La Trobe University

About: La Trobe University is a education organization based out in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 13370 authors who have published 41291 publications receiving 1138269 citations. The organization is also known as: LaTrobe University & LTU.

A Meta-analysis of the effects of experimental manipulations of social support during laboratory stress

Abstract: A meta-analysis was conducted on 22 experimental studies of the effects of social support on reactivity to laboratory stress. The analysis included 26 comparisons and 56 effect sizes, with the number of participants in each comparison ranging from 20 to 104. The average effect size was 0.61 for heart rate and systolic blood pressure, 0.5 1 for diastolic blood pressure, 0.25 for skin conductance, and 0.83 for cortisol. It was concluded that the laboratory analogues examined to date provide tentative confirmation of the hypothesis that social support has a protective health effect. Recommendations BIT made for future mearch, including the need to improve statistical power, expand subject participation beyond students; and increase consistency between studies in relation to measurements of social support effects, methods for manipulating social support, and types of behavioral challenges and control procedures used.

Caspase inhibitors: viral, cellular and chemical.

Abstract: Caspases, key mediators of apoptosis, are a structurally related family of cysteine proteases that cleave their substrates at aspartic acid residues either to cause cell death or to activate cytokines as part of an immune response. They can be controlled upstream by the regulation of signals that lead to zymogen activation, or downstream by inhibitors that prevent them from reaching their substrates. This review specifically looks at caspase inhibitors as distinct from caspase regulators: those produced by the cell itself; those whose genes are carried by viruses; and artificial caspase inhibitors used for research and potentially as therapeutics.

Isolation and Properties of Floral Defensins from Ornamental Tobacco and Petunia

Abstract: The flowers of the solanaceous plants ornamental tobacco (Nicotiana alata) and petunia (Petunia hybrida) produce high levels of defensins during the early stages of development. In contrast to the well-described seed defensins, these floral defensins are produced as precursors with C-terminal prodomains of 27 to 33 amino acids in addition to a typical secretion signal peptide and central defensin domain of 47 or 49 amino acids. Defensins isolated from N. alata and petunia flowers lack the C-terminal domain, suggesting that it is removed during or after transit through the secretory pathway. Immunogold electron microscopy has been used to demonstrate that the N. alata defensin is deposited in the vacuole. In addition to the eight canonical cysteine residues that define the plant defensin family, the two petunia defensins have an extra pair of cysteines that form a fifth disulfide bond and hence define a new subclass of this family of proteins. Expression of the N. alata defensin NaD1 is predominantly flower specific and is most active during the early stages of flower development. NaD1 transcripts accumulate in the outermost cell layers of petals, sepals, anthers, and styles, consistent with a role in protection of the reproductive organs against potential pathogens. The floral defensins inhibit the growth of Botrytis cinerea and Fusarium oxysporum in vitro, providing further support for a role in protection of floral tissues against pathogen invasion.

Sports Participation 2 Years After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Athletes Who Had Not Returned to Sport at 1 Year: A Prospective Follow-up of Physical Function and Psychological Factors in 122 Athletes

Abstract: Background A return to their preinjury level of sport is frequently expected within 1 year after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, yet up to two-thirds of athletes may not have achieved this milestone. The subsequent sports participation outcomes of athletes who have not returned to their preinjury level sport by 1 year after surgery have not previously been investigated. Purpose To investigate return-to-sport rates at 2 years after surgery in athletes who had not returned to their preinjury level sport at 1 year after ACL reconstruction. Study design Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods A consecutive cohort of competitive- and recreational-level athletes was recruited prospectively before undergoing ACL reconstruction at a private orthopaedic clinic. Participants were followed up at 1 and 2 years after surgery with a sports activity questionnaire that collected information regarding returning to sport, sports participation, and psychological responses. An independent physical therapist evaluated physical function at 1 year using hop tests and the International Knee Documentation Committee knee examination form and subjective knee evaluation. Results A group of 122 competitive- and recreational-level athletes who had not returned to their preinjury level sport at 1 year after ACL reconstruction participated. Ninety-one percent of the athletes returned to some form of sport after surgery. At 2 years after surgery, 66% were playing sport, with 41% playing their preinjury level of sport and 25% playing a lower level of sport. Having a previous ACL reconstruction to either knee, poorer hop-test symmetry and subjective knee function, and more negative psychological responses were associated with not playing the preinjury level sport at 2 years. Conclusion Most athletes who were not playing sport at 1 year had returned to some form of sport within 2 years after ACL reconstruction, which may suggest that athletes can take longer than the clinically expected time of 1 year to return to sport. However, only 2 of every 5 athletes were playing their preinjury level of sport at 2 years after surgery. When the results of the current study were combined with the results of athletes who had returned to sport at 1 year, the overall rate of return to the preinjury level sport at 2 years was 60%. Demographics, physical function, and psychological factors were related to playing the preinjury level sport at 2 years after surgery, supporting the notion that returning to sport after surgery is multifactorial.