The effects of stress management on symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection, secretory immunoglobulin A, and mood in young adults

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of a stress management programme on symptoms of colds and influenza in 27 university students before and after the examination period. Method: The incidence of symptoms, levels of negative affect, and secretion rate of secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) were recorded for 5 weeks before treatment, for the 4 weeks of treatment, and for 8 weeks after treatment in treated subjects and in 25 others who did not participate in stress management. Results: Symptoms decreased in treated subjects but not in controls during and after the examination period. Although sIgA secretion rate increased significantly after individual sessions of relaxation, resting secretion rate of sIgA did not increase over the course of the study. Negative affect decreased after examinations in both groups, but was not affected by treatment. Conclusion: Stress management reduced days of illness independently of negative affect and sIgA secretion rate. Although the component of treatment responsible for this effect has yet to be identified, psychological interventions may have a role in reducing symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

An investigation of symptom-specific muscle hyperreactivity in upper extremity cumulative trauma disorder

Objective: The study examined symptom-specific muscle hyperreactivity in patients with chronic pain with upper limb cumulative trauma disorder (CTD). Design: Four tasks were presented in counterbalanced order and included neutral, general stressor, personal stressor, and pain stressor tasks. Ratings of stressfulness and recordings of skin conductance level confirmed the effectiveness of the experimental manipulations in inducing stress experiences for all subject groups. Setting: The study was conducted in a university research center. Patients: Thirty patients with CTD were matched as closely as possible for age and gender to control groups of chronic low back pain, arthritis, and pain-Free subjects Outcome Measures: Surface electromyograph recordings were taken from the frontalis, forearm flexors, trapezius, and lower back during baseline and tasks. Results: The study found no evidence of greater muscle tension increases or extended duration of return to baseline for the CTD or low back pain patients at any of the muscle sites for any of the tasks in comparison to control groups. Conclusions: The results indicate that symptom-specific psychophysiological responses may be limited to certain subgroups rather than being characteristic of chronic musculoskeletal pain patients in general.

Complete DNA sequence and gene organization of the mitochondrial genome of the liverfluke, Fasciola hepatica L. (Platyhelminthes; Trematoda)

The complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial (mt) DNA molecule of the liverfluke, Fasciola hepatica (phylum Platyhelminthes, class Trematoda, family Fasciolidae), was determined, It comprises 14462 bp, contains 12 protein-encoding, 2 ribosomal and 22 transfer RNA genes, and is the second complete flatworm (and the first trematode) mitochondrial sequence to be described in detail. All of the genes are transcribed from the same strand. Of the genes typically found in mitochondrial genomes of eumetazoans, only atp8 is absent. The nad4L and nad4 genes overlap by 40 nt. Most intergenic sequences are very short. Two larger non-coding regions are present. The longer one (817 nt) is located between trnG and cox3 and consists of 8 identical tandem repeats of 85 nt, rich in G and C, followed by 1 imperfect repeat. The shorter non-coding region (187 nt) exhibits no special features and is separated from the longer region by trnG. The gene arrangement resembles that of some other trematodes including the eastern Asian Schistosoma species (and cyclophyllidean cestode species) but it is strikingly different from that of the African schistosomes, represented by Schistosoma mansoni. The genetic code is as inferred previously for flatworms. Transfer RNA genes range in length from 58 to 70 nt, their products producing characteristic 'clover leaf' structures, except for tRNA(S-VON) and tRNA(S-AGN) lacking the DHU arm.

Trade spectra of complete partite graphs

The trade spectrum of a graph G is essentially the set of all integers t for which there is a graph H whose edges can be partitioned into t copies of G in two entirely different ways. In this paper we determine the trade spectrum of complete partite graphs, in all but a few cases.

Characterization of mouse profilaggrin: Evidence for nuclear engulfment and translocation of the profilaggrin B-domain during epidermal differentiation

Filaggrin is a keratin filament associated protein that is expressed in granular layer keratinocytes and derived by sequential proteolysis from a polyprotein precursor termed profilaggrin. Depending on the species, each profilaggrin molecule contains between 10 and 20 filaggrin subunits organized as tandem repeats with a calcium-binding domain at the N-terminal end. We now report the characterization of the complete mouse gene. The structural organization of the mouse gene is identical to the human profilaggrin gene and consists of three exons with a 4 kb intron within the 5' noncoding region and a 1.7 kb intron separating the sequences encoding the calcium-binding EF-hand motifs. A processed pseudogene was found embedded within the second intron. The third and largest exon encodes the second EF-hand, a basic domain (designated the B-domain) followed by 12 filaggrin repeats and a unique C-terminal tail domain. A polyclonal anti-body raised against the conceptually translated sequence of the B-domain specifically stained keratohyalin granules and colocalized with a filaggrin antibody in granular layer cells. In upper granular layer cells, B-domain containing keratohyalin granules were in close apposition to the nucleus and, in some cells, appeared to be completely engulfed by the nucleus. In transition layer cells, B-domain staining was evident in the nucleus whereas filaggrin staining remained cytoplasmic. Nuclear staining of the B-domain was also observed in primary mouse keratinocytes induced to differentiate. This study has also revealed significant sequence homology between the mouse and human promoter sequences and in the calcium-binding domain but the remainder of the protein-coding region shows substantial divergence.

Factorizations of and by powers of complete graphs

Let K-k(d) denote the Cartesian product of d copies of the complete graph K-k. We prove necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a K-k(r)-factorization of K-pn(s), where p is prime and k > 1, n, r and s are positive integers. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental significance of a Pennsylvanian (Upper Carboniferous) palynoflora from the PiauFormation, Parnaba Basin, northeastern Brazil

A well-preserved palynoflora is reported from within a cored interval of a coal-exploratory borehole (1-UN-23-PI of the Geological Survey of Brazil) in the southern part of the Parnaiba Basin, northeastern Brazil. The sample studied is from the lower portion of the Piaui Formation. Its palynoflora is characterized by particular abundance of the trilete cavate/pseudosaccate miospores Spelaeotriletes triangulus Neves and Owens, 1966 and S. arenaceus Neves and Owens, 1966, together with cingulizonate forms mainly attributable to Vallatisporites Hacquebard, 1957 and Cristatisporites R. Potonie and Kremp emend. Butterworth et al., 1964. Radially and bilaterally symmetrical monosaccate pollen grains are also well-represented, chiefly by Plicatipollenites Lele, 1964 and Potonieisporites Bhardwaj, 1954, respectively. Taeniate grains (i.e., monosaccates and bisaccates) are relatively minor constituents of the palynoflora; no marine microplankton were encountered. Several species are described in detail : the trilete apiculate spores Brevitriletes levis (Balme and Hennelly) Bharadwaj and Srivastava, 1969 and Horriditriletes uruguaiensis (Marques-Toigo) Archangelsky and Gamerro, 1979; and the taeniate pollen grains Meristocorpus ostentus sp. nov. and Lahirites segmentatus sp. nov. A Pennsylvanian (Late Carboniferous : late Westphalian) age is adduced for the palynoflora via its correlation with part of the Tapajos Group (specifically, the upper Itaituba Formation) of the Amazonas Basin in northern Brazil. The entirely land-derived palynomorphs, associated with abundant plant debris, corroborate previous suggestions that the lower part of the Piaui Formation accumulated in a nonmarine setting under conditions of aridity.

Fixed point theorems of upper semicontinuous multivalued mappings with applications in hyperconvex metric spaces

In the present paper, we establish two fixed point theorems for upper semicontinuous multivalued mappings in hyperconvex metric spaces and apply these to study coincidence point problems and minimax problems. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

Further decompositions of complete tripartite graphs into 5-cycles

Let K(r,s,t) denote the complete tripartite graph with partite sets of sizes r, s and t, where r less than or equal to s less than or equal to t. Necessary and sufficient conditions are given for decomposability of K(r, s, t) into 5-cycles whenever r, s and t are all even. This extends work done by Mahmoodian and Mirza-khani (Decomposition of complete tripartite graphs into 5-cycles, in: Combinatorics Advances, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands, 1995, pp. 235-241) and Cavenagh and Billington. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Total Daily Energy Expenditure and Incidence of Upper Respiratory Tract Infection Symptoms in Young Females

A group of 31 young females, tennis players and non-athletes, aged 16 2 years (range: 14 - 21 years), with a wide range of physical activity levels was used to investigate the relationship between total daily energy expenditure and the incidence of upper respiratory tract infection symptoms. Methods: During a 12 week winter period, habitual daily activity (excluding training) was evaluated using a 3-day physical activity record. Tennis training was quantified using a validated method of estimating energy expenditure during play. Total daily energy expenditure was calculated from the sum of daily training plus mean habitual daily activity energy expenditures. The total group of subjects was divided in quartiles for total daily energy expenditure. A validated symptom checklist was used to assess the incidence and severity of upper respiratory tract infections, on a daily basis. Results: The girls in the highest quartile of total daily energy expenditure (greater than or equal to 17322 kJ/day) and in the lowest quartile (less than or equal to 10 047 kJ/day) had the greatest incidence of URTI symptomatology, although the moderately active girls in quartile three (12290-16410 kJ/day) presented the lowest incidence. Significant differences in number of upper respiratory tract infection episodes, sickness days and symptomatology index were found between quartiles three and one (p < 0.05) and quartiles three and four (p < 0.01). Peak severity of symptoms was significantly lower in quartile three compared with all other quartiles (p < 0.05).