Neuropsychological correlates of visual hallucinatory phenomena in Lewy body disease.

OBJECTIVES: Visual hallucinations (VH) ranging from minor to complex, are the most common psychiatric feature of Lewy Body Disease (LBD). Despite their high prevalence and poor prognostic implications instigating extensive research, the precise mechanisms underlying VH remain unclear. Cognitive impairment (CI) is a risk factor and a consistent correlate of VH in LBD. To help shed light on their underlying mechanisms, this study investigates the pattern of CI across the spectrum of VH in LBD. METHODS: 30 LBD patients with minor VH (MVH), 13 with complex VH (CVH) and 32 without VH were retrospectively compared on the domains of higher-order visual processing, memory, language and executive functioning. The VH groups were further stratified to investigate whether phenomenological subtypes have distinct cognitive correlates. RESULTS: LBD patients with CVH were impaired on the visuo-spatial and executive functioning domains relative to controls. LBD patients with MVH were also impaired on the visuo-spatial domain. No differences emerged in cognitive domains affected between patient groups endorsing specific hallucinatory phenomena. CONCLUSION: A pattern of CI indicating fronto-subcortical dysfunction in combination with posterior cortical involvement is implicated in the genesis of CVH. Moreover, this posterior cortical dysfunction may precede the occurrence of CVH as indicated by selective visuo-spatial deficits in LBD patients with MVH

Reframing Teacher Education: Preparing Teachers for Inclusive Education

Inclusive education is increasingly common in K-12 schools, yet teacher preparation for inclusive education has been lagging. In the present study, interviews of teacher candidates, mentor teachers, university faculty, and fieldwork supervisors were completed to determine experiences of, and preparation for, inclusive education. Results indicate that teacher candidates received very mixed, and often contradictory, messages about inclusive education in their coursework and fieldwork experiences. Recommendations for building capacity for inclusive fieldwork and inclusive teacher preparation are proposed. Further, the need for teacher educators to reframe teacher preparation, from the traditional model of preparing teachers for largely segregated roles, to providing the skills and techniques necessary for working and succeeding in inclusive settings, is discussed

Retrospective and prospective memory in healthy and cognitively impaired older adults: Using subjective and objective assessment

BACKGROUND: Retrospective and prospective memory deteriorate with age and deteriorate further with the onset of dementia. As previous research has tended to use idiosyncratic and heterogeneous methodologies, it is not known if the deterioration in retrospective or prospective memory is equal or how such deterioration is related to insight into mnemonic performance. DESIGN: The present study used a mixed, cross-sectional design. It examined retrospective and prospective memory in healthy and cognitively impaired older adults using objective and subjective assessment. METHODOLOGY: Twenty healthy and twenty cognitively impaired older adults were assessed. The objective measures were standardised and had high ecological validity, to maximise the assessments’ generalisability to everyday mnemonic functioning. The subjective measure was a standardised assessment of subjective appraisal of retrospective and prospective memory. This subjective assessment was used to gain self-ratings from the healthy and cognitively impaired older adults and, in addition, to gain proxy-ratings from the cognitively impaired older adults’ partners/carers. Participants were also assessed using a measure of general cognitive functioning. RESULTS: Healthy older adults performed significantly better than cognitively impaired older adults on both the retrospective and prospective memory test, although performance in both groups was higher on the prospective memory test than on the retrospective memory test. Neither proxy-ratings, nor overall severity of impairment, were associated with subjective assessment of prospective or retrospective memory. In the healthy older adults, self-rating of memory was not associated with objective memory performance. In the cognitively impaired older adults, however, higher self-ratings of memory were associated with poorer performance on the prospective memory test. DISCUSSION: The results suggested that both healthy and cognitively impaired older adults perform better on prospective memory tasks than retrospective memory tasks, but both types of memory deteriorate with the onset of dementia. Subjective memory appraisal is not related to objective memory performance in healthy older adults, but is negatively associated with prospective memory performance in cognitively impaired older adults. Findings were discussed in relation to previous research, along with a review of the strengths and limitations of the study. Clinical implications and directions for future research are also suggested

Impairment in Theory of Mind in Parkinson’s Disease Is Explained by Deficits in Inhibition

Objective. Several studies have reported that people with Parkinson's disease (PD) perform poorly on tests of 'Theory of Mind' (ToM), suggesting impairment in the ability to understand and infer other people's thoughts and feelings. However, few studies have sought to separate the processes involved in social reasoning from those involved in managing the inhibitory demands on these tests. In this study, we investigated the contribution of inhibition to ToM performance in PD. Methods. 18 PD patients and 22 age-matched healthy controls performed a ToM test that separates the ability to infer someone else's perspective from the ability to inhibit one's own. Participants also completed a battery of standard measures of social and executive functioning, including measures of inhibition. Results. The PD patients performed worse on the ToM test only when the inhibitory demands were high. When the level of inhibition required was reduced, there were no significant group differences. Furthermore, executive impairments in PD patients were limited to measures of inhibition, with disadvantages associated with poorer ToM performance in this group. Conclusions. This study provides convincing evidence that the apparent impairment observed on ToM tests in PD is explained by deficits in inhibition

The Grizzly, October 31, 1980

Campus Poll Favors Reagan, Anderson • Sorority Pleads Guilty To Alcohol Violations • Board Approves Cost Increases For Next Year • Carter & Reagan Make Final Philly Appearances • Athletic Hall of Fame Slated For Founder\u27s Day • It\u27s Laurie for Holmecoming Queen 1980 • Utility Gym Opens With Exciting Concert • Richter Hosts Town Meeting • APO Charter Reviewed • Halloween Dates Back 2000 Years • Booters Drop Three Straight • Gridders Drowned By Swarthmore • Hockey Suffers Season\u27s Second Defeat • Homecoming Sweet For Cross Countryhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1045/thumbnail.jp

Transcriptomic analysis of pathways regulated by toll-like receptor 4 in a murine model of chronic pulmonary inflammation and carcinogenesis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Therapeutic strategies exist for human pulmonary neoplasia, however due to the heterogeneity of the disease, most are not very effective. The innate immunity gene, toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), protects against chronic pulmonary inflammation and tumorigenesis in mice, but the mechanism is unclear. This study was designed to identify TLR4-mediated gene expression pathways that may be used as prognostic indicators of susceptibility to lung tumorigenesis in mice and provide insight into the mechanism.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Whole lung mRNA was isolated from C.C3H-<it>Tlr4</it>^{<it>Lps</it>-<it>d </it>}(BALB^{<it>Lps</it>-<it>d</it>}; <it>Tlr4 </it>mutant) and BALB/c (<it>Tlr4 </it>normal) mice following butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)-treatment (four weekly ip. injections; 150-200 mg/kg/each; "promotion"). mRNA from micro-dissected tumors (adenomas) and adjacent uninvolved tissue from both strains were also compared 27 wks after a single carcinogen injection (3-methylcholanthrene (MCA), 10 μg/g; "control") or followed by BHT (6 weekly ip. injections; 125-200 mg/kg/each; "progression"). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was analyzed for inflammatory cell content and total protein determination, a marker of lung hyperpermeability; inflammation was also assessed using immunohistochemical staining for macrophages (F4/80) and lymphocytes (CD3) in mice bearing tumors (progression).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During promotion, the majority of genes identified in the BALB^{<it>Lps</it>-<it>d </it>}compared to BALB/c mice (P < 0.05) were involved in epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling (e.g. epiregulin (<it>Ereg</it>)), secreted phosphoprotein 1(<it>Spp1</it>)), which can lead to cell growth and eventual tumor development. Inflammation was significantly higher in BALB^{<it>Lps</it>-<it>d </it>}compared to BALB/c mice during progression, similar to the observed response during tumor promotion in these strains. Increases in genes involved in signaling through the EGFR pathway (e.g. <it>Ereg</it>, <it>Spp1</it>) were also observed during progression in addition to continued inflammation, chemotactic, and immune response gene expression in the BALB^{<it>Lps</it>-<it>d </it>}versus BALB/c mice (<it>P </it>< 0.05), which appears to provide more favorable conditions for cell growth and tumor development. In support of these findings, the BALB/c mice also had significantly reduced expression of many immune response and inflammatory genes in both the tumors and uninvolved tissue.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This transcriptomic study determined the protective effect of TLR4 in lung carcinogenesis inhibition of multiple pathways including EGFR (e.g. <it>Ereg</it>), inflammatory response genes (e.g. <it>Cxcl5)</it>, chemotaxis (e.g. <it>Ccr1</it>) and other cell proliferation genes (e.g. <it>Arg1</it>, <it>Pthlh</it>). Future studies will determine the utility of these pathways as indicators of immune system deficiencies and tumorigenesis.</p

The Staphylococcus aureus CidA and LrgA Proteins Are Functional Holins Involved in the Transport of By-Products of Carbohydrate Metabolism

The Staphylococcus aureus cidABC and lrgAB operons encode members of a well-conserved family of proteins thought to be involved in programmed cell death (PCD). Based on the structural similarities that CidA and LrgA share with bacteriophage holins, we have hypothesized that these proteins function by forming pores within the cytoplasmic membrane. To test this, we utilized a lysis cassette system that demonstrated the abilities of the cidA and lrgA genes to support bacteriophage endolysin-induced cell lysis. Typical of holins, CidA- and LrgA-induced lysis was dependent on the coexpression of endolysin, consistent with the proposed holin-like functions of these proteins. In addition, the CidA and LrgA proteins were shown to localize to the surface of membrane vesicles and cause leakage of small molecules, providing direct evidence of their hole-forming potential. Consistent with recent reports demonstrating a role for the lrgAB homologues in other bacterial and plant species in the transport of by-products of carbohydrate metabolism, we also show that lrgAB is important for S. aureus to utilize pyruvate during microaerobic and anaerobic growth, by promoting the uptake of pyruvate under these conditions. Combined, these data reveal that the CidA and LrgA membrane proteins possess holin-like properties that play an important role in the transport of small by-products of carbohydrate metabolism. IMPORTANCE The Staphylococcus aureus cidABC and lrgAB operons represent the founding members of a large, highly conserved family of genes that span multiple kingdoms of life. Despite the fact that they have been shown to be involved in bacterial PCD, very little is known about the molecular/biochemical functions of the proteins they encode. The results presented in this study reveal that the cidA and lrgA genes encode proteins with bacteriophage holin-like functions, consistent with their roles in cell death. However, these studies also demonstrate that these operons are involved in the transport of small metabolic by-products of carbohydrate metabolism, suggesting an intriguing link between these two seemingly disparate processes

The Candidate Progenitor of the Type IIn SN 2010jl Is Not an Optically Luminous Star

A blue source in pre-explosion Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) images falls within the 5σ astrometric error circle (~0farcs24) derived from post-explosion ground-based imaging of SN 2010jl. At the time the ground-based astrometry was published, however, the SN had not faded sufficiently for post-explosion HST follow-up observations to determine a more precise astrometric solution and/or confirm if the pre-explosion source had disappeared, both of which are necessary to ultimately disentangle the possible progenitor scenarios. Here we present HST/WFC3 imaging of the SN 2010jl field obtained in 2014, 2015, and 2016 when the SN had faded sufficiently to allow for new constraints on the progenitor. The SN, which is still detected in the new images, is offset by 0farcs061 ± 0farcs008 (15 ± 2 pc) from the underlying and extended source of emission that contributes at least partially, if not entirely, to the blue source previously suggested as the candidate progenitor in the WFPC2 data. This point alone rules out the possibility that the blue source in the pre-explosion images is the exploding star, but may instead suggest an association with a young (30 M_⊙) progenitor. We obtain new upper limits on the flux from a single star at the SN position in the pre-explosion WFPC2 and Spitzer/IRAC images that may ultimately be used to constrain the progenitor properties

The Grizzly, January 30, 1981

Gambling Investigation Prompts Student Withdrawals • Thornburgh Discusses Education At Conference • Todd Hall Fined $200 For Alcohol Violation • Tower Restoration Scheduled • McQuillan Presents Financial Aid Workshop • Magazine Addresses Students • J-Board Workings Explained By Barth • Fraternity Theories • Bids Distribution • Top Ten Albums of 1980 • Greaseband Unable To Return This Semester • Spiritwood: A Different Coffeehouse • Theatre: A Midsummer Night\u27s Dream • Shipping Delay Postpones NMD Window Installation • Departmental Focus: Health And Physical Education • Swim Coach Hopes For .500 Season • Men\u27s Basketball Holding 1st Place In MAC • Grapplers Having An Up & Down Year • Haag Leads Lady Hoopsters Past Widenerhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1050/thumbnail.jp