IL-4- and IL-5-positive cells were also measured in the peribronchovascular

space, where the infiltration by inflammatory cells in this murine model is more intense (Vieira et al., 2007 and Arantes-Costa et al., 2008). TGF-β- and IL-10-positive cells were measured in the bronchial epithelium, in the area between the basement membrane and airway lumen. Cell density was assessed as the number of positive cells divided by the respective basement membrane length (cells/μm) in 5 bronchovascular structures at a ×400 magnification. All morphometric measurements were performed in a blinded fashion. Comparisons among groups were performed by a one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s post hoc test (parametric data) or by a one-way analysis of variance on ranks followed by Dunn’s post Dolutegravir in vitro hoc test (non-parametric data). The significance level was adjusted to 5% (p < 0.05). The correlation SCH 900776 cost between the number of TGF-β-positive cells in the bronchial epithelium and collagen fiber content was performed using Pearson’s correlation. For statistical analyses, we used the Sigma

Stat 3.5 Software (San Jose, CA). OVA exposure resulted in a significant increase in lung eosinophils, neutrophils, lymphocytes and macrophages (Table 1). The increases in neutrophils, lymphocytes and macrophages in the BALF were not observed in the group that was exposed to both ovalbumin and cigarette smoke (OVA + CS group). Exposure to cigarette smoke also attenuated the increase in eosinophils induced by OVA exposure;

therefore, Fludarabine manufacturer the numbers of eosinophils observed in the BALF of the OVA + CS group were significantly greater than in the CS group but lower than in the OVA group. There was an increase in total serum IgE in both of the sensitized mouse groups (OVA and OVA + CS groups) compared with the control and CS groups (p < 0.001). Cigarette smoke exposure did not affect this increase in IgE ( Fig. 2). OVA exposure resulted in higher values of tissue elastance (Htis) compared with the control and CS groups (p < 0.05) ( Fig. 3A). The values of Htis after methacholine challenge were significantly greater in the OVA group compared with the control group (p < 0.008 at concentrations of 6, 12 and 25 mg/mL, and p < 0.05 at basal levels and 50 mg/mL). No significant increase in pulmonary elastance response was observed in the OVA + CS group compared with the control and CS groups. There were no significant differences in the Gtis (small airways resistance) or Raw (airways resistance) values among the four experimental groups ( Fig. 3B and C). IL-4 levels in the lung tissue were increased in the OVA group when compared with all of the other groups (p < 0.04) ( Fig. 4A). The OVA group also showed a significant increase in IL-4-positive cells in the peribronchovascular compartment (p = 0.01 compared with the control group, Fig. 4B).

More recently, Hwang et al [54] reported that 20-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-20(S)-protopanaxadiol (20-GPPD), a metabolite of ginseng saponin, causes apoptosis of colon cancer cells through the induction of cytoplasmic selleck screening library Ca2+. 20-GPPD decreased cell viability, increased annexin V-positive early apoptosis, and induced sub-G1 accumulation and nuclear condensation of CT-26 murine colon cancer cells. Although 20-GPPD-induced activation of AMPK played a key role in the apoptotic death of CT-26 cells, LKB1, a well-known

upstream kinase of AMPK, was not involved in this activation [54]. Although many studies support the tumor-suppressive role of AMPK, some evidence suggests that the metabolic function of AMPK might be overridden by oncogenic signals so that tumor cells use AMPK activation as a survival strategy to gain growth. During certain stages of tumor development, AMPK might act as protective machinery against metabolic stress such as nutrient deprivation and hypoxia. Thus, investigation to define at which stage of cancer progression might represent a more relevant strategy to employ AMPK activation for cancer treatment is clearly

warranted. AMPK is a critical metabolic sensor that finely regulates the energy homeostasis of cells. Therefore, it has been suggested as a potential target for metabolic disorders and cancer. A plethora of chemical agents reported to activate AMPK exist, www.selleckchem.com/products/cb-839.html most notably metformin and 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside (AICAR). Most of these chemicals, except A-769662, known

Dimethyl sulfoxide to be a direct AMPK activator developed in 2005 by Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Illinois, USA, activate AMPK indirectly with some other effects. At this time, we do not know exactly how ginseng or ginsenosides activate AMPK although LKB1 [39], [48], [50] and [55] or the calcium-dependent pathway involving phosphorylation of AMPK by CAMKK would be suggested. As alternative or additional explanations, mechanisms involving either an increase in the AMP:ATP ratio [41], inhibition of mitochondrial ATP synthesis, or the SIRT1-dependent pathway via increase in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) levels should be tested to elucidate further how ginseng or ginsenosides activate AMPK. Despite recent advances in the mechanistic understanding of AMPK activation by ginseng or ginsenosides, several key questions still remain. Is there a positive correlation between antimetabolic or anticancer activities of ginseng (and ginsenosides) and the AMPK signaling pathway as a primary target? If yes, how do ginseng or ginsenosides activate AMPK? Do they activate AMPK directly or indirectly? What are the therapeutic and toxicological consequences of AMPK activation? The AMPK field of research is now well developed and should provide new and exciting novelties regarding the application of AMPK in preventive and clinical medicine.

Stratigraphic sequences on Tikopia reveal extensive burning (marked by charcoal in sediments), erosion of the volcanic slopes, and deposition of terrigenous sediments on the coastal plain as the island’s forest was cleared for gardening during the Kiki Phase (950–100 B.C.). During the island’s Sinapupu Phase (∼100 B.C. to A.D. 1200) the use of fire in agriculture gradually declined as the population developed the sophisticated system of arboriculture http://www.selleckchem.com/products/LY294002.html or “orchard gardening” for which Tikopia is known ethnographically. This arboricultural system mimics the multi-story layering of the tropical rainforest, allowing for extremely high population

densities (∼250 persons/km2). Virtually every hectare of the Tikopia land surface consists of intensively managed orchard gardens, a classic case of the total transformation of an island landscape into an anthropogenic ecosystem.

Mangaia, like other islands within central Eastern Polynesia, was not colonized by Polynesians until ca. A.D. 900–1000. With a land area of 52 km2, the island consists of a 20-million year old central volcanic core surrounded by a ring of upraised coral limestone or makatea. The old, laterized volcanic terrain is nutrient depleted and was highly vulnerable to intensive human land use activities. Archeological investigation of several stratified rockshelters (especially the large MAN-44 site) and sediment coring and palynological analysis of valley-bottom Gemcitabine datasheet swamps and lakes revealed a detailed history of land much use and human impacts on Mangaia ( Steadman and Kirch, 1990, Ellison, 1994, Kirch et al., 1995 and Kirch, 1996). The sediment cores and pollen records reveal rapid deforestation following Polynesian colonization, with an initial spike in microscopic charcoal particles indicative of anthropogenic burning, probably in an effort to cultivate the volcanic slopes

using shifting cultivation. Once the thin organic A horizon had been stripped off of hillslopes through erosion, the lateritic soils were incapable of supporting forest regrowth; the island’s interior became a pyrophytic fernland dominated by Dicranopteris linearis fern and scrub Pandanus tectorius. Agricultural efforts were then directed at the narrow valley bottoms, which were developed into intensive pondfield irrigation systems for taro (Colocasia esculenta) cultivation. The faunal record from the Mangaia rockshelters, especially site MAN-44, exhibits an especially well-documented sequence of significant impacts on the native biota, as well as the introduction of invasive and domestic species (Steadman and Kirch, 1990 and Steadman, 2006). Of 17 species of native land birds present in the early phases of the sequence, 13 became extinct or extirpated.

, 2005a, Erlandson et al., 2005b and Rick et al., 2008a). By 7000 years ago, the Chumash also appear to have introduced dogs and foxes to the island, which further affected the terrestrial ecology (Rick et al., 2008b, Rick et al., 2009a and Rick et al., 2009b). Millions of shellfish were harvested from island waters annually and signatures of this intensive predation have been

documented in the declining size of mussel, abalone, and limpet shells in island middens beginning as much as 7000 years ago (Fig. 5; Erlandson et al., 2009, Erlandson et al., 2011a and Erlandson et al., 2011b). Studies of pinniped remains from island middens also show that the abundance of northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) IDH inhibitor and Guadalupe fur seals (Arctocephalus townsendi) is very different today than the rest of the Holocene, probably due to the combined effects of ancient subsistence hunting and historic commercial seal hunting ( Braje et al., 2011 and Rick et al., 2011). In summary, although California’s Channel Islands are often

considered to be pristine and natural ecosystems recovering from recent ranching and overfishing, they have been shaped by more than 12,000 years of human activity. It has taken decades of intensive archeological this website and paleoecological research to document this deep anthropogenic history. As other coastal areas around the world are studied, similar stories of long-term human alteration on islands and coastlines are emerging (e.g., Anderson, 2008, Kirch, 2005, Rick and Erlandson, 2008, Rick et al., 2013a and Rick et al., 2013b). Worldwide, long shell midden sequences provide distinctive stratigraphic markers for ancient and widespread human presence in coastal and other aquatic landscapes, as well as the profound effects humans have had on them. In coastal, riverine, and lacustrine settings around the world, there is a signature of intensive human exploitation of coastal and other aquatic ecosystems that satisfies the requirements of a stratigraphic

marker for the Anthropocene. This signature can be clearly seen geologically and archeologically in the widespread appearance between L-gulonolactone oxidase about 12,000 and 6000 years ago of anthropogenic shell midden soils that are as (or more) dramatic as the plaggen soils of Europe or the terra preta soils of the Amazon (e.g., Blume and Leinweber, 2004, Certini and Scalenghe, 2011, Schmidt et al., 2013 and Simpson et al., 1998). Similar to these other anthropogenic soils, the creation of shell middens often contributes to distinctive soil conditions that support unique plant communities and other visible components of an anthropogenic ecosystem. When combined with other anthropogenic soil types created by early agricultural communities in Africa, Eurasia, the Americas, and many Pacific Islands, shell middens are potentially powerful stratigraphic markers documenting the widespread ecological transformations caused by prehistoric humans around the world.

“
“Inflammation is an important process because find more it is one of the natural defense mechanisms

caused by the release of inflammatory mediators [e.g., (nitric oxide) NO and prostaglandin (PG)E2], cytokines [e.g., tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α], and chemokines [1] and [2]. This event requires the activation of inflammatory cells such as macrophages via the ligation of their surface receptors (e.g., Toll-like receptors) [3]. The activation of Toll-like receptors in macrophages by ligands derived from pathogens triggers various cellular signaling cascades to activate transcription factors including nuclear factor (NF)-κB (p50 and p65), activator protein (AP)-1 [c-Fos, c-Jun, and activating transcription factor (ATF)-2], and interferon regulatory transcription factor (IRF)-3 to trigger the new expression of inflammatory genes [4], [5] and [6]. Although click here inflammation is a normal response, acutely, excessive induced, or chronically sustained inflammatory responses are known to cause serious diseases including cancer, stroke, and diabetes. Therefore, it must be stressed that normalization of upregulated inflammation is crucial in prevention of such diseases [7], [8] and [9]. Korean Red Ginseng (KRG, steamed root of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, Araliaceae) is a well-known herbal medicine

traditionally used in Korea [10]. It has been used for a long time without displaying any toxic properties, thus, developing some anti-inflammatory preparation http://www.selleck.co.jp/products/MDV3100.html with KRG could be considered beneficial. Unlike acid polysaccharides that are known as major components contributing to upregulation of the body’s immune responses [11], red ginseng saponin fractions enriched with protopanaxadiol (PPD)-type ginsenosides have been reported as strong anti-inflammatory preparations [12]. Some PPD-type ginsenosides such as ginsenoside (G)-Rb1, G-Rb2, and G-Rd display strong anti-inflammatory properties under various conditions [13]. This notion

led us to establish a hypothesis that PPD-type saponins could be used as an anti-inflammatory remedy. In this study, therefore, we investigated the anti-inflammatory activity and molecular mechanism of the protopanaxadiol saponin fraction (PPD-SF). PPD-SFs, prepared by previously established methods [14], from KRG with higher amounts of protopanaxadiol-type ginsenosides (G-Rb1, G-Rc, G-Re, and G-Rb2) were kindly supplied by the Korea Ginseng Cooperation (Daejeon, Korea). Nω-Nitro-l-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (l-NAME), (3-4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), and lipopolysaccharide (LPS, Escherichia coli 0111:B4) were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO, USA). BX795 and SP600125 were obtained from Calbiochem (La Jolla, CA, USA). Luciferase constructs containing promoters with binding sites for NF-κB, AP-1, and IRF-3 were used, as reported previously [15]. RAW264.7 cells, a BALB/c-derived murine macrophage cell line (ATCC No.

A conceptualization of the processes influencing sediment deposition and storage

can be instructive for understanding Sotrastaurin this variability. The production of sediment (erosion) on a hill slope (PS) depends on landscape sensitivity, the intensity of land use, and external factors. Landscape sensitivity is governed by biogeomorphic factors, such as slope, lithology, soils, and vegetation. Land-use intensity depends on cultural and socioeconomic factors, such as population density, land-use technology, export economies, and conservation practices. Exogenetic factors include extreme meteorological events, climate change, or tectonics. The amount of sediment that is delivered to a site GABA drugs (DS)—critical to understanding where LS may be deposited and how long it will be stored—is usually substantially different than the amount of sediment produced on hill slopes due to storage or recruitment of sediment in transit ( Phillips, 2003). The proportion of sediment that is delivered is usually much less than 100% due to a dominance of deposition and storage over recruitment. This is especially

true during episodic events when accelerated erosion results in a surplus of sediment production beyond equilibrium loadings. Sediment delivery depends not only on sediment production on hill slopes, but also on conditions that govern deposition and recruitment, including transport capacity, sediment characteristics, and valley-bottom conditions. Many of these factors are scale-dependent and vary systematically with drainage area. Aspartate Sediment characteristics that influence deliveries include grain size, shape, cementation, imbrication, and armoring. Relevant valley-bottom factors include morphology, floodplain width, position relative to channels, geologic structure, valley gradient, base-level, history of sea-level change, previous history of channel aggradation or incision, glacial history, and human alterations (channel-bed mining, dams, levees, etc.) (Belmont, 2011, Blum and Törnqvist, 2000 and Nardi et

al., 2006). Storage potential also depends on local connectivity between lateral and longitudinal linkages and blockages referred to collectively as (dis)connectivity (Fryirs, 2013). Blockages consist of buffers, barriers, and blankets that limit lateral, longitudinal, and vertical connectivity, respectively. This provides a means of identifying and tallying sites where storage may accrue and of quantifying sediment storage potential and delivery. Storage components can be classified as ‘stores;’ i.e., relatively temporary storage components, or ‘sinks;’ i.e., relatively persistent storage components ( Fryirs, 2013). Much of the sediment within channels may be considered to be stores, whereas floodplains are largely sinks.

) and by carrying out research and other activities (Carrefour, 2003). Connected to this forum, the European Dry Stone Walls Project was changed to create a European network, which built on inter-regional co-operation for local development based on dry-stone walls inheritance. In Italy in 2005, the ALPTER project was built to counteract the abandonment of terraced agricultural areas in the alpine region of Europe, a problem that only recently has raised the attention of both institutions

and citizens, due to the loss of cultural heritage and the natural hazards it can produce. The project, co-financed in the framework of the EU program Interreg Alpine Space, began in 2005 with the collection of data on eight terraced areas, aimed at defining procedures for mapping, assessing geological hazards, enhancing agricultural production ZD6474 and promoting tourism in terraced zones (ALPTER). In 2010, the First Terraced Landscapes World Conference took place in Yunnan (China), gathering not only scholars but also indigenous peoples from all over the world

to bring together knowledge and operative selleck compound perspectives about the terraced landscapes worldwide (Du Guerny and Hsu, 2010). After the conference, the participants established the International Alliance for Terraced Landscapes (ITLA), working to connect existing projects worldwide with regard to the conservation and revitalization of terraced areas. These forums and projects are examples of non-structural measures for terraces management. They share the recognition and preservation of traditional terracing procedures thanks to the gathering of professionals and scholars

around agreements in the context of National or International associations. They also propose the development and improvement of basic and advanced training for young people, based on reference knowledge that can be transferred to other regions Glutamate dehydrogenase of Europe or to other countries worldwide. Other non-structural measures should comprise local action programmes that integrate terrace heritage into local development strategies, by raising the awareness of young people and adult volunteers in the countries involved in the programmes, with practical field-based activities. Pilot activities for the restoration of terraces should be pursued as well, such as model work sites that can both preserve threatened heritage items (walls) and be used to train professionals in traditional building methods. Terrace maintenance can also benefit directly from the return of this peculiar landscape (tourism, or cultural and leisure activities), or indirectly (commerce of the products) from the improvement of agricultural production from the maintenance of active rural people and from the involvement of youth in terrace management and maintenance.

LV targeting Atg5 contained

an shRNA plasmid targeting nucleotides 302–320 of the mouse Atg5 transcript. LV targeting Vps35 consisted of a mixture of three separate LVs, each containing a 19–25 nucleotide shRNA sequence targeting a different region of the mouse Vps35 transcript. Control LV contained the same plasmid backbone, but expressed an shRNA sequence targeting luciferase. For beclin 1 rescue experiments, LV particles contained a plasmid encoding mouse beclin 1. Cells were infected in 96-well plates at a multiplicity of infection of 50 or 100 in the presence of polybrene (8 μg/ml). Eighteen hours after infection, virus-containing media were removed and replaced with normal maintenance media. Twenty-four hours later, cells were split into 24-well plates. Twenty-four hours later (72 hr after infection), cells were used PD0332991 concentration in phagocytosis and receptor recycling assays. At 72 hr posttransduction, our lentiviral constructs were well tolerated, with nearly 95% viability as measured by trypan blue exclusion (data not shown). When

used in ex vivo phagocytosis assays, BV2 cells were transferred to 10 cm dishes and grown until confluent. When possible, successful transduction was monitored by GFP expression and confirmed by western blot. Vps35 shRNA LV particles were purchased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology. All other LV plasmids were prepared as previously described ( Marr et al., 2003) and generated by the Stanford Neuroscience Gene Vector and Virus Core. All tissues or cells were lysed in RIPA buffer, and total protein concentrations were determined with a BCA Protein Assay Kit (Thermo Crizotinib cost Scientific). Total protein (10–20 μg) was next loaded for each sample into precast 4%–12% bis-tris gels and run with MOPS buffer (Invitrogen). Gels were transferred onto PVDF membranes (Millipore). Antigen-specific primary antibodies

were incubated overnight at 4°C and detected with species-specific horseradish-peroxidase-labeled secondary antibodies. An ECL Western Blotting Detection kit (GE Healthcare) was used to obtain a chemiluminescence signal, which was detected using Amersham Hyperfilm ECL (GE Healthcare). Band quantification was performed using ImageJ software (version 1.44; NIH). Bands of interest were normalized to actin- or neuron-specific enolase for a loading control. Beclin 1+/− and wild-type littermate pups were sacrificed at postnatal day 6–8. Brains were dissected from the pups, the meninges were removed, and the cortex was isolated. Cortical tissue was then dissociated into single cells using the Neural Tissue Dissociation Kit P (Miltenyi Biotec). Cells were washed with Hank’s Balanced Salt Solution and resuspended in PBS containing 0.5% bovine serum albumin and 2 mM EDTA (MACS buffer). To positively select for microglia, 10 μl of CD11b MicroBeads (Miltenyi Biotec) were added per 107 total cells.

001, p = 4 × 10−6; on SCH23390 baseline blocks: 0.02 ± 0.002 versus 0.033 ± 0.001, p = 4 × 10−5). However, after the injection of SCH23390, there was no corresponding increase in average PEV in the first

two postinjection blocks, when there was a learning impairment (first versus last ten correct trials per block, 0.009 ± 0.003 versus 0.007 ± 0.001, p = 0.78; Figure 3B, bottom panels). Also, average PEV during the last ten correct trials of these blocks and sessions was reduced compared to baseline blocks (SCH23390 during the first two postinjection blocks: mean = 0.007 ± 0.001 versus baseline blocks from the same sessions: 0.033 ± 0.001, p = 1 × 10−8). PEV was also reduced compared to the corresponding postsaline injection blocks (mean = 0.047 ± 0.001, p = 1 × 10−9). Moreover, LY294002 after SCH23390, but not saline, the difference in firing rate between preferred and nonpreferred directions during

the cue period was reduced (Figure 3C). A two-way ANOVA of the firing rate during the cue period, with drug treatment (baseline, drug, and washout) and preferred direction as factors, showed a significant effect of SCH23390 on both factors (with no interaction). A post hoc test indicated a reduction of selectivity after SCH23390 (but not saline) via increased activity to the nonpreferred direction (Bonferroni post hoc test). During washout, neural selectivity began to recover Ferroptosis inhibitor (Figures 3B and 3C). Neural activity was more noisy than during baseline, but there was once again a significant difference between preferred versus nonpreferred directions (Figure 3C, t test, p = 0.03). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis yielded similar results (Figure S2 and Supplemental Experimental Procedures).

As mentioned above, there was no difference in average activity across the whole neuron population after SCH23390 relative to saline. However, for CGK 733 SCH23390, there was a small, but significant, greater increase in overall activity of neurons that were selective during learning (see above) during the first 30 min postinjection (Figure 3D and example neuron in Figure S2; saline normalized activity raised to 1.18 ± 0.02 [5–30 min postinjection], n = 81; SCH23390 normalized activity raised to 1.41 ± 0.03, n = 78; Wilcoxon test, p = 4 × 10−7). Thus, task-selective neurons were more susceptible than nontask-selective neurons to D1R modulation. This increase persisted during the washout period, when behavior returned to normal. By contrast, neural selectivity to familiar associations was less affected by SCH23390. We examined the overlap of selectivity during novel and familiar associations in single neurons. We determined that ∼35%–40% of neurons with selectivity during learning also showed selectivity to familiar associations (Figure 4A; saline: 31 of 81 neurons [38.3%], SCH23390: 26 of 78 neurons [33.3%]; ANOVA during cue and/or memory delay, p < 0.05). Note that this percentage is a conservative estimate.

2 The SVS is a 7-item instrument. An example item is “I feel alive and full of vitality.” The reponses were provided on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The reversed scored item (item 2) was reported to be problematic in a previous study20 and therefore was not included in this study. The 6-item

scale demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency reliability in previous research among Chinese populations21 and in the current study (Cronbach’s α = 0.86). Self-reported exercise behavior was assessed via the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ),22 which has been found to be reliable and valid when compared to objective measures of physical activity.23 and 24 The respondents indicated the frequency of mild, moderate, and strenuous exercise they engage in for at least 15 min during a typical week. These scores were weighted Selleck TGF beta inhibitor by the approximate metabolic equivalents for the different levels of activity (3, 5, and 9, respectively).18 and 25 First, the descriptive statistics of the C-BREQ-2 items SB431542 in vitro were computed. Second,

confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using AMOS 19.026 was performed to examine the hypothesized 5-factor structure of the C-BREQ-2. Third, due to the documented shortcomings of the Cronbach’s α,27, 28 and 29 the composite reliability and Cronbach’s α were calculated to examine the internal consistency reliabilities of the C-BREQ-2 subscales. Forth, the correlations between the C-BREQ-2 subscales and the theoretically related variables were computed to examine Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase the discriminant validity and nomological validity of the C-BREQ-2.

Finally, multiple-group CFA was performed to examine the measurement invariance (e.g., factor-loadings and factor covariances and variances) of the C-BREQ-2 across university students in Mainland China versus Hong Kong. The overall model fit was evaluated using multiple goodness-of-fit indices including the chi-square value, Comparative fit index (CFI), the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) accompanied by its 90% confidence interval (90%CI), and the Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR). The commonly-accepted thresholds of CFI >0.90, SRMR close to (or less than) 0.0830 and RMSEA less than 0.08,31 respectively, were used as criteria indicative of an acceptable model fit. CFI >0.95,30 and 32 SRMR less than 0.08, and RMSEA less than 0.06,31 respectively, were used as criteria indicative of a good model fit. In addition, the modification indices and standardized residuals were analyzed to screen for mis-specified items. In line with previous works,33 items that displayed large standardized residuals (>｜2.00｜) were considered for removal. Examination of Mardia’s34 normalized estimate of multivariate kurtosis indicated that the data departed from multivariate normality (71.74, critical ratio = 17.55).