190 research outputs found
Disseminated superficial porokeratosis and pyoderma gangrenosus
Disseminated Superficial Actinic Porokeratosis (DSAP) is usually triggered by sun exposure. In some cases sun exposure is not essential and this skin disease is related to immunosuppression. Many associated diseases are described in the literature. We report a clinical case of a patient affected by pyoderma gangrenosum, who developed DSAP
Creative arts therapies for babies born of the addicted : neonatal abstinence syndrome, movement and music
This senior honors thesis explores the available research literature and guidelines
regarding Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). NAS is a collection of withdrawal symptoms
exhibited by newborns due to in utero exposure to maternal drug use. The focus of this literature
review is newborns with NAS due to prenatal exposure to opioids. For these newborns, Finnegan
scores are used to assess severity of symptoms and are often used to determine the type and
amount of non-pharmacological or pharmacological treatment. The ultimate aim of nonpharmacological
interventions for newborns with NAS is to prevent the need for
pharmacological treatment. Because there are minimal documented studies regarding outcomes
of non-pharmacological interventions using movement and music, further studies on this topic
are recommended. This literature review details manifestations of NAS in pre-term and full-term
infants, overviews non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions, and identifies gaps
in the literature.Honors CollegeThesis (B.?
Confocal Imaging of Transmembrane Voltage by SEER of di-8-ANEPPS
Imaging, optical mapping, and optical multisite recording of transmembrane potential (Vm) are essential for studying excitable cells and systems. The naphthylstyryl voltage-sensitive dyes, including di-8-ANEPPS, shift both their fluorescence excitation and emission spectra upon changes in Vm. Accordingly, they have been used for monitoring Vm in nonratioing and both emission and excitation ratioing modes. Their changes in fluorescence are usually much less than 10% per 100 mV. Conventional ratioing increases sensitivity to between 3 and 15% per 100 mV. Low sensitivity limits the value of these dyes, especially when imaged with low light systems like confocal scanners. Here we demonstrate the improvement afforded by shifted excitation and emission ratioing (SEER) as applied to imaging membrane potential in flexor digitorum brevis muscle fibers of adult mice. SEER—the ratioing of two images of fluorescence, obtained with different excitation wavelengths in different emission bands—was implemented in two commercial confocal systems. A conventional pinhole scanner, affording optimal setting of emission bands but less than ideal excitation wavelengths, achieved a sensitivity of up to 27% per 100 mV, nearly doubling the value found by conventional ratioing of the same data. A better pair of excitation lights should increase the sensitivity further, to 35% per 100 mV. The maximum acquisition rate with this system was 1 kHz. A fast “slit scanner” increased the effective rate to 8 kHz, but sensitivity was lower. In its high-sensitivity implementation, the technique demonstrated progressive deterioration of action potentials upon fatiguing tetani induced by stimulation patterns at \u3e40 Hz, thereby identifying action potential decay as a contributor to fatigue onset. Using the fast implementation, we could image for the first time an action potential simultaneously at multiple locations along the t-tubule system. These images resolved the radially varying lag associated with propagation at a finite velocity
Image informatics strategies for deciphering neuronal network connectivity
Brain function relies on an intricate network of highly dynamic neuronal connections that rewires dramatically under the impulse of various external cues and pathological conditions. Among the neuronal structures that show morphologi- cal plasticity are neurites, synapses, dendritic spines and even nuclei. This structural remodelling is directly connected with functional changes such as intercellular com- munication and the associated calcium-bursting behaviour. In vitro cultured neu- ronal networks are valuable models for studying these morpho-functional changes. Owing to the automation and standardisation of both image acquisition and image analysis, it has become possible to extract statistically relevant readout from such networks. Here, we focus on the current state-of-the-art in image informatics that enables quantitative microscopic interrogation of neuronal networks. We describe the major correlates of neuronal connectivity and present workflows for analysing them. Finally, we provide an outlook on the challenges that remain to be addressed, and discuss how imaging algorithms can be extended beyond in vitro imaging studies
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