for both simulations. Hierarchical regression analyses examining the influence of developmental (ie, age, sex) and interindividual (ie, temperament, social-emotional development, language abilities) variables of interest in children's empathy-related responses were conducted for each pain and sadness component. Age differences emerged only for pain. There were no sex differences for either simulation. Temperament showed some predictive value in how children would respond to sadness. Social-emotional variables showed some predictive value in how children would respond to pain and sadness. Language showed very little predictive value. These findings highlight both conceptual similarities across, and important differences between, children's expressions of empathy for pain and for sadness. Pain appears to be more easily ignored and results in fewer prosocial responses in children. Copyright © 2011 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Low-dose dacarbazine-doxorubicin therapy against intra-abdominal desmoid tumors.

    PubMed

    Yamamoto, Hirofumi; Oshiro, Ryota; Nishimura, Junichi; Uemura, Mamoru; Haraguchi, Naotsugu; Hata, Taishi; Takemasa, Ichiro; Mizushima, Tsunekazu; Sekimoto, Mitsugu; Doki, Yuichiro; Mori, Masaki

    2013-05-01

    Intra-abdominal desmoid tumor is a life-threatening disease. Studies have shown that dacarbazine (DTIC)-doxorubicin (DOX) (D-D) therapy is the most effective treatment. However, myelosuppression is a major problem, and cardiac muscle disorders due to DOX limit the number of administration cycles, whereas it usually requires a long time to achieve tumor shrinkage. To resolve these issues, we introduced low-dose D-D therapy to 3 patients employing 50 mg/m² DOX and 600-700 mg/m² DTIC per cycle, which permits repeated administration cycles up to 10-11 times. Case 1 was a 23-year-old female with a sporadic recurrent mesenterium desmoid tumor located in the pelvis (maximum diameter, 8 cm). Cases 2 and 3 were a 33-year-old female and a 36-year-old male. Both patients had intra-abdominal mesenterium desmoid tumors (maximum diameter 9.6 and 9.0 cm, respectively) that were generated after proctocolectomy due to familial adenomatous polyposis. No severe adverse events occurred during the therapy. With the aid of sulindac and tamoxifen after low-dose D-D therapy, the first two patients achieved a complete response, and the third patient achieved a partial response and awaits further tumor shrinkage. Our experience indicates that low-dose DT-D therapy is a safe and effective regimen for patients with intra-abdominal desmoid tumors.

  4. SAD-B kinase regulates pre-synaptic vesicular dynamics at hippocampal Schaffer collateral synapses and affects contextual fear memory.

    PubMed

    Watabe, Ayako M; Nagase, Masashi; Hagiwara, Akari; Hida, Yamato; Tsuji, Megumi; Ochiai, Toshitaka; Kato, Fusao; Ohtsuka, Toshihisa

    2016-01-01

    Synapses of amphids defective (SAD)-A/B kinases control various steps in neuronal development and differentiation, such as axon specifications and maturation in central and peripheral nervous systems. At mature pre-synaptic terminals, SAD-B is associated with synaptic vesicles and the active zone cytomatrix; however, how SAD-B regulates neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity in vivo remains unclear. Thus, we used SAD-B knockout (KO) mice to study the function of this pre-synaptic kinase in the brain. We found that the paired-pulse ratio was significantly enhanced at Shaffer collateral synapses in the hippocampal CA1 region in SAD-B KO mice compared with wild-type littermates. We also found that the frequency of the miniature excitatory post-synaptic current was decreased in SAD-B KO mice. Moreover, synaptic depression following prolonged low-frequency synaptic stimulation was significantly enhanced in SAD-B KO mice. These results suggest that SAD-B kinase regulates vesicular release probability at pre-synaptic terminals and is involved in vesicular trafficking and/or regulation of the readily releasable pool size. Finally, we found that hippocampus-dependent contextual fear learning was significantly impaired in SAD-B KO mice. These observations suggest that SAD-B kinase plays pivotal roles in controlling vesicular release properties and regulating hippocampal function in the mature brain. Synapses of amphids defective (SAD)-A/B kinases control various steps in neuronal development and differentiation, but their roles in mature brains were only partially known. Here, we demonstrated, at mature pre-synaptic terminals, that SAD-B regulates vesicular release probability and synaptic plasticity. Moreover, hippocampus-dependent contextual fear learning was significantly impaired in SAD-B KO mice, suggesting that SAD-B kinase plays pivotal roles in controlling vesicular release properties and regulating hippocampal function in the mature brain. © 2015 International

  5. Development of markers for Delta9-Stearoyl-ACP-Desaturase (SAD) to screen for cold acclimation

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Delta 9-Stearoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) desaturase (SAD) is an important enzyme of fatty acid biosynthesis in higher plants. Located in the plastid stroma, SAD catalyzes the desaturation of stearoyl-ACP to oleyl-ACP. SAD plays a key role in determining the ratio of saturated fatty acids to unsat...

  6. Office-based ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm

    PubMed Central

    Blois, Beau

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Objective To assess the efficacy of an office-based, family physician–administered ultrasound examination to screen for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Design A prospective observational study. Consecutive patients were approached by nonphysician staff. Setting Rural family physician offices in Grand Forks and Revelstoke, BC. Participants The Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery screening recommendations for AAA were used to help select patients who were at risk of AAA. All men 65 years of age or older were included. Women 65 years of age or older were included if they were current smokers or had diabetes, hypertension, a history of coronary artery disease, or a family history of AAA. Main outcome measures A focused “quick screen,” which measured the maximal diameter of the abdominal aorta using point-of-care ultrasound technology, was performed in the office by a resident physician trained in emergency ultrasonography. Each patient was then booked for a criterion standard scan (ie, a conventional abdominal ultrasound scan performed by a technician and interpreted by a radiologist). The maximal abdominal aortic diameter measured by ultrasound in the office was compared with that measured by the criterion standard method. The time to screen each patient was recorded. Results Forty-five patients were included in data analysis; 62% of participants were men. The mean age was 73 years. The mean pairwise difference between the office-based ultrasound scan and the criterion standard scan was not statistically significant. The mean absolute difference between the 2 scans was 0.20 cm (95% CI 0.15 to 0.25 cm). Correlation between the scans was 0.81. The office-based ultrasound scan had both a sensitivity and a specificity of 100%. The mean time to screen each patient was 212 seconds (95% CI 194 to 230 seconds). Conclusion Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening can be safely performed in the office by family physicians who are trained to use point

  7. Office-based ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm.

    PubMed

    Blois, Beau

    2012-03-01

    To assess the efficacy of an office-based, family physician–administered ultrasound examination to screen for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). A prospective observational study. Consecutive patients were approached by nonphysician staff. Rural family physician offices in Grand Forks and Revelstoke, BC. The Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery screening recommendations for AAA were used to help select patients who were at risk of AAA. All men 65 years of age or older were included. Women 65 years of age or older were included if they were current smokers or had diabetes, hypertension, a history of coronary artery disease, or a family history of AAA. A focused “quick screen”, which measured the maximal diameter of the abdominal aorta using point-of-care ultrasound technology, was performed in the office by a resident physician trained in emergency ultrasonography. Each patient was then booked for a criterion standard scan (i.e., a conventional abdominal ultrasound scan performed by a technician and interpreted by a radiologist). The maximal abdominal aortic diameter measured by ultrasound in the office was compared with that measured by the criterion standard method. The time to screen each patient was recorded. Forty-five patients were included in data analysis; 62% of participants were men. The mean age was 73 years. The mean pairwise difference between the office-based ultrasound scan and the criterion standard scan was not statistically significant. The mean absolute difference between the 2 scans was 0.20 cm (95% CI 0.15 to 0.25 cm). Correlation between the scans was 0.81. The office-based ultrasound scan had both a sensitivity and a specificity of 100%. The mean time to screen each patient was 212 seconds (95% CI 194 to 230 seconds). Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening can be safely performed in the office by family physicians who are trained to use point-of- care ultrasound technology. The screening test can be completed within the time constraints of a

  8. Uncovering a Role for the Tail of the Dictyostelium discoideum SadA Protein in Cell-Substrate Adhesion ▿ †

    PubMed Central

    Kowal, Anthony S.; Chisholm, Rex L.

    2011-01-01

    Previous work from our laboratory showed that the Dictyostelium discoideum SadA protein plays a central role in cell-substrate adhesion. SadA null cells exhibit a loss of adhesion, a disrupted actin cytoskeleton, and a cytokinesis defect. How SadA mediates these phenotypes is unknown. This work addresses the mechanism of SadA function, demonstrating an important role for the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail in SadA function. We found that a SadA tailless mutant was unable to rescue the sadA adhesion deficiency, and overexpression of the SadA tail domain reduced adhesion in wild-type cells. We also show that SadA is closely associated with the actin cytoskeleton. Mutagenesis studies suggested that four serine residues in the tail, S924/S925 and S940/S941, may regulate association of SadA with the actin cytoskeleton. Glutathione S-transferase pull-down assays identified at least one likely interaction partner of the SadA tail, cortexillin I, a known actin bundling protein. Thus, our data demonstrate an important role for the carboxy-terminal cytoplasmic tail in SadA function and strongly suggest that a phosphorylation event in this tail regulates an interaction with cortexillin I. Based on our data, we propose a model for the function of SadA. PMID:21441344

  9. SAD kinases sculpt axonal arbors of sensory neurons through long- and short-term responses to neurotrophin signals.

    PubMed

    Lilley, Brendan N; Pan, Y Albert; Sanes, Joshua R

    2013-07-10

    Extrinsic cues activate intrinsic signaling mechanisms to pattern neuronal shape and connectivity. We showed previously that three cytoplasmic Ser/Thr kinases, LKB1, SAD-A, and SAD-B, control early axon-dendrite polarization in forebrain neurons. Here, we assess their role in other neuronal types. We found that all three kinases are dispensable for axon formation outside of the cortex but that SAD kinases are required for formation of central axonal arbors by subsets of sensory neurons. The requirement for SAD kinases is most prominent in NT-3 dependent neurons. SAD kinases transduce NT-3 signals in two ways through distinct pathways. First, sustained NT-3/TrkC signaling increases SAD protein levels. Second, short-duration NT-3/TrkC signals transiently activate SADs by inducing dephosphorylation of C-terminal domains, thereby allowing activating phosphorylation of the kinase domain. We propose that SAD kinases integrate long- and short-duration signals from extrinsic cues to sculpt axon arbors within the CNS. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity to a sad film predicts depression symptom improvement and symptomatic trajectory.

    PubMed

    Panaite, Vanessa; Hindash, Alexandra Cowden; Bylsma, Lauren M; Small, Brent J; Salomon, Kristen; Rottenberg, Jonathan

    2016-01-01

    Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity, an index of cardiac vagal tone, has been linked to self-regulation and the severity and course of depression (Rottenberg, 2007). Although initial data supports the proposition that RSA withdrawal during a sad film is a specific predictor of depression course (Fraguas, 2007; Rottenberg, 2005), the robustness and specificity of this finding are unclear. To provide a stronger test, RSA reactivity to three emotion films (happy, sad, fear) and to a more robust stressor, a speech task, were examined in currently depressed individuals (n=37), who were assessed for their degree of symptomatic improvement over 30weeks. Robust RSA reactivity to the sad film uniquely predicted overall symptom improvement over 30weeks. RSA reactivity to both sad and stressful stimuli predicted the speed and maintenance of symptomatic improvement. The current analyses provide the most robust support to date that RSA withdrawal to sad stimuli (but not stressful) has specificity in predicting the overall symptomatic improvement. In contrast, RSA reactivity to negative stimuli (both sad and stressful) predicted the trajectory of depression course. Patients' engagement with sad stimuli may be an important sign to attend to in therapeutic settings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. The effect of sad facial expressions on weight judgment

    PubMed Central

    Weston, Trent D.; Hass, Norah C.; Lim, Seung-Lark

    2015-01-01

    Although the body weight evaluation (e.g., normal or overweight) of others relies on perceptual impressions, it also can be influenced by other psychosocial factors. In this study, we explored the effect of task-irrelevant emotional facial expressions on judgments of body weight and the relationship between emotion-induced weight judgment bias and other psychosocial variables including attitudes toward obese persons. Forty-four participants were asked to quickly make binary body weight decisions for 960 randomized sad and neutral faces of varying weight levels presented on a computer screen. The results showed that sad facial expressions systematically decreased the decision threshold of overweight judgments for male faces. This perceptual decision bias by emotional expressions was positively correlated with the belief that being overweight is not under the control of obese persons. Our results provide experimental evidence that task-irrelevant emotional expressions can systematically change the decision threshold for weight judgments, demonstrating that sad expressions can make faces appear more overweight than they would otherwise be judged. PMID:25914669

  12. Abdominal Adhesions

    MedlinePlus

    ... Clearinghouse What are abdominal adhesions? Abdominal adhesions are bands of fibrous tissue that can form between abdominal ... Esophagus Stomach Large intestine Adhesion Abdominal adhesions are bands of fibrous tissue that can form between abdominal ...

  13. Abdominal Pain

    MedlinePlus

    ... and Recurrent or Functional Abdominal Pain (RAP or FAP) What is abdominal pain? Abdominal pain , or stomachache, ... recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) or functional abdominal pain (FAP)? If your health care provider has ruled out ...

  14. SadA-Expressing Staphylococci in the Human Gut Show Increased Cell Adherence and Internalization.

    PubMed

    Luqman, Arif; Nega, Mulugeta; Nguyen, Minh-Thu; Ebner, Patrick; Götz, Friedrich

    2018-01-09

    A subgroup of biogenic amines, the so-called trace amines (TAs), are produced by mammals and bacteria and can act as neuromodulators. In the genus Staphylococcus, certain species are capable of producing TAs through the activity of staphylococcal aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (SadA). SadA decarboxylates aromatic amino acids to produce TAs, as well as dihydroxy phenylalanine and 5-hydroxytryptophan to thus produce the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. SadA-expressing staphylococci were prevalent in the gut of most probands, where they are part of the human intestinal microflora. Furthermore, sadA-expressing staphylococci showed increased adherence to HT-29 cells and 2- to 3-fold increased internalization. Internalization and adherence was also increased in a sadA mutant in the presence of tryptamine. The α2-adrenergic receptor is required for enhanced adherence and internalization. Thus, staphylococci in the gut might contribute to gut activity and intestinal colonization. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Biparietal/transverse abdominal diameter ratio ≤ 1: potential marker for open spina bifida at 11-13-week scan.

    PubMed

    Simon, E G; Arthuis, C J; Haddad, G; Bertrand, P; Perrotin, F

    2015-03-01

    In the first trimester of pregnancy, a biparietal diameter (BPD) below the 5(th) percentile is a simple marker that enables the prenatal detection of half of all cases of open spina bifida. We hypothesized that relating the BPD measurement to the transverse abdominal diameter (TAD) might be another simple and effective screening method. In this study we assessed the performance of using the BPD/TAD ratio during the first trimester of pregnancy in screening for open spina bifida. A total of 20,551 first-trimester ultrasound scans (11-13 weeks' gestation), performed between 2000 and 2013, were analyzed retrospectively; there were 26 cases of open spina bifida and 17,665 unaffected pregnancies with a crown-rump length of 45-84 mm and a record of both BPD and TAD measurements. The mean (± SD) BPD/TAD ratio was 1.00 ± 0.06 for fetuses with spina bifida and 1.13 ± 0.06 for those without (P < 0.0001). A BPD ≤ 5(th) percentile enabled the prenatal detection of 46.2% of spina bifida cases, while a BPD/TAD ratio of ≤ 1.00 detected 69.2%. If we considered cases in which either BPD was ≤ 5(th) percentile or BPD/TAD ratio was ≤ 1, we identified 76.9% of cases. In the latter case, the false-positive rate was 5.1%, while that for using a combination of both BPD ≤ 5th percentile and BPD/TAD ratio ≤ 1 was 0.6%, with a sensitivity of 38.5%. The positive predictive value of using a combination of BPD ≤ 5th percentile and BPD/TAD ratio ≤ 1 for detecting spina bifida was 8.5%. Between 11 and 13 weeks' gestation, relating BPD to TAD improves considerably the diagnostic performance of using BPD measurement alone in screening for open spina bifida. Screening using this marker is simple and applicable to a large population. Copyright © 2014 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. An integrative review of the enjoyment of sadness associated with music.

    PubMed

    Eerola, Tuomas; Vuoskoski, Jonna K; Peltola, Henna-Riikka; Putkinen, Vesa; Schäfer, Katharina

    2017-11-23

    The recent surge of interest towards the paradoxical pleasure produced by sad music has generated a handful of theories and an array of empirical explorations on the topic. However, none of these have attempted to weigh the existing evidence in a systematic fashion. The present work puts forward an integrative framework laid out over three levels of explanation - biological, psycho-social, and cultural - to compare and integrate the existing findings in a meaningful way. First, we review the evidence pertinent to experiences of pleasure associated with sad music from the fields of neuroscience, psychophysiology, and endocrinology. Then, the psychological and interpersonal mechanisms underlying the recognition and induction of sadness in the context of music are combined with putative explanations ranging from social surrogacy and nostalgia to feelings of being moved. Finally, we address the cultural aspects of the paradox - the extent to which it is embedded in the Western notion of music as an aesthetic, contemplative object - by synthesising findings from history, ethnography, and empirical studies. Furthermore, we complement these explanations by considering the particularly significant meanings that sadness portrayed in art can evoke in some perceivers. Our central claim is that one cannot attribute the enjoyment of sadness fully to any one of these levels, but to a chain of functionalities afforded by each level. Each explanatory level has several putative explanations and its own shift towards positive valence, but none of them deliver the full transformation from a highly negative experience to a fully enjoyable experience alone. The current evidence within this framework ranges from weak to non-existent at the biological level, moderate at the psychological level, and suggestive at the cultural level. We propose a series of focussed topics for future investigation that would allow to deconstruct the drivers and constraints of the processes leading to

  17. [Graft Pseudoaneurysm after Ascending to Abdominal Aorta Bypass for Atypical Coarctation Due to Aortitis Syndrome;Report of a Case].

    PubMed

    Yada, Masashi; Yamanaka, Kazuo; Miwa, Senri; Hirose, Keiichi; Sakaguchi, Hisashi; Yoshida, Yukiyo; Onga, Youhei; Tara, Yuichi

    2017-05-01

    We present a case of a 44-year-old woman, with pseudoaneurysm formation at the middle of the prosthetic graft, 60 mm in diameter. She had been diagnosed with atypical coarctation due to aortitis 27 years before, and had undergone a bypass operation with 14 mm-diameter Cooley double velour graft from the ascending aorta to the abdominal aorta. This time, endovascular aortic repair was performed to prevent rupture of the pseudoaneurysm. Though a knitted Dacron graft has a risk of psuedaneurysm formation long patency could be obtained when used in ascending aorta-abdominal aorta bypass.

  18. Influence of trait empathy on the emotion evoked by sad music and on the preference for it.

    PubMed

    Kawakami, Ai; Katahira, Kenji

    2015-01-01

    Some people experience pleasant emotion when listening to sad music. Therefore, they can enjoy listening to it. In the current study, we aimed to investigate such apparently paradoxical emotional mechanisms and focused on the influence of individuals' trait empathy, which has been reported to associate with emotional responses to sad music and a preference for it. Eighty-four elementary school children (42 males and 42 females, mean age 11.9 years) listened to two kinds of sad music and rated their emotional state and liking toward them. In addition, trait empathy was assessed using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index scale, which comprises four sub-components: Empathic Concern, Personal Distress, Perspective Taking, and Fantasy (FS). We conducted a path analysis and tested our proposed model that hypothesized that trait empathy and its sub-components would affect the preference for sad music directly or indirectly, mediated by the emotional response to the sad music. Our findings indicated that FS, a sub-component of trait empathy, was directly associated with liking sad music. Additionally, perspective taking ability, another sub-component of trait empathy, was correlated with the emotional response to sad music. Furthermore, the experience of pleasant emotions contributed to liking sad music.

  19. The Effects of Distraction and Reappraisal On Children's Parasympathetic Regulation of Sadness and Fear

    PubMed Central

    Davis, Elizabeth L.; Quiñones-Camacho, Laura; Buss, Kristin A.

    2015-01-01

    Children commonly experience negative emotions like sadness and fear, and much recent empirical attention has been devoted to understanding the factors supporting and predicting effective emotion regulation. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a cardiac index of parasympathetic function, has emerged as a key physiological correlate of children's self-regulation. But, little is known about how children's use of specific cognitive emotion regulation strategies corresponds to concurrent parasympathetic regulation (i.e., RSA reactivity while watching an emotion-eliciting video). The current study describes an experimental paradigm in which 101 5- to 6-year-olds were randomly assigned to one of three different emotion regulation conditions (Control, Distraction, Reappraisal). All children watched a sad and a scary film (order counterbalanced), and children in the Distraction and Reappraisal conditions received instructions to deploy the target strategy to manage sadness/fear while they watched. Consistent with predictions, children assigned to use either emotion regulation strategy showed greater RSA augmentation from baseline than children in the Control condition (all children showed an overall increase in RSA levels from baseline), suggesting enhanced parasympathetic calming when children used Distraction or Reappraisal to regulate sadness and fear. But, this pattern was found only among children who viewed the sad film before the scary film. Among children who viewed the scary film first, Reappraisal promoted marginally better parasympathetic regulation of fear (no condition differences emerged for parasympathetic regulation of sadness when the sad film was viewed second). Results are discussed in terms of their implications for our understanding of children's emotion regulation and affective physiology. PMID:26601786

  20. The Pea SAD Short-Chain Dehydrogenase/Reductase: Quinone Reduction, Tissue Distribution, and Heterologous Expression1[W][OA

    PubMed Central

    Scherbak, Nikolai; Ala-Häivälä, Anneli; Brosché, Mikael; Böwer, Nathalie; Strid, Hilja; Gittins, John R.; Grahn, Elin; Eriksson, Leif A.; Strid, Åke

    2011-01-01

    The pea (Pisum sativum) tetrameric short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase-like protein (SAD) family consists of at least three highly similar members (SAD-A, -B, and -C). According to mRNA data, environmental stimuli induce SAD expression. The aim of this study was to characterize the SAD proteins by examining their catalytic function, distribution in pea, and induction in different tissues. In enzyme activity assays using a range of potential substrates, the SAD-C enzyme was shown to reduce one- or two-ring-membered quinones lacking long hydrophobic hydrocarbon tails. Immunological assays using a specific antiserum against the protein demonstrated that different tissues and cell types contain small amounts of SAD protein that was predominantly located within epidermal or subepidermal cells and around vascular tissue. Particularly high local concentrations were observed in the protoderm of the seed cotyledonary axis. Two bow-shaped rows of cells in the ovary and the placental surface facing the ovule also exhibited considerable SAD staining. Ultraviolet-B irradiation led to increased staining in epidermal and subepidermal cells of leaves and stems. The different localization patterns of SAD suggest functions both in development and in responses to environmental stimuli. Finally, the pea SAD-C promoter was shown to confer heterologous wound-induced expression in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), which confirmed that the inducibility of its expression is regulated at the transcriptional level. PMID:21343423

  1. Misery is not Miserly: Sad and Self-Focused Individuals Spend More

    PubMed Central

    Cryder, Cynthia E.; Lerner, Jennifer S; Gross, James J.; Dahl, Ronald E.

    2014-01-01

    Misery is not miserly: sadness increases the amount of money decision makers give up to acquire a commodity (Lerner, Small, & Loewenstein, 2004). The present research investigated when and why the “misery-is-not-miserly” effect occurs. Drawing on William James’s (1890) concept of the material self, we tested a model specifying relationships among sadness, self-focus, and the amount of money decision makers spend. Consistent with our Jamesian hypothesis, results revealed that self-focus both moderates and mediates the effect of sadness on spending. Results were consistent across males and females. Because the study used real commodities and real money, results hold implications for everyday decisions. They also hold implications for theoretical development. Economic theories of spending may benefit from incorporating psychological theories – specifically theories of emotion and the self. PMID:18578840

  2. Beyond simple pessimism: effects of sadness and anger on social perception.

    PubMed

    Keltner, D; Ellsworth, P C; Edwards, K

    1993-05-01

    In keeping with cognitive appraisal models of emotion, it was hypothesized that sadness and anger would exert different influences on causal judgments. Two experiments provided initial support for this hypothesis. Sad Ss perceived situationally caused events as more likely (Experiment 1) and situational forces more responsible for an ambiguous event (Experiment 2) than angry Ss, who, in contrast, perceived events caused by humans as more likely and other people as more responsible. Experiments 3, 4, and 5 showed that the experience of these emotions, rather than their cognitive constituents, mediates these effects. The nonemotional exposure to situational or human agency information did not influence causal judgments (Experiment 3), whereas the induction of sadness and anger without explicit agency information did (Experiments 4 and 5). Discussion is focused on the influence of emotion on social judgment.

  3. Giant spigelian hernia due to abdominal wall injury: a case report.

    PubMed

    Topal, Ersun; Kaya, Ekrem; Topal, Naile Bolca; Sahin, Ilker

    2007-02-01

    Spigelian hernia is a rare clinical entity. It is difficult to diagnose due to its location. In this article we report the case of a giant spigelian hernia consequent to abdominal wall injury. The neck of the hernia was 10 cm in diameter. We repaired this hernia with a polypropylene mesh.

  4. Effects of Sad and Happy Music on Mind-Wandering and the Default Mode Network.

    PubMed

    Taruffi, Liila; Pehrs, Corinna; Skouras, Stavros; Koelsch, Stefan

    2017-10-31

    Music is a ubiquitous phenomenon in human cultures, mostly due to its power to evoke and regulate emotions. However, effects of music evoking different emotional experiences such as sadness and happiness on cognition, and in particular on self-generated thought, are unknown. Here we use probe-caught thought sampling and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the influence of sad and happy music on mind-wandering and its underlying neuronal mechanisms. In three experiments we found that sad music, compared with happy music, is associated with stronger mind-wandering (Experiments 1A and 1B) and greater centrality of the nodes of the Default Mode Network (DMN) (Experiment 2). Thus, our results demonstrate that, when listening to sad vs. happy music, people withdraw their attention inwards and engage in spontaneous, self-referential cognitive processes. Importantly, our results also underscore that DMN activity can be modulated as a function of sad and happy music. These findings call for a systematic investigation of the relation between music and thought, having broad implications for the use of music in education and clinical settings.

  5. Abdominal tap

    MedlinePlus

    Peritoneal tap; Paracentesis; Ascites - abdominal tap; Cirrhosis - abdominal tap; Malignant ascites - abdominal tap ... abdominal cavity ( most often cancer of the ovaries ) Cirrhosis of the liver Damaged bowel Heart disease Infection ...

  6. Regulating Anger under Stress via Cognitive Reappraisal and Sadness.

    PubMed

    Zhan, Jun; Wu, Xiaofei; Fan, Jin; Guo, Jianyou; Zhou, Jianshe; Ren, Jun; Liu, Chang; Luo, Jing

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have reported the failure of cognitive emotion regulation (CER), especially in regulating unpleasant emotions under stress. The underlying reason for this failure was the application of CER depends heavily on the executive function of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), but this function can be impaired by stress-related neuroendocrine hormones. This observation highlights the necessity of developing self-regulatory strategies that require less top-down cognitive control. Based on traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine, which examine how different types of emotions promote or counteract one another, we have developed a novel emotion regulation strategy whereby one emotion is used to alter another. For example, our previous experiment showed that sadness induction (after watching a sad film) could reduce aggressive behavior associated with anger [i.e., "sadness counteracts anger" (SCA)] (Zhan et al., 2015). Relative to the CER strategy requiring someone to think about certain cognitive reappraisals to reinterpret the meaning of an unpleasant situation, watching a film or listening to music and experiencing the emotion contained therein seemingly requires less cognitive effort and control; therefore, this SCA strategy may be an alternative strategy that compensates for the limitations of cognitive regulation strategies, especially in stressful situations. The present study was designed to directly compare the effects of the CER and SCA strategy in regulating anger and anger-related aggression in stressful and non-stressful conditions. Participants' subjective feeling of anger, anger-related aggressive behavior, skin conductance, and salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels were measured. Our findings revealed that acute stress impaired one's ability to use CR to control angry responses provoked by others, whereas stress did not influence the efficiency of the SCA strategy. Compared with sadness or neutral emotion induction, CER induction was found to

  7. Regulating Anger under Stress via Cognitive Reappraisal and Sadness

    PubMed Central

    Zhan, Jun; Wu, Xiaofei; Fan, Jin; Guo, Jianyou; Zhou, Jianshe; Ren, Jun; Liu, Chang; Luo, Jing

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have reported the failure of cognitive emotion regulation (CER), especially in regulating unpleasant emotions under stress. The underlying reason for this failure was the application of CER depends heavily on the executive function of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), but this function can be impaired by stress-related neuroendocrine hormones. This observation highlights the necessity of developing self-regulatory strategies that require less top-down cognitive control. Based on traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine, which examine how different types of emotions promote or counteract one another, we have developed a novel emotion regulation strategy whereby one emotion is used to alter another. For example, our previous experiment showed that sadness induction (after watching a sad film) could reduce aggressive behavior associated with anger [i.e., “sadness counteracts anger” (SCA)] (Zhan et al., 2015). Relative to the CER strategy requiring someone to think about certain cognitive reappraisals to reinterpret the meaning of an unpleasant situation, watching a film or listening to music and experiencing the emotion contained therein seemingly requires less cognitive effort and control; therefore, this SCA strategy may be an alternative strategy that compensates for the limitations of cognitive regulation strategies, especially in stressful situations. The present study was designed to directly compare the effects of the CER and SCA strategy in regulating anger and anger-related aggression in stressful and non-stressful conditions. Participants’ subjective feeling of anger, anger-related aggressive behavior, skin conductance, and salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels were measured. Our findings revealed that acute stress impaired one’s ability to use CR to control angry responses provoked by others, whereas stress did not influence the efficiency of the SCA strategy. Compared with sadness or neutral emotion induction, CER induction was

  8. Aberrant default-mode network-hippocampus connectivity after sad memory-recall in remitted-depression

    PubMed Central

    Mocking, Roel J T; van Wingen, Guido; Martens, Suzanne; Ruhé, Henricus G; Schene, Aart H

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Rumination and cognitive reactivity (dysfunctional cognitions after sad mood-induction) remain high in remitted Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and can contribute to new episodes. These factors have been linked to increased fMRI resting-state functional-connectivity within the Default-Mode Network (DMN). It remains unclear whether (I) increased DMN-connectivity persists during MDD-remission, and (II) whether sad mood-induction differentially affects DMN-connectivity in remitted-MDD vs controls. Moreover, DMN-connectivity studies in remitted-MDD were previously confounded by antidepressant-use. Sixty-two MDD-patients remitted from ≥2 episodes, psychotropic-medication free, and 41 controls, participated in two 5-min neutral and sad mood-inductions by autobiographical-recall and neutral/sad music, each followed by 8-min resting-state fMRI-scanning. We identified DMN-components using Independent Component Analysis and entered subject- and sessions-specific components into a repeated measures analysis of variance. Connectivity-differences were extracted and correlated with baseline cognitive reactivity and rumination as measures of vulnerability for recurrence. After sad vs neutral mood-induction, controls, but not remitted-MDD, showed an increase in connectivity between the posterior-DMN and a cluster consisting mostly of the hippocampus (P = 0.006). Less posterior-DMN-hippocampal connectivity was associated with higher cognitive reactivity (r = −0.21, P = 0.046) and rumination (r = −0.27, P = 0.017). After recalling sad autobiographical-memories, aberrant posterior-DMN-hippocampal connectivity, associated with cognitive reactivity and rumination, remains a neural vulnerability in MDD-remission. PMID:28981917

  9. Aberrant default-mode network-hippocampus connectivity after sad memory-recall in remitted-depression.

    PubMed

    Figueroa, Caroline A; Mocking, Roel J T; van Wingen, Guido; Martens, Suzanne; Ruhé, Henricus G; Schene, Aart H

    2017-11-01

    Rumination and cognitive reactivity (dysfunctional cognitions after sad mood-induction) remain high in remitted Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and can contribute to new episodes. These factors have been linked to increased fMRI resting-state functional-connectivity within the Default-Mode Network (DMN). It remains unclear whether (I) increased DMN-connectivity persists during MDD-remission, and (II) whether sad mood-induction differentially affects DMN-connectivity in remitted-MDD vs controls. Moreover, DMN-connectivity studies in remitted-MDD were previously confounded by antidepressant-use. Sixty-two MDD-patients remitted from ≥2 episodes, psychotropic-medication free, and 41 controls, participated in two 5-min neutral and sad mood-inductions by autobiographical-recall and neutral/sad music, each followed by 8-min resting-state fMRI-scanning. We identified DMN-components using Independent Component Analysis and entered subject- and sessions-specific components into a repeated measures analysis of variance. Connectivity-differences were extracted and correlated with baseline cognitive reactivity and rumination as measures of vulnerability for recurrence. After sad vs neutral mood-induction, controls, but not remitted-MDD, showed an increase in connectivity between the posterior-DMN and a cluster consisting mostly of the hippocampus (P = 0.006). Less posterior-DMN-hippocampal connectivity was associated with higher cognitive reactivity (r = -0.21, P = 0.046) and rumination (r = -0.27, P = 0.017). After recalling sad autobiographical-memories, aberrant posterior-DMN-hippocampal connectivity, associated with cognitive reactivity and rumination, remains a neural vulnerability in MDD-remission. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

  10. Staged abdominal re-operation for abdominal trauma.

    PubMed

    Taviloglu, Korhan

    2003-07-01

    To review the current developments in staged abdominal re-operation for abdominal trauma. To overview the steps of damage control laparotomy. The ever increasing importance of the resuscitation phase with current intensive care unit (ICU) support techniques should be emphasized. General surgeons should be familiar to staged abdominal re-operation for abdominal trauma and collaborate with ICU teams, interventional radiologists and several other specialties to overcome this entity.

  11. Regulation of sadness via acceptance or suppression in adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

    PubMed

    Matthies, Swantje; Philipsen, Alexandra; Lackner, Helmut Karl; Sadohara, Chiharu; Svaldi, Jennifer

    2014-12-15

    Emotion dysregulation is a recognized symptom of adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The aim of this study is to induce sadness in adults suffering from ADHD and to investigate the impact of emotion regulation strategies on sadness intensity, and psychophysiological measures. Thirty-six adults diagnosed with ADHD were randomly assigned to either expressive suppression (SUPP) or acceptance (ACC) of emotion. Sadness was induced using a film clip. Participants estimated the intensity of sadness and the perception of being overwhelmed with emotion before (T1), immediately after (T2) and 2 min after the film (T3). Physiological measures were obtained. Sadness induction was effective in both conditions. The perception of being overwhelmed with emotion increased between T1 and T2 in both conditions, but persisted until T3 only in the expressive suppression condition whereas a decrease was observed in the acceptance condition. In ADHD expressive suppression of sadness seems to be associated to a prolonged recovery from the perception of being overwhelmed with emotion. Emotion-regulation via acceptance in contrast appears to allow faster recovery from the perception of being overwhelmed with emotion. To our knowledge, this is the first study to identify suppression as a critical mediator between an induced emotion and delayed recovery from emotional reactions in adult ADHD. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Influence of trait empathy on the emotion evoked by sad music and on the preference for it

    PubMed Central

    Kawakami, Ai; Katahira, Kenji

    2015-01-01

    Some people experience pleasant emotion when listening to sad music. Therefore, they can enjoy listening to it. In the current study, we aimed to investigate such apparently paradoxical emotional mechanisms and focused on the influence of individuals’ trait empathy, which has been reported to associate with emotional responses to sad music and a preference for it. Eighty-four elementary school children (42 males and 42 females, mean age 11.9 years) listened to two kinds of sad music and rated their emotional state and liking toward them. In addition, trait empathy was assessed using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index scale, which comprises four sub-components: Empathic Concern, Personal Distress, Perspective Taking, and Fantasy (FS). We conducted a path analysis and tested our proposed model that hypothesized that trait empathy and its sub-components would affect the preference for sad music directly or indirectly, mediated by the emotional response to the sad music. Our findings indicated that FS, a sub-component of trait empathy, was directly associated with liking sad music. Additionally, perspective taking ability, another sub-component of trait empathy, was correlated with the emotional response to sad music. Furthermore, the experience of pleasant emotions contributed to liking sad music. PMID:26578992

  13. The effects of distraction and reappraisal on children's parasympathetic regulation of sadness and fear.

    PubMed

    Davis, Elizabeth L; Quiñones-Camacho, Laura E; Buss, Kristin A

    2016-02-01

    Children commonly experience negative emotions like sadness and fear, and much recent empirical attention has been devoted to understanding the factors supporting and predicting effective emotion regulation. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a cardiac index of parasympathetic function, has emerged as a key physiological correlate of children's self-regulation. But little is known about how children's use of specific cognitive emotion regulation strategies corresponds to concurrent parasympathetic regulation (i.e., RSA reactivity while watching an emotion-eliciting video). The current study describes an experimental paradigm in which 101 5- and 6-year-olds were randomly assigned to one of three different emotion regulation conditions: Control, Distraction, or Reappraisal. All children watched a sad film and a scary film (order counterbalanced), and children in the Distraction and Reappraisal conditions received instructions to deploy the target strategy to manage sadness/fear while they watched. Consistent with predictions, children assigned to use either emotion regulation strategy showed greater RSA augmentation from baseline than children in the Control condition (all children showed an overall increase in RSA levels from baseline), suggesting enhanced parasympathetic calming when children used distraction or reappraisal to regulate sadness and fear. But this pattern was found only among children who viewed the sad film before the scary film. Among children who viewed the scary film first, reappraisal promoted marginally better parasympathetic regulation of fear (no condition differences emerged for parasympathetic regulation of sadness when the sad film was viewed second). Results are discussed in terms of their implications for our understanding of children's emotion regulation and affective physiology. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Role of tempo entrainment in psychophysiological differentiation of happy and sad music?

    PubMed

    Khalfa, Stéphanie; Roy, Mathieu; Rainville, Pierre; Dalla Bella, Simone; Peretz, Isabelle

    2008-04-01

    Respiration rate allows to differentiate between happy and sad excerpts which may be attributable to entrainment of respiration to the rhythm or the tempo rather than to emotions [Etzel, J.A., Johnsen, E.L., Dickerson, J., Tranel, D., Adolphs, R., 2006. Cardiovascular and respiratory responses during musical mood induction. Int. J. Psychophysiol. 61(1), 57-69]. In order to test for this hypothesis, this study intended to verify whether fast and slow rhythm, and/or tempo alone are sufficient to induce differential physiological effects. Psychophysiological responses (electrodermal responses, facial muscles activity, blood pressure, heart and respiration rate) were then measured in fifty young adults listening to fast/happy and slow/sad music, and to two control versions of these excerpts created by removing pitch variations (rhythmic version) and both pitch and temporal variations (beat-alone). The results indicate that happy and sad music are significantly differentiated (happy>sad) by diastolic blood pressure, electrodermal activity, and zygomatic activity, while the fast and slow rhythmic and tempo control versions did not elicit such differentiations. In contrast, respiration rate was faster with stimuli presented at fast tempi relative to slow stimuli in the beat-alone condition. It was thus demonstrated that the psychophysiological happy/sad distinction requires the tonal variations and cannot be explained solely by entrainment to tempo and rhythm. The tempo entrainment exists in the tempo alone condition but our results suggest this effect may disappear when embedded in music or with rhythm.

  15. Rupture of a hepatic adenoma in a young woman after an abdominal trauma: a case report.

    PubMed

    Cotta-Pereira, Ricardo Lemos; Valente, Luana Ferreira; De Paula, Daniela Goncalves; Eiras-Araújo, Antônio Luís; Iglesias, Antônio Carlos

    2013-07-21

    Unlike hepatic haemorrhage following blunt abdominal trauma, spontaneous abdomen bleeding is rare, even in the presence of a hepatocellular adenoma (HA) or carcinoma. However, the diagnosis of a tumour underlying a haematoma after liver trauma is unusual, especially when it occurs more after two years after the accident. Here, we report a case of a ruptured HA due to blunt abdominal trauma. A 36-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with sudden onset of upper abdominal pain. Her medical history revealed a blunt abdominal trauma two years prior. Initial abdominal computed tomography scan revealed a large haematoma measuring more than 16 cm in diameter in the right lobe of the liver. Magnetic resonance imaging showed haemorrhagic areas and some regions with hepatocyte hyperplasia, suggesting HA. The patient underwent right hepatic lobectomy, and a histopathological examination confirmed a diagnosis of HA. In conclusion, it is important to consider that abdominal trauma may hide old, asymptomatic and not previously detected injuries, as in the case reported.

  16. Mismatch negativity of sad syllables is absent in patients with major depressive disorder.

    PubMed

    Pang, Xiaomei; Xu, Jing; Chang, Yi; Tang, Di; Zheng, Ya; Liu, Yanhua; Sun, Yiming

    2014-01-01

    Major depressive disorder (MDD) is an important and highly prevalent mental disorder characterized by anhedonia and a lack of interest in everyday activities. Additionally, patients with MDD appear to have deficits in various cognitive abilities. Although a number of studies investigating the central auditory processing of low-level sound features in patients with MDD have demonstrated that this population exhibits impairments in automatic processing, the influence of emotional voice processing has yet to be addressed. To explore the automatic processing of emotional prosodies in patients with MDD, we analyzed the ability to detect automatic changes using event-related potentials (ERPs). This study included 18 patients with MDD and 22 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Subjects were instructed to watch a silent movie but to ignore the afferent acoustic emotional prosodies presented to both ears while continuous electroencephalographic activity was synchronously recorded. Prosodies included meaningless syllables, such as "dada" spoken with happy, angry, sad, or neutral tones. The mean amplitudes of the ERPs elicited by emotional stimuli and the peak latency of the emotional differential waveforms were analyzed. The sad MMN was absent in patients with MDD, whereas the happy and angry MMN components were similar across groups. The abnormal sad emotional MMN component was not significantly correlated with the HRSD-17 and HAMA scores, respectively. The data indicate that patients with MDD are impaired in their ability to automatically process sad prosody, whereas their ability to process happy and angry prosodies remains normal. The dysfunctional sad emotion-related MMN in patients with MDD were not correlated with depression symptoms. The blunted MMN of sad prosodies could be considered a trait of MDD.

  17. A sad mood increases attention to unhealthy food images in women with food addiction.

    PubMed

    Frayn, Mallory; Sears, Christopher R; von Ranson, Kristin M

    2016-05-01

    Food addiction and emotional eating both influence eating and weight, but little is known of how negative mood affects the attentional processes that may contribute to food addiction. The purpose of this study was to compare attention to food images in adult women (N = 66) with versus without food addiction, before and after a sad mood induction (MI). Participants' eye fixations were tracked and recorded throughout 8-s presentations of displays with healthy food, unhealthy food, and non-food images. Food addiction was self-reported using the Yale Food Addiction Scale. The sad MI involved watching an 8-min video about a young child who passed away from cancer. It was predicted that: (1) participants in the food addiction group would attend to unhealthy food significantly more than participants in the control group, and (2) participants in the food addiction group would increase their attention to unhealthy food images following the sad MI, due to increased emotional reactivity and poorer emotional regulation. As predicted, the sad MI had a different effect for those with versus without food addiction: for participants with food addiction, attention to unhealthy images increased following the sad MI and attention to healthy images decreased, whereas for participants without food addiction the sad MI did not alter attention to food. These findings contribute to researchers' understanding of the cognitive factors underlying food addiction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Emotional tears facilitate the recognition of sadness and the perceived need for social support.

    PubMed

    Balsters, Martijn J H; Krahmer, Emiel J; Swerts, Marc G J; Vingerhoets, Ad J J M

    2013-02-12

    The tearing effect refers to the relevance of tears as an important visual cue adding meaning to human facial expression. However, little is known about how people process these visual cues and their mediating role in terms of emotion perception and person judgment. We therefore conducted two experiments in which we measured the influence of tears on the identification of sadness and the perceived need for social support at an early perceptional level. In two experiments (1 and 2), participants were exposed to sad and neutral faces. In both experiments, the face stimuli were presented for 50 milliseconds. In experiment 1, tears were digitally added to sad faces in one condition. Participants demonstrated a significant faster recognition of sad faces with tears compared to those without tears. In experiment 2, tears were added to neutral faces as well. Participants had to indicate to what extent the displayed individuals were in need of social support. Study participants reported a greater perceived need for social support to both sad and neutral faces with tears than to those without tears. This study thus demonstrated that emotional tears serve as important visual cues at an early (pre-attentive) level.

  19. Happy faces are preferred regardless of familiarity--sad faces are preferred only when familiar.

    PubMed

    Liao, Hsin-I; Shimojo, Shinsuke; Yeh, Su-Ling

    2013-06-01

    Familiarity leads to preference (e.g., the mere exposure effect), yet it remains unknown whether it is objective familiarity, that is, repetitive exposure, or subjective familiarity that contributes to preference. In addition, it is unexplored whether and how different emotions influence familiarity-related preference. The authors investigated whether happy or sad faces are preferred or perceived as more familiar and whether this subjective familiarity judgment correlates with preference for different emotional faces. An emotional face--happy or sad--was paired with a neutral face, and participants rated the relative preference and familiarity of each of the paired faces. For preference judgment, happy faces were preferred and sad faces were less preferred, compared with neutral faces. For familiarity judgment, happy faces did not show any bias, but sad faces were perceived as less familiar than neutral faces. Item-by-item correlational analyses show preference for sad faces--but not happy faces--positively correlate with familiarity. These results suggest a direct link between positive emotion and preference, and argue at least partly against a common cause for familiarity and preference. Instead, facial expression of different emotional valence modulates the link between familiarity and preference.

  20. Thresholds for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair in England and the United States

    PubMed Central

    Karthikesalingam, Alan; Vidal-Diez, Alberto; Holt, Peter J.; Loftus, Ian M.; Schermerhorn, Marc L.; Soden, Peter A.; Landon, Bruce E.; Thompson, Matthew M.

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND Thresholds for repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms vary considerably among countries. METHODS We examined differences between England and the United States in the frequency of aneurysm repair, the mean aneurysm diameter at the time of the procedure, and rates of aneurysm rupture and aneurysm-related death. Data on the frequency of repair of intact (nonruptured) abdominal aortic aneurysms, in-hospital mortality among patients who had undergone aneurysm repair, and rates of aneurysm rupture during the period from 2005 through 2012 were extracted from the Hospital Episode Statistics database in England and the U.S. Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Data on the aneurysm diameter at the time of repair were extracted from the U.K. National Vascular Registry (2014 data) and from the U.S. National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (2013 data). Aneurysm-related mortality during the period from 2005 through 2012 was determined from data obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.K. Office of National Statistics. Data were adjusted with the use of direct standardization or conditional logistic regression for differences between England and the United States with respect to population age and sex. RESULTS During the period from 2005 through 2012, a total of 29,300 patients in England and 278,921 patients in the United States underwent repair of intact abdominal aortic aneurysms. Aneurysm repair was less common in England than in the United States (odds ratio, 0.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.48 to 0.49; P<0.001), and aneurysm-related death was more common in England than in the United States (odds ratio, 3.60; 95% CI, 3.55 to 3.64; P<0.001). Hospitalization due to an aneurysm rupture occurred more frequently in England than in the United States (odds ratio, 2.23; 95% CI, 2.19 to 2.27; P<0.001), and the mean aneurysm diameter at the time of repair was larger in England (63.7 mm vs. 58.3 mm, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS We found a lower rate

  1. Context matters: Anterior and posterior cortical midline responses to sad movie scenes.

    PubMed

    Schlochtermeier, L H; Pehrs, C; Bakels, J-H; Jacobs, A M; Kappelhoff, H; Kuchinke, L

    2017-04-15

    Narrative movies can create powerful emotional responses. While recent research has advanced the understanding of neural networks involved in immersive movie viewing, their modulation within a movie's dynamic context remains inconclusive. In this study, 24 healthy participants passively watched sad scene climaxes taken from 24 romantic comedies, while brain activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance (fMRI). To study effects of context, the sad scene climaxes were presented with either coherent scene context, replaced non-coherent context or without context. In a second viewing, the same clips were rated continuously for sadness. The ratings varied over time with peaks of experienced sadness within the assumed climax intervals. Activations in anterior and posterior cortical midline regions increased if presented with both coherent and replaced context, while activation in the temporal gyri decreased. This difference was more pronounced for the coherent context condition. Psycho-Physiological interactions (PPI) analyses showed a context-dependent coupling of midline regions with occipital visual and sub-cortical reward regions. Our results demonstrate the pivotal role of midline structures and their interaction with perceptual and reward areas in processing contextually embedded socio-emotional information in movies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Aortic Wall Inflammation Predicts Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Expansion, Rupture, and Need for Surgical Repair.

    PubMed

    2017-08-29

    Ultrasmall superparamagnetic particles of iron oxide (USPIO) detect cellular inflammation on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm, we assessed whether USPIO-enhanced MRI can predict aneurysm growth rates and clinical outcomes. In a prospective multicenter open-label cohort study, 342 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (diameter ≥40 mm) were classified by the presence of USPIO enhancement and were monitored with serial ultrasound and clinical follow-up for ≥2 years. The primary end point was the composite of aneurysm rupture or repair. Participants (85% male, 73.1±7.2 years) had a baseline aneurysm diameter of 49.6±7.7 mm, and USPIO enhancement was identified in 146 (42.7%) participants, absent in 191 (55.8%), and indeterminant in 5 (1.5%). During follow-up (1005±280 days), 17 (5.0%) abdominal aortic aneurysm ruptures, 126 (36.8%) abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs, and 48 (14.0%) deaths occurred. Compared with those without uptake, patients with USPIO enhancement have increased rates of aneurysm expansion (3.1±2.5 versus 2.5±2.4 mm/year, P =0.0424), although this was not independent of current smoking habit ( P =0.1993). Patients with USPIO enhancement had higher rates of aneurysm rupture or repair (47.3% versus 35.6%; 95% confidence intervals, 1.1-22.2; P =0.0308). This finding was similar for each component of rupture (6.8% versus 3.7%, P =0.1857) or repair (41.8% versus 32.5%, P =0.0782). USPIO enhancement was associated with reduced event-free survival for aneurysm rupture or repair ( P =0.0275), all-cause mortality ( P =0.0635), and aneurysm-related mortality ( P =0.0590). Baseline abdominal aortic aneurysm diameter ( P <0.0001) and current smoking habit ( P =0.0446) also predicted the primary outcome, and the addition of USPIO enhancement to the multivariate model did not improve event prediction (c-statistic, 0.7935-0.7936). USPIO-enhanced MRI is a novel approach to the identification of aortic wall

  3. Aortic Wall Inflammation Predicts Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Expansion, Rupture, and Need for Surgical Repair

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Background: Ultrasmall superparamagnetic particles of iron oxide (USPIO) detect cellular inflammation on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm, we assessed whether USPIO-enhanced MRI can predict aneurysm growth rates and clinical outcomes. Methods In a prospective multicenter open-label cohort study, 342 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (diameter ≥40 mm) were classified by the presence of USPIO enhancement and were monitored with serial ultrasound and clinical follow-up for ≥2 years. The primary end point was the composite of aneurysm rupture or repair. Results Participants (85% male, 73.1±7.2 years) had a baseline aneurysm diameter of 49.6±7.7 mm, and USPIO enhancement was identified in 146 (42.7%) participants, absent in 191 (55.8%), and indeterminant in 5 (1.5%). During follow-up (1005±280 days), 17 (5.0%) abdominal aortic aneurysm ruptures, 126 (36.8%) abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs, and 48 (14.0%) deaths occurred. Compared with those without uptake, patients with USPIO enhancement have increased rates of aneurysm expansion (3.1±2.5 versus 2.5±2.4 mm/year, P=0.0424), although this was not independent of current smoking habit (P=0.1993). Patients with USPIO enhancement had higher rates of aneurysm rupture or repair (47.3% versus 35.6%; 95% confidence intervals, 1.1–22.2; P=0.0308). This finding was similar for each component of rupture (6.8% versus 3.7%, P=0.1857) or repair (41.8% versus 32.5%, P=0.0782). USPIO enhancement was associated with reduced event-free survival for aneurysm rupture or repair (P=0.0275), all-cause mortality (P=0.0635), and aneurysm-related mortality (P=0.0590). Baseline abdominal aortic aneurysm diameter (P<0.0001) and current smoking habit (P=0.0446) also predicted the primary outcome, and the addition of USPIO enhancement to the multivariate model did not improve event prediction (c-statistic, 0.7935–0.7936). Conclusions USPIO-enhanced MRI is a novel approach to the

  4. Identification of candidate genes from the SAD gene family in cotton for determination of cottonseed oil composition.

    PubMed

    Shang, Xiaoguang; Cheng, Chaoze; Ding, Jian; Guo, Wangzhen

    2017-02-01

    Cotton is an economically important crop grown for natural fiber and seed oil production. Cottonseed oil ranks third after soybean oil and colza oil in terms of edible oilseed tonnage worldwide. The fatty acid composition of cottonseed oil determines its industrial application and nutritional values. However, little progress has been made in understanding cottonseed oil biogenesis. Stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase (SAD), the only known enzyme to convert saturated fatty acids into unsaturated fatty acids in plants, plays key roles in determining the fatty acid composition of cottonseed oil. In this study, we identified 9, 9, 18 and 19 SAD genes in the genomes of four sequenced cotton species: diploid Gossypium raimondii (D 5 ), G. arboreum (A 2 ), tetraploid G. hirsutum acc. TM-1 (AD 1 ) and G. barbadense cv. Xinhai21 (AD 2 ), respectively. Bioinformatic and phylogenetic analyses revealed that cotton SADs can be classified into two classes. Expression patterns showed developmental and spatial regulation of SADs in cotton. GhSAD2 and GhSAD4 were preferentially expressed in developing ovules 20-35 days post-anthesis, and significantly different expression patterns were found between high-oil and low-oil cotton cultivars, implying these two genes could be involved in cottonseed oil biogenesis. Association analysis further confirmed that GhSAD4-At expression was closely related to the oleic acid (O) content, linoleic acid (L) content and O/L value in cottonseed, implying GhSAD4 plays an important role in cottonseed oil composition. This study brings new perspectives for integrated genome-wide identification of SADs in cotton and provides references for the genetic improvement of cottonseed oil.

  5. REM-Enriched Naps Are Associated with Memory Consolidation for Sad Stories and Enhance Mood-Related Reactivity.

    PubMed

    Gilson, Médhi; Deliens, Gaétane; Leproult, Rachel; Bodart, Alice; Nonclercq, Antoine; Ercek, Rudy; Peigneux, Philippe

    2015-12-29

    Emerging evidence suggests that emotion and affect modulate the relation between sleep and cognition. In the present study, we investigated the role of rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep in mood regulation and memory consolidation for sad stories. In a counterbalanced design, participants (n = 24) listened to either a neutral or a sad story during two sessions, spaced one week apart. After listening to the story, half of the participants had a short (45 min) morning nap. The other half had a long (90 min) morning nap, richer in REM and N2 sleep. Story recall, mood evolution and changes in emotional response to the re-exposure to the story were assessed after the nap. Although recall performance was similar for sad and neutral stories irrespective of nap duration, sleep measures were correlated with recall performance in the sad story condition only. After the long nap, REM sleep density positively correlated with retrieval performance, while re-exposure to the sad story led to diminished mood and increased skin conductance levels. Our results suggest that REM sleep may not only be associated with the consolidation of intrinsically sad material, but also enhances mood reactivity, at least on the short term.

  6. Together we cry: Social motives and preferences for group-based sadness.

    PubMed

    Porat, Roni; Halperin, Eran; Mannheim, Ittay; Tamir, Maya

    2016-01-01

    Group-based emotions play an important role in helping people feel that they belong to their group. People are motivated to belong, but does this mean that they actively try to experience group-based emotions to increase their sense of belonging? In this investigation, we propose that people may be motivated to experience even group-based emotions that are typically considered unpleasant to satisfy their need to belong. To test this hypothesis, we examined people's preferences for group-based sadness in the context of the Israeli National Memorial Day. In two correlational (Studies 1a and 1b) and two experimental (Studies 2 and 3) studies, we demonstrate that people with a stronger need to belong have a stronger preference to experience group-based sadness. This effect was mediated by the expectation that experiencing sadness would be socially beneficial (Studies 1 and 2). We discuss the implications of our findings for understanding motivated emotion regulation and intergroup relations.

  7. Gender Differences in Empathic Sadness towards Persons of the Same- versus Other-sex during Adolescence.

    PubMed

    Stuijfzand, Suzannah; De Wied, Minet; Kempes, Maaike; Van de Graaff, Jolien; Branje, Susan; Meeus, Wim

    Although gender differences in affective empathy are well established, evidence of gender differences in the development of affective empathy is inconsistent. Consideration of same-sex versus other-sex affective empathy may assist in elucidating these inconsistencies. Gender differences were investigated in the experience of empathic sadness towards same- versus other-sex targets. The relationships were studied cross-sectionally ( N  = 730) and longitudinally ( N  = 318) with Dutch adolescents using the empathic sadness scale of the Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents (IECA; Bryant 1982). In both studies, female adolescents reported more empathic sadness than did male adolescents. Female targets also received more affective empathy than did male targets, and, more importantly, gender differences were observed in same-sex versus other-sex affective empathy. Specifically, in both studies male adolescents reported less empathic sadness towards same-sex than towards other-sex targets. In contrast, female adolescents reported more empathic sadness towards same-sex than towards other-sex targets in the cross-sectional study, and equal levels of empathic sadness towards both types of targets in the longitudinal study. Findings highlight the importance of considering same-sex versus other-sex affective empathy. Gender differences in same-sex and other-sex affective empathy have implications for assisting adolescents in social conflict resolution and interventions for bullying and aggressive behaviour in adolescence using empathy training.

  8. The effects of experimentally-induced sad and happy mood on sexual arousal in sexually healthy women.

    PubMed

    ter Kuile, Moniek M; Both, Stephanie; van Uden, Janneke

    2010-03-01

    In depressed women, common sexual difficulties include decreased sexual desire, sexual arousal and orgasmic difficulties, reduced sexual satisfaction, and reduced sexual pleasure. Experimental research on the influence of depressed mood on genital and subjective sexual arousal in women is scarce. To investigate the effects of sad mood on genital and subjective sexual arousal in sexually healthy women, using a mood induction procedure. Thirty-two subjects received a sad mood and a happy mood induction, on two different days, using a within subjects design. The mood induction procedure was a combination of the Velten procedure and music. In the Velten procedure, the subject is asked to read sad or happy self-referent sentences and to experience the mood suggested by these sentences. Immediately following mood induction, the subjects were exposed to an erotic film clip. Genital arousal was assessed using vaginal photoplethysmography. Self-report ratings of sad and happy mood, subjective sexual arousal and affective reactions were collected before and after the erotic clip. The sad and happy mood ratings indicated that the mood inductions affected mood as intended. No difference in genital sexual arousal was found between the sad and happy mood conditions. Subjects reported significantly less subjective sexual arousal and positive affect and marginally significant fewer genital sensations and more negative affect in the sad mood condition than in the happy mood condition. The results provide empirical support for the idea that mood can impact on subjective sexual arousal in women.

  9. Abdominothoracic mechanisms of functional abdominal distension and correction by biofeedback.

    PubMed

    Barba, Elizabeth; Burri, Emanuel; Accarino, Anna; Cisternas, Daniel; Quiroga, Sergi; Monclus, Eva; Navazo, Isabel; Malagelada, Juan-R; Azpiroz, Fernando

    2015-04-01

    In patients with functional gut disorders, abdominal distension has been associated with descent of the diaphragm and protrusion of the anterior abdominal wall. We investigated mechanisms of abdominal distension in these patients. We performed a prospective study of 45 patients (42 women, 24-71 years old) with functional intestinal disorders (27 with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, 15 with functional bloating, and 3 with irritable bowel syndrome with alternating bowel habits) and discrete episodes of visible abdominal distension. Subjects were assessed by abdominothoracic computed tomography (n = 39) and electromyography (EMG) of the abdominothoracic wall (n = 32) during basal conditions (without abdominal distension) and during episodes of severe abdominal distension. Fifteen patients received a median of 2 sessions (range, 1-3 sessions) of EMG-guided, respiratory-targeted biofeedback treatment; 11 received 1 control session before treatment. Episodes of abdominal distension were associated with diaphragm contraction (19% ± 3% increase in EMG score and 12 ± 2 mm descent; P < .001 vs basal values) and intercostal contraction (14% ± 3% increase in EMG scores and 6 ± 1 mm increase in thoracic antero-posterior diameter; P < .001 vs basal values). They were also associated with increases in lung volume (501 ± 93 mL; P < .001 vs basal value) and anterior abdominal wall protrusion (32 ± 3 mm increase in girth; P < .001 vs basal). Biofeedback treatment, but not control sessions, reduced the activity of the intercostal muscles (by 19% ± 2%) and the diaphragm (by 18% ± 4%), activated the internal oblique muscles (by 52% ± 13%), and reduced girth (by 25 ± 3 mm) (P ≤ .009 vs pretreatment for all). In patients with functional gut disorders, abdominal distension is a behavioral response that involves activity of the abdominothoracic wall. This distension can be reduced with EMG-guided, respiratory-targeted biofeedback therapy. Copyright © 2015 AGA

  10. Entrepreneurialism at the University of Novi Sad

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stankovic, Fuada

    2006-01-01

    What does being an entrepreneurial university mean? The University of Novi Sad in Serbia is taken as an example of how one University in a transition country, which was lacking tradition in entrepreneurial practices, is striving to become an entrepreneurial university. Examples of new practices are also described such as the establishment of a…

  11. [Abdominal trauma].

    PubMed

    Sido, B; Grenacher, L; Friess, H; Büchler, M W

    2005-09-01

    Blunt abdominal trauma is much more frequent than penetrating abdominal trauma in Europe. As a consequence of improved quality of computed tomography, even complex liver injuries are increasingly being treated conservatively. However, missed hollow viscus injuries still remain a problem, as they considerably increase mortality in multiply injured patients. Laparoscopy decreases the rate of unnecessary laparotomies in perforating abdominal trauma and helps to diagnose injuries of solid organs and the diaphragm. However, the sensitivity in detecting hollow viscus injuries is low and the role of laparoscopy in blunt abdominal injury has not been defined. If intra-abdominal bleeding is difficult to control in hemodynamically unstable patients, damage control surgery with packing of the liver, total splenectomy, and provisional closure of hollow viscus injuries is of importance. Definitive surgical treatment follows hemodynamic stabilization and restoration of hemostasis. Injuries of the duodenum and pancreas after blunt abdominal trauma are often associated with other intra-abdominal injuries and the treatment depends on their location and severity.

  12. Anger and Sadness Perception in Clinically Referred Preschoolers: Emotion Processes and Externalizing Behavior Symptoms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Sarah E.; Boekamp, John R.; McConville, David W.; Wheeler, Elizabeth E.

    2010-01-01

    This study examined emotion perception processes in preschool aged children presenting with clinically significant emotional and behavior problems, with emphasis on sadness perception accuracy (i.e., the ability to correctly identify sadness from expressive and situational cues) and anger perception bias (i.e., the tendency to perceive anger in…

  13. Chronic abdominal wall pain misdiagnosed as functional abdominal pain.

    PubMed

    van Assen, Tijmen; de Jager-Kievit, Jenneke W A J; Scheltinga, Marc R; Roumen, Rudi M H

    2013-01-01

    The abdominal wall is often neglected as a cause of chronic abdominal pain. The aim of this study was to identify chronic abdominal wall pain syndromes, such as anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES), in a patient population diagnosed with functional abdominal pain, including irritable bowel syndrome, using a validated 18-item questionnaire as an identification tool. In this cross-sectional analysis, 4 Dutch primary care practices employing physicians who were unaware of the existence of ACNES were selected. A total of 535 patients ≥18 years old who were registered with a functional abdominal pain diagnosis were approached when they were symptomatic to complete the questionnaire (maximum 18 points). Responders who scored at least the 10-point cutoff value (sensitivity, 0.94; specificity, 0.92) underwent a diagnostic evaluation to establish their final diagnosis. The main outcome was the presence and prevalence of ACNES in a group of symptomatic patients diagnosed with functional abdominal pain. Of 535 patients, 304 (57%) responded; 167 subjects (31%) recently reporting symptoms completed the questionnaire. Of 23 patients who scored above the 10-point cutoff value, 18 were available for a diagnostic evaluation. In half of these subjects (n = 9) functional abdominal pain (including IBS) was confirmed. However, the other 9 patients were suffering from abdominal wall pain syndrome, 6 of whom were diagnosed with ACNES (3.6% prevalence rate of symptomatic subjects; 95% confidence interval, 1.7-7.6), whereas the remaining 3 harbored a painful lipoma, an abdominal herniation, and a painful scar. A clinically relevant portion of patients previously diagnosed with functional abdominal pain syndrome in a primary care environment suffers from an abdominal wall pain syndrome such as ACNES.

  14. Identity recognition and happy and sad facial expression recall: influence of depressive symptoms.

    PubMed

    Jermann, Françoise; van der Linden, Martial; D'Argembeau, Arnaud

    2008-05-01

    Relatively few studies have examined memory bias for social stimuli in depression or dysphoria. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of depressive symptoms on memory for facial information. A total of 234 participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory II and a task examining memory for facial identity and expression of happy and sad faces. For both facial identity and expression, the recollective experience was measured with the Remember/Know/Guess procedure (Gardiner & Richardson-Klavehn, 2000). The results show no major association between depressive symptoms and memory for identities. However, dysphoric individuals consciously recalled (Remember responses) more sad facial expressions than non-dysphoric individuals. These findings suggest that sad facial expressions led to more elaborate encoding, and thereby better recollection, in dysphoric individuals.

  15. Image mottle in abdominal CT.

    PubMed

    Ende, J F; Huda, W; Ros, P R; Litwiller, A L

    1999-04-01

    To investigate image mottle in conventional CT images of the abdomen as a function of radiographic technique factors and patient size. Water-filled phantoms simulating the abdomens of adult (32 cm in diameter) and pediatric (16 cm in diameter) patients were used to investigate image mottle in CT as a function of x-ray tube potential and mAs. CT images from 39 consecutive patients with noncontrast liver scans and 49 patients with iodine contrast scans were analyzed retrospectively. Measurements were made of the mean liver parenchyma Hounsfield unit value and the corresponding image mottle. For a given water phantom and x-ray tube potential, image mottle was proportional to the mAs-0.5. Increasing the phantom diameter from 16 cm (pediatric) to 32 cm increased the mottle by a factor of 2.4, and increasing the x-ray tube potential from 80 kVp to 140 kVp reduced the mottle by a factor of 2.5. All patients were scanned at 120 kVp, with no correlation between patient size and the x-ray tube mAs. The mean mottle level was 7.8 +/- 2.2 and 10.0 +/- 2.5 for the noncontrast and contrast studies, respectively. An increase in patient diameter of 3 cm would require approximately 65% more mAs to maintain the same level of image mottle. The mottle in abdominal CT images may be controlled by adjusting radiographic technique factors, which should be adjusted to take into account the size of the patient undergoing the examination.

  16. Effects of anger and sadness on attentional patterns in decision making: an eye-tracking study.

    PubMed

    Xing, Cai

    2014-02-01

    Past research examining the effect of anger and sadness on decision making has associated anger with a relatively more heuristic decision-making approach. However, it is unclear whether angry and sad individuals differ while attending to decision-relevant information. An eye-tracking experiment (N=87) was conducted to examine the role of attention in links between emotion and decision making. Angry individuals looked more and earlier toward heuristic cues while making decisions, whereas sad individuals did not show such bias. Implications for designing persuasive messages and studying motivated visual processing were discussed.

  17. Do Poor Readers Feel Angry, Sad, and Unpopular?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morgan, Paul L.; Farkas, George; Wu, Qiong

    2012-01-01

    We investigated whether being poorly skilled in reading contributes to children's reported feelings of anger, distractibility, anxiety, sadness, loneliness, and social isolation. Data were analyzed from a longitudinal subsample of children (N = 3,308) participating in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort. Multilevel logistic…

  18. Cardiovascular diseases and air pollution in Novi Sad, Serbia.

    PubMed

    Jevtić, Marija; Dragić, Nataša; Bijelović, Sanja; Popović, Milka

    2014-04-01

    A large body of evidence has documented that air pollutants have adverse effect on human health as well as on the environment. The aim of this study was to determine whether there was an association between outdoor concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and a daily number of hospital admissions due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Novi Sad, Serbia among patients aged above 18. The investigation was carried out during over a 3-year period (from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009) in the area of Novi Sad. The number (N = 10 469) of daily CVD (ICD-10: I00-I99) hospital admissions was collected according to patients' addresses. Daily mean levels of NO2 and SO2, measured in the ambient air of Novi Sad via a network of fixed samplers, have been used to put forward outdoor air pollution. Associations between air pollutants and hospital admissions were firstly analyzed by the use of the linear regression in a single polluted model, and then trough a single and multi-polluted adjusted generalized linear Poisson model. The single polluted model (without confounding factors) indicated that there was a linear increase in the number of hospital admissions due to CVD in relation to the linear increase in concentrations of SO2 (p = 0.015; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.144-1.329, R(2) = 0.005) and NO2 (p = 0.007; 95% CI: 0.214-1.361, R(2) = 0.007). However, the single and multi-polluted adjusted models revealed that only NO2 was associated with the CVD (p = 0.016, relative risk (RR) = 1.049, 95% CI: 1.009-1.091 and p = 0.022, RR = 1.047, 95% CI: 1.007-1.089, respectively). This study shows a significant positive association between hospital admissions due to CVD and outdoor NO2 concentrations in the area of Novi Sad, Serbia.

  19. SAD-A kinase controls islet β-cell size and function as a mediator of mTORC1 signaling

    PubMed Central

    Nie, Jia; Liu, Xiaolei; Lilley, Brendan N.; Zhang, Hai; Pan, Y. Albert; Kimball, Scot R.; Zhang, Jun; Zhang, Weiping; Wang, Li; Jefferson, Leonard S.; Sanes, Joshua R.; Han, Xiao; Shi, Yuguang

    2013-01-01

    The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) plays an important role in controlling islet β-cell function. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly elucidated. Synapses of amphids defective kinase-A (SAD-A) is a 5′ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase-related protein kinase that is exclusively expressed in pancreas and brain. In this study, we investigated a role of the kinase in regulating pancreatic β-cell morphology and function as a mediator of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling. We show that global SAD-A deletion leads to defective glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and petite islets, which are reminiscent of the defects in mice with global deletion of ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1, a downstream target of mTORC1. Consistent with these findings, selective deletion of SAD-A in pancreas decreased islet β-cell size, whereas SAD-A overexpression significantly increased the size of mouse insulinomas cell lines β-cells. In direct support of SAD-A as a unique mediator of mTORC1 signaling in islet β-cells, we demonstrate that glucose dramatically stimulated SAD-A protein translation in isolated mouse islets, which was potently inhibited by rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTORC1. Moreover, the 5′-untranslated region of SAD-A mRNA is highly structured and requires mTORC1 signaling for its translation initiation. Together, these findings identified SAD-A as a unique pancreas-specific effector protein of mTORC1 signaling. PMID:23922392

  20. SAD-A kinase controls islet β-cell size and function as a mediator of mTORC1 signaling.

    PubMed

    Nie, Jia; Liu, Xiaolei; Lilley, Brendan N; Zhang, Hai; Pan, Y Albert; Kimball, Scot R; Zhang, Jun; Zhang, Weiping; Wang, Li; Jefferson, Leonard S; Sanes, Joshua R; Han, Xiao; Shi, Yuguang

    2013-08-20

    The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) plays an important role in controlling islet β-cell function. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly elucidated. Synapses of amphids defective kinase-A (SAD-A) is a 5' adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase-related protein kinase that is exclusively expressed in pancreas and brain. In this study, we investigated a role of the kinase in regulating pancreatic β-cell morphology and function as a mediator of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling. We show that global SAD-A deletion leads to defective glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and petite islets, which are reminiscent of the defects in mice with global deletion of ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1, a downstream target of mTORC1. Consistent with these findings, selective deletion of SAD-A in pancreas decreased islet β-cell size, whereas SAD-A overexpression significantly increased the size of mouse insulinomas cell lines β-cells. In direct support of SAD-A as a unique mediator of mTORC1 signaling in islet β-cells, we demonstrate that glucose dramatically stimulated SAD-A protein translation in isolated mouse islets, which was potently inhibited by rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTORC1. Moreover, the 5'-untranslated region of SAD-A mRNA is highly structured and requires mTORC1 signaling for its translation initiation. Together, these findings identified SAD-A as a unique pancreas-specific effector protein of mTORC1 signaling.

  1. On the influence of crystal size and wavelength on native SAD phasing.

    PubMed

    Liebschner, Dorothee; Yamada, Yusuke; Matsugaki, Naohiro; Senda, Miki; Senda, Toshiya

    2016-06-01

    Native SAD is an emerging phasing technique that uses the anomalous signal of native heavy atoms to obtain crystallographic phases. The method does not require specific sample preparation to add anomalous scatterers, as the light atoms contained in the native sample are used as marker atoms. The most abundant anomalous scatterer used for native SAD, which is present in almost all proteins, is sulfur. However, the absorption edge of sulfur is at low energy (2.472 keV = 5.016 Å), which makes it challenging to carry out native SAD phasing experiments as most synchrotron beamlines are optimized for shorter wavelength ranges where the anomalous signal of sulfur is weak; for longer wavelengths, which produce larger anomalous differences, the absorption of X-rays by the sample, solvent, loop and surrounding medium (e.g. air) increases tremendously. Therefore, a compromise has to be found between measuring strong anomalous signal and minimizing absorption. It was thus hypothesized that shorter wavelengths should be used for large crystals and longer wavelengths for small crystals, but no thorough experimental analyses have been reported to date. To study the influence of crystal size and wavelength, native SAD experiments were carried out at different wavelengths (1.9 and 2.7 Å with a helium cone; 3.0 and 3.3 Å with a helium chamber) using lysozyme and ferredoxin reductase crystals of various sizes. For the tested crystals, the results suggest that larger sample sizes do not have a detrimental effect on native SAD data and that long wavelengths give a clear advantage with small samples compared with short wavelengths. The resolution dependency of substructure determination was analyzed and showed that high-symmetry crystals with small unit cells require higher resolution for the successful placement of heavy atoms.

  2. Sad mood promotes self-initiated mental contrasting of future and reality.

    PubMed

    Kappes, Heather Barry; Oettingen, Gabriele; Mayer, Doris; Maglio, Sam

    2011-10-01

    Self-regulation by mentally contrasting a positive future with negative reality leads people to differentiate in their goal commitments: They commit to goals when expectations of success are high and let go when expectations of success are low. On the contrary, when indulging in the positive future or dwelling on negative reality, people fail to consider expectations of success and do not form selective goal commitments (Oettingen, Pak, & Schnetter, 2001). Whereas prior research has examined the effects of experimentally induced mental contrasting, we address sad mood as a contextual influence promoting self-initiated mental contrasting. Across various mood inductions, sad moods--which are associated with problem solving strategies--facilitated self-initiated mental contrasting more than neutral moods (Studies 1, 5) or happy moods (Studies 2, 3, 4, 6). Importantly, mood did not affect the relation between mental contrasting and selective formation of goal commitment (Studies 5, 6). The results suggest that sad moods aid in self-regulation by making people self-initiate goal commitments that are sensitive to their expectations of success.

  3. Can I solve my structure by SAD phasing? Planning an experiment, scaling data and evaluating the useful anomalous correlation and anomalous signal

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Terwilliger, Thomas C.; Bunkóczi, Gábor; Hung, Li-Wei

    A key challenge in the SAD phasing method is solving a structure when the anomalous signal-to-noise ratio is low. Here, we describe algorithms and tools for evaluating and optimizing the useful anomalous correlation and the anomalous signal in a SAD experiment. A simple theoretical framework [Terwilliger et al.(2016),Acta Cryst.D72, 346–358] is used to develop methods for planning a SAD experiment, scaling SAD data sets and estimating the useful anomalous correlation and anomalous signal in a SAD data set. Thephenix.plan_sad_experimenttool uses a database of solved and unsolved SAD data sets and the expected characteristics of a SAD data set to estimatemore » the probability that the anomalous substructure will be found in the SAD experiment and the expected map quality that would be obtained if the substructure were found. Thephenix.scale_and_mergetool scales unmerged SAD data from one or more crystals using local scaling and optimizes the anomalous signal by identifying the systematic differences among data sets, and thephenix.anomalous_signaltool estimates the useful anomalous correlation and anomalous signal after collecting SAD data and estimates the probability that the data set can be solved and the likely figure of merit of phasing.« less

  4. Can I solve my structure by SAD phasing? Planning an experiment, scaling data and evaluating the useful anomalous correlation and anomalous signal.

    PubMed

    Terwilliger, Thomas C; Bunkóczi, Gábor; Hung, Li Wei; Zwart, Peter H; Smith, Janet L; Akey, David L; Adams, Paul D

    2016-03-01

    A key challenge in the SAD phasing method is solving a structure when the anomalous signal-to-noise ratio is low. Here, algorithms and tools for evaluating and optimizing the useful anomalous correlation and the anomalous signal in a SAD experiment are described. A simple theoretical framework [Terwilliger et al. (2016), Acta Cryst. D72, 346-358] is used to develop methods for planning a SAD experiment, scaling SAD data sets and estimating the useful anomalous correlation and anomalous signal in a SAD data set. The phenix.plan_sad_experiment tool uses a database of solved and unsolved SAD data sets and the expected characteristics of a SAD data set to estimate the probability that the anomalous substructure will be found in the SAD experiment and the expected map quality that would be obtained if the substructure were found. The phenix.scale_and_merge tool scales unmerged SAD data from one or more crystals using local scaling and optimizes the anomalous signal by identifying the systematic differences among data sets, and the phenix.anomalous_signal tool estimates the useful anomalous correlation and anomalous signal after collecting SAD data and estimates the probability that the data set can be solved and the likely figure of merit of phasing.

  5. Can I solve my structure by SAD phasing? Planning an experiment, scaling data and evaluating the useful anomalous correlation and anomalous signal

    PubMed Central

    Terwilliger, Thomas C.; Bunkóczi, Gábor; Hung, Li-Wei; Zwart, Peter H.; Smith, Janet L.; Akey, David L.; Adams, Paul D.

    2016-01-01

    A key challenge in the SAD phasing method is solving a structure when the anomalous signal-to-noise ratio is low. Here, algorithms and tools for evaluating and optimizing the useful anomalous correlation and the anomalous signal in a SAD experiment are described. A simple theoretical framework [Terwilliger et al. (2016 ▸), Acta Cryst. D72, 346–358] is used to develop methods for planning a SAD experiment, scaling SAD data sets and estimating the useful anomalous correlation and anomalous signal in a SAD data set. The phenix.plan_sad_experiment tool uses a database of solved and unsolved SAD data sets and the expected characteristics of a SAD data set to estimate the probability that the anomalous substructure will be found in the SAD experiment and the expected map quality that would be obtained if the substructure were found. The phenix.scale_and_merge tool scales unmerged SAD data from one or more crystals using local scaling and optimizes the anomalous signal by identifying the systematic differences among data sets, and the phenix.anomalous_signal tool estimates the useful anomalous correlation and anomalous signal after collecting SAD data and estimates the probability that the data set can be solved and the likely figure of merit of phasing. PMID:26960123

  6. Can I solve my structure by SAD phasing? Planning an experiment, scaling data and evaluating the useful anomalous correlation and anomalous signal

    DOE PAGES

    Terwilliger, Thomas C.; Bunkóczi, Gábor; Hung, Li-Wei; ...

    2016-03-01

    A key challenge in the SAD phasing method is solving a structure when the anomalous signal-to-noise ratio is low. Here, we describe algorithms and tools for evaluating and optimizing the useful anomalous correlation and the anomalous signal in a SAD experiment. A simple theoretical framework [Terwilliger et al.(2016),Acta Cryst.D72, 346–358] is used to develop methods for planning a SAD experiment, scaling SAD data sets and estimating the useful anomalous correlation and anomalous signal in a SAD data set. Thephenix.plan_sad_experimenttool uses a database of solved and unsolved SAD data sets and the expected characteristics of a SAD data set to estimatemore » the probability that the anomalous substructure will be found in the SAD experiment and the expected map quality that would be obtained if the substructure were found. Thephenix.scale_and_mergetool scales unmerged SAD data from one or more crystals using local scaling and optimizes the anomalous signal by identifying the systematic differences among data sets, and thephenix.anomalous_signaltool estimates the useful anomalous correlation and anomalous signal after collecting SAD data and estimates the probability that the data set can be solved and the likely figure of merit of phasing.« less

  7. Dawn simulation and bright light in the treatment of SAD: a controlled study.

    PubMed

    Avery, D H; Eder, D N; Bolte, M A; Hellekson, C J; Dunner, D L; Vitiello, M V; Prinz, P N

    2001-08-01

    Some small controlled studies have found that dawn simulation is effective in treating seasonal affective disorder (SAD). With a larger sample size and a longer duration of treatment, we compared dawn simulation with bright light therapy and a placebo condition in patients with SAD. Medication-free patients with SAD were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: bright light therapy (10,000 lux for 30 min, from 6:00 AM to 6:30 AM), dawn simulation (1.5 hour dawn signal from 4:30 AM to 6:00 AM peaking at 250 lux), and a placebo condition, a dim red light (1.5 hour dawn signal from 4:30 am to 6:00 AM peaking at 0.5 lux.) Over the subsequent 6 weeks, the subjects were blindly rated by a psychiatrist using the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating-Seasonal Affective Disorder Version (SIGH-SAD). We modeled the profiles of the remissions (SIGH-SAD < or = 8) and response (> or =50% decrease in SIGH-SAD) to treatment over time using Cox proportional hazards models. The sample consisted of 95 subjects who were randomized to the three conditions: bright light (n = 33), dawn simulation (n = 31) and placebo (n = 31). Dawn simulation was associated with greater remission (p <.05) and response (p <.001) rates compared to the placebo. Bright light did not differ significantly from the placebo. Dawn simulation was associated with greater remission (p <.01) and response (p <.001) rates compared to the bright light therapy. The mean daily hours of sunshine during the week before each visit were associated with a significant increase in likelihood of both remission (p <.001) and response (p <.001). Dawn simulation was associated with greater remission and response rates compared to the placebo and compared to bright light therapy. The hours of sunshine during the week before each assessment were associated with a positive clinical response.

  8. American Muslims’ Anger and Sadness about In-group Social Image

    PubMed Central

    Rodriguez Mosquera, Patricia M.; Khan, Tasmiha; Selya, Arielle

    2017-01-01

    We present a novel study on the role of gender in perceptions of and emotions about in-group social image among American Muslims. Two hundred and five (147 females, 58 males) American Muslims completed a questionnaire on how Muslims feel in U.S. society. The study measured both stereotypical (i.e., ‘frightening,’ ‘oppressed’) as well as non-stereotypical in-group social images (i.e., ‘powerful,’ ‘honorable’). In particular, participants were asked how much they believe Muslims are seen as ‘frightening,’ ‘oppressed,’ ‘honorable,’ and ‘powerful’ in U.S. society, and how much anger and sadness they feel about the way U.S. society views Muslims. Participants believed Muslims are seen in stereotypical ways (i.e., as ‘frightening’ and ‘oppressed’) more than in non-stereotypical ways (i.e., as ‘powerful’ and ‘honorable’). Moreover, perceived in-group social image as ‘powerful’ or ‘honorable’ did not predict the intensity of felt anger or sadness. In contrast, the more participants believed Muslims are seen as ‘frightening,’ the more intense their anger and sadness. Furthermore, responses to perceived social image as ‘oppressed’ were moderated by gender. American Muslim female participants believed that Muslims are seen as ‘oppressed’ in U.S. society to a greater extent than male participants did. In addition, perceived social image as ‘oppressed’ only predicted anger for female participants: the more female participants believed Muslims are seen as ‘oppressed,’ the more intense their anger. This study contributes to the scarce literature on American Muslims in psychology, and shows that both anger and sadness are relevant to the study of perceived social image. PMID:28123374

  9. Effects of chemosignals from sad tears and postprandial plasma on appetite and food intake in humans.

    PubMed

    Oh, Tae Jung; Kim, Min Young; Park, Kyong Soo; Cho, Young Min

    2012-01-01

    Chemosignals from human body fluids may modulate biological functions in humans. The objective of this study was to examine whether chemosignals from human sad tears and postprandial plasma modulate appetite. We obtained fasting and postprandial plasma from male participants and sad tears and saline, which was trickled below the eyelids, from female volunteers. These samples were then randomly distributed to male participants to sniff with a band-aid containing 100 µl of each fluid on four consecutive days in a double-blind fashion. We checked appetite by a visual analogue scale (VAS) and food intake by measuring the consumption of a test meal. In addition, the serum levels of total testosterone and LH were measured. Twenty men (mean age 26.3±4.6 years) were enrolled in this study. They could not discriminate between the smell of fasting and postprandial plasma and the smell of sad tears and trickled saline. Appetite and the amount of food intake were not different between the groups. Although the VAS ratings of appetite correlated with the food intake upon sniffing fasting plasma, postprandial plasma, and trickled saline, there was no such correlation upon sniffing sad tears. In addition, the decrease in serum testosterone levels from the baseline was greater with sad tears than with the trickled saline (-28.6±3.3% vs. -14.0±5.2%; P = 0.019). These data suggest that chemosignals from human sad tears and postprandial plasma do not appear to reduce appetite and food intake. However, further studies are necessary to examine whether sad tears may alter the appetite-eating behavior relation.

  10. Impact of civil war on emotion recognition: the denial of sadness in Sierra Leone.

    PubMed

    Umiltà, Maria Allessandra; Wood, Rachel; Loffredo, Francesca; Ravera, Roberto; Gallese, Vittorio

    2013-01-01

    Studies of children with atypical emotional experience demonstrate that childhood exposure to high levels of hostility and threat biases emotion perception. This study investigates emotion processing, in former child soldiers and non-combatant civilians. All participants have experienced prolonged violence exposure during childhood. The study, carried out in Sierra Leone, aimed to examine the effects of exposure to and forced participation in acts of extreme violence on the emotion processing of young adults war survivors. A total of 76 young, male adults (38 former child soldier survivors and 38 civilian survivors) were tested in order to assess participants' ability to identify four different facial emotion expressions from photographs and movies. Both groups were able to recognize facial expressions of emotion. However, despite their general ability to correctly identify facial emotions, participants showed a significant response bias in their recognition of sadness. Both former soldiers and civilians made more errors in identifying expressions of sadness than in the other three emotions and when mislabeling sadness participants most often described it as anger. Conversely, when making erroneous identifications of other emotions, participants were most likely to label the expressed emotion as sadness. In addition, while for three of the four emotions participants were better able to make a correct identification the greater the intensity of the expression, this pattern was not observed for sadness. During movies presentation the recognition of sadness was significantly worse for soldiers. While both former child soldiers and civilians were found to be able to identify facial emotions, a significant response bias in their attribution of negative emotions was observed. Such bias was particularly pronounced in former child soldiers. These findings point to a pervasive long-lasting effect of childhood exposure to violence on emotion processing in later life.

  11. Impact of civil war on emotion recognition: the denial of sadness in Sierra Leone

    PubMed Central

    Umiltà, Maria Allessandra; Wood, Rachel; Loffredo, Francesca; Ravera, Roberto; Gallese, Vittorio

    2013-01-01

    Studies of children with atypical emotional experience demonstrate that childhood exposure to high levels of hostility and threat biases emotion perception. This study investigates emotion processing, in former child soldiers and non-combatant civilians. All participants have experienced prolonged violence exposure during childhood. The study, carried out in Sierra Leone, aimed to examine the effects of exposure to and forced participation in acts of extreme violence on the emotion processing of young adults war survivors. A total of 76 young, male adults (38 former child soldier survivors and 38 civilian survivors) were tested in order to assess participants' ability to identify four different facial emotion expressions from photographs and movies. Both groups were able to recognize facial expressions of emotion. However, despite their general ability to correctly identify facial emotions, participants showed a significant response bias in their recognition of sadness. Both former soldiers and civilians made more errors in identifying expressions of sadness than in the other three emotions and when mislabeling sadness participants most often described it as anger. Conversely, when making erroneous identifications of other emotions, participants were most likely to label the expressed emotion as sadness. In addition, while for three of the four emotions participants were better able to make a correct identification the greater the intensity of the expression, this pattern was not observed for sadness. During movies presentation the recognition of sadness was significantly worse for soldiers. While both former child soldiers and civilians were found to be able to identify facial emotions, a significant response bias in their attribution of negative emotions was observed. Such bias was particularly pronounced in former child soldiers. These findings point to a pervasive long-lasting effect of childhood exposure to violence on emotion processing in later life. PMID

  12. SU-F-I-33: Estimating Radiation Dose in Abdominal Fat Quantitative CT

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Li, X; Yang, K; Liu, B

    Purpose: To compare size-specific dose estimate (SSDE) in abdominal fat quantitative CT with another dose estimate D{sub size,L} that also takes into account scan length. Methods: This study complied with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. At our institution, abdominal fat CT is performed with scan length = 1 cm and CTDI{sub vol} = 4.66 mGy (referenced to body CTDI phantom). A previously developed CT simulation program was used to simulate single rotation axial scans of 6–55 cm diameter water cylinders, and dose integral of the longitudinal dose profile over the central 1 cm length wasmore » used to predict the dose at the center of one-cm scan range. SSDE and D{sub size,L} were assessed for 182 consecutive abdominal fat CT examinations with mean water-equivalent diameter (WED) of 27.8 cm ± 6.0 (range, 17.9 - 42.2 cm). Patient age ranged from 18 to 75 years, and weight ranged from 39 to 163 kg. Results: Mean SSDE was 6.37 mGy ± 1.33 (range, 3.67–8.95 mGy); mean D{sub size,L} was 2.99 mGy ± 0.85 (range, 1.48 - 4.88 mGy); and mean D{sub size,L}/SSDE ratio was 0.46 ± 0.04 (range, 0.40 - 0.55). Conclusion: The conversion factors for size-specific dose estimate in AAPM Report No. 204 were generated using 15 - 30 cm scan lengths. One needs to be cautious in applying SSDE to small length CT scans. For abdominal fat CT, SSDE was 80–150% higher than the dose of 1 cm scan length.« less

  13. Sadness enhances the experience of pain and affects pain-evoked cortical activities: an MEG study.

    PubMed

    Yoshino, Atsuo; Okamoto, Yasumasa; Onoda, Keiichi; Shishida, Kazuhiro; Yoshimura, Shinpei; Kunisato, Yoshihiko; Demoto, Yoshihiko; Okada, Go; Toki, Shigeru; Yamashita, Hidehisa; Yamawaki, Shigeto

    2012-07-01

    Pain is a multidimensional phenomenon. Previous psychological studies have shown that a person's subjective pain threshold can change when certain emotions are recognized. We examined this association with magnetoencephalography. Magnetic field strength was recorded with a 306-channel neuromagnetometer while 19 healthy subjects (7 female, 12 male; age range = 20-30 years) experienced pain stimuli in different emotional contexts induced by the presentation of sad, happy, or neutral facial stimuli. Subjects also rated their subjective pain intensity. We hypothesized that pain stimuli were affected by sadness induced by facial recognition. We found: 1) the intensity of subjective pain ratings increased in the sad emotional context compared to the happy and the neutral contexts, and 2) event-related desynchronization of lower beta bands in the right hemisphere after pain stimuli was larger in the sad emotional condition than in the happy emotional condition. Previous studies have shown that event-related desynchronization in these bands could be consistently observed over the primary somatosensory cortex. These findings suggest that sadness can modulate neural responses to pain stimuli, and that brain processing of pain stimuli had already been affected, at the level of the primary somatosensory cortex, which is critical for sensory processing of pain. We found that subjective pain ratings and cortical beta rhythms after pain stimuli are influenced by the sad emotional context. These results may contribute to understanding the broader relationship between pain and negative emotion. Copyright © 2012 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Diagnostic Accuracy of the Primary Care Screener for Affective Disorder (PC-SAD) in Primary Care.

    PubMed

    Picardi, Angelo; Adler, D A; Rogers, W H; Lega, I; Zerella, M P; Matteucci, G; Tarsitani, L; Caredda, M; Gigantesco, A; Biondi, M

    2013-01-01

    Depression goes often unrecognised and untreated in non-psychiatric medical settings. Screening has recently gained acceptance as a first step towards improving depression recognition and management. The Primary Care Screener for Affective Disorders (PC-SAD) is a self-administered questionnaire to screen for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Dysthymic Disorder (Dys) which has a sophisticated scoring algorithm that confers several advantages. This study tested its performance against a 'gold standard' diagnostic interview in primary care. A total of 416 adults attending 13 urban general internal medicine primary care practices completed the PC-SAD. Of 409 who returned a valid PC-SAD, all those scoring positive (N=151) and a random sample (N=106) of those scoring negative were selected for a 3-month telephone follow-up assessment including the administration of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) by a psychiatrist who was masked to PC-SAD results. Most selected patients (N=212) took part in the follow-up assessment. After adjustment for partial verification bias the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value for MDD were 90%, 83%, 51%, and 98%. For Dys, the corresponding figures were 78%, 79%, 8%, and 88%. While some study limitations suggest caution in interpreting our results, this study corroborated the diagnostic validity of the PC-SAD, although the low PPV may limit its usefulness with regard to Dys. Given its good psychometric properties and the short average administration time, the PC-SAD might be the screening instrument of choice in settings where the technology for computer automated scoring is available.

  15. The feeling of the story: Narrating to regulate anger and sadness.

    PubMed

    Pasupathi, Monisha; Wainryb, Cecilia; Mansfield, Cade D; Bourne, Stacia

    2017-04-01

    Admonitions to tell one's story in order to feel better reflect the belief that narrative is an effective emotion regulation tool. The present studies evaluate the effectiveness of narrative for regulating sadness and anger, and provide quantitative comparisons of narrative with distraction, reappraisal, and reexposure. The results for sadness (n = 93) and anger (n = 89) reveal that narrative is effective at down-regulating negative emotions, particularly when narratives place events in the past tense and include positive emotions. The results suggest that if people tell the "right" kind of story about their experiences, narrative reduces emotional distress linked to those experiences.

  16. From Unresolved Anger to Sadness: Identifying Physiological Correlates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rochman, Daniel; Diamond, Gary M.

    2008-01-01

    This study was designed to identify physiological correlates of unresolved anger and sadness, and the shift between these emotions, in a context similar to that of emotion-focused, experiential psychotherapy. Twenty-seven university students reporting unresolved anger toward an attachment figure were induced to experience and express unresolved…

  17. Puerarin attenuates learning and memory impairments and inhibits oxidative stress in STZ-induced SAD mice.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Shan-shan; Yang, Wei-na; Jin, Hui; Ma, Kai-ge; Feng, Gai-feng

    2015-12-01

    Puerarin (PUE), an isoflavone purified from the root of Pueraria lobata (Chinese herb), has been reported to attenuate learning and memory impairments in the transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present study, we tested PUE in a sporadic AD (SAD) mouse model which was induced by the intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin (STZ). The mice were administrated PUE (25, 50, or 100mg/kg/d) for 28 days. Learning and memory abilities were assessed by the Morris water maze test. After behavioral test, the biochemical parameters of oxidative stress (glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutases (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA)) were measured in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. The SAD mice exhibited significantly decreased learning and memory ability, while PUE attenuated these impairments. The activities of GSH-Px and SOD were decreased while MDA was increased in the SAD animals. After PUE treatment, the activities of GSH-Px and SOD were elevated, and the level of MDA was decreased. The middle dose PUE was more effective than others. These results indicate that PUE attenuates learning and memory impairments and inhibits oxidative stress in STZ-induced SAD mice. PUE may be a promising therapeutic agent for SAD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Plasma D-dimer as a predictor of the progression of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

    PubMed

    Vele, E; Kurtcehajic, A; Zerem, E; Maskovic, J; Alibegovic, E; Hujdurovic, A

    2016-11-01

    Essentials D-dimer could provide important information about abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) progression. The greatest diameter of the infrarenal aorta and the value of plasma D-dimer were determined. AAA progression is correlated with increasing plasma D-dimer levels. The increasing value of plasma D-dimer could be a predictor of aneurysm progression. Background The natural course of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is mostly asymptomatic and unpredictable. D-dimer could provide potentially important information about subsequent AAA progression. Objectives The aims of this study were to establish the relationship between the progression of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and plasma D-dimer concentration over a 12-month period and determine the value of plasma D-dimer in patients with sub-aneurysmal aortic dilatation. Patients/Methods This was a prospective observational study that involved 33 patients with an AAA, 30 patients with sub-aneurysmal aortic dilatation and 30 control subjects. The greatest diameter of the infrarenal aorta, which was assessed by ultrasound, and the value of plasma D-dimer were determined for all subjects at baseline assessment, as well as after 12 months for those with an AAA. Results A positive correlation was found between the diameter of an AAA and plasma D-dimer concentration at the baseline and the control measurement stages. There was a strong positive correlation between AAA progression and increasing plasma D-dimer concentration over a 12-month period. Among patients with sub-aneurysmal aortic dilatation (n = 30), the value of plasma D-dimer was higher compared with matched controls (n = 30). Conclusions There is a strongly positive correlation between AAA progression and increasing plasma D-dimer concentration. The value of plasma D-dimer is higher in patients with sub-aneurysmal aortic dilatation than in control subjects. © 2016 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

  19. Sad or Fearful? The Influence of Body Posture on Adults' and Children's Perception of Facial Displays of Emotion

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mondloch, Catherine J.

    2012-01-01

    The current research investigated the influence of body posture on adults' and children's perception of facial displays of emotion. In each of two experiments, participants categorized facial expressions that were presented on a body posture that was congruent (e.g., a sad face on a body posing sadness) or incongruent (e.g., a sad face on a body…

  20. [Diagnostic of ADHD in childhood and adolescence with the K-SADS-PL].

    PubMed

    Schmidt, Sören; Banaschewski, Tobias; Garbe, Edeltraut; Petermann, Franz; Petermann, Ulrike

    2013-01-01

    Attention Deficit-/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence, often accompanied by comorbid disorders. A high standard of diagnostic assessment combined with a demand for valid diagnostic instruments is necessary. The K-SADS-PL is an established semi-structured interview, focusing on the categorical assessment of psychiatric disorders. The aim of the following study was to examine specific characteristics of ADHD symptomatology including functional and behavioral assessment. Therefore correlations between the result in a diagnostic interview (K-SADS-PL) and different ADHD-specific instruments were performed. Groups were formed (exposed vs. unexposed), based on the diagnostic finding in the K-SADS-PL. Group-specific test score differences were calculated and compared by multivariate analyses of covariance. Children with ADHD showed a significantly higher impact of conduct and emotional problems than the unexposed group. Health related quality of life was more impaired in children and families suffering from ADHD which refers to the relevance of family-oriented psychotherapy.

  1. Management of intra-abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome: a review

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are at risk of developing of intra abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS). Aim: This review seeks to define IAH and ACS, identify the aetiology and presentation of IAH and ACS, identify IAP measurement techniques, identify current management and discuss the implications of IAH and ACS for nursing practice. A search of the electronic databases was supervised by a health librarian. The electronic data bases Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL); Medline, EMBASE, and the World Wide Web was undertaken from 1996- January 2011 using MeSH and key words which included but not limited to: abdominal compartment syndrome, intra -abdominal hypertension, intra-abdominal pressure in adult populations met the search criteria and were reviewed by three authors using a critical appraisal tool. Data derived from the retrieved material are discussed under the following themes: (1) etiology of intra-abdominal hypertension; (2) strategies for measuring intra-abdominal pressure (3) the manifestation of abdominal compartment syndrome; and (4) the importance of nursing assessment, observation and interventions. Intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) have the potential to alter organ perfusion and compromise organ function. PMID:24499574

  2. Facial emotion expression recognition by children at familial risk for depression: High risk boys are oversensitive to sadness

    PubMed Central

    Lopez-Duran, Nestor L.; Kuhlman, Kate R.; George, Charles; Kovacs, Maria

    2012-01-01

    In the present study we examined perceptual sensitivity to facial expressions of sadness among children at familial-risk for depression (N = 64) and low-risk peers (N = 40) between the ages 7 and 13(Mage = 9.51; SD = 2.27). Participants were presented with pictures of facial expressions that varied in emotional intensity from neutral to full-intensity sadness or anger (i.e., emotion recognition), or pictures of faces morphing from anger to sadness (emotion discrimination). After each picture was presented, children indicated whether the face showed a specific emotion (i.e., sadness, anger) or no emotion at all (neutral). In the emotion recognition task, boys (but not girls) at familial-risk for depression identified sadness at significantly lower levels of emotional intensity than did their low-risk peers. The high and low-risk groups did not differ with regard to identification of anger. In the emotion discrimination task, both groups displayed over-identification of sadness in ambiguous mixed faces but high-risk youth were less likely to show this labeling bias than their peers. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that enhanced perceptual sensitivity to subtle traces of sadness in facial expressions may be a potential mechanism of risk among boys at familial-risk for depression. This enhanced perceptual sensitivity does not appear to be due to biases in the labeling of ambiguous faces. PMID:23106941

  3. SAD-A potentiates glucose-stimulated insulin secretion as a mediator of glucagon-like peptide 1 response in pancreatic β cells.

    PubMed

    Nie, Jia; Lilley, Brendan N; Pan, Y Albert; Faruque, Omar; Liu, Xiaolei; Zhang, Weiping; Sanes, Joshua R; Han, Xiao; Shi, Yuguang

    2013-07-01

    Type 2 diabetes is characterized by defective glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) from pancreatic β cells, which can be restored by glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), an incretin hormone commonly used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. However, molecular mechanisms by which GLP-1 affects glucose responsiveness in islet β cells remain poorly understood. Here we investigated a role of SAD-A, an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-related kinase, in regulating GSIS in mice with conditional SAD-A deletion. We show that selective deletion of SAD-A in pancreas impaired incretin's effect on GSIS, leading to glucose intolerance. Conversely, overexpression of SAD-A significantly enhanced GSIS and further potentiated GLP-1's effect on GSIS from isolated mouse islets. In support of SAD-A as a mediator of incretin response, SAD-A is expressed exclusively in pancreas and brain, the primary targeting tissues of GLP-1 action. Additionally, SAD-A kinase is activated in response to stimulation by GLP-1 through cyclic AMP (cAMP)/Ca(2+)-dependent signaling pathways in islet β cells. Furthermore, we identified Thr443 as a key autoinhibitory phosphorylation site which mediates SAD-A's effect on incretin response in islet β cells. Consequently, ablation of Thr443 significantly enhanced GLP-1's effect on GSIS from isolated mouse islets. Together, these findings identified SAD-A kinase as a pancreas-specific mediator of incretin response in islet β cells.

  4. SAD-A Potentiates Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion as a Mediator of Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Response in Pancreatic β Cells

    PubMed Central

    Nie, Jia; Lilley, Brendan N.; Pan, Y. Albert; Faruque, Omar; Liu, Xiaolei; Zhang, Weiping; Sanes, Joshua R.

    2013-01-01

    Type 2 diabetes is characterized by defective glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) from pancreatic β cells, which can be restored by glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), an incretin hormone commonly used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. However, molecular mechanisms by which GLP-1 affects glucose responsiveness in islet β cells remain poorly understood. Here we investigated a role of SAD-A, an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-related kinase, in regulating GSIS in mice with conditional SAD-A deletion. We show that selective deletion of SAD-A in pancreas impaired incretin's effect on GSIS, leading to glucose intolerance. Conversely, overexpression of SAD-A significantly enhanced GSIS and further potentiated GLP-1's effect on GSIS from isolated mouse islets. In support of SAD-A as a mediator of incretin response, SAD-A is expressed exclusively in pancreas and brain, the primary targeting tissues of GLP-1 action. Additionally, SAD-A kinase is activated in response to stimulation by GLP-1 through cyclic AMP (cAMP)/Ca2+-dependent signaling pathways in islet β cells. Furthermore, we identified Thr443 as a key autoinhibitory phosphorylation site which mediates SAD-A's effect on incretin response in islet β cells. Consequently, ablation of Thr443 significantly enhanced GLP-1's effect on GSIS from isolated mouse islets. Together, these findings identified SAD-A kinase as a pancreas-specific mediator of incretin response in islet β cells. PMID:23629625

  5. On the prediction of monocyte deposition in abdominal aortic aneurysms using computational fluid dynamics.

    PubMed

    Hardman, David; Doyle, Barry J; Semple, Scott I K; Richards, Jennifer M J; Newby, David E; Easson, William J; Hoskins, Peter R

    2013-10-01

    In abdominal aortic aneurysm disease, the aortic wall is exposed to intense biological activity involving inflammation and matrix metalloproteinase-mediated degradation of the extracellular matrix. These processes are orchestrated by monocytes and rather than affecting the aorta uniformly, damage and weaken focal areas of the wall leaving it vulnerable to rupture. This study attempts to model numerically the deposition of monocytes using large eddy simulation, discrete phase modelling and near-wall particle residence time. The model was first applied to idealised aneurysms and then to three patient-specific lumen geometries using three-component inlet velocities derived from phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging. The use of a novel, variable wall shear stress-limiter based on previous experimental data significantly improved the results. Simulations identified a critical diameter (1.8 times the inlet diameter) beyond which significant monocyte deposition is expected to occur. Monocyte adhesion occurred proximally in smaller abdominal aortic aneurysms and distally as the sac expands. The near-wall particle residence time observed in each of the patient-specific models was markedly different. Discrete hotspots of monocyte residence time were detected, suggesting that the monocyte infiltration responsible for the breakdown of the abdominal aortic aneurysm wall occurs heterogeneously. Peak monocyte residence time was found to increase with aneurysm sac size. Further work addressing certain limitations is needed in a larger cohort to determine clinical significance.

  6. Robot-based tele-echography: clinical evaluation of the TER system in abdominal aortic exploration.

    PubMed

    Martinelli, Thomas; Bosson, Jean-Luc; Bressollette, Luc; Pelissier, Franck; Boidard, Eric; Troccaz, Jocelyne; Cinquin, Philippe

    2007-11-01

    The TER system is a robot-based tele-echography system allowing remote ultrasound examination. The specialist moves a mock-up of the ultrasound probe at the master site, and the robot reproduces the movements of the real probe, which sends back ultrasound images and force feedback. This tool could be used to perform ultrasound examinations in small health care centers or from isolated sites. The objective of this study was to prove, under real conditions, the feasibility and reliability of the TER system in detecting abdominal aortic and iliac aneurysms. Fifty-eight patients were included in 2 centers in Brest and Grenoble, France. The remote examination was compared with the reference standard, the bedside examination, for aorta and iliac artery diameter measurement, detection and description of aneurysms, detection of atheromatosis, the duration of the examination, and acceptability. All aneurysms (8) were detected by both techniques as intramural thrombosis and extension to the iliac arteries. The interobserver correlation coefficient was 0.982 (P < .0001) for aortic diameters. The rate of concordance between 2 operators in evaluating atheromatosis was 84% +/- 11% (95% confidence interval). Our study on 58 patients suggests that the TER system could be a reliable, acceptable, and effective robot-based system for performing remote abdominal aortic ultrasound examinations. Research is continuing to improve the equipment for general abdominal use.

  7. Direct-method SAD phasing with partial-structure iteration: towards automation.

    PubMed

    Wang, J W; Chen, J R; Gu, Y X; Zheng, C D; Fan, H F

    2004-11-01

    The probability formula of direct-method SAD (single-wavelength anomalous diffraction) phasing proposed by Fan & Gu (1985, Acta Cryst. A41, 280-284) contains partial-structure information in the form of a Sim-weighting term. Previously, only the substructure of anomalous scatterers has been included in this term. In the case that the subsequent density modification and model building yields only structure fragments, which do not straightforwardly lead to the complete solution, the partial structure can be fed back into the Sim-weighting term of the probability formula in order to strengthen its phasing power and to benefit the subsequent automatic model building. The procedure has been tested with experimental SAD data from two known proteins with copper and sulfur as the anomalous scatterers.

  8. Happy alone? Sad young men in East Asian gay cinema.

    PubMed

    Berry, C

    2000-01-01

    This essay chooses as its texts three films representing contemporary gay male subjects from each of the "three" China's: HK, Taiwan, and the Mainland. Relocating the homoerotic image of the "sad young man," a trope popular from Hollywood rebellion films of the 1950s and 1960s, to contemporary China, I discuss how this masculine icon has been transformed from one of heroic rebellion to one of existential isolation. Indeed, as the politics of both the outmoded Confucian family and fractured Chinese nationhood intersect, what the sad young (gay) man rebels against is a political fluctuation which is no longer fixed; as the young man's opposition is no longer fixed, so too does he become alienated even from his own rebellious cause.

  9. Super-Girl: Strength and Sadness in Black Girlhood

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nunn, Nia Michelle

    2018-01-01

    This paper complicates notions of Black girlhood by examining the dual experiences of gendered racism that result in both strength and sadness in Black girls' educational experiences. I highlight the need for a curriculum of liberation to combat historical and current social conditions negatively impacting school-aged Black girls, such as harsh…

  10. Depression moderates smoking behavior in response to a sad mood induction.

    PubMed

    Fucito, Lisa M; Juliano, Laura M

    2009-09-01

    Stress and anxiety have been shown to increase smoking motivation. There is limited experimental data on depressed or sad mood and smoking. This study investigated the effects of two induced moods on smoking behavior. Depression scores were examined as a potential moderator and mood changes were tested as a potential mediator. Smokers (N = 121) were randomly assigned to receive either a sad induction or a neutral induction via standardized film clips. Among participants with higher depression scores, smoking duration and the number of cigarette puffs were greater in response to the sad condition. There was also a marginal interactive effect on the change in expired air carbon monoxide among this subsample; however, no differences in smoking latency or craving were observed. Changes in positive mood partially mediated the effect of condition on smoking behavior among participants with high depression scores. There was no modifying effect of gender or mediating effect of negative mood changes. The results provide preliminary support that decreases in positive mood may have a greater influence on smoking behavior among depression-prone smokers than less psychiatrically vulnerable smokers. 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

  11. The Feeling of the Story: Narrating to Regulate Anger and Sadness

    PubMed Central

    Pasupathi, Monisha; Wainryb, Cecilia; Mansfield, Cade D.; Bourne, Stacia

    2017-01-01

    Admonitions to tell one’s story in order to feel better reflect the belief that narrative is an effective emotion regulation tool. The present studies evaluate the effectiveness of narrative for regulating sadness and anger, and provide quantitative comparisons of narrative with distraction, reappraisal, and reexposure. The results for sadness (n = 93) and anger (n = 89) reveal that narrative is effective at down-regulating negative emotions, particularly when narratives place events in the past tense and include positive emotions. The results suggest that if people tell the “right” kind of story about their experiences, narrative reduces emotional distress linked to those experiences. PMID:26745208

  12. Parental socialization of sadness regulation in middle childhood: the role of expectations and gender.

    PubMed

    Cassano, Michael C; Zeman, Janice L

    2010-09-01

    The authors of this study investigated mothers' and fathers' socialization of their children's sadness. The particular focus was an examination of how socialization practices changed when parents' expectancies concerning their child's sadness management abilities were violated. Methods included an experimental manipulation and direct observation of parent-child interactions in 62 families of White, middle-class children in 3rd and 4th grades. Families were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions. After parents were provided with a description of normative child behavior on a sadness-induction task, feedback was manipulated such that parents in the control condition were told their child had demonstrated typical regulation while parents in the violated-expectancy condition were informed their child did not manage sadness as well as peers. The hypothesis that violated expectancies influence socialization processes was supported, with greater evidence emerging for fathers than mothers. In certain circumstances within the violated-expectancy condition, there was more parental similarity in socialization practices than in the control condition. Further, mother-father comparisons indicated differences in socialization as a function of parent and child gender that were generally consistent with gender stereotypes.

  13. Abdominal epilepsy as an unusual cause of abdominal pain: a case report.

    PubMed

    Yunus, Yilmaz; Sefer, Ustebay; Dondu, Ulker Ustebay; Ismail, Ozanli; Yusuf, Ehi

    2016-09-01

    Abdominal pain, in etiology sometimes difficult to be defined, is a frequent complaint in childhood. Abdominal epilepsy is a rare cause of abdominal pain. In this article, we report on 5 year old girl patient with abdominal epilepsy. Some investigations (stool investigation, routine blood tests, ultrasonography (USG), electrocardiogram (ECHO) and electrocardiograpy (ECG), holter for 24hr.) were done to understand the origin of these complaints; but no abnormalities were found. Finally an EEG was done during an episode of abdominal pain and it was shown that there were generalized spikes especially precipitated by hyperventilation. The patient did well on valproic acid therapy and EEG was normal 1 month after beginning of the treatment. The cause of chronic recurrent paroxymal abdominal pain is difficult for the clinicians to diagnose in childhood. A lot of disease may lead to paroxysmal gastrointestinal symptoms like familial mediterranean fever and porfiria. Abdominal epilepsy is one of the rare but easily treatable cause of abdominal pain. In conclusion, abdominal epilepsy should be suspected in children with recurrent abdominal pain.

  14. Child implant users' imitation of happy- and sad-sounding speech

    PubMed Central

    Wang, David J.; Trehub, Sandra E.; Volkova, Anna; van Lieshout, Pascal

    2013-01-01

    Cochlear implants have enabled many congenitally or prelingually deaf children to acquire their native language and communicate successfully on the basis of electrical rather than acoustic input. Nevertheless, degraded spectral input provided by the device reduces the ability to perceive emotion in speech. We compared the vocal imitations of 5- to 7-year-old deaf children who were highly successful bilateral implant users with those of a control sample of children who had normal hearing. First, the children imitated several happy and sad sentences produced by a child model. When adults in Experiment 1 rated the similarity of imitated to model utterances, ratings were significantly higher for the hearing children. Both hearing and deaf children produced poorer imitations of happy than sad utterances because of difficulty matching the greater pitch modulation of the happy versions. When adults in Experiment 2 rated electronically filtered versions of the utterances, which obscured the verbal content, ratings of happy and sad utterances were significantly differentiated for deaf as well as hearing children. The ratings of deaf children, however, were significantly less differentiated. Although deaf children's utterances exhibited culturally typical pitch modulation, their pitch modulation was reduced relative to that of hearing children. One practical implication is that therapeutic interventions for deaf children could expand their focus on suprasegmental aspects of speech perception and production, especially intonation patterns. PMID:23801976

  15. Sadness and ruminative thinking independently depress people's moods.

    PubMed

    Jahanitabesh, Azra; Cardwell, Brittany A; Halberstadt, Jamin

    2017-11-02

    Depression and rumination often co-occur in clinical populations, but it is not clear which causes which, or if both are manifestations of an underlying pathology. Does rumination simply exacerbate whatever affect a person is experiencing, or is it a negative experience in and of itself? In two experiments we answer this question by independently manipulating emotion and rumination. Participants were allocated to sad or neutral (in Experiment 1), or sad, neutral or happy (Experiment 2) mood conditions, via a combination of emotionally evocative music and autobiographical recall. Afterwards, in both studies, participants either ruminated by thinking about self-relevant statements or, in a control group, thought about self-irrelevant statements. Taken together, our data show that, independent of participants' mood, ruminators reported more negative affect relative to controls. The findings are consistent with theories suggesting that self-focus is itself unpleasant, and illustrate that depressive rumination comprises both affective and ruminative components, which could be targeted independently in clinical samples. © 2017 International Union of Psychological Science.

  16. Measurement Invariance and Convergent Validity of Anger and Sadness Self-Regulation Scales Among Youth from Six Cultural Groups

    PubMed Central

    Di Giunta, Laura; Iselin, Anne-Marie R.; Eisenberg, Nancy; Concetta, Pastorelli; Gerbino, Maria; Lansford, Jennifer E.; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Caprara, Gian Vittorio; Bacchini, Dario; Tirado, Liliana Maria Uribe; Thartori, Eriona

    2016-01-01

    The present study examined measurement invariance and convergent validity of a novel vignette-based measure of emotion specific self-regulation that simultaneously assesses attributional bias, emotion-regulation, and self-efficacy beliefs about emotion regulation. Participants included 541 youth-mother dyads from three countries (Italy, United States, and Colombia) and six ethnic/cultural groups. Participants were 12.62 years old (SD = 0.69). In response to vignettes involving ambiguous peer interactions, children reported their hostile/depressive attribution bias, self-efficacy beliefs about anger and sadness regulation, and anger/sadness regulation strategies (i.e., dysregulated expression and rumination). Across the six cultural groups, anger and sadness self-regulation subscales had full metric and partial scalar invariance for a one-factor model, with some exceptions. We found support for both a four- and three-factor oblique model (dysregulated expression and rumination loaded on a second-order factor) for both anger and sadness. Anger subscales were related to externalizing problems, while sadness subscales were related to internalizing symptoms. PMID:26603118

  17. Sad or fearful? The influence of body posture on adults' and children's perception of facial displays of emotion.

    PubMed

    Mondloch, Catherine J

    2012-02-01

    The current research investigated the influence of body posture on adults' and children's perception of facial displays of emotion. In each of two experiments, participants categorized facial expressions that were presented on a body posture that was congruent (e.g., a sad face on a body posing sadness) or incongruent (e.g., a sad face on a body posing fear). Adults and 8-year-olds made more errors and had longer reaction times on incongruent trials than on congruent trials when judging sad versus fearful facial expressions, an effect that was larger in 8-year-olds. The congruency effect was reduced when faces and bodies were misaligned, providing some evidence for holistic processing. Neither adults nor 8-year-olds were affected by congruency when judging sad versus happy expressions. Evidence that congruency effects vary with age and with similarity of emotional expressions is consistent with dimensional theories and "emotional seed" models of emotion perception. 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. [Exploration on Electroencephalogram Mechanism Differences of Negative Emotions Induced by Disgusted and Sad Situation Images].

    PubMed

    Wang, Xin; Jin, Jingna; Li, Song; Liu, Zhipeng; Yin, Tao

    2015-12-01

    Evolutionary psychology holds such an opinion that negative situation may threaten survival, trigger avoidance motive and have poor effects on the human-body function and the psychological quality. Both disgusted and sad situations can induce negative emotions. However, differences between the two situations on attention capture and emotion cognition during the emotion induction are still not well known. Typical disgusted and sad situation images were used in the present study to induce two negative emotions, and 15 young students (7 males and 8 females, aged 27 ± 3) were recruited in the experiments. Electroencephalogram of 32 leads was recorded when the subjects were viewing situation images, and event-related potentials (ERP) of all leads were obtained for future analysis. Paired sample t tests were carried out on two ERP signals separately induced by disgusted and sad situation images to get time quantum with significant statistical differences between the two ERP signals. Root-mean-square deviations of two ERP signals during each time quantum were calculated and the brain topographic map based on root-mean-square deviations was drawn to display differences of two ERP signals in spatial. Results showed that differences of ERP signals induced by disgusted and sad situation images were mainly manifested in T1 (120-450 ms) early and T2 (800-1,000 ms) later. During the period of T1, the occipital lobe reflecting attention capture was activated by both disgusted and sad situation images, but the prefrontal cortex reflecting emotion sense was activated only by disgusted situation images. During the period of T2, the prefrontal cortex was activated by both disgusted and sad situation images. However, the parietal lobe was activated only by disgusted situation images, which showed stronger emotional perception. The research results would have enlightenment to deepen understanding of negative emotion and to exploredeep cognitive neuroscience mechanisms of negative

  19. Intraoperative Sac Pressure Measurement During Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ishibashi, Hiroyuki, E-mail: ishibash@aichi-med-u.ac.j; Ishiguchi, Tsuneo; Ohta, Takashi

    2010-10-15

    PurposeIntraoperative sac pressure was measured during endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) to evaluate the clinical significance of sac pressure measurement.MethodsA microcatheter was placed in an aneurysm sac from the contralateral femoral artery, and sac pressure was measured during EVAR procedures in 47 patients. Aortic blood pressure was measured as a control by a catheter from the left brachial artery.ResultsThe systolic sac pressure index (SPI) was 0.87 {+-} 0.10 after main-body deployment, 0.63 {+-} 0.12 after leg deployment (P < 0.01), and 0.56 {+-} 0.12 after completion of the procedure (P < 0.01). Pulse pressure was 55 {+-} 21 mmHg,more » 23 {+-} 15 mmHg (P < 0.01), and 16 {+-} 12 mmHg (P < 0.01), respectively. SPI showed no significant differences between the Zenith and Excluder stent grafts (0.56 {+-} 0.13 vs. 0.54 {+-} 0.10, NS). Type I endoleak was found in seven patients (15%), and the SPI decreased from 0.62 {+-} 0.10 to 0.55 {+-} 0.10 (P = 0.10) after fixing procedures. Type II endoleak was found in 12 patients (26%) by completion angiography. The SPI showed no difference between type II endoleak positive and negative (0.58 {+-} 0.12 vs. 0.55 {+-} 0.12, NS). There were no significant differences between the final SPI of abdominal aortic aneurysms in which the diameter decreased in the follow-up and that of abdominal aortic aneurysms in which the diameter did not change (0.53 {+-} 0.12 vs. 0.57 {+-} 0.12, NS).ConclusionsSac pressure measurement was useful for instant hemodynamic evaluation of the EVAR procedure, especially in type I endoleaks. However, on the basis of this small study, the SPI cannot be used to reliably predict sac growth or regression.« less

  20. Initial Experience Using a Telerobotic Ultrasound System for Adult Abdominal Sonography.

    PubMed

    Adams, Scott J; Burbridge, Brent E; Badea, Andreea; Langford, Leanne; Vergara, Vincent; Bryce, Rhonda; Bustamante, Luis; Mendez, Ivar M; Babyn, Paul S

    2017-08-01

    The study sought to assess the feasibility of performing adult abdominal examinations using a telerobotic ultrasound system in which radiologists or sonographers can control fine movements of a transducer and all ultrasound settings from a remote location. Eighteen patients prospectively underwent a conventional sonography examination (using EPIQ 5 [Philips] or LOGIQ E9 [GE Healthcare]) followed by a telerobotic sonography examination (using the MELODY System [AdEchoTech] and SonixTablet [BK Ultrasound]) according to a standardized abdominal imaging protocol. For telerobotic examinations, patients were scanned remotely by a sonographer 2.75 km away. Conventional examinations were read independently from telerobotic examinations. Image quality and acceptability to patients and sonographers was assessed. Ninety-two percent of organs visualized on conventional examinations were sufficiently visualized on telerobotic examinations. Five pathological findings were identified on both telerobotic and conventional examinations, 3 findings were identified using only conventional sonography, and 2 findings were identified using only telerobotic sonography. A paired sample t test showed no significant difference between the 2 modalities in measurements of the liver, spleen, and diameter of the proximal aorta; however, telerobotic assessments overestimated distal aorta and common bile duct diameters and underestimated kidney lengths (P values < .05). All patients responded that they would be willing to have another telerobotic examination. A telerobotic ultrasound system is feasible for performing abdominal ultrasound examinations at a distant location with minimal training and setup requirements and a moderate learning curve. Telerobotic sonography (robotic telesonography) may open up the possibility of remote ultrasound clinics for communities that lack skilled sonographers and radiologists, thereby improving access to care. Copyright © 2016 Canadian Association of

  1. Crimped braided sleeves for soft, actuating arm in robotic abdominal surgery.

    PubMed

    Elsayed, Yahya; Lekakou, Constantina; Ranzani, Tommaso; Cianchetti, Matteo; Morino, Mario; Arezzo, Alberto; Menciassi, Arianna; Geng, Tao; Saaj, Chakravarthini M

    2015-01-01

    This paper investigates different types of crimped, braided sleeve used for a soft arm for robotic abdominal surgery, with the sleeve required to contain balloon expansion in the pneumatically actuating arm while it follows the required bending, elongation and diameter reduction of the arm. Three types of crimped, braided sleeves from PET (BraidPET) or nylon (BraidGreyNylon and BraidNylon, with different monofilament diameters) were fabricated and tested including geometrical and microstructural characterisation of the crimp and braid, mechanical tests and medical scratching tests for organ damage of domestic pigs. BraidPET caused some organ damage, sliding under normal force of 2-5 N; this was attributed to the high roughness of the braid pattern, the higher friction coefficient of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) compared to nylon, and the high frequency of the crimp peaks for this sleeve. No organ damage was observed for the BraidNylon, attributed to both the lower roughness of the braid pattern and the low friction coefficient of nylon. BraidNylon also required the lowest tensile force during its elongation to similar maximum strain as that of BraidPET, translating to low power requirements. BraidNylon is recommended for the crimped sleeve of the arm designed for robotic abdominal surgery.

  2. The moderating role of personal relevance on differential priming of anxiety and sadness on perceived travel risk: a replication.

    PubMed

    Chiou, Wen-Bin; Chang, Ming-Hsu; Chen, Chien-Lung

    2009-04-01

    Raghunathan and Pham conducted a pioneer study in 1999 on the motivational influences of anxiety and sadness on decision making and indicated that anxiety would motivate individuals to be risk averse, whereas sadness would motivate individuals to be risk taking. A replication study was employed in the domain of perceived travel risk. Compared to participants in a neutral mood, anxious participants showed higher perceived travel risk than sad participants. Moreover, the differential effect of anxiety and sadness on perceived travel risk was only pronounced under the high personal relevance condition, in which participants made personal decisions and expected that they would be affected by the outcomes. In general, the results extend the notion proposed by Raghunathan and Pham suggesting that travelers' implicit goals primed by anxiety or sadness used for mood-repair purposes appear to be moderated by personal relevance.

  3. Are there age differences in attention to emotional images following a sad mood induction? Evidence from a free-viewing eye-tracking paradigm.

    PubMed

    Speirs, Calandra; Belchev, Zorry; Fernandez, Amanda; Korol, Stephanie; Sears, Christopher

    2017-10-30

    Two experiments examined age differences in the effect of a sad mood induction (MI) on attention to emotional images. Younger and older adults viewed sets of four images while their eye gaze was tracked throughout an 8-s presentation. Images were viewed before and after a sad MI to assess the effect of a sad mood on attention to positive and negative scenes. Younger and older adults exhibited positively biased attention after the sad MI, significantly increasing their attention to positive images, with no evidence of an age difference in either experiment. A test of participants' recognition memory for the images indicated that the sad MI reduced memory accuracy for sad images for younger and older adults. The results suggest that heightened attention to positive images following a sad MI reflects an affect regulation strategy related to mood repair. The implications for theories of the positivity effect are discussed.

  4. Intra-Abdominal Hypertension and Abdominal Compartment Syndrome in Association with Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm in the Endovascular Era: Vigilance Remains Critical

    PubMed Central

    Bozeman, Matthew C.; Ross, Charles B.

    2012-01-01

    Intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) are common complications of ruptured abdominal aortoiliac aneurysms (rAAAs) and other abdominal vascular catastrophes even in the age of endovascular therapy. Morbidity and mortality due to systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and multiple organ failure (MOF) are significant. Recognition and management of IAH are key critical care measures which may decrease morbidity and improve survival in these vascular patients. Two strategies have been utilized: expectant management with prompt decompressive laparotomy upon diagnosis of threshold levels of IAH versus prophylactic, delayed abdominal closure based upon clinical parameters at the time of initial repair. Competent management of the abdominal wound with preservation of abdominal domain is also an important component of the care of these patients. In this review, we describe published experience with IAH and ACS complicating abdominal vascular catastrophes, experience with ACS complicating endovascular repair of rAAAs, and techniques for management of the abdominal wound. Vigilance and appropriate management of IAH and ACS remains critically important in decreasing morbidity and optimizing survival following catastrophic intra-abdominal vascular events. PMID:22454763

  5. Intra-abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome in association with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm in the endovascular era: vigilance remains critical.

    PubMed

    Bozeman, Matthew C; Ross, Charles B

    2012-01-01

    Intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) are common complications of ruptured abdominal aortoiliac aneurysms (rAAAs) and other abdominal vascular catastrophes even in the age of endovascular therapy. Morbidity and mortality due to systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and multiple organ failure (MOF) are significant. Recognition and management of IAH are key critical care measures which may decrease morbidity and improve survival in these vascular patients. Two strategies have been utilized: expectant management with prompt decompressive laparotomy upon diagnosis of threshold levels of IAH versus prophylactic, delayed abdominal closure based upon clinical parameters at the time of initial repair. Competent management of the abdominal wound with preservation of abdominal domain is also an important component of the care of these patients. In this review, we describe published experience with IAH and ACS complicating abdominal vascular catastrophes, experience with ACS complicating endovascular repair of rAAAs, and techniques for management of the abdominal wound. Vigilance and appropriate management of IAH and ACS remains critically important in decreasing morbidity and optimizing survival following catastrophic intra-abdominal vascular events.

  6. Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening program in Poland.

    PubMed

    Jawien, A; Formankiewicz, B; Derezinski, T; Migdalski, A; Brazis, P; Woda, L

    Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) is currently recommended by several vascular societies. In countries where it has been introduced the prevalence of AAAs differed greatly and was mainly related to cigarette smoking. The screening program also had an enormous impact on the decrease of AAA ruptures and reduced mortality rate. These facts have led to the introduction of the first screening program for AAAs in Poland. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of AAAs among men aged 60 years and older undergoing ultrasound examination of the abdominal aorta. A single ultrasonography of the abdomen was performed to assess the aorta from the renal arteries to the bifurcation and the diameter of the aorta was measured at its widest point. The cut-off value for determining an aortic aneurysm was set at a diameter of ≥ 30 mm. All ultrasonography measurements were performed by physicians in outpatient departments throughout the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Province. Additionally, each subject had to fill out a questionnaire with demographic data, smoking habits, existing comorbidities and familial occurrence of AAAs. The study was conducted from October 2009 to November 2011. The abdominal aorta ultrasound examinations were carried out in 1556 men aged 60 years and older. The prevalence of AAA in the study population was 6.0 % (94 out of 1556). The average age of the men was 69 years (SD 6 years, range 60-92 years). In the study population 55 % of the men smoked or had smoked and 3 % were aware of the presence of AAAs in family members. There were three risk factors significantly associated with the presence of AAAs: age (p < 0.05), smoking (72.3 % vs 53.9 %, p = 0.004) and family history of AAAs (9.6 % vs 2.7 %, p = 0.017). The prevalence of AAAs among men in Poland is higher than in other European countries and the USA. The screening program for AAAs is an easy and reliable method for detecting early stages of the disease and

  7. Sad and happy emotion discrimination in music by children with cochlear implants.

    PubMed

    Hopyan, Talar; Manno, Francis A M; Papsin, Blake C; Gordon, Karen A

    2016-01-01

    Children using cochlear implants (CIs) develop speech perception but have difficulty perceiving complex acoustic signals. Mode and tempo are the two components used to recognize emotion in music. Based on CI limitations, we hypothesized children using CIs would have impaired perception of mode cues relative to their normal hearing peers and would rely more heavily on tempo cues to distinguish happy from sad music. Study participants were children with 13 right CIs and 3 left CIs (M = 12.7, SD = 2.6 years) and 16 normal hearing peers. Participants judged 96 brief piano excerpts from the classical genre as happy or sad in a forced-choice task. Music was randomly presented with alterations of transposed mode, tempo, or both. When music was presented in original form, children using CIs discriminated between happy and sad music with accuracy well above chance levels (87.5%) but significantly below those with normal hearing (98%). The CI group primarily used tempo cues, whereas normal hearing children relied more on mode cues. Transposing both mode and tempo cues in the same musical excerpt obliterated cues to emotion for both groups. Children using CIs showed significantly slower response times across all conditions. Children using CIs use tempo cues to discriminate happy versus sad music reflecting a very different hearing strategy than their normal hearing peers. Slower reaction times by children using CIs indicate that they found the task more difficult and support the possibility that they require different strategies to process emotion in music than normal.

  8. Abdominal Assessment.

    PubMed

    Fritz, Deborah; Weilitz, Pamela Becker

    2016-03-01

    Abdominal pain is one of the most common complaints by patients, and assessment of abdominal pain and associated symptoms can be challenging for home healthcare providers. Reasons for abdominal pain are related to inflammation, organ distention, and ischemia. The history and physical examination are important to narrow the source of acute or chronic problems, identify immediate interventions, and when necessary, facilitate emergency department care.

  9. A new measure for assessing executive function across a wide age range: children and adults find happy-sad more difficult than day-night.

    PubMed

    Lagattuta, Kristin Hansen; Sayfan, Liat; Monsour, Michael

    2011-05-01

    Two experiments examined 4- to 11-year-olds' and adults' performance (N = 350) on two variants of a Stroop-like card task: the day-night task (say 'day' when shown a moon and 'night' when shown a sun) and a new happy-sad task (say 'happy' for a sad face and 'sad' for a happy face). Experiment 1 featured colored cartoon drawings. In Experiment 2, the happy-sad task featured photographs, and pictures for both measures were gray scale. All age groups made more errors and took longer to respond to the happy-sad versus the day-night versions. Unlike the day-night task, the happy-sad task did not suffer from ceiling effects, even in adults. The happy-sad task provides a methodological advance for measuring executive function across a wide age range.

  10. Recalling happy memories in remitted depression: A neuroimaging investigation of the repair of sad mood

    PubMed Central

    Cooney, Rebecca E.; Joormann, Jutta; Henry, Melissa L.; Gotlib, Ian H.

    2014-01-01

    Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a recurrent mood disorder. The high rate of recurrence of MDD suggests the presence of stable vulnerability factors that place individuals with a history of major depression at an increased risk for the onset of another episode. Previous research has linked the remitted state, and therefore increased vulnerability for depressive relapse, with difficulties in the use of pleasant autobiographical memories to repair sad mood. In the present study, we examined the neural correlates of these difficulties. Groups of 16 currently euthymic, remitted depressed individuals and 16 healthy (control) women underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during sad mood induction and during recovery from a sad mood state through recall of mood-incongruent positive autobiographical memories. Sad mood was induced in participants by using film clips; participants then recalled positive autobiographical memories, a procedure previously shown to repair negative affect. During both the sad mood induction and automatic mood regulation, control participants exhibited activation in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and cuneus; in contrast, remitted participants exhibited a decrease in activation in these regions. Furthermore, exploratory analyses revealed that reduced activation levels during mood regulation predicted a worsening of depressive symptoms at a 20-month follow-up assessment. These findings highlight a dynamic role of the vlPFC and cuneus in the experience and modulation of emotional states and suggest that functional anomalies of these brain regions are associated with a history of, and vulnerability to, depression. PMID:24146315

  11. Recalling happy memories in remitted depression: a neuroimaging investigation of the repair of sad mood.

    PubMed

    Foland-Ross, Lara C; Cooney, Rebecca E; Joormann, Jutta; Henry, Melissa L; Gotlib, Ian H

    2014-06-01

    Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a recurrent mood disorder. The high rate of recurrence of MDD suggests the presence of stable vulnerability factors that place individuals with a history of major depression at an increased risk for the onset of another episode. Previous research has linked the remitted state, and therefore increased vulnerability for depressive relapse, with difficulties in the use of pleasant autobiographical memories to repair sad mood. In the present study, we examined the neural correlates of these difficulties. Groups of 16 currently euthymic, remitted depressed individuals and 16 healthy (control) women underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during sad mood induction and during recovery from a sad mood state through recall of mood-incongruent positive autobiographical memories. Sad mood was induced in participants by using film clips; participants then recalled positive autobiographical memories, a procedure previously shown to repair negative affect. During both the sad mood induction and automatic mood regulation, control participants exhibited activation in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and cuneus; in contrast, remitted participants exhibited a decrease in activation in these regions. Furthermore, exploratory analyses revealed that reduced activation levels during mood regulation predicted a worsening of depressive symptoms at a 20-month follow-up assessment. These findings highlight a dynamic role of the vlPFC and cuneus in the experience and modulation of emotional states and suggest that functional anomalies of these brain regions are associated with a history of, and vulnerability to, depression.

  12. Induced sadness increases persistence in a simulated slot machine task among recreational gamblers.

    PubMed

    Devos, Gaëtan; Clark, Luke; Maurage, Pierre; Billieux, Joël

    2018-05-01

    Gambling may constitute a strategy for coping with depressive mood, but a direct influence of depressive mood on gambling behaviors has never been tested via realistic experimental designs in gamblers. The current study tested whether experimentally induced sadness increases persistence on a simulated slot machine task using real monetary reinforcement in recreational gamblers. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to an experimental (sadness induction) or control (no emotional induction) condition, and then performed a slot machine task consisting of a mandatory phase followed by a persistence phase. Potential confounding variables (problem gambling symptoms, impulsivity traits, gambling cognitions) were measured to ensure that the experimental and control groups were comparable. The study showed that participants in the sadness condition displayed greater gambling persistence than control participants (p = .011). These data support the causal role of negative affect in decisions to gamble and persistence, which bears important theoretical and clinical implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Display rules for anger, sadness, and pain: it depends on who is watching.

    PubMed

    Zeman, J; Garber, J

    1996-06-01

    This study examined factors that may influence children's decisions to control or express their emotions including type of emotion (anger, sadness, physical pain), type of audience (mother, father, peer, alone), age, and sex. Children's reported use of display rules, reasons for their decisions, and reported method of expression were examined. Subjects were 32 boys and 32 girls in each of the first (M = 7.25 years old), third (M = 9.33 years old), and fifth grades (M = 11.75 years old). Regardless of the type of emotion experienced, children reported controlling their expression of emotion significantly more in the presence of peers than when they were with either their mother or father or when they were alone. Younger children reported expressing sadness and anger significantly more often than did older children, and girls were more likely than boys to report expressing sadness and pain. Children's primary reason for controlling their emotional expressions was the expectation of a negative interpersonal interaction following disclosure.

  14. Dissociating maternal responses to sad and happy facial expressions of their own child: An fMRI study.

    PubMed

    Kluczniok, Dorothea; Hindi Attar, Catherine; Stein, Jenny; Poppinga, Sina; Fydrich, Thomas; Jaite, Charlotte; Kappel, Viola; Brunner, Romuald; Herpertz, Sabine C; Boedeker, Katja; Bermpohl, Felix

    2017-01-01

    Maternal sensitive behavior depends on recognizing one's own child's affective states. The present study investigated distinct and overlapping neural responses of mothers to sad and happy facial expressions of their own child (in comparison to facial expressions of an unfamiliar child). We used functional MRI to measure dissociable and overlapping activation patterns in 27 healthy mothers in response to happy, neutral and sad facial expressions of their own school-aged child and a gender- and age-matched unfamiliar child. To investigate differential activation to sad compared to happy faces of one's own child, we used interaction contrasts. During the scan, mothers had to indicate the affect of the presented face. After scanning, they were asked to rate the perceived emotional arousal and valence levels for each face using a 7-point Likert-scale (adapted SAM version). While viewing their own child's sad faces, mothers showed activation in the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex whereas happy facial expressions of the own child elicited activation in the hippocampus. Conjoint activation in response to one's own child happy and sad expressions was found in the insula and the superior temporal gyrus. Maternal brain activations differed depending on the child's affective state. Sad faces of the own child activated areas commonly associated with a threat detection network, whereas happy faces activated reward related brain areas. Overlapping activation was found in empathy related networks. These distinct neural activation patterns might facilitate sensitive maternal behavior.

  15. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

    MedlinePlus

    ... Kids and Teens Pregnancy and Childbirth Women Men Seniors Your Health Resources Healthcare Management End-of-Life ... familydoctor.org editorial staff Categories: Family Health, Men, Seniors, WomenTags: abdominal aorta, abdominal aortic aneurysm, abdominal pain, ...

  16. From MAD to SAD: The Italian experience for the low-frequency aperture array of SKA1-LOW

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bolli, P.; Pupillo, G.; Virone, G.; Farooqui, M. Z.; Lingua, A.; Mattana, A.; Monari, J.; Murgia, M.; Naldi, G.; Paonessa, F.; Perini, F.; Pluchino, S.; Rusticelli, S.; Schiaffino, M.; Schillirò, F.; Tartarini, G.; Tibaldi, A.

    2016-03-01

    This paper describes two small aperture array demonstrators called Medicina and Sardinia Array Demonstrators (MAD and SAD, respectively). The objectives of these instruments are to acquire experience and test new technologies for a possible application to the low-frequency aperture array of the low-frequency telescope of the Square Kilometer Array phase 1 (SKA1-LOW). The MAD experience was concluded in 2014, and it turned out to be an important test bench for implementing calibration techniques based on an artificial source mounted in an aerial vehicle. SAD is based on 128 dual-polarized Vivaldi antennas and is 1 order of magnitude larger than MAD. The architecture and the station size of SAD, which is along the construction phase, are more similar to those under evaluation for SKA1-LOW, and therefore, SAD is expected to provide useful hints for SKA1-LOW.

  17. New Nitric Oxide Donor NCX 1443: Therapeutic Effects on Pulmonary Hypertension in the SAD Mouse Model of Sickle Cell Disease.

    PubMed

    Abid, Shariq; Kebe, Kanny; Houssaïni, Amal; Tomberli, Françoise; Marcos, Elisabeth; Bizard, Emilie; Breau, Marielle; Parpaleix, Aurelien; Tissot, Claire-Marie; Maitre, Bernard; Lipskaia, Larissa; Derumeaux, Genevieve; Bastia, Elena; Mekontso-Dessap, Armand; Adnot, Serge

    2018-05-01

    Nitric oxide (NO) donors may be useful for treating pulmonary hypertension (PH) complicating sickle cell disease (SCD), as endogenous NO is inactivated by hemoglobin released by intravascular hemolysis. Here, we investigated the effects of the new NO donor NCX1443 on PH in transgenic SAD mice, which exhibit mild SCD without severe hemolytic anemia. In SAD and wild-type (WT) mice, the pulmonary pressure response to acute hypoxia was similar and was abolished by 100 mg/kg NCX1443. The level of PH was also similar in SAD and WT mice exposed to chronic hypoxia (9% O2) alone or with SU5416 and was similarly reduced by daily NCX1443 gavage. Compared with WT mice, SAD mice exhibited higher levels of HO-1, endothelial NO synthase, and PDE5 but similar levels of lung cyclic guanosine monophosphate. Cultured pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells from SAD mice grew faster than those from WT mice and had higher PDE5 protein levels. Combining NCX1443 and a PDE5 inhibitor suppressed the growth rate difference between SAD and WT cells and induced a larger reduction in hypoxic PH severity in SAD than in WT mice. By amplifying endogenous protective mechanisms, NCX1443 in combination with PDE5 inhibition may prove useful for treating PH complicating SCD.

  18. Sadness is unique: neural processing of emotions in speech prosody in musicians and non-musicians.

    PubMed

    Park, Mona; Gutyrchik, Evgeny; Welker, Lorenz; Carl, Petra; Pöppel, Ernst; Zaytseva, Yuliya; Meindl, Thomas; Blautzik, Janusch; Reiser, Maximilian; Bao, Yan

    2014-01-01

    Musical training has been shown to have positive effects on several aspects of speech processing, however, the effects of musical training on the neural processing of speech prosody conveying distinct emotions are yet to be better understood. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate whether the neural responses to speech prosody conveying happiness, sadness, and fear differ between musicians and non-musicians. Differences in processing of emotional speech prosody between the two groups were only observed when sadness was expressed. Musicians showed increased activation in the middle frontal gyrus, the anterior medial prefrontal cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex and the retrosplenial cortex. Our results suggest an increased sensitivity of emotional processing in musicians with respect to sadness expressed in speech, possibly reflecting empathic processes.

  19. The Shrink in the Classroom: Too Sad To Learn?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schlozman, Steven C.

    2001-01-01

    Depression is a psychiatric disorder characterized by a persistently sad or sometimes irritable mood. Recognizing and helping potentially depressed students are essential for meeting their academic and social needs and for maintaining the overall learning environment. Alerting the guidance counselor or school psychologist is a good idea. (MLH)

  20. Unusual case of iron overload with cancer-mimicking abdominal splenosis.

    PubMed

    Marchi, Giacomo; Avesani, Giacomo; Zamò, Alberto; Girelli, Domenico

    2018-05-16

    A 48-year-old man, former alcohol abuser and drug addicted, was referred to our tertiary referral centre for iron disorders because of marked hyperferritinaemia. His clinical history revealed chronic hepatitis C, ß-thalassaemia trait and post-traumatic splenectomy at age of 22. MRI-estimated liver iron content was markedly elevated, while first-line genetic test for haemochromatosis was negative. Alpha-fetoprotein was increased but liver ultrasonography did not reveal focal liver lesions. Multiphasic contrast-enhanced CT confirmed this result but showed two abdominal masses (diameter of 9 cm and 7 cm, respectively) among bowel loops, strongly suspicious for cancer. However, biopsy of one of the masses led to the final diagnosis of abdominal splenosis. © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  1. SadA, a trimeric autotransporter from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, can promote biofilm formation and provides limited protection against infection.

    PubMed

    Raghunathan, Dhaarini; Wells, Timothy J; Morris, Faye C; Shaw, Robert K; Bobat, Saeeda; Peters, Sarah E; Paterson, Gavin K; Jensen, Karina Tveen; Leyton, Denisse L; Blair, Jessica M A; Browning, Douglas F; Pravin, John; Flores-Langarica, Adriana; Hitchcock, Jessica R; Moraes, Claudia T P; Piazza, Roxane M F; Maskell, Duncan J; Webber, Mark A; May, Robin C; MacLennan, Calman A; Piddock, Laura J; Cunningham, Adam F; Henderson, Ian R

    2011-11-01

    Salmonella enterica is a major cause of morbidity worldwide and mortality in children and immunocompromised individuals in sub-Saharan Africa. Outer membrane proteins of Salmonella are of significance because they are at the interface between the pathogen and the host, they can contribute to adherence, colonization, and virulence, and they are frequently targets of antibody-mediated immunity. In this study, the properties of SadA, a purported trimeric autotransporter adhesin of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, were examined. We demonstrated that SadA is exposed on the Salmonella cell surface in vitro and in vivo during infection of mice. Expression of SadA resulted in cell aggregation, biofilm formation, and increased adhesion to human intestinal Caco-2 epithelial cells. Immunization of mice with folded, full-length, purified SadA elicited an IgG response which provided limited protection against bacterial challenge. When anti-SadA IgG titers were enhanced by administering alum-precipitated protein, a modest additional protection was afforded. Therefore, despite SadA having pleiotropic functions, it is not a dominant, protective antigen for antibody-mediated protection against Salmonella.

  2. Point-of-care ultrasound performed by a medical student compared to physical examination by vascular surgeons in the detection of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

    PubMed

    Mai, Trinh; Woo, Michael Y; Boles, Kim; Jetty, Prasad

    2018-05-16

    To determine the test characteristics of point-of-care ultrasonography performed by a medical student versus physical examination by vascular surgeons compared to a gold standard reference scan for the detection of abdominal aortic aneurysms. We conducted a prospective, observer-blinded study recruiting patients from an outpatient vascular surgery clinic. Participants were screened for abdominal aortic aneurysms by standardized physical examination by a blinded vascular surgeon, followed by a point-of-care ultrasound examination by a blinded medical student. The student underwent prior training by a vascular sonographer and emergency physician on 60 patients (16 were supervised). Ultrasonography was used to visualize and measure the proximal, mid, and distal aortic diameters. The maximal aortic diameter was noted and compared to measurements obtained by the reference scan (CT scan or vascular sonographer-performed ultrasound). Reference scans were completed within 3 months of the recruitment visit. A total of 57 patients were enrolled over a 5-month period between October 2015 and March 2016. Mean age of recruited patients was 71 years and 61% were male. Mean body mass index was 27.9 ± 4.3 and mean waist-hip ratio was 0.96 ± 0.10. Sixteen abdominal aortic aneurysms were detected by the reference scan, with an average maximal aortic diameter of 44.9 mm. Physical examination by a vascular surgeon detected 11 of 16 abdominal aortic aneurysms with 2 false positives (sensitivity and specificity of 66.7% (95% CI 38.4-88.2) and 94.4% (95% CI 81.3-99.3), respectively). Point-of-care ultrasound detected 15 of 16 abdominal aortic aneurysms (sensitivity and specificity of 93.3% (95% CI 68.1-99.8) and 100% (95% CI 88.4-100), respectively). Seven of the 64 point-of-care ultrasound scans were indeterminate (>1 cm of the aorta was not visualized). Average time to conduct the physical examination was 35 seconds vs. 4.0 minutes for point-of-care ultrasonography. There was a

  3. Intra-abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome in pediatrics. A review.

    PubMed

    Thabet, Farah Chedly; Ejike, Janeth Chiaka

    2017-10-01

    To consolidate pediatric intensivists' understanding of the pathophysiology, definition, incidence, monitoring, and management of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS); and to highlight the characteristics related to the pediatric population. This is a narrative review article that utilized a systematic search of the medical literature published in the English language between January 1990 and august 2016. Studies were identified by conducting a comprehensive search of Pub Med databases. Search terms included "intra-abdominal hypertension and child", "intra-abdominal hypertension and pediatrics", "abdominal compartment syndrome and child", and "abdominal compartment syndrome and pediatrics". Intra-abdominal hypertension and ACS are associated with a number of pathophysiological disturbances and increased morbidity and mortality. These conditions have been well described in critically ill adults. In children, the IAH and the ACS have a reported incidence of 13% and 0.6 to 10% respectively; they carry similar prognostic impact but are still under-diagnosed and under-recognized by pediatric health care providers. Intra-abdominal hypertension and ACS are conditions that are regularly encountered in critically ill children. They are associated with an increased morbidity and mortality. Early recognition, prevention and timely management of this critical condition are necessary to improve its outcome. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Plain abdominal radiography in acute abdominal pain; past, present, and future

    PubMed Central

    Gans, Sarah L; Stoker, Jaap; Boermeester, Marja A

    2012-01-01

    Several studies have demonstrated that a diagnosis based solely on a patient’s medical history, physical examination, and laboratory tests is not reliable enough, despite the fact that these aspects are essential parts of the workup of a patient presenting with acute abdominal pain. Traditionally, imaging workup starts with abdominal radiography. However, numerous studies have demonstrated low sensitivity and accuracy for plain abdominal radiography in the evaluation of acute abdominal pain as well as various specific diseases such as perforated viscus, bowel obstruction, ingested foreign body, and ureteral stones. Computed tomography, and in particular computed tomography after negative ultrasonography, provides a better workup than plain abdominal radiography alone. The benefits of computed tomography lie in decision-making for management, planning of a surgical strategy, and possibly even avoidance of negative laparotomies. Based on abundant available evidence, major advances in diagnostic imaging, and changes in the management of certain diseases, we can conclude that there is no place for plain abdominal radiography in the workup of adult patients with acute abdominal pain presenting in the emergency department in current practice. PMID:22807640

  5. Looking at food in sad mood: do attention biases lead emotional eaters into overeating after a negative mood induction?

    PubMed

    Werthmann, Jessica; Renner, Fritz; Roefs, Anne; Huibers, Marcus J H; Plumanns, Lana; Krott, Nora; Jansen, Anita

    2014-04-01

    Emotional eating is associated with overeating and the development of obesity. Yet, empirical evidence for individual (trait) differences in emotional eating and cognitive mechanisms that contribute to eating during sad mood remain equivocal. The aim of this study was to test if attention bias for food moderates the effect of self-reported emotional eating during sad mood (vs neutral mood) on actual food intake. It was expected that emotional eating is predictive of elevated attention for food and higher food intake after an experimentally induced sad mood and that attentional maintenance on food predicts food intake during a sad versus a neutral mood. Participants (N = 85) were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental mood induction conditions (sad/neutral). Attentional biases for high caloric foods were measured by eye tracking during a visual probe task with pictorial food and neutral stimuli. Self-reported emotional eating was assessed with the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) and ad libitum food intake was tested by a disguised food offer. Hierarchical multivariate regression modeling showed that self-reported emotional eating did not account for changes in attention allocation for food or food intake in either condition. Yet, attention maintenance on food cues was significantly related to increased intake specifically in the neutral condition, but not in the sad mood condition. The current findings show that self-reported emotional eating (based on the DEBQ) might not validly predict who overeats when sad, at least not in a laboratory setting with healthy women. Results further suggest that attention maintenance on food relates to eating motivation when in a neutral affective state, and might therefore be a cognitive mechanism contributing to increased food intake in general, but maybe not during sad mood. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Acute exercise attenuates negative affect following repeated sad mood inductions in persons who have recovered from depression.

    PubMed

    Mata, Jutta; Hogan, Candice L; Joormann, Jutta; Waugh, Christian E; Gotlib, Ian H

    2013-02-01

    Identifying factors that may protect individuals from developing Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in the face of stress is critical. In the current study we experimentally tested whether such a potentially protective factor, engaging in acute exercise, reduces the adverse effects of repeated sad mood inductions in individuals who have recovered from depression. We hypothesized that recovered depressed participants who engage in acute exercise report a smaller increase in negative affect (NA) and a smaller decrease in positive affect (PA) when exposed to a repeated sad mood induction (i.e., habituation), whereas participants who do not exercise show sensitization (i.e., increased NA and decreased PA in response to a repeated adverse stimulus). Forty-one women recovered from MDD and 40 healthy control women were randomly assigned to either exercise for 15 minutes or quiet rest. Afterward, participants were exposed to two sad mood inductions and reported their levels of affect throughout the study. Recovered depressed participants who had not exercised exhibited higher NA after the second sad mood induction, a finding consistent with sensitization. In contrast, both recovered depressed participants who had engaged in acute exercise and healthy control participants showed no increase in NA in response to the repeated sad mood induction. Participants who exercised reported higher PA after the exercise bout; however, our hypothesis concerning reported PA trajectories following the sad mood inductions was not supported. Results suggest that exercise can serve as a protective factor in the face of exposure to repeated emotional stressors, particularly concerning NA in individuals who have recovered from depression. 2013 APA, all rights reserved

  7. Dissociating maternal responses to sad and happy facial expressions of their own child: An fMRI study

    PubMed Central

    Hindi Attar, Catherine; Stein, Jenny; Poppinga, Sina; Fydrich, Thomas; Jaite, Charlotte; Kappel, Viola; Brunner, Romuald; Herpertz, Sabine C.; Boedeker, Katja; Bermpohl, Felix

    2017-01-01

    Background Maternal sensitive behavior depends on recognizing one’s own child’s affective states. The present study investigated distinct and overlapping neural responses of mothers to sad and happy facial expressions of their own child (in comparison to facial expressions of an unfamiliar child). Methods We used functional MRI to measure dissociable and overlapping activation patterns in 27 healthy mothers in response to happy, neutral and sad facial expressions of their own school-aged child and a gender- and age-matched unfamiliar child. To investigate differential activation to sad compared to happy faces of one’s own child, we used interaction contrasts. During the scan, mothers had to indicate the affect of the presented face. After scanning, they were asked to rate the perceived emotional arousal and valence levels for each face using a 7-point Likert-scale (adapted SAM version). Results While viewing their own child’s sad faces, mothers showed activation in the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex whereas happy facial expressions of the own child elicited activation in the hippocampus. Conjoint activation in response to one’s own child happy and sad expressions was found in the insula and the superior temporal gyrus. Conclusions Maternal brain activations differed depending on the child’s affective state. Sad faces of the own child activated areas commonly associated with a threat detection network, whereas happy faces activated reward related brain areas. Overlapping activation was found in empathy related networks. These distinct neural activation patterns might facilitate sensitive maternal behavior. PMID:28806742

  8. Abdominal Trauma Revisited.

    PubMed

    Feliciano, David V

    2017-11-01

    Although abdominal trauma has been described since antiquity, formal laparotomies for trauma were not performed until the 1800s. Even with the introduction of general anesthesia in the United States during the years 1842 to 1846, laparotomies for abdominal trauma were not performed during the Civil War. The first laparotomy for an abdominal gunshot wound in the United States was finally performed in New York City in 1884. An aggressive operative approach to all forms of abdominal trauma till the establishment of formal trauma centers (where data were analyzed) resulted in extraordinarily high rates of nontherapeutic laparotomies from the 1880s to the 1960s. More selective operative approaches to patients with abdominal stab wounds (1960s), blunt trauma (1970s), and gunshot wounds (1990s) were then developed. Current adjuncts to the diagnosis of abdominal trauma when serial physical examinations are unreliable include the following: 1) diagnostic peritoneal tap/lavage, 2) surgeon-performed ultrasound examination; 3) contrast-enhanced CT of the abdomen and pelvis; and 4) diagnostic laparoscopy. Operative techniques for injuries to the liver, spleen, duodenum, and pancreas have been refined considerably since World War II. These need to be emphasized repeatedly in an era when fewer patients undergo laparotomy for abdominal trauma. Finally, abdominal trauma damage control is a valuable operative approach in patients with physiologic exhaustion and multiple injuries.

  9. The Sad, the Angry, and the Asymmetrical Brain: Dichotic Listening Studies of Negative Affect and Depression

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gadea, Marien; Espert, Raul; Salvador, Alicia; Marti-Bonmati, Luis

    2011-01-01

    Dichotic Listening (DL) is a valuable tool to study emotional brain lateralization. Regarding the perception of sadness and anger through affective prosody, the main finding has been a left ear advantage (LEA) for the sad but contradictory data for the anger prosody. Regarding an induced mood in the laboratory, its consequences upon DL were a…

  10. Anthropometrics to Identify Overweight Children at Most Risk for the Development of Cardiometabolic Disease.

    PubMed

    Labyak, Corinne A; Janicke, David M; Lim, Crystal S; Colee, James; Mathews, Anne E

    2013-12-01

    Sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) is a novel anthropometric that correlates more strongly with visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and cardiometabolic disease risk in adults compared with body mass index (BMI). However, little research has evaluated this measurement in children. To evaluate SAD as a measure of cardiometabolic risk compared with other anthropometrics in overweight/obese children. This study was a cross-sectional subset analysis of 8- to 12-year-old overweight/ obese children. SAD was compared to BMI, waist circumference (WC), BMI z -score, and percent body fat to determine which measurement was most closely associated with cardiometabolic risk factors. A total cardiometabolic risk score comprising all biochemical markers and blood pressure was also compared to these same anthropometrics. Overweight/obese children (n = 145, mean age 10 ± 1.4 years, mean BMI percentile 97.9 ± 0.02) were included in the analysis. SAD correlated with the greatest number of biochemical markers/blood pressure values including triglycerides ( r = .18, P = .03), HgbA1c ( r = .21, P = .01), and systolic blood pressure ( r = .38, P < .0001). SAD was more strongly correlated to total risk score ( r = .25, P = .002) than WC ( r = .22, P = .006), BMI ( r = .17, P = .04), BMI- z ( r = .18, P = .03), and percent body fat ( r = .18, P = .03). This is the first study to evaluate SAD in overweight/obese American children as a marker of cardiometabolic disease risk. The results suggest a slightly stronger correlation between SAD and cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight/obese children; however, all correlations were weak. As this was a pilot study, additional research is needed prior to recommending the use of this measurement in clinical practice.

  11. Management of complex abdominal wall defects associated with penetrating abdominal trauma.

    PubMed

    Arul, G Suren; Sonka, B J; Lundy, J B; Rickard, R F; Jeffery, S L A

    2015-03-01

    The paradigm of Damage Control Surgery (DCS) has radically improved the management of abdominal trauma, but less well described are the options for managing the abdominal wall itself in an austere environment. This article describes a series of patients with complex abdominal wall problems managed at the UK-led Role 3 Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. Contemporaneous review of a series of patients with complex abdominal wall injuries who presented to the Role 3 MTF between July and November 2012. Five patients with penetrating abdominal trauma associated with significant damage to the abdominal wall were included. All patients were managed using DCS principles, leaving the abdominal wall open at the end of the first procedure. Subsequent management of the abdominal wall was determined by a multidisciplinary team of general and plastic surgeons, intensivists and specialist nurses. The principles of management identified included minimising tissue loss on initial laparotomy by joining adjacent wounds and marginal debridement of dead tissue; contraction of the abdominal wall was minimised by using topical negative pressure dressing and dermal-holding sutures. Definitive closure was timed to allow oedema to settle and sepsis to be controlled. Closure techniques include delayed primary closure with traction sutures, components separation, and mesh closure with skin grafting. A daily multidisciplinary team discussion was invaluable for optimal decision making regarding the most appropriate means of abdominal closure. Dermal-holding sutures were particularly useful in preventing myostatic contraction of the abdominal wall. A simple flow chart was developed to aid decision making in these patients. This flow chart may prove especially useful in a resource-limited environment in which returning months or years later for closure of a large ventral hernia may not be possible. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use

  12. Sadness is unique: neural processing of emotions in speech prosody in musicians and non-musicians

    PubMed Central

    Park, Mona; Gutyrchik, Evgeny; Welker, Lorenz; Carl, Petra; Pöppel, Ernst; Zaytseva, Yuliya; Meindl, Thomas; Blautzik, Janusch; Reiser, Maximilian; Bao, Yan

    2015-01-01

    Musical training has been shown to have positive effects on several aspects of speech processing, however, the effects of musical training on the neural processing of speech prosody conveying distinct emotions are yet to be better understood. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate whether the neural responses to speech prosody conveying happiness, sadness, and fear differ between musicians and non-musicians. Differences in processing of emotional speech prosody between the two groups were only observed when sadness was expressed. Musicians showed increased activation in the middle frontal gyrus, the anterior medial prefrontal cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex and the retrosplenial cortex. Our results suggest an increased sensitivity of emotional processing in musicians with respect to sadness expressed in speech, possibly reflecting empathic processes. PMID:25688196

  13. The value of plain abdominal radiographs in management of abdominal emergencies in Luth.

    PubMed

    Ashindoitiang, J A; Atoyebi, A O; Arogundade, R A

    2008-01-01

    The plain abdominal x-ray is still the first imaging modality in diagnosis of acute abdomen. The aim of this study was to find the value of plain abdominal x-ray in the management of abdominal emergencies seen in Lagos university teaching hospital. The accurate diagnosis of the cause of acute abdominal pain is one of the most challenging undertakings in emergency medicine. This is due to overlapping of clinical presentation and non-specific findings of physical and even laboratory data of the multifarious causes. Plain abdominal radiography is one investigation that can be obtained readily and within a short period of time to help the physician arrive at a correct diagnosis The relevance of plain abdominal radiography was therefore evaluated in the management of abdominal emergencies seen in Lagos over a 12 month period (April 2002 to March 2003). A prospective study of 100 consecutively presenting patients with acute abdominal conditions treated by the general surgical unit of Lagos University Teaching Hospital was undertaken. All patients had supine and erect abdominal x-ray before any therapeutic intervention was undertaken. The diagnostic features of the plain films were compared with final diagnosis to determine the usefulness of the plain x-ray There were 54 males and 46 females (M:F 1.2:1). Twenty-four percent of the patients had intestinal obstruction, 20% perforated typhoid enteritis; gunshot injuries and generalized peritonitis each occurred in 13%, blunt abdominal trauma in 12%, while 8% and 10% had acute appendicitis and perforated peptic ulcer disease respectively. Of 100 patients studied, 54% had plain abdominal radiographs that showed positive diagnostic features. Plain abdominal radiograph showed high sensitivity in patients with intestinal obstruction 100% and perforated peptic ulcer 90% but was less sensitive in patients with perforated typhoid, acute appendicitis, and blunt abdominal trauma and generalized peritonitis. In conclusion, this study

  14. Evaluation of the levels of metalloproteinsase-2 in patients with abdominal aneurysm and abdominal hernias.

    PubMed

    Antoszewska, Magdalena

    2013-05-01

    Abdominal aortic aneurysms and abdominal hernias become an important health problems of our times. Abdominal aortic aneurysm and its rupture is one of the most dangerous fact in vascular surgery. There are some theories pointing to a multifactoral genesis of these kinds of diseases, all of them assume the attenuation of abdominal fascia and abdominal aortic wall. The density and continuity of these structures depend on collagen and elastic fibers structure. Reducing the strength of the fibers may be due to changes in the extracellular matrix (ECM) by the proteolytic enzymes-matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that degrade extracellular matrix proteins. These enzymes play an important role in the development of many disease: malignant tumors (colon, breast, lung, pancreas), cardiovascular disease (myocardial infarction, ischemia-reperfusion injury), connective tissue diseases (Ehler-Danlos Syndrome, Marfan's Syndrome), complications of diabetes (retinopathy, nephropathy). One of the most important is matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2). The aim of the study was an estimation of the MMP-2 blood levels in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm and primary abdominal hernia, and in patients with only abdominal aortic aneurysm. The study involved 88 patients aged 42 to 89 years, including 75 men and 13 women. Patients were divided into two groups: patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm and primary abdominal hernia (45 persons, representing 51.1% of all group) and patients with only abdominal aortic aneurysm (43 persons, representing 48,9% of all group). It was a statistically significant increase in MMP-2 blood levels in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm and primary abdominal hernia compared to patients with only abdominal aortic aneurysm. It was a statistically significant increase in the prevalence of POCHP in patients with only abdominal aortic aneurysm compared to patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm and primary abdominal hernia. Statistically significant

  15. Sad people are more accurate at expression identification with a smaller own-ethnicity bias than happy people.

    PubMed

    Hills, Peter J; Hill, Dominic M

    2017-07-12

    Sad individuals perform more accurately at face identity recognition (Hills, Werno, & Lewis, 2011), possibly because they scan more of the face during encoding. During expression identification tasks, sad individuals do not fixate on the eyes as much as happier individuals (Wu, Pu, Allen, & Pauli, 2012). Fixating on features other than the eyes leads to a reduced own-ethnicity bias (Hills & Lewis, 2006). This background indicates that sad individuals would not view the eyes as much as happy individuals and this would result in improved expression recognition and a reduced own-ethnicity bias. This prediction was tested using an expression identification task, with eye tracking. We demonstrate that sad-induced participants show enhanced expression recognition and a reduced own-ethnicity bias than happy-induced participants due to scanning more facial features. We conclude that mood affects eye movements and face encoding by causing a wider sampling strategy and deeper encoding of facial features diagnostic for expression identification.

  16. Appendiceal outer diameter as an indicator for differentiating appendiceal mucocele from appendicitis.

    PubMed

    Lien, Wan-Ching; Huang, Shih-Pei; Chi, Chun-Lin; Liu, Kao-Lang; Lin, Ming-Tsan; Lai, Ting-I; Liu, Yueh-Ping; Wang, Hsiu-Po

    2006-11-01

    Patients with appendiceal mucocele (AM) commonly present with features indicative of acute appendicitis. In emergency departments, accurate preoperative diagnosis is crucial to prompt appropriate treatment. This study investigates the clinical and sonographic characteristics of AM, which may prove useful in preoperatively differentiating AM from appendicitis. This case-control study compares the clinical and sonographic findings of 16 histologically confirmed AM with sex- and age-matched control subjects (n = 64) with appendicitis by a 1:4 ratio. Conditional logistic regression was applied to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of clinical and sonographic parameters associated with AM. Univariate analysis demonstrated that the larger appendiceal outer diameter by sonography was positively correlated with diagnosis of AM (OR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.42-3.72) and right lower quadrant abdominal pain was negatively correlated (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.17-0.82). However, multiple regression analysis suggested that only outer diameter remained significant (OR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.36-3.59) after adjusting for age, sex, and right lower quadrant pain. An outer diameter of 15 mm or more was predictive of AM diagnosis, with a sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 92%. When the threshold is set at 15 mm, appendiceal outer diameter by sonography is a useful preoperative measurement for differentiating between AM and acute appendicitis.

  17. Psychiatric disorders and family functioning in children and adolescents with functional abdominal pain syndrome.

    PubMed

    Ghanizadeh, Ahmad; Moaiedy, Farah; Imanieh, Mohammad Hadi; Askani, Hamid; Haghighat, Mahmood; Dehbozorgi, Gholamreza; Dehghani, Seyed Mohsen

    2008-07-01

    Functional abdominal pain syndrome (FAPS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder. There is a heightened risk when conducting potentially dangerous and unnecessary medical investigations and procedures in children with FAPS. The aim of this study was to survey the rate of the psychiatric disorders and family functioning in children and adolescents with FAPS. The subjects were a consecutive new sample of 45 children and adolescents with FAPS, 45 with an organic abdominal pain, and 45 pain-free comparison subjects aged 5-18 years that were interviewed using the Farsi version of K-SADS. Family functioning and the severity of pain were also studied. About 51.1% of patients with FAPS suffered from at least one psychiatric disorder. Psychiatric disorders in the FAPS patients studied included general anxiety disorder (8.9%), obsessive-compulsive disorder (11.1%), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (15.6%), separation anxiety disorder (24.4%), and major depressive disorder (15.6%). Except for generalized anxiety disorder and tic disorder, the other disorders were significantly more common in the FAPS group than in the two other control groups. Family functioning scores were not significantly different between groups. There is a high rate of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents with FAPS in Iran, but our study found fewer incidences of disorders than previous reports have indicated. Family dysfunction difficulties in FAPS children are not more common than those in the control groups.

  18. [A commonly seen cause of abdominal pain: abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome].

    PubMed

    Solmaz, Ilker; Talay, Mustafa; Tekindur, Şükrü; Kurt, Ercan

    2012-01-01

    Although abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES) is accepted as a rare condition, it is a syndrome that should be diagnosed more commonly when the clinical signs cannot explain the cause of abdominal pain. Abdominal pain is commonly considered by physicians to be based on intra-abdominal causes. Consequently, redundant tests and consultations are requested for these patients, and unnecessary surgical procedures may be applied. Patients with this type of pain are consulted to many clinics, and because their definitive diagnoses cannot be achieved, they are assessed as psychiatric patients. Actually, a common cause of abdominal wall pain is nerve entrapment on the lateral edge of the rectus abdominis muscle. In this paper, we would like to share information about the diagnosis and treatment of a patient who, prior to presenting to us, had applied to different clinics for chronic abdominal pain and had undergone many tests and consultations; abdominal surgery was eventually decided.

  19. Cultural Impact on SAD: Social Anxiety Disorder among Ethiopian and Former Soviet Union Immigrants to Israel, in Comparison to Native-born Israelis.

    PubMed

    Hasenson-Atzmon, Kelly; Marom, Sofi; Sofer, Tamar; Lev-Ari, Lilac; Youngmann, Rafael; Hermesh, Haggai; Kushnir, Jonathan

    2016-01-01

    Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is linked to social norms and role expectations which are culture dependent, such as the construal of one's self as independent or interdependent in relation to others. The current study is the first to examine SAD symptoms among Ethiopian and former Soviet Union immigrants to Israel compared to a sample of native Israelis. We investigated the relationship between SAD, ethnicity and independent/ interdependent self-construals. A total of 261 students (151 native-born Israelis, 60 Ethiopian immigrants and 50 students from the former USSR) were administrated the Liebowitz Scale (LSAS), the Self-construal Scale (SCS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Ethiopians exhibited highest SAD scores while no differences were found between the FSU immigrants and native-born Israelis. Additionally, Ethiopians and native-born Israeli students exhibited similar high interdependence scores. Finally, SAD scores were predicted by gender, origin, independent and interdependent self-construals. Immigration per se is not a universal risk factor of SAD and ethnological-cultural factors do contribute specifically to SAD. A possible psychological mediator between culture and the susceptibility to SAD are the interdependence and independent self-construals. When treating immigrants, clinicians and health care providers are advised to consider the effect of cultural influence on the mental well-being and integration process of immigrants in to their host country.

  20. Suprascarpal fat pad thickness may predict venous drainage patterns in abdominal wall flaps.

    PubMed

    Bast, John; Pitcher, Austin A; Small, Kevin; Otterburn, David M

    2016-02-01

    Abdominal wall flaps are routinely used in reconstructive procedures. In some patients inadequate venous drainage from the deep vein may cause fat necrosis or flap failure. Occasionally the superficial inferior epigastric vessels (SIEV) are of sufficient size to allow for microvascular revascularization. This study looked at the ratio of the sub- and suprascarpal fat layers, the number of deep system perforators, and SIEV diameter to determine any correlation of the fat topography and SIEV. 50 abdominal/pelvic CT angiograms (100 hemiabdomens) were examined in women aged 34-70 years for number of perforators, SIEV diameter, and fat pad thickness above and below Scarpa's fascia. Data was analyzed using multivariate model. The average suprascarpal and subscarpal layers were 18.6 ± 11.5 mm and 6.2 ± 7.2 mm thick, respectively. The average SIEV diameter was 2.06 ± 0.81 mm and the average number of perforators was 2.09 ± 1.03 per hemiabdomen. Hemiabdomens with suprascarpal thickness>23 mm had greater SIEV diameter [2.69 mm vs. 1.8 mm (P < 0.0001)] The fat layer thickness did not correlate with the number of perforators. Neither subscarpal fat thickness nor suprascarpal-to-subscarpal fat layer thickness correlated significantly with SIEV caliber or number of perforators in multivariate model. Suprascarpal fat pad thicker than 23 mm had larger SIEVs irrespective of the number of deep system perforators. This may indicate a cohort of patients at risk of venous congestion from poor venous drainage if only the deep system is revascularized. We recommend harvesting the SIEV in patients with suprascarpal fat pad >23 mm to aid in superficial drainage. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Focused abdominal sonography for trauma (FAST) in blunt paediatric abdominal trauma.

    PubMed

    Faruque, Ahmad Vaqas; Qazi, Saqib Hamid; Khan, Muhammad Arif Mateen; Akhtar, Wassem; Majeed, Amina

    2013-03-01

    To evaluate the role of focussed abdominal sonography for trauma in blunt paediatric abdominal trauma patients, and to see if the role of computed tomography scan could be limited to only those cases in which sonography was positive. The retrospective study covered 10 years, from January 1,2000 to December 31,2009, and was conducted at the Department of Radiology and Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. It comprised cases of 174 children from birth to 14 years who had presented with blunt abdominal trauma and had focussed abdominal sonography for trauma done at the hospital. The findings were correlated with computed tomography scan of the abdomen and clinical follow-up. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of focussed abdominal sonography for trauma were calculated for blunt abdominal trauma. SPSS 17 was used for statistical analysis. Of the total 174 cases, 31 (17.81%) were later confirmed by abdominal scan. Of these 31 children, sonography had been positive in 29 (93.54%) children. In 21 (67.74%) of the 31 children, sonograpy had been true positive; 8 (25%) (8/31) were false positive; and 2 (6%) (2/31) were false negative. There were 6 (19.3%) children in which sonography was positive and converted to laparotomy. There was no significant difference on account of gender (p>0.356). Focussed abdominal sonography for trauma in the study had sensitivity of 91%, specificity of 95%, positive predictive value of 73%, and negative predictive value of 73% with accuracy of 94%. All patients who had negative sonography were discharged later, and had no complication on clinical follow-up. Focussed abdominal sonography for trauma is a fairly reliable mode to assess blunt abdominal trauma in children. It is a useful tool to pick high-grade solid and hollow viscous injury. The results suggest that the role of computed tomography scan can be limited to those cases in which focussed

  2. Oxygen-dependent regulation of c-di-GMP synthesis by SadC controls alginate production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

    PubMed

    Schmidt, Annika; Hammerbacher, Anna Silke; Bastian, Mike; Nieken, Karen Jule; Klockgether, Jens; Merighi, Massimo; Lapouge, Karine; Poschgan, Claudia; Kölle, Julia; Acharya, K Ravi; Ulrich, Martina; Tümmler, Burkhard; Unden, Gottfried; Kaever, Volkhard; Lory, Stephen; Haas, Dieter; Schwarz, Sandra; Döring, Gerd

    2016-10-01

    Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces increased levels of alginate in response to oxygen-deprived conditions. The regulatory pathway(s) that links oxygen limitation to increased synthesis of alginate has remained elusive. In the present study, using immunofluorescence microscopy, we show that anaerobiosis-induced alginate production by planktonic PAO1 requires the diguanylate cyclase (DGC) SadC, previously identified as a regulator of surface-associated lifestyles. Furthermore, we found that the gene products of PA4330 and PA4331, located in a predicted operon with sadC, have a major impact on alginate production: deletion of PA4330 (odaA, for oxygen-dependent alginate synthesis activator) caused an alginate production defect under anaerobic conditions, whereas a PA4331 (odaI, for oxygen-dependent alginate synthesis inhibitor) deletion mutant produced alginate also in the presence of oxygen, which would normally inhibit alginate synthesis. Based on their sequence, OdaA and OdaI have predicted hydratase and dioxygenase reductase activities, respectively. Enzymatic assays using purified protein showed that unlike OdaA, which did not significantly affect DGC activity of SadC, OdaI inhibited c-di-GMP production by SadC. Our data indicate that SadC, OdaA and OdaI are components of a novel response pathway of P. aeruginosa that regulates alginate synthesis in an oxygen-dependent manner. © 2016 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. A Season of Sadness--"Responding to Tragedy in School"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Havlland, Joseph E.

    2008-01-01

    In January, four juniors died in an automobile accident; in February a member of the previous year's graduating class committed suicide; in March a member of the faculty died suddenly; and a crazed gunman killed three current and one former student. Spring 1999 was a season of sadness. Several Penncrest faculty meetings were devoted to reviewing…

  4. Improving the Efficiency of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Wall Stress Computations

    PubMed Central

    Zelaya, Jaime E.; Goenezen, Sevan; Dargon, Phong T.; Azarbal, Amir-Farzin; Rugonyi, Sandra

    2014-01-01

    An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a pathological dilation of the abdominal aorta, which carries a high mortality rate if ruptured. The most commonly used surrogate marker of rupture risk is the maximal transverse diameter of the aneurysm. More recent studies suggest that wall stress from models of patient-specific aneurysm geometries extracted, for instance, from computed tomography images may be a more accurate predictor of rupture risk and an important factor in AAA size progression. However, quantification of wall stress is typically computationally intensive and time-consuming, mainly due to the nonlinear mechanical behavior of the abdominal aortic aneurysm walls. These difficulties have limited the potential of computational models in clinical practice. To facilitate computation of wall stresses, we propose to use a linear approach that ensures equilibrium of wall stresses in the aneurysms. This proposed linear model approach is easy to implement and eliminates the burden of nonlinear computations. To assess the accuracy of our proposed approach to compute wall stresses, results from idealized and patient-specific model simulations were compared to those obtained using conventional approaches and to those of a hypothetical, reference abdominal aortic aneurysm model. For the reference model, wall mechanical properties and the initial unloaded and unstressed configuration were assumed to be known, and the resulting wall stresses were used as reference for comparison. Our proposed linear approach accurately approximates wall stresses for varying model geometries and wall material properties. Our findings suggest that the proposed linear approach could be used as an effective, efficient, easy-to-use clinical tool to estimate patient-specific wall stresses. PMID:25007052

  5. Neural Substrates for Processing Task-Irrelevant Sad Images in Adolescents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Lihong; Huettel, Scott; De Bellis, Michael D.

    2008-01-01

    Neural systems related to cognitive and emotional processing were examined in adolescents using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Ten healthy adolescents performed an emotional oddball task. Subjects detected infrequent circles (targets) within a continual stream of phase-scrambled images (standards). Sad and neutral…

  6. Integrated circuit detector technology in abdominal CT: added value in obese patients.

    PubMed

    Morsbach, Fabian; Bickelhaupt, Sebastian; Rätzer, Susan; Schmidt, Bernhard; Alkadhi, Hatem

    2014-02-01

    The purpose of this article was to assess the effect of an integrated circuit (IC) detector for abdominal CT on image quality. In the first study part, an abdominal phantom was scanned with various extension rings using a CT scanner equipped with a conventional discrete circuit (DC) detector and on the same scanner with an IC detector (120 kVp, 150 effective mAs, and 75 effective mAs). In the second study part, 20 patients were included who underwent abdominal CT both with the IC detector and previously at similar protocol parameters (120 kVp tube current-time product and 150 reference mAs using automated tube current modulation) with the DC detector. Images were reconstructed with filtered back projection. Image quality in the phantom was higher for images acquired with the IC compared with the DC detector. There was a gradually increasing noise reduction with increasing phantom sizes, with the highest (37% in the largest phantom) at 75 effective mAs (p < 0.001). In patients, noise was overall significantly (p = 0.025) reduced by 6.4% using the IC detector. Similar to the phantom, there was a gradual increase in noise reduction to 7.9% in patients with a body mass index of 25 kg/m(2) or lower (p = 0.008). Significant correlation was found in patients between noise and abdominal diameter in DC detector images (r = 0.604, p = 0.005), whereas no such correlation was found for the IC detector (r = 0.427, p = 0.060). Use of an IC detector in abdominal CT improves image quality and reduces image noise, particularly in overweight and obese patients. This noise reduction has the potential for dose reduction in abdominal CT.

  7. Child with Abdominal Pain.

    PubMed

    Iyer, Rajalakshmi; Nallasamy, Karthi

    2018-01-01

    Abdominal pain is one of the common symptoms reported by children in urgent care clinics. While most children tend to have self-limiting conditions, the treating pediatrician should watch out for underlying serious causes like intestinal obstruction and perforation peritonitis, which require immediate referral to an emergency department (ED). Abdominal pain may be secondary to surgical or non-surgical causes, and will differ as per the age of the child. The common etiologies for abdominal pain presenting to an urgent care clinic are acute gastro-enteritis, constipation and functional abdominal pain; however, a variety of extra-abdominal conditions may also present as abdominal pain. Meticulous history taking and physical examination are the best tools for diagnosis, while investigations have a limited role in treating benign etiologies.

  8. Abdominal wall fat pad biopsy

    MedlinePlus

    Amyloidosis - abdominal wall fat pad biopsy; Abdominal wall biopsy; Biopsy - abdominal wall fat pad ... most common method of taking an abdominal wall fat pad biopsy . The health care provider cleans the ...

  9. Coping with the 10th anniversary of 9/11: Muslim Americans' sadness, fear, and anger.

    PubMed

    Rodriguez Mosquera, Patricia M; Khan, Tasmiha; Selya, Arielle

    2013-01-01

    The events of 9/11 marked an increase in prejudice, discrimination, and other forms of unfair treatment toward Muslim Americans. We present a study that examined the emotions of Muslim Americans in the days preceding the ten-year 9/11 anniversary. We measured the antecedents (concerns) and consequences (coping) of sadness, fear, and anger. The 9/11 anniversary precipitated intense concerns with loss and discrimination, and intense feelings of sadness, fear, and anger. We measured three coping responses: rumination, avoidance of public places, and religious coping. Participants engaged in all three coping responses, with seeking solace in one's religion being the most frequent response. Moreover, emotions mediated the relationship between concerns and coping responses. Sadness accounted for the association between concern with loss and rumination. Fear explained the association between concern with discrimination and avoidance. Anger accounted for the association between concern with discrimination and religious coping.

  10. A Functional MRI Study of Happy and Sad Emotions in Music with and without Lyrics.

    PubMed

    Brattico, Elvira; Alluri, Vinoo; Bogert, Brigitte; Jacobsen, Thomas; Vartiainen, Nuutti; Nieminen, Sirke; Tervaniemi, Mari

    2011-01-01

    Musical emotions, such as happiness and sadness, have been investigated using instrumental music devoid of linguistic content. However, pop and rock, the most common musical genres, utilize lyrics for conveying emotions. Using participants' self-selected musical excerpts, we studied their behavior and brain responses to elucidate how lyrics interact with musical emotion processing, as reflected by emotion recognition and activation of limbic areas involved in affective experience. We extracted samples from subjects' selections of sad and happy pieces and sorted them according to the presence of lyrics. Acoustic feature analysis showed that music with lyrics differed from music without lyrics in spectral centroid, a feature related to perceptual brightness, whereas sad music with lyrics did not diverge from happy music without lyrics, indicating the role of other factors in emotion classification. Behavioral ratings revealed that happy music without lyrics induced stronger positive emotions than happy music with lyrics. We also acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging data while subjects performed affective tasks regarding the music. First, using ecological and acoustically variable stimuli, we broadened previous findings about the brain processing of musical emotions and of songs versus instrumental music. Additionally, contrasts between sad music with versus without lyrics recruited the parahippocampal gyrus, the amygdala, the claustrum, the putamen, the precentral gyrus, the medial and inferior frontal gyri (including Broca's area), and the auditory cortex, while the reverse contrast produced no activations. Happy music without lyrics activated structures of the limbic system and the right pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus, whereas auditory regions alone responded to happy music with lyrics. These findings point to the role of acoustic cues for the experience of happiness in music and to the importance of lyrics for sad musical emotions.

  11. A Functional MRI Study of Happy and Sad Emotions in Music with and without Lyrics

    PubMed Central

    Brattico, Elvira; Alluri, Vinoo; Bogert, Brigitte; Jacobsen, Thomas; Vartiainen, Nuutti; Nieminen, Sirke; Tervaniemi, Mari

    2011-01-01

    Musical emotions, such as happiness and sadness, have been investigated using instrumental music devoid of linguistic content. However, pop and rock, the most common musical genres, utilize lyrics for conveying emotions. Using participants’ self-selected musical excerpts, we studied their behavior and brain responses to elucidate how lyrics interact with musical emotion processing, as reflected by emotion recognition and activation of limbic areas involved in affective experience. We extracted samples from subjects’ selections of sad and happy pieces and sorted them according to the presence of lyrics. Acoustic feature analysis showed that music with lyrics differed from music without lyrics in spectral centroid, a feature related to perceptual brightness, whereas sad music with lyrics did not diverge from happy music without lyrics, indicating the role of other factors in emotion classification. Behavioral ratings revealed that happy music without lyrics induced stronger positive emotions than happy music with lyrics. We also acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging data while subjects performed affective tasks regarding the music. First, using ecological and acoustically variable stimuli, we broadened previous findings about the brain processing of musical emotions and of songs versus instrumental music. Additionally, contrasts between sad music with versus without lyrics recruited the parahippocampal gyrus, the amygdala, the claustrum, the putamen, the precentral gyrus, the medial and inferior frontal gyri (including Broca’s area), and the auditory cortex, while the reverse contrast produced no activations. Happy music without lyrics activated structures of the limbic system and the right pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus, whereas auditory regions alone responded to happy music with lyrics. These findings point to the role of acoustic cues for the experience of happiness in music and to the importance of lyrics for sad musical emotions

  12. Mood and heuristics: the influence of happy and sad states on sensitivity and bias in stereotyping.

    PubMed

    Park, J; Banaji, M R

    2000-06-01

    The influence of mood states on the propensity to use heuristics as expressed in stereotypes was examined using signal detection statistics. Participants experienced happy, neutral, or sad moods and "remembered" whether names connoting race (African American, European American) belonged to social categories (criminal, politician, basketball player). Positive mood increased reliance on heuristics, indexed by higher false identification of members of stereotyped groups. Positive mood lowered sensitivity (d'), even among relative experts, and shifted bias (beta) or criterion to be more lenient for stereotypical names. In contrast, sad mood did not disrupt sensitivity and, in fact, revealed the use of a stricter criterion compared with baseline mood. Results support theories that characterize happy mood as a mental state that predisposes reliance on heuristics and sad mood as dampening such reliance.

  13. Perinatal sadness among Shuar women: support for an evolutionary theory of psychic pain.

    PubMed

    Hagen, Edward H; Barrett, H Clark

    2007-03-01

    Psychiatry faces an internal contradiction in that it regards mild sadness and low mood as normal emotions, yet when these emotions are directed toward a new infant, it regards them as abnormal. We apply parental investment theory, a widely used framework from evolutionary biology, to maternal perinatal emotions, arguing that negative emotions directed toward a new infant could serve an important evolved function. If so, then under some definitions of psychiatric disorder, these emotions are not disorders. We investigate the applicability of parental investment theory to maternal postpartum emotions among Shuar mothers. Shuar mothers' conceptions of perinatal sadness closely match predictions of parental investment theory.

  14. SadA, a Trimeric Autotransporter from Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium, Can Promote Biofilm Formation and Provides Limited Protection against Infection ▿ †

    PubMed Central

    Raghunathan, Dhaarini; Wells, Timothy J.; Morris, Faye C.; Shaw, Robert K.; Bobat, Saeeda; Peters, Sarah E.; Paterson, Gavin K.; Jensen, Karina Tveen; Leyton, Denisse L.; Blair, Jessica M. A.; Browning, Douglas F.; Pravin, John; Flores-Langarica, Adriana; Hitchcock, Jessica R.; Moraes, Claudia T. P.; Piazza, Roxane M. F.; Maskell, Duncan J.; Webber, Mark A.; May, Robin C.; MacLennan, Calman A.; Piddock, Laura J.; Cunningham, Adam F.; Henderson, Ian R.

    2011-01-01

    Salmonella enterica is a major cause of morbidity worldwide and mortality in children and immunocompromised individuals in sub-Saharan Africa. Outer membrane proteins of Salmonella are of significance because they are at the interface between the pathogen and the host, they can contribute to adherence, colonization, and virulence, and they are frequently targets of antibody-mediated immunity. In this study, the properties of SadA, a purported trimeric autotransporter adhesin of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, were examined. We demonstrated that SadA is exposed on the Salmonella cell surface in vitro and in vivo during infection of mice. Expression of SadA resulted in cell aggregation, biofilm formation, and increased adhesion to human intestinal Caco-2 epithelial cells. Immunization of mice with folded, full-length, purified SadA elicited an IgG response which provided limited protection against bacterial challenge. When anti-SadA IgG titers were enhanced by administering alum-precipitated protein, a modest additional protection was afforded. Therefore, despite SadA having pleiotropic functions, it is not a dominant, protective antigen for antibody-mediated protection against Salmonella. PMID:21859856

  15. Anger and associated experiences of sadness, fear, valence, arousal, and dominance evoked by visual scenes.

    PubMed

    Javela, José Julían; Mercadillo, Roberto E; Martín Ramírez, J

    2008-12-01

    Anger is a basic emotion experienced in several aversive situations. In this study, the relation between Anger, Fear, and Sadness, as well as the dimensions of Valence, Arousal, and Dominance, were examined. It was hypothesized that pictures showing an Intention to Harm would evoke not only Anger, but also Fear and Sadness, and that this would be correlated with low Valence, high Arousal, and high Dominance. To this end, 45 healthy volunteers (25 women and 20 men; M age = 27.2 yr., SD = 9.5) recorded appraisals for each of these emotional experience while viewing 120 pictures selected from the International Affective Picture System. Data were analyzed with a linear mixed model and a hierarchical classes approach to identify differences and correlations between emotional categories. Results indicate that those pictures showing Intention to Harm generate higher Anger and Fear, while pictures representing Frustration of Goals leads to higher Sadness. In addition, high Anger, Fear, and Sadness are associated with low Valence, moderate Arousal, and high Dominance. Same sex differences in emotional responses were also found. These findings suggest that the experience of Anger requires the inference of the other's mental and physical state and need the regulation of cognitive and affective systems acting together. The study of this emotion should consider both categorical and dimensional approaches in order to define its coherent features.

  16. Maternal Sadness and Adolescents' Responses to Stress in Offspring of Mothers with and without a History of Depression

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jaser, Sarah S.; Fear, Jessica M.; Reeslund, Kristen L.; Champion, Jennifer E.; Reising, Michelle M.; Compas, Bruce E.

    2008-01-01

    This study examined maternal sadness and adolescents' responses to stress in the offspring (n = 72) of mothers with and without a history of depression. Mothers with a history of depression reported higher levels of current depressive symptoms and exhibited greater sadness during interactions with their adolescent children (ages 11-14) than…

  17. Challenges of sulfur SAD phasing as a routine method in macromolecular crystallography.

    PubMed

    Doutch, James; Hough, Michael A; Hasnain, S Samar; Strange, Richard W

    2012-01-01

    The sulfur SAD phasing method allows the determination of protein structures de novo without reference to derivatives such as Se-methionine. The feasibility for routine automated sulfur SAD phasing using a number of current protein crystallography beamlines at several synchrotrons was examined using crystals of trimeric Achromobacter cycloclastes nitrite reductase (AcNiR), which contains a near average proportion of sulfur-containing residues and two Cu atoms per subunit. Experiments using X-ray wavelengths in the range 1.9-2.4 Å show that we are not yet at the level where sulfur SAD is routinely successful for automated structure solution and model building using existing beamlines and current software tools. On the other hand, experiments using the shortest X-ray wavelengths available on existing beamlines could be routinely exploited to solve and produce unbiased structural models using the similarly weak anomalous scattering signals from the intrinsic metal atoms in proteins. The comparison of long-wavelength phasing (the Bijvoet ratio for nine S atoms and two Cu atoms is ~1.25% at ~2 Å) and copper phasing (the Bijvoet ratio for two Cu atoms is 0.81% at ~0.75 Å) for AcNiR suggests that lower data multiplicity than is currently required for success should in general be possible for sulfur phasing if appropriate improvements to beamlines and data collection strategies can be implemented.

  18. Sad benefit in face working memory: an emotional bias of melancholic depression.

    PubMed

    Linden, Stefanie C; Jackson, Margaret C; Subramanian, Leena; Healy, David; Linden, David E J

    2011-12-01

    Emotion biases feature prominently in cognitive theories of depression and are a focus of psychological interventions. However, there is presently no stable neurocognitive marker of altered emotion-cognition interactions in depression. One reason may be the heterogeneity of major depressive disorder. Our aim in the present study was to find an emotional bias that differentiates patients with melancholic depression from controls, and patients with melancholic from those with non-melancholic depression. We used a working memory paradigm for emotional faces, where two faces with angry, happy, neutral, sad or fearful expression had to be retained over one second. Twenty patients with melancholic depression, 20 age-, education- and gender-matched control participants and 20 patients with non-melancholic depression participated in the study. We analysed performance on the working memory task using signal detection measures. We found an interaction between group and emotion on working memory performance that was driven by the higher performance for sad faces compared to other categories in the melancholic group. We computed a measure of "sad benefit", which distinguished melancholic and non-melancholic patients with good sensitivity and specificity. However, replication studies and formal discriminant analysis will be needed in order to assess whether emotion bias in working memory may become a useful diagnostic tool to distinguish these two syndromes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Don't Forget the Abdominal Wall: Imaging Spectrum of Abdominal Wall Injuries after Nonpenetrating Trauma.

    PubMed

    Matalon, Shanna A; Askari, Reza; Gates, Jonathan D; Patel, Ketan; Sodickson, Aaron D; Khurana, Bharti

    2017-01-01

    Abdominal wall injuries occur in nearly one of 10 patients coming to the emergency department after nonpenetrating trauma. Injuries range from minor, such as abdominal wall contusion, to severe, such as abdominal wall rupture with evisceration of abdominal contents. Examples of specific injuries that can be detected at cross-sectional imaging include abdominal muscle strain, tear, or hematoma, including rectus sheath hematoma (RSH); traumatic abdominal wall hernia (TAWH); and Morel-Lavallée lesion (MLL) (closed degloving injury). These injuries are often overlooked clinically because of (a) a lack of findings at physical examination or (b) distraction by more-severe associated injuries. However, these injuries are important to detect because they are highly associated with potentially grave visceral and vascular injuries, such as aortic injury, and because their detection can lead to the diagnosis of these more clinically important grave traumatic injuries. Failure to make a timely diagnosis can result in delayed complications, such as bowel hernia with potential for obstruction or strangulation, or misdiagnosis of an abdominal wall neoplasm. Groin injuries, such as athletic pubalgia, and inferior costochondral injuries should also be considered in patients with abdominal pain after nonpenetrating trauma, because these conditions may manifest with referred abdominal pain and are often included within the field of view at cross-sectional abdominal imaging. Radiologists must recognize and report acute abdominal wall injuries and their associated intra-abdominal pathologic conditions to allow appropriate and timely treatment. © RSNA, 2017.

  20. Correlation between intra-abdominal pressure and pulmonary volumes after superior and inferior abdominal surgery.

    PubMed

    Cleva, Roberto de; Assumpção, Marianna Siqueira de; Sasaya, Flavia; Chaves, Natalia Zuniaga; Santo, Marco Aurelio; Fló, Claudia; Lunardi, Adriana C; Jacob Filho, Wilson

    2014-07-01

    Patients undergoing abdominal surgery are at risk for pulmonary complications. The principal cause of postoperative pulmonary complications is a significant reduction in pulmonary volumes (FEV1 and FVC) to approximately 65-70% of the predicted value. Another frequent occurrence after abdominal surgery is increased intra-abdominal pressure. The aim of this study was to correlate changes in pulmonary volumes with the values of intra-abdominal pressure after abdominal surgery, according to the surgical incision in the abdomen (superior or inferior). We prospectively evaluated 60 patients who underwent elective open abdominal surgery with a surgical time greater than 240 minutes. Patients were evaluated before surgery and on the 3rd postoperative day. Spirometry was assessed by maximal respiratory maneuvers and flow-volume curves. Intra-abdominal pressure was measured in the postoperative period using the bladder technique. The mean age of the patients was 56 ± 13 years, and 41.6% 25 were female; 50 patients (83.3%) had malignant disease. The patients were divided into two groups according to the surgical incision (superior or inferior). The lung volumes in the preoperative period showed no abnormalities. After surgery, there was a significant reduction in both FEV1 (1.6 ± 0.6 L) and FVC (2.0 ± 0.7 L) with maintenance of FEV1/FVC of 0.8 ± 0.2 in both groups. The maximum intra-abdominal pressure values were similar (p=0.59) for the two groups. There was no association between pulmonary volumes and intra-abdominal pressure measured in any of the groups analyzed. Our results show that superior and inferior abdominal surgery determines hypoventilation, unrelated to increased intra-abdominal pressure. Patients at high risk of pulmonary complications should receive respiratory care even if undergoing inferior abdominal surgery.

  1. Intravascular application of electrocautery in a rabbit model of abdominal aortic endarterectomy

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Chuan; Xin, Yi; Li, Na; Li, Diankun; Li, Jingxing; Gu, Chengxiong

    2017-01-01

    Effective therapies for preventing perioperative complications such as thrombosis and inflammation after coronary endarterectomy (CE) are lacking. Electrocoagulation electrotomes have been routinely used in surgery for their cutting, clotting, and hemostatic properties. As strong flattening tools, their electrocautery function may prevent mechanical intimal-adventitial injury to arterial circulation and attenuate stenosis. The present study investigated the effects of intravascular application of electrocautery on ameliorating inflammation and thrombosis in a rabbit model of abdominal aortic endarterectomy. New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into the sham, control (endarterectomy), and study (endarterectomy + electrocautery) groups with 10 in each group. Abdominal aortas were partially blocked and intima was removed. Electrocautery was performed with an electrocoagulation electrotome through the entire blocked vessel lumen. Vascular ultrasound parameters, molecular biological and histological characteristics of the abdominal aorta including vascular diameter, blood flow velocity, serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels, and apoptosis rate of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) were evaluated postoperatively by vascular Doppler ultrasound, ELISA, real-time RT-PCR, flow cytometry, and immunofluorescence at various time points. Compared with the endarterectomy + electrocautery group, the isolated endarterectomy group had significantly increased levels and gene expression of TNF-α and IL-6 (P<0.05), and rates of apoptosis of vascular ECs (P<0.05), with gradual vascular stenosis and decreased blood flow velocity. In conclusion, intravascular application of electrocautery has favorable short-term effects on the abdominal aorta and can reduce inflammation in a rabbit model of abdominal aorta endarterectomy. Long-term anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombotic effects on arterial remodeling and the clinical value of electrocautery in CE

  2. Intravascular application of electrocautery in a rabbit model of abdominal aortic endarterectomy.

    PubMed

    Wang, Chuan; Xin, Yi; Li, Na; Li, Diankun; Li, Jingxing; Gu, Chengxiong

    2017-07-01

    Effective therapies for preventing perioperative complications such as thrombosis and inflammation after coronary endarterectomy (CE) are lacking. Electrocoagulation electrotomes have been routinely used in surgery for their cutting, clotting, and hemostatic properties. As strong flattening tools, their electrocautery function may prevent mechanical intimal-adventitial injury to arterial circulation and attenuate stenosis. The present study investigated the effects of intravascular application of electrocautery on ameliorating inflammation and thrombosis in a rabbit model of abdominal aortic endarterectomy. New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into the sham, control (endarterectomy), and study (endarterectomy + electrocautery) groups with 10 in each group. Abdominal aortas were partially blocked and intima was removed. Electrocautery was performed with an electrocoagulation electrotome through the entire blocked vessel lumen. Vascular ultrasound parameters, molecular biological and histological characteristics of the abdominal aorta including vascular diameter, blood flow velocity, serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels, and apoptosis rate of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) were evaluated postoperatively by vascular Doppler ultrasound, ELISA, real-time RT-PCR, flow cytometry, and immunofluorescence at various time points. Compared with the endarterectomy + electrocautery group, the isolated endarterectomy group had significantly increased levels and gene expression of TNF-α and IL-6 (P<0.05), and rates of apoptosis of vascular ECs (P<0.05), with gradual vascular stenosis and decreased blood flow velocity. In conclusion, intravascular application of electrocautery has favorable short-term effects on the abdominal aorta and can reduce inflammation in a rabbit model of abdominal aorta endarterectomy. Long-term anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombotic effects on arterial remodeling and the clinical value of electrocautery in CE

  3. A new technique for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis: abdominal CT with compression to the right lower quadrant.

    PubMed

    Kılınçer, Abidin; Akpınar, Erhan; Erbil, Bülent; Ünal, Emre; Karaosmanoğlu, Ali Devrim; Kaynaroğlu, Volkan; Akata, Deniz; Özmen, Mustafa

    2017-08-01

    To determine the diagnostic accuracy of abdominal CT with compression to the right lower quadrant (RLQ) in adults with acute appendicitis. 168 patients (age range, 18-78 years) were included who underwent contrast-enhanced CT for suspected appendicitis performed either using compression to the RLQ (n = 71) or a standard protocol (n = 97). Outer diameter of the appendix, appendiceal wall thickening, luminal content and associated findings were evaluated in each patient. Kruskal-Wallis, Fisher's and Pearson's chi-squared tests were used for statistical analysis. There was no significant difference in the mean outer diameter (MOD) between compression CT scans (10.6 ± 1.9 mm) and standard protocol (11.2 ± 2.3 mm) in patients with acute appendicitis (P = 1). MOD was significantly lower in the compression group (5.2 ± 0.8 mm) compared to the standard protocol (6.5 ± 1.1 mm) (P < 0.01) in patients without appendicitis. A cut-off value of 6.75 mm for the outer diameter of the appendix was found to be 100% sensitive in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis for both groups. The specificity was higher for compression CT technique (67.7 vs. 94.9%). Normal appendix diameter was significantly smaller in the compression-CT group compared to standard-CT group, increasing diagnostic accuracy of abdominal compression CT. • Normal appendix diameter is significantly smaller in compression CT. • Compression could force contrast material to flow through the appendiceal lumen. • Compression CT may be a CT counterpart of graded compression US.

  4. Vitamin E Inhibits Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Formation in Angiotensin II–Infused Apolipoprotein E–Deficient Mice

    PubMed Central

    Gavrila, Dan; Li, Wei Gen; McCormick, Michael L.; Thomas, Manesh; Daugherty, Alan; Cassis, Lisa A.; Miller, Francis J.; Oberley, Larry W.; Dellsperger, Kevin C.; Weintraub, Neal L.

    2014-01-01

    Background Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) in humans are associated with locally increased oxidative stress and activity of NADPH oxidase. We investigated the hypothesis that vitamin E, an antioxidant with documented efficacy in mice, can attenuate AAA formation during angiotensin II (Ang II) infusion in apolipoprotein E–deficient mice. Methods and Results Six-month-old male apolipoprotein E–deficient mice were infused with Ang II at 1000 ng/kg per minute for 4 weeks via osmotic minipumps while consuming either a regular diet or a diet enriched with vitamin E (2 IU/g of diet). After 4 weeks, abdominal aortic weight and maximal diameter were determined, and aortic tissues were sectioned and examined using biochemical and histological techniques. Vitamin E attenuated formation of AAA, decreasing maximal aortic diameter by 24% and abdominal aortic weight by 34% (P<0.05, respectively). Importantly, animals treated with vitamin E showed a 44% reduction in the combined end point of fatal+nonfatal aortic rupture (P<0.05). Vitamin E also decreased aortic 8-isoprostane content (a marker of oxidative stress) and reduced both aortic macrophage infiltration and osteopontin expression (P<0.05, respectively). Vitamin E treatment had no significant effect on the extent of aortic root atherosclerosis, activation of matrix metalloproteinases 2 or 9, serum lipid profile, or systolic blood pressure. Conclusions Vitamin E ameliorates AAAs and reduces the combined end point of fatal+nonfatal aortic rupture in this animal model. These findings are consistent with the concept that oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in Ang II–driven AAA formation in hyperlipidemic mice. PMID:15933246

  5. Enhancing freezing tolerance of Brassica napus L. by overexpression of a stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase gene (SAD) from Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb.

    PubMed

    Peng, Dan; Zhou, Bo; Jiang, Yueqiao; Tan, XiaoFeng; Yuan, DeYi; Zhang, Lin

    2018-07-01

    Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb. is an important woody oil tree and traditional herbal medicine in China. Stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase (SAD) is a dehydrogenase enzyme that plays a key role in the transformation of saturated fatty acids into unsaturated fatty acids in oil; these fatty acids greatly influence the freezing tolerance of plants. However, it remains unclear whether freezing tolerance can be regulated by the expression level of SsSAD in S. sebiferum L. Our research indicated that SsSAD expression in S. sebiferum L. increased under freezing stress. To further confirm this result, we constructed a pEGAD-SsSAD vector and transformed it into B. napus L. W10 by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Transgenic plants that overexpressed the SsSAD gene exhibited significantly higher linoleic (18:2) and linolenic acid (18:3) content and advanced freezing tolerance. These results suggest that SsSAD overexpression in B. napus L. can increase the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as linoleic (18:2) and linolenic acid (18:3), which are likely pivotal in improving freezing tolerance in B. napus L. plants. Thus, SsSAD overexpression could be useful in the production of freeze-tolerant varieties of B. napus L. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Dietary overload lithium decreases the adipogenesis in abdominal adipose tissue of broiler chickens.

    PubMed

    Bai, Shiping; Pan, Shuqin; Zhang, Keying; Ding, Xuemei; Wang, Jianping; Zeng, Qiufeng; Xuan, Yue; Su, Zuowei

    2017-01-01

    To investigate the toxic effects of dietary overload lithium on the adipogenesis in adipose tissue of chicken and the role of hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY) in this process, one-day-old male chicks were fed with the basal diet added with 0 (control) or 100mg lithium/kg diet from lithium chloride (overload lithium) for 35days. Abdominal adipose tissue and hypothalamus were collected at day 6, 14, and 35. As a percentage of body weight, abdominal fat decreased (p<0.001) at day 6, 14, and 35, and feed intake and body weight gain decreased during day 7-14, and day 15-35 in overload lithium treated broilers as compared to control. Adipocyte diameter and DNA content in abdominal adipose tissue were significantly lower in overload-lithium treatment than control at day 35, although no significant differences were observed at day 6 and 14. Dietary overload lithium decreased (p<0.01) transcriptional expression of preadipocyte proliferation makers ki-67 (KI67), microtubule-associated protein homolog (TPX2), and topoisomerase 2-alpha (TOP2A), and preadipocyte differentiation transcriptional factors peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) α mRNA abundance in abdominal adipose tissue. In hypothalamus, dietary overload lithium influenced (p<0.001) NPY, and NPY receptor (NPYR) 6 mRNA abundance at day 6 and 14, but not at day 35. In conclusion, dietary overload lithium decreased the adipogenesis in abdominal adipose tissue of chicken, which was accompanied by depressing transcriptional expression of adipogenesis-associated factors. Hypothalamic NPY had a potential role in the adipogenesis in abdominal adipose tissue of broilers with a short-term overload lithium treatment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Cardiovascular, electrodermal, and respiratory response patterns to fear- and sadness-inducing films.

    PubMed

    Kreibig, Sylvia D; Wilhelm, Frank H; Roth, Walton T; Gross, James J

    2007-09-01

    Responses to fear- and sadness-inducing films were assessed using a broad range of cardiovascular (heart rate, T-wave amplitude, low- and high-frequency heart rate variability, stroke volume, preejection period, left-ventricular ejection time, Heather index, blood pressure, pulse amplitude and transit time, and finger temperature), electrodermal (level, response rate, and response amplitude), and respiratory (rate, tidal volume and its variability, inspiratory flow rate, duty cycle, and end-tidal pCO(2)) measures. Subjective emotional experience and facial behavior (Corrugator Supercilii and Zygomaticus Major EMG) served as control measures. Results indicated robust differential physiological response patterns for fear, sadness, and neutral (mean classification accuracy 85%). Findings are discussed in terms of the fight-flight and conservation-withdrawal responses and possible limitations of a valence-arousal categorization of emotion in affective space.

  8. Association of high sensitivity C-reactive protein and abdominal aortic aneurysm: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yunpeng; Shen, Guanghui; Wang, Haiyang; Yao, Ye; Sun, Qingfeng; Jing, Bao; Liu, Gaoyan; Wu, Jia; Yuan, Chao; Liu, Siqi; Liu, Xinyu; Li, Shiyong; Li, Haocheng

    2017-12-01

    To evaluate the association of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) with the presence of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Medline, Cochrane, Embase, and Google Scholar databases were searched until 22 June 2016 using the keywords predictive factors, biomarkers, abdominal aortic aneurysm, prediction, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, and hsCRP. Prospective studies, retrospective studies, and cohort studies were included. Twelve case-control studies were included in the meta-analysis with a total of 8345 patients (1977 in the AAA group and 6368 in the control group). The pooled results showed that AAA patients had higher hsCRP value than the control group (difference in means = 1.827, 95% CI = 0.010 to 3.645, p = .049). Subgroup analysis found AAA patients with medium or small aortic diameter (<50 mm) had higher hsCRP plasma levels than the control group (difference in means = 1.301, 95% CI = 0.821 to 1.781, p < .001). In patients with large aortic diameter (≥50 mm), no difference was observed in hsCRP levels between the AAA and control groups (difference in means = 1.769, 95% CI = -1.387 to 4.925, p = .272). Multi-regression analysis found the difference in means of hsCRP plasma levels between AAA and control groups decreased as aortic diameter increased (slope = -0.04, p < .001), suggesting that hsCRP levels may be inversely associated with increasing aneurysm size. Our findings suggest that hsCRP levels may possibly be used as a diagnostic biomarker for AAA patients with medium or small aortic diameter but not for AAA patients with large aortic diameter. The correlation between serum hsCRP level and AAA aneurysm is not conclusive due to the small number of included articles and between-study heterogeneity.

  9. The relevance of image quality indices for dose optimization in abdominal multi-detector row CT in children: experimental assessment with pediatric phantoms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brisse, H. J.; Brenot, J.; Pierrat, N.; Gaboriaud, G.; Savignoni, A.; DeRycke, Y.; Neuenschwander, S.; Aubert, B.; Rosenwald, J.-C.

    2009-04-01

    This study assessed and compared various image quality indices in order to manage the dose of pediatric abdominal MDCT protocols and to provide guidance on dose reduction. PMMA phantoms representing average body diameters at birth, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years and 15 years of age were scanned in a four-channel MDCT with a standard pediatric abdominal CT protocol. Image noise (SD, standard deviation of CT number), noise derivative (ND, derivative of the function of noise with respect to dose) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were measured. The 'relative' low-contrast detectability (rLCD) was introduced as a new quantity to adjust LCD to the various phantom diameters on the basis of the LCD1% assessed in a Catphan® phantom and a constant central absorbed dose. The required variations of CTDIvol16 with respect to phantom size were analyzed in order to maintain each image quality index constant. The use of a fixed SD or CNR level leads to major dose ratios between extreme patient sizes (factor 22.7 to 44 for SD, 31.7 to 51.5 for CNR2.8%), whereas fixed ND and rLCD result in acceptable dose ratios ranging between factors of 2.9 and 3.9 between extreme phantom diameters. For a 5-9 mm rLCD1%, adjusted ND values range between -0.84 and -0.11 HU mGy-1. Our data provide guidance on dose reduction on the basis of patient dimensions and the required rLCD (e.g., to get a constant 7 mm rLCD1% for abdominal diameters of 10, 13, 16, 20 and 25 cm, tube current-time product should be adjusted in order to obtain CTDIvol16 values of 6.2, 7.2, 8.8, 11.6 and 17.7 mGy, respectively).

  10. Chronic Abdominal Wall Pain.

    PubMed

    Koop, Herbert; Koprdova, Simona; Schürmann, Christine

    2016-01-29

    Chronic abdominal wall pain is a poorly recognized clinical problem despite being an important element in the differential diagnosis of abdominal pain. This review is based on pertinent articles that were retrieved by a selective search in PubMed and EMBASE employing the terms "abdominal wall pain" and "cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome," as well as on the authors' clinical experience. In 2% to 3% of patients with chronic abdominal pain, the pain arises from the abdominal wall; in patients with previously diagnosed chronic abdominal pain who have no demonstrable pathological abnormality, this likelihood can rise as high as 30% . There have only been a small number of clinical trials of treatment for this condition. The diagnosis is made on clinical grounds, with the aid of Carnett's test. The characteristic clinical feature is strictly localized pain in the anterior abdominal wall, which is often mischaracterized as a "functional" complaint. In one study, injection of local anesthesia combined with steroids into the painful area was found to relieve pain for 4 weeks in 95% of patients. The injection of lidocaine alone brought about improvement in 83-91% of patients. Long-term pain relief ensued after a single lidocaine injection in 20-30% of patients, after repeated injections in 40-50% , and after combined lidocaine and steroid injections in up to 80% . Pain that persists despite these treatments can be treated with surgery (neurectomy). Chronic abdominal wall pain is easily diagnosed on physical examination and can often be rapidly treated. Any physician treating patients with abdominal pain should be aware of this condition. Further comparative treatment trials will be needed before a validated treatment algorithm can be established.

  11. BIVOUAC OF DEAD TABLET, “THE MUFFLED DRUM’S SAD ROLL HAS ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    BIVOUAC OF DEAD TABLET, “THE MUFFLED DRUM’S SAD ROLL HAS BEAT,” SECTION 6. VIEW TO SOUTH. - Hot Springs National Cemetery, Virginia Medical Center 500 North Fifth Street, Hot Springs, Fall River County, SD

  12. It's Sad but I Like It: The Neural Dissociation Between Musical Emotions and Liking in Experts and Laypersons.

    PubMed

    Brattico, Elvira; Bogert, Brigitte; Alluri, Vinoo; Tervaniemi, Mari; Eerola, Tuomas; Jacobsen, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    Emotion-related areas of the brain, such as the medial frontal cortices, amygdala, and striatum, are activated during listening to sad or happy music as well as during listening to pleasurable music. Indeed, in music, like in other arts, sad and happy emotions might co-exist and be distinct from emotions of pleasure or enjoyment. Here we aimed at discerning the neural correlates of sadness or happiness in music as opposed those related to musical enjoyment. We further investigated whether musical expertise modulates the neural activity during affective listening of music. To these aims, 13 musicians and 16 non-musicians brought to the lab their most liked and disliked musical pieces with a happy and sad connotation. Based on a listening test, we selected the most representative 18 sec excerpts of the emotions of interest for each individual participant. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) recordings were obtained while subjects listened to and rated the excerpts. The cortico-thalamo-striatal reward circuit and motor areas were more active during liked than disliked music, whereas only the auditory cortex and the right amygdala were more active for disliked over liked music. These results discern the brain structures responsible for the perception of sad and happy emotions in music from those related to musical enjoyment. We also obtained novel evidence for functional differences in the limbic system associated with musical expertise, by showing enhanced liking-related activity in fronto-insular and cingulate areas in musicians.

  13. It's Sad but I Like It: The Neural Dissociation Between Musical Emotions and Liking in Experts and Laypersons

    PubMed Central

    Brattico, Elvira; Bogert, Brigitte; Alluri, Vinoo; Tervaniemi, Mari; Eerola, Tuomas; Jacobsen, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    Emotion-related areas of the brain, such as the medial frontal cortices, amygdala, and striatum, are activated during listening to sad or happy music as well as during listening to pleasurable music. Indeed, in music, like in other arts, sad and happy emotions might co-exist and be distinct from emotions of pleasure or enjoyment. Here we aimed at discerning the neural correlates of sadness or happiness in music as opposed those related to musical enjoyment. We further investigated whether musical expertise modulates the neural activity during affective listening of music. To these aims, 13 musicians and 16 non-musicians brought to the lab their most liked and disliked musical pieces with a happy and sad connotation. Based on a listening test, we selected the most representative 18 sec excerpts of the emotions of interest for each individual participant. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) recordings were obtained while subjects listened to and rated the excerpts. The cortico-thalamo-striatal reward circuit and motor areas were more active during liked than disliked music, whereas only the auditory cortex and the right amygdala were more active for disliked over liked music. These results discern the brain structures responsible for the perception of sad and happy emotions in music from those related to musical enjoyment. We also obtained novel evidence for functional differences in the limbic system associated with musical expertise, by showing enhanced liking-related activity in fronto-insular and cingulate areas in musicians. PMID:26778996

  14. Stimulus-driven attention, threat bias, and sad bias in youth with a history of an anxiety disorder or depression

    PubMed Central

    Sylvester, Chad M.; Hudziak, James J.; Gaffrey, Michael S.; Barch, Deanna M.; Luby, Joan L.

    2015-01-01

    Attention biases towards threatening and sad stimuli are associated with pediatric anxiety and depression, respectively. The basic cognitive mechanisms associated with attention biases in youth, however, remain unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that threat bias (selective attention for threatening versus neutral stimuli) but not sad bias relies on stimulus-driven attention. We collected measures of stimulus-driven attention, threat bias, sad bias, and current clinical symptoms in youth with a history of an anxiety disorder and/or depression (ANX/DEP; n=40) as well as healthy controls (HC; n=33). Stimulus-driven attention was measured with a non-emotional spatial orienting task, while threat bias and sad bias were measured at a short time interval (150 ms) with a spatial orienting task using emotional faces and at a longer time interval (500 ms) using a dot-probe task. In ANX/DEP but not HC, early attention bias towards threat was negatively correlated with later attention bias to threat, suggesting that early threat vigilance was associated with later threat avoidance. Across all subjects, stimulus-driven orienting was not correlated with early threat bias but was negatively correlated with later threat bias, indicating that rapid stimulus-driven orienting is linked to later threat avoidance. No parallel relationships were detected for sad bias. Current symptoms of depression but not anxiety were related to decreased stimulus-driven attention. Together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that threat bias but not sad bias relies on stimulus-driven attention. These results inform the design of attention bias modification programs that aim to reverse threat biases and reduce symptoms associated with pediatric anxiety and depression. PMID:25702927

  15. Stimulus-Driven Attention, Threat Bias, and Sad Bias in Youth with a History of an Anxiety Disorder or Depression.

    PubMed

    Sylvester, Chad M; Hudziak, James J; Gaffrey, Michael S; Barch, Deanna M; Luby, Joan L

    2016-02-01

    Attention biases towards threatening and sad stimuli are associated with pediatric anxiety and depression, respectively. The basic cognitive mechanisms associated with attention biases in youth, however, remain unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that threat bias (selective attention for threatening versus neutral stimuli) but not sad bias relies on stimulus-driven attention. We collected measures of stimulus-driven attention, threat bias, sad bias, and current clinical symptoms in youth with a history of an anxiety disorder and/or depression (ANX/DEP; n = 40) as well as healthy controls (HC; n = 33). Stimulus-driven attention was measured with a non-emotional spatial orienting task, while threat bias and sad bias were measured at a short time interval (150 ms) with a spatial orienting task using emotional faces and at a longer time interval (500 ms) using a dot-probe task. In ANX/DEP but not HC, early attention bias towards threat was negatively correlated with later attention bias to threat, suggesting that early threat vigilance was associated with later threat avoidance. Across all subjects, stimulus-driven orienting was not correlated with early threat bias but was negatively correlated with later threat bias, indicating that rapid stimulus-driven orienting is linked to later threat avoidance. No parallel relationships were detected for sad bias. Current symptoms of depression but not anxiety were related to decreased stimulus-driven attention. Together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that threat bias but not sad bias relies on stimulus-driven attention. These results inform the design of attention bias modification programs that aim to reverse threat biases and reduce symptoms associated with pediatric anxiety and depression.

  16. Memorable Experiences with Sad Music—Reasons, Reactions and Mechanisms of Three Types of Experiences

    PubMed Central

    Peltola, Henna-Riikka

    2016-01-01

    Reactions to memorable experiences of sad music were studied by means of a survey administered to a convenience (N = 1577), representative (N = 445), and quota sample (N = 414). The survey explored the reasons, mechanisms, and emotions of such experiences. Memorable experiences linked with sad music typically occurred in relation to extremely familiar music, caused intense and pleasurable experiences, which were accompanied by physiological reactions and positive mood changes in about a third of the participants. A consistent structure of reasons and emotions for these experiences was identified through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses across the samples. Three types of sadness experiences were established, one that was genuinely negative (Grief-Stricken Sorrow) and two that were positive (Comforting Sorrow and Sweet Sorrow). Each type of emotion exhibited certain individual differences and had distinct profiles in terms of the underlying reasons, mechanisms, and elicited reactions. The prevalence of these broad types of emotional experiences suggested that positive experiences are the most frequent, but negative experiences were not uncommon in any of the samples. The findings have implications for measuring emotions induced by music and fiction in general, and call attention to the non-pleasurable aspects of these experiences. PMID:27300268

  17. Memorable Experiences with Sad Music-Reasons, Reactions and Mechanisms of Three Types of Experiences.

    PubMed

    Eerola, Tuomas; Peltola, Henna-Riikka

    2016-01-01

    Reactions to memorable experiences of sad music were studied by means of a survey administered to a convenience (N = 1577), representative (N = 445), and quota sample (N = 414). The survey explored the reasons, mechanisms, and emotions of such experiences. Memorable experiences linked with sad music typically occurred in relation to extremely familiar music, caused intense and pleasurable experiences, which were accompanied by physiological reactions and positive mood changes in about a third of the participants. A consistent structure of reasons and emotions for these experiences was identified through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses across the samples. Three types of sadness experiences were established, one that was genuinely negative (Grief-Stricken Sorrow) and two that were positive (Comforting Sorrow and Sweet Sorrow). Each type of emotion exhibited certain individual differences and had distinct profiles in terms of the underlying reasons, mechanisms, and elicited reactions. The prevalence of these broad types of emotional experiences suggested that positive experiences are the most frequent, but negative experiences were not uncommon in any of the samples. The findings have implications for measuring emotions induced by music and fiction in general, and call attention to the non-pleasurable aspects of these experiences.

  18. Is sadness blue? The problem of using figurative language for emotions on psychological tests.

    PubMed

    Barchard, Kimberly A; Grob, Kelly E; Roe, Matthew J

    2017-04-01

    Psychological tests sometimes include figurative language like I feel blue. However, figurative language may not mean the same thing cross-culturally. Previous research found cross-cultural evidence for 14 conceptual metaphors and metonymies for emotions (e.g., sadness is blue). Our two studies asked participants (total n = 795) in the USA and India whether happiness, sadness, anger, and fear are associated with certain descriptors (blue, down, bright, etc.). Most participants in both countries endorsed ten of the 14 hypothesized associations; however, the percentage of participants endorsing an association was often far from 100 %. For example, in the USA, only 71.7 % associated hot with anger and only 65.9 % associated blue with sadness. Moreover, descriptors were often associated with more than one emotion. Furthermore, only two associations (happiness is up and bright) were endorsed by more than 90 % of participants in both countries and had descriptors that were not associated with additional emotions. We conclude that figurative language is often ambiguous and should be used with caution on psychological tests unless there is evidence the language is understood cross-culturally. Advice to this effect is currently lacking from psychometrics textbooks and should be added.

  19. Three-dimensional finite volume modelling of blood flow in simulated angular neck abdominal aortic aneurysm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Algabri, Y. A.; Rookkapan, S.; Chatpun, S.

    2017-09-01

    An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is considered a deadly cardiovascular disease that defined as a focal dilation of blood artery. The healthy aorta size is between 15 and 24 mm based on gender, bodyweight, and age. When the diameter increased to 30 mm or more, the rupture can occur if it is kept growing or untreated. Moreover, the proximal angular neck of aneurysm is categorized as a significant morphological feature with prime harmful effects on endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). Flow pattern in pathological vessel can influence the vascular intervention. The aim of this study is to investigate the blood flow behaviours in angular neck abdominal aortic aneurysm with simulated geometry based on patient’s information using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The 3D angular neck AAA models have been designed by using SolidWorks Software. Consequently, CFD tools are used for simulating these 3D models of angular neck AAA in ANSYS FLUENT Software. Eventually, based on the results, we summarized that the CFD techniques have shown high performance in explaining and investigating the flow patterns for angular neck abdominal aortic aneurysm.

  20. Dioctophyma renale (Goeze, 1782) in the abdominal cavity of a capuchin monkey (Cebus apella), Brazil.

    PubMed

    Ishizaki, Mirian Naomi; Imbeloni, Aline Amaral; Muniz, José Augusto Pereira Carneiro; Scalercio, Sarah Raphaella Rocha de Azevedo; Benigno, Raimundo Nonato Moraes; Pereira, Washington Luiz Assunção; Cunha Lacreta Junior, Antonio Carlos

    2010-10-29

    This study reports a case of parasitism by Dioctophyma renale (Goeze, 1762) encysted in the abdominal cavity of a capuchin monkey (Cebus apella) coming from the Centro Nacional de Primatas, Brazil. The animal was sent to the Veterinary Clinic sector with an increase in abdominal volume and no occurrence of any other clinical signs. Upon palpation, a movable circular mass with a diameter of approximately 10 cm was found. Urinalysis, complete blood count and serum biochemistry were performed without revealing any alterations. The animal was then submitted to an abdominal ultrasound exam. The cyst was punctured and a surgical removal procedure was performed, revealing a brownish-colored cylindrical structure that was already deteriorated, making it impossible to perform morphological analysis and classification. In the sediment of the liquid found, eggs were encountered that had morphological characteristics compatible with D. renale. The objective of this paper is to report the first case of parasitism by D. renale in C. apella (Linnaeus, 1758). Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Retrospective comparison of abdominal ultrasonography and radiography in the investigation of feline abdominal disease

    PubMed Central

    Won, Wylen Wade; Sharma, Ajay; Wu, Wenbo

    2015-01-01

    Abdominal radiography and ultrasonography are commonly used as part of the initial diagnostic plan for cats with nonspecific signs of abdominal disease. This retrospective study compared the clinical usefulness of abdominal radiography and ultrasonography in 105 feline patients with signs of abdominal disease. The final diagnosis was determined more commonly with ultrasonography (59%) compared to radiography (25.7%). Ultrasonography was also able to provide additional clinically relevant information in 76% of cases, and changed or refined the diagnosis in 47% of cases. Based on these findings, ultrasonography may be sufficient as an initial diagnostic test for the investigation of feline abdominal disease. PMID:26483582

  2. The Tribolium homeotic gene Abdominal is homologous to abdominal-A of the Drosophila bithorax complex

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stuart, J. J.; Brown, S. J.; Beeman, R. W.; Denell, R. E.; Spooner, B. S. (Principal Investigator)

    1993-01-01

    The Abdominal gene is a member of the single homeotic complex of the beetle, Tribolium castaneum. An integrated developmental genetic and molecular analysis shows that Abdominal is homologous to the abdominal-A gene of the bithorax complex of Drosophila. abdominal-A mutant embryos display strong homeotic transformations of the anterior abdomen (parasegments 7-9) to PS6, whereas developmental commitments in the posterior abdomen depend primarily on Abdominal-B. In beetle embryos lacking Abdominal function, parasegments throughout the abdomen are transformed to PS6. This observation demonstrates the general functional significance of parasegmental expression among insects and shows that the control of determinative decisions in the posterior abdomen by homeotic selector genes has undergone considerable evolutionary modification.

  3. The Tribolium homeotic gene Abdominal is homologous to abdominal-A of the Drosophila bithorax complex.

    PubMed

    Stuart, J J; Brown, S J; Beeman, R W; Denell, R E

    1993-01-01

    The Abdominal gene is a member of the single homeotic complex of the beetle, Tribolium castaneum. An integrated developmental genetic and molecular analysis shows that Abdominal is homologous to the abdominal-A gene of the bithorax complex of Drosophila. abdominal-A mutant embryos display strong homeotic transformations of the anterior abdomen (parasegments 7-9) to PS6, whereas developmental commitments in the posterior abdomen depend primarily on Abdominal-B. In beetle embryos lacking Abdominal function, parasegments throughout the abdomen are transformed to PS6. This observation demonstrates the general functional significance of parasegmental expression among insects and shows that the control of determinative decisions in the posterior abdomen by homeotic selector genes has undergone considerable evolutionary modification.

  4. SAD-3, a Putative Helicase Required for Meiotic Silencing by Unpaired DNA, Interacts with Other Components of the Silencing Machinery

    PubMed Central

    Hammond, Thomas M.; Xiao, Hua; Boone, Erin C.; Perdue, Tony D.; Pukkila, Patricia J.; Shiu, Patrick K. T.

    2011-01-01

    In Neurospora crassa, genes lacking a pairing partner during meiosis are suppressed by a process known as meiotic silencing by unpaired DNA (MSUD). To identify novel MSUD components, we have developed a high-throughput reverse-genetic screen for use with the N. crassa knockout library. Here we describe the screening method and the characterization of a gene (sad-3) subsequently discovered. SAD-3 is a putative helicase required for MSUD and sexual spore production. It exists in a complex with other known MSUD proteins in the perinuclear region, a center for meiotic silencing activity. Orthologs of SAD-3 include Schizosaccharomyces pombe Hrr1, a helicase required for RNAi-induced heterochromatin formation. Both SAD-3 and Hrr1 interact with an RNA-directed RNA polymerase and an Argonaute, suggesting that certain aspects of silencing complex formation may be conserved between the two fungal species. PMID:22384347

  5. Ameliorative role of gemfibrozil against partial abdominal aortic constriction-induced cardiac hypertrophy in rats.

    PubMed

    Singh, Amrit Pal; Singh, Randhir; Krishan, Pawan

    2015-04-01

    Fibrates are peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α agonists and are clinically used for treatment of dyslipidemia and hypertriglyceridemia. Fenofibrate is reported as a cardioprotective agent in various models of cardiac dysfunction; however, limited literature is available regarding the role of gemfibrozil as a possible cardioprotective agent, especially in a non-obese model of cardiac remodelling. The present study investigated the role of gemfibrozil against partial abdominal aortic constriction-induced cardiac hypertrophy in rats. Cardiac hypertrophy was induced by partial abdominal aortic constriction in rats and they survived for 4 weeks. The cardiac hypertrophy was assessed by measuring left ventricular weight to body weight ratio, left ventricular wall thickness, and protein and collagen content. The oxidative stress in the cardiac tissues was assessed by measuring thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, superoxide anion generation, and reduced glutathione level. The haematoxylin-eosin and picrosirius red staining was used to observe cardiomyocyte diameter and collagen deposition, respectively. Moreover, serum levels of cholesterol, high-density lipoproteins, triglycerides, and glucose were also measured. Gemfibrozil (30 mg/kg, p.o.) was administered since the first day of partial abdominal aortic constriction and continued for 4 weeks. The partial abdominal aortic constriction-induced cardiac oxidative stress and hypertrophy are indicated by significant change in various parameters used in the present study that were ameliorated with gemfibrozil treatment in rats. No significant change in serum parameters was observed between various groups used in the present study. It is concluded that gemfibrozil ameliorates partial abdominal aortic constriction-induced cardiac oxidative stress and hypertrophy and in rats.

  6. [The expression of sadness in a working class bairro in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil].

    PubMed

    Costa, L A; Pereira, A M

    1995-01-01

    This paper examines the peculiarities of the expression of emotion in a poor neighborhood from Northeastern Brazil, the bairro of Nordeste de Amaralina, in Salvador, Bahia. Focusing on the expression of sadness, we built a scheme in which to understand how the informants perceive, identify, and deal with this emotion in the course of their daily lives. We attempted to reach an understanding of the wavs people in the bairro interpret sadness. In order to accomplish this goal. we built a semantic network which revealed three main clusters of emotional expression: the inner set, the bodily set, and the interactional set. We came to realize the various superpositions benween the universe of emotional expression and the local concept of person.

  7. Parental Personality and Its Relationship to Socialization of Sadness in Children.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Race, Eleanor; Brand, Ann E.

    The relationship between parental personality traits and how parents socialize their children's emotions is largely unexplored. This study examined the association of personality traits such as Neuroticism and Agreeableness, and emotion traits such as Anxiety and Trait Depression to the strategies parents use to socialize their children's sadness,…

  8. [Differential diagnosis of abdominal pain].

    PubMed

    Frei, Pascal

    2015-09-02

    Despite the frequency of functional abdominal pain, potentially dangerous causes of abdominal pain need to be excluded. Medical history and clinical examination must focus on red flags and signs for imflammatory or malignant diseases. See the patient twice in the case of severe and acute abdominal pain if lab parameters or radiological examinations are normal. Avoid repeated and useless X-ray exposure whenever possible. In the case of subacute or chronic abdominal pain, lab tests such as fecal calprotectin, helicobacter stool antigen and serological tests for celiac disease are very useful. Elderly patients may show atypical or missing clinical signs. Take care of red herrings and be skeptical whether your initial diagnosis is really correct. Abdominal pain can frequently be an abdominal wall pain.

  9. Results of open pararenal abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: single centre series and pooled analysis of literature.

    PubMed

    van Lammeren, Guus W; Ünlü, Çağdaş; Verschoor, Sjoerd; van Dongen, Eric P; Wille, Jan; van de Pavoordt, Eric Dwm; de Vries-Werson, Debbie Ab; De Vries, Jean-Paul Pm

    2017-06-01

    Objectives Endovascular treatment of pararenal abdominal aortic aneurysm has gained terrain over the past decade, despite the substantial need for reinterventions during follow-up. However, open repair is still a well-established treatment option. With the current study we report the results of a consecutive series of elective primary open pararenal abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in a tertiary vascular referral centre, combined with an overview of current literature and pooled data analysis of perioperative mortality of open and endovascular pararenal abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Methods A retrospective analysis of a prospective database of all elective open pararenal abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs in the St. Antonius Hospital between 2005 and 2014 was performed. Primary endpoint was 30-day mortality. Secondary endpoints were 30-day morbidity, new onset dialysis, reintervention free survival, and overall survival during follow-up. Results Between 2005 and 2014, 214 consecutive patients underwent elective open pararenal abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Mean age was 69.8 (±7.1) years, 82.7% (177/214) were men, and mean abdominal aortic aneurysm diameter was 62 (±11) mm. Thirty-day mortality was 3.4%. Thirty-day morbidity was 27.1%, which predominantly consisted of pneumonia (18.7% (40/214)), cardiac events (3.3% (7/214)), and new onset dialysis (2.8% (6/214)). Estimated five-year overall survival rate was 74.2%. 0.9% (2/214) of patients required abdominal aortic aneurysm-related reintervention, and an additional 2.3% (5/214) required surgical repair of an incisional hernia. Pooled analysis of literature revealed a 30-day mortality of 3.0% for open pararenal repair and 1.9% for fenestrated endovascular repair. Conclusion Open pararenal abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in the era of increasing endovascular options results in acceptable perioperative morbidity and mortality rates. Mid-term reintervention rate is low compared to fenestrated endovascular

  10. Predicting suicide with the SAD PERSONS scale.

    PubMed

    Katz, Cara; Randall, Jason R; Sareen, Jitender; Chateau, Dan; Walld, Randy; Leslie, William D; Wang, JianLi; Bolton, James M

    2017-09-01

    Suicide is a major public health issue, and a priority requirement is accurately identifying high-risk individuals. The SAD PERSONS suicide risk assessment scale is widely implemented in clinical settings despite limited supporting evidence. This article aims to determine the ability of the SAD PERSONS scale (SPS) to predict future suicide in the emergency department. Five thousand four hundred sixty-two consecutive adults were seen by psychiatry consultation teams in two tertiary emergency departments with linkage to population-based administrative data to determine suicide deaths within 6 months, 1, and 5 years. Seventy-seven (1.4%) individuals died by suicide during the study period. When predicting suicide at 12 months, medium- and high-risk scores on SPS had a sensitivity of 49% and a specificity of 60%; the positive and negative predictive values were 0.9 and 99%, respectively. Half of the suicides at both 6- and 12-month intervals were classified as low risk by SPS at index visit. The area under the curve at 12 months for the Modified SPS was 0.59 (95% confidence interval [CI] range 0.51-0.67). High-risk scores (compared to low risk) were significantly associated with death by suicide over the 5-year study period using the SPS (hazard ratio 2.49; 95% CI 1.34-4.61) and modified version (hazard ratio 2.29; 95% CI 1.24-2.29). Although widely used in educational and clinical settings, these findings do not support the use of the SPS and Modified SPS to predict suicide in adults seen by psychiatric services in the emergency department. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. A New Measure for Assessing Executive Function across a Wide Age Range: Children and Adults Find "Happy-Sad" More Difficult than "Day-Night"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lagattuta, Kristin Hansen; Sayfan, Liat; Monsour, Michael

    2011-01-01

    Two experiments examined 4- to 11-year-olds' and adults' performance (N = 350) on two variants of a Stroop-like card task: the "day-night task" (say "day" when shown a moon and "night" when shown a sun) and a new "happy-sad task" (say "happy" for a sad face and "sad" for a happy face). Experiment 1 featured colored cartoon drawings. In Experiment…

  12. Chronic abdominal wall pain and ultrasound-guided abdominal cutaneous nerve infiltration: a case series.

    PubMed

    Kanakarajan, Saravanakumar; High, Kristina; Nagaraja, Ravi

    2011-03-01

    Chronic abdominal wall pain occurs in about 10-30% of patients presenting with chronic abdominal pain. Entrapment of abdominal cutaneous nerves at the lateral border of the rectus abdominis muscle has been attributed as a cause of abdominal wall pain. We report our experience of treating such patients using ultrasound-guided abdominal cutaneous nerve infiltration. We conducted a retrospective audit of abdominal cutaneous nerve infiltration performed in the period between September 2008 to August 2009 in our center. All patients had received local anesthetic and steroid injection under ultrasound guidance. The response to the infiltration was evaluated in the post-procedure telephone review as well as in the follow-up clinic. Brief pain inventory (BPI) and numerical rating scale pain scores were collated from two points: the initial outpatient clinic and the follow up clinic up to 5 months following the injection. Nine patients had abdominal cutaneous nerve injections under ultrasound guidance in the period under review. Six patients reported 50% pain relief or more (responders) while three patients did not. Pain and BPI scores showed a decreasing trend in responders. The median duration of follow-up was 12 weeks. Ultrasound can reliably be used for infiltration of the abdominal cutaneous nerves. This will improve the safety as well as diagnostic utility of the procedure. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Differential Stiffening between the Abdominal and Thoracic Aorta: Effect of Salt Loading in Stroke-Prone Hypertensive Rats.

    PubMed

    Lindesay, George; Bézie, Yvonnick; Ragonnet, Christophe; Duchatelle, Véronique; Dharmasena, Chandima; Villeneuve, Nicole; Vayssettes-Courchay, Christine

    2018-06-08

    Central artery stiffening is recognized as a cardiovascular risk. The effects of hypertension and aging have been shown in human and animal models but the effect of salt is still controversial. We studied the effect of a high-salt diet on aortic stiffness in salt-sensitive spontaneously hypersensitive stroke-prone rats (SHRSP). Distensibility, distension, and β-stiffness were measured at thoracic and abdominal aortic sites in the same rats, using echotracking recording of the aortic diameter coupled with blood pressure (BP), in SHRSP-salt (5% salted diet, 5 weeks), SHRSP, and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Hemodynamic parameters were measured at BP matched to that of WKY. Histological staining and immunohistochemistry were used for structural analysis. Hemodynamic isobaric parameters in SHRSP did not differ from WKY and only those from the abdominal aorta of SHRSP-salt presented decreased distensibility and increased stiffness compared with WKY and SHRSP. The abdominal and thoracic aortas presented similar thickening, increased fibrosis, and remodeling with no change in collagen content. SHRSP-salt presented a specific increased elastin disarray at the abdominal aorta level but a decrease in elastin content in the thoracic aorta. This study demonstrates the pro-stiffening effect of salt in addition to hypertension; it shows that only the abdominal aorta presents a specific pressure-independent stiffening, in which elastin disarray is likely a key mechanism. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  14. Side Effects of Being Blue: Influence of Sad Mood on Visual Statistical Learning

    PubMed Central

    Bertels, Julie; Demoulin, Catherine; Franco, Ana; Destrebecqz, Arnaud

    2013-01-01

    It is well established that mood influences many cognitive processes, such as learning and executive functions. Although statistical learning is assumed to be part of our daily life, as mood does, the influence of mood on statistical learning has never been investigated before. In the present study, a sad vs. neutral mood was induced to the participants through the listening of stories while they were exposed to a stream of visual shapes made up of the repeated presentation of four triplets, namely sequences of three shapes presented in a fixed order. Given that the inter-stimulus interval was held constant within and between triplets, the only cues available for triplet segmentation were the transitional probabilities between shapes. Direct and indirect measures of learning taken either immediately or 20 minutes after the exposure/mood induction phase revealed that participants learned the statistical regularities between shapes. Interestingly, although participants from the sad and neutral groups performed similarly in these tasks, subjective measures (confidence judgments taken after each trial) revealed that participants who experienced the sad mood induction showed increased conscious access to their statistical knowledge. These effects were not modulated by the time delay between the exposure/mood induction and the test phases. These results are discussed within the scope of the robustness principle and the influence of negative affects on processing style. PMID:23555797

  15. SAD1, an RNA polymerase I subunit A34.5 of rice, interacts with Mediator and controls various aspects of plant development.

    PubMed

    Li, Weiqiang; Yoshida, Akiko; Takahashi, Megumu; Maekawa, Masahiko; Kojima, Mikiko; Sakakibara, Hitoshi; Kyozuka, Junko

    2015-01-01

    The DWARF14 (D14) gene of rice functions within the signaling pathway of strigolactones, a group of plant hormones that inhibits shoot branching. We isolated a recessive mutant named super apical dormant (sad1-1) from a suppressor screen of d14-1. The growth of tillers (vegetative shoot branches) is suppressed in both the d14-1 sad1-1 double mutant and the sad1-1 single mutant. In addition, the sad1-1 mutant shows pleiotropic defects throughout development. SAD1 encodes an ortholog of RPA34.5, a subunit of RNA polymerase I (Pol I). Consequently, the level of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is severely reduced in the sad1-1 mutant. These results indicate that proper ribosome function is a prerequisite for normal development in plants. The Arabidopsis ortholog of SAD1 was previously isolated as a Mediator-interacting protein. Here we show that SAD1 interacts physically with the Mediator complex through direct binding with OsMED4, a component of the middle module of the Mediator complex in rice. It is known that Mediator interacts with Pol II, which transcribes mRNAs and functions as a central regulator of transcription. This study indicates a novel aspect of Mediator function in Pol I-controlled rRNA transcription. TFIIF2 and RPC53 are the counterparts of RPA34.5 in Pol II and Pol III, respectively. We demonstrate that the rice orthologs of these proteins also interact with OsMED4. Our results suggest that interaction with MED4 in the Mediator complex is a common feature of the three types of RNA polymerases. © 2014 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Abdominal elephantiasis: a case report.

    PubMed

    Hanna, Dominique; Cloutier, Richard; Lapointe, Roch; Desgagné, Antoine

    2004-01-01

    Elephantiasis is a well-known condition in dermatology usually affecting the legs and external genitalia. It is characterized by chronic inflammation and obstruction of the lymphatic channels and by hypertrophy of the skin and subcutaneous tissues. The etiology is either idiopathic or caused by a variety of conditions such as chronic filarial disease, leprosy, leishmaniasis, and chronic recurrent cellulites. Elephantiasis of the abdominal wall is very rare. A complete review of the English and French literature showed only two cases reported in 1966 and 1973, respectively. We report a third case of abdominal elephantiasis and we briefly review this entity. We present the case of a 51-year-old woman who had progressively developed an enormous pediculated abdominal mass hanging down her knees. The skin was thickened, hyperpigmented, and fissured. She had a history of multiple abdominal cellulites. She underwent an abdominal lipectomy. Histopathology of the specimen confirmed the diagnosis of abdominal elephantiasis. Abdominal elephantiasis is a rare disease that represents end-stage failure of lymph drainage. Lipectomy should be considered in the management of this condition.

  17. Association between osteopontin and human abdominal aortic aneurysm.

    PubMed

    Golledge, Jonathan; Muller, Juanita; Shephard, Neil; Clancy, Paula; Smallwood, Linda; Moran, Corey; Dear, Anthony E; Palmer, Lyle J; Norman, Paul E

    2007-03-01

    In vitro and animal studies have implicated osteopontin (OPN) in the pathogenesis of aortic aneurysm. The relationship between serum concentration of OPN and variants of the OPN gene with human abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) was investigated. OPN genotypes were examined in 4227 subjects in which aortic diameter and clinical risk factors were measured. Serum OPN was measured by ELISA in two cohorts of 665 subjects. The concentration of serum OPN was independently associated with the presence of AAA. Odds ratios (and 95% confidence intervals) for upper compared with lower OPN tertiles in predicting presence of AAA were 2.23 (1.29 to 3.85, P=0.004) for the population cohort and 4.08 (1.67 to 10.00, P=0.002) for the referral cohort after adjusting for other risk factors. In 198 patients with complete follow-up of aortic diameter at 3 years, initial serum OPN predicted AAA growth after adjustment for other risk factors (standardized coefficient 0.24, P=0.001). The concentration of OPN in the aortic wall was greater in patients with small AAAs (30 to 50 mm) than those with aortic occlusive disease alone. There was no association between five single nucleotide polymorphisms or haplotypes of the OPN gene and aortic diameter or AAA expansion. Serum and tissue concentrations of OPN are associated with human AAA. We found no relationship between variation of the OPN gene and AAA. OPN may be a useful biomarker for AAA presence and growth.

  18. SAD5 Stereo Correlation Line-Striping in an FPGA

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Villalpando, Carlos Y.; Morfopoulos, Arin C.

    2011-01-01

    High precision SAD5 stereo computations can be performed in an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) at much higher speeds than possible in a conventional CPU (central processing unit), but this uses large amounts of FPGA resources that scale with image size. Of the two key resources in an FPGA, Slices and BRAM (block RAM), Slices scale linearly in the new algorithm with image size, and BRAM scales quadratically with image size. An approach was developed to trade latency for BRAM by sub-windowing the image vertically into overlapping strips and stitching the outputs together to create a single continuous disparity output. In stereo, the general rule of thumb is that the disparity search range must be 1/10 the image size. In the new algorithm, BRAM usage scales linearly with disparity search range and scales again linearly with line width. So a doubling of image size, say from 640 to 1,280, would in the previous design be an effective 4 of BRAM usage: 2 for line width, 2 again for disparity search range. The minimum strip size is twice the search range, and will produce an output strip width equal to the disparity search range. So assuming a disparity search range of 1/10 image width, 10 sequential runs of the minimum strip size would produce a full output image. This approach allowed the innovators to fit 1280 960 wide SAD5 stereo disparity in less than 80 BRAM, 52k Slices on a Virtex 5LX330T, 25% and 24% of resources, respectively. Using a 100-MHz clock, this build would perform stereo at 39 Hz. Of particular interest to JPL is that there is a flight qualified version of the Virtex 5: this could produce stereo results even for very large image sizes at 3 orders of magnitude faster than could be computed on the PowerPC 750 flight computer. The work covered in the report allows the stereo algorithm to run on much larger images than before, and using much less BRAM. This opens up choices for a smaller flight FPGA (which saves power and space), or for other algorithms

  19. In vitro comparison of intra-abdominal hypertension development after different temporary abdominal closure techniques.

    PubMed

    Benninger, Emanuel; Labler, Ludwig; Seifert, Burkhardt; Trentz, Otmar; Menger, Michael D; Meier, Christoph

    2008-01-01

    To compare volume reserve capacity (VRC) and development of intra-abdominal hypertension after different in vitro temporary abdominal closure (TAC) techniques. A model of the abdomen was designed. The abdominal wall was simulated with polychloroprene, a synthetic rubber compound. A lentil-shaped defect of 150 cm(2) was cut into the anterior aspect of the abdominal wall. TAC of this defect was performed by a zipper system (ZS), a bag silo closure (BSC), or a vacuum assisted closure (VAC) with subatmospheric pressures ranging from 0- to 200 mmHg. The model with intact abdominal wall served as reference. The model was filled with water to baseline level. The intra-abdominal pressure was increased in 2 mmHg steps from baseline level (6 mmHg) to 40 mmHg by adding volume to the system according to a standardized protocol. VRC with corresponding intra-abdominal pressure were analyzed and compared for the different TAC techniques. VRC was the highest after BSC at all pressure levels studied (P < 0.05). VAC and ZS resulted in significantly lower VRC compared with BSC and reference (P < 0.05). The magnitude of negative pressure on the VAC did not significantly influence the VRC. In the present in vitro model, BSC demonstrated the highest VRC of all evaluated TAC techniques. Different levels of subatmospheric pressures applied to the VAC did not affect VRC. The results for ZS and VAC indicate that these TAC techniques may increase the risk for recurrent intra-abdominal hypertension and should therefore not be used in high-risk patients during the initial phase after abdominal decompression.

  20. Sad mood induction has an opposite effect on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder and healthy controls.

    PubMed

    Horacek, Jiri; Mikolas, Pavol; Tintera, Jaroslav; Novak, Tomas; Palenicek, Tomas; Brunovsky, Martin; Höschl, Cyril; Alda, Martin

    2014-12-16

    Aberrant amygdala reactivity to affective stimuli represents a candidate factor predisposing patients with bipolar disorder (BD) to relapse, but it is unclear to what extent amygdala reactivity is state-dependent. We evaluated the modulatory influence of mood on amygdala reactivity and functional connectivity in patients with remitted BD and healthy controls. Amygdala response to sad versus neutral faces was investigated using fMRI during periods of normal and sad mood induced by autobiographical scripts. We assessed the functional connectivity of the amygdala to characterize the influence of mood state on the network responsible for the amygdala response. We included 20 patients with remitted BD and 20 controls in our study. The sad and normal mood exerted opposite effects on the amygdala response to emotional faces in patients compared with controls ( F 1,38 = 5.85, p = 0.020). Sad mood amplified the amygdala response to sad facial stimuli in controls but attenuated the amygdala response in patients. The groups differed in functional connectivity between the amygdala and the inferior prefrontal gyrus ( p ≤ 0.05, family-wise error-corrected) of ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) corresponding to Brodmann area 47. The sad mood challenge increased connectivity during the period of processing sad faces in patients but decreased connectivity in controls. Limitations to our study included long-term medication use in the patient group and the fact that we mapped only depressive (not manic) reactivity. Our results support the role of the amygdala-vlPFC as the system of dysfunctional contextual affective processing in patients with BD. Opposite amygdala reactivity unmasked by the mood challenge paradigm could represent a trait marker of altered mood regulation in patients with BD.

  1. Sad mood induction has an opposite effect on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder and healthy controls.

    PubMed

    Horacek, Jiri; Mikolas, Pavol; Tintera, Jaroslav; Novak, Tomas; Palenicek, Tomas; Brunovsky, Martin; Höschl, Cyril; Alda, Martin

    2015-03-01

    Aberrant amygdala reactivity to affective stimuli represents a candidate factor predisposing patients with bipolar disorder (BD) to relapse, but it is unclear to what extent amygdala reactivity is state-dependent. We evaluated the modulatory influence of mood on amygdala reactivity and functional connectivity in patients with remitted BD and healthy controls. Amygdala response to sad versus neutral faces was investigated using fMRI during periods of normal and sad mood induced by autobiographical scripts. We assessed the functional connectivity of the amygdala to characterize the influence of mood state on the network responsible for the amygdala response. We included 20 patients with remitted BD and 20 controls in our study. The sad and normal mood exerted opposite effects on the amygdala response to emotional faces in patients compared with controls (F1,38 = 5.85, p = 0.020). Sad mood amplified the amygdala response to sad facial stimuli in controls but attenuated the amygdala response in patients. The groups differed in functional connectivity between the amygdala and the inferior prefrontal gyrus (p ≤ 0.05, family-wise error-corrected) of ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) corresponding to Brodmann area 47. The sad mood challenge increased connectivity during the period of processing sad faces in patients but decreased connectivity in controls. Limitations to our study included long-term medication use in the patient group and the fact that we mapped only depressive (not manic) reactivity. Our results support the role of the amygdala-vlPFC as the system of dysfunctional contextual affective processing in patients with BD. Opposite amygdala reactivity unmasked by the mood challenge paradigm could represent a trait marker of altered mood regulation in patients with BD.

  2. Abdominal hernias: Radiological features

    PubMed Central

    Lassandro, Francesco; Iasiello, Francesca; Pizza, Nunzia Luisa; Valente, Tullio; Stefano, Maria Luisa Mangoni di Santo; Grassi, Roberto; Muto, Roberto

    2011-01-01

    Abdominal wall hernias are common diseases of the abdomen with a global incidence approximately 4%-5%. They are distinguished in external, diaphragmatic and internal hernias on the basis of their localisation. Groin hernias are the most common with a prevalence of 75%, followed by femoral (15%) and umbilical (8%). There is a higher prevalence in males (M:F, 8:1). Diagnosis is usually made on physical examination. However, clinical diagnosis may be difficult, especially in patients with obesity, pain or abdominal wall scarring. In these cases, abdominal imaging may be the first clue to the correct diagnosis and to confirm suspected complications. Different imaging modalities are used: conventional radiographs or barium studies, ultrasonography and Computed Tomography. Imaging modalities can aid in the differential diagnosis of palpable abdominal wall masses and can help to define hernial contents such as fatty tissue, bowel, other organs or fluid. This work focuses on the main radiological findings of abdominal herniations. PMID:21860678

  3. Subgenual anterior cingulate cortex controls sadness-induced modulations of cognitive and emotional network hubs.

    PubMed

    Ramirez-Mahaluf, Juan P; Perramon, Joan; Otal, Begonya; Villoslada, Pablo; Compte, Albert

    2018-06-04

    The regulation of cognitive and emotional processes is critical for proper executive functions and social behavior, but its specific mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we addressed this issue by studying with functional magnetic resonance imaging the changes in network topology that underlie competitive interactions between emotional and cognitive networks in healthy participants. Our behavioral paradigm contrasted periods with high emotional and cognitive demands by including a sadness provocation task followed by a spatial working memory task. The sharp contrast between successive tasks was designed to enhance the separability of emotional and cognitive networks and reveal areas that regulate the flow of information between them (hubs). By applying graph analysis methods on functional connectivity between 20 regions of interest in 22 participants we identified two main brain network modules, one dorsal and one ventral, and their hub areas: the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and the left medial frontal pole (mFP). These hub areas did not modulate their mutual functional connectivity following sadness but they did so through an interposed area, the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sACC). Our results identify dlPFC and mFP as areas regulating interactions between emotional and cognitive networks, and suggest that their modulation by sadness experience is mediated by sACC.

  4. Adult intestinal intussusception: can abdominal MDCT distinguish an intussusception caused by a lead point?

    PubMed

    Tresoldi, Silvia; Kim, Young H; Blake, Michael A; Harisinghani, Mukesh G; Hahn, Peter F; Baker, Stephen P; Mueller, Peter R; Kandarpa, Krishna

    2008-01-01

    Aim of our study was to assess the ability of computed tomography to distinguish between an intussusception with a lead-point from one without it. Approval was granted by the Institutional Review Board. Ninety-three consecutive patients diagnosed with an intussusception on abdominal CT were classified with or without lead-point by surgery, clinical or radiological follow-up. Two radiologists blinded to the classification independently reviewed the CT images for predefined predictive variables. Non-lead-point intussusception was shorter in length (mean 4.9 vs. 11.1 cm for Reader 1 (R1); mean 4.0 vs. 8.9 cm for Reader 2 (R2), respectively, P < 0.001), smaller in axial diameter (mean 3.0 vs. 4.8 cm for R1; mean 2.8 vs. 4.4 cm for R2, P < 0.001, respectively), less likely associated with obstruction (P = 0.002 R1; P = 0.039 R2) and infiltration (P < 0.001 for R1, P = 0.003 R2) than lead-point intussusception. Abdominal CT is helpful in distinguishing between an intussusception with a lead-point from one without a lead-point. Length, axial diameter, and their product, as well as obstruction and infiltration, all suggest the presence of a lead-point. Analysis of CT findings can reduce unnecessary imaging follow-up or operation.

  5. Abdominal binders may reduce pain and improve physical function after major abdominal surgery - a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Rothman, Josephine Philip; Gunnarsson, Ulf; Bisgaard, Thue

    2014-11-01

    Evidence for the effect of post-operative abdominal binders on post-operative pain, seroma formation, physical function, pulmonary function and increased intra-abdominal pressure among patients after surgery remains largely un-investigated. A systematic review was conducted. The PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane databases were searched for studies on the use of abdominal binders after abdominal surgery or abdominoplasty. All types of clinical studies were included. Two independent assessors evaluated the scientific quality of the studies. The primary outcomes were pain, seroma formation and physical function. A total of 50 publications were identified; 42 publications were excluded leaving eight publications counting a total of 578 patients for analysis. Generally, the scientific quality of the studies was poor. Use of abdominal binder revealed a non-significant tendency to reduce seroma formation after laparoscopic ventral herniotomy and a non-significant reduction in pain. Physical function was improved, whereas evidence supports a beneficial effect on psychological distress after open abdominal surgery. Evidence also supports that intra-abdominal pressure increases with the use of abdominal binders. Reduction of pulmonary function during use of abdominal binders has not been revealed. Abdominal binders reduce post-operative psychological distress, but their effect on post-operative pain after laparotomy and seroma formation after ventral hernia repair remains unclear. Due to the sparse evidence and poor quality of the literature, solid conclusions may be difficult to make, and procedure-specific, high-quality randomised clinical trials are warranted.

  6. Effect of impurities and post-experimental purification in SAD phasing with serial femtosecond crystallography data.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Tao; Gu, Yuanxin; Fan, Haifu

    2016-06-01

    In serial crystallography (SX) with either an X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) or synchrotron radiation as the light source, huge numbers of micrometre-sized crystals are used in diffraction data collection. For a SAD experiment using a derivative with introduced heavy atoms, it is difficult to completely exclude crystals of the native protein from the sample. In this paper, simulations were performed to study how the inclusion of native crystals in the derivative sample could affect the result of SAD phasing and how the post-experimental purification proposed by Zhang et al. [(2015), Acta Cryst. D71, 2513-2518] could be used to remove the impurities. A gadolinium derivative of lysozyme and the corresponding native protein were used in the test. Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) diffraction snapshots were generated by CrystFEL. SHELXC/D, Phaser, DM, ARP/wARP and REFMAC were used for automatic structure solution. It is shown that a small amount of impurities (snapshots from native crystals) in the set of derivative snapshots can strongly affect the SAD phasing results. On the other hand, post-experimental purification can efficiently remove the impurities, leading to results similar to those from a pure sample.

  7. Prevalence of Internet Addiction among Schoolchildren in Novi Sad.

    PubMed

    Ac-Nikolić, Erzebet; Zarić, Dragana; Nićiforović-Šurković, Olja

    2015-01-01

    Internet use has increased rapidly all over the world. Excessive Internet use tends to lead to the creation of a non-chemical addiction, most commonly known as "Internet addiction." The aim of this study was an assessment of the prevalence of Internet use and Internet addiction among school children aged 14-18 years in the Municipality of Novi Sad, Serbia, and influence of sociodemographic variables on Internet use. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Novi Sad among final-year students from elementary and first- and second-year students from high schools.The prevalence of Internet addiction was assessed by using Young's Diagnostic Questionnaire. Out of 553 participants, 62.7% were females, and the average age was 15.6 years. The sample consisted of 153 elementary school students and 400 high school students. Majority of respondents had a computer in their household. Our study showed widespread Internet use among adolescents. Facebook and YouTube were among most visited web-sites. The main purpose of Internet use was entertainment. Estimated prevalence of Internet addiction was high (18.7%), Mostly among younger adolescents (p = 0.013). Internet addiction was found in every fifth adolescent. Accessibility and availability of Internet use is constantly growing and therefore it is necessary to define more sensitive diagnostic tools for the assessment of Internet addiction and its underlying causes, in order to implement effective preventive programs.

  8. Abdominal Sepsis.

    PubMed

    De Waele, Jan J

    2016-08-01

    Abdominal infections are an important challenge for the intensive care physician. In an era of increasing antimicrobial resistance, selecting the appropriate regimen is important and, with new drugs coming to the market, correct use is important more than ever before and abdominal infections are an excellent target for antimicrobial stewardship programs. Biomarkers may be helpful, but their exact role in managing abdominal infections remains incompletely understood. Source control also remains an ongoing conundrum, and evidence is increasing that its importance supersedes the impact of antibiotic therapy. New strategies such as open abdomen management may offer added benefit in severely ill patients, but more data are needed to identify its exact role. The role of fungi and the need for antifungal coverage, on the other hand, have been investigated extensively in recent years, but at this point, it remains unclear who requires empirical as well as directed therapy.

  9. Fatty acid–induced gut-brain signaling attenuates neural and behavioral effects of sad emotion in humans

    PubMed Central

    Van Oudenhove, Lukas; McKie, Shane; Lassman, Daniel; Uddin, Bilal; Paine, Peter; Coen, Steven; Gregory, Lloyd; Tack, Jan; Aziz, Qasim

    2011-01-01

    Although a relationship between emotional state and feeding behavior is known to exist, the interactions between signaling initiated by stimuli in the gut and exteroceptively generated emotions remain incompletely understood. Here, we investigated the interaction between nutrient-induced gut-brain signaling and sad emotion induced by musical and visual cues at the behavioral and neural level in healthy nonobese subjects undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Subjects received an intragastric infusion of fatty acid solution or saline during neutral or sad emotion induction and rated sensations of hunger, fullness, and mood. We found an interaction between fatty acid infusion and emotion induction both in the behavioral readouts (hunger, mood) and at the level of neural activity in multiple pre-hypothesized regions of interest. Specifically, the behavioral and neural responses to sad emotion induction were attenuated by fatty acid infusion. These findings increase our understanding of the interplay among emotions, hunger, food intake, and meal-induced sensations in health, which may have important implications for a wide range of disorders, including obesity, eating disorders, and depression. PMID:21785220

  10. The special status of sad infant faces: age and valence differences in adults' cortical face processing.

    PubMed

    Colasante, Tyler; Mossad, Sarah I; Dudek, Joanna; Haley, David W

    2017-04-01

    Understanding the relative and joint prioritization of age- and valence-related face characteristics in adults' cortical face processing remains elusive because these two characteristics have not been manipulated in a single study of neural face processing. We used electroencephalography to investigate adults' P1, N170, P2 and LPP responses to infant and adult faces with happy and sad facial expressions. Viewing infant vs adult faces was associated with significantly larger P1, N170, P2 and LPP responses, with hemisphere and/or participant gender moderating this effect in select cases. Sad faces were associated with significantly larger N170 responses than happy faces. Sad infant faces were associated with significantly larger N170 responses in the right hemisphere than all other combinations of face age and face valence characteristics. We discuss the relative and joint neural prioritization of infant face characteristics and negative facial affect, and their biological value as distinct caregiving and social cues. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Fatty acid-induced gut-brain signaling attenuates neural and behavioral effects of sad emotion in humans.

    PubMed

    Van Oudenhove, Lukas; McKie, Shane; Lassman, Daniel; Uddin, Bilal; Paine, Peter; Coen, Steven; Gregory, Lloyd; Tack, Jan; Aziz, Qasim

    2011-08-01

    Although a relationship between emotional state and feeding behavior is known to exist, the interactions between signaling initiated by stimuli in the gut and exteroceptively generated emotions remain incompletely understood. Here, we investigated the interaction between nutrient-induced gut-brain signaling and sad emotion induced by musical and visual cues at the behavioral and neural level in healthy nonobese subjects undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Subjects received an intragastric infusion of fatty acid solution or saline during neutral or sad emotion induction and rated sensations of hunger, fullness, and mood. We found an interaction between fatty acid infusion and emotion induction both in the behavioral readouts (hunger, mood) and at the level of neural activity in multiple pre-hypothesized regions of interest. Specifically, the behavioral and neural responses to sad emotion induction were attenuated by fatty acid infusion. These findings increase our understanding of the interplay among emotions, hunger, food intake, and meal-induced sensations in health, which may have important implications for a wide range of disorders, including obesity, eating disorders, and depression.

  12. Maternal Sadness and Adolescents' Responses to Stress in Offspring of Mothers with and without a History of Depression

    PubMed Central

    Jaser, Sarah S.; Fear, Jessica M.; Reeslund, Kristen L.; Champion, Jennifer E.; Reising, Michelle M.; Compas, Bruce E.

    2008-01-01

    This study examined maternal sadness and adolescents' responses to stress in the offspring (n = 72) of mothers with and without a history of depression. Mothers with a history of depression reported higher levels of current depressive symptoms and exhibited greater sadness during interactions with their adolescent children than mothers without a history of depression. Similarly, adolescent children of mothers with a history of depression experienced higher rates of internalizing and externalizing symptoms than adolescents of mothers without a history of depression. Regression analyses indicated that adolescents' use of secondary control coping mediated the relationship between observed maternal sadness and adolescents' internalizing and externalizing symptoms, in that higher levels of secondary control coping (e.g., cognitive reframing) were related to fewer symptoms. Results have implications for preventive interventions with children of mothers with a history of depression. PMID:18991125

  13. Sad mood induction has an opposite effect on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder and healthy controls

    PubMed Central

    Horacek, Jiri; Mikolas, Pavol; Tintera, Jaroslav; Novak, Tomas; Palenicek, Tomas; Brunovsky, Martin; Höschl, Cyril; Alda, Martin

    2015-01-01

    Background Aberrant amygdala reactivity to affective stimuli represents a candidate factor predisposing patients with bipolar disorder (BD) to relapse, but it is unclear to what extent amygdala reactivity is state-dependent. We evaluated the modulatory influence of mood on amygdala reactivity and functional connectivity in patients with remitted BD and healthy controls. Methods Amygdala response to sad versus neutral faces was investigated using fMRI during periods of normal and sad mood induced by autobiographical scripts. We assessed the functional connectivity of the amygdala to characterize the influence of mood state on the network responsible for the amygdala response. Results We included 20 patients with remitted BD and 20 controls in our study. The sad and normal mood exerted opposite effects on the amygdala response to emotional faces in patients compared with controls (F1,38 = 5.85, p = 0.020). Sad mood amplified the amygdala response to sad facial stimuli in controls but attenuated the amygdala response in patients. The groups differed in functional connectivity between the amygdala and the inferior prefrontal gyrus (p ≤ 0.05, family-wise error–corrected) of ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) corresponding to Brodmann area 47. The sad mood challenge increased connectivity during the period of processing sad faces in patients but decreased connectivity in controls. Limitations Limitations to our study included long-term medication use in the patient group and the fact that we mapped only depressive (not manic) reactivity. Conclusion Our results support the role of the amygdala–vlPFC as the system of dysfunctional contextual affective processing in patients with BD. Opposite amygdala reactivity unmasked by the mood challenge paradigm could represent a trait marker of altered mood regulation in patients with BD. PMID:25703646

  14. Abdominal Aortic Dissections

    PubMed Central

    Borioni, Raoul; Garofalo, Mariano; De Paulis, Ruggero; Nardi, Paolo; Scaffa, Raffaele; Chiariello, Luigi

    2005-01-01

    Isolated abdominal aortic dissections are rare events. Their anatomic and clinical features are different from those of atherosclerotic aneurysms. We report 4 cases of isolated abdominal aortic dissection that were successfully treated with surgical or endovascular intervention. The anatomic and clinical features and a review of the literature are also presented. PMID:15902826

  15. Income reliably predicts daily sadness, but not happiness: A replication and extension of Kushlev, Dunn, & Lucas (2015)

    PubMed Central

    Hudson, Nathan W.; Lucas, Richard E.; Donnellan, M. Brent; Kushlev, Kostadin

    2017-01-01

    Kushlev, Dunn, and Lucas (2015) found that income predicts less daily sadness—but not greater happiness—among Americans. The present study used longitudinal data from an approximately representative German sample to replicate and extend these findings. Our results largely replicated Kushlev and colleagues’: income predicted less daily sadness (albeit with a smaller effect size), but was unrelated to happiness. Moreover, the association between income and sadness could not be explained by demographics, stress, or daily time-use. Extending Kushlev and colleagues’ findings, new analyses indicated that only between-persons variance in income (but not within-persons variance) predicted daily sadness—perhaps because there was relatively little within-persons variance in income. Finally, income predicted less daily sadness and worry, but not less anger or frustration—potentially suggesting that income predicts less “internalizing” but not less “externalizing” negative emotions. Together, our study and Kushlev and colleagues’ provide evidence that income robustly predicts select daily negative emotions—but not positive ones. PMID:29250303

  16. Decreased response inhibition to sad faces during explicit and implicit tasks in females with depression: Evidence from an event-related potential study.

    PubMed

    Yu, Fengqiong; Zhou, Xiaoqing; Qing, Wu; Li, Dan; Li, Jing; Chen, Xingui; Ji, Gongjun; Dong, Yi; Luo, Yuejia; Zhu, Chunyan; Wang, Kai

    2017-01-30

    The present study aimed to investigate neural substrates of response inhibition to sad faces across explicit and implicit tasks in depressed female patients. Event-related potentials were obtained while participants performed modified explicit and implicit emotional go/no-go tasks. Compared to controls, depressed patients showed decreased discrimination accuracy and amplitudes of original and nogo-go difference waves at the P3 interval in response inhibition to sad faces during explicit and implicit tasks. P3 difference wave were positively correlated with discrimination accuracy and were independent of clinical assessment. The activation of right dorsal prefrontal cortex was larger for the implicit than for the explicit task in sad condition in health controls, but was similar for the two tasks in depressed patients. The present study indicated that selectively impairment in response inhibition to sad faces in depressed female patients occurred at the behavior inhibition stage across implicit and explicit tasks and may be a trait-like marker of depression. Longitudinal studies are required to determine whether decreased response inhibition to sad faces increases the risk for future depressive episodes so that appropriate treatment can be administered to patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. A numerical framework for studying the biomechanical behavior of abdominal aortic aneurysm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jalalahmadi, Golnaz; Linte, Cristian; Helguera, María.

    2017-03-01

    Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is known as a leading cause of death in the United States. AAA is an abnormal dilation of the aorta, which usually occurs below the renal arteries and causes an expansion at least 1.5 times its normal diameter. It has been shown that biomechanical parameters of the aortic tissue coupled with a set of specific geometric parameters characterizing the vessel expansion, affect the risk of aneurysm rupture. Here, we developed a numerical framework that incorporates both biomechanical and geometrical factors to study the behavior of abdominal aortic aneurysm. Our workflow enables the extraction of the aneurysm geometry from both clinical quality, as well as low-resolution MR images. We used a two-parameter, hyper-elastic, isotropic, incompressible material to model the vessel tissue. Our numerical model was tested using both synthetic and mouse data and we evaluated the effects of the geometrical and biomechanical properties on the developed peak wall stress. In addition, we performed several parameter sensitivity studies to investigate the effect of different factors affecting the AAA and its behavior and rupture. Lastly, relationships between different geometrical and biomechanical parameters and peak wall stress were determined. These studies help us better understand vessel tissue response to various loading, geometry and biomechanics conditions, and we plan to further correlate these findings with the pathophysiological conditions from a patient population diagnosed with abdominal aortic aneurysms.

  18. Da Vinci-assisted abdominal cerclage.

    PubMed

    Barmat, Larry; Glaser, Gretchen; Davis, George; Craparo, Frank

    2007-11-01

    To report the first placement of an abdominal cervicoisthmic cerclage using the da Vinci robot. Case report. Tertiary-care hospital. A 39-year-old female with a history of cervical insufficiency who required a cerclage and was not a candidate for transvaginal cerclage placement. Abdominal cervicoisthmic cerclage placement using the da Vinci robot. Ability to safely and successfully place an abdominal cerclage using the da Vinci robot. Abdominal cerclage was successfully placed using the da Vinci robot. The patient had minimal blood loss and was discharged to home on the same day as surgery. Da Vinci robot-assisted abdominal cerclage placement is an innovative application of robotic surgery and may alter the standard of care for women who require this surgery.

  19. The direction of effects between perceived parental behavioral control and psychological control and adolescents' self-reported GAD and SAD symptoms.

    PubMed

    Wijsbroek, Saskia A M; Hale, William W; Raaijmakers, Quinten A W; Meeus, Wim H J

    2011-07-01

    This study examined the direction of effects and age and sex differences between adolescents' perceptions of parental behavioral and psychological control and adolescents' self-reports of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and separation anxiety disorder (SAD) symptoms. The study focused on 1,313 Dutch adolescents (early-to-middle cohort n = 923, 70.3%; middle-to-late cohort n = 390, 29.7%) from the general population. A multi-group, structural equation model was employed to analyze the direction of the effects between behavioral control, psychological control and GAD and SAD symptoms for the adolescent cohorts. The current study demonstrated that a unidirectional child effect model of the adolescents' GAD and SAD symptoms predicting parental control best described the data. Additionally, adolescent GAD and SAD symptoms were stronger and more systematically related to psychological control than to behavioral control. With regard to age-sex differences, anxiety symptoms almost systematically predicted parental control over time for the early adolescent boys, whereas no significant differences were found between the late adolescent boys and girls.

  20. SAD phasing with in-house cu Ka radiation using barium as anomalous scatterer.

    PubMed

    Dhanasekaran, V; Velmurugan, D

    2011-12-01

    Phasing of lysozyme crystals using co-crystallized barium ions was performed using single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (SAD) method using Cu Ka radiation with in-house source of data collection. As the ion binding sites vary with respect to the pH of the buffer during crystallization, the highly isomorphic forms of lysozyme crystals grown at acidic and alkaline pH were used for the study. Intrinsic sulphur anomalous signal was also utilized with anomalous signal from lower occupancy ions for phasing. The study showed that to solve the structure by SAD technique, 2.8-fold data redundancy was sufficient when barium was used as an anomalous marker in the in-house copper X-ray radiation source for data collection. Therefore, co-crystallization of proteins with barium containing salt can be a powerful tool for structure determination using lab source.

  1. Functional abdominal pain.

    PubMed

    Grover, Madhusudan; Drossman, Douglas A

    2010-10-01

    Functional abdominal pain syndrome (FAPS) is a relatively less common functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder defined by the presence of constant or frequently recurring abdominal pain that is not associated with eating, change in bowel habits, or menstrual periods (Drossman Gastroenterology 130:1377-1390, 2006), which points to a more centrally targeted (spinal and supraspinal) basis for the symptoms. However, FAPS is frequently confused with irritable bowel syndrome and other functional GI disorders in which abdominal pain is associated with eating and bowel movements. FAPS also differs from chronic abdominal pain associated with entities such as chronic pancreatitis or chronic inflammatory bowel disease, in which the pain is associated with peripherally acting factors (eg, gut inflammation or injury). Given the central contribution to the pain experience, concomitant psychosocial disturbances are common and strongly influence the clinical expression of FAPS, which also by definition is associated with loss of daily functioning. These factors make it critical to use a biopsychosocial construct to understand and manage FAPS, because gut-directed treatments are usually not successful in managing this condition.

  2. Altered insular activation and increased insular functional connectivity during sad and happy face processing in adolescent major depressive disorder.

    PubMed

    Henje Blom, Eva; Connolly, Colm G; Ho, Tiffany C; LeWinn, Kaja Z; Mobayed, Nisreen; Han, Laura; Paulus, Martin P; Wu, Jing; Simmons, Alan N; Yang, Tony T

    2015-06-01

    Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide and occurs commonly first during adolescence. The insular cortex (IC) plays an important role in integrating emotion processing with interoception and has been implicated recently in the pathophysiology of adult and adolescent MDD. However, no studies have yet specifically examined the IC in adolescent MDD during processing of faces in the sad-happy continuum. Thus, the aim of the present study is to investigate the IC during sad and happy face processing in adolescents with MDD compared to healthy controls (HCL). Thirty-one adolescents (22 female) with MDD and 36 (23 female) HCL underwent a well-validated emotional processing fMRI paradigm that included sad and happy face stimuli. The MDD group showed significantly less differential activation of the anterior/middle insular cortex (AMIC) in response to sad versus happy faces compared to the HCL group. AMIC also showed greater functional connectivity with right fusiform gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, and right amygdala/parahippocampal gyrus in the MDD compared to HCL group. Moreover, differential activation to sad and happy faces in AMIC correlated negatively with depression severity within the MDD group. Small age-range and cross-sectional nature precluded assessment of development of the AMIC in adolescent depression. Given the role of the IC in integrating bodily stimuli with conscious cognitive and emotional processes, our findings of aberrant AMIC function in adolescent MDD provide a neuroscientific rationale for targeting the AMIC in the development of new treatment modalities. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. [Abdominal traumatic evisceration: reconstruction abdominal wall with biologic mesh and negative pressure therapy].

    PubMed

    Jiménez Gómez, M; Betancor Rivera, N; Lima Sánchez, J; Hernández Hernández, J R

    2016-04-10

    Abdominal traumatic evisceration as a result of high energy trauma is uncommon. Once repaired the possible internal damage, an abdominal wall defect of high complexity may exist, whose reconstruction represents a surgical challenge. Politraumatized male with important abdominal muculocutaneous avulsion and evisceration. After initial repair, the patient developed a big eventration in which we use a porcine dermis-derived mesh (Permacol TM ), a safe and effective alternative in abdominal wall repair, thanks to its seamless integration with other tissues, even when exposed. Negative pressure therapy has been used for the management of wound complications after surgical implantation of PermacolTM mesh. We describe our experience with the use of PermacolTM mesh and negative pressure therapy to aid the wound closure after skin necrosis and exposed mesh.

  4. Intra-abdominal pressure during swimming.

    PubMed

    Moriyama, S; Ogita, F; Huang, Z; Kurobe, K; Nagira, A; Tanaka, T; Takahashi, H; Hirano, Y

    2014-02-01

    The present study aimed to determine the intra-abdominal pressure during front crawl swimming at different velocities in competitive swimmers and to clarify the relationships between stroke indices and changes in intra-abdominal pressure. The subjects were 7 highly trained competitive collegiate male swimmers. Intra-abdominal pressure was measured during front crawl swimming at 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4 m · s(-1) and during the Valsalva maneuver. Intra-abdominal pressure was taken as the difference between minimum and maximum values, and the mean of 6 stable front crawl stroke cycles was used. Stroke rate and stroke length were also measured as stroke indices. There were significant differences in stroke rate among all velocities (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in stroke length by velocity. Significant within-subject correlations between intra-abdominal pressure and stroke rate or stroke length (P < 0.01) were observed, although there were no significant correlations between intra-abdominal pressure and stroke indices when controlling for swimming velocity. These findings do not appear to support the effectiveness of trunk training performed by competitive swimmers aimed at increasing intra-abdominal pressure. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  5. Extracellular Matrix Disarray as A Mechanism for Greater Abdominal vs. Thoracic Aortic Stiffness with Aging in Primates

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Jie; Zhao, Xin; Vatner, Dorothy E; McNulty, Tara; Bishop, Sanford; Sun, Zhe; Shen, You-Tang; Chen, Li; Meininger, Gerald A; Vatner, Stephen F

    2016-01-01

    Objective Increased vascular stiffness is central to the pathophysiology of aging, hypertension, diabetes and atherosclerosis. However, relatively few studies have examined vascular stiffness in both the thoracic and abdominal aorta with aging, despite major differences in anatomy, embryological origin and relation to aortic aneurysm. Approach and Results The two other unique features of this study were 1) to study young (9±1 years) and old (26±1 years) male monkeys, and 2) to study direct and continuous measurements of aortic pressure and thoracic and abdominal aortic diameters in conscious monkeys. As expected, aortic stiffness, β, was increased p<0.05, 2–3 fold, in old vs. young thoracic aorta, and augmented further with superimposition of acute hypertension with phenylephrine. Surprisingly, stiffness was not greater in old thoracic aorta than young abdominal aorta. These results can be explained in part by the collagen/elastin ratio, but more importantly, by disarray of collagen and elastin, which correlated best with vascular stiffness. However, vascular smooth muscle cell stiffness, was not different in thoracic vs. abdominal aorta in either young or old monkeys. Conclusions Thus, aortic stiffness increases with aging as expected, but the most severe increases in aortic stiffness observed in the abdominal aorta is novel, where values in young monkeys equaled, or even exceeded, values of thoracic aortic stiffness in old monkeys. These results can be explained by alterations in collagen/elastin ratio, but even more importantly by collagen and elastin disarray. PMID:26891739

  6. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA)

    MedlinePlus

    ... plaque buildup causes the walls of the abdominal aorta to become weak and bulge outward like a ... treated? What is an abdominal aortic aneurysm? The aorta, the largest artery in the body, is a ...

  7. Abdominal Wall Endometriosis Mimicking Metastases.

    PubMed

    Nambiar, Rakul; Anoop, T M; Mony, Rari P

    2018-06-01

    Abdominal wall lesions can be broadly divided into nontumorous and tumorous conditions. Nontumorous lesions include congenital lesion, abdominal wall hernia, inflammation and infection, vascular lesions, and miscellaneous conditions like hematoma. Tumorous lesions include benign and malignant neoplasms. Here, we report an unusual case of abdominal wall endometriosis mimicking metastases in a patient with breast carcinoma.

  8. PREDICTIVE ACCURACY OF TRANSCEREBELLAR DIAMETER IN COMPARISON WITH OTHER FOETAL BIOMETRIC PARAMETERS FOR GESTATIONAL AGE ESTIMATION AMONG PREGNANT NIGERIAN WOMEN.

    PubMed

    Adeyekun, A A; Orji, M O

    2014-04-01

    To compare the predictive accuracy of foetal trans-cerebellar diameter (TCD) with those of other biometric parameters in the estimation of gestational age (GA). A cross-sectional study. The University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Four hundred and fifty healthy singleton pregnant women, between 14-42 weeks gestation. Trans-cerebellar diameter (TCD), biparietal diameter (BPD), femur length (FL), abdominal circumference (AC) values across the gestational age range studied. Correlation and predictive values of TCD compared to those of other biometric parameters. The range of values for TCD was 11.9 - 59.7mm (mean = 34.2 ± 14.1mm). TCD correlated more significantly with menstrual age compared with other biometric parameters (r = 0.984, p = 0.000). TCD had a higher predictive accuracy of 96.9% ± 12 days), BPD (93.8% ± 14.1 days). AC (92.7% ± 15.3 days). TCD has a stronger predictive accuracy for gestational age compared to other routinely used foetal biometric parameters among Nigerian Africans.

  9. Abdominal drainage following cholecystectomy: high, low, or no suction?

    PubMed Central

    McCormack, T. T.; Abel, P. D.; Collins, C. D.

    1983-01-01

    A prospective trial to assess the effect of suction in an abdominal drain following cholecystectomy was carried out. Three types of closed drainage system were compared: a simple tube drain, a low negative pressure drain, and a high negative pressure drain: 120 consecutive patients undergoing cholecystectomy were randomly allocated to one of the three drainage groups. There was no significant difference in postoperative pyrexia, wound infection, chest infection, or hospital stay. This study failed to demonstrate any clinically useful difference between high negative pressure, low negative pressure, and static drainage system were compared: a simple tube drain, a low negative used, suction is not necessary and a simple tube drain (greater than 6 mm internal diameter) is the most effective form of drainage. PMID:6614773

  10. Regulating sadness and fear from outside and within: mothers' emotion socialization and adolescents' parasympathetic regulation predict the development of internalizing difficulties.

    PubMed

    Hastings, Paul D; Klimes-Dougan, Bonnie; Kendziora, Kimberly T; Brand, Ann; Zahn-Waxler, Carolyn

    2014-11-01

    Multilevel models of developmental psychopathology implicate both characteristics of the individual and their rearing environment in the etiology of internalizing problems and disorders. Maladaptive regulation of fear and sadness, the core of anxiety and depression, arises from the conjoint influences of ineffective parasympathetic regulation of emotion and ineffective emotion socialization experiences. In 171 youths (84 female, M = 13.69 years, SD = 1.84), we measured changes of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in response to sadness- and fear-inducing film clips and maternal supportive and punitive responses to youths' internalizing emotions. Youths and mothers reported on youths' internalizing problems and anxiety and depression symptoms concurrently and 2 years later at Time 2. Maternal supportive emotion socialization predicted fewer, and punitive socialization predicted more, mother-reported internalizing problems at Time 2 only for youths who showed RSA suppression to fear-inducing films. More RSA suppression to sadness-inducing films predicted more youth-reported internalizing problems at Time 2 in girls only. In addition, less supportive emotion socialization predicted more youth-reported depression symptoms at Time 2 only for girls who showed more RSA suppression to sadness. RSA suppression to sadness versus fear might reflect different patterns of atypical parasympathetic regulation of emotional arousal, both of which increase the risk for internalizing difficulties in youths, and especially girls, who lack maternal support for regulating emotions.

  11. Abdominal emergencies in pediatrics.

    PubMed

    Coca Robinot, D; Liébana de Rojas, C; Aguirre Pascual, E

    2016-05-01

    Abdominal symptoms are among the most common reasons for pediatric emergency department visits, and abdominal pain is the most frequently reported symptom. Thorough history taking and physical examination can often reach the correct diagnosis. Knowing the abdominal conditions that are most common in each age group can help radiologists narrow the differential diagnosis. When imaging tests are indicated, ultrasonography is usually the first-line technique, enabling the diagnosis or adding relevant information with the well-known advantages of this technique. Nowadays, plain-film X-ray studies are reserved for cases in which perforation, bowel obstruction, or foreign body ingestion is suspected. It is also important to remember that abdominal pain can also occur secondary to basal pneumonia. CT is reserved for specific indications and in individual cases, for example, in patients with high clinical suspicion of abdominal disease and inconclusive findings at ultrasonography. We review some of the most common conditions in pediatric emergencies, the different imaging tests indicated in each case, and the imaging signs in each condition. Copyright © 2016 SERAM. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  12. Patterns of prescription antihypertensive drug utilization and adherence to treatment guidelines in the city of Novi Sad.

    PubMed

    Tomas, Ana; Tomić, Zdenko; Milijasević, Boris; Ban, Milica; Horvat, Olga; Vukmirović, Sasa; Sabo, Ana

    2016-06-01

    Hypertension is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and more than a half of all health insurance expenditures for reimbursed medicines are allocated to antihypertensive drugs in Serbia. The aim of this study was to identify the antihypertensive drug utilization patterns among hypertensive outpatients in the city of Novi Sad, Serbia, determine the adherence to clinical guidelines and address the economic aspects of current prescribing practices. This retrospective observational study was conducted in Novi Sad over a period of six months. The data on the number of packages, size their, and retail price of antihypertensives issued on prescription in outpatients with the diagnosis of essential arterial hypertension was collected from all state-owned pharmacies in Novi Sad. Drug consumption was analyzed using the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC)/ defined daily dose (DDD) methodology. Total consumption of antihypertensives issued on prescription over a 6-month period in the city of Novi sad, Serbia was 283.48 DDD per 1,000 inhabitans per day (DID). Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) were most commonly prescribed drugs, and were used 3 times more often than calcium channel blockers and 5 times more than beta-blockers. The consumption of diuretics and angiotensin receptor antagonists was low within all the groups of outpatients. Both national and international guidelines state superiority and effectiveness of diuretics in treatment of hypertension in the elderly, but their consumption was unreasonable low despite the fact that over 70% of all antihypertensive drugs in the city of Novi Sad were dispensed in people aged > 60. The use of more expensive ACEi was observed despite the guidelines deeming all the drugs of this class equally effective in treatment of hypertension. Large differences in utilization of different groups of antihypertensive agents were noted in this study. Underutilization of valuable, efficacious, and

  13. Successful Aortic Banding for Type IA Endoleak Due to Neck Dilatation after Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair: Case Report.

    PubMed

    Tashima, Yasushi; Tamai, Koichi; Shirasugi, Takehiro; Sato, Kenichiro; Yamamoto, Takahiro; Imamura, Yusuke; Yamaguchi, Atsushi; Adachi, Hideo; Kobinata, Toshiyuki

    2017-09-25

    A 69-year-old man with a type IA endoleak that developed approximately 21 months after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) of a 46 mm diameter aneurysm was referred to our department. He had impaired renal function, Parkinson's disease, and previous cerebral infarction. Computed tomography angiography showed a type IA endoleak with neck dilatation and that the aneurysm had grown to 60 mm in diameter. We decided to perform aortic banding. The type IA endoleak disappeared after banding and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 10. Aortic banding may be effective for type IA endoleak after EVAR and less invasive for high-risk patients in particular.

  14. Serum Fatty Acids, Desaturase Activities and Abdominal Obesity – A Population-Based Study of 60-Year Old Men and Women

    PubMed Central

    Alsharari, Zayed D.; Risérus, Ulf; Leander, Karin; Sjögren, Per; Carlsson, Axel C.; Vikström, Max; Laguzzi, Federica; Gigante, Bruna; Cederholm, Tommy; De Faire, Ulf; Hellénius, Mai-Lis

    2017-01-01

    Abdominal obesity is a key contributor of metabolic disease. Recent trials suggest that dietary fat quality affects abdominal fat content, where palmitic acid and linoleic acid influence abdominal obesity differently, while effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are less studied. Also, fatty acid desaturation may be altered in abdominal obesity. We aimed to investigate cross-sectional associations of serum fatty acids and desaturases with abdominal obesity prevalence in a population-based cohort study. Serum cholesteryl ester fatty acids composition was measured by gas chromatography in 60-year old men (n = 1883) and women (n = 2015). Cross-sectional associations of fatty acids with abdominal obesity prevalence and anthropometric measures (e.g., sagittal abdominal diameter) were evaluated in multivariable-adjusted logistic and linear regression models, respectively. Similar models were employed to investigate relations between desaturase activities (estimated by fatty acid ratios) and abdominal obesity. In logistic regression analyses, palmitic acid, stearoyl-CoA-desaturase and Δ6-desaturase indices were associated with abdominal obesity; multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for highest versus lowest quartiles were 1.45 (1.19–1.76), 4.06 (3.27–5.05), and 3.07 (2.51–3.75), respectively. Linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid, docohexaenoic acid, and Δ5-desaturase were inversely associated with abdominal obesity; multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals): 0.39 (0.32–0.48), 0.74 (0.61–0.89), 0.76 (0.62–0.93), and 0.40 (0.33–0.49), respectively. Eicosapentaenoic acid was not associated with abdominal obesity. Similar results were obtained from linear regression models evaluating associations with different anthropometric measures. Sex-specific and linear associations were mainly observed for n3-polyunsaturated fatty acids, while associations of the other exposures were generally non-linear and similar across

  15. Abdominal Complications after Severe Burns

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-05-01

    abdominal compartment syndrome, schemic bowel, biliary disease, peptic ulcer disease and astritis requiring laparotomy, small bowel obstruction, rimary fungal...abdominal complications was 25%, with Curl- ng’s ulcer the most common malady (54% of the total), ollowed by esophageal lesions (17%), hemorrhagic...complications in- luded trauma exploratory laparotomy, abdominal com- artment syndrome, ischemic bowel, biliary disease, peptic lcer disease and gastritis, large

  16. The Sad, the Mad and the Bad: Co-Existing Discourses of Girlhood

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Marion

    2011-01-01

    Three significant, prevailing and overlapping narratives of teenage girls have dominated North American popular consciousness since the early 1990s: the sad girl, victimized by male privilege and misogyny of adolescence and beyond; the mad grrrls who rejected this vulnerability through music and media; and the bad girls of much current popular…

  17. Emotional expressions in antismoking television advertisements: consequences of anger and sadness framing on pathways to persuasion.

    PubMed

    Kim, Sunny Jung; Niederdeppe, Jeff

    2014-01-01

    The authors conducted an experiment among U.S. college students (N = 115) to assess the effects of anger- and sadness-framed television antismoking advertisements on viewers' emotional response, impressions of the speaker, source likability, and empathy toward the speaker. The study was based on the fundamental assumptions of discrete emotions and was operationalized using the principles of universal facial expressions. The authors also constructed a path model to investigate how these variables predicted one's attitude toward smoking, attitude toward the tobacco industry, and intentions to smoke. Supporting study hypotheses, the anger-framed message increased the perceived dominance of the speaker relative to the other conditions. Perceived dominance, in turn, was negatively associated with smoking attitudes and, indirectly, smoking intentions. Contrary to study hypotheses, the sadness-framed message did not increase sad emotional responses, source likability, or empathy relative to the no emotion-framed message. The anger-framed message unexpectedly appeared to decrease these outcomes. Empathy and source likability were associated with positive attitudes toward the tobacco industry, but these attitudes did not predict intentions to smoke. The authors discuss the implications of these findings.

  18. Equations of prediction for abdominal fat in brown egg-laying hens fed different diets.

    PubMed

    Souza, C; Jaimes, J J B; Gewehr, C E

    2017-06-01

    The objective was to use noninvasive measurements to formulate equations for predicting the abdominal fat weight of laying hens in a noninvasive manner. Hens were fed with different diets; the external body measurements of birds were used as regressors. We used 288 Hy-Line Brown laying hens, distributed in a completely randomized design in a factorial arrangement, submitted for 16 wk to 2 metabolizable energy levels (2,550 and 2,800 kcal/kg) and 3 levels of crude protein in the diet (150, 160, and 170 g/kg), totaling 6 treatments, with 48 hens each. Sixteen hens per treatment of 92 wk age were utilized to evaluate body weight, bird length, tarsus and sternum, greater and lesser diameter of the tarsus, and abdominal fat weight, after slaughter. The equations were obtained by using measures evaluated with regressors through simple and multiple linear regression with the stepwise method of indirect elimination (backward), with P < 0.10 for all variables remaining in the model. The weight of abdominal fat as predicted by the equations and observed values for each bird were subjected to Pearson's correlation analysis. The equations generated by energy levels showed coefficients of determination of 0.50 and 0.74 for 2,800 and 2,550 kcal/kg of metabolizable energy, respectively, with correlation coefficients of 0.71 and 0.84, with a highly significant correlation between the calculated and observed values of abdominal fat. For protein levels of 150, 160, and 170 g/kg in the diet, it was possible to obtain coefficients of determination of 0.75, 0.57, and 0.61, with correlation coefficients of 0.86, 0.75, and 0.78, respectively. Regarding the general equation for predicting abdominal fat weight, the coefficient of determination was 0.62; the correlation coefficient was 0.79. The equations for predicting abdominal fat weight in laying hens, based on external measurements of the birds, showed positive coefficients of determination and correlation coefficients, thus

  19. Surface Electromyographic Activity of the Abdominal Muscles During Pelvic-Tilt and Abdominal-Hollowing Exercises.

    PubMed

    Drysdale, Cheri L.; Earl, Jennifer E.; Hertel, Jay

    2004-03-01

    OBJECTIVE: To investigate surface electromyographic (EMG) activity of the rectus abdominus and external oblique abdominus muscles during pelvic-tilt and abdominal-hollowing exercises performed in different positions. DESIGN AND SETTING: 2 x 3 (exercise by position) within-subjects design with repeated measures on both factors. All testing was performed in a university laboratory. SUBJECTS: Twenty-six healthy, active young adult females. MEASUREMENTS: Surface EMG activity was recorded from the left and right rectus abdominus and external oblique muscles while the 2 exercises (pelvic tilt and abdominal hollowing) were performed in different positions (standard, legs supported, and legs unsupported). The standard position was supine in the crook-lying position, the supported position was with hips and knees flexed to 90 degrees and legs supported on a platform, and the unsupported position was with hips and knees flexed to 90 degrees without external support. Peak EMG activity was normalized to a maximum voluntary isometric contraction for each muscle. RESULTS: For the rectus abdominus, there was an interaction between position and activity. Abdominal hollowing produced significantly less activity than the pelvic tilt in all positions. The difference between the 2 exercises with the legs unsupported was of a greater magnitude than the other 2 positions. For the external obliques, there was significantly lower activity during the abdominal hollowing compared with the pelvic tilting. The greatest muscle activity occurred with the legs-unsupported position during both exercises. CONCLUSIONS: Abdominal-hollowing exercises produced less rectus abdominus and external oblique activity than pelvic-tilting exercises. Abdominal hollowing may be performed with minimal activation of the large global abdominal muscles.

  20. Blunt abdominal trauma in children.

    PubMed

    Schonfeld, Deborah; Lee, Lois K

    2012-06-01

    This review will examine the current evidence regarding pediatric blunt abdominal trauma and the physical exam findings, laboratory values, and radiographic imaging associated with the diagnosis of intra-abdominal injuries (IAI), as well as review the current literature on pediatric hollow viscus injuries and emergency department disposition after diagnosis. The importance of the seat belt sign on physical examination and screening laboratory data remains controversial, although screening hepatic enzymes are recommended in the evaluation of nonaccidental trauma to identify occult abdominal organ injuries. Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) has modest sensitivity for hemoperitoneum and IAI in the pediatric trauma patient. Patients with concern for undiagnosed IAI, including bowel injury, may be considered for hospital admission and serial abdominal exams without an increased risk of complications, if an exploratory laparotomy is not performed emergently. Although the FAST exam is not recommended as the sole screening tool to rule out IAI in hemodynamically stable trauma patients, it may be used in conjunction with the physical exam and laboratory findings to identify children at risk for IAI. Children with a normal physical exam and normal abdominal CT may not require routine hospitalization after blunt abdominal trauma.

  1. Endogenous influences on anammox and sulfocompound-oxidizing autotrophic denitrification coupling system (A/SAD) and dynamic operating strategy.

    PubMed

    Sun, Xinbo; Du, Lingfeng; Hou, Yuqian; Cheng, Shaoju; Zhang, Xuxiang; Liu, Bo

    2018-02-21

    The anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) and sulfocompound-oxidizing autotrophic denitrification coupling system (A/SAD) was initiated in an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor for nitrogen removal from high-strength wastewater. Owing to cooperation between anammox and partial sulfocompound-oxidation autotrophic denitrification coupling system (PSAD), the highest nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) of 98.1% ± 0.4% achieved at the optimal influent conditions of conversion efficiency of ammonium (CEA) of 55% and S 2 O 3 2- -S/NO 3 - -N (S/N) of 1.4 mol mol -1 . The activity of the short-cut sulfocompound-oxidizing autotrophic denitrification (SSAD) was also regulated to cope with dynamic CEA in the influent by changing the S/N, which was demonstrated to be effective in alleviating nitrite accumulation when the CEA was between 57% and 61%. Both the anammox and SAD bacteria enriched in the reactor after long-term incubation. Candidatus Brocadia and Candidatus Jettenia might be potentially contributing the most to anammox, while the Thiobacillus was the dominant taxa related to SAD. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  2. Bacterial community evolutions driven by organic matter and powder activated carbon in simultaneous anammox and denitrification (SAD) process.

    PubMed

    Ge, Cheng-Hao; Sun, Na; Kang, Qi; Ren, Long-Fei; Ahmad, Hafiz Adeel; Ni, Shou-Qing; Wang, Zhibin

    2018-03-01

    A distinct shift of bacterial community driven by organic matter (OM) and powder activated carbon (PAC) was discovered in the simultaneous anammox and denitrification (SAD) process which was operated in an anti-fouling submerged anaerobic membrane bio-reactor. Based on anammox performance, optimal OM dose (50 mg/L) was advised to start up SAD process successfully. The results of qPCR and high throughput sequencing analysis indicated that OM played a key role in microbial community evolutions, impelling denitrifiers to challenge anammox's dominance. The addition of PAC not only mitigated the membrane fouling, but also stimulated the enrichment of denitrifiers, accounting for the predominant phylum changing from Planctomycetes to Proteobacteria in SAD process. Functional genes forecasts based on KEGG database and COG database showed that the expressions of full denitrification functional genes were highly promoted in R C , which demonstrated the enhanced full denitrification pathway driven by OM and PAC under low COD/N value (0.11). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Update on Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Research: From Clinical to Genetic Studies

    PubMed Central

    Kuivaniemi, Helena; Ryer, Evan J.; Elmore, James R.; Hinterseher, Irene; Smelser, Diane T.; Tromp, Gerard

    2014-01-01

    An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a dilatation of the abdominal aorta with a diameter of at least 3.0 cm. AAAs are often asymptomatic and are discovered as incidental findings in imaging studies or when the AAA ruptures leading to a medical emergency. AAAs are more common in males than females, in individuals of European ancestry, and in those over 65 years of age. Smoking is the most important environmental risk factor. In addition, a positive family history of AAA increases the person's risk for AAA. Interestingly, diabetes has been shown to be a protective factor for AAA in many large studies. Hallmarks of AAA pathogenesis include inflammation, vascular smooth muscle cell apoptosis, extracellular matrix degradation, and oxidative stress. Autoimmunity may also play a role in AAA development and progression. In this Outlook paper, we summarize our recent studies on AAA including clinical studies related to surgical repair of AAA and genetic risk factor and large-scale gene expression studies. We conclude with a discussion on our research projects using large data sets available through electronic medical records and biobanks. PMID:24834361

  4. A randomized controlled trial to test the effect of multispecies probiotics on cognitive reactivity to sad mood.

    PubMed

    Steenbergen, Laura; Sellaro, Roberta; van Hemert, Saskia; Bosch, Jos A; Colzato, Lorenza S

    2015-08-01

    Recent insights into the role of the human microbiota in cognitive and affective functioning have led to the hypothesis that probiotic supplementation may act as an adjuvant strategy to ameliorate or prevent depression. Heightened cognitive reactivity to normal, transient changes in sad mood is an established marker of vulnerability to depression and is considered an important target for interventions. The present study aimed to test if a multispecies probiotic containing Bifidobacterium bifidum W23, Bifidobacterium lactis W52, Lactobacillus acidophilus W37, Lactobacillus brevis W63, Lactobacillus casei W56, Lactobacillus salivarius W24, and Lactococcus lactis (W19 and W58) may reduce cognitive reactivity in non-depressed individuals. In a triple-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, pre- and post-intervention assessment design, 20 healthy participants without current mood disorder received a 4-week probiotic food-supplement intervention with the multispecies probiotics, while 20 control participants received an inert placebo for the same period. In the pre- and post-intervention assessment, cognitive reactivity to sad mood was assessed using the revised Leiden index of depression sensitivity scale. Compared to participants who received the placebo intervention, participants who received the 4-week multispecies probiotics intervention showed a significantly reduced overall cognitive reactivity to sad mood, which was largely accounted for by reduced rumination and aggressive thoughts. These results provide the first evidence that the intake of probiotics may help reduce negative thoughts associated with sad mood. Probiotics supplementation warrants further research as a potential preventive strategy for depression. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. The Unique and Shared Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Fear, Anger, and Sadness in Childhood

    PubMed Central

    Clifford, Sierra; Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn; Goldsmith, H. Hill

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the extent to which subordinate dimensions of negative emotionality were genetically and environmentally distinct in a sample of 1316 twins (51% female, 85.8% Caucasian, primarily middle class, mean age = 7.87 years, SD = .93), recruited from Wisconsin hospital birth records between 1989 and 2004. Cholesky, independent pathway, and common pathway models were fitted for mother-report, father-report, and in-home observation of temperament. Although findings support the use of negative emotionality, there were heritable aspects of anger and fear not explained by a common genetic factor, and shared environmental influences common to anger and sadness but not fear. Observed fear was independent from observed anger and sadness. Distinctions support specificity in measurement when considering implications for child development. PMID:26182850

  6. Improvement of autobiographic memory recovery by means of sad music in Alzheimer's Disease type dementia.

    PubMed

    Meilán García, Juan José; Iodice, Rosario; Carro, Juan; Sánchez, José Antonio; Palmero, Francisco; Mateos, Ana María

    2012-06-01

    Autobiographic memory undergoes progressive deterioration during the evolution of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this study was to analyze mechanisms which facilitate recovery of autobiographic memories. We used a repeatedly employed mechanism, music, with the addition of an emotional factor. Autobiographic memory provoked by a variety of sounds (music which was happy, sad, lacking emotion, ambient noise in a coffee bar and no sound) was analyzed in a sample of 25 patients with AD. Emotional music, especially sad music for remote memories, was found to be the most effective kind for recall of autobiographic experiences. The factor evoking the memory is not the music itself, but rather the emotion associated with it, and is useful for semantic rather than episodic memory.

  7. Caregiver Protective Behavior, Toddler Fear and Sadness, and Toddler Cortisol Reactivity in Novel Contexts

    PubMed Central

    Hutt, Rachel L.; Buss, Kristin A.; Kiel, Elizabeth J.

    2012-01-01

    Previous research has shown that caregiver protective behavior may exacerbate toddler distress in specific contexts. The current study sought to extend this work to examine associations between these variables and toddler cortisol reactivity. Ninety-three 24-month-old toddlers were observed across six novel contexts designed to elicit distress. Toddlers were asked to give saliva samples at the beginning and end of the laboratory procedure. Toddler sadness, toddler fear, and caregiver protective behavior were coded. Results indicate that caregiver protective behavior accounted for the association between toddler sadness and cortisol reactivity where higher levels of protective behavior were associated with higher cortisol reactivity. The current study showed that caregiver protective behavior, which functions to prevent a child from interacting with a novel stimulus, is an important mechanism to consider when understanding toddler stress responses during novel contexts. PMID:24659922

  8. Surface Electromyographic Activity of the Abdominal Muscles During Pelvic-Tilt and Abdominal-Hollowing Exercises

    PubMed Central

    Drysdale, Cheri L.; Earl, Jennifer E.

    2004-01-01

    Objective: To investigate surface electromyographic (EMG) activity of the rectus abdominus and external oblique abdominus muscles during pelvic-tilt and abdominal-hollowing exercises performed in different positions. Design and Setting: 2 × 3 (exercise by position) within-subjects design with repeated measures on both factors. All testing was performed in a university laboratory. Subjects: Twenty-six healthy, active young adult females. Measurements: Surface EMG activity was recorded from the left and right rectus abdominus and external oblique muscles while the 2 exercises (pelvic tilt and abdominal hollowing) were performed in different positions (standard, legs supported, and legs unsupported). The standard position was supine in the crook-lying position, the supported position was with hips and knees flexed to 90° and legs supported on a platform, and the unsupported position was with hips and knees flexed to 90° without external support. Peak EMG activity was normalized to a maximum voluntary isometric contraction for each muscle. Results: For the rectus abdominus, there was an interaction between position and activity. Abdominal hollowing produced significantly less activity than the pelvic tilt in all positions. The difference between the 2 exercises with the legs unsupported was of a greater magnitude than the other 2 positions. For the external obliques, there was significantly lower activity during the abdominal hollowing compared with the pelvic tilting. The greatest muscle activity occurred with the legs-unsupported position during both exercises. Conclusions: Abdominal-hollowing exercises produced less rectus abdominus and external oblique activity than pelvic-tilting exercises. Abdominal hollowing may be performed with minimal activation of the large global abdominal muscles. PMID:15085209

  9. Recognizing Induced Emotions of Happiness and Sadness from Dance Movement

    PubMed Central

    Van Dyck, Edith; Vansteenkiste, Pieter; Lenoir, Matthieu; Lesaffre, Micheline; Leman, Marc

    2014-01-01

    Recent research revealed that emotional content can be successfully decoded from human dance movement. Most previous studies made use of videos of actors or dancers portraying emotions through choreography. The current study applies emotion induction techniques and free movement in order to examine the recognition of emotional content from dance. Observers (N = 30) watched a set of silent videos showing depersonalized avatars of dancers moving to an emotionally neutral musical stimulus after emotions of either sadness or happiness had been induced. Each of the video clips consisted of two dance performances which were presented side-by-side and were played simultaneously; one of a dancer in the happy condition and one of the same individual in the sad condition. After every film clip, the observers were asked to make forced-choices concerning the emotional state of the dancer. Results revealed that observers were able to identify the emotional state of the dancers with a high degree of accuracy. Moreover, emotions were more often recognized for female dancers than for their male counterparts. In addition, the results of eye tracking measurements unveiled that observers primarily focus on movements of the chest when decoding emotional information from dance movement. The findings of our study show that not merely portrayed emotions, but also induced emotions can be successfully recognized from free dance movement. PMID:24587026

  10. Influence of sad mood induction on implicit self-esteem and its relationship with symptoms of depression and anxiety.

    PubMed

    van Tuijl, Lonneke A; Verwoerd, Johan R L; de Jong, Peter J

    2018-02-13

    Implicit self-esteem (ISE) refers to the valence of triggered associations when the self is activated. Despite theories, previous studies often fail to observe low ISE in depression and anxiety. It is feasible that sad mood is required to activate dysfunctional self-associations. The present study tested the following hypotheses: i) ISE is lower following a sad mood induction (SMI); ii) the relationship between ISE and level of depression/anxiety symptoms is relatively strong when ISE is measured during sad mood; iii) individuals with higher levels of depression/anxiety symptoms will show a relatively large decrease in ISE following a SMI. In this mixed-designed study, university students completed the self-esteem implicit association test (IAT) either at baseline (control condition; n = 46) or following a SMI (experimental condition; n = 49). To test the third hypothesis, a SMI and IAT were also given in the control condition. Both conditions completed self-report measures of explicit self-esteem (ESE), and symptoms of depression and anxiety. There was no support for the first two hypotheses, but some support that symptoms of anxiety correlated with larger decreases in ISE following a SMI which partly supported the third hypothesis. This disappeared when controlling for multiple testing. Results are limited to non-clinical participants. While ISE was robust against increases in sad mood, there was some tentative support that symptoms of anxiety were related to larger decreases in ISE following a SMI. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  11. Intra-abdominal abscess demonstrating an unusually large intra-abdominal pattern on an indium-111 leukocyte scan

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Black, R.R.; Fernandez-Ulloa, M.; ter Penning, B.

    1988-12-01

    Indium-111 WBC imaging of a patient with occult septicemia revealed a large focal pattern of radiopharmaceutical distribution within the abdominal cavity at 24 hours post radiopharmaceutical administration. This finding was felt to represent a large intra-abdominal abscess. A five liter peritoneal abscess was found at surgery. This case illustrates an unusual presentation of an intra-abdominal abscess.

  12. Temporary Abdominal Closure Combined With an Irrigating System Utilizing Hypochlorous Acid Solution to Decrease Abdominal Mucopurulence

    PubMed Central

    Matthews, Marc R.; Quan, Asia N.; Weir, Alexandra S.; Foster, Kevin N.; Caruso, Daniel M.

    2018-01-01

    Introduction: Leaving the abdominal cavity open is a well-described and frequently utilized technique in the treatment of severe intra-abdominal sepsis. Irrigation through a negative pressure wound therapy device is a technique employed to assist in the closure of wounds as well as the reduction of bacterial contamination. Furthermore, hypochlorous acid has been found to be safe and effective in microorganismal elimination from extremity wounds. There is no literature regarding the infusion of hypochlorous solution into the abdominal cavity for intra-abdominal sepsis or mucopurulent abscesses or biofilm. Objectives: A 47-year-old man with granulomatosis polyangiitis was started on weekly rituximab. After 4 infusions, skin sloughing, ultimately diagnosed as toxic epidermal necrolysis, developed. During the hospital course, he developed sepsis and bowel perforation necessitating an exploratory laparotomy. The abdomen was left open with a temporary abdominal closure using the Abthera open abdomen negative wound therapy device; however, the abdomen remained infected with visually diffuse, thickening mucopurulence despite multiple washouts. Therefore, a VAC Vera-Flo irrigation device was combined with the Abthera open abdomen negative wound therapy device and cyclical irrigation of hypochlorous acid. After 72 hours, the purulence visually was improved and no adverse events were recorded with the placement of intra-abdominal hypochlorous acid. Conclusions: The combination of two medical devices for the intra-abdominal instillation of irrigation is considered “off-label use” from the manufacturer's recommendations. In addition, the repeated instillation of hypochlorous acid solution has not been described but was noted to have visually decreased the contaminated effluent within the intra-abdominal fluid. PMID:29527250

  13. Sadness might isolate you in a non-smelling world: olfactory perception and depression

    PubMed Central

    Schablitzky, Sylvia; Pause, Bettina M.

    2014-01-01

    Major depressive disorder (MDD) occurs with a high prevalence among mental illnesses. MDD patients experience sadness and hopelessness, with blunted affective reactivity. However, such depressive episodes are also key symptoms in other depressive disorders, like Bipolar Disorder (BPD) or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Moreover, depressive symptoms can also be found in healthy individuals, but are experienced as less severe or for a shorter duration than in patients. Here, it is aimed to summarize studies investigating odor perception in depression, including depressive states in healthy individuals and patient populations. Odor perception in depression has been assessed with psychophysical methods (olfactory sensitivity, odor identification, and discrimination), and odor ratings (intensity, emotional valence, familiarity). In addition, some studies investigated affective reactions to odors, and physiological and anatomical correlates of odor perception in depression. The summary reveals that MDD is associated with reduced olfactory sensitivity. However, odor identification and discrimination scores seem to be unaffected by depression. The reduced olfactory sensitivity might be associated with a reduced ability to encode olfactory information and a reduced volume of the olfactory bulb. While similar processes seem to occur in healthy individuals experiencing depressive states, they have not been observed in BPD or SAD patients. However, in order to conclude that the reduced olfactory sensitivity is directly linked to depression, it is suggested that studies should implement control measures of cognitive performances or perceptual abilities in other stimulus modalities. It is concluded that the reduced olfactory performance in MDD patients seems to be disorder-, modality-, and test-specific, and that the application of an appropriate olfactory and cognitive test-battery might be highly useful in the differential diagnosis of MDD. PMID:24570666

  14. Impact of BDNF Val66Met and 5-HTTLPR polymorphism variants on neural substrates related to sadness and executive function.

    PubMed

    Wang, L; Ashley-Koch, A; Steffens, D C; Krishnan, K R R; Taylor, W D

    2012-04-01

    The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val(66) Met allelic variation is linked to both the occurrence of mood disorders and antidepressant response. These findings are not universally observed, and the mechanism by which this variation results in increased risk for mood disorders is unclear. One possible explanation is an epistatic relationship with other neurotransmitter genes associated with depression risk, such as the serotonin-transporter-linked promotor region (5-HTTLPR). Further, it is unclear how the coexistence of the BDNF Met and 5-HTTLPR S variants affects the function of the affective and cognitive control systems. To address this question, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in 38 older adults (20 healthy and 18 remitted from major depressive disorder). Subjects performed an emotional oddball task during the fMRI scan and provided blood samples for genotyping. Our analyses examined the relationship between genotypes and brain activation to sad distractors and attentional targets. We found that 5-HTTLPR S allele carriers exhibited stronger activation in the amygdala in response to sad distractors, whereas BDNF Met carriers exhibited increased activation to sad stimuli but decreased activation to attentional targets in the dorsolateral prefrontal and dorsomedial prefrontal cortices. In addition, subjects with both the S allele and Met allele genes exhibited increased activation to sad stimuli in the subgenual cingulate and posterior cingulate. Our results indicate that the Met allele alone or in combination with 5-HTTLPR S allele may increase reactivity to sad stimuli, which might represent a neural mechanism underlying increased depression vulnerability. © 2012 The Authors. Genes, Brain and Behavior © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society.

  15. Investigation of the depth and diameter relationship of subkilometer-diameter lunar craters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Shujuan; Yue, Zongyu; Di, Kaichang

    2018-07-01

    The depth and diameter relationship is one of the most important characteristics of craters; however, previous studies have focused mostly on large-diameter craters because of the limitations of image resolution. Recently, very high resolution images have been obtained that make it possible to expand this field of study to craters with diameters of < 1 km. Using images with resolution of up to 0.5 m, acquired by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, we investigated the depth and diameter relationship of fresh craters with subkilometer diameters. We selected craters from lunar maria and highlands, and we made precise measurements of their diameters and depths. The results show that the d/D ratio of small craters in the lunar maria and highlands, which varies from ∼0.2 to ∼0.1, is generally shallower than that of larger craters. We propose that the reason for the difference is because of the low strength of the lunar surface material. The fitted power law parameters of lunar mare and highland craters were found to be different, and that might be explained by terrain-related differences.

  16. Aortic outflow occlusion predicts rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

    PubMed

    Crawford, Jeffrey D; Chivukula, Venkat Keshav; Haller, Stephen; Vatankhah, Nasibeh; Bohannan, Colin J; Moneta, Gregory L; Rugonyi, Sandra; Azarbal, Amir F

    2016-12-01

    Current threshold recommendations for elective abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair are based solely on maximal AAA diameter. Peak wall stress (PWS) has been demonstrated to be a better predictor than AAA diameter of AAA rupture risk. However, PWS calculations are time-intensive, not widely available, and therefore not yet clinically practical. In addition, PWS analysis does not account for variations in wall strength between patients. We therefore sought to identify surrogate clinical markers of increased PWS and decreased aortic wall strength to better predict AAA rupture risk. Patients treated at our institution from 2001 to 2014 for ruptured AAA (rAAA) were retrospectively identified and grouped into patients with small rAAA (maximum diameter <6 cm) or large rAAA (>6 cm). Patients with large (>6 cm) non-rAAA were also identified sequentially from 2009 for comparison. Demographics, vascular risk factors, maximal aortic diameter, and aortic outflow occlusion (AOO) were recorded. AOO was defined as complete occlusion of the common, internal, or external iliac artery. Computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis simulations were performed to calculate wall stress distributions and to extract PWS. We identified 61 patients with rAAA, of which 15 ruptured with AAA diameter <60 mm (small rAAA group). Patients with small rAAAs were more likely to have peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than were patients in the large non-rAAA group. Patients with small rAAAs were also more likely to have AOO compared with non-rAAAs >60 mm (27% vs 8%; P = .047). Among all patients with rAAAs, those with AOO ruptured at smaller mean AAA diameters than in patients without AOO (62.1 ± 11.8 mm vs 72.5 ± 16.4 mm; P = .024). PWS calculations of a representative small rAAA and a large non-rAAA showed a substantial increase in PWS with AOO. We demonstrate that AOO, PAD, and COPD in AAA are associated with rAAAs at

  17. Can the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale - Self-Report Version Be Used to Differentiate Clinical and Non-Clinical SAD Groups among Brazilians?

    PubMed Central

    Santos, Larissa F.; Loureiro, Sonia R.; Crippa, José A. S.; Osório, Flávia L.

    2015-01-01

    Background The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) was the first evaluation instrument developed for screening for the signs and symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and is currently still the most used worldwide. The aim of this study is to evaluate the ability of the LSAS - self-report version (LSAS-SR) to discriminate different Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) clinical groups. Method The sample was composed of Brazilians university students, allocated into three different groups, i.e., cases (C=118), non-cases (NC=95) and subclinical cases (SC=39). To achieve the aim, calculations of the ROC Curve and ANOVA were performed. Results The results found were excellent regardless of the technique used, highlighting the discriminatory capacity of the LSAS-SR. The score equal to or greater than 32 is suggested as a cutoff score for the Brazilian population, since this presented balance between the standards evaluated and the ability to differentiate both clinical and subclinical SAD cases from non-cases. Conclusion Despite the specific sample used in this study being composed only of university students, the use of the LSAS-SR can be indicated, in the Brazilian setting, for SAD screening in both clinical and research contexts. PMID:25811489

  18. Can the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale - self-report version be used to differentiate clinical and non-clinical SAD groups among Brazilians?

    PubMed

    Santos, Larissa F; Loureiro, Sonia R; Crippa, José A S; Osório, Flávia L

    2015-01-01

    The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) was the first evaluation instrument developed for screening for the signs and symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and is currently still the most used worldwide. The aim of this study is to evaluate the ability of the LSAS - self-report version (LSAS-SR) to discriminate different Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) clinical groups. The sample was composed of Brazilians university students, allocated into three different groups, i.e., cases (C=118), non-cases (NC=95) and subclinical cases (SC=39). To achieve the aim, calculations of the ROC Curve and ANOVA were performed. The results found were excellent regardless of the technique used, highlighting the discriminatory capacity of the LSAS-SR. The score equal to or greater than 32 is suggested as a cutoff score for the Brazilian population, since this presented balance between the standards evaluated and the ability to differentiate both clinical and subclinical SAD cases from non-cases. Despite the specific sample used in this study being composed only of university students, the use of the LSAS-SR can be indicated, in the Brazilian setting, for SAD screening in both clinical and research contexts.

  19. Understanding the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysms

    PubMed Central

    Kuivaniemi, Helena; Ryer, Evan J.; Elmore, James R.; Tromp, Gerard

    2016-01-01

    Summary An aortic aneurysm is a dilatation in which the aortic diameter is ≥ 3.0 cm. If left untreated, the aortic wall continues to weaken and becomes unable to withstand the forces of the luminal blood pressure resulting in progressive dilatation and rupture, a catastrophic event associated with a mortality of 50 – 80%. Smoking and positive family history are important risk factors for the development of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). Several genetic risk factors have also been identified. On the histological level, visible hallmarks of AAA pathogenesis include inflammation, smooth muscle cell apoptosis, extracellular matrix degradation, and oxidative stress. We expect that large genetic, genomic, epigenetic, proteomic and metabolomic studies will be undertaken by international consortia to identify additional risk factors and biomarkers, and to enhance our understanding of the pathobiology of AAA. Collaboration between different research groups will be important in overcoming the challenges to develop pharmacological treatments for AAA. PMID:26308600

  20. Influence of Intensity on Children's Sensitivity to Happy, Sad, and Fearful Facial Expressions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gao, Xiaoqing; Maurer, Daphne

    2009-01-01

    Most previous studies investigating children's ability to recognize facial expressions used only intense exemplars. Here we compared the sensitivity of 5-, 7-, and 10-year-olds with that of adults (n = 24 per age group) for less intense expressions of happiness, sadness, and fear. The developmental patterns differed across expressions. For…

  1. [Diagnostic imaging and acute abdominal pain].

    PubMed

    Liljekvist, Mads Svane; Pommergaard, Hans-Christian; Burcharth, Jakob; Rosenberg, Jacob

    2015-01-19

    Acute abdominal pain is a common clinical condition. Clinical signs and symptoms can be difficult to interpret, and diagnostic imaging may help to identify intra-abdominal disease. Conventional X-ray, ultrasound (US) and computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen vary in usability between common surgical causes of acute abdominal pain. Overall, conventional X-ray cannot confidently diagnose or rule out disease. US and CT are equally trustworthy for most diseases. US with subsequent CT may enhance diagnostic precision. Magnetic resonance seems promising for future use in acute abdominal imaging.

  2. Seeing the big picture: Broadening attention relieves sadness and depressed mood.

    PubMed

    Gu, Li; Yang, Xueling; Li, Liman Man Wai; Zhou, Xinyue; Gao, Ding-Guo

    2017-08-01

    We examined whether the broadened attentional scope would affect people's sad or depressed mood with two experiments, enlightened by the meaning of "seeing the big picture" and the broaden-and-build model. Experiment 1 (n = 164) is a laboratory-based experiment, in which we manipulated the attentional scope by showing participants zoomed-out or zoomed-in scenes. In Experiment 2 (n = 44), we studied how depressed mood and positive and negative emotions were affected when participants watched distant versus proximal scenes for eight weeks in real life. Healthy participants in Experiment 1, who were induced to feel sad, could return to the baseline mood after having the broadened attention task but not after having the narrowed attention task, which indicated that immediate attention broadening manipulation could function as antidotes for the lingering effects of induced negative emotions. Participants with depressed mood in Experiment 2 showed reduced depressed mood, increased positive affect, and decreased negative affect after receiving attention broadening training compared to those receiving attention narrowing training. Our findings suggest a robust role of broadened attentional scope in relieving negative emotions and even mildly depressed mood in the long run. © 2017 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Association of statin prescription with small abdominal aortic aneurysm progression

    PubMed Central

    Ferguson, Craig D.; Clancy, Paula; Bourke, Bernard; Walker, Philip J.; Dear, Anthony; Buckenham, Tim; Norman, Paul; Golledge, Jonathan

    2009-01-01

    Background Statins have been suggested to reduce expansion of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) independent of lipid lowering effects. Methods We assessed the association of statin treatment and serum low density lipoprotein (LDL) concentrations with small AAA expansion. 652 patients undergoing surveillance of small AAAs were entered into the study from five vascular centers. In a subset fasting lipids (n=451) and other biomarkers (n=216) were measured. AAA diameter was followed by ultrasound surveillance for a median of 5 years. Results 349 (54%) of the patients were prescribed statins. Adjusting for other risk factors statin prescription was not associated with AAA growth (odds ratio, OR, 1.23, 95% confidence interval, CI, 0.86–1.76). Above median AAA growth was positively associated with initial diameter (OR 1.78 per 4.35mm larger initial aortic diameter, 95% CI 1.49–2.14) and negatively associated with diabetes (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.22–0.62). Above median serum LDL concentration was not associated with AAA growth. Patients receiving statins had lower serum C-reactive protein concentrations but similar matrix metalloproteinase-9 and interleukin-6 concentrations to those not prescribed these medications. Conclusions We found no association between statin prescription or LDL concentration with AAA expansion. The results do not support the findings of smaller studies and suggest that statins may have no benefit in reducing AAA progression. PMID:20152231

  4. Older but not younger infants associate own-race faces with happy music and other-race faces with sad music.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Naiqi G; Quinn, Paul C; Liu, Shaoying; Ge, Liezhong; Pascalis, Olivier; Lee, Kang

    2018-03-01

    We used a novel intermodal association task to examine whether infants associate own- and other-race faces with music of different emotional valences. Three- to 9-month-olds saw a series of neutral own- or other-race faces paired with happy or sad musical excerpts. Three- to 6-month-olds did not show any specific association between face race and music. At 9 months, however, infants looked longer at own-race faces paired with happy music than at own-race faces paired with sad music. Nine-month-olds also looked longer at other-race faces paired with sad music than at other-race faces paired with happy music. These results indicate that infants with nearly exclusive own-race face experience develop associations between face race and music emotional valence in the first year of life. The potential implications of such associations for developing racial biases in early childhood are discussed. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Differences between musicians and non-musicians in neuro-affective processing of sadness and fear expressed in music.

    PubMed

    Park, Mona; Gutyrchik, Evgeny; Bao, Yan; Zaytseva, Yuliya; Carl, Petra; Welker, Lorenz; Pöppel, Ernst; Reiser, Maximilian; Blautzik, Janusch; Meindl, Thomas

    2014-04-30

    Music is known to convey and evoke emotional states. Musical training has been argued to lead to changes in neural architecture and enhanced processing of emotions. It is not clear, however, whether musical training is also associated with changes in behavioral and neural responses to musically conveyed discrete emotions. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the responses to three musically conveyed emotions (happiness, sadness, fear) in a group of musicians and a group of non-musicians. We find that musicians rate sadness and fear as significantly more arousing than non-musicians, and that musical training is associated with specific neural activations: In response to sadness expressed in music, musicians show activation increases in the right prefrontal cortex, specifically in the superior and middle frontal gyri. In response to fear, musicians show activation increases in the right parietal cortex, specifically in the supramarginal and inferior parietal gyri. No specific activations were observed in response to happiness. Our results highlight the strong association between musical training and altered processing of "negative" emotions on both the behavioral and on the neural level. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Cognitive Therapy Skills Predict Cognitive Reactivity to Sad Mood Following Cognitive Therapy for Depression

    PubMed Central

    Strunk, Daniel R.; Adler, Abby D.; Hollars, Shannon N.

    2013-01-01

    Both patients’ competence in the coping skills taught in Cognitive Therapy (CT) and patients’ endorsement of dysfunctional cognitions following a sad mood induction (i.e., their cognitive reactivity) have been found to predict risk of relapse following a successful course of CT for depression. We examined the relationship between these constructs, specifically whether CT skills would be related to less cognitive reactivity following a mood induction among patients who responded to a course of CT. In a sample of 28 depressed patients, post-treatment CT skills were significantly related to less cognitive reactivity in response to a sad mood induction procedure (β = −.29). This relation was not accounted for by individual differences in mood reactivity. We discuss these findings as a key step in developing a more complete understanding of the role of CT coping skills and cognitive reactivity as markers of patients’ vulnerability to relapse. PMID:24363473

  7. Parent-child discussions of anger and sadness: the importance of parent and child gender during middle childhood.

    PubMed

    Zeman, Janice; Perry-Parrish, Carisa; Cassano, Michael

    2010-01-01

    This chapter provides conceptual background and empirical evidence that parental emotion socialization continues well into middle childhood and is influenced by the social context. Data are presented to illustrate the influence of parent and child gender on parental socialization of emotion in 113 Caucasian, middle-class children. Mothers and fathers discussed historical sadness- and anger-eliciting events with their sons and daughters. Fathers appear to play a unique role in sadness socialization whereas mothers' influence seems distinctive for the socialization of anger. Socialization of emotion is a transactional process in which parents and children are both socializing agents and emotion regulators. (c) Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. A functional MRI study of happy and sad affective states induced by classical music.

    PubMed

    Mitterschiffthaler, Martina T; Fu, Cynthia H Y; Dalton, Jeffrey A; Andrew, Christopher M; Williams, Steven C R

    2007-11-01

    The present study investigated the functional neuroanatomy of transient mood changes in response to Western classical music. In a pilot experiment, 53 healthy volunteers (mean age: 32.0; SD = 9.6) evaluated their emotional responses to 60 classical musical pieces using a visual analogue scale (VAS) ranging from 0 (sad) through 50 (neutral) to 100 (happy). Twenty pieces were found to accurately induce the intended emotional states with good reliability, consisting of 5 happy, 5 sad, and 10 emotionally unevocative, neutral musical pieces. In a subsequent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal contrast was measured in response to the mood state induced by each musical stimulus in a separate group of 16 healthy participants (mean age: 29.5; SD = 5.5). Mood state ratings during scanning were made by a VAS, which confirmed the emotional valence of the selected stimuli. Increased BOLD signal contrast during presentation of happy music was found in the ventral and dorsal striatum, anterior cingulate, parahippocampal gyrus, and auditory association areas. With sad music, increased BOLD signal responses were noted in the hippocampus/amygdala and auditory association areas. Presentation of neutral music was associated with increased BOLD signal responses in the insula and auditory association areas. Our findings suggest that an emotion processing network in response to music integrates the ventral and dorsal striatum, areas involved in reward experience and movement; the anterior cingulate, which is important for targeting attention; and medial temporal areas, traditionally found in the appraisal and processing of emotions. Copyright 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  9. Polyhydroxybutyrate/valerate/polycaprolactone small-diameter vascular graft: Experimental study of integration into organism

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Antonova, L. V., E-mail: antonova.la@mail.ru; Burago, A. Yu.; Matveeva, V. G.

    We prepared polyhydroxybutyrate/valerate (PHBV)/polylcaprolactone (PCL) small-diameter vascular grafts using electrospinning. Surface structure was assessed by scanning electron microscopy whilst physicomechanical properties were investigated by longitudinal uniaxial tension testing. Patency of grafts implanted into the rat abdominal aorta was evaluated using a Doppler ultrasonography at 2 week, 1 month and 12 month postimplantation. In addition, we assessed local histological features, along with IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, TNFa, TGF-β1, and VEGF serum levels. We revealed that only 2 (25%) grafts were not thrombosed at 2 week and 1 month postimplantation. However, at 12 month postimplantation a satisfactory histological pattern was observed inmore » 50% of all cases, and we detected a monolayer of endothelial cells on the inner graft surface in half the cases. Regarding other grafts, we revealed minor connective tissue hyperplasia in 41.7% of the grafts and an inflammatory infiltrate in the part of the arterial wall in 8.3% of the grafts. We found that the IL-1β serum level was 3.5-fold higher in the group of experimental rats at 12 month postimplantation (p < 0.01). In addition, the IL-2 and IL-4 serum levels at 12 month postimplantation were 2- and 2.8-fold higher as compared to short-term implantation (2 weeks and 1 month) and control rats (p < 0.05) whilst the IL-10 serum level at 1 and 12 month postimplantation was more than 100-fold higher in comparison with 2 week postimplantation and control rats (p < 0.001). Serum VEGF was detected only at 12 month postimplantation. All in all, we created a biocompatible PHBV/PCL small-diameter vascular graft with a high surface area to volume ratio. A long-term patency of biodegradable vascular grafts after implantation into the rat abdominal aorta and the absence of a considerable immune response confirmed a high biocompatibility of such construct and the possibility of its use as a vascular graft.« less

  10. The Adapted SAD PERSONS: A Suicide Assessment Scale Designed for Use with Children.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Juhnke, Gerald A.

    1996-01-01

    Discusses the increasing numbers of younger persons who commit suicide. Notes the importance of recognizing students who present a significant number of suicide risk factors and who have an immediate need for intervention. Discusses the use of the Adapted SAD PERSONS Scale for assisting school counselors in identifying suicide risk factors in…

  11. Does respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) predict anxiety reduction during cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD)?

    PubMed

    Mathewson, Karen J; Schmidt, Louis A; Miskovic, Vladimir; Santesso, Diane L; Duku, Eric; McCabe, Randi E; Antony, Martin M; Moscovitch, David A

    2013-05-01

    Modifying dysfunctional emotion regulation is an important goal in psychological treatments for social anxiety disorder (SAD). Antecedent-focused strategies learned in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), such as cognitive reappraisal, have proven more effective in reducing social anxiety than response-focused strategies, such as expressive suppression. Still, not all patients with SAD respond well to CBT. Medications and physiological factors may also influence the clinical response. The purpose of the present study was to examine the role that these factors play in determining treatment response following CBT for SAD. Using multilevel modeling, we examined associations across four separate laboratory visits between change in self-reported anxiety and indices of reappraisal, suppression, medication status, and resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a proxy measure of self-regulatory capacity, in 23 socially anxious adults during a 12-week program of CBT. Most participants were ultimately classified as responders to CBT (n=15), but in some, anxiety levels remained unchanged (n=8). Medication use explained substantial variance related to individual differences in anxiety among participants. When modeled separately, reappraisal, suppression, and RSA each accounted for significant variance related to anxiety. However, the best-fitting model included reappraisal and RSA. Moreover, RSA reactivity (change in RSA levels over time) was more important for predicting anxiety reduction than were baseline levels of RSA. These findings suggest that reappraisal and parasympathetic responsiveness may be important in reducing anxiety in adults with SAD who respond well to CBT. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Abdominal cocoon secondary to disseminated tuberculosis

    PubMed Central

    Puppala, Radha; Sripathi, Smiti; Kadavigere, Rajagopal; Koteshwar, Prakashini; Singh, Jyoti

    2014-01-01

    Abdominal cocoon, also known as sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis, represents a rare entity where a variable length of the small bowel is enveloped by a fibrocollagenous membrane giving the appearance of a cocoon. It may be asymptomatic and is often diagnosed incidentally at laparotomy. We present a rare case of abdominal cocoon due to abdominal tuberculosis. PMID:25239980

  13. Synapses of Amphids Defective (SAD-A) Kinase Promotes Glucose-stimulated Insulin Secretion through Activation of p21-activated Kinase (PAK1) in Pancreatic β-Cells*

    PubMed Central

    Nie, Jia; Sun, Chao; Faruque, Omar; Ye, Guangming; Li, Jia; Liang, Qiangrong; Chang, Zhijie; Yang, Wannian; Han, Xiao; Shi, Yuguang

    2012-01-01

    The p21-activated kinase-1 (PAK1) is implicated in regulation of insulin exocytosis as an effector of Rho GTPases. PAK1 is activated by the onset of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) through phosphorylation of Thr-423, a major activation site by Cdc42 and Rac1. However, the kinase(s) that phosphorylates PAK1 at Thr-423 in islet β-cells remains elusive. The present studies identified SAD-A (synapses of amphids defective), a member of AMP-activated protein kinase-related kinases exclusively expressed in brain and pancreas, as a key regulator of GSIS through activation of PAK1. We show that SAD-A directly binds to PAK1 through its kinase domain. The interaction is mediated by the p21-binding domain (PBD) of PAK1 and requires both kinases in an active conformation. The binding leads to direct phosphorylation of PAK1 at Thr-423 by SAD-A, triggering the onset of GSIS from islet β-cells. Consequently, ablation of PAK1 kinase activity or depletion of PAK1 expression completely abolishes the potentiating effect of SAD-A on GSIS. Consistent with its role in regulating GSIS, overexpression of SAD-A in MIN6 islet β-cells significantly stimulated cytoskeletal remodeling, which is required for insulin exocytosis. Together, the present studies identified a critical role of SAD-A in the activation of PAK1 during the onset of insulin exocytosis. PMID:22669945

  14. Synapses of amphids defective (SAD-A) kinase promotes glucose-stimulated insulin secretion through activation of p21-activated kinase (PAK1) in pancreatic β-Cells.

    PubMed

    Nie, Jia; Sun, Chao; Faruque, Omar; Ye, Guangming; Li, Jia; Liang, Qiangrong; Chang, Zhijie; Yang, Wannian; Han, Xiao; Shi, Yuguang

    2012-07-27

    The p21-activated kinase-1 (PAK1) is implicated in regulation of insulin exocytosis as an effector of Rho GTPases. PAK1 is activated by the onset of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) through phosphorylation of Thr-423, a major activation site by Cdc42 and Rac1. However, the kinase(s) that phosphorylates PAK1 at Thr-423 in islet β-cells remains elusive. The present studies identified SAD-A (synapses of amphids defective), a member of AMP-activated protein kinase-related kinases exclusively expressed in brain and pancreas, as a key regulator of GSIS through activation of PAK1. We show that SAD-A directly binds to PAK1 through its kinase domain. The interaction is mediated by the p21-binding domain (PBD) of PAK1 and requires both kinases in an active conformation. The binding leads to direct phosphorylation of PAK1 at Thr-423 by SAD-A, triggering the onset of GSIS from islet β-cells. Consequently, ablation of PAK1 kinase activity or depletion of PAK1 expression completely abolishes the potentiating effect of SAD-A on GSIS. Consistent with its role in regulating GSIS, overexpression of SAD-A in MIN6 islet β-cells significantly stimulated cytoskeletal remodeling, which is required for insulin exocytosis. Together, the present studies identified a critical role of SAD-A in the activation of PAK1 during the onset of insulin exocytosis.

  15. Structural optimization of SadA, an Fe(II)- and α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase targeting biocatalytic synthesis of N-succinyl-L-threo-3,4-dimethoxyphenylserine.

    PubMed

    Qin, Hui-Min; Miyakawa, Takuya; Nakamura, Akira; Hibi, Makoto; Ogawa, Jun; Tanokura, Masaru

    2014-08-08

    L-threo-3,4-Dihydroxyphenylserine (l-DOPS, Droxidopa) is a psychoactive drug and synthetic amino acid precursor that acts as a prodrug to the neurotransmitters. SadA, a dioxygenase from Burkholderia ambifaria AMMD, is an Fe(II)- and α-ketoglutarate (KG)-dependent enzyme that catalyzes N-substituted branched-chain or aromatic l-amino acids. SadA is able to produce N-succinyl-l-threo-3,4-dimethoxyphenylserine (NSDOPS), which is a precursor of l-DOPS, by catalyzing the hydroxylation of N-succinyl-3,4-dimethoxyphenylalanine (NSDOPA). However, the catalytic activity of SadA toward NSDOPS is much lower than that toward N-succinyl branched-chain l-amino acids. Here, we report an improved biocatalytic synthesis of NSDOPS with SadA. Structure-based protein engineering was applied to improve the α-KG turnover activity for the synthesis of NSDOPS. The G79A, G79A/F261W or G79A/F261R mutant showed a more than 6-fold increase in activity compared to that of the wild-type enzyme. The results provide a new insight into the substrate specificity toward NSDOPA and will be useful for the rational design of SadA mutants as a target of industrial biocatalysts. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Abdominal Pain in the Geriatric Patient.

    PubMed

    Magidson, Phillip D; Martinez, Joseph P

    2016-08-01

    With an aging population, emergency department clinicians can expect an increase in geriatric patients presenting with abdominal pain. Compared with younger patients, this patient population is less likely to present with classic symptoms, physical examination findings, and laboratory values of abdominal disease. However, the morbidity and mortality associated with elderly patients presenting with abdominal pathologic conditions are significant. For this reason, the clinician must be familiar with some subtle and not so subtle differences when caring for the geriatric patient with abdominal pain to ensure timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Recovery after abdominal wall reconstruction.

    PubMed

    Jensen, Kristian Kiim

    2017-03-01

    Incisional hernia is a common long-term complication to abdominal surgery, occurring in more than 20% of all patients. Some of these hernias become giant and affect patients in several ways. This patient group often experiences pain, decreased perceived body image, and loss of physical function, which results in a need for surgical repair of the giant hernia, known as abdominal wall reconstruction. In the current thesis, patients with a giant hernia were examined to achieve a better understanding of their physical and psychological function before and after abdominal wall reconstruction. Study I was a systematic review of the existing standardized methods for assessing quality of life after incisional hernia repair. After a systematic search in the electronic databases Embase and PubMed, a total of 26 studies using standardized measures for assessment of quality of life after incisional hernia repair were found. The most commonly used questionnaire was the generic Short-Form 36, which assesses overall health-related quality of life, addressing both physical and mental health. The second-most common questionnaire was the Carolinas Comfort Scale, which is a disease specific questionnaire addressing pain, movement limitation and mesh sensation in relation to a current or previous hernia. In total, eight different questionnaires were used at varying time points in the 26 studies. In conclusion, standardization of timing and method of quality of life assessment after incisional hernia repair was lacking. Study II was a case-control study of the effects of an enhanced recovery after surgery pathway for patients undergoing abdominal wall reconstruction for a giant hernia. Sixteen consecutive patients were included prospectively after the implementation of a new enhanced recovery after surgery pathway at the Digestive Disease Center, Bispebjerg Hospital, and compared to a control group of 16 patients included retrospectively in the period immediately prior to the

  18. Beta-lactam antibiotics during pregnancy: a cross-sectional comparative study Zagreb-Novi Sad.

    PubMed

    Erić, M; Leppée, M; Sabo, A; Culig, J

    2012-01-01

    During pregnancy, a number of changes occur in women's body, and some medications are safe and some are not. The aim of our study was to establish the possible correlation between use of beta-lactam antibiotics in pregnancy and occurrence of congenital malformations. The study included 893 pregnant women from Zagreb and 6099 pregnant women from Novi Sad. 527 pregnant women used beta-lactams. First part of the study (one month study) was performed at four maternity hospitals in Zagreb, Croatia. Second part were collected as a part of the study analysing the teratogenicity of drugs used in pregnancy, a longitudinal study performed in Novi Sad district. Pregnant women most frequently used antibacterial agents in the first trimester of pregnancy. They used 15 different antibacterial medications, most often beta-lactams. In Zagreb arm, out of the total number of pregnant women that used medications during pregnancy (859), 231 (26.9%) used beta-lactam antibiotics. Malformations were detected in 8 (3.5%) cases. The prevalence of malformations in newborns whose mothers did not take beta-lactam antibiotics in pregnancy (662) was 2.7% (18 newborns with malformations). In Novi Sad arm, out of the total number of pregnant women that used medications during pregnancy (2013), 296 (14.7%) used beta-lactam antibiotics. Malformations were detected in 14 (4.7%) cases. The prevalence of malformations in newborns whose mothers did not take beta-lactam antibiotics in pregnancy (5803) was 1.7% (99 newborns with malformations). The results show possible teratogenic potential even with those antibacterials which are considered safe (amoxicillin) but as those are usually minor malformations they often pass undetected. International pharmacoepidemiological studies of drug use in pregnancy could substantially contribute to the improvement of pharmacotherapy, and could be of great help in assessing the fetal risks.

  19. Abdominal shotgun trauma: A case report

    PubMed Central

    Toutouzas, Konstantinos G; Larentzakis, Andreas; Drimousis, Panagiotis; Riga, Maria; Theodorou, Dimitrios; Katsaragakis, Stylianos

    2008-01-01

    Introduction One of the most lethal mechanisms of injury is shotgun wound and particularly the abdominal one. Case presentation We report a case of a 45 years old male suffering abdominal shotgun trauma, who survived his injuries. Conclusion The management of the abdominal shotgun wounds is mainly dependent on clinical examination and clinical judgment, while requires advanced surgical skills. PMID:18625076

  20. Abdominal cocoon secondary to disseminated tuberculosis.

    PubMed

    Puppala, Radha; Sripathi, Smiti; Kadavigere, Rajagopal; Koteshwar, Prakashini; Singh, Jyoti

    2014-09-19

    Abdominal cocoon, also known as sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis, represents a rare entity where a variable length of the small bowel is enveloped by a fibrocollagenous membrane giving the appearance of a cocoon. It may be asymptomatic and is often diagnosed incidentally at laparotomy. We present a rare case of abdominal cocoon due to abdominal tuberculosis. 2014 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

  1. Clinical Efficacy of Transthoracic Echocardiography for Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm in Turkish Patients.

    PubMed

    Kilic, Salih; Saracoglu, Erhan; Cekici, Yusuf

    2018-03-01

    The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in Turkish patients aged ≥ 65 years, and to demonstrate the applicability of echocardiography to AAA screening. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was performed in all consecutive patients aged ≥ 65 years who were referred to cardiology clinics or were referred from other outpatient clinics. The abdominal aorta (AA) of each patient was scanned using the same probe, and the time spent was recorded. Demographic and clinic characteristics of the patients were recorded at the end of the echocardiography. Among 1948 patients (mean age 70.9 ± 6 years; 49.8% male), the AA was visualized in 96.3%. AAA was identified in 3.7% (69/1878) of the patients, of whom AAA was previously known in 20.3% (n = 14). The prevalence of unknown AAA was 2.93%. The average time needed to scan and measure the AA was 1 minute and 3 seconds (±23 seconds). Aortic root diameters were significantly higher in the patients with AAA than in those without AAA (34.7 ± 4.2 vs. 29.8 ± 4.7; p < 0.001). Age (per 1 year increase) [odds ratio (OR), 1.245; p < 0.001], male gender (OR, 5.382; p < 0.001), smoking (OR, 2.118; p = 0.037), and aortic root diameter (per 1 mm increase) (OR, 1.299; p < 0.001) were independent predictors of AAA. This study is important in that it showed a high prevalence of AAA in Turkish patients aged ≥ 65 years, and demonstrated that AAA can be visualized in the majority of patients in as little as 1 minute during TTE.

  2. Fear, Sadness and Hope: Which Emotions Maximize Impact of Anti-Tobacco Mass Media Advertisements among Lower and Higher SES Groups?

    PubMed

    Durkin, Sarah; Bayly, Megan; Brennan, Emily; Biener, Lois; Wakefield, Melanie

    2018-01-01

    Emotive anti-tobacco advertisements can increase quitting. Discrete emotion theories suggest evoking fear may be more effective than sadness; less research has focused on hope. A weekly cross-sectional survey of smokers and recent quitters (N = 7683) measured past-month quit attempts. The main predictor was level of exposure to four different types of anti-tobacco advertisements broadcast in the two months prior to quit attempts: advertisements predominantly evoking fear, sadness, hope, or evoking multiple negative emotions (i.e., fear, guilt, and/or sadness). Greater exposure to fear-evoking advertisements (OR = 2.16, p < .01) increased odds of making a quit attempt and showed similar effectiveness among those in lower and higher SES areas. Greater exposure to advertisements evoking multiple negative emotions increased quit attempts (OR = 1.70, p < .01), but interactions indicated this was driven by those in lower SES, but not higher SES areas. Greater exposure to hope-evoking advertisements enhanced effects of fear-evoking advertisements among those in higher SES, but not lower SES areas. Findings suggest to be maximally effective across the whole population avoid messages evoking sadness and use messages eliciting fear. If the aim is to specifically motivate those living in lower SES areas where smoking rates are higher, multiple negative emotion messages, but not hope-evoking messages, may also be effective.

  3. Hepatic Hemangiomas Alter Morphometry and Impair Hemodynamics of the Abdominal Aorta and Primary Branches From Computer Simulations.

    PubMed

    Yin, Xiaoping; Huang, Xu; Li, Qiao; Li, Li; Niu, Pei; Cao, Minglu; Guo, Fei; Li, Xuechao; Tan, Wenchang; Huo, Yunlong

    2018-01-01

    Background: The formation of hepatic hemangiomas (HH) is associated with VEGF and IL-7 that alter conduit arteries and small arterioles. To our knowledge, there are no studies to investigate the effects of HH on the hemodynamics in conduit arteries. The aim of the study is to perform morphometric and hemodynamic analysis in abdominal conduit arteries and bifurcations of HH patients and controls. Methods: Based on morphometry reconstructed from CT images, geometrical models were meshed with prismatic elements for the near wall region and tetrahedral and hexahedral elements for the core region. Simulations were performed for computation of the non-Newtonian blood flow using the Carreau-Yasuda model, based on which multiple hemodynamic parameters were determined. Results: There was an increase of the lumen size, diameter ratio, and curvature in the abdominal arterial tree of HH patients as compared with controls. This significantly increased the surface area ratio of low time-averaged wall shear stress (i.e., SAR-TAWSS [Formula: see text] 100%) (24.1 ± 7.9 vs. 5 ± 6%, 11.6 ± 12.8 vs. < 0.1%, and 44.5 ± 9.2 vs. 21 ± 24% at hepatic bifurcations, common hepatic arteries, and abdominal aortas, respectively, between HH and control patients). Conclusions: Morphometric changes caused by HH significantly deteriorated the hemodynamic environment in abdominal conduit arteries and bifurcations, which could be an important risk factor for the incidence and progression of vascular diseases.

  4. Abdominal compartment syndrome related to noninvasive ventilation.

    PubMed

    De Keulenaer, Bart L; De Backer, Adelard; Schepens, Dirk R; Daelemans, Ronny; Wilmer, Alexander; Malbrain, Manu L N G

    2003-07-01

    To study the effects of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) on intra-abdominal pressure. Single case report from a tertiary teaching hospital. A 65-year-old man who experienced a sudden respiratory and cardiovascular collapse during NIPPV. This was caused by gastric overdistension due to aerophagia followed by raised intra-abdominal pressure leading to intra-abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome. The respiratory and cardiovascular problems resolved immediately after the introduction of a nasogastric tube. This resulted in normalization of IAP. This is the first case reported of an abdominal compartment syndrome related to NIPPV. Clinicians should be aware of this possible complication while using NIPPV.

  5. The utility of focused abdominal ultrasound in blunt abdominal trauma: a reappraisal.

    PubMed

    Helling, Thomas S; Wilson, Jennifer; Augustosky, Kim

    2007-12-01

    Focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) has become commonplace in the management of blunt abdominal trauma. However, newer computed tomography (CT) scanners have decreased imaging time for trauma patients and provide more detailed examination of abdominal contents. It was the aim of the current study to evaluate practice patterns of FAST and abdominal CT in blunt trauma victims. This was a retrospective study of all blunt trauma patients (N = 299) who received at least 1 FAST examination in the emergency department by surgeons and were admitted. Patients were tracked for subsequent CT scanning, disposition from the emergency department, any operative findings, and survival. Twenty-one of 299 patients (7%) had a positive FAST. There were 7 deaths and 14 patients were taken directly to the operating room (OR) for control of abdominal bleeding. Thirty-one of 299 (10%) had equivocal FAST. There were 4 deaths and 8 patients were taken to the OR for control of abdominal bleeding. A total of 247 of the 299 patients had a negative FAST. CT scans were performed in 193: 15 showed a visceral injury. There were 13 deaths and 29 patients were taken to the OR (4 for bleeding). Patients with a positive FAST had a higher mortality than FAST-negative patients (P < .001) and greater likelihood for operation (P < .001). Those with equivocal FAST had a greater likelihood for operation than FAST-negative patients (P < .05). FAST examinations can identify patients at risk for hemorrhage and in whom operation may be needed and, therefore, can guide mobilization of hospital resources. FAST-negative patients can be managed expectantly, using more specific imaging techniques.

  6. Standardized volume rendering for magnetic resonance angiography measurements in the abdominal aorta.

    PubMed

    Persson, A; Brismar, T B; Lundström, C; Dahlström, N; Othberg, F; Smedby, O

    2006-03-01

    To compare three methods for standardizing volume rendering technique (VRT) protocols by studying aortic diameter measurements in magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) datasets. Datasets from 20 patients previously examined with gadolinium-enhanced MRA and with digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for abdominal aortic aneurysm were retrospectively evaluated by three independent readers. The MRA datasets were viewed using VRT with three different standardized transfer functions: the percentile method (Pc-VRT), the maximum-likelihood method (ML-VRT), and the partial range histogram method (PRH-VRT). The aortic diameters obtained with these three methods were compared with freely chosen VRT parameters (F-VRT) and with maximum intensity projection (MIP) concerning inter-reader variability and agreement with the reference method DSA. F-VRT parameters and PRH-VRT gave significantly higher diameter values than DSA, whereas Pc-VRT gave significantly lower values than DSA. The highest interobserver variability was found for F-VRT parameters and MIP, and the lowest for Pc-VRT and PRH-VRT. All standardized VRT methods were significantly superior to both MIP and F-VRT in this respect. The agreement with DSA was best for PRH-VRT, which was the only method with a mean error below 1 mm and which also had the narrowest limits of agreement (95% of cases between 2.1 mm below and 3.1 mm above DSA). All the standardized VRT methods compare favorably with MIP and VRT with freely selected parameters as regards interobserver variability. The partial range histogram method, although systematically overestimating vessel diameters, gives results closest to those of DSA.

  7. Effect of abdominal negative-pressure wound therapy on the measurement of intra-abdominal pressure.

    PubMed

    García, Alberto Federico; Sánchez, Álvaro Ignacio; Gutiérrez, Álvaro José; Bayona, Juan Gabriel; Naranjo, María Paula; Lago, Sebastián; Puyana, Juan Carlos

    2018-07-01

    In critically ill surgical patients undergoing abdominal negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT), it remains uncertain whether or not intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) measurements should be obtained when NPWT is activated. We aimed to determine agreement between IAP measured with and without NPWT. In this analytic cross-sectional study, critically ill surgical adults (≥18 y) requiring abdominal NPWT for temporary abdominal closure after a damage control laparotomy were selected. Patients with urinary tract injuries or with pelvic packing were excluded. Paired IAP measures were performed in the same patient, with and without NPWT; two different operators performed the measures unaware of the other's result. Bland-Altman methods assessed the agreement between the two measures. Subgroup analyses (trauma and nontrauma) were performed. There were 198 IAP measures (99 pairs) in 38 patients. Mean IAP with and without NPWT were 8.33 (standard deviation 4.01) and 8.65 (standard deviation 4.04), respectively. Mean IAP difference was -0.323 (95% confidence interval -0.748 to 0.101), and reference range for difference was -4.579 to 3.932 (P = 0.864). From 112 IAP measures (56 pairs) in 21 trauma patients, mean IAP difference was -0.268 (95% confidence interval -0.867 to 0.331), and reference range for the difference was -4.740 to 4.204 (P = 0.427). There was no statistically significant disagreement in IAP measures. IAP could be measured with or without NPWT. In critically ill surgical patients with abdominal NPWT for temporary abdominal closure, monitoring and management of IAP either with or without NPWT is recommended. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. She looks sad, but he looks mad: the effects of age, gender, and ambiguity on emotion perception.

    PubMed

    Parmley, Maria; Cunningham, Joseph G

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated how target sex, target age, and expressive ambiguity influence emotion perception. Undergraduate participants (N = 192) watched morphed video clips of eight child and eight adult facial expressions shifting from neutral to either sadness or anger. Participants were asked to stop the video clip when they first saw an emotion appear (perceptual sensitivity) and were asked to identify the emotion that they saw (accuracy). Results indicate that female participants identified sad expressions sooner in female targets than in male targets. Participants were also more accurate identifying angry facial expressions by male children than by female children. Findings are discussed in terms of the effects of ambiguity, gender, and age on the perception of emotional expressions.

  9. The influence of atmospheric pressure on aortic aneurysm rupture--is the diameter of the aneurysm important?

    PubMed

    Urbanek, Tomasz; Juśko, Maciej; Niewiem, Alfred; Kuczmik, Wacław; Ziaja, Damian; Ziaja, Krzysztof

    2015-01-01

    The rate of aortic aneurysm rupture correlates with the aneurysm's diameter, and a higher rate of rupture is observed in patients with larger aneurysms. According to the literature, contradictory results concerning the relationship between atmospheric pressure and aneurysm size have been reported. In this paper, we assessed the influence of changes in atmospheric pressure on abdominal aneurysm ruptures in relationship to the aneurysm's size. The records of 223 patients with ruptured abdominal aneurysms were evaluated. All of the patients had been admitted to the department in the period 1997-2007 from the Silesia region. The atmospheric pressures on the day of the rupture and on the days both before the rupture and between the rupture events were compared. The size of the aneurysm was also considered in the analysis. There were no statistically significant differences in pressure between the days of rupture and the remainder of the days within an analysed period. The highest frequency of the admission of patients with a ruptured aortic aneurysm was observed during periods of winter and spring, when the highest mean values of atmospheric pressure were observed; however, this observation was not statistically confirmed. A statistically non-significant trend towards the higher rupture of large aneurysms (> 7 cm) was observed in the cases where the pressure increased between the day before the rupture and the day of the rupture. This trend was particularly pronounced in patients suffering from hypertension (p = 0.1). The results of this study do not support the hypothesis that there is a direct link between atmospheric pressure values and abdominal aortic aneurysm ruptures.

  10. First study of correlation between oleic acid content and SAD gene polymorphism in olive oil samples through statistical and bayesian modeling analyses.

    PubMed

    Ben Ayed, Rayda; Ennouri, Karim; Ercişli, Sezai; Ben Hlima, Hajer; Hanana, Mohsen; Smaoui, Slim; Rebai, Ahmed; Moreau, Fabienne

    2018-04-10

    Virgin olive oil is appreciated for its particular aroma and taste and is recognized worldwide for its nutritional value and health benefits. The olive oil contains a vast range of healthy compounds such as monounsaturated free fatty acids, especially, oleic acid. The SAD.1 polymorphism localized in the Stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase gene (SAD) was genotyped and showed that it is associated with the oleic acid composition of olive oil samples. However, the effect of polymorphisms in fatty acid-related genes on olive oil monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids distribution in the Tunisian olive oil varieties is not understood. Seventeen Tunisian olive-tree varieties were selected for fatty acid content analysis by gas chromatography. The association of SAD.1 genotypes with the fatty acids composition was studied by statistical and Bayesian modeling analyses. Fatty acid content analysis showed interestingly that some Tunisian virgin olive oil varieties could be classified as a functional food and nutraceuticals due to their particular richness in oleic acid. In fact, the TT-SAD.1 genotype was found to be associated with a higher proportion of mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), mainly oleic acid (C18:1) (r = - 0.79, p < 0.000) as well as lower proportion of palmitic acid (C16:0) (r = 0.51, p = 0.037), making varieties with this genotype (i.e. Zarrazi and Tounsi) producing more monounsaturated oleic acid (C18: 1) than saturated acid. These varieties could be thus used as nutraceuticals and functional food. The SAD.1 association with the oleic acid composition of olive oil was identified among the studied varieties. This correlation fluctuated between studied varieties, which might elucidate variability in lipidic composition among them and therefore reflecting genetic diversity through differences in gene expression and biochemical pathways. SAD locus would represent an excellent marker for identifying interesting amongst virgin olive

  11. Direct phase selection of initial phases from single-wavelength anomalous dispersion (SAD) for the improvement of electron density and ab initio structure determination.

    PubMed

    Chen, Chung-De; Huang, Yen-Chieh; Chiang, Hsin-Lin; Hsieh, Yin-Cheng; Guan, Hong-Hsiang; Chuankhayan, Phimonphan; Chen, Chun-Jung

    2014-09-01

    Optimization of the initial phasing has been a decisive factor in the success of the subsequent electron-density modification, model building and structure determination of biological macromolecules using the single-wavelength anomalous dispersion (SAD) method. Two possible phase solutions (φ1 and φ2) generated from two symmetric phase triangles in the Harker construction for the SAD method cause the well known phase ambiguity. A novel direct phase-selection method utilizing the θ(DS) list as a criterion to select optimized phases φ(am) from φ1 or φ2 of a subset of reflections with a high percentage of correct phases to replace the corresponding initial SAD phases φ(SAD) has been developed. Based on this work, reflections with an angle θ(DS) in the range 35-145° are selected for an optimized improvement, where θ(DS) is the angle between the initial phase φ(SAD) and a preliminary density-modification (DM) phase φ(DM)(NHL). The results show that utilizing the additional direct phase-selection step prior to simple solvent flattening without phase combination using existing DM programs, such as RESOLVE or DM from CCP4, significantly improves the final phases in terms of increased correlation coefficients of electron-density maps and diminished mean phase errors. With the improved phases and density maps from the direct phase-selection method, the completeness of residues of protein molecules built with main chains and side chains is enhanced for efficient structure determination.

  12. Against the odds? De novo structure determination of a pilin with two cysteine residues by sulfur SAD.

    PubMed

    Gorgel, Manuela; Bøggild, Andreas; Ulstrup, Jakob Jensen; Weiss, Manfred S; Müller, Uwe; Nissen, Poul; Boesen, Thomas

    2015-05-01

    Exploiting the anomalous signal of the intrinsic S atoms to phase a protein structure is advantageous, as ideally only a single well diffracting native crystal is required. However, sulfur is a weak anomalous scatterer at the typical wavelengths used for X-ray diffraction experiments, and therefore sulfur SAD data sets need to be recorded with a high multiplicity. In this study, the structure of a small pilin protein was determined by sulfur SAD despite several obstacles such as a low anomalous signal (a theoretical Bijvoet ratio of 0.9% at a wavelength of 1.8 Å), radiation damage-induced reduction of the cysteines and a multiplicity of only 5.5. The anomalous signal was improved by merging three data sets from different volumes of a single crystal, yielding a multiplicity of 17.5, and a sodium ion was added to the substructure of anomalous scatterers. In general, all data sets were balanced around the threshold values for a successful phasing strategy. In addition, a collection of statistics on structures from the PDB that were solved by sulfur SAD are presented and compared with the data. Looking at the quality indicator R(anom)/R(p.i.m.), an inconsistency in the documentation of the anomalous R factor is noted and reported.

  13. Predicting Diameter at Breast Height from Stump Diameters for Northeastern Tree Species

    Treesearch

    Eric H. Wharton; Eric H. Wharton

    1984-01-01

    Presents equations to predict diameter at breast height from stump diameter measurements for 17 northeastern tree species. Simple linear regression was used to develop the equations. Application of the equations is discussed.

  14. Origin of sigmoid diameter distributions

    Treesearch

    William B. Leak

    2002-01-01

    Diameter distributions--numbers of trees over diameter at breast height (d.b.h.)--were simulated over 20-years using six diameter-growth schedules, six mortality trends, and three initial conditions. The purpose was to determine factors responsible for the short-term development of the arithmetic rotated sigmoid form of diameter distribution characterized by a plateau...

  15. Intra-abdominal pressure: an integrative review

    PubMed Central

    Milanesi, Rafaela; Caregnato, Rita Catalina Aquino

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT There is a growing request for measuring intra-abdominal pressure in critically ill patients with acute abdominal pain to be clarified. Summarizing the research results on measurement of vesical intra-abdominal pressure and analyzing the level of evidence were the purposes of this integrative literature review, carried out based on the databases LILACS, MEDLINE and PubMed, from 2005 to July 2012. Twenty articles were identified, in that, 12 literature reviews, 4 descriptive and exploratory studies, 2 expert opinions, one prospective cohort study and one was an experience report. The vesical intra-abdominal pressure measurement was considered gold standard. There are variations in the technique however, but some common points were identified: complete supine position, in absence of abdominal contracture, in the end of expiration and expressed in mmHg. Most research results indicate keeping the transducer zeroed at the level of the mid-axillary line at the iliac crest level, and instill 25mL of sterile saline. Strong evidence must be developed. PMID:26958978

  16. Intestinal injury mechanisms after blunt abdominal impact.

    PubMed

    Cripps, N P; Cooper, G J

    1997-03-01

    Intestinal injury is frequent after non-penetrating abdominal trauma, particularly after modern, high-energy transfer impacts. Under these circumstances, delay in the diagnosis of perforation is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality. This study establishes patterns of intestinal injury after blunt trauma by non-penetrating projectiles and examines relationships between injury distribution and abdominal wall motion. Projectile impacts of variable momentum were produced in 31 anaesthetised pigs to cause abdominal wall motion of varying magnitude and velocity. No small bowel injury was observed at initial impact velocity of less than 40 m/s despite gross abdominal compression. At higher velocity, injury to the small bowel was frequent, irrespective of the degree of abdominal compression (P = 0.00044). Large bowel injury was observed at all impact velocities and at all degrees of abdominal compression. This study confirms the potential for intestinal injury in high velocity, low momentum impacts which do not greatly compress the abdominal cavity and demonstrates apparent differences in injury mechanisms for the small bowel and colon. Familiarity with injury mechanisms may reduce delays in the diagnosis of intestinal perforation in both military and civilian situations.

  17. Sugar maple height-diameter and age-diameter relationships in an uneven-aged northern hardwood stand

    Treesearch

    Laura S. Kenefic; R.D. Nyland

    1999-01-01

    Sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) height-diameter and age-diameter relationships are explored in a balanced uneven-aged northern hardwood stand in central New York. Results show that although both height and age vary considerably with diameter, these relationships can be described by statistically valid equations. The age-diameter relationship...

  18. A Newborn With Abdominal Pain.

    PubMed

    Alwan, Riham; Drake, Meredith; Gurria Juarez, Juan; Emery, Kathleen H; Shaaban, Aimen F; Szabo, Sara; Sobolewski, Brad

    2017-11-01

    A previously healthy 3-week-old boy presented with 5 hours of marked fussiness, abdominal distention, and poor feeding. He was afebrile and well perfused. His examination was remarkable for localized abdominal tenderness and distention. He was referred to the emergency department in which an abdominal radiograph revealed gaseous distention of the bowel with a paucity of gas in the pelvis. Complete blood cell count and urinalysis were unremarkable. His ongoing fussiness and abnormal physical examination prompted consultation with surgery and radiology. Our combined efforts ultimately established an unexpected diagnosis. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  19. Dissociation of sad facial expressions and autonomic nervous system responding in boys with disruptive behavior disorders

    PubMed Central

    Marsh, Penny; Beauchaine, Theodore P.; Williams, Bailey

    2009-01-01

    Although deficiencies in emotional responding have been linked to externalizing behaviors in children, little is known about how discrete response systems (e.g., expressive, physiological) are coordinated during emotional challenge among these youth. We examined time-linked correspondence of sad facial expressions and autonomic reactivity during an empathy-eliciting task among boys with disruptive behavior disorders (n = 31) and controls (n = 23). For controls, sad facial expressions were associated with reduced sympathetic (lower skin conductance level, lengthened cardiac preejection period [PEP]) and increased parasympathetic (higher respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) activity. In contrast, no correspondence between facial expressions and autonomic reactivity was observed among boys with conduct problems. Furthermore, low correspondence between facial expressions and PEP predicted externalizing symptom severity, whereas low correspondence between facial expressions and RSA predicted internalizing symptom severity. PMID:17868261

  20. Acute abdomen in children due to extra-abdominal causes.

    PubMed

    Tsalkidis, Aggelos; Gardikis, Stefanos; Cassimos, Dimitrios; Kambouri, Katerina; Tsalkidou, Evanthia; Deftereos, Savas; Chatzimichael, Athanasios

    2008-06-01

    Acute abdominal pain in children is a common cause for referral to the emergency room and for subsequent hospitalization to pediatric medical or surgical departments. There are rare occasions when the abdominal pain is derived from extra-abdominal organs or systems. The aim of the present study was to establish the most common extra-abdominal causes of acute abdominal pain. The notes of all children (1 month-14 years of age) examined for acute abdominal pain in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department of Alexandroupolis District University Hospital in January 2001-December 2005 were analyzed retrospectively. Demographic data, clinical signs and symptoms, and laboratory findings were recorded, as well as the final diagnosis and outcome. Of a total number of 28 124 children who were brought to the A&E department, in 1731 the main complaint was acute abdominal pain. In 51 children their symptoms had an extra-abdominal cause, the most frequent being pneumonia (n = 15), tonsillitis (n = 10), otitis media (n = 9), and acute leukemia (n = 5). Both abdominal and extra-abdominal causes should be considered by a pediatrician who is confronted with a child with acute abdominal pain.

  1. Geometric analysis of ruptured and nonruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms.

    PubMed

    Kimura, Masaru; Hoshina, Katsuyuki; Miyahara, Kazuhiro; Nitta, Jun; Kobayashi, Masaharu; Yamamoto, Sota; Ohshima, Marie

    2018-06-15

    The objective of this study was to use parameters to determine the geometric differences between ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) and nonruptured AAAs. Computed tomography data of 38 ruptured AAAs and 215 electively repaired (nonruptured) AAAs were collected from multiple institutes. We compared the ruptured AAA group and nonruptured AAA group with 1:1 matching by using the Mahalanobis distance, which was calculated using the patient's age, sex, and AAA diameter. We selected the longitudinal AAA image in multiplanar reconstruction view, placed a hypothetical ellipse on the aneurysm's protruded curve, and placed a circle on the portion connecting the aneurysm and the aorta. We then measured the aspect ratio (the vertical diameter divided by the horizontal diameter) and fillet radius (the radius of arc). The aspect ratio was significantly lower in the ruptured group than in the nonruptured group (2.02 ± 0.53 vs 2.60 ± 1.02; P = .002), as was the fillet radius (0.28 ± 0.18 vs 0.81 ± 0.44; P < .001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that the area under the curve of the aspect ratio was 0.688, and the optimal cutoff point was 2.23, with sensitivity and specificity of 0.55 and 0.76, respectively. The area under the curve of the fillet radius was 0.933, and the optimal cutoff was 0.347, with sensitivity and specificity of 0.97 and 0.87, respectively. The geometric analysis performed in this study revealed that ruptured AAAs had a smaller fillet radius and smaller aspect ratio than nonruptured AAAs did. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. [Clinical Approach to Abdominal Pain as Functional Origin].

    PubMed

    Ryu, Han Seung; Choi, Suck Chei

    2018-02-25

    Abdominal pain is a common symptom that patients refer to a hospital. Organic causes should be differentiated in patients with abdominal pain and treatment should be administered in accordance with the causes. A meticulous history taking and physical examination are highly useful in making a diagnosis, and blood tests, imaging modalities, and endoscopy are useful for confirming diagnosis. However, in many cases, patients have functional disorders with no obvious abnormal findings obtained even if many diagnostic tests are performed. Patients with functional disorders usually complain the vague abdominal pain located in the center and other portions of the abdominal area. Although the most representative disease is irritable bowel syndrome, functional abdominal pain syndrome is currently researched as a new disease entity of functional abdominal pain. As various receptors related to functional abdominal pain have been discovered, drugs associated with those receptors are used to treat the disorders, and additional new drugs are vigorously developed. In addition, medical therapy with pharmacological or non-pharmacological psychiatric treatment is effective for treating functional abdominal pain.

  3. The truth about laser fiber diameters.

    PubMed

    Kronenberg, Peter; Traxer, Olivier

    2014-12-01

    To measure the various diameters of laser fibers from various manufacturers and compare them with the advertised diameter. Fourteen different unused laser fibers from 6 leading manufacturers with advertised diameters of 200, 270, 272, 273, 365, and 400 μm were measured by light microscopy. The outer diameter (including the fiber coating, cladding, and core), cladding diameter (including the cladding and the fiber core), and core diameter were measured. Industry representatives of the manufacturers were interviewed about the diameter of their fibers. For all fibers, the outer and cladding diameters differed significantly from the advertised diameter (P <.00001). The outer diameter, which is of most practical relevance for urologists, exhibited a median increase of 87.3% (range, 50.7%-116.7%). The outer, cladding, and core diameters of fibers with equivalent advertised diameters differed by up to 180, 100, and 78 μm, respectively. Some 200-μm fibers had larger outer diameters than the 270- to 273-μm fibers. All packaging material and all laser fibers lacked clear and precise fiber diameter information labels. Of 12 representatives interviewed, 8, 3, and 1 considered the advertised diameter to be the outer, the cladding, and the core diameter, respectively. Representatives within the same company frequently gave different answers. This study suggests that, at present, there is a lack of uniformity between laser fiber manufacturers, and most of the information conveyed to urologists regarding laser fiber diameter may be incorrect. Because fibers larger than the advertised laser fibers are known to influence key interventional parameters, this misinformation can have surgical repercussions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Abdominal Lipomatosis with Secondary Self-Strangulation of Masses in an Adult Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta)

    PubMed Central

    Chum, Helen H; Long, C Tyler; McKeon, Gabriel P; Chang, Angela G; Luong, Richard H; Albertelli, Megan A

    2014-01-01

    An 10-y-old, intact male rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) presented for bilateral scrotal swelling and a distended abdomen. A soft mass in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen was palpated. A barium study did not reveal any gastrointestinal abnormalities. Exploratory laparotomy revealed a large (1.25 kg, 15.0 × 13.0 × 9.5 cm), red and tan, soft, circumscribed, spherical mass within the greater omentum and 10 to 20 smaller (diameter, 1 to 4 cm), soft to firm masses in the mesentery and greater omentum. The resected mass was a self-strangulating abdominal lipoma, a pedunculated neoplasm composed of white adipocytes arising from peritoneal adipose tissue undergoing secondary coagulation necrosis after strangulation of the blood supply due to twisting of the mass around the peduncle. The smaller masses were histologically consistent with simple or self-strangulating pedunculated abdominal lipomas. The macaque presented again 9 mo later with a firm, 5.0-cm mass in the midabdomen, with intestinal displacement visible on radiographs. Given this animal's medical history and questionable prognosis, euthanasia was elected. Necropsy revealed numerous, multifocal to coalescing, 1.0- to 15.0-cm, pale tan to yellow, circumscribed, soft to firm, spherical to ellipsoid, pedunculated masses that were scattered throughout the mesentery, greater omentum, lesser omentum, and serosal surfaces of the gastrointestinal tract. All of the masses were pedunculated abdominal lipomas, and most demonstrated coagulation necrosis due to self-strangulation of the blood supply. To our knowledge, this report is the first to describe abdominal lipomatosis with secondary self-strangulation of masses in a rhesus macaque. PMID:25402181

  5. Satisfaction with Life, Meaning in Life, Sad Childhood Experiences, and Psychological Symptoms among Turkish Students.

    PubMed

    Cömert, Itır Tarı; Özyeşil, Zümra Atalay; Burcu Özgülük, S

    2016-02-01

    The aim of the current study was to investigate the contributions of sad childhood experiences, depression, anxiety, and stress, existence of a sense of meaning, and pursuit of meaning in explaining life satisfaction of young adults in Turkey. The sample comprised 400 undergraduate students ( M age = 20.2 yr.) selected via random cluster sampling. There were no statistically significant differences between men and women in terms of their scores on depression, existence of meaning, pursuit of meaning, and life satisfaction scores. However, there were statistically significant differences between men and women on the sad childhood experiences, anxiety and stress. In heirarchical regression analysis, the model as a whole was significant. Depression and existence of meaning in life made unique significant contributions to the variance in satisfaction in life. Students with lower depression and with a sense of meaning in life tended to be more satisfied with life.

  6. Optical design of a robotic TV camera probe for minimally invasive abdominal surgery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Todaro, Susanna; He, Weiyi; Killinger, Dennis

    2011-03-01

    Minimally invasive techniques are a promising new field of surgery; however, they limit the surgeon's access points and maneuverability. In order to increase the number of access points in minimally invasive abdominal surgery, a proposed implantable medical probe braces to the abdominal wall and provides illumination and video signal. The probe is cylindrical, about 25 mm long and 10 mm in diameter. A ring of LEDs on the end of the probe illuminates the tissue, and the resulting image is focused onto an HD video detector. It was necessary to apply beam-shaping reflectors to collimate the light onto a small target area, to avoid illuminating areas not picked up by the video. These reflectors were designed and simulated using the optical ray tracing software TracePro. Two LED chip geometries and three types of reflector geometries were analyzed, and the parameters for each geometry were optimized. For the straight-edged reflectors, the intensity patterns and optimization were compared to experimental results. Although parabolic reflectors produced the best collimation, cone reflectors with a 20-degree half-angle produced significant collimation at a much cheaper price. This work was supported by NSF REU program (award No DMR-1004873).

  7. Modulation of Brain Resting-State Networks by Sad Mood Induction

    PubMed Central

    Harrison, Ben J.; Pujol, Jesus; Ortiz, Hector; Fornito, Alex; Pantelis, Christos; Yücel, Murat

    2008-01-01

    Background There is growing interest in the nature of slow variations of the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal observed in functional MRI resting-state studies. In humans, these slow BOLD variations are thought to reflect an underlying or intrinsic form of brain functional connectivity in discrete neuroanatomical systems. While these ‘resting-state networks’ may be relatively enduring phenomena, other evidence suggest that dynamic changes in their functional connectivity may also emerge depending on the brain state of subjects during scanning. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study, we examined healthy subjects (n = 24) with a mood induction paradigm during two continuous fMRI recordings to assess the effects of a change in self-generated mood state (neutral to sad) on the functional connectivity of these resting-state networks (n = 24). Using independent component analysis, we identified five networks that were common to both experimental states, each showing dominant signal fluctuations in the very low frequency domain (∼0.04 Hz). Between the two states, we observed apparent increases and decreases in the overall functional connectivity of these networks. Primary findings included increased connectivity strength of a paralimbic network involving the dorsal anterior cingulate and anterior insula cortices with subjects' increasing sadness and decreased functional connectivity of the ‘default mode network’. Conclusions/Significance These findings support recent studies that suggest the functional connectivity of certain resting-state networks may, in part, reflect a dynamic image of the current brain state. In our study, this was linked to changes in subjective mood. PMID:18350136

  8. How I Manage Abdominal Injuries.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haycock, Christine E.

    1986-01-01

    In sports, abdominal injuries occur most frequently in cycling, horseback riding, and skiing. Most involve children, not adults. Any athlete sustaining a severe blow to the abdomen should be examined. Guidelines are provided for recognizing and treating injuries to the abdominal muscles, kidneys, spleen, and liver. (Author/MT)

  9. This mood is familiar and I don't deserve to feel better anyway: mechanisms underlying self-esteem differences in motivation to repair sad moods.

    PubMed

    Wood, Joanne V; Heimpel, Sara A; Manwell, Laurie A; Whittington, Elizabeth J

    2009-02-01

    Why are people with low self-esteem (LSE) less motivated than people with high self-esteem (HSE) to improve sad moods? The present research examined whether feelings of personal deservingness contribute to this difference. Four experiments with undergraduate participants involved a sad mood induction, a manipulation of personal deservingness, or both. Results suggested that (a) LSEs feel less deserving of positive outcomes and of positive moods than do HSEs, (b) feelings of personal deservingness can vary with the situation, and be lowered through reminders of social rejection and personal flaws, and (c) feeling relatively undeserving dampens LSEs', but not HSEs', motivation to repair sad moods. These results have implications for the emotion regulation, self-esteem, and social justice literatures.

  10. Anticipated Coping with Interpersonal Stressors: Links with the Emotional Reactions of Sadness, Anger, and Fear

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J.; Skinner, Ellen A.; Morris, Helen; Thomas, Rae

    2013-01-01

    The same stressor can evoke different emotions across individuals, and emotions can prompt certain coping responses. Responding to four videotaped interpersonal stressors, adolescents ("N" = 230, the average values of "X"[subscript age] = 10 years) reported their sadness, fear "and" anger, and 12 coping strategies.…

  11. Temporary closure of the abdominal wall by use of silicone rubber sheets after operative repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms.

    PubMed

    Akers, D L; Fowl, R J; Kempczinski, R F; Davis, K; Hurst, J M; Uhl, S

    1991-07-01

    Management of patients after operative repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms can be further complicated if primary closure of the abdominal wall cannot be technically accomplished or is associated with profound increases in intraabdominal and peak inspiratory pressures. We recently treated five patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms and one patient with a ruptured thoracoabdominal aneurysm whose abdominal incisions had to be closed with a Dacron reinforced, silicone sheet. All patients were hemodynamically unstable either at admission to the hospital or became so during operation. Four patients required the insertion of a silicone rubber sheet at the primary operation because of massive retroperitoneal hematoma or edema of the bowel wall or both. Incisions in two patients were closed primarily, but the patients required reexploration and secondary closure with silicone rubber sheets because of the development of marked increases in peak inspiratory pressures, intraabdominal pressures, and decreased urinary output. Four of the six patients subsequently underwent successful removal of the silicone rubber sheets with delayed primary closure of the abdominal wall, and two others died before removal. The patient with the ruptured thoracoabdominal aneurysm died on postoperative day 20 because of pulmonary sepsis but had a healed abdominal incision. The three surviving patients have been discharged. A silicone rubber sheet may be necessary for closure of the abdominal wall after repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm in patients where primary abdominal wall closure is impossible or where it results in compromise in respiratory or renal function.

  12. Effect of abdominal resistance exercise on abdominal subcutaneous fat of obese women: a randomized controlled trial using ultrasound imaging assessments.

    PubMed

    Kordi, Ramin; Dehghani, Saeed; Noormohammadpour, Pardis; Rostami, Mohsen; Mansournia, Mohammad Ali

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to compare the effect of diet and an abdominal resistance training program to diet alone on abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness and waist circumference of overweight and obese women. This randomized clinical trial included 40 overweight and obese women randomly divided into 2 groups: diet only and diet combined with 12 weeks of abdominal resistance training. Waist and hip circumferences and abdominal skin folds of the subjects were measured at the beginning and 12 weeks after the interventions. In addition, abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness of the subjects was measured using ultrasonography. Percentage body fat and lean body mass of all the subjects were also measured using a bioelectric impedance device. After 12 weeks of intervention, the weight of participants in both groups decreased; but the difference between the 2 groups was not significant (P = .45). Similarly, other variables including abdominal subcutaneous fat, waist circumference, hip circumference, body mass index, body fat percentage, and skin fold thickness were reduced in both groups; but there were no significant differences between the groups. This study found that abdominal resistance training besides diet did not reduce abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness compared to diet alone in overweight or obese women. Copyright © 2015 National University of Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. 7 CFR 51.2934 - Diameter.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... Standards for Grades of Apricots Definitions § 51.2934 Diameter. Diameter means the greatest diameter, measured through the center of the apricot, at right angles to a line running from the stem to the blossom...

  14. 7 CFR 51.2934 - Diameter.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... Standards for Grades of Apricots Definitions § 51.2934 Diameter. Diameter means the greatest diameter, measured through the center of the apricot, at right angles to a line running from the stem to the blossom...

  15. 7 CFR 51.2934 - Diameter.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... Standards for Grades of Apricots Definitions § 51.2934 Diameter. Diameter means the greatest diameter, measured through the center of the apricot, at right angles to a line running from the stem to the blossom...

  16. Traumatic abdominal hernia complicated by necrotizing fasciitis.

    PubMed

    Martínez-Pérez, Aleix; Garrigós-Ortega, Gonzalo; Gómez-Abril, Segundo Ángel; Martí-Martínez, Eva; Torres-Sánchez, Teresa

    2014-11-01

    Necrotizing fasciitis is a critical illness involving skin and soft tissues, which may develop after blunt abdominal trauma causing abdominal wall hernia and representing a great challenge for physicians. A 52-year-old man was brought to the emergency department after a road accident, presenting blunt abdominal trauma with a large non-reducible mass in the lower-right abdomen. A first, CT showed abdominal hernia without signs of complication. Three hours after ICU admission, he developed hemodynamic instability. Therefore, a new CT scan was requested, showing signs of hernia complication. He was moved to the operating room where a complete transversal section of an ileal loop was identified. Five hours after surgery, he presented a new episode of hemodynamic instability with signs of skin and soft tissue infection. Due to the high clinical suspicion of necrotizing fasciitis development, wide debridement was performed. Following traumatic abdominal wall hernia (TAWH), patients can present unsuspected injuries in abdominal organs. Helical CT can be falsely negative in the early moments, leading to misdiagnosis. Necrotizing fasciitis is a potentially fatal infection and, consequently, resuscitation measures, wide-spectrum antibiotics, and early surgical debridement are required. This type of fasciitis can develop after blunt abdominal trauma following wall hernia without skin disruption.

  17. Laparoscopy In Unexplained Abdominal Pain: Surgeon's Perspective.

    PubMed

    Abdullah, Muhammad Tariq; Waqar, Shahzad Hussain; Zahid, Muhammad Abdul

    2016-01-01

    Unexplained abdominal pain is a common but difficult presenting feature faced by the clinicians. Such patients can undergo a number of investigations with failure to reach any diagnosis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of laparoscopy in the diagnosis and management of patients with unexplained abdominal pain. This cross-sectional study was conducted at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Islamabad from January 2009 to December 2013. This study included 91 patients of unexplained abdominal pain not diagnosed by routine clinical examination and investigations. These patients were subjected to diagnostic laparoscopy for evaluation of their conditions and to confirm the diagnosis. These patients presented 43% of patients undergoing investigations for abdominal pain. Patients diagnosed with gynaecological problems were excluded to see surgeon's perspective. The findings and the outcomes of the laparoscopy were recorded and data was analyzed. Unexplained abdominal pain is common in females than in males. The most common laparoscopic findings were abdominal tuberculosis followed by appendicitis. Ninety percent patients achieved pain relief after laparoscopic intervention. Laparoscopy is both beneficial and safe in majority of patients with unexplained abdominal pain. General surgeons should acquire training and experience in laparoscopic surgery to provide maximum benefit to these difficult patients.

  18. Economics of abdominal wall reconstruction.

    PubMed

    Bower, Curtis; Roth, J Scott

    2013-10-01

    The economic aspects of abdominal wall reconstruction are frequently overlooked, although understandings of the financial implications are essential in providing cost-efficient health care. Ventral hernia repairs are frequently performed surgical procedures with significant economic ramifications for employers, insurers, providers, and patients because of the volume of procedures, complication rates, the significant rate of recurrence, and escalating costs. Because biological mesh materials add significant expense to the costs of treating complex abdominal wall hernias, the role of such costly materials needs to be better defined to ensure the most cost-efficient and effective treatments for ventral abdominal wall hernias. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Perforated peptic ulcer associated with abdominal compartment syndrome.

    PubMed

    Lynn, Jiun-Jen; Weng, Yi-Ming; Weng, Chia-Sui

    2008-11-01

    Abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) is defined as an increased intra-abdominal pressure with adverse physiologic consequences. Abdominal compartment syndrome caused by perforated peptic ulcer is rare owing to early diagnosis and management. Delayed recognition of perforated peptic ulcer with pneumoperitoneum, bowel distension, and decreased abdominal wall compliance can make up a vicious circle and lead to ACS. We report a case of perforated peptic ulcer associated with ACS. A 74-year-old man with old stroke and dementia history was found to have distended abdomen, edema of bilateral legs, and cyanosis. Laboratory tests revealed deterioration of liver and kidney function. Abdominal compartment syndrome was suspected, and image study was arranged to find the cause. The study showed pneumoperitoneum, contrast stasis in heart with decreased caliber of vessels below the abdominal aortic level, and diffuse lymphedema at the abdominal walls. Emergent laparotomy was performed. Perforated peptic ulcer was noted and the gastrorrhaphy was done. The symptoms, and liver and kidney function improved right after emergent operation.

  20. Empathy and prosocial behavior in response to sadness and distress in 6- to 7-year olds diagnosed with disruptive behavior disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

    PubMed

    Deschamps, P K H; Schutter, D J L G; Kenemans, J L; Matthys, W

    2015-01-01

    Empathy has been associated with decreased antisocial and increased prosocial behavior. This study examined empathy and prosocial behavior in response to sadness and distress in disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Six- and 7-year-old children with DBD (with and without ADHD) (n = 67) and with ADHD only (n = 27) were compared to typically developing children (TD) (n = 37). Parents and teachers rated affective empathy in response to sadness and distress on the Griffith Empathy Measure. Children reported affective empathic ability in response to sad story vignettes. Empathy-induced prosocial behavior in response to sadness and distress was assessed with a computer task, the Interpersonal Response Task (IRT). Compared to TD, children with DBD (with and without ADHD) and those with ADHD only were rated as less empathic by their teachers, but not by their parents. No differences between groups were observed in children who reported affect correspondence. Children with DBD (with and without ADHD) showed less prosocial behavior in response to sadness and distress compared to TD. Children with ADHD only did not differ from TD. An additional analysis comparing all children with a diagnosis to the TD group revealed that the difference in prosocial behavior remained after controlling for ADHD symptoms, but not after controlling for DBD symptoms. These findings of impaired empathy-induced prosocial behavior in response to sadness and distress in young children with DBD suggest that interventions to ameliorate peer relationships may benefit from targeting on increasing prosocial behavior in these children.

  1. [On the development of the infectology service in Novi Sad].

    PubMed

    Canak, Grozdana; Vukadinov, Jovan; Brkić, Snezana; Svarc, Daniela; Ruzić, Maja; Kovacević, Nadica; Fabri, Milotka; Jovanović, Jovana; Klasnja, Biljana; Cvjetković, Dejan; Doder, Radoslava; Sević, Sinisa; Turkulov, Vesna; Stefan-Mikić, Sandra; Knezević, Koviljka; Aleksić-Dordević, Mirjana; Preveden, Tomislav

    2007-01-01

    Infectious diseases are a part of the history of this region. Devastating epidemics of plague, smallpox, and cholera were frequent during the 18th and the 19th centuries. Other infectious diseases were a serious problem as well: alimentary tract infections, scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping cough. Geographic position, climate, migrations, as well as the tradition and lack of medical staff and medications, affected the frequency and outcome of infections. Patients with infectious diseases were first treated at home. Later, a hospital in Visarion street was opened as an isolation facility and a hospital for homeless patients. The development of science and the education of medical personnel exerted the greatest influence on the control and later treatment of infectious diseases. These measures resulted in the establishment of the first specialized medical institutions in Novi Sad during the cholera outbreak in 1884. After that, temporary pediatric units were organized for the treatment of scarlet fever, diphtheria and smallpox. A ward for infectious diseases was founded in the The Great City Hospital in the second half of the 19th century (1892). The 20th century was a period of control and eradication of infectious diseases in Vojvodina (smallpox, malaria, diphtheria, polio). Nowdays, major infectious deseases include respiratory, alimentary and parasitic infections. However, new diseases are being registered as well - hemorrhagic fevers, Lyme disease, HIV infection. The Infectologic Service in Novi Sad was developed from an Infectology Departement as part of the Departement of Internal Diseases in the new Provincial Hospital (1909) to the independent Departement for Infectious Diseases (1945). Today, Clinic of lnfectious Diseases is an integral part of the Clinical Center of Vojvodina. The Department of Infectious Diseases of the Faculty of Medicine in Novi Sad was founded in 1960. Undergraduate studies started in 1963/64 for students of medicine and in 1978

  2. The in vivo blood compatibility of bio-inspired small diameter vascular graft: effect of submicron longitudinally aligned topography

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of deaths worldwide and the arterial reconstructive surgery remains the treatment of choice. Although large diameter vascular grafts have been widely used in clinical practices, there is an urgent need to develop a small diameter vascular graft with enhanced blood compatibility. Herein, we fabricated a small diameter vascular graft with submicron longitudinally aligned topography, which mimicked the tunica intima of the native arterial vessels and were tested in Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats. Methods Vascular grafts with aligned and smooth topography were prepared by electrospinning and were connected to the abdominal aorta of the SD rats to evaluate their blood compatibility. Graft patency and platelet adhesion were evaluated by color Doppler ultrasound and immunofluorescence respectively. Results We observed a significant higher patency rate (p = 0.021) and less thrombus formation in vascular graft with aligned topography than vascular graft with smooth topography. However, no significant difference between the adhesion rates on both vascular grafts (smooth/aligned: 0.35‰/0.12‰, p > 0.05) was observed. Moreover, both vascular grafts had few adherent activated platelets on the luminal surface. Conclusion Bionic vascular graft showed enhanced blood compatibility due to the effect of surface topography. Therefore, it has considerable potential for using in clinical application. PMID:24083888

  3. Socio-economic factors, health care consumption and rating of abdominal symptom severity. A report from the abdominal symptom study.

    PubMed

    Agréus, L

    1993-06-01

    A study of the abdominal/gastrointestinal symptom panorama in relation to socio-economic factors and health care consumption in the general population was performed in Osthammar, Sweden. A postal questionnaire was sent to a representative sample of the adult population (n = 1260). The response rate was 87%. The responders with symptoms (52.1%) subjectively rated their illness on visual analogue scales. All responders were classified as asymptomatic or having 'minor' or 'major' abdominal symptoms. Those having dyspepsia, reflux or irritable bowel syndrome were also ranked as 'minors' or 'majors'. The proportion of subjects with abdominal/gastrointestinal complaints decreased with age, mainly due to a decrease of 'major' symptoms. Also, the proportion of complainers increased among the more educated. Those on sick leave and students had more and worse symptoms than the others, despite the former seldom stating abdominal discomfort as the main reason for sick listing. Fifty-five per cent of all persons reporting abdominal/gastrointestinal symptoms had at some time consulted a doctor because of such complaints, the proportion increasing with severity, as did drug consumption and the rate of previous abdominal operations, with appendectomy as an exception. The results show that it is possible to rank the illness along a severity dimension among persons with abdominal/gastrointestinal complaints in epidemiological research.

  4. Ostomy-related complications after emergent abdominal surgery: a 2-year follow-up study.

    PubMed

    Lindholm, Elisabet; Persson, Eva; Carlsson, Eva; Hallén, Anne-Marie; Fingren, Jeanette; Berndtsson, Ina

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate ostomy-related complications and describe ostomy configuration in patients undergoing acute abdominal surgery. The study sample comprised 144 patients with a median age of 67 years (IOR: 53.5-78 years) who underwent an intestinal ostomy as part of an acute abdominal surgical procedure. The research setting was the surgical and gynecological clinics at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. Ostomy configuration, diameter, height, and the presence of stomal and peristomal complications were assessed by a WOC nurse 1 to 2 times while in hospital, once at the ostomy outpatient clinic 2 weeks after discharge, and at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months following ostomy creation. The types of ostomies evaluated were end colostomy (58%), end ileostomy (18%), loop ileostomy (17%), and loop colostomy (7%). Most stomal or peristomal complications occurred within 1 year after surgery (31 of 57; 54.4%). Necrosis, separation, and stenosis were most common in patients with an end colostomy. Peristomal skin complications occurred in 45% of subjects during the first 6 months after surgery. The ostomy's diameter decreased significantly during the hospital course and over the first 2 weeks following hospital discharge in patients with end colostomy (P< .0001), end ileostomy (P< .0081), loop ileostomy (P= .008), and loop colostomy (ns). Patients with a low ostomy had peristomal skin problems ranging between 21% and 57% over this time period. The frequency of using a pouching system that incorporated convexity was highest in the case of loop ileostomy, used in 67% at 6 months. During the first 2 weeks after discharge, the physical configuration of the ostomy evolves and the pouching system must be frequently adjusted by a WOC nurse. Stomal and peristomal complications are prevalent during the first 2 postoperative years and especially during the first 6 months.

  5. [A study on residual strain of abdominal aortic aneurysm after intraperitoneal administration of saturated hydrogen saline in rats].

    PubMed

    Song, Yuxiang; Chen, Feng; Xiong, Jiang; Guo, Wei; Pan, Xiujie; Jia, Senhao; Liu, Jie

    2013-07-01

    By observation of the diameter, progression rate, wall thickness, and the opening angle of the abnormal aortic of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in rats, to observe the effect of saturated hydrogen saline on residual strain of AAA rats, and to investigate its inhibition effect on AAA formation. Twenty healthy male Sprague Dawley rats (weighing, 200-220 g) were randomly divided into 2 groups, which was made the AAA model by infiltration of the abdominal arota with 0.5 mol/L calcium chloride. Saturated hydrogen saline (5 mL/kg) or saline (5 mL/kg) was injected intraperitoneally in the experimental group or control group respectively, every day for 28 days. At 28 days, the diameter, progression rate, wall thickness, and opening angle of the abnormal aorta were mearsured. The aortic tissue was harvested for histological examination (HE staining and aldehyde-fuchsin staining). At 28 days after operation, the diameter of abnormal aorta in 2 groups were significantly higher than preoperative ones (P < 0.05), the progression rate in experimental group (65% +/- 15%) was significantly lower than that in control group (128% +/- 54%) (t=3.611, P=0.005). The opening angle and the wall thickness in experimental group were (88.78 +/- 29.20) degrees and (0.14 +/- 0.03) mm respectively, had significant differences when compared with the values in control group [(44.23 +/- 28.52) degrees and (0.36 +/- 0.05) mm respectively] (P < 0.01). The integrity and continuity of the aortic wall in experimental group were superior to that in the control group. Compared with the control group, the injury of elastic fiber in aortic wall and the infiltration of inflammation were all reduced. Saturated hydrogen saline can maintain good mechanical properties and reduce dilatation of the aorta by increasing residual strain and reducing the remodeling of it.

  6. [Internationalization and innovation of abdominal acupuncture].

    PubMed

    Wang, Yong-Zhou

    2013-09-01

    Characteristics of abdominal acupuncture are analyzed through three aspects of inheriting and innovation, collaborated research as well as international visual field. It is pointed that abdominal acupuncture is based on clinical practice, focuses on enhancing the therapeutic effect and expending the clinical application. It also promots the thinking on how to recall the tradition and how to inherit tradition availably. The modern medical problems should be studied and innovation resolutions should be searched, which can help the internationalization and modernization of abdominal acupuncture.

  7. Correlation of cytologic and histopathologic findings with perinodal echogenicity of abdominal lymph nodes in dogs and cats.

    PubMed

    Davé, Aditya C; Zekas, Lisa J; Auld, Danelle M

    2017-07-01

    Abdominal lymphadenopathy in dogs and cats is routinely investigated with ultrasound. As the determination between benign and neoplastic etiologies of lymphadenopathy affects patient management, specific sonographic characteristics associated with both benign and neoplastic lymph nodes have been suggested. However, a significant overlap between these characteristics exists, necessitating a cytologic or histopathologic diagnosis in most instances. The objectives of this retrospective, cross-sectional study were to evaluate whether echogenicity of perinodal fat could be a discriminator between benign and neoplastic abdominal lymphadenopathy and to assess if additional sonographic features associated with malignancy could be identified in lymph nodes with hyperechoic perinodal fat. Small animal patients (257 dogs and 117 cats) with sonographic evidence of abdominal lymphadenopathy and a cytological or histopathological diagnosis were evaluated for differences in the proportions of sonographic features between benign and neoplastic groups. Greater maximum long axis diameter (in dogs and cats) and a greater number of abnormal lymph nodes (in cats) were associated with malignancy in lymph nodes with hyperechoic perinodal fat. Canine lymph nodes with round cell neoplasia were significantly more likely to have hyperechoic perinodal fat. Lymph nodes affected with other neoplasia or with lymphadenitis were equally likely to have normal or hyperechoic perinodal fat. Reactive lymph nodes were significantly less likely to have hyperechoic perinodal fat in both species. These results suggest that though echogenicity of perinodal fat is a nonspecific finding, abdominal lymph nodes with hyperechoic perinodal fat are less likely to be reactive and sampling of these lymph nodes may be indicated. © 2017 American College of Veterinary Radiology.

  8. Elasticity of the living abdominal wall in laparoscopic surgery.

    PubMed

    Song, Chengli; Alijani, Afshin; Frank, Tim; Hanna, George; Cuschieri, Alfred

    2006-01-01

    Laparoscopic surgery requires inflation of the abdominal cavity and this offers a unique opportunity to measure the mechanical properties of the living abdominal wall. We used a motion analysis system to study the abdominal wall motion of 18 patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery, and found that the mean Young's modulus was 27.7+/-4.5 and 21.0+/-3.7 kPa for male and female, respectively. During inflation, the abdominal wall changed from a cylinder to a dome shape. The average expansion in the abdominal wall surface was 20%, and a working space of 1.27 x 10(-3)m(3) was created by expansion, reshaping of the abdominal wall and diaphragmatic movement. For the first time, the elasticity of human abdominal wall was obtained from the patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery, and a 3D simulation model of human abdominal wall has been developed to analyse the motion pattern in laparoscopic surgery. Based on this study, a mechanical abdominal wall lift and a surgical simulator for safe/ergonomic port placements are under development.

  9. Attention and emotion: does rating emotion alter neural responses to amusing and sad films?

    PubMed

    Hutcherson, C A; Goldin, P R; Ochsner, K N; Gabrieli, J D; Barrett, L Feldman; Gross, J J

    2005-09-01

    Functional neuroimaging of affective systems often includes subjective self-report of the affective response. Although self-report provides valuable information regarding participants' affective responses, prior studies have raised the concern that the attentional demands of reporting on affective experience may obscure neural activations reflecting more natural affective responses. In the present study, we used potent emotion-eliciting amusing and sad films, employed a novel method of continuous self-reported rating of emotion experience, and compared the impact of rating with passive viewing of amusing and sad films. Subjective rating of ongoing emotional responses did not decrease either self-reported experience of emotion or neural activations relative to passive viewing in any brain regions. Rating, relative to passive viewing, produced increased activity in anterior cingulate, insula, and several other areas associated with introspection of emotion. These results support the use of continuous emotion measures and emotionally engaging films to study the dynamics of emotional responding and suggest that there may be some contexts in which the attention to emotion induced by reporting emotion experience does not disrupt emotional responding either behaviorally or neurally.

  10. Anatomic characteristics of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm on conventional CT scans: Implications for rupture risk.

    PubMed

    Fillinger, Mark F; Racusin, Jessica; Baker, Robert K; Cronenwett, Jack L; Teutelink, Arno; Schermerhorn, Marc L; Zwolak, Robert M; Powell, Richard J; Walsh, Daniel B; Rzucidlo, Eva M

    2004-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to analyze anatomic characteristics of patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), with conventional two-dimensional computed tomography (CT), including comparison with control subjects matched for age, gender, and size. Records were reviewed to identify all CT scans obtained at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center or referring hospitals before emergency AAA repair performed because of rupture or acute severe pain (RUP group). CT scans obtained before elective AAA repair (ELEC group) were reviewed for age and gender match with patients in the RUP group. More than 40 variables were measured on each CT scan. Aneurysm diameter matching was achieved by consecutively deleting the largest RUP scan and the smallest ELEC scan to prevent bias. CT scans were analyzed for 259 patients with AAAs: 122 RUP and 137 ELEC. Patients were well matched for age, gender, and other demographic variables or risk factors. Maximum AAA diameter was significantly different in comparisons of all patients (RUP, 6.5 +/- 2 cm vs ELEC, 5.6 +/- 1 cm; P <.0001), and mean diameter of ruptured AAAs was 5 mm smaller in female patients (6.1 +/- 2 cm vs 6.6 +/- 2 cm; P =.007). Two hundred patients were matched for diameter, gender, and age (100 from each group; maximum AAA diameter, 6.0 +/- 1 cm vs 6.0 +/- 1 cm). Analysis of diameter-matched AAAs indicated that most variables were statistically similar in the two groups, including infrarenal neck length (17 +/- 1 mm vs 19 +/- 1 mm; P =.3), maximum thrombus thickness (25 +/- 1 mm vs 23 +/- 1 mm, P =.4), and indices of body habitus, such as [(maximum AAA diameter)/(normal suprarenal aorta diameter)] or [(maximum AAA diameter)/(L3 transverse diameter)]. Multivariate analysis controlling for gender indicated that the most significant variables for rupture were aortic tortuosity (odds ratio [OR] 3.3, indicating greater risk with no or mild tortuosity), diameter asymmetry (OR, 3.2 for a 1-cm difference in major

  11. Abdominal pain - children under age 12

    MedlinePlus

    Stomach pain in children; Pain - abdomen - children; Abdominal cramps in children; Belly ache in children ... When your child complains of abdominal pain, see if they can describe it to you. Here are different kinds of pain: ...

  12. Maternal Socialization of Children's Anger, Sadness, and Physical Pain in Two Communities in Gujarat, India

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Raval, Vaishali Vidhatri; Martini, Tanya Susan

    2009-01-01

    Despite the recognition of cultural influences in child socialization, little is known about socialization of emotion in children from different cultures. This study examined (a) Gujarati Indian mothers' reports concerning their beliefs, affective and behavioral responses to their children's displays of anger, sadness, and physical pain, and (b)…

  13. Free-breathing black-blood CINE fast-spin echo imaging for measuring abdominal aortic wall distensibility: a feasibility study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lin, Jyh-Miin; Patterson, Andrew J.; Chao, Tzu-Cheng; Zhu, Chengcheng; Chang, Hing-Chiu; Mendes, Jason; Chung, Hsiao-Wen; Gillard, Jonathan H.; Graves, Martin J.

    2017-05-01

    The paper reports a free-breathing black-blood CINE fast-spin echo (FSE) technique for measuring abdominal aortic wall motion. The free-breathing CINE FSE includes the following MR techniques: (1) variable-density sampling with fast iterative reconstruction; (2) inner-volume imaging; and (3) a blood-suppression preparation pulse. The proposed technique was evaluated in eight healthy subjects. The inner-volume imaging significantly reduced the intraluminal artifacts of respiratory motion (p  =  0.015). The quantitative measurements were a diameter of 16.3  ±  2.8 mm and wall distensibility of 2.0  ±  0.4 mm (12.5  ±  3.4%) and 0.7  ±  0.3 mm (4.1  ±  1.0%) for the anterior and posterior walls, respectively. The cyclic cross-sectional distensibility was 35  ±  15% greater in the systolic phase than in the diastolic phase. In conclusion, we developed a feasible CINE FSE method to measure the motion of the abdominal aortic wall, which will enable clinical scientists to study the elasticity of the abdominal aorta.

  14. Intra-abdominal pressure: an integrative review.

    PubMed

    Milanesi, Rafaela; Caregnato, Rita Catalina Aquino

    2016-01-01

    There is a growing request for measuring intra-abdominal pressure in critically ill patients with acute abdominal pain to be clarified. Summarizing the research results on measurement of vesical intra-abdominal pressure and analyzing the level of evidence were the purposes of this integrative literature review, carried out based on the databases LILACS, MEDLINE and PubMed, from 2005 to July 2012. Twenty articles were identified, in that, 12 literature reviews, 4 descriptive and exploratory studies, 2 expert opinions, one prospective cohort study and one was an experience report. The vesical intra-abdominal pressure measurement was considered gold standard. There are variations in the technique however, but some common points were identified: complete supine position, in absence of abdominal contracture, in the end of expiration and expressed in mmHg. Most research results indicate keeping the transducer zeroed at the level of the mid-axillary line at the iliac crest level, and instill 25mL of sterile saline. Strong evidence must be developed. RESUMO Em pacientes críticos com quadros abdominais agudos a esclarecer é crescente a solicitação da aferição da pressão intra-abdominal. Sintetizar resultados de pesquisas sobre a mensuração da pressão intra-abdominal pela via vesical e analisar o nível de evidência foram os objetivos desta revisão integrativa da literatura, realizada nas bases LILACS, MEDLINE e PubMed, no período de 2005 a julho de 2012. Identificaram-se 20 artigos, sendo 12 revisões de literatura, 4 estudos exploratório-descritivos, 2 opiniões de especialistas, 1 estudo de coorte prospectivo e 1 relato de experiência. O método vesical para mensuração da pressão intra-abdominal foi considerado padrão-ouro. Existem variações na técnica, entretanto pontos em comum foram identificados: posição supina completa, na ausência de contratura abdominal, ao final da expiração e expressa em mmHg. A maioria indica posicionar o ponto zero do

  15. Abdomino-phrenic dyssynergia in patients with abdominal bloating and distension.

    PubMed

    Villoria, Albert; Azpiroz, Fernando; Burri, Emanuel; Cisternas, Daniel; Soldevilla, Alfredo; Malagelada, Juan-R

    2011-05-01

    The abdomen normally accommodates intra-abdominal volume increments. Patients complaining of abdominal distension exhibit abnormal accommodation of colonic gas loads (defective contraction and excessive protrusion of the anterior wall). However, abdominal imaging demonstrated diaphragmatic descent during spontaneous episodes of bloating in patients with functional gut disorders. We aimed to establish the role of the diaphragm in abdominal distension. In 20 patients complaining of abdominal bloating and 15 healthy subjects, we increased the volume of the abdominal cavity with a colonic gas load, while measuring abdominal girth and electromyographic activity of the anterior abdominal muscles and of the diaphragm. In healthy subjects, the colonic gas load increased girth, relaxed the diaphragm, and increased anterior wall tone. With the same gas load, patients developed significantly more abdominal distension; this was associated with paradoxical contraction of the diaphragm and relaxation of the internal oblique muscle. In this experimental provocation model, abnormal accommodation of the diaphragm is involved in abdominal distension.

  16. The influence of self-generated emotions on physical performance: an investigation of happiness, anger, anxiety, and sadness.

    PubMed

    Rathschlag, Marco; Memmert, Daniel

    2013-04-01

    The present study examined the relationship between self-generated emotions and physical performance. All participants took part in five emotion induction conditions (happiness, anger, anxiety, sadness, and an emotion-neutral state) and we investigated their influence on the force of the finger musculature (Experiment 1), the jump height of a counter-movement jump (Experiment 2), and the velocity of a thrown ball (Experiment 3). All experiments showed that participants could produce significantly better physical performances when recalling anger or happiness emotions in contrast to the emotion-neutral state. Experiments 1 and 2 also revealed that physical performance in the anger and the happiness conditions was significantly enhanced compared with the anxiety and the sadness conditions. Results are discussed in relation to the Lazarus (1991, 2000a) cognitive-motivational-relational (CMR) theory framework.

  17. S-SAD phasing study of death receptor 6 and its solution conformation revealed by SAXS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ru, Heng; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100 049; Zhao, Lixia

    A comparative analysis of sulfur phasing of death receptor 6 (DR6) using data collected at wavelengths of 2.0 and 2.7 Å is presented. SAXS analysis of unliganded DR6 defines a dimer as the minimum physical unit in solution. A subset of tumour necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily members contain death domains in their cytoplasmic tails. Death receptor 6 (DR6) is one such member and can trigger apoptosis upon the binding of a ligand by its cysteine-rich domains (CRDs). The crystal structure of the ectodomain (amino acids 1–348) of human death receptor 6 (DR6) encompassing the CRD region was phased usingmore » the anomalous signal from S atoms. In order to explore the feasibility of S-SAD phasing at longer wavelengths (beyond 2.5 Å), a comparative study was performed on data collected at wavelengths of 2.0 and 2.7 Å. In spite of sub-optimal experimental conditions, the 2.7 Å wavelength used for data collection showed potential for S-SAD phasing. The results showed that the R{sub ano}/R{sub p.i.m.} ratio is a good indicator for monitoring the anomalous data quality when the anomalous signal is relatively strong, while d′′/sig(d′′) calculated by SHELXC is a more sensitive and stable indicator applicable for grading a wider range of anomalous data qualities. The use of the ‘parameter-space screening method’ for S-SAD phasing resulted in solutions for data sets that failed during manual attempts. SAXS measurements on the ectodomain suggested that a dimer defines the minimal physical unit of an unliganded DR6 molecule in solution.« less

  18. Segmentation of images of abdominal organs.

    PubMed

    Wu, Jie; Kamath, Markad V; Noseworthy, Michael D; Boylan, Colm; Poehlman, Skip

    2008-01-01

    Abdominal organ segmentation, which is, the delineation of organ areas in the abdomen, plays an important role in the process of radiological evaluation. Attempts to automate segmentation of abdominal organs will aid radiologists who are required to view thousands of images daily. This review outlines the current state-of-the-art semi-automated and automated methods used to segment abdominal organ regions from computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MEI), and ultrasound images. Segmentation methods generally fall into three categories: pixel based, region based and boundary tracing. While pixel-based methods classify each individual pixel, region-based methods identify regions with similar properties. Boundary tracing is accomplished by a model of the image boundary. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the above algorithms with an emphasis on their advantages and disadvantages for abdominal organ segmentation. Several evaluation metrics that compare machine-based segmentation with that of an expert (radiologist) are identified and examined. Finally, features based on intensity as well as the texture of a small region around a pixel are explored. This review concludes with a discussion of possible future trends for abdominal organ segmentation.

  19. Diameter-Constrained Steiner Tree

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ding, Wei; Lin, Guohui; Xue, Guoliang

    Given an edge-weighted undirected graph G = (V,E,c,w), where each edge e ∈ E has a cost c(e) and a weight w(e), a set S ⊆ V of terminals and a positive constant D 0, we seek a minimum cost Steiner tree where all terminals appear as leaves and its diameter is bounded by D 0. Note that the diameter of a tree represents the maximum weight of path connecting two different leaves in the tree. Such problem is called the minimum cost diameter-constrained Steiner tree problem. This problem is NP-hard even when the topology of Steiner tree is fixed. In present paper we focus on this restricted version and present a fully polynomial time approximation scheme (FPTAS) for computing a minimum cost diameter-constrained Steiner tree under a fixed topology.

  20. Abdominal Pain in the Geriatric Patient.

    PubMed

    Leuthauser, Amy; McVane, Benjamin

    2016-05-01

    Abdominal pain in the elderly can be a challenging and difficult condition to diagnose and treat. The geriatric population has significant comorbidities and often takes polypharmacy that can mask symptoms. The presentation of common conditions can be different than that in the younger population, often lacking the traditional indicators of disease, making it of pivotal importance for the clinician to consider a wide differential during their workup. It is also important to consider extra-abdominal abnormality that may manifest as abdominal pain. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Abdominal pain in children with sickle cell disease.

    PubMed

    Rhodes, Melissa M; Bates, David Gregory; Andrews, Tina; Adkins, Laura; Thornton, Jennifer; Denham, Jolanda M

    2014-02-01

    The differential diagnosis of abdominal pain is broad in any child, and further complicated in children with sickle cell disease (SCD). Acute causes of abdominal pain may require emergent surgery, such as for appendicitis or obstruction caused by a bezoar. Rapid intervention is necessary and life-saving in children with SCD and acute splenic or hepatic sequestration. The majority of children with SCD presenting to the physician's office or emergency department will have subacute reasons for their abdominal pain, including but not limited to constipation, urinary tract infection, peptic ulcer disease, and cholecystitis. Vaso-occlusive pain often presents in children as abdominal pain, but is a diagnosis of exclusion. The case of a 10-year-old girl with intermittent abdominal pain is used as a starting point to review the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of the most acute and common causes of abdominal pain in children with SCD.

  2. Compliance of the abdominal wall during laparoscopic insufflation.

    PubMed

    Becker, Chuck; Plymale, Margaret A; Wennergren, John; Totten, Crystal; Stigall, Kyle; Roth, J Scott

    2017-04-01

    To provide adequate workspace between the viscera and abdominal wall, insufflation with carbon dioxide is a common practice in laparoscopic surgeries. An insufflation pressure of 15 mmHg is considered to be safe in patients, but all insufflation pressures create perioperative and postoperative physiologic effects. As a composition of viscoelastic materials, the abdominal wall should distend in a predictable manner given the pressure of the pneumoperitoneum. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the relationship between degree of abdominal distention and the insufflation pressure, with the goal of determining factors which impact the compliance of the abdominal wall. A prospective, IRB-approved study was conducted to video record the abdomens of patients undergoing insufflation prior to a laparoscopic surgery. Photo samples were taken every 5 s, and the strain of the patient's abdomen in the sagittal plane was determined, as well as the insufflator pressure (stress) at bedside. Patients were insufflated to 15 mmHg. The relationship between the stress and strain was determined in each sample, and compliance of the patient's abdominal wall was calculated. Subcutaneous fat thickness and rectus abdominus muscle thickness were obtained from computed tomography scans. Correlations between abdominal wall compliances and subcutaneous fat and muscle content were determined. Twenty-five patients were evaluated. An increased fat thickness in the abdominal wall had a direct exponential relationship with abdominal wall compliance (R 2  = 0.59, p < 0.05). There was no correlation between muscle and fat thickness. All insufflation pressures create perioperative and postoperative complications. The compliance of patients' abdominal body walls differs, and subcutaneous fat thickness has a direct exponential relationship with abdominal wall compliance. Thus, insufflation pressures can be better tailored per the patient. Future studies are needed to demonstrate the

  3. Abdominal pregnancy - Case presentation.

    PubMed

    Bohiltea, R; Radoi, V; Tufan, C; Horhoianu, I A; Bohiltea, C

    2015-01-01

    Abdominal pregnancy, a rare diagnosis, belongs to the ectopic pregnancy group, the leading cause of pregnancy related exitus. The positive diagnosis is very difficult to establish most often in an acute setting, leading to a staggering percent of feto-maternal morbidity and mortality. We present the case of 26-weeks-old abdominal pregnancy with partial feto-placental detachment in a patient, after hysteroscopy and in vitro fertilization, which until the acute symptoms that led to emergency laparotomy went unrecognized. The patient recovered completely and satisfactorily after surgery and, due to the high risk of uterine rupture with regard to a second pregnancy, opted for a surrogate mother. Abdominal pregnancy can be regarded as a difficult to establish diagnosis, with a greater chance in case of increased awareness. It is compulsory to be well informed in order not to be surprised by the diagnosis and to apply the correct treatment immediately as the morbidity and mortality rate is elevated.

  4. Remarks on Height-Diameter Modeling

    Treesearch

    Lei Yuancai; Bernard R. Parresol

    2001-01-01

    Height-diameter model forms in earlier published papers are examined. The selection criteria used in height-diameter model forms are not reasonable when considering tree biological growth pattern. During model selection, forms for height-diameter relationships should include consideration of both data-related and reasonable biological criteria, not just data-related...

  5. Treatment strategy for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms.

    PubMed

    Davidovic, L

    2014-07-01

    Rupture is the most serious and lethal complication of the abdominal aortic aneurysm. Despite all improvements during the past 50 years, ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms are still associated with very high mortality. Namely, including patients who die before reaching the hospital, the mortality rate due to abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture is 90%. On the other hand, during the last twenty years, the number of abdominal aortic aneurysms significantly increased. One of the reasons is the fact that in majority of countries the general population is older nowadays. Due to this, the number of degenerative AAA is increasing. This is also the case for patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture. Age must not be the reason of a treatment refusal. Optimal therapeutic option ought to be found. The following article is based on literature analysis including current guidelines but also on my Clinics significant experience. Furthermore, this article show cases options for vascular medicine in undeveloped countries that can not apply endovascular procedures at a sufficient level and to a sufficient extent. At this moment the following is evident. Thirty-day-mortality after repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms is significantly lower in high-volume hospitals. Due to different reasons all ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms are not suitable for EVAR. Open repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm should be performed by experienced open vascular surgeons. This could also be said for the treatment of endovascular complications that require open surgical conversion. There is no ideal procedure for the treatment of AAA. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, its own limits and complications, as well as indications and contraindications. Future reductions in mortality of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms will depend on implementation of population-based screening; on strategies to prevent postoperative organ injury and also on new medical technology

  6. The Relationship Between Surface Curvature and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Wall Stress.

    PubMed

    de Galarreta, Sergio Ruiz; Cazón, Aitor; Antón, Raúl; Finol, Ender A

    2017-08-01

    The maximum diameter (MD) criterion is the most important factor when predicting risk of rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). An elevated wall stress has also been linked to a high risk of aneurysm rupture, yet is an uncommon clinical practice to compute AAA wall stress. The purpose of this study is to assess whether other characteristics of the AAA geometry are statistically correlated with wall stress. Using in-house segmentation and meshing algorithms, 30 patient-specific AAA models were generated for finite element analysis (FEA). These models were subsequently used to estimate wall stress and maximum diameter and to evaluate the spatial distributions of wall thickness, cross-sectional diameter, mean curvature, and Gaussian curvature. Data analysis consisted of statistical correlations of the aforementioned geometry metrics with wall stress for the 30 AAA inner and outer wall surfaces. In addition, a linear regression analysis was performed with all the AAA wall surfaces to quantify the relationship of the geometric indices with wall stress. These analyses indicated that while all the geometry metrics have statistically significant correlations with wall stress, the local mean curvature (LMC) exhibits the highest average Pearson's correlation coefficient for both inner and outer wall surfaces. The linear regression analysis revealed coefficients of determination for the outer and inner wall surfaces of 0.712 and 0.516, respectively, with LMC having the largest effect on the linear regression equation with wall stress. This work underscores the importance of evaluating AAA mean wall curvature as a potential surrogate for wall stress.

  7. [Abdominal catastrophe--abdominal wall defect associated with gastrointestinal fistula--strategy of therapy].

    PubMed

    Chobola, M; Sobotka, L; Ferko, A; Oberreiter, M; Kaska, M; Motycka, V; Páral, J; Mottl, R

    2010-11-01

    Wound dehiscence complicated by gastrointestinal (GI) fistula to belong ,,abdominal catastrophe". Therapy is prolonged and connected with high morbidity and mortality rate. In the period from October 2006 to July 2009 we performed 12 reconstructive surgical procedures on gastrointestinal tract in patients with abdominal catastrophe. Treatment of 12 consecutive patients (9 men, 3 women) was managed according to a standardize protocol. The protocol consists of treatment of septic complications, optimisation of nutritional state, special wound procedures, diagnosis of gastrointestinal fistulas and GI tract, timing of surgical procedures, reconstruction of GI tract and postoperative care. Reconstructive surgery of GI tract was successful on 11 patients. One patient developed recurrence of early GI fistula. In four patients we let open abdomen to heal per secundam. We observed no deaths after operation. With regard to complex character of therapy of abdominal catastrophe there is a need of multidisciplinary approach. Considering long-lasting and expensive therapy there is logical step to concentrate these patients into special centres which are experienced, equipped and their staff is trained in treatment of such a seriously impaired patients.

  8. Abdominal rigidity

    MedlinePlus

    ... other symptoms do you have at the same time? For example, do you have abdominal pain ? You may have the following tests: Barium studies of the stomach and intestines (such as an upper GI series ) Blood tests Colonoscopy Gastroscopy Peritoneal lavage Stool studies ...

  9. Abdominal exploration - slideshow

    MedlinePlus

    ... ency/presentations/100049.htm Abdominal exploration - series—Normal ... intestine (jejunum and ileum), the large intestine (colon), the liver, the spleen, the gallbladder, the pancreas, the uterus, ...

  10. Successful Treatment of Abdominal Cutaneous Entrapment Syndrome Using Ultrasound Guided Injection

    PubMed Central

    Hong, Myong Joo; Seo, Dong Hyuk

    2013-01-01

    There are various origins for chronic abdominal pain. About 10-30% of patients with chronic abdominal pain have abdominal wall pain. Unfortunately, abdominal wall pain is not thought to be the first origin of chronic abdominal pain; therefore, patients usually undergo extensive examinations, including diagnostic laparoscopic surgery. Entrapment of abdominal cutaneous nerves at the muscular foramen of the rectus abdominis is a rare cause of abdominal wall pain. If abdominal wall pain is considered in earlier stage of chronic abdominal pain, unnecessary invasive procedures are not required and patients will reach symptom free condition as soon as the diagnosis is made. Here, we report a case of successful treatment of a patient with abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome by ultrasound guided injection therapy. PMID:23862004

  11. Automatic segmentation and co-registration of gated CT angiography datasets: measuring abdominal aortic pulsatility

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wentz, Robert; Manduca, Armando; Fletcher, J. G.; Siddiki, Hassan; Shields, Raymond C.; Vrtiska, Terri; Spencer, Garrett; Primak, Andrew N.; Zhang, Jie; Nielson, Theresa; McCollough, Cynthia; Yu, Lifeng

    2007-03-01

    Purpose: To develop robust, novel segmentation and co-registration software to analyze temporally overlapping CT angiography datasets, with an aim to permit automated measurement of regional aortic pulsatility in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms. Methods: We perform retrospective gated CT angiography in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms. Multiple, temporally overlapping, time-resolved CT angiography datasets are reconstructed over the cardiac cycle, with aortic segmentation performed using a priori anatomic assumptions for the aorta and heart. Visual quality assessment is performed following automatic segmentation with manual editing. Following subsequent centerline generation, centerlines are cross-registered across phases, with internal validation of co-registration performed by examining registration at the regions of greatest diameter change (i.e. when the second derivative is maximal). Results: We have performed gated CT angiography in 60 patients. Automatic seed placement is successful in 79% of datasets, requiring either no editing (70%) or minimal editing (less than 1 minute; 12%). Causes of error include segmentation into adjacent, high-attenuating, nonvascular tissues; small segmentation errors associated with calcified plaque; and segmentation of non-renal, small paralumbar arteries. Internal validation of cross-registration demonstrates appropriate registration in our patient population. In general, we observed that aortic pulsatility can vary along the course of the abdominal aorta. Pulsation can also vary within an aneurysm as well as between aneurysms, but the clinical significance of these findings remain unknown. Conclusions: Visualization of large vessel pulsatility is possible using ECG-gated CT angiography, partial scan reconstruction, automatic segmentation, centerline generation, and coregistration of temporally resolved datasets.

  12. Psychometric properties of the social anxiety subscale of the Youth Anxiety Measure for DSM-5 (YAM-5-I-SAD) in a clinical sample of Spanish-speaking adolescents.

    PubMed

    Fuentes-Rodriguez, Gema; Saez-Castillo, Antonio J; Garcia-Lopez, Luis-Joaquin

    2018-08-01

    The Youth Anxiety Measure-I for DSM-5 has recently been developed to assess youth's anxiety symptomatology. As social anxiety is one of the most common disorders in adolescence, this scale includes a subscale measuring social anxiety. However, psychometric properties of the YAM-5-I social anxiety subscale (YAM-5-I-SAD) in clinical samples are lacking. This paper aims to bridge the gap. The sample comprised 24 clinically diagnosed and 24 healthy control Spanish-speaking adolescents aged 14-17 years. Data revealed that the YAM-5- I-SAD yielded excellent sensitivity, which makes it particularly useful as a screening tool to early detect socially anxious adolescents. In addition, the YAM-5-I-SAD evidenced good internal consistency and construct validity. Data are limited to the social anxiety subscale. The YAM-5-I-SAD is a sensitive and specific measure to screen for adolescents with social anxiety. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Chronic abdominal wall pain--a diagnostic challenge for the surgeon.

    PubMed

    Lindsetmo, Rolv-Ole; Stulberg, Jonah

    2009-07-01

    Chronic abdominal wall pain (CAWP) occurs in about 30% of all patients presenting with chronic abdominal pain. The authors review the literature identified in a PubMed search regarding the abdominal wall as the origin of chronic abdominal pain. CAWP is frequently misinterpreted as visceral or functional abdominal pain. Misdiagnosis often leads to a variety of investigational procedures and even abdominal operations with negative results. With a simple clinical test (Carnett's test), >90% of patients with CAWP can be recognized, without risk for missing intra-abdominal pathology. The condition can be confirmed when the injection of local anesthetics in the trigger point(s) relieves the pain. A fasciotomy in the anterior abdominal rectus muscle sheath through the nerve foramina of the affected branch of one of the anterior intercostal nerves heals the pain.

  14. The Experience of Anger and Sadness in Everyday Problems Impacts Age Differences in Emotion Regulation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blanchard-Fields, Fredda; Coats, Abby Heckman

    2008-01-01

    The authors examined regulation of the discrete emotions anger and sadness in adolescents through older adults in the context of describing everyday problem situations. The results support previous work; in comparison to younger age groups, older adults reported that they experienced less anger and reported that they used more passive and fewer…

  15. Mechanisms and management of functional abdominal pain.

    PubMed

    Farmer, Adam D; Aziz, Qasim

    2014-09-01

    Functional abdominal pain syndrome is characterised by frequent or continuous abdominal pain associated with a degree of loss of daily activity. It has a reported population prevalence of between 0.5% and 1.7%, with a female preponderance. The pathophysiology of functional abdominal pain is incompletely understood although it has been postulated that peripheral sensitisation of visceral afferents, central sensitisation of the spinal dorsal horn and aberrancies within descending modulatory systems may have an important role. The management of patients with functional abdominal pain requires a tailored multidisciplinary approach in a supportive and empathetic environment in order to develop an effective therapeutic relationship. Patient education directed towards an explanation of the pathophysiology of functional abdominal pain is in our opinion a prerequisite step and provides the rationale for the introduction of interventions. Interventions can usefully be categorised into general measures, pharmacotherapy, psychological interventions and 'step-up' treatments. Pharmacotherapeutic/step-up options include tricyclic antidepressants, serotonin noradrenergic reuptake inhibitors and the gabapentinoids. Psychological treatments include cognitive behavioural therapy and hypnotherapy. However, the objective evidence base for these interventions is largely derived from other chronic pain syndrome, and further research is warranted in adult patients with functional abdominal pain. © The Royal Society of Medicine.

  16. Polymorphisms of the MMP-9 gene and abdominal aortic aneurysm

    PubMed Central

    Smallwood, Linda; Allcock, Richard; van Bockxmeer, Frank; Warrington, Nicole; Palmer, Lyle J; Iacopetta, Barry; Golledge, Jonathan; Norman, Paul E

    2008-01-01

    Background Increased matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) activity has been implicated in the formation of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). The aim of the present study was to explore the association between potentially functional variants of the MMP-9 gene and AAA. Method The −1562C>T and −1811A>T variants of the MMP-9 gene were genotyped in 678 men with AAAs (>30mm in diameter) and 659 controls (aortic diameter 19−22mm) recruited from a population-based trial of screening for AAAs. The levels of MMP-9 were measured in a random subset of 300 cases and 84 controls. The association between genetic variants (including haplotypes) and AAA was assessed using multivariate logistic regression. Results There was no association between the MMP-9 −1562C>T (OR 0.70 95%CI 0.27, 1.82) or −1811A>T (OR 0.71, 95%CI 0.28, 1.85) genotypes, or the most common haplotype (OR 0.81 95%CI 0.62, 1.05), and AAA. The serum MMP-9 concentration (ng/mL) was higher in cases than controls and in minor allele carriers in cases and controls although the differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion The results suggest that a genetic tendency to have higher levels of circulating MMP-9 is not associated with AAAs. PMID:18763261

  17. Review article: the functional abdominal pain syndrome.

    PubMed

    Sperber, A D; Drossman, D A

    2011-03-01

    Functional abdominal pain syndrome (FAPS) is a debilitating disorder with constant or nearly constant abdominal pain, present for at least 6 months and loss of daily functioning. To review the epidemiology, pathophysiology and treatment of FAPS. A literature review using the keywords: functional abdominal pain, chronic abdominal pain, irritable bowel syndrome and functional gastrointestinal disorders. No epidemiological studies have focused specifically on FAPS. Estimates of prevalence range from 0.5% to 1.7% and tend to show a female predominance. FAPS pathophysiology appears unique in that the pain is caused primarily by amplified central perception of normal visceral input, rather than by enhanced peripheral stimulation from abdominal viscera. The diagnosis of FAPS is symptom-based in accordance with the Rome III diagnostic criteria. These criteria are geared to identify patients with severe symptoms as they require constant or nearly constant abdominal pain with loss of daily function and are differentiated from IBS based on their non-association with changes in bowel habit, eating or other gut-related events. As cure is not feasible, the aims of treatment are reduced suffering and improved quality of life. Treatment is based on a biopsychosocial approach with a therapeutic patient-physician partnership at its base. Therapeutic options include central nonpharmacological and pharmacological modalities and peripheral modalities. These can be combined to produce an augmentation effect. Although few studies have assessed functional abdominal pain syndrome or its treatment specifically, the treatment strategies outlined in this paper appear to be effective. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  18. Anger and Sadness in Response to an Emotionally-Neutral Film: Evidence for Age-Specific Associations with Well-Being

    PubMed Central

    Haase, Claudia M.; Seider, Benjamin H.; Shiota, Michelle N.; Levenson, Robert W.

    2011-01-01

    When the association between emotion and well-being is being considered, positive emotions usually come to mind. However, negative emotions serve important adaptive functions and particular negative emotions may be especially adaptive at different stages of adult development. We examined the associations between self-reported negative emotions in response to an emotionally-neutral, thematically-ambiguous film and subjective well-being among 76 young (age 20–29), 73 middle-aged (age 40–49), and 73 older (age 60–69) adults. Results indicated that higher self-reported anger in response to the film was associated with higher well-being for middle-aged adults, but not for young and older adults. Higher self-reported sadness in response to the film was associated with higher well-being for older adults, but not for young and middle-aged adults. These findings were stronger for cognitive well-being (i.e., satisfaction with life) than for affective well-being (i.e., ratio of positive to negative affect) and were specific to these emotions (not found for self-reported disgust or fear) and to the emotionally-neutral film (not found for sad or disgusting films). Results are discussed in terms of the functions that anger and sadness are thought to serve and the control opportunities afforded in midlife and late life that render these functions differentially adaptive. PMID:21843005

  19. Medical evacuation for unrecognized abdominal wall pain: a case series.

    PubMed

    Msonda, Hapu T; Laczek, Jeffrey T

    2015-05-01

    Chronic abdominal pain is a frequently encountered complaint in the primary care setting. The abdominal wall is the etiology of this pain in 10 to 30% of all cases of chronic abdominal pain. Abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment at the lateral border of the rectus abdominis muscle has been attributed as a cause of this pain. In the military health care system, patients with unexplained abdominal pain are often transferred to military treatment facilities via the Military Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) system. We present two cases of patients who transferred via MEDEVAC to our facility for evaluation and treatment of chronic abdominal pain. Both patients had previously undergone extensive laboratory evaluation, imaging, and invasive procedures, such as esophagogastroduodenoscopy before transfer. Upon arrival, history and physical examinations suggested an abdominal wall source to their pain, and both patients experienced alleviation of their abdominal wall pain with lidocaine and corticosteroid injection. This case series highlights the need for military physicians to be aware of abdominal wall pain. Early diagnosis of abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome by eliciting Carnett's sign will limit symptom chronicity, avoid unnecessary testing, and even prevent medical evacuation. Reprint & Copyright © 2015 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

  20. Congenital heart disease manifested as acute abdominal pain.

    PubMed

    Macha, Mahender; Gupta, Dipin; Molina, Ezequiel; Palma, Jon; Rothman, Steven

    2007-06-12

    We present a case of a 53-year-old man with complaints of severe abdominal pain and nausea. Emergency department abdominal workup was non-diagnostic. Physical examination revealed signs of right- and left-heart failure. A past medical history of dysrhythmias and chronic abdominal complaints prompted hospital admission. Subsequent right heart catheterization revealed a significant left-to-right shunt. CT scan of the chest and angiography confirmed the diagnosis of an abnormal ascending vein between the innominate vein and the left superior pulmonary vein. After the anomalous vein was ligated, the patient's abdominal pain resolved.