The Challenge of Maintaining our Physician-Scientist Workforce

As part of the mini-symposium entitled The Challenge of Maintaining our Physician-Scientist Workforce, Dr. Flotte, who is Dean, Provost and Executive Deputy Chancellor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, discusses strategies for recruiting and promoting physician scientists in the face of demands to sustain institutional funding and grow the institution’s overall research reputation

Cognitive Castles: Place and The Castle of Otranto

This article analyzes The Castle of Otranto from a biocultural perspective. Firstly, the theoretical landscape of Gothic horror is explored. This is followed by some suggestions on how evolutionary approaches might add to the conversation about Gothic horror. The last section applies evolutionary and cognitive approaches to The Castle of Otranto in a reading of the novel. Attention is paid to the varied ways in which Gothic horror subverts and undermines evolved strategies for the creation of meaning and understanding. Gothic tropes such as the Gothic tunnel or labyrinth undercut the dynamic and ongoing creation of place that is essential for the human wayfinding species. These tropes lead to people ineffectually attempting to orient themselves within a place. Disorientation is an innately terrifying scenario for a species that relies heavily on information to orient itself in an environment. Confusion, ambiguity, and disorientation work against the adapted advantages that have shaped human evolutionary past and present. Place and evolved place creating techniques are discussed with in the context of the novel

Size does matter: overcoming the adeno-associated virus packaging limit

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors mediate long-term gene transfer without any known toxicity. The primary limitation of rAAV has been the small size of the virion (20 nm), which only permits the packaging of 4.7 kilobases (kb) of exogenous DNA, including the promoter, the polyadenylation signal and any other enhancer elements that might be desired. Two recent reports (D Duan et al: Nat Med 2000, 6:595-598; Z Yan et al: Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2000, 97:6716-6721) have exploited a unique feature of rAAV genomes, their ability to link together in doublets or strings, to bypass this size limitation. This technology could improve the chances for successful gene therapy of diseases like cystic fibrosis or Duchenne muscular dystrophy that lead to significant pulmonary morbidity

Cell and gene therapy for genetic diseases: inherited disorders affecting the lung and those mimicking sudden infant death syndrome

Some of the first human gene therapy trials targeted diseases of the lung and provided important information that will continue to help shape future trials. Here we describe both cell and gene therapies for lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis and alpha-1 antitrypsin disorder as well as fatty acid oxidation disorders that mimic sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Human clinical gene therapy trials for cystic fibrosis and alpha-1 antitrypsin have been performed using a variety of vectors including adenovirus, adeno-associated virus, and nonviral vectors. No human clinical gene therapy trials have been performed for disorders of fatty acid oxidation; however, important proof-of-principle studies have been completed for multiple fatty acid oxidation disorders. Important achievements have been made and have yet to come for cell and gene therapies for disorders of the lung and those mimicking SIDS

Environmental Science and Culture: Exploring the Factors Contributing to the Pro-Environmental Behavior of Rural Youth

This mixed methods study contributes to the pro-environmental behavior literature by introducing the concept of environmental science capital to explore the factors influencing pro-environmental behavior in rural youth. This study’s proposed theory of change attempts to build upon the Kollmus and Agyeman model of pro-environmental behavior by theorizing that environmental science capital is the “missing middle” needed to overcome the barriers to pro-environmental behavior. We hypothesized that meaningful nature experiences, role models, connectedness to nature, STEM interest and environmental identity would help rural youth increase their environmental science capital in order to “bridge the gap” and overcome barriers to pro-environmental behavior. We found that environmental identity, STEM interest, environmental science capital, and political identity are significant contributors to pro-environmental behavior. Qualitative findings revealed that participants use different language when describing different identities and that there is a tension between participants’ environmental identity and other self-described identities

Langerhans Cells as Macrophages in Skin and Lymhphoid Organs

Properties of epidermal Langerhans cell were compared with those of a number of other dendritic cells in lymphoid organs and of mononuclear phagocytes. Among the dendritic “reticulum” cells included were indetenninate dendritic cells from the epidermis, inter-digitating “reticulum” cells from T-dependent areas of lymphoid tissue and thymus, follicular dendritic cells of Nossal, and the dendritic cells described by Steinman and Cohn. Luterdigitating cells with typical Birbeck granules, in the thymus and in the paracortices of lymph nodes, which are morphologically indistinguishable from Langerhans cells and indeterminate dendritic cells in the epidermis, appear to belong to the same system and possibly represent a subpopulation of “macrophages.” On the basis of their similarity to these other dendritic cells, we believe Langerhans cells may function in antigen presentation, lymphokine production, provision of a microenvironment for T lymphocytes, and prostaglandin secretion

Gene Therapy 2017: Progress and Future Directions

Introduction: Gene therapy has changed dramatically in the 28 years since the first human gene transfer experiment in 1989. Alipogene tiparvovec, GlyberaR®, a recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) product for lipoprotein lipase deficiency, and Strimvelis®, a lentivirus vector for severe combined immune deficiency are approved in Europe. An rAAV2 product for a congenital form of blindness is currently under review in the United States, likely to be followed by numerous other gene therapies

Evaluation of lumbar sympathectomy*

Lumbar sympathectomy is a valuable palliative procedure in the treatment of selected cases of peripheral vascular disease. Clinical evaluation, plus objective and subjective response to lumbar sympathetic block, is helpful in selecting patients who will probably be helped by lumbar sympathectomy. Patients may have improvement of symptoms following lumbar sympathectomy but recurrence may occur later as the arteriosclerotic disease progresses. The results in a series of 138 sympathectomies in 100 patients are reported.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32448/1/0000530.pd