Innate Resistance and Susceptibility to Norovirus Infection

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

Nordgren, Johan; Sharma, Sumit; Kambhampati, Anita

The notion that certain individuals appear more or less susceptible to infections or to specific microbes is not new, but, until recently, it was assumed that clinical outcome of an infection was mainly owing to virulence factors of the microorganism. Relatively little attention has been given to host genetic factors involved in innate or adaptive immunity or expression of pathogen receptors. A remarkable example of susceptibility dependence is the strong Mendelian trait resistance to the most common noroviruses among individuals with a nonsense mutation in chromosome 19. Norovirus is recognized as the leading cause of gastroenteritis worldwide, affecting children andmore » adults alike. Noroviruses are highly contagious and genetically diverse RNA viruses, but not all individuals are susceptible to infection to the same norovirus genotypes. Presence of histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) on gut epithelial surfaces is essential for susceptibility to many norovirus genotypes. The synthesis of these HBGAs, specifically of the ABH and Lewis families, requires the use of several fucosyl and glycosyltransferases encoded by the FUT2, FUT3, and ABH genes. Polymorphisms in these genes vary considerably depending on ethnicity, with a homozygous nonsense mutation (individuals called non-secretors) in the FUT2 gene occurring in approximately 5%–50% of different populations worldwide. Secretor status also affects gut microbiota composition, including HBGA-expressing bacteria and bacteria inducing fucosylation in the gut. These could be intermediary factors that govern norovirus susceptibility.« less

Using Emotion as Information in Future-Oriented Cognition: Individual Differences in the Context of State Negative Affect

PubMed Central

Marroquín, Brett; Boyle, Chloe C.; Nolen-Hoeksema, Susan; Stanton, Annette L.

2016-01-01

Predictions about the future are susceptible to mood-congruent influences of emotional state. However, recent work suggests individuals also differ in the degree to which they incorporate emotion into cognition. This study examined the role of such individual differences in the context of state negative emotion. We examined whether trait tendencies to use negative or positive emotion as information affect individuals' predictions of what will happen in the future (likelihood estimation) and how events will feel (affective forecasting), and whether trait influences depend on emotional state. Participants (N=119) reported on tendencies to use emotion as information (“following feelings”), underwent an emotion induction (negative versus neutral), and made likelihood estimates and affective forecasts for future events. Views of the future were predicted by both emotional state and individual differences in following feelings. Whereas following negative feelings affected most future-oriented cognition across emotional states, following positive feelings specifically buffered individuals' views of the future in the negative emotion condition, and specifically for positive future events, a category of future-event prediction especially important in psychological health. Individual differences may confer predisposition toward optimistic or pessimistic expectations of the future in the context of acute negative emotion, with implications for adaptive and maladaptive functioning. PMID:27041783

Adolescent Neurobiological Susceptibility to Social Context

PubMed Central

Schriber, Roberta A.; Guyer, Amanda E.

2016-01-01

Adolescence has been characterized as a period of heightened sensitivity to social contexts. However, adolescents vary in how their social contexts affect them. According to neurobiological susceptibility models, endogenous, biological factors confer some individuals, relative to others, with greater susceptibility to environmental influences, whereby more susceptible individuals fare the best or worst of all individuals, depending on the environment they encounter (e.g., high vs. low parental warmth). Until recently, research guided by these theoretical frameworks has not incorporated direct measures of brain structure or function to index this sensitivity. Drawing on prevailing models of adolescent neurodevelopment and a growing number of neuroimaging studies on the interrelations among social contexts, the brain, and developmental outcomes, we review research that supports the idea of adolescent neurobiological susceptibility to social context for understanding why and how adolescents differ in development and well-being. We propose that adolescent development is shaped in part by brain-based individual differences in sensitivity to social contexts – be they positive or negative – such as those created through relationships with parents/caregivers and peers. As such, we recommend that future research measure brain function and structure to operationalize susceptibility factors that moderate the influence of social contexts on developmental outcomes. PMID:26773514

Pesticide susceptibility status of Anopheles mosquitoes in four flood-affected districts of South Punjab, Pakistan.

PubMed

Rathor, Hamayun Rashid; Nadeem, Ghazala; Khan, Imtinan Akram

2013-01-01

Recent floods drastically increased the burden of disease, in particular the incidence of malaria, in the southern districts of the Punjab province in Pakistan. Control of malaria vector mosquitoes in these districts requires the adoption of an appropriate evidence-based policy on the use of pesticides, and having the latest information on the insecticide resistance status of malaria vector mosquitoes is essential for designing effective disease prevention policy. Using World Health Organization (WHO) test kits, the present study utilized papers impregnated with DDT, malathion, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, and permethrin, to determine the insecticide susceptibility/resistance status of malaria vector mosquitoes in four flood-affected districts. The test results showed that both Anopheles stephensi and Anopheles culicifacies remained resistant to DDT and malathion. Tests with three commonly used pyrethroids, permethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, and deltamethrin, detected resistance in the majority of cases, but in a number of localities mortalities with these three pyrethroids ranged from 80-97% and were therefore placed under verification-required status. This status indicates the presence of susceptible individuals in these populations. These results suggest that if appropriate resistance management strategies are applied in these areas, then the development of high levels of resistance can still be prevented or slowed. This study forms an important evidence base for the strategic planning of vector control in the four flood-affected districts.

Caffeine does not affect susceptibility to cortical spreading depolarization in mice.

PubMed

Yalcin, Nilufer; Chen, Shih-Pin; Yu, Esther S; Liu, Tzu-Ting; Yen, Jiin-Cherng; Atalay, Yahya B; Qin, Tao; Celik, Furkan; van den Maagdenberg, Arn Mjm; Moskowitz, Michael A; Ayata, Cenk; Eikermann-Haerter, Katharina

2018-01-01

Several factors that modulate migraine, a common primary headache disorder, also affect susceptibility to cortical spreading depolarization (CSD). CSD is a wave of neuronal and glial depolarization and thought to underlie the migraine aura and possibly headache. Here, we tested whether caffeine, known to alleviate or trigger headache after acute exposure or chronic use/withdrawal, respectively, modulates CSD. We injected C57BL/6J mice with caffeine (30, 60, or 120 mg/kg; i.p.) once (acute) or twice per day for one or two weeks (chronic). Susceptibility to CSD was evaluated by measuring the electrical CSD threshold and by assessing KCl-induced CSD. Simultaneous laser Doppler flowmetry was used to assess CSD-induced cortical blood flow changes. Recordings were performed 15 min after caffeine/vehicle administration, or 24 h after the last dose of chronic caffeine in the withdrawal group. The latter paradigm was also tested in mice carrying the familial hemiplegic migraine type 1 R192Q missense mutation, considered a valid migraine model. Neither acute/chronic administration nor withdrawal of caffeine affected CSD susceptibility or related cortical blood flow changes, either in WT or R192Q mice. Hence, adverse or beneficial effects of caffeine on headache seem unrelated to CSD pathophysiology, consistent with the non-migrainous clinical presentation of caffeine-related headache.

Prediction Equations Overestimate the Energy Requirements More for Obesity-Susceptible Individuals.

PubMed

McLay-Cooke, Rebecca T; Gray, Andrew R; Jones, Lynnette M; Taylor, Rachael W; Skidmore, Paula M L; Brown, Rachel C

2017-09-13

Predictive equations to estimate resting metabolic rate (RMR) are often used in dietary counseling and by online apps to set energy intake goals for weight loss. It is critical to know whether such equations are appropriate for those susceptible to obesity. We measured RMR by indirect calorimetry after an overnight fast in 26 obesity susceptible (OSI) and 30 obesity resistant (ORI) individuals, identified using a simple 6-item screening tool. Predicted RMR was calculated using the FAO/WHO/UNU (Food and Agricultural Organisation/World Health Organisation/United Nations University), Oxford and Miflin-St Jeor equations. Absolute measured RMR did not differ significantly between OSI versus ORI (6339 vs. 5893 kJ·d -1 , p = 0.313). All three prediction equations over-estimated RMR for both OSI and ORI when measured RMR was ≤5000 kJ·d -1 . For measured RMR ≤7000 kJ·d -1 there was statistically significant evidence that the equations overestimate RMR to a greater extent for those classified as obesity susceptible with biases ranging between around 10% to nearly 30% depending on the equation. The use of prediction equations may overestimate RMR and energy requirements particularly in those who self-identify as being susceptible to obesity, which has implications for effective weight management.

Individual Susceptibility to Hypobaric Environments: An Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Law, Jennifer; Watkins, Sharmi

2009-01-01

Astronauts are at risk for developing decompression sickness (DCS) while exposed to the hypobaric environment of the extravehicular suit in space, in terrestrial hypobaric chambers, and during ascent from neutral buoyancy training dives. There is increasing recognition that DCS risk is different between diving and altitude exposures, with many individual parameters and environmental factors implicated as risk factors for development of DCS in divers but are not recognized as risk factors in altitude exposures. Much of the literature to date has focused on patent foramen ovale (PFO), which has long been considered a major risk factor for DCS in diving exposures, but its link to serious DCS in altitude exposures remains unclear. Knowledge of those risk factors specific to hypobaric DCS may help identify susceptible individuals and aid in astronaut selection, crew assignment, and mission planning. This paper reviews the current literature pertaining to these risk factors, including PFO, anthropometric parameters, gender, menstrual cycle, lifetime diving experience, physical fitness, biochemical levels, complement activation, cigarette smoking, fluid balance, and ambient temperature. Further research to evaluate pertinent risk factors for DCS in altitude exposures is recommended.

Individual Differences in Susceptibility to False Memory in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott Paradigm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Jason M.; Bunting, Michael F.; Poole, Bradley J.; Conway, Andrew R. A.

2005-01-01

The authors addressed whether individual differences in the working memory capacity (WMC) of young adults influence susceptibility to false memories for nonpresented critical words in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott associative list paradigm. The results of 2 experiments indicated that individuals with greater WMC recalled fewer critical words than…

Antimicrobial susceptibility of Histophilus somni isolated from clinically affected cattle in Australia.

PubMed

Goldspink, Lauren K; Mollinger, Joanne L; Barnes, Tamsin S; Groves, Mitchell; Mahony, Timothy J; Gibson, Justine S

2015-02-01

This study investigated antimicrobial resistance traits, clonal relationships and epidemiology of Histophilus somni isolated from clinically affected cattle in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. Isolates (n = 53) were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing against six antimicrobial agents (ceftiofur, enrofloxacin, florfenicol, tetracycline, tilmicosin and tulathromycin) using disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays. Clonal relationships were assessed using repetitive sequence PCR and descriptive epidemiological analysis was performed. The H. somni isolates appeared to be geographically clonal, with 27/53 (47%) isolates grouping in one cluster from one Australian state. On the basis of disc diffusion, 34/53 (64%) isolates were susceptible to all antimicrobial agents tested; there was intermediate susceptibility to tulathromycin in 12 isolates, tilmicosin in seven isolates and resistance to tilmicosin in one isolate. Using MIC, all but one isolate was susceptible to all antimicrobial agents tested; the non-susceptible isolate was resistant to tetracycline, but this MIC result could not be compared to disc diffusion, since there are no interpretative guidelines for disc diffusion for H. somni against tetracycline. In this study, there was little evidence of antimicrobial resistance in H. somni isolates from Australian cattle. Disc diffusion susceptibility testing results were comparable to MIC results for most antimicrobial agents tested; however, results for isolates with intermediate susceptibility or resistance to tilmicosin and tulathromycin on disc diffusion should be interpreted with caution in the absence of MIC results. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Individual differences in susceptibility to false memories: The effect of memory specificity.

PubMed

Dewhurst, Stephen A; Anderson, Rachel J; Berry, Donna M; Garner, Sarah R

2017-06-25

Previous research has highlighted the wide individual variability in susceptibility to the false memories produced by the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) procedure [Deese, J. (1959). On the prediction of occurrence of particular verbal intrusions in immediate recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58, 17-22; Roediger, H. L., III, & McDermott, K. B. (1995). Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 21, 803-814]. The current study investigated whether susceptibility to false memories is influenced by individual differences in the specificity of autobiographical memory retrieval. Memory specificity was measured using the Sentence Completion for Events from the Past Test (SCEPT) [Raes, F., Hermans, D., Williams, J. M. G., & Eelen, P. (2007). A sentence completion procedure as an alternative to the Autobiographical Memory Test for assessing overgeneral memory in non-clinical populations. Memory, 15, 495-507]. Memory specificity did not correlate with correct recognition, but a specific retrieval style was positively correlated with levels of false recognition. It is proposed that the contextual details that frequently accompany false memories of nonstudied lures are more accessible in individuals with specific retrieval styles.

Individual Differences in Affect.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haviland, Jeannette

This paper argues that infants' affect patterns are innate and are meaningful indicators of individual differences in internal state. Videotapes of seven infants' faces were coded using an ethogram; the movement of the eyebrow, eye direction, eye openness, mouth shape, mouth position, lip position, and tongue protrusion were assessed…

Implicit Processing of Visual Emotions Is Affected by Sound-Induced Affective States and Individual Affective Traits

PubMed Central

Quarto, Tiziana; Blasi, Giuseppe; Pallesen, Karen Johanne; Bertolino, Alessandro; Brattico, Elvira

2014-01-01

The ability to recognize emotions contained in facial expressions are affected by both affective traits and states and varies widely between individuals. While affective traits are stable in time, affective states can be regulated more rapidly by environmental stimuli, such as music, that indirectly modulate the brain state. Here, we tested whether a relaxing or irritating sound environment affects implicit processing of facial expressions. Moreover, we investigated whether and how individual traits of anxiety and emotional control interact with this process. 32 healthy subjects performed an implicit emotion processing task (presented to subjects as a gender discrimination task) while the sound environment was defined either by a) a therapeutic music sequence (MusiCure), b) a noise sequence or c) silence. Individual changes in mood were sampled before and after the task by a computerized questionnaire. Additionally, emotional control and trait anxiety were assessed in a separate session by paper and pencil questionnaires. Results showed a better mood after the MusiCure condition compared with the other experimental conditions and faster responses to happy faces during MusiCure compared with angry faces during Noise. Moreover, individuals with higher trait anxiety were faster in performing the implicit emotion processing task during MusiCure compared with Silence. These findings suggest that sound-induced affective states are associated with differential responses to angry and happy emotional faces at an implicit stage of processing, and that a relaxing sound environment facilitates the implicit emotional processing in anxious individuals. PMID:25072162

Individual Differences in Cue-Induced Motivation and Striatal Systems in Rats Susceptible to Diet-Induced Obesity

PubMed Central

Robinson, Mike JF; Burghardt, Paul R; Patterson, Christa M; Nobile, Cameron W; Akil, Huda; Watson, Stanley J; Berridge, Kent C; Ferrario, Carrie R

2015-01-01

Pavlovian cues associated with junk-foods (caloric, highly sweet, and/or fatty foods), like the smell of brownies, can elicit craving to eat and increase the amount of food consumed. People who are more susceptible to these motivational effects of food cues may have a higher risk for becoming obese. Further, overconsumption of junk-foods leading to the development of obesity may itself heighten attraction to food cues. Here, we used a model of individual susceptibility to junk-foods diet-induced obesity to determine whether there are pre-existing and/or diet-induced increases in attraction to and motivation for sucrose-paired cues (ie, incentive salience or ‘wanting’). We also assessed diet- vs obesity-associated alterations in mesolimbic function and receptor expression. We found that rats susceptible to diet-induced obesity displayed heightened conditioned approach prior to the development of obesity. In addition, after junk-food diet exposure, those rats that developed obesity also showed increased willingness to gain access to a sucrose cue. Heightened ‘wanting’ was not due to individual differences in the hedonic impact (‘liking’) of sucrose. Neurobiologically, Mu opioid receptor mRNA expression was lower in striatal ‘hot-spots’ that generate eating or hedonic impact only in those rats that became obese. In contrast, prolonged exposure to junk-food resulted in cross-sensitization to amphetamine-induced locomotion and downregulation of striatal D2R mRNA regardless of the development of obesity. Together these data shed light on individual differences in behavioral and neurobiological consequences of exposure to junk-food diets and the potential contribution of incentive sensitization in susceptible individuals to greater food cue-triggered motivation. PMID:25761571

Individual Differences in Cue-Induced Motivation and Striatal Systems in Rats Susceptible to Diet-Induced Obesity.

PubMed

Robinson, Mike J F; Burghardt, Paul R; Patterson, Christa M; Nobile, Cameron W; Akil, Huda; Watson, Stanley J; Berridge, Kent C; Ferrario, Carrie R

2015-08-01

Pavlovian cues associated with junk-foods (caloric, highly sweet, and/or fatty foods), like the smell of brownies, can elicit craving to eat and increase the amount of food consumed. People who are more susceptible to these motivational effects of food cues may have a higher risk for becoming obese. Further, overconsumption of junk-foods leading to the development of obesity may itself heighten attraction to food cues. Here, we used a model of individual susceptibility to junk-foods diet-induced obesity to determine whether there are pre-existing and/or diet-induced increases in attraction to and motivation for sucrose-paired cues (ie, incentive salience or 'wanting'). We also assessed diet- vs obesity-associated alterations in mesolimbic function and receptor expression. We found that rats susceptible to diet-induced obesity displayed heightened conditioned approach prior to the development of obesity. In addition, after junk-food diet exposure, those rats that developed obesity also showed increased willingness to gain access to a sucrose cue. Heightened 'wanting' was not due to individual differences in the hedonic impact ('liking') of sucrose. Neurobiologically, Mu opioid receptor mRNA expression was lower in striatal 'hot-spots' that generate eating or hedonic impact only in those rats that became obese. In contrast, prolonged exposure to junk-food resulted in cross-sensitization to amphetamine-induced locomotion and downregulation of striatal D2R mRNA regardless of the development of obesity. Together these data shed light on individual differences in behavioral and neurobiological consequences of exposure to junk-food diets and the potential contribution of incentive sensitization in susceptible individuals to greater food cue-triggered motivation.

Hydrophobic drug concentration affects the acoustic susceptibility of liposomes.

PubMed

Nguyen, An T; Lewin, Peter A; Wrenn, Steven P

2015-04-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of encapsulated hydrophobic drug concentration on ultrasound-mediated leakage from liposomes. Studies have shown that membrane modifications affect the acoustic susceptibility of liposomes, likely because of changes in membrane packing. An advantage of liposome as drug carrier is its ability to encapsulate drugs of different chemistries. However, incorporation of hydrophobic molecules into the bilayer may cause changes in membrane packing, thereby affecting the release kinetics. Liposomes containing calcein and varying concentrations of papaverine, a hydrophobic drug, were exposed to 20 kHz, 2.2 Wcm(-2) ultrasound. Papaverine concentration was observed to affect calcein leakage although the effects varied widely based on liposome phase. For example, incorporation of 0.5mg/mL papaverine into Ld liposomes increased the leakage of hydrophilic encapsulants by 3× within the first minute (p=0.004) whereas the same amount of papaverine increased leakage by only 1.5× (p<0.0001). Papaverine was also encapsulated into echogenic liposomes and its concentration did not significantly affect calcein release rates, suggesting that burst release from echogenic liposomes is predictable regardless of encapsulants chemistry and concentration. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Individual differences in the peripheral immune system promote resilience versus susceptibility to social stress.

PubMed

Hodes, Georgia E; Pfau, Madeline L; Leboeuf, Marylene; Golden, Sam A; Christoffel, Daniel J; Bregman, Dana; Rebusi, Nicole; Heshmati, Mitra; Aleyasin, Hossein; Warren, Brandon L; Lebonté, Benoit; Horn, Sarah; Lapidus, Kyle A; Stelzhammer, Viktoria; Wong, Erik H F; Bahn, Sabine; Krishnan, Vaishnav; Bolaños-Guzman, Carlos A; Murrough, James W; Merad, Miriam; Russo, Scott J

2014-11-11

Depression and anxiety disorders are associated with increased release of peripheral cytokines; however, their functional relevance remains unknown. Using a social stress model in mice, we find preexisting individual differences in the sensitivity of the peripheral immune system that predict and promote vulnerability to social stress. Cytokine profiles were obtained 20 min after the first social stress exposure. Of the cytokines regulated by stress, IL-6 was most highly up-regulated only in mice that ultimately developed a susceptible behavioral phenotype following a subsequent chronic stress, and levels remained elevated for at least 1 mo. We confirmed a similar elevation of serum IL-6 in two separate cohorts of patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. Before any physical contact in mice, we observed individual differences in IL-6 levels from ex vivo stimulated leukocytes that predict susceptibility versus resilience to a subsequent stressor. To shift the sensitivity of the peripheral immune system to a pro- or antidepressant state, bone marrow (BM) chimeras were generated by transplanting hematopoietic progenitor cells from stress-susceptible mice releasing high IL-6 or from IL-6 knockout (IL-6(-/-)) mice. Stress-susceptible BM chimeras exhibited increased social avoidance behavior after exposure to either subthreshold repeated social defeat stress (RSDS) or a purely emotional stressor termed witness defeat. IL-6(-/-) BM chimeric and IL-6(-/-) mice, as well as those treated with a systemic IL-6 monoclonal antibody, were resilient to social stress. These data establish that preexisting differences in stress-responsive IL-6 release from BM-derived leukocytes functionally contribute to social stress-induced behavioral abnormalities.

Hypnotic susceptibility and affective states in bipolar I and II disorders.

PubMed

Zhang, Bingren; Wang, Jiawei; Zhu, Qisha; Ma, Guorong; Shen, Chanchan; Fan, Hongying; Wang, Wei

2017-11-09

Highly hypnotizable individuals have impaired executive function, elevated motor impulsivity and increased emotional sensitivity, which are sometimes found in bipolar disorder patients. It is then reasonable to assume that certain aspects of hypnotic susceptibility differ with the types of bipolar disorder. The Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale: Form C (SHSS:C) test, the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ), the Hypomanic Checklist-32 (HCL-32) and the Plutchick-van Praag Depression Inventory (PVP) were applied to 62 patients with bipolar I disorder, 33 bipolar II disorder, and 120 healthy volunteers. The passing rate of the SHSS:C 'Moving hands apart' item was higher in bipolar I patients than in controls, whereas for 'Mosquito hallucination' the rate was lower. Bipolar I and II patients scored significantly higher on MDQ, HCL-32 and PVP scales than controls. The passing rates of 'Mosquito hallucination' in controls, 'Arm rigidity' in bipolar I, and 'Age regression' in bipolar II predicted the respective MDQ scores. In contrast to cognitive suggestions, bipolar I patients followed motor suggestions more often under hypnosis. Furthermore, both bipolar disorder patients and healthy volunteers demonstrated associations between mania levels and certain hypnotic susceptibility features. Our study aids in better understanding the altered conscious states in bipolar disorders, and encourages the use of related psychotherapy for these patients.

Intramuscular injection of malignant hyperthermia trigger agents induces hypermetabolism in susceptible and nonsusceptible individuals.

PubMed

Metterlein, Thomas; Schuster, Frank; Kranke, Peter; Roewer, Norbert; Anetseder, Martin

2010-01-01

A new minimally invasive metabolic test for the diagnosis of susceptibility for malignant hyperthermia measuring intramuscular p(CO(2)) and lactate following local application of caffeine and halothane in humans was recently proposed. The present study tested the hypothesis that a more simplified test protocol allows a differentiation between malignant hyperthermia susceptible (MHS) and malignant hyperthermia nonsusceptible (MHN) and control individuals. With approval of the local ethics committee and informed consent, microdialysis and p(CO(2)) probes with attached microtubing were placed into the lateral vastus muscle of six MHS, seven MHN and seven control individuals. Following equilibration, boluses of 500 microl caffeine 80 mmol l(-1) and halothane 10 vol% dissolved in soybean oil were injected locally. p(CO(2)) and lactate were measured spectrophotometrically. The maximal rate of p(CO(2)) increase was significantly higher in MHS than in MHN and control individuals following application of halothane and caffeine, respectively. Intramuscular caffeine injection leads to a significantly higher increase of local lactate levels in MHS than in MHN and control individuals, whereas halothane increased local lactate levels in all investigated groups. Haemodynamic and systemic metabolic parameters did not differ between the investigated groups. Local caffeine and halothane injection increased intramuscular metabolism in MHS individuals significantly more than in the two other groups. In contrast to previous investigations, direct injection of the concentrations of halothane described here increased lactate and p(CO(2)) even in MHN skeletal muscle.

Affect intensity and individual differences in informational style.

PubMed

Larsen, R J; Billings, D W; Cutler, S E

1996-03-01

Although individuals differ widely in the typical intensity of their affective experience, the mechanisms that create or maintain these differences are unclear. Larsen, Diener, and Cropanzano (1987) examined the hypothesis that individual differences in affect intensity (AI) are related to how people interpret emotional stimuli. They found that high AI individuals engaged in more personalizing and generalizing cognitions while construing emotional stimuli than low AI individuals. The present study extends these findings by examining cognitive activity during a different task-the generation of information to communicate about life events. Participants provided free-response descriptions of 16 life events. These descriptions were content coded for five informational style variables. It was found that the descriptive information generated by high AI participants contained significantly more references to emotional arousal, more focus on feelings, and more generalization compared to participants low in AI. These results are consistent with the notion that specific cognitive activity may lead to, or at least be associated with, dispositional affect intensity. In addition, the informational style variables identified in this study were stable over time and consistent across situations. Although men and women differ in AI, this difference becomes insignificant after controlling for informational style variation. Overall results are discussed in terms of a model of various psychological mechanisms that may potentially create or maintain individual differences in affect intensity.

A combined oral contraceptive affects mucosal SHIV susceptibility factors in a pigtail macaque model

PubMed Central

Ostergaard, Sharon Dietz; Butler, Katherine; Ritter, Jana M.; Johnson, Ryan; Sanders, Jeanine; Powell, Nathaniel; Lathrop, George; Zaki, Sherif R.; McNicholl, Janet M.; Kersh, Ellen N.

2015-01-01

Background Injectable hormonal contraception may increase women’s risk of HIV acquisition, and can affect biological risk factors in animal models of HIV. We established, for the first time, a model to investigate whether combined oral contraceptives (COC) alter SHIV susceptibility in macaques. Methods Seven pigtail macaques were administered a monophasic levonorgestrel (LNG)/ethinyl estradiol (EE) COC at 33% or 66% of the human dose for 60 days. Menstrual cycling, vaginal epithelial thickness and other SHIV susceptibility factors were monitored for a mean of 18 weeks. Results Mean vaginal epithelial thicknesses was 290.8 μm at baseline and 186.2 μm during COC (p=0.0141, Mann Whitney test). Vaginal pH decreased from 8.5 during to 6.5 post- treatment (0.0176 two-tailed t-test). Measured microflora was unchanged. Conclusions COC caused thinning of the vaginal epithelium and vaginal pH changes, which may increase SHIV susceptibility. 0.033 mg LNG + 0.0066 mg EE appeared effective in suppressing ovulation. PMID:25536296

A model to estimate effects of SNPs on host susceptibility and infectivity for an endemic infectious disease.

PubMed

Biemans, Floor; de Jong, Mart C M; Bijma, Piter

2017-06-30

Infectious diseases in farm animals affect animal health, decrease animal welfare and can affect human health. Selection and breeding of host individuals with desirable traits regarding infectious diseases can help to fight disease transmission, which is affected by two types of (genetic) traits: host susceptibility and host infectivity. Quantitative genetic studies on infectious diseases generally connect an individual's disease status to its own genotype, and therefore capture genetic effects on susceptibility only. However, they usually ignore variation in exposure to infectious herd mates, which may limit the accuracy of estimates of genetic effects on susceptibility. Moreover, genetic effects on infectivity will exist as well. Thus, to design optimal breeding strategies, it is essential that genetic effects on infectivity are quantified. Given the potential importance of genetic effects on infectivity, we set out to develop a model to estimate the effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on both host susceptibility and host infectivity. To evaluate the quality of the resulting SNP effect estimates, we simulated an endemic disease in 10 groups of 100 individuals, and recorded time-series data on individual disease status. We quantified bias and precision of the estimates for different sizes of SNP effects, and identified the optimum recording interval when the number of records is limited. We present a generalized linear mixed model to estimate the effect of SNPs on both host susceptibility and host infectivity. SNP effects were on average slightly underestimated, i.e. estimates were conservative. Estimates were less precise for infectivity than for susceptibility. Given our sample size, the power to estimate SNP effects for susceptibility was 100% for differences between genotypes of a factor 1.56 or more, and was higher than 60% for infectivity for differences between genotypes of a factor 4 or more. When disease status was recorded 11 times on each

The Role of Abcb5 Alleles in Susceptibility to Haloperidol-Induced Toxicity in Mice and Humans

PubMed Central

Zheng, Ming; Zhang, Haili; Dill, David L.; Clark, J. David; Tu, Susan; Yablonovitch, Arielle L.; Tan, Meng How; Zhang, Rui; Rujescu, Dan; Wu, Manhong; Tessarollo, Lino; Vieira, Wilfred; Gottesman, Michael M.; Deng, Suhua; Eberlin, Livia S.; Zare, Richard N.; Billard, Jean-Martin; Gillet, Jean-Pierre; Li, Jin Billy; Peltz, Gary

2015-01-01

Background We know very little about the genetic factors affecting susceptibility to drug-induced central nervous system (CNS) toxicities, and this has limited our ability to optimally utilize existing drugs or to develop new drugs for CNS disorders. For example, haloperidol is a potent dopamine antagonist that is used to treat psychotic disorders, but 50% of treated patients develop characteristic extrapyramidal symptoms caused by haloperidol-induced toxicity (HIT), which limits its clinical utility. We do not have any information about the genetic factors affecting this drug-induced toxicity. HIT in humans is directly mirrored in a murine genetic model, where inbred mouse strains are differentially susceptible to HIT. Therefore, we genetically analyzed this murine model and performed a translational human genetic association study. Methods and Findings A whole genome SNP database and computational genetic mapping were used to analyze the murine genetic model of HIT. Guided by the mouse genetic analysis, we demonstrate that genetic variation within an ABC-drug efflux transporter (Abcb5) affected susceptibility to HIT. In situ hybridization results reveal that Abcb5 is expressed in brain capillaries, and by cerebellar Purkinje cells. We also analyzed chromosome substitution strains, imaged haloperidol abundance in brain tissue sections and directly measured haloperidol (and its metabolite) levels in brain, and characterized Abcb5 knockout mice. Our results demonstrate that Abcb5 is part of the blood-brain barrier; it affects susceptibility to HIT by altering the brain concentration of haloperidol. Moreover, a genetic association study in a haloperidol-treated human cohort indicates that human ABCB5 alleles had a time-dependent effect on susceptibility to individual and combined measures of HIT. Abcb5 alleles are pharmacogenetic factors that affect susceptibility to HIT, but it is likely that additional pharmacogenetic susceptibility factors will be discovered

Facial affect processing and depression susceptibility: cognitive biases and cognitive neuroscience.

PubMed

Bistricky, Steven L; Ingram, Rick E; Atchley, Ruth Ann

2011-11-01

Facial affect processing is essential to social development and functioning and is particularly relevant to models of depression. Although cognitive and interpersonal theories have long described different pathways to depression, cognitive-interpersonal and evolutionary social risk models of depression focus on the interrelation of interpersonal experience, cognition, and social behavior. We therefore review the burgeoning depressive facial affect processing literature and examine its potential for integrating disciplines, theories, and research. In particular, we evaluate studies in which information processing or cognitive neuroscience paradigms were used to assess facial affect processing in depressed and depression-susceptible populations. Most studies have assessed and supported cognitive models. This research suggests that depressed and depression-vulnerable groups show abnormal facial affect interpretation, attention, and memory, although findings vary based on depression severity, comorbid anxiety, or length of time faces are viewed. Facial affect processing biases appear to correspond with distinct neural activity patterns and increased depressive emotion and thought. Biases typically emerge in depressed moods but are occasionally found in the absence of such moods. Indirect evidence suggests that childhood neglect might cultivate abnormal facial affect processing, which can impede social functioning in ways consistent with cognitive-interpersonal and interpersonal models. However, reviewed studies provide mixed support for the social risk model prediction that depressive states prompt cognitive hypervigilance to social threat information. We recommend prospective interdisciplinary research examining whether facial affect processing abnormalities promote-or are promoted by-depressogenic attachment experiences, negative thinking, and social dysfunction.

Individual Susceptibility to NTHL and New Perspective in Treatment of Acute Noise Trauma

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-09-01

Treatment of Acute Noise Trauma A.L. Dancer French -German Research Institute of Saint-Louis BP 34, 5 rue du Gal. Cassagnou 68301 Saint-Louis Cedex France ...individuals. It is possible that a 1. Introduction test of susceptibility to PTS based on TTS measures may In some countries ( France , Germany...) all...rather a lot of treatment at the hospital. In France , for the three years inconsistencies. Therefore, some authors [3] decided to 1993, 1994 and 1995

The effects of inbreeding on disease susceptibility: Gyrodactylus turnbulli infection of guppies, Poecilia reticulata.

PubMed

Smallbone, Willow; van Oosterhout, Cock; Cable, Jo

2016-08-01

Inbreeding can threaten population persistence by reducing disease resistance through the accelerated loss of gene diversity (i.e. heterozygosity). Such inbreeding depression can affect many different fitness-related traits, including survival, reproductive success, and parasite susceptibility. Empirically quantifying the effects of inbreeding on parasite resistance is therefore important for ex-situ conservation of vertebrates. The present study evaluates the disease susceptibility of individuals bred under three different breeding regimes (inbred, crossed with full siblings; control, randomly crossed mating; and fully outbred). Specifically, we examined the relationship between inbreeding coefficient (F-coefficient) and susceptibility to Gyrodactylus turnbulli infection in a live bearing vertebrate, the guppy Poecilia reticulata. Host-breeding regime significantly affected the trajectories of parasite population growth on individual fish. Inbred fish showed significantly higher mean parasite intensity than fish from the control and outbred breeding regimes, and in addition, inbred fish were slower in purging their gyrodactylid infections. We discuss the role of inbreeding on the various arms of the immune system, and argue that the increased disease susceptibility of inbred individuals could contribute to the extinction vortex. This is one of the first studies to quantify the effects of inbreeding and breeding regime on disease susceptibility in a captive bred vertebrate of wild origin, and it highlights the risks faced by small (captive-bred) populations when exposed to their native parasites. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Women Are More Susceptible to Caries but Individuals Born with Clefts Are Not

PubMed Central

Jindal, Aditi; McMeans, Michelle; Narayanan, Somnya; Rose, Erin K.; Jain, Shilpa; Marazita, Mary L.; Menezes, Renato; Letra, Ariadne; Carvalho, Flavia M.; Brandon, Carla A.; Resick, Judith M.; Mereb, Juan C.; Poletta, Fernando A.; Lopez-Camelo, Jorge S.; Castilla, Eduardo E.; Orioli, Iêda M.; Vieira, Alexandre R.

2011-01-01

The identification of individuals at a higher risk of developing caries is of great interest. Isolated forms of cleft lip and palate are among the most common craniofacial congenital anomalies in humans. Historically, several reports suggest that individuals born with clefts have a higher risk for caries. Caries continues to be the most common infectious noncontagious disease worldwide and a great burden to any health system. The identification of individuals of higher susceptibility to caries is of great interest. In this paper, we assessed caries experience of 1,593 individuals from three distinct populations. The study included individuals born with clefts, their unaffected relatives, and unrelated unaffected controls that were recruited from areas with similar cultural pressures and limited access to dental care. DMFT/dmft scores were obtained, and caries experience rates were compared among the three groups in each geographic area. Individuals born with clefts did not present higher caries experience in comparison to their unaffected relatives or unrelated unaffected controls. Women tend to present higher caries rates in comparison to men. Our work provides strong evidence that individuals born with clefts are not at higher risk to caries; however, women tend to have more severe caries experience. PMID:21747859

Dynamically tracking anxious individuals' affective response to valenced information.

PubMed

Fua, Karl C; Teachman, Bethany A

2017-09-01

Past research has shown that an individual's feelings at any given moment reflect currently experienced stimuli as well as internal representations of similar past experiences. However, anxious individuals' affective reactions to streams of interrelated valenced information (vs. reactions to static stimuli that are arguably less ecologically valid) are rarely tracked. The present study provided a first examination of the newly developed Tracking Affect Ratings Over Time (TAROT) task to continuously assess anxious individuals' affective reactions to streams of information that systematically change valence. Undergraduate participants (N = 141) completed the TAROT task in which they listened to narratives containing positive, negative, and neutral physically- or socially-relevant events, and indicated how positive or negative they felt about the information they heard as each narrative unfolded. The present study provided preliminary evidence for the validity and reliability of the task. Within scenarios, participants higher (vs. lower) in anxiety showed many expected negative biases, reporting more negative mean ratings and overall summary ratings, changing their pattern of responding more quickly to negative events, and responding more negatively to neutral events. Furthermore, individuals higher (vs. lower) in anxiety tended to report more negative minimums during and after positive events, and less positive maximums after negative events. Together, findings indicate that positive events were less impactful for anxious individuals, whereas negative experiences had a particularly lasting impact on future affective responses. The TAROT task is able to efficiently capture a number of different cognitive biases, and may help clarify the mechanisms that underlie anxious individuals' biased negative processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Dietary factors affecting susceptibility to urinary tract infection.

PubMed

Kontiokari, Tero; Nuutinen, Matti; Uhari, Matti

2004-04-01

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is usually an ascending infection caused by bacteria derived from stools. Since the bacterial composition of stools is dependent on the diet, it is likely that the risk of UTI will change with changes in the diet. Most data describing diet as a risk factor for UTI come from epidemiological and interventional trials. It has been shown in a case-control setting that frequent consumption of fresh berry or fruit juices and fermented milk products containing probiotic bacteria decreases the risk for UTI recurrence in women. Several interventional trials have found Vaccinium berry products to provide protection from UTI recurrence. Probiotics have not been able to prevent UTI in interventional trials. However, the lack of an effect may be related to too low a dose or to the use of non-optimal products in these trials. Limited data are available on the effects of nutrition on UTI in children. However, there is no reason to expect that children would be different from adults in this respect. In this review, we discuss the dietary factors affecting the susceptibility to UTI.

Persistent and susceptible bacteria with individual deaths.

PubMed

Zucca, Fabio

2014-02-21

The aim of this paper is to study two models for a bacterial population subject to antibiotic treatments. It is known that some bacteria are not sensitive to antibiotics. These bacteria, called persisters, are in a state called persistence and each bacterium can switch from this state to a non-persistent (or susceptible) state and back (with rates b and a respectively). Our models extend those introduced in Garet et al. (2012) by adding a random natural life cycle for each bacterium and by allowing bacteria in the susceptible state to escape the action of the antibiotic with a fixed probability 1-p (while every bacterium in a persistent state survives with probability 1). This last mechanism of survival to the antibiotics differs from the persistent state one (where reproduction is forbidden) since in this case the bacterium can replicate. We study two different models. In the first model we "inject" the antibiotics in the system at fixed, deterministic times while in the second one the time intervals are random. We show that, in order to kill eventually the whole bacterial population, these time intervals cannot be "too large". The maximum admissible length is increasing with respect to p; we see that even when p is close to 1, this interval length can be significantly smaller than in the case p=1. While in the case p=1 switching back and forth to the persistent state is the only chance of surviving for bacteria, when p<1 and the death rate in the persistent state, say dr, is positive then the situation is more complex. In this case our model suggests that if dr and b are positive (and fixed) then for higher values of p there is an interval for the rate a, say (0,ap) where switching to the persistent state is a good strategy while for a>ap the situation is less favorable than a=0. On the other hand, for smaller values of p the best strategy is a=0, that is, not switching. Finally, when dr=0, switching to the susceptible state is always a better strategy, from the

Mathematical Model for Dengue Epidemics with Differential Susceptibility and Asymptomatic Patients Using Computer Algebra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saldarriaga Vargas, Clarita

When there are diseases affecting large populations where the social, economic and cultural diversity is significant within the same region, the biological parameters that determine the behavior of the dispersion disease analysis are affected by the selection of different individuals. Therefore and because of the variety and magnitude of the communities at risk of contracting dengue disease around all over the world, suggest defining differentiated populations with individual contributions in the results of the dispersion dengue disease analysis. In this paper those conditions were taken in account when several epidemiologic models were analyzed. Initially a stability analysis was done for a SEIR mathematical model of Dengue disease without differential susceptibility. Both free disease and endemic equilibrium states were found in terms of the basic reproduction number and were defined in the Theorem (3.1). Then a DSEIR model was solved when a new susceptible group was introduced to consider the effects of important biological parameters of non-homogeneous populations in the spreading analysis. The results were compiled in the Theorem (3.2). Finally Theorems (3.3) and (3.4) resumed the basic reproduction numbers for three and n different susceptible groups respectively, giving an idea of how differential susceptibility affects the equilibrium states. The computations were done using an algorithmic method implemented in Maple 11, a general-purpose computer algebra system.

HLA non-class II genes may confer type I diabetes susceptibility in a Mapuche (Amerindian) affected family.

PubMed

Pérez-Bravo, Francisco; Martinez-Laso, Jorge; Martin-Villa, Jose M; Moscoso, Juan; Moreno, Almudena; Serrano-Vela, Juan I; Zamora, Jorge; Asenjo, Silvia; Gleisner, Andrea; Arnaiz-Villena, Antonio

2006-01-01

A rare case of type I diabetes is studied in an Amerindian (Mapuche) family from Chile, analyzing glutamic acid decarboxylase, islet-cell autoantibodies and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes. The affected sib is the only one that has one specific HLA haplotype combination that differs from the other sibs only in the HLA class I genes. It is concluded that HLA diabetes susceptibility factors may be placed outside the class II region or even that susceptibility factors do not exist in the HLA region in this Amerindian family.

Children's differential susceptibility to parenting: An experimental test of "for better and for worse".

PubMed

Slagt, Meike; Dubas, Judith Semon; van Aken, Marcel A G; Ellis, Bruce J; Deković, Maja

2017-02-01

Differential susceptibility theory proposes that a subset of individuals exist who display enhanced susceptibility to both negative (risk-promoting) and positive (development-enhancing) environments. This experiment represents the first attempt to directly test this assumption by exposing children in the experimental group to both negative and positive feedback using puppet role-plays. It thereby serves as an empirical test as well as a methodological primer for testing differential susceptibility. Dutch children (N=190, 45.3% girls) between the ages of 4 and 6years participated. We examined whether negative and positive feedback would differentially affect changes in positive and negative affect, in prosocial and antisocial intentions and behavior, depending on children's negative emotionality. Results show that on hearing negative feedback, children in the experimental group increased in negative affect and decreased in positive affect more strongly than children in the control group. On hearing positive feedback, children in the experimental group tended to increase in positive affect and decrease in prosocial behavior. However, changes in response to negative or positive feedback did not depend on children's negative emotionality. Moreover, using reliable change scores, we found support for a subset of "vulnerable" children but not for a subset of "susceptible" children. The findings offer suggestions to guide future differential susceptibility experiments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Individual Variation in Contagious Yawning Susceptibility Is Highly Stable and Largely Unexplained by Empathy or Other Known Factors

PubMed Central

Bartholomew, Alex J.; Cirulli, Elizabeth T.

2014-01-01

The contagious aspect of yawning is a well-known phenomenon that exhibits variation in the human population. Despite the observed variation, few studies have addressed its intra-individual reliability or the factors modulating differences in the susceptibility of healthy volunteers. Due to its obvious biological basis and impairment in diseases like autism and schizophrenia, a better understanding of this trait could lead to novel insights into these conditions and the general biological functioning of humans. We administered 328 participants a 3-minute yawning video stimulus, a cognitive battery, and a comprehensive questionnaire that included measures of empathy, emotional contagion, circadian energy rhythms, and sleepiness. Individual contagious yawning measurements were found to be highly stable across testing sessions, both in a lab setting and if administered remotely online, confirming that certain healthy individuals are less susceptible to contagious yawns than are others. Additionally, most individuals who failed to contagiously yawn in our study were not simply suppressing their reaction, as they reported not even feeling like yawning in response to the stimulus. In contrast to previous studies indicating that empathy, time of day, or intelligence may influence contagious yawning susceptibility, we found no influence of these variables once accounting for the age of the participant. Participants were less likely to show contagious yawning as their age increased, even when restricting to ages of less than 40 years. However, age was only able to explain 8% of the variability in the contagious yawn response. The vast majority of the variability in this extremely stable trait remained unexplained, suggesting that studies of its inheritance are warranted. PMID:24632594

Individual Differences in Recovery Time From Attentional Capture

PubMed Central

Fukuda, Keisuke; Vogel, Edward K.

2015-01-01

Working memory capacity reflects a core ability of the individual that affects performance on many cognitive tasks. Recent work has suggested that an important covariate of memory capacity is attentional control, and specifically that low-capacity individuals are more susceptible to attentional capture by distractors than high-capacity individuals are, with the latter being able to resist capture. Here, we tested an alternative account according to which all individuals are equally susceptible to attentional capture, but high-capacity individuals recover more quickly than low-capacity individuals. Using psychophysical and electrophysiological methods, we measured recovery time from attentional capture. In two experiments, we found that high- and low-capacity individuals showed equivalent attentional capture effects in the initial moments following capture, but that low-capacity individuals took much longer to recover than high-capacity individuals did. These results suggest that the poor attentional control associated with low capacity is due to slow disengagement from distractors. PMID:21310945

Meta-analysis of 375,000 individuals identifies 38 susceptibility loci for migraine.

PubMed

Gormley, Padhraig; Anttila, Verneri; Winsvold, Bendik S; Palta, Priit; Esko, Tonu; Pers, Tune H; Farh, Kai-How; Cuenca-Leon, Ester; Muona, Mikko; Furlotte, Nicholas A; Kurth, Tobias; Ingason, Andres; McMahon, George; Ligthart, Lannie; Terwindt, Gisela M; Kallela, Mikko; Freilinger, Tobias M; Ran, Caroline; Gordon, Scott G; Stam, Anine H; Steinberg, Stacy; Borck, Guntram; Koiranen, Markku; Quaye, Lydia; Adams, Hieab H H; Lehtimäki, Terho; Sarin, Antti-Pekka; Wedenoja, Juho; Hinds, David A; Buring, Julie E; Schürks, Markus; Ridker, Paul M; Hrafnsdottir, Maria Gudlaug; Stefansson, Hreinn; Ring, Susan M; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Penninx, Brenda W J H; Färkkilä, Markus; Artto, Ville; Kaunisto, Mari; Vepsäläinen, Salli; Malik, Rainer; Heath, Andrew C; Madden, Pamela A F; Martin, Nicholas G; Montgomery, Grant W; Kurki, Mitja I; Kals, Mart; Mägi, Reedik; Pärn, Kalle; Hämäläinen, Eija; Huang, Hailiang; Byrnes, Andrea E; Franke, Lude; Huang, Jie; Stergiakouli, Evie; Lee, Phil H; Sandor, Cynthia; Webber, Caleb; Cader, Zameel; Muller-Myhsok, Bertram; Schreiber, Stefan; Meitinger, Thomas; Eriksson, Johan G; Salomaa, Veikko; Heikkilä, Kauko; Loehrer, Elizabeth; Uitterlinden, Andre G; Hofman, Albert; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Cherkas, Lynn; Pedersen, Linda M; Stubhaug, Audun; Nielsen, Christopher S; Männikkö, Minna; Mihailov, Evelin; Milani, Lili; Göbel, Hartmut; Esserlind, Ann-Louise; Christensen, Anne Francke; Hansen, Thomas Folkmann; Werge, Thomas; Kaprio, Jaakko; Aromaa, Arpo J; Raitakari, Olli; Ikram, M Arfan; Spector, Tim; Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Metspalu, Andres; Kubisch, Christian; Strachan, David P; Ferrari, Michel D; Belin, Andrea C; Dichgans, Martin; Wessman, Maija; van den Maagdenberg, Arn M J M; Zwart, John-Anker; Boomsma, Dorret I; Smith, George Davey; Stefansson, Kari; Eriksson, Nicholas; Daly, Mark J; Neale, Benjamin M; Olesen, Jes; Chasman, Daniel I; Nyholt, Dale R; Palotie, Aarno

2016-08-01

Migraine is a debilitating neurological disorder affecting around one in seven people worldwide, but its molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. There is some debate about whether migraine is a disease of vascular dysfunction or a result of neuronal dysfunction with secondary vascular changes. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have thus far identified 13 independent loci associated with migraine. To identify new susceptibility loci, we carried out a genetic study of migraine on 59,674 affected subjects and 316,078 controls from 22 GWA studies. We identified 44 independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with migraine risk (P < 5 × 10(-8)) that mapped to 38 distinct genomic loci, including 28 loci not previously reported and a locus that to our knowledge is the first to be identified on chromosome X. In subsequent computational analyses, the identified loci showed enrichment for genes expressed in vascular and smooth muscle tissues, consistent with a predominant theory of migraine that highlights vascular etiologies.

A Multifactorial Approach to Predicting Death Anxiety: Assessing the Role of Religiosity, Susceptibility to Mortality Cues, and Individual Differences.

PubMed

French, Carrie; Greenauer, Nathan; Mello, Catherine

2017-01-01

Death anxiety is not only experienced by individuals receiving end-of-life care, but also by family members, social workers, and other service providers who support these individuals. Thus, identifying predictors of individual differences in experienced death anxiety levels may have both theoretical and clinical ramifications. The present study assessed the relative influence of religiosity, susceptibility to mortality cues, state and trait anxiety, and demographic factors in the experience of death anxiety through an online survey distributed to members of two online communities related to end-of-life care. Results indicated that cognitive and emotional susceptibility to mortality cues, as well as gender, predicted differences in death anxiety. Conversely, religiosity and age did not increase the predictive power of the model. Thus, death anxiety may be a function of emotional, cognitive, and sociocultural factors that interact in complex, but predictable, ways to modulate the response to mortality cues that occur in one's life.

Polysensitization and individual susceptibility to allergic contact dermatitis.

PubMed

Gosnell, Amy L; Schmotzer, Brian; Nedorost, Susan T

2015-01-01

Patients with allergic contact dermatitis to 1 antigen have been shown to be at increased risk of developing delayed type hypersensitivity reactions to additional antigens. Both environmental and genetic factors likely influence the risk of sensitization. The aim of this study was to determine whether polysensitization occurs at a higher frequency than would be expected based on chance and whether polysensitization occurs more often in subsets of patients with hand involvement and atopic dermatitis. From a database of patch test results from a single practitioner, the probability of having positive reactions to 3 or more unrelated allergens was calculated under the assumption that positive reactions are independent and compared with the observed proportion having positive reactions to 3 or more unrelated allergens. The analysis was repeated excluding patients with leg involvement as a proxy for venous insufficiency dermatitis. The proportion of patients from the polysensitized and nonpolysensitized cohorts with either hand involvement or a history of atopic dermatitis was also calculated. Polysensitization occurs more often than expected based on chance. Polysensitized patients were more likely to have hand dermatitis. Atopic dermatitis was not significantly associated with polysensitization in this analysis. Polysensitized individuals may represent a phenotype with increased genetic susceptibility to sensitization.

Individual differences in executive processing predict susceptibility to interference in verbal working memory.

PubMed

Hedden, Trey; Yoon, Carolyn

2006-09-01

Recent theories have suggested that resistance to interference is a unifying principle of executive function and that individual differences in interference may be explained by executive function (M. J. Kane & R. W. Engle, 2002). Measures of executive function, memory, and perceptual speed were obtained from 121 older adults (ages 63-82). We used structural equation modeling to investigate the relationships of these constructs with interference in a working memory task. Executive function was best described as two related subcomponent processes: shifting and updating goal-relevant representations and inhibition of proactive interference. These subcomponents were distinct from verbal and visual memory and speed. Individual differences in interference susceptibility and recollection were best predicted by shifting and updating and by resistance to proactive interference, and variability in familiarity was predicted by resistance to proactive interference and speed. ((c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).

The Role of Affective and Cognitive Individual Differences in Social Perception.

PubMed

Aquino, Antonio; Haddock, Geoffrey; Maio, Gregory R; Wolf, Lukas J; Alparone, Francesca R

2016-06-01

Three studies explored the connection between social perception processes and individual differences in the use of affective and cognitive information in relation to attitudes. Study 1 revealed that individuals high in need for affect (NFA) accentuated differences in evaluations of warm and cold traits, whereas individuals high in need for cognition (NFC) accentuated differences in evaluations of competent and incompetent traits. Study 2 revealed that individual differences in NFA predicted liking of warm or cold targets, whereas individual differences in NFC predicted perceptions of competent or incompetent targets. Furthermore, the effects of NFA and NFC were independent of structural bases and meta-bases of attitudes. Study 3 revealed that differences in the evaluation of warm and cold traits mediated the effects of NFA and NFC on liking of targets. The implications for social perception processes and for individual differences in affect-cognition are discussed. © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Estimation of the Population Susceptibility Against Measles in Slovakia.

PubMed

Zibolenová, Jana; Chladná, Zuzana; Švihrová, Viera; Baška, Tibor; Waczulíková, Iveta; Hudečková, Henrieta

2017-03-01

In Slovakia, thanks to a highly effective vaccination programme, no domestic cases of measles have been reported since 1999. However, there are several outbreaks of measles currently hitting some countries in Europe. Difficulties in reaching the goal of measles elimination make it necessary to monitor the status of the population susceptibility to prevent similar outbreaks in the future. We hypothesize that immunity wanes overtime, which can substantially impact the population susceptibility. This work introduces a model that estimates a proportion of individuals susceptible to measles in the Slovak population in 2015. Our analysis is based on an age-cohort model that incorporates waning immunity, vaccination schedule and changes in demographic structure. The inputs of the model are data on the vaccination coverage, last seroprevalence survey in 2002 and age structure of the population. In a short-term horizon, waning immunity does not affect the estimated proportion of the susceptible population. However, in a long-term horizon, the antibody titers can fall below the level of protection, which would result in a substantial transfer of initially immune individuals to the compartment of the susceptible ones. Incorporating of waning immunity in the cohort model has indicated that the most susceptible cohorts are not-vaccinated youngest children and cohorts born between 1969 and 1986. Applying the model to the current situation shows that people aged 30-45 years and unvaccinated infants represent the most susceptible groups. Model partially replaces missing seroprevalence survey, but, because the parameters of model and phenomenon of waning immunity are not exactly known, we suggest reintroducing the regular national serosurveys in order to empirically determine the level of susceptibility for measles in Slovakia. Copyright© by the National Institute of Public Health, Prague 2017

Seven Passive 1-h Hypoxia Exposures Do Not Prevent AMS in Susceptible Individuals.

PubMed

Faulhaber, Martin; Pocecco, Elena; Gatterer, Hannes; Niedermeier, Martin; Huth, Maike; Dünnwald, Tobias; Menz, Verena; Bernardi, Luciano; Burtscher, Martin

2016-12-01

The present study evaluated the effects of a preacclimatization program comprising seven passive 1-h exposures to 4500-m normobaric hypoxia on the prevalence and severity of acute mountain sickness (AMS) during a subsequent exposure to real high altitude in persons susceptible to AMS. The project was designed as a randomized controlled trial including 32 healthy female and male participants with known susceptibility to AMS symptoms. After baseline measurements, participants were randomly assigned to the hypoxia or the control group to receive the preacclimatization program (seven passive 1-h exposures within 7 d to normobaric hypoxia or sham hypoxia). After completing preacclimatization, participants were transported (bus, cog railway) to real high altitude (3650 m, Mönchsjoch Hut, Switzerland) and stayed there for 45 h (two nights). Symptoms of AMS and physiological responses were determined repeatedly. AMS incidence and severity did not significantly differ between groups during the high-altitude exposure. In total, 59% of the hypoxia and 67% of the control group suffered from AMS at one or more time points during the high-altitude exposure. Hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory responses were not affected by the preacclimatization program. Resting ventilation at high altitude tended to be higher (P = 0.06) in the hypoxia group compared with the control group. No significant between-group differences were detected for heart rate variability, arterial oxygen saturation, and hematological and ventilatory parameters during the high-altitude exposure. Preacclimatization using seven passive 1-h exposures to normobaric hypoxia corresponding to 4500 m did not prevent AMS development during a subsequent high-altitude exposure in AMS-susceptible persons.

Temporal dynamics of physical activity and affect in depressed and nondepressed individuals.

PubMed

Stavrakakis, Nikolaos; Booij, Sanne H; Roest, Annelieke M; de Jonge, Peter; Oldehinkel, Albertine J; Bos, Elisabeth H

2015-12-01

The association between physical activity and affect found in longitudinal observational studies is generally small to moderate. It is unknown how this association generalizes to individuals. The aim of the present study was to investigate interindividual differences in the bidirectional dynamic relationship between physical activity and affect, in depressed and nondepressed individuals, using time-series analysis. A pair-matched sample of 10 depressed and 10 nondepressed participants (mean age = 36.6, SD = 8.9, 30% males) wore accelerometers and completed electronic questionnaires 3 times a day for 30 days. Physical activity was operationalized as the total energy expenditure (EE) per day segment (i.e., 6 hr). The multivariate time series (T = 90) of every individual were analyzed using vector autoregressive modeling (VAR), with the aim to assess direct as well as lagged (i.e., over 1 day) effects of EE on positive and negative affect, and vice versa. Large interindividual differences in the strength, direction and temporal aspects of the relationship between physical activity and positive and negative affect were observed. An exception was the direct (but not the lagged) effect of physical activity on positive affect, which was positive in nearly all individuals. This study showed that the association between physical activity and affect varied considerably across individuals. Thus, while at the group level the effect of physical activity on affect may be small, in some individuals the effect may be clinically relevant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Digital Dermatitis in Dairy Cows: A Review of Risk Factors and Potential Sources of Between-Animal Variation in Susceptibility

PubMed Central

Palmer, Maeve A.; O’Connell, Niamh E.

2015-01-01

Simple Summary Dairy cow lameness is a major problem for the industry, causing reduced animal welfare and economic loss. Digital dermatitis (DD) is a bacterial disease causing painful lesions, generally on the heels of the rear feet, and is an important cause of lameness. There appears to be individual variation between animals in susceptibility to this disease. Particular physical, physiological and behavioural factors might influence individual susceptibility, but further work is required to clarify the influence of these factors and to determine how this information could be used to develop breeding and management strategies to reduce DD prevalence. Abstract Digital dermatitis (DD) is a bacterial disease that primarily affects the skin on the heels of cattle. It is a major cause of lameness in dairy cows and a significant problem for the dairy industry in many countries, causing reduced animal welfare and economic loss. A wide range of infection levels has been found on infected farms, prompting investigations into both farm level and animal level risk factors for DD occurrence. There also appears to be individual variation between animals in susceptibility to the disease. The identification of factors affecting individual variation in susceptibility to DD might allow changes in breeding policies or herd management which could be used to reduce DD prevalence. Factors mentioned in the literature as possibly influencing individual variation in susceptibility to DD include physical factors such as hoof conformation and properties of the skin, physiological factors such as the efficacy of the immune response, and behavioural factors such as standing half in cubicles. Further work is required to determine the influence of these factors, identify the genetic basis of variation, clarify the level of heritability of DD susceptibility and to determine how this is correlated with production and health traits currently used in breeding programmes. PMID:26479371

A meta-analysis evaluating the relationship between IL-18 gene promoter polymorphisms and an individual's susceptibility to HCV infection.

PubMed

Chen, W; Jing, M; Zhang, Q; Yuan, R; Jing, S

2018-01-01

Several observational studies have investigated interleukin-18 (IL-18) gene polymorphisms with regard to susceptibility to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, but the results have been inconsistent. To evaluate the relationships between functional polymorphisms in the IL-18 gene and an individual's susceptibility to HCV infection, a meta-analysis was performed. Methods: A literature search was conducted using the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and China BioMedicine databases to investigate the correlation between IL-18 gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to HCV infection. Crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. The polymorphisms IL-18-607 C>A and -137 G>C were correlated with susceptibility to HCV infection in Asian populations. However, there was no evidence indicating a correlation between either of these polymorphisms and susceptibility to HCV infection in Caucasian populations. Our current meta-analysis suggests that the -607 C>A and -137 G>C polymorphisms in the IL-18 gene promoter play important roles in determining the response to HCV in Asian populations. More studies with larger sample sizes are needed to evaluate the associations between IL-18 genetic polymorphisms and HCV infection risk. © Acta Gastro-Enterologica Belgica.

Recent social conditions affect boldness repeatability in individual sticklebacks.

PubMed

Jolles, Jolle Wolter; Aaron Taylor, Benjamin; Manica, Andrea

2016-02-01

Animal personalities are ubiquitous across the animal kingdom and have been shown both to influence individual behaviour in the social context and to be affected by it. However, little attention has been paid to possible carryover effects of social conditions on personality expression, especially when individuals are alone. Here we investigated how the recent social context affected the boldness and repeatability of three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus , during individual assays. We housed fish either solitarily, solitarily part of the time or socially in groups of four, and subjected them twice to a risk-taking task. The social conditions had a large effect on boldness repeatability, with fish housed solitarily before the trials showing much higher behavioural repeatability than fish housed socially, for which repeatability was not significant. Social conditions also had a temporal effect on the boldness of the fish, with only fish housed solitarily taking more risks during the first than the second trial. These results show that recent social conditions can thus affect the short-term repeatability of behaviour and obfuscate the expression of personality even in later contexts when individuals are alone. This finding highlights the need to consider social housing conditions when designing personality studies and emphasizes the important link between animal personality and the social context by showing the potential role of social carryover effects.

Recent social conditions affect boldness repeatability in individual sticklebacks

PubMed Central

Jolles, Jolle Wolter; Aaron Taylor, Benjamin; Manica, Andrea

2016-01-01

Animal personalities are ubiquitous across the animal kingdom and have been shown both to influence individual behaviour in the social context and to be affected by it. However, little attention has been paid to possible carryover effects of social conditions on personality expression, especially when individuals are alone. Here we investigated how the recent social context affected the boldness and repeatability of three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, during individual assays. We housed fish either solitarily, solitarily part of the time or socially in groups of four, and subjected them twice to a risk-taking task. The social conditions had a large effect on boldness repeatability, with fish housed solitarily before the trials showing much higher behavioural repeatability than fish housed socially, for which repeatability was not significant. Social conditions also had a temporal effect on the boldness of the fish, with only fish housed solitarily taking more risks during the first than the second trial. These results show that recent social conditions can thus affect the short-term repeatability of behaviour and obfuscate the expression of personality even in later contexts when individuals are alone. This finding highlights the need to consider social housing conditions when designing personality studies and emphasizes the important link between animal personality and the social context by showing the potential role of social carryover effects. PMID:26949265

Exploration of bacterial species associated with the salivary microbiome of individuals with a low susceptibility to dental caries.

PubMed

Yasunaga, Haruna; Takeshita, Toru; Shibata, Yukie; Furuta, Michiko; Shimazaki, Yoshihiro; Akifusa, Sumio; Ninomiya, Toshiharu; Kiyohara, Yutaka; Takahashi, Ichiro; Yamashita, Yoshihisa

2017-11-01

Dental caries is caused by acidogenic plaque microbiota formed on saliva-bathed tooth surfaces, in which multiple organisms act collectively to initiate and expand a cavity. We explored bacterial species associated with the salivary microbiome of individuals with low susceptibility to dental caries. The bacterial composition of saliva from 19 young adults was analyzed using barcoded pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene; we compared 10 caries-experienced (CE) and nine caries-free (CF) individuals. A quantitative PCR assay of saliva from 139 orally healthy adults aged 40-59 years was carried out to confirm the result obtained by pyrosequencing analysis. The microbiomes of CF individuals showed more diverse communities with a significantly greater proportion of the genus Porphyromonas. Among operational taxonomic units (OTUs) corresponding to the genus Porphyromonas, the OTU corresponding to P. pasteri was the most predominant and its relative abundance in CF individuals was significantly greater than in CE individuals (P < 0.001, Wilcoxon rank sum test). A quantitative PCR assay of saliva confirmed that the amounts of P. pasteri were significantly higher in individuals with lower caries experience (filled teeth <15, n = 67) than in those with higher caries experience (filled teeth ≥15, n = 72) (P < 0.001, Student's t test). These results revealed an association between a greater abundance of P. pasteri and lower susceptibility to dental caries. P. pasteri may be a bacterial species that could potentially be used as a marker for maintaining a healthy oral microbiome against dental caries.

Positive and negative affect in individuals with spinal cord injuries.

PubMed

Salter, J E; Smith, S D; Ethans, K D

2013-03-01

Participants with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) and healthy controls completed standardized questionnaires assessing depression level, positive and negative affect, and personality traits. To identify the specific characteristics of emotional experiences affected by spinal cord injury. A Canadian rehabilitation center. Individuals with SCIs were recruited from a list of patients who had volunteered to participate in studies being conducted by the SCI clinic. Healthy controls were recruited from the community, but tested in the SCI clinic. Thirty-six individuals with complete (ASIA A) SCIs and 36 age-, gender- and education-matched controls participated in this study. SCI participants were classified as cervical (C1-C7), upper thoracic (T1-T5) or lower thoracic/upper lumbar (T6-L2). All participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedules, the NEO Neuroticism Questionnaire, and the harm avoidance scale of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using independent-samples t-tests (when contrasting SCI and controls) and analysis of variance (when comparing across SCI groups). Participants with SCIs experienced significantly less positive affect than controls. The two groups did not differ in their experience of negative affect. Participants with SCIs also reported greater levels of depression. Depression scores improved with an increasing number of years post injury. Individuals with SCIs are characterized by specific emotional dysfunction related to the experience of positive emotions, rather than a tendency to ruminate on negative emotions. The results suggest that these individuals would benefit from rehabilitation programs that include training in positive psychology.

Individual Genetic Susceptibility

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

Eric J. Hall

2008-12-08

Risk estimates derived from epidemiological studies of exposed populations, as well as the maximum permissible doses allowed for occupational exposure and exposure of the public to ionizing radiation are all based on the assumption that the human population is uniform in its radiosensitivity, except for a small number of individuals, such as ATM homozygotes who are easily identified by their clinical symptoms. The hypothesis upon which this proposal is based is that the human population is not homogeneous in radiosensitiviry, but that radiosensitive sub-groups exist which are not easy to identify. These individuals would suffer an increased incidence of detrimentalmore » radiation effects, and distort the shape of the dose response relationship. The radiosensitivity of these groups depend on the expression levels of specific proteins. The plan was to investigate the effect of 3 relatively rare, high penetrate genes available in mice, namely Atm, mRad9 & Brca1. The purpose of radiation protection is to prevent! deterministic effects of clinical significance and limit stochastic effects to acceptable levels. We plan, therefore to compare with wild type animals the radiosensitivity of mice heterozygous for each of the genes mentioned above, as well as double heterozygotes for pairs of genes, using two biological endpoints: a) Ocular cataracts as an important and relevant deterministic effect, and b) Oncogenic transformation in cultured embryo fibroblasts, as a surrogate for carcinogenesis, the most relevant stochastic effect.« less

The key factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheung, Derek

2018-01-01

Individual interest in school science lessons can be defined as a relatively stable and enduring personal emotion comprising affective and behavioural reactions to events in the regular science lessons at school. Little research has compared the importance of different factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons. The present study aimed to address this gap, using a mixed methods design. Qualitative interview data were collected from 60 Hong Kong junior secondary school students, who were asked to describe the nature of their interest in science lessons and the factors to which they attribute this. Teacher interviews, parent interviews, and classroom observations were conducted to triangulate student interview data. Five factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons were identified: situational influences in science lessons, individual interest in science, science self-concept, grade level, and gender. Quantitative data were then collected from 591 students using a questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was applied to test a hypothesised model, which provided an acceptable fit to the student data. The strongest factor affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons was science self-concept, followed by individual interest in science and situational influences in science lessons. Grade level and gender were found to be nonsignificant factors. These findings suggest that teachers should pay special attention to the association between academic self-concept and interest if they want to motivate students to learn science at school.

Brief report: personality correlates of susceptibility to peer influence in adolescence.

PubMed

Stautz, Kaidy; Cooper, Andrew

2014-06-01

Adolescents show a heightened susceptibility to peer influence compared to adults. Individual differences in this susceptibility exist, yet there has been little effort to link these with broader personality processes. Reward sensitivity and impulsive behaviour are also heightened in adolescence and could affect the tendency to be influenced by peers. This study examined associations between self-reported resistance to peer influence, facets of reward sensitivity and impulsivity, and subjective social status in a sample of 269 British sixth form students (mean age 16.79). Multiple regression analyses showed that negative and positive urgency were significantly negatively associated with resistance to peer influence. The relationship between negative urgency and resistance was moderated by subjective social status, such that individuals reporting low status showed a stronger negative relationship. Results suggest that a susceptibility to peer influence is linked with a tendency to act impulsively when in heightened emotional states. Adolescents high in negative urgency who feel lower in their social hierarchy may be particularly vulnerable. Copyright © 2014 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parental genetic diversity of brown trout (Salmo trutta m. fario) brood stock affects offspring susceptibility to whirling disease.

PubMed

Eszterbauer, Edit; Forró, Barbara; Tolnai, Zoltán; Guti, Csaba Ferenc; Zsigmond, Gergely; Hoitsy, György; Kallert, Dennis Marc

2015-03-03

Whirling disease, caused by the myxozoan parasite Myxobolus cerebralis, has high economical and ecological importance worldwide. Susceptibility to the disease varies considerably among salmonid species. In brown trout (Salmo trutta) the infection is usually subclinical with low mortality, which increases the risk of parasite dissemination, especially when farm fish are used for stocking natural habitats. The influence of intraspecific genetic differences (especially the level of homozygosity) on susceptibility is unknown. Therefore, we examined the possible correlations between parental genetic diversity and offspring susceptibility of brown trout stocks to whirling disease. Two brown trout brood stocks from a German and a Hungarian fish farm were genetically characterized using microsatellite and lineage-specific genetic markers. The individual inbreeding coefficient f and pairwise relatedness factor r were estimated based on eight microsatellite markers. Brood stock populations were divided into groups according to low and high f and r value estimates and subjected to selective fertilization. The offspring from these separate groups were exposed to M. cerebralis actinospores, and the infection prevalence and intensity was measured and statistically analysed. The analysis of phylogeographic lineage heritage revealed high heterogeneity in the Hungarian brood stock since > 50% of individuals were Atlantic-Danubian hybrids, while only pure Atlantic-descending specimens were detected in the German population. Based on f msat and r msat estimations, classified non-inbred (NIB), inbred (IB) and a group of closely related fish (REL) were created. The susceptibility of their offspring varied considerably. Although there was no significant difference in the prevalence of M. cerebralis infection, the mean intensity of infection differed significantly between NIB and IB groups. In REL and IB groups, a high variability was observed in infection intensity. No external

The effects of learning about one's own genetic susceptibility to alcoholism: a randomized experiment.

PubMed

Dar-Nimrod, Ilan; Zuckerman, Miron; Duberstein, Paul R

2013-02-01

Increased accessibility of direct-to-consumer personalized genetic reports raises the question: how are people affected by information about their own genetic predispositions? Participants were led to believe that they had entered a study on the genetics of alcoholism and sleep disorders. Participants provided a saliva sample purportedly to be tested for the presence of relevant genes. While awaiting the results, they completed a questionnaire assessing their emotional state. They subsequently received a bogus report about their genetic susceptibility and completed a questionnaire about their emotional state and items assessing perceived control over drinking, relevant future drinking-related intentions, and intervention-related motivation and behavior. Participants who were led to believe that they had a gene associated with alcoholism showed an increase in negative affect, decrease in positive affect, and reduced perceived personal control over drinking. Reported intentions for alcohol consumption in the near future were not affected; however, individuals were more likely to enroll in a "responsible drinking" workshop after learning of their alleged genetic susceptibility. The first complete randomized experiment to examine the psychological and behavioral effects of receiving personalized genetic susceptibility information indicates some potential perils and benefits of direct-to-consumer genetic tests.

The Key Factors Affecting Students' Individual Interest in School Science Lessons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheung, Derek

2018-01-01

Individual interest in school science lessons can be defined as a relatively stable and enduring personal emotion comprising affective and behavioural reactions to events in the regular science lessons at school. Little research has compared the importance of different factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons. The…

Individual differences in proactive interference in verbal and visuospatial working memory.

PubMed

Lilienthal, Lindsey

2017-09-01

Proactive interference (PI) has been shown to affect working memory (WM) span as well as the predictive utility of WM span measures. However, most of the research on PI has been conducted using verbal memory items, and much less is known about the role of PI in the visuospatial domain. In order to further explore this issue, the present study used a within-subjects manipulation of PI that alternated clusters of trials with verbal and visuospatial to-be-remembered items. Although PI was shown to build and release across trials similarly in the two domains, important differences also were observed. The ability of verbal WM to predict performance on a measure of fluid intelligence was significantly affected by the amount of PI present, consistent with past research, but this proved not to be the case for visuospatial WM. Further, individuals' susceptibility to PI in one domain was relatively independent of their susceptibility in the other domain, suggesting that, contrary to some theories of executive function, individual differences in PI susceptibility may not be domain-general.

High miR-124-3p expression identifies smoking individuals susceptible to atherosclerosis.

PubMed

de Ronde, Maurice W J; Kok, Maayke G M; Moerland, Perry D; Van den Bossche, Jan; Neele, Annette E; Halliani, Amalia; van der Made, Ingeborg; de Winther, Menno P J; Meijers, Joost C M; Creemers, Esther E; Pinto-Sietsma, Sara-Joan

2017-08-01

The risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) is twice as high among smoking individuals compared to non-smokers. Monocytes are involved in smoking-related atherosclerotic plaque formation. In this study, we investigated whether smokers with an increased risk of developing CVD can be identified on the basis of monocyte-derived miRNA expression levels. We performed a miRNA microarray experiment on isolated monocytes from smoking, former smoking and non-smoking individuals in a cohort of patients with premature CVD and healthy controls (Cohort I, n = 76). We found miR-124-3p to be heterogeneously expressed among all smoking individuals, whereas expression was low in non-smokers. Subsequently, RT-qPCR measurements on whole blood showed that among smoking individuals an increase in miR-124-3p is associated with an increased risk for advanced atherosclerotic disease (cohort II, n = 24) (OR 11.72 95% CI 1.09-126.53) and subclinical atherosclerosis (coronary artery calcium score ≥ 80 th percentile, cohort III n = 138) (OR 2.71, 95% CI 1.05-7.01). This was not observed among former smokers or non-smoking individuals. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that high miR-124-3p expression was associated with upregulation of the monocyte surface markers CD45RA, CD29 and CD206, indicating an altered monocyte phenotype. Finally, overexpression of miR-124-3p resulted in an upregulation of CD206 surface expression on monocytes. High miR-124-3p expression is associated with an increased risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in smoking individuals and with an altered monocyte phenotype. This may suggest that miR-124-3p identifies which smoking individuals are susceptible to the atherogenic effects of smoking. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Parental instrumental feeding, negative affect, and binge eating among overweight individuals.

PubMed

Mason, Tyler B

2015-04-01

Parental instrumental feeding (i.e., rewarding children with food for perceived correct behaviors and punishing by taking away food for perceived incorrect behaviors) and negative affect are independently associated with binge eating in adulthood. However, less is known about interactions between these variables and binge eating. This study examined the relationship of retrospective reports of parental feeding practices and negative affect to binge eating. Participants were 165 overweight and obese undergraduate students at a large Mid-Atlantic University. High parental instrumental feeding strengthened the relationship between negative affect and binge eating. Also, individuals who reported low parental feeding practices reported similar binge eating regardless of negative affect. These findings suggest that overweight and obese individuals whose parents used more instrumental feeding practices are most likely to engage in binge eating in response to negative affect. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A Systematic Review on Sasang Constitutional Type-Associated Susceptibility to Disorders in Korea.

PubMed

Lee, Hyun-Yong; Lee, Woo-Jin; Kim, Hae-Won; Jang, Eun-Su; Ahn, Yo-Chan; Ku, Bon-Cho; Kang, Weechang; Lee, Si-Woo; Son, Chang-Gue

2016-12-01

Sasang constitutional medicine is a component of traditional Korean medicine that classifies individuals into four Sasang constitutional types (SCTs) by their physical and psychological traits. Each SCT is known to show different susceptibilities to disorders. This systematic review investigated the effect of SCT as a risk factor for various disorders. A systematic literature survey was conducted by searching seven databases for all articles on the prevalence rates of disorders according to SCT and sex. From 14,272 relevant articles, 15 studies (13 disorders) were ultimately identified to verify different prevalence rates by SCT. Of the 13 disorders, 6 (prehypertension, general obesity, abdominal obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, and irritable bowel syndrome [IBS]) had a significantly different prevalence by SCT. Metabolic syndrome and its associated disorders showed the highest prevalence in Taeumin-type individuals, whereas IBS was most prevalent in Soeumin-type individuals. In general, these findings were consistent with the results obtained in an analysis of male and female participants. This study revealed that susceptibility to disorders was affected by SCT to some extent. Further studies are needed to determine the concrete features of SCT-related susceptibility, which may be helpful in preventive medicine with Sasang constitutional practice.

Are Some Individuals Diagnosed with ADHD Prone to Alcohol Abuse?: Consideration of Two Possible Mediating Factors for this Susceptibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maxwell, Allison

2013-01-01

Some studies conducted on ADHD have found a statistically significant relationship between those diagnosed with the disorder and a higher susceptibility to abuse alcohol. However, other studies have found no such correlation, or have found this to be true of only a nonstatistically significant subset of the population of individuals with ADHD.…

Infection's Sweet Tooth: How Glycans Mediate Infection and Disease Susceptibility.

PubMed

Taylor, Steven L; McGuckin, Michael A; Wesselingh, Steve; Rogers, Geraint B

2018-02-01

Glycans form a highly variable constituent of our mucosal surfaces and profoundly affect our susceptibility to infection and disease. The diversity and importance of these surface glycans can be seen in individuals who lack a functional copy of the fucosyltransferase gene, FUT2. Representing around one-fifth of the population, these individuals have an altered susceptibility to many bacterial and viral infections and diseases. The mediation of host-pathogen interactions by mucosal glycans, such as those added by FUT2, is poorly understood. We highlight, with specific examples, important mechanisms by which host glycans influence infection dynamics, including by: acting as pathogen receptors (or receptor-decoys), promoting microbial stability, altering the physical characteristics of mucus, and acting as immunological markers. We argue that the effect glycans have on infection dynamics has profound implications for many aspects of healthcare and policy, including clinical management, outbreak control, and vaccination policy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ethical, social, and legal issues surrounding studies of susceptible populations and individuals.

PubMed Central

Soskolne, C L

1997-01-01

Calls for professional accountability have resulted in the development of ethics guidelines by numerous specialty and subspecialty groups of scientists. Indeed, guidelines among some health professions now address vulnerable and dependent groups: but these are silent on issues related to biomarkers. In parallel, attention has been drawn to human rights concerns associated with attempts to detect hypersusceptible workers, especially in democratic countries. Despite this, concern for vulnerable populations grows as advances in biomarker technology make the identification of genetic predisposition and susceptibility markers of both exposure and outcome more attainable. In this article, the principles derived from the ethical theory of utilitarianism provide the basis for principle-based ethical analysis. In addition, the four principles of biomedical ethics--respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and social justice--are considered for biomarker studies. The need for a context in which ethical analysis is conducted and from which prevailing social values are shown to drive decisions of an ethical nature is emphasized; these include statutory regulation and law. Because biomarker studies can result in more harm than good, special precautions to inform research participants prior to any involvement in the use of biomarkers are needed. In addition, safeguards to maintain the privacy of data derived from biomarker studies must be developed and implemented prior to the application of these new technologies. Guidelines must be expanded to incorporate ethical, social, and legal considerations surrounding the introduction of new technologies for studying susceptible populations and individuals who may be vulnerable to environmental exposures. PMID:9255569

[Individual susceptibility to occupational carcinogens: the evidence from biomonitoring and molecular epidemiology studies].

PubMed

Pavanello, S; Clonfero, E

2004-01-01

(Chileans > Caucasians; Japanese > Americans) and gender (women > men), have still not been clearly characterized and these are also reported in this paper. It is clear from the above that genetic differences underlie individual susceptibility to lung cancer, whether caused by exposure to tobacco smoke or to occupational carcinogens like PAHs. Some of these indicators of exposure/individual susceptibility can be evaluated in groups at high risk of occupational lung cancer, such as coke-oven and aluminium workers and those exposed to coal tar fumes and soot, etc., with the aim of identifying subjects who are susceptible due to the high concentrations of carcinogens found in their working environment.

Effects of ethnicity and gender on motion sickness susceptibility.

PubMed

Klosterhalfen, Sibylle; Kellermann, Sandra; Pan, Fang; Stockhorst, Ursula; Hall, Geoffrey; Enck, Paul

2005-11-01

Susceptibility to motion sickness (MS) is known to be affected by gender and ethnic origin, but whether gender and ethnicity are interacting is unknown. We investigated MS development in healthy Caucasian subjects (n = 227), and in subjects of Chinese origin (n = 82). All subjects were exposed to nausea-inducing body rotations in a rotation chair, and rotated around the yaw axis for 5 x 1 min, while they were instructed to move their heads. Prior to rotation, subjects had to fill out a motion-sickness susceptibility questionnaire (MSSQ). Total rotation tolerance time (RT) was noted. Symptom ratings (SR) were performed at the beginning, and immediately after the end of each rotation, and 15 and 30 min later. The average RT was significantly higher in Caucasian (163 +/- 6 s) than in Chinese subjects (111 +/- 7 s) (F = 24.84, p < 0.0001). The adult MSSQ score was significantly lower in Caucasians (17.8 +/- 1.1) than in Chinese volunteers (24.2 +/- 2.1) (F = 6.05, p = 0.014). Maximal SR post rotation was similar in Chinese and Caucasian subjects. RT was highly predictable from the MSSQ scores, but separate for both genders. Susceptibility to MS is affected by both ethnic origin and by gender in a rather complex fashion. The most reliable prediction of RT can be based on the individual's history as assessed by the MSSQ.

On considering the influence of recovered individuals in disease propagations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moraes, A. L. S.; Monteiro, L. H. A.

2016-05-01

Consider diseases transmitted through personal contacts, for which recovery usually confers complete and long-lasting immunity, like some of the common viral infections of childhood. Here, an epidemic model based on differential equations is proposed to evaluate the influence of the recovered (immune) individuals on the spread of such diseases. Indeed, immune individuals can affect the infection rate of susceptible individuals and the recovery rate of sick individuals. The predictive ability of the proposed model is assessed from records concerning the incidence of varicella in three European countries, in a pre-vaccination era.

Exploring Genetic Susceptibility to Fibromyalgia

PubMed Central

Park, Dong-Jin; Kang, Ji-Hyoun; Yim, Yi-Rang; Kim, Ji-Eun; Lee, Jeong-Won; Lee, Kyung-Eun; Wen, Lihui; Kim, Tae-Jong; Park, Yong-Wook

2015-01-01

Fibromyalgia (FM) affects 1% to 5% of the population, and approximately 90% of the affected individuals are women. FM patients experience impaired quality of life and the disorder places a considerable economic burden on the medical care system. With the recognition of FM as a major health problem, many recent studies have evaluated the pathophysiology of FM. Although the etiology of FM remains unknown, it is thought to involve some combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental exposure that triggers further alterations in gene expression. Because FM shows marked familial aggregation, most previous research has focused on genetic predisposition to FM and has revealed associations between genetic factors and the development of FM, including specific gene polymorphisms involved in the serotonergic, dopaminergic, and catecholaminergic pathways. The aim of this review was to discuss the current evidence regarding genetic factors that may play a role in the development and symptom severity of FM. PMID:26306300

MR susceptibility imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duyn, Jeff

2013-04-01

This work reviews recent developments in the use of magnetic susceptibility contrast for human MRI, with a focus on the study of brain anatomy. The increase in susceptibility contrast with modern high field scanners has led to novel applications and insights into the sources and mechanism contributing to this contrast in brain tissues. Dedicated experiments have demonstrated that in most of healthy brain, iron and myelin dominate tissue susceptibility variations, although their relative contribution varies substantially. Local variations in these compounds can affect both amplitude and frequency of the MRI signal. In white matter, the myelin sheath introduces an anisotropic susceptibility that has distinct effects on the water compartments inside the axons, between the myelin sheath, and the axonal space, and renders their signals dependent on the angle between the axon and the magnetic field. This offers opportunities to derive tissue properties specific to these cellular compartments.

Drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium Avium subsp. Avium isolates from naturally infected domestic pigeons to avian tuberculosis.

PubMed

Parvandar, Kaveh; Mayahi, Mansour; Mosavari, Nader; Pajoohi, Reza Aref

2016-12-01

Avian tuberculosis is one of the most important infections affecting most species of birds. Several mycobacterial species have been identified causing avian tuberculosis, and the organisms confirmed most frequently are Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium genavense. Any species of birds can be infected with M. avium. Generally, domesticated fowl or captive wild birds are affected more frequently than those living in the wild. M. avium can not only infect all species of birds, but can also infect some domesticated mammals to cause disease, usually with localized lesion. In immunocompetent individuals, M. avium complex isolates produce localized soft tissue infections, including chronic pulmonary infections in the elderly and cervical lymphadenitis in children, but rarely any disseminated disease. In patients infected with HIV and AIDS or in other immunocompromised individuals, M. avium complex isolates frequently cause severe systemic infections. The importance of avian tuberculosis and the risk of its zoonotic spread motivated our interest to determine the drug susceptibility testing of M. avium subsp. avium isolates from naturally infected domestic pigeons to avian tuberculosis. Based on their clinical signs, 80 pigeons suspected with avian tuberculosis were subjected to the study. Out of the 51 identified isolates, 20 M. avium subsp. avium were subjected to the test. Drug susceptibly testing was performed according to the guidelines by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and using proportional method. In the drug susceptibility testing, all isolates were resistant to streptomycin, kanamycin, ethionamide, and thiophene carboxylic acid hydrazide. Additionally, 3, 2, and 1 isolates were susceptible to isoniazid, rifampin, and ethambutol, respectively. To date, no study has documented the drug susceptibility testing of M. avium isolates from infected birds to avian tuberculosis. Pigeons are extensively kept in urban and rural areas for homing and racing

Beyond network structure: How heterogeneous susceptibility modulates the spread of epidemics.

PubMed

Smilkov, Daniel; Hidalgo, Cesar A; Kocarev, Ljupco

2014-04-25

The compartmental models used to study epidemic spreading often assume the same susceptibility for all individuals, and are therefore, agnostic about the effects that differences in susceptibility can have on epidemic spreading. Here we show that-for the SIS model-differential susceptibility can make networks more vulnerable to the spread of diseases when the correlation between a node's degree and susceptibility are positive, and less vulnerable when this correlation is negative. Moreover, we show that networks become more likely to contain a pocket of infection when individuals are more likely to connect with others that have similar susceptibility (the network is segregated). These results show that the failure to include differential susceptibility to epidemic models can lead to a systematic over/under estimation of fundamental epidemic parameters when the structure of the networks is not independent from the susceptibility of the nodes or when there are correlations between the susceptibility of connected individuals.

Beyond network structure: How heterogeneous susceptibility modulates the spread of epidemics

PubMed Central

Smilkov, Daniel; Hidalgo, Cesar A.; Kocarev, Ljupco

2014-01-01

The compartmental models used to study epidemic spreading often assume the same susceptibility for all individuals, and are therefore, agnostic about the effects that differences in susceptibility can have on epidemic spreading. Here we show that–for the SIS model–differential susceptibility can make networks more vulnerable to the spread of diseases when the correlation between a node's degree and susceptibility are positive, and less vulnerable when this correlation is negative. Moreover, we show that networks become more likely to contain a pocket of infection when individuals are more likely to connect with others that have similar susceptibility (the network is segregated). These results show that the failure to include differential susceptibility to epidemic models can lead to a systematic over/under estimation of fundamental epidemic parameters when the structure of the networks is not independent from the susceptibility of the nodes or when there are correlations between the susceptibility of connected individuals. PMID:24762621

Biomarkers of susceptibility: State of the art and implications for occupational exposure to engineered nanomaterials

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

Iavicoli, Ivo, E-mail: ivo.iavicoli@unina.it

Rapid advances and applications in nanotechnology are expected to result in increasing occupational exposure to nano-sized materials whose health impacts are still not completely understood. Scientific efforts are required to identify hazards from nanomaterials and define risks and precautionary management strategies for exposed workers. In this scenario, the definition of susceptible populations, which may be at increased risk of adverse effects may be important for risk assessment and management. The aim of this review is to critically examine available literature to provide a comprehensive overview on susceptibility aspects potentially affecting heterogeneous responses to nanomaterials workplace exposure. Genetic, genotoxic and epigeneticmore » alterations induced by nanomaterials in experimental studies were assessed with respect to their possible function as determinants of susceptibility. Additionally, the role of host factors, i.e. age, gender, and pathological conditions, potentially affecting nanomaterial toxicokinetic and health impacts, were also analysed. Overall, this review provides useful information to obtain insights into the nanomaterial mode of action in order to identify potentially sensitive, specific susceptibility biomarkers to be validated in occupational settings and addressed in risk assessment processes. The findings of this review are also important to guide future research into a deeper characterization of nanomaterial susceptibility in order to define adequate risk communication strategies. Ultimately, identification and use of susceptibility factors in workplace settings has both scientific and ethical issues that need addressing. - Highlights: • To define susceptible populations is important for risk assessment and management; • Genetic susceptibility may influence the individual response to nanomaterial exposure; • Susceptibility factors in workplace settings have both scientific and ethical issues.« less

Affective valence signals agency within and between individuals.

PubMed

Chang, Yen-Ping; Algoe, Sara B; Chen, Lung Hung

2017-03-01

Affective valence is a core component of all emotional experiences. Building on recent evidence and theory, we reason that valence informs individuals about their agency-the mental capability of doing and intending. Expressed affect may also lead to perceptions of agency by others. Supporting the hypothesis that valence influences self- and other-perception of agency, across 5 studies, we showed that participants perceived more agency in themselves in positive versus neutral and negative personal (Study 1) and interpersonal (Study 2) events. Participants also perceived more agency in fictional characters showing positive versus negative affect, regardless of how acceptable the characters' behavior was (Studies 3 and 4). Finally, we had participants personify 24 specific emotions across the valence dimension, and found that the more positive and less negative an emotion was, the more agency participants ascribed to the "person" (Study 5). We discuss the results in terms of how valence may help with human self- and social regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Discrete time Markov chains (DTMC) susceptible infected susceptible (SIS) epidemic model with two pathogens in two patches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lismawati, Eka; Respatiwulan; Widyaningsih, Purnami

2017-06-01

The SIS epidemic model describes the pattern of disease spread with characteristics that recovered individuals can be infected more than once. The number of susceptible and infected individuals every time follows the discrete time Markov process. It can be represented by the discrete time Markov chains (DTMC) SIS. The DTMC SIS epidemic model can be developed for two pathogens in two patches. The aims of this paper are to reconstruct and to apply the DTMC SIS epidemic model with two pathogens in two patches. The model was presented as transition probabilities. The application of the model obtain that the number of susceptible individuals decreases while the number of infected individuals increases for each pathogen in each patch.

Fya/Fyb antigen polymorphism in human erythrocyte Duffy antigen affects susceptibility to Plasmodium vivax malaria

PubMed Central

King, Christopher L.; Adams, John H.; Xianli, Jia; Grimberg, Brian T.; McHenry, Amy M.; Greenberg, Lior J.; Siddiqui, Asim; Howes, Rosalind E.; da Silva-Nunes, Monica; Ferreira, Marcelo U.; Zimmerman, Peter A.

2011-01-01

Plasmodium vivax (Pv) is a major cause of human malaria and is increasing in public health importance compared with falciparum malaria. Pv is unique among human malarias in that invasion of erythrocytes is almost solely dependent on the red cell's surface receptor, known as the Duffy blood-group antigen (Fy). Fy is an important minor blood-group antigen that has two immunologically distinct alleles, referred to as Fya or Fyb, resulting from a single-point mutation. This mutation occurs within the binding domain of the parasite's red cell invasion ligand. Whether this polymorphism affects susceptibility to clinical vivax malaria is unknown. Here we show that Fya, compared with Fyb, significantly diminishes binding of Pv Duffy binding protein (PvDBP) at the erythrocyte surface, and is associated with a reduced risk of clinical Pv in humans. Erythrocytes expressing Fya had 41–50% lower binding compared with Fyb cells and showed an increased ability of naturally occurring or artificially induced antibodies to block binding of PvDBP to their surface. Individuals with the Fya+b− phenotype demonstrated a 30–80% reduced risk of clinical vivax, but not falciparum malaria in a prospective cohort study in the Brazilian Amazon. The Fya+b− phenotype, predominant in Southeast Asian and many American populations, would confer a selective advantage against vivax malaria. Our results also suggest that efficacy of a PvDBP-based vaccine may differ among populations with different Fy phenotypes. PMID:22123959

ramR mutations affecting fluoroquinolone susceptibility in epidemic multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Kentucky ST198

PubMed Central

Baucheron, Sylvie; Le Hello, Simon; Doublet, Benoît; Giraud, Etienne; Weill, François-Xavier; Cloeckaert, Axel

2013-01-01

A screening for non-target mutations affecting fluoroquinolone susceptibility was conducted in epidemic multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Kentucky ST198. Among a panel of representative isolates (n = 27), covering the epidemic, only three showed distinct mutations in ramR resulting in enhanced expression of genes encoding the AcrAB-TolC efflux system and low increase in ciprofloxacin MIC. No mutations were detected in other regulatory regions of this efflux system. Ciprofloxacin resistance in serovar Kentucky ST198 is thus currently mainly due to multiple target gene mutations. PMID:23914184

Sensitization to caffeine and cross-sensitization to amphetamine: influence of individual response to caffeine.

PubMed

Simola, Nicola; Cauli, Omar; Morelli, Micaela

2006-09-15

The present study evaluated the ability of a subchronic intermittent administration of caffeine to induce a sensitized motor response and correlated the individual susceptibility of rats to acute caffeine to the development of sensitization. Moreover, individual susceptibility to caffeine and development of motor behaviour sensitization were correlated to the behavioural response obtained after a challenge with amphetamine. To this end, rats were subdivided in "low" and "high" responders according to their individual susceptibility to acute caffeine established on the basis of the motor activity observed after the first caffeine administration. "Low" and "high" responder rats were then repeatedly and intermittently treated with caffeine (15 mg/kg, i.p.), or vehicle, every other day for fourteen days. Three days after treatment discontinuation, behavioural activation induced by acute amphetamine (0.5 mg/kg, s.c.) was measured in vehicle- and caffeine-pretreated rats. Subchronic caffeine resulted in motor sensitization of a variable degree among rats and no difference were observed between "low" and "high" responders. Moreover, caffeine pretreatment potentiated the behavioural effects of amphetamine according to the degree of caffeine sensitization but not to individual susceptibility to acute caffeine. These results demonstrate that individual susceptibility to acute caffeine does not influence the modifications in caffeine motor effects produced by its subchronic administration and does not affect the enhancement of acute behavioural effects of amphetamine in caffeine-pretreated rats, rather sensitization to subchronic caffeine administration critically influences the behavioural effects of amphetamine.

[Genetics of bipolar affective disorders. Current status of research for identification of susceptibility genes].

PubMed

Schumacher, J; Cichon, S; Rietschel, M; Nöthen, M M; Propping, P

2002-07-01

Bipolar affective disorder is a highly heritable condition, as evidenced by twin, family, and adoption studies. However, the mode of inheritance is complex and linkage findings have been difficult to replicate. Despite these limitations, consistent linkage findings have emerged for several chromosomes, notably 3p12-p14, 4p16, 10q25-q26, and 12q23-q24. Three additional areas, 13q32-q33, 18p11-q11, and 22q12-q13, have shown linkage in regions that appear to overlap with linkage findings in schizophrenia. These chromosomal regions might harbour genes that contribute to the development of bipolar affective disorder. Recent candidate gene studies include some positive results for the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT) on 17q11-q12 and the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene (COMT) on 22q11. New methods are being developed for linkage disequilibrium mapping and candidate gene approaches. One can be optimistic that over the next few years bipolar susceptibility genes will be identified.

They know the words, but not the music: affective and semantic priming in individuals with psychopathy.

PubMed

Blair, K S; Richell, R A; Mitchell, D G V; Leonard, A; Morton, J; Blair, R J R

2006-08-01

Previous work has indicated dysfunctional affect-language interactions in individuals with psychopathy through use of the lexical decision task. However, it has been uncertain as to whether these deficits actually reflect impaired affect-language interactions or a more fundamental deficit in general semantic processing. In this study, we examined affective priming and semantic priming (dependent measures were reaction times and error rates) in individuals with psychopathy and comparison individuals, classified according to the psychopathy checklist revised (PCL-R) [Hare, R.D., 1991. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. Multi-Health Systems, Toronto, Ont] Individuals with psychopathy showed significantly less affective priming relative to comparison individuals. In contrast, the two groups showed comparable levels of semantic priming. The results are discussed with reference to current models of psychopathy.

Negative (but not Positive) Parenting Interacts with Infant Negative Affect to Predict Infant Approach: Evidence of Diathesis-Stress.

PubMed

Holzman, Jacob B; Burt, Nicole M; Edwards, Erin S; Rosinski, Leanna D; Bridgett, David J

2018-01-01

Temperament by parenting interactions may reflect that individuals with greater risk are more likely to experience negative outcomes in adverse contexts (diathesis-stress) or that these individuals are more susceptible to contextual influences in a 'for better or for worse' pattern (differential susceptibility). Although such interactions have been identified for a variety of child outcomes, prior research has not examined approach characteristics - excitement and approach toward pleasurable activities - in the first year of life. Therefore, the current study investigated whether 6-month maternal reported infant negative affect - a phenotypic marker of risk/susceptibility - interacted with 8-month observed parenting behaviors (positive parenting, negative parenting) to predict 12-month infant behavioral approach. Based a sample of mothers and their infants ( N =150), results indicated that negative parenting was inversely associated with subsequent approach for infants with high, but not low, levels of early negative affect. Similar results did not occur regarding positive parenting. These findings better fit a diathesis-stress model rather than a differential susceptibility model. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

Emotional intelligence: a theoretical framework for individual differences in affective forecasting.

PubMed

Hoerger, Michael; Chapman, Benjamin P; Epstein, Ronald M; Duberstein, Paul R

2012-08-01

Only recently have researchers begun to examine individual differences in affective forecasting. The present investigation was designed to make a theoretical contribution to this emerging literature by examining the role of emotional intelligence in affective forecasting. Emotional intelligence was hypothesized to be associated with affective forecasting accuracy, memory for emotional reactions, and subsequent improvement on an affective forecasting task involving emotionally evocative pictures. Results from two studies (N = 511) supported our hypotheses. Emotional intelligence was associated with accuracy in predicting, encoding, and consolidating emotional reactions. Furthermore, emotional intelligence was associated with greater improvement on a second affective forecasting task, with the relationship explained by basic memory processes. Implications for future research on basic and applied decision making are discussed.

Motivations for self-injury, affect, and impulsivity: a comparison of individuals with current self-injury to individuals with a history of self-injury.

PubMed

Taylor, Julia; Peterson, Claire M; Fischer, Sarah

2012-12-01

Individuals who report nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) are characterized by the tendency to act rashly while experiencing distress (negative urgency), the tendency to act without thinking, and endorsement of both social and affect regulation motives for the behavior. However, very little research has identified characteristics that distinguish current self-injurers from those with a history of the behavior. The purpose of this study was to compare individuals with current self-injury to a history of self-injury on impulsivity-related personality traits, motives for self-injury, and distress. Among a sample of 429 undergraduates, 120 reported self-injury. Among these 120 individuals, 33 endorsed self-injury within the past month, with a mean frequency of 4.77 acts of NSSI. Within the self-injury group, current self-injurers reported higher endorsement of affect regulation motives for NSSI, and higher levels of current negative affect than individuals with a history of self-injury. There were no differences between current and former self-injurers on measures of impulsivity, endorsement of social motives for NSSI, or positive affect. We propose that individuals who use NSSI to regulate negative affect may be more likely to repeatedly engage in this behavior over time. © 2012 The American Association of Suicidology.

Untangling the neurobiology of coping styles in rodents: Towards neural mechanisms underlying individual differences in disease susceptibility.

PubMed

de Boer, Sietse F; Buwalda, Bauke; Koolhaas, Jaap M

2017-03-01

Considerable individual differences exist in trait-like patterns of behavioral and physiological responses to salient environmental challenges. This individual variation in stress coping styles has an important functional role in terms of health and fitness. Hence, understanding the neural embedding of coping style variation is fundamental for biobehavioral neurosciences in probing individual disease susceptibility. This review outlines individual differences in trait-aggressiveness as an adaptive component of the natural sociobiology of rats and mice, and highlights that these reflect the general style of coping that varies from proactive (aggressive) to reactive (docile). We propose that this qualitative coping style can be disentangled into multiple quantitative behavioral domains, e.g., flexibility/impulse control, emotional reactivity and harm avoidance/reward processing, that each are encoded into selective neural circuitries. Since functioning of all these brain circuitries rely on fine-tuned serotonin signaling, autoinhibitory control mechanisms of serotonergic neuron (re)activity are crucial in orchestrating general coping style. Untangling the precise neuromolecular mechanisms of different coping styles will provide a roadmap for developing better therapeutic strategies of stress-related diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is susceptibility to tuberculosis acquired or inherited?

PubMed

Schurr, E

2007-02-01

Tuberculosis is an ongoing major public health problem on a global scale. One of the striking features of the disease is that only an estimated 10% of immunocompetent persons infected by the causative pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis will develop clinical signs of disease. This well-established epidemiological observation has prompted an intense search for the factors that trigger advancement of infection to disease in the small proportion of susceptible individuals. Central to this search is the questions if tuberculosis patients are inherently susceptible to the disease or if disease development is promoted by specific environmental factors. It is known that genetic and non-genetic factors of both the bacterium and the host have impact on the host response to M. tuberculosis. Yet, little is known about the interaction of these different factors and the resulting impact on disease development. Recent work suggests that in addition to common host susceptibility genes a second group of susceptibility loci exists the action of which strongly depends on the individual's clinical and exposure history. The latter genes may have a very strong effect on promoting advancement from infection to disease only in specific epidemiological settings. These findings suggest that a more detailed knowledge of gene-environment interactions in tuberculosis is necessary to understand why a small proportion of individuals are susceptible to the disease whilst the majority of humans are naturally resistant to tuberculosis.

Effects of Inventory Bias on Landslide Susceptibility Calculations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stanley, T. A.; Kirschbaum, D. B.

2017-01-01

Many landslide inventories are known to be biased, especially inventories for large regions such as Oregon's SLIDO or NASA's Global Landslide Catalog. These biases must affect the results of empirically derived susceptibility models to some degree. We evaluated the strength of the susceptibility model distortion from postulated biases by truncating an unbiased inventory. We generated a synthetic inventory from an existing landslide susceptibility map of Oregon, then removed landslides from this inventory to simulate the effects of reporting biases likely to affect inventories in this region, namely population and infrastructure effects. Logistic regression models were fitted to the modified inventories. Then the process of biasing a susceptibility model was repeated with SLIDO data. We evaluated each susceptibility model with qualitative and quantitative methods. Results suggest that the effects of landslide inventory bias on empirical models should not be ignored, even if those models are, in some cases, useful. We suggest fitting models in well-documented areas and extrapolating across the study region as a possible approach to modeling landslide susceptibility with heavily biased inventories.

Effects of Inventory Bias on Landslide Susceptibility Calculations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stanley, Thomas; Kirschbaum, Dalia B.

2017-01-01

Many landslide inventories are known to be biased, especially inventories for large regions such as Oregons SLIDO or NASAs Global Landslide Catalog. These biases must affect the results of empirically derived susceptibility models to some degree. We evaluated the strength of the susceptibility model distortion from postulated biases by truncating an unbiased inventory. We generated a synthetic inventory from an existing landslide susceptibility map of Oregon, then removed landslides from this inventory to simulate the effects of reporting biases likely to affect inventories in this region, namely population and infrastructure effects. Logistic regression models were fitted to the modified inventories. Then the process of biasing a susceptibility model was repeated with SLIDO data. We evaluated each susceptibility model with qualitative and quantitative methods. Results suggest that the effects of landslide inventory bias on empirical models should not be ignored, even if those models are, in some cases, useful. We suggest fitting models in well-documented areas and extrapolating across the study region as a possible approach to modelling landslide susceptibility with heavily biased inventories.

Triglyceride level affecting shared susceptibility genes in metabolic syndrome and coronary artery disease.

PubMed

Kisfali, P; Polgár, N; Sáfrány, E; Sümegi, K; Melegh, B I; Bene, J; Wéber, A; Hetyésy, K; Melegh, B

2010-01-01

Metabolic syndrome is characterized primarily by abdominal obesity, high triglyceride- and low HDL cholesterol levels, elevated blood pressure, and increased fasting glucose levels, which are often associated with coronary heart diseases. Several factors, such as physical inactivity, age, and several endocrine and genetic factors can increase the risk of the development of the disease. Gathered evidence shows, that metabolic syndrome is not only a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but often both of them have the same shared susceptibility genes, as several genetic variants have shown a predisposition to both diseases. Due to the spread of robust genome wide association studies, the number of candidate genes in metabolic syndrome and coronary heart disease susceptibility increases very rapidly. From the growing spectrum of the genes influencing lipid metabolism (like the LPL; PPARA; APOE; APOAI/CIII/AIV genecluster and APOAS5), the current review focuses on shared susceptibility variants involved in triglyceride metabolism and consequently the effects on the circulating triglyceride levels. As the elevated levels of triglycerides can be associated with disease phenotypes, some of these SNPs can have susceptibility features in both metabolic syndrome and in coronary heart disease, thereby some of them can even represent a kind of susceptibility link between metabolic syndrome and coronary artery disease.

Emotional Intelligence: A Theoretical Framework for Individual Differences in Affective Forecasting

PubMed Central

Hoerger, Michael; Chapman, Benjamin P.; Epstein, Ronald M.; Duberstein, Paul R.

2011-01-01

Only recently have researchers begun to examine individual differences in affective forecasting. The present investigation was designed to make a theoretical contribution to this emerging literature by examining the role of emotional intelligence in affective forecasting. Emotional intelligence was hypothesized to be associated with affective forecasting accuracy, memory for emotional reactions, and subsequent improvement on an affective forecasting task involving emotionally-evocative pictures. Results from two studies (N = 511) supported our hypotheses. Emotional intelligence was associated with accuracy in predicting, encoding, and consolidating emotional reactions. Furthermore, emotional intelligence was associated with greater improvement on a second affective forecasting task, with the relationship explained by basic memory processes. Implications for future research on basic and applied decision making are discussed. PMID:22251053

Natural Hazard Susceptibility Assessment for Road Planning Using Spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karlsson, Caroline S. J.; Kalantari, Zahra; Mörtberg, Ulla; Olofsson, Bo; Lyon, Steve W.

2017-11-01

Inadequate infrastructural networks can be detrimental to society if transport between locations becomes hindered or delayed, especially due to natural hazards which are difficult to control. Thus determining natural hazard susceptible areas and incorporating them in the initial planning process, may reduce infrastructural damages in the long run. The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of expert judgments for assessing natural hazard susceptibility through a spatial multi-criteria analysis approach using hydrological, geological, and land use factors. To utilize spatial multi-criteria analysis for decision support, an analytic hierarchy process was adopted where expert judgments were evaluated individually and in an aggregated manner. The estimates of susceptible areas were then compared with the methods weighted linear combination using equal weights and factor interaction method. Results showed that inundation received the highest susceptibility. Using expert judgment showed to perform almost the same as equal weighting where the difference in susceptibility between the two for inundation was around 4%. The results also showed that downscaling could negatively affect the susceptibility assessment and be highly misleading. Susceptibility assessment through spatial multi-criteria analysis is useful for decision support in early road planning despite its limitation to the selection and use of decision rules and criteria. A natural hazard spatial multi-criteria analysis could be used to indicate areas where more investigations need to be undertaken from a natural hazard point of view, and to identify areas thought to have higher susceptibility along existing roads where mitigation measures could be targeted after in-situ investigations.

Natural Hazard Susceptibility Assessment for Road Planning Using Spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis.

PubMed

Karlsson, Caroline S J; Kalantari, Zahra; Mörtberg, Ulla; Olofsson, Bo; Lyon, Steve W

2017-11-01

Inadequate infrastructural networks can be detrimental to society if transport between locations becomes hindered or delayed, especially due to natural hazards which are difficult to control. Thus determining natural hazard susceptible areas and incorporating them in the initial planning process, may reduce infrastructural damages in the long run. The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of expert judgments for assessing natural hazard susceptibility through a spatial multi-criteria analysis approach using hydrological, geological, and land use factors. To utilize spatial multi-criteria analysis for decision support, an analytic hierarchy process was adopted where expert judgments were evaluated individually and in an aggregated manner. The estimates of susceptible areas were then compared with the methods weighted linear combination using equal weights and factor interaction method. Results showed that inundation received the highest susceptibility. Using expert judgment showed to perform almost the same as equal weighting where the difference in susceptibility between the two for inundation was around 4%. The results also showed that downscaling could negatively affect the susceptibility assessment and be highly misleading. Susceptibility assessment through spatial multi-criteria analysis is useful for decision support in early road planning despite its limitation to the selection and use of decision rules and criteria. A natural hazard spatial multi-criteria analysis could be used to indicate areas where more investigations need to be undertaken from a natural hazard point of view, and to identify areas thought to have higher susceptibility along existing roads where mitigation measures could be targeted after in-situ investigations.

Space adaptation syndrome: multiple etiological factors and individual differences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lackner, J. R.; DiZio, P.

1991-01-01

Space motion sickness is a significant operational concern in the American and Soviet space programs. Nearly 70% of all astronauts and cosmonauts are affected to some degree during their first several days of flight. It is now beginning to appear that space motion sickness like terrestrial motion sickness is the consequence of multiple etiological factors. As we come to understand basic mechanisms of spatial orientation and sensory-motor adaptation we can begin to predict etiological factors in different motion environments. Individuals vary greatly in the extent to which they are susceptible to these different factors. However, individuals seem to be relatively self-consistent in terms of their rates of adaptation to provocative stimulation and their retention of adaptation. Attempts to relate susceptibility to motion sickness during the microgravity phases of parabolic flight maneuvers to vestibular function under 1G and 0G test conditions are described.

How glyphosate affects plant disease development: it is more than enhanced susceptibility.

PubMed

Hammerschmidt, Ray

2018-05-01

Glyphosate has been shown to affect the development of plant disease in several ways. Plants utilize phenolic and other shikimic acid pathway-derived compounds as part of their defense against pathogens, and glyphosate inhibits the biosynthesis of these compounds via its mode of action. Several studies have shown a correlation between enhanced disease and suppression of phenolic compound production after glyphosate. Glyphosate-resistant crop plants have also been studied for changes in resistance as a result of carrying the glyphosate resistance trait. The evidence indicates that neither the resistance trait nor application of glyphosate to glyphosate-resistant plants increases susceptibility to disease. The only exceptions to this are cases where glyphosate has been shown to reduce rust diseases on glyphosate-resistant crops, supporting a fungicidal role for this chemical. Finally, glyphosate treatment of weeds or volunteer crops can cause a temporary increase in soil-borne pathogens that may result in disease development if crops are planted too soon after glyphosate application. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

45 CFR 261.16 - Does the imposition of a penalty affect an individual's work requirement?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ENSURING THAT RECIPIENTS WORK What Are the Provisions Addressing Individual Responsibility? § 261.16 Does the imposition of a penalty affect an individual's work requirement... 45 Public Welfare 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Does the imposition of a penalty affect an...

The role of ancestry in TB susceptibility of an admixed South African population.

PubMed

Daya, Michelle; van der Merwe, Lize; van Helden, Paul D; Möller, Marlo; Hoal, Eileen G

2014-07-01

Genetic susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB) has been well established and this, taken together with variation in susceptibility observed between different geographic and ethnic populations, implies that susceptibility to TB may in part be affected by ethnicity. In a previous genome-wide TB case-control study (642 cases and 91 controls) of the admixed South African Coloured (SAC) population, we found a positive correlation between African San ancestry and TB susceptibility, and negative correlations with European and Asian ancestries. Since genome-wide data was available for only a small number of controls in the previous study, we endeavored to validate this finding by genotyping a panel of ancestry informative markers (AIMs) in additional individuals, yielding a data set of 918 cases and 507 controls. Ancestry proportions were estimated using the AIMs for each of the source populations of the SAC (African San, African non-San, European, South Asian and East Asian). Using logistic regression models to test for association between TB and ancestry, we confirmed the substantial effect of ancestry on TB susceptibility. We also investigated the effect of adjusting for ancestry in candidate gene TB association studies of the SAC. We report a polymorphism that is no longer significantly associated with TB after adjustment for ancestry, a polymorphism that is significantly associated with TB only after adjustment for ancestry, and a polymorphism where the association significance remains unchanged. By comparing the allele frequencies of these polymorphisms in the source populations of the SAC, we demonstrate that association results are likely to be affected by adjustment for ancestry if allele frequencies differ markedly in the source populations of the SAC. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Individual Differences in Self-Efficacy Development: The Effects of Goal Orientation and Affectivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerhardt, Megan W.; Brown, Kenneth G.

2006-01-01

This study examined the moderating role of the individual differences of goal orientation and affectivity on self-efficacy development. Consistent with hypotheses, results indicate that both positive and negative affectivity moderate the impact of an enactive mastery training program on efficacy development, with those higher in positive…

The need for affect: individual differences in the motivation to approach or avoid emotions.

PubMed

Maio, G R; Esses, V M

2001-08-01

The present research developed and tested a new individual-difference measure of the need for affect, which is the motivation to approach or avoid emotion-inducing situations. The first phase of the research developed the need for affect scale. The second phase revealed that the need for affect is related to a number of individual differences in cognitive processes (e.g., need for cognition, need for closure), emotional processes (e.g., affect intensity, repression-sensitization), behavioral inhibition and activation (e.g., sensation seeking), and aspects of personality (Big Five dimensions) in the expected directions, while not being redundant with them. The third phase of the research indicated that, compared to people low in the need for affect, people high in the need for affect are more likely to (a) possess extreme attitudes across a variety of issues, (b) choose to view emotional movies, and (c) become involved in an emotion-inducing event (the death of Princess Diana). Overall, the results indicate that the need for affect is an important construct in understanding emotion-related processes.

Fy(a)/Fy(b) antigen polymorphism in human erythrocyte Duffy antigen affects susceptibility to Plasmodium vivax malaria.

PubMed

King, Christopher L; Adams, John H; Xianli, Jia; Grimberg, Brian T; McHenry, Amy M; Greenberg, Lior J; Siddiqui, Asim; Howes, Rosalind E; da Silva-Nunes, Monica; Ferreira, Marcelo U; Zimmerman, Peter A

2011-12-13

Plasmodium vivax (Pv) is a major cause of human malaria and is increasing in public health importance compared with falciparum malaria. Pv is unique among human malarias in that invasion of erythrocytes is almost solely dependent on the red cell's surface receptor, known as the Duffy blood-group antigen (Fy). Fy is an important minor blood-group antigen that has two immunologically distinct alleles, referred to as Fy(a) or Fy(b), resulting from a single-point mutation. This mutation occurs within the binding domain of the parasite's red cell invasion ligand. Whether this polymorphism affects susceptibility to clinical vivax malaria is unknown. Here we show that Fy(a), compared with Fy(b), significantly diminishes binding of Pv Duffy binding protein (PvDBP) at the erythrocyte surface, and is associated with a reduced risk of clinical Pv in humans. Erythrocytes expressing Fy(a) had 41-50% lower binding compared with Fy(b) cells and showed an increased ability of naturally occurring or artificially induced antibodies to block binding of PvDBP to their surface. Individuals with the Fy(a+b-) phenotype demonstrated a 30-80% reduced risk of clinical vivax, but not falciparum malaria in a prospective cohort study in the Brazilian Amazon. The Fy(a+b-) phenotype, predominant in Southeast Asian and many American populations, would confer a selective advantage against vivax malaria. Our results also suggest that efficacy of a PvDBP-based vaccine may differ among populations with different Fy phenotypes.

Susceptibility of cat and squirrel monkey to motion sickness induced by visual stimulation: Correlation with susceptibility to vestibular stimulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daunton, N. G.; Fox, R. A.; Crampton, G. H.

1984-01-01

Experiments in which the susceptibility of both cats and squirrel monkeys to motion sickness induced by visual stimulation are documented. In addition, it is shown that in both species those individual subjects most highly susceptible to sickness induced by passive motion are also those most likely to become motion sick from visual (optokinetic) stimulation alone.

Dopamine Beta Hydroxylase Genotype Identifies Individuals Less Susceptible to Bias in Computer-Assisted Decision Making

PubMed Central

Parasuraman, Raja; de Visser, Ewart; Lin, Ming-Kuan; Greenwood, Pamela M.

2012-01-01

Computerized aiding systems can assist human decision makers in complex tasks but can impair performance when they provide incorrect advice that humans erroneously follow, a phenomenon known as “automation bias.” The extent to which people exhibit automation bias varies significantly and may reflect inter-individual variation in the capacity of working memory and the efficiency of executive function, both of which are highly heritable and under dopaminergic and noradrenergic control in prefrontal cortex. The dopamine beta hydroxylase (DBH) gene is thought to regulate the differential availability of dopamine and norepinephrine in prefrontal cortex. We therefore examined decision-making performance under imperfect computer aiding in 100 participants performing a simulated command and control task. Based on two single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) of the DBH gene, −1041 C/T (rs1611115) and 444 G/A (rs1108580), participants were divided into groups of low and high DBH enzyme activity, where low enzyme activity is associated with greater dopamine relative to norepinephrine levels in cortex. Compared to those in the high DBH enzyme activity group, individuals in the low DBH enzyme activity group were more accurate and speedier in their decisions when incorrect advice was given and verified automation recommendations more frequently. These results indicate that a gene that regulates relative prefrontal cortex dopamine availability, DBH, can identify those individuals who are less susceptible to bias in using computerized decision-aiding systems. PMID:22761865

An in vitro study of antifungal drug susceptibility of Candida species isolated from human immunodeficiency virus seropositive and human immunodeficiency virus seronegative individuals in Lucknow population Uttar Pradesh.

PubMed

Dar, Mohammad Shafi; Sreedar, Gadiputi; Shukla, Abhilasha; Gupta, Prashant; Rehan, Ahmad Danish; George, Jiji

2015-01-01

Candidiasis is the most common opportunistic infection in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive patients, starting from asymptomatic colonization to pathogenic forms and gradual colonization of non-albicans in patients with advanced immunosuppression leads to resistance for azole group of antifungal drugs with high rate of morbidity and mortality. To isolate the Candida species and determine of antifungal drug susceptibility against fluconazole, itraconazole, nystatin, amphotericin B, and clotrimazolein HIV seropositive and control individuals, with or without clinical oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC). Includes samples from faucial region of 70 subjects with and without clinical candidiasis in HIV seropositive and controls were aseptically inoculated onto Sabaraud's Dextrose Agar media and yeasts were identified for the specific species by Corn Meal Agar, sugar fermentation and heat tolerance tests. Antifungal drug susceptibility of the isolated species was done against above-mentioned drugs by E-test and disc diffusion method. The commonly isolated species in HIV seropositive and controls were Candida albicans, Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis Candida guilliermondii and Candida dubliniensis isolated only in HIV seropositive patients. Susceptibility against selected antifungal drugs was observed more in HIV-negative individuals whereas susceptible dose-dependent and resistance were predominant in HIV-positive patients. Resistance is the major problem in the therapy of OPC, especially in HIV seropositive patients due to aggressive and prolonged use of antifungal agents, therefore, our study emphasizes the need for antifungal drug susceptibility testing whenever antifungal treatment is desired, especially in HIV-infected subjects.

Molecular characterization of a long range haplotype affecting protein yield and mastitis susceptibility in Norwegian Red cattle.

PubMed

Sodeland, Marte; Grove, Harald; Kent, Matthew; Taylor, Simon; Svendsen, Morten; Hayes, Ben J; Lien, Sigbjørn

2011-08-11

Previous fine mapping studies in Norwegian Red cattle (NRC) in the region 86-90.4 Mb on Bos taurus chromosome 6 (BTA6) has revealed a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for protein yield (PY) around 88 Mb and a QTL for clinical mastitis (CM) around 90 Mb. The close proximity of these QTLs may partly explain the unfavorable genetic correlation between these two traits in NRC. A long range haplotype covering this region was introduced into the NRC population through the importation of a Holstein-Friesian bull (1606 Frasse) from Sweden in the 1970s. It has been suggested that this haplotype has a favorable effect on milk protein content but an unfavorable effect on mastitis susceptibility. Selective breeding for milk production traits is likely to have increased the frequency of this haplotype in the NRC population. Association mapping for PY and CM in NRC was performed using genotypes from 556 SNPs throughout the region 86-97 Mb on BTA6 and daughter-yield-deviations (DYDs) from 2601 bulls made available from the Norwegian dairy herd recording system. Highest test scores for PY were found for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within and surrounding the genes CSN2 and CSN1S2, coding for the β-casein and α(S2)-casein proteins. High coverage re-sequencing by high throughput sequencing technology enabled molecular characterization of a long range haplotype from 1606 Frasse encompassing these two genes. Haplotype analysis of a large number of descendants from this bull indicated that the haplotype was not markedly disrupted by recombination in this region. The haplotype was associated with both increased milk protein content and increased susceptibility to mastitis, which might explain parts of the observed genetic correlation between PY and CM in NRC. Plausible causal polymorphisms affecting PY were detected in the promoter region and in the 5'-flanking UTR of CSN1S2. These polymorphisms could affect transcription or translation of CSN1S2 and thereby affect the amount

CACNA1C risk variant affects facial emotion recognition in healthy individuals.

PubMed

Nieratschker, Vanessa; Brückmann, Christof; Plewnia, Christian

2015-11-27

Recognition and correct interpretation of facial emotion is essential for social interaction and communication. Previous studies have shown that impairments in this cognitive domain are common features of several psychiatric disorders. Recent association studies identified CACNA1C as one of the most promising genetic risk factors for psychiatric disorders and previous evidence suggests that the most replicated risk variant in CACNA1C (rs1006737) is affecting emotion recognition and processing. However, studies investigating the influence of rs1006737 on this intermediate phenotype in healthy subjects at the behavioral level are largely missing to date. Here, we applied the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" test, a facial emotion recognition paradigm in a cohort of 92 healthy individuals to address this question. Whereas accuracy was not affected by genotype, CACNA1C rs1006737 risk-allele carries (AA/AG) showed significantly slower mean response times compared to individuals homozygous for the G-allele, indicating that healthy risk-allele carriers require more information to correctly identify a facial emotion. Our study is the first to provide evidence for an impairing behavioral effect of the CACNA1C risk variant rs1006737 on facial emotion recognition in healthy individuals and adds to the growing number of studies pointing towards CACNA1C as affecting intermediate phenotypes of psychiatric disorders.

Albumin as marker for susceptibility to metal ions in metal-on-metal hip prosthesis patients.

PubMed

Facchin, F; Catalani, S; Bianconi, E; Pasquale, D De; Stea, S; Toni, A; Canaider, S; Beraudi, A

2017-04-01

Metal-on-metal (MoM) hip prostheses are known to release chromium and cobalt (Co), which negatively affect the health status, leading to prosthesis explant. Albumin (ALB) is the main serum protein-binding divalent transition metals. Its binding capacity can be affected by gene mutations or modification of the protein N-terminal region, giving the ischaemia-modified albumin (IMA). This study evaluated ALB, at gene and protein level, as marker of individual susceptibility to Co in MoM patients, to understand whether it could be responsible for the different management of this ion. Co was measured in whole blood, serum and urine of 40 MoM patients. A mutational screening of ALB was performed to detect links between mutations and metal binding. Finally, serum concentration of total ALB and IMA were measured. Serum total ALB concentration was in the normal range for all patients. None of the subjects presented mutations in the investigated gene. Whole blood, serum and urine Co did not correlate with serum total ALB or IMA, although IMA was above the normal limit in most subjects. The individual susceptibility is very important for patients' health status. Despite the limited results of this study, we provide indications on possible future investigations on the toxicological response to Co.

Susceptibility Tensor Imaging (STI) of the Brain

PubMed Central

Li, Wei; Liu, Chunlei; Duong, Timothy Q.; van Zijl, Peter C.M.; Li, Xu

2016-01-01

Susceptibility tensor imaging (STI) is a recently developed MRI technique that allows quantitative determination of orientation-independent magnetic susceptibility parameters from the dependence of gradient echo signal phase on the orientation of biological tissues with respect to the main magnetic field. By modeling the magnetic susceptibility of each voxel as a symmetric rank-2 tensor, individual magnetic susceptibility tensor elements as well as the mean magnetic susceptibility (MMS) and magnetic susceptibility anisotropy (MSA) can be determined for brain tissues that would still show orientation dependence after conventional scalar-based quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) to remove such dependence. Similar to diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), STI allows mapping of brain white matter fiber orientations and reconstruction of 3D white matter pathways using the principal eigenvectors of the susceptibility tensor. In contrast to diffusion anisotropy, the main determinant factor of susceptibility anisotropy in brain white matter is myelin. Another unique feature of susceptibility anisotropy of white matter is its sensitivity to gadolinium-based contrast agents. Mechanistically, MRI-observed susceptibility anisotropy is mainly attributed to the highly ordered lipid molecules in myelin sheath. STI provides a consistent interpretation of the dependence of phase and susceptibility on orientation at multiple scales. This article reviews the key experimental findings and physical theories that led to the development of STI, its practical implementations, and its applications for brain research. PMID:27120169

Risk of Human Papillomavirus Infection in Cancer-Prone Individuals: What We Know

PubMed Central

Khoury, Ruby; Sauter, Sharon; Butsch Kovacic, Melinda; Nelson, Adam S.; Myers, Kasiani C.; Mehta, Parinda A.; Davies, Stella M.; Wells, Susanne I.

2018-01-01

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections cause a significant proportion of cancers worldwide, predominantly squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the mucosas and skin. High-risk HPV types are associated with SCCs of the anogenital and oropharyngeal tract. HPV oncogene activities and the biology of SCCs have been intensely studied in laboratory models and humans. What remains largely unknown are host tissue and immune-related factors that determine an individual’s susceptibility to infection and/or carcinogenesis. Such susceptibility factors could serve to identify those at greatest risk and spark individually tailored HPV and SCC prevention efforts. Fanconi anemia (FA) is an inherited DNA repair disorder that is in part characterized by extreme susceptibility to SCCs. An increased prevalence of HPV has been reported in affected individuals, and molecular and functional connections between FA, SCC, and HPV were established in laboratory models. However, the presence of HPV in some human FA tumors is controversial, and the extent of the etiological connections remains to be established. Herein, we discuss cellular, immunological, and phenotypic features of FA, placed into the context of HPV pathogenesis. The goal is to highlight this orphan disease as a unique model system to uncover host genetic and molecular HPV features, as well as SCC susceptibility factors. PMID:29361695

The pain persists: how social exclusion affects individuals with schizophrenia.

PubMed

Perry, Yael; Henry, Julie D; Sethi, Nisha; Grisham, Jessica R

2011-11-01

OBJECTIVES. Evidence suggests that ostracism exerts an immediate and painful threat to an individual's primary needs for belonging, meaningful existence, control, and self-esteem. Individuals with schizophrenia are particularly likely to experience the effects of ostracism, being amongst the most stigmatized of all the mental illnesses. The aims of the present study were therefore to assess the immediate and delayed effects of ostracism in these individuals, and to explore associations between any observed effects and indices of negative affect and clinical symptoms. METHODS. Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and non-clinical controls engaged in a virtual ball-toss game with two fictitious others. All participants played the game on two separate occasions, participating in both an inclusion and an ostracism condition. Measures of primary needs were obtained after each game. RESULTS. Findings suggest that the negative impact of social exclusion lasts longer in individuals with schizophrenia, compared with non-clinical controls. Further, clinical participants who reported lower primary needs after a delay were more likely to exhibit higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. CONCLUSIONS. Future studies should examine the use of regulatory strategies and personal responses to stigma as potential mediators in the maintenance of the negative effects of social exclusion. These lines of research may offer insight into interventions that may assist individuals to better cope with this experience. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

Emotion, working memory task demands and individual differences predict behavior, cognitive effort and negative affect.

PubMed

Storbeck, Justin; Davidson, Nicole A; Dahl, Chelsea F; Blass, Sara; Yung, Edwin

2015-01-01

We examined whether positive and negative affect motivates verbal and spatial working memory processes, respectively, which have implications for the expenditure of mental effort. We argue that when emotion promotes cognitive tendencies that are goal incompatible with task demands, greater cognitive effort is required to perform well. We sought to investigate whether this increase in cognitive effort impairs behavioural control over a broad domain of self-control tasks. Moreover, we predicted that individuals with higher behavioural inhibition system (BIS) sensitivities would report more negative affect within the goal incompatible conditions because such individuals report higher negative affect during cognitive challenge. Positive or negative affective states were induced followed by completing a verbal or spatial 2-back working memory task. All participants then completed one of three self-control tasks. Overall, we observed that conditions of emotion and working memory incompatibility (positive/spatial and negative/verbal) performed worse on the self-control tasks, and within the incompatible conditions individuals with higher BIS sensitivities reported more negative affect at the end of the study. The combination of findings suggests that emotion and working memory compatibility reduces cognitive effort and impairs behavioural control.

[Knowledge of family members on the rights of individuals affected by mental illness].

PubMed

Moreno, Vania; Barbosa, Guilherme Correa

2015-03-01

The objective of this investigation was to understand what family members know about the rights of individuals affected by mental illness. To this end, a qualitative exploratory study was conducted. A semi-structured interview was used for data collection. Eighteen family members were interviewed at a psychosocial care center (CAPS) and a civil society organization (CSO) located in a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, between March and September 2013. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis and the following categories were constructed: mental health services and the rights of individuals affected by mental illness. We were able to infer that in addition to drug-based therapy, mental health services must provide therapeutic activities. Family members of those affected by mental illness were unaware of the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform Law and mentioned the following rights: welfare benefits, free public transport, basic food basket and medications.

Human susceptibility to legionnaires' disease.

PubMed

Berrington, William R; Hawn, Thomas R

2013-01-01

Legionella pneumophila is a facultative intracellular pathogen that is an important cause of pneumonia. Although host factors that may predispose to acquisition of Legionnaire's Disease (LD) include comorbid illnesses (e.g., diabetes, chronic lung disease), age, male sex, and smoking, many individuals have no identifiable risk factors. Some studies suggest that genetic factors may enhance susceptibility to LD. In this chapter we discuss current techniques and scientific methods to identify genetic susceptibility factors. These genetic studies provide insight into the human immune response to intracellular pathogens and may improve strategies for treatment and vaccine development.

Physical exercise counteracts genetic susceptibility to depression.

PubMed

Haslacher, Helmuth; Michlmayr, Matthias; Batmyagmar, Delgerdalai; Perkmann, Thomas; Ponocny-Seliger, Elisabeth; Scheichenberger, Vanessa; Pilger, Alexander; Dal-Bianco, Peter; Lehrner, Johann; Pezawas, Lukas; Wagner, Oswald; Winker, Robert

2015-01-01

Depression is a highly prevalent disorder in elderly individuals. A genetic variant (rs6265) of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) impacting on emotion processing is known to increase the risk for depression. We aim to investigate whether intensive endurance sports might attenuate this genetic susceptibility in a cohort of elderly marathon athletes. Fifty-five athletes and 58 controls were included. rs6265 of the BDNF gene was genotyped by the TaqMan method. Depressive symptoms were assessed by standardized self-rating tests (BDI = Beck Depression Inventory, GDS = Geriatric Depression Scale). In multivariable analysis of BDI and GDS scores, the interaction between group (athletes vs. controls) and genotypes ([C];[C] vs. [C];[T] + [T];[T]) was found to be statistically significant (BDI: p = 0.027, GDS: p = 0.013). Among [C];[C] carriers, merely controls had an increased relative risk of 3.537 (95% CI = 1.276-9.802) of achieving a subclinical depression score ≥10 on the BDI. There was no such effect in carriers of the [T] allele. In a multivariable binary logistic regression, genetic information, group (athletes/controls), but no information on rs6265 allele carrier status presented as a significant predictor of BDI scores ≥10. Physical exercise positively affects BDNF effects on mood. Since 66Met BDNF secretion is impaired, this effect seems to be much stronger in [C];[C] homozygous individuals expressing the 66Val variant. This confirms that genetic susceptibility to depressive symptoms can indeed be influenced by endurance sports in elderly people. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Innate immunity and genetic determinants of urinary tract infection susceptibility

PubMed Central

Godaly, Gabriela; Ambite, Ines; Svanborg, Catharina

2015-01-01

Purpose of review Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common, dangerous and interesting. Susceptible individuals experience multiple, often clustered episodes, and in a subset of patients, infections progress to acute pyelonephritis (APN), sometimes accompanied by uro-sepsis. Others develop asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU). Here, we review the molecular basis for these differences, with the intention to distinguish exaggerated host responses that drive disease from attenuated responses that favour protection and to highlight the genetic basis for these extremes, based on knock-out mice and clinical studies. Recent findings The susceptibility to UTI is controlled by specific innate immune signalling and by promoter polymorphisms and transcription factors that modulate the expression of genes controlling these pathways. Gene deletions that disturb innate immune activation either favour asymptomatic bacteriuria or create acute morbidity and disease. Promoter polymorphisms and transcription factor variants affecting those genes are associated with susceptibility in UTI-prone patients. Summary It is time to start using genetics in UTI-prone patients, to improve diagnosis and to assess the risk for chronic sequels such as renal malfunction, hypertension, spontaneous abortions, dialysis and transplantation. Furthermore, the majority of UTI patients do not need follow-up, but for lack of molecular markers, they are unnecessarily investigated. PMID:25539411

Rock magnetic and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility(AMS) of earthquake affected soft sediments: Examples from Shillong and Latur (Deccan Trap), India.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lakshmi, B. V., ,, Dr.; Gawali, Mr. Praveen B.; Deenadayalan, K., ,, Dr.; Ramesh, D. S., ,, Prof.

2017-04-01

Rock magnetic and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) of earthquake affected soft sediments: Examples from Shillong and Latur (Deccan Trap), India. B.V.Lakshmi, Praveen B.Gawali, K.Deenadayalan and D.S.Ramesh Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, plot 5, sector 18, Near Kalamboli Highway, New Panvel(W), Navi Mumbai 410218 Combined rock magnetism and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) studies on earthquake induced soft and non-soft sediments from Shillong and Latur, India have thrown up interesting results. The morphology of hysteresis loops, the pattern of isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) acquisition, and temperature dependence of susceptibility indicate that titano-magnetite/magnetite is the main magnetic carrier in these sediments. We also analyzed the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) of liquefaction features within the seismically active Dauki fault, Shillong Plateau. We discovered that host sediments (non-liquefied), are characterized by an oblate AMS ellipsoid and liquefied sediment are characterized by a triaxial AMS ellipsoid, well grouped maximum susceptibility axis K1 (NNW-SSE trend). Field evidence and AMS analysis indicate that most of these features were emplaced by injection inferred to be due to seismically triggered fluidization. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) of deformed and undeformed unconsolidated clay samples of Deccan Trap terrain from the 2000-year-old paleoearthquake site of Ther village, Maharashtra, India, was also studied. Such deposits are rare in the compact basaltic terrain because of which the results acquired are very important. The undeformed clay samples exhibit typical sedimentary fabric with an oblate AMS ellipsoid, whereas the deformed samples are tightly grouped in the inferred compression direction, probably effected by an earthquake, exhibiting prolate as well as oblate AMS ellipsoids. Rock magnetic and AMS methodology can help understand the behavior of different sediments to the

Relationship between touch sensation of the affected hand and performance of valued activities in individuals with chronic stroke.

PubMed

Hill, Valerie A; Fisher, Thomas; Schmid, Arlene A; Crabtree, Jeffrey; Page, Stephen J

2014-01-01

To investigate the association between touch sensation of the affected hand and performance and satisfaction with performance of valued activities in individuals with chronic stroke. Using a cross-sectional study design, this study correlated factors related to hand sensation and activity performance in individuals with chronic stroke. The Touch Test Evaluators and Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) were used. Correlations were used to determine the relationships between touch sensation of the affected hand and individuals' performance and satisfaction with performance of valued activities. There was a good to excellent relationship between sensation and performance and satisfaction with performance of valued activities for individuals with intact touch sensation of the affected hand who scored higher on the COPM. There was little to no relationship between touch sensation of the affected hand and performance of valued activities for individuals with impaired sensation. This is the first study to relate touch sensation of the affected hand and performance and satisfaction with performance of valued activities in individuals with stroke. The findings suggest that rehabilitation therapists need to continue to address sensory function in evaluation and intervention as it relates to performance in valued activities. This study serves as a foundation for future research in sensation and performance of valued activities in individuals with chronic stroke.

Genetic variability in the tumor necrosis factor-lymphotoxin region influences susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis

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

Mulcahy, B.; Waldron-Lynch, F.; Adams, C.

The major histocompatibility complex class H1 tumor necrosis factor-tymphotoxin (TNF-LT) region (6p21.3) was investigated as a possible susceptibility locus for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Inheritance of five TNF microsatellite markers was determined in 50 multiplex families. Overall, 47 different haplotypes were observed. One of these, the TNF a6, b5, c1, d3, e3 (H1) haplotype, was present in 35.3% of affected, but in only 20.5% of unaffected, individuals (P < .005). This haplotype accounted for 21.5% of the parental haplotypes transmitted to affected offspring and only 7.3 % not transmitted to affected offspring (P = .0003). The TNF a6 and TNF c1more » alleles were individually associated with RA (P = .0005 and .0008, respectively), as were the HLA-DRB1 {open_quotes}shared epitope{close_quotes} (SE) (P = .0001) and HLA-DRB1*0401 (P = .0018). Both univariate and bivariate conditional logistic regression analysis showed significant effects of TNF c1 and SE in increasing risk to RA (P < .001). Stratification by the presence of SE indicated an independent effect of the TNFc1 allele (P = .0003) and the HLA A1, BS, DR3 extended haplotype (always TNFa2, b3, c1, d1, e3) (P = .0027) in SE heterozygotes, while the H1 haplotype was associated with RA in SE homozygotes (P = .0018). The TNF-LT region appears to influence susceptibility to RA, distinct from HLA-DR. 50 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab.« less

Individual differences in effects of child care quality: The role of child affective self-regulation and gender.

PubMed

Broekhuizen, Martine L; Aken, Marcel A G van; Dubas, Judith S; Mulder, Hanna; Leseman, Paul P M

2015-08-01

The current study investigated whether the relation between child care quality and children's socio-emotional behavior depended on children's affective self-regulation skills and gender. Participants were 545 children (Mage=27 months) from 60 center-based child care centers in the Netherlands. Multi-level analyses showed that children with low affective self-regulation skills or who were male demonstrated less teacher-rated social competence when exposed to relatively low quality child care. In addition, children with low affective self-regulation skills also showed more social competence in the case of relatively high quality child care, suggesting mechanisms of differential susceptibility. No main effects of child care quality or interactions were found for teacher- and parent-rated externalizing behavior. These findings emphasize the importance of considering children's affective self-regulation skills and gender in understanding the effects of child care quality. High quality child care can be a means to strengthen children's social development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identifying new susceptibility genes on dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways for the framing effect in decision-making.

PubMed

Gao, Xiaoxue; Liu, Jinting; Gong, Pingyuan; Wang, Junhui; Fang, Wan; Yan, Hongming; Zhu, Lusha; Zhou, Xiaolin

2017-09-01

The framing effect refers the tendency to be risk-averse when options are presented positively but be risk-seeking when the same options are presented negatively during decision-making. This effect has been found to be modulated by the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) and the catechol-o-methyltransferase gene (COMT) polymorphisms, which are on the dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways and which are associated with affective processing. The current study aimed to identify new genetic variations of genes on dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways that may contribute to individual differences in the susceptibility to framing. Using genome-wide association data and the gene-based principal components regression method, we examined genetic variations of 26 genes on the pathways in 1317 Chinese Han participants. Consistent with previous studies, we found that the genetic variations of the SLC6A4 gene and the COMT gene were associated with the framing effect. More importantly, we demonstrated that the genetic variations of the aromatic-L-amino-acid decarboxylase (DDC) gene, which is involved in the synthesis of both dopamine and serotonin, contributed to individual differences in the susceptibility to framing. Our findings shed light on the understanding of the genetic basis of affective decision-making. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

Identifying new susceptibility genes on dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways for the framing effect in decision-making

PubMed Central

Gao, Xiaoxue; Liu, Jinting; Gong, Pingyuan; Wang, Junhui; Fang, Wan; Yan, Hongming; Zhu, Lusha

2017-01-01

Abstract The framing effect refers the tendency to be risk-averse when options are presented positively but be risk-seeking when the same options are presented negatively during decision-making. This effect has been found to be modulated by the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) and the catechol-o-methyltransferase gene (COMT) polymorphisms, which are on the dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways and which are associated with affective processing. The current study aimed to identify new genetic variations of genes on dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways that may contribute to individual differences in the susceptibility to framing. Using genome-wide association data and the gene-based principal components regression method, we examined genetic variations of 26 genes on the pathways in 1317 Chinese Han participants. Consistent with previous studies, we found that the genetic variations of the SLC6A4 gene and the COMT gene were associated with the framing effect. More importantly, we demonstrated that the genetic variations of the aromatic-L-amino-acid decarboxylase (DDC) gene, which is involved in the synthesis of both dopamine and serotonin, contributed to individual differences in the susceptibility to framing. Our findings shed light on the understanding of the genetic basis of affective decision-making. PMID:28431168

Inherited variants affecting RNA editing may contribute to ovarian cancer susceptibility: results from a large-scale collaboration.

PubMed

Permuth, Jennifer B; Reid, Brett; Earp, Madalene; Chen, Y Ann; Monteiro, Alvaro N A; Chen, Zhihua; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Fasching, Peter A; Beckmann, Matthias W; Lambrechts, Diether; Vanderstichele, Adriaan; Van Niewenhuyse, Els; Vergote, Ignace; Rossing, Mary Anne; Doherty, Jennifer Anne; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Moysich, Kirsten; Odunsi, Kunle; Goodman, Marc T; Shvetsov, Yurii B; Wilkens, Lynne R; Thompson, Pamela J; Dörk, Thilo; Bogdanova, Natalia; Butzow, Ralf; Nevanlinna, Heli; Pelttari, Liisa; Leminen, Arto; Modugno, Francesmary; Edwards, Robert P; Ness, Roberta B; Kelley, Joseph; Heitz, Florian; Karlan, Beth; Lester, Jenny; Kjaer, Susanne K; Jensen, Allan; Giles, Graham; Hildebrandt, Michelle; Liang, Dong; Lu, Karen H; Wu, Xifeng; Levine, Douglas A; Bisogna, Maria; Berchuck, Andrew; Cramer, Daniel W; Terry, Kathryn L; Tworoger, Shelley S; Poole, Elizabeth M; Bandera, Elisa V; Fridley, Brooke; Cunningham, Julie; Winham, Stacey J; Olson, Sara H; Orlow, Irene; Bjorge, Line; Kiemeney, Lambertus A; Massuger, Leon; Pejovic, Tanja; Moffitt, Melissa; Le, Nhu; Cook, Linda S; Brooks-Wilson, Angela; Kelemen, Linda E; Gronwald, Jacek; Lubinski, Jan; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Brinton, Louise A; Lissowska, Jolanta; Yang, Hanna; Hogdall, Estrid; Hogdall, Claus; Lundvall, Lene; Pharoah, Paul D P; Song, Honglin; Campbell, Ian; Eccles, Diana; McNeish, Iain; Whittemore, Alice; McGuire, Valerie; Sieh, Weiva; Rothstein, Joseph; Phelan, Catherine M; Risch, Harvey; Narod, Steven; McLaughlin, John; Anton-Culver, Hoda; Ziogas, Argyrios; Menon, Usha; Gayther, Simon; Ramus, Susan J; Gentry-Maharaj, Aleksandra; Pearce, Celeste Leigh; Wu, Anna H; Kupryjanczyk, Jolanta; Dansonka-Mieszkowska, Agnieszka; Schildkraut, Joellen M; Cheng, Jin Q; Goode, Ellen L; Sellers, Thomas A

2016-11-08

RNA editing in mammals is a form of post-transcriptional modification in which adenosine is converted to inosine by the adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADAR) family of enzymes. Based on evidence of altered ADAR expression in epithelial ovarian cancers (EOC), we hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ADAR genes modify EOC susceptibility, potentially by altering ovarian tissue gene expression. Using directly genotyped and imputed data from 10,891 invasive EOC cases and 21,693 controls, we evaluated the associations of 5,303 SNPs in ADAD1, ADAR, ADAR2, ADAR3, and SND1. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), with adjustment for European ancestry. We conducted gene-level analyses using the Admixture Maximum Likelihood (AML) test and the Sequence-Kernel Association test for common and rare variants (SKAT-CR). Association analysis revealed top risk-associated SNP rs77027562 (OR (95% CI)= 1.39 (1.17-1.64), P=1.0x10-4) in ADAR3 and rs185455523 in SND1 (OR (95% CI)= 0.68 (0.56-0.83), P=2.0x10-4). When restricting to serous histology (n=6,500), the magnitude of association strengthened for rs185455523 (OR=0.60, P=1.0x10-4). Gene-level analyses revealed that variation in ADAR was associated (P<0.05) with EOC susceptibility, with PAML=0.022 and PSKAT-CR=0.020. Expression quantitative trait locus analysis in EOC tissue revealed significant associations (P<0.05) with ADAR expression for several SNPs in ADAR, including rs1127313 (G/A), a SNP in the 3' untranslated region. In summary, germline variation involving RNA editing genes may influence EOC susceptibility, warranting further investigation of inherited and acquired alterations affecting RNA editing.

Inherited variants affecting RNA editing may contribute to ovarian cancer susceptibility: results from a large-scale collaboration

PubMed Central

Permuth, Jennifer B.; Reid, Brett; Earp, Madalene; Chen, Y. Ann; Monteiro, Alvaro N.A.; Chen, Zhihua; Group, AOCS Study; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Fasching, Peter A.; Beckmann, Matthias W.; Lambrechts, Diether; Vanderstichele, Adriaan; Niewenhuyse, Els Van; Vergote, Ignace; Rossing, Mary Anne; Doherty, Jennifer Anne; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Moysich, Kirsten; Odunsi, Kunle; Goodman, Marc T.; Shvetsov, Yurii B.; Wilkens, Lynne R.; Thompson, Pamela J.; Dörk, Thilo; Bogdanova, Natalia; Butzow, Ralf; Nevanlinna, Heli; Pelttari, Liisa; Leminen, Arto; Modugno, Francesmary; Edwards, Robert P.; Ness, Roberta B.; Kelley, Joseph; Heitz, Florian; Karlan, Beth; Lester, Jenny; Kjaer, Susanne K.; Jensen, Allan; Giles, Graham; Hildebrandt, Michelle; Liang, Dong; Lu, Karen H.; Wu, Xifeng; Levine, Douglas A.; Bisogna, Maria; Berchuck, Andrew; Cramer, Daniel W.; Terry, Kathryn L.; Tworoger, Shelley S.; Poole, Elizabeth M.; Bandera, Elisa V.; Fridley, Brooke; Cunningham, Julie; Winham, Stacey J.; Olson, Sara H.; Orlow, Irene; Bjorge, Line; Kiemeney, Lambertus A.; Massuger, Leon; Pejovic, Tanja; Moffitt, Melissa; Le, Nhu; Cook, Linda S.; Brooks-Wilson, Angela; Kelemen, Linda E.; Gronwald, Jacek; Lubinski, Jan; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Brinton, Louise A.; Lissowska, Jolanta; Yang, Hanna; Hogdall, Estrid; Hogdall, Claus; Lundvall, Lene; Pharoah, Paul D.P.; Song, Honglin; Campbell, Ian; Eccles, Diana; McNeish, Iain; Whittemore, Alice; McGuire, Valerie; Sieh, Weiva; Rothstein, Joseph; Phelan, Catherine M.; Risch, Harvey; Narod, Steven; McLaughlin, John; Anton-Culver, Hoda; Ziogas, Argyrios; Menon, Usha; Gayther, Simon; Ramus, Susan J.; Gentry-Maharaj, Aleksandra; Pearce, Celeste Leigh; Wu, Anna H.; Kupryjanczyk, Jolanta; Dansonka-Mieszkowska, Agnieszka; Schildkraut, Joellen M.; Cheng, Jin Q.; Goode, Ellen L.; Sellers, Thomas A.

2016-01-01

RNA editing in mammals is a form of post-transcriptional modification in which adenosine is converted to inosine by the adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADAR) family of enzymes. Based on evidence of altered ADAR expression in epithelial ovarian cancers (EOC), we hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ADAR genes modify EOC susceptibility, potentially by altering ovarian tissue gene expression. Using directly genotyped and imputed data from 10,891 invasive EOC cases and 21,693 controls, we evaluated the associations of 5,303 SNPs in ADAD1, ADAR, ADAR2, ADAR3, and SND1. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), with adjustment for European ancestry. We conducted gene-level analyses using the Admixture Maximum Likelihood (AML) test and the Sequence-Kernel Association test for common and rare variants (SKAT-CR). Association analysis revealed top risk-associated SNP rs77027562 (OR (95% CI)= 1.39 (1.17-1.64), P=1.0×10−4) in ADAR3 and rs185455523 in SND1 (OR (95% CI)= 0.68 (0.56-0.83), P=2.0×10−4). When restricting to serous histology (n=6,500), the magnitude of association strengthened for rs185455523 (OR=0.60, P=1.0×10−4). Gene-level analyses revealed that variation in ADAR was associated (P<0.05) with EOC susceptibility, with PAML=0.022 and PSKAT-CR=0.020. Expression quantitative trait locus analysis in EOC tissue revealed significant associations (P<0.05) with ADAR expression for several SNPs in ADAR, including rs1127313 (G/A), a SNP in the 3′ untranslated region. In summary, germline variation involving RNA editing genes may influence EOC susceptibility, warranting further investigation of inherited and acquired alterations affecting RNA editing. PMID:27911851

Genetic Based Plant Resistance and Susceptibility Traits to Herbivory Influence Needle and Root Litter Nutrient Dynamics

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

Classen, Aimee T; Chapman, Samantha K.; Whitham, Thomas G

2007-01-01

It is generally assumed that leaf and root litter decomposition have similar drivers and that nutrient release from these substrates is synchronized. Few studies have examined these assumptions, and none has examined how plant genetics (i.e., plant susceptibility to herbivory) could affect these relationships. Here we examine the effects of herbivore susceptibility and resistance on needle and fine root litter decomposition of pi on pine, Pinus edulis. The study population consists of individual trees that are either susceptible or resistant to herbivory by the pi on needle scale, Matsucoccus acalyptus, or the stem-boring moth, Dioryctria albovittella. Genetic analyses and experimentalmore » removals and additions of these insects have identified trees that are naturally resistant and susceptible to these insects. These herbivores increase the chemical quality of litter inputs and alter soil microclimate, both of which are important decomposition drivers. Our research leads to four major conclusions: Herbivore susceptibility and resistance effects on 1) needle litter mass loss and phosphorus (P) retention in moth susceptible and resistant litter are governed by microclimate, 2) root litter nitrogen (N) and P retention, and needle litter N retention are governed by litter chemical quality, 3) net nutrient release from litter can reverse over time, 4) root and needle litter mass loss and nutrient release are determined by location (above- vs. belowground), suggesting that the regulators of needle and root decomposition differ at the local scale. Understanding of decomposition and nutrient retention in ecosystems requires consideration of herbivore effects on above- and belowground processes and how these effects may be governed by plant genotype. Because an underlying genetic component to herbivory is common to most ecosystems of the world and herbivory may increase in climatic change scenarios, it is important to evaluate the role of plant genetics in affecting

Meta-analysis of 74,046 individuals identifies 11 new susceptibility loci for Alzheimer’s disease

PubMed Central

Lambert, Jean-Charles; Ibrahim-Verbaas, Carla A; Harold, Denise; Naj, Adam C; Sims, Rebecca; Bellenguez, Céline; Jun, Gyungah; DeStefano, Anita L; Bis, Joshua C; Beecham, Gary W; Grenier-Boley, Benjamin; Russo, Giancarlo; Thornton-Wells, Tricia A; Jones, Nicola; Smith, Albert V; Chouraki, Vincent; Thomas, Charlene; Ikram, M Arfan; Zelenika, Diana; Vardarajan, Badri N; Kamatani, Yoichiro; Lin, Chiao-Feng; Gerrish, Amy; Schmidt, Helena; Kunkle, Brian; Dunstan, Melanie L; Ruiz, Agustin; Bihoreau, Marie-Thérèse; Choi, Seung-Hoan; Reitz, Christiane; Pasquier, Florence; Hollingworth, Paul; Ramirez, Alfredo; Hanon, Olivier; Fitzpatrick, Annette L; Buxbaum, Joseph D; Campion, Dominique; Crane, Paul K; Baldwin, Clinton; Becker, Tim; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Cruchaga, Carlos; Craig, David; Amin, Najaf; Berr, Claudine; Lopez, Oscar L; De Jager, Philip L; Deramecourt, Vincent; Johnston, Janet A; Evans, Denis; Lovestone, Simon; Letenneur, Luc; Morón, Francisco J; Rubinsztein, David C; Eiriksdottir, Gudny; Sleegers, Kristel; Goate, Alison M; Fiévet, Nathalie; Huentelman, Matthew J; Gill, Michael; Brown, Kristelle; Kamboh, M Ilyas; Keller, Lina; Barberger-Gateau, Pascale; McGuinness, Bernadette; Larson, Eric B; Green, Robert; Myers, Amanda J; Dufouil, Carole; Todd, Stephen; Wallon, David; Love, Seth; Rogaeva, Ekaterina; Gallacher, John; St George-Hyslop, Peter; Clarimon, Jordi; Lleo, Alberto; Bayer, Anthony; Tsuang, Debby W; Yu, Lei; Tsolaki, Magda; Bossù, Paola; Spalletta, Gianfranco; Proitsi, Petroula; Collinge, John; Sorbi, Sandro; Sanchez-Garcia, Florentino; Fox, Nick C; Hardy, John; Deniz Naranjo, Maria Candida; Bosco, Paolo; Clarke, Robert; Brayne, Carol; Galimberti, Daniela; Mancuso, Michelangelo; Matthews, Fiona; Moebus, Susanne; Mecocci, Patrizia; Zompo, Maria Del; Maier, Wolfgang; Hampel, Harald; Pilotto, Alberto; Bullido, Maria; Panza, Francesco; Caffarra, Paolo; Nacmias, Benedetta; Gilbert, John R; Mayhaus, Manuel; Lannfelt, Lars; Hakonarson, Hakon; Pichler, Sabrina; Carrasquillo, Minerva M; Ingelsson, Martin; Beekly, Duane; Alvarez, Victoria; Zou, Fanggeng; Valladares, Otto; Younkin, Steven G; Coto, Eliecer; Hamilton-Nelson, Kara L; Gu, Wei; Razquin, Cristina; Pastor, Pau; Mateo, Ignacio; Owen, Michael J; Faber, Kelley M; Jonsson, Palmi V; Combarros, Onofre; O’Donovan, Michael C; Cantwell, Laura B; Soininen, Hilkka; Blacker, Deborah; Mead, Simon; Mosley, Thomas H; Bennett, David A; Harris, Tamara B; Fratiglioni, Laura; Holmes, Clive; de Bruijn, Renee F A G; Passmore, Peter; Montine, Thomas J; Bettens, Karolien; Rotter, Jerome I; Brice, Alexis; Morgan, Kevin; Foroud, Tatiana M; Kukull, Walter A; Hannequin, Didier; Powell, John F; Nalls, Michael A; Ritchie, Karen; Lunetta, Kathryn L; Kauwe, John S K; Boerwinkle, Eric; Riemenschneider, Matthias; Boada, Mercè; Hiltunen, Mikko; Martin, Eden R; Schmidt, Reinhold; Rujescu, Dan; Wang, Li-san; Dartigues, Jean-François; Mayeux, Richard; Tzourio, Christophe; Hofman, Albert; Nöthen, Markus M; Graff, Caroline; Psaty, Bruce M; Jones, Lesley; Haines, Jonathan L; Holmans, Peter A; Lathrop, Mark; Pericak-Vance, Margaret A; Launer, Lenore J; Farrer, Lindsay A; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Van Broeckhoven, Christine; Moskvina, Valentina; Seshadri, Sudha; Williams, Julie; Schellenberg, Gerard D; Amouyel, Philippe

2013-01-01

Eleven susceptibility loci for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) were identified by previous studies; however, a large portion of the genetic risk for this disease remains unexplained. We conducted a large, two-stage meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in individuals of European ancestry. In stage 1, we used genotyped and imputed data (7,055,881 SNPs) to perform meta-analysis on 4 previously published GWAS data sets consisting of 17,008 Alzheimer’s disease cases and 37,154 controls. In stage 2,11,632 SNPs were genotyped and tested for association in an independent set of 8,572 Alzheimer’s disease cases and 11,312 controls. In addition to the APOE locus (encoding apolipoprotein E), 19 loci reached genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10−8) in the combined stage 1 and stage 2 analysis, of which 11 are newly associated with Alzheimer’s disease. PMID:24162737

Gene Expression-Genotype Analysis Implicates GSDMA, GSDMB, and LRRC3C as Contributors to Inflammatory Bowel Disease Susceptibility.

PubMed

Söderman, Jan; Berglind, Linda; Almer, Sven

2015-01-01

To investigate the biological foundation of the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, susceptibility locus rs2872507, we have investigated the expression of 13 genes using ileal and colonic biopsies from patients with IBD (inflamed and noninflamed mucosa) or from individuals without IBD (noninflamed mucosa). The susceptibility allele was consistently associated with reduced expression of GSDMB (P = 4.1 × 10(-3)-7.2 × 10(-10)). The susceptibility allele was also associated with the increased expression of GSDMA (P = 1.6 × 10(-4)) and LRRC3C (P = 7.8 × 10(-6)) in colon tissue from individuals without IBD and with the reduced expression of PGAP3 (IBD; P = 2.0 × 10(-3)) and ZPBP2 (Crohn's disease; P = 7.7 × 10(-4)) in noninflamed ileum. Inflammation resulted in the reduced colonic expression of ERBB2, GRB7, MIEN1, and PGAP3 (P = 1.0 × 10(-4)-1.0 × 10(-9)) and the increased colonic expression of IKZF3 and CSF3 (P = 2.4 × 10(-7)-3.5 × 10(-8)). Based on our results and published findings on GSDMA, GSDMB, LRRC3C, and related proteins, we propose that this locus in part affects IBD susceptibility via effects on apoptosis and cell proliferation and believe this hypothesis warrants further experimental investigation.

Localization of migraine susceptibility genes in human brain by single-cell RNA sequencing.

PubMed

Renthal, William

2018-01-01

Background Migraine is a debilitating disorder characterized by severe headaches and associated neurological symptoms. A key challenge to understanding migraine has been the cellular complexity of the human brain and the multiple cell types implicated in its pathophysiology. The present study leverages recent advances in single-cell transcriptomics to localize the specific human brain cell types in which putative migraine susceptibility genes are expressed. Methods The cell-type specific expression of both familial and common migraine-associated genes was determined bioinformatically using data from 2,039 individual human brain cells across two published single-cell RNA sequencing datasets. Enrichment of migraine-associated genes was determined for each brain cell type. Results Analysis of single-brain cell RNA sequencing data from five major subtypes of cells in the human cortex (neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, microglia, and endothelial cells) indicates that over 40% of known migraine-associated genes are enriched in the expression profiles of a specific brain cell type. Further analysis of neuronal migraine-associated genes demonstrated that approximately 70% were significantly enriched in inhibitory neurons and 30% in excitatory neurons. Conclusions This study takes the next step in understanding the human brain cell types in which putative migraine susceptibility genes are expressed. Both familial and common migraine may arise from dysfunction of discrete cell types within the neurovascular unit, and localization of the affected cell type(s) in an individual patient may provide insight into to their susceptibility to migraine.

Transient emotional events and individual affective traits affect emotion recognition in a perceptual decision-making task.

PubMed

Qiao-Tasserit, Emilie; Garcia Quesada, Maria; Antico, Lia; Bavelier, Daphne; Vuilleumier, Patrik; Pichon, Swann

2017-01-01

Both affective states and personality traits shape how we perceive the social world and interpret emotions. The literature on affective priming has mostly focused on brief influences of emotional stimuli and emotional states on perceptual and cognitive processes. Yet this approach does not fully capture more dynamic processes at the root of emotional states, with such states lingering beyond the duration of the inducing external stimuli. Our goal was to put in perspective three different types of affective states (induced affective states, more sustained mood states and affective traits such as depression and anxiety) and investigate how they may interact and influence emotion perception. Here, we hypothesized that absorption into positive and negative emotional episodes generate sustained affective states that outlast the episode period and bias the interpretation of facial expressions in a perceptual decision-making task. We also investigated how such effects are influenced by more sustained mood states and by individual affect traits (depression and anxiety) and whether they interact. Transient emotional states were induced using movie-clips, after which participants performed a forced-choice emotion classification task with morphed facial expressions ranging from fear to happiness. Using a psychometric approach, we show that negative (vs. neutral) clips increased participants' propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful during several minutes. In contrast, positive movies biased classification toward happiness only for those clips perceived as most absorbing. Negative mood, anxiety and depression had a stronger effect than transient states and increased the propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful. These results provide the first evidence that absorption and different temporal dimensions of emotions have a significant effect on how we perceive facial expressions.

Transient emotional events and individual affective traits affect emotion recognition in a perceptual decision-making task

PubMed Central

Garcia Quesada, Maria; Antico, Lia; Bavelier, Daphne; Vuilleumier, Patrik; Pichon, Swann

2017-01-01

Both affective states and personality traits shape how we perceive the social world and interpret emotions. The literature on affective priming has mostly focused on brief influences of emotional stimuli and emotional states on perceptual and cognitive processes. Yet this approach does not fully capture more dynamic processes at the root of emotional states, with such states lingering beyond the duration of the inducing external stimuli. Our goal was to put in perspective three different types of affective states (induced affective states, more sustained mood states and affective traits such as depression and anxiety) and investigate how they may interact and influence emotion perception. Here, we hypothesized that absorption into positive and negative emotional episodes generate sustained affective states that outlast the episode period and bias the interpretation of facial expressions in a perceptual decision-making task. We also investigated how such effects are influenced by more sustained mood states and by individual affect traits (depression and anxiety) and whether they interact. Transient emotional states were induced using movie-clips, after which participants performed a forced-choice emotion classification task with morphed facial expressions ranging from fear to happiness. Using a psychometric approach, we show that negative (vs. neutral) clips increased participants’ propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful during several minutes. In contrast, positive movies biased classification toward happiness only for those clips perceived as most absorbing. Negative mood, anxiety and depression had a stronger effect than transient states and increased the propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful. These results provide the first evidence that absorption and different temporal dimensions of emotions have a significant effect on how we perceive facial expressions. PMID:28151976

SLC11A1 polymorphisms and host susceptibility to cutaneous leishmaniasis in Pakistan.

PubMed

Sophie, Mariam; Hameed, Abdul; Muneer, Akhtar; Samdani, Azam J; Saleem, Saima; Azhar, Abid

2017-01-07

The vector-borne cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is endemic in several regions of Pakistan mainly affecting poor populations. Host genetic factors, particularly SLC11A1 (solute carrier transmembrane protein) within macrophages, play a crucial role in disease pathology and susceptibility. Association of SLC11A1 with cutaneous leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease, is not well established. Inconsistencies have been observed within different populations worldwide with respect to genetic susceptibility. This study was designed to investigate genetic variation(s) in SLC11A1 and to assess possible association with cutaneous leishmaniasis in Pakistan. Eight polymorphisms (rs2276631, rs3731864, rs2290708, rs2695342, rs201565523, rs17215556, rs17235409, rs17235416) were genotyped across SLC11A1 in 274 patients and 119 healthy controls. Six polymorphisms were studied by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and sequencing. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms were analyzed with newly designed semi-nested PCR assays. Case-control analysis showed no association between selected polymorphisms in SLC11A1 and cutaneous leishmaniasis. No significant difference was observed in the distribution of alleles between leishmaniasis patients and healthy individuals. Strong pairwise linkage disequilibrium was observed between rs2276631 and rs2290708 (r 2  = 64); and rs17235409 and rs17235416 (r 2  = 78). This study shows that genetic variations in the candidate gene SLC11A1 do not affect susceptibility to cutaneous leishmaniasis in the sample population from Pakistan.

Temporal percolation of the susceptible network in an epidemic spreading.

PubMed

Valdez, Lucas Daniel; Macri, Pablo Alejandro; Braunstein, Lidia Adriana

2012-01-01

In this work, we study the evolution of the susceptible individuals during the spread of an epidemic modeled by the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) process spreading on the top of complex networks. Using an edge-based compartmental approach and percolation tools, we find that a time-dependent quantity ΦS(t), namely, the probability that a given neighbor of a node is susceptible at time t, is the control parameter of a node void percolation process involving those nodes on the network not-reached by the disease. We show that there exists a critical time t(c) above which the giant susceptible component is destroyed. As a consequence, in order to preserve a macroscopic connected fraction of the network composed by healthy individuals which guarantee its functionality, any mitigation strategy should be implemented before this critical time t(c). Our theoretical results are confirmed by extensive simulations of the SIR process.

GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE WITH APPLICATIONS IN SUSCEPTIBLE-INFECTIOUS-SUSCEPTIBLE MODELS.

PubMed

Ilea, M; Turnea, M; Arotăriţei, D; Rotariu, Mariana; Popescu, Marilena

2015-01-01

Practical significance of understanding the dynamics and evolution of infectious diseases increases continuously in contemporary world. The mathematical study of the dynamics of infectious diseases has a long history. By incorporating statistical methods and computer-based simulations in dynamic epidemiological models, it could be possible for modeling methods and theoretical analyses to be more realistic and reliable, allowing a more detailed understanding of the rules governing epidemic spreading. To provide the basis for a disease transmission, the population of a region is often divided into various compartments, and the model governing their relation is called the compartmental model. To present all of the information available, a graphical user interface provides icons and visual indicators. The graphical interface shown in this paper is performed using the MATLAB software ver. 7.6.0. MATLAB software offers a wide range of techniques by which data can be displayed graphically. The process of data viewing involves a series of operations. To achieve it, I had to make three separate files, one for defining the mathematical model and two for the interface itself. Considering a fixed population, it is observed that the number of susceptible individuals diminishes along with an increase in the number of infectious individuals so that in about ten days the number of individuals infected and susceptible, respectively, has the same value. If the epidemic is not controlled, it will continue for an indefinite period of time. By changing the global parameters specific of the SIS model, a more rapid increase of infectious individuals is noted. Using the graphical user interface shown in this paper helps achieving a much easier interaction with the computer, simplifying the structure of complex instructions by using icons and menus, and, in particular, programs and files are much easier to organize. Some numerical simulations have been presented to illustrate theoretical

Daily Fluctuation in Negative Affect for Family Caregivers of Individuals With Dementia

PubMed Central

Liu, Yin; Kim, Kyungmin; Almeida, David M.; Zarit, Steven H.

2017-01-01

Objective The study examined associations of intrinsic fluctuation in daily negative affect (i.e., depression and anger) with adult day service (ADS) use, daily experiences, and other caregiving characteristics. Methods This was an 8-day diary of 173 family caregivers of individuals with dementia. Multilevel models with common within-person variance were fit first to show average associations between daily stressors and mean level of daily affect. Then multilevel models with heterogeneous within-person variance were fit to test the hypotheses on associations between ADS use, daily experiences, and intrinsic fluctuation in daily affect. Results The study showed that, when the sum of ADS days was greater than average, there was a stabilizing effect of ADS use on caregivers’ within-person fluctuation in negative affect. Moreover, fewer daily stressors and greater-than-average daily care-related stressors, more positive events, not being a spouse, greater-than-average duration of caregiving, and less-than-average dependency of individuals with dementia on activities of daily living were associated with less fluctuation. Better sleep quality was associated with less intrinsic fluctuation in anger; and younger age and more years of education were associated with less intrinsic fluctuation in daily depression. Conclusions Because emotional stability has been argued as an aspect of emotional well-being in the general populations, intrinsic fluctuation of emotional experience was suggested as an outcome of evidence-based interventions for family caregivers. PMID:25365414

How does searching for health information on the Internet affect individuals' demand for health care services?

PubMed

Suziedelyte, Agne

2012-11-01

The emergence of the Internet made health information, which previously was almost exclusively available to health professionals, accessible to the general public. Access to health information on the Internet is likely to affect individuals' health care related decisions. The aim of this analysis is to determine how health information that people obtain from the Internet affects their demand for health care. I use a novel data set, the U.S. Health Information National Trends Survey (2003-07), to answer this question. The causal variable of interest is a binary variable that indicates whether or not an individual has recently searched for health information on the Internet. Health care utilization is measured by an individual's number of visits to a health professional in the past 12 months. An individual's decision to use the Internet to search for health information is likely to be correlated to other variables that can also affect his/her demand for health care. To separate the effect of Internet health information from other confounding variables, I control for a number of individual characteristics and use the instrumental variable estimation method. As an instrument for Internet health information, I use U.S. state telecommunication regulations that are shown to affect the supply of Internet services. I find that searching for health information on the Internet has a positive, relatively large, and statistically significant effect on an individual's demand for health care. This effect is larger for the individuals who search for health information online more frequently and people who have health care coverage. Among cancer patients, the effect of Internet health information seeking on health professional visits varies by how long ago they were diagnosed with cancer. Thus, the Internet is found to be a complement to formal health care rather than a substitute for health professional services. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Antianaerobic Antimicrobials: Spectrum and Susceptibility Testing

PubMed Central

Wexler, Hannah M.; Goldstein, Ellie J. C.

2013-01-01

SUMMARY Susceptibility testing of anaerobic bacteria recovered from selected cases can influence the choice of antimicrobial therapy. The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) has standardized many laboratory procedures, including anaerobic susceptibility testing (AST), and has published documents for AST. The standardization of testing methods by the CLSI allows comparisons of resistance trends among various laboratories. Susceptibility testing should be performed on organisms recovered from sterile body sites, those that are isolated in pure culture, or those that are clinically important and have variable or unique susceptibility patterns. Organisms that should be considered for individual isolate testing include highly virulent pathogens for which susceptibility cannot be predicted, such as Bacteroides, Prevotella, Fusobacterium, and Clostridium spp.; Bilophila wadsworthia; and Sutterella wadsworthensis. This review describes the current methods for AST in research and reference laboratories. These methods include the use of agar dilution, broth microdilution, Etest, and the spiral gradient endpoint system. The antimicrobials potentially effective against anaerobic bacteria include beta-lactams, combinations of beta-lactams and beta-lactamase inhibitors, metronidazole, chloramphenicol, clindamycin, macrolides, tetracyclines, and fluoroquinolones. The spectrum of efficacy, antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, and resistance patterns against these agents are described. PMID:23824372

Susceptibility for thin ideal media and eating styles.

PubMed

Anschutz, Doeschka J; Engels, Rutger C M E; Van Strien, Tatjana

2008-03-01

This study examined the relations between susceptibility for thin ideal media and restrained, emotional and external eating, directly and indirectly through body dissatisfaction. Thin ideal media susceptibility, body dissatisfaction and eating styles were measured in a sample of 163 female students. Structural equation modelling was used for analyses, controlling for BMI. Higher susceptibility for thin ideal media was directly related to higher scores on all eating styles, and indirectly related to higher restrained and emotional eating through elevated levels of body dissatisfaction. So, thin ideal media susceptibility was not only related to restraint through body dissatisfaction, but also directly. Emotional eaters might be more vulnerable for negative affect, whereas external eaters might be more sensitive to external cues in general.

Characterization of Genetic Loci That Affect Susceptibility to Inflammatory Bowel Diseases in African Americans

PubMed Central

Cutler, David J.; Zwick, Michael E.; Taylor, Kent D.; Datta, Lisa W.; Maranville, Joseph C.; Liu, Zhenqiu; Ellis, Shannon; Chopra, Pankaj; Alexander, Jonathan S.; Baldassano, Robert N.; Cross, Raymond K.; Dassopoulos, Themistocles; Dhere, Tanvi A.; Duerr, Richard H.; Hanson, John S.; Hou, Jason K.; Hussain, Sunny Z.; Isaacs, Kim L.; Kachelries, Kelly E; Kader, Howard; Kappelman, Michael D.; Katz, Jeffrey; Kellermayer, Richard; Kirschner, Barbara S.; Kuemmerle, John F.; Kumar, Archana; Kwon, John H.; Lazarev, Mark; Mannon, Peter; Moulton, Dedrick E.; Osuntokun, Bankole O.; Patel, Ashish; Rioux, John D.; Rotter, Jerome I.; Saeed, Shehzad; Scherl, Ellen J.; Silverberg, Mark S.; Silverman, Ann; Targan, Stephan R.; Valentine, John F.; Wang, Ming-Hsi; Simpson, Claire L.; Bridges, S. Louis; Kimberly, Robert P.; Rich, Stephen S.; Cho, Judy H.; Rienzo, Anna Di; Kao, Linda W.H.

2015-01-01

Background & Aims Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has familial aggregation in African Americans (AAs), but little is known about the molecular genetic susceptibility. Mapping studies using the Immunochip genotyping array expand the number of susceptibility loci for IBD in Caucasians to 163, but the contribution of the 163 loci and European admixture to IBD risk in AAs is unclear. We performed a genetic mapping study using the Immunochip to determine whether IBD susceptibility loci in Caucasians also affect risk in AAs and identify new associated loci. Methods We recruited AAs with IBD and without IBD (controls) from 34 IBD centers in the US; additional controls were collected from 4 other immunochip studies. Association and admixture loci were mapped for 1088 patients with Crohn's disease (CD), 361 with ulcerative colitis (UC), 62 with IBD type-unknown (IBDU), and 1797 controls; 130,241 autosomal single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analyzed. Results The strongest associations were observed between UC and HLA rs9271366 (P=7.5e–6), CD and 5p13.1 rs4286721 (P=3.0e–6), and IBD and KAT2A rs730086 (P=2.3e–6). Additional suggestive associations (P<4.2e-5) were observed between CD and IBD and African-specific SNPs in STAT5A and STAT3; between IBD and SNPs in IL23R, IL12B, and C2 open reading frame 43; and between UC and SNPs near HDAC11 and near LINC00994. The latter 3 loci have not been previously associated with IBD, but require replication. Established Caucasian associations were replicated in AAs (P<3.1e-4) at NOD2, IL23R, 5p15.3, and IKZF3. Significant admixture (P<3.9e–4) was observed for 17q12-17q21.31 (IZKF3 through STAT3), 10q11.23-10q21.2, 15q22.2–15q23, and 16p12.2–16p12.1. Network analyses showed significant enrichment (false discovery rate <1e–5) in genes that encode members of the JAK–STAT, cytokine, and chemokine signaling pathways, as well those involved in pathogenesis of measles. Conclusions In a genetic analysis of 3308 AA IBD

Descriptive and numeric estimation of risk for psychotic disorders among affected individuals and relatives: Implications for clinical practice

PubMed Central

Austin, Jehannine C.; Hippman, Catriona; Honer, William G.

2013-01-01

Studies show that individuals with psychotic illnesses and their families want information about psychosis risks for other relatives. However, deriving accurate numeric probabilities for psychosis risk is challenging, and people have difficulty interpreting probabilistic information, thus some have suggested that clinicians should use risk descriptors, such as ‘moderate’ or ‘quite high’, rather than numbers. Little is known about how individuals with psychosis and their family members use quantitative and qualitative descriptors of risk in the specific context of chance for an individual to develop psychosis. We explored numeric and descriptive estimations of psychosis risk among individuals with psychotic disorders and unaffected first-degree relatives. In an online survey, respondents numerically and descriptively estimated risk for an individual to develop psychosis in scenarios where they had: A) no affected family members; and B) an affected sibling. 219 affected individuals and 211 first-degree relatives participated. Affected individuals estimated significantly higher risks than relatives. Participants attributed all descriptors between “very low” and “very high” to probabilities of 1%, 10%, 25% and 50%+. For a given numeric probability, different risk descriptors were attributed in different scenarios. Clinically, brief interventions around risk (using either probabilities or descriptors alone) are vulnerable to miscommunication and potentially profoundly negative consequences –interventions around risk are best suited to in-depth discussion. PMID:22421074

Descriptive and numeric estimation of risk for psychotic disorders among affected individuals and relatives: implications for clinical practice.

PubMed

Austin, Jehannine C; Hippman, Catriona; Honer, William G

2012-03-30

Studies show that individuals with psychotic illnesses and their families want information about psychosis risks for other relatives. However, deriving accurate numeric probabilities for psychosis risk is challenging, and people have difficulty interpreting probabilistic information; thus, some have suggested that clinicians should use risk descriptors, such as "moderate" or "quite high", rather than numbers. Little is known about how individuals with psychosis and their family members use quantitative and qualitative descriptors of risk in the specific context of chance for an individual to develop psychosis. We explored numeric and descriptive estimations of psychosis risk among individuals with psychotic disorders and unaffected first-degree relatives. In an online survey, respondents numerically and descriptively estimated risk for an individual to develop psychosis in scenarios where they had: A) no affected family members; and B) an affected sibling. Participants comprised 219 affected individuals and 211 first-degree relatives participated. Affected individuals estimated significantly higher risks than relatives. Participants attributed all descriptors between "very low" and "very high" to probabilities of 1%, 10%, 25% and 50%+. For a given numeric probability, different risk descriptors were attributed in different scenarios. Clinically, brief interventions around risk (using either probabilities or descriptors alone) are vulnerable to miscommunication and potentially negative consequences-interventions around risk are best suited to in-depth discussion. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cancer Susceptibility Gene Mutations in Individuals With Colorectal Cancer

PubMed Central

Yurgelun, Matthew B.; Kulke, Matthew H.; Fuchs, Charles S.; Allen, Brian A.; Uno, Hajime; Hornick, Jason L.; Ukaegbu, Chinedu I.; Brais, Lauren K.; McNamara, Philip G.; Mayer, Robert J.; Schrag, Deborah; Meyerhardt, Jeffrey A.; Ng, Kimmie; Kidd, John; Singh, Nanda; Hartman, Anne-Renee; Wenstrup, Richard J.

2017-01-01

Purpose Hereditary factors play an important role in colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, yet the prevalence of germline cancer susceptibility gene mutations in patients with CRC unselected for high-risk features (eg, early age at diagnosis, personal/family history of cancer or polyps, tumor microsatellite instability [MSI], mismatch repair [MMR] deficiency) is unknown. Patients and Methods We recruited 1,058 participants who received CRC care in a clinic-based setting without preselection for age at diagnosis, personal/family history, or MSI/MMR results. All participants underwent germline testing for mutations in 25 genes associated with inherited cancer risk. Each gene was categorized as high penetrance or moderate penetrance on the basis of published estimates of the lifetime cancer risks conferred by pathogenic germline mutations in that gene. Results One hundred five (9.9%; 95% CI, 8.2% to 11.9%) of 1,058 participants carried one or more pathogenic mutations, including 33 (3.1%) with Lynch syndrome (LS). Twenty-eight (96.6%) of 29 available LS CRCs demonstrated abnormal MSI/MMR results. Seventy-four (7.0%) of 1,058 participants carried non-LS gene mutations, including 23 (2.2%) with mutations in high-penetrance genes (five APC, three biallelic MUTYH, 11 BRCA1/2, two PALB2, one CDKN2A, and one TP53), 15 of whom lacked clinical histories suggestive of their underlying mutation. Thirty-eight (3.6%) participants had moderate-penetrance CRC risk gene mutations (19 monoallelic MUTYH, 17 APC*I1307K, two CHEK2). Neither proband age at CRC diagnosis, family history of CRC, nor personal history of other cancers significantly predicted the presence of pathogenic mutations in non-LS genes. Conclusion Germline cancer susceptibility gene mutations are carried by 9.9% of patients with CRC. MSI/MMR testing reliably identifies LS probands, although 7.0% of patients with CRC carry non-LS mutations, including 1.0% with BRCA1/2 mutations. PMID:28135145

Landslide susceptibility map: from research to application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiorucci, Federica; Reichenbach, Paola; Ardizzone, Francesca; Rossi, Mauro; Felicioni, Giulia; Antonini, Guendalina

2014-05-01

Susceptibility map is an important and essential tool in environmental planning, to evaluate landslide hazard and risk and for a correct and responsible management of the territory. Landslide susceptibility is the likelihood of a landslide occurring in an area on the basis of local terrain conditions. Can be expressed as the probability that any given region will be affected by landslides, i.e. an estimate of "where" landslides are likely to occur. In this work we present two examples of landslide susceptibility map prepared for the Umbria Region and for the Perugia Municipality. These two maps were realized following official request from the Regional and Municipal government to the Research Institute for the Hydrogeological Protection (CNR-IRPI). The susceptibility map prepared for the Umbria Region represents the development of previous agreements focused to prepare: i) a landslide inventory map that was included in the Urban Territorial Planning (PUT) and ii) a series of maps for the Regional Plan for Multi-risk Prevention. The activities carried out for the Umbria Region were focused to define and apply methods and techniques for landslide susceptibility zonation. Susceptibility maps were prepared exploiting a multivariate statistical model (linear discriminant analysis) for the five Civil Protection Alert Zones defined in the regional territory. The five resulting maps were tested and validated using the spatial distribution of recent landslide events that occurred in the region. The susceptibility map for the Perugia Municipality was prepared to be integrated as one of the cartographic product in the Municipal development plan (PRG - Piano Regolatore Generale) as required by the existing legislation. At strategic level, one of the main objectives of the PRG, is to establish a framework of knowledge and legal aspects for the management of geo-hydrological risk. At national level most of the susceptibility maps prepared for the PRG, were and still are obtained

Role of spontaneous physical activity in prediction of susceptibility to activity based anorexia in male and female rats

PubMed Central

Perez-Leighton, Claudio; Grace, Martha; Billington, Charles J.; Kotz, Catherine M.

2015-01-01

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a chronic eating disorder affecting females and males, defined by body weight loss, higher physical activity levels and restricted food intake. Currently, the commonalities and differences between genders in etiology of AN are not well understood. Animal models of AN, such as activity-based anorexia (ABA), can be helpful in identifying factors determining individual susceptibility to AN. In ABA, rodents are given an access to a running wheel while food restricted, resulting in paradoxical increased physical activity levels and weight loss. Recent studies suggest that different behavioral traits, including voluntary exercise, can predict individual weight loss in ABA. A higher inherent drive for movement can promote development and severity of AN, but this hypothesis remains untested. In rodents and humans, drive for movement is defined as spontaneous physical activity (SPA), which is time spent in low-intensity, non-volitional movements. In this paper, we show that a profile of body weight history and behavioral traits, including SPA, can predict individual weight loss caused by ABA in male and female rats with high accuracy. Analysis of the influence of SPA on ABA susceptibility in males and females rats suggests that either high or low levels of SPA increase the probability of high weight loss in ABA, but with larger effects in males compared to females. These results suggest the same behavioral profile can identify individuals at-risk of AN for both male and female populations and that SPA has predictive value for susceptibility to AN. PMID:24912135

Role of spontaneous physical activity in prediction of susceptibility to activity based anorexia in male and female rats.

PubMed

Perez-Leighton, Claudio E; Grace, Martha; Billington, Charles J; Kotz, Catherine M

2014-08-01

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a chronic eating disorder affecting females and males, defined by body weight loss, higher physical activity levels and restricted food intake. Currently, the commonalities and differences between genders in etiology of AN are not well understood. Animal models of AN, such as activity-based anorexia (ABA), can be helpful in identifying factors determining individual susceptibility to AN. In ABA, rodents are given an access to a running wheel while food restricted, resulting in paradoxical increased physical activity levels and weight loss. Recent studies suggest that different behavioral traits, including voluntary exercise, can predict individual weight loss in ABA. A higher inherent drive for movement may promote development and severity of AN, but this hypothesis remains untested. In rodents and humans, drive for movement is defined as spontaneous physical activity (SPA), which is time spent in low-intensity, non-volitional movements. In this paper, we show that a profile of body weight history and behavioral traits, including SPA, can predict individual weight loss caused by ABA in male and female rats with high accuracy. Analysis of the influence of SPA on ABA susceptibility in males and females rats suggests that either high or low levels of SPA increase the probability of high weight loss in ABA, but with larger effects in males compared to females. These results suggest that the same behavioral profile can identify individuals at-risk of AN for both male and female populations and that SPA has predictive value for susceptibility to AN. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Susceptibility to Phytophthora ramorum in a key infectious host: landscape variation in host genotype, host phenotype, and environmental factors.

PubMed

Anacker, Brian L; Rank, Nathan E; Hüberli, Daniel; Garbelotto, Matteo; Gordon, Sarah; Harnik, Tami; Whitkus, Richard; Meentemeyer, Ross

2008-01-01

Sudden oak death is an emerging forest disease caused by the invasive pathogen Phytophthora ramorum. Genetic and environmental factors affecting susceptibility to P. ramorum in the key inoculum-producing host tree Umbellularia californica (bay laurel) were examined across a heterogeneous landscape in California, USA. Laboratory susceptibility trials were conducted on detached leaves and assessed field disease levels for 97 host trees from 12 225-m(2) plots. Genotype and phenotype characteristics were assessed for each tree. Effects of plot-level environmental conditions (understory microclimate, amount of solar radiation and topographic moisture potential) on disease expression were also evaluated. Susceptibility varied significantly among U. californica trees, with a fivefold difference in leaf lesion size. Lesion size was positively related to leaf area, but not to other phenotypic traits or to field disease level. Genetic diversity was structured at three spatial scales, but primarily among individuals within plots. Lesion size was significantly related to amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers, but local environment explained most variation in field disease level. Thus, substantial genetic variation in susceptibility to P. ramorum occurs in its principal foliar host U. californica, but local environment mediates expression of susceptibility in nature.

Common Polymorphisms in GSTA1, GSTM1 and GSTT1 Are Associated with Susceptibility to Urinary Bladder Cancer in Individuals from Balkan Endemic Nephropathy Areas of Serbia.

PubMed

Matic, Marija; Dragicevic, Biljana; Pekmezovic, Tatjana; Suvakov, Sonja; Savic-Radojevic, Ana; Pljesa-Ercegovac, Marija; Dragicevic, Dejan; Smiljic, Jelena; Simic, Tatjana

2016-09-01

Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) is a chronic familial form of interstitial nephritis that might eventually lead to end stage renal disease. This nephropathy affects individuals living along of the Danube River and its tributaries in Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania. The increased incidence of urinary tract tumors in the BEN areas is well described, but its specific genetic predisposition is still unclear. Certain nephrocarcinogenic compounds, including those associated with BEN, are metabolized by glutathione S-transferase (GST) superfamily of phase II detoxication enzymes. Importantly, the GST-mediated detoxification may result in formation of more toxic compounds. We examined the association of common GST polymorphisms and bladder cancer (BC) risk in individuals from BEN areas in Serbia. A hospital-based case-control study included 201 BC cases (67 from BEN region) and 122 controls. Each polymorphism was identified by a PCR-based method. Individuals from BEN region with low-expression GSTA1 genotype (AB+BB) exhibited a 2.6-fold higher BC risk compared to those with GSTA1 (AA) genotype who were from non-BEN region (OR = 2.60, p = 0.015). In contrast, carriers of GSTM1-active genotype from BEN region had a 2.9-fold increased BC risk compared to those with GSTM1-active genotype from non-BEN region (OR = 2.90, p = 0.010). Likewise, carriers with GSTT1-active genotype from BEN region exhibited 2.1-fold higher BC risk compared to those from non-BEN region with GSTT1-active genotype (OR = 2.10, p = 0.027). Thus, common polymorphisms in GSTA1, GSTM1 and GSTT1 are associated with susceptibility to BC in individuals from BEN areas of Serbia.

Gene Expression-Genotype Analysis Implicates GSDMA, GSDMB, and LRRC3C as Contributors to Inflammatory Bowel Disease Susceptibility

PubMed Central

Söderman, Jan; Berglind, Linda; Almer, Sven

2015-01-01

To investigate the biological foundation of the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, susceptibility locus rs2872507, we have investigated the expression of 13 genes using ileal and colonic biopsies from patients with IBD (inflamed and noninflamed mucosa) or from individuals without IBD (noninflamed mucosa). The susceptibility allele was consistently associated with reduced expression of GSDMB (P = 4.1 × 10−3–7.2 × 10−10). The susceptibility allele was also associated with the increased expression of GSDMA (P = 1.6 × 10−4) and LRRC3C (P = 7.8 × 10−6) in colon tissue from individuals without IBD and with the reduced expression of PGAP3 (IBD; P = 2.0 × 10−3) and ZPBP2 (Crohn's disease; P = 7.7 × 10−4) in noninflamed ileum. Inflammation resulted in the reduced colonic expression of ERBB2, GRB7, MIEN1, and PGAP3 (P = 1.0 × 10−4–1.0 × 10−9) and the increased colonic expression of IKZF3 and CSF3 (P = 2.4 × 10−7–3.5 × 10−8). Based on our results and published findings on GSDMA, GSDMB, LRRC3C, and related proteins, we propose that this locus in part affects IBD susceptibility via effects on apoptosis and cell proliferation and believe this hypothesis warrants further experimental investigation. PMID:26484354

Individual variation affects departure rate from the natal pond in an ephemeral pond-breeding anuran

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chelgren, N.D.; Rosenberg, D.K.; Heppell, S.S.; Gitelman, A.I.

2008-01-01

Frogs exhibit extreme plasticity and individual variation in growth and behavior during metamorphosis, driven by interactions of intrinsic state factors and extrinsic environmental factors. In northern red-legged frogs (Rana aurora Baird and Girard, 1852), we studied the timing of departure from the natal pond as it relates to date and size of individuals at metamorphosis in the context of environmental uncertainty. To affect body size at metamorphosis, we manipulated food availability during the larval stage for a sample (317) of 1045 uniquely marked individuals and released them at their natal ponds as newly metamorphosed frogs. We recaptured 34% of marked frogs in pitfall traps as they departed and related the timing of their initial terrestrial movements to individual properties using a time-to-event model. Median age at first capture was 4 and 9 days postmetamorphosis at two sites. The rate of departure was positively related to body size and to date of metamorphosis. Departure rate was strongly negatively related to time elapsed since rainfall, and this effect was diminished for smaller and later metamorphosing frogs. Individual variation in metamorphic traits thus affects individuals' responses to environmental variability, supporting a behavioral link with variation in survival associated with these same metamorphic traits. ?? 2008 NRC.

Testing cognition in the wild: factors affecting performance and individual consistency in two measures of avian cognition.

PubMed

Shaw, Rachael C

2017-01-01

Developing cognitive tasks to reliably quantify individual differences in cognitive ability is critical to advance our understanding of the fitness consequences of cognition in the wild. Several factors may influence individual performance in a cognitive task, with some being unrelated to the cognitive ability that is the target of the test. It is therefore essential to assess how extraneous factors may affect task performance, particularly for those tasks that are frequently used to quantify individual differences in cognitive ability. The current study therefore measured the performance of wild North Island robins in two tasks commonly used to measure individual differences in avian cognition: a novel motor task and a detour reaching task. The robins' performance in the motor task was affected by prior experience; individuals that had previously participated in a similar task that required a different motor action pattern outperformed naïve subjects. By contrast, detour reaching performance was influenced by an individual's body condition, suggesting that energetic state may affect inhibitory control in robins. Designing tasks that limit the influence of past experience and developing means of standardising motivation across animals tested in the wild remain key challenges to improving current measurements of cognitive ability in birds. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Differential Properties of Cytomegalovirus pUL97 Kinase Isoforms Affect Viral Replication and Maribavir Susceptibility

PubMed Central

Webel, Rike; Hakki, Morgan; Prichard, Mark N.; Rawlinson, William D.; Marschall, Manfred

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-encoded kinase pUL97 is required for efficient viral replication. Previous studies described two isoforms of pUL97, the full-length isoform (M1) and a smaller isoform likely resulting from translation initiation at codon 74 (M74). Here, we report the detection of a third pUL97 isoform during viral infection resulting from translation initiation at codon 157 (isoform M157). The consistent expression of isoform M157 as a minor component of pUL97 during infection with clinical and laboratory-adapted HCMV strains was suppressed when codon 157 was mutagenized. Viral mutants expressing specific isoforms were generated to compare their growth and drug susceptibility phenotypes, as well as pUL97 intracellular localization patterns and kinase activities. The exclusive expression of isoform M157 resulted in substantially reduced viral growth and resistance to the pUL97 inhibitor maribavir while retaining susceptibility to ganciclovir. Confocal imaging demonstrated reduced nuclear import of amino-terminal deletion isoforms compared to isoform M1. Isoform M157 showed reduced efficiency of various substrate protein interactions and autophosphorylation, whereas Rb phosphorylation was preserved. These results reveal differential properties of pUL97 isoforms that affect viral replication, with implications for the antiviral efficacy of maribavir. IMPORTANCE The HCMV UL97 kinase performs important functions in viral replication that are targeted by the antiviral drug maribavir. Here, we describe a naturally occurring short isoform of the kinase that when expressed by itself in a recombinant virus results in altered intracellular localization, impaired growth, and high-level resistance to maribavir compared to those of the predominant full-length counterpart. This is another factor to consider in explaining why maribavir appears to have variable antiviral activity in cell culture and in vivo. PMID:24522923

Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping after Sports-Related Concussion.

PubMed

Koch, K M; Meier, T B; Karr, R; Nencka, A S; Muftuler, L T; McCrea, M

2018-06-07

Quantitative susceptibility mapping using MR imaging can assess changes in brain tissue structure and composition. This report presents preliminary results demonstrating changes in tissue magnetic susceptibility after sports-related concussion. Longitudinal quantitative susceptibility mapping metrics were produced from imaging data acquired from cohorts of concussed and control football athletes. One hundred thirty-six quantitative susceptibility mapping datasets were analyzed across 3 separate visits (24 hours after injury, 8 days postinjury, and 6 months postinjury). Longitudinal quantitative susceptibility mapping group analyses were performed on stability-thresholded brain tissue compartments and selected subregions. Clinical concussion metrics were also measured longitudinally in both cohorts and compared with the measured quantitative susceptibility mapping. Statistically significant increases in white matter susceptibility were identified in the concussed athlete group during the acute (24 hour) and subacute (day 8) period. These effects were most prominent at the 8-day visit but recovered and showed no significant difference from controls at the 6-month visit. The subcortical gray matter showed no statistically significant group differences. Observed susceptibility changes after concussion appeared to outlast self-reported clinical recovery metrics at a group level. At an individual subject level, susceptibility increases within the white matter showed statistically significant correlations with return-to-play durations. The results of this preliminary investigation suggest that sports-related concussion can induce physiologic changes to brain tissue that can be detected using MR imaging-based magnetic susceptibility estimates. In group analyses, the observed tissue changes appear to persist beyond those detected on clinical outcome assessments and were associated with return-to-play duration after sports-related concussion. © 2018 by American Journal of

Somatic, but not cognitive–affective, symptoms are associated with reduced heart rate variability in individuals with dysphoria

PubMed Central

Benvenuti, Simone Messerotti; Buodo, Giulia; Mennella, Rocco; Palomba, Daniela

2015-01-01

Background: Somatic, but not cognitive–affective, symptoms of depression have been associated with reduced heart rate variability (HRV), and with poor prognosis in cardiovascular patients. However, factors concomitant with cardiovascular diseases may confound the relationship between somatic symptoms of depression and reduced HRV. Therefore, this study examined whether reduced HRV was differentially associated with cognitive–affective and somatic symptoms of depression in medically healthy individuals with and without dysphoria. Methods: Self-reported cognitive–affective and somatic symptoms as measured with the Beck Depression Inventory-II questionnaire and time and frequency domain parameters of HRV were collected in 62 medically healthy individuals, of whom 25 with and 37 without dysphoria. Results: Somatic, but not cognitive–affective, symptoms of depression were inversely associated with SD of NN intervals (β = -0.476, p < 0.05), number of interval differences of successive NN intervals greater than 50 ms (NN50; β = -0.498, p < 0.03), and HRV total power (β = -0.494, p < 0.04) in the group with dysphoria, after controlling for sex, anxiety, and lifestyle factors. Cognitive–affective and somatic symptoms were not related to any of the HRV parameters in the group without dysphoria (all ps > 0.24). Conclusion: By showing that the relationship between somatic depressive symptoms and reduced HRV extends to medically healthy individuals with dysphoria, the present findings suggest that this association is independent of factors concomitant with cardiovascular diseases. The present study also suggests that individuals with somatic rather than cognitive–affective subsets of depressive symptoms may be at greater risk for developing cardiovascular diseases. PMID:25999905

Genetic architecture for susceptibility to gout in the KARE cohort study.

PubMed

Shin, Jimin; Kim, Younyoung; Kong, Minyoung; Lee, Chaeyoung

2012-06-01

This study aimed to identify functional associations of cis-regulatory regions with gout susceptibility using data resulted from a genome-wide association study (GWAS), and to show a genetic architecture for gout with interaction effects among genes within each of the identified functions. The GWAS was conducted with 8314 control subjects and 520 patients with gout in the Korea Association REsource cohort. However, genetic associations with any individual nucleotide variants were not discovered by Bonferroni multiple testing in the GWAS (P>1.42 × 10(-7)). Genomic regions enrichment analysis was employed to identify functional associations of cis-regulatory regions. This analysis revealed several biological processes associated with gout susceptibility, and they were quite different from those with serum uric acid level. Epistasis for susceptibility to gout was estimated using entropy decomposition with selected genes within each biological process identified by the genomic regions enrichment analysis. Some epistases among nucleotide sequence variants for gout susceptibility were found to be larger than their individual effects. This study provided the first evidence that genetic factors for gout susceptibility greatly differed from those for serum uric acid level, which may suggest that research endeavors for identifying genetic factors for gout susceptibility should not be heavily dependent on pathogenesis of uric acid. Interaction effects between genes should be examined to explain a large portion of phenotypic variability for gout susceptibility.

Magnetic susceptibility characterisation of superparamagnetic microspheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grob, David Tim; Wise, Naomi; Oduwole, Olayinka; Sheard, Steve

2018-04-01

The separation of magnetic materials in microsystems using magnetophoresis has increased in popularity. The wide variety and availability of magnetic beads has fuelled this drive. It is important to know the magnetic characteristics of the microspheres in order to accurately use them in separation processes integrated on a lab-on-a-chip device. To investigate the magnetic susceptibility of magnetic microspheres, the magnetic responsiveness of three types of Dynabeads microspheres were tested using two different approaches. The magnetophoretic mobility of individual microspheres is studied using a particle tracking system and the magnetization of each type of Dynabeads microsphere is measured using SQUID relaxometry. The magnetic beads' susceptibility is obtained at four different applied magnetic fields in the range of 38-70 mT for both the mobility and SQUID measurements. The susceptibility values in both approaches show a consistent magnetic field dependence.

Individual Differences in Amygdala-Medial Prefrontal Anatomy Link Negative Affect, Impaired Social Functioning, and Polygenic Depression Risk

PubMed Central

Holmes, Avram J.; Lee, Phil H.; Hollinshead, Marisa O.; Bakst, Leah; Roffman, Joshua L.; Smoller, Jordan W.; Buckner, Randy L.

2013-01-01

Individual differences in affective and social processes may arise from variability in amygdala-medial prefrontal (mPFC) circuitry and related genetic heterogeneity. To explore this possibility in humans, we examined the structural correlates of trait negative affect in a sample of 1050 healthy young adults with no history of psychiatric illness. Analyses revealed that heightened negative affect was associated with increased amygdala volume and reduced thickness in a left mPFC region encompassing the subgenual and rostral anterior cingulate cortex. The most extreme individuals displayed an inverse correlation between amygdala volume and mPFC thickness, suggesting that imbalance between these structures is linked to negative affect in the general population. Subgroups of participants were further evaluated on social (n = 206) and emotional (n = 533) functions. Individuals with decreased mPFC thickness exhibited the poorest social cognition and were least able to correctly identify facial emotion. Given prior links between disrupted amygdala–mPFC circuitry and the presence of major depressive disorder (MDD), we explored whether the individual differences in anatomy observed here in healthy young adults were associated with polygenic risk for MDD (n = 438) using risk scores derived from a large genome-wide association analysis (n = 18,759). Analyses revealed associations between increasing polygenic burden for MDD and reduced cortical thickness in the left mPFC. These collective findings suggest that, within the healthy population, there is significant variability in amygdala–mPFC circuitry that is associated with poor functioning across affective and social domains. Individual differences in this circuitry may arise, in part, from common genetic variability that contributes to risk for MDD. PMID:23238724

Paradoxical Lower Serum Triglyceride Levels and Higher Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Susceptibility in Obese Individuals with the PNPLA3 148M Variant

PubMed Central

Pirazzi, Carlo; Burza, Maria Antonella; Adiels, Martin; Burch, Lindsay; Donnelly, Louise A.; Colhoun, Helen; Doney, Alexander S.; Dillon, John F.; Pearson, Ewan R.; McCarthy, Mark; Hattersley, Andrew T.; Frayling, Tim; Morris, Andrew D.; Peltonen, Markku; Svensson, Per-Arne; Jacobson, Peter; Borén, Jan; Sjöström, Lars; Carlsson, Lena M. S.; Romeo, Stefano

2012-01-01

Background Obesity is highly associated with elevated serum triglycerides, hepatic steatosis and type 2 diabetes (T2D). The I148M (rs738409) genetic variant of patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing 3 gene (PNPLA3) is known to modulate hepatic triglyceride accumulation, leading to steatosis. No association between PNPLA3 I148M genotype and T2D in Europeans has been reported. Aim of this study is to examine the relationship between PNPLA3 I148M genotypes and serum triglycerides, insulin resistance and T2D susceptibility by testing a gene-environment interaction model with severe obesity. Methods and Findings PNPLA3 I148M was genotyped in a large obese cohort, the SOS study (n = 3,473) and in the Go-DARTS (n = 15,448), a T2D case-control study. Metabolic parameters were examined across the PNPLA3 I148M genotypes in participants of the SOS study at baseline and at 2- and 10-year follow up after bariatric surgery or conventional therapy. The associations with metabolic parameters were validated in the Go-DARTS study. Serum triglycerides were found to be lower in the PNPLA3 148M carriers from the SOS study at baseline and from the Go-DARTS T2D cohort. An increased risk for T2D conferred by the 148M allele was found in the SOS study (O.R. 1.09, 95% C.I. 1.01-1.39, P = 0.040) and in severely obese individuals in the Go-DARTS study (O.R. 1.37, 95% C.I. 1.13-1.66, P = 0.001). The 148M allele was no longer associated with insulin resistance or T2D after bariatric surgery in the SOS study and no association with the 148M allele was observed in the less obese (BMI<35) individuals in the Go-DARTS study (P for interaction  = 0.002). This provides evidence for the obesity interaction with I48M allele and T2D risk in a large-scale cross-sectional and a prospective interventional study. Conclusions Severely obese individuals carrying the PNPLA3 148M allele have lower serum triglyceride levels, are more insulin resistant and more susceptible to T2D. This

Protist predation can select for bacteria with lowered susceptibility to infection by lytic phages.

PubMed

Örmälä-Odegrip, Anni-Maria; Ojala, Ville; Hiltunen, Teppo; Zhang, Ji; Bamford, Jaana K H; Laakso, Jouni

2015-05-07

Consumer-resource interactions constitute one of the most common types of interspecific antagonistic interaction. In natural communities, complex species interactions are likely to affect the outcomes of reciprocal co-evolution between consumers and their resource species. Individuals face multiple enemies simultaneously, and consequently they need to adapt to several different types of enemy pressures. In this study, we assessed how protist predation affects the susceptibility of bacterial populations to infection by viral parasites, and whether there is an associated cost of defence on the competitive ability of the bacteria. As a study system we used Serratia marcescens and its lytic bacteriophage, along with two bacteriovorous protists with distinct feeding modes: Tetrahymena thermophila (particle feeder) and Acanthamoeba castellanii (surface feeder). The results were further confirmed with another study system with Pseudomonas and Tetrahymena thermophila. We found that selection by protist predators lowered the susceptibility to infections by lytic phages in Serratia and Pseudomonas. In Serratia, concurrent selection by phages and protists led to lowered susceptibility to phage infections and this effect was independent from whether the bacteria shared a co-evolutionary history with the phage population or not. Bacteria that had evolved with phages were overall more susceptible to phage infection (compared to bacteria with history with multiple enemies) but they were less vulnerable to the phages they had co-evolved with than ancestral phages. Selection by bacterial enemies was costly in general and was seen as a lowered fitness in absence of phages, measured as a biomass yield. Our results show the significance of multiple species interactions on pairwise consumer-resource interaction, and suggest potential overlap in defending against predatory and parasitic enemies in microbial consumer-resource communities. Ultimately, our results could have larger scale

Community Involvement in Developing Policies for Genetic Testing: Assessing the Interests and Experiences of Individuals Affected by Genetic Conditions

PubMed Central

Gollust, Sarah E.; Apse, Kira; Fuller, Barbara P.; Miller, Paul Steven; Biesecker, Barbara B.

2005-01-01

Because the introduction of genetic testing into clinical medicine and public health creates concerns for the welfare of individuals affected with genetic conditions, those individuals should have a role in policy decisions about testing. Mechanisms for promoting participation range from membership on advisory committees to community dialogues to surveys that provide evidence for supporting practice guidelines. Surveys can assess the attitudes and the experiences of members of an affected group and thus inform discussions about that community’s concerns regarding the appropriate use of a genetic test. Results of a survey of individuals affected with inherited dwarfism show how data can be used in policy and clinical-practice contexts. Future research of affected communities’ interests should be pursued so that underrepresented voices can be heard. PMID:15623855

EEG quantification of alertness: methods for early identification of individuals most susceptible to sleep deprivation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berka, Chris; Levendowski, Daniel J.; Westbrook, Philip; Davis, Gene; Lumicao, Michelle N.; Olmstead, Richard E.; Popovic, Miodrag; Zivkovic, Vladimir T.; Ramsey, Caitlin K.

2005-05-01

Electroencephalographic (EEG) and neurocognitive measures were simultaneously acquired to quantify alertness from 24 participants during 44-hours of sleep deprivation. Performance on a three-choice vigilance task (3C-VT), paired-associate learning/memory task (PAL) and modified Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (MWT), and sleep technician-observed drowsiness (eye-closures, head-nods, EEG slowing) were quantified. The B-Alert system automatically classifies each second of EEG on an alertness/drowsiness continuum. B-Alert classifications were significantly correlated with technician-observations, visually scored EEG and performance measures. B-Alert classifications during 3C-VT, and technician observations and performance during the 3C-VT and PAL evidenced progressively increasing drowsiness as a result of sleep deprivation with a stabilizing effect observed at the batteries occurring between 0600 and 1100 suggesting a possible circadian effect similar to those reported in previous sleep deprivation studies. Participants were given an opportunity to take a 40-minute nap approximately 24-hours into the sleep deprivation portion of the study (i.e., 7 PM on Saturday). The nap was followed by a transient period of increased alertness. Approximately 8 hours after the nap, behavioral and physiological measures of drowsiness returned to levels prior to the nap. Cluster analysis was used to stratify individuals into three groups based on their level of impairment as a result of sleep deprivation. The combination of B-Alert and neuro-behavioral measures may identify individuals whose performance is most susceptible to sleep deprivation. These objective measures could be applied in an operational setting to provide a "biobehavioral assay" to determine vulnerability to sleep deprivation.

Human genetic susceptibility and infection with Leishmania peruviana

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

Shaw, M.A.; Davis, C.R.; Collins, A.

1995-11-01

Racial differences, familial clustering, and murine studies are suggestive of host genetic control of Leishmania infections. Complex segregation analysis has been carried out by use of the programs POINTER and COMDS and data from a total population survey, comprising 636 nuclear families, from an L. perurviana endemic area. The data support genetic components controlling susceptibility to clinical leishmaniasis, influencing severity of disease and resistance to disease among healthy individuals. A multifactorial model is favored over a sporadic model. Two-locus models provided the best fit to the data, the optimal model being a recessive gene (frequency .57) plus a modifier locus.more » Individuals infected at an early age and with recurrent lesions are genetically more susceptible than those infected with a single episode of disease at a later age. Among people with no lesions, those with a positive skin-test response are genetically less susceptible than those with a negative response. The possibility of the involvement of more than one gene together with environmental effects has implications for the design of future linkage studies. 31 refs., 7 tabs.« less

Individual differences in Affective Neuroscience Personality Scale (ANPS) primary emotional traits and depressive tendencies.

PubMed

Montag, Christian; Widenhorn-Müller, Katharina; Panksepp, Jaak; Kiefer, Markus

2017-02-01

The present study investigated individual differences in the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS), representing measures of primary emotional systems, and depressive tendencies in two independent samples. In order to be able to find support for a continuum model with respect to the relation of strength in the cross-species "affective neuroscience" taxonomy of primary emotional systems, we investigated ANPS measured personality traits in a psychologically mostly healthy population (n=614 participants) as well as a sample of clinically depressed people (n=55 depressed patients). In both normal and depressed samples robust associations appeared between higher FEAR and SADNESS scores and depressive tendencies. A similar - albeit weaker - association was observed with lower SEEKING system scores and higher depressive tendencies, an effect again seen in both samples. The study is of cross-sectional nature and therefore only associations between primary emotional systems and depressive tendencies were evaluated. These results show that similar associations between ANPS monitored primary emotional systems and tendencies toward depression can be observed in both healthy and depressed participants. This lends support for a continuum of affective changes accompanying depression, potentially reflecting differences in specific brain emotional system activities in both affectively normal as well as clinically depressed individuals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

You can't drink a word: lexical and individual emotionality affect subjective familiarity judgments.

PubMed

Westbury, Chris

2014-10-01

For almost 30 years, subjective familiarity has been used in psycholinguistics as an explanatory variable, allegedly able to explain many phenomena that have no other obvious explanation (Gernsbacher in J Exp Psychol General 113:256-281, 1984). In this paper, the hypothesis tested is that the subjective familiarity of words is reflecting personal familiarity with or importance of the referents of words. Using an empirically-grounded model of affective force derived from Wundt (Grundriss der Psychologie [Outlines of Psychology]. Engelmann, Leibzig, 1896) and based in a co-occurrence model of semantics (which involves no human judgment), it is shown that affective force can account for the same variance in a large set of human subjective familiarity judgments as other human subjective familiarity judgments, can predict whether people will rate new words of the same objective frequency as more or less familiar, can predict lexical access as well as human subjective familiarity judgments do, and has a predicted relationship to age of acquisition norms. Individuals who have highly affective reactivity [as measured by Carver and White's (J Pers Soc Psychol 67(2):319-333, 1994) Behavioral Inhibition Scale and Behavioral Activation Scales] rate words as significantly more familiar than individuals who have low affective reactivity.

Behavior of susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemics on heterogeneous networks with saturation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joo, Jaewook; Lebowitz, Joel L.

2004-06-01

We investigate saturation effects in susceptible-infected-susceptible models of the spread of epidemics in heterogeneous populations. The structure of interactions in the population is represented by networks with connectivity distribution P(k) , including scale-free (SF) networks with power law distributions P(k)˜ k-γ . Considering cases where the transmission of infection between nodes depends on their connectivity, we introduce a saturation function C(k) which reduces the infection transmission rate λ across an edge going from a node with high connectivity k . A mean-field approximation with the neglect of degree-degree correlation then leads to a finite threshold λc >0 for SF networks with 2<γ⩽3 . We also find, in this approximation, the fraction of infected individuals among those with degree k for λ close to λc . We investigate via computer simulation the contact process on a heterogeneous regular lattice and compare the results with those obtained from mean-field theory with and without neglect of degree-degree correlations.

β1-Adrenergic receptor deficiency in ghrelin-expressing cells causes hypoglycemia in susceptible individuals

PubMed Central

Mani, Bharath K.; Osborne-Lawrence, Sherri; Vijayaraghavan, Prasanna; Hepler, Chelsea; Zigman, Jeffrey M.

2016-01-01

Ghrelin is an orexigenic gastric peptide hormone secreted when caloric intake is limited. Ghrelin also regulates blood glucose, as emphasized by the hypoglycemia that is induced by caloric restriction in mouse models of deficient ghrelin signaling. Here, we hypothesized that activation of β1-adrenergic receptors (β1ARs) localized to ghrelin cells is required for caloric restriction–associated ghrelin release and the ensuing protective glucoregulatory response. In mice lacking the β1AR specifically in ghrelin-expressing cells, ghrelin secretion was markedly blunted, resulting in profound hypoglycemia and prevalent mortality upon severe caloric restriction. Replacement of ghrelin blocked the effects of caloric restriction in β1AR-deficient mice. We also determined that treating calorically restricted juvenile WT mice with beta blockers led to reduced plasma ghrelin and hypoglycemia, the latter of which is similar to the life-threatening, fasting-induced hypoglycemia observed in infants treated with beta blockers. These findings highlight the critical functions of ghrelin in preventing hypoglycemia and promoting survival during severe caloric restriction and the requirement for ghrelin cell–expressed β1ARs in these processes. Moreover, these results indicate a potential role for ghrelin in mediating beta blocker–associated hypoglycemia in susceptible individuals, such as young children. PMID:27548523

Impact of Herbicides on Heterodera glycines Susceptible and Resistant Soybean Cultivars.

PubMed

Bradley, C A; Noel, G R; Grau, C R; Gaska, J M; Kurtzweil, N C; Macguidwin, A E; Wax, L M; Hartman, G L; Pedersen, W L

2003-03-01

Several abiotic and biotic stresses can affect soybean in a growing season. Heterodera glycines, soybean cyst nematode, reduces yield of soybean more than any other pathogen in the United States. Field and greenhouse studies were conducted to determine whether preemergence and postemergence herbicides modified the reproduction of H. glycines, and to determine the effects of possible interactive stresses caused by herbicides and H. glycines on soybean growth and yield. Heterodera glycines reproduction factor (Rf) generally was less on resistant than susceptible cultivars, resulting in a yield advantage for resistant cultivars. The yield advantage of resistant cultivars was due to more pods per plant on resistant than susceptible cultivars. Pendimethalin reduced H. glycines Rf on the susceptible cultivars in 1998 at Champaign, Illinois, and in greenhouse studies reduced dry root weight of H. glycines-resistant and susceptible cultivars, therefore reducing Rf on the susceptible cultivars. The interactive stresses from acifluorfen or imazethapyr and H. glycines reduced the dry shoot weight of the resistant cultivar Jack in a greenhouse study. Herbicides did not affect resistant cultivars' ability to suppress H. glycines Rf; therefore, growers planting resistant cultivars should make herbicide decisions based on weeds present and cultivar tolerance to the herbicide.

Prey Foraging Under Sublethal Lambda-Cyhalothrin Exposure on Pyrethroid-Susceptible and -Resistant Lady Beetles (Eriopis connexa (Coleoptera: Coccinelidae)).

PubMed

D'Ávila, V A; Reis, L C; Barbosa, W F; Cutler, G C; Torres, J B; Guedes, R N C

2018-05-28

Sublethal insecticide exposure may affect foraging of insects, including natural enemies, although the subject is usually neglected. The lady beetle Eriopis connexa (Germar, 1824) (Coleoptera: Coccinelidae) is an important predator of aphids with existing pyrethroid-resistant populations that are undergoing scrutiny for potential use in pest management systems characterized by frequent insecticide use. However, the potential effect of sublethal pyrethroid exposure on this predator's foraging activity has not yet been assessed and may compromise its use in biological control. Therefore, our objective was to assess the effect of sublethal lambda-cyhalothrin exposure on three components of the prey foraging activity (i.e., walking, and prey searching and handling), in both pyrethroid-susceptible and -resistant adults of E. connexa. Both lady beetle populations exhibited similar walking patterns without insecticide exposure in noncontaminated arenas, but in partially contaminated arenas walking differed between strains, such that the resistant insects exhibited greater walking activity. Behavioral avoidance expressed as repellence to lambda-cyhalothrin was not observed for either the susceptible or resistant populations of E. connexa, but the insecticide caused avoidance by means of inducing irritability in 40% of the individuals, irrespective of the strain. Insects remained in the insecticide-contaminated portion of the arena for extended periods resulting in greater exposure. Although lambda-cyhalothrin exposure did not affect prey searching by susceptible lady beetles, prey searching was extended for exposed resistant predators. In contrast, prey handling was not affected by population or by lambda-cyhalothrin exposure. Thus, sublethal exposure to the insecticide in conjunction with the insect resistance profile can affect prey foraging with pyrethroid-exposed resistant predators exhibiting longer prey searching time associated with higher walking activity reducing

[Correlations between serine hydroxymethyltransferase1 C1420T polymorphisms and susceptibilities to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and gastric cardiac adenocarcinoma].

PubMed

Wang, Yi-Min; Guo, Wei; Zhang, Xiu-Feng; Li, Yan; Wang, Na; Ge, Hui; Wei, Li-Zhen; Wen, Deng-Gui; Zhang, Jian-Hui

2006-03-01

Serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT), a key enzyme in the folate metabolism, affects gene methylation and DNA synthesis through providing one-carbon units for purine, thymidylate, and methionine. It is closely related to the development and progression of tumors. This study was to investigate the correlations between SHMT1 C1420T single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and susceptibilities to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and gastric cardiac adenocarcinoma (GCA). SHMT1 C1420T SNP was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-confronting two-pair primers (PCR-CTPP) analysis in 584 ESCC patients, 467 GCA patients, and 540 healthy controls. The correlations between SHMT1 C1420T SNP polymorphisms and susceptibilities to ESCC and GCA were analyzed with Logistic regression model. Family history of upper gastrointestinal cancer (UGIC) significantly enhanced the risk of developing ESCC and GCA [the age, gender, smoking status, and family history of UGIC adjusted odds ratio (OR)=2.89, 95% confident interval (CI)=2.23-3.73; OR =1.68, 95% CI=1.28-2.23]. The frequency of 1420C/T genotype was significantly lower in ESCC and GCA patients than in healthy controls (12.0% vs. 16.5%, P<0.05; 10.9% vs. 16.5%, P<0.01). Compared with C/C genotype, C/T genotype significantly reduced susceptibilities to ESCC and GCA, with adjusted OR of 0.70 (95% CI=0.50-0.98) for ESCC and 0.55 (95% CI=0.38-0.81) for GCA. Stratification analysis showed that C/T genotype significantly reduced susceptibilities to ESCC and GCA among non-smokers, with adjusted OR of 0.54 (95% CI=0.33-0.90) for ESCC and 0.56 (95% CI=0.33-0.95) for GCA. In addition, C/T genotype significantly reduced susceptibility to GCA among individuals with or without UGIC history, with adjusted OR of 0.46 (95%CI=0.24-0.90) and 0.62 (95% CI=0.38-0.99) respectively, and reduced susceptibility to ESCC only among individuals with UGIC history, with adjusted OR of 0.51 (95% CI=0.29-0.89). SHMT1 1420C/T genotype could significantly

Effect of individual behavior on epidemic spreading in activity-driven networks.

PubMed

Rizzo, Alessandro; Frasca, Mattia; Porfiri, Maurizio

2014-10-01

In this work we study the effect of behavioral changes of individuals on the propagation of epidemic diseases. Specifically, we consider a susceptible-infected-susceptible model over a network of contacts that evolves in a time scale that is comparable to the individual disease dynamics. The phenomenon is modeled in the context of activity-driven networks, in which contacts occur on the basis of activity potentials. To offer insight into behavioral strategies targeting both susceptible and infected individuals, we consider two separate behaviors that may emerge in respiratory syndromes and sexually transmitted infections. The first is related to a reduction in the activity of infected individuals due to quarantine or illness. The second is instead associated with a selfish self-protective behavior of susceptible individuals, who tend to reduce contact with the rest of the population on the basis of a risk perception. Numerical and theoretical results suggest that behavioral changes could have a beneficial effect on the disease spreading, by increasing the epidemic threshold and decreasing the steady-state fraction of infected individuals.

Effect of individual behavior on epidemic spreading in activity-driven networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizzo, Alessandro; Frasca, Mattia; Porfiri, Maurizio

2014-10-01

In this work we study the effect of behavioral changes of individuals on the propagation of epidemic diseases. Specifically, we consider a susceptible-infected-susceptible model over a network of contacts that evolves in a time scale that is comparable to the individual disease dynamics. The phenomenon is modeled in the context of activity-driven networks, in which contacts occur on the basis of activity potentials. To offer insight into behavioral strategies targeting both susceptible and infected individuals, we consider two separate behaviors that may emerge in respiratory syndromes and sexually transmitted infections. The first is related to a reduction in the activity of infected individuals due to quarantine or illness. The second is instead associated with a selfish self-protective behavior of susceptible individuals, who tend to reduce contact with the rest of the population on the basis of a risk perception. Numerical and theoretical results suggest that behavioral changes could have a beneficial effect on the disease spreading, by increasing the epidemic threshold and decreasing the steady-state fraction of infected individuals.

Susceptibility to emotional contagion for negative emotions improves detection of smile authenticity.

PubMed

Manera, Valeria; Grandi, Elisa; Colle, Livia

2013-01-01

A smile is a context-dependent emotional expression. A smiling face can signal the experience of enjoyable emotions, but people can also smile to convince another person that enjoyment is occurring when it is not. For this reason, the ability to discriminate between felt and faked enjoyment expressions is a crucial social skill. Despite its importance, adults show remarkable individual variation in this ability. Revealing the factors responsible for these huge individual differences is a key challenge in this domain. Here we investigated, on a large sample of participants, whether individual differences in smile authenticity recognition are accounted for by differences in the predisposition to experience other people's emotions, i.e., by susceptibility to emotional contagion. Results showed that susceptibility to emotional contagion for negative emotions increased smile authenticity detection, while susceptibility to emotional contagion for positive emotions worsened detection performance, because it leaded to categorize most of the faked smiles as sincere. These findings suggest that susceptibility to emotional contagion plays a key role in complex emotion recognition, and point out the importance of analyzing the tendency to experience other people's positive and negative emotions as separate abilities.

Susceptibility to emotional contagion for negative emotions improves detection of smile authenticity

PubMed Central

Manera, Valeria; Grandi, Elisa; Colle, Livia

2013-01-01

A smile is a context-dependent emotional expression. A smiling face can signal the experience of enjoyable emotions, but people can also smile to convince another person that enjoyment is occurring when it is not. For this reason, the ability to discriminate between felt and faked enjoyment expressions is a crucial social skill. Despite its importance, adults show remarkable individual variation in this ability. Revealing the factors responsible for these huge individual differences is a key challenge in this domain. Here we investigated, on a large sample of participants, whether individual differences in smile authenticity recognition are accounted for by differences in the predisposition to experience other people's emotions, i.e., by susceptibility to emotional contagion. Results showed that susceptibility to emotional contagion for negative emotions increased smile authenticity detection, while susceptibility to emotional contagion for positive emotions worsened detection performance, because it leaded to categorize most of the faked smiles as sincere. These findings suggest that susceptibility to emotional contagion plays a key role in complex emotion recognition, and point out the importance of analyzing the tendency to experience other people's positive and negative emotions as separate abilities. PMID:23508036

AFFECT AND THE FRAMING EFFECT WITHIN INDIVIDUALS OVER TIME: RISK TAKING IN A DYNAMIC INVESTMENT SIMULATION.

PubMed

Seo, Myeong-Gu; Goldfarb, Brent; Barrett, Lisa Feldman

2010-04-01

We examined the role of affect (pleasant or unpleasant feelings) and decision frames (gains or losses) in risk taking in a 20-day stock investment simulation in which 101 participants rated their current feelings while making investment decisions. As predicted, affect attenuated the relationships between decision frames and risk taking. After experiencing losses, individuals made more risky choices, in keeping with the framing effect. However, this tendency decreased and/or disappeared when loss was simultaneously experienced with either pleasant or unpleasant feelings. Similarly, individuals' tendency to avoid risk after experiencing gains disappeared or even reversed when they simultaneously experienced pleasant feelings.

Klebsiella pneumoniae yfiRNB operon affects biofilm formation, polysaccharide production and drug susceptibility.

PubMed

Huertas, Mónica G; Zárate, Lina; Acosta, Iván C; Posada, Leonardo; Cruz, Diana P; Lozano, Marcela; Zambrano, María M

2014-12-01

Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen important in hospital-acquired infections, which are complicated by the rise of drug-resistant strains and the capacity of cells to adhere to surfaces and form biofilms. In this work, we carried out an analysis of the genes in the K. pneumoniae yfiRNB operon, previously implicated in biofilm formation. The results indicated that in addition to the previously reported effect on type 3 fimbriae expression, this operon also affected biofilm formation due to changes in cellulose as part of the extracellular matrix. Deletion of yfiR resulted in enhanced biofilm formation and an altered colony phenotype indicative of cellulose overproduction when grown on solid indicator media. Extraction of polysaccharides and treatment with cellulase were consistent with the presence of cellulose in biofilms. The enhanced cellulose production did not, however, correlate with virulence as assessed using a Caenorhabditis elegans assay. In addition, cells bearing mutations in genes of the yfiRNB operon varied with respect to the WT control in terms of susceptibility to the antibiotics amikacin, ciprofloxacin, imipenem and meropenem. These results indicated that the yfiRNB operon is implicated in the production of exopolysaccharides that alter cell surface characteristics and the capacity to form biofilms--a phenotype that does not necessarily correlate with properties related with survival, such as resistance to antibiotics. © 2014 The Authors.

Excretion/defecation patterns in Triatoma infestans populations that are, respectively, susceptible and resistant to deltamethrin.

PubMed

Lobbia, P; Calcagno, J; Mougabure-Cueto, G

2018-02-12

Pyrethroid resistance has been detected in Triatoma infestans (Klug) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) specimens from different areas of Argentina and Bolivia. Genes conferring resistance can have a pleiotropic effect with epidemiological and evolutionary consequences. This research studied excretion/defecation patterns in deltamethrin-resistant T. infestans in order to elucidate its biological performance, adaptive consequences and role in the transmission of Chagas' disease. One deltamethrin-susceptible strain and two deltamethrin-resistant strains were used. Fifth-instar nymphs were fed ad libitum and their defecations recorded during and after the first or second feeding in the stadium. Resistant insects began to defecate later, defecated less, showed a lower proportion of defecating individuals and lower defecation indices compared with susceptible insects during the first hour after feeding. The number of bloodmeals in the stadium did not affect the main variables determining the pattern of defecation. The present study suggests that alterations in the excretion/defecation pattern in resistant insects entail an adaptive cost and, considering only this pattern, determine a lower capacity for transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) compared with susceptible insects. © 2018 The Royal Entomological Society.

An In-Depth Characterization of the Major Psoriasis Susceptibility Locus Identifies Candidate Susceptibility Alleles within an HLA-C Enhancer Element

PubMed Central

Clop, Alex; Bertoni, Anna; Spain, Sarah L.; Simpson, Michael A.; Pullabhatla, Venu; Tonda, Raul; Hundhausen, Christian; Di Meglio, Paola; De Jong, Pieter; Hayday, Adrian C.; Nestle, Frank O.; Barker, Jonathan N.; Bell, Robert J. A.; Capon, Francesca; Trembath, Richard C.

2013-01-01

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated skin disorder that is inherited as a complex genetic trait. Although genome-wide association scans (GWAS) have identified 36 disease susceptibility regions, more than 50% of the genetic variance can be attributed to a single Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) locus, known as PSORS1. Genetic studies indicate that HLA-C is the strongest PSORS1 candidate gene, since markers tagging HLA-Cw*0602 consistently generate the most significant association signals in GWAS. However, it is unclear whether HLA-Cw*0602 is itself the causal PSORS1 allele, especially as the role of SNPs that may affect its expression has not been investigated. Here, we have undertaken an in-depth molecular characterization of the PSORS1 interval, with a view to identifying regulatory variants that may contribute to disease susceptibility. By analysing high-density SNP data, we refined PSORS1 to a 179 kb region encompassing HLA-C and the neighbouring HCG27 pseudogene. We compared multiple MHC sequences spanning this refined locus and identified 144 candidate susceptibility variants, which are unique to chromosomes bearing HLA-Cw*0602. In parallel, we investigated the epigenetic profile of the critical PSORS1 interval and uncovered three enhancer elements likely to be active in T lymphocytes. Finally we showed that nine candidate susceptibility SNPs map within a HLA-C enhancer and that three of these variants co-localise with binding sites for immune-related transcription factors. These data indicate that SNPs affecting HLA-Cw*0602 expression are likely to contribute to psoriasis susceptibility and highlight the importance of integrating multiple experimental approaches in the investigation of complex genomic regions such as the MHC. PMID:23990973

Clinical significance, antimicrobial susceptibility and molecular identification of Nocardia species isolated from children with cystic fibrosis.

PubMed

Betrán, Ana; Villuendas, M Cruz; Rezusta, Antonio; Pereira, Javier; Revillo, M José; Rodríguez-Nava, Verónica

2016-01-01

Nocardia is an opportunistic pathogen that causes respiratory infections in immunocompromised patients. The aim of this study was to analyze the epidemiology, clinical significance and antimicrobial susceptibility of Nocardia species isolated from eight children with cystic fibrosis. The isolated species were identified as Nocardia farcinica, Nocardia transvalensis, Nocardia pneumoniae, Nocardia veterana and Nocardia wallacei. N. farcinica was isolated in three patients and all of them presented lung affectation with a chronic colonization and pneumonia. N. farcinica showed resistance against gentamicin, tobramycin, cefotaxime, but was susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and amikacin. N. transvalensis, which was isolated from two patients, showed an association with chronic colonization. N. transvalensis was resistant to tobramycin and amikacin, but susceptible to ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and cefotaxime. N. veterana, N. pneumoniae and N. wallacei were isolated from three different patients and appeared in transitory lung colonization. N. veterana and N. pneumoniae were susceptible to imipenem, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, amikacin, tobramycin, and cefotaxime. N. wallacei was resistant to amikacin, tobramycin, imipenem, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and susceptible to ciprofloxacin and cefotaxime. All the isolates were identified up to species level by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The presence of Nocardia in the sputum of patients with cystic fibrosis is not always an indication of an active infection; therefore, the need for a treatment should be evaluated on an individual basis. The detection of multidrug-resistant species needs molecular identification and susceptibility testing, and should be performed for all Nocardia infections. Copyright © 2016 Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Lay theories about social class buffer lower-class individuals against poor self-rated health and negative affect.

PubMed

Tan, Jacinth J X; Kraus, Michael W

2015-03-01

The economic conditions of one's life can profoundly and systematically influence health outcomes over the life course. Our present research demonstrates that rejecting the notion that social class categories are biologically determined-a nonessentialist belief-buffers lower-class individuals from poor self-rated health and negative affect, whereas conceiving of social class categories as rooted in biology-an essentialist belief-does not. In Study 1, lower-class individuals self-reported poorer health than upper-class individuals when they endorsed essentialist beliefs but showed no such difference when they rejected such beliefs. Exposure to essentialist theories of social class also led lower-class individuals to report greater feelings of negative self-conscious emotions (Studies 2 and 3), and perceive poorer health (Study 3) than upper-class individuals, whereas exposure to nonessentialist theories did not lead to such differences. Discussion considers how lay theories of social class potentially shape long-term trajectories of health and affect of lower-class individuals. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Attitudes toward prenatal genetic testing for Treacher Collins syndrome among affected individuals and families.

PubMed

Wu, Rebecca L; Lawson, Cathleen S; Jabs, Ethylin Wang; Sanderson, Saskia C

2012-07-01

Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) is a craniofacial syndrome that is both phenotypically variable and heterogeneous, caused by mutations in the TCOF1, POLR1C, and POLR1D genes. We examined attitudes towards TCS prenatal genetic testing among affected families using a telephone questionnaire. Participants were 31 affected adults and relatives recruited primarily through families cared for in the mid-Atlantic region. Nineteen participants (65%) reported that they would take a TCS prenatal genetic test which could not predict degree of disease severity. Interest in TCS genetic testing was associated with higher income, higher concern about having a child with TCS, lower religiosity, lower concern about genetic testing procedures, and having a sporadic rather than familial mutation. Over half reported that their decision to have TCS genetic testing would be influenced a great deal by their desire to relieve anxiety and attitudes toward abortion. Ten participants (32%) reported that they would be likely to end the pregnancy upon receiving a positive test result; this was lower amongst TCS affected individuals and higher amongst participants with children with TCS. Genetics healthcare providers need to be aware of affected individuals' and families' attitudes and interest in prenatal genetic testing for TCS, and the possible implications for other craniofacial disorders, so that patients' information needs can be met. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Negative Affect during a Collective (but Not an Individual) Task Is Associated with Holistic Attention in East Asian Cultural Context

PubMed Central

Tominaga, Hitoshi; Uchida, Yukiko; Miyamoto, Yuri; Yamasaki, Teruo

2017-01-01

Previous studies have suggested that individuals from East Asian cultures are more likely to show holistic attention—a pattern of attention that incorporates contextual information into focal stimuli—than individuals from North American cultures. Holistic attention is also prevalent in communities that require close cooperation. However, it is not yet known how cooperation is related to holistic attention. We theorized that holistic attention increases when people experience negative affect (e.g., worry, sadness, and frustration) during collective tasks (but not during individual tasks) because negative affect in social contexts signals the existence of potential threats to social harmony, thus indicating a need to restore social harmony. To examine this hypothesis, an experiment was conducted in which participants performed a musical duet either with another participant (a collective task requiring cooperation), or individually with a computer (an individual task). After the musical task, the Framed Line Task (FLT) was administered to examine their holistic attention. Participants also reported their emotional states both before and after the music task. Results suggested that negative affect in the collective task—but not the individual task—was positively correlated with a holistic pattern of attention. The function of negative affect in social contexts as motivation to restore relationships and how this enhances holistic attention is discussed. The moderating effect of social context on the link between negative affect and cognition is also discussed. PMID:28824483

Negative Affect during a Collective (but Not an Individual) Task Is Associated with Holistic Attention in East Asian Cultural Context.

PubMed

Tominaga, Hitoshi; Uchida, Yukiko; Miyamoto, Yuri; Yamasaki, Teruo

2017-01-01

Previous studies have suggested that individuals from East Asian cultures are more likely to show holistic attention-a pattern of attention that incorporates contextual information into focal stimuli-than individuals from North American cultures. Holistic attention is also prevalent in communities that require close cooperation. However, it is not yet known how cooperation is related to holistic attention. We theorized that holistic attention increases when people experience negative affect (e.g., worry, sadness, and frustration) during collective tasks (but not during individual tasks) because negative affect in social contexts signals the existence of potential threats to social harmony, thus indicating a need to restore social harmony. To examine this hypothesis, an experiment was conducted in which participants performed a musical duet either with another participant (a collective task requiring cooperation), or individually with a computer (an individual task). After the musical task, the Framed Line Task (FLT) was administered to examine their holistic attention. Participants also reported their emotional states both before and after the music task. Results suggested that negative affect in the collective task-but not the individual task-was positively correlated with a holistic pattern of attention. The function of negative affect in social contexts as motivation to restore relationships and how this enhances holistic attention is discussed. The moderating effect of social context on the link between negative affect and cognition is also discussed.

Reactivating dynamics for the susceptible-infected-susceptible model: a simple method to simulate the absorbing phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macedo-Filho, A.; Alves, G. A.; Costa Filho, R. N.; Alves, T. F. A.

2018-04-01

We investigated the susceptible-infected-susceptible model on a square lattice in the presence of a conjugated field based on recently proposed reactivating dynamics. Reactivating dynamics consists of reactivating the infection by adding one infected site, chosen randomly when the infection dies out, avoiding the dynamics being trapped in the absorbing state. We show that the reactivating dynamics can be interpreted as the usual dynamics performed in the presence of an effective conjugated field, named the reactivating field. The reactivating field scales as the inverse of the lattice number of vertices n, which vanishes at the thermodynamic limit and does not affect any scaling properties including ones related to the conjugated field.

Prion disease susceptibility is affected by β-structure folding propensity and local side-chain interactions in PrP

PubMed Central

Khan, M. Qasim; Sweeting, Braden; Mulligan, Vikram Khipple; Arslan, Pharhad Eli; Cashman, Neil R.; Pai, Emil F.; Chakrabartty, Avijit

2010-01-01

Prion diseases occur when the normally α-helical prion protein (PrP) converts to a pathological β-structured state with prion infectivity (PrPSc). Exposure to PrPSc from other mammals can catalyze this conversion. Evidence from experimental and accidental transmission of prions suggests that mammals vary in their prion disease susceptibility: Hamsters and mice show relatively high susceptibility, whereas rabbits, horses, and dogs show low susceptibility. Using a novel approach to quantify conformational states of PrP by circular dichroism (CD), we find that prion susceptibility tracks with the intrinsic propensity of mammalian PrP to convert from the native, α-helical state to a cytotoxic β-structured state, which exists in a monomer–octamer equilibrium. It has been controversial whether β-structured monomers exist at acidic pH; sedimentation equilibrium and dual-wavelength CD evidence is presented for an equilibrium between a β-structured monomer and octamer in some acidic pH conditions. Our X-ray crystallographic structure of rabbit PrP has identified a key helix-capping motif implicated in the low prion disease susceptibility of rabbits. Removal of this capping motif increases the β-structure folding propensity of rabbit PrP to match that of PrP from mouse, a species more susceptible to prion disease. PMID:21041683

Prion disease susceptibility is affected by beta-structure folding propensity and local side-chain interactions in PrP.

PubMed

Khan, M Qasim; Sweeting, Braden; Mulligan, Vikram Khipple; Arslan, Pharhad Eli; Cashman, Neil R; Pai, Emil F; Chakrabartty, Avijit

2010-11-16

Prion diseases occur when the normally α-helical prion protein (PrP) converts to a pathological β-structured state with prion infectivity (PrP(Sc)). Exposure to PrP(Sc) from other mammals can catalyze this conversion. Evidence from experimental and accidental transmission of prions suggests that mammals vary in their prion disease susceptibility: Hamsters and mice show relatively high susceptibility, whereas rabbits, horses, and dogs show low susceptibility. Using a novel approach to quantify conformational states of PrP by circular dichroism (CD), we find that prion susceptibility tracks with the intrinsic propensity of mammalian PrP to convert from the native, α-helical state to a cytotoxic β-structured state, which exists in a monomer-octamer equilibrium. It has been controversial whether β-structured monomers exist at acidic pH; sedimentation equilibrium and dual-wavelength CD evidence is presented for an equilibrium between a β-structured monomer and octamer in some acidic pH conditions. Our X-ray crystallographic structure of rabbit PrP has identified a key helix-capping motif implicated in the low prion disease susceptibility of rabbits. Removal of this capping motif increases the β-structure folding propensity of rabbit PrP to match that of PrP from mouse, a species more susceptible to prion disease.

Susceptibility to Ticks and Lyme Disease Spirochetes Is Not Affected in Mice Coinfected with Nematodes.

PubMed

Maaz, Denny; Rausch, Sebastian; Richter, Dania; Krücken, Jürgen; Kühl, Anja A; Demeler, Janina; Blümke, Julia; Matuschka, Franz-Rainer; von Samson-Himmelstjerna, Georg; Hartmann, Susanne

2016-05-01

Small rodents serve as reservoir hosts for tick-borne pathogens, such as the spirochetes causing Lyme disease. Whether natural coinfections with other macroparasites alter the success of tick feeding, antitick immunity, and the host's reservoir competence for tick-borne pathogens remains to be determined. In a parasitological survey of wild mice in Berlin, Germany, approximately 40% of Ixodes ricinus-infested animals simultaneously harbored a nematode of the genus Heligmosomoides We therefore aimed to analyze the immunological impact of the nematode/tick coinfection as well as its effect on the tick-borne pathogen Borrelia afzelii Hosts experimentally coinfected with Heligmosomoides polygyrus and larval/nymphal I. ricinus ticks developed substantially stronger systemic type 2 T helper cell (Th2) responses, on the basis of the levels of GATA-3 and interleukin-13 expression, than mice infected with a single pathogen. During repeated larval infestations, however, anti-tick Th2 reactivity and an observed partial immunity to tick feeding were unaffected by concurrent nematode infections. Importantly, the strong systemic Th2 immune response in coinfected mice did not affect susceptibility to tick-borne B. afzelii An observed trend for decreased local and systemic Th1 reactivity against B. afzelii in coinfected mice did not result in a higher spirochete burden, nor did it facilitate bacterial dissemination or induce signs of immunopathology. Hence, this study indicates that strong systemic Th2 responses in nematode/tick-coinfected house mice do not affect the success of tick feeding and the control of the causative agent of Lyme disease. Copyright © 2016 Maaz et al.

Negative Mood State Enhances the Susceptibility to Unpleasant Events: Neural Correlates from a Music-Primed Emotion Classification Task

PubMed Central

Yuan, Jiajin; Chen, Jie; Yang, Jiemin; Ju, Enxia; Norman, Greg J.; Ding, Nanxiang

2014-01-01

Background Various affective disorders are linked with enhanced processing of unpleasant stimuli. However, this link is likely a result of the dominant negative mood derived from the disorder, rather than a result of the disorder itself. Additionally, little is currently known about the influence of mood on the susceptibility to emotional events in healthy populations. Method Event-Related Potentials (ERP) were recorded for pleasant, neutral and unpleasant pictures while subjects performed an emotional/neutral picture classification task during positive, neutral, or negative mood induced by instrumental Chinese music. Results Late Positive Potential (LPP) amplitudes were positively related to the affective arousal of pictures. The emotional responding to unpleasant pictures, indicated by the unpleasant-neutral differences in LPPs, was enhanced during negative compared to neutral and positive moods in the entire LPP time window (600–1000 ms). The magnitude of this enhancement was larger with increasing self-reported negative mood. In contrast, this responding was reduced during positive compared to neutral mood in the 800–1000 ms interval. Additionally, LPP reactions to pleasant stimuli were similar across positive, neutral and negative moods except those in the 800–900 ms interval. Implications Negative mood intensifies the humans' susceptibility to unpleasant events in healthy individuals. In contrast, music-induced happy mood is effective in reducing the susceptibility to these events. Practical implications of these findings were discussed. PMID:24587070

Reversion of High-level Mecillinam Resistance to Susceptibility in Escherichia coli During Growth in Urine.

PubMed

Thulin, Elisabeth; Thulin, Måns; Andersson, Dan I

2017-09-01

Mecillinam (amdinocillin) is a β-lactam antibiotic used to treat uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs). We have previously shown that inactivation of the Escherichia coli cysB gene is the major cause of mecillinam resistance (Mec R ) in clinical isolates. In this study, we used different E. coli strains (laboratory and clinical isolates) that were Mec R due to cysB mutations to determine how mecillinam susceptibility was affected during growth in urine compared to growth in the commonly used growth medium Mueller Hinton (MHB). We also examined mecillinam susceptibility when bacteria were grown in urine obtained from 48 different healthy volunteers. Metabolome analysis was done on the urine samples and the association between the mecillinam susceptibility patterns of the bacteria and urine metabolite levels was studied. Two major findings with clinical significance are reported. First, Mec R E. coli cysB mutant strains (both laboratory and clinical isolates) were always more susceptible to mecillinam when grown in urine as compared to laboratory medium, with many strains showing complete phenotypic susceptibility in urine. Second, the degree of reversion to susceptibility varied between urine samples obtained from different individuals. This difference was correlated with osmolality such that in urine with low osmolality the Mec R mutants were more susceptible to mecillinam than in urine with high osmolality. This is the first example describing conditional resistance where a genetically stable antibiotic resistance can be phenotypically reverted to susceptibility by metabolites present in urine. These findings have several important clinical implications regarding the use of mecillinam to treat UTIs. First, they suggest that mecillinam can be used to treat also those clinical strains that are identified as Mec R in standard laboratory tests. Second, the results suggest that testing of mecillinam susceptibility in the laboratory ought to be performed in

Water hardness affects catfish susceptibility to columnaris

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Columnaris disease can cause tremendous losses of freshwater fish. While it has been studied exhaustively, little is known about its affinity to specific water chemistries that affects attachment. Recent studies in our labs have illuminated this subject. In the first experiment, two waters were ...

How sex and age affect immune responses, susceptibility to infections, and response to vaccination

PubMed Central

Giefing-Kröll, Carmen; Berger, Peter; Lepperdinger, Günter; Grubeck-Loebenstein, Beatrix

2015-01-01

Do men die young and sick, or do women live long and healthy? By trying to explain the sexual dimorphism in life expectancy, both biological and environmental aspects are presently being addressed. Besides age-related changes, both the immune and the endocrine system exhibit significant sex-specific differences. This review deals with the aging immune system and its interplay with sex steroid hormones. Together, they impact on the etiopathology of many infectious diseases, which are still the major causes of morbidity and mortality in people at old age. Among men, susceptibilities toward many infectious diseases and the corresponding mortality rates are higher. Responses to various types of vaccination are often higher among women thereby also mounting stronger humoral responses. Women appear immune-privileged. The major sex steroid hormones exhibit opposing effects on cells of both the adaptive and the innate immune system: estradiol being mainly enhancing, testosterone by and large suppressive. However, levels of sex hormones change with age. At menopause transition, dropping estradiol potentially enhances immunosenescence effects posing postmenopausal women at additional, yet specific risks. Conclusively during aging, interventions, which distinctively consider the changing level of individual hormones, shall provide potent options in maintaining optimal immune functions. PMID:25720438

Environmental and Individual Factors Affecting Menu Labeling Utilization: A Qualitative Research Study

PubMed Central

Schindler, Jennifer; Kiszko, Kamila; Abrams, Courtney; Islam, Nadia; Elbel, Brian

2013-01-01

Obesity is a significant public health concern that disproportionally affects low-income and minority populations. Recent policies mandating the posting of calories on menus in fast food chain restaurants have not proven to uniformly influence food choice. This qualitative research study uses focus groups to study individual and environmental factors affecting the usage of these menu labels among low-income, minority populations. Ten focus groups targeting low-income residents (n=105) were conducted at various community organizations throughout NYC in Spanish, English, or a combination of both languages, over a nine-month period in 2011. In late 2011 and early 2012, transcripts were coded through the process of thematic analysis using Atlas.ti for naturally emerging themes, influences, and determinants of food choice. Few used menu labels, despite awareness. Among the themes pertaining to menu label usage, price and time constraints, confusion and lack of understanding of caloric values, as well as the priority of preference, hunger, and habitual ordering habits were most frequently cited as barriers to menu label usage. Based on the individual and external influences on food choice that often take priority over calorie consideration, a modified approach may be necessary to make menu labels more effective and user-friendly. PMID:23402695

Gaze direction differentially affects avoidance tendencies to happy and angry faces in socially anxious individuals.

PubMed

Roelofs, Karin; Putman, Peter; Schouten, Sonja; Lange, Wolf-Gero; Volman, Inge; Rinck, Mike

2010-04-01

Increasing evidence indicates that eye gaze direction affects the processing of emotional faces in anxious individuals. However, the effects of eye gaze direction on the behavioral responses elicited by emotional faces, such as avoidance behavior, remain largely unexplored. We administered an Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) in high (HSA) and low socially anxious (LSA) individuals. All participants responded to photographs of angry, happy and neutral faces (presented with direct and averted gaze), by either pushing a joystick away from them (avoidance) or pulling it towards them (approach). Compared to LSA, HSA were faster in avoiding than approaching angry faces. Most crucially, this avoidance tendency was only present when the perceived anger was directed towards the subject (direct gaze) and not when the gaze of the face-stimulus was averted. In contrast, HSA individuals tended to avoid happy faces irrespectively of gaze direction. Neutral faces elicited no approach-avoidance tendencies. Thus avoidance of angry faces in social anxiety as measured by AA-tasks reflects avoidance of subject-directed anger and not of negative stimuli in general. In addition, although both anger and joy are considered to reflect approach-related emotions, gaze direction did not affect HSA's avoidance of happy faces, suggesting differential mechanisms affecting responses to happy and angry faces in social anxiety. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does thinning affect gypsy moth dynamics?

Treesearch

Andrew M. Liebhold; Rose-Marie Muzika; Kurt W. Gottschalk

1998-01-01

In northeastern U.S. forests there is considerable variation in susceptibility (defoliation potential) and vulnerability (tree mortality) to gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar [L.]). Thinning has been suggested as a way to reduce susceptibility and/or vulnerability. We evaluated how thinning affected the dynamics of gypsy moth populations by experimentally...

Bipolar disorder: idioms of susceptibility and disease and the role of 'genes' in illness explanations.

PubMed

Baart, Ingrid; Widdershoven, Guy

2013-11-01

This qualitative study explores (1) how members of the Dutch Association for People with Bipolar Disorder explain the affliction of bipolar disorder; (2) the relationship between genetic, environmental and personal factors in these explanations and (3) the relationship between illness explanations, self-management and identity. A total of 40 participants took part in seven different focus group discussions. The results demonstrate that there are two different explanatory idioms, each one centred around an opposing concept, that is, susceptibility and disease. Individuals who construct explanations around the concept of 'disease' attach more importance to 'genes and chemicals' than to environmental components in the onset of the disorder, whereas individuals adhering to the central concept of 'susceptibility' tend to do this much less. Compared with individuals using the 'susceptibility' idiom, those who use a 'disease' idiom tend to observe fewer possibilities for self-management and are less inclined to construct normalcy through a quest for personal growth. Stories of suffering seem more integral to the 'disease' idiom than to the 'susceptibility' idiom. The 'disease' idiom seems less integrated in a contemporary surveillance psychiatric discourse than the 'susceptibility' idiom; however, both vocabularies can offer normative constraints.

Social Environmental Variation, Plasticity Genes, and Aggression: Evidence for the Differential Susceptibility Hypothesis

PubMed Central

Simons, Ronald L.; Lei, Man Kit; Beach, Steven R.H.; Brody, Gene H.; Philibert, Robert A.; Gibbons, Frederick X.

2011-01-01

Although G×E studies are typically based on the assumption that some individuals possess genetic variants that enhance their vulnerability to environmental adversity, the differential susceptibility perspective posits that these individuals are simply more susceptible to environmental influence than others. An important implication of this model is that those persons most vulnerable to adverse social environments are the same ones who reap the most benefit from environmental support. The present study tested several implications of this proposition. Using longitudinal data from a sample of several hundred African Americans, we found that relatively common variants of the dopamine receptor gene and the serotonin transporter gene interact with social environmental conditions to predict aggression in a manner consonant with differential susceptibility. When the social environment was adverse, individuals with these genetic variants manifested more aggression than other genotypes, whereas when the environment was supportive they demonstrated less aggression than other genotypes. Further, we found that these genetic variants interact with environmental conditions to foster various cognitive schemas and emotions in a manner consistent with differential susceptibility and that a latent construct formed by these schemas and emotions mediated the effect of gene by environment interaction on aggression. PMID:22199399

Temporal interactions facilitate endemicity in the susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemic model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Speidel, Leo; Klemm, Konstantin; Eguíluz, Víctor M.; Masuda, Naoki

2016-07-01

Data of physical contacts and face-to-face communications suggest temporally varying networks as the media on which infections take place among humans and animals. Epidemic processes on temporal networks are complicated by complexity of both network structure and temporal dimensions. Theoretical approaches are much needed for identifying key factors that affect dynamics of epidemics. In particular, what factors make some temporal networks stronger media of infection than other temporal networks is under debate. We develop a theory to understand the susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemic model on arbitrary temporal networks, where each contact is used for a finite duration. We show that temporality of networks lessens the epidemic threshold such that infections persist more easily in temporal networks than in their static counterparts. We further show that the Lie commutator bracket of the adjacency matrices at different times is a key determinant of the epidemic threshold in temporal networks. The effect of temporality on the epidemic threshold, which depends on a data set, is approximately predicted by the magnitude of a commutator norm.

Behavioural phenotypes predict disease susceptibility and infectiousness

PubMed Central

Araujo, Alessandra; Kirschman, Lucas

2016-01-01

Behavioural phenotypes may provide a means for identifying individuals that disproportionally contribute to disease spread and epizootic outbreaks. For example, bolder phenotypes may experience greater exposure and susceptibility to pathogenic infection because of distinct interactions with conspecifics and their environment. We tested the value of behavioural phenotypes in larval amphibians for predicting ranavirus transmission in experimental trials. We found that behavioural phenotypes characterized by latency-to-food and swimming profiles were predictive of disease susceptibility and infectiousness defined as the capacity of an infected host to transmit an infection by contacts. While viral shedding rates were positively associated with transmission, we also found an inverse relationship between contacts and infections. Together these results suggest intrinsic traits that influence behaviour and the quantity of pathogens shed during conspecific interactions may be an important contributor to ranavirus transmission. These results suggest that behavioural phenotypes provide a means to identify individuals more likely to spread disease and thus give insights into disease outbreaks that threaten wildlife and humans. PMID:27555652

Genome-wide association study identifies two new susceptibility loci for atopic dermatitis in the Chinese Han population.

PubMed

Sun, Liang-Dan; Xiao, Feng-Li; Li, Yang; Zhou, Wen-Ming; Tang, Hua-Yang; Tang, Xian-Fa; Zhang, Hui; Schaarschmidt, Heidi; Zuo, Xian-Bo; Foelster-Holst, Regina; He, Su-Min; Shi, Mei; Liu, Qiang; Lv, Yong-Mei; Chen, Xi-Lan; Zhu, Kun-Ju; Guo, Yi-Feng; Hu, Da-Yan; Li, Ming; Li, Min; Zhang, Yan-Hong; Zhang, Xin; Tang, Jian-Ping; Guo, Bi-Rong; Wang, Hua; Liu, Yuan; Zou, Xiao-Yan; Zhou, Fu-Sheng; Liu, Xiao-Yan; Chen, Gang; Ma, Lin; Zhang, Shu-Mei; Jiang, Ai-Ping; Zheng, Xiao-Dong; Gao, Xing-Hua; Li, Pan; Tu, Cai-Xia; Yin, Xian-Yong; Han, Xiu-Ping; Ren, Yun-Qing; Song, Shun-Peng; Lu, Zhi-Yong; Zhang, Xing-Lian; Cui, Yong; Chang, Jing; Gao, Min; Luo, Xiao-Yan; Wang, Pei-Guang; Dai, Xing; Su, Wei; Li, Hui; Shen, Chun-Pin; Liu, Sheng-Xiu; Feng, Xiao-Bo; Yang, Chun-Jun; Lin, Guo-Shu; Wang, Zai-Xing; Huang, Jian-Qing; Fan, Xing; Wang, Yan; Bao, Yi-Xiao; Yang, Sen; Liu, Jian-Jun; Franke, Andre; Weidinger, Stephan; Yao, Zhi-Rong; Zhang, Xue-Jun

2011-06-12

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic, relapsing form of inflammatory skin disorder that is affected by genetic and environmental factors. We performed a genome-wide association study of atopic dermatitis in a Chinese Han population using 1,012 affected individuals (cases) and 1,362 controls followed by a replication study in an additional 3,624 cases and 12,197 controls of Chinese Han ethnicity, as well as 1,806 cases and 3,256 controls from Germany. We identified previously undescribed susceptibility loci at 5q22.1 (TMEM232 and SLC25A46, rs7701890, P(combined) = 3.15 × 10(-9), odds ratio (OR) = 1.24) and 20q13.33 (TNFRSF6B and ZGPAT, rs6010620, P(combined) = 3.0 × 10(-8), OR = 1.17) and replicated another previously reported locus at 1q21.3 (FLG, rs3126085, P(combined) = 5.90 × 10(-12), OR = 0.82) in the Chinese sample. The 20q13.33 locus also showed evidence for association in the German sample (rs6010620, P = 2.87 × 10(-5), OR = 1.25). Our study identifies new genetic susceptibility factors and suggests previously unidentified biological pathways in atopic dermatitis.

Adolescent Susceptibility to Peer Influence in Sexual Situations

PubMed Central

Widman, Laura; Choukas-Bradley, Sophia; Helms, Sarah W.; Prinstein, Mitchell J.

2016-01-01

Purpose One consistent predictor of adolescents’ engagement in sexual risk behavior is their belief that peers are engaging in similar behavior; however, not all youth are equally susceptible to these peer influence effects. Understanding individual differences in susceptibility to peer influence is critical to identifying adolescents at risk for negative health outcomes. The purpose of this project was to identify predictors of susceptibility to peer influence using a novel performance-based measure of sexual risk-taking. Methods Participants were 300 early adolescents (Mage=12.6; 53% female; 44% Caucasian) who completed 1) a pretest assessment of demographics, sexual attitudes, and hypothetical scenarios measuring the likelihood of engaging in sexual risk behavior, and 2) a subsequent experimental procedure that simulated an internet chat room in which youth believed they were communicating with peers regarding these same hypothetical scenarios. In reality, these “peers” were computer-programmed e-confederates. Changes in responses to the sexual scenarios in the private pretest versus during the public chat room provided a performance-based measure of peer influence susceptibility. Results In total, 78% of youth provided more risky responses in the chat room than in pretest. The most robust predictor of this change was gender, with boys significantly more susceptible to peer influence than girls. Significant interactions also were noted, with greater susceptibility among boys with later pubertal development and African American boys. Conclusion Results confirm that not all youth are equally susceptible to peer influence. Consistent with sexual script theory, boys evidence greater susceptibility to social pressure regarding sexual behavior than girls. PMID:26794431

Alate susceptibility in ants

PubMed Central

Ho, Eddie K H; Frederickson, Megan E

2014-01-01

Pathogens are predicted to pose a particular threat to eusocial insects because infections can spread rapidly in colonies with high densities of closely related individuals. In ants, there are two major castes: workers and reproductives. Sterile workers receive no direct benefit from investing in immunity, but can gain indirect fitness benefits if their immunity aids the survival of their fertile siblings. Virgin reproductives (alates), on the other hand, may be able to increase their investment in reproduction, rather than in immunity, because of the protection they receive from workers. Thus, we expect colonies to have highly immune workers, but relatively more susceptible alates. We examined the survival of workers, gynes, and males of nine ant species collected in Peru and Canada when exposed to the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. For the seven species in which treatment with B. bassiana increased ant mortality relative to controls, we found workers were significantly less susceptible compared with both alate sexes. Female and male alates did not differ significantly in their immunocompetence. Our results suggest that, as with other nonreproductive tasks in ant colonies like foraging and nest maintenance, workers have primary responsibility for colony immunity, allowing alates to specialize on reproduction. We highlight the importance of colony-level selection on individual immunity in ants and other eusocial organisms. PMID:25540683

Tobacco Marketing, E-cigarette Susceptibility, and Perceptions among Adults.

PubMed

Nicksic, Nicole E; Snell, L Morgan; Rudy, Alyssa K; Cobb, Caroline O; Barnes, Andrew J

2017-09-01

Understanding the impact of tobacco marketing on e-cigarette (EC) susceptibility and perceptions is essential to inform efforts to mitigate tobacco product burden on public health. Data were collected online in 2016 from 634 conventional cigarette (CC) smokers and 393 non-smokers using a convenience sample from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Logistic regression models, stratified by smoking status and adjusted for socio-demographics, examined the relationship among tobacco advertisements and coupons, EC and CC susceptibility, and EC perceptions. Among non-smokers, increased exposure to tobacco advertising and receiving tobacco coupons was significantly related to measures of EC and CC susceptibility (p < .05). Older, more educated non-smokers had decreased odds of EC susceptibility (p < .05). Additionally, increased exposure to tobacco advertising was significantly associated with the perceptions of EC not containing nicotine and being less addictive than CC among smokers (p < .05). Increased exposure to tobacco advertising outlets could influence future EC and CC use in non-smokers and perceptions in smokers, while receiving coupons could affect EC and CC susceptibility among non-smokers. Future research is needed to determine whether policies to minimize exposure to tobacco marketing reduce EC use by decreasing susceptibility.

Personality differentially affects individual mate choice decisions in female and male Western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis).

PubMed

Chen, Bo-Jian; Liu, Kai; Zhou, Lin-Jun; Gomes-Silva, Guilherme; Sommer-Trembo, Carolin; Plath, Martin

2018-01-01

Consistent individual differences in behavioral tendencies (animal personality) can affect individual mate choice decisions. We asked whether personality traits affect male and female mate choice decisions similarly and whether potential personality effects are consistent across different mate choice situations. Using western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) as our study organism, we characterized focal individuals (males and females) twice for boldness, activity, and sociability/shoaling and found high and significant behavioral repeatability. Additionally, each focal individual was tested in two different dichotomous mate choice tests in which it could choose between computer-animated stimulus fish of the opposite sex that differed in body size and activity levels, respectively. Personality had different effects on female and male mate choice: females that were larger than average showed stronger preferences for large-bodied males with increasing levels of boldness/activity (i.e., towards more proactive personality types). Males that were larger than average and had higher shoaling tendencies showed stronger preferences for actively swimming females. Size-dependent effects of personality on the strength of preferences for distinct phenotypes of potential mating partners may reflect effects of age/experience (especially in females) and social dominance (especially in males). Previous studies found evidence for assortative mate choice based on personality types or hypothesized the existence of behavioral syndromes of individuals' choosiness across mate choice criteria, possibly including other personality traits. Our present study exemplifies that far more complex patterns of personality-dependent mate choice can emerge in natural systems.

Endocrine correlates of susceptibility to motion sickness

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kohl, R. L.

1985-01-01

Motion sickness releases ACTH, epinerphrine, and norepinephrine. The endocrine responses to motion sickness, adaptive responses leading to the resolution of the syndrome, and the way in which antimotion-sickness drugs influence the endocrine responses were studied. Susceptible or insusceptible subjects were administered antimotion-sickness drugs prior to stressful stimulation. Insusceptible subjects displayed more pronounced elevations of ACTH, epinephrine, and norepinephrine after stressful motion. Predrug levels of ACTH were higher in insusceptible subjects (p less than 0.01). Acute blockade of hormone responses to stressful motion or alteration of levels of ACTH by drugs were not correlated with individual susceptibility. No correlation was apparent between epinephrine and ACTH release. These endocrine differences may represent neurochemical markers for susceptibility to motion, stress, or general adaptability, and it may be that the chronic modulation of their levels might be more effective in preventing motion sickness than the acute blockage or stimulation of specific receptors.

Modulation of central serotonin affects emotional information processing in impulsive aggressive personality disorder.

PubMed

Lee, Royce J; Gill, Andrew; Chen, Bing; McCloskey, Michael; Coccaro, Emil F

2012-06-01

The mechanistic model whereby serotonin affects impulsive aggression is not completely understood. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that depletion of serotonin reserves by tryptophan depletion affects emotional information processing in susceptible individuals. The effect of tryptophan (vs placebo) depletion on processing of Ekman emotional faces was compared in impulsive aggressive personality disordered, male and female adults with normal controls. All subjects were free of psychotropic medications, medically healthy, nondepressed, and substance free. Additionally, subjective mood state and vital signs were monitored. For emotion recognition, a significant interaction of Aggression × Drug × Sex (F(1, 31) = 7.687, P = 0.009) was found, with male normal controls but not impulsive aggressive males showing increased recognition of fear. For intensity ratings of emotional faces, a significant interaction was discovered of Drug × Group × Sex (F(1, 31) = 5.924, P = 0.021), with follow-up tests revealing that males with intermittent explosive disorder tended to increase intensity ratings of angry faces after tryptophan depletion. Additionally, tryptophan depletion was associated with increased heart rate in all subjects, and increased intensity of the subjective emotional state of "anger" in impulsive aggressive subjects. Individuals with clinically relevant levels of impulsive aggression may be susceptible to effects of serotonergic depletion on emotional information processing, showing a tendency to exaggerate their impression of the intensity of angry expressions and to report an angry mood state after tryptophan depletion. This may reflect heightened sensitivity to the effects of serotonergic dysregulation, and suggests that what underlies impulsive aggression is either supersensitivity to serotonergic disturbances or susceptibility to fluctuations in central serotonergic availability.

Prevalence of GJB2 Mutations in Affected Individuals from United Arab Emirates with Autosomal Recessive Nonsyndromic Hearing Loss.

PubMed

Tlili, Abdelaziz; Al Mutery, Abdullah; Kamal Eddine Ahmad Mohamed, Walaa; Mahfood, Mona; Hadj Kacem, Hassen

2017-11-01

Mutations in the gap junction protein beta 2 (GJB2) gene are responsible for more cases of nonsyndromic recessive hearing loss than any other gene. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of GJB2 mutations among affected individuals from United Arab Emirates (UAE). There were 50 individuals diagnosed with hereditary hearing loss and 120 healthy individuals enrolled in the study. The Sanger sequencing method was used to screen the GJB2 coding region in all affected individuals. The c.-1G>A variant was determined by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method in normal individuals. Nine cases with bi-allelic mutations and three cases with mono-allelic mutations were detected in 12 out of 50 patients (24%). The homozygous mutation c.35delG was identified as the cause of hearing loss in six participants (12%). The mutation c.506G>A was identified in three affected individuals (6%). The allelic frequency (14%) and low percentage of individuals that were homozygous (2%) for the c.35delG mutation suggest that there are other genes responsible for nonsyndromic deafness in the UAE population. The results reported here are a preliminary step in collecting epidemiological data regarding autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss related to GJB2 gene mutations among the UAE population. The c.35delG mutation of the GJB2 gene is the most frequently seen causative mutation in the UAE and is followed by the p.Cys169Tyr mutation.

Linear and nonlinear susceptibilities from diffusion quantum Monte Carlo: application to periodic hydrogen chains.

PubMed

Umari, P; Marzari, Nicola

2009-09-07

We calculate the linear and nonlinear susceptibilities of periodic longitudinal chains of hydrogen dimers with different bond-length alternations using a diffusion quantum Monte Carlo approach. These quantities are derived from the changes in electronic polarization as a function of applied finite electric field--an approach we recently introduced and made possible by the use of a Berry-phase, many-body electric-enthalpy functional. Calculated susceptibilities and hypersusceptibilities are found to be in excellent agreement with the best estimates available from quantum chemistry--usually extrapolations to the infinite-chain limit of calculations for chains of finite length. It is found that while exchange effects dominate the proper description of the susceptibilities, second hypersusceptibilities are greatly affected by electronic correlations. We also assess how different approximations to the nodal surface of the many-body wave function affect the accuracy of the calculated susceptibilities.

Perfectionism in Relation to Stress and Cardiovascular Disease among Gifted Individuals and the Need for Affective Interventions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corson, Ansley T.; Loveless, James P.; Mochrie, Kirk D.; Whited, Matthew C.

2018-01-01

Maladaptive perfectionism has the potential to put gifted individuals at an increased risk for cardiac events via the reduced heart rate variability that results from chronic negative affect and physiological stress reactions. As a result, implementing affective interventions into gifted programs may play a critical role in teaching gifted…

A FISTful of Emotion: Individual Differences in Trait Anxiety and Cognitive-Affective Flexibility During Preadolescence.

PubMed

Mărcuş, Oana; Stanciu, Oana; MacLeod, Colin; Liebregts, Heather; Visu-Petra, Laura

2016-10-01

Cognitive-affective flexibility represents the ability to switch between alternative ways of processing emotional stimuli according to situational demands and individual goals. Although reduced flexibility has been implicated as a mechanism for the development of anxiety, there is very limited data on this relationship in children and adolescents. The aim of the current study was to investigate cognitive-affective flexibility in preadolescents (N = 112, 50 girls, 11-12 and 13-14 years old) and to examine if this ability is related to individual differences in trait anxiety. Their interplay was assessed using the modified version of the Flexible Item Selection Task (FIST; Jacques and Zelazo 2001) with non-emotional stimuli (geometrical shapes) and the Emotional FIST (EM-FIST) with emotional stimuli (emotional facial expressions). Performance on the EM-FIST indicated that across the whole age range, trials requiring greater cognitive flexibility were more demanding than nonflexible ones, as revealed by both response time and accuracy performance. Moreover, flexibility demands were higher for younger children than for older ones but only in terms of response speed. Individual differences in trait anxiety moderated the impact of flexibility only on the EM-FIST. Being flexible on the EM-FIST was more demanding for high trait anxious children than for their low trait anxious peers. Lastly, overall girls responded faster than boys, but only in the EM-FIST. These findings extend the presently limited literature concerning variability in cognitive-affective flexibility during this sensitive developmental window.

Immunochip analysis identification of 6 additional susceptibility loci for Crohn's disease in Koreans.

PubMed

Yang, Suk-Kyun; Hong, Myunghee; Choi, Hyunchul; Zhao, Wanting; Jung, Yusun; Haritunians, Talin; Ye, Byong Duk; Kim, Kyung-Jo; Park, Sang Hyoung; Lee, Inchul; Kim, Won Ho; Cheon, Jae Hee; Kim, Young-Ho; Jang, Byung Ik; Kim, Hyun-Soo; Choi, Jai Hyun; Koo, Ja Seol; Lee, Ji Hyun; Jung, Sung-Ae; Shin, Hyoung Doo; Kang, Daehee; Youn, Hee-Shang; Taylor, Kent D; Rotter, Jerome I; Liu, Jianjun; McGovern, Dermot P B; Song, Kyuyoung

2015-01-01

Crohn's disease (CD) is an intractable inflammatory bowel disease of unknown cause. Recent genome-wide association studies of CD in Korean and Japanese populations suggested marginal sharing of susceptibility loci between Caucasian and Asian populations. As the 7 identified loci altogether explain 5.31% of the risk for CD, the objective of this study was to identify additional CD susceptibility loci in the Korean population. Using the ImmunoChip custom single-nucleotide polymorphism array designed for dense genotyping of 186 loci identified through GWAS, we analyzed 722 individuals with CD and 461 controls for 96,048 SNP markers in the discovery stage, followed by validation in an additional 948 affected individuals and 977 controls. We confirmed 6 previously reported loci in Caucasian: GPR35 at 2q37 (rs3749172; P = 5.30 × 10, odds ratio [OR] = 1.45), ZNF365 at 10q21 (rs224143; P = 2.20 × 10, OR = 1.38), ZMIZ1 at 10q22 (rs1250569; P = 3.05 × 10, OR = 1.30), NKX2-3 at 10q24 (rs4409764; P = 7.93 × 10, OR = 1.32), PTPN2 at 18p11 (rs514000; P = 9.00 × 10, OR = 1.33), and USP25 at 21q11 (rs2823256; P = 2.49 × 10, OR = 1.35), bringing the number of known CD loci (including 3 in the HLA) in Koreans to 15. The 6 additional loci increased the total genetic variance for CD risk from 5.31% to 7.27% in Koreans. Although the different genetic backgrounds of CD between Asian and Western countries has been well established for the major susceptibility genes, our findings of overlapping associations offer new insights into the genetic architecture of CD.

Reversal of Refractory Ulcerative Colitis and Severe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptoms Arising from Immune Disturbance in an HLADR/DQ Genetically Susceptible Individual with Multiple Biotoxin Exposures

PubMed Central

Gunn, Shelly R.; Gibson Gunn, G.; Mueller, Francis W.

2016-01-01

Patient: Male, 25 Final Diagnosis: Ulcerative colitis and chronic fatigue syndrome Symptoms: Colitis • profound fatigue • multi-joint pain • cognitive impairment • corneal keratitis Medication: — Clinical Procedure: VIP replacement therapy Specialty: Family Medicine Objective: Unusual clinical course Background: Patients with multisymptom chronic conditions, such as refractory ulcerative colitis (RUC) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), present diagnostic and management challenges for clinicians, as well as the opportunity to recognize and treat emerging disease entities. In the current case we report reversal of co-existing RUC and CFS symptoms arising from biotoxin exposures in a genetically susceptible individual. Case Report: A 25-year-old previously healthy male with new-onset refractory ulcerative colitis (RUC) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) tested negative for autoimmune disease biomarkers. However, urine mycotoxin panel testing was positive for trichothecene group and air filter testing from the patient’s water-damaged rental house identified the toxic mold Stachybotrys chartarum. HLA-DR/DQ testing revealed a multisusceptible haplotype for development of chronic inflammation, and serum chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) biomarker testing was positive for highly elevated TGF-beta and a clinically undetectable level of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). Following elimination of biotoxin exposures, VIP replacement therapy, dental extractions, and implementation of a mind body intervention-relaxation response (MBI-RR) program, the patient’s symptoms resolved. He is off medications, back to work, and resuming normal exercise. Conclusions: This constellation of RUC and CFS symptoms in an HLA-DR/DQ genetically susceptible individual with biotoxin exposures is consistent with the recently described CIRS disease pathophysiology. Chronic immune disturbance (turbatio immuno) can be identified with clinically available CIRS biomarkers and

Analysis of multiple cytokine polymorphisms in individuals with untreated deep carious lesions reveals IL1B (rs1143643) as a susceptibility factor for periapical lesion development.

PubMed

Dill, Alisa; Letra, Ariadne; Chaves de Souza, Letícia; Yadlapati, Mamatha; Biguetti, Claudia Cristina; Garlet, Gustavo Pompermaier; Vieira, Alexandre R; Silva, Renato Menezes

2015-02-01

It has been proposed that individual genetic predisposition may contribute to persistent apical periodontitis. Cytokines are associated with levels of inflammation and are involved in caries, pulpal, and periapical tissue destruction. We hypothesized that polymorphisms in cytokine genes may contribute to an individual's increased susceptibility to apical tissue destruction in response to deep carious lesions. Subjects with deep carious lesions with or without periapical lesions (≥3 mm) were recruited at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, and the University of Texas at Houston, Houston, TX. Genomic DNA samples of 316 patients were sorted into 2 groups: 136 cases with deep carious lesions and periapical lesions (cases) and 180 cases with deep carious lesions but no periapical lesions (controls). Nine single-nucleotide polymorphisms in IL1B, IL6, TNF, RANK, RANKL, and OPG genes were selected for genotyping. Genotypes were generated by end point analysis using TaqMan chemistry (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) in a real-time polymerase chain reaction instrument. Allele and genotype frequencies were compared among cases and controls using the PLINK program (http://pngu.mgh.harvard.edu/purcell/plink/). Ninety-three human periapical granulomas and 24 healthy periodontal ligament tissues collected postoperatively were used for messenger RNA expression analyses of IL1B. A single-nucleotide polymorphism in IL1B (rs1143643) showed allelic (P = .02) and genotypic (P = .004) association with cases of deep caries and periapical lesions. We also observed altered transmission of IL1B marker haplotypes (P = .02) in these individuals. IL1B was highly expressed in granulomas (P < .001). Variations in IL1B may be associated with periapical lesion formation in individuals with untreated deep carious lesions. Future studies could help predict host susceptibility to developing periapical lesions. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All

Culture-gene coevolution of individualism-collectivism and the serotonin transporter gene.

PubMed

Chiao, Joan Y; Blizinsky, Katherine D

2010-02-22

Culture-gene coevolutionary theory posits that cultural values have evolved, are adaptive and influence the social and physical environments under which genetic selection operates. Here, we examined the association between cultural values of individualism-collectivism and allelic frequency of the serotonin transporter functional polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) as well as the role this culture-gene association may play in explaining global variability in prevalence of pathogens and affective disorders. We found evidence that collectivistic cultures were significantly more likely to comprise individuals carrying the short (S) allele of the 5-HTTLPR across 29 nations. Results further show that historical pathogen prevalence predicts cultural variability in individualism-collectivism owing to genetic selection of the S allele. Additionally, cultural values and frequency of S allele carriers negatively predict global prevalence of anxiety and mood disorder. Finally, mediation analyses further indicate that increased frequency of S allele carriers predicted decreased anxiety and mood disorder prevalence owing to increased collectivistic cultural values. Taken together, our findings suggest culture-gene coevolution between allelic frequency of 5-HTTLPR and cultural values of individualism-collectivism and support the notion that cultural values buffer genetically susceptible populations from increased prevalence of affective disorders. Implications of the current findings for understanding culture-gene coevolution of human brain and behaviour as well as how this coevolutionary process may contribute to global variation in pathogen prevalence and epidemiology of affective disorders, such as anxiety and depression, are discussed.

Adolescents' Susceptibility to Peer Pressure: Relations to Parent-Adolescent Relationship and Adolescents' Emotional Autonomy from Parents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Siu Mui; Chan, Kwok-Wai

2013-01-01

Studies on factors affecting susceptibility to peer pressure are not plentiful although this susceptibility has been found to be associated with youth problems such as substance use and risky sexual behavior. The present study examined how adolescents' susceptibility to peer pressure is related to their relationships with mothers and emotional…

Adolescent Susceptibility to Peer Influence in Sexual Situations.

PubMed

Widman, Laura; Choukas-Bradley, Sophia; Helms, Sarah W; Prinstein, Mitchell J

2016-03-01

One consistent predictor of adolescents' engagement in sexual risk behavior is their belief that peers are engaging in similar behavior; however, not all youth are equally susceptible to these peer influence effects. Understanding individual differences in susceptibility to peer influence is critical to identifying adolescents at risk for negative health outcomes. The purpose of this project was to identify predictors of susceptibility to peer influence using a novel performance-based measure of sexual risk taking. Participants were 300 early adolescents (Mage = 12.6 years; 53% female; 44% Caucasian) who completed (1) a pretest assessment of demographics, sexual attitudes, and hypothetical scenarios measuring the likelihood of engaging in sexual risk behavior and (2) a subsequent experimental procedure that simulated an Internet chat room in which youth believed that they were communicating with peers regarding these same hypothetical scenarios. In reality, these "peers" were computer-programmed e-confederates. Changes in responses to the sexual scenarios in the private pretest versus during the public chat room provided a performance-based measure of peer influence susceptibility. In total, 78% of youth provided more risky responses in the chat room than those in pretest. The most robust predictor of this change was gender, with boys significantly more susceptible to peer influence than girls. Significant interactions also were noted, with greater susceptibility among boys with later pubertal development and African-American boys. Results confirm that not all youth are equally susceptible to peer influence. Consistent with sexual script theory, boys evidence greater susceptibility to social pressure regarding sexual behavior than girls. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Are Dysphoric Individuals More Suggestible or Less Suggestible Than Nondysphoric Individuals?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacFarland, Wendy L.; Morris, Steven J.

1998-01-01

Dysphoric individuals are shown to be susceptible to interrogative suggestion, whether in the form of leading questions or interrogative pressure. The association of a clinically relevant condition of dysphoria (depression) with relatively high levels of suggestibility was investigated in a college student population (N=139). Applicability to…

Spatial task performance, sex differences, and motion sickness susceptibility.

PubMed

Levine, Max E; Stern, Robert M

2002-10-01

There are substantial individual differences in susceptibility to motion sickness, yet little is known about what mediates these differences. Spatial ability and sex have been suggested as possible factors in this relationship. 89 participants (57 women) were administered a Motion Sickness Questionnaire that assesses motion sickness susceptibility, a Water-level Task that gauges sensitivity to gravitational upright, and a Mental Rotation Task that tests an individual's awareness of how objects typically move in space. Significant sex differences were observed in performance of both the Water-level Task (p<.01), and the Mental Rotation Task (p<.005), with women performing less accurately than men. Women also had significantly higher scores on the Motion Sickness Questionnaire (p<.005). Among men, but not women, significant negative relationships were observed between Water-level Task performance and Motion Sickness Questionnaire score (p<.001) and between Mental Rotation Task performance and Motion Sickness Questionnaire score (p<.005). In conclusion, women performed significantly more poorly than men did on the spatial ability tasks and reported significantly more bouts of motion sickness. In addition, men showed a significant negative relationship between spatial ability and motion sickness susceptibility.

Motivations for Self-Injury, Affect, and Impulsivity: A Comparison of Individuals with Current Self-Injury to Individuals with a History of Self-Injury

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Julia; Peterson, Claire M.; Fischer, Sarah

2012-01-01

Individuals who report nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) are characterized by the tendency to act rashly while experiencing distress (negative urgency), the tendency to act without thinking, and endorsement of both social and affect regulation motives for the behavior. However, very little research has identified characteristics that distinguish…

TGFβ Receptor 1: An Immune Susceptibility Gene in HPV-Associated Cancer

PubMed Central

Levovitz, Chaya; Chen, Dan; Ivansson, Emma; Gyllensten, Ulf; Finnigan, John P.; Alshawish, Sara; Zhang, Weijia; Schadt, Eric E.; Posner, Marshal R.; Genden, Eric M.; Boffetta, Paolo; Sikora, Andrew G.

2015-01-01

Only a minority of those exposed to human papillomavirus (HPV) develop HPV-related cervical and oropharyngeal cancer. Because host immunity affects infection and progression to cancer, we tested the hypothesis that genetic variation in immune-related genes is a determinant of susceptibility to oropharyngeal cancer and other HPV-associated cancers by performing a multitier integrative computational analysis with oropharyngeal cancer data from a head and neck cancer genome-wide association study (GWAS). Independent analyses, including single-gene, gene-interconnectivity, protein–protein interaction, gene expression, and pathway analysis, identified immune genes and pathways significantly associated with oropharyngeal cancer. TGFβR1, which intersected all tiers of analysis and thus selected for validation, replicated significantly in the head and neck cancer GWAS limited to HPV-seropositive cases and an independent cervical cancer GWAS. The TGFβR1 containing p38–MAPK pathway was significantly associated with oropharyngeal cancer and cervical cancer, and TGFβR1 was overexpressed in oropharyngeal cancer, cervical cancer, and HPV+ head and neck cancer tumors. These concordant analyses implicate TGFβR1 signaling as a process dysregulated across HPV-related cancers. This study demonstrates that genetic variation in immune-related genes is associated with susceptibility to oropharyngeal cancer and implicates TGFβR1/TGFβ signaling in the development of both oropharyngeal cancer and cervical cancer. Better understanding of the immunogenetic basis of susceptibility to HPV-associated cancers may provide insight into host/virus interactions and immune processes dysregulated in the minority of HPV-exposed individuals who progress to cancer. PMID:25273091

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Comparison of Susceptibility Testing Methods and Analysis of mecA-Positive Susceptible Strains

PubMed Central

Sakoulas, George; Gold, Howard S.; Venkataraman, Lata; DeGirolami, Paola C.; Eliopoulos, George M.; Qian, Qinfang

2001-01-01

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is responsible for an increasing number of serious nosocomial and community-acquired infections. Phenotypic heterogeneous drug resistance (heteroresistance) to antistaphylococcal beta-lactams affects the results of susceptibility testing. The present study compared the MRSA-Screen latex agglutination test (Denka Seiken Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) for detection of PBP 2a with agar dilution, the VITEK-1 and VITEK-2 systems (bioMérieux, St. Louis, Mo.), and the oxacillin agar screen test for detection of MRSA, with PCR for the mecA gene used as the “gold standard” assay. Analysis of 107 methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) isolates and 203 MRSA isolates revealed that the MRSA-Screen latex agglutination test is superior to any single phenotype-based susceptibility testing method, with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 99.1%. Only one isolate that lacked mecA was weakly positive by the MRSA-Screen latex agglutination test. This isolate was phenotypically susceptible to oxacillin and did not contain the mecA gene by Southern blot hybridization. The oxacillin agar screen test, the VITEK-1 system, the VITEK-2 system, and agar dilution showed sensitivities of 99.0, 99.0, 99.5, and 99%, respectively, and specificities of 98.1, 100, 97.2, and 100%, respectively. The differences in sensitivity or specificity were not statistically significant. Oxacillin bactericidal assays showed that mecA- and PBP 2a-positive S. aureus isolates that are susceptible to antistaphylococcal beta-lactams by conventional methods are functionally resistant to oxacillin. We conclude that the accuracy of the MRSA-Screen latex agglutination method for detection of PBP 2a approaches the accuracy of PCR and is more accurate than any susceptibility testing method used alone for the detection of MRSA. PMID:11682512

Individual and Technological Factors Affecting Undergraduates' Use of Mobile Technology in University of Ilorin, Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olufunmilola Ogulande, Oyeronke; Oladimeji Olafare, Festus; Ayuba Sakaba, Dabo

2016-01-01

The proliferation and utilization of handheld mobile technology among undergraduates for mobile learning cannot be underestimated. This study was geared towards investigating individual and technological factors affecting the perceived usefulness of mobile technology by undergraduates in university of Ilorin, Nigeria. The study was a descriptive…

Genetic susceptibility to Candida infections

PubMed Central

Smeekens, Sanne P; van de Veerdonk, Frank L; Kullberg, Bart Jan; Netea, Mihai G

2013-01-01

Candida spp. are medically important fungi causing severe mucosal and life-threatening invasive infections, especially in immunocompromised hosts. However, not all individuals at risk develop Candida infections, and it is believed that genetic variation plays an important role in host susceptibility. On the one hand, severe fungal infections are associated with monogenic primary immunodeficiencies such as defects in STAT1, STAT3 or CARD9, recently discovered as novel clinical entities. On the other hand, more common polymorphisms in genes of the immune system have also been associated with fungal infections such as recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis and candidemia. The discovery of the genetic susceptibility to Candida infections can lead to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease, as well as to the design of novel immunotherapeutic strategies. This review is part of the review series on host-pathogen interactions. See more reviews from this series. PMID:23629947

Factors Affecting Individual Education Demand at the Entrance to University: Adnan Menderes University Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarpkaya, Ruhi

2010-01-01

The aim of this research is to determine the factors affecting individual education demands at the entrance to university. The research is in survey model. The universe of the study consists of 1630 freshmen at the faculties and vocational schools of Adnan Menderes University, Aydin. 574 students from 7 schools were included in the sample. The…

Genome-wide analysis of genetic susceptibility to language impairment in an isolated Chilean population

PubMed Central

Villanueva, Pia; Newbury, Dianne F; Jara, Lilian; De Barbieri, Zulema; Mirza, Ghazala; Palomino, Hernán M; Fernández, María Angélica; Cazier, Jean-Baptiste; Monaco, Anthony P; Palomino, Hernán

2011-01-01

Specific language impairment (SLI) is an unexpected deficit in the acquisition of language skills and affects between 5 and 8% of pre-school children. Despite its prevalence and high heritability, our understanding of the aetiology of this disorder is only emerging. In this paper, we apply genome-wide techniques to investigate an isolated Chilean population who exhibit an increased frequency of SLI. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) mapping and parametric and non-parametric linkage analyses indicate that complex genetic factors are likely to underlie susceptibility to SLI in this population. Across all analyses performed, the most consistently implicated locus was on chromosome 7q. This locus achieved highly significant linkage under all three non-parametric models (max NPL=6.73, P=4.0 × 10−11). In addition, it yielded a HLOD of 1.24 in the recessive parametric linkage analyses and contained a segment that was homozygous in two affected individuals. Further, investigation of this region identified a two-SNP haplotype that occurs at an increased frequency in language-impaired individuals (P=0.008). We hypothesise that the linkage regions identified here, in particular that on chromosome 7, may contain variants that underlie the high prevalence of SLI observed in this isolated population and may be of relevance to other populations affected by language impairments. PMID:21248734

Motion sickness susceptibility related to ACTH, ADH and TSH

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kohl, R. L.; Leach, C.; Homick, J. L.; Larochelle, F. T.

1983-01-01

The hypothesis that endogenous levels of certain hormones might be indicative of an individual's susceptibility to stressful motion is tested in a comparison of subjects classified as less prone to motion sickness with those of higher susceptibility. The levels of ACTH and vasopressin measured before exposure to stressful motion were twice as high in the less-suceptible group. No significant differences were noted in the levels of angiotensin, aldosterone, or TSH. The differences between the two groups were greater for a given hormone than for any of the changes induced by exposure to stressful motion.

Threat processing in generalized social phobia: an investigation of interpretation biases in ambiguous facial affect.

PubMed

Jusyte, Aiste; Schönenberg, Michael

2014-06-30

Facial affect is one of the most important information sources during the course of social interactions, but it is susceptible to distortion due to the complex and dynamic nature. Socially anxious individuals have been shown to exhibit alterations in the processing of social information, such as an attentional and interpretative bias toward threatening information. This may be one of the key factors contributing to the development and maintenance of anxious psychopathology. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether a threat-related interpretation bias is evident for ambiguous facial stimuli in a population of individuals with a generalized Social Anxiety Disorder (gSAD) as compared to healthy controls. Participants judged ambiguous happy/fearful, angry/fearful and angry/happy blends varying in intensity and rated the predominant affective expression. The results obtained in this study do not indicate that gSAD is associated with a biased interpretation of ambiguous facial affect. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Behavioural phenotypes predict disease susceptibility and infectiousness.

PubMed

Araujo, Alessandra; Kirschman, Lucas; Warne, Robin W

2016-08-01

Behavioural phenotypes may provide a means for identifying individuals that disproportionally contribute to disease spread and epizootic outbreaks. For example, bolder phenotypes may experience greater exposure and susceptibility to pathogenic infection because of distinct interactions with conspecifics and their environment. We tested the value of behavioural phenotypes in larval amphibians for predicting ranavirus transmission in experimental trials. We found that behavioural phenotypes characterized by latency-to-food and swimming profiles were predictive of disease susceptibility and infectiousness defined as the capacity of an infected host to transmit an infection by contacts. While viral shedding rates were positively associated with transmission, we also found an inverse relationship between contacts and infections. Together these results suggest intrinsic traits that influence behaviour and the quantity of pathogens shed during conspecific interactions may be an important contributor to ranavirus transmission. These results suggest that behavioural phenotypes provide a means to identify individuals more likely to spread disease and thus give insights into disease outbreaks that threaten wildlife and humans. © 2016 The Author(s).

A somatic-mutational process recurrently duplicates germline susceptibility loci and tissue-specific super-enhancers in breast cancers

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

Glodzik, Dominik; Morganella, Sandro; Davies, Helen

Somatic rearrangements contribute to the mutagenized landscape of cancer genomes. Here, we systematically interrogated rearrangements in 560 breast cancers by using a piecewise constant fitting approach. We identified 33 hotspots of large (>100 kb) tandem duplications, a mutational signature associated with homologous-recombination-repair deficiency. Notably, these tandem-duplication hotspots were enriched in breast cancer germline susceptibility loci (odds ratio (OR) = 4.28) and breast-specific 'super-enhancer' regulatory elements (OR = 3.54). These hotspots may be sites of selective susceptibility to double-strand-break damage due to high transcriptional activity or, through incrementally increasing copy number, may be sites of secondary selective pressure. Furthermore, the transcriptomicmore » consequences ranged from strong individual oncogene effects to weak but quantifiable multigene expression effects. We thus present a somatic-rearrangement mutational process affecting coding sequences and noncoding regulatory elements and contributing a continuum of driver consequences, from modest to strong effects, thereby supporting a polygenic model of cancer development.« less

A somatic-mutational process recurrently duplicates germline susceptibility loci and tissue-specific super-enhancers in breast cancers

DOE PAGES

Glodzik, Dominik; Morganella, Sandro; Davies, Helen; ...

2017-01-23

Somatic rearrangements contribute to the mutagenized landscape of cancer genomes. Here, we systematically interrogated rearrangements in 560 breast cancers by using a piecewise constant fitting approach. We identified 33 hotspots of large (>100 kb) tandem duplications, a mutational signature associated with homologous-recombination-repair deficiency. Notably, these tandem-duplication hotspots were enriched in breast cancer germline susceptibility loci (odds ratio (OR) = 4.28) and breast-specific 'super-enhancer' regulatory elements (OR = 3.54). These hotspots may be sites of selective susceptibility to double-strand-break damage due to high transcriptional activity or, through incrementally increasing copy number, may be sites of secondary selective pressure. Furthermore, the transcriptomicmore » consequences ranged from strong individual oncogene effects to weak but quantifiable multigene expression effects. We thus present a somatic-rearrangement mutational process affecting coding sequences and noncoding regulatory elements and contributing a continuum of driver consequences, from modest to strong effects, thereby supporting a polygenic model of cancer development.« less

How Creativity Was Affected by Environmental Factors and Individual Characteristics: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deng, Lifang; Wang, Lijuan; Zhao, Yanyun

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore how environmental factors (family environment and school education) and individual characteristics (personality, creative attitudes, and divergent thinking) collectively affect creative achievement of American and Chinese college students. Data were collected from 378 college students in the United States…

Synaptic transmission and the susceptibility of HIV infection to anti-viral drugs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Komarova, Natalia L.; Levy, David N.; Wodarz, Dominik

2013-07-01

Cell-to-cell viral transmission via virological synapses has been argued to reduce susceptibility of the virus population to anti-viral drugs through multiple infection of cells, contributing to low-level viral persistence during therapy. Using a mathematical framework, we examine the role of synaptic transmission in treatment susceptibility. A key factor is the relative probability of individual virions to infect a cell during free-virus and synaptic transmission, a currently unknown quantity. If this infection probability is higher for free-virus transmission, then treatment susceptibility is lowest if one virus is transferred per synapse, and multiple infection of cells increases susceptibility. In the opposite case, treatment susceptibility is minimized for an intermediate number of virions transferred per synapse. Hence, multiple infection via synapses does not simply lower treatment susceptibility. Without further experimental investigations, one cannot conclude that synaptic transmission provides an additional mechanism for the virus to persist at low levels during anti-viral therapy.

Serological Susceptibility to Varicella among U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detainees

PubMed Central

Varan, Aiden K.; Lederman, Edith R.; Stous, Shanon S.; Elson, Diana; Freiman, Jennifer L.; Marin, Mona; Lopez, Adriana S.; Stauffer, William M.; Joseph, Rachael H.; Waterman, Stephen H.

2018-01-01

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is responsible for detaining unauthorized aliens during immigration proceedings. During 2014–2015, adult ICE detainees at a California facility were invited to complete a survey concerning self-reported varicella history and risk factors. Participants underwent serological testing for varicella-zoster virus (VZV) IgG; susceptible individuals were offered varicella vaccination. Among 400 detainees with available serology results, 48 (12%) were susceptible to varicella. Self-reported varicella history was negatively associated with susceptibility (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=0.16; 95% CI=0.07, 0.35). Among 196 detainees reporting a positive history, 95% had VZV IgG levels suggestive of varicella immunity. Among 44 susceptible detainees offered vaccination, 86% accepted. Given relatively high varicella susceptibility, targeted screening and vaccination among ICE detainees lacking a positive history might reduce varicella transmission risks. PMID:28945148

Personality factors in older women's perceived susceptibility to diseases of aging.

PubMed

Gerend, Mary A; Aiken, Leona S; West, Stephen G

2004-04-01

Personality correlates of older women's perceived susceptibility to breast cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis were examined in a community sample of 312 women aged 40-86. A latent factor of general perceived susceptibility to disease was shown to underlie disease-specific perceptions of susceptibility. Affect-related personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, optimism, worry, and self-deceptive enhancement) and internal and chance health locus of control predicted general perceived susceptibility. Perceived disease characteristics (e.g., perceived controllability, severity) and the use of cognitive heuristics (i.e., perceived similarity to those who contract each disease) also displayed marked consistency across the three distinct diseases. Finally, our results suggested that general beliefs about the characteristics of health threats and the use of cognitive heuristics may mediate the link between personality traits and perceived risk.

Genetic susceptibility and periodontal disease: a retrospective study on a large italian sample.

PubMed

Tettamanti, L; Gaudio, R M; Iapichino, A; Mucchi, D; Tagliabue, A

2017-01-01

Periodontal disease (PD) is a multifactorial illness in which environment and host interact. The genetic component plays a key role in the onset of PD. In fact the genetic compound can modulate the inflammation of the mucous membranes and the loss of alveolar bone. The genetics of PD is not well understood. Previous studies suggest a strong association between PD occurrence and individual genetic profile. The role of genetic susceptibility could impact on the clinical manifestations of PD, and consequently on prevention and therapy. Genetic polymorphisms of VRD, IL6 and IL10 were investigated in Italian adults affected by PD. 571 cases classified according the criteria of the American Academy of Periodontology were included. All patients were Italian coming from three areas according to italian institute of statistics (ISTAT) (www.istat.it/it/archivio/regioni). The sample comprised 379 patients from North (66%), 152 from Central (26%) and 40 of South (8%). No significant differences were found among allele distribution. Chronic PD is a complex disease caused by a combination of genetic susceptibility, patients habits (oral hygiene, smoking, alcohol consumption) and oral pathogens. In our report no differences were detected among three Italian regions in allele distribution.

Naval Survivability and Susceptibility Reduction Study-Surface Ship

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

the ship, causing damage. There are four properties affecting the susceptibility of a ship. The first property is the ease at which the ship can be...will affect how easily she can be detected. The second property is the ease at which the ship can be effective tracked, identified and classified by...being tracked by the active sensor after the she had been detected (PT|D). The third property is the ability to avoid being targeted. Again this is

Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging and Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping in the Brain

PubMed Central

Liu, Chunlei; Li, Wei; Tong, Karen A.; Yeom, Kristen W.; Kuzminski, Samuel

2015-01-01

Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that enhances image contrast by using the susceptibility differences between tissues. It is created by combining both magnitude and phase in the gradient echo data. SWI is sensitive to both paramagnetic and diamagnetic substances which generate different phase shift in MRI data. SWI images can be displayed as a minimum intensity projection that provides high resolution delineation of the cerebral venous architecture, a feature that is not available in other MRI techniques. As such, SWI has been widely applied to diagnose various venous abnormalities. SWI is especially sensitive to deoxygenated blood and intracranial mineral deposition and, for that reason, has been applied to image various pathologies including intracranial hemorrhage, traumatic brain injury, stroke, neoplasm, and multiple sclerosis. SWI, however, does not provide quantitative measures of magnetic susceptibility. This limitation is currently being addressed with the development of quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and susceptibility tensor imaging (STI). While QSM treats susceptibility as isotropic, STI treats susceptibility as generally anisotropic characterized by a tensor quantity. This article reviews the basic principles of SWI, its clinical and research applications, the mechanisms governing brain susceptibility properties, and its practical implementation, with a focus on brain imaging. PMID:25270052

Lon protease affects the RdxA nitroreductase activity and metronidazole susceptibility in Helicobacter pylori.

PubMed

Tu, I-Fan; Liao, Jiahn-Haur; Yang, Feng-Ling; Lin, Nien-Tsung; Chan, Hong-Lin; Wu, Shih-Hsiung

2014-10-01

The lon gene of Helicobacter pylori strains is constitutively expressed during growth. However, virtually nothing is understood concerning the role of Lon in H. pylori. This study examined the function and physiological role of Lon in H. pylori (HpLon) using a trapping approach to identify putative Lon binding partners in the bacterium. Protease-deficient Lon was expressed and served as the bait in trapping approach to capture the interacting partners in H. pylori. The antibiotic susceptibility of wild-type and lon derivative mutants was determined by the E test trips and the disc diffusion assay. The effect of HpLon on RdxA activity was detected the change in NADPH oxidation and metronidazole reduction by spectrophotometer. Lon in Helicobacter pylori (HpLon) interacting partners are mostly associated with metronidazole activation. lon mutant presents more susceptible to metronidazole than that of the wild type, and this phenotype is recovered by complementation of the wild-type Lon. We found that the ATPases associated with a variety of cellular activities (AAA(+) ) module of HpLon causes a decrease in both NADPH oxidase and Mtz reductase activity in RdxA, a major Mtz-activating enzyme in H. pylori. Metronidazole resistance of H. pylori causes the serious medical problem worldwide. In this study, HpLon is involved in metronidazole susceptibility among H. pylori strains. We provide the evidence that HpLon alters RdxA activity in vitro. The decrease in metronidazole activation caused by HpLon is possibly prior to accumulate mutation in rdxA gene before the metronidazole-resistant strains to be occurred. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Identification of a New Susceptibility Locus for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus on Chromosome 12 in Individuals of European Ancestry

PubMed Central

Demirci, F. Yesim; Wang, Xingbin; Kelly, Jennifer A.; Morris, David L.; Barmada, M. Michael; Feingold, Eleanor; Kao, Amy H.; Sivils, Kathy L.; Bernatsky, Sasha; Pineau, Christian; Clarke, Ann; Ramsey-Goldman, Rosalind; Vyse, Timothy J.; Gaffney, Patrick M.; Manzi, Susan; Kamboh, M. Ilyas

2016-01-01

Objective Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in individuals of European ancestry identified a number of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility loci using earlier versions of high-density genotyping platforms. Follow-up studies on suggestive GWAS regions using larger samples and more markers identified additional SLE loci in European-descent subjects. Here we report the results of a multi-stage study that we performed to identify novel SLE loci. Methods In Stage 1, we conducted a new GWAS of SLE in a North American case-control sample of European ancestry (n=1,166) genotyped on Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP Array 6.0. In Stage 2, we further investigated top new suggestive GWAS hits by in silico evaluation and meta-analysis using an additional dataset of European-descent subjects (>2,500 individuals), followed by replication of top meta-analysis findings in another dataset of European-descent subjects (>10,000 individuals) in Stage 3. Results As expected, our GWAS revealed most significant associations at the major histocompatibility complex locus (6p21), which easily surpassed genome-wide significance threshold (P<5×10−8). Several other SLE signals/loci previously implicated in Caucasians and/or Asians were also supported in Stage 1 discovery sample and strongest signals were observed at 2q32/STAT4 (P=3.6×10−7) and at 8p23/BLK (P=8.1×10−6). Stage 2 meta-analyses identified a new genome-wide significant SLE locus at 12q12 (meta P=3.1×10−8), which was replicated in Stage 3. Conclusion Our multi-stage study identified and replicated a new SLE locus that warrants further follow-up in additional studies. Publicly available databases suggest that this new SLE signal falls within a functionally relevant genomic region and near biologically important genes. PMID:26316170

Differential Susceptibility to Parenting and Quality Child Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pluess, Michael; Belsky, Jay

2010-01-01

Research on differential susceptibility to rearing suggests that infants with difficult temperaments are disproportionately affected by parenting and child care quality, but a major U.S. child care study raises questions as to whether quality of care influences social adjustment. One thousand three hundred sixty-four American children from…

Pinning Susceptibility at the Jamming Transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graves, Amy; Padgett, Elliot; Goodrich, Carl; Liu, Andrea

2013-03-01

Jamming in the presence of fixed or pinned obstacles, representing quenched disorder, is a situation of both practical and theoretical interest. We study the jamming of soft, bidisperse discs in which a subset of discs are pinned while the remaining particles equilibrate around them at a given volume fraction. The obstacles provide a supporting structure for the jammed configuration which not only lowers the jamming threshold, ϕJ, but affects the coordination number and other parameters of interest as the critical point is approached. In the limit of low obstacle density, one can calculate a pinning susceptibility χP, analogous to the magnetic susceptibility, with obstacle density playing the role of the magnetic field. The pinning susceptibility is thus expected to diverge in the thermodynamic limit as χP ~| ϕ -ϕJ | -γP . Finite-size scaling calculations allow us to confirm this and calculate the critical exponent, γP. Acknowledgement is made to the Donors of the Petrolium Research Fund administered by the American Chemical Society, Swarthmore College's Eugene M. Lang Faculty Fellowship, NSF grant DMR-1062638 and DOE grant DE-FG02-05ER46199.

A meta-analysis of 87,040 individuals identifies 23 new susceptibility loci for prostate cancer.

PubMed

Al Olama, Ali Amin; Kote-Jarai, Zsofia; Berndt, Sonja I; Conti, David V; Schumacher, Fredrick; Han, Ying; Benlloch, Sara; Hazelett, Dennis J; Wang, Zhaoming; Saunders, Ed; Leongamornlert, Daniel; Lindstrom, Sara; Jugurnauth-Little, Sara; Dadaev, Tokhir; Tymrakiewicz, Malgorzata; Stram, Daniel O; Rand, Kristin; Wan, Peggy; Stram, Alex; Sheng, Xin; Pooler, Loreall C; Park, Karen; Xia, Lucy; Tyrer, Jonathan; Kolonel, Laurence N; Le Marchand, Loic; Hoover, Robert N; Machiela, Mitchell J; Yeager, Merideth; Burdette, Laurie; Chung, Charles C; Hutchinson, Amy; Yu, Kai; Goh, Chee; Ahmed, Mahbubl; Govindasami, Koveela; Guy, Michelle; Tammela, Teuvo L J; Auvinen, Anssi; Wahlfors, Tiina; Schleutker, Johanna; Visakorpi, Tapio; Leinonen, Katri A; Xu, Jianfeng; Aly, Markus; Donovan, Jenny; Travis, Ruth C; Key, Tim J; Siddiq, Afshan; Canzian, Federico; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Takahashi, Atsushi; Kubo, Michiaki; Pharoah, Paul; Pashayan, Nora; Weischer, Maren; Nordestgaard, Borge G; Nielsen, Sune F; Klarskov, Peter; Røder, Martin Andreas; Iversen, Peter; Thibodeau, Stephen N; McDonnell, Shannon K; Schaid, Daniel J; Stanford, Janet L; Kolb, Suzanne; Holt, Sarah; Knudsen, Beatrice; Coll, Antonio Hurtado; Gapstur, Susan M; Diver, W Ryan; Stevens, Victoria L; Maier, Christiane; Luedeke, Manuel; Herkommer, Kathleen; Rinckleb, Antje E; Strom, Sara S; Pettaway, Curtis; Yeboah, Edward D; Tettey, Yao; Biritwum, Richard B; Adjei, Andrew A; Tay, Evelyn; Truelove, Ann; Niwa, Shelley; Chokkalingam, Anand P; Cannon-Albright, Lisa; Cybulski, Cezary; Wokołorczyk, Dominika; Kluźniak, Wojciech; Park, Jong; Sellers, Thomas; Lin, Hui-Yi; Isaacs, William B; Partin, Alan W; Brenner, Hermann; Dieffenbach, Aida Karina; Stegmaier, Christa; Chen, Constance; Giovannucci, Edward L; Ma, Jing; Stampfer, Meir; Penney, Kathryn L; Mucci, Lorelei; John, Esther M; Ingles, Sue A; Kittles, Rick A; Murphy, Adam B; Pandha, Hardev; Michael, Agnieszka; Kierzek, Andrzej M; Blot, William; Signorello, Lisa B; Zheng, Wei; Albanes, Demetrius; Virtamo, Jarmo; Weinstein, Stephanie; Nemesure, Barbara; Carpten, John; Leske, Cristina; Wu, Suh-Yuh; Hennis, Anselm; Kibel, Adam S; Rybicki, Benjamin A; Neslund-Dudas, Christine; Hsing, Ann W; Chu, Lisa; Goodman, Phyllis J; Klein, Eric A; Zheng, S Lilly; Batra, Jyotsna; Clements, Judith; Spurdle, Amanda; Teixeira, Manuel R; Paulo, Paula; Maia, Sofia; Slavov, Chavdar; Kaneva, Radka; Mitev, Vanio; Witte, John S; Casey, Graham; Gillanders, Elizabeth M; Seminara, Daniella; Riboli, Elio; Hamdy, Freddie C; Coetzee, Gerhard A; Li, Qiyuan; Freedman, Matthew L; Hunter, David J; Muir, Kenneth; Gronberg, Henrik; Neal, David E; Southey, Melissa; Giles, Graham G; Severi, Gianluca; Cook, Michael B; Nakagawa, Hidewaki; Wiklund, Fredrik; Kraft, Peter; Chanock, Stephen J; Henderson, Brian E; Easton, Douglas F; Eeles, Rosalind A; Haiman, Christopher A

2014-10-01

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 76 variants associated with prostate cancer risk predominantly in populations of European ancestry. To identify additional susceptibility loci for this common cancer, we conducted a meta-analysis of > 10 million SNPs in 43,303 prostate cancer cases and 43,737 controls from studies in populations of European, African, Japanese and Latino ancestry. Twenty-three new susceptibility loci were identified at association P < 5 × 10(-8); 15 variants were identified among men of European ancestry, 7 were identified in multi-ancestry analyses and 1 was associated with early-onset prostate cancer. These 23 variants, in combination with known prostate cancer risk variants, explain 33% of the familial risk for this disease in European-ancestry populations. These findings provide new regions for investigation into the pathogenesis of prostate cancer and demonstrate the usefulness of combining ancestrally diverse populations to discover risk loci for disease.

Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new susceptibility loci for migraine.

PubMed

Anttila, Verneri; Winsvold, Bendik S; Gormley, Padhraig; Kurth, Tobias; Bettella, Francesco; McMahon, George; Kallela, Mikko; Malik, Rainer; de Vries, Boukje; Terwindt, Gisela; Medland, Sarah E; Todt, Unda; McArdle, Wendy L; Quaye, Lydia; Koiranen, Markku; Ikram, M Arfan; Lehtimäki, Terho; Stam, Anine H; Ligthart, Lannie; Wedenoja, Juho; Dunham, Ian; Neale, Benjamin M; Palta, Priit; Hamalainen, Eija; Schürks, Markus; Rose, Lynda M; Buring, Julie E; Ridker, Paul M; Steinberg, Stacy; Stefansson, Hreinn; Jakobsson, Finnbogi; Lawlor, Debbie A; Evans, David M; Ring, Susan M; Färkkilä, Markus; Artto, Ville; Kaunisto, Mari A; Freilinger, Tobias; Schoenen, Jean; Frants, Rune R; Pelzer, Nadine; Weller, Claudia M; Zielman, Ronald; Heath, Andrew C; Madden, Pamela A F; Montgomery, Grant W; Martin, Nicholas G; Borck, Guntram; Göbel, Hartmut; Heinze, Axel; Heinze-Kuhn, Katja; Williams, Frances M K; Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa; Pouta, Anneli; van den Ende, Joyce; Uitterlinden, Andre G; Hofman, Albert; Amin, Najaf; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Vink, Jacqueline M; Heikkilä, Kauko; Alexander, Michael; Muller-Myhsok, Bertram; Schreiber, Stefan; Meitinger, Thomas; Wichmann, Heinz Erich; Aromaa, Arpo; Eriksson, Johan G; Traynor, Bryan; Trabzuni, Daniah; Rossin, Elizabeth; Lage, Kasper; Jacobs, Suzanne B R; Gibbs, J Raphael; Birney, Ewan; Kaprio, Jaakko; Penninx, Brenda W; Boomsma, Dorret I; van Duijn, Cornelia; Raitakari, Olli; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Zwart, John-Anker; Cherkas, Lynn; Strachan, David P; Kubisch, Christian; Ferrari, Michel D; van den Maagdenberg, Arn M J M; Dichgans, Martin; Wessman, Maija; Smith, George Davey; Stefansson, Kari; Daly, Mark J; Nyholt, Dale R; Chasman, Daniel; Palotie, Aarno

2013-08-01

Migraine is the most common brain disorder, affecting approximately 14% of the adult population, but its molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. We report the results of a meta-analysis across 29 genome-wide association studies, including a total of 23,285 individuals with migraine (cases) and 95,425 population-matched controls. We identified 12 loci associated with migraine susceptibility (P<5×10(-8)). Five loci are new: near AJAP1 at 1p36, near TSPAN2 at 1p13, within FHL5 at 6q16, within C7orf10 at 7p14 and near MMP16 at 8q21. Three of these loci were identified in disease subgroup analyses. Brain tissue expression quantitative trait locus analysis suggests potential functional candidate genes at four loci: APOA1BP, TBC1D7, FUT9, STAT6 and ATP5B.

Ex vivo study for the assessment of behavioral factor and gene polymorphisms in individual susceptibility to oxidative DNA damage metals-induced.

PubMed

Di Pietro, Angela; Baluce, Barbara; Visalli, Giuseppa; La Maestra, Sebastiano; Micale, Rosanna; Izzotti, Alberto

2011-06-01

Transition metals in fine particulate matter generated by combustion induce oxidative DNA damage and inflammation. However, there is remarkable inter-individual variability in susceptibility to these damages. To assess this variability, an ex vivo study was performed using lymphocytes of 47 Caucasian healthy subjects. Cell samples were exposed to a water solution of oil fly ash (OFA). This was formed by the distinctive transition metals vanadium, iron, and nickel. Oxidative DNA damage was evaluated by testing cell viability, intracellular ROS production and 8-oxo-dG. DNA fragmentation and DNA repair capacity were assessed by using the Alkaline-Halo assay. GSTM1, GSTT1, hOGG1, and C677T and A1298C MTHFR gene polymorphisms were tested. Demographic and behavioral factors, collected by questionnaire, were also considered. OFA induced damages showed: (a) a 20-fold variation in range among different subjects in ROS production, (b) a 7-fold variation in range of 8-oxo-dG, and (c) a 25-fold variation in range in DNA repair capacity. A significant increase in DNA damage was detected in GSTT1-deficent subjects compared with wild type genotype carriers. Increases in cytoplasmic ROS and decreases in DNA repair capacity (P<0.05) were observed in C677T and A1298C variants of MTHFR. A remarkable protective effect of high fruits and vegetable intake was observed for ROS production and DNA damage. Conversely, an adverse effect of meat intake was observed on ROS increase, DNA damage and repair capacity, probably due to the increased intake of bioavailable iron. Smoking decreased DNA repair capacity, while age increased OFA-induced DNA damage. The wide comparative analysis of the complex interactions network, between genetic and behavioral factors provides evidence of the remarkable role of several lifestyle factors. In comparison to genetic polymorphisms they seem to have a higher weight in determining individual susceptibility to the adverse effects of airborne pollutants as

Tropical forest fragmentation affects floral visitors but not the structure of individual-based palm-pollinator networks.

PubMed

Dáttilo, Wesley; Aguirre, Armando; Quesada, Mauricio; Dirzo, Rodolfo

2015-01-01

Despite increasing knowledge about the effects of habitat loss on pollinators in natural landscapes, information is very limited regarding the underlying mechanisms of forest fragmentation affecting plant-pollinator interactions in such landscapes. Here, we used a network approach to describe the effects of forest fragmentation on the patterns of interactions involving the understory dominant palm Astrocaryum mexicanum (Arecaceae) and its floral visitors (including both effective and non-effective pollinators) at the individual level in a Mexican tropical rainforest landscape. Specifically, we asked: (i) Does fragment size affect the structure of individual-based plant-pollinator networks? (ii) Does the core of highly interacting visitor species change along the fragmentation size gradient? (iii) Does forest fragment size influence the abundance of effective pollinators of A. mexicanum? We found that fragment size did not affect the topological structure of the individual-based palm-pollinator network. Furthermore, while the composition of peripheral non-effective pollinators changed depending on fragment size, effective core generalist species of pollinators remained stable. We also observed that both abundance and variance of effective pollinators of male and female flowers of A. mexicanum increased with forest fragment size. These findings indicate that the presence of effective pollinators in the core of all forest fragments could keep the network structure stable along the gradient of forest fragmentation. In addition, pollination of A. mexicanum could be more effective in larger fragments, since the greater abundance of pollinators in these fragments may increase the amount of pollen and diversity of pollen donors between flowers of individual plants. Given the prevalence of fragmentation in tropical ecosystems, our results indicate that the current patterns of land use will have consequences on the underlying mechanisms of pollination in remnant forests.

Spirituality, Illness Unpredictability, and Math Anxiety Effects on Negative Affect and Affect-Management Coping for Individuals Diagnosed with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.

PubMed

Worthington, Amber K; Parrott, Roxanne L; Smith, Rachel A

2018-04-01

A growing number of genetic tests are included in diagnostic protocols associated with many common conditions. A positive diagnosis associated with the presence of some gene versions in many instances predicts a range of possible outcomes, and the uncertainty linked to such results contributes to the need to understand varied responses and plan strategic communication. Uncertainty in illness theory (UIT; Mishel, 1988, 1990) guided the investigation of efforts to feel in control and hopeful regarding genetic testing and diagnosis for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). Participants included 137 individuals with AATD recruited from the Alpha-1 Research Registry who were surveyed about their subjective numeracy, anxiety about math, spirituality, perceptions of illness unpredictability, negative affect regarding genetic testing, and coping strategies about a diagnosis. Results revealed that experiencing more fear and worry contributed both directly and indirectly to affect-management coping strategies, operating through individual perceptions of illness unpredictability. The inability to predict the symptoms and course of events related to a genetic illness and anxiety regarding math heightened fear and worry. Spirituality lessened both illness unpredictability and negative affective responses to a diagnosis. Results affirm the importance of clinician and counselor efforts to incorporate attention to patient spirituality. They also illustrate the complexity associated with strategic efforts to plan communication about the different versions of a gene's effects on well-being, when some versions align with mild health effects and others with severe effects.

The Psychological Impact of Prenatal Diagnosis and Disclosure of Susceptibility Loci: First Impressions of Parents' Experiences.

PubMed

van der Steen, S L; Riedijk, S R; Verhagen-Visser, J; Govaerts, L C P; Srebniak, M I; Van Opstal, D; Joosten, M; Knapen, M F C M; Tibben, A; Diderich, K E M; Galjaard, R J H

2016-12-01

Genomic microarray may detect susceptibility loci (SL) for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and epilepsy, with a yet unquantifiable risk for the fetus. The prenatal disclosure of susceptibility loci is a topic of much debate. Many health care professionals fear that reporting susceptibility loci may put a psychological burden on pregnant couples. It is our policy to disclose prenatal susceptibility loci as we recognize them as actionable for prospective parents. The aim of this report was to evaluate the psychological impact of disclosing a prenatal diagnosis of susceptibility loci. The psychological impact of disclosing susceptibility loci was evaluated in the first patients who received such results. Eight out of 15 women who had a susceptibility locus disclosed and four of their partners consented to share their experiences through a telephonic evaluation (n = 12). Follow-up time ranged from 3 to 15 months after their prenatal test result. The reporting of susceptibility loci was initially 'shocking' for five parents while the other seven felt 'worried'. Ten out of 12 participants indicated they would like to be informed about the susceptibility locus again, two were unsure. Most had no enduring worries. Participants unanimously indicated that pregnant couples should have an individualized pre-test choice about susceptibility loci (non)disclosure. We observed no negative psychological impact with the prenatal diagnosis and disclosure of SL on participants. A key factor in mitigating parental anxiety with SL disclosure appears to be post-test genetic counseling. Our report confirms that pregnant women and their partners prefer an individualized choice regarding the scope of prenatal testing.

Positive affect predicts cerebral glucose metabolism in late middle-aged adults

PubMed Central

Nicholas, Christopher R.; Hoscheidt, Siobhan M.; Clark, Lindsay R.; Racine, Annie M.; Berman, Sara E.; Koscik, Rebecca L.; Maritza Dowling, N.; Asthana, Sanjay; Christian, Bradley T.; Sager, Mark A.

2017-01-01

Abstract Positive affect is associated with a number of health benefits; however, few studies have examined the relationship between positive affect and cerebral glucose metabolism, a key energy source for neuronal function and a possible index of brain health. We sought to determine if positive affect was associated with cerebral glucose metabolism in late middle-aged adults (n = 133). Participants completed the positive affect subscale of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale at two time points over a two-year period and underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography scanning. After controlling for age, sex, perceived health status, depressive symptoms, anti-depressant use, family history of Alzheimer’s disease, APOE ε4 status and interval between visits, positive affect was associated with greater cerebral glucose metabolism across para-/limbic, frontal, temporal and parietal regions. Our findings provide evidence that positive affect in late midlife is associated with greater brain health in regions involved in affective processing and also known to be susceptible to early neuropathological processes. The current findings may have implications for interventions aimed at increasing positive affect to attenuate early neuropathological changes in at-risk individuals. PMID:28402542

Pattern of susceptibility to measles in Italy. Serological Study Group.

PubMed Central

Salmaso, S.; Gabutti, G.; Rota, M. C.; Giordano, C.; Penna, C.; Mandolini, D.; Crovari, P.

2000-01-01

On the basis of seroprevalence and incidence data we describe the distribution of individuals susceptible and immune to measles in Italy in 1996-97. In regions where vaccination coverage was at least 70%, approximately 10% of 3-year-old children were susceptible to measles, whereas 40% were in this category in regions with lower vaccination coverage. Seroprevalence among children older than 4 years was similar for the two groups of regions; in the age group 20-39 years it was approximately 95%. During 1990-96 in the regions with lower vaccination coverage the incidence was highest among children aged 4-6 years, and the median age of cases was 7 years; in the regions with higher vaccination coverage, however, the incidence remained at around 5% for the age group 4-16 years, and the overall median age was 10 years. These data confirm the partial reduction in measles incidence in Italy, although transmission has still not been interrupted. The size and geographical distribution of the current pool of susceptible individuals can be expected to present an obstacle to measles elimination if appropriate vaccination strategies, such as catch-up campaigns, are not adopted. PMID:10994277

Patient Susceptibility to Candidiasis—A Potential for Adjunctive Immunotherapy

PubMed Central

Davidson, Linda; Netea, Mihai G.; Kullberg, Bart Jan

2018-01-01

Candida spp. are colonizing fungi of human skin and mucosae of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tract, present in 30–50% of healthy individuals in a population at any given moment. The host defense mechanisms prevent this commensal fungus from invading and causing disease. Loss of skin or mucosal barrier function, microbiome imbalances, or defects of immune defense mechanisms can lead to an increased susceptibility to severe mucocutaneous or invasive candidiasis. A comprehensive understanding of the immune defense against Candida is essential for developing adjunctive immunotherapy. The important role of underlying genetic susceptibility to Candida infections has become apparent over the years. In most patients, the cause of increased susceptibility to fungal infections is complex, based on a combination of immune regulation gene polymorphisms together with other non-genetic predisposing factors. Identification of patients with an underlying genetic predisposition could help determine which patients could benefit from prophylactic antifungal treatment or adjunctive immunotherapy. This review will provide an overview of patient susceptibility to mucocutaneous and invasive candidiasis and the potential for adjunctive immunotherapy. PMID:29371502

Factors that Impact Susceptibility to Fiber-Induced Health Effects

PubMed Central

Below, Jennifer E.; Cox, Nancy J.; Fukagawa, Naomi K.; Hirvonen, Ari; Testa, Joseph R.

2011-01-01

Asbestos and related fibers are associated with a number of adverse health effects, including malignant mesothelioma (MM), an aggressive cancer that generally develops in the surface serosal cells of the pleural, pericardial, and peritoneal cavities. Although approximately 80% of individuals with MM are exposed to asbestos, fewer than 5% of asbestos workers develop MM. In addition to asbestos, other mineralogical, environmental, genetic, and possibly viral factors might contribute to MM susceptibility. Given this complex etiology of MM, understanding susceptibility to MM needs to be a priority for investigators in order to reduce exposure of those most at risk to known environmental carcinogens. In this review, the current body of literature related to fiber-associated disease susceptibility including age, sex, nutrition, genetics, asbestos, and other mineral exposure is addressed with a focus on MM, and critical areas for further study are recommended. PMID:21534090

The effect of dissolved oxygen on the susceptibility of blood.

PubMed

Berman, Avery J L; Ma, Yuhan; Hoge, Richard D; Pike, G Bruce

2016-01-01

It has been predicted that, during hyperoxia, excess O2 dissolved in arterial blood will significantly alter the blood's magnetic susceptibility. This would confound the interpretation of the hyperoxia-induced blood oxygenation level-dependent signal as arising solely from changes in deoxyhemoglobin. This study, therefore, aimed to determine how dissolved O2 affects the susceptibility of blood. We present a comprehensive model for the effect of dissolved O2 on the susceptibility of blood and compare it with another recently published model, referred to here as the ideal gas model (IGM). For validation, distilled water and samples of bovine plasma were oxygenated over a range of hyperoxic O2 concentrations and their susceptibilities were determined using multiecho gradient echo phase imaging. In distilled water and plasma, the measured changes in susceptibility were very linear, with identical slopes of 0.062 ppb/mm Hg of O2. This change was dramatically less than previously predicted using the IGM and was close to that predicted by our model. The primary source of error in the IGM is the overestimation of the volume fraction occupied by dissolved O2. Under most physiological conditions, the susceptibility of dissolved O2 can be disregarded in MRI studies employing hyperoxia. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Treatment Outcomes of Patients With Multidrug-Resistant and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis According to Drug Susceptibility Testing to First- and Second-line Drugs: An Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Bastos, Mayara L.; Hussain, Hamidah; Weyer, Karin; Garcia-Garcia, Lourdes; Leimane, Vaira; Leung, Chi Chiu; Narita, Masahiro; Penã, Jose M.; Ponce-de-Leon, Alfredo; Seung, Kwonjune J.; Shean, Karen; Sifuentes-Osornio, José; Van der Walt, Martie; Van der Werf, Tjip S.; Yew, Wing Wai; Menzies, Dick; Ahuja, S.; Ashkin, D.; Avendaño, M.; Banerjee, R.; Bauer, M.; Becerra, M.; Benedetti, A.; Burgos, M.; Centis, R.; Chan, E.D.; Chiang, C.Y.; Cobelens, F.; Cox, H.; D'Ambrosio, L.; de Lange, W.C.M.; DeRiemer, K.; Enarson, D.; Falzon, D.; Flanagan, K.; Flood, J.; Gandhi, N.; Garcia-Garcia, L.; Granich, R.M.; Hollm-Delgado, M.G.; Holtz, T.H.; Hopewell, P.; Iseman, M.; Jarlsberg, L.G.; Keshavjee, S.; Kim, H.R.; Koh, W.J.; Lancaster, J.; Lange, C.; Leimane, V.; Leung, C.C.; Li, J.; Menzies, D.; Migliori, G.B.; Mitnick, C.M.; Narita, M.; Nathanson, E.; Odendaal, R.; O'Riordan, P.; Pai, M.; Palmero, D.; Park, S.K.; Pasvol, G.; Pena, J.; Pérez-Guzmán, C.; Ponce-de-Leon, A.; Quelapio, M.I.D.; Quy, H.T.; Riekstina, V.; Robert, J.; Royce, S.; Salim, M.; Schaaf, H.S.; Seung, K.J.; Shah, L.; Shean, K.; Shim, T.S.; Shin, S.S.; Shiraishi, Y.; Sifuentes-Osornio, J.; Sotgiu, G.; Strand, M.J.; Sung, S.W.; Tabarsi, P.; Tupasi, T.E.; Vargas, M.H.; van Altena, R.; van der Walt, M.; van der Werf, T.S.; Viiklepp, P.; Westenhouse, J.; Yew, W.W.; Yim, J.J.

2014-01-01

Background. Individualized treatment for multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis depends upon reliable and valid drug susceptibility testing (DST) for pyrazinamide, ethambutol, and second-line tuberculosis drugs. However, the reliability of these tests is uncertain, due to unresolved methodological issues. We estimated the association of DST results for pyrazinamide, ethambutol, and second-line drugs with treatment outcomes in patients with MDR tuberculosis and XDR tuberculosis. Methods. We conducted an analysis of individual patient data assembled from 31 previously published cohort studies of patients with MDR and XDR tuberculosis. We used data on patients' clinical characteristics including DST results, treatment received, outcomes, and laboratory methods in each center. Results. DST methods and treatment regimens used in different centers varied considerably. Among 8955 analyzed patients, in vitro susceptibility to individual drugs was consistently and significantly associated with higher odds of treatment success (compared with resistance to the drug), if that drug was used in the treatment regimen. Various adjusted and sensitivity analyses suggest that this was not explained by confounding. The adjusted odds of treatment success for ethambutol, pyrazinamide, and the group 4 drugs ranged from 1.7 to 2.3, whereas for second-line injectables and fluoroquinolones, odds ranged from 2.4 to 4.6. Conclusions. DST for ethambutol, pyrazinamide, and second-line tuberculosis drugs appears to provide clinically useful information to guide selection of treatment regimens for MDR and XDR tuberculosis. PMID:25097082

Use of e-cigarettes by individuals with mental health conditions

PubMed Central

Cummins, Sharon E; Zhu, Shu-Hong; Tedeschi, Gary J; Gamst, Anthony C; Myers, Mark G

2014-01-01

Background Individuals with mental health conditions (MHC) have disproportionately high tobacco-related morbidity and mortality due to high smoking prevalence rates. As high consumers of cigarettes, smokers with MHC may consider using e-cigarettes as an alternative form of nicotine delivery. Objective Examination of the susceptibility to use e-cigarettes by individuals with MHC. Methods A US population survey with a national probability sample (n=10 041) was used to assess ever use and current use of regular cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and US Food and Drug Administration-approved pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation. Survey respondents provided information about whether they had been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, depression, or other MHC. Results Individuals with MHC were more likely to have tried e-cigarettes (14.8%) and to be current users of e-cigarettes (3.1%) than those without MHC (6.6% and 1.1%, respectively; p<0.01). Ever smokers with MHC were also more likely to have tried approved pharmacotherapy (52.2% vs 31.1%, p<0.01) and to be currently using these products (9.9% vs 3.5%, p<0.01) than those without MHC. Additionally, current smokers with MHC were more susceptible to future use of e-cigarettes than smokers without MHC (60.5% vs 45.3%, respectively, p<0.01). Conclusions Smokers with MHC are differentially affected by the rise in popularity of e-cigarettes. Clinical interventions and policies for tobacco control on e-cigarettes should take into account the possible outcomes and their implications for this priority population. PMID:24824516

Magnetic Susceptibility Measurements for in Situ Characterization of Lunar Soil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oder, R. R.

1992-01-01

Magnetic separation is a viable method for concentration of components of lunar soils and rocks for use as feedstocks for manufacture of metals, oxygen, and for recovery of volatiles such as He-3. Work with lunar materials indicates that immature soils are the best candidates for magnetic beneficiation. The magnetic susceptibility at which selected soil components such as anorthite, ilmenite, or metallic iron are separated is not affected by soil maturity, but the recovery of the concentrated components is. Increasing soil maturity lowers recovery. Mature soils contain significant amounts of glass-encased metallic iron. Magnetic susceptibility, which is sensitive to metallic iron content, can be used to measure soil maturity. The relationship between the ratio of magnetic susceptibility and iron oxide and the conventional maturity parameter, I(sub s)/FeO, ferromagnetic resonant intensity divided by iron oxide content is given. The magnetic susceptibilities were determined using apparatus designed for magnetic separation of the lunar soils.

Effects of divorce on Dutch boys' and girls' externalizing behavior in Gene × Environment perspective: diathesis stress or differential susceptibility in the Dutch Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey study?

PubMed

Nederhof, Esther; Belsky, Jay; Ormel, Johan; Oldehinkel, Albertine J

2012-08-01

The effects of divorce on children's behavioral development have proven to be quite varied across studies, and most developmental and family scholars today appreciate the great heterogeneity in divorce effects. Thus, this inquiry sought to determine whether select dopaminergic genes previously associated with externalizing behavior and/or found to moderate diverse environmental effects (dopamine receptors D2 and D4, catechol-O-methyltransferase) might moderate divorce effects on adolescent self-reported externalizing problems; and, if so, whether evidence of gene-environment (G × E) interaction would prove consistent with diathesis-stress or differential-susceptibility models of environmental action. Data from the first and third wave of the Dutch Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (n = 1,134) revealed some evidence of G × E interaction reflecting diathesis-stress but not differential susceptibility. It is intriguing that some evidence pointed to "vantage sensitivity," which are benefits accruing to those with a specific genotype when their parents remained together, the exact opposite of diathesis-stress. The limits of this work are considered, especially with regard to the conditions for testing differential susceptibility, and future directions are outlined.

[Susceptibility HLA alleles and amino acids to Takayasu arteritis].

PubMed

Terao, Chikashi; Yoshifuji, Hajime; Mimori, Tsuneyo; Matsuda, Fumihiko

2014-01-01

Takayasu arteritis (TAK) is a systemic vasculitis affecting aorta and its large branches which were firstly reported from Japan. TAK develops mainly in young females and the number of patients with TAK in Japan is estimated about 6,000 to 10,000. This low prevalence has made genetic studies of TAK difficult to elucidate its genetic background. The HLA region, especially HLA-B locus, is the strongest susceptibility locus to TAK. The association between TAK and HLA-B*52:01 has been established beyond ethnicity. Recently, two different Japanese research groups identified HLA-B67:01, a relatively rare allele in East Asian population, as a novel susceptibility allele. At the same time, two amino acid variations, namely, histidine at position 171 and phenylalanine at position 67 were reported as susceptibility and protective variations, respectively. Since these positions of amino acid are in the peptide binding grooves of HLA-B protein, changes of peptide-binding in MHC class I seem to play a critical role on susceptibility to TAK. Furthermore, the importance of these two amino acid variations would explain the lack of susceptibility effect of HLA-B*51:01 to TAK, which shares most of amino acid sequences with HLA-B*52:01 except for two amino acids including the position 67.

Interacting with Nature Improves Cognition and Affect for Individuals with Depression

PubMed Central

Berman, Marc G.; Kross, Ethan; Krpan, Katherine M.; Askren, Mary K.; Burson, Aleah; Deldin, Patricia J.; Kaplan, Stephen; Sherdell, Lindsey; Gotlib, Ian H.; Jonides, John

2012-01-01

Background This study aimed to explore whether walking in nature may be beneficial for individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). Healthy adults demonstrate significant cognitive gains after nature walks, but it was unclear whether those same benefits would be achieved in a depressed sample as walking alone in nature might induce rumination, thereby worsening memory and mood. Methods Twenty individuals diagnosed with MDD participated in this study. At baseline, mood and short term memory span were assessed using the PANAS and the backwards digit span (BDS) task, respectively. Participants were then asked to think about an unresolved negative autobiographical event to prime rumination, prior to taking a 50 minute walk in either a natural or urban setting. After the walk, mood and short-term memory span were reassessed. The following week, participants returned to the lab and repeated the entire procedure, but walked in the location not visited in the first session (i.e., a counterbalanced within-subjects design). Results Participants exhibited significant increases in memory span after the nature walk relative to the urban walk, p < .001, ηp2= .53 (a large effect-size). Participants also showed increases in mood, but the mood effects did not correlate with the memory effects, suggesting separable mechanisms and replicating previous work. Limitations Sample size and participants’ motivation. Conclusions These findings extend earlier work demonstrating the cognitive and affective benefits of interacting with nature to individuals with MDD. Therefore, interacting with nature may be useful clinically as a supplement to existing treatments for MDD. PMID:22464936

Interacting with nature improves cognition and affect for individuals with depression.

PubMed

Berman, Marc G; Kross, Ethan; Krpan, Katherine M; Askren, Mary K; Burson, Aleah; Deldin, Patricia J; Kaplan, Stephen; Sherdell, Lindsey; Gotlib, Ian H; Jonides, John

2012-11-01

This study aimed to explore whether walking in nature may be beneficial for individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). Healthy adults demonstrate significant cognitive gains after nature walks, but it was unclear whether those same benefits would be achieved in a depressed sample as walking alone in nature might induce rumination, thereby worsening memory and mood. Twenty individuals diagnosed with MDD participated in this study. At baseline, mood and short term memory span were assessed using the PANAS and the backwards digit span (BDS) task, respectively. Participants were then asked to think about an unresolved negative autobiographical event to prime rumination, prior to taking a 50-min walk in either a natural or urban setting. After the walk, mood and short-term memory span were reassessed. The following week, participants returned to the lab and repeated the entire procedure, but walked in the location not visited in the first session (i.e., a counterbalanced within-subjects design). Participants exhibited significant increases in memory span after the nature walk relative to the urban walk, p<.001, η(p)(2)=.53 (a large effect-size). Participants also showed increases in mood, but the mood effects did not correlate with the memory effects, suggesting separable mechanisms and replicating previous work. Sample size and participants' motivation. These findings extend earlier work demonstrating the cognitive and affective benefits of interacting with nature to individuals with MDD. Therefore, interacting with nature may be useful clinically as a supplement to existing treatments for MDD. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Multiple Cytokine Polymorphisms in Individuals with Untreated Deep Carious Lesions Reveals IL1B (rs1143643) as a Susceptibility Factor for Periapical Lesion Development

PubMed Central

Dill, Alisa; Letra, Ariadne; de Souza, Letıcia Chaves; Yadlapati, Mamatha; Biguetti, Claudia Cristina; Garlet, Gustavo Pompermaier; Vieira, Alexandre R.; Silva, Renato Menezes

2017-01-01

Introduction It has been proposed that individual genetic predisposition may contribute to persistent apical periodontitis. Cytokines are associated with levels of inflammation and are involved in caries, pulpal, and periapical tissue destruction. We hypothesized that polymorphisms in cytokine genes may contribute to an individual’s increased susceptibility to apical tissue destruction in response to deep carious lesions. Methods Subjects with deep carious lesions, with or without periapical lesions (≥ 3 mm) were recruited at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Texas at Houston. Genomic DNA samples of 316 patients were sorted into 2 groups: 136 cases with deep carious lesions and periapical lesions (cases), and 180 cases with deep carious lesions but no periapical lesions (controls). Nine single nucleotide polymorphisms in IL1B, IL6, TNF, RANK, RANKL and OPG genes were selected for genotyping. Genotypes were generated by endpoint analysis using Taqman chemistry in a real-time polymerase chain reaction instrument. Allele and genotype frequencies were compared among cases and controls using PLINK program. Ninety-three human periapical granulomas and 24 healthy periodontal ligament tissues collected post-operatively were used for mRNA expression analyses of IL1B. Results A SNP in IL1B (rs1143643) showed allelic (P=0.02) and genotypic (P=0.004) association with cases of deep caries and periapical lesions. We also observed altered transmission of IL1B marker haplotypes (P = 0.02) in these individuals. IL1B was highly expressed in granulomas (P<0.001). Conclusions Variations in IL1B may be associated with periapical lesion formation in individuals with untreated deep carious lesions. Future studies could help predict host susceptibility to developing periapical lesions. PMID:25476976

Mixed-infection of antibiotic susceptible and resistant Helicobacter pylori isolates in a single patient and underestimation of antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

PubMed

Kim, Jae J; Kim, Jong G; Kwon, Dong H

2003-06-01

Antibiotic resistance among Helicobacter pylori has been increasing worldwide and has begun to affect the overall efficacy of current antibiotic regimens adversely. We examined 220 pairs of H. pylori isolates obtained from both the antrum and corpus of separate patients; 109 (50%) harbored antibiotic-resistant H. pylori: amoxicillin (0.5%), clarithromycin (5.9%), furazolidone (1.4%), metronidazole (45.5%), nitrofurantoin (1.4%), and tetracycline (6.8%). Heteroresistance among the two biopsy sites from each patient was present in 41 of the 109 patients (38%) with antibiotic resistant H. pylori (e.g. 34% with resistant strains would be misclassified as susceptible if a biopsy of the antrum alone used for antimicrobial susceptibility testing). DNA fingerprinting genotype analysis was carried out on the 41 pairs of isolates with heteroresistance. While different patients had different fingerprinting patterns, each pair of isolates showed identical or similar fingerprinting patterns. These results suggest that antibiotic-resistant H. pylori typically develop from pre-existing susceptible strain rather than coinfection with a different strain. The minor differences in genotype (degeneration of genotype) seen reflect one of the processes for development of genetic diversity in H. pylori. No biopsy single site can be considered representative for antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

Role of MHC-Linked Susceptibility Genes in the Pathogenesis of Human and Murine Lupus

PubMed Central

Relle, Manfred; Schwarting, Andreas

2012-01-01

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by the production of autoantibodies against nuclear antigens and a systemic inflammation that can damage a broad spectrum of organs. SLE patients suffer from a wide variety of symptoms, which can affect virtually almost any tissue. As lupus is difficult to diagnose, the worldwide prevalence of SLE can only be roughly estimated to range from 10 and 200 cases per 100,000 individuals with dramatic differences depending on gender, ethnicity, and location. Although the treatment of this disease has been significantly ameliorated by new therapies, improved conventional drug therapy options, and a trained expert eye, the underlying pathogenesis of lupus still remain widely unknown. The complex etiology reflects the complex genetic background of the disease, which is also not well understood yet. However, in the past few years advances in lupus genetics have been made, notably with the publication of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in humans and the identification of susceptibility genes and loci in mice. This paper reviews the role of MHC-linked susceptibility genes in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus. PMID:22761632

Differential Susceptibility: The Genetic Moderation of Peer Pressure on Alcohol Use

PubMed Central

Cleveland, H. Harrington; Schlomer, Gabriel L.; Vandenbergh, David J.; Feinberg, Mark E.

2016-01-01

Although peer pressure can influence adolescents’ alcohol use, individual susceptibility to these pressures varies across individuals. The dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4) is a potential candidate gene that may influence adolescents’ susceptibility to their peer environment due to the role dopamine plays in reward sensation during social interaction. We hypothesized that DRD4 genotype status would moderate the impact of 7th-grade antisocial peer pressure on 12th-grade lifetime alcohol use (n = 414; 58.7 % female; 92.8 % White). The results revealed significant main effects for antisocial peer pressure, but no main effects for DRD4 genotype on lifetime alcohol use. Adolescent DRD4 genotype moderated the association between peer pressure and lifetime alcohol use. For individuals who carried at least one copy of the DRD4 7-repeat allele (7+), antisocial peer pressure was associated with increased lifetime alcohol use. These findings indicate that genetic sensitivity to peer pressure confers increased alcohol use in late adolescence. PMID:26307243

Differential Susceptibility: The Genetic Moderation of Peer Pressure on Alcohol Use.

PubMed

Griffin, Amanda M; Cleveland, H Harrington; Schlomer, Gabriel L; Vandenbergh, David J; Feinberg, Mark E

2015-10-01

Although peer pressure can influence adolescents' alcohol use, individual susceptibility to these pressures varies across individuals. The dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4) is a potential candidate gene that may influence adolescents' susceptibility to their peer environment due to the role dopamine plays in reward sensation during social interaction. We hypothesized that DRD4 genotype status would moderate the impact of 7th-grade antisocial peer pressure on 12th-grade lifetime alcohol use (n = 414; 58.7% female; 92.8% White). The results revealed significant main effects for antisocial peer pressure, but no main effects for DRD4 genotype on lifetime alcohol use. Adolescent DRD4 genotype moderated the association between peer pressure and lifetime alcohol use. For individuals who carried at least one copy of the DRD4 7-repeat allele (7+), antisocial peer pressure was associated with increased lifetime alcohol use. These findings indicate that genetic sensitivity to peer pressure confers increased alcohol use in late adolescence.

Sequence Alignment to Predict Across Species Susceptibility ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Conservation of a molecular target across species can be used as a line-of-evidence to predict the likelihood of chemical susceptibility. The web-based Sequence Alignment to Predict Across Species Susceptibility (SeqAPASS) tool was developed to simplify, streamline, and quantitatively assess protein sequence/structural similarity across taxonomic groups as a means to predict relative intrinsic susceptibility. The intent of the tool is to allow for evaluation of any potential protein target, so it is amenable to variable degrees of protein characterization, depending on available information about the chemical/protein interaction and the molecular target itself. To allow for flexibility in the analysis, a layered strategy was adopted for the tool. The first level of the SeqAPASS analysis compares primary amino acid sequences to a query sequence, calculating a metric for sequence similarity (including detection of candidate orthologs), the second level evaluates sequence similarity within selected domains (e.g., ligand-binding domain, DNA binding domain), and the third level of analysis compares individual amino acid residue positions identified as being of importance for protein conformation and/or ligand binding upon chemical perturbation. Each level of the SeqAPASS analysis provides increasing evidence to apply toward rapid, screening-level assessments of probable cross species susceptibility. Such analyses can support prioritization of chemicals for further ev

MR Measurement of Alloy Magnetic Susceptibility: Towards Developing Tissue-Susceptibility Matched Metals

PubMed Central

Astary, Garrett W.; Peprah, Marcus K.; Fisher, Charles R.; Stewart, Rachel L.; Carney, Paul R.; Sarntinoranont, Malisa; Meisel, Mark W.; Manuel, Michele V.; Mareci, Thomas H.

2013-01-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to relate structure to function mapped with high-temporal resolution electrophysiological recordings using metal electrodes. Additionally, MRI may be used to guide the placement of electrodes or conductive cannula in the brain. However, the magnetic susceptibility mismatch between implanted metals and surrounding brain tissue can severely distort MR images and spectra, particularly in high magnetic fields. In this study, we present a modified MR method of characterizing the magnetic susceptibility of materials that can be used to develop biocompatible, metal alloys that match the susceptibility of host tissue in order to eliminate MR distortions proximal to the implant. This method was applied at 4.7 T and 11.1 T to measure the susceptibility of a model solid-solution alloy of Cu and Sn, which is inexpensive but not biocompatible. MR-derived relative susceptibility values of four different compositions of Cu-Sn alloy deviated by less than 3.1% from SQUID magnetometry absolute susceptibility measurements performed up to 7 T. These results demonstrate that the magnetic susceptibility varies linearly with atomic percentage in these solid-solution alloys, but are not simply the weighted average of Cu and Sn magnetic susceptibilities. Therefore susceptibility measurements are necessary when developing susceptibility-matched, solid-solution alloys for the elimination of susceptibility artifacts in MR. This MR method does not require any specialized equipment and is free of geometrical constraints, such as sample shape requirements associated with SQUID magnetometry, so the method can be used at all stages of fabrication to guide the development of a susceptibility matched, biocompatible device. PMID:23727587

Brain white matter microstructure is associated with susceptibility to motion-induced nausea.

PubMed

Napadow, V; Sheehan, J; Kim, J; Dassatti, A; Thurler, A H; Surjanhata, B; Vangel, M; Makris, N; Schaechter, J D; Kuo, B

2013-05-01

Nausea is associated with significant morbidity, and there is a wide range in the propensity of individuals to experience nausea. The neural basis of the heterogeneity in nausea susceptibility is poorly understood. Our previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in healthy adults showed that a visual motion stimulus caused activation in the right MT+/V5 area, and that increased sensation of nausea due to this stimulus was associated with increased activation in the right anterior insula. For the current study, we hypothesized that individual differences in visual motion-induced nausea are due to microstructural differences in the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), the white matter tract connecting the right visual motion processing area (MT+/V5) and right anterior insula. To test this hypothesis, we acquired diffusion tensor imaging data from 30 healthy adults who were subsequently dichotomized into high and low nausea susceptibility groups based on the Motion Sickness Susceptibility Scale. We quantified diffusion along the IFOF for each subject based on axial diffusivity (AD); radial diffusivity (RD), mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA), and evaluated between-group differences in these diffusion metrics. Subjects with high susceptibility to nausea rated significantly (P < 0.001) higher nausea intensity to visual motion stimuli and had significantly (P < 0.05) lower AD and MD along the right IFOF compared to subjects with low susceptibility to nausea. This result suggests that differences in white matter microstructure within tracts connecting visual motion and nausea-processing brain areas may contribute to nausea susceptibility or may have resulted from an increased history of nausea episodes. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Identification of Cd101 as a susceptibility gene for Novosphingobium aromaticivorans - induced liver autoimmunity

PubMed Central

Mohammed, Javid P.; Fusakio, Michael E.; Rainbow, Daniel B.; Moule, Carolyn; Fraser, Heather I.; Clark, Jan; Todd, John A.; Peterson, Laurence B.; Savage, Paul B.; Wills-Karp, Marsha; Ridgway, William M.; Wicker, Linda S.; Mattner, Jochen

2011-01-01

Environmental and genetic factors define the susceptibility of an individual to autoimmune disease. Although common genetic pathways affect general immunological tolerance mechanisms in autoimmunity, the effects of such genes could vary under distinct immune challenges within different tissues. Here we demonstrate this by observing that autoimmune type 1 diabetes (T1D) protective haplotypes at the susceptibility region 10 (Idd10) introgressed from chromosome 3 of B6 and A/J mice onto the NOD background increase the severity of autoimmune primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) induced by infection with Novosphingobium aromaticivorans (N. aro), an ubiquitous alphaproteobacterium, when compared to mice having the NOD and NOD.CAST Idd10 T1D susceptible haplotypes. Substantially increased liver pathology in mice having the B6 and A/J Idd10 haplotypes correlates with reduced expression of CD101 on dendritic cells (DCs), macrophages and granulocytes following infection, delayed clearance of N. aro and the promotion of overzealous, IFN-γ- and IL-17-dominated T cell responses essential for the adoptive transfer of liver lesions. CD101-knockout mice generated on the B6 background also exhibit substantially more severe N.aro-induced liver disease correlating with increased IFN-γ and IL-17 responses compared to wild type mice. These data strongly support the hypothesis that allelic variation of the Cd101 gene, located in the Idd10 region, alters the severity of liver autoimmunity induced by N. aro. PMID:21613619

The effects of sleep dysfunction on cognition, affect, and quality of life in individuals with cerebellar ataxia.

PubMed

Sonni, Akshata; Kurdziel, Lauri B F; Baran, Bengi; Spencer, Rebecca M C

2014-05-15

Cerebellar ataxia comprises a group of debilitating diseases that are the result of progressive cerebellar degeneration. Recent studies suggest that, like other neurodegenerative diseases, sleep impairments are common in cerebellar ataxia. In light of the role of sleep in mood regulation and cognition, we sought to assess interactions between sleep, cognition, and affect in individuals with cerebellar ataxia. A survey of 176 individuals with cerebellar ataxia was conducted. The battery of instruments included a modified International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Restless Leg Syndrome Questionnaire, REM Behavior Disorder Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and a Composite Cognitive Questionnaire. Fifty-one percent of individuals indicated significant sleep disturbances on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, 73% of participants had two or more symptoms of restless leg syndrome, and 88% had two or more symptoms of REM behavior disorder. Ataxia severity, based on the modified International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale, predicted scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and REM Behavior Disorder Questionnaire. Median split analyses revealed that cognitive function appeared to be reduced and depressive symptoms were greater for those individuals with poor subjective sleep quality and severe RLS. Importantly, sleep appears to play a mediatory role between disease severity and depressive symptoms. These results suggest that disturbed sleep may have detrimental effects on cognition and affect in individuals with cerebellar ataxia. While objective measures are needed, such results suggest that treating sleep deficits in these individuals may improve cognitive and mental health as well as overall quality of life.

Genomic Analysis of Reduced Susceptibility to Tigecycline in Enterococcus faecium

PubMed Central

Isnard, Christophe; Cosquer, Thibaud; Odhiambo, Arlène; Bucquet, Fiona; Guérin, François; Giard, Jean-Christophe

2014-01-01

Tigecycline (TIG) is approved for use for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections, skin and skin structure infections, as well as pneumonia. Acquired resistance or reduced susceptibility to TIG has been observed in Gram-negative rods, has seldom been reported in Gram-positive organisms, and has not yet been reported in Enterococcus faecium. Using the serial passage method, in vitro mutant AusTig and in vitro mutants HMtig1 and HMtig2 with decreased TIG susceptibility (MICs, 0.25 μg/ml) were obtained from strains E. faecium Aus0004 and HM1070 (MICs, 0.03 μg/ml), respectively. In addition, two vancomycin-resistant E. faecium clinical isolates (EF16 and EF22) with reduced susceptibility to TIG (MICs, 0.5 and 0.25 μg/ml, respectively) were studied. Compared to the wild-type strains, the in vitro mutants also showed an increase in the MICs of other tetracyclines. An efflux mechanism did not seem to be involved in the reduced TIG susceptibility, since the presence of efflux pump inhibitors (reserpine or pantoprazole) did not affect the MICs of TIG. Whole-genome sequencing of AusTig was carried out, and genomic comparison with the Aus0004 genome was performed. Four modifications leading to an amino acid substitution were found. These mutations affected the rpsJ gene (efau004_00094, coding for the S10 protein of the 30S ribosomal subunit), efau004_01228 (encoding a cation transporter), efau004_01636 (coding for a hypothetical protein), and efau004_02455 (encoding the l-lactate oxidase). The four other strains exhibiting reduced TIG susceptibility were screened for the candidate mutations. This analysis revealed that three of them showed an amino acid substitution in the same region of the RpsJ protein. In this study, we characterized for the first time genetic determinants linked to reduced TIG susceptibility in enterococci. PMID:25348531

Genomic analysis of reduced susceptibility to tigecycline in Enterococcus faecium.

PubMed

Cattoir, Vincent; Isnard, Christophe; Cosquer, Thibaud; Odhiambo, Arlène; Bucquet, Fiona; Guérin, François; Giard, Jean-Christophe

2015-01-01

Tigecycline (TIG) is approved for use for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections, skin and skin structure infections, as well as pneumonia. Acquired resistance or reduced susceptibility to TIG has been observed in Gram-negative rods, has seldom been reported in Gram-positive organisms, and has not yet been reported in Enterococcus faecium. Using the serial passage method, in vitro mutant AusTig and in vitro mutants HMtig1 and HMtig2 with decreased TIG susceptibility (MICs, 0.25 μg/ml) were obtained from strains E. faecium Aus0004 and HM1070 (MICs, 0.03 μg/ml), respectively. In addition, two vancomycin-resistant E. faecium clinical isolates (EF16 and EF22) with reduced susceptibility to TIG (MICs, 0.5 and 0.25 μg/ml, respectively) were studied. Compared to the wild-type strains, the in vitro mutants also showed an increase in the MICs of other tetracyclines. An efflux mechanism did not seem to be involved in the reduced TIG susceptibility, since the presence of efflux pump inhibitors (reserpine or pantoprazole) did not affect the MICs of TIG. Whole-genome sequencing of AusTig was carried out, and genomic comparison with the Aus0004 genome was performed. Four modifications leading to an amino acid substitution were found. These mutations affected the rpsJ gene (efau004_00094, coding for the S10 protein of the 30S ribosomal subunit), efau004_01228 (encoding a cation transporter), efau004_01636 (coding for a hypothetical protein), and efau004_02455 (encoding the l-lactate oxidase). The four other strains exhibiting reduced TIG susceptibility were screened for the candidate mutations. This analysis revealed that three of them showed an amino acid substitution in the same region of the RpsJ protein. In this study, we characterized for the first time genetic determinants linked to reduced TIG susceptibility in enterococci. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Integration of landslide susceptibility products in the environmental plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiorucci, Federica; Reichenbach, Paola; Rossi, Mauro; Cardinali, Mauro; Guzzetti, Fausto

2015-04-01

Landslides are one of the most destructive natural hazard that causes damages to urban area worldwide. The knowledge of where a landslide could occur is essential for the strategic management of the territory and for a good urban planning . In this contest landslide susceptibility zoning (LSZ) is crucial to provide information on the degree to which an area can be affected by future slope movements. Despite landslide susceptibility maps have been prepared extensively during the last decades, there are few examples of application is in the environmental plans (EP). In this work we present a proposal for the integration of the landslide inventory map with the following landslide susceptibility products: (i) landslide susceptibility zonation , (ii) the associated error map and (iii) the susceptibility uncertainty map. Moreover we proposed to incorporate detailed morphological studies for the evaluation of landslide risk associated to local parceling plan. The integration of all this information is crucial for the management of landslide risk in urban expansions forecasts. Municipality, province and regional administration are often not able to support the costs of landslide risk evaluation for extensive areas but should concentrate their financial resources to specific hazardous and unsafe situations defined by the result of the integration of landslide susceptibility products. Zonation and detail morphological analysis should be performed taking into account the existing laws and regulations, and could become a starting point to discuss new regulations for the landslide risk management.

Relationship between hypnosis and personality trait in participants with high or low hypnotic susceptibility

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yingchun; Wang, Yunke; Shen, Chanchan; Ye, Yingying; Shen, Si; Zhang, Bingren; Wang, Jiawei; Chen, Wei; Wang, Wei

2017-01-01

Background The relationship between normal personality and hypnotic susceptibility is important for understanding mental processing and mental disorders, but it is less consistent in normal people or in patients with a psychiatric disorder. We have hypothesized that the correlation exists but varies in individuals with different levels of hypnotizability. Participants and methods We invited 72 individuals with high (HIGH group) and 47 individuals with low (LOW group) hypnotic susceptibilities to undertake tests of NEO-PI-R and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSSC). Results The HIGH group scored significantly higher than the LOW group did on openness to experience and its facet openness to feelings. In the LOW group, SHSSC total was positively predicted by openness to ideas; age regression was positively predicted by openness to experience and negatively predicted by extraversion; anosmia to ammonia was negatively predicted by agreeableness; and negative visual hallucination was positively predicted by openness to experience. In the HIGH group, hallucinated voice was positively predicted by openness to experience and negatively predicted by agreeableness, and posthypnotic amnesia was positively predicted by extraversion and negatively predicted by openness to experience. Conclusion The associations between normal personality traits and hypnotic susceptibility items were weak and different in the two groups, which imply that managing mental or somatoform disorders might be through adjusting hypnotizability and mobilizing personality functions. PMID:28435270

Genetic Factors Affecting Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Susceptibility.

PubMed

Rezazadeh, Maryam; Khorrami, Aziz; Yeghaneh, Tarlan; Talebi, Mahnaz; Kiani, Seyed Jalal; Heshmati, Yaser; Gharesouran, Jalal

2016-03-01

Alzheimer's disease is considered a progressive brain disease in the older population. Late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) as a multifactorial dementia has a polygenic inheritance. Age, environment, and lifestyle along with a growing number of genetic factors have been reported as risk factors for LOAD. Our aim was to present results of LOAD association studies that have been done in northwestern Iran, and we also explored possible interactions with apolipoprotein E (APOE) status. We re-evaluated the association of these markers in dominant, recessive, and additive models. In all, 160 LOAD and 163 healthy control subjects of Azeri Turkish ethnicity were studied. The Chi-square test with Yates' correction and Fisher's exact test were used for statistical analysis. A Bonferroni-corrected p value, based on the number of statistical tests, was considered significant. Our results confirmed that chemokine receptor type 2 (CCR2), estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1), toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF α), APOE, bridging integrator 1 (BIN1), and phosphatidylinositol-binding clathrin assembly protein (PICALM) are LOAD susceptibility loci in Azeri Turk ancestry populations. Among them, variants of CCR2, ESR1, TNF α, and APOE revealed associations in three different genetic models. After adjusting for APOE, the association (both allelic and genotypic) with CCR2, BIN1, and ESRα (PvuII) was evident only among subjects without the APOE ε4, whereas the association with CCR5, without Bonferroni correction, was significant only among subjects carrying the APOE ε4 allele. This result is an evidence of a synergistic and antagonistic effect of APOE on variant associations with LOAD.

Using Multigroup-Multiphase Latent State-Trait Models to Study Treatment-Induced Changes in Intra-Individual State Variability: An Application to Smokers' Affect.

PubMed

Geiser, Christian; Griffin, Daniel; Shiffman, Saul

2016-01-01

Sometimes, researchers are interested in whether an intervention, experimental manipulation, or other treatment causes changes in intra-individual state variability. The authors show how multigroup-multiphase latent state-trait (MG-MP-LST) models can be used to examine treatment effects with regard to both mean differences and differences in state variability. The approach is illustrated based on a randomized controlled trial in which N = 338 smokers were randomly assigned to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) vs. placebo prior to quitting smoking. We found that post quitting, smokers in both the NRT and placebo group had significantly reduced intra-individual affect state variability with respect to the affect items calm and content relative to the pre-quitting phase. This reduction in state variability did not differ between the NRT and placebo groups, indicating that quitting smoking may lead to a stabilization of individuals' affect states regardless of whether or not individuals receive NRT.

Characteristics of Japanese inflammatory bowel disease susceptibility loci.

PubMed

Arimura, Yoshiaki; Isshiki, Hiroyuki; Onodera, Kei; Nagaishi, Kanna; Yamashita, Kentaro; Sonoda, Tomoko; Matsumoto, Takayuki; Takahashi, Atsushi; Takazoe, Masakazu; Yamazaki, Keiko; Kubo, Michiaki; Fujimiya, Mineko; Imai, Kohzoh; Shinomura, Yasuhisa

2014-08-01

There are substantial differences in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) genetics depending on the populations examined. We aimed to identify Japanese population-specific or true culprit susceptibility genes through a meta-analysis of past genetic studies of Japanese IBD. For this study, we reviewed 2,703 articles. The review process consisted of three screening stages: we initially searched for relevant studies and then relevant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Finally, we adjusted them for the meta-analysis. To maximize our chances of analysis, we introduced proxy SNPs during the first stage. To minimize publication bias, no significant SNPs and solitary SNPs without pairs were combined to be reconsidered during the third stage. Additionally, two SNPs were newly genotyped. Finally, we conducted a meta-analysis of 37 published studies in 50 SNPs located at 22 loci corresponding to the total number of 4,853 Crohn's disease (CD), 5,612 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, and 14,239 healthy controls. We confirmed that the NKX2-3 polymorphism is associated with common susceptibility to IBD and that HLA-DRB1*0450 alleles increase susceptibility to CD but reduce risk for UC while HLA-DRB1*1502 alleles increase susceptibility to UC but reduce CD risk. Moreover, we found individual disease risk loci: TNFSF15 and TNFα to CD and HLA-B*5201, and NFKBIL1 to UC. The genetic risk of HLA was substantially high (odds ratios ranged from 1.54 to 2.69) while that of common susceptibility loci to IBD was modest (odds ratio ranged from 1.13 to 1.24). Results indicate that Japanese IBD susceptibility loci identified by the meta-analysis are closely associated with the HLA regions.

Genetic variation in SIRT1 affects susceptibility of lung squamous cell carcinomas in former uranium miners from the Colorado plateau

PubMed Central

Leng, Shuguang; Picchi, Maria A.; Liu, Yushi; Thomas, Cynthia L.; Willis, Derall G.; Bernauer, Amanda M.; Carr, Teara G.; Mabel, Padilla T.; Han, Younghun; Amos, Christopher I.; Lin, Yong; Stidley, Christine A.; Gilliland, Frank D.; Jacobson, Marty R.; Belinsky, Steven A.

2013-01-01

Epidemiological studies of underground miners suggested that occupational exposure to radon causes lung cancer with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) as the predominant histological type. However, the genetic determinants for susceptibility of radon-induced SCC in miners are unclear. Double-strand breaks induced by radioactive radon daughters are repaired primarily by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) that is accompanied by the dynamic changes in surrounding chromatin, including nucleosome repositioning and histone modifications. Thus, a molecular epidemiological study was conducted to assess whether genetic variation in 16 genes involved in NHEJ and related histone modification affected susceptibility for SCC in radon-exposed former miners (267 SCC cases and 383 controls) from the Colorado plateau. A global association between genetic variation in the haplotype block where SIRT1 resides and the risk for SCC in miners (P = 0.003) was identified. Haplotype alleles tagged by the A allele of SIRT1 rs7097008 were associated with increased risk for SCC (odds ratio = 1.69, P = 8.2×10−5) and greater survival in SCC cases (hazard ratio = 0.79, P = 0.03) in miners. Functional validation of rs7097008 demonstrated that the A allele was associated with reduced gene expression in bronchial epithelial cells and compromised DNA repair capacity in peripheral lymphocytes. Together, these findings substantiate genetic variation in SIRT1 as a risk modifier for developing SCC in miners and suggest that SIRT1 may also play a tumor suppressor role in radon-induced cancer in miners. PMID:23354305

Susceptibility of nitinol to localized corrosion.

PubMed

Pound, Bruce G

2006-04-01

The effect of different conditions on the susceptibility of nitinol to localized corrosion was examined using the cyclic potentiodynamic polarization technique. Tests were performed on mechanically polished (MP) and electropolished (EP) nitinol wire in 0.9 wt % NaCl and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). A polarization curve was also obtained for an EP stent in the NaCl. Differences between the breakdown potential and the corrosion potential (E(corr)) and between the protection potential and E(corr) were used to evaluate the susceptibility to pitting corrosion and crevice corrosion, respectively. The type of solution and, particularly, the surface condition affected the resistance of nitinol to pitting corrosion. Both EP and MP nitinol were more susceptible to breakdown in the NaCl than in PBS, indicating that the NaCl provides a more severe test environment than does PBS. Electropolishing increased the breakdown resistance of nitinol in PBS and the NaCl, as found in previous studies with Hank's solution. Surface condition, however, did not have a significant effect on the repassivation behavior of nitinol, as is also the case with titanium. The EP wire and stent showed similar breakdown and repassivation behavior in the NaCl, suggesting that the nature of the EP surface was similar in both cases. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The genetic basis of individual differences in reward processing and the link to addictive behavior and social cognition.

PubMed

Yacubian, J; Büchel, C

2009-11-24

Dopaminergic neurotransmission is widely recognized to be critical to the neurobiology of reward, motivation and addiction. Interestingly, social interactions and related behavior also activate the same neuronal system. Consequently, genetic variations of dopamine neurotransmission are thought influence reward processing that in turn may affect distinctive social behavior and susceptibility to addiction. This review focuses on advances made to date in an effort to link genetic individual variations and reward processing as a possible basis for addictive behaviors.

The interaction between temperament and the family environment in adolescent substance use and externalizing behaviors: Support for diathesis–stress or differential susceptibility?

PubMed Central

Rioux, Charlie; Castellanos-Ryan, Natalie; Parent, Sophie; Séguin, Jean R.

2016-01-01

Both individual and environmental factors predict externalizing behaviors and substance use (EB-SU); however, different patterns of interaction among these factors may have different implications. This review first examines how temperament and the family environment interact in the prediction of adolescent EB-SU. Second, studies are reviewed according to two theoretical models: (1) diathesis–stress, i.e., certain individual characteristics are linked to vulnerability and later problems in adverse environments; (2) differential susceptibility, i.e., these characteristics are linked to susceptibility, predicting problems in adverse environments, but also better than average outcomes in good environments. Fourteen studies focusing on the prediction of EB-SU at ages 12–18 were selected through a literature search. Results showed that certain temperament traits (high levels of impulsivity and disinhibition; low levels of effortful control, negative affect, fearfulness and shyness), hereby designated as “adventurous” disposition, were associated with higher levels of EB-SU in adverse family environments. Some studies also showed that children with “adventurous” temperament traits in positive environments had the lowest levels of EB-SU. This suggests that prevention of EB-SU might target family factors such as parenting and focus on children with “adventurous” temperament traits. Further, studies that supported the differential susceptibility model were those assessing temperament and the family environment in childhood and studies that supported the diathesis–stress model assessed these variables in adolescence. It is thus possible that some of these “adventurous” temperament traits, with regard to EB-SU, would be indicators of susceptibility to both enriched and adverse environments in childhood but no longer in adolescence, when they would only be indicators of vulnerability to adverse environments. PMID:27413247

Susceptibility to air pollution effects on mortality in Seoul, Korea: A case-crossover analysis of individual-level effect modifiers

PubMed Central

Son, Ji-Young; Lee, Jong-Tae; Kim, Ho; Yi, Okhee; Bell, Michelle L.

2012-01-01

Air pollution’s mortality effects may differ by subpopulation; however, few studies have investigated this issue in Asia. We investigated susceptibility to air pollutants on total, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality in Seoul, Korea for the period 2000 – 2007. We applied time-stratified case-crossover analysis, which allows direct modeling of interaction terms, to estimate susceptibility based on sex, age, education, marital status, and occupation. An interquartile range increase in pollution was associated with odds ratios of 0.94 (95% confidence interval, 0.25 – 1.62), 2.27 (1.03–3.53), 1.94 (0.80 – 3.09), and 2.21 (1.00 – 3.43) for total mortality and 1.95 (0.64 – 3.27), 4.82 (2.18 – 7.54), 3.64 (1.46 – 5.87), and 4.32 (1.77 – 6.92) for cardiovascular mortality for PM10, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and carbon monoxide (CO), respectively. Ozone effect estimates were positive, but not statistically significant. Results indicate that some populations are more susceptible than others. For total or cardiovascular mortality, associations were higher for males, those 65 – 74 years, and those with no education or manual occupation for some pollutants. For example, the odds ratio for SO2 and cardiovascular mortality was 1.19 (1.03 – 1.37) times higher for those with manual occupations than professional occupations. Our findings provide evidence that some populations are more susceptible to the effects of air pollution than others, which has implications for public policy and risk assessment for susceptible subpopulations. PMID:22395258

Biomarkers of susceptibility: State of the art and implications for occupational exposure to engineered nanomaterials

PubMed Central

Iavicoli, Ivo; Leso, Veruscka; Schulte, Paul A.

2016-01-01

Rapid advances and applications in nanotechnology are expected to result in increasing occupational exposure to nano-sized materials whose health impacts are still not completely understood. Scientific efforts are required to identify hazards from nanomaterials and define risks and precautionary management strategies for exposed workers. In this scenario, the definition of susceptible populations, which may be at increased risk of adverse effects may be important for risk assessment and management. The aim of this review is to critically examine available literature to provide a comprehensive overview on susceptibility aspects potentially affecting heterogeneous responses to nanomaterials workplace exposure. Genetic, genotoxic and epigenetic alterations induced by nanomaterials in experimental studies were assessed with respect to their possible function as determinants of susceptibility. Additionally, the role of host factors, i.e. age, gender, and pathological conditions, potentially affecting nanomaterial toxicokinetic and health impacts, were also analysed. Overall, this review provides useful information to obtain insights into the nanomaterial mode of action in order to identify potentially sensitive, specific susceptibility biomarkers to be validated in occupational settings and addressed in risk assessment processes. The findings of this review are also important to guide future research into a deeper characterization of nanomaterial susceptibility in order to define adequate risk communication strategies. Ultimately, identification and use of susceptibility factors in workplace settings has both scientific and ethical issues that need addressing. PMID:26724381

A Novel Technique for Performing PID Susceptibility Screening during the Solar Cell Fabrication Process

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

Oh, Jaewon; Dahal, Som; Dauksher, Bill

2016-11-21

Various characterization techniques have historically been developed in order to screen potential induced degradation (PID)-susceptible cells, but those techniques require final solar cells. We present a new characterization technique for screening PID-susceptible cells during the cell fabrication process. Illuminated Lock-In Thermography (ILIT) was used to image PID shunting of the cell without metallization and clearly showed PID-affected areas. PID-susceptible cells can be screened by ILIT, and the sample structure can advantageously be simplified as long as the sample has the silicon nitride antireflection coating and an aluminum back surface field.

Genetic Aspects of Susceptibility to Mercury Toxicity: An Overview.

PubMed

Andreoli, Virginia; Sprovieri, Francesca

2017-01-18

Human exposure to mercury is still a major public health concern. In this context, children have a higher susceptibility to adverse neurological mercury effects, compared to adults with similar exposures. Moreover, there exists a marked variability of personal response to detrimental mercury action, in particular among population groups with significant mercury exposure. New scientific evidence on genetic backgrounds has raised the issue of whether candidate susceptibility genes can make certain individuals more or less vulnerable to mercury toxicity. In this review, the aim is to evaluate a new genetic dimension and its involvement in mercury risk assessment, focusing on the important role played by relevant polymorphisms, located in attractive gene targets for mercury toxicity. Existing original articles on epidemiologic research which report a direct link between the genetic basis of personal vulnerability and different mercury repercussions on human health will be reviewed. Based on this evidence, a careful evaluation of the significant markers of susceptibility will be suggested, in order to obtain a powerful positive "feedback" to improve the quality of life. Large consortia of studies with clear phenotypic assessments will help clarify the "window of susceptibility" in the human health risks due to mercury exposure.

The impact bias in self and others: Affective and empathic forecasting in individuals with social anxiety.

PubMed

Arditte Hall, Kimberly A; Joormann, Jutta; Siemer, Matthias; Timpano, Kiara R

2018-07-01

People tend to overestimate the intensity and duration of affect (i.e., impact bias) when making predictions about their own and others' responding, termed affective and empathic forecasting, respectively. Research links impact biases to clinical symptoms of affective disorders, but little work has been done to examine how social anxiety is related to affective and empathic forecasting biases. The current investigation included two studies examining these associations in independent samples of young adults with dimensionally distributed social anxiety symptoms. Study 1 (N = 100) examined the associations between social anxiety and affective and empathic forecasts in response to a series of novel hypothetical vignettes in which a second-person narrator (i.e., the self) elicited anger, disgust, or happiness from another person (i.e., the other). Study 2 utilized an innovative experimental paradigm involving N = 68 participant dyads. Overall, results supported the existence of affective and empathic forecasting biases. Further, symptoms of social anxiety were associated with the tendency to overestimate one's own and others' negative affect and underestimate others' positive affect. Such forecasting biases may help to explain the avoidance that is characteristic of individuals with social anxiety and could represent a fruitful target of cognitive behavioral intervention. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen Embrittlement Susceptibility and Safety Control of Reheated CGHAZ in X80 Welded Pipeline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Qiushi; Zhao, Weimin; Jiang, Wei; Zhang, Timing; Li, Tingting; Zhao, Yujiao

2018-03-01

Coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) exhibits the highest hydrogen embrittlement (HE) susceptibility, which changes under the influence of thermal cycle. In this study, slow strain rate tension (SSRT) tests were conducted to investigate the HE susceptibility of reheated CGHAZs and the critical hydrogen pressure for fracture failure. Results show that intercritically reheated CGHAZ (ICCGHAZ) possesses the lowest HE resistance. Analyses of HE index and fracture indicate that the critical hydrogen pressure is 3.5 MPa. Microstructure analysis reveals that HE susceptibility is associated with multiple factors, such as phase composition, grain coarsening, HAB density, and MA constituent. Blocky necklace-like MA constituent along prior austenite boundaries plays a predominant role in intensifying the HE susceptibility of ICCGHAZ.

Using Multigroup-Multiphase Latent State-Trait Models to Study Treatment-Induced Changes in Intra-Individual State Variability: An Application to Smokers' Affect

PubMed Central

Geiser, Christian; Griffin, Daniel; Shiffman, Saul

2016-01-01

Sometimes, researchers are interested in whether an intervention, experimental manipulation, or other treatment causes changes in intra-individual state variability. The authors show how multigroup-multiphase latent state-trait (MG-MP-LST) models can be used to examine treatment effects with regard to both mean differences and differences in state variability. The approach is illustrated based on a randomized controlled trial in which N = 338 smokers were randomly assigned to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) vs. placebo prior to quitting smoking. We found that post quitting, smokers in both the NRT and placebo group had significantly reduced intra-individual affect state variability with respect to the affect items calm and content relative to the pre-quitting phase. This reduction in state variability did not differ between the NRT and placebo groups, indicating that quitting smoking may lead to a stabilization of individuals' affect states regardless of whether or not individuals receive NRT. PMID:27499744

A neurogenetics approach to defining differential susceptibility to institutional care

PubMed Central

Brett, Zoe H.; Sheridan, Margaret; Humphreys, Kate; Smyke, Anna; Gleason, Mary Margaret; Fox, Nathan; Zeanah, Charles; Nelson, Charles; Drury, Stacy

2014-01-01

An individual's neurodevelopmental and cognitive sequelae to negative early experiences may, in part, be explained by genetic susceptibility. We examined whether extreme differences in the early caregiving environment, defined as exposure to severe psychosocial deprivation associated with institutional care compared to normative rearing, interacted with a biologically informed genoset comprising BDNF (rs6265), COMT (rs4680), and SIRT1 (rs3758391) to predict distinct outcomes of neurodevelopment at age 8 (N = 193, 97 males and 96 females). Ethnicity was categorized as Romanian (71%), Roma (21%), unknown (7%), or other (1%). We identified a significant interaction between early caregiving environment (i.e., institutionalized versus never institutionalized children) and the a priori defined genoset for full-scale IQ, two spatial working memory tasks, and prefrontal cortex gray matter volume. Model validation was performed using a bootstrap resampling procedure. Although we hypothesized that the effect of this genoset would operate in a manner consistent with differential susceptibility, our results demonstrate a complex interaction where vantage susceptibility, diathesis stress, and differential susceptibility are implicated. PMID:25663728

A neurogenetics approach to defining differential susceptibility to institutional care.

PubMed

Brett, Zoe H; Sheridan, Margaret; Humphreys, Kate; Smyke, Anna; Gleason, Mary Margaret; Fox, Nathan; Zeanah, Charles; Nelson, Charles; Drury, Stacy

2015-03-01

An individual's neurodevelopmental and cognitive sequelae to negative early experiences may, in part, be explained by genetic susceptibility. We examined whether extreme differences in the early caregiving environment, defined as exposure to severe psychosocial deprivation associated with institutional care compared to normative rearing, interacted with a biologically informed genoset comprising BDNF (rs6265), COMT (rs4680), and SIRT1 (rs3758391) to predict distinct outcomes of neurodevelopment at age 8 ( N = 193, 97 males and 96 females). Ethnicity was categorized as Romanian (71%), Roma (21%), unknown (7%), or other (1%). We identified a significant interaction between early caregiving environment (i.e., institutionalized versus never institutionalized children) and the a priori defined genoset for full-scale IQ, two spatial working memory tasks, and prefrontal cortex gray matter volume. Model validation was performed using a bootstrap resampling procedure. Although we hypothesized that the effect of this genoset would operate in a manner consistent with differential susceptibility, our results demonstrate a complex interaction where vantage susceptibility, diathesis stress, and differential susceptibility are implicated.

Genetic susceptibility testing for neurodegenerative diseases: ethical and practice issues.

PubMed

Roberts, J Scott; Uhlmann, Wendy R

2013-11-01

As the genetics of neurodegenerative disease become better understood, opportunities for genetic susceptibility testing for at-risk individuals will increase. Such testing raises important ethical and practice issues related to test access, informed consent, risk estimation and communication, return of results, and policies to prevent genetic discrimination. The advent of direct-to-consumer genetic susceptibility testing for various neurodegenerative disorders (including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease, and certain prion diseases) means that ethical and practical challenges must be faced not only in traditional research and clinical settings, but also in broader society. This review addresses several topics relevant to the development and implementation of genetic susceptibility tests across research, clinical, and consumer settings; these include appropriate indications for testing, the implications of different methods for disclosing test results, clinical versus personal utility of risk information, psychological and behavioral responses to test results, testing of minors, genetic discrimination, and ethical dilemmas posed by whole-genome sequencing. We also identify future areas of likely growth in the field, including pharmacogenomics and genetic screening for individuals considering or engaged in activities that pose elevated risk of brain injury (e.g., football players, military personnel). APOE gene testing for risk of Alzheimer's disease is used throughout as an instructive case example, drawing upon the authors' experience as investigators in a series of multisite randomized clinical trials that have examined the impact of disclosing APOE genotype status to interested individuals (e.g., first-degree relatives of AD patients, persons with mild cognitive impairment). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genetic susceptibility testing for neurodegenerative diseases: Ethical and practice issues

PubMed Central

Roberts, J. Scott; Uhlmann, Wendy R.

2013-01-01

As the genetics of neurodegenerative disease become better understood, opportunities for genetic susceptibility testing for at-risk individuals will increase. Such testing raises important ethical and practice issues related to test access, informed consent, risk estimation and communication, return of results, and policies to prevent genetic discrimination. The advent of direct-to-consumer genetic susceptibility testing for various neurodegenerative disorders (including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and certain prion diseases) means that ethical and practical challenges must be faced not only in traditional research and clinical settings, but also in broader society. This review addresses several topics relevant to the development and implementation of genetic susceptibility tests across research, clinical, and consumer settings; these include appropriate indications for testing, the implications of different methods for disclosing test results, clinical versus personal utility of risk information, psychological and behavioral responses to test results, testing of minors, genetic discrimination, and ethical dilemmas posed by whole-genome sequencing. We also identify future areas of likely growth in the field, including pharmacogenomics and genetic screening for individuals considering or engaged in activities that pose elevated risk of brain injury (e.g., football players, military personnel). APOE gene testing for risk of Alzheimer’s disease is used throughout as an instructive case example, drawing upon the authors’ experience as investigators in a series of multisite randomized clinical trials that have examined the impact of disclosing APOE genotype status to interested individuals (e.g., first-degree relatives, persons with mild cognitive impairment). PMID:23583530

Plasmodium Infections in Natural Populations of Anolis sagrei Reflect Tolerance Rather Than Susceptibility

PubMed Central

Bonneaud, Camille; Sepil, Irem; Wilfert, Lena; Calsbeek, Ryan

2017-01-01

Synopsis Parasites can represent formidable selection pressures for hosts, but the cost of infection is sometimes difficult to demonstrate in natural populations. While parasite exploitation strategies may, in some instances, actually inflict low costs on their hosts, the response of hosts to infection is also likely to determine whether or not these costs can be detected. Indeed, costs of infection may be obscured if infected individuals in the wild are those that are the most tolerant, rather than the most susceptible, to infection. Here we test this hypothesis in two natural populations of Anolis sagrei, one of the most common anole lizard of the Bahamas. Plasmodium parasites were detected in > 7% of individuals and belonged to two distinct clades: P. mexicanum and P. floriensis. Infected individuals displayed greater body condition than non-infected ones and we found no association between infection status, stamina, and survival to the end of the breeding season. Furthermore, we found no significant difference in the immuno-competence (measured as a response to phytohemagglutinin challenge) of infected versus non-infected individuals. Taken together, our results suggest that the infected individuals that are caught in the wild are those most able to withstand the cost of the infection and that susceptible, infected individuals have been removed from the population (i.e., through disease-induced mortality). This study highlights the need for caution when interpreting estimates of infection costs in natural populations, as costs may appear low either when parasites exploitation strategies truly inflict low costs on their hosts or when those costs are so high that susceptible hosts are removed from the population. PMID:28859403

Susceptibility to Yersinia pestis experimental infection in wild Rattus rattus, reservoir of plague in Madagascar.

PubMed

Tollenaere, C; Rahalison, L; Ranjalahy, M; Duplantier, J-M; Rahelinirina, S; Telfer, S; Brouat, C

2010-06-01

In Madagascar, the black rat, Rattus rattus, is the main reservoir of plague (Yersinia pestis infection), a disease still responsible for hundreds of cases each year in this country. This study used experimental plague challenge to assess susceptibility in wild-caught rats to better understand how R. rattus can act as a plague reservoir. An important difference in plague resistance between rat populations from the plague focus (central highlands) and those from the plague-free zone (low altitude area) was confirmed to be a widespread phenomenon. In rats from the plague focus, we observed that sex influenced plague susceptibility, with males slightly more resistant than females. Other individual factors investigated (weight and habitat of sampling) did not affect plague resistance. When infected at high bacterial dose (more than 10⁵ bacteria injected), rats from the plague focus died mainly within 3-5 days and produced specific antibodies, whereas after low-dose infection (< 5,000 bacteria), delayed mortality was observed and surviving seronegative rats were not uncommon. These results concerning plague resistance level and the course of infection in the black rat would contribute to a better understanding of plague circulation in Madagascar.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in multiple sclerosis: disease susceptibility and treatment response biomarkers.

PubMed

Pravica, Vera; Popadic, Dusan; Savic, Emina; Markovic, Milos; Drulovic, Jelena; Mostarica-Stojkovic, Marija

2012-04-01

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system characterized by unpredictable and variable clinical course. Etiology of MS involves both genetic and environmental factors. New technologies identified genetic polymorphisms associated with MS susceptibility among which immunologically relevant genes are significantly overrepresented. Although individual genes contribute only a small part to MS susceptibility, they might be used as biomarkers, thus helping to identify accurate diagnosis, predict clinical disease course and response to therapy. This review focuses on recent progress in research on MS genetics with special emphasis on the possibility to use single nucleotide polymorphism of candidate genes as biomarkers of susceptibility to disease and response to therapy.

Comparison of susceptibility test methods to detect penicillin susceptibility in Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates.

PubMed

Mohd Nasir, Mohd Desa; Parasakthi, Navaratnam

2004-06-01

The increasing prevalence of penicillin-resistant Streptococuus pneumoniae urges for fast and accurate susceptibility testing methods. This study evaluated the comparability of three commonly used techniques; disk diffusion, E-test and agar dilution, to detect penicillin susceptibility in clinical isolates of S. pneumoniae. Fifty pneumococcal isolates, obtained from patients at the University of Malaya Medical Centre, were selected to include both penicillin-susceptible strains and those that had decreased susceptibility (resistant and intermediate) to penicillin. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of penicillin to serve as the reference was determined by the agar dilution method in which, based on the MIC breakpoints recommended by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS), 27 strains had decreased susceptibility to penicillin with 17 strains resistant and 10 intermediate. Comparing to the agar dilution method, oxacillin disk diffusion test detected all strains with decreased penicillin susceptibility as such while E-test showed a close agreement of susceptibility (92%) of the isolates to penicillin. This confirmed that oxacillin is a good screening test for S. pneumoniae isolates with decreased susceptibility to penicillin while E-test is very reliable for rapid and accurate detection of penicillin susceptibility.

We will make you like our research: The development of a susceptibility-to-persuasion scale.

PubMed

Modic, David; Anderson, Ross; Palomäki, Jussi

2018-01-01

Psychological and other persuasive mechanisms across diverse contexts are well researched, with many studies of the effectiveness of specific persuasive techniques on distinct types of human behaviour. In the present paper, our specific interest lies in the development of a generalized modular psychometric tool to measure individuals' susceptibility to persuasion. The scale is constructed using items from previously developed and validated particulate scales established in the domains of social psychology and behavioural economics. In the first study we establish the Susceptibility to Persuasion-II (StP-II) scale, containing 54 items, 10 subscales and further 6 sub-sub scales. In Study 2 we establish the scale's construct validity and reconfirm its reliability. We present a valid and reliable modular psychometric tool that measures general susceptibility to persuasive techniques. Since its inception, we have successfully implemented the StP-II scale to measure susceptibility to persuasion of IT security officers, the role of psychology of persuasion in cybercrime victims and general persuadability levels of Facebook users; these manuscripts are in preparation. We argue that the StP-II scale shows promise in measuring individual differences in susceptibility to persuasion, and is applicable across diverse contexts such as Internet security and cybercrime.

A Neurogenetics Approach to Defining Differential Susceptibility to Institutional Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brett, Zoe H.; Sheridan, Margaret; Humphreys, Kate; Smyke, Anna; Gleason, Mary Margaret; Fox, Nathan; Zeanah, Charles; Nelson, Charles; Drury, Stacy

2015-01-01

An individual's neurodevelopmental and cognitive sequelae to negative early experiences may, in part, be explained by genetic susceptibility. We examined whether extreme differences in the early caregiving environment, defined as exposure to severe psychosocial deprivation associated with institutional care compared to normative rearing,…

Identification of QTL affecting resistance/susceptibility to acute Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae infection in swine.

PubMed

Reiner, Gerald; Bertsch, Natalie; Hoeltig, Doris; Selke, Martin; Willems, Hermann; Gerlach, Gerald Friedrich; Tuemmler, Burkhard; Probst, Inga; Herwig, Ralf; Drungowski, Mario; Waldmann, Karl Heinz

2014-04-01

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is among the most important pathogens worldwide in pig production. The agent can cause severe economic losses due to decreased performance, acute or chronic pleuropneumonia and an increased incidence of death. Therapeutics cannot be used in a sustainable manner, and vaccination is not always available, but discovering more about host defence and disease mechanisms might lead to new methods of prophylaxis. The aim of the present study was to detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with resistance/susceptibility to A. pleuropneumoniae. Under controlled conditions, 170 F2 animals of a Hampshire/Landrace family, with known differences in founder populations regarding A. pleuropneumoniae resistance, were challenged with an A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 7 aerosol followed by a detailed clinical, radiographic, ultrasonographic, pathological and bacteriological examination. F2 pigs were genotyped with 159 microsatellite markers. Significant QTL were identified on Sus scrofa chromosomes (SSC) 2, 6, 12, 13, 16, 17 and 18. They explained 6-22% of phenotypic variance. One QTL on SSC2 reached significance on a genome-wide level for five associated phenotypic traits. A multiple regression analysis revealed a combinatory effect of markers SWR345 (SSC2) and S0143 (SSC12) on Respiratory Health Score, Clinical Score and the occurrence of death. The results indicate the genetic background of A. pleuropneumoniae resistance in swine and provide new insights into the genetic architecture of resistance/susceptibility to porcine pleuropneumonia. The results will be helpful in identifying the underlying genes and mechanisms.

Transmission Measurement of the Third-Order Susceptibility of Gold

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, David D.; Yoon, Youngkwon; Boyd, Robert W.; Crooks, Richard M.; George, Michael

1999-01-01

Gold nanoparticle composites are known to display large optical nonlinearities. In order to assess the validity of generalized effective medium theories (EMT's) for describing the linear and nonlinear optical properties of metal nanoparticle composites, knowledge of the linear and nonlinear susceptibilities of the constituent materials is a prerequisite. In this study the inherent nonlinearity of the metal is measured directly (rather than deduced from a suitable EMT) using a very thin gold film. Specifically, we have used the z-scan technique at a wavelength near the transmission window of bulk gold to measure the third-order susceptibility of a continuous thin gold film deposited on a quartz substrate surface-modified with a self-assembled monolayer to promote adhesion and uniformity without affecting the optical properties. We compare our results with predictions which ascribe the nonlinear response to a Fermi-smearing mechanism. Further, we note that the sign of the nonlinear susceptibility is reversed from that of gold nanoparticle composites.

Influence of Some Hypnotist and Subject Variables on Hypnotic Susceptibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenberg, Robert P.; Land, Jay M.

1971-01-01

As predicted, subjects run by the objectively warmer, more competent appearing hypnosis obtained significantly higher susceptibility scores. Structured warmth produced significant differences only in subjects run by the objectively less warm hypnotists. Both structured warmth and experience affected subjects' subjective impressions of whether they…

AFFECT AND THE FRAMING EFFECT WITHIN INDIVIDUALS OVER TIME: RISK TAKING IN A DYNAMIC INVESTMENT SIMULATION

PubMed Central

SEO, MYEONG-GU; GOLDFARB, BRENT; BARRETT, LISA FELDMAN

2011-01-01

We examined the role of affect (pleasant or unpleasant feelings) and decision frames (gains or losses) in risk taking in a 20-day stock investment simulation in which 101 participants rated their current feelings while making investment decisions. As predicted, affect attenuated the relationships between decision frames and risk taking. After experiencing losses, individuals made more risky choices, in keeping with the framing effect. However, this tendency decreased and/or disappeared when loss was simultaneously experienced with either pleasant or unpleasant feelings. Similarly, individuals’ tendency to avoid risk after experiencing gains disappeared or even reversed when they simultaneously experienced pleasant feelings. PMID:26412860

Affective functioning among early adolescents at high and low familial risk for depression and their mothers: A focus on individual and transactional processes across contexts

PubMed Central

McMakin, Dana L.; Burkhouse, Katie L.; Olino, Thomas M.; Siegle, Greg J.; Dahl, Ronald E.; Silk, Jennifer S.

2013-01-01

This study aimed to characterize affective functioning in families of youth at high familial risk for depression, with particular attention to features of affective functioning that appear to be critical to adaptive functioning but have been underrepresented in prior research including: positive and negative affect across multiple contexts, individual and transactional processes, and affective flexibility. Interactions among early adolescents (ages 9-14) and their mothers were coded for affective behaviors across both positive and negative contexts. Primary analyses compared never-depressed youth at high (n=44) and low (n=57) familial risk for depression. The high risk group showed a relatively consistent pattern for low positive affect across negative and positive contexts at both the individual and transactional level. In contrast to prior studies focusing on negative affect that did not support disruptions in negative affect, the data from this study suggest variability by context: (i.e. increased negativity in a positive, but not negative, context) and individual vs. transactional processes (e.g., negative escalation). Findings are discussed in concert with attention to affect flexibility, contextual and transactional factors. PMID:21744058

Affiliation With Antisocial Peers, Susceptibility to Peer Influence, and Antisocial Behavior During the Transition to Adulthood

PubMed Central

Monahan, Kathryn C.; Steinberg, Laurence; Cauffman, Elizabeth

2010-01-01

Developmental theories suggest that affiliation with deviant peers and susceptibility to peer influence are important contributors to adolescent delinquency, but it is unclear how these variables impact antisocial behavior during the transition to adulthood, a period when most delinquent individuals decline in antisocial behavior. Using data from a longitudinal study of 1,354 antisocial youth, the present study examined how individual variation in exposure to deviant peers and resistance to peer influence affect antisocial behavior from middle adolescence into young adulthood (ages 14 to 22 years). Whereas we find evidence that antisocial individuals choose to affiliate with deviant peers, and that affiliating with deviant peers is associated with an individual’s own delinquency, these complementary processes of selection and socialization operate in different developmental periods. In middle adolescence, both selection and socialization serve to make peers similar in antisocial behavior, but from ages 16 to 20 years, only socialization appears to be important. After age 20, the impact of peers on antisocial behavior disappears as individuals become increasingly resistant to peer influence, suggesting that the process of desistance from antisocial behavior may be tied to normative changes in peer relations that occur as individuals mature socially and emotionally. PMID:19899911

Genetic variation may explain why females are less susceptible to dental erosion.

PubMed

Uhlen, Marte-Mari; Stenhagen, Kjersti R; Dizak, Piper M; Holme, Børge; Mulic, Aida; Tveit, Anne B; Vieira, Alexandre R

2016-10-01

Not all individuals at risk for dental erosion (DE) display erosive lesions. The prevalence of DE is higher among male subjects. The occurrence of DE may depend on more than just acidic challenge, with genetics possibly playing a role. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of enamel-formation genes with DE. One premolar and a saliva sample were collected from 90 individuals. Prepared teeth were immersed in 0.01 M HCl (pH 2.2), and enamel loss (μm) was measured using white light interferometry. DNA was extracted from saliva, and 15 single-nucleotide polymorphisms were analysed. Allele and genotype frequencies were related to the enamel loss of the specimens. Single-marker and haplotype analyses were performed using sex as a covariate. Mean enamel loss was higher for male donors than for female donors (P = 0.047). Significant associations were found between enamel loss and amelogenin, X-linked (AMELX), tuftelin 1 (TUFT1), and tuftelin-interacting protein 11 (TFIP11). Analyses showed significant associations between variation in enamel-formation genes and a lower susceptibility to DE in female subjects. The results indicate that susceptibility to DE is influenced by genetic variation, and may, in part, explain why some individuals are more susceptible than others to DE, including differences between female subjects and male subjects. © 2016 Eur J Oral Sci.

Lateral Asymmetry and Spatial Difference of Iron Deposition in the Substantia Nigra of Patients with Parkinson Disease Measured with Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping.

PubMed

Azuma, M; Hirai, T; Yamada, K; Yamashita, S; Ando, Y; Tateishi, M; Iryo, Y; Yoneda, T; Kitajima, M; Wang, Y; Yamashita, Y

2016-05-01

Quantitative susceptibility mapping is useful for assessing iron deposition in the substantia nigra of patients with Parkinson disease. We aimed to determine whether quantitative susceptibility mapping is useful for assessing the lateral asymmetry and spatial difference in iron deposits in the substantia nigra of patients with Parkinson disease. Our study population comprised 24 patients with Parkinson disease and 24 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. They underwent 3T MR imaging by using a 3D multiecho gradient-echo sequence. On reconstructed quantitative susceptibility mapping, we measured the susceptibility values in the anterior, middle, and posterior parts of the substantia nigra, the whole substantia nigra, and other deep gray matter structures in both hemibrains. To identify the more and less affected hemibrains in patients with Parkinson disease, we assessed the severity of movement symptoms for each hemibrain by using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. In the posterior substantia nigra of patients with Parkinson disease, the mean susceptibility value was significantly higher in the more than the less affected hemibrain substantia nigra (P < .05). This value was significantly higher in both the more and less affected hemibrains of patients with Parkinson disease than in controls (P < .05). Asymmetry of the mean susceptibility values was significantly greater for patients than controls (P < .05). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that quantitative susceptibility mapping of the posterior substantia nigra in the more affected hemibrain provided the highest power for discriminating patients with Parkinson disease from the controls. Quantitative susceptibility mapping is useful for assessing the lateral asymmetry and spatial difference of iron deposition in the substantia nigra of patients with Parkinson disease. © 2016 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

[Antibiotic susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae in healthy carrier individuals in primary care in Barcelona area].

PubMed

Llor, Carles; Boada, Albert; Pons-Vigués, Mariona; Grenzner, Elisabet; Juvé, Rosa; Almeda, Jesús

2018-01-01

The information available on antibiotic resistance patterns are generally based on specimens from hospitalised individuals. This study was aimed at evaluating the antibiotic resistance rate of nasal carriage strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae in healthy individuals, in accordance with age and gender, attended in Primary Care Centres (PCC). Cross-sectional study. Seven PCC in the Barcelona area. Healthy nasal carriers aged 4years or more who did not present with any sign of infectious disease, and had not taken any antibiotic or had been hospitalised in the previous 3months. A total of 3,969 nasal swabs valid for identification were collected between 2010 and 2011 and were sent to one central microbiological laboratory for isolation of both pathogens. Resistance to common antibiotics was determined on the basis of the current European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing guidelines on cut-off points. The prevalence of methicillin-resistant S.aureus was 1.3% (95%CI: 0.5-2.1%), with resistance rates of 87.1% to phenoxymethylpenicillin and 11.6% to azithromycin, with no significant differences with age and gender. A total of 2.4% (95CI%: 0.1-4.7%) of the pneumococcal strains were highly resistant to both phenoxymethylpenicillin and macrolides, whereas the highest resistance rates were to cefaclor (53.3%), followed by tetracycline (20%) and cefuroxime (12.1%). These pathogens have lower resistance rates in the community than in the hospital setting. Primary Care physicians must be more aware of the current antimicrobial resistance, in order to ensure prudent use of antibiotics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

ENIGMA and the individual: Predicting factors that affect the brain in 35 countries worldwide☆☆☆★

PubMed Central

Thompson, Paul M.; Andreassen, Ole A.; Arias-Vasquez, Alejandro; Bearden, Carrie E.; Boedhoe, Premika S.; Brouwer, Rachel M.; Buckner, Randy L.; Buitelaar, Jan K.; Bulayeva, Kazima B.; Cannon, Dara M.; Cohen, Ronald A.; Conrod, Patricia J.; Dale, Anders M.; Deary, Ian J.; Dennis, Emily L.; de Reus, Marcel A.; Desrivieres, Sylvane; Dima, Danai; Donohoe, Gary; Fisher, Simon E.; Fouche, Jean-Paul; Francks, Clyde; Frangou, Sophia; Franke, Barbara; Ganjgahi, Habib; Garavan, Hugh; Glahn, David C.; Grabe, Hans J.; Guadalupe, Tulio; Gutman, Boris A.; Hashimoto, Ryota; Hibar, Derrek P.; Holland, Dominic; Hoogman, Martine; Pol, Hilleke E. Hulshoff; Hosten, Norbert; Jahanshad, Neda; Kelly, Sinead; Kochunov, Peter; Kremen, William S.; Lee, Phil H.; Mackey, Scott; Martin, Nicholas G.; Mazoyer, Bernard; McDonald, Colm; Medland, Sarah E.; Morey, Rajendra A.; Nichols, Thomas E.; Paus, Tomas; Pausova, Zdenka; Schmaal, Lianne; Schumann, Gunter; Shen, Li; Sisodiya, Sanjay M.; Smit, Dirk J.A.; Smoller, Jordan W.; Stein, Dan J.; Stein, Jason L.; Toro, Roberto; Turner, Jessica A.; van den Heuvel, Martijn P.; van den Heuvel, Odile L.; van Erp, Theo G.M.; van Rooij, Daan; Veltman, Dick J.; Walter, Henrik; Wang, Yalin; Wardlaw, Joanna M.; Whelan, Christopher D.; Wright, Margaret J.; Ye, Jieping

2016-01-01

In this review, we discuss recent work by the ENIGMA Consortium (http://enigma.ini.usc.edu) – a global alliance of over 500 scientists spread across 200 institutions in 35 countries collectively analyzing brain imaging, clinical, and genetic data. Initially formed to detect genetic influences on brain measures, ENIGMA has grown to over 30 working groups studying 12 major brain diseases by pooling and comparing brain data. In some of the largest neuroimaging studies to date – of schizophrenia and major depression – ENIGMA has found replicable disease effects on the brain that are consistent worldwide, as well as factors that modulate disease effects. In partnership with other consortia including ADNI, CHARGE, IMAGEN and others1, ENIGMA's genomic screens – now numbering over 30,000 MRI scans – have revealed at least 8 genetic loci that affect brain volumes. Downstream of gene findings, ENIGMA has revealed how these individual variants – and genetic variants in general – may affect both the brain and risk for a range of diseases. The ENIGMA consortium is discovering factors that consistently affect brain structure and function that will serve as future predictors linking individual brain scans and genomic data. It is generating vast pools of normative data on brain measures – from tens of thousands of people – that may help detect deviations from normal development or aging in specific groups of subjects. We discuss challenges and opportunities in applying these predictors to individual subjects and new cohorts, as well as lessons we have learned in ENIGMA's efforts so far. PMID:26658930

Isolation method (direct plating or enrichment) does not affect antimicrobial susceptibility of Campylobacter from chicken carcasses

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

To determine if Campylobacter isolation method influenced antimicrobial susceptibility results, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of nine antimicrobials were compared for 291 pairs of Campylobacter isolates recovered from chicken carcass rinse samples using direct plating and an enrichment...

Individual and community level risk-factors for alcohol use disorder among conflict-affected persons in Georgia.

PubMed

Roberts, Bayard; Murphy, Adrianna; Chikovani, Ivdity; Makhashvili, Nino; Patel, Vikram; McKee, Martin

2014-01-01

The evidence on alcohol use disorder among conflict-affected civilian populations remains extremely weak, despite a number of potential risk-factors. The aim of this study is to examine patterns of alcohol use disorder among conflict-affected persons in the Republic of Georgia. A cross-sectional survey of 3600 randomly selected internally displaced persons (IDPs) and former IDPs. Two alcohol use disorder outcomes were measured: (i) having at least hazardous alcohol use (AUDIT score ≥ 8); (ii) episodic heavy drinking (consuming >60 grams of pure alcohol per drinking session at least once a week). Individual level demographic and socio-economic characteristics were also recorded, including mental disorders. Community level alcohol environment characteristics relating to alcohol availability, marketing and pricing were recorded in the respondents' communities and a factor analysis conducted to produce a summary alcohol environment factor score. Logistic regression analyses examined associations between individual and community level factors with the alcohol use disorder outcomes (among men only). Of the total sample, 71% of men and 16% of women were current drinkers. Of the current drinkers (N = 1386), 28% of men and 1% of women were classified as having at least hazardous alcohol use; and 12% of men and 2% of women as episodic heavy drinkers. Individual characteristics significantly associated with both outcomes were age and experiencing a serious injury, while cumulative trauma events and depression were also associated with having at least hazardous alcohol use. For the community level analysis, a one unit increase in the alcohol environment factor was associated with a 1.27 fold increase in episodic heavy drinking among men (no significant association with hazardous alcohol use). The findings suggest potential synergies for treatment responses for alcohol use disorder and depression among conflict-affected populations in Georgia, as well as the need for stronger

Individual and Community Level Risk-Factors for Alcohol Use Disorder among Conflict-Affected Persons in Georgia

PubMed Central

Roberts, Bayard; Murphy, Adrianna; Chikovani, Ivdity; Makhashvili, Nino; Patel, Vikram; McKee, Martin

2014-01-01

Background The evidence on alcohol use disorder among conflict-affected civilian populations remains extremely weak, despite a number of potential risk-factors. The aim of this study is to examine patterns of alcohol use disorder among conflict-affected persons in the Republic of Georgia. Methods A cross-sectional survey of 3600 randomly selected internally displaced persons (IDPs) and former IDPs. Two alcohol use disorder outcomes were measured: (i) having at least hazardous alcohol use (AUDIT score ≥8); (ii) episodic heavy drinking (consuming >60 grams of pure alcohol per drinking session at least once a week). Individual level demographic and socio-economic characteristics were also recorded, including mental disorders. Community level alcohol environment characteristics relating to alcohol availability, marketing and pricing were recorded in the respondents' communities and a factor analysis conducted to produce a summary alcohol environment factor score. Logistic regression analyses examined associations between individual and community level factors with the alcohol use disorder outcomes (among men only). Results Of the total sample, 71% of men and 16% of women were current drinkers. Of the current drinkers (N = 1386), 28% of men and 1% of women were classified as having at least hazardous alcohol use; and 12% of men and 2% of women as episodic heavy drinkers. Individual characteristics significantly associated with both outcomes were age and experiencing a serious injury, while cumulative trauma events and depression were also associated with having at least hazardous alcohol use. For the community level analysis, a one unit increase in the alcohol environment factor was associated with a 1.27 fold increase in episodic heavy drinking among men (no significant association with hazardous alcohol use). Conclusion The findings suggest potential synergies for treatment responses for alcohol use disorder and depression among conflict-affected populations in

Temperament Alters Susceptibility to Negative Peer Influence in Early Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mrug, Sylvie; Madan, Anjana; Windle, Michael

2012-01-01

The role of deviant peers in adolescent antisocial behavior has been well documented, but less is known about individual differences in susceptibility to negative peer influence. This study examined whether specific temperament dimensions moderate the prospective relationship between peer deviance and delinquent behavior in early adolescence.…

Genetic Susceptibility to Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

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

Lacko, Martin; Braakhuis, Boudewijn J.M.; Sturgis, Erich M.

2014-05-01

Head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, and its incidence is growing. Although environmental carcinogens and carcinogenic viruses are the main etiologic factors, genetic predisposition obviously plays a risk-modulating role, given that not all individuals exposed to these carcinogens experience the disease. This review highlights some aspects of genetic susceptibility to HNSCC: among others, genetic polymorphisms in biotransformation enzymes, DNA repair pathway, apoptotic pathway, human papillomavirus-related pathways, mitochondrial polymorphisms, and polymorphism related to the bilirubin-metabolized pathway. Furthermore, epigenetic variations, familial forms of HNSCC, functional assays for HNSCC risk assessment, and the implications and perspectives ofmore » research on genetic susceptibility in HNSCC are discussed.« less

Biomarkers of susceptibility: State of the art and implications for occupational exposure to engineered nanomaterials.

PubMed

Iavicoli, Ivo; Leso, Veruscka; Schulte, Paul A

2016-05-15

Rapid advances and applications in nanotechnology are expected to result in increasing occupational exposure to nano-sized materials whose health impacts are still not completely understood. Scientific efforts are required to identify hazards from nanomaterials and define risks and precautionary management strategies for exposed workers. In this scenario, the definition of susceptible populations, which may be at increased risk of adverse effects may be important for risk assessment and management. The aim of this review is to critically examine available literature to provide a comprehensive overview on susceptibility aspects potentially affecting heterogeneous responses to nanomaterials workplace exposure. Genetic, genotoxic and epigenetic alterations induced by nanomaterials in experimental studies were assessed with respect to their possible function as determinants of susceptibility. Additionally, the role of host factors, i.e. age, gender, and pathological conditions, potentially affecting nanomaterial toxicokinetic and health impacts, were also analysed. Overall, this review provides useful information to obtain insights into the nanomaterial mode of action in order to identify potentially sensitive, specific susceptibility biomarkers to be validated in occupational settings and addressed in risk assessment processes. The findings of this review are also important to guide future research into a deeper characterization of nanomaterial susceptibility in order to define adequate risk communication strategies. Ultimately, identification and use of susceptibility factors in workplace settings has both scientific and ethical issues that need addressing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Differential host susceptibility to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, an emerging amphibian pathogen

Treesearch

C.L. Searle; S.S. Gervasi; J. Hua; J.I. Hammond; R.A. Relyea; D.H. Olson; A.R. Blaustein

2011-01-01

The amphibian fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has received considerable attention due to its role in amphibian population declines worldwide. Although many amphibian species appear to be affected by Bd, there is little information on species-specific differences in susceptibility to this pathogen. We used a comparative...

Norovirus Gastroenteritis Outbreak with a Secretor-independent Susceptibility Pattern, Sweden

PubMed Central

Nordgren, Johan; Kindberg, Elin; Lindgren, Per-Eric; Matussek, Andreas

2010-01-01

Norovirus (NoV) is recognized as the commonest cause of acute gastroenteritis among adults. Susceptibility to disease has been associated with histo-blood group antigens and secretor status; nonsecretors are almost completely resistant to disease. We report a foodborne outbreak of GI.3 NoV gastroenteritis that affected 33/83 (40%) persons. Symptomatic disease was as likely to develop in nonsecretors as in secretors (odds ratio [OR] 1.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.46–4.36 vs. OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.23–2.18, p = 0.57). Moreover, no statistical difference in susceptibility was found between persons of different Lewis or ABO phenotypes. The capsid gene of the outbreak strain shares high amino acid homology with the Kashiwa645 GI.3 strain, previously shown to recognize nonsecretor saliva, as well as synthetic Lewis a. This norovirus outbreak affected persons regardless of secretor status or Lewis or ABO phenotypes. PMID:20031047

Susceptibility to cognitive distortions: the role of eating pathology.

PubMed

Coelho, Jennifer S; Ouellet-Courtois, Catherine; Purdon, Christine; Steiger, Howard

2015-01-01

Thought-Shape Fusion (TSF) and Thought-Action Fusion (TAF) are cognitive distortions that are associated with eating and obsessional pathology respectively. Both involve the underlying belief that mere thoughts and mental images can lead to negative outcomes. TSF involves the belief that food-related thoughts lead to weight gain, body dissatisfaction, and perceptions of moral wrong-doing. TAF is more general, and involves the belief that merely thinking about a negative event (e.g., a loved one getting into a car accident) can make this event more likely to happen, and leads to perceptions of moral wrong-doing. However, the shared susceptibility across related cognitive distortions-TAF and TSF-has not yet been studied. The effects of TSF and TAF inductions in women with an eating disorder (n = 21) and a group of healthy control women with no history of an eating disorder (n = 23) were measured. A repeated-measures design was employed, with all participants exposed to a TSF, TAF and neutral induction during three separate experimental sessions. Participants' cognitive and behavioral responses were assessed. Individuals with eating disorders were more susceptible to TSF and TAF than were control participants, demonstrating more neutralization behavior after TSF and TAF inductions (i.e., actions to try to reduce the negative effects of the induction), and reporting higher levels of trait TAF and TSF than did controls. Individuals with eating disorders are particularly susceptible to both TAF and TSF. Clinical implications of these findings will be discussed.

Antifungal susceptibility of 175 Aspergillus isolates from various clinical and environmental sources.

PubMed

Sabino, Raquel; Carolino, Elisabete; Veríssimo, Cristina; Martinez, Marife; Clemons, Karl V; Stevens, David A

2016-10-01

Some environmental Aspergillus spp. isolates have been described as resistant to antifungals, potentially causing an emerging medical problem. In the present work, the antifungal susceptibility profile of 41 clinical and 134 environmental isolates of Aspergillus was determined using the CLSI microdilution method. The aim of this study was to compare environmental and clinical isolates with respect to their susceptibility, and assess the potential implications for therapy of isolates encountered in different environments. To our knowledge, this is the first report comparing antifungal susceptibility profiles of Aspergillus collected from different environmental sources (poultries, swineries, beach sand, and hospital environment). Significant differences were found in the distribution of the different species sections for the different sources. Significant differences were also found in the susceptibility profile of the different Aspergillus sections recovered from the various sources. Clear differences were found between the susceptibility of clinical and environmental isolates for caspofungin, amphotericin B and posaconazole, with clinical isolates showing overall greater susceptibility, except for caspofungin. In comparison to clinical isolates, hospital environmental isolates showed significantly less susceptibility to amphotericin B and posaconazole. These data indicate that species section identity and the site from which the isolate was recovered influence the antifungal susceptibility profile, which may affect initial antifungal choices. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Increasing social support for depressed individuals: a cross-cultural assessment of an affect-expectancy approach.

PubMed

Siegel, Jason T; Alvaro, Eusebio M; Crano, William D; Lienemann, Brianna A; Hohman, Zachary P; O'Brien, Erin

2012-01-01

Depression is a mental illness affecting 121 million people. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recently launched a national, bilingual (English and Spanish) campaign to motivate young adults to support friends with mental illness. This article highlights and assesses the usefulness of two theoretically derived variables for increasing the social support received by all depressed individuals: (a) affect and (b) social support outcome expectations. In accord with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's bilingual campaign, the authors conducted two studies using intercepts at 2 swap meets in the U.S. Southwest. One study sample consisted of Spanish-dominant Hispanics, the other non-Hispanics. For both samples, results indicate that affect, social support outcome expectations, and their interaction accounted for more than 50% of the variance of social support intentions (67% in the Hispanic sample when familism was considered). Affect is commonplace in the helping behavior literature; results indicate social support outcome expectations deserve equal consideration. Moreover, an unexpected finding emerged: Perceiving a lack of willpower, need for attention, and lack of moral character to be the cause of depression resulted in increased sympathy among the Hispanic sample but increased anger among non-Hispanics.

Fire Severity Controlled Susceptibility to a 1940s Spruce Beetle Outbreak in Colorado, USA

PubMed Central

Kulakowski, Dominik; Veblen, Thomas T.; Bebi, Peter

2016-01-01

The frequency, magnitude, and size of forest disturbances are increasing globally. Much recent research has focused on how the occurrence of one disturbance may affect susceptibility to subsequent disturbances. While much has been learned about such linked disturbances, the strength of the interactions is likely to be contingent on the severity of disturbances as well as climatic conditions, both of which can affect disturbance intensity and tree resistance to disturbances. Subalpine forests in western Colorado were affected by extensive and severe wildfires in the late 19th century and an extensive and severe outbreak of spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) in the 1940s. Previous research found that most, but not all, of the stands that burned and established following the late 19th century fires were not susceptible to the 1940s outbreak as beetles preferentially attack larger trees and stands in advanced stages of development. However, previous research also left open the possibility that some stands that burned and established following the 19th century fires may have been attacked during the 1940s outbreak. Understanding how strongly stand structure, as shaped by disturbances of varying severity, affected susceptibility to past outbreaks is important to provide a baseline for assessing the degree to which recent climate change may be relaxing the preferences of beetles for larger trees and for stands in latter stages of structural development and thereby changing the nature of linked disturbances. Here, dendroecological methods were used to study disturbance history and tree age of stands in the White River National Forest in Western Colorado that were identified in historical documents or remotely-sensed images as having burned in the 19th century and having been attacked by spruce beetle in the 1940s. Dendroecological reconstructions indicate that in young post-fire stands only old remnant trees that survived the otherwise stand-replacing fires were

Fire Severity Controlled Susceptibility to a 1940s Spruce Beetle Outbreak in Colorado, USA.

PubMed

Kulakowski, Dominik; Veblen, Thomas T; Bebi, Peter

2016-01-01

The frequency, magnitude, and size of forest disturbances are increasing globally. Much recent research has focused on how the occurrence of one disturbance may affect susceptibility to subsequent disturbances. While much has been learned about such linked disturbances, the strength of the interactions is likely to be contingent on the severity of disturbances as well as climatic conditions, both of which can affect disturbance intensity and tree resistance to disturbances. Subalpine forests in western Colorado were affected by extensive and severe wildfires in the late 19th century and an extensive and severe outbreak of spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) in the 1940s. Previous research found that most, but not all, of the stands that burned and established following the late 19th century fires were not susceptible to the 1940s outbreak as beetles preferentially attack larger trees and stands in advanced stages of development. However, previous research also left open the possibility that some stands that burned and established following the 19th century fires may have been attacked during the 1940s outbreak. Understanding how strongly stand structure, as shaped by disturbances of varying severity, affected susceptibility to past outbreaks is important to provide a baseline for assessing the degree to which recent climate change may be relaxing the preferences of beetles for larger trees and for stands in latter stages of structural development and thereby changing the nature of linked disturbances. Here, dendroecological methods were used to study disturbance history and tree age of stands in the White River National Forest in Western Colorado that were identified in historical documents or remotely-sensed images as having burned in the 19th century and having been attacked by spruce beetle in the 1940s. Dendroecological reconstructions indicate that in young post-fire stands only old remnant trees that survived the otherwise stand-replacing fires were

Cortisol response and psychological distress predict susceptibility to false memories for a trauma film.

PubMed

Monds, Lauren A; Paterson, Helen M; Ali, Sinan; Kemp, Richard I; Bryant, Richard A; McGregor, Iain S

2016-10-01

For eyewitness testimony to be considered reliable, it is important to ensure memory remains accurate following the event. As many testimonies involve traumatic, as opposed to neutral, events, it is important to consider the role of distress in susceptibility to false memories. The aim of this study was to investigate whether cortisol response following a stressor would be associated with susceptibility to false memories. Psychological distress responses were also investigated, specifically, dissociation, intrusions, and avoidance. Participants were allocated to one of three conditions: those who viewed a neutral film (N = 35), those who viewed a real trauma film (N = 35), and a trauma "reappraisal" group where participants were told the film was not real (N = 35). All received misinformation about the film in the form of a narrative. Participants provided saliva samples (to assess cortisol) and completed distress and memory questionnaires. Cortisol response was a significant predictor of the misinformation effect. Dissociation and avoidance were related to confabulations. In conclusion, following a stressor an individual may differ with regard to their psychological response to the event, and also whether they experience a cortisol increase. This may affect whether they are more distressed later on, and also whether they remember the event accurately.

A mechanism of transmission and factors affecting coral susceptibility to Halofolliculina sp. infection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez, S.; Cróquer, A.; Guzmán, H. M.; Bastidas, C.

2009-03-01

Anecdotal evidence collected since 2004 suggests that infections caused by ciliates in the genus Halofolliculina may be related to coral mortality in more than 25 scleractinian species in the Caribbean. However, the relationship between the presence of ciliates and coral mortality has not yet been firmly established. Field and laboratory manipulations were used to test if ciliate infections harm corals, if ciliates are able to infect healthy colonies, and if coral susceptibility to ciliate infection depends on temperature, depth, distance to an infected colony, and the presence of injuries. Ciliate infections were always characterized by a visually detectable front of ciliates located on recently exposed coral skeletons. These infections altered the normal structure of the colony by causing tissue mortality (0.8 ± 0.95 cm month-1, mean ± SD) and by delaying or preventing recovery from injuries. Under laboratory conditions, ciliates transmitted directly and horizontally from infected to healthy hosts, and coral susceptibility to ciliate infections increased with the presence of injuries. After invasion, the ciliate population grew, rapidly and after 8 d, produced tissue mortality on 32% of newly infected hosts. Thus, our results support the existence of a new Caribbean coral syndrome that is associated with tissue mortality, is infectious, and transmits directly and horizontally. Even though the role of ciliates in the development of lesions on coral tissues remains unclear, their presence is by far the most conspicuous sign of this syndrome; thus, we propose to name this condition Caribbean ciliate infection (CCI).

Return of research results from pharmacogenomic versus disease susceptibility studies: what's drugs got to do with it?

PubMed

Dressler, Lynn G

2012-06-01

One of the most controversial ethical issues in genomics research is the return of individual research results to research subjects. As new technologies, including whole-genome sequencing, provide an increased opportunity for researchers to find clinically relevant research results, the questions related to if, when and how individual research results should be returned become more central to the ethical conduct of genomic research. In the absence of federal guidance on this issue, many groups and individuals have developed recommendations and suggestions to address these questions. Most of these recommendations have focused on the return of individual results from disease susceptibility studies. However, in addition to predicting the development of disease, genomic research also includes predicting an individual's response to drugs, especially the risk of developing adverse events. This article evaluates and compares the return of individual research results from disease susceptibility studies versus pharmacogenomic studies.

A gene for familial psoriasis susceptibility maps to the distal end of human chromosome 17q

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

Bowcock, A.; Tomfohrde, J.; Barnes, R.

1994-09-01

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis that affects approximately 2% of the population. A gene for psoriasis susceptibility was localized to the distal region of human chromosome 17q as a result of a genome wide linkage-analysis with polymorphic microsatellites and eight multiply affected psoriasis kindreds. With one large kindred a maximum two-point lod score with D17S784 was 5.70 at 15% recombination. Heterogeneity testing indicated that psoriasis susceptibility in 50% of the families was linked to distal 17q. Susceptibility to psoriasis has repeatedly been found to be associated with HLA-Cw6 and associated HLA alleles. We therefore genotyped the families for locimore » within and flanking HLA; these included PCR assays for susceptibility alleles. By lod score analysis no evidence of linkage of psoriasis susceptibility to HLA was detected. The distribution of HLA-Cw6 and HLA-Class II alleles showed that HLA-Cw6 was frequent among patients, particularly in 4 of the 5 unlinked families. All affected members of two of these unlinked families carried HLA-Cw6 (empirical P values of 0.027 and 0.004). In 2 other families 4 of 6 and 6 of 7 had HLA-Cw6. In some of these families, an inability to detect linkage to HLA may have been due to the occurrence of multiple haplotypes carrying the psoriasis associated allele, HLA-Cw6. Contrasting with these findings, we observed a lack of association between HLA-Cw6 and psoriasis in the 3 families in which 17q markers were linked to susceptibility. The ability to detect linkage to 17q confirms that some forms of familial psoriasis are due to molecular defects at a single major genetic locus other than HLA.« less

Framing susceptibility in a risky choice game is altered by galvanic vestibular stimulation.

PubMed

Preuss, Nora; Kalla, Roger; Müri, Rene; Mast, Fred W

2017-06-07

Recent research provides evidence that galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) has a modulating effect on somatosensory perception and spatial cognition. However, other vestibular stimulation techniques have induced changes in affective control and decision making. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of GVS on framing susceptibility in a risky-choice game. The participants were to decide between a safe and a risky option. The safe option was framed either positively or negatively. During the task, the participants were exposed to either left anodal/right cathodal GVS, right anodal/left cathodal GVS, or sham stimulation (control condition). While left anodal/right cathodal GVS activated more right-hemispheric vestibular brain areas, right anodal/left cathodal GVS resulted in more bilateral activation. We observed increased framing susceptibility during left anodal/right cathodal GVS, but no change in framing susceptibility during right anodal/left cathodal GVS. We propose that GVS results in increased reliance on the affect heuristic by means of activation of cortical and subcortical vestibular-emotional brain structures and that this effect is modulated by the lateralization of the vestibular cortex.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae Aggregation Reduces Its Ceftriaxone Susceptibility.

PubMed

Wang, Liang-Chun; Litwin, Madeline; Sahiholnasab, Zahraossadat; Song, Wenxia; Stein, Daniel C

2018-06-15

Antibiotic resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) has become an emerging threat worldwide and heightens the need for monitoring treatment failures. N. gonorrhoeae , a gram-negative bacterium responsible for gonorrhea, infects humans exclusively and can form aggregates during infection. While minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) tests are often used for determining antibiotic resistance development and treatment, the knowledge of the true MIC in individual patients and how it relates to this laboratory measure is not known. We examined the effect of aggregation on GC antibiotic susceptibility and the relationship between bacterial aggregate size and their antibiotic susceptibility. Aggregated GC have a higher survival rate when treated with ceftriaxone than non-aggregated GC, with bacteria in the core of the aggregates surviving the treatment. GC lacking opacity-associated protein or pili, or expressing a truncated lipooligosaccharide, three surface molecules that mediate GC-GC interactions, reduce both aggregation and ceftriaxone survival. This study demonstrates that the aggregation of N. gonorrhoeae can reduce the susceptibility to antibiotics, and suggests that antibiotic utilization can select for GC surface molecules that promote aggregation which in turn drive pathogen evolution. Inhibiting aggregation may be a potential way of increasing the efficacy of ceftriaxone treatment, consequently reducing treatment failure.

Insulin Transactivator MafA Regulates Intrathymic Expression of Insulin and Affects Susceptibility to Type 1 Diabetes

PubMed Central

Noso, Shinsuke; Kataoka, Kohsuke; Kawabata, Yumiko; Babaya, Naru; Hiromine, Yoshihisa; Yamaji, Kaori; Fujisawa, Tomomi; Aramata, Shinsaku; Kudo, Takashi; Takahashi, Satoru; Ikegami, Hiroshi

2010-01-01

OBJECTIVE Tissue-specific self-antigens are ectopically expressed within the thymus and play an important role in the induction of central tolerance. Insulin is expressed in both pancreatic islets and the thymus and is considered to be the primary antigen for type 1 diabetes. Here, we report the role of the insulin transactivator MafA in the expression of insulin in the thymus and susceptibility to type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The expression profiles of transcriptional factors (Pdx1, NeuroD, Mafa, and Aire) in pancreatic islets and the thymus were examined in nonobese diabetic (NOD) and control mice. Thymic Ins2 expression and serum autoantibodies were examined in Mafa knockout mice. Luciferase reporter assay was performed for newly identified polymorphisms of mouse Mafa and human MAFA. A case-control study was applied for human MAFA polymorphisms. RESULTS Mafa, Ins2, and Aire expression was detected in the thymus. Mafa expression was lower in NOD thymus than in the control and was correlated with Ins2 expression. Targeted disruption of MafA reduced thymic Ins2 expression and induced autoantibodies against pancreatic islets. Functional polymorphisms of MafA were newly identified in NOD mice and humans, and polymorphisms of human MAFA were associated with susceptibility to type 1 diabetes but not to autoimmune thyroid disease. CONCLUSIONS These data indicate that functional polymorphisms of MafA are associated with reduced expression of insulin in the thymus and susceptibility to type 1 diabetes in the NOD mouse as well as human type 1 diabetes. PMID:20682694

Observed differences in learning ability of heart rate self-regulation as a function of hypnotic susceptibility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cowings, P. S.

1977-01-01

Three groups of eight male and female subjects (aged 20-27 yr) categorized by low and high hypnotic susceptibility were taught to control their heart rates by means of an appropriate autogenic therapy/biofeedback technique. The experimental groups were trained by autogenic therapy and biofeedback, while the control group received only biofeedback. Significant differences are observed in all psychological test scores between subjects of high and low hypnotic susceptibility. The results confirm that (1) there are qualitative and quantitative differences between the performance of individuals with high and low hypnotic susceptibility; (2) interindividual-variability tests yield data relevant to individual performance in visceral learning tasks; (3) the combined autogenic therapy/biofeedback/verbal feedback technique is suitable for conditioning large stable autonomic responses in humans; and (4) this kind of conditioning is effective in eliminating or alleviating physiological reactions to some environmental stressors.

Restriction fragment length polymorphism mapping of quantitative trait loci for malaria parasite susceptibility in the mosquito Aedes aegypti

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

Severson, D.W.; Thathy, V.; Mori, A.

Susceptibility of the mosquito Aedes aegypti to the malarial parasite Plasmodium gallinaceum was investigated as a quantitative trait using restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP). Two F{sub 2} populations of mosquitoes were independently prepared from pairwise matings between a highly susceptible and a refractory strain of A. aegypti. RFLP were tested for association with oocyst development on the mosquito midgut. Two putative quantitative trait loci (QTL) were identified that significantly affect susceptibility. One QTL, pgs [2,LF98], is located on chromosome 2 and accounted for 65 and 49% of the observed phenotypic variance in the two populations, respectively. A second QTL, pgs[3,MalI],more » is located on chromosome 3 and accounted for 14 and 10% of the observed phenotypic variance in the two populations, respectively. Both QTL exhibit a partial dominance effect on susceptibility, wherein the dominance effect is derived from the refractory parent. No indication of epistasis between these QTL was detected. Evidence suggests that either a tightly linked cluster of independent genes or a single locus affecting susceptibility to various mosquito-borne parasites and pathogens has evolved near the LF98 locus; in addition to P. gallinaceum susceptibility, this general genome region has previously been implicated in susceptibility to the filaria nematode Brugia malayi and the yellow fever virus. 35 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.« less

Salmonella Prevalence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility from the National Animal Health Monitoring System Sheep 2011 Study.

PubMed

Dargatz, David A; Marshall, Katherine L; Fedorka-Cray, Paula J; Erdman, Matthew M; Kopral, Christine A

2015-12-01

Salmonella is a major cause of foodborne illness and can cause clinical disease in animals. Understanding the on-farm ecology of Salmonella will be helpful in decreasing the risk of foodborne transmission. An objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Salmonella among fecal samples collected on sheep operations in the United States. Another objective was to compare the use of composite fecal samples with fecal samples collected from individual sheep as a tool for screening sheep flocks for Salmonella. Sheep fecal samples (individual and composite) were collected on operations in 22 states. Salmonella isolates were characterized with regard to species, serotype, and antimicrobial susceptibility profile. Most operations (72.1%) had at least one positive sample and overall 26.9% of samples were positive. The percentage of positive samples varied by animal age class. Composite and individual samples gave similar results. The majority of the isolates (94%) were Salmonella enterica subspecies diarizonae serotype 61:-:1,5,7. Nearly all of the isolates (91.2%) tested for antimicrobial susceptibility were susceptible to all antimicrobials in the panel. The findings suggest that salmonellae typically associated with foodborne disease transmission are infrequently found on sheep operations in the United States.

Mixing of Honeybees with Different Genotypes Affects Individual Worker Behavior and Transcription of Genes in the Neuronal Substrate

PubMed Central

Bienefeld, Kaspar; Beye, Martin

2012-01-01

Division of labor in social insects has made the evolution of collective traits possible that cannot be achieved by individuals alone. Differences in behavioral responses produce variation in engagement in behavioral tasks, which as a consequence, generates a division of labor. We still have little understanding of the genetic components influencing these behaviors, although several candidate genomic regions and genes influencing individual behavior have been identified. Here, we report that mixing of worker honeybees with different genotypes influences the expression of individual worker behaviors and the transcription of genes in the neuronal substrate. These indirect genetic effects arise in a colony because numerous interactions between workers produce interacting phenotypes and genotypes across organisms. We studied hygienic behavior of honeybee workers, which involves the cleaning of diseased brood cells in the colony. We mixed ∼500 newly emerged honeybee workers with genotypes of preferred Low (L) and High (H) hygienic behaviors. The L/H genotypic mixing affected the behavioral engagement of L worker bees in a hygienic task, the cooperation among workers in uncapping single brood cells, and switching between hygienic tasks. We found no evidence that recruiting and task-related stimuli are the primary source of the indirect genetic effects on behavior. We suggested that behavioral responsiveness of L bees was affected by genotypic mixing and found evidence for changes in the brain in terms of 943 differently expressed genes. The functional categories of cell adhesion, cellular component organization, anatomical structure development, protein localization, developmental growth and cell morphogenesis were overrepresented in this set of 943 genes, suggesting that indirect genetic effects can play a role in modulating and modifying the neuronal substrate. Our results suggest that genotypes of social partners affect the behavioral responsiveness and the neuronal

Anxiety sensitivity and affect regulatory strategies: individual and interactive risk factors for anxiety-related symptoms.

PubMed

Kashdan, Todd B; Zvolensky, Michael J; McLeish, Alison C

2008-01-01

Studies have shown that anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a risk factor in the development of pathological anxiety. Recent theoretical models emphasize the additional importance of how people handle their anxious experiences. The present study examined whether high AS and being fixated on the control and regulation of unwanted anxious feelings or being unable to properly modulate affect as needed lead to particularly problematic outcomes. We examined the interactive influence of AS and affect regulatory strategies on the frequency and intensity of anxiety symptoms. Questionnaires were completed by 248 young adults in the community. Results showed a general pattern with anxiety symptoms being the most severe when high AS was paired with affect regulatory difficulties. Of participants high in AS, anxious arousal and worry were heightened in the presence of less acceptance of emotional distress; anxious arousal, worry, and agoraphobic cognitions were heightened when fewer resources were available to properly modulate affect; and agoraphobic cognitions were heightened in the presence of high emotion expressiveness. As evidence of construct specificity, an alternative model with anhedonic depressive symptoms as a main effect and interaction effect (with regulatory strategies) failed to predict anxiety symptoms. However, anxiety sensitivity and less acceptance of emotional distress were associated with greater anhedonia. Results are discussed in the context of how and when affect regulatory behavior shifts individuals from normative anxiety to pathology.

CISH and Susceptibility to Infectious Diseases

PubMed Central

Khor, Chiea C.; Vannberg, Fredrik O.; Chapman, Stephen J.; Guo, Haiyan; Wong, Sunny H.; Walley, Andrew J.; Vukcevic, Damjan; Rautanen, Anna; Mills, Tara C.; Chang, Kwok-Chiu; Kam, Kai-Man; Crampin, Amelia C.; Ngwira, Bagrey; Leung, Chi-Chiu; Tam, Cheuk-Ming; Chan, Chiu-Yeung; Sung, Joseph J.Y.; Yew, Wing-Wai; Toh, Kai-Yee; Tay, Stacey K.H.; Kwiatkowski, Dominic; Lienhardt, Christian; Hien, Tran-Tinh; Day, Nicholas P.; Peshu, Nobert; Marsh, Kevin; Maitland, Kathryn; Scott, J. Anthony; Williams, Thomas N.; Berkley, James A.; Floyd, Sian; Tang, Nelson L.S.; Fine, Paul E.M.; Goh, Denise L.M.; Hill, Adrian V.S.

2013-01-01

Background The interleukin-2 (IL2)-mediated immune response is critical for host defence against infectious pathogens. CISH, a suppressor of cytokine signalling, controls IL2 signalling. Methods We tested for association between CISH polymorphisms and susceptibility to major infectious diseases (bacteremia, tuberculosis and severe malaria) in 8402 persons from the Gambia, Hong Kong, Kenya, Malawi, and Vietnam using a case-control design. We have previously tested twenty other immune-related genes in one or more of these sample collections. Results We observed associations between variant alleles of multiple CISH polymorphisms and increased susceptibility to each infectious disease in each of the study populations. When all five SNPs (CISH −639, −292, −163, +1320 and +3415) within the CISH-associated locus were considered together in a multi-SNP score, we found substantial support for an effect of CISH genetic variants on susceptibility to bacteremia, malaria, and tuberculosis (overall P=3.8 × 10−11) with CISH −292 being “responsible” for the majority of the association signal (P=4.58×10−7). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells of adult volunteers carrying the CISH −292 variant showed a muted response to IL2 stimulation — in the form of 25-40% less CISH — when compared with “control” cells lacking the −292 variant. Conclusions Variants of CISH are associated with susceptibility to diseases caused by diverse infectious pathogens, suggesting that negative regulators of cytokine signalling may play a major role in immunity against various infectious diseases. The overall risk of having one of these infectious diseases was found to be increased by at least 18 percent in individuals carrying the variant CISH alleles. PMID:20484391

Identifying a susceptible subgroup: effects of the Pittsburgh air pollution episode upon schoolchildren.

PubMed

Stebbings, J H; Fogleman, D G

1979-07-01

Pulmonary function test results on 224 parochial schoolchildren collected during and after the Pittsburgh air pollution episode of November 1975 were reanalyzed to determine whether a small subgroup of susceptible children could be defined. Individual regressions of three-quarter second forced expiratory volumes (FEV.75) and forced vital capacities (FVC) on time over the six-day study period were calculated, and the distributions of individual slopes for the four exposed and two control schools were compared. Excesses of strong upward trends in the exposed areas would suggest effects of suspended particulate air pollution by indicating significant improvement following the episode. A highly statistically significant excess of strong upward trends in the FVC among exposed students was observed, and was consistent by sex and by school within sex. Approximately 10--15% of the students appear susceptible to an average impairment of about 20% of the FVC. The findings are limited by the small number of subjects with strong post-episode upward trends in the FVC, and by lack of validation by replication of the study design, but do suggest that episode levels of suspended particulates induce lung damage, and that this may occur only in a small susceptible subgroup. Children with low baseline pulmonary function values, histories of asthma, or with acute respiratory symptoms immediately following the episode were not found to be especially susceptible to these effects of suspended particulates.

Ash leaf metabolomes reveal differences between trees tolerant and susceptible to ash dieback disease.

PubMed

Sambles, Christine M; Salmon, Deborah L; Florance, Hannah; Howard, Thomas P; Smirnoff, Nicholas; Nielsen, Lene R; McKinney, Lea V; Kjær, Erik D; Buggs, Richard J A; Studholme, David J; Grant, Murray

2017-12-19

European common ash, Fraxinus excelsior, is currently threatened by Ash dieback (ADB) caused by the fungus, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. To detect and identify metabolites that may be products of pathways important in contributing to resistance against H. fraxineus, we performed untargeted metabolomic profiling on leaves from five high-susceptibility and five low-susceptibility F. excelsior individuals identified during Danish field trials. We describe in this study, two datasets. The first is untargeted LC-MS metabolomics raw data from ash leaves with high-susceptibility and low-susceptibility to ADB in positive and negative mode. These data allow the application of peak picking, alignment, gap-filling and retention-time correlation analyses to be performed in alternative ways. The second, a processed dataset containing abundances of aligned features across all samples enables further mining of the data. Here we illustrate the utility of this dataset which has previously been used to identify putative iridoid glycosides, well known anti-herbivory terpenoid derivatives, and show differential abundance in tolerant and susceptible ash samples.

BIOMAKERS OF EXPOSURE AND METABOLIC SUSCEPTIBILITY TO FINE PARTICLE AIR POLLUTION

EPA Science Inventory

The influence of metabolic susceptibility (GSTM1 and NAT2 genotypes) on the association between personal air exposures and biomarkers of exposure, dose, and genetic damage were measured for 60 individuals in two regions exposed to ambient air in the Czech Republic. Personal mon...

Pleiotropic effects of obesity-susceptibility loci on metabolic traits: a meta-analysis of up to 37,874 individuals.

PubMed

van Vliet-Ostaptchouk, J V; den Hoed, M; Luan, J; Zhao, J H; Ong, K K; van der Most, P J; Wong, A; Hardy, R; Kuh, D; van der Klauw, M M; Bruinenberg, M; Khaw, K T; Wolffenbuttel, B H R; Wareham, N J; Snieder, H; Loos, R J F

2013-10-01

Genetic pleiotropy may contribute to the clustering of obesity and metabolic conditions. We assessed whether genetic variants that are robustly associated with BMI and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) also influence metabolic and cardiovascular traits, independently of obesity-related traits, in meta-analyses of up to 37,874 individuals from six European population-based studies. We examined associations of 32 BMI and 14 WHR loci, individually and combined in two genetic predisposition scores (GPSs), with glycaemic traits, blood lipids and BP, with and without adjusting for BMI and/or WHR. We observed significant associations of BMI-increasing alleles at five BMI loci with lower levels of 2 h glucose (RBJ [also known as DNAJC27], QPTCL: effect sizes -0.068 and -0.107 SD, respectively), HDL-cholesterol (SLC39A8: -0.065 SD, MTCH2: -0.039 SD), and diastolic BP (SLC39A8: -0.069 SD), and higher and lower levels of LDL- and total cholesterol (QPTCL: 0.041 and 0.042 SDs, respectively, FLJ35779 [also known as POC5]: -0.042 and -0.041 SDs, respectively) (all p < 2.4 × 10(-4)), independent of BMI. The WHR-increasing alleles at two WHR loci were significantly associated with higher proinsulin (GRB14: 0.069 SD) and lower fasting glucose levels (CPEB4: -0.049 SD), independent of BMI and WHR. A higher GPS-BMI was associated with lower systolic BP (-0.005 SD), diastolic BP (-0.006 SD) and 2 h glucose (-0.013 SD), while a higher GPS-WHR was associated with lower HDL-cholesterol (-0.015 SD) and higher triacylglycerol levels (0.014 SD) (all p < 2.9 × 10(-3)), independent of BMI and/or WHR. These pleiotropic effects of obesity-susceptibility loci provide novel insights into mechanisms that link obesity with metabolic abnormalities.

Van Vleck and the magnetic susceptibilities of gaseous molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, Horst

2011-03-01

In his 1927 Physical Review article and in his 1932 book, ~The Theory of Electric and Magnetic Susceptibilities,~Van Vleck used the new quantum theory to derive the magnetic susceptibilities of O2 and NO in their gaseous form ~and compared them with experiments. ~He was therefore very interested in low temperature susceptibility experiments on O2 at Oxford University in 1954 where individual O2 molecules were trapped in small, almost spherical cages in organic clathrates. Correspondence between him and this speaker, then at Oxford, led to further measurements of O2 and also of NO in such clathrates, to theory and to subsequent publications and correspondence. Later communication with Van Vleck on the magnetism in rare earth iron garnets, a subject of long-term interest to him, will be described ~in connection with experiments carried out at Duke University. Some fond personal ~recollections of this speaker of his interaction with Van Vleck - both while at Harvard, during visits and through correspondence which extended into the seventies - will be presented.

Predicting short-term positive affect in individuals with social anxiety disorder: The role of selected personality traits and emotion regulation strategies.

PubMed

Weisman, Jaclyn S; Rodebaugh, Thomas L; Lim, Michelle H; Fernandez, Katya C

2015-08-01

Recently, research has provided support for a moderate, inverse relationship between social anxiety and dispositional positive affect. However, the dynamics of this relationship remain poorly understood. The present study evaluates whether certain personality traits and emotion regulation variables predict short-term positive affect for individuals with social anxiety disorder and healthy controls. Positive affect as measured by two self-report instruments was assessed before and after two tasks in which the participant conversed with either a friend or a romantic partner. Tests of models examining the hypothesized prospective predictors revealed that the paths did not differ significantly across diagnostic group and both groups showed the hypothesized patterns of endorsement for the emotion regulation variables. Further, a variable reflecting difficulty redirecting oneself when distressed prospectively predicted one measure of positive affect. Additional research is needed to explore further the role of emotion regulation strategies on positive emotions for individuals higher in social anxiety. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Role of Sequence Variations in AhR Gene Towards Modulating Smoking Induced Lung Cancer Susceptibility in North Indian Population: A Multiple Interaction Analysis.

PubMed

Budhwar, Sneha; Bahl, Charu; Sharma, Siddharth; Singh, Navneet; Behera, Digambar

2018-05-01

AhR, a ubiquitously expressed ligand-activated transcription factor, upon its encounter with the foreign ligands activates the transcriptional machinery of genes encoding for bio-transformation enzymes like CYP1A1 hence, mediating the metabolism of Poly aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrosamines which account for the maximally found carcinogen in cigarette smoke. Polymorphic variants of AhR play a significant role and are held responsible for disposing the individuals with greater chances of acquiring lung cancer. To study the role of AhR variants (rs2282885, rs10250822, rs7811989, rs2066853) in affect-ing lung cancer susceptibility. 297 cases and 320 controls have been genotyped using PCR-RFLP technique. In order to find out the association, unconditional logistic regression approach was used. To analyze high order in-teractions Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction and Classification and regression tree was used. Subjects carrying the variant genotype for AhR rs7811989 showed a two-fold risk (p=0.007) and a marginal risk was also seen in case of individuals carrying either single or double copy of suscep-tible allele for rs102550822 (p=0.02). Whereas the variant allele for rs2066853 showcased a strong pro-tective effect (p=0.003). SQCC individuals with mutant genotype of rs2066853 also exhibited a protec-tive effect towards lung cancer (OR=0.30, p=0.0013). The association of rs7811989 mutant genotype and rs10250822 mutant genotype was evident especially in smokers as compared to non-smokers. AhR rs2066853 showed a decreased risk in smokers with mutant genotype (p=0.002). MDR approach gave the best interaction model of AhR rs2066853 and smoking (CVC=10/10, prediction error=0.42). AhR polymorphic variations can significantly contribute towards lung cancer predisposi-tion.

Effects of tissue susceptibility on brain temperature mapping.

PubMed

Maudsley, Andrew A; Goryawala, Mohammed Z; Sheriff, Sulaiman

2017-02-01

A method for mapping of temperature over a large volume of the brain using volumetric proton MR spectroscopic imaging has been implemented and applied to 150 normal subjects. Magnetic susceptibility-induced frequency shifts in gray- and white-matter regions were measured and included as a correction in the temperature mapping calculation. Additional sources of magnetic susceptibility variations of the individual metabolite resonance frequencies were also observed that reflect the cellular-level organization of the brain metabolites, with the most notable differences being attributed to changes of the N-Acetylaspartate resonance frequency that reflect the intra-axonal distribution and orientation of the white-matter tracts with respect to the applied magnetic field. These metabolite-specific susceptibility effects are also shown to change with age. Results indicate no change of apparent brain temperature with age from 18 to 84 years old, with a trend for increased brain temperature throughout the cerebrum in females relative for males on the order of 0.1°C; slightly increased temperatures in the left hemisphere relative to the right; and a lower temperature of 0.3°C in the cerebellum relative to that of cerebral white-matter. This study presents a novel acquisition method for noninvasive measurement of brain temperature that is of potential value for diagnostic purposes and treatment monitoring, while also demonstrating limitations of the measurement due to the confounding effects of tissue susceptibility variations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Factors Associated with Migration in Individuals Affected by Leprosy, Maranhão, Brazil: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study

PubMed Central

Murto, C.; Kaplan, C.; Ariza, L.; Schwarz, K.; Alencar, C. H.; da Costa, L. M. M.; Heukelbach, J.

2013-01-01

In Brazil, leprosy is endemic and concentrated in high-risk clusters. Internal migration is common in the country and may influence leprosy transmission and hamper control efforts. We performed a cross-sectional study with two separate analyses evaluating factors associated with migration in Brazil's Northeast: one among individuals newly diagnosed with leprosy and the other among a clinically unapparent population with no symptoms of leprosy for comparison. We included 394 individuals newly diagnosed with leprosy and 391 from the clinically unapparent population. Of those with leprosy, 258 (65.5%) were birth migrants, 105 (26.6%) were past five-year migrants, and 43 (10.9%) were circular migrants. In multivariate logistic regression, three independent factors were found to be significantly associated with migration among those with leprosy: (1) alcohol consumption, (2) separation from family/friends, and (3) difficulty reaching the healthcare facility. Separation from family/friends was also associated with migration in the clinically unapparent population. The health sector may consider adapting services to meet the needs of migrating populations. Future research is needed to explore risks associated with leprosy susceptibility from life stressors, such as separation from family and friends, access to healthcare facilities, and alcohol consumption to establish causal relationships. PMID:24194769

Social Individualism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cornille, Thomas A.; Harrigan, John

Relationships between individuals and society have often been presented from the perspective of the social institution. Social psychology has addressed the variables that affect the individual in relationships with larger groups. Social individualism is a conceptual framework that explores the relationship of the individual and society from the…

Can motor imagery and hypnotic susceptibility explain Conversion Disorder with motor symptoms?

PubMed

Srzich, Alexander J; Byblow, Winston D; Stinear, James W; Cirillo, John; Anson, J Greg

2016-08-01

Marked distortions in sense of agency can be induced by hypnosis in susceptible individuals, including alterations in subjective awareness of movement initiation and control. These distortions, with associated disability, are similar to those experienced with Conversion Disorder (CD), an observation that has led to the hypothesis that hypnosis and CD share causal mechanisms. The purpose of this review is to explore the relationships among motor imagery (MI), hypnotic susceptibility, and CD, then to propose how MI ability may contribute to hypnotic responding and CD. Studies employing subjective assessments of mental imagery have found little association between imagery abilities and hypnotic susceptibility. A positive association between imagery abilities and hypnotic susceptibility becomes apparent when objective measures of imagery ability are employed. A candidate mechanism to explain motor responses during hypnosis is kinaesthetic MI, which engages a strategy that involves proprioception or the "feel" of movement when no movement occurs. Motor suppression imagery (MSI), a strategy involving inhibition of movement, may provide an alternate objective measurable phenomenon that underlies both hypnotic susceptibility and CD. Evidence to date supports the idea that there may be a positive association between kinaesthetic MI ability and hypnotic susceptibility. Additional evidence supports a positive association between hypnotic susceptibility and CD. Disturbances in kinaesthetic MI performance in CD patients indicate that MI mechanisms may also underlie CD symptoms. Further investigation of the above relationships is warranted to explain these phenomena, and establish theoretical explanations underlying sense of agency. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and susceptibility M. tuberculosis in native Paraguayans.

PubMed

Wilbur, Alicia K; Kubatko, Laura Salter; Hurtado, Ana M; Hill, Kim R; Stone, Anne C

2007-07-01

Tuberculosis (TB) is a significant health problem for most of the world's populations, and prevalence among indigenous groups is typically higher than among their nonindigenous neighbors. Native South Americans experience high rates of TB, but while research in several other world populations indicates that susceptibility is multifactorial, polygenic, and population-specific, little work has been undertaken to investigate factors involved in Native American susceptibility. We conducted a family-based association study to examine immunologically relevant polymorphisms of a candidate gene, the vitamin D receptor, in conjunction with three measures of TB status in two Native Paraguayan populations, the Aché and the Avá. This is the first large-scale genetic analysis of Native South Americans to examine susceptibility to both infection and disease following exposure to M. tuberculosis. These two types of susceptibility reflect differences in innate and acquired immunity that have proven difficult to elucidate in other populations. Our results indicate that among the Aché, the FokI F allele protects individuals from infection, while the TaqI t allele protects against active disease but not infection. In particular, FF homozygotes are 17 times more likely to test positive for exposure to TB, but no more likely to have ever been diagnosed with active TB. TT individuals are 42 times less likely to mount a delayed-type hypersensitivity response, and the T allele was significantly more likely to have been transmitted to offspring who have been diagnosed with active TB. This ongoing research is of vital importance to indigenous groups of the Americas, because if there is a population-specific component to TB susceptibility, it will likely prove most effective to incorporate this into future treatment and prevention strategies.

Susceptibility of Pacific herring to viral hemorrhagic septicemia is influenced by diet

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beaulaurier, Joshua; Bickford, N.; Gregg, J.L.; Grady, C.A.; Gannam, A.L.; Winton, J.R.; Hershberger, P.K.

2012-01-01

Groups of specific-pathogen-free Pacific herring Clupea pallasii were highly susceptible to infection by viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV); however, the level of mortality was influenced by diet during the 40–71 d before, during, and after the first exposure to the virus. Cumulative mortality was highest among the herring maintained on an experimental soy-based pellet, intermediate among those maintained on a commercially available fish-meal-based pellet, and lowest among those maintained on a second commercially available fish-meal-based pellet containing ß-glucans. Additionally, the herring maintained on the experimental soy-based feed demonstrated less growth than those on the commercially available feeds. The results indicate the importance of standardizing diet during empirical determinations of disease susceptibility and provide insights into the risk factors affecting VHS susceptibility in wild populations.

Cardiovascular Disease as a Risk Factor for Enhanced Susceptibility to Air Pollutants

EPA Science Inventory

Adverse health effects caused by airborne particular matter (PM) are restricted primarily to susceptible populations. The actual risk of anyone individual is quite small, but because of the large number of exposed people, the overall population risk is significant. Ferreting out ...

Ductility dip cracking susceptibility of Inconel Filler Metal 52 and Inconel Alloy 690

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

Kikel, J.M.; Parker, D.M.

1998-06-01

Alloy 690 and Filler Metal 52 have become the materials of choice for commercial nuclear steam generator applications in recent years. Filler Metal 52 exhibits improved resistance to weld solidification and weld-metal liquation cracking as compared to other nickel-based filler metals. However, recently published work indicates that Filler Metal 52 is susceptible to ductility dip cracking (DDC) in highly restrained applications. Susceptibility to fusion zone DDC was evaluated using the transverse varestraint test method, while heat affected zone (HAZ) DDC susceptibility was evaluated using a newly developed spot-on-spot varestraint test method. Alloy 690 and Filler Metal 52 cracking susceptibility wasmore » compared to the DDC susceptibility of Alloy 600, Filler Metal 52, and Filler Metal 625. In addition, the effect of grain size and orientation on cracking susceptibility was also included in this study. Alloy 690, Filler Metal 82, Filler Metal 52, and Filler Metal 625 were found more susceptible to fusion zone DDC than Alloy 600. Filler Metal 52 and Alloy 690 were found more susceptible to HAZ DDC when compared to wrought Alloy 600, Filler Metal 82 and Filler Metal 625. Filler Metal 52 exhibited the greatest susceptibility to HAZ DDC of all the weld metals evaluated. The base materials were found much more resistant to HAZ DDC in the wrought condition than when autogenously welded. A smaller grain size was found to offer greater resistance to DDC. For weld metal where grain size is difficult to control, a change in grain orientation was found to improve resistance to DDC.« less

Meta-analysis identifies six new susceptibility loci for atrial fibrillation

PubMed Central

Ellinor, Patrick T; Lunetta, Kathryn L; Albert, Christine M; Glazer, Nicole L; Ritchie, Marylyn D; Smith, Albert V; Arking, Dan E; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Krijthe, Bouwe P; Lubitz, Steven A; Bis, Joshua C; Chung, Mina K; Dörr, Marcus; Ozaki, Kouichi; Roberts, Jason D; Smith, J Gustav; Pfeufer, Arne; Sinner, Moritz F; Lohman, Kurt; Ding, Jingzhong; Smith, Nicholas L; Smith, Jonathan D; Rienstra, Michiel; Rice, Kenneth M; Van Wagoner, David R; Magnani, Jared W; Wakili, Reza; Clauss, Sebastian; Rotter, Jerome I; Steinbeck, Gerhard; Launer, Lenore J; Davies, Robert W; Borkovich, Matthew; Harris, Tamara B; Lin, Honghuang; Völker, Uwe; Völzke, Henry; Milan, David J; Hofman, Albert; Boerwinkle, Eric; Chen, Lin Y; Soliman, Elsayed Z; Voight, Benjamin F; Li, Guo; Chakravarti, Aravinda; Kubo, Michiaki; Tedrow, Usha B; Rose, Lynda M; Ridker, Paul M; Conen, David; Tsunoda, Tatsuhiko; Furukawa, Tetsushi; Sotoodehnia, Nona; Xu, Siyan; Kamatani, Naoyuki; Levy, Daniel; Nakamura, Yusuke; Parvez, Babar; Mahida, Saagar; Furie, Karen L; Rosand, Jonathan; Muhammad, Raafia; Psaty, Bruce M; Meitinger, Thomas; Perz, Siegfried; Wichmann, H-Erich; Witteman, Jacqueline C M; Kao, W H Linda; Kathiresan, Sekar; Roden, Dan M; Uitterlinden, Andre G; Rivadeneira, Fernando; McKnight, Barbara; Sjögren, Marketa; Newman, Anne B; Liu, Yongmei; Gollob, Michael H; Melander, Olle; Tanaka, Toshihiro; Ch Stricker, Bruno H; Felix, Stephan B; Alonso, Alvaro; Darbar, Dawood; Barnard, John; Chasman, Daniel I; Heckbert, Susan R; Benjamin, Emelia J; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Kääb, Stefan

2012-01-01

Atrial fibrillation is a highly prevalent arrhythmia and a major risk factor for stroke, heart failure and death1. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in individuals of European ancestry, including 6,707 with and 52,426 without atrial fibrillation. Six new atrial fibrillation susceptibility loci were identified and replicated in an additional sample of individuals of European ancestry, including 5,381 subjects with and 1 0,030 subjects without atrial fibrillation (P < 5 × 10−8). Four of the loci identified in Europeans were further replicated in silico in a GWAS of Japanese individuals, including 843 individuals with and 3,350 individuals without atrial fibrillation. The identified loci implicate candidate genes that encode transcription factors related to cardiopulmonary development, cardiac-expressed ion channels and cell signaling molecules. PMID:22544366

Efficiency of the Regulation of Otolith Mineralisation and Susceptibility to kinetotic Behaviour in Parabolic Aircraft Flights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knie, M.; Weigele, J.; Hilbig, R.; Anken, R.

Under diminished gravity e g during the respective phase in the course of parabolic aircraft flight PF humans often suffer from motion sickness a kinetsosis due to sensorimotor disorders Using fish as a model system we previously provided ample evidence that an individually differently pronounced asymmetric mineralisation calcification of inner ear stones otoliths leads to the individually different susceptibility to such disorders Depending on the disposition of an individual fish the mineralisation of otoliths is more or less strictly regulated by the central nervous system via a gravity-dependent feedback loop Long-term hypergravity centrifuge e g slows down otolith mineralisation whereas simulated microgravity clinostat yields opposite results Such long-term experiments under altered gravity moreover affect otolith asymmetry According to our working hypothesis the efficiency of the respective regulatory mechanism differs among individual animals This efficiency is postulated to be high in animals who behave normally under microgravity conditions whereas it is assumed to be low in such individuals who reveal a kinetotic behaviour at diminished G-forces In order to test this hypothesis two groups of larval cichlid fish Oreochromis mossambicus were kept under long-term hypergravity centrifuge and simulated microgravity clinostat respectively in order to manipulate the efficiency of the aforementioned regulatory mechanism Subsequently the animals were subjected to diminished gravity in the course of PFs and it was analysed

Twelve type 2 diabetes susceptibility loci identified through large-scale association analysis

PubMed Central

Voight, Benjamin F; Scott, Laura J; Steinthorsdottir, Valgerdur; Morris, Andrew P; Dina, Christian; Welch, Ryan P; Zeggini, Eleftheria; Huth, Cornelia; Aulchenko, Yurii S; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; McCulloch, Laura J; Ferreira, Teresa; Grallert, Harald; Amin, Najaf; Wu, Guanming; Willer, Cristen J; Raychaudhuri, Soumya; McCarroll, Steve A; Langenberg, Claudia; Hofmann, Oliver M; Dupuis, Josée; Qi, Lu; Segrè, Ayellet V; van Hoek, Mandy; Navarro, Pau; Ardlie, Kristin; Balkau, Beverley; Benediktsson, Rafn; Bennett, Amanda J; Blagieva, Roza; Boerwinkle, Eric; Bonnycastle, Lori L; Boström, Kristina Bengtsson; Bravenboer, Bert; Bumpstead, Suzannah; Burtt, Noisël P; Charpentier, Guillaume; Chines, Peter S; Cornelis, Marilyn; Couper, David J; Crawford, Gabe; Doney, Alex S F; Elliott, Katherine S; Elliott, Amanda L; Erdos, Michael R; Fox, Caroline S; Franklin, Christopher S; Ganser, Martha; Gieger, Christian; Grarup, Niels; Green, Todd; Griffin, Simon; Groves, Christopher J; Guiducci, Candace; Hadjadj, Samy; Hassanali, Neelam; Herder, Christian; Isomaa, Bo; Jackson, Anne U; Johnson, Paul R V; Jørgensen, Torben; Kao, Wen H L; Klopp, Norman; Kong, Augustine; Kraft, Peter; Kuusisto, Johanna; Lauritzen, Torsten; Li, Man; Lieverse, Aloysius; Lindgren, Cecilia M; Lyssenko, Valeriya; Marre, Michel; Meitinger, Thomas; Midthjell, Kristian; Morken, Mario A; Narisu, Narisu; Nilsson, Peter; Owen, Katharine R; Payne, Felicity; Perry, John R B; Petersen, Ann-Kristin; Platou, Carl; Proença, Christine; Prokopenko, Inga; Rathmann, Wolfgang; Rayner, N William; Robertson, Neil R; Rocheleau, Ghislain; Roden, Michael; Sampson, Michael J; Saxena, Richa; Shields, Beverley M; Shrader, Peter; Sigurdsson, Gunnar; Sparsø, Thomas; Strassburger, Klaus; Stringham, Heather M; Sun, Qi; Swift, Amy J; Thorand, Barbara; Tichet, Jean; Tuomi, Tiinamaija; van Dam, Rob M; van Haeften, Timon W; van Herpt, Thijs; van Vliet-Ostaptchouk, Jana V; Walters, G Bragi; Weedon, Michael N; Wijmenga, Cisca; Witteman, Jacqueline; Bergman, Richard N; Cauchi, Stephane; Collins, Francis S; Gloyn, Anna L; Gyllensten, Ulf; Hansen, Torben; Hide, Winston A; Hitman, Graham A; Hofman, Albert; Hunter, David J; Hveem, Kristian; Laakso, Markku; Mohlke, Karen L; Morris, Andrew D; Palmer, Colin N A; Pramstaller, Peter P; Rudan, Igor; Sijbrands, Eric; Stein, Lincoln D; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Uitterlinden, Andre; Walker, Mark; Wareham, Nicholas J; Watanabe, Richard M; Abecasis, Gonçalo R; Boehm, Bernhard O; Campbell, Harry; Daly, Mark J; Hattersley, Andrew T; Hu, Frank B; Meigs, James B; Pankow, James S; Pedersen, Oluf; Wichmann, H-Erich; Barroso, Inês; Florez, Jose C; Frayling, Timothy M; Groop, Leif; Sladek, Rob; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Wilson, James F; Illig, Thomas; Froguel, Philippe; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Stefansson, Kari; Altshuler, David; Boehnke, Michael; McCarthy, Mark I

2011-01-01

By combining genome-wide association data from 8,130 individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and 38,987 controls of European descent and following up previously unidentified meta-analysis signals in a further 34,412 cases and 59,925 controls, we identified 12 new T2D association signals with combinedP < 5 × 10−8. These include a second independent signal at the KCNQ1 locus; the first report, to our knowledge, of an X-chromosomal association (near DUSP9); and a further instance of overlap between loci implicated in monogenic and multifactorial forms of diabetes (at HNF1A). The identified loci affect both beta-cell function and insulin action, and, overall, T2D association signals show evidence of enrichment for genes involved in cell cycle regulation. We also show that a high proportion of T2D susceptibility loci harbor independent association signals influencing apparently unrelated complex traits. PMID:20581827

Drug Susceptibility and Resistance Mutations After First-Line Failure in Resource Limited Settings

PubMed Central

Wallis, Carole L.; Aga, Evgenia; Ribaudo, Heather; Saravanan, Shanmugam; Norton, Michael; Stevens, Wendy; Kumarasamy, Nagalingeswaran; Bartlett, John; Katzenstein, David

2014-01-01

Background. The development of drug resistance to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) has been associated with baseline human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 RNA level (VL), CD4 cell counts (CD4), subtype, and treatment failure duration. This study describes drug resistance and levels of susceptibility after first-line virologic failure in individuals from Thailand, South Africa, India, Malawi, Tanzania. Methods. CD4 and VL were captured at AIDs Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) A5230 study entry, a study of lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) monotherapy after first-line virologic failure on an NNRTI regimen. HIV drug-resistance mutation associations with subtype, site, study entry VL, and CD4 were evaluated using Fisher exact and Kruskall–Wallis tests. Results. Of the 207 individuals who were screened for A5230, sequence data were available for 148 individuals. Subtypes observed: subtype C (n = 97, 66%) AE (n = 27, 18%), A1 (n = 12, 8%), and D (n = 10, 7%). Of the 148 individuals, 93% (n = 138) and 96% (n = 142) had at least 1 reverse transcriptase (RT) mutation associated with NRTI and NNRTI resistance, respectively. The number of NRTI mutations was significantly associated with a higher study screening VL and lower study screening CD4 (P < .001). Differences in drug-resistance patterns in both NRTI and NNRTI were observed by site. Conclusions. The degree of NNRTI and NRTI resistance after first-line virologic failure was associated with higher VL at study entry. Thirty-two percent of individuals remained fully susceptible to etravirine and rilpivirine, protease inhibitor resistance was rare. Some level of susceptibility to NRTI remained; however, VL monitoring and earlier virologic failure detection may result in lower NRTI resistance. PMID:24795328

The nature of genetic susceptibility to multiple sclerosis: constraining the possibilities.

PubMed

Goodin, Douglas S

2016-04-27

Epidemiological observations regarding certain population-wide parameters (e.g., disease-prevalence, recurrence-risk in relatives, gender predilections, and the distribution of common genetic-variants) place important constraints on the possibilities for the genetic-basis underlying susceptibility to multiple sclerosis (MS). Using very broad range-estimates for the different population-wide epidemiological parameters, a mathematical model can help elucidate the nature and the magnitude of these constraints. For MS no more than 8.5 % of the population can possibly be in the "genetically-susceptible" subset (defined as having a life-time MS-probability at least as high as the overall population average). Indeed, the expected MS-probability for this subset is more than 12 times that for every other person of the population who is not in this subset. Moreover, provided that those genetically susceptible persons (genotypes), who carry the well-established MS susceptibility allele (DRB1*1501), are equally or more likely to get MS than those susceptible persons, who don't carry this allele, then at least 84 % of MS-cases must come from this "genetically susceptible" subset. Finally, because men, compared to women, are at least as likely (and possibly more likely) to be susceptible, it can be demonstrated that women are more responsive to the environmental factors that are involved in MS-pathogenesis (whatever these are) and, thus, susceptible women are more likely actually to develop MS than susceptible men. Finally, in contrast to genetic susceptibility, more than 70 % of men (and likely also women) must have an environmental experience (including all of the necessary factors), which is sufficient to produce MS in a susceptible individual. As a result, because of these constraints, it is possible to distinguish two classes of persons, indicating either that MS can be caused by two fundamentally different pathophysiological mechanisms or that the large majority of the

Progranulin gene variation affects serum progranulin levels differently in Danish bipolar individuals compared with healthy controls.

PubMed

Buttenschøn, Henriette N; Nielsen, Marit N; Thotakura, Gangadaar; Lee, Chris W; Nykjær, Anders; Mors, Ole; Glerup, Simon

2017-06-01

The identification of peripheral biomarkers for bipolar disorder is of great importance and has the potential to improve diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. Recent studies have reported lower plasma progranulin levels in bipolar individuals compared with controls and association with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the progranulin gene (GRN). In the present study, we investigated the effect of GRN and sortilin (SORT1) gene variation on serum progranulin levels in bipolar individuals and controls. In a Danish cohort of individuals with bipolar disorder and controls, we analysed the serum progranulin level (nbipolar=80, ncontrols=76) and five SNPs located within GRN and two SNPs near the SORT1 gene encoding sortilin, a progranulin scavenger receptor known to affect circulating progranulin levels (nbipolar=166, ncontrols=186). We observed no significant difference in the serum progranulin level between cases and controls and none of the analysed SNPs located within GRN or close to SORT1 were associated with bipolar disorder. Crude and adjusted (adjusted for case-control status, sex and age) linear regression analyses showed no effect of any SNPs on the serum progranulin level. However, we observed that the mean serum progranulin level in cases and controls is affected differently depending on the genotypes of two SNPs within GRN (rs2879096 and rs4792938). The sample size is relatively small and detailed information on medication and polarity of the disorder is not available. No correction for multiple testing was performed. Our study suggests that the potential of progranulin as a biomarker for bipolar disorder is genotype dependent.

Individual identity and affective valence in marmoset calls: in vivo brain imaging with vocal sound playback.

PubMed

Kato, Masaki; Yokoyama, Chihiro; Kawasaki, Akihiro; Takeda, Chiho; Koike, Taku; Onoe, Hirotaka; Iriki, Atsushi

2018-05-01

As with humans, vocal communication is an important social tool for nonhuman primates. Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) often produce whistle-like 'phee' calls when they are visually separated from conspecifics. The neural processes specific to phee call perception, however, are largely unknown, despite the possibility that these processes involve social information. Here, we examined behavioral and whole-brain mapping evidence regarding the detection of individual conspecific phee calls using an audio playback procedure. Phee calls evoked sound exploratory responses when the caller changed, indicating that marmosets can discriminate between caller identities. Positron emission tomography with [ 18 F] fluorodeoxyglucose revealed that perception of phee calls from a single subject was associated with activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal, medial prefrontal, orbitofrontal cortices, and the amygdala. These findings suggest that these regions are implicated in cognitive and affective processing of salient social information. However, phee calls from multiple subjects induced brain activation in only some of these regions, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. We also found distinctive brain deactivation and functional connectivity associated with phee call perception depending on the caller change. According to changes in pupillary size, phee calls from a single subject induced a higher arousal level compared with those from multiple subjects. These results suggest that marmoset phee calls convey information about individual identity and affective valence depending on the consistency or variability of the caller. Based on the flexible perception of the call based on individual recognition, humans and marmosets may share some neural mechanisms underlying conspecific vocal perception.

A study of the relationship between susceptibility to skin stinging and skin irritation.

PubMed

Basketter, D A; Griffiths, H A

1993-10-01

In an evaluation of the safety of new chemicals, of products containing them, or of novel formulations of existing chemicals which may come into contact with the skin, it is important to incorporate an assessment of specially susceptible sub-populations. Such a group is represented by those who are more likely to experience sensory effects such as stinging. Since these individuals are easily and rapidly identifiable, we investigated whether they represented a group who were also more susceptible to the effects of an irritant. The primary purpose was to discover whether 'stingers' might represent an easily and rapidly identifiable sub-population with a more generally increased tendency to give skin responses. The response to a 0.3% sodium dodecyl sulphate patch test was assessed in a group of 25 'stingers' and compared to the response in 25 'non-stingers'. There was no difference in either the pattern or strength of the irritant response assessed by subjective erythema and dryness scores. Thus the data suggest that there is no correlation between the susceptibility of an individual to a skin stinging response and an irritation reaction.

Identification of rs7350481 at chromosome 11q23.3 as a novel susceptibility locus for metabolic syndrome in Japanese individuals by an exome-wide association study.

PubMed

Yamada, Yoshiji; Sakuma, Jun; Takeuchi, Ichiro; Yasukochi, Yoshiki; Kato, Kimihiko; Oguri, Mitsutoshi; Fujimaki, Tetsuo; Horibe, Hideki; Muramatsu, Masaaki; Sawabe, Motoji; Fujiwara, Yoshinori; Taniguchi, Yu; Obuchi, Shuichi; Kawai, Hisashi; Shinkai, Shoji; Mori, Seijiro; Arai, Tomio; Tanaka, Masashi

2017-06-13

We have performed exome-wide association studies to identify genetic variants that influence body mass index or confer susceptibility to obesity or metabolic syndrome in Japanese. The exome-wide association study for body mass index included 12,890 subjects, and those for obesity and metabolic syndrome included 12,968 subjects (3954 individuals with obesity, 9014 controls) and 6817 subjects (3998 individuals with MetS, 2819 controls), respectively. Exome-wide association studies were performed with Illumina HumanExome-12 DNA Analysis BeadChip or Infinium Exome-24 BeadChip arrays. The relation of genotypes of single nucleotide polymorphisms to body mass index was examined by linear regression analysis, and that of allele frequencies of single nucleotide polymorphisms to obesity or metabolic syndrome was evaluated with Fisher's exact test. The exome-wide association studies identified six, 11, and 40 single nucleotide polymorphisms as being significantly associated with body mass index, obesity (P <1.21 × 10-6), or metabolic syndrome (P <1.20 × 10-6), respectively. Subsequent multivariable logistic regression analysis with adjustment for age and sex revealed that three and five single nucleotide polymorphisms were related (P < 0.05) to obesity or metabolic syndrome, respectively, with one of these latter polymorphisms-rs7350481 (C/T) at chromosome 11q23.3-also being significantly (P < 3.13 × 10-4) associated with metabolic syndrome. The polymorphism rs7350481 may thus be a novel susceptibility locus for metabolic syndrome in Japanese. In addition, single nucleotide polymorphisms in three genes (CROT, TSC1, RIN3) and at four loci (ANKK1, ZNF804B, CSRNP3, 17p11.2) were implicated as candidate determinants of obesity and metabolic syndrome, respectively.

Methodology for Elaborating Regional Susceptibility Maps of Slope Instability: the State of Guerrero (mexico) Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González Huesca, A. E.; Ferrés, D.; Domínguez-M, L.

2013-05-01

Numerous cases of different types of slope instability occur every year in the mountain areas of México. Sometimes these instabilities severely affect the exposed communities, roads and infrastructure, causing deaths and serious material damage, mainly in the states of Puebla, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Guerrero and Chiapas, at the central and south sectors of the country. The occurrence of the slope instability is the result of the combination of climatic, geologic, hydrologic, geomorphologic and anthropogenic factors. The National Center for Disaster Prevention (CENAPRED) is developing several projects in order to offer civil protection authorities of the Mexican states some methodologies to address the hazard assessment for different natural phenomena in a regional level. In this framework, during the past two years, a methodology was prepared to construct susceptibility maps for slope instability at regional (≤ 1:100 000) and national (≤ 1:1 000 000) levels. This research was addressed in accordance to the criteria established by the International Association of Engineering Geology, which is the highest international authority in this topic. The state of Guerrero has been taken as a pilot scheme to elaborate the susceptibility map for slope instability at a regional level. The major constraints considered in the methodology to calculate susceptibility are: a) the slope of the surface, b) the geology and c) the land use, which were integrated using a Geographic Information System (GIS). The arithmetic sum and weighting factors to obtain the final susceptibility map were based on the average values calculated in the individual study of several cases of slope instability occurred in the state in the past decade. For each case, the evaluation format proposed by CENAPRED in 2006 in the "Guía Básica para la elaboración de Atlas Estatales y Municipales de Peligros y Riesgos" to evaluate instabilities in a local level, was applied. The resulting susceptibility map shows

Circuit-wide Transcriptional Profiling Reveals Brain Region-Specific Gene Networks Regulating Depression Susceptibility.

PubMed

Bagot, Rosemary C; Cates, Hannah M; Purushothaman, Immanuel; Lorsch, Zachary S; Walker, Deena M; Wang, Junshi; Huang, Xiaojie; Schlüter, Oliver M; Maze, Ian; Peña, Catherine J; Heller, Elizabeth A; Issler, Orna; Wang, Minghui; Song, Won-Min; Stein, Jason L; Liu, Xiaochuan; Doyle, Marie A; Scobie, Kimberly N; Sun, Hao Sheng; Neve, Rachael L; Geschwind, Daniel; Dong, Yan; Shen, Li; Zhang, Bin; Nestler, Eric J

2016-06-01

Depression is a complex, heterogeneous disorder and a leading contributor to the global burden of disease. Most previous research has focused on individual brain regions and genes contributing to depression. However, emerging evidence in humans and animal models suggests that dysregulated circuit function and gene expression across multiple brain regions drive depressive phenotypes. Here, we performed RNA sequencing on four brain regions from control animals and those susceptible or resilient to chronic social defeat stress at multiple time points. We employed an integrative network biology approach to identify transcriptional networks and key driver genes that regulate susceptibility to depressive-like symptoms. Further, we validated in vivo several key drivers and their associated transcriptional networks that regulate depression susceptibility and confirmed their functional significance at the levels of gene transcription, synaptic regulation, and behavior. Our study reveals novel transcriptional networks that control stress susceptibility and offers fundamentally new leads for antidepressant drug discovery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cross-evidence for hypnotic susceptibility through nonlinear measures on EEGs of non-hypnotized subjects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiarucci, Riccardo; Madeo, Dario; Loffredo, Maria I.; Castellani, Eleonora; Santarcangelo, Enrica L.; Mocenni, Chiara

2014-07-01

Assessment of hypnotic susceptibility is usually obtained through the application of psychological instruments. A satisfying classification obtained through quantitative measures is still missing, although it would be very useful for both diagnostic and clinical purposes. Aiming at investigating the relationship between the cortical brain activity and the hypnotic susceptibility level, we propose the combined use of two methodologies - Recurrence Quantification Analysis and Detrended Fluctuation Analysis - both inherited from nonlinear dynamics. Indicators obtained through the application of these techniques to EEG signals of individuals in their ordinary state of consciousness allowed us to obtain a clear discrimination between subjects with high and low susceptibility to hypnosis. Finally a neural network approach was used to perform classification analysis.

Chimpanzees Show a Developmental Increase in Susceptibility to Contagious Yawning: A Test of the Effect of Ontogeny and Emotional Closeness on Yawn Contagion

PubMed Central

Madsen, Elainie Alenkær; Persson, Tomas; Sayehli, Susan; Lenninger, Sara; Sonesson, Göran

2013-01-01

Contagious yawning has been reported for humans, dogs and several non-human primate species, and associated with empathy in humans and other primates. Still, the function, development and underlying mechanisms of contagious yawning remain unclear. Humans and dogs show a developmental increase in susceptibility to yawn contagion, with children showing an increase around the age of four, when also empathy-related behaviours and accurate identification of others’ emotions begin to clearly evince. Explicit tests of yawn contagion in non-human apes have only involved adult individuals and examined the existence of conspecific yawn contagion. Here we report the first study of heterospecific contagious yawning in primates, and the ontogeny of susceptibility thereto in chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes verus. We examined whether emotional closeness, defined as attachment history with the yawning model, affected the strength of contagion, and compared the contagiousness of yawning to nose-wiping. Thirty-three orphaned chimpanzees observed an unfamiliar and familiar human (their surrogate human mother) yawn, gape and nose-wipe. Yawning, but not nose-wiping, was contagious for juvenile chimpanzees, while infants were immune to contagion. Like humans and dogs, chimpanzees are subject to a developmental trend in susceptibility to contagious yawning, and respond to heterospecific yawn stimuli. Emotional closeness with the model did not affect contagion. The familiarity-biased social modulatory effect on yawn contagion previously found among some adult primates, seem to only emerge later in development, or be limited to interactions with conspecifics. The influence of the ‘chameleon effect’, targeted vs. generalised empathy, perspective-taking and visual attention on contagious yawning is discussed. PMID:24146848

Do Genetic Susceptibility Variants Associate with Disease Severity in Early Active Rheumatoid Arthritis?

PubMed

Scott, Ian C; Rijsdijk, Frühling; Walker, Jemma; Quist, Jelmar; Spain, Sarah L; Tan, Rachael; Steer, Sophia; Okada, Yukinori; Raychaudhuri, Soumya; Cope, Andrew P; Lewis, Cathryn M

2015-07-01

Genetic variants affect both the development and severity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Recent studies have expanded the number of RA susceptibility variants. We tested the hypothesis that these associated with disease severity in a clinical trial cohort of patients with early, active RA. We evaluated 524 patients with RA enrolled in the Combination Anti-Rheumatic Drugs in Early RA (CARDERA) trials. We tested validated susceptibility variants - 69 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), 15 HLA-DRB1 alleles, and amino acid polymorphisms in 6 HLA molecule positions - for their associations with progression in Larsen scoring, 28-joint Disease Activity Scores, and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) scores over 2 years using linear mixed-effects and latent growth curve models. HLA variants were associated with joint destruction. The *04:01 SNP (rs660895, p = 0.0003), *04:01 allele (p = 0.0002), and HLA-DRβ1 amino acids histidine at position 13 (p = 0.0005) and valine at position 11 (p = 0.0012) significantly associated with radiological progression. This association was only significant in anticitrullinated protein antibody (ACPA)-positive patients, suggesting that while their effects were not mediated by ACPA, they only predicted joint damage in ACPA-positive RA. Non-HLA variants did not associate with radiograph damage (assessed individually and cumulatively as a weighted genetic risk score). Two SNP - rs11889341 (STAT4, p = 0.0001) and rs653178 (SH2B3-PTPN11, p = 0.0004) - associated with HAQ scores over 6-24 months. HLA susceptibility variants play an important role in determining radiological progression in early, active ACPA-positive RA. Genome-wide and HLA-wide analyses across large populations are required to better characterize the genetic architecture of radiological progression in RA.

The susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) model for viral marketing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail, Siti Suhaila; Akil, Ku Azlina Ku; Chulan, Majdah; Sharif, Noorzila

2017-11-01

Viral marketing is a marketing strategy utilizes social media to spread information about a product or services provided. It is the most powerful way to share information in a short amount of time. The objective of this study is to investigate the dynamic of viral marketing within a time duration in the point of view of mathematics. This study used the epidemiological model known as Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR). The model consists of a system of three differential equations with three state variables namely susceptible (S), infected (I) and recovered (R). It considers a case of SIR model with demography. Numerical experiments have been performed. The results show that viral marketing reaches its peak within two days. The online messages shared will become higher if the initial number of the infected individual has been increased.

Erythrocyte Osmotic Fragility Testing and the Prediction of Canine Malignant Hyperthermia Susceptibility

PubMed Central

Cribb, Peter H.; Olfert, Ernest A.; Reynolds, F. Barry

1986-01-01

A Doberman-German Shepherd cross-bred male dog, previously diagnosed as malignant hyperthermia susceptible, was mated to an unrelated nonsusceptible German Shepherd cross-bred female. The resultant litter was subjected to hematological, biochemical and erythrocyte osmotic fragility testing in an endeavor to predict the susceptibility of individuals to malignant hyperthermia. Laboratory evaluations were repeated at one year of age and the litter subjected to the halothane challenge test. No significant difference in erythrocyte osmotic fragility was found between malignant hyperthermia susceptible and nonsusceptible siblings at six weeks or at one year of age. Erythrocyte osmotic fragility, in both malignant hyperthermia susceptible and nonsusceptible animals, increased between six weeks and one year of age. Dantrolene sodium was an effective treatment for malignant hyperthermia in the dog when administered early in an episode and in adequate dosage. The initial sign of a malignant hyperthermia episode was a very rapid increase in end tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide. This finding reinforces the value of capnographic monitoring in anesthesia. PMID:17422730

Gene and environment interaction: is the differential susceptibility hypothesis relevant for obesity?

PubMed Central

Dalle Molle, Roberta; Fatemi, Hajar; Dagher, Alain; Levitan, Robert D.; Silveira, Patricia P.; Dubé, Laurette

2017-01-01

The differential susceptibility model states that a given genetic variant is associated with an increased risk of pathology in negative environments but greater than average resilience in enriched ones. While this theory was first implemented in psychiatric-genetic research, it may also help us to unravel the complex ways that genes and environments interact to influence feeding behavior and obesity. We reviewed evidence on gene vs. environment interactions that influence obesity development, aiming to support the applicability of the differential susceptibility model for this condition, and propose that various environmental “layers” relevant for human development should be considered when bearing the differential susceptibility model in mind. Mother-child relationship, socioeconomic status and individual's response are important modifiers of BMI and food intake when interacting with gene variants, “for better and for worse”. While only a few studies to date have investigated obesity outcomes using this approach, we propose that the differential susceptibility hypothesis is in fact highly applicable to the study of genetic and environmental influences on feeding behavior and obesity risk. PMID:28024828

Questions of time and affect: a person's affectivity profile, time perspective, and well-being.

PubMed

Garcia, Danilo; Sailer, Uta; Nima, Ali Al; Archer, Trevor

2016-01-01

Background. A "balanced" time perspective has been suggested to have a positive influence on well-being: a sentimental and positive view of the past (high Past Positive), a less pessimistic attitude toward the past (low Past Negative), the desire of experiencing pleasure with slight concern for future consequences (high Present Hedonistic), a less fatalistic and hopeless view of the future (low Present Fatalistic), and the ability to find reward in achieving specific long-term goals (high Future). We used the affective profiles model (i.e., combinations of individuals' experience of high/low positive/negative affectivity) to investigate differences between individuals in time perspective dimensions and to investigate if the influence of time perspective dimensions on well-being was moderated by the individual's type of profile. Method. Participants (N = 720) answered to the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory and two measures of well-being: the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale and Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-Being-short version. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was conducted to identify differences in time perspective dimensions and well-being among individuals with distinct affective profiles. Four structural equation models (SEM) were used to investigate which time perspective dimensions predicted well-being for individuals in each profile. Results. Comparisons between individuals at the extreme of the affective profiles model suggested that individuals with a self-fulfilling profile (high positive/low negative affect) were characterized by a "balanced" time perspective and higher well-being compared to individuals with a self-destructive profile (low positive/high negative affect). However, a different pattern emerged when individuals who differed in one affect dimension but matched in the other were compared to each other. For instance, decreases in the past negative time perspective

Auditory processing deficits in individuals with primary open-angle glaucoma.

PubMed

Rance, Gary; O'Hare, Fleur; O'Leary, Stephen; Starr, Arnold; Ly, Anna; Cheng, Belinda; Tomlin, Dani; Graydon, Kelley; Chisari, Donella; Trounce, Ian; Crowston, Jonathan

2012-01-01

The high energy demand of the auditory and visual pathways render these sensory systems prone to diseases that impair mitochondrial function. Primary open-angle glaucoma, a neurodegenerative disease of the optic nerve, has recently been associated with a spectrum of mitochondrial abnormalities. This study sought to investigate auditory processing in individuals with open-angle glaucoma. DESIGN/STUDY SAMPLE: Twenty-seven subjects with open-angle glaucoma underwent electrophysiologic (auditory brainstem response), auditory temporal processing (amplitude modulation detection), and speech perception (monosyllabic words in quiet and background noise) assessment in each ear. A cohort of age, gender and hearing level matched control subjects was also tested. While the majority of glaucoma subjects in this study demonstrated normal auditory function, there were a significant number (6/27 subjects, 22%) who showed abnormal auditory brainstem responses and impaired auditory perception in one or both ears. The finding that a significant proportion of subjects with open-angle glaucoma presented with auditory dysfunction provides evidence of systemic neuronal susceptibility. Affected individuals may suffer significant communication difficulties in everyday listening situations.

Penicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus: susceptibility testing, resistance rates and outcome of infection.

PubMed

Hagstrand Aldman, Malin; Skovby, Annette; I Påhlman, Lisa

2017-06-01

Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is an important human pathogen that causes both superficial and invasive infections. Penicillin is now rarely used in the treatment of SA infections due to widespread resistance and a concern about the accuracy of existing methods for penicillin susceptibility testing. The aims of the present study were to determine the frequency of penicillin-susceptible SA isolates from blood and wound cultures in Lund, Sweden, and to evaluate methods for penicillin testing in SA. We also wanted to investigate if penicillin-susceptible isolates are associated with higher mortality. Hundred blood culture isolates collected 2008/2009, 140 blood culture isolates from 2014/2015, and 141 superficial wound culture strains from 2015 were examined. Penicillin susceptibility was tested with disk diffusion according to EUCAST guidelines, and results were confirmed with a cloverleaf assay and PCR amplification of the BlaZ gene. Patient data for all bacteraemia cases were extracted from medical records. The disk diffusion method with assessment of both zone size and zone edge appearance had high accuracy in our study. About 57% of bacteraemia isolates from 2008/2009 were sensitive to penicillin compared to 29% in 2014/2015 (p < .0001). In superficial wound cultures, 21% were penicillin susceptible. There was no difference in co-morbidity or mortality rates between patients with penicillin resistant and penicillin sensitive SA bacteraemia. Disk-diffusion is a simple and reliable method to detect penicillin resistance in SA, and susceptibility rates are significant. Penicillin has many theoretical advantages and should be considered in the treatment of SA bacteraemia when susceptible.

Determination of Receiver Susceptibility to Radio Frequency Interference from Portable Electronic Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Truong X.; Ely, Jay J.

2002-01-01

With the increasing pressures to allow wireless devices on aircraft, the susceptibility of aircraft receivers to interference from Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) becomes an increasing concern. Many investigations were conducted in the past, with limited success, to quantify device emissions, path loss, and receiver interference susceptibility thresholds. This paper outlines the recent effort in determining the receiver susceptibility thresholds for ILS, VOR and GPS systems. The effort primarily consists of analysis of data available openly as reported in many RTCA and ICAO documents as well as manufacturers data on receiver sensitivity. Shortcomings with the susceptibility threshold data reported in the RTCA documents are presented, and an approach for an in-depth study is suggested. In addition, intermodulation products were observed and demonstrated in a laboratory experiment when multiple PEDs were in the proximity of each other. These intermodulation effects generate spurious frequencies that may fall within aircraft communication or navigation bands causing undesirable effects. Results from a preliminary analysis are presented that show possible harmful combinations of PEDs and the potentially affected aircraft bands.

The IFN-gamma +874T/A gene polymorphism is associated with retinochoroiditis toxoplasmosis susceptibility.

PubMed

Albuquerque, Maíra Cavalcanti de; Aleixo, Ana Luisa Quintella do Couto; Benchimol, Eliezer Israel; Leandro, Ana Cristina Câmara S; das Neves, Leandro Batista; Vicente, Regiane Trigueiro; Bonecini-Almeida, Maria da Glória; Amendoeira, Maria Regina Reis

2009-05-01

Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide zoonosis that generally produces an asymptomatic infection. In some cases, however, toxoplasmosis infection can lead to ocular damage. The immune system has a crucial role in both the course of the infection and in the evolution of toxoplasmosis disease. In particular, IFN-gamma plays an important role in resistance to toxoplasmosis. Polymorphisms in genes encoding cytokines have been shown to have an association with susceptibility to parasitic diseases. The aim of this work was to analyse the occurrence of polymorphisms in the gene encoding IFN-gamma (+874T/A) among Toxoplasma gondii seropositive individuals, including those with ocular lesions caused by the parasite, from a rural population of Santa Rita de Cássia, Barra Mansa, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Further, we verified which of these polymorphisms could be related to susceptibility to the development of ocular toxoplasmosis. This study included 34 individuals with ocular toxoplasmosis (ocular group) and 134 without ocular lesions (control group). The differences between A and T allele distributions were not statistically significant between the two groups. However, we observed that a higher frequency of individuals from the ocular group possessed the A/A genotype, when compared with the control group, suggesting that homozygocity for the A allele could enhance susceptibility to ocular toxoplasmosis in T. gondii infection.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN LEARNING--INTERFERENCE FACTOR.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

JENSEN, ARTHUR R.

AN INVESTIGATION WAS CONDUCTED (1) TO DEVISE A NUMBER OF LABORATORY MEASURES OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO INTERFERENCE EFFECTS IN LEARNING AND (2) TO DETERMINE THEIR DIMENSIONALITY IN A VARIETY OF INTERFERENCE EFFECTS. SUBJECTS WERE 530 STUDENTS IN INTRODUCTORY COURSES IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA,…

Return of research results from pharmacogenomic versus disease susceptibility studies: what’s drugs got to do with it?

PubMed Central

Dressler, Lynn G

2012-01-01

One of the most controversial ethical issues in genomics research is the return of individual research results to research subjects. As new technologies, including whole-genome sequencing, provide an increased opportunity for researchers to find clinically relevant research results, the questions related to if, when and how individual research results should be returned become more central to the ethical conduct of genomic research. In the absence of federal guidance on this issue, many groups and individuals have developed recommendations and suggestions to address these questions. Most of these recommendations have focused on the return of individual results from disease susceptibility studies. However, in addition to predicting the development of disease, genomic research also includes predicting an individual’s response to drugs, especially the risk of developing adverse events. This article evaluates and compares the return of individual research results from disease susceptibility studies versus pharmacogenomic studies. PMID:22676197

Ash leaf metabolomes reveal differences between trees tolerant and susceptible to ash dieback disease

PubMed Central

Sambles, Christine M.; Salmon, Deborah L.; Florance, Hannah; Howard, Thomas P.; Smirnoff, Nicholas; Nielsen, Lene R.; McKinney, Lea V.; Kjær, Erik D.; Buggs, Richard J. A.; Studholme, David J.; Grant, Murray

2017-01-01

European common ash, Fraxinus excelsior, is currently threatened by Ash dieback (ADB) caused by the fungus, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. To detect and identify metabolites that may be products of pathways important in contributing to resistance against H. fraxineus, we performed untargeted metabolomic profiling on leaves from five high-susceptibility and five low-susceptibility F. excelsior individuals identified during Danish field trials. We describe in this study, two datasets. The first is untargeted LC-MS metabolomics raw data from ash leaves with high-susceptibility and low-susceptibility to ADB in positive and negative mode. These data allow the application of peak picking, alignment, gap-filling and retention-time correlation analyses to be performed in alternative ways. The second, a processed dataset containing abundances of aligned features across all samples enables further mining of the data. Here we illustrate the utility of this dataset which has previously been used to identify putative iridoid glycosides, well known anti-herbivory terpenoid derivatives, and show differential abundance in tolerant and susceptible ash samples. PMID:29257137

Integrating mechanistic and polymorphism data to characterize human genetic susceptibility for environmental chemical risk assessment in the 21st century

EPA Science Inventory

Response to environmental chemicals can vary widely among individuals and between population groups. In human health risk assessment, data on susceptibility can be utilized by deriving risk levels based on a study of a susceptible population and/or an uncertainty factor may be ap...

Cultural Contributors to Smoking Susceptibility Outcomes Among Latino Youth: The Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados Participatory Trial.

PubMed

Allen, Michele L; Hurtado, G Ali; Garcia-Huidobro, Diego; Davey, Cynthia; Forster, Jean; Reynoso, Ursula; Alvarez de Davila, Silvia; Linares, Roxana; Gonzales, Nancy; Veronica Svetaz, María

Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados is a community-based participatory, family-focused tobacco prevention intervention for immigrant Latino families of adolescents. We conducted a participatory randomized controlled trial including 352 Latino families. Parents and youth in the intervention condition engaged in eight family skill building sessions. Participants completed baseline and 6-month postintervention surveys assessing smoking susceptibility and contextual factors. While the intervention did not affect smoking susceptibility overall, it resulted in lower smoking susceptibility among youth in families with less adherence to traditional Latino cultural values. This family cultural orientation is a key consideration for tobacco prevention interventions focused on Latino youth.

Nodal infection in Markovian susceptible-infected-susceptible and susceptible-infected-removed epidemics on networks are non-negatively correlated

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cator, E.; Van Mieghem, P.

2014-05-01

By invoking the famous Fortuin, Kasteleyn, and Ginibre (FKG) inequality, we prove the conjecture that the correlation of infection at the same time between any pair of nodes in a network cannot be negative for (exact) Markovian susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) and susceptible-infected-removed (SIR) epidemics on networks. The truth of the conjecture establishes that the N-intertwined mean-field approximation (NIMFA) upper bounds the infection probability in any graph so that network design based on NIMFA always leads to safe protections against malware spread. However, when the infection or/and curing are not Poisson processes, the infection correlation between two nodes can be negative.

Nodal infection in Markovian susceptible-infected-susceptible and susceptible-infected-removed epidemics on networks are non-negatively correlated.

PubMed

Cator, E; Van Mieghem, P

2014-05-01

By invoking the famous Fortuin, Kasteleyn, and Ginibre (FKG) inequality, we prove the conjecture that the correlation of infection at the same time between any pair of nodes in a network cannot be negative for (exact) Markovian susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) and susceptible-infected-removed (SIR) epidemics on networks. The truth of the conjecture establishes that the N-intertwined mean-field approximation (NIMFA) upper bounds the infection probability in any graph so that network design based on NIMFA always leads to safe protections against malware spread. However, when the infection or/and curing are not Poisson processes, the infection correlation between two nodes can be negative.

Degree of host susceptibility in the initial disease outbreak influences subsequent epidemic spread

PubMed Central

Severns, Paul M.; Estep, Laura K.; Sackett, Kathryn E.; Mundt, Christopher C.

2014-01-01

Summary Disease epidemics typically begin as an outbreak of a relatively small, spatially explicit population of infected individuals (focus), in which disease prevalence increases and rapidly spreads into the uninfected, at-risk population. Studies of epidemic spread typically address factors influencing disease spread through the at-risk population, but the initial outbreak may strongly influence spread of the subsequent epidemic.We initiated wheat stripe rust Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici epidemics to assess the influence of the focus on final disease prevalence when the degree of disease susceptibility differed between the at-risk and focus populations.When the focus/at-risk plantings consisted of partially genetic resistant and susceptible cultivars, final disease prevalence was statistically indistinguishable from epidemics produced by the focus cultivar in monoculture. In these experimental epidemics, disease prevalence was not influenced by the transition into an at-risk population that differed in disease susceptibility. Instead, the focus appeared to exert a dominant influence on the subsequent epidemic.Final disease prevalence was not consistently attributable to either the focus or the at-risk population when focus/at-risk populations were planted in a factorial set-up with a mixture (~28% susceptible and 72% resistant) and susceptible individuals. In these experimental epidemics, spatial heterogeneity in disease susceptibility within the at-risk population appeared to counter the dominant influence of the focus.Cessation of spore production from the focus (through fungicide/glyphosate application) after 1.3 generations of stripe rust spread did not reduce final disease prevalence, indicating that the focus influence on disease spread is established early in the epidemic.Synthesis and applications. Our experiments indicated that outbreak conditions can be highly influential on epidemic spread, even when disease resistance in the at-risk population

Oxyrase, a method which avoids CO2 in the incubation atmosphere for anaerobic susceptibility testing of antibiotics affected by CO2.

PubMed

Spangler, S K; Appelbaum, P C

1993-02-01

The Oxyrase agar dilution method, with exclusion of CO2 from the environment, was compared with the reference agar dilution method recommended by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (anaerobic chamber with 10% CO2) to test the susceptibility of 51 gram-negative and 43 gram-positive anaerobes to azithromycin and erythromycin. With the Oxyrase method, anaerobiosis was achieved by incorporation of the O2-binding enzyme Oxyrase in addition to susceptibility test medium, antibiotic, and enzyme substrates into the upper level of a biplate. Plates were covered with a Brewer lid and incubated in ambient air. With azithromycin, Oxyrase yielded an MIC for 50% of strains tested (MIC50) and MIC90 of 2.0 and 8.0 micrograms/ml, compared to 8.0 and > 32.0 micrograms/ml in standard anaerobic conditions. At a breakpoint of 8.0 micrograms/ml, 90.4% of strains were susceptible to azithromycin with Oxyrase, compared to 53.2% in the chamber. The corresponding erythromycin MIC50 and MIC90 were 1.0 and 8.0 micrograms/ml with Oxyrase, compared to 4.0 and > 32.0 micrograms/ml by the reference method, with 89.3% of strains susceptible at a breakpoint of 4 micrograms/ml with Oxyrase, compared to 60.6% in CO2. Exclusion of CO2 from the anaerobic atmosphere when testing for susceptibility to azalides and macrolides yielded lower MICs, which may lead to a reconsideration of the role played by these compounds in treatment of infections caused by these strains.

Relationship between Individual External Doses, Ambient Dose Rates and Individuals' Activity-Patterns in Affected Areas in Fukushima following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident.

PubMed

Naito, Wataru; Uesaka, Motoki; Yamada, Chie; Kurosawa, Tadahiro; Yasutaka, Tetsuo; Ishii, Hideki

2016-01-01

The accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on March 11, 2011, released radioactive material into the atmosphere and contaminated the land in Fukushima and several neighboring prefectures. Five years after the nuclear disaster, the radiation levels have greatly decreased due to physical decay, weathering, and decontamination operations in Fukushima. The populations of 12 communities were forced to evacuate after the accident; as of March 2016, the evacuation order has been lifted in only a limited area, and permanent habitation is still prohibited in most of the areas. In order for the government to lift the evacuation order and for individuals to return to their original residential areas, it is important to assess current and future realistic individual external doses. Here, we used personal dosimeters along with the Global Positioning System and Geographic Information System to understand realistic individual external doses and to relate individual external doses, ambient doses, and activity-patterns of individuals in the affected areas in Fukushima. The results showed that the additional individual external doses were well correlated to the additional ambient doses based on the airborne monitoring survey. The results of linear regression analysis suggested that the additional individual external doses were on average about one-fifth that of the additional ambient doses. The reduction factors, which are defined as the ratios of the additional individual external doses to the additional ambient doses, were calculated to be on average 0.14 and 0.32 for time spent at home and outdoors, respectively. Analysis of the contribution of various activity patterns to the total individual external dose demonstrated good agreement with the average fraction of time spent daily in each activity, but the contribution due to being outdoors varied widely. These results are a valuable contribution to understanding realistic individual external doses and the corresponding

Alternatives to copper in Scab control affect mineral composition in leaves and fruits of apple varieties with reduced Scab susceptibility or Scab resistance.

PubMed

Gobin, B; Misotten, C; Creemers, P

2006-01-01

Scab (Venturia inaequalis) is the principal disease endangering both integrated and organic apple production. Scab pressure tends to build up over the years and organic farmers rely mainly on copper and sulphur treatments for control. The use of Cu in crop protection received scrutiny in recent years as this metal tends to accumulate in soil and substrates. A number of alternative organic control substances have been proposed, with variable success in scab control. We investigated the effect of these alternative organic scab control measures on several apple varieties with low scab susceptibility. The choice of scab treatments had important effects on the mineral composition of leaves and fruits. As these values affect current and future yield in perennial crops, as well as storage quality, the use of certain scab control agents requires corrective application of nutrients during and in-between growth seasons.

Determination of atomic site susceptibility tensors from neutron diffraction data on polycrystalline samples.

PubMed

Gukasov, A; Brown, P J

2010-12-22

Polarized neutron diffraction can provide information about the atomic site susceptibility tensor χ(ij) characterizing the magnetic response of individual atoms to an external magnetic field (Gukasov and Brown 2002 J. Phys.: Condens. Mater. 14 8831). The six independent atomic susceptibility parameters (ASPs) can be determined from polarized neutron flipping ratio measurements on single crystals and visualized as magnetic ellipsoids which are analogous to the thermal ellipsoids obtained from atomic displacement parameters (ADPs). We demonstrate now that the information about local magnetic susceptibility at different magnetic sites in a crystal can also be obtained from polarized and unpolarized neutron diffraction measurements on magnetized powder samples. The validity of the method is illustrated by the results of such measurements on a polycrystalline sample of Tb(2)Sn(2)O(7).

A Greek family with a follicular variant of familial papillary thyroid carcinoma: TCO, MNG1, fPTC/PRN, and NMTC1 excluded as susceptibility loci.

PubMed

Tsilchorozidou, Tasoula; Vafiadou, Eleni; Yovos, John G; Romeo, Giovani; McKay, James; Lesueur, Fabienne; Bonora, Elena

2005-12-01

The familial form of nonmedullary thyroid carcinoma (FNMTC) has been recognized as a distinct clinical entity and is characterized by multifocality and a more severe phenotype than its sporadic counterpart. The majority of FNMTC pedigrees are small in size, show variable modes of inheritance, and may present with a variety of additional benign thyroid disorders. The existence of marked phenotypic differences between FNMTC families suggests that there is genetic heterogeneity. Recent studies have mapped a susceptibility locus for FNMTC at 2q21. This locus appears particular relevant to families with at least one case of the follicular variant of papillary thyroid cancer (fvPTC). We describe the clinical and pathologic characteristics of a large three-generation fPTC kindred, with two of the four PTC patients presented with the follicular variant of PTC. It is of interest the occurrence of PTC in three siblings within a period of 3 years. In addition, multinodular goiter (MNG) was diagnosed in seven individuals, lymphocytic thyroiditis in four, while one diagnosed with a benign adenoma. From the PTC patients, one had MNG and fvPTC, one MNG, lymphocytic thyroiditis and papillary pattern of PTC, one lymphocytic thyroiditis and fvPTC, and one MNG and papillary pattern of PTC. The inheritance pattern was autosomal dominant with incomplete penetrance and women were affected more frequently than men. Considering all PTC-affected individuals, the limit of detection (LOD) score we got for this family on 2q21 was 0.5. The low LOD score is caused by a PTC patient who does not share the affected haplotype, suggesting that maybe a new locus for PTC predisposition is present in this kindred. Linkage analysis also excluded TCO, MNG, and fPTC/PRN as susceptibility loci to FNMTC in this family.

NLRC5 polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to chronic periodontitis.

PubMed

Zupin, Luisa; Navarra, Chiara Ottavia; Robino, Antonietta; Bevilacqua, Lorenzo; Di Lenarda, Roberto; Gasparini, Paolo; Crovella, Sergio

2017-05-01

Periodontitis is a chronic oral pathology caused by impaired immune response against oral bacteria resulting in tissue inflammation and damage. Among the members of innate immune response, the first line of defence against pathogens, inflammasomes are macro-molecular protein complexes that can be activated by different stimuli, comprised bacteria infections. Different proteins are involved in inflammasoma formation; the most important are molecules belonging from the family of nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptors (NLRs). In this study, polymorphisms within 20 NLRs related genes were analysed in order to investigate their possible association with periodontitis susceptibility in a population from North-East Italy. One polymorphism, namely rs289723, in NLRC5 gene resulted associated with chronic slight and chronic localized periodontitis susceptibility, specifically A/A genotype was correlated with increased risk of disease development. Our study, for the first time, identified the possible involvement of a polymorphism within NLRC5 gene as a possible biomarker for periodontitis condition susceptibility among Italian individuals from genetic isolates. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Local immunization program for susceptible-infected-recovered network epidemic model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Qingchu; Lou, Yijun

2016-02-01

The immunization strategies through contact tracing on the susceptible-infected-recovered framework in social networks are modelled to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of information-based vaccination programs with particular focus on the scenario where individuals belonging to a specific set can get vaccinated due to the vaccine shortages and other economic or humanity constraints. By using the block heterogeneous mean-field approach, a series of discrete-time dynamical models is formulated and the condition for epidemic outbreaks can be established which is shown to be not only dependent on the network structure but also closely related to the immunization control parameters. Results show that increasing the immunization strength can effectively raise the epidemic threshold, which is different from the predictions obtained through the susceptible-infected-susceptible network framework, where epidemic threshold is independent of the vaccination strength. Furthermore, a significant decrease of vaccine use to control the infectious disease is observed for the local vaccination strategy, which shows the promising applications of the local immunization programs to disease control while calls for accurate local information during the process of disease outbreak.

Callosotomy affects performance IQ: A meta-analysis of individual participant data.

PubMed

Westerhausen, René; Karud, Celine M R

2018-02-05

Morphometric neuroimaging studies on healthy adult individuals regularly report a positive association between intelligence test performance (IQ) and structural properties of the corpus callosum (CC). At the same time, studies examining the effect of callosotomy on epilepsy patients report only negligible changes in IQ as result of the surgery, partially contradicting the findings of the morphometry studies. Objective of the present meta-analysis of individual participant data (IPD) of 87 cases from 16 reports was to re-investigate the effect of callosotomy on full scale IQ as well as on the verbal and performance subscale under special consideration of two possible moderating factors: pre-surgical IQ levels and the extent of the surgery (complete vs. anterior transsection). The main finding was that callosotomy selectively affects performance IQ, whereby the effect is modulated by the pre-surgical level of performance. Patients with an above-median pre-surgery performance IQ level show a significant average decrease of -5.44 (CI 95% : - 8.33 to - 2.56) IQ points following the surgery, while the below-median group does not reveal a significant change in IQ (mean change: 1.01 IQ points; CI 95% : -1.83 to 3.86). Thus, the present analyses support the notion that callosotomy has a negative effect on the patients' performance IQ, but only in those patients, who at least have an average performance levels before the surgery. This observation also lends support to the findings of previous morphometry studies, indicating that the frequently observed CC-IQ correlation might indeed reflect a functional contribution of callosal interhemispheric connectivity to intelligence-test performance. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Treatment Failure and Miltefosine Susceptibility in Dermal Leishmaniasis Caused by Leishmania Subgenus Viannia Species

PubMed Central

Obonaga, Ricardo; Fernández, Olga Lucía; Valderrama, Liliana; Rubiano, Luisa Consuelo; Castro, Maria del Mar; Barrera, Maria Claudia; Gomez, Maria Adelaida

2014-01-01

Treatment failure and parasite drug susceptibility in dermal leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania (Viannia) species are poorly understood. Prospective evaluation of drug susceptibility of strains isolated from individual patients before drug exposure and at clinical failure allows intrinsic and acquired differences in susceptibility to be discerned and analyzed. To determine whether intrinsic susceptibility or loss of susceptibility to miltefosine contributed to treatment failure, we evaluated the miltefosine susceptibility of intracellular amastigotes and promastigotes of six Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis and six Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis strains isolated sequentially, at diagnosis and treatment failure, from two children and four adults ≥55 years old with concurrent conditions. Four patients presented only cutaneous lesions, one had mucosal disease, and one had disseminated mucocutaneous disease. Expression of the Leishmania drug transporter genes abca2, abca3, abcc2, abcc3, abcg4, abcg6, and LbMT was evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR). Intracellular amastigotes (median 50% effective concentration [EC50], 10.7 μmol/liter) were more susceptible to miltefosine than promastigotes (median EC50, 55.3 μmol/liter) (P < 0.0001). Loss of susceptibility at failure, demonstrated by a miltefosine EC50 of >32 μmol/liter (the upper limit of intracellular amastigote assay), occurred in L. panamensis infection in a child and in L. braziliensis infection in an adult and was accompanied by decreased expression of the miltefosine transporter LbMT (LbMT/β-tubulin, 0.42- to 0.26-fold [P = 0.039] and 0.70- to 0.57-fold [P = 0.009], respectively). LbMT gene polymorphisms were not associated with susceptibility phenotype. Leishmania ABCA3 transporter expression was inversely correlated with miltefosine susceptibility (r = −0.605; P = 0.037). Loss of susceptibility is one of multiple factors involved in failure of miltefosine treatment in dermal

Communicating Zika Risk: Using Metaphor to Increase Perceived Risk Susceptibility.

PubMed

Lu, Hang; Schuldt, Jonathon P

2018-02-27

Effectively communicating the risks associated with emerging zoonotic diseases remains an important challenge. Drawing on research into the psychological effects of metaphoric framing, we explore the conditions under which exposure to the "nation as a body" metaphor influences perceived risk susceptibility, behavioral intentions, and policy support in the context of Zika virus. In a between-subjects experiment, 354 U.S. adults were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions as part of a 2 (severity message: high vs. low) × 2 (U.S. framing: metaphoric vs. literal) design. Results revealed an interaction effect such that metaphoric (vs. literal) framing increased perceived risk susceptibility in the high-severity condition only. Further analyses revealed that perceived risk susceptibility and negative affect mediated the path between the two-way interaction and policy support and behavioral intentions regarding Zika prevention. Overall, these findings complement prior work on the influence of metaphoric framing on risk perceptions, while offering practical insights for risk communicators seeking to communicate about Zika and other zoonotic diseases. © 2018 Society for Risk Analysis.

Modeling landslide susceptibility in data-scarce environments using optimized data mining and statistical methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jung-Hyun; Sameen, Maher Ibrahim; Pradhan, Biswajeet; Park, Hyuck-Jin

2018-02-01

This study evaluated the generalizability of five models to select a suitable approach for landslide susceptibility modeling in data-scarce environments. In total, 418 landslide inventories and 18 landslide conditioning factors were analyzed. Multicollinearity and factor optimization were investigated before data modeling, and two experiments were then conducted. In each experiment, five susceptibility maps were produced based on support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), weight-of-evidence (WoE), ridge regression (Rid_R), and robust regression (RR) models. The highest accuracy (AUC = 0.85) was achieved with the SVM model when either the full or limited landslide inventories were used. Furthermore, the RF and WoE models were severely affected when less landslide samples were used for training. The other models were affected slightly when the training samples were limited.

Source-water susceptibility assessment in Texas—Approach and methodology

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ulery, Randy L.; Meyer, John E.; Andren, Robert W.; Newson, Jeremy K.

2011-01-01

Public water systems provide potable water for the public's use. The Safe Drinking Water Act amendments of 1996 required States to prepare a source-water susceptibility assessment (SWSA) for each public water system (PWS). States were required to determine the source of water for each PWS, the origin of any contaminant of concern (COC) monitored or to be monitored, and the susceptibility of the public water system to COC exposure, to protect public water supplies from contamination. In Texas, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) was responsible for preparing SWSAs for the more than 6,000 public water systems, representing more than 18,000 surface-water intakes or groundwater wells. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) worked in cooperation with TCEQ to develop the Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) approach and methodology. Texas' SWAP meets all requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act and ultimately provides the TCEQ with a comprehensive tool for protection of public water systems from contamination by up to 247 individual COCs. TCEQ staff identified both the list of contaminants to be assessed and contaminant threshold values (THR) to be applied. COCs were chosen because they were regulated contaminants, were expected to become regulated contaminants in the near future, or were unregulated but thought to represent long-term health concerns. THRs were based on maximum contaminant levels from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. For reporting purposes, COCs were grouped into seven contaminant groups: inorganic compounds, volatile organic compounds, synthetic organic compounds, radiochemicals, disinfection byproducts, microbial organisms, and physical properties. Expanding on the TCEQ's definition of susceptibility, subject-matter expert working groups formulated the SWSA approach based on assumptions that natural processes and human activities contribute COCs in quantities that vary in space

False memories in highly superior autobiographical memory individuals

PubMed Central

Patihis, Lawrence; Frenda, Steven J.; LePort, Aurora K. R.; Petersen, Nicole; Nichols, Rebecca M.; Stark, Craig E. L.; McGaugh, James L.; Loftus, Elizabeth F.

2013-01-01

The recent identification of highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) raised the possibility that there may be individuals who are immune to memory distortions. We measured HSAM participants’ and age- and sex-matched controls’ susceptibility to false memories using several research paradigms. HSAM participants and controls were both susceptible to false recognition of nonpresented critical lure words in an associative word-list task. In a misinformation task, HSAM participants showed higher overall false memory compared with that of controls for details in a photographic slideshow. HSAM participants were equally as likely as controls to mistakenly report they had seen nonexistent footage of a plane crash. Finding false memories in a superior-memory group suggests that malleable reconstructive mechanisms may be fundamental to episodic remembering. Paradoxically, HSAM individuals may retrieve abundant and accurate autobiographical memories using fallible reconstructive processes. PMID:24248358

Terrestrial Laser Scanner for assessing rockfall susceptibility in the Cilento rocky coast (Southern Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorrentino, Valerio; Matasci, Battista; Abellan, Antonio; Jaboyedoff, Michel; Marino, Ermanno; Pignalosa, Antonio; Santo, Antonio

2016-04-01

Rockfalls and other types of landslides are the dominant processes causing a retreat of sea cliffs. The coastal areas constitute an important tourist attraction and a large number of people rest beneath the cliffs on a daily basis, considerably increasing the risk associated to rockfalls. We present an approach to assess rockfall susceptibility at the cliff scale based on terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) point clouds. The test area is a coastal cliff situated in the southern part of the Cilento (Centola Municipality, Campania Region), in which a natural arch was formed. This cliff is constituted by heavy fractured carbonate rock mass with a strong structural control. In June 2015 TLS data were acquired with long-range scanner RIEGL VZ1000®. The structural analysis of the cliff was performed in the field and using Coltop 3D software on the point cloud. As a result, 10 discontinuity sets (joint, faults and bedding planes) were individuated and the different characteristics such as orientation, spacing and persistence were measured. The kinematically unstable areas were highlighted using a script that computes an index of susceptibility to rockfalls based on the spatial distribution of failure mechanisms. The susceptibility index computation is based on the average surface that every joint set (or combinations of two joint sets in the case of wedge failure) forms on the topography according to its spacing, trace length, and incidence angle. This susceptibility index also depends on the steepness of the joint set (or of the intersection line in the case of wedge failure). As a result the most important discontinuity sets in terms of potential planar failure, wedge failure and toppling were individuated and an assessment of rockfall susceptibility at the cliff scale was achieved. Results show that the kinematically feasible failures are not equally distributed along the cliff but concentrated on certain areas. The most susceptible areas for planar failure are related to

Work load and individual factors affecting work ability among aging municipal employees.

PubMed

Tuomi, K; Eskelinen, L; Toikkanen, J; Jarvinen, E; Ilmarinen, J; Klockars, M

1991-01-01

The effects of work stressors, individual characteristics, symptoms, and diseases on work ability were studied among 4255 municipal employees. Work ability was assessed by a work ability index in two cross-sectional inquiries, one in 1981 and the other in 1985. The most impairing for work ability were mental symptoms and musculoskeletal disease. Among the work stressors, high physical demands at work, poor physical work environment, and lack of freedom were associated with impaired work ability. Muscular work, disturbing temperatures at the workplace, and lack of freedom particularly affected employees with disease, whereas poor work postures and role conflicts at work were particularly injurious for healthy employees. The worst situation was observed when a worker with many symptoms and disease was exposed to many different work stressors. Life satisfaction, sitting work posture, a good basic education, and physical exercise during leisure time were associated with good work ability.

Implicit negative affect predicts attention to sad faces beyond self-reported depressive symptoms in healthy individuals: An eye-tracking study.

PubMed

Bodenschatz, Charlott Maria; Skopinceva, Marija; Kersting, Anette; Quirin, Markus; Suslow, Thomas

2018-04-04

Cognitive theories of depression assume biased attention towards mood-congruent information as a central vulnerability and maintaining factor. Among other symptoms, depression is characterized by excessive negative affect (NA). Yet, little is known about the impact of naturally occurring NA on the allocation of attention to emotional information. The study investigates how implicit and explicit NA as well as self-reported depressive symptoms predict attentional biases in a sample of healthy individuals (N = 104). Attentional biases were assessed using eye-tracking during a free viewing task in which images of sad, angry, happy and neutral faces were shown simultaneously. Participants' implicit affectivity was measured indirectly using the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test. Questionnaires were administered to assess actual and habitual explicit NA and presence of depressive symptoms. Higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with sustained attention to sad faces and reduced attention to happy faces. Implicit but not explicit NA significantly predicted gaze behavior towards sad faces independently from depressive symptoms. The present study supports the idea that naturally occurring implicit NA is associated with attention allocation to dysphoric facial expression. The findings demonstrate the utility of implicit affectivity measures in studying individual differences in depression-relevant attentional biases and cognitive vulnerability. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Major transcriptional changes observed in the Fulani, an ethnic group less susceptible to malaria

PubMed Central

Qu, Ying; Rolicka, Anna; Sirima, Sodiomon B; O'Connell, Mary A; Lennartsson, Andreas; Troye-Blomberg, Marita; Nebie, Issa

2017-01-01

The Fulani ethnic group has relatively better protection from Plasmodium falciparum malaria, as reflected by fewer symptomatic cases of malaria, lower infection rates, and lower parasite densities compared to sympatric ethnic groups. However, the basis for this lower susceptibility to malaria by the Fulani is unknown. The incidence of classic malaria resistance genes are lower in the Fulani than in other sympatric ethnic populations, and targeted SNP analyses of other candidate genes involved in the immune response to malaria have not been able to account for the observed difference in the Fulani susceptibility to P.falciparum. Therefore, we have performed a pilot study to examine global transcription and DNA methylation patterns in specific immune cell populations in the Fulani to elucidate the mechanisms that confer the lower susceptibility to P.falciparum malaria. When we compared uninfected and infected Fulani individuals, in contrast to uninfected and infected individuals from the sympatric ethnic group Mossi, we observed a key difference: a strong transcriptional response was only detected in the monocyte fraction of the Fulani, where over 1000 genes were significantly differentially expressed upon P.falciparum infection. PMID:28923166

Manifestation of a neuro-fuzzy model to produce landslide susceptibility map using remote sensing data derived parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pradhan, Biswajeet; Lee, Saro; Buchroithner, Manfred

Landslides are the most common natural hazards in Malaysia. Preparation of landslide suscep-tibility maps is important for engineering geologists and geomorphologists. However, due to complex nature of landslides, producing a reliable susceptibility map is not easy. In this study, a new attempt is tried to produce landslide susceptibility map of a part of Cameron Valley of Malaysia. This paper develops an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) based on a geographic information system (GIS) environment for landslide susceptibility mapping. To ob-tain the neuro-fuzzy relations for producing the landslide susceptibility map, landslide locations were identified from interpretation of aerial photographs and high resolution satellite images, field surveys and historical inventory reports. Landslide conditioning factors such as slope, plan curvature, distance to drainage lines, soil texture, lithology, and distance to lineament were extracted from topographic, soil, and lineament maps. Landslide susceptible areas were analyzed by the ANFIS model and mapped using the conditioning factors. Furthermore, we applied various membership functions (MFs) and fuzzy relations to produce landslide suscep-tibility maps. The prediction performance of the susceptibility map is checked by considering actual landslides in the study area. Results show that, triangular, trapezoidal, and polynomial MFs were the best individual MFs for modelling landslide susceptibility maps (86

Genotypic Characterization of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Derived from Antiretroviral Drug-Treated Individuals Residing in Earthquake-Affected Areas in Nepal.

PubMed

Negi, Bharat Singh; Kotaki, Tomohiro; Joshi, Sunil Kumar; Bastola, Anup; Nakazawa, Minato; Kameoka, Masanori

2017-09-01

Molecular epidemiological data on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) are limited in Nepal and have not been available in areas affected by the April 2015 earthquake. Therefore, we conducted a genotypic study on HIV-1 genes derived from individuals on antiretroviral therapy residing in 14 districts in Nepal highly affected by the earthquake. HIV-1 genomic fragments were amplified from 40 blood samples of HIV treatment-failure individuals, and a sequencing analysis was performed on these genes. In the 40 samples, 29 protease, 32 reverse transcriptase, 25 gag, and 21 env genes were sequenced. HIV-1 subtyping revealed that subtype C (84.2%, 32/38) was the major subtype prevalent in the region, while CRF01_AE (7.9%, 3/38) and other recombinant forms (7.9%, 3/38) were also detected. In addition, major drug resistance mutations were identified in 21.9% (7/32) of samples, indicating the possible emergence of HIV-1 drug resistance in earthquake-affected areas in Nepal.

A mechanistic spatio-temporal framework for modelling individual-to-individual transmission-With an application to the 2014-2015 West Africa Ebola outbreak.

PubMed

Lau, Max S Y; Gibson, Gavin J; Adrakey, Hola; McClelland, Amanda; Riley, Steven; Zelner, Jon; Streftaris, George; Funk, Sebastian; Metcalf, Jessica; Dalziel, Benjamin D; Grenfell, Bryan T

2017-10-01

In recent years there has been growing availability of individual-level spatio-temporal disease data, particularly due to the use of modern communicating devices with GPS tracking functionality. These detailed data have been proven useful for inferring disease transmission to a more refined level than previously. However, there remains a lack of statistically sound frameworks to model the underlying transmission dynamic in a mechanistic manner. Such a development is particularly crucial for enabling a general epidemic predictive framework at the individual level. In this paper we propose a new statistical framework for mechanistically modelling individual-to-individual disease transmission in a landscape with heterogeneous population density. Our methodology is first tested using simulated datasets, validating our inferential machinery. The methodology is subsequently applied to data that describes a regional Ebola outbreak in Western Africa (2014-2015). Our results show that the methods are able to obtain estimates of key epidemiological parameters that are broadly consistent with the literature, while revealing a significantly shorter distance of transmission. More importantly, in contrast to existing approaches, we are able to perform a more general model prediction that takes into account the susceptible population. Finally, our results show that, given reasonable scenarios, the framework can be an effective surrogate for susceptible-explicit individual models which are often computationally challenging.

Exposure of Sink Drain Microcosms to Triclosan: Population Dynamics and Antimicrobial Susceptibility

PubMed Central

McBain, Andrew J.; Bartolo, Robert G.; Catrenich, Carl E.; Charbonneau, Duane; Ledder, Ruth G.; Price, Bradford B.; Gilbert, Peter

2003-01-01

Recent concern that the increased use of triclosan (TCS) in consumer products may contribute to the emergence of antibiotic resistance has led us to examine the effects of TCS dosing on domestic-drain biofilm microcosms. TCS-containing domestic detergent (TCSD) markedly lowered biofouling at 50% (wt/vol) but was poorly effective at use levels. Long-term microcosms were established and stabilized for 6 months before one was subjected to successive 3-month exposures to TCSD at sublethal concentrations (0.2 and 0.4% [wt/vol]). Culturable bacteria were identified by 16S rDNA sequence analysis, and their susceptibilities to four biocides and six antibiotics were determined. Microcosms harbored ca. 10 log10 CFU/g of biofilm, representing at least 27 species, mainly gamma proteobacteria, and maintained dynamic stability. Viable cell counts were largely unaffected by TCSD exposure, but species diversity was decreased, as corroborated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis. TCS susceptibilities ranged widely within bacterial groups, and TCS-tolerant strains (including aeromonads, pseudomonads, stenotrophomonads, and Alcaligenes spp.) were isolated before and after TCSD exposure. Several TCS-tolerant bacteria related to Achromobacter xylosoxidans became clonally expanded during dosing. TCSD addition did not significantly affect the community profiles of susceptibility to the test biocides or antibiotics. Several microcosm isolates, as well as reference bacteria, caused clearing of particulate TCS in solid media. Incubations of consortia and isolates with particulate TCS in liquid led to putative TCS degradation by the consortia and TCS solubilization by the reference strains. Our results support the view that low-level exposure of environmental microcosms to TCS does not affect antimicrobial susceptibility and that TCS is degradable by common domestic biofilms. PMID:12957932

Mother-infant dyadic reparation and individual differences in vagal tone affect 4-month-old infants' social stress regulation.

PubMed

Provenzi, Livio; Casini, Erica; de Simone, Paola; Reni, Gianluigi; Borgatti, Renato; Montirosso, Rosario

2015-12-01

Infants' social stress regulation (i.e., reactivity and recovery) might be affected by mother-infant dyadic functioning and infants' vagal tone (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA). This study investigated the role of a specific dyadic functioning feature (i.e., dyadic reparation) and individual differences in vagal tone regulation (i.e., RSA suppression vs. non-suppression) in relation to social stress regulation in 4-month-old infants. A total of 65 mother-infant dyads participated in the face-to-face still-face paradigm. Social stress reactivity and recovery were measured as negative emotionality during Still-Face and Reunion episodes, respectively. RSA was measured during Play, Still-Face, and Reunion episodes. Suppressors had higher dyadic reparation during Play and higher recovery from social stress compared with non-suppressors. Higher reparation during Play was associated with lower reactivity and higher recovery only for suppressors. Findings suggest a joint role of infants' RSA individual differences and dyadic reparation in affecting infants' social stress regulation at 4 months of age. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optimal control in a model of malaria with differential susceptibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hincapié, Doracelly; Ospina, Juan

2014-06-01

A malaria model with differential susceptibility is analyzed using the optimal control technique. In the model the human population is classified as susceptible, infected and recovered. Susceptibility is assumed dependent on genetic, physiological, or social characteristics that vary between individuals. The model is described by a system of differential equations that relate the human and vector populations, so that the infection is transmitted to humans by vectors, and the infection is transmitted to vectors by humans. The model considered is analyzed using the optimal control method when the control consists in using of insecticide-treated nets and educational campaigns; and the optimality criterion is to minimize the number of infected humans, while keeping the cost as low as is possible. One first goal is to determine the effects of differential susceptibility in the proposed control mechanism; and the second goal is to determine the algebraic form of the basic reproductive number of the model. All computations are performed using computer algebra, specifically Maple. It is claimed that the analytical results obtained are important for the design and implementation of control measures for malaria. It is suggested some future investigations such as the application of the method to other vector-borne diseases such as dengue or yellow fever; and also it is suggested the possible application of free software of computer algebra like Maxima.

Memory Load Affects Object Individuation in 18-Month-Old Infants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zosh, Jennifer M.; Feigenson, Lisa

2012-01-01

Accurate representation of a changing environment requires individuation--the ability to determine how many numerically distinct objects are present in a scene. Much research has characterized early individuation abilities by identifying which object features infants can use to individuate throughout development. However, despite the fact that…

SUSCEPTIBILITY TO OZONE-INDUCED INJURY AND ANTIOXIDANT COMPENSATION IN RAT MODELS OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

EPA Science Inventory

Increased oxidative stress and compromised antioxidant status are common pathologic factors of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). It is hypothesized that individuals with chronic CVD are more susceptible to environmental exposures due to underlying oxidative stress. To determine the ...

Unemotional on all counts: Evidence of reduced affective responses in individuals with high callous-unemotional traits across emotion systems and valences.

PubMed

Fanti, Kostas A; Panayiotou, Georgia; Lombardo, Michael V; Kyranides, Melina Nicole

2016-01-01

The current study aimed to identify atypical neurophysiological activity associated with deficient affective processing in individuals with high callous-unemotional traits (CU). Fifty-six participants (M age = 20.52; 46% male) divided in two groups, differentiated on levels of CU traits, were invited to participate in the experimental phase of the study. Medial prefrontal cortex activity, measured with functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, and facial electro-myography activity were recorded during videos depicting violent, comedy and neutral scenes. Individuals high on CU traits showed similar medial prefrontal cortex oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO(2)) activity to positive and negative films, while the pre-frontal cortical responses of low CU individuals were more pronounced to positive than negative materials. High CU participants also showed reduced facial electromyography at the corrugator muscle in response to violent films, which was not differentiated from their responses to comedy films. These findings suggest that individuals high on CU traits show reduced but not absent (i.e., flat) affect to emotional material. Deficits in processing positive and negative valent material, measured with different neuro-physiological modalities, might be essential to understand CU traits.

Cultural Contributors to Smoking Susceptibility Outcomes Among Latino Youth: The Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados Participatory Trial

PubMed Central

Hurtado, G. Ali; Garcia-Huidobro, Diego; Davey, Cynthia; Forster, Jean; Reynoso, Ursula; de Davila, Silvia Alvarez; Linares, Roxana; Gonzales, Nancy; Svetaz, María Veronica

2017-01-01

Introduction Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados (PIJP) is a community-based participatory, family-focused tobacco prevention intervention for immigrant Latino families of adolescents. Design A participatory randomized controlled trial including 352 Latino families. Parents and youth of intervention families engaged in family skill-building sessions. Outcomes Participants completed baseline and six month post-intervention surveys assessing smoking susceptibility and contextual factors. Results While the intervention did not affect smoking susceptibility overall, it resulted in lower smoking susceptibility among youth in families with less adherence to traditional Latino cultural values. Conclusions Family cultural orientation is a key consideration for tobacco prevention interventions focused on Latino youth. PMID:28207680

Antibiotic susceptibility profiles for mastitis treatment.

PubMed

Hinckley, L S; Benson, R H; Post, J E; DeCloux, J C

1985-10-01

Susceptibility tests were performed on milk samples representing prevalent mastitis infections in certain herds. Susceptibility patterns of the same bacterial species from several mastitis infections in the same herd were consistent. The herd antibiotic susceptibility profiles were used as a basis for selecting antibiotics for treatment of all such mastitis cases in that herd. A high degree of correlation was seen between the susceptibility test results and treatment results. Susceptibility patterns of the same bacterial species from mastitis infections in different herds varied greatly, which indicated that any one antibiotic would not work equally well against the same bacterial infection in every herd. Therefore, treatment should be selected on the basis of susceptibility test results. When both Streptococcus and Staphylococcus mastitis occurred in the same herd, the susceptibility patterns for the 2 bacterial species varied widely. Therefore, for herds that experienced both streptococcal and staphylococcal mastitis, antibiotics to which both bacterial species were susceptible were used for treatment.

Bile tolerance and its effect on antibiotic susceptibility of probiotic Lactobacillus candidates.

PubMed

Hyacinta, Májeková; Hana, Kiňová Sepová; Andrea, Bilková; Barbora, Čisárová

2015-05-01

Before use in practice, it is necessary to precisely identify and characterize a new probiotic candidate. Eight animal lactobacilli and collection strain Lactobacillus reuteri CCM 3625 were studied from the point of saccharide fermentation profiles, bile salt resistance, antibiogram profiles, and influence of bile on sensitivity to antibiotics. Studied lactobacilli differed in their sugar fermentation ability determined by API 50CHL and their identification based on these profiles did not correspond with molecular-biological one in most cases. Survival of strains Lactobacillus murinus C and L. reuteri KO4b was not affected by presence of bile. The resistance of genus Lactobacillus to vancomycin and quinolones (ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin) was confirmed in all strains tested. This study provides the new information about oxgall (0.5 and 1 %) effect on the lactobacilli antibiotic susceptibility. Antibiotic profiles were not noticeably affected, and both bile concentrations tested had comparable impact on the lactobacilli antibiotic sensitivity. Interesting change was noticed in L. murinus C, where the resistance to cephalosporins was reverted to susceptibility. Similarly, susceptibility of L. reuteri E to ceftazidime arose after incubation in both concentration of bile. After influence of 1 % bile, Lactobacillus mucosae D lost its resistance to gentamicin. On the base of gained outcomes, the best probiotic properties manifested L. reuteri KO4b, Lactobacillus plantarum KG4, and L. reuteri E due to their survival in the presence of bile.

On the use of haplotype phylogeny to detect disease susceptibility loci

PubMed Central

Bardel, Claire; Danjean, Vincent; Hugot, Jean-Pierre; Darlu, Pierre; Génin, Emmanuelle

2005-01-01

Background The cladistic approach proposed by Templeton has been presented as promising for the study of the genetic factors involved in common diseases. This approach allows the joint study of multiple markers within a gene by considering haplotypes and grouping them in nested clades. The idea is to search for clades with an excess of cases as compared to the whole sample and to identify the mutations defining these clades as potential candidate disease susceptibility sites. However, the performance of this approach for the study of the genetic factors involved in complex diseases has never been studied. Results In this paper, we propose a new method to perform such a cladistic analysis and we estimate its power through simulations. We show that under models where the susceptibility to the disease is caused by a single genetic variant, the cladistic test is neither really more powerful to detect an association nor really more efficient to localize the susceptibility site than an individual SNP testing. However, when two interacting sites are responsible for the disease, the cladistic analysis greatly improves the probability to find the two susceptibility sites. The impact of the linkage disequilibrium and of the tree characteristics on the efficiency of the cladistic analysis are also discussed. An application on a real data set concerning the CARD15 gene and Crohn disease shows that the method can successfully identify the three variant sites that are involved in the disease susceptibility. Conclusion The use of phylogenies to group haplotypes is especially interesting to pinpoint the sites that are likely to be involved in disease susceptibility among the different markers identified within a gene. PMID:15904492

Modelling increased landslide susceptibility near highways in the Andes of southern Ecuador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brenning, Alexander; Muenchow, Jannes

2016-04-01

Modelling increased landslide susceptibility near highways in the Andes of southern Ecuador A. Brenning (1), J. Muenchow (1) (1) Department of Geography, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Loebdergraben 32, 07743 Jena, Germany Mountain roads are affected by and also affect themselves landslide suceptibility. Especially in developing countries, inadequate drainage systems and mechanical destabilization of hillslopes by undercutting and overloading are known processes through which road construction and maintenance can enhance landslide activity within the immediate surroundings of road infrastructure. In the Andes of southern Ecuador, strong precipitation gradients as well as lithological differences provide an excellent study site in which the relationship between highways and landslide susceptibility and its regional differentiation can be studied. This study uses Generalized Additive Models (GAM) to investigate patterns of landslide susceptibility along two paved interurban highways in the tropical Andes of southern Ecuador. The relationship of landslides to distance from road is modeled while accounting for topographic, climatic and lithological predictors as possible confounders and modifiers, focusing on the odds ratio of landslide occurrence at 25 m versus 200 m distance from the highway. Spatial attention is given to uncertainties in estimated odds ratios of landslide occurrence using spatial block bootstrap techniques. The GAM is able to represent nonlinear additive terms as well as bivariate smooth interaction terms, providing a good tradeoff between model complexity and interpretability. The estimated odds of landslide occurrence were 18-21 times higher near the highway than at 200 m distance, based on different analyses, with lower 95% confidence limits always >13. (Semi-) parametric estimates confirmed this general range of values but suggests slightly higher odds ratios (95% confidence interval: 15.5-25.3). Highway-related effects were observed to

"The impact of uncertain threat on affective bias: Individual differences in response to ambiguity": Correction.

PubMed

2018-04-01

Reports an error in "The impact of uncertain threat on affective bias: Individual differences in response to ambiguity" by Maital Neta, Julie Cantelon, Zachary Haga, Caroline R. Mahoney, Holly A. Taylor and F. Caroline Davis ( Emotion , 2017[Dec], Vol 17[8], 1137-1143). In this article, the copyright attribution was incorrectly listed under the Creative Commons CC-BY license due to production-related error. The correct copyright should be "In the public domain." The online version of this article has been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2017-40275-001.) Individuals who operate under highly stressful conditions (e.g., military personnel and first responders) are often faced with the challenge of quickly interpreting ambiguous information in uncertain and threatening environments. When faced with ambiguity, it is likely adaptive to view potentially dangerous stimuli as threatening until contextual information proves otherwise. One laboratory-based paradigm that can be used to simulate uncertain threat is known as threat of shock (TOS), in which participants are told that they might receive mild but unpredictable electric shocks while performing an unrelated task. The uncertainty associated with this potential threat induces a state of emotional arousal that is not overwhelmingly stressful, but has widespread-both adaptive and maladaptive-effects on cognitive and affective function. For example, TOS is thought to enhance aversive processing and abolish positivity bias. Importantly, in certain situations (e.g., when walking home alone at night), this anxiety can promote an adaptive state of heightened vigilance and defense mobilization. In the present study, we used TOS to examine the effects of uncertain threat on valence bias, or the tendency to interpret ambiguous social cues as positive or negative. As predicted, we found that heightened emotional arousal elicited by TOS was associated with an increased tendency to

Prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility and multiplex PCR-serotyping of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from humans, foods and livestock in Iran.

PubMed

Lotfollahi, Lida; Chaharbalesh, Ardalan; Ahangarzadeh Rezaee, Mohammad; Hasani, Alka

2017-06-01

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen causing listeriosis, which potentially affects all individuals, especially pregnant women and immunocompromised persons. The present study investigated the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility and serotypes distribution of the isolated L. monocytogenes from Iran. Twenty two (4.97%) of 442 human, food and livestock samples were found to be positive for L. monocytogenes. L. monocytogenes was identified in 8.8% of 125 human samples, 2.99% of 267 food and 6% of 50 livestock samples. The standard disk diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay were used for antimicrobial susceptibility testing and multiplex PCR for serotyping. Among the 22 isolates tested, 6 (27.2%) displayed resistance to penicillin G, with all of the isolates and 2 (9%) of them showing intermediate susceptibility to clindamycin and rifampicin, respectively. According to the MIC assay, the rate of resistance to penicillin G was the same as that of disk diffusion method, but 16 (72.7%) of isolates showed intermediate susceptibility to clindamycin using E-test. In the multiplex PCR, 19 (86.4%) of isolates belonged to serotype 1/2c or 3c and the remaining 3 isolates were identified as (4b, 4d or 4e) and (1/2a or 3a), respectively. The occurrence of resistance to penicillin G, which can be used in the treatment of listeriosis, is very alarming and more prevalence of 1/2c serotype, in comparison to 3 other important ones (1/2a, 1/2b and 4b), in Iran has been reported for the first time. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing the distribution of various serogroups of L. monocytogenes from human and livestock in Iran. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In vitro susceptibility of contagious ovine digital dermatitis associated Treponema spp. isolates to antimicrobial agents in the UK.

PubMed

Angell, Joseph W; Clegg, Simon R; Sullivan, Leigh E; Duncan, Jennifer S; Grove-White, Dai H; Carter, Stuart D; Evans, Nicholas J

2015-12-01

Contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD) is an important cause of infectious lameness in sheep in the UK and Ireland and has a severe impact on the welfare of affected individuals. The three treponemal phylogroups Treponema medium/Treponema vincentii-like, Treponema phagedenis-like and Treponema pedis spirochaetes have been associated with clinical CODD lesions and are considered to be a necessary cause of disease. There are scant data on the antimicrobial susceptibility of the treponemes cultured from CODD lesions. The aim of this study was to determine in vitro the miniumum inhibitory concentration/ minimum bactericidal concentration (MIC/MBC) of antimicrobials used in the sheep industry for isolates of the three CODD associated treponeme phylogroups T. medium/T. vincentii-like, T. phagedenis-like and T. pedis. Twenty treponeme isolates; from 19 sheep with clinical CODD lesions. A microdilution method was used to determine in vitro the MIC/MBC of 10 antimicrobial agents for 20 treponeme isolates (five T. medium/T. vincentii-like, 10 T. phagedenis-like and five T. pedis). The antimicrobials tested were penicillin G, amoxicillin, oxytetracycline, tilmicosin, lincomycin, spectinomycin, tylosin, tildipirosin, tulathromycin and gamithromycin. The treponeme isolates tested showed low MICs and MBCs to all 10 antimicrobials tested. They were most susceptible to gamithromycin and tildipirosin (MIC90: 0.0469 mg/L), and were least susceptible to lincomycin, spectinomycin and oxytetracycline (MIC90: 48 mg/L, 24 mg/L and 3 mg/L, respectively). These data are comparable to in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility data for treponemes cultured from bovine digital dermatitis lesions. Dependent on local licensing, penicillin and tilmicosin appear to be the best candidates for future in vivo studies. © 2015 The Authors. Veterinary Dermatology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the ESVD and ACVD.

How stock of origin affects performance of individuals across a meta-ecosystem: an example from sockeye salmon.

PubMed

Griffiths, Jennifer R; Schindler, Daniel E; Seeb, Lisa W

2013-01-01

Connectivity among diverse habitats can buffer populations from adverse environmental conditions, influence the functioning of meta-ecosystems, and ultimately affect the reliability of ecosystem services. This stabilizing effect on populations is proposed to derive from complementarity in growth and survival conditions experienced by individuals in the different habitats that comprise meta-ecosystems. Here we use the fine scale differentiation of salmon populations between diverse lake habitats to assess how rearing habitat and stock of origin affect the body condition of juvenile sockeye salmon. We use genetic markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms) to assign individuals of unknown origin to stock group and in turn characterize ecologically relevant attributes across habitats and stocks. Our analyses show that the body condition of juvenile salmon is related to the productivity of alternative habitats across the watershed, irrespective of their stock of origin. Emigrants and residents with genetic origins in the high productivity lake were also differentiated by their body condition, poor and high respectively. These emigrants represented a substantial proportion of juvenile sockeye salmon rearing in the lower productivity lake habitat. Despite emigrants originating from the more productive lake, they did not differ in body condition from the individuals spawned in the lower productivity, recipient habitat. Genetic tools allowed us to assess the performance of different stocks groups across the diverse habitats comprising their meta-ecosystem. The ability to characterize the ecological consequences of meta-ecosystem connectivity can help develop strategies to protect and restore ecosystems and the services they provide to humans.

How Stock of Origin Affects Performance of Individuals across a Meta-Ecosystem: An Example from Sockeye Salmon

PubMed Central

Griffiths, Jennifer R.; Schindler, Daniel E.; Seeb, Lisa W.

2013-01-01

Connectivity among diverse habitats can buffer populations from adverse environmental conditions, influence the functioning of meta-ecosystems, and ultimately affect the reliability of ecosystem services. This stabilizing effect on populations is proposed to derive from complementarity in growth and survival conditions experienced by individuals in the different habitats that comprise meta-ecosystems. Here we use the fine scale differentiation of salmon populations between diverse lake habitats to assess how rearing habitat and stock of origin affect the body condition of juvenile sockeye salmon. We use genetic markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms) to assign individuals of unknown origin to stock group and in turn characterize ecologically relevant attributes across habitats and stocks. Our analyses show that the body condition of juvenile salmon is related to the productivity of alternative habitats across the watershed, irrespective of their stock of origin. Emigrants and residents with genetic origins in the high productivity lake were also differentiated by their body condition, poor and high respectively. These emigrants represented a substantial proportion of juvenile sockeye salmon rearing in the lower productivity lake habitat. Despite emigrants originating from the more productive lake, they did not differ in body condition from the individuals spawned in the lower productivity, recipient habitat. Genetic tools allowed us to assess the performance of different stocks groups across the diverse habitats comprising their meta-ecosystem. The ability to characterize the ecological consequences of meta-ecosystem connectivity can help develop strategies to protect and restore ecosystems and the services they provide to humans. PMID:23505539

Brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato, infestation of susceptible dog hosts is reduced by slow release of semiochemicals from a less susceptible host.

PubMed

de Oliveira Filho, Jaires Gomes; Ferreira, Lorena Lopes; Sarria, André Lucio Franceschini; Pickett, John A; Birkett, Michael A; Mascarin, Gabriel Moura; de León, Adalberto A Pérez; Borges, Lígia Miranda Ferreira

2017-01-01

Domestic dog breeds are hosts for the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato, but infestation levels vary among breeds. Beagles are less susceptible to tick infestations than English cocker spaniels due to enhanced production of 2-hexanone and benzaldehyde that act as volatile tick repellents. We report the use of prototype slow-release formulations of these compounds to reduce the burden of R. sanguineus s. l. on English cocker spaniel dogs. Twelve dogs were randomly assigned to two groups with six dogs each. The treated group received collars with slow-release formulations of the compounds attached, while the control group received collars with clean formulations attached. Five environmental infestations were performed, with the number of ticks (at all stages) on the dogs being counted twice a day for 45days. The counts on the number of tick stages found per dog were individually fitted to linear mixed effects models with repeated measures and normal distribution for errors. The mean tick infestation in the treated group was significantly lower than in the control group. For larvae and nymphs, a decrease in tick infestation was observed at the fifth count, and for adults, lower average counts were observed in all counts. The compounds did not interfere with the distribution of the ticks on the body of the dogs, as a similar percentage of ticks was found on the anterior half of the dogs (54.5% for the control group and 56.2% for the treated group). The biological and reproductive parameters of the ticks were not affected by the repellents. This study highlights for the first time the potential use of a novel allomone (repellent)-based formulation for reduction of tick infestation on susceptible dogs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

A fixed-effects multilevel analysis of how community family structure affects individual mortality in Norway.

PubMed

Kravdal, Øystein

2007-08-01

By using register data for the entire Norwegian population aged 50-89 in the period 1980-1999, during which there were about 720,000 deaths, I estimate how the proportions of persons who were divorced or never married in the municipality affected all-cause mortality, net of individual marital status. The data include individual histories of changes in marital status and places of residence, providing a rare opportunity to enter municipality fixed effects into the model, thereby capturing the time-invariant unobserved factors at that level. The positive health externality of marriage that is suggested in the literature is supported by some of the estimates for women. Other estimates--especially those for men--point in the opposite direction. One possible interpretation of these findings is that social cohesion is perhaps not as beneficial for people's health as often claimed, at least not for both sexes. Alternatively, the results may reflect that marriage perhaps undermines rather than strengthens social cohesion, or that other mechanisms are involved-for example, those that are related to people 's perceptions of their health relative to the health of others. Estimates from models without such municipality fixed effects are markedly different, but these also shed doubt on the notion that a high proportion of unmarried persons generally increases individual mortality.

Screening criteria for increased susceptibility to heat stress during work or leisure in hot environments in healthy individuals aged 31-70 years.

PubMed

Flouris, Andreas D; McGinn, Ryan; Poirier, Martin P; Louie, Jeffrey C; Ioannou, Leonidas G; Tsoutsoubi, Lydia; Sigal, Ronald J; Boulay, Pierre; Hardcastle, Stephen G; Kenny, Glen P

2018-01-01

Population aging and global warming generate important public health risks, as older adults have increased susceptibility to heat stress (SHS). We defined and validated sex-specific screening criteria for SHS during work and leisure activities in hot environments in individuals aged 31-70 years using age, anthropometry, and cardiorespiratory fitness. A total of 123 males and 44 females [44 ± 14 years; 22.9 ± 7.4% body fat; 40.3 ± 8.6 peak oxygen uptake (mlO 2 /kg/min)] participated, separated into the Analysis (n = 111) and Validation (n = 56) groups. Within these groups, participants were categorized into YOUNG (19-30 years; n = 47) and OLDER (31-70 years; n = 120). All participants performed exercise in the heat inside a direct calorimeter. Screening criteria for OLDER participants were defined from the Analysis group and were cross-validated in the Validation group. Results showed that 30% of OLDER individuals in the Analysis group were screened as SHS positive. A total of 274 statistically valid (p < 0.05) criteria were identified suggesting that OLDER participants were at risk for SHS when demonstrating two or more of the following (males/females): age ≥ 53.0/55.8 years; body mass index ≥29.5/25.7 kg/m 2 ; body fat percentage ≥ 28.8/34.9; body surface area ≤2.0/1.7 m 2 ; peak oxygen uptake ≤48.3/41.4 mlO 2 /kg fat free mass/min. In the Validation group, McNemar χ 2 comparisons confirmed acceptable validity for the developed criteria. We conclude that the developed criteria can effectively screen individuals 31-70 years who are at risk for SHS during work and leisure activities in hot environments and can provide simple and effective means to mitigate the public health risks caused by heat exposure.

Virus Infection of Plants Alters Pollinator Preference: A Payback for Susceptible Hosts?

PubMed Central

Davey, Matthew P.; Bruce, Toby J. A.; Caulfield, John C.; Furzer, Oliver J.; Reed, Alison; Robinson, Sophie I.; Miller, Elizabeth; Davis, Christopher N.; Pickett, John A.; Whitney, Heather M.; Glover, Beverley J.; Carr, John P.

2016-01-01

Plant volatiles play important roles in attraction of certain pollinators and in host location by herbivorous insects. Virus infection induces changes in plant volatile emission profiles, and this can make plants more attractive to insect herbivores, such as aphids, that act as viral vectors. However, it is unknown if virus-induced alterations in volatile production affect plant-pollinator interactions. We found that volatiles emitted by cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)-infected tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and Arabidopsis thaliana plants altered the foraging behaviour of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris). Virus-induced quantitative and qualitative changes in blends of volatile organic compounds emitted by tomato plants were identified by gas chromatography-coupled mass spectrometry. Experiments with a CMV mutant unable to express the 2b RNA silencing suppressor protein and with Arabidopsis silencing mutants implicate microRNAs in regulating emission of pollinator-perceivable volatiles. In tomato, CMV infection made plants emit volatiles attractive to bumblebees. Bumblebees pollinate tomato by ‘buzzing’ (sonicating) the flowers, which releases pollen and enhances self-fertilization and seed production as well as pollen export. Without buzz-pollination, CMV infection decreased seed yield, but when flowers of mock-inoculated and CMV-infected plants were buzz-pollinated, the increased seed yield for CMV-infected plants was similar to that for mock-inoculated plants. Increased pollinator preference can potentially increase plant reproductive success in two ways: i) as female parents, by increasing the probability that ovules are fertilized; ii) as male parents, by increasing pollen export. Mathematical modeling suggested that over a wide range of conditions in the wild, these increases to the number of offspring of infected susceptible plants resulting from increased pollinator preference could outweigh underlying strong selection pressures favoring pathogen resistance

Susceptibility to disease varies with ontogeny and immunocompetence in a threatened amphibian.

PubMed

Abu Bakar, Amalina; Bower, Deborah S; Stockwell, Michelle P; Clulow, Simon; Clulow, John; Mahony, Michael J

2016-08-01

Ontogenetic changes in disease susceptibility have been demonstrated in many vertebrate taxa, as immature immune systems and limited prior exposure to pathogens can place less developed juveniles at a greater disease risk. By causing the disease chytridiomycosis, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) infection has led to the decline of many amphibian species. Despite increasing knowledge on how Bd varies in its effects among species, little is known on the interaction between susceptibility and development within host species. We compared the ontogenetic susceptibility of post-metamorphic green and golden bell frogs Litoria aurea to chytridiomycosis by simultaneously measuring three host-pathogen responses as indicators of the development of the fungus-infection load, survival rate, and host immunocompetence-following Bd exposure in three life stages (recently metamorphosed juveniles, subadults, adults) over 95 days. Frogs exposed to Bd as recently metamorphosed juveniles acquired higher infection loads and experienced lower immune function and lower survivorship than subadults and adults, indicating an ontogenetic decline in chytridiomycosis susceptibility. By corresponding with an intrinsic developmental maturation in immunocompetence seen in uninfected frogs, we suggest these developmental changes in host susceptibility in L. aurea may be immune mediated. Consequently, the physiological relationship between ontogeny and immunity may affect host population structure and demography through variation in life stage survival, and understanding this can shape management targets for effective amphibian conservation.

Predictors of youth e-cigarette use susceptibility in a U.S. nationally representative sample.

PubMed

Kwon, Elizabeth; Seo, Dong-Chul; Lin, Hsien-Chang; Chen, Zhongxue

2018-07-01

Given that nicotine is one of the most addictive substances and that adolescents who are exposed to nicotine via e-cigarettes can progress to conventional cigarette smoking, there is a need to identify youth who are susceptible to e-cigarette use and prevent them from initiating e-cigarette use. Susceptibility to e-cigarette use, defined as the absence of a firm decision not to use e-cigarettes, is a useful concept that can be used to predict e-cigarette initiation and identify youth who have high risk of initiating e-cigarettes. This study was conducted to investigate factors that affect youth susceptibility to e-cigarette use. Youth who have never smoked conventional cigarettes and who had seen or heard of e-cigarettes but never used them (N = 9853) were drawn from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study Wave 1 youth dataset collected from 2013 to 2014. Data were analyzed using logistic regression to investigate intrapersonal and environmental determinants of youth susceptibility to e-cigarette use. Overall, 24.2% (n = 2410) of youth who have never used e-cigarettes were susceptible to e-cigarette use. Psychological problems and rebelliousness were associated with increased susceptibility. Ever use of alcohol, marijuana, and other substances and household secondhand smoke exposure were found to be risk factors. Perceptions of e-cigarettes as addictive and harmful worked as protective factors. The results revealed determinants of e-cigarette use susceptibility. Multi-level intervention approach is needed to prevent youth from being susceptible to e-cigarette initiation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Memory B cell dysregulation in HIV-1-infected individuals.

PubMed

Carrillo, Jorge; Negredo, Eugènia; Puig, Jordi; Molinos-Albert, Luis Manuel; Rodríguez de la Concepción, Maria Luisa; Curriu, Marta; Massanella, Marta; Navarro, Jordi; Crespo, Manel; Viñets, Ester; Millá, Fuensanta; Clotet, Bonaventura; Blanco, Julià

2018-01-14

To characterize the effect of the HIV-1 infection and antiretroviral treatment (ART) in the human memory B (MEB)-cell compartment. A cross-sectional study was designed to analyze MEB cells of HIV-1 ART treated and ART-naive study participants, and uninfected individuals. Frequency and absolute counts of MEB cell subsets in blood were determined by multicolor flow cytometry. Spontaneous cell death and B-cell proliferative capacity was evaluated in vitro by cell culture and flow cytometry. Splenic function was determined by pitted erythrocytes quantification in HIV-1 ART-treated study participants. HIV-1 ART-treated individuals did not show functional hyposplenism despite the lack of recovery IgMIgDCD27 marginal zone-like B cells. Moreover, two germinal center-dependent MEB cells subsets were also dysregulated in HIV-1 individuals: IgMIgDCD27 (IgM only) cells were increased, whereas the switched subset (IgMIgD) was reduced in viremic individuals. Althought ART restored the numbers of these populations; the switched MEB cells were enriched in CD27 cells, which showed the highest susceptibility to spontaneous cell death ex vivo. In addition, B cells from viremic individuals showed a poor response to B-cell receptor and toll-like receptor 9 stimulation that was circumvented when both stimuli were used simultaneously. B cells from HIV-1 study participants show a poor stimulation capacity, that may be bypassed by the proper combination of stimuli, and a dysregulated MEB cell pool that suggest an affectation of the germinal center reaction, only partially normalized by ART. Interestingly, hyposplenism does not explain the lack of recovery of the marginal zone-like B cells in ART-treated HIV-1 individuals.

IDENTIFYING A SUSCEPTIBLE SUBGROUP: EFFECTS OF THE PITTSBURGH AIR POLLUTION EPISODE UPON SCHOOL CHILDREN

EPA Science Inventory

Pulmonary function test results on 224 parochial schoolchildren collected during and after the Pittsburgh air pollution episode of November 1975 were reanalyzed to determine whether a small subgroup of susceptible children could be defined. Individual regressions of three-quarter...

Reduced Slc6a15 in Nucleus Accumbens D2-Neurons Underlies Stress Susceptibility

PubMed Central

Nam, Hyungwoo; Engeln, Michel; Konkalmatt, Prasad; Iniguez, Sergio D.

2017-01-01

Previous research demonstrates that Slc6a15, a neutral amino acid transporter, is associated with depression susceptibility. However, no study examined Slc6a15 in the ventral striatum [nucleus accumbens (NAc)] in depression. Given our previous characterization of Slc6a15 as a striatal dopamine receptor 2 (D2)-neuron-enriched gene, we examined the role of Slc6a15 in NAc D2-neurons in mediating susceptibility to stress in male mice. First, we showed that Slc6a15 mRNA was reduced in NAc of mice susceptible to chronic social defeat stress (CSDS), a paradigm that produces behavioral and molecular adaptations that resemble clinical depression. Consistent with our preclinical data, we observed Slc6a15 mRNA reduction in NAc of individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). The Slc6a15 reduction in NAc occurred selectively in D2-neurons. Next, we used Cre-inducible viruses combined with D2-Cre mice to reduce or overexpress Slc6a15 in NAc D2-neurons. Slc6a15 reduction in D2-neurons caused enhanced susceptibility to a subthreshold social defeat stress (SSDS) as observed by reduced social interaction, while a reduction in social interaction following CSDS was not observed when Slc6a15 expression in D2-neurons was restored. Finally, since both D2-medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and D2-expressing choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) interneurons express Slc6a15, we examined Slc6a15 protein in these interneurons after CSDS. Slc6a15 protein was unaltered in ChAT interneurons. Consistent with this, reducing Slc5a15 selectively in NAc D2-MSNs, using A2A-Cre mice that express Cre selectively in D2-MSNs, caused enhanced susceptibility to SSDS. Collectively, our data demonstrate that reduced Slc6a15 in NAc occurs in MDD individuals and that Slc6a15 reduction in NAc D2-neurons underlies stress susceptibility. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Our study demonstrates a role for reduced Slc6a15, a neutral amino acid transporter, in nucleus accumbens (NAc) in depression and stress susceptibility. The

Identification of EGFLAM, SPATC1L and RNASE13 as novel susceptibility loci for aortic aneurysm in Japanese individuals by exome-wide association studies

PubMed Central

Yamada, Yoshiji; Sakuma, Jun; Takeuchi, Ichiro; Yasukochi, Yoshiki; Kato, Kimihiko; Oguri, Mitsutoshi; Fujimaki, Tetsuo; Horibe, Hideki; Muramatsu, Masaaki; Sawabe, Motoji; Fujiwara, Yoshinori; Taniguchi, Yu; Obuchi, Shuichi; Kawai, Hisashi; Shinkai, Shoji; Mori, Seijiro; Arai, Tomio; Tanaka, Masashi

2017-01-01

We performed an exome-wide association study (EWAS) to identify genetic variants - in particular, low-frequency or rare variants with a moderate to large effect size - that confer susceptibility to aortic aneurysm with 8,782 Japanese subjects (456 patients with aortic aneurysm, 8,326 control individuals) and with the use of Illumina HumanExome-12 DNA Analysis BeadChip or Infinium Exome-24 BeadChip arrays. The correlation of allele frequencies for 41,432 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that passed quality control to aortic aneurysm was examined with Fisher's exact test. Based on Bonferroni's correction, a P-value of <1.21×10−6 was considered statistically significant. The EWAS revealed 59 SNPs that were significantly associated with aortic aneurysm. None of these SNPs was significantly (P<2.12×10−4) associated with aortic aneurysm by multivariable logistic regression analysis with adjustment for age, gender and hypertension, although 8 SNPs were related (P<0.05) to this condition. Examination of the correlation of these latter 8 SNPs to true or dissecting aortic aneurysm separately showed that rs1465567 [T/C (W229R)] of the EGF-like, fibronectin type III, and laminin G domains gene (EGFLAM) (dominant model; P=0.0014; odds ratio, 1.63) was significantly (P<0.0016) associated with true aortic aneurysm. We next performed EWASs for true or dissecting aortic aneurysm separately and found that 45 and 19 SNPs were significantly associated with these conditions, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis with adjustment for covariates revealed that rs113710653 [C/T (E231K)] of the spermatogenesis- and centriole associated 1-like gene (SPATC1L) (dominant model; P=0.0002; odds ratio, 5.32) and rs143881017 [C/T (R140H)] of the ribonuclease A family member 13 gene (RNASE13) (dominant model; P=0.0006; odds ratio, 5.77) were significantly (P<2.78×10−4 or P<6.58×10−4, respectively) associated with true or dissecting aortic aneurysm, respectively

Toddlers' Differential Susceptibility to the Effects of Coparenting on Social-Emotional Adjustment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Altenburger, Lauren E.; Lang, Sarah N.; Schoppe-Sullivan, Sarah J.; Kamp Dush, Claire M.; Johnson, Susan

2017-01-01

The paper reports on a study which tested whether infants high in negative affectivity are differentially susceptible to observed coparenting behavior in relation to their subsequent social-emotional development. Data came from a longitudinal study of 182 US dual-earner, primiparous couples and their infant children. At nine-months postpartum,…

Racial differences in cancer susceptibility and survival: More than the color of the skin?

PubMed Central

Özdemir, Berna C.; Dotto, Gian-Paolo

2017-01-01

Epidemiological studies point to race as a determining factor in cancer susceptibility. In US registries recording cancer incidence and survival by race (distinguishing “Black versus White”), individuals of African ancestry have a globally increased risk of malignancies compared to Caucasians and Asian Americans. Differences in socioeconomic status and health care access play a key role. However, the lesser disease susceptibility of Hispanic populations with comparable life-styles and socioeconomic status as African Americans, (“Hispanic paradox”) points to the concomitant importance of genetic determinants. Here, we overview the molecular basis of racial disparity in cancer susceptibility ranging from genetic polymorphisms and cancer-driver gene mutations to obesity, chronic inflammation and immune responses. We discuss implications for race-adapted cancer screening programs and clinical trials to reduce disparities in cancer burden. PMID:28718431

Individual and epistatic effects of genetic polymorphisms of B-cell co-stimulatory molecules on susceptibility to pemphigus foliaceus.

PubMed

Malheiros, D; Petzl-Erler, M L

2009-09-01

Following the candidate gene approach we analyzed the CD40L, CD40, BLYS and CD19 genes that participate of B-cell co-stimulation, for association with pemphigus foliaceus (PF), an organ-specific autoimmune disease, characterized by the detachment of epidermal cells from each other (acantholysis) and presence of autoantibodies specific for desmoglein 1 (dsg1), an epidermal cell-adhesion molecule. The disease is endemic in certain regions of Brazil and also is known as fogo selvagem. Complex interactions among environmental and genetic susceptibility factors contribute to the manifestation of this multifactorial disease. The sample included 179 patients and 317 controls. Strong significant association was found with CD40L-726T>C (odds ratio, OR=5.54 and 0.30 for T+ and C+ genotypes, respectively). In addition, there were significant negative associations with CD40 -1T (OR=0.61) and BLYS-871T (OR=0.62) due to the decrease of the frequency of both homo- and heterozygotes in the patient group. No associations were found with variants of CD19 gene. Gene-gene interactions were observed between CD40 and BLYS, and between CD40L and BLYS. So, the dominant protective effects of CD40L-726C and of CD40 -1T only manifest in BLYS-871T+ individuals, and vice versa. We conclude that genetic variability of CD40L, CD40 and BLYS is an important factor for PF pathogenesis.

Serum killing of Ureaplasma parvum shows serovar-determined susceptibility for normal individuals and common variable immuno-deficiency patients.

PubMed

Beeton, Michael L; Daha, Mohamed R; El-Shanawany, Tariq; Jolles, Stephen R; Kotecha, Sailesh; Spiller, O Brad

2012-02-01