Pregnant women with bronchial asthma benefit from progressive muscle relaxation: A randomized, prospective, controlled trial

Background: Asthma is a serious medical problem in pregnancy and is often associated with stress, anger and poor quality of life. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) on change in blood pressure, lung parameters, heart rate, anger and health-related quality of life in pregnant women with bronchial asthma. Methods: We treated a sample of 64 pregnant women with bronchial asthma from the local population in an 8-week randomized, prospective, controlled trial. Thirty-two were selected for PMR, and 32 received a placebo intervention. The systolic blood pressure, forced expiratory volume in the first second, peak expiratory flow and heart rate were tested, and the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory and Health Survey (SF-36) were employed. Results: According to the intend-to-treat principle, a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure and a significant increase in both forced expiratory volume in the first second and peak expiratory flow were observed after PMR. The heart rate showed a significant increase in the coefficient of variation, root mean square of successive differences and high frequency ranges, in addition to a significant reduction in low and middle frequency ranges. A significant reduction on three of five State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory scales, and a significant increase on seven of eight SF-36 scales were observed. Conclusions: PMR appears to be an effective method to improve blood pressure, lung parameters and heart rate, and to decrease anger levels, thus enhancing health-related quality of life in pregnant women with bronchial asthma. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

Point process time–frequency analysis of dynamic respiratory patterns during meditation practice

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is largely mediated by the autonomic nervous system through its modulating influence on the heart beats. We propose a robust algorithm for quantifying instantaneous RSA as applied to heart beat intervals and respiratory recordings under dynamic breathing patterns. The blood volume pressure-derived heart beat series (pulse intervals, PIs) are modeled as an inverse Gaussian point process, with the instantaneous mean PI modeled as a bivariate regression incorporating both past PIs and respiration values observed at the beats. A point process maximum likelihood algorithm is used to estimate the model parameters, and instantaneous RSA is estimated via a frequency domain transfer function evaluated at instantaneous respiratory frequency where high coherence between respiration and PIs is observed. The model is statistically validated using Kolmogorov–Smirnov goodness-of-fit analysis, as well as independence tests. The algorithm is applied to subjects engaged in meditative practice, with distinctive dynamics in the respiration patterns elicited as a result. The presented analysis confirms the ability of the algorithm to track important changes in cardiorespiratory interactions elicited during meditation, otherwise not evidenced in control resting states, reporting statistically significant increase in RSA gain as measured by our paradigm.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01-HL084502)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01-DA015644)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant DP1-OD003646)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant K01-AT00694-01

Providing alcohol-related screening and brief interventions to adolescents through health care systems: Obstacles and solutions

Duncan Clark and Howard Moss identify obstacles to alcohol-related screening and treatment for adolescents and propose policy solutions

Home-range use patterns and movements of the Siberian flying squirrel in urban forests: Effects of habitat composition and connectivity

Peer reviewe

Whole-body tissue stabilization and selective extractions via tissue-hydrogel hybrids for high-resolution intact circuit mapping and phenotyping

To facilitate fine-scale phenotyping of whole specimens, we describe here a set of tissue fixation-embedding, detergent-clearing and staining protocols that can be used to transform excised organs and whole organisms into optically transparent samples within 1–2 weeks without compromising their cellular architecture or endogenous fluorescence. PACT (passive CLARITY technique) and PARS (perfusion-assisted agent release in situ) use tissue-hydrogel hybrids to stabilize tissue biomolecules during selective lipid extraction, resulting in enhanced clearing efficiency and sample integrity. Furthermore, the macromolecule permeability of PACT- and PARS-processed tissue hybrids supports the diffusion of immunolabels throughout intact tissue, whereas RIMS (refractive index matching solution) grants high-resolution imaging at depth by further reducing light scattering in cleared and uncleared samples alike. These methods are adaptable to difficult-to-image tissues, such as bone (PACT-deCAL), and to magnified single-cell visualization (ePACT). Together, these protocols and solutions enable phenotyping of subcellular components and tracing cellular connectivity in intact biological networks

Cathelicidin-like Helminth Defence Molecules (HDMs) Absence of Cytotoxic, Anti-microbial and Anti-protozoan Activities Imply a Specific Adaptation to Immune Modulation

Host defence peptides (HDPs) are expressed throughout the animal and plant kingdoms. They have multifunctional roles in the defence against infectious agents of mammals, possessing both bactericidal and immune-modulatory activities. We have identified a novel family of molecules secreted by helminth parasites (helminth defence molecules; HDMs) that exhibit similar structural and biochemical characteristics to the HDPs. Here, we have analyzed the functional activities of four HDMs derived from Schistosoma mansoni and Fasciola hepatica and compared them to human, mouse, bovine and sheep HDPs. Unlike the mammalian HDPs the helminth-derived HDMs show no antimicrobial activity and are non-cytotoxic to mammalian cells (macrophages and red blood cells). However, both the mammalian- and helminth-derived peptides suppress the activation of macrophages by microbial stimuli and alter the response of B cells to cytokine stimulation. Therefore, we hypothesise that HDMs represent a novel family of HDPs that evolved to regulate the immune responses of their mammalian hosts by retaining potent immune modulatory properties without causing deleterious cytotoxic effects. © 2013 Thivierge et al

Chromatic Signals Control Proboscis Movements during Hovering Flight in the Hummingbird Hawkmoth Macroglossum stellatarum

Most visual systems are more sensitive to luminance than to colour signals. Animals resolve finer spatial detail and temporal changes through achromatic signals than through chromatic ones. Probably, this explains that detection of small, distant, or moving objects is typically mediated through achromatic signals. Macroglossum stellatarum are fast flying nectarivorous hawkmoths that inspect flowers with their long proboscis while hovering. They can visually control this behaviour using floral markings known as nectar guides. Here, we investigate whether this is mediated by chromatic or achromatic cues. We evaluated proboscis placement, foraging efficiency, and inspection learning of naïve moths foraging on flower models with coloured markings that offered either chromatic, achromatic or both contrasts. Hummingbird hawkmoths could use either achromatic or chromatic signals to inspect models while hovering. We identified three, apparently independent, components controlling proboscis placement: After initial contact, 1) moths directed their probing towards the yellow colour irrespectively of luminance signals, suggesting a dominant role of chromatic signals; and 2) moths tended to probe mainly on the brighter areas of models that offered only achromatic signals. 3) During the establishment of the first contact, naïve moths showed a tendency to direct their proboscis towards the small floral marks independent of their colour or luminance. Moths learned to find nectar faster, but their foraging efficiency depended on the flower model they foraged on. Our results imply that M. stellatarum can perceive small patterns through colour vision. We discuss how the different informational contents of chromatic and luminance signals can be significant for the control of flower inspection, and visually guided behaviours in general

Concurrent pulmonary zygomycosis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection: a case report

A non-smoking 77-year old gentleman of Indian origin was admitted with a 4-month history of intermittent night sweats, haemoptysis and 6 kg of weight loss. CT scan of thorax demonstrated a 2.5 cm mass in the right middle lobe with multiple small nodules within the right lung and confirmed the presence of mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes

Binding of protegrin-1 to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia cepacia

BACKGROUND: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia cepacia infections of cystic fibrosis patients' lungs are often resistant to conventional antibiotic therapy. Protegrins are antimicrobial peptides with potent activity against many bacteria, including P. aeruginosa. The present study evaluates the correlation between protegrin-1 (PG-1) sensitivity/resistance and protegrin binding in P. aeruginosa and B. cepacia. METHODS: The PG-1 sensitivity/resistance and PG-1 binding properties of P. aeruginosa and B. cepacia were assessed using radial diffusion assays, radioiodinated PG-1, and surface plasmon resonance (BiaCore). RESULTS: The six P. aeruginosa strains examined were very sensitive to PG-1, exhibiting minimal active concentrations from 0.0625–0.5 μg/ml in radial diffusion assays. In contrast, all five B. cepacia strains examined were greater than 10-fold to 100-fold more resistant, with minimal active concentrations ranging from 6–10 μg/ml. When incubated with a radioiodinated variant of PG-1, a sensitive P. aeruginosa strain bound considerably more protegrin molecules per cell than a resistant B. cepacia strain. Binding/diffusion and surface plasmon resonance assays revealed that isolated lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and lipid A from the sensitive P. aeruginosa strains bound PG-1 more effectively than LPS and lipid A from resistant B. cepacia strains. CONCLUSION: These findings support the hypothesis that the relative resistance of B. cepacia to protegrin is due to a reduced number of PG-1 binding sites on the lipid A moiety of its LPS