Erythrocyte sedimentation rate as a marker of inflammation and ongoing coagulation in stroke and transient ischaemic attack

No abstract. South African Medical Journal Vol. 95 (8) 2005: 607-61

Comprehensive characterization of molecular interactions based on nanomechanics

Molecular interaction is a key concept in our understanding of the biological mechanisms of life. Two physical properties change when one molecular partner binds to another. Firstly, the masses combine and secondly, the structure of at least one binding partner is altered, mechanically transducing the binding into subsequent biological reactions. Here we present a nanomechanical micro-array technique for bio-medical research, which not only monitors the binding of effector molecules to their target but also the subsequent effect on a biological system in vitro. This label-free and real-time method directly and simultaneously tracks mass and nanomechanical changes at the sensor interface using micro-cantilever technology. To prove the concept we measured lipid vesicle (approximately 748*10(6) Da) adsorption on the sensor interface followed by subsequent binding of the bee venom peptide melittin (2840 Da) to the vesicles. The results show the high dynamic range of the instrument and that measuring the mass and structural changes simultaneously allow a comprehensive discussion of molecular interactions

Ram pressure feeding super-massive black holes

When supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies accrete matter (usually gas), they give rise to highly energetic phenomena named Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). A number of physical processes have been proposed to account for the funneling of gas towards the galaxy centers to feed the AGN. There are also several physical processes that can strip gas from a galaxy, and one of them is ram pressure stripping in galaxy clusters due to the hot and dense gas filling the space between galaxies. We report the discovery of a strong connection between severe ram pressure stripping and the presence of AGN activity. Searching in galaxy clusters at low redshift, we have selected the most extreme examples of jellyfish galaxies, which are galaxies with long tentacles of material extending for dozens of kpc beyond the galaxy disk. Using the MUSE spectrograph on the ESO Very Large Telescope, we find that 6 out of the 7 galaxies of this sample host a central AGN, and two of them also have galactic-scale AGN ionization cones. The high incidence of AGN among the most striking jellyfishes may be due to ram pressure causing gas to flow towards the center and triggering the AGN activity, or to an enhancement of the stripping caused by AGN energy injection, or both. Our analysis of the galaxy position and velocity relative to the cluster strongly supports the first hypothesis, and puts forward ram pressure as another, yet unforeseen, possible mechanism for feeding the central supermassive black hole with gas.Comment: published in Nature, Vol.548, Number 7667, pag.30

Can hibernators sense and evade fires? Olfactory acuity and locomotor performance during deep torpor.

Increased habitat fragmentation, global warming and other human activities have caused a rise in the frequency of wildfires worldwide. To reduce the risks of uncontrollable fires, prescribed burns are generally conducted during the colder months of the year, a time when in many mammals torpor is expressed regularly. Torpor is crucial for energy conservation, but the low body temperatures (T b) are associated with a decreased responsiveness and torpid animals might therefore face an increased mortality risk during fires. We tested whether hibernators in deep torpor (a) can respond to the smell of smoke and (b) can climb to avoid fires at T bs below normothermic levels. Our data show that torpid eastern pygmy-possums (Cercartetus nanus) are able to detect smoke and also can climb. All males aroused from torpor when the smoke stimulus was presented at an ambient temperature (T a) of 15 °C (T b ∼18 °C), whereas females only raised their heads. The responses were less pronounced at T a 10 °C. The first coordinated movement of possums along a branch was observed at a mean T b of 15.6 °C, and animals were even able to climb their prehensile tail when they reached a mean T b of 24.4 °C. Our study shows that hibernators can sense smoke and move at low T b. However, our data also illustrate that at T b ≤13 °C, C. nanus show decreased responsiveness and locomotor performance and highlight that prescribed burns during winter should be avoided on very cold days to allow torpid animals enough time to respond

Development of a taxonomy to describe massage treatments for musculoskeletal pain

BACKGROUND: One of the challenges in conducting research in the field of massage and bodywork is the lack of consistent terminology for describing the treatments given by massage therapists. The objective of this study was to develop a taxonomy to describe what massage therapists actually do when giving a massage to patients with musculoskeletal pain. METHODS: After conducting a review of the massage treatment literature for musculoskeletal pain, a list of candidate techniques was generated for possible inclusion in the taxonomy. This list was modified after discussions with a senior massage therapist educator and seven experienced massage therapists participating in a study of massage for neck pain. RESULTS: The taxonomy was conceptualized as a three level classification system, principal goals of treatment, styles, and techniques. Four categories described the principal goal of treatment (i.e., relaxation massage, clinical massage, movement re-education and energy work). Each principal goal of treatment could be met using a number of different styles, with each style consisting of a number of specific techniques. A total of 36 distinct techniques were identified and described, many of which could be included in multiple styles. CONCLUSION: A new classification system is presented whereby practitioners using different styles of massage can describe the techniques they employ using consistent terminology. This system could help facilitate standardized reporting of massage interventions

Phenotypic characterization of breast cancer: the role of CDC42

Purpose: The molecular landscape of breast cancer (BC), especially of the Luminal A subtype, remains to be fully delineated. Transcriptomic data shows that Luminal A tumours are enriched for aberrant expression of genes in the cell division control 42 homolog (CDC42) pathway. This study aims to investigate protein expression of CDC42 in BC and assess its clinicopathological significance. Methods: Expression of CDC42 protein was examined by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays in a well characterised cohort of 895 early stage (I-IIIa) primary invasive BCs. Results: CDC42 expression was observed in both the cytoplasm and nucleus of BC cells. High nuclear CDC42 expression demonstrated a significant correlation with ER positive, low-grade tumours and was more common in the lobular histological subtype (all p<0.001). In contrast, cytoplasmic CDC42 showed increased expression in the ductal subtype (p<0.001) and correlated with negative prognostic features such as larger size, higher grade (p<0.05), and higher Ki67 labelling index (p=0.001). Nuclear CDC42 expression was associated with a longer BC specific survival in all cases (p=0.025) and in luminal ER positive tumours (p=0.011). In multivariate analyses including size, grade, lymph node stage and intrinsic subtype, CDC42 was an independent prognostic factor (p=0.032). Conclusion: The results indicate that CDC42 is important molecule in luminal BC, with prognostic significance

Methods for specifying the target difference in a randomised controlled trial : the Difference ELicitation in TriAls (DELTA) systematic review

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Ecological Implications of Extreme Events: Footprints of the 2010 Earthquake along the Chilean Coast

Deciphering ecological effects of major catastrophic events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, storms and fires, requires rapid interdisciplinary efforts often hampered by a lack of pre-event data. Using results of intertidal surveys conducted shortly before and immediately after Chile's 2010 Mw 8.8 earthquake along the entire rupture zone (ca. 34–38°S), we provide the first quantification of earthquake and tsunami effects on sandy beach ecosystems. Our study incorporated anthropogenic coastal development as a key design factor. Ecological responses of beach ecosystems were strongly affected by the magnitude of land-level change. Subsidence along the northern rupture segment combined with tsunami-associated disturbance and drowned beaches. In contrast, along the co-seismically uplifted southern rupture, beaches widened and flattened increasing habitat availability. Post-event changes in abundance and distribution of mobile intertidal invertebrates were not uniform, varying with land-level change, tsunami height and coastal development. On beaches where subsidence occurred, intertidal zones and their associated species disappeared. On some beaches, uplift of rocky sub-tidal substrate eliminated low intertidal sand beach habitat for ecologically important species. On others, unexpected interactions of uplift with man-made coastal armouring included restoration of upper and mid-intertidal habitat seaward of armouring followed by rapid colonization of mobile crustaceans typical of these zones formerly excluded by constraints imposed by the armouring structures. Responses of coastal ecosystems to major earthquakes appear to vary strongly with land-level change, the mobility of the biota and shore type. Our results show that interactions of extreme events with human-altered shorelines can produce surprising ecological outcomes, and suggest these complex responses to landscape alteration can leave lasting footprints in coastal ecosystems

Differences in pain, function and coping in Multidimensional Pain Inventory subgroups of chronic back pain: a one-group pretest-posttest study

Contains fulltext : 97819.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Patients with non-specific back pain are not a homogeneous group but heterogeneous with regard to their bio-psycho-social impairments. This study examined a sample of 173 highly disabled patients with chronic back pain to find out how the three subgroups based on the Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI) differed in their response to an inpatient pain management program. METHODS: Subgroup classification was conducted by cluster analysis using MPI subscale scores at entry into the program. At program entry and at discharge after four weeks, participants completed the MPI, the MOS Short Form-36 (SF-36), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ). Pairwise analyses of the score changes of the mentioned outcomes of the three MPI subgroups were performed using the Mann-Whitney-U-test for significance. RESULTS: Cluster analysis identified three MPI subgroups in this highly disabled sample: a dysfunctional, interpersonally distressed and an adaptive copers subgroup. The dysfunctional subgroup (29% of the sample) showed the highest level of depression in SF-36 mental health (33.4 +/- 13.9), the interpersonally distressed subgroup (35% of the sample) a modest level of depression (46.8 +/- 20.4), and the adaptive copers subgroup (32% of the sample) the lowest level of depression (57.8 +/- 19.1). Significant differences in pain reduction and improvement of mental health and coping were observed across the three MPI subgroups, i.e. the effect sizes for MPI pain reduction were: 0.84 (0.44-1.24) for the dysfunctional subgroup, 1.22 (0.86-1.58) for the adaptive copers subgroup, and 0.53 (0.24-0.81) for the interpersonally distressed subgroup (p = 0.006 for pairwise comparison). Significant score changes between subgroups concerning activities and physical functioning could not be identified. CONCLUSIONS: MPI subgroup classification showed significant differences in score changes for pain, mental health and coping. These findings underscore the importance of assessing individual differences to understand how patients adjust to chronic back pain