We tested the hypothesis that oxytocin-induced labor augmented IL-1β-induced/-stimulated lung fluid absorption in preterm guinea pig fetuses. IL-1β was administered subcutaneously daily to timed-pregnant guinea pigs for 3 days with and without simultaneous cortisol synthesis inhibition by metyrapone. At day 3, oxytocin was administered, and fetuses were delivered by abdominal hysterotomy at 61 and by oxytocin-induced birth at 68 days gestation. Delivered fetuses were instilled with isosmolar 5% albumin into the lungs, and lung fluid movement was measured over 1 h by mass balance. Lung fluid absorption was induced in 61-day and stimulated in 68-day gestation lungs by IL-1β. Labor induction by oxytocin augmented IL-1β-induced/- stimulated lung fluid absorption. Metyrapone pretreatment did not affect oxytocin-induced/-stimulated lung fluid absorption, while completely blocking IL-1β-induced/-stimulated fluid absorption. Fetal lung fluid absorption, when present, was always propranolol and amiloride sensitive, suggesting that β-adrenoceptor stimulation and amiloride-sensitive sodium channels were critical for fluid absorption. Epithelial sodium channel and Na-K-ATPase subunit expressions were both increased by IL-1β, but not further by oxytocin. Our results indicate that IL-1β release into the maternal blood circulation positively affects lung maturation due to the IL-1β-induced release of cortisol and thus prepares the lungs for the epinephrine surge associated with labor.

Objectives: To investigate the effects of Ramdan fasting on plasma levels of ACTH and cortisol in athletic students living in the Jordan Valley (JV) and compare them to those living at above sea level in Ramtha City (RC). Methods: Sample collection and measurements were done in November 1998 from non-fasting and in December 1998 from fasting people. Results: ACTH levels in non-fasting subjects in the JV were 36 ± 4 IU/ml compared to 43 ± 3 IU/ml for those in RC. Cortisol levels were 483 ± 76 (JV) and 539 ± 89 nmol/l (RC). Fasting led to an increase in ACTH (49 ± 6 (JV) and 58 ± 5 IU/ml (RC)) and cortisol levels (637 ± 101 (JV) and 805 ± 72 nmol/l (RC)). Conclusion: Fasting increases ACTH and cortisol levels in an altitude-independent fashion.

Sleep and cortisol function are two physiological self-regulatory processes that codevelop during infancy. Dysregulation of each system is linked to enduring health problems, so it is critical to understand factors contributing to the development of physiological self-regulation. However, it is not clear how infant sleep and cortisol interact with each other or with the parenting context. This project examined (1) the interplay of infant sleep and cortisol; (2) how cortisol interacts with parent characteristics in relation to infant sleep; and (3) whether consistent parenting buffers infant cortisol dysregulation. Study 1 (86 parent-infant dyads) investigated whether average nighttime sleep onset and duration predicted cumulative cortisol exposure, indexed by hair cortisol concentration (HCC). As hypothesized, infants who fell asleep earlier at night had lower HCC regardless of their family income and household chaos. Additionally, I expected that sleep characteristics on one night would predict total salivary cortisol exposure (AUCg) the next day, and that salivary cortisol at bedtime would predict sleep the same night. Partially supporting expectations, time-based analyses revealed that infants with lower cortisol on a particular evening fell asleep earlier the same night. In Study 2 (84 parent-infant dyads), I hypothesized that the link between parent characteristics (i.e., bedtime parental involvement and parental sensitivity) and infant sleep would differ by AUCg. Falling asleep independently predicted earlier sleep onset only for infants with dysregulated cortisol, whereas bedtime parental involvement did not predict sleep for infants with well-regulated cortisol. Infants with emotionally warm and appropriately responsive parents fell asleep earlier at night only if their cortisol was well-regulated. Utilizing archival data of 82 mother-infant dyads, Study 3 assessed consistency in parenting behaviors (i.e., smiles and laughter, and positive vocalizations), cortisol, and socioeconomic status (SES). As hypothesized, higher-SES infants experienced consistency, whereas lower-SES infants experienced inconsistency, in maternal smiles and laughter across 6 to 12 months of infancy. Contrary to expectations, inconsistent parenting did not predict cortisol. Findings highlight the intricate relation between two vital physiological processes codeveloping in the first year of life – sleep and cortisol regulation – and the role cortisol plays in moderating how parenting characteristics contribute to infant sleep.

A life event is as an occurrence that involves a subsequent change in the life pattern of an individual (Holmes & Rahe, 1967). The current study investigated whether exposure to life events over the past year influenced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis function in healthy children and adolescents, and explored whether sex, age, behavioural inhibition, trait anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, perceived parental bonding, and parental history of anxiety moderated this relationship. The sample included 147 healthy children and adolescents. Participants were administered Coddington’s Life Events Scale (CLES) and salivary cortisol was collected for the determination of the cortisol awakening response (CAR), diurnal cortisol, and cortisol reactivity to a laboratory stressor. Separate linear regression models were conducted for each cortisol profile. Results revealed that life events significantly predicted total CAR output, diurnal cortisol response, and cortisol reactivity to a laboratory stressor. Further, behavioural inhibition, trait anxiety, not having a parental history of anxiety, and paternal caring positively moderated some of the relationships between life events and cortisol profiles. Considering the physiological and psychological effects of early exposure to stress, this study is significant in understanding the impact of life events to improve the health of children and adolescents.

Infants have an innate desire to form social bonds and jealousy protests are observed when an infant is trying to regain attention lost by a caregiver to a social competitor. The current study examined jealousy responses during the first year of life, between 6- to 9-months of age and 12- to 18-months of age, in response to loss of exclusive maternal attention, in addition to exploring implications for mother-infant attachment, EEG asymmetry, and cortisol reactivity and regulation. At both age groups, infants demonstrated increased approach behaviors when infants are faced with a social rival, in addition, left-frontal EEG asymmetry was associated with maternal-directed approach behaviors during the social rival condition. In the 6- to 9-month sample, left-frontal EEG asymmetry also demonstrated an association with infants regulatory abilities, measured by salivary cortisol. This study provides further evidence for the emerging links between social and emotional responses in infancy due to loss of exclusive maternal attention. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Biosensors monitor physiological activities for diagnosis and treatment of disease. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are a viable synthetic approach for molecular recognition in biosensing. For biosensing purposes, the most important properties in MIP optimization are sensitivity and selectivity towards a desired analyte. This study aims to optimize MIP sensitivity and selectivity by varying the amount and type of cross-linker used in the synthesis of cortisol and melatonin. The four cross-linkers tested were trimethylpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM), ethyleneglycodimethacrylate (EGDMA), divinylbenzene (DVB), and pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETRA). Based on literature, the following ratios were used for the template molecule to functional monomer to cross-linker in MIP synthesis: for EGDMA cross-linked polymers, 1:6:30; for TRIM and PETRA cross-linked polymers, 1:8:8, 1:6:3, and 1:8:35; for DVB cross-linked polymers, 1:6:30, 1:4:16, and 4:1:60. The polymers were ground and washed, then suspended in a polyvinyl matrix which was spin-coated onto an organic electrochemical transducer (OECT). The device performance was evaluated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. For each device, the impedance was measured in electrolyte solutions containing target molecules in concentrations ranging from 1 pM to 100 uM. The impedance was plotted against the analyte concentration to give the sensing slope, which is a measurement for the binding affinity of the polymer. For a device to be considered sensitive, its sensing slope should be greater than its non-imprinted counterpart by a factor above the error margin (+/- 1.79). Of the devices tested, CM1835T (highly cross-linked with TRIM) showed sensitivity towards cortisol, but lacks selectivity towards cortisol over its structural analog, estradiol. Of the melatonin selective polymers, MM163T (low cross-linking with TRIM), MM1630D, and MM4160D (both highly cross-linked with DVB) all showed promising results in sensitivity to melatonin. Overall, the results indicate that high degrees of cross-linking in MIPs improve sensitivity for large, rigid, non-aromatic molecules such as cortisol; however there is no correlation between selectivity and the degree of cross-linking. Meanwhile, divinylbenzene as a cross-linker improves sensitivity and selectivity towards aromatic analytes such as melatonin and estradiol. This study could be improved upon by further characterization of imprinted and non-imprinted polymers, investigation of molecular dynamics, and optimization of devices.

A thesis submitted to the College of Dental Medicine of Nova Southeastern University of the degree of Master of Science in Dentistry. Introduction: Low-intensity lasers are one type of alternative therapeutic modality that are being used for their health-promoting effects. To date, no study has directly linked the benefits of this therapy when applied to known auricular acupuncture points to an objective biologic measurement, such as the stress hormone cortisol. The purpose of this pilot study was primarily to measure the concentration of cortisol in saliva in healthy adult subjects before and after laser therapy to known auricular acupuncture points and secondarily to survey the level of anxiety using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and perceived stress using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Methods: 25 (20 experimental and 5 control) healthy adult subjects were recruited. In this double blind design, participants were randomly divided into either an experimental group in which active laser therapy was administered or a placebo group in which the inactive probe was used. All participants completed a pre-VAS survey and a BAI survey. Baseline cortisol measurements were ascertained by participants chewing on a Salivette brand cotton roll. Bilateral laser auricular acupuncture was performed using the Asah 301 Unilaser to auricular acupuncture points (Shenmen, Adrenal, Addiction, Appetite, and Lung) for 27 seconds each. Saliva was collected immediately after treatment, ten minutes after and then twenty minutes after treatment. A post-VAS survey was then completed. Saliva was collected, frozen and stored and then later thawed and centrifuged. A cortisol specific ELISA was conducted to determine the cortisol concentration found in each participant's saliva at each time point. VAS and BAI survey were analyzed. Results: A dependent two-tailed t-test found that there was a statistically significant difference in cortisol concentration (p < 0.0001) between baseline and twenty minutes after treatment for the experimental group whereas there was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.79) for the placebo group. This was confirmed by the Friedman Test (p = 0.000) and the Wilcoxon Matched Pair Sign Rank Test (p = 0.003). No correlations were found between the VAS, BAI, and cortisol concentrations using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrated that cortisol concentration can be decreased by laser auricular acupuncture over the time period studied.

Stress occurs within everyone’s life, from the onset of life until a person takes their last breath. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health describe stress as a physical and emotional reaction to an experience that will occur within one’s life as changes occur. Stress is an action that occurs when the body encounters an experience triggered by a stressor, either internally or externally, that brings the body beyond its normal homeostatic threshold. In return the body shuts down to protect itself from overloading and overwhelming itself, from the stressor that is causing this reaction. Stress is a normal feeling, but chronic and long-term stress can lead to many disruptions to an individual’s health and disrupt their normal lifestyle. In 2019 it has been estimated that 70% of primary care visits are related to problems related to stress and lifestyle. Stress can present itself in numerous forms depending on the individual. Stress alters numerous aspects of life, it can be emotionally, physically, psychologically, etc. There are a wide range of health problems that stem from chronic stress; stress can disrupt eating habits, normal body functions, cause mood swings and unwanted behavioral changes, trigger latent diseases and many other problems. One of the biggest, yet unnoticed changes that stress can cause is how chronic stress leads to a decline in oral health, as an effect of the constant changes going on within the body. The oral cavity is one of the biggest indicators that there are changes going on within a patient. This literature review will evaluate the various oral conditions that stress can cause within the oral cavity and the resulting impact to one’s overall health. Oral health is direly important to overall health. A routine exam of the oral cavity can associate many systemic diseases affecting an individual based on the oral manifestations that are presented. While other symptoms often go unnoticed and get neglected until it is too late, the oral cavity is an early indicator that there is something that is causing a disruption to the body. The oral manifestations that were focused on for this literature review included some very common cases while others were more circumstantial. The goal was to link the oral manifestations to common oral conditions that stress brought upon the body, including periodontal disease, bruxism, habitual biting of the oral mucosa and geographic tongue. Bruxism, and periodontal disease yielded the most significant findings and its relation to stress while geographic tongue did lack some critical findings because of the condition being transient in nature and underreported. A reduction in stress can lead to a lower incidence of these oral conditions and systemic diseases in the population. Numerous research studies were evaluated to access the relation to stress and its effects on oral health, although if this review were to be done again, more data collected over a 5-year span on each condition and manifestation would be supportive.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間健康科学) / 甲第18908号 / 人健博第22号 / 新制||人健||2(附属図書館) / 31859 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科人間健康科学系専攻 / (主査)教授 菅沼 信彦, 教授 鈴木 眞知子, 教授 中原 俊隆 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human Health Sciences / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第19176号 / 医博第4018号 / 新制||医||1010(附属図書館) / 32168 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 小川 修, 教授 柳田 素子, 教授 三森 経世 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM