Evidence for panmixia despite barriers to gene flow in the southern African endemic, Caffrogobius caffer (Teleostei: Gobiidae)

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Sensory Electrical Stimulation Improves Foot Placement during Targeted Stepping Post-Stroke

Proper foot placement is vital for maintaining balance during walking, requiring the integration of multiple sensory signals with motor commands. Disruption of brain structures post-stroke likely alters the processing of sensory information by motor centers, interfering with precision control of foot placement and walking function for stroke survivors. In this study, we examined whether somatosensory stimulation, which improves functional movements of the paretic hand, could be used to improve foot placement of the paretic limb. Foot placement was evaluated before, during, and after application of somatosensory electrical stimulation to the paretic foot during a targeted stepping task. Starting from standing, twelve chronic stroke participants initiated movement with the non-paretic limb and stepped to one of five target locations projected onto the floor with distances normalized to the paretic stride length. Targeting error and lower extremity kinematics were used to assess changes in foot placement and limb control due to somatosensory stimulation. Significant reductions in placement error in the medial–lateral direction (p = 0.008) were observed during the stimulation and post-stimulation blocks. Seven participants, presenting with a hip circumduction walking pattern, had reductions (p = 0.008) in the magnitude and duration of hip abduction during swing with somatosensory stimulation. Reductions in circumduction correlated with both functional and clinical measures, with larger improvements observed in participants with greater impairment. The results of this study suggest that somatosensory stimulation of the paretic foot applied during movement can improve the precision control of foot placement

Outcome Predictors of Pediatric Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) allows clinicians to potentially rescue pediatric patients unresponsive to traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Clinical and laboratory variables predictive of survival to hospital discharge are beginning to emerge. In this retrospective, historical cohort case series, clinical, and laboratory data from 31 pediatric patients (<21 years of age) receiving ECPR from March 2000 to April 2006 at our university-affiliated, tertiary-care children’s hospital were statistically analyzed in an attempt to identify variables predictive of survival to hospital discharge. Seven patients survived to hospital discharge (23%), and 24 patients died. Survival was independent of gender, age, and CPR duration. ECPR survival was, however, associated with a lower pre-ECPR phosphorus concentration (P = 0.002) and a lower pre-ECPR creatinine concentration (P = 0.05). A classification tree analysis, using, in part, a pre-ECPR phosphorus concentration threshold and a CPR ABG base excess concentration threshold, yielded a 96% nominal accuracy of predicting survival to hospital discharge or death. A large, multicenter, prospective cohort study aimed at validating these predictive variables is needed to guide appropriate ECPR patient selection. This study reveals the potential survival benefit of ECPR for pediatric patients, regardless of CPR duration prior to ECPR cannulation

Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus ORF57 Protein Binds and Protects a Nuclear Noncoding RNA from Cellular RNA Decay Pathways

The control of RNA stability is a key determinant in cellular gene expression. The stability of any transcript is modulated through the activity of cis- or trans-acting regulatory factors as well as cellular quality control systems that ensure the integrity of a transcript. As a result, invading viral pathogens must be able to subvert cellular RNA decay pathways capable of destroying viral transcripts. Here we report that the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) ORF57 protein binds to a unique KSHV polyadenylated nuclear RNA, called PAN RNA, and protects it from degradation by cellular factors. ORF57 increases PAN RNA levels and its effects are greatest on unstable alleles of PAN RNA. Kinetic analysis of transcription pulse assays shows that ORF57 protects PAN RNA from a rapid cellular RNA decay process, but ORF57 has little effect on transcription or PAN RNA localization based on chromatin immunoprecipitation and in situ hybridization experiments, respectively. Using a UV cross-linking technique, we further demonstrate that ORF57 binds PAN RNA directly in living cells and we show that binding correlates with function. In addition, we define an ORF57-responsive element (ORE) that is necessary for ORF57 binding to PAN RNA and sufficient to confer ORF57-response to a heterologous intronless β-globin mRNA, but not its spliced counterparts. We conclude that ORF57 binds to viral transcripts in the nucleus and protects them from a cellular RNA decay pathway. We propose that KSHV ORF57 protein functions to enhance the nuclear stability of intronless viral transcripts by protecting them from a cellular RNA quality control pathway

Social representations of diagnosis in the consultation

Observations of physiotherapy consultations and qualitative interviews with patients were conducted to explore the clinical explanation for sciatic pain. We report three themes which illustrate the contested and negotiated order of the clinical explanation: anchoring, resistance and normalisation. We show using the theory of social representations how the social order in the physiotherapy consultation is maintained, contested and rearticulated. We highlight the importance of agency in patients’ ability to resist the clinical explanation and in turn shape the clinical discourse within the consultation. Social representations offer insights into how the world is viewed by different individuals, in our case physiotherapists and patients with sciatic pain symptoms. The negotiation about the diagnosis reveals the malleable and socially constructed nature of pain and the meaning making process underpinning it. The study has implications for understanding inequalities in the consultation and the key ingredients of consensus

A new model for the characterization of infection risk in gunshot injuries:Technology, principal consideration and clinical implementation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>The extent of wound contamination in gunshot injuries is still a topic of controversial debate. The purpose of the present study is to develop a model that illustrates the contamination of wounds with exogenous particles along the bullet path.</p> <p>Material and methods</p> <p>To simulate bacteria, radio-opaque barium titanate (3-6 μm in diameter) was atomized in a dust chamber. Full metal jacket or soft point bullets caliber .222 (n = 12, v₀= 1096 m/s) were fired through the chamber into a gelatin block directly behind it. After that, the gelatin block underwent multi-slice CT in order to analyze the permanent and temporary wound cavity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The permanent cavity caused by both types of projectiles showed deposits of barium titanate distributed over the entire bullet path. Full metal jacket bullets left only few traces of barium titanate in the temporary cavity. In contrast, the soft point bullets disintegrated completely, and barium titanate covered the entire wound cavity.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Deep penetration of potential exogenous bacteria can be simulated easily and reproducibly with barium titanate particles shot into a gelatin block. Additionally, this procedure permits conclusions to be drawn about the distribution of possible contaminants and thus can yield essential findings in terms of necessary therapeutic procedures.</p

Continuity and change?: Exploring reactions to a guided self-management intervention in a randomised controlled trial for IBS with reference to prior experience of managing a long term condition

Self-care interventions are promoted as effective strategies for improving the quality of life and health outcomes for individuals with long-term health conditions. Outcome measures used in evaluations using Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) are not designed to consider patients' prior management strategies and experience of illness. Yet the experience of illness literature suggests that adjusting to living with chronic illness, together with broader contextual influences, are likely to be relevant to understanding responses to self-management initiatives. Using group and individual interview data we attempt to illuminate the transposition of IBS from a condition unsatisfactorily managed by medicine to one successfully managed within the life worlds of individuals. If routine embedding of complex interventions depends on the accomplishment of integration and workability in patients' everyday lives then the design and evaluation of such interventions should view participation as part of a process of continuity as well as change. Responses to formal self-management can be extended beyond psychological and other quantitatively measured outcomes. A useful addendum to trial outcomes for self-management education is an understanding of change as being inextricably linked to people's previous attempts to, and experience of, managing long-term conditions. We suggest that the benefits of understanding the prior experience of managing illness and contact with health services include the acceptability and workability of complex interventions in patients' everyday lives

Stress-Induced Reinstatement of Drug Seeking: 20 Years of Progress

In human addicts, drug relapse and craving are often provoked by stress. Since 1995, this clinical scenario has been studied using a rat model of stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. Here, we first discuss the generality of stress-induced reinstatement to different drugs of abuse, different stressors, and different behavioral procedures. We also discuss neuropharmacological mechanisms, and brain areas and circuits controlling stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. We conclude by discussing results from translational human laboratory studies and clinical trials that were inspired by results from rat studies on stress-induced reinstatement. Our main conclusions are (1) The phenomenon of stress-induced reinstatement, first shown with an intermittent footshock stressor in rats trained to self-administer heroin, generalizes to other abused drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine, and alcohol, and is also observed in the conditioned place preference model in rats and mice. This phenomenon, however, is stressor specific and not all stressors induce reinstatement of drug seeking. (2) Neuropharmacological studies indicate the involvement of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), noradrenaline, dopamine, glutamate, kappa/dynorphin, and several other peptide and neurotransmitter systems in stress-induced reinstatement. Neuropharmacology and circuitry studies indicate the involvement of CRF and noradrenaline transmission in bed nucleus of stria terminalis and central amygdala, and dopamine, CRF, kappa/dynorphin, and glutamate transmission in other components of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system (ventral tegmental area, medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and nucleus accumbens). (3) Translational human laboratory studies and a recent clinical trial study show the efficacy of alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonists in decreasing stress-induced drug craving and stress-induced initial heroin lapse

Verbal short-term memory deficits in Down syndrome: phonological, semantic, or both?

The current study examined the phonological and semantic contributions to the verbal short-term memory (VSTM) deficit in Down syndrome (DS) by experimentally manipulating the phonological and semantic demands of VSTM tasks. The performance of 18 individuals with DS (ages 11–25) and 18 typically developing children (ages 3–10) matched pairwise on receptive vocabulary and gender was compared on four VSTM tasks, two tapping phonological VSTM (phonological similarity, nonword discrimination) and two tapping semantic VSTM (semantic category, semantic proactive interference). Group by condition interactions were found on the two phonological VSTM tasks (suggesting less sensitivity to the phonological qualities of words in DS), but not on the two semantic VSTM tasks. These findings suggest that a phonological weakness contributes to the VSTM deficit in DS. These results are discussed in relation to the DS neuropsychological and neuroanatomical phenotype