Fueled by the media, the controversy over whether playing popular arcade/computer games increases aggressiveness has only been compounded by inconsistencies within empirical research. This experiment, conducted with university students in Scotland, was designed to explore some of these inconsistencies. Aggressiveness was manipulated as the independent variable. As dependent variables, the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (Buss & Durkee, 1957) and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ; Eysenck & Eysenck, 1975) were used. There was no linear pattern in aggressive affect change across three games that contained varying levels of violence. Results are discussed in terms of the general lack of support for the commonly held view that playing aggressive computer games causes an individual to feel more aggressive.

Rare inherited mutations in the mutL homolog 1 (MLH1) DNA mismatch repair gene can confer an increased susceptibility to colorectal cancer (CRC) with high penetrance where disease frequently develops in the proximal colon. The core promoter of MLH1 contains a common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (293G>A, dbSNP ID:rs1800734) located in a region essential for maximum transcriptional activity. We used logistic regression analysis to examine the association between this variant and risk of CRC in patients in the United Kingdom. All statistical tests were 2 sided. In an analysis of 1,518 patients with CRC, homozygosity for the MLH1 293A variant was associated with a significantly increased 3-fold risk of CRC negative for MLH1 protein by immunohistochemistry (odds ratio (OR): AA vs GG 5 3.30, 95% CI 1.46-7.47, n 5 1392, p 5 0.004, MLH1 negative vs MLH1 positive CRC) and with a 68% excess of proximal CRC (OR: AA vs GG51.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00-2.83, n 5 1,518, p 5 0.05, proximal vs distal CRC). These findings suggest that the MLH1 293G>A polymorphism defines a low penetrance risk allele for CRC. ' 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Key words: MLH1; mismatch repair; colorectal; polymorphism; proximal; promoter; dna repair; cancer MLH1 and MSH2 are components of the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) system, which recognises and repairs mismatches in DNA that occur during replication. 1 Rare constitutional mutations in MLH1, MSH2 and other genes are responsible for the autosomal dominant disorder hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), 2,3 where loss of MMR predisposes to colorectal cancer (CRC) with high penetrance. Loss of MMR can also develop somatically and occurs in 15-20% of all CRC. 4 Loss of MMR frequently involves MLH1 gene promoter silencing and concomitant loss of protein expression, which gives rise to CRC predominantly in the proximal colon. In addition to rare constitutional mutations, MMR genes also contain common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) which can predispose to nonfamilial CRC with low to moderate penetrance, 5-7 suggesting an important contribution of common genetic variants to the burden of CRC in the general population.In view of the importance of MLH1 in colorectal carcinogenesis, we examined the association between a potentially functional SNP in MLH1 (dbSNP ID:rs1800734) and risk of CRC. The MLH1 293G>A polymorphism is located in the core promoter of MLH1, 93 bases upstream of the transcription start site in a region that is required for maximal transcriptional activity. 8,9 Polymorphic variation in this region is predicted to affect MLH1 protein expression. Indeed, site-directed mutagenesis of the adenine residue 2 bases downstream of the 293G>A polmorphism (position-91) reduces promoter activity by 75%. 9 These observations suggest that the MLH1 293G>A polymorphism might affect risk of CRC. Consistent with this hypothesis, the MLH1 293A variant has been associated with an increased risk of developing hyperplastic colonic polyps in smokers, 10

Background-Cue reactivity, the ability of cues associated with addictive substances to induce seeking and withdrawal, is a major contributor to addiction. Although human imaging studies show that cigarette-associated cues simultaneously activate the insula and the orbitofrontal cortex and evoke craving, how these activities functionally contribute to distinct elements of cue reactivity remains unclear. Moreover, it remains unclear whether the simultaneous activation of these cortical regions reflects coordinated functional connectivity or parallel processing.

BACKGROUND: Injury is a major concern among dancers, as currently rates are reported as being high. The purpose of the present study was to assess the incidence and details of injuries across an academic year at a full-time contemporary dance school. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed to 57 dancers at the end of their first academic year. Reported injury information was also retrieved from a database as collected from a physiotherapist over the same period. RESULTS: Differences were found between the reported and self-reported information, particularly with reference to shin injuries. The majority of injuries occurred in November and May, noted to be close to assessment periods. CONCLUSION: Injury rates in contemporary dance are high; notably, 89% of dancers reported one or more injuries. This problem is particularly evident in the lower limb.

Decreased concentrations of plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and serum BDNF have been proposed to be a state marker of depression and a biological indicator of loaded psychosocial stress. Stress evaluations of participants in military mission are critically important and appropriate objective biological parameters that evaluate stress are needed. In military circumstances, there are several problems to adopt plasma BDNF concentration as a stress biomarker. First, in addition to psychosocial stress, military missions inevitably involve physical exercise that increases plasma BDNF concentrations. Second, most participants in the mission do not have adequate quality or quantity of sleep, and sleep deprivation has also been reported to increase plasma BDNF concentration. We evaluated plasma BDNF concentrations in 52 participants on a 9-week military mission. The present study revealed that plasma BDNF concentration significantly decreased despite elevated serum enzymes that escaped from muscle and decreased quantity and quality of sleep, as detected by a wearable watch-type sensor. In addition, we observed a significant decrease in plasma vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) during the mission. VEGF is also neurotrophic and its expression in the brain has been reported to be up-regulated by antidepressive treatments and down-regulated by stress. This is the first report of decreased plasma VEGF concentrations by stress. We conclude that decreased plasma concentrations of neurotrophins can be candidates for mental stress indicators in actual stressful environments that include physical exercise and limited sleep.