Withdrawal from repeated nicotine vapor exposure increases somatic signs of physical dependence, anxiety-like behavior, and brain reward thresholds in adult male rats.

In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in nicotine vapor consumption via electronic nicotine delivery systems (i.e., e-cigarettes), particularly in adolescents. While recent work has focused on the health effects of nicotine vapor exposure, its effects on the brain and behavior remain unclear. In this study, we assessed the effects that cessation from repeated nicotine vapor exposure had on behavioral and neuronal measures of withdrawal. For Experiment 1, fifty-six adult male rats were tested for plasma cotinine levels, somatic withdrawal signs, and anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze, immediately following precipitated withdrawal from repeated exposure to 12 or 24 mg/mL nicotine vapor. In Experiment 2, twelve adult male rats were tested for intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) across 14 days of exposure to 24 mg/mL nicotine vapor and across the 14 days immediately following nicotine exposure. Results revealed that plasma cotinine, somatic signs, anxiety-like behavior, and ICSS stimulation thresholds were all observed to be elevated during withdrawal in the 24 mg/mL nicotine group, when compared to vehicle controls (50/50 vegetable glycerin/propylene glycol). The data suggest that cessation from repeated nicotine vapor exposure using our preclinical model leads to nicotine dependence and withdrawal, and demonstrates that the vapor system described in these experiments is a viable pre-clinical model of e-cigarette use in humans. Further characterization of the mechanisms driving nicotine vapor abuse and dependence is needed to improve policies and educational campaigns related to e-cigarette use.

Az arcszín elváltozásának filológiai és antropológiai kérdései az Ószövetségben

"Changes in the Face Colour in the Old Testament: Philological and Anthropological Observations. One of the most obvious somatic signs of emotional reactions is a change in complexion (mainly paleness or redness), which can also be found in the Hebrew texts of the Old Testament. Their exact translation and interpretation, however, are debated. We start with the analysis of Nah. 2:11, in which the meaning and etymology of the term פָּארוּר (11bβ) are unclear, and the interpretations are controversial. In my view, the question of meaning can be answered not by an etymological approach but rather by the closer examination of the structure of the text and the identification of the conceptual metonyms and metaphors in it. The philological question relates to the possible translation of these physiological phenomena, and the anthropological question concerns the possible cultural differences in the conceptualization of certain emotions (particularly fear and shame). The topic of the change in facial colour concerns other biblical and extra-biblical texts. Some passages from the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel are important, while from the ANE context the Ugaritic Baal myth and the Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon seem to be relevant. Keywords: Old Testament anthropology, emotions, face colour/complexion, conceptual metonyms/metaphors "

Effects of progressive muscle relaxation technique on affective and somatic signs in nursing students taking objective structured clinical examination

Background: Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is an instrument for an evaluation test to asses observable skills. However, this situation of the test can lead to anxiety for students expressed in affective and somatic signs. Progressive muscle relaxation technique is one of non-pharmacology therapies and can be used to decrease the affective and somatic signs in the students. Objective: This study aims to determine effects of the progressive muscle relaxation technique on affective and somatic signs in nursing students when taking the OSCE. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental with a pre-test and post- group design. Fifty eight participants were selected by inclusion criteria and divided into two groups (a treatment group and a control group). The progressive muscle relaxation before the OSCE was conducted for 30 minutes. Zung’s self-rating anxiety (ZSAS) was applied to measure the affective signs. A sphygmomanometer, manual heart rate palpation, and thorax inspection were used to measure the somatic signs. The data were analysed by using a Wilcoxon test. Results: The Wilcoxon test showed that the effects of progressive muscle relaxation technique on the affective signs indicated p-value of 0.0001 (p<0.005). Then it also affected the somatic signs as occurred in systolic blood pressure with p-value of 0.00, diastolic blood pressure with p-value of 0.004, heart rate with p-value of 0.00, and respiration rate with p-value of 0.00. The affective and somatic signs in the treatment group decreased after the treatment was given. However, they were not found in the control group. Conclusion: There are effects of progressive muscle relaxation technique on affective and somatic signs in nursing students when taking the OSCE. The affective and somatic signs in the treatment group were lower than in the control group.

Establishing Preclinical Withdrawal Syndrome Symptomatology Following Heroin Self-Administration in Male and Female Rats

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a significant health problem, and understanding mechanisms of various aspects of OUD including drug use and withdrawal is important. Preclinical models provide an ideal opportunity to evaluate mechanisms underlying opioid withdrawal. Current models are limited by their reliance upon forced opioid administration, focus on the acute (and not protracted) syndrome, and exclusion of females. In this study, male and female rats self-administered heroin (maintenance dose of 12.5 μg/kg/infusion) opioid withdrawal following abrupt discontinuation was measured. In Phase 1, acute withdrawal symptoms were rated in male and female rats at 0, 16, 48, and 72 hrs following the last self-administration session. Total somatic signs increased until 48 hrs (predominantly in females), and heroin intake positively correlated with total somatic signs at the 48 and 72 hr timepoints. Measures of hyperactivity and anxiety-like behavior increased by 16 and 48 hrs, respectively. In Phase 2, symptoms were assessed at baseline, acute, and protracted (168 and 312 hrs after self-administration) timepoints in a subset of male and female rats from Phase 1. The total number of somatic signs did not differ across timepoints, though females displayed significantly higher body temperature at all timepoints compared to males, indicating sex-specific protracted withdrawal symptomatology. These data provide a thorough characterization of rodent opioid withdrawal symptomatology following self-administration and abrupt discontinuation that serve as a foundation for future studies designed to mimic the human experience, and demonstrate the importance of characterizing acute and protracted withdrawal with sex-specificity in preclinical models of opioid self-administration.

VITAL CODE AS A WAY TO REALIZE FIGURATIVE SIGNS OF THE MACROCONCEPTS ‘ZEMLYA’ AND ‘EARTH / LAND’ IN RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH LINGUISTIC CULTURES

The paper describes figurative signs of the macroconcepts zemlya and earth / land from the aspect of the vital code of linguistic culture. The vital code is represented in metaphors of a living being. The purpose of the article is to define a set of vital signs of the macroconcepts zemlya and earth / land. The objectives of the study are as follows: 1. to provide a brief overview of the existing studies concerning the vital code; 2. to identify and compare the vital signs of zemlya and earth / land macroconcepts in the collected language material. The subject of the study is language constructions including the words zemlya and earth / land and containing metaphors of a living being. The object of the study is the vital code of Russian and English linguistic cultures. As to the current scientific relevance of the study, the means of expressing the macroconcepts zemlya and earth / land presented in the compared linguistic cultures are analyzed in terms of two principles – anthropomorphism and vitality. The study is novel in that the macroconcepts zemlya and earth / land are first considered within codes of linguistic culture. The main methods of research are descriptive, conceptual, comparative, interpretative. The study material was selected from the Russian National Corpus (www.ruscorpora.ru) and Oxford Text Archive (https://ota.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/repository/xmlui/). As the study showed, the identified vital signs can be grouped into four blocks: 1. Physiological signs (‘voicelessness’, ‘disease’, ‘age’, ‘voice’, ‘movement’, ‘breathing’, ‘shaking’, ‘health’, ‘beauty’, ‘feeding’, ‘drinking’, ‘strength’, ‘weakness’, ‘sleep’). 2. Ontological signs (‘birth,’ ‘life’, ‘death’). 3. Perceptual signs (‘hearing’, ‘vision’, ‘touch’). 4. Somatic signs (‘legs’, ‘hands’, ‘lips’, ‘eyebrows’, ‘head’, ‘lap’, ‘breast’, ‘face’, ‘body’, ‘womb’, ‘blood’, ‘bowels’). Codes of linguistic culture are universal: they are presented in the descriptions of different fragments of the world. The vital signs represented in zemlya and earth / land concept structures are almost identical. However, the specific quantity of metaphors that implement them is different.