Effect of scopolamine-based amnesia on the number of astrocytes in the rat's hippocampus

As neuron-astrocyte interactions play a crucial role in the adult brain, it is thought that astrocytes support learning and memory through specific mechanisms. In this study, the effect of scopolamine based amnesia on the number of astrocytes in rats' hippocampus was studied. Adult male albino Wistar rats were bilaterally cannulated into the CA1 region and animals received saline or different doses of scopolamine (0.5, 1 and 2 mg/ rat, intra - CA1), immediately after training. Then all the rats were sacrificed and coronal sections were taken from the dorsal hippocampal formation of the right cerebral hemispheres and stained with PTAH. The area densities of the astrocytes in dentate gyrus were measured and compared in the all groups (p < 0.05). Data showed that post-training scopolamine (0.5, 1 and 2 μg/rat, intra-CA1) dose-dependently reduced the step-through latency in the inhibitory avoidance task, showing scopolamineinduced amnesia. Also we found different response of astrocytes in different subfields of hippocampal formation. In dentate gyrus the number of astrocytes was increased, but in other areas scopolamine can decreased the density of astrocytes. We concluded that scopolamine can cause amnesia and this phenomenon can have an effect on astrocyte numbers in the rats hippocampal formation

Comparison of Knee-High and Thigh-High Graduated Compression Stockings in Preventing Deep Vein Thrombosis in Patients with Hemorrhagic Stroke

Background: Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is a common complication in patients with hemorrhagic stroke. Prophylaxis and treatment of DVT in these patients is very difficult because there are some limitations regarding the use of anticoagulant drugs. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of knee-high and thigh-high graduated compression stockings in preventing DVT in patients with hemorrhagic stroke. Methods: In this clinical trial, 88 patients with hemorrhagic stroke were randomly assigned to two groups to receive either thighhigh or knee-high graduated compression stockings as prophylaxis for DVT. The prevalence of DVT was studied using clinical symptoms and Doppler ultrasound. Chi-square and Mann Whitney U tests were used to analyze the data. Results: In the thigh-high stockings group, 11 patients (26.8%) and in the knee-high stockings group, 18 patients (38.3%) were affected by DVT during the study. However, no significant difference was observed between the two groups (P = 0.25). Conclusions: There was no significant difference between the two groups in the incidence of DVT. Therefore, either knee-high or thigh-high stockings can be used as prophylaxis, depending on patients’ will, cost and ease of use

Morphology of Rat Hippocampal CA1 Neurons Following Modified Two and Four-Vessels Global Ischemia Models

Background: An appropriate animal model of ischemia stroke is essential for evaluation of different therapeutic methods. Two and four-vessel global ischemia models are one of the most common types of transient cerebral ischemia. Objectives: In this study, the morphology of rat hippocampal CA1 neurons in modified models of two and four-vessel ischemia and reperfusion were evaluated. Materials and Methods: In this study, 20 Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups. In group 2 and 3, both common carotid arteries were occluded for 10 minutes in either 3 or 24 hours of reperfusions, respectively. In group 4 and 5, both common carotid and vertebral arteries were occluded for 10 minutes in either 3 or 24 hours of reperfusions, respectively. Group 1 as control, underwent the whole surgery without any arteries occlusion. Hippocampi of the rats in all groups were processed and tissue sections were stained using the Nissl method. The morphology of CA1 neurons were studied under a light microscope and compared different groups. Results: In all groups ischemic changes were apparently observed in hippocampus CA1 neurons. In two-vessel occlusion model, after 3 and 24 hours of reperfusions, ischemic cells accounted for 14.9% and 23.2%, respectively. In four-vessel occlusion model, after 3 and 24 hours of reperfusions, ischemic cells accounted for 7.6% and 44.9% (P < 0.0001), respectively. Conclusions: Modified four-vessel occlusion model resulted in significant ischemic changes after 24 hours of reperfusion in CA1 neurons of rat hippocampus

Developing bilingual learning strategies in mainstream and community contexts

This study set out to enhance theoretical understanding of bilingual learning and devise ways in which it can be built into classroom practice, through action research with children, mainstream teachers and bilingual assistants participating in the Primary National Strategy Pilot for EAL (English as an Additional Language) in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Teachers from the children’s Bengali after-school classes were involved via partnership with Tower Hamlets Community Languages Service, since community classes are sites where children already use both mother tongue and English for language and literacy learning (Robertson, 2002; Martin et al, 2004). Previous studies on bilingual learning have mostly been conducted with first generation children and/or in countries where there is mainstream bilingual education. A unique aspect of this study is that the children involved were second or third generation British Bangladeshi, mostly more fluent in English than in their mother tongue, who would not otherwise have had the opportunity to use their full language repertoire within the mainstream curriculum. Our research examined whether and how the cognitive and cultural benefits of bilingual learning found in other contexts might apply in this particular setting

Epidemiological Patterns of Road Traffic Crashes During the Last Two Decades in Iran: A Review of the Literature from 1996 to 2014

Context: Despite considerable attention given to health statistics of road traffic crashes (RTCs), the epidemiological aspects of injuries resulting from RTCs are not fully understood in Iran and other developing countries. The aim of this review was to study the epidemiological pattern and issues arising due to RTCs in Iran. Evidence Acquisition: The scope of this study involves data from a broad range of published literature on RTCs in Iran. Data collection for this study was conducted by searching for keywords such as traffic accidents, traffic crashes, motorcycle accidents, motorcycle crashes, motorcycle injury, motor vehicle injury, motor vehicle crashes and motor vehicle accidents, Iran and Iranian in various databases such as Embase, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Magiran, Iranian scientific information database (SID) and IranMedex. Results: This study comprised of 95 articles. It is evident from this review that a large number of severe RTCs occur due to collision of two or more vehicles and most of the victims are males aged between 30 and 39 years. Male pedestrian, drivers and passengers are more likely to be severely injured in comparison to females. One of the most prevalent causes of death among adults involved in the RTCs are head injuries and the majority of deaths occur prior to hospitalization. Mortality rates for RTCs are higher in summer, especially during midnight among all age groups. The most common individual and environmental risk factors associated with RTCs include lack of attention, getting trapped in the car, listening to music, fatigue and sleepiness, duration and distance and negligence of seatbelt usage while driving. Conclusions: The findings of the current study will be beneficial in prevention of RTCs and its associated complications and hence will be vital for policy makers, health service managers and stakeholders

Fuzzy Entropy Metrics for the Analysis of Biomedical Signals: Assessment and Comparison

Fuzzy entropy (FuzEn) was introduced to alleviate limitations associated with sample entropy (SampEn) in the analysis of physiological signals. Over the past decade, FuzEn-based methods have been widely used in various real-world biomedical applications. Several fuzzy membership functions (MFs), including triangular, trapezoidal, Z-shaped, bell-shaped, Gaussian, constant-Gaussian, and exponential functions have been employed in FuzEn. However, these FuzEn-based metrics have not been systematically compared yet. Since the threshold value r used in FuzEn is not directly comparable across different MFs, we here propose to apply a defuzzication approach using a surrogate parameter called \u27center of gravity\u27 to re-enable a fair and direct comparison. To evaluate these MFs, we analyze several synthetic and three clinical datasets. FuzEn using the triangular, trapezoidal, and Z-shaped MFs may lead to undened entropy values for short signals, thus providing a very limited advantage over SampEn. When dealing with an equal value of the center of gravity, the Gaussian MF, as the fastest algorithm, results in the highest Hedges\u27 g effect size for long signals. Our results also indicate that the FuzEn based on exponential MF of order four better distinguishes short white, pink, and brown noises, and yields more signicant differences for the short real signals based on Hedges\u27 g effect size. The triangular, trapezoidal, and Z-shaped MFs are not recommended for short signals. We propose to use FuzEn with Gaussian and exponential MF of order four for characterization of short (around 50400 sample points) and long data (longer than 500 sample points), respectively. We expect FuzEn with Gaussian and exponential MF as well as the concept of defuzzication to play prominent roles in the irregularity analysis of biomedical signals. The MATLAB codes for the FuzEn with different MFs are available at https://github.com/HamedAzami/FuzzyEntropy_Matlab

Bilingual Learning for Second and Third Generation Children

Throughout the English-speaking world, children from bilingual backgrounds are being educated in mainstream classrooms where they have little or no opportunity to use their mother tongue. Second and third generation children, in particular, are assumed to be learning sufficiently through English only. This study investigated how British Bangladeshi children, learning Bengali in after-school classes but mostly more fluent in English than in their mother tongue, responded when able to use their full language repertoire within the mainstream curriculum. Through action research with mainstream and community language class teachers, bilingual literacy and numeracy tasks were devised and carried out with pupils aged seven to eleven in two East London primary schools. The bilingual activities were videorecorded and analysed qualitatively to identify the strategies used. The following cognitive and cultural benefits of bilingual learning discovered by researchers in other contexts were also found to apply in this particular setting: conceptual transfer, enriched understanding through translation, metalinguistic awareness, bicultural knowledge and building bilingual learner identities. The findings suggest that second and third generation children should be enabled to learn bilingually, and appropriate strategies are put forward for use in the mainstream classroom

Podoconiosis and soil-transmitted helminths (STHs): double burden of neglected tropical diseases in Wolaita zone, rural southern Ethiopia

Background Both podoconiosis and soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections occur among barefoot people in areas of extreme poverty; however, their co-morbidity has not previously been investigated. We explored the overlap of STH infection and podoconiosis in Southern Ethiopia and quantified their separate and combined effects on prevalent anemia and hemoglobin levels in podoconiosis patients and health controls from the same area. Methods and Principal Findings A two-part comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia. Data were collected from adult patients presenting with clinically confirmed podoconiosis, and unmatched adult neighborhood controls living in the same administrative area. Information on demographic and selected lifestyle factors was collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires. Stool samples were collected and examined qualitatively using the modified formalin-ether sedimentation method. Hemoglobin level was determined using two different methods: hemoglobinometer and automated hematology analyzer. A total of 913 study subjects (677 podoconiosis patients and 236 controls) participated. The prevalence of any STH infection was 47.6% among patients and 33.1% among controls (p<0.001). The prevalence of both hookworm and Trichuris trichiura infections was significantly higher in podoconiosis patients than in controls (AOR 1.74, 95% CI 1.25 to2.42, AOR 6.53, 95% CI 2.34 to 18.22, respectively). Not wearing shoes and being a farmer remained significant independent predictors of infection with any STH. There was a significant interaction between STH infection and podoconiosis on reduction of hemoglobin level (interaction p value = 0.002). Conclusions Prevalence of any STH and hookworm infection was higher among podoconiosis patients than among controls. A significant reduction in hemoglobin level was observed among podoconiosis patients co-infected with hookworm and ‘non-hookworm STH’. Promotion of consistent shoe-wearing practices may have double advantages in controlling both podoconiosis and hookworm infection in the study area

NMR investigations of the interaction between the azo-dye sunset yellow and Fluorophenol

The interaction of small molecules with larger noncovalent assemblies is important across a wide range of disciplines. Here, we apply two complementary NMR spectroscopic methods to investigate the interaction of various fluorophenol isomers with sunset yellow. This latter molecule is known to form noncovalent aggregates in isotropic solution, and form liquid crystals at high concentrations. We utilize the unique fluorine-19 nucleus of the fluorophenol as a reporter of the interactions via changes in both the observed chemical shift and diffusion coefficients. The data are interpreted in terms of the indefinite self-association model and simple modifications for the incorporation of a second species into an assembly. A change in association mode is tentatively assigned whereby the fluorophenol binds end-on with the sunset yellow aggregates at low concentration and inserts into the stacks at higher concentrations