Co-authorship Network Analysis: A Powerful Tool for Strategic Planning of Research, Development and Capacity Building Programs on Neglected Diseases

The selection and prioritization of research proposals is always a challenge, particularly when addressing neglected tropical diseases, as the scientific communities are relatively small, funding is usually limited and the disparity between the science and technology capacity of different countries and regions is enormous. When the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Brazil decided to launch an R&D program on neglected diseases for which at least 30% of the Program's resources were supposed to be invested in institutions and authors from the poorest regions of Brazil, it became clear to us that new strategies and approaches would be required. Social network analysis of co-authorship networks is one of the new approaches we are exploring to develop new tools to help policy-/decision-makers and academia jointly plan, implement, monitor and evaluate investments in this area. Publications retrieved from international databases provide the starting material. After standardization of names and addresses of authors and institutions with text mining tools, networks are assembled and visualized using social network analysis software. This study enabled the development of innovative criteria and parameters, allowing better strategic planning, smooth implementation and strong support and endorsement of the Program by key stakeholders

Innervation: The Missing Link for Biofabricated Tissues and Organs

Innervation plays a pivotal role as a driver of tissue and organ development as well as a means for their functional control and modulation. Therefore, innervation should be carefully considered throughout the process of biofabrication of engineered tissues and organs. Unfortunately, innervation has generally been overlooked in most non-neural tissue engineering applications, in part due to the intrinsic complexity of building organs containing heterogeneous native cell types and structures. To achieve proper innervation of engineered tissues and organs, specific host axon populations typically need to be precisely driven to appropriate location(s) within the construct, often over long distances. As such, neural tissue engineering and/or axon guidance strategies should be a necessary adjunct to most organogenesis endeavors across multiple tissue and organ systems. To address this challenge, our team is actively building axon-based living scaffolds that may physically wire in during organ development in bioreactors and/or serve as a substrate to effectively drive targeted long-distance growth and integration of host axons after implantation. This article reviews the neuroanatomy and the role of innervation in the functional regulation of cardiac, skeletal, and smooth muscle tissue and highlights potential strategies to promote innervation of biofabricated engineered muscles, as well as the use of living scaffolds in this endeavor for both in vitro and in vivo applications. We assert that innervation should be included as a necessary component for tissue and organ biofabrication, and that strategies to orchestrate host axonal integration are advantageous to ensure proper function, tolerance, assimilation, and bio-regulation with the recipient post-implant

Emerging regenerative medicine and tissue engineering strategies for Parkinson\u27s disease.

Parkinson\u27s disease (PD) is the second most common progressive neurodegenerative disease, affecting 1-2% of people over 65. The classic motor symptoms of PD result from selective degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), resulting in a loss of their long axonal projections to the striatum. Current treatment strategies such as dopamine replacement and deep brain stimulation (DBS) can only minimize the symptoms of nigrostriatal degeneration, not directly replace the lost pathway. Regenerative medicine-based solutions are being aggressively pursued with the goal of restoring dopamine levels in the striatum, with several emerging techniques attempting to reconstruct the entire nigrostriatal pathway-a key goal to recreate feedback pathways to ensure proper dopamine regulation. Although many pharmacological, genetic, and optogenetic treatments are being developed, this article focuses on the evolution of transplant therapies for the treatment of PD, including fetal grafts, cell-based implants, and more recent tissue-engineered constructs. Attention is given to cell/tissue sources, efficacy to date, and future challenges that must be overcome to enable robust translation into clinical use. Emerging regenerative medicine therapies are being developed using neurons derived from autologous stem cells, enabling the construction of patient-specific constructs tailored to their particular extent of degeneration. In the upcoming era of restorative neurosurgery, such constructs may directly replace SNpc neurons, restore axon-based dopaminergic inputs to the striatum, and ameliorate motor deficits. These solutions may provide a transformative and scalable solution to permanently replace lost neuroanatomy and improve the lives of millions of people afflicted by PD

Appropriate criteria for identification of near-miss maternal morbidity in tertiary care facilities: A cross sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The study of severe maternal morbidity survivors (near miss) may be an alternative or a complement to the study of maternal death events as a health care indicator. However, there is still controversy regarding the criteria for identification of near-miss maternal morbidity. This study aimed to characterize the near miss maternal morbidity according to different sets of criteria.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A descriptive study in a tertiary center including 2,929 women who delivered there between July 2003 and June 2004. Possible cases of near miss were daily screened by checking different sets of criteria proposed elsewhere. The main outcome measures were: rate of near miss and its primary determinant factors, criteria for its identification, total hospital stay, ICU stay, and number and kind of special procedures performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were two maternal deaths and 124 cases of near miss were identified, with 102 of them admitted to the ICU (80.9%). Among the 126 special procedures performed, the most frequent were central venous access, echocardiography and invasive mechanical ventilation. The mean hospital stay was 10.3 (± 13.24) days. Hospital stay and the number of special procedures performed were significantly higher when the organ dysfunction based criteria were applied.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The adoption of a two level screening strategy may lead to the development of a consistent severe maternal morbidity surveillance system but further research is needed before worldwide near miss criteria can be assumed.</p

Development of optically controlled living electrodes with long-projecting axon tracts for a synaptic brain-machine interface.

For implantable neural interfaces, functional/clinical outcomes are challenged by limitations in specificity and stability of inorganic microelectrodes. A biological intermediary between microelectrical devices and the brain may improve specificity and longevity through (i) natural synaptic integration with deep neural circuitry, (ii) accessibility on the brain surface, and (iii) optogenetic manipulation for targeted, light-based readout/control. Accordingly, we have developed implantable living electrodes, living cortical neurons, and axonal tracts protected within soft hydrogel cylinders, for optobiological monitoring/modulation of brain activity. Here, we demonstrate fabrication, rapid axonal outgrowth, reproducible cytoarchitecture, and simultaneous optical stimulation and recording of these tissue engineered constructs in vitro. We also present their transplantation, survival, integration, and optical recording in rat cortex as an in vivo proof of concept for this neural interface paradigm. The creation and characterization of these functional, optically controllable living electrodes are critical steps in developing a new class of optobiological tools for neural interfacing

A simulation study on the effects of neuronal ensemble properties on decoding algorithms for intracortical brain-machine interfaces

Background: Intracortical brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) harness movement information by sensing neuronal activities using chronic microelectrode implants to restore lost functions to patients with paralysis. However, neuronal signals often vary over time, even within a day, forcing one to rebuild a BMI every time they operate it. The term &quot;rebuild&quot; means overall procedures for operating a BMI, such as decoder selection, decoder training, and decoder testing. It gives rise to a practical issue of what decoder should be built for a given neuronal ensemble. This study aims to address it by exploring how decoders&apos; performance varies with the neuronal properties. To extensively explore a range of neuronal properties, we conduct a simulation study. Methods: Focusing on movement direction, we examine several basic neuronal properties, including the signal-to-noise ratio of neurons, the proportion of well-tuned neurons, the uniformity of their preferred directions (PDs), and the non-stationarity of PDs. We investigate the performance of three popular BMI decoders: Kalman filter, optimal linear estimator, and population vector algorithm. Results: Our simulation results showed that decoding performance of all the decoders was affected more by the proportion of well-tuned neurons that their uniformity. Conclusions: Our study suggests a simulated scenario of how to choose a decoder for intracortical BMIs in various neuronal conditions

Associated use of infrared thermography and ozone therapy for diagnosis and treatment of an inflammatory process in an equine: case report.

This study aims to was a clinical case report relating the use of infrared thermography (IR) associated to the ozone therapy as complementary tools to diagnose and treat a non-infectious inflammatory process in the locomotor system of an athlete-horse of the Amazon. The heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and rectal temperature (RT) were measured both rest and after walking. Radiographic evaluation, complete hemogram and creatine phosphokinase dosage (CPK) were primarily conducted. The IR examination was additionally undertaken, and the thermograms were analyzed using Flir Tools. Ozone therapy was performed via intramuscular in the scapular area. All comparisons were done using ANOVA and Tukey test (5%). The animal presented HR, RR, and RT all within normal ranges. When the animal was made to walk it demonstrated pain, and HR (48 beats.min-1) and RR (60 breaths.min-1). The creatine phosphokinase dosage was 79 UL-1 and the IR showed that the thoracic region had a surface temperature of up to 39.1ºC, indicating of an inflammatory process. After the ozone therapy was a reduction in the white color pattern from 39.1ºC to 37.2ºC. The infrared thermography is an efficient technique that can be used for the diagnosis of inflammation, and ozone therapy is an innovative treatment