Role of Etanercept and Infliximab on Nociceptive Changes Induced by the Experimental Model of Fibromyalgia

Background: Fibromyalgia is a clinical condition that affects 1% to 5% of the population. No proper therapy has been currently found. It has been described that inflammation plays a central role in the nerve sensitizations that characterize the pathology. Methods: This paper aimed to evaluate the efficacy of etanercept and infliximab in the management of pain sensitization. Fibromyalgia was induced by three injections once a day of reserpine at the dose of 1 mg/kg. Etanercept (3 mg/kg) and infliximab (10 mg/kg) were administered the day after the last reserpine injection and then 5 days after that. Behavioral analyses were conducted once a week, and molecular investigations were performed at the end of the experiment. Results: Our data confirmed the major effect of infliximab administration as compared to etanercept: infliximab administration strongly reduced pain sensitization in thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia. From the molecular point of view, infliximab reduced the activation of microglia and astrocytes and the expression of the purinergic P2X7 receptor ubiquitously expressed on glia and neurons. Downstream of the P2X7 receptor, infliximab also reduced p38-MAPK overexpression induced by the reserpine administration. Conclusion: Etanercept and infliximab treatment caused a significant reduction in pain. In particular, rats that received infliximab showed less pain sensitization. Moreover, infliximab reduced the activation of microglia and astrocytes, reducing the expression of the purinergic receptor P2X7 and p38-MAPK pathway.     

Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase (FAAH) Inhibition Plays a Key Role in Counteracting Acute Lung Injury

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a group of lung illnesses characterized by severe inflammation, with no treatment. The fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) enzyme is an integral membrane protein responsible for the hydrolysis of the main endocannabinoids, such as anandamide (AEA). In pre-clinical pain and inflammation models, increasing the endogenous levels of AEA and other bioactive fatty acid amides (FAAs) via genetic deletion or the pharmacological inhibition of FAAH produces many analgesic benefits in several different experimental models. To date, nobody has investigated the role of FAAH inhibition on an ALI mouse model. Mice were subjected to a carrageenan injection and treated orally 1 h after with the FAAH inhibitor URB878 dissolved in a vehicle consisting of 10% PEG-400, 10% Tween-80 and 80% saline at different doses: The inhibition of FAAH activity was able to counteract not only the CAR-induced histological alteration, but also the cascade of related inflammatory events. URB878 clears the way for further studies based on FAAH inhibition in acute lung pathologies.     

Static and Dynamic,but not Pulsed High‐Pressure Treatment Efficiently Inactivates Yeast

Static high‐pressure (HP) treatment has become a powerful tool for preserving foodstuffs, allowing high inactivation rates and minimal adverse effects on valuable components. Due to HP maxima and batch mode conditions, it is restricted to high‐grade products. To overcome these restrictions, dynamic HP offers the possibility of a quasi‐continuous mode of operation. The effects of three different HP treatments (static, pulsed, and dynamic) on yeast were investigated. The inactivation efficiency and membrane damage increase with increasing pressure or pressure holding time. The cells do not show higher sensitivity to fast and repeated depressurization, and the number of pressure pulses plays only a minor role in inducing membrane damage. A form of programmed cell death could not be detected.     

Reciprocal peer tutoring: An analysis of "teacher" and "student" interactions as a function of training and experience.

Investigated the relationship between peer-tutoring interactions of dyads with experience in a reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) program in mathematics, vs dyads with no experience in RPT. It was hypothesized that students who participated in the RPT condition would exhibit significantly greater amounts of behaviors associated with effective peer teaching than students in the Practice Control (PC) condition and that these behaviors would be associated with mathematics achievement and student reports of behavioral conduct and social competence. 40 academically at-risk African Americans (aged 9.4–12.1 yrs old) from an urban elementary school were randomly assigned to either RPT or PC conditions. Group difference data revealed that RPT Ss displayed significantly higher rates of mathematics achievement, self-report of social acceptance and behavioral conduct and higher rates of observed teacher and student task-related behavior as compared with controls. Peer student active engagement in academic activity was positively related to curriculum-based mathematics test scores. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Driving with a Congestion Assistant; mental workload and acceptance

New driver support systems are developed and introduced to the market at increasing speed. In conditions of traffic congestion drivers may be supported by a "Congestion Assistant", a system that combines the features of a Congestion Warning System (acoustic warning and gas pedal counterforce) and a Stop & Go system (automatic gas and brake pedal during congestion). To gain understanding of the effects of driving with a Congestion Assistant on drivers, mental workload of drivers was registered under different conditions as well as acceptance of the system. Mental workload was measured by means of physiological registrations, i.e. heart rate, a secondary task and with the aid of subjective scaling techniques. Acceptance was measured with an acceptance scale. The study was carried out in an advanced driving simulator. Driving with the Congestion Assistant while in congestion potentially leads to decreased driver mental workload, whereas just before congestion starts, i.e. developing just noticeable, the system may add to the workload of the driver. Acceptance is generally high after experiencing the system, though not in all respects.     

Effects of Insect Herbivory on Bilberry Production and Removal of Berries by Frugivores

The evolutionary purpose of a fleshy fruit is to attract seed dispersers and get the seeds dispersed by frugivorous animals. For this reason, fruits should be highly rewarding to these mutualists. However, insect herbivory can alter plant reproductive success e.g. by decreasing fruit yield or affecting the attractiveness of the fruits to mutualistic seed dispersers. Under natural conditions, we tested the effects of experimental larval-defoliation on berry ripening and consumption of a non-cultivated dwarf shrub, the bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), which produces animal-dispersed berries with high sugar and anthocyanin concentration. Bilberry ramets with high fruit yield were most likely to have their berries foraged, indicating that frugivores made foraging choices based on the abundance of berries. Moreover, the probability for berries being foraged was the lowest for non-defoliated ramets that grew adjacent to larval-defoliated ramets, even though larval-defoliation did not affect the biochemical composition (total concentrations of anthocyanins, sugars and organic acids) or the probability of ripening of berries. We hypothesise that the lower probability for berries being foraged in these ramets may be a consequence of rhizome- or volatile-mediated communication between ramets, resulting in a priming effect of the herbivore defence and lower attractiveness of the non-defoliated ramets.     

利用环烷基油生产更为环保的轮胎

一、前言长期以来,在轮胎中使用高芳烃抽提油(DAE)作为增塑剂一直是较为理想的选择。高芳烃油具有很多应用方面的优点,譬如与轮胎中所使用橡胶的高度相容性、良好的润湿性能等,价格也相对较低。但是,1994年欧洲的一篇调查报告使人们开始关注高芳烃橡胶增塑剂对环境和健康的负面影响。该调查发现,因为行驶过程中的磨损,轮胎颗粒会散布在道路两旁,渗入地下以及水体环境中,而吸附在橡胶颗粒上的有毒组分,并不像过去认为的那样会永远吸附,而是会逐渐分解成为游离态的化学物质。而增塑剂中的化学组分,尤其是有致癌性多环芳烃的组分,对其所散布…     

Clinical assessment of affective instability: Comparing EMA indices, questionnaire reports, and retrospective recall.

Traditional self-report measures of psychopathology may be influenced by a variety of recall biases. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) reduces these biases by assessing individuals’ experiences as they occur in their natural environments. This study examines the discrepancy between trait questionnaire, retrospective report, and EMA measures of affective instability in psychiatric outpatients either with a borderline personality diagnosis (n = 58) or with a current episode of major depressive disorder or dysthymia (n = 42). The authors examined the agreement of 3 trait measures of affective instability—the Affective Instability subscale of the Personality Assessment Inventory–Borderline Features scale (L. C. Morey, 1991), the Affect Intensity Measure (R. J. Larsen, E. Diener, & R. Emmons, 1986), and the Affect Lability Scales (P. D. Harvey, B. R. Greenberg, & M. R. Serper, 1989)—and 1 retrospective mood recall task with EMA indices of mood and mood instability. Results indicate only modest to moderate agreement between momentary and questionnaire assessments of trait affective instability; agreement between recalled mood changes and EMA indices was poor. Implications for clinical research and practice and possible applications of EMA methodology are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Competing visual and olfactory imagery tasks suppress craving for coffee.

Using the elaborated intrusion theory of desire as a theoretical basis, the present experiments investigated whether mutual competition between modality-specific tasks and desire-related imagery can suppress cravings for caffeine--in particular, coffee. Data from a pilot survey (Experiment 1) in 106 female undergraduate habitual coffee drinkers showed that coffee cravings are characterized predominantly by sensory images in the visual, olfactory, and gustatory modalities. Experiments 2 and 3 tested the prediction that a competing visual or olfactory imagery task would reduce such cravings, relative to an auditory imagery task. In each experiment, 90 female undergraduate habitual coffee drinkers were asked to forego their morning cup of coffee and were subsequently exposed to pictures of coffee (Experiment 2) or actual coffee (Experiment 3). After the craving induction protocol, participants completed either a visual, auditory, or olfactory imagery task with neutral (i.e., non-coffee-related) content. As predicted, the visual and olfactory imagery tasks reduced participants' cravings for coffee, whereas the auditory task did not. Imagery techniques in the visual or olfactory domain could provide a useful adjunct to the behavioral regime of caffeine fading for consumers who are trying to quit caffeine use or reduce their intake. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)