Severe Stressful Events Research Articles

Numerical simulation of the effect of street trees on outdoor mean radiant temperature through decomposing pedestrian experienced thermal radiation: A case study in Guangzhou, China

Street trees have often been proposed to improve the outdoor thermal environment. However, due to the combined effects generated by street trees, the impacts of street trees on the thermal radiation field in a street canyon and mean radiant temperature (Tmrt) reduction have not been systematically analyzed in previous studies. In this paper, we developed a Tmrt decomposition model using first-order Taylor series expansion to decompose the various factors of the street trees on Tmrt reduction and quantify their individual and combined effects in Guangzhou, China. Our results showed that street trees significantly reduce Tmrt and severe heat stress events (Tmrt ≥ 60 °C). For 80% tree crown cover, the maximum decrease of Tmrt by 26.2 °C - 42.1 °C and the severe heat stress events decreased by 197 h - 500 h over the course of a year at different sidewalk locations, compared to the street canyon without trees. During the daytime, the interception of radiation (especially short-wave radiation) by street trees was the primary determinant in reducing Tmrt, with a contribution that mostly exceeded 70%. Additionally, the shading effects of street trees decreased the short-wave radiation reflected from urban surfaces, contributing about 20% to Tmrt reduction. Lastly, our results also showed the leaf area index played an important role in the Tmrt reduction. Our study quantified the individual and combined effects of each factors of reducing Tmrt by street trees, which will better understand the thermal benefits of urban street trees.

Durum wheat heat tolerance loci defined via a north-south gradient.

The global production of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) is hindered by a constant rise in the frequency of severe heat stress events. To identify heat-tolerant germplasm, three different germplasm panels ("discovery," "investigation," and "validation") were studied under a range of heat-stressed conditions. Grain yield (GY) and its components were recorded at each site and a heat stress susceptibility index was calculated, confirming that each 1°C temperature rise corresponds to a GY reduction in durum wheat of 4.6%-6.3%. A total of 2552 polymorphic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) defined the diversity of the first panel, while 5642 SNPs were polymorphic in the "investigation panel." The use of genome-wide association studies revealed that 36 quantitative trait loci were associated with the target traits in the discovery panel, of which five were confirmed in a "subset" tested imposing heat stress by plastic tunnels, and in the investigation panel. A study of allelic combinations confirmed that Q.icd.Heat.003-1A, Q.icd.Heat.007-1B, and Q.icd.Heat.016-3B are additive in nature and the positive alleles at all three loci resulted in a 16% higher GY under heat stress. The underlying SNPs were converted into kompetitive allele specific PCR markers and tested on the validation panel, confirming that each explained up to 9% of the phenotypic variation for GY under heat stress. These markers can now be used for breeding to improve resilience to climate change and increase productivity in heat-stressed areas.

An Outlook on Processing Sweet Corn Production from the Last Three Decades (1990s–2010s)

Sweet corn (Zea mays L. var. rugosa or saccharate), consumed both fresh and processed (primarily canned or frozen), is a popular vegetable crop in the United States. Recent nationwide data have reported declining trends in sweet corn production, which poses serious challenges for the US processing sweet corn producers. Here, we evaluated a processing sweet corn dataset that represents nearly 3 decades (1992–2018) of commercial production in the Upper Midwest and the Pacific Northwest regions in an attempt to understand national trends in US processing sweet corn. The objectives of this study were to (a) quantify trends in processing sweet corn production (harvest area and total green ear mass production); (b) understand trends in planting date, plant population density, and hybrid lifespan; and (c) estimate interannual yield deviations in green ear mass yield. Our results reveal declining trends in sweet corn hectares, particularly in rainfed production systems of the Upper Midwest. For the past 3 decades of commercial sweet corn production, plant population density and planting dates used by vegetable processors have remained unchanged. Our analysis revealed a large range (1 to 20 years) in hybrid lifespan, which can be attributed to wide differences in hybrid yield stability across the diverse production environments in the United States. Rainfed production systems are becoming scarcer because sweet corn yields under rainfed conditions are particularly susceptible to severe weather, including heat and drought stress events. Future research is needed to understand sweet corn yields as a function of climatic and nonclimatic variables to stabilize the industry, particularly given predictions of a future with more frequent weather extremes.

Microtrauma, microtraumatic relational patterns in our lives. Does constant dripping wears away the stone?

The purpose of this article is to present the phenomenon of psychological microtrauma, a trauma that is cumulative in nature and results from prolonged exposure to many stressful situations in one area of suffering that are usually not so severe as those causing post-traumatic stress disorder and are included in criterion A in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The introduction to the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision of a new disorder named complex post-traumatic stress disorder, despite allowing a better understanding of people who experience chronically repeating traumas, does not explain the consequences of microtrauma which can be approached from psycho-dynamic, clinical and social perspectives. Taking into account the difficulties associated with identifying microtrauma, knowledge of this phenomenon could be useful for clinicians and their patients. The theory of microtrauma is a promising area of research and may finally bring the answer why there is a high prevalence of diagnosing post-traumatic disorder among people who experience not severe but chronic stressful events in one area in terms of content in their daily lives, e.g. discrimination. It shows how much is still ahead of us in understanding trauma and how rich and complex this phenomenon is.

Harassment and its association with depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior: The role of perceived stigma and nondisclosure.

Social factors play a crucial role in moderating the impact of severe stressful events on mental health. Exposure to harassment, hence to unwanted negative behavior that is intended to cause harm and/or is perceived as harmful and hostile, is a social factor thought to have particularly strong negative effects on mental health, including depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. However, little is known about mediating mechanisms. Using data of N = 1,483 participants 12 months following military deployment, the hypothesis was examined that the cross-sectional association of perceived harassment with depressive symptoms and risk for suicidal behavior (suicide ideation and plans) is partially mediated by increased perceived mental health stigma and nondisclosure. Mediation analyses were performed using path analysis. Harassment was associated with depressive symptoms and risk for suicidal behavior. When investigated separately, both nondisclosure and perceived stigma partially mediated the association of harassment with depressive symptoms and with suicidal behavior. When considered simultaneously, both nondisclosure and, to a lesser extent, perceived stigma partially mediated the association of harassment with depressive symptoms, but only nondisclosure mediated the association of harassment with suicidal behavior. These results are consistent with the assumption that nondisclosure and perceived mental health stigma following harassment contribute to depressive symptoms and risk for suicidal behavior, whereby nondisclosure is more relevant compared to perceived stigma. Nondisclosure could lead to adverse outcomes by increasing distress, limiting social support, and inhibiting help-seeking. Interventions that increase disclosure might be a promising target for early interventions following harassment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Study of Effect of Stress on Lactation in Postnatal Women

BACKGROUND
 Stress is a physiological response to psychological and physical demands. Cortisol is a stress hormone that is released in increasing quantities as pregnancy progresses. Stress is a cumulative effect of changing life events with failure of coping reflex that leads to chronic stress which repeatedly activates hypothalamic–pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis without relaxation response, to release excess cortisol. Duration of stress and its sites of action lead to decrease in lactation. In this study, we wanted to determine the relationship between stress and levels of maternal serum cortisol before and after the delivery and assess the relation between stress and milk output in the first week of post-partum period.
 METHODS
 A cross-sectional study was carried out among 96 pregnant women, using HOLMES-RAHE STRESS SCALE: categorized into mild, moderate, and severe stressed. Serum cortisol levels are assessed using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay before and after delivery. Postnatal mothers were advised to breastfeed their newborns ten times a day after delivery and the baby's weight is measured using the baby-test weighing method using digital weighing machine at regular intervals for seven days. Mean serum cortisol levels were computed and compared with milk production.
 RESULTS
 48.9 % pregnant women were mildly, 29.1 % were moderately and 21.8 % severely stressed. Serum cortisol levels were significantly high (p < 0.05) in moderately and severely stressed women with significant reduction in milk volume when compared to mildly stressed women.
 CONCLUSIONS
 Findings of this study indicates that moderate and severe stressful events reduce lactation in post-natal women. More research is needed to understand relationship between stress, other maternal factors, and their impact on breastfeeding outcomes.

Self-reported psychological symptoms and severe stress events, but not patients' gender, affect illness representation and medical advice by lay-referral network advisors

People who experience symptoms tend to discuss their ailments with other individuals who create their own illness representations, acting as intuitive physicians. We conducted two experimental studies to examine lay-referral network advisors' (i.e., acquaintances) representation of illness etiology and their recommendation to undergo health screenings for a man or woman with physical (vs. both physical and psychological) symptoms and a severe stressful (vs. no stressful) period in life. The presence of psychological and physical symptoms (Studies 1 and 2) and severe stressful life events (Study 2) affects lay-referral network advisors' disease representation. These factors cause participants to attribute symptoms etiology to psychological rather than organic factors and recommend more psychological screenings rather than physical ones. The simultaneous presence of psychological and physical symptoms and severe stressful events increases the likelihood of attributing the illness etiology to psychological factors, which increases participants' willingness to recommend psychological screenings. Study variables were unaffected by patient gender. The main findings, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

The elephant in the room: the stressful psychological effects of COVID-19 pandemic in mental healthcare workers

IntroductionDespite the large amount of research concerning the impact of COVID-19 on health care workers, to date few targeted MHWs. Moreover, none has investigated the vulnerability due to exposure to previous traumatic events among health care workers.ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the psychological distress in MHWs after the first lockdown imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the more impacted regions of the North of Italy, to understand which COVID-19, sociodemographic and professional variables as well as previous stressful life experiences, could have had greater negative effects.MethodsThe online survey occurred from 28-June to 10-August 2020. This included questions regarding sociodemographic factors, professional information, COVID-19 exposure. Moreover, three validated self-report questionnaires were administered: Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5), Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21).Results271 MHWs completed the survey. At least 20% had elevated levels of psychological distress with post-traumatic symptoms. Stratifying for professional roles, the nurses resulted the most affected, with significantly higher scores in terms of intrusive thoughts, hyperarousal and avoidance behaviors. Several variables affected psychological distress in MHWs, but stronger effects were done by age, professional roles, increased workload and worst working environment during COVID-19 pandemic, to had experienced the separation of family members, but also had experienced during their life of a severe human suffering (physical and/or psychological) on oneself or on a loved one.ConclusionsOur data underlying the importance of recent but also previous severe stressful events as risk factors to develop post-traumatic symptoms reducing the resilience of the subjects investigated.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Neurobiological Links between Stress, Brain Injury, and Disease.

Stress, which refers to a combination of physiological, neuroendocrine, behavioral, and emotional responses to novel or threatening stimuli, is essentially a defensive adaptation under physiological conditions. However, strong and long-lasting stress can lead to psychological and pathological damage. Growing evidence suggests that patients suffering from mild and moderate brain injuries and diseases often show severe neurological dysfunction and experience severe and persistent stressful events or environmental stimuli, whether in the acute, subacute, or recovery stage. Previous studies have shown that stress has a remarkable influence on key brain regions and brain diseases. The mechanisms through which stress affects the brain are diverse, including activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), apoptosis, oxidative stress, and excitatory/inhibitory neuron imbalance, and may lead to behavioral and cognitive deficits. The impact of stress on brain diseases is complex and involves impediment of recovery, aggravation of cognitive impairment, and neurodegeneration. This review summarizes various stress models and their applications and then discusses the effects and mechanisms of stress on key brain regions—including the hippocampus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex—and in brain injuries and diseases—including Alzheimer's disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and epilepsy. Lastly, this review highlights psychological interventions and potential therapeutic targets for patients with brain injuries and diseases who experience severe and persistent stressful events.

Molecular Mechanisms of Neuroinflammation in ME/CFS and Long COVID to Sustain Disease and Promote Relapses.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disease now well-documented as having arisen commonly from a viral infection, but also from other external stressors, like exposure to agricultural chemicals, other types of infection, surgery, or other severe stress events. Research has shown these events produce a systemic molecular inflammatory response and chronic immune activation and dysregulation. What has been more difficult to establish is the hierarchy of the physiological responses that give rise to the myriad of symptoms that ME/CFS patients experience, and why they do not resolve and are generally life-long. The severity of the symptoms frequently fluctuates through relapse recovery periods, with brain-centered symptoms of neuroinflammation, loss of homeostatic control, “brain fog” affecting cognitive ability, lack of refreshing sleep, and poor response to even small stresses. How these brain effects develop with ME/CFS from the initiating external effector, whether virus or other cause, is poorly understood and that is what our paper aims to address. We propose the hypothesis that following the initial stressor event, the subsequent systemic pathology moves to the brain via neurovascular pathways or through a dysfunctional blood-brain barrier (BBB), resulting in chronic neuroinflammation and leading to a sustained illness with chronic relapse recovery cycles. Signaling through recognized pathways from the brain back to body physiology is likely part of the process by which the illness cycle in the peripheral system is sustained and why healing does not occur. By contrast, Long COVID (Post-COVID-19 condition) is a very recent ME/CFS-like illness arising from the single pandemic virus, SARS-CoV-2. We believe the ME/CFS-like ongoing effects of Long COVID are arising by very similar mechanisms involving neuroinflammation, but likely with some unique signaling, resulting from the pathology of the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. The fact that there are very similar symptoms in both ongoing diseases, despite the diversity in the nature of the initial stressors, supports the concept of a similar dysfunctional CNS component common to both.

Early successional trajectory of benthic community in an uninhabited reef system three years after mass coral bleaching

Severe thermal stress events occurring on the backdrop of globally warming oceans can result in mass coral mortality. Tracking the ability of a reef community to return to pre-disturbance composition is important to inform the likelihood of recovery or the need for active management to conserve these ecosystems. Here, we quantified annual, temporal changes in the benthic communities for the three years following mass coral mortality at Jarvis Island—an uninhabited island in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. While Jarvis experienced catastrophic coral mortality in 2015 due to heat stress resulting from the 2015/16 El Niño, significant annual shifts were documented in the benthic community in the three years post-disturbance. Macroalgal and turf dominance of the benthos was temporary—likely reflecting the high biomass of herbivorous reef fishes post-bleaching—giving way to calcifiers such as crustose coralline algae and Halimeda, which may facilitate rather than impede coral recovery. By 2018, indications of recovery were detectable in the coral community itself as juvenile densities increased and stress-tolerant genera, such as Pavona, exceeded their pre-disturbance densities. However, densities of Montipora and Pocillopora remain low, suggesting recovery will be slow for these formerly dominant taxa. Collectively, the assemblage and taxon-specific shifts observed in the benthic and coral community support cautious optimism for the potential recovery of Jarvis Island’s coral reefs to their pre-disturbance state. Continued monitoring will be essential to assess whether reassembly is achieved before further climate-related disturbance events affect this reef system.

The Elephant in the Room: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Stressful Psychological Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Mental Healthcare Workers.

Despite extensive research on COVID-19’s impact on healthcare workers, few studies have targeted mental health workers (MHWs) and none have investigated previous traumatic events. We investigated psychological distress in MHWs after the first lockdown in Italy to understand which COVID-19, sociodemographic, and professional variables represented greater effects, and the role of previous trauma. The survey included sociodemographic and professional questions, COVID-19 variables, and the questionnaires Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5), Impact of Event Scale—Revised (IES-R), and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 (DASS-21). On the 271 MHWs who completed the survey (73.1% female; mean age 45.37), we obtained significant effects for contagion fear, experience of patients’ death, increased workload, and worse team relationship during the first wave. Nurses were more affected and showed more post-traumatic stress symptoms, assessed by IES-R, and more depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms, assessed by DASS-21. The strongest risk factors for distress were greater age, professional role, increased workload, worse team relationship, and separation from family members. Previous experience of severe human suffering and unwanted sexual experiences negatively impacted IES-R and DASS-21 scores. Being a psychiatrist or psychologist/psychotherapist and good team relationships were protective factors. Recent but also previous severe stressful events might represent relevant risk factors for distress, reducing resilience skills. Identifying vulnerable factors and professional categories may help in the development of dedicated measures to prevent emotional burden and support psychological health. Highlights: Psychological distress in mental health workers in the COVID-19 pandemic is more frequent in nurses, who experience more depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Previous and recent stressful events are risk factors for distress and should guide intervention strategies.

Coral Oxygen Isotopic Records Capture the 2015/2016 El Niño Event in the Central Equatorial Pacific

AbstractCoral oxygen isotopes (δ18O) from the central equatorial Pacific provide monthly resolved records of El Niño‐Southern Oscillation activity over past centuries to millennia. However, calibration studies using in situ data to assess the relative contributions of warming and freshening to coral δ18O records are exceedingly rare. Furthermore, the fidelity of coral δ18O records under the most severe thermal stress events is difficult to assess. Here, we present six coral δ18O records and in situ temperature, salinity, and seawater δ18O data from Kiritimati Island (2°N, 157°W) spanning the very strong 2015/16 El Niño event. Local sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies of +2.4 ± 0.4°C and seawater δ18O anomalies of −0.19 ± 0.02‰ contribute to the observed coral δ18O anomalies of −0.58 ± 0.05‰, consistent with a ∼70% contribution from SST and ∼30% from seawater δ18O. Our results demonstrate that Kiritimati coral δ18O records can provide reliable reconstructions even during the largest class of El Niño events.

Animal models of stress and stress-related neurocircuits: A comprehensive review

Stress is considered to be one of the common pathogenic factors leading to mental disorders. Acute severe stress events or chronic distress could lead to depression and psychiatric disorders. Therefore, the establishment of stress animal models in the laboratory to mimic the stress suffering in humans would be beneficial for better understanding the etiology and mechanisms underlying stress-induced mental disorders. In addition, the development of powerful tools such as optogenetics and chemogenetics has made more rapid progress to reveal the critical neural circuits in regulating the pathogenesis of stress-induced disorders. This review firstly summarized the well-established different types of stress animal models widely used in the laboratory including acute stress models, chronic stress models, models of surgical stress, drug-induced stress models, and genetic mutation-associated stress models. Moreover, we also summarized the latest progress in understanding the characteristics and mechanisms of stress-related neurocircuits that are critical for discovering novel therapeutic strategies for stress-induced mental disorders.

MENTAL HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF PATIENTS WITH CHILDHOOD CANCER. (REVIEW OF FOREIGN LITERATURE)

Abstract: The need to analyze foreign literature in order to study information about the quality of life of patients who underwent cancer in childhood or adolescence is dictated by the high prevalence of mental disorders in the long-term period and insufficient knowledge of the possibility of their compensation. Purpose: to analyze foreign literature for studying the quality of life of adult patients who underwent cancer in childhood or adolescence, the social adaptation of these patients. General information. In pediatric patients, the fear of re-illness, difficulty in returning to school and in a group of emotionally significant peers, and dependence on significant adults are mentioned. Adolescence introduces additional difficulties in studying the problem. Quality of life after lymphoblastic leukemia. Programs to support cancer patients of childhood and adolescents can significantly reduce the number of complications associated with the psychological and social aspects of the illness. Quality of life for children with cancer and their families. The use of psychotherapeutic trainings for all family, the opportunity to share their experiences in psychotherapeutic groups showed the effectiveness of these measures in the form of reducing the level of anxiety and other psychological consequences. Symptoms of PTSD in children who have had cancer and in children who have experienced other severe stressful events. The level of PTSD symptoms in children who have undergone cancer is higher than in the comparison groups. Fertility and Oncology. Problems with reproductive function after oncological disease significantly affect self-perception, socialization of an adult, and can cause the formation of various depressive and anxious states. Features of adolescent response. Psychological assistance should include teaching constructive strategies for coping with stress, and help restore cognitive functions. Conclusion. There is a need for psychological support of children, adolescents and their families in a difficult period of life, adaptation to the consequences of cancer.

Hubungan Dukungan Keluarga Dengan Kejadian Stress Pada Lansia Diabetes Mellitus Tipe 2 Di Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas Kota Batam

Korespondensi Rozaerda21@gmail.com Keywords: Family Support, Stress, Diabetes MellitusObjective: To identify determine the relationship of family support with stress events in elderly people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: This article uses analytical research with cross sectional design of 65 elderly in the Sekupang Health Center Work Area. The implementation time for 7 days starts on 4-10 June 2020. Sampling using a purposive sampling technique. The measuring instrument in this study was a questionnaire HDFSS and PSS. Analysis of the data used is the Chi-Square Test. Results: The results shows that there is a relationship between family support and the incidence of stress in elderly people with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the work area of Sekupang Health Center (p value 0.002) α = 0.005). It is hoped that elderly families can provide good family support so as not to cause mild stress events in the elderly with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Conclusion: (a) Most of the elderly with type 2 diabetes mellitus did not receive family support with mild stress, amounting to 28 elderly (43.1%). (b) Most of the elderly with type 2 diabetes mellius experienced severe stress events with less supportive family support, amounting to 9 elderly (13.8%). (c) There is a significant relationship between family support and the incidence of stress in the elderly with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the work area of the Sekupang Health Center, Batam City in 2020, with the Chi-Square statistical test obtained a P-value of 0.002 <0.05.

Stress impairs response to antidepressants by activating HPA axis and immune system

While early adverse events as well as severe stressful events occurring later in life have been associated with depression, the interaction is still not understood. The objective of this study is to disentangle the interaction by evaluating the main stress-response systems of the body, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA-) axis and the immune system in depressed patients. HPA-axis function was evaluated by analyzing FKBP5, SGK1 and NR3C1 mRNA-expression in whole blood after an in vivo glucocorticoid receptor challenge with 1.5 mg dexamethasone in 150 depressed in-patients. Early adverse events were evaluated using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), severe life events occurring one year prior to hospital admission were assessed with the List of Threatening Experiences (LTE). History of 3 and more severe life events was associated with a significantly impaired treatment response to antidepressants. Additionally, there was a significant association with an impaired GR-induction of SGK1 and FKBP5 mRNA expression, as well as with increased measures of the immune system such as lymphocyte count and CRP. These alterations were not observable in relation to early adverse effects. Severe life events that happen prior to the development of depression significantly impair the HPA-axis and the response to antidepressants. Therefore patients who report stressful life events should receive additional treatment options such as psychotherapy already at the beginning of therapy.

More severe stress markers in the teeth of flanged versus unflanged orangutans (Pongo spp.).

We compared an early life stress indicator, linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH), in the canine teeth of two male orangutan (Pongo spp.) morphs. Flanged males have large bi-discoid cheek pads and a laryngeal throat pouch, and they exhibit either the same or higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol throughout development compared with unflanged males, which lack secondary sexual characteristics. Such "developmental arrest" is hypothesized to either reflect a response to experienced high stress (Hypothesis 1), or an adaptation to avoid elevated stress levels and/or having experienced lower stress levels (Hypothesis 2) during early life. As LEH defect depth has been shown to reflect the severity (i.e., intensity and/or duration) of early life stress events, we examined whether unflanged males have shallower LEH defects than flanged males. Flanging status was assessed by measuring the faces of preserved skins. Canine height (N=37) was measured in the same individuals to assess commonality between morphs. LEH defect depths were analyzed using a standardized confocal profilometry method (N=34). Flanged males have significantly deeper LEH defects than unflanged adult males. Canine projected crown heights are similar across males regardless of morph. Evidence from great apes shows that, when comparing canines with similar growth patterns, deeper defects reflect more severe stress events during development. Thus, our results suggest that "developmental arrest" of unflanged males is not a response to having experienced stress, but rather an adaptation to avoid the physiological impacts associated with chronic stress and/or experiencing lower stress levels.

The Complaints, Type, and Severity of Stressful Events in Patients with Burning Mouth Syndrome Referring to Zahedan School of Dentistry, Iran.

IntroductionBurning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a burning sensation in oral mucosa without visible lesions in clinical examinations. The present study aimed at comparing complaints, frequency, type, and severity of stressful events between patients with BMS and healthy individuals referred to Zahedan School of Dentistry, Zahedan, Iran.Materials and MethodsIn the present study, 30 patients with BMS were matched with controls by age and gender after enrollment. The Holmes-Rahe questionnaire and the complaint registration form were used to compare the frequency of complaints, and the type and severity of stressful events between the groups. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Chi-squared and t-tests.ResultsThe mean age of the subjects in the case and control groups was 40.13 ± 2.30 and 40.07 ± 2.31 years, respectively. The obtained results showed no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of mean age and gender distribution (P>0.05). The results of the Chi-squared test showed a significant difference in the frequency of complaints between the two groups (P<0.001). The t-test results indicated that the average severity of complaints and the average severity of stressful events were significantly different between patients with BMS and controls (P<0.001). The results of Chi-squared test revealed that the mean frequency of complaints (P<0.001) and mean frequency of stressful events (P<0.001) were significantly different between the two groups.ConclusionsBased on the study results, the frequency of complaints, and the type and severity of stressful events were significantly different between patients with BMS and healthy individuals referred to the clinic of Zahedan School of Dentistry.

Unscheduled MRE11 activity triggers cell death but not chromosome instability in polymerase eta-depleted cells subjected to UV irradiation.

The elimination of DNA polymerase eta (pol η) causes discontinuous DNA elongation and fork stalling in UV-irradiated cells. Such alterations in DNA replication are followed by S-phase arrest, DNA double-strand break (DSB) accumulation, and cell death. However, their molecular triggers and the relative timing of these events have not been fully elucidated. Here, we report that DSBs accumulate relatively early after UV irradiation in pol η-depleted cells. Despite the availability of repair pathways, DSBs persist and chromosome instability (CIN) is not detectable. Later on cells with pan-nuclear γH2AX and massive exposure of template single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), which indicate severe replication stress, accumulate and such events are followed by cell death. Reinforcing the causal link between the accumulation of pan-nuclear ssDNA/γH2AX signals and cell death, downregulation of RPA increased both replication stress and the cell death of pol η-deficient cells. Remarkably, DSBs, pan-nuclear ssDNA/γH2AX, S-phase arrest, and cell death are all attenuated by MRE11 nuclease knockdown. Such results suggest that unscheduled MRE11-dependent activities at replicating DNA selectively trigger cell death, but not CIN. Together these results show that pol η-depletion promotes a type of cell death that may be attractive as a therapeutic tool because of the lack of CIN.