Trip report no. 33

노트 : Evaluation period: 11-25 Mar 197

Eosinophil and T Cell Markers Predict Functional Decline in COPD Patients

BACKGROUND. The major marker utilized to monitor COPD patients is forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1). However, asingle measurement of FEV1 cannot reliably predict subsequent decline. Recent studies indicate that T lymphocytes and eosinophils are important determinants of disease stability in COPD. We therefore measured cytokine levels in the lung lavage fluid and plasma of COPD patients in order to determine if the levels of T cell or eosinophil related cytokines were predictive of the future course of the disease. METHODS. Baseline lung lavage and plasma samples were collected from COPD subjects with moderately severe airway obstruction and emphysematous changes on chest CT. The study participants were former smokers who had not had a disease exacerbation within the past six months or used steroids within the past two months. Those subjects who demonstrated stable disease over the following six months (ΔFEV1 % predicted = 4.7 ± 7.2; N = 34) were retrospectively compared with study participants who experienced a rapid decline in lung function (ΔFEV1 % predicted = -16.0 ± 6.0; N = 16) during the same time period and with normal controls (N = 11). Plasma and lung lavage cytokines were measured from clinical samples using the Luminex multiplex kit which enabled the simultaneous measurement of several T cell and eosinophil related cytokines. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. Stable COPD participants had significantly higher plasma IL-2 levels compared to participants with rapidly progressive COPD (p = 0.04). In contrast, plasma eotaxin-1 levels were significantly lower in stable COPD subjects compared to normal controls (p < 0.03). In addition, lung lavage eotaxin-1 levels were significantly higher in rapidly progressive COPD participants compared to both normal controls (p < 0.02) and stable COPD participants (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION. These findings indicate that IL-2 and eotaxin-1 levels may be important markers of disease stability in advanced emphysema patients. Prospective studies will need to confirm whether measuring IL-2 or eotaxin-1 can identify patients at risk for rapid disease progression.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NO1-HR-96140, NO1-HR-96141-001, NO1-HR-96144, NO1-HR-96143; NO1-HR-96145; NO1-HR-96142, R01HL086936-03); The Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute; the Jo-Ann F. LeBuhn Center for Chest Diseas

Redox proteomics of the inflammatory secretome identifies a common set of redoxins and other glutathionylated proteins released in inflammation, influenza virus infection and oxidative stress

Protein cysteines can form transient disulfides with glutathione (GSH), resulting in the production of glutathionylated proteins, and this process is regarded as a mechanism by which the redox state of the cell can regulate protein function. Most studies on redox regulation of immunity have focused on intracellular proteins. In this study we have used redox proteomics to identify those proteins released in glutathionylated form by macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) after pre-loading the cells with biotinylated GSH. Of the several proteins identified in the redox secretome, we have selected a number for validation. Proteomic analysis indicated that LPS stimulated the release of peroxiredoxin (PRDX) 1, PRDX2, vimentin (VIM), profilin1 (PFN1) and thioredoxin 1 (TXN1). For PRDX1 and TXN1, we were able to confirm that the released protein is glutathionylated. PRDX1, PRDX2 and TXN1 were also released by the human pulmonary epithelial cell line, A549, infected with influenza virus. The release of the proteins identified was inhibited by the anti-inflammatory glucocorticoid, dexamethasone (DEX), which also inhibited tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α release, and by thiol antioxidants (N-butanoyl GSH derivative, GSH-C4, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), which did not affect TNF-α production. The proteins identified could be useful as biomarkers of oxidative stress associated with inflammation, and further studies will be required to investigate if the extracellular forms of these proteins has immunoregulatory functions

Increased ventral striatal volume in college-aged binge drinkers

BACKGROUND Binge drinking is a serious public health issue associated with cognitive, physiological, and anatomical differences from healthy individuals. No studies, however, have reported subcortical grey matter differences in this population. To address this, we compared the grey matter volumes of college-age binge drinkers and healthy controls, focusing on the ventral striatum, hippocampus and amygdala. METHOD T1-weighted images of 19 binge drinkers and 19 healthy volunteers were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry. Structural data were also covaried with Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores. Cluster-extent threshold and small volume corrections were both used to analyze imaging data. RESULTS Binge drinkers had significantly larger ventral striatal grey matter volumes compared to controls. There were no between group differences in hippocampal or amygdalar volume. Ventral striatal, amygdalar, and hippocampal volumes were also negatively related to AUDIT scores across groups. CONCLUSIONS Our findings stand in contrast to the lower ventral striatal volume previously observed in more severe forms of alcohol use disorders, suggesting that college-age binge drinkers may represent a distinct population from those groups. These findings may instead represent early sequelae, compensatory effects of repeated binge and withdrawal, or an endophenotypic risk factor

Examining collegiality: practices of faculty in early childhood teacher preparation programs

The purpose of this research is to examine teacher preparation program faculty’s incorporation of collegial content/practices into their preparation of pre-service teachers. Collegiality is a complex construct that describes the peer cohesion of employees, or the extent to which they trust and support one another (Jorde-Bloom 1988B; Harris &amp; Anthony, 2001; Shah, 2011). As collegiality has been established as a significant component of in-service teachers' work experience, it is an also important consideration for teacher preparation. The current exploratory study describes teacher preparation programs' faculty members' beliefs related to collegiality, the implementation of collegial practices in teacher preparation, and influential factors to these beliefs and implementation. Forty-one faculty in Early Childhood Education program completed surveys and nine participated in follow-up interviews focused on current practices related to collegiality. Findings indicated that faculty believe collegiality to be very important to the preparation of pre-service teachers but the implementation of collegial content and practices within teacher preparation courses is quite variable. Implications and future directions for teacher preparation are discussed

D. H. Lawrence's neglected art : his theory and practice of drama

Between 1908 and 1913 D. H. Lawrence wrote six plays: The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd, A Collier's Friday Night and The Daughter-In-Law, three naturalistic dramas; and The Merry-Go-Round, The Married Man, and The Fight For Barbara, three comedies of manners. After a lapse of several years, in 1918 Lawrence wrote Touch and Go, a political drama of ideas followed after another interval by David (1925), also a play of ideas using a Biblical framework. Largely neglected until recently, Lawrence's drama spans his writing career and reflects what he was doing in his other work. Although publication of The Complete Plays in 1966, the Peter Gill production in London of Lawrence's three naturalistic dramas in 1968, and the American production of The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd in 1973 resulted in an increased interest in Lawrence's playwriting, only three full-length studies of Lawrence's drama have appeared. Devoted primarily to either the biographical material in his drama or to the ideological similarities between Lawrence's drama and his work in other genres, none of the three studies examines the plays from the point of view of Lawrence's ideas about the distinction between drama and fiction

Eating disorders, sex role identification, and assertion

The current study was designed to investigate the possible connection between the eating disorder bulimia, women's sex roles in Western culture, and assertion. Literature was reviewed which suggested that a lack of assertion may be important in understanding the development of bulimia. Hence, the first purpose of the current study was to assess the relationship between bulimia and assertion. The literature also suggested that women's roles in Western society may be important in understanding the disorder. In this regard it was noted that three competing points of view exist in the' literature: (1) That bulimic women over identify With the traditional feminine role; (2) That they reject the traditional role; and (3) That they attempt to perfectly fulfill both the role of mother and the role of career woman, thus attempting to be "superwomen." The second purpose of the present study was to determine which, if any, of these theoretical positions was supported. Subjects for the study were randomly selected undergraduate females living in the residence halls at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. They were asked to fill out (1) the College Self-Expression Scale (CSES), a measure of assertion; (2) the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), a measure of eating concerns, behaviors and attitudes; (3) the Social Performance Survey Schedule (SPSS), a measure of social skills; and (4) the Job-Child (J-C) and Level of Involvement (LI) Scales, two measures of women's future plans for work and family

State Agency Promising Practice: Shifting Resources Away from Sheltered Workshops in Vermont

Over six years, regulations in Vermont gradually restricted and eventually prohibited the use of state funds for sheltered workshops or enclaves. Concurrent with the change in funding regulations, the state worked with providers to convert the remaining sheltered workshops in Vermont

State Agency Promising Practice: Working Together to Convert the Last Sheltered Workshop in Vermont to Individualized Supports

Vermont’s Division of Disability and Aging Services (DDAS) and Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) worked with a local service provider to convert its congregate day services to community employment. Implementation Between 1987 and 2002, DDAS and DVR worked with several providers to close down sheltered workshops and move people into community supports

Vanishing species

Let me quote from Stevens in attempting to introduce my poetry. When speaking about the nature of poetry, I think he sings the right thing in these lines from "The Idea of Order at Key West." It was her voice that made The sky acutest at its vanishing. She measured to the hour its solitude. She was the single artificer of the world In which she sang. And when she sang, the sea, Whatever self it had, became the self That was her song, for she was maker. Then we As we beheld her striding there alone Knew that there never was a world for her Except the one she sang, and singing, made