scholarly journals The Potential Benefits of Therapeutic Treatment Using Gaseous Terpenes at Ambient Low Levels

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (21) ◽  
pp. 4507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo-Chun Kim ◽  
Trieu-Vuong Dinh ◽  
Hong-Keun Oh ◽  
Youn-Suk Son ◽  
Ji-Won Ahn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Subjects ◽  
Detection Threshold ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Psychological Conditions ◽  
Forest Bathing ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Alpha Waves

Biological volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) are emitted abundantly from the flora. Among BVOCs, monoterpenes (MTs) have been used for aromatherapy (e.g., forest bathing) to treat human physiological and psychological conditions. However, relatively little is known about the therapeutic effects of MTs at low part per billion by volume (ppbv) levels. The effects of artificial MTs on human subjects were assessed by both olfactory and therapeutic parameters (brain alpha waves and stress index). Gaseous standards of three monoterpenes (i.e., α-pinene, β-pinene, and d-limonene) prepared at low ppbv levels were used individually and as mixtures. Fifty-nine healthy and non-asthmatics volunteer university students were selected for the test. All human subjects inhaled low ppbv levels of monoterpene in the testing room. Brain alpha waves and stress index were investigated during the inhalation time. Questionnaires were also used after testing. It was found that the detection threshold of MTs was close to 5 ppbv. When the MT levels increased from 0 to 20 ppbv, the mean values of brain alpha waves derived from all participants increased from 9.8 to 15.1. In contrast, the stress index values declined from 46.2 to 34.7. The overall results suggest that MTs have great potential to positively affect the relaxation state of subjects in a manner similar to forest bathing in terms of short-term effect. They can thus be applied as potential therapeutic media for mental health care.

Measurement Invariance Analysis of the Parental Stress Index

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 771-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Piskernik ◽  
Barbara Supper ◽  
Lieselotte Ahnert
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Parental Stress ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Structural Invariance ◽  
Parent Domain ◽  
Structural Levels

Abstract. While parenting research continues to compare similarities and differences in mothers’ and fathers’ behaviors based on mean values on the respective dimensions, measurement invariance as a prerequisite for these comparisons has seldom been assured. The present study thus subjected the well-known Parenting Stress Index (PSI), widely used in models of family functioning, to a rigorous measurement invariance analysis based on ( N = 214) Austrian couples with children younger than 3 years of age. We evaluated configural, metric, scalar, and uniqueness invariance on item and subscale levels, and tested for structural invariance of means and variances of the PSI parent and child domain by second-order confirmatory factor analyses. As a result, only measurement differences on the scalar levels affected the factor scores, though negligibly. On the structural levels, no differences were found on the PSI child domain across parents, but on the PSI parent domain, mothers reported more stress.

Prevalence and Induction of Circulating Antibodies against Recombinant Staphylokinase

1994 ◽  
Vol 71 (01) ◽  
pp. 129-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
P J Declerck ◽  
S Vanderschueren ◽  
J Billiet ◽  
H Moreau ◽  
D Collen
Keyword(s):  
Intravenous Administration ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Microtiter Plates ◽  
Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteremia ◽  
Alternative Agent ◽  
Antibody Titers ◽  
Potential Alternative ◽  
Circulating Antibodies ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Antibody Levels

SummaryStreptokinase (SK) is a routinely used thrombolytic agent but it is immunogenic and allergenic; staphylokinase (STA) is a potential alternative agent which is under early clinical evaluation. The comparative prevalence of antibodies against recombinant STA (STAR) and against SK was studied in healthy subjects and their induction with intravenous administration in small groups of patients.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, using microtiter plates coated with STAR or SK and calibration with affinospecific human antibodies, revealed 2.1 to 65 μg/ml (median 11 μg/ml) anti-STAR antibodies and 0.9 to 370 μg/ml (median 18 μg/ml) anti-SK antibodies (p <0.001 vs anti-STAR antibodies) in plasma from 100 blood donors, with corresponding values of 0.6 to 100 μg/ml (median 7.1 μg/ml) and 0.4 to 120 μg/ml (median 7.3 μg/ml), respectively, in 104 patients with angina pectoris. Three out of 17 patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia had significantly increased anti-STAR antibody levels (150, 75 and 75 μg/ml), and STAR neutralizing activities (2.2, 3.6 and 4.1 μg STAR neutralized per ml plasma, respectively). In 6 patients with acute myocardial infarction, given 10 mg STAR intravenously over 30 min, median anti-STAR antibody levels were 3.5 μg/ml at baseline, 2.9 μg/ml at 6 to 8 days and 1.2 μg/ml at 2 to 9 weeks, with median corresponding titers of STAR neutralizing activity at 2 to 9 weeks of 42 μg/ml plasma. Conversely, in 5 patients treated with 1,500,000 units SK over 60 min, median anti-SK antibodies increased from 2.9 μg/ml at baseline to 360 μg/ml at 5 to 10 days, with corresponding median SK neutralizing activities of 13 μg/ml. Antibodies against STAR did not cross-react with SK and vice versa.Plasma from human subjects contains low levels of circulating antibodies against recombinant staphylokinase, and intravenous administration of this compound boosts antibody titers. These antibodies do however not cross-react with streptokinase, whereby the use of these two immunogenic thrombolytic agents would not be mutually exclusive.

scholarly journals Human Subjects Requirements and Economic Education Researchers

2007 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane S. Lopus ◽  
Paul W. Grimes ◽  
William E. Becker ◽  
Rodney A. Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Human Subjects ◽  
Economic Education ◽  
Opportunity Costs ◽  
Federal Regulations ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Human Subjects Research ◽  
Web Based ◽  
American Universities ◽  
Net Benefits ◽  
Low Levels

This paper presents the results of a web-based survey of economic educators who were asked about their knowledge and experience with human subjects research and the mandated federal protocols that govern such research at most American universities. The results indicate that while economic education researchers are experienced in conducting human subjects research and are aware of the federal regulations, they are not well informed about key details of the regulations. They are skeptical of the net benefits of the mandated protocols because of the perceived discouraging burdens of the paperwork that rarely result in significant modifications of their research projects. The authors conclude that recent calls for modifications to the federal regulations for classroom-based research projects may be justified given the opportunity costs of adhering to the regulations compared to the relatively low levels of perceived benefits.

EXPRESS: Limitations of occasional reinforced extinction to alleviate spontaneous recovery and reinstatement effects: Evidence for a trial signalling mechanism

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110434
Author(s):  
María José Quintero ◽  
Amanda Flores ◽  
María Teresa Gutiérrez-Huerta ◽  
Patricia Molina-Guerrero ◽  
Francisco J López ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Recovery ◽  
Fear Memory ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Conditioning Procedure ◽  
Psychological Conditions ◽  
Return Of Fear ◽  
Promising Strategy ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Theoretical Standpoint ◽  
Extinction Treatment

Fear extinction is not permanent but is instead more vulnerable than the original fear memory, as traditionally shown by the return of fear phenomena. Because of this, techniques to mitigate the return of fear are needed in the clinical treatment of related psychological conditions. One promising strategy is the occasional reinforced extinction treatment, introducing a gradual and sparse number of CS-US pairings within the extinction treatment. We present the results of three experiments in which we used a threat conditioning procedure in humans. Our main aim was to evaluate whether occasional reinforced extinction could reduce two different forms of relapse: spontaneous recovery (Experiments 1 and 2) and reinstatement (Experiment 3). Contrary to our predictions and previous literature, the results indicate that an occasional reinforcement treatment did not mitigate relapse compared with standard extinction. From a theoretical standpoint, these results are more consistent with the idea that extinction entails the acquisition of new knowledge than with the idea that there are conditions in which extinction leads to a weakening of the original fear memory. These findings also question the generality of the potential benefits of using occasional reinforced extinction in clinical settings.

Changing Infant Mortality: The Need to Spend More While Getting Less

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 862-866
Author(s):  
Bernard S. Bloom
Keyword(s):  
Infant Mortality ◽  
Medical Care ◽  
Medical Technology ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
High Technology ◽  
Live Births ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Expectant Mothers ◽  
Unlimited Access ◽  
Low Levels

A steady decline of infant and maternal mortality has been recorded for as long as these statistics have been collected. Much of the improvement has been due to reductions in infectious diseases and to social, economic, and public health improvements over the years. The major portion of mortality reductions took place before there were any important effects of medical care. However, there is increasing evidence suggesting that important benefits, can still be gained from medical technology. But, with infant mortality at low levels (between 7 and 12/1,000 live births in high-income countries) the wide use of high technology to effect further reductions guarantees escalating medical care expenditures. With pressures mounting to control costs, what will society be willing to give up in order to make this care available? From where will funds come to utilize costly existing and new medical technology so that all expectant mothers and newborns needing it may have essentially unlimited access in order to reap potential benefits?

Chronic exercise and left ventricular structure and function in healthy human subjects

1985 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 409-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. Wolfe ◽  
R. P. Martin ◽  
D. D. Watson ◽  
R. D. Lasley ◽  
D. E. Bruns
Keyword(s):  
Human Subjects ◽  
Exercise Program ◽  
Left Ventricular ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Healthy Human ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
End Diastolic Volume ◽  
Supervised Exercise ◽  
Fitness Training ◽  
And Function

Twelve healthy well-trained participants in a supervised exercise program (mean age, 41.3 yr) were compared with 12 sedentary control subjects (mean age, 38.9 yr) with physical characteristics similar to the exercised group (EG) before training. Resting echocardiograms revealed significantly lower heart rates (HR) in the EG compared with control group (CG) but no evidence for cardiac structural differences between groups. Radionuclide angiograms performed at rest and during two levels of supine cycling (HR targets: 120 and 140 beats X min-1) resulted in increases in background-corrected end-diastolic counts [EDC(bc)] and confirmed use of the Frank-Starling mechanism in the majority of subjects. Mean values (+/- SD) for ejection fraction (EF) and normalized peak systolic ejection rate (PSER) (P greater than 0.05 between groups) were the following. (Formula: see text) The results suggested that fitness training does not induce significant cardiac enlargement as apparent from measurements at rest or important changes in contractile state during exercise. Increases in exercise stroke volume with such training may be the result of an increased end-diastolic volume.

Regulation of PaCO2 and ventilation in humans inspiring low levels of CO2

1982 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. V. Forster ◽  
J. P. Klein ◽  
L. H. Hamilton ◽  
J. P. Kampine
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Error ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Consistent Difference ◽  
Arterial Pco2 ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
Apparent Reason ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Isocapnic Hyperpnea ◽  
Sensory Mechanism

This study was designed to determine whether 1) arterial PCO2 (PaCO2) increases when inspired PCO2 (PICO2) is increased from less than 0.4 Torr (eupnea) to 7 or 14 Torr, and 2) ventilatory sensitivity to CO2 (delta VE/ delta PaCO2) is greater at low levels of PICO2 (7–21 Torr) than it is at higher levels (28–42 Torr). Human subjects were studied while seated in an environmental chamber that permitted alteration of PICO2 by changing the chamber PCO2. In study 1, arterial blood was sampled over the final 5 min of a eupneic period and again 10–15 min later when PICO2 was 7 or 14 Torr. With this protocol, PACO2 was increased above eupnea by 0.7 (P less than 0.02) and 0.9 Torr (P less than 0.01) when PICO2 was 7 and 14 Torr, respectively. In study 2, arterial blood was sampled every 5 min during two 1-h periods of eupnea that were separated by 3 h during which PICO2 was increased by 7 Torr each 0.5 h. With this protocol there was no consistent difference in PACO2 between eupneic periods and periods when PICO2 was 7–14 Torr. There was a progressively increased hypercapnia as PICO2 was increased from 7 to 42 Torr. The delta VE/ delta PaCO2 was less than half for data obtained at low relative to high PICO2. The two studies demonstrated that measurement error and physiologic variation necessitate using a “powerful” experimental design (study 1) to detect small increases in PaCO2. On the basis of these results, we have concluded that there is no apparent reason to postulate a sensory mechanism other than the carotid and intracranial chemoreceptors to account for the hyperpnea during CO2 inhalation. Specifically, isocapnic hyperpnea probably does not occur.

The Ethical Problems of the Open Label Extension Study

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 410-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Craig Micetich
Keyword(s):  
Human Subjects ◽  
Research Participant ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Open Label ◽  
Ethical Problems ◽  
Risks And Benefits ◽  
Institutional Review ◽  
Open Label Extension ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Potential Risks

The institutional review board (IRB) Is charged with assessing the risks and benefits of research projects Involving human subjects. Ethical considerations and federal regulations require that an IRB, in part, must find that the potential risks of participation are proportional to the potential benefits (If any) and to the Importance of the knowledge that may be learned before the IRB can approve the voluntary assumption of risk by a research participant. Adequate assessment of the risks and benefits requires careful scrutiny of the study design In relation to the study objectives.

Effects of innovative microbial management on maize ( Zea mays L.) yield in a long-term fertilisation experiment

2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-251
Author(s):  
Z. Berzsenyi ◽  
G. Micskei ◽  
I. Jócsák ◽  
P. Bónis ◽  
E. Sugár
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Growth Yield ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Microbial Consortia ◽  
Long Term Results ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Maize Growth

Research indicates that there is considerable potential for a successful switch from high chemical use to lower-input, more sustainable farming practices for maize. The overall objective of the MicroMaize project was to field-test the performance of innovative microbiological management strategies. The effect of microbial consortia on maize growth and grain yield was studied in 2008 and 2009 at Martonvásár (Hungary) in a 50-year-old long-term fertilisation experiment. The experiment was set up in a split-plot design with four replications. The main plots were the fertilisation treatments: A: control, without fertilisation (N 0 P 0 K 0 ), B: N 50 P 24 K 43 , C: N 100 P 48 K 87 , D: N 200 P 96 K 174 , E: N 300 P 144 K 261 . Three microbial inoculation treatments were the sub-plots: C0: control, no microbial consortia, C1: A. lipoferum CRT1 + P. fluorescens Pf153 + G. intraradices JJ 129 , C2: A. lipoferum CRT1 + P. fluorescens F113 + G. intraradices JJ129 . The results indicated that the microbial consortia had no significant effect on maize growth and yield. In the ecophysiological analyses, the microbial consortia were found to have a significant positive effect on the chlorophyll content and on the protein and nitrogen contents of the grain yield in 2009. The long-term results revealed that the mineral fertilisation treatments and the year had a significant influence on the growth, yield and grain quality parameters of maize. The effect of nutrient supplies and year during the vegetative growth phase of maize could be quantified using the mean values of the absolute growth rate (AGR) for maize shoots and roots and with the nutrient stress index calculated from AGR. Further field investigations on productivity and eco-physiological parameters will be needed to estimate the effect of microbial consortia.

scholarly journals Harmful Effects and Potential Benefits of Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α on the Liver

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 2199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loris Lopetuso ◽  
Giammarco Mocci ◽  
Manuela Marzo ◽  
Francesca D’Aversa ◽  
Gian Rapaccini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Necrosis Factor ◽  
Tumor Necrosis ◽  
Rare Event ◽  
The Other ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Alcoholic Fatty Liver ◽  
Hepatic Diseases ◽  
Tnf Α ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Necrosis Factor

Anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α agents represent an effective treatment for chronic inflammatory diseases. However, some concerns about their potentially undesirable effects on liver function have been reported. On the other hand, evidence of their therapeutic effects on certain liver diseases is accumulating. Many data showed the safety of anti-TNF-α in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C and in liver transplanted patients even if a strict follow-up and prophylaxis are recommended in well-defined subgroups. On the other side, anti-TNF-α-induced liver injury is not a rare event. However, it is often reversible after anti-TNF-α withdrawal. Anti-TNF-α agents have been tested in advanced stages of severe alcoholic hepatitis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Limited data on the efficacy of anti-TNF-α in patients with autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cholangitis are also available. In this review, we explored the hepatic safety concerns in patients receiving anti-TNF-α agents with and without pre-existent hepatic diseases. In addition, the available evidence on their potential benefits in the treatment of specific hepatic diseases is discussed.

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