Tulane University

About: Tulane University is a education organization based out in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Blood pressure. The organization has 24478 authors who have published 47205 publications receiving 1944993 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Louisiana.

Role Overload, Role Conflict, and Stress: Addressing Consequences of Multiple Role Demands

Abstract: Previous studies provide contradictory evidence regarding the relationship between multiple role demands and psychological well-being Some of the inconsistency in this research may stem from the conceptual confusion surrounding the concepts of role overload and role conflict This study clarifies these concepts in order to examine their effects on stress-related outcomes A model is tested which specifies that role overload (eg, domestic and paid work time expenditures) and role conflict (eg, perceptions of work-family interference) affect satisfaction with various role domains (eg, job satisfaction and marital satisfaction) which in turn influences stress (eg, psychophysical symptoms and well-being) Covariance structure models are estimated for employed, currently married women and men As expected, marital and job satisfaction strongly affect both psychophysical symptoms and well-being Findings also suggest that role conflict decreases both sexes' job satisfaction and men's marital satisfaction and increases zvomen's psychophysical symptoms Role overload does not affect role satisfaction or stress for either sex It is concluded that perceived role conflict decreases wvomen's psychological health, but role overload does not

Three-Year Maintenance of Improved Diet and Physical Activity: The CATCH Cohort

Abstract: Objective To assess differences through grade 8 in diet, physical activity, and related health indicators of students who participated in the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH) school and family intervention from grades 3 through 5. Design Follow-up of the 4-center, randomized, controlled field trial with 56 intervention and 40 control elementary schools. Participants We studied 3714 (73%) of the initial CATCH cohort of 5106 students from ethnically diverse backgrounds in California, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas at grades 6, 7, and 8. Results Self-reported daily energy intake from fat at baseline was virtually identical in the control (32.7%) and intervention (32.6%) groups. At grade 5, the intake for controls remained at 32.2%, while the intake for the intervention group declined to 30.3% ( P P =.01). Intervention students maintained significantly higher self-reported daily vigorous activity than control students ( P =.001), although the difference declined from 13.6 minutes in grade 5 to 11.2, 10.8, and 8.8 minutes in grades 6, 7, and 8, respectively. Significant differences in favor of the intervention students also persisted at grade 8 for dietary knowledge and dietary intentions, but not for social support for physical activity. No impact on smoking behavior or stages of contemplating smoking was detected at grade 8. No significant differences were noted among physiologic indicators of body mass index, blood pressure, or serum lipid and cholesterol levels. Conclusion The original CATCH results demonstrated that school-level interventions could modify school lunch and school physical education programs as well as influence student behaviors. This 3-year follow-up without further intervention suggests that the behavioral changes initiated during the elementary school years persisted to early adolescence for self-reported dietary and physical activity behaviors.

Rescue of cleft palate in Msx1-deficient mice by transgenic Bmp4 reveals a network of BMP and Shh signaling in the regulation of mammalian palatogenesis.

Abstract: Cleft palate, the most frequent congenital craniofacial birth defects in humans, arises from genetic or environmental perturbations in the multi-step process of palate development. Mutations in the MSX1 homeobox gene are associated with non-syndromic cleft palate and tooth agenesis in humans. We have used Msx1-deficient mice as a model system that exhibits severe craniofacial abnormalities, including cleft secondary palate and lack of teeth, to study the genetic regulation of mammalian palatogenesis. We found that Msx1 expression was restricted to the anterior of the first upper molar site in the palatal mesenchyme and that Msx1 was required for the expression of Bmp4 and Bmp2 in the mesenchyme and Shh in the medial edge epithelium (MEE) in the same region of developing palate. In vivo and in vitro analyses indicated that the cleft palate seen in Msx1 mutants resulted from a defect in cell proliferation in the anterior palatal mesenchyme rather than a failure in palatal fusion. Transgenic expression of human Bmp4 driven by the mouse Msx1 promoter in the Msx1(-/-) palatal mesenchyme rescued the cleft palate phenotype and neonatal lethality. Associated with the rescue of the cleft palate was a restoration of Shh and Bmp2 expression, as well as a return of cell proliferation to the normal levels. Ectopic Bmp4 appears to bypass the requirement for Msx1 and functions upstream of Shh and Bmp2 to support palatal development. Further in vitro assays indicated that Shh (normally expressed in the MEE) activates Bmp2 expression in the palatal mesenchyme which in turn acts as a mitogen to stimulate cell division. Msx1 thus controls a genetic hierarchy involving BMP and Shh signals that regulates the growth of the anterior region of palate during mammalian palatogenesis. Our findings provide insights into the cellular and molecular etiology of the non-syndromic clefting associated with Msx1 mutations.

Relationship between Cigarette Smoking and Novel Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in the United States

Abstract: Inflammation and hyperhomocysteinemia may be important mechanisms by which smoking promotes atherosclerotic disease.