Comparative survey of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) attitudes, use, and information-seeking behaviour among medical students, residents & faculty

BACKGROUND: There is significant and growing national interest for introducing Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) instruction into allopathic medical education. We measured CAM attitudes, use, and information-seeking behaviors as a baseline to evaluate future planned CAM instruction. METHODS: Cross-sectional and longitudinal survey data on CAM attitudes, modality use, and common information resources was collected for (a) medical students (n = 355), (b) interns entering residencies in medical and surgical disciplines (n = 258), and (c) faculty from diverse health professions attending workshops on evidence-based CAM (n = 54). One student cohort was tracked longitudinally in their first, second and third years of training. RESULTS: Compared to medical students and interns, faculty who teach or intend to integrate CAM into their instruction had significantly (p < .0005) more positive attitudes and used CAM modalities significantly (p < .0005) more often. Medical students followed longitudinally showed no change in their already positive attitudes. The 3 survey groups did not differ on the total number of CAM information resources they used. Each group surveyed used about two out of the five common information sources listed, with the Internet and journals most frequently cited. CONCLUSION: Students, interns and a selected faculty group demonstrate positive attitudes toward CAM and frequently use various CAM modalities. CAM instruction should therefore be focused on acquiring knowledge of available CAM modalities and skills to appraise evidence to appropriately advise patients on best approaches to CAM use. Trainees may benefit from exposure to a wider array of CAM information resources

Finite element analysis and calculation method of residual flexural capacity of post-fire RC beams

Fire tests and subsequent bending tests of fourreinforced concrete (RC) beamswere performed. Based on these tests, the post-fire performance of RCbeams was further studied using finite element simulation through reasonable selection of suitable thermal and thermodynamic parameters of steel and concrete materials. A thermodynamic model of RC beams with three sides under fire was built using finite element analysis(FEA)software ABAQUS. The FEA model was validated with the results of fire tests. Different factors were taken into account for further parametric studies in fire using the proposed FE model.The results show that the main factors affecting the fire resistance of the beamsare the thickness of the concretecover, reinforcement ratio of longitudinal steel,the fire exposure timeandthe fire exposure sides. Based on the strength reduction formula at high temperature of steel and concrete, animproved section method was proposed to develop a calculation formula to calculate the flexural capacity of RC beams after fire. The theoretical calculation method proposed in this paper shows good agreement with FEA results, which can be used to calculate the flexuralcapacity of RC beams after fire

The Fetal Hypothalamus Has the Potential to Generate Cells with a Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) Phenotype

Neurospheres (NS) are colonies of neural stem and precursor cells capable of differentiating into the central nervous system (CNS) cell lineages upon appropriate culture conditions: neurons, and glial cells. NS were originally derived from the embryonic and adult mouse striatum subventricular zone. More recently, experimental evidence substantiated the isolation of NS from almost any region of the CNS, including the hypothalamus. Here we report a protocol that enables to generate large quantities of NS from both fetal and adult rat hypothalami. We found that either FGF-2 or EGF were capable of inducing NS formation from fetal hypothalamic cultures, but that only FGF-2 is effective in the adult cultures. The hypothalamic-derived NS are capable of differentiating into neurons and glial cells and most notably, as demonstrated by immunocytochemical detection with a specific anti-GnRH antibody, the fetal cultures contain cells that exhibit a GnRH phenotype upon differentiation. This in vitro model should be useful to study the molecular mechanisms involved in GnRH neuronal differentiation

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Role of C/EBPβ Transcription Factor in Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis

[Background]: The dentate gyrus of the hippocampus is one of the regions in which neurogenesis takes place in the adult brain. We have previously demonstrated that CCAAT/enhancer binding protein β (C/EBPβ) is expressed in the granular layer of the dentate gyrus of the adult mouse hippocampus. Taking into account the important role of C/EBPβ in the consolidation of long term memory, the fact that newborn neurons in the hippocampus contribute to learning and memory processes, and the role of this transcription factor, previously demonstrated by our group, in regulating neuronal differentiation, we speculated that this transcription factor could regulate stem/progenitor cells in this region of the brain. [Methodologu/Principal Findings]: Here, we show, using C/EBPβ knockout mice, that C/EBPβ expression is observed in the subset of newborn cells that proliferate in the hippocampus of the adult brain. Mice lacking C/EBPβ present reduced survival of newborn cells in the hippocampus, a decrease in the number of these cells that differentiate into neurons and a diminished number of cells that are proliferating in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus. These results were further confirmed in vitro. Neurosphere cultures from adult mice deficient in C/EBPβ present less proliferation and neuronal differentiation than neurospheres derived from wild type mice. [Conclusions/Significance]: In summary, using in vivo and in vitro strategies, we have identified C/EBPβ as a key player in the proliferation and survival of the new neurons produced in the adult mouse hippocampus. Our results support a novel role of C/EBPβ in the processes of adult hippocampal neurogenesis, providing new insights into the mechanisms that control neurogenesis in this region of the brain.This work was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (M.C.-C.) Grant Sponsor: Ministerio de Investigación y Ciencia; Grant numbers: SAF2007-62811 and SAF2010-16365. CIBERNED is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.Peer reviewe

Neutralization of LINGO-1 during In Vitro Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells Results in Proliferation of Immature Neurons

Identifying external factors that can be used to control neural stem cells division and their differentiation to neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes is of high scientific and clinical interest. Here we show that the Nogo-66 receptor interacting protein LINGO-1 is a potent regulator of neural stem cell maturation to neurons. LINGO-1 is expressed by cortical neural stem cells from E14 mouse embryos and inhibition of LINGO-1 during the first days of neural stem cell differentiation results in decreased neuronal maturation. Compared to neurons in control cultures, which after 6 days of differentiation have long extending neurites, neurons in cultures treated with anti-LINGO-1 antibodies retain an immature, round phenotype with only very short processes. Furthermore, neutralization of LINGO-1 results in a threefold increase in βIII tubulin-positive cells compared to untreated control cultures. By using BrdU incorporation assays we show that the immature neurons in LINGO-1 neutralized cultures are dividing neuroblasts. In contrast to control cultures, in which no cells were double positive for βIII tubulin and BrdU, 36% of the neurons in cultures treated with anti-LINGO-1 antibodies were proliferating after three days of differentiation. TUNEL assays revealed that the amount of cells going through apoptosis during the early phase of differentiation was significantly decreased in cultures treated with anti-LINGO-1 antibodies compared to untreated control cultures. Taken together, our results demonstrate a novel role for LINGO-1 in neural stem cell differentiation to neurons and suggest a possibility to use LINGO-1 inhibitors to compensate for neuronal cell loss in the injured brain