Cuticular lipids of female solitary bees, Osmia lignaria Say and Megachile rotundata (F.) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae).

The cuticular lipids of the cavity-nesting adult female solitary bees, Osmia lignaria Say and Megachile rotundata (F.) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and combined GC-mass spectrometry. The cuticular lipids of these female bees are mainly consisted of hydrocarbons.

Self-regulation and its relations to adaptive functioning in low income youths.

Most studies of self-regulation involving children have linked it to specific outcomes within a single domain of adaptive functioning. The authors examined the association of self-regulation with a range of indices of adaptive functioning among 155 youth ages 8-18 years from families with very low income. Controlling for other explanatory variables, self-regulation was strongly associated with various outcome measures in the areas of mental health, behavior, academic achievement, and social competence.

Plasma 25,OH vitamin D concentrations are not associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-related autoantibodies in individuals at elevated risk for RA.

Objective: To evaluate the association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-related autoantibodies and plasma 25,OH vitamin D in subjects at risk for RA.

Methods: In 1210 subjects without RA, 76 were positive for anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies or for at least 2 rheumatoid factors (RF; by nephelometry: RF-IgM, RF-IgG, RF-IgA). 25,OH vitamin D was measured in these cases and 154 autoantibody-negative controls from this cohort.

The interactive effect of anxiety sensitivity and frequency of marijuana use in terms of anxious responding to bodily sensations among youth.

Marijuana use is associated with anxiety, particularly among those anxiety conditions in which panic is common. It may therefore be that risk factors for panic increase the likelihood that marijuana users will experience problematic anxiety symptoms. The current study investigated the role of one such risk factor, anxiety sensitivity (AS), or the extent to which an individual is frightened of anxiety symptoms.

Cutting edge: the PTPN22 allelic variant associated with autoimmunity impairs B cell signaling.

PTPN22 is a gene encoding the protein tyrosine phosphatase Lyp. A missense mutation changing residue 1858 from cytosine to thymidine (1858C/T) is associated with multiple autoimmune disorders. Studies have demonstrated that Lyp has an inhibitory effect on TCR signaling; however, the presence of autoantibodies in all of the diseases associated with the 1858T variant and recent evidence that Ca(2+) flux is altered in B cells of 1858T carriers indicate a role for Lyp in B cell signaling.

Attention training for generalized social anxiety disorder.

Attentional bias toward negative social cues is thought to serve an etiological and/or maintaining role in social anxiety disorder (SAD). The current study tested whether training patients to disengage from negative social cues may ameliorate social anxiety in patients (N = 36) with a primary diagnosis of generalized SAD. Patients were randomly assigned to either an attention training condition (n = 18), in which patients completed a modified dot-probe task designed to facilitate attentional disengagement from disgusted faces, or a control dot-probe task condition (n = 18).

Functional islet-specific Treg can be generated from CD4+CD25- T cells of healthy and type 1 diabetic subjects.

CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+) Treg cells require TCR engagement for suppressive function, thus ensuring that suppression occurs only in the presence of specific antigens; however, to date no studies have addressed the function of self-antigen-specific Treg in humans. These studies were designed to determine whether peripheral generation and function of islet antigen-specific adaptive Treg are defective in human subjects with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Islet antigen-specific adaptive Treg were induced in vitro by activation of CD4(+)FOXP3(-) T cells with glutamic acid decarboxylase and islet-specific glucose-6-phosphate catalytic subunit-related protein peptides in the context of T1D-associated HLA-DRbeta alleles.

Exploration of anxiety sensitivity and distress tolerance as vulnerability factors for hoarding behaviors.

Background: The phenomenon of compulsive hoarding, characterized by the acquisition of and failure to discard a large number of possessions, is increasingly recognized as a significant public health burden. Despite the magnitude of the impairment associated with this condition, empirical research is still in the nascent stages and many facets of the phenomenology, underlying vulnerability and risk factors for hoarding, are as of yet unknown.

Method: The overall aim of the current investigation was to examine the association between hoarding behaviors and two potential vulnerability factors-anxiety sensitivity (AS) and distress tolerance (DT).

Functional analysis of FOXP3.

Tolerance to self antigens is established in two ways: first in the thymus through the deletion of thymocytes expressing self-reactive T cell receptors; and second, in the periphery through multiple mechanisms involving deletion, anergy, and suppression. Dominant tolerance to self antigens in the periphery is primarily the function of the CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+) subset of T cells, which have the capability of suppressing autoreactive T cells that have escaped deletion during thymic selection. The essential role of the transcription factor FOXP3 in the development and function of these cells has been well documented.

Phase II trial of two different irinotecan schedules with pharmacokinetic analysis in patients with recurrent glioma: North Central Cancer Treatment Group results.

Purpose: The aims of this trial were to assess the safety and efficacy of two different dosing schedules of irinotecan (CPT-11) in recurrent glioma patients, to assess irinotecan pharmacokinetics in patients on enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs (EIAEDs) and steroids, and to correlate with toxicity and response to treatment.

Methods: Sixty-four recurrent glioma patients were included in this study. Schedule A patients received irinotecan weekly (125 mg/m(2)/w) for four out of six weeks.

Interpreting facial expressions: the influence of social anxiety, emotional valence, and race.

Social anxiety is posited to be linked to interpersonal skills deficits, including accurate interpretation of emotional social cues, such as facial expressions. However, empirical support for an interpersonal skills deficit model of social anxiety is lacking. Studies of information processes indicate that socially anxious individuals may be more accurate at identifying threatening facial expressions in particular.

Social anxiety disorder as a risk factor for alcohol use disorders: a prospective examination of parental and peer influences.

Elucidation of mechanisms underlying the high rates of alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains a pressing clinical and research concern. Despite data indicating that social anxiety disorder (SAD) may be a psychological vulnerability that increases AUD risk, no known prospective research has examined underlying mechanisms. Given the nature of SAD, social support and peer alcohol use may be implicated.

Evaluation of MGMT promoter methylation status and correlation with temozolomide response in orthotopic glioblastoma xenograft model.

CpG methylation within the O6-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter is associated with enhanced survival of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients treated with temozolomide (TMZ). Although MGMT promoter is methylated in approximately 50% of GBM, several studies have reported a lack of correlation between MGMT methylation and protein expression levels and consequently inaccurate discrimination of TMZ sensitive and resistant patients. To understand the limitations of currently used assays, TMZ responsiveness of 13 GBM xenograft lines was correlated with MGMT protein expression and MGMT promoter methylation determined by (1) standard methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MS-PCR), (2) quantitative MS-PCR (qMS-PCR), and (3) bisulfite sequencing.

The effector T cells of diabetic subjects are resistant to regulation via CD4+ FOXP3+ regulatory T cells.

Defects in immune regulation have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes in mouse and in man. In vitro assays using autologous regulatory (Treg) and responder effector (Teff) T cells have shown that suppression is impaired in diabetic subjects. In this study, we addressed whether the source of this defect is intrinsic to the Treg or Teff compartment of diabetic subjects.

Recurrence following neurosurgeon-determined gross-total resection of adult supratentorial low-grade glioma: results of a prospective clinical trial.

Object: In 1998, the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group initiated a Phase II study of observation for adults < 40 years old with cerebral low-grade glioma who underwent a neurosurgeon-determined gross-total resection (GTR).

Methods: Patient eligibility criteria included the presence of a World Health Organization Grade II astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, or mixed oligoastrocytoma confirmed histologically; age 18-39 years; Karnofsky Performance Scale score > or = 60; Neurologic Function Scale score < or = 3; supratentorial tumor location; neurosurgeon-determined GTR; and pre- and postoperative MR imaging with contrast enhancement available for central review by the principal investigator. Patients were observed following GTR and underwent MR imaging every 6 months.

Phase I/II trial of erlotinib and temozolomide with radiation therapy in the treatment of newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme: North Central Cancer Treatment Group Study N0177.

Purpose: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) amplification in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a common occurrence and is associated with treatment resistance. Erlotinib, a selective EGFR inhibitor, was combined with temozolomide (TMZ) and radiotherapy (RT) in a phase I/II trial.

Patients And Methods: Adults not taking enzyme-inducing anticonvulsants after resection or biopsy of GBM were treated with erlotinib (150 mg daily) until progression.

North Central Cancer Treatment Group--achievements and perspectives.

The North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) was founded in 1977 as a regional cooperative group to allow cancer patients in the upper Midwest of the United States to gain access to clinical trials in oncology by establishing a network of community oncology practices with one academic research base, the Mayo Clinic. Since then, the NCCTG has grown into an international cooperative group with 43 members in 33 US states and Canada. This article details 30 years of achievements of the NCCTG, including important scientific contributions from disease-specific and treatment modality committees, the cancer control program, patient-reported outcomes and quality-of-life research, and biostatisticians that support the NCCTG's specific aims: to improve the duration and quality of life of cancer patients, to enhance our understanding of the biological consequences of cancer and its treatment, and to improve methods for clinical trial conduct.

Implications of comorbid alcohol dependence among individuals with social anxiety disorder.

Background: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is highly comorbid with alcohol use disorders (AUD) yet the nature of this comorbidity remains unclear. To better understand these associations, we first examined whether SAD was related to AUD above and beyond relevant covariates. Second, we examined the psychosocial impairment associated with the comorbidity of SAD and AUD versus SAD without AUD.

Marijuana effect expectancies: relations to social anxiety and marijuana use problems.

High social anxiety is related to marijuana problems, yet the nature of this relation remains unclear. We examined relations between marijuana effect expectancies, social anxiety, and marijuana among undergraduates (N=337). Social anxiety was related positively to Negative Expectancies and negatively to Tension Reduction Expectancies.

Retrospective review of adjuvant chemotherapy for esthesioneuroblastoma.

Background: Esthesioneuroblastoma (ENB) is a rare tumor arising from the olfactory epithelium in the upper nasal cavity. Prior reviews have found efficacy of chemotherapy for high grade tumors in the advanced setting. However, little information is available regarding chemotherapy in the adjuvant setting.

Understanding social anxiety as a risk for alcohol use disorders: fear of scrutiny, not social interaction fears, prospectively predicts alcohol use disorders.

Increasing evidence indicates that social anxiety may be a premorbid risk factor for alcohol use disorders (AUD). The aim of this study was to replicate and extend previous work examining whether social anxiety is a risk factor for AUD by evaluating both the temporal antecedence and non-spuriousness of this relationship. We also examined whether social anxiety first-order factors (social interaction anxiety, observation anxieties) served as specific predictors of AUD.

Treating Comorbid Social Anxiety and Alcohol Use Disorders: Combining Motivation Enhancement Therapy With Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) and alcohol use disorders (AUD) co-occur at particularly high rates, resulting in greater impairment than either disorder alone. Thus, the development of effective treatments for patients with SAD and comorbid AUD is an important clinical and research aim. Yet little work has examined treatments for SAD with comorbid AUD.

Behavior management training for the treatment of reactive attachment disorder.

Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) is a childhood disorder characterized by extremely inappropriate social relating across a variety of interactions that must be present by age 5. Although children diagnosed with RAD appear to demonstrate significantly more behavioral problems and psychosocial difficulties than children without RAD, there have been few examinations of empirically informed treatments for this disorder. One avenue that may be particularly promising is the use of treatments that have been successfully used to decrease similar problematic behaviors in children.

Melanoma-induced brain metastases.

Brain metastases are a common site of metastasis from malignant melanoma, and are associated with a poor prognosis. Diagnosis of brain metastasis may also have significant implications for quality of life, and management can be difficult due to rapid progression of disease and resistance to conventional therapies. In this article, we will review the published evidence for treatment modalities for melanoma-induced brain metastases and outline future directions for research.

Combined analysis of monocyte and lymphocyte messenger RNA expression with serum protein profiles in patients with scleroderma.

Objective: We attempted to elucidate possible pathogenetic mechanisms in scleroderma by analysis of gene expression patterns of purified monocytes and lymphocytes, as well as protein profiles of cytokines and growth factors.

Methods: Expression analysis was performed on messenger RNA (mRNA) from cells that had been purified with magnetic beads. Plasma samples from the same patients were used for multiplex cytokine analysis.