The galectin family of lectins regulates multiple biologic functions, such as development, inflammation, immunity, and cancer. One common function of several galectins is the ability to trigger T cell death. However, differences among the death pathways triggered by various galectins with regard to glycoprotein receptors, intracellular death pathways, and target cell specificity are not well understood. Specifically, galectin-9 and galectin-1 both kill thymocytes, peripheral T cells, and T cell lines; however, we have found that galectin-9 and galectin-1 require different glycan ligands and glycoprotein receptors to trigger T cell death. The two galectins also utilize different intracellular death pathways, as galectin-9, but not galectin-1, T cell death was blocked by intracellular Bcl-2, whereas galectin-1, but not galectin-9, T cell death was blocked by intracellular galectin-3. Target cell susceptibility also differed between the two galectins, as galectin-9 and galectin-1 killed different subsets of murine thymocytes. To define structural features responsible for distinct activities of the tandem repeat galectin-9 and dimeric galectin-1, we created a series of bivalent constructs with galectin-9 and galectin-1 carbohydrate recognition domains connected by different peptide linkers. We found that the N-terminal carbohydrate recognition domain and linker peptide contributed to the potency of these constructs. However, we found that the C-terminal carbohydrate recognition domain was the primary determinant of receptor recognition, death pathway signaling, and target cell susceptibility. Thus, carbohydrate recognition domain specificity, presentation, and valency make distinct contributions to the specific effects of different galectins in initiating T cell death.Cell death is an essential factor in T cell development, which regulates selection of functional T cells during development in the thymus, as well as elimination of activated T cells after microbial infection or other exposure to antigen (1, 2). A number of distinct T cell death pathways have been described, including those triggered by members of the galectin family of vertebrate lectins (3-5). Galectin-1 was the first family member described to induce death of developing thymocytes and activated peripheral T cells, and the galectin-1 T cell death pathway is the best characterized to date. Specific glycoprotein receptors involved in galectin-1 death and specific types of O-and N-glycan ligands required for galectin-1 death have been identified, and galectin-1 has been shown to trigger a novel intracellular death pathway (6 -14). Other galectins have also been reported to trigger death of T cell lines and various T cell subsets, including galectin-2, galectin-3, galectin-8, and galectin-9 (15-19). Relatively little is known about the glycoprotein receptors, glycan ligands, and intracellular death pathways used by these galectins. However, our laboratory has found that galectin-1 and galectin-3 kill different subsets of thymocytes, and use distinct sets...

Aims-Prior studies find that stress contributes to problem drinking while social support can buffer its effects. However, these studies are largely confined to middle class and general populations. We extend what is known by examining how the unique stressors and forms of social support experienced by women in poverty impact alcohol problems over a 4-year time period.Design and Participants-This prospective study used GEE transition modeling and 4 annual waves of survey data from 392 American mothers receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in a large Northern California county.Measurements-We examined the effects of neighborhood disorder, stressful life events and economic hardship on psychological distress and problem drinking over time, and whether social support moderated these relationships for women in poverty.Findings-Neighborhood disorder and stressful life events significantly increased the risk for problem drinking, largely through their effect on psychological distress. We found little evidence, however, that social support buffers poor women from the effects of these stressors.Conclusions-Women in poverty are exposed to severe, chronic stressors within their communities and immediate social networks which increase vulnerability to psychological distress and problem drinking. The finding that social support does not buffer stress among these women may reflect their high level of exposure to stressors, as well as the hardships and scarce resources within their networks. If the "private safety net" of the social network fails to provide a strong buffer, more effective environmental interventions that reduce exposure to stressors may be needed to prevent alcohol problems in poor women's lives. KeywordsPoverty; women; alcohol problems; stress; social support There is a long tradition of research addressing the role of stress in alcohol problems. On the whole, researchers report significant associations between stress and alcohol use and problems, and that this relationship is partly influenced by social resources for managing stress [1][2][3][4]. While some studies find that moderate drinking is associated with reduced stress [5][6][7] NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript excessive drinking and alcohol problems have been linked to elevated stress-especially chronic stress-and to psychological distress [1,[8][9][10]. Social support, a resource widely studied in relation to stress and health, has been shown to play a role in problem drinking through its direct associations with anxiety, depression and distress [11,12]. It has also been found to promote positive coping responses to stress [13], and to improve treatment retention and recovery from alcohol problems [14][15][16]. Still other studies document a stress-buffering role for social support [17] -that the impact of stressors on alcohol consumption can be reduced in the presence of high levels of support [2,4]-although this finding is not uniformly born out in the literature (see: [9,18]).Mo...

Passing medical marijuana laws does not seem to directly affect the views of young people in medical marijuana states. However, there is a national trend toward young people taking more permissive views about marijuana independent of any effects within states.

Motivational models of alcohol consumption have articulated the manner in which positive and negative experiences motivate drinking in unique social contexts (e.g., Cooper, Frone, Russell & Mudar, 1995). Daily process methodology, in which daily events, moods and drinking behaviors are reported daily or multiple times per day, has been used to examine behavioral patterns that are consistent with discrete motivations. We advance the notion that repeated patterns of drinking in various social contexts as a function of positive or negative mood increases can provide evidence of individual-level if-then drinking signatures, which in turn can predict drinking-related outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of slopes to predict longer term drinking motivations and alcohol problems, employing a daily process study of non-clinical moderate alcohol drinkers (N=47; 49% women). Participants responded to thrice daily interviews administered via handheld computer for 30 days, followed by a longitudinal telephone survey for 12 months. Participants’ daily mood-drinking relationships were extracted from HLM and employed as predictors of 12-month outcomes in multiple regression analyses. Daily mood-drinking patterns demonstrated significant variability across persons, such that moderate drinkers could be reliably differentiated based on those patterns in terms of distinct drinking-related outcomes. Among the results, negative mood-solitary drinking slopes were associated with lower subsequent coping motives; yet, positive mood-solitary drinking slopes were predictive of higher coping and lower social motives. Conversely, positive mood-social drinking associations were predictive of higher enhancement motives and b-MAST scores. Results are interpreted in light of motivational models of consumption.

These findings highlight the importance of a developmental perspective when examining antisocial behaviour between young siblings.

The APS Journal Legacy Content is the corpus of 100 years of historical scientific research from the American Physiological Society research journals. This package goes back to the first issue of each of the APS journals including the American Journal of Physiology, first published in 1898. The full text scanned images of the printed pages are easily searchable. Downloads quickly in PDF format.

IMPORTANCE Reductions in sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake can improve health, but are difficult for individuals to achieve on their own. OBJECTIVES To evaluate whether a workplace SSB sales ban was associated with SSB intake and cardiometabolic health among employees and whether a brief motivational intervention provides added benefits to the sales ban. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This before-after study and additional randomized trial conducted from July 28, 2015, to October 16, 2016, at a Northern California university and hospital assessed SSB intake, anthropometrics, and cardiometabolic biomarkers among 214 full-time English-speaking employees who were frequent SSB consumers (Ն360 mL [Ն12 fl oz] per day) before and 10 months after implementation of an SSB sales ban in a large workplace, with half the employees randomized to receive a brief motivational intervention targeting SSB reduction. INTERVENTIONS The employer stopped selling SSBs in all workplace venues, and half the sample was randomized to receive a brief motivational intervention and the other half was a control group that did not receive the intervention. This intervention was modeled on standard brief motivational interventions for alcohol used in the workplace that promote health knowledge and goal setting. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Outcomes included changes in SSB intake, Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), and measures of abdominal adiposity. The primary associations tested were the correlation between changes in SSB intake and changes in HOMA-IR. RESULTS Among the 214 study participants, 124 (57.9%) were women, with a mean (SD) age of 41.2 (11.0) years and a baseline mean (SD) body mass index of 29.4 (6.5). They reported a mean daily intake of 1050 mL (35 fl oz) of SSBs at baseline and 540 mL (18 fl oz) at follow-up-a 510-mL (17-fl oz) (48.6%) decrease (P < .001). Reductions in SSB intake correlated with improvements in HOMA-IR (r = 0.16; P = .03). Those not randomized to receive the brief intervention reduced their SSB intake by a mean (SD) of 246.0 (84.0) mL (8.2 [2.8] fl oz), while those also receiving the brief intervention reduced SSB intake by 762.0 (84.0) mL (25.4 [2.8] fl oz). From baseline to follow-up, there were significant reductions in mean (SE) waist circumference (2.1 [2.8] cm; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study's findings suggest that the workplace sales ban was associated with a reduction in SSB intake and a significant reduction in waist circumference among employees within 10 months. The randomized clinical trial portion of this study found that targeting those at high risk with a brief motivational intervention led to additional improvements. Workplace sales bans may offer a promising new private-sector strategy for reducing the health harms of SSB intake. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02585336

The temporal stability of role-specific self-representations was examined in a sample of 188 young, middle-aged, and older adults. Considerable stability was observed for all self-representations. Central self-descriptors showed significantly greater temporal stability than peripheral self-descriptors. Temporal stability of self-representations was positively associated with self-concept clarity, self-esteem, and positive affect (PA). Age differences were obtained for three of the five self-representations, with older adults showing significantly lower stabilities for self with family, self with friend, and self with significant other compared to young and middle-aged adults. Assessment of the authenticity of adults' role-specific self-representations showed that greater authenticity tended to be associated with greater temporal stability. Authenticity and the number of positive daily events were significant positive predictors of the stability of self-representations.