is an airborne, Gram-negative, obligate intracellular bacterium which causes human respiratory infections and has been associated with atherosclerosis. Because individuals with periodontitis are at ...greater risk for atherosclerosis as well as respiratory infections, we in-vestigated the role of
in inflammation and periodontal dis-ease. We found that
was more frequently found in subgingival dental plaque obtained from periodontally diseased sites of the mouth versus healthy sites. The known periodontal pathogens,
and
, were also found in the plaque. In addition,
could efficiently invade human gingival epithelial cells (GECs)
, causing translocation of NF-κB to the nucleus along with increased secretion of mature IL-1β cytokine. Supernatants collected from
-infected GECs showed increased activation of caspase-1 protein, which was significantly reduced when
gene expression was silenced using shRNA lentiviral vectors. Our results demonstrate that
was found in higher levels in periodontitis patients compared to control pa-tients. Additionally,
could infect GECs, leading to inflammation caused by activation of NF-κB and the NLRP3 inflammasome. We propose that the presence of
in subgingival dental plaque may contribute to periodontal disease and could be used as a potential risk indicator of perio-dontal disease.
This study tested whether aerobic exercise delivered during the consolidation window following fear extinction learning reduces the return of fear among women with posttraumatic stress disorder ...(PTSD). Participants (n=35) completed an initial clinical assessment followed by a 3-day fear acquisition, extinction, and recall protocol. On day 1, participants completed a fear acquisition training task in which one geometric shape (conditioning stimulus; CS+) was paired (with 50% probability) with a mild electric shock (unconditioned stimulus; US), while a different shape (CS-) was never paired with the US. On day 2 (24 h later), participants completed a fear extinction training task in which the CS+ no longer predicted administration of the US. Shortly following extinction, participants were randomly assigned to complete either moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (EX) or a light-intensity exercise control (CON) condition. On day 3 (24 h later), participants completed fear recall tests assessing the return of fear (spontaneous recovery, renewal, and reinstatement). Fear responding was assessed via threat expectancy ratings and skin conductance responses (SCR). In the threat expectancy ratings, there were no significant differences between groups in spontaneous recovery; however, EX significantly (p=.02) reduced threat expectancy ratings following reinstatement relative to CON. In SCR measures, there were no significant differences between groups in spontaneous recovery, renewal, or reinstatement. These results support a role for moderate-intensity aerobic exercise during the consolidation window in reducing threat expectations following reinstatement in women with PTSD. Research should continue to examine exercise as a potential method for improving the efficacy of exposure-based therapies.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04113798.
•Fear extinction paradigms are widely used as a model of exposure therapy in PTSD.•Women with PTSD completed exercise (or control) following fear extinction training.•24 h later, participants completed fear recall tests assessing return of fear.•Exercise during the consolidation window decreased threat expectancy ratings following reinstatement compared to control.•Exercise may be a promising candidate for improving exposure-based therapies in PTSD.
We recently demonstrated that moderate-intensity aerobic exercise delivered during the consolidation of fear extinction learning reduced threat expectancy during a test of extinction recall among ...women with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These findings suggest that exercise may be a potential candidate for improving the efficacy of exposure-based therapies, which are hypothesized to work via the mechanisms of fear extinction learning. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to examine whether exercise-induced increases in circulating concentrations of candidate biomarkers: endocannabinoids (anandamide AEA; 2-arachidonoylglycerol 2-AG, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and homovanillic acid (HVA), mediate the effects of exercise on extinction recall.
Participants (N = 35) completed a 3-day fear acquisition (day 1), extinction (day 2), and extinction recall (day 3) protocol, in which participants were randomly assigned to complete either moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (EX) or a light-intensity control (CON) condition following extinction training (day 2). Blood was obtained prior to and following EX or CON. Threat expectancy ratings during tests of extinction recall (i.e., initial fear recall and fear recall following reinstatement) were obtained 24 h following EX or CON. Mediation was tested using linear-mixed effects models and bootstrapping of the indirect effect.
Circulating concentrations of AEA and BDNF (but not 2-AG and HVA) were found to mediate the relationship between moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and reduced threat expectancy ratings following reinstatement (AEA 95% CI: −0.623 to −0.005; BDNF 95% CI: −0.941 to −0.005).
Exercise-induced increases in peripheral AEA and BDNF appear to play a role in enhancing consolidation of fear extinction learning, thereby leading to reduced threat expectancies following reinstatement among women with PTSD. Future mechanistic research examining these and other biomarkers (e.g., brain-based biomarkers) is warranted.
•Exposure-based therapies are hypothesized to work via the mechanisms of fear extinction learning.•Aerobic exercise delivered after extinction learning enhanced consolidation of fear extinction learning.•Exercise-induced increases in AEA and BDNF were found to mediate this relationship.•Aerobic exercise may be a promising candidate for improving exposure-based therapies.
This paper aims to characterize the radiation dose and image quality (IQ) performance of a dental cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) unit over a range of fields of view (FOV). IQ and dose were ...measured using a Carestream 9300 dental CBCT. Phantoms were positioned in the FOV to imitate clinical positioning. IQ was assessed by scanning a SEDENTEXCT IQ phantom, and images were analyzed in ImageJ. Dose index 1 was obtained using a thimble ionization chamber and SEDENTEXCT DI phantom. Mean gray values agreed within 93.5% to 99.7% across the images, with pixel-to-pixel fluctuations of 6% to 12.5%, with poorer uniformity and increased noise for child protocols. CNR was fairly constant across FOVs, with higher CNR for larger patient settings. The measured limiting spatial resolution agreed well with 10% MTF and bar pattern measurements. Dose was reduced for smaller patient settings within a given FOV; however, smaller FOVs obtained with different acquisition settings did not necessarily result in reduced dose. The use of patient-specific acquisition settings decreased the radiation dose for smaller patients, with minimal impact on the IQ. The full set of IQ and dose measurements is reported to allow dental professionals to compare the different FOV settings for clinical use.
The Animus archetype is a crucial analytic concept that can be employed as a therapeutic instrument to engage a feminine ego in a meaningful inner dialogue with the neglected invisible reality of her ...unconscious. The quality of Otherness the Animus archetype bears creates a unique opportunity to explore and to examine a woman’s romantic relational patterns. Becoming conscious of her internal relational dynamic initiates the process of feminine individuation. Active imagination through writing or artmaking functions as an invaluable container that forges rich, authentic symbols out of the encounter with the ephemeral images of the Animus archeytpe. Grounded in depth psychological perspective, artistic-creative and heuristic methodologies are utilized to amplify the insights cultivated from the author’s dreams, romantic relationships, and active imagination and to demonstrate the restorative role that the Animus archetype plays in a feminine individuation.
We report measurements of ambient amines and ammonia with a fast response chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS) in a southeastern US forest and a moderately polluted midwestern site during the ...summer. At the forest site, mostly C3-amines (from pptv to tens of pptv) and ammonia (up to 2 ppbv) were detected, and they both showed temperature dependencies. Aerosol-phase amines measured thermal-desorption chemical ionization mass spectrometer (TDCIMS) showed a higher mass fraction in the evening with cooler temperatures and lower in the afternoon with warmer temperatures, a trend opposite to the gas-phase amines. Concentrations of aerosol-phase primary amines measured with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) from micron and submicron particles were 2 orders of magnitude higher than the gas-phase amines. These results indicate that gas to particle conversion is one of the major processes that control the ambient amine concentrations at this forest site. Temperature dependencies of C3-amines and ammonia also imply reversible processes of evaporation of these nitrogen-containing compounds from soil surfaces in daytime and deposition to soil surfaces at nighttime. During the transported biomass burning plume events, various amines (C1-C6) appeared at the pptv level, indicating that biomass burning is a substantial source of amines in the southeastern US. At the moderately polluted Kent site, there were higher concentrations of C1- to C6-amines (pptv to tens of pptv) and ammonia (up to 6 ppbv). C1- to C3-amines and ammonia were well correlated with the ambient temperature. C4- to C6-amines showed frequent spikes during the nighttime, suggesting that they were emitted from local sources. These abundant amines and ammonia may in part explain the frequent new particle formation events reported from Kent. Higher amine concentrations measured at the polluted site than at the rural forested site highlight the importance of constraining anthropogenic emission sources of amines.
An attenuated Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) sporozoite (SPZ) vaccine, PfSPZ Vaccine, is highly protective against controlled human malaria infection (CHMI) 3 weeks after immunization, but the durability ...of protection is unknown. We assessed how vaccine dosage, regimen, and route of administration affected durable protection in malaria-naive adults. After four intravenous immunizations with 2.7 × 10(5) PfSPZ, 6/11 (55%) vaccinated subjects remained without parasitemia following CHMI 21 weeks after immunization. Five non-parasitemic subjects from this dosage group underwent repeat CHMI at 59 weeks, and none developed parasitemia. Although Pf-specific serum antibody levels correlated with protection up to 21-25 weeks after immunization, antibody levels waned substantially by 59 weeks. Pf-specific T cell responses also declined in blood by 59 weeks. To determine whether T cell responses in blood reflected responses in liver, we vaccinated nonhuman primates with PfSPZ Vaccine. Pf-specific interferon-γ-producing CD8 T cells were present at ∼100-fold higher frequencies in liver than in blood. Our findings suggest that PfSPZ Vaccine conferred durable protection to malaria through long-lived tissue-resident T cells and that administration of higher doses may further enhance protection.
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