Currieburnette8344

Background Male patients with Marfan syndrome have a higher risk of aortic events and root dilatation compared with females. The role androgens play during Marfan syndrome aneurysm development in males remains unknown. We hypothesized that androgens potentiate transforming growth factor beta induced Erk (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase)/Smad activation, contributing to aneurysm progression in males. Methods and Results Aortic diameters in Fbn1C1039G/+ and littermate wild-type controls were measured at ages 6, 8, 12, and 16 weeks. Fbn1C1039G/+ males were treated with (1) flutamide (androgen receptor blocker) or (2) vehicle control from age 6 to 16 weeks and then euthanized. p-Erk1/2, p-Smad2, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity were measured in ascending/aortic root and descending aorta specimens. Fbn1C1039G/+ male and female ascending/aortic root-derived smooth muscle cells were utilized in vitro to measure Erk/Smad activation and MMP-2 activity following dihydrotestosterone, flutamide or transf9G/+ males.

Self-stigma exerts a range of adversities for persons with severe mental illness (SMI), however, little is known about the association between peer contact, social support and self-stigma.

This study aimed to explore the mediating role of social support on the relationship between peer contact and self-stigma among persons with SMI in Hong Kong.

A total of 159 persons with SMI (schizophrenia and mood disorder) in community service centres participated in the study through completing a survey on self-stigma, social functioning, social support, perception of peer contact and mass media. Logistic regression was utilised to explore the influencing factors of self-stigma among the participants.

The results showed that 81.1% of participants reported moderate to severe levels of self-stigma. Self-stigma was significantly associated with diverse factors (e.g. social functioning). Importantly, positive peer contact was significantly associated with lower self-stigma of persons with SMI. Social support acted as a mediator between peer contact and self-stigma.

The results of this study suggest that contact-based interventions, such as enhancing positive peer-to-peer contact, should be conducted for reducing self-stigma among persons with SMI.

The results of this study suggest that contact-based interventions, such as enhancing positive peer-to-peer contact, should be conducted for reducing self-stigma among persons with SMI.

Perinatal depression (PND) is one of the most common psychiatric illnesses in women, with a prevalence around 22% in India. Leveraging mobile-based technologies could help in the prevention and treatment of perinatal depression even in remote places. Understanding the experiences and barriers of using such technology interventions by perinatal mothers could help in the better design and in delivery of these interventions. We aimed to study the experiences of the perinatal women using a mobile phone-based intervention, Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS), for the prevention and management of perinatal depression in a rural district of Bihar, India.

A total of 12 in-depth interviews (IDIs) and one focus group discussion (FGD) with eight participants were conducted with perinatal mothers using the mobile-based IVRS to explore the experiences and perspectives of women receiving mobile phone-based interventions for the treatment of PND. Thematic analysis was done to identify major themes.

Five major themes emerged from the study around accessibility, usability, community participation, cost and preference to either intervention. Women found the mobile-based intervention useful as it made them feel lighter. They considered mental health as a health issue and wanted help to address their problems. They became familiar with terms like anxiety, depression, helplessness and burden and bean using them in their conversations. The patients used therapeutic strategies such as breathing, coping and relaxation. They even agreed to take up sessions for their peer group.

Women in rural Bihar seemed satisfied with the technology-based intervention. It has made mental health issues more visible and acceptable even in the rural hinterlands of Bihar.

Women in rural Bihar seemed satisfied with the technology-based intervention. It has made mental health issues more visible and acceptable even in the rural hinterlands of Bihar.Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a crucial role in many physiological processes. However, ROS overproduction leads to oxidative stress, which plays a critical role in cell injury/death and the pathogenesis of many diseases. Members of NADPH oxidase (NOX) family, most of which are comprised of membrane and cytosolic components, are known to be the major nonmitochondrial sources of ROS in many cells. NOX2 is a widely-expressed and well-studied NOX family member, which is activated upon assembly of its membrane subunits gp91 phox and p22 phox with its cytosolic subunits p40 phox , p47 phox , p67 phox , and Rac, facilitating ROS production. NOX2 activation is also enhanced by GTP and inhibited by GDP. However, there remains a lack of a mechanistic, quantitative, and integrated understanding of the kinetics and regulation of the assembly of these subunits and their relative contributions toward NOX2 activation and ROS production. Toward this end, we have developed a mechanistic computational model, which incorporates a generalized random rapid equilibrium binding mechanism for NOX2 assembly and activation as well as regulations by GTP (activation), GDP (inhibition), and individual subunits enhancing the binding of other subunits (mutual binding enhancement). The resulting model replicates diverse published kinetic data, including subunit concentration-dependent NOX2 activation and ROS production, under different assay conditions, with appropriate estimates of the unknown model parameters. The model provides a mechanistic, quantitative, and integrated framework for investigating the critical roles of NOX2 subunits in NOX2 assembly and activation facilitating ROS production in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological conditions. selleck However, there is also a need for better quantitative kinetic data based on current understanding of NOX2 assembly and activation in order to test and further develop this model.