100,721 research outputs found
Correlati biologici di stress psicosociale in donne con disturbi dell'umore durante la transizione menopausale
No full textIntroduzione: Lo stress psicosociale si riferisce ad eventi acuti o cronici di origine psicologica e/o sociale che dispongono del potenziale di interferire con l' omeostasi bio-psico-sociale dell'individuo. Studi epidemiologici mostrano che fattori di stress psicosociale sono predittori indipendenti per lo sviluppo di sindrome metabolica in donne in postmenopausa. Essi inoltre aumentano il rischio per lo sviluppo di disturbo depressivo maggiore e sintomi depressivi sottosoglia in donne in peri- e postmenopausa.
Obiettivi: Il presente elaborato presenta dati derivanti da uno studio trasversale su donne con depressione maggiore in regime di ricovero ordinario al fine di 1) confrontare variabili metaboliche in donne in peri- e postmenopausa e 2) studiare la direzione e forza dell'associazione tra fattori di rischio psicosociale (supporto sociale, disaccordo coniugale) e variabili biologiche.
Risultati: Donne in postmenopausa avevano valori medi di pressione arteriosa sistolica e di circonferenza vita maggiori rispetto a donne in perimenopausa della stessa età. Il supporto sociale e il disaccordo coniugale sono risultati associati ai valori di cortisolemia al risveglio (una sola misurazione tramite prelievo di sangue venoso) indipendentemente dalla severità dell'episodio depressivo.
Conclusioni: Il presente elaborato fornisce dati preliminari per formulare future ipotesi su specifiche pathways bio-psico-sociali che leghino fattori di stress psicosociale a morbilità in donne durante la transizione menopausale.Background: Psychosocial stress refers to acute or chronic events of psychological or social origin which challenge the homeostatic state of biological systems. Epidemiological data demonstrate that psychosocial factors may play a causal role in the chain of events leading to the metabolic syndrome in women in postmenopause. Also, psychosocial factors predict the risk for developing major depressive disorder in peri- and postmenopausal women.
Objective: We present data from a cross-sectional study conducted on a sample of 38 female inpatient with diagnosis of major depressive disorder which sought 1) to compare metabolic variables in postmenopausal and perimenopausal women and 2) to assess the relationship between psychosocial risk factor (social support, marital adjustment) and biological variables.
Results: Postmenopausal women showed higher levels of waist circumference and sistolic blood pressure compared to age-matched perimenopausal women. Social support and marital adjustment were significantly associated with levels of plasmatic cortisol at awakening (single time point for blood withdrawal), irrespectively on the severity of current depression.
Conclusions: Results from this study will inform future hypothesis regarding pathways that link psychosocial stress to morbidity in women during the menopausal transition
Field Test Performance of Noncontact Ultrasonic Rail Inspection System
No full textThis paper presents the latest results from a noncontact ultrasonic rail inspection system developed at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) under the auspices of the Federal Railroad Administration. Noncontact rail probing is an attractive feature that could potentially allow for new possibilities. The UCSD system utilizes a focused air-coupled transmitter, symmetrically placed air-coupled receivers, and a real-time statistical algorithm to maximize true outliers (defects) and minimize false positives. Two field tests were conducted at the Rail Defect Test Facility of the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado, at test speeds from 1.6 to 24 km/h (1 to 15 mi/h). The results of these tests, evaluated in terms of probability of detection versus probability of false alarms (receiver operating characteristic curves) indicate a good detection performance at the speeds of 1.6 and 8 km/h, with a much poorer performance at the speeds of 16 and 24 km/h. Possible reasons for the performance degradation at the higher speeds are discussed, and future work aimed at mitigating these issues is proposed. (C) 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers
Letter, [Author unclear] to Paulina T. Merritt
No full textHandwritten letter to Paulina Merritt from an unknown author, October 1, 1876.
Handwritten biographical information on Paulina T. McClung Merritt
No full textA handwritten biography of Paulina T. McClung Merritt by an unknown author, 1892.
Heterogeneous and tissue-specific regulation of effector T cell responses by IFN-gamma during Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection.
No full textIFN-γ and T cells are both required for the development of experimental cerebral malaria during Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection. Surprisingly, however, the role of IFN-γ in shaping the effector CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell response during this infection has not been examined in detail. To address this, we have compared the effector T cell responses in wild-type and IFN-γ(-/-) mice during P. berghei ANKA infection. The expansion of splenic CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells during P. berghei ANKA infection was unaffected by the absence of IFN-γ, but the contraction phase of the T cell response was significantly attenuated. Splenic T cell activation and effector function were essentially normal in IFN-γ(-/-) mice; however, the migration to, and accumulation of, effector CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in the lung, liver, and brain was altered in IFN-γ(-/-) mice. Interestingly, activation and accumulation of T cells in various nonlymphoid organs was differently affected by lack of IFN-γ, suggesting that IFN-γ influences T cell effector function to varying levels in different anatomical locations. Importantly, control of splenic T cell numbers during P. berghei ANKA infection depended on active IFN-γ-dependent environmental signals--leading to T cell apoptosis--rather than upon intrinsic alterations in T cell programming. To our knowledge, this is the first study to fully investigate the role of IFN-γ in modulating T cell function during P. berghei ANKA infection and reveals that IFN-γ is required for efficient contraction of the pool of activated T cells
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Serological screening for Leishmania infantum in asymptomatic blood donors living in an endemic area (Sicily, Italy)
No full textThe purpose of our study was to assess whether Leishmania infantum parasitemia occurs in asymptomatic Leishmania-seropositive subjects. Samples from 500 blood donors were tested using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Anti-Leishmania antibodies were not found in any sample. Our findings suggest that the risk of L. infantum transmission by blood transfusion in Sicily is very low
A comparative study of axis I antecedents before age 18 of unipolar depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
No full textBackground: Despite a large scientific literature on early clinical precursors of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and unipolar depression, few data are available on axis I disorders preceding the adult onset of these illnesses. Sampling and Methods: Disorders before the age of 18 years were retrospectively assessed with a structured interview in 3 groups of consecutive adult inpatients with DSM-IV diagnoses of schizophrenia (n = 197), major depressive disorder (n = 287) and bipolar disorder (n = 132). Only patients with adult onset of schizophrenia and of mania/hypomania were included. A sample of the general population served as control group (n = 300). Results and Conclusion: The clinical groups significantly outnumbered the control sample on the majority of early axis I diagnoses. Schizophrenia was significantly associated (1) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), ADHD inattentive subtype, ADHD hyperactive subtype and primary nocturnal enuresis, compared to unipolar depression, and (2) with social phobia and ADHD inattentive subtype, compared to bipolar disorder. Oppositional defiant disorder was significantly associated with bipolar disorder, compared to the other clinical and control groups. The ADHD hyperactive subtype predicted the adult onset of bipolar disorder compared to unipolar depression. Externalizing disorders seem of special importance as regards the clinical pathways toward schizophrenia. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Base
Pelevin’s Trinity in the novel “t”: author – protagonist – reader
No full textThe article attempts to interpret Pelevin's artistic strategy in the novel "T" by exploring its subject organization and addressing the key problems of the author, the protagonist, and the reader as they are seen by the researcher. The article analyzes the peculiarities of constructing the narrative reality in the novel "T", and goes on to discuss Pelevin's philosophic models of the development of the humankind, and the emergence of his new anthropology
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