Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Brain macrophages and microglia respond differently to lesions of the developing and adult visual system

Traumatic injury in the brain usually results in rapid degeneration of neuronal elements and a response by peripherally derived macrophages (brain macrophages, BMOs) and resident microglia. One intriguing result of lesions performed in the developing brain as compared to lesions of the mature brain is the faster resolution of the cellular debris and the absence of significant scarring. The purpose of this study was to examine the response of BMOs to induced cell death distant to the lesion site and to investigate possible differences in the responding phagocytic populations (BMOs versus microglia) following lesions in neonates and adults. Ablation of the visual cortex at birth results in very rapid retrograde degeneration and removal of neurons of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) within a few days. Lesions to the visual cortex of adult rats also induce neurons within the dLGN to die, but these cells do so over a much more protracted time course. Utilizing differences in morphology and immunocytochemical staining with the monoclonal antibodies EDI and OX‐42 to distinguish between BMOs and microglia, we found that in the developing CNS, BMOs are signalled rapidly and specifically to the location of induced cell death. Microglia are not involved in this response. As might be expected, the temporal response in the adult is much more protracted. In contrast to the developing brain, microglia and not macrophages are the predominant responding cell class after the adult lesion. The data suggest that these are distinct populations of phagocytic cells that respond to brain damage during development and in the adult, which may be critical in modulating the resolution and growth response after injury.
Novel Bifunctional Additive for Rubbers: Cyclic Butylene Terephthalate Oligomer

In this paper the effect of a novel bifunctional additive [cyclic butylene terephthalate (CBT)] was investigated on the rheological, curing and mechanical properties of natural rubber (NR), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), oil extended styrene butadiene rubber (oSBR), acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) and ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM). Results showed, that CBT acted as an effective lubricant, decreasing the viscosity of the raw mixtures significantly. Furthermore CBT recrystallized upon cooling and acted as semi-active filler, slightly increased the mechanical properties of the tested non strain-crystallizable synthetic rubbers. The polarity of the rubber matrix had a strong effect on the adhesion between rubber and CBT, the higher the polarity of the rubber, the better the adhesion between the two phases was.
Mapping Fieldwork and Supervision Practice in the Social Professions (Part 2)

Little is known about the experiences, practices and perceptions of fieldwork supervisors in the context of third-level professional education and training programmes in the social professions. The first instalment of this two-part article (Tierney, 2011) explored the general area of supervision in the social professions, highlighting its threefold focus on accountability, learning and support. It then examined fieldwork practice in professional training programmes, drawing on the work of – among others – Holmes and Bryant (1977), LaBoskey and Rickert (2002) and Webber (1999, 2000a, 2000b). This second part of the article looks at supervision in the specific context of fieldwork placement within professional programmes. It considers the distinctive features of supervision in such a context; the tensions, challenges and opportunities arising for practitioners; the factors shaping student learning during fieldwork; the typical stages of the fieldwork experience and features of effective supervision. It suggests that greater clarity regarding appropriate models of supervision in youth work and community work may be difficult to achieve without a more robust and generally agreed articulation of what constitutes good professional practice in these fields.
The Effects of a Dementia Nurse Care Manager on Improving Caregiver Outcomes Outcomes

Iowa's Administration on Aging's Alzheimer's Disease Demonstration Grant to the States was a project to implement and evaluate a nurse care management model of service delivery for persons with dementia or care recipient and their family caregiver that was integrated with the case management system. The goal of the nursing service delivery model was to maintain persons with dementia safely in their homes, by connecting them with appropriate services and providing support to the care recipient and caregivers. Outcomes measures were evaluated over time. This article defines the role of dementia nurse care management and shares the results of the outcomes measurements. The evaluation showed that caregivers assisted by nurse care managements were more likely to show improvement in their stress levels, endurance potential, and well-being. This improvement was consistent over time.
Dietary fish oil (4 g daily) and cardiovascular risk markers in healthy men.

Some epidemiological observations indicate that 1 to 2 weekly servings of fish prevent ischemic heart disease (IHD). This might be explained by an effect of the very-long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 VLCPUFA) of fish oil on lipid metabolism and/or the hemostatic system, both involved in IHD development. We studied the effect of incorporating natural fish oil (4 g daily equivalent to 0.91 g n-3 VLCPUFA and corresponding to one to two weekly servings of fatty fish) into the diet in a 4-week parallel, randomized, and double-blind trial of 47 healthy males aged 29 to 60 years. Sunflower oil was used as placebo. The fish oil had no significant effect on plasma lipids, apolipoproteins, lipoprotein(a), blood coagulation FVII, fibrinogen, endogenous fibrinolysis, beta-thromboglobulin, von Willebrand factor, glucose, or insulin in fasting blood samples. In nonfasting samples (n = 19), fish oil was associated with an approximately 30% decline in plasma triglycerides (P < .02) and a 9% decline in FVII protein (P < .05), whereas FVII coagulant activity and fibrinolysis were unaffected. In conclusion, our findings indicate that lowering of postprandial triglycerides is the only n-3 VLCPUFA effect that could contribute to primary prevention of IHD in healthy middle-aged men as assessed by currently measurable lipid and hemostatic risk markers.
Postoperative rehabilitation following lumbar discectomy with quantification of trunk muscle morphology and function: a case report and review of the literature.

STUDY DESIGN A case report and literature review. BACKGROUND Optimizing clinical outcomes following lumbar disc surgery is a research priority; however, relatively little attention has been paid to the postoperative management of this population. The transversus abdominis and lumbar multifidus (LM) muscles appear to play a unique role in lumbar spine stability, and may relate to clinical outcome following lumbar disc surgery. The purpose of this case report was to describe the preoperative LM morphology, clinical outcome, and change in transversus abdominis and LM muscle activation in a patient following lumbar disc surgery and motor control exercise initiated in the early postoperative period. CASE DESCRIPTION A 29-year-old female underwent an 8-week postoperative rehabilitation program emphasizing motor control exercises to restore trunk muscle function 10 days following lumbar disc surgery. OUTCOMES The patient experienced clinically important improvements in pain and disability following the postoperative rehabilitation program. Substantial improvements in muscle activation were observed of the transversus abdominis and the LM at the L4-5 level. Minimal change in LM activation and a higher proportion of intramuscular fat was observed at the L5-S1 level. DISCUSSION This case report represents limited evidence regarding the feasibility of instituting a rehabilitation program in the early postoperative period following lumbar disc surgery. Improvements in clinical status and muscle function were observed, and a differential change in muscle activation between the L4-5 and L5-S1 levels was noted. The literature regarding rehabilitation following lumbar disc surgery, as well as the neuromuscular changes observed in this population, was reviewed. Additionally, a novel method of examining LM morphology was described and suggestions were made for directions of future research. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapy, level 4.
Children with chronic renal failure have reduced numbers of memory B cells

Reduced serum IgG and subclass levels have been demonstrated in children with chronic renal failure. To study possible causes of this reduction, we analysed B cell subset composition, T helper cell frequencies and immunoglobulin (Ig) production capacity in vitro in children with chronic renal failure, with or without dialysis treatment. B cell subsets were characterized by determining CD27, IgM, IgD and CD5 expression within the CD19+ population. Intracellular expression of interferon (IFN)‐γ, interleukin (IL)‐2 and IL‐4 in PMA/ionomycin‐stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was used to evaluate T helper frequencies. The capacity of B cells to secrete Ig in vitro was determined by measuring IgG1, IgG2 and IgM in culture supernatants of anti‐CD2/CD28 monoclonal antibody (MoAb)‐ or SAC/IL‐2‐stimulated PBMC. Memory B cell numbers (identified as percentage or absolute number of CD19+ IgM¯IgD¯ or CD19+CD27+ lymphocytes) were lower in children treated with haemodialysis (HD), peritoneal dialysis (PD) and children with chronic renal failure before starting dialysis treatment (CRF) compared to healthy controls (HC) (P < 0·05). Compared with HC, CD5+ (naive) B cells were reduced in HD‐treated patients but not for PD or for children with chronic renal failure before starting dialysis treatment (CRF). No significant differences in CD4+ T helper cell subsets were found between the groups. However, CRF children had a higher percentage of IFN‐γ producing CD8+ T lymphocytes compared to HC (P = 0·02). Finally, IgG1, IgG2 and IgM production in vitro was similar in the four groups. In conclusion, significantly lower numbers of memory type B cells were found in children with chronic renal failure compared to healthy controls. This reduction may contribute to the low Ig levels found in these children.
The Role of Ultrasound Elasticity Imaging in Predicting Ileal Fibrosis in Crohn's Disease Patients

Backgound:Bowel wall fibrosis is associated with a complicated disease behavior in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). The quantitative assessment of fibrosis severity in CD-affected bowel can help clinical decision making. Our aim was to evaluate the feasibility, reliability, and reproducibility of ultrasound elasticity imaging (UEI) toward the assessment of ileal fibrosis in CD patients. Methods:Twenty-three consecutive patients with ileal or ileocolonic CD, elected for surgical resection of the terminal ileum, underwent bowel ultrasound and UEI. Twenty inflammatory CD patients without complications were enrolled as controls. Bowel wall stiffness was evaluated with UEI by means of color scale and quantitative strain ratio measurement. The severity of bowel wall fibrosis and inflammation were evaluated on histological sections by semiquantitative and quantitative image analysis and used as a reference standard. Results:The UEI strain ratio measurement was significantly correlated with the severity of bowel fibrosis at both semiquantitative and quantitative histological image analysis: it was characterized by an excellent discriminatory ability for severe bowel fibrosis (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.917; 95% confidence interval, 0.788–1.000). UEI strain ratio measurements were characterized by an excellent interrater agreement. At multivariate analysis, bowel wall fibrosis proved the only independent determinant of the strain ratio. The ileal strain ratio of inflammatory CD patients was significantly lower than in operated CD patients with severe fibrosis. Conclusions:UEI can be used to assess ileal fibrosis in CD patients.
Augmented Wnt signaling as a therapeutic tool to prevent ischemia/reperfusion injury in liver: Preclinical studies in a mouse model

The Wnt signaling pathway has established biological roles in liver development, regeneration, and carcinogenesis. Given the common need for cellular energy utilization in each of these processes, we hypothesized that Wnt signaling would directly regulate hepatocyte mitochondrial function. Mice were engineered to overexpress Wnt1 in hepatocytes under the control of a tetracycline analogue. Wnt1 and wild‐type mice underwent ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) to induce oxidative mitochondrial injury. Alpha mouse liver 12 (AML12) hepatocytes were exposed to Wnt agonists for in vitro hypoxia/reoxygenation (H‐R) experiments. We observed stabilized mitochondrial membrane potential and reduced levels of hepatocyte apoptosis involving the mitochondrial pathway in Wnt1 mice compared to controls following IRI. Wnt1 mice also demonstrated increased mitochondrial DNA copy number, as well as an increased tricarboxylic acid cycle activity and adenosine triphosphate levels indicating that mitochondrial function is preserved by Wnt1 overexpression following IRI. AML12 cells treated by Wnt3a or the glycogen synthase kinase 3β inhibitor LiCl exposed to H‐R demonstrated decreased reactive oxygen species and reduced apoptosis compared to controls. Increased nucleus‐localized PGC‐1α and phosphorylated SIRT1 was observed in both Wnt1+ mice as well as AML12 cells treated with Wnt3a or LiCl. Activated Wnt signaling protects hepatocytes against oxidative injury and apoptosis through mitochondrial stabilization and preserved oxidative phosphorylation function. Mechanistically, these effects are accompanied by an increase in phosphorylated SIRT1 and nucleus‐localized PGC‐1α. These findings expand the understanding of Wnt signaling biology in hepatocytes and suggest the potential for the therapeutic application of Wnt pathway manipulation in a variety of clinical applications including organ transplantation. Liver Transpl 21:1533‐1542, 2015. © 2015 AASLD.
An improved self routing scheme by using parent-child relationship and beacon-only period for WSNs

The IEEE Standard 802.15. 4 for wireless personal area networks shows promise of bringing ubiquitous sensor networking into reality, at least technically. In this paper, a beacon-based self routing (BSR) scheme of a beacon-only period (BOP) mode is presented. The proposed scheme, BSR routes packets from sensor nodes to sink based on the parent-child relationships and from the sink to sensor nodes by BOP formation. Simulation results using TOSSIM (TinyOS SIMulator) and experimental results with Mica-Z show that the BSR scheme outperforms well in comparison to the conventional AODV routing scheme over the parameters such as: average throughput, number of collisions, number of network commands and delivery ratio. Since this work considers utilising beacon payload for routing information delivery in contrast to the previously published in-band conveying approach like AODV, it is concluded that this algorithm could provide better optimisation during the commercialising phase with regard to the level of expectations.
The contribution of two categories of parent verbal responsiveness to later language for toddlers and preschoolers on the autism spectrum.

PURPOSE The authors examined longitudinal associations between 2 categories of parent verbal responsiveness and language comprehension and production 1 year later in 40 toddlers and preschoolers with a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHOD Parent-child play samples using a standard toy set were digitally captured and coded for child engagement with objects and communication acts and for parent verbal responses to play and communication. RESULTS After controlling for parent education, child engagement, and initial language level, only parent directives for language that followed into the child's focus of attention accounted for unique variance in predicting both comprehension and production 1 year later. A series of exploratory analyses revealed that parent comments that followed into the child's focus of attention also accounted for unique variance in later comprehension and production for children who were minimally verbal at the initial time period. CONCLUSIONS Child developmental level may warrant different types of linguistic input to facilitate language learning. Children with ASD who have minimal linguistic skills may benefit from parent language input that follows into the child's focus of attention. Children with ASD who are verbally fluent may need more advanced language input to facilitate language development.
Endogenously Bound Calmodulin Is Essential for the Function of the Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptor*

Calmodulin (CaM) is a ubiquitous Ca2+ sensor protein that plays an important role in regulating a large number of Ca2+ channels, including the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R). Despite many efforts, the exact mechanism by which CaM regulates the IP3R still remains elusive. Here we show, using unidirectional 45Ca2+ flux experiments on permeabilized L15 fibroblasts and COS-1 cells, that endogenously bound CaM is essential for the proper activation of the IP3R. Removing endogenously bound CaM by titration with a high affinity (pm) CaM-binding peptide derived from smooth muscle myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK peptide) strongly inhibited IP3-induced Ca2+ release. This inhibition was concentration- and time-dependent. Removing endogenously bound CaM affected the maximum release capacity but not its sensitivity to IP3. A mutant peptide with a strongly reduced affinity for CaM did not affect inhibited IP3-induced Ca2+ release. Furthermore, the inhibition by the MLCK peptide was fully reversible. Re-adding exogenous CaM, but not CaM1234, reactivated the IP3R. These data suggest that, by using a specific CaM-binding peptide, we removed endogenously bound CaM from a high affinity CaM-binding site on the IP3R, and this resulted in a complete loss of the IP3R activity. Our data support a new model whereby CaM is constitutively associated with the IP3R and functions as an essential subunit for proper functioning of the IP3R.
Accounting for a variety of reasoning data within a cognitive architecture

A variety of forms of human everyday reasoning are studied in this paper. In particular, the interplay between rule-based reasoning, (implicit) similarity-based reasoning, and (implicit) associative memory (intuition) is explored. In doing this, both explicit and implicit forms of human reasoning are incorporated in a unified framework, which is embodied in a cognitive architecture, CLARION. First, similarity in human everyday reasoning is explored. A computational framework encompassing both rule-based and similarity-based reasoning provides explanations for human data. The simulation using CLARION demonstrates the role played by similarity-based reasoning in human everyday reasoning, and how such a reasoning process follows from the structure of CLARION. Furthermore, the modelling of discovery tasks, i.e. tasks where sudden insights result from cumulative information, is explored. This is useful for improving the understanding of reasoning involving intuition and insight. The situation is interpreted as involving mainly implicit associative memory with successive accumulation of information. The simulation within CLARION accurately captures some human data. Overall, the exploration of both similarity-based reasoning and intuition in this cognitive architecture leads toward a more comprehensive framework of human everyday reasoning.
Medical Sociology

This course is intended to provide an in-depth introduction to the major conceptual frameworks of medical sociology and empirical research examining social factors that influence individuals’ health and illness. This course will cover sociological perspectives of health and illness; distributions of health and illness by social factors including sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status; issues related to an aging society; life course approaches to the study of health; and the health care system. Although this course will include a combination of lecture and discussion, my hope is that much of the learning will take place through guided class discussions based on the readings.
Disposition of Charged Nanoparticles after Their Topical Application to the Skin

The objective of this preliminary investigation was to examine the disposition of charged nanoparticles on and within the skin following their topical application and to explore whether the formulations have potential utility for the local delivery of an associated ‘active’ substance. Three nanoparticles (approx. 100 nm in diameter) were investigated: cationic amino-functionalized polystyrene, an anionic carboxyl-functionalized polystyrene and anionic poly-(L-lactide), into each of which the fluorophore N-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)perylene-3,4-dicarboximine (PMI) was incorporated. Formulations were applied to excised porcine skin in vitro for 6 h. After cleaning the skin surface following treatment, the skin was either examined by laser scanning confocal microscopy or subjected to repeated tape-stripping and subsequent analysis of the removed stratum corneum (SC) for the presence of PMI. The cationic nanoparticles showed clear affinity for the negatively charged skin surface (in contrast to the anionic carriers) and delivered a significantly greater amount of the model ‘active’ agent (PMI) into the SC.
Ageism in the management of lung cancer.

BACKGROUND age-related differences in the treatment of lung cancer patients have been reported in the past, but most previous studies have not recorded case-mix factors, nor have they studied the impact of such ageism on survival. METHODS a questionnaire-based study of diagnostic and case-mix factors was carried out across 48 hospital Trusts in the UK between 1997 and 1998. We identified 1,652 patients and followed through with regard to their treatment and survival for 6 months after diagnosis. RESULTS the median age of the population was 69 years, and for this analysis, was divided into three age groups: under 65 years, 65-74 and 75 years and over. There were significant inverse correlations between age and histological diagnosis, any active treatment and survival, even when corrected for case-mix factors and non-cancer causes of death. For example, the surgical resection rate in patients with confirmed non-small cell lung cancer with good performance status, no chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and limited disease was 37% in the younger patients compared with 15% in those 75 and over. The overall mortality rates at 6 months ranged from 42% in patients under 65 to 58% in the over 75s. CONCLUSIONS this national study of lung cancer care in the UK has shown large age-related differences in management and survival in patients with lung cancer, largely independent of case-mix factors. The reasons for this are complex but such under-treatment in the elderly may be one factor underlying the poor outcomes in lung cancer patients in the UK.