Collective consciousness and its pathologies: Understanding the failure of AIDS control and treatment in the United States

We address themes of distributed cognition by extending recent formal developments in the theory of individual consciousness. While single minds appear biologically limited to one dynamic structure of linked cognitive submodules instantiating consciousness, organizations, by contrast, can support several, sometimes many, such constructs simultaneously, although these usually operate relatively slowly. System behavior remains, however, constrained not only by culture, but by a developmental path dependence generated by organizational history, in the context of market selection pressures. Such highly parallel multitasking – essentially an institutional collective consciousness – while capable of reducing inattentional blindness and the consequences of failures within individual workspaces, does not eliminate them, and introduces new characteristic malfunctions involving the distortion of information sent between workspaces and the possibility of pathological resilience – dysfunctional institutional lock-in. Consequently, organizations remain subject to canonical and idiosyncratic failures analogous to, but more complicated than, those afflicting individuals. Remediation is made difficult by the manner in which pathological externalities can write images of themselves onto both institutional function and corrective intervention. The perspective is applied to the failure of AIDS control and treatment in the United States

Upstream Solutions: Does the Supplemental Security Income Program Reduce Disability in the Elderly?

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72843/1/j.1468-0009.2007.00512.x.pd

Validity of the disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand patient-reported outcome measure (DASH) and the Quickdash when used in Dupuytren’s disease

This study investigated aspects of the validity and reliability of the 30-item Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand patient-reported outcome measure (DASH) and its relationship with the shorter 11-item QuickDASH in patients with Dupuytren’s disease. Seven hundred and fifty-nine DASH questionnaires were studied, covering pre- and postoperative patients undergoing different treatments for Dupuytren’s disease. Items related to pain rose early after treatment before returning to baseline, suggesting that studying pain is relevant during postoperative recovery. Across all 759 sets of responses, the QuickDASH agreed closely with the DASH. In exploratory factor analysis, the DASH was not unidimensional, questioning the validity of the DASH summary score in Dupuytren’s disease. Further validation of existing PROMs for use in Dupuytren’s disease is needed. These data suggest that pain is a relevant symptom to study during postoperative recovery following treatment for Dupuytren’s disease

A Comparative Analysis of Extra-Embryonic Endoderm Cell Lines

Prior to gastrulation in the mouse, all endodermal cells arise from the primitive endoderm of the blastocyst stage embryo. Primitive endoderm and its derivatives are generally referred to as extra-embryonic endoderm (ExEn) because the majority of these cells contribute to extra-embryonic lineages encompassing the visceral endoderm (VE) and the parietal endoderm (PE). During gastrulation, the definitive endoderm (DE) forms by ingression of cells from the epiblast. The DE comprises most of the cells of the gut and its accessory organs. Despite their different origins and fates, there is a surprising amount of overlap in marker expression between the ExEn and DE, making it difficult to distinguish between these cell types by marker analysis. This is significant for two main reasons. First, because endodermal organs, such as the liver and pancreas, play important physiological roles in adult animals, much experimental effort has been directed in recent years toward the establishment of protocols for the efficient derivation of endodermal cell types in vitro. Conversely, factors secreted by the VE play pivotal roles that cannot be attributed to the DE in early axis formation, heart formation and the patterning of the anterior nervous system. Thus, efforts in both of these areas have been hampered by a lack of markers that clearly distinguish between ExEn and DE. To further understand the ExEn we have undertaken a comparative analysis of three ExEn-like cell lines (END2, PYS2 and XEN). PYS2 cells are derived from embryonal carcinomas (EC) of 129 strain mice and have been characterized as parietal endoderm-like [1], END2 cells are derived from P19 ECs and described as visceral endoderm-like, while XEN cells are derived from blastocyst stage embryos and are described as primitive endoderm-like. Our analysis suggests that none of these cell lines represent a bona fide single in vivo lineage. Both PYS2 and XEN cells represent mixed populations expressing markers for several ExEn lineages. Conversely END2 cells, which were previously characterized as VE-like, fail to express many markers that are widely expressed in the VE, but instead express markers for only a subset of the VE, the anterior visceral endoderm. In addition END2 cells also express markers for the PE. We extended these observations with microarray analysis which was used to probe and refine previously published data sets of genes proposed to distinguish between DE and VE. Finally, genome-wide pathway analysis revealed that SMAD-independent TGFbeta signaling through a TAK1/p38/JNK or TAK1/NLK pathway may represent one mode of intracellular signaling shared by all three of these lines, and suggests that factors downstream of these pathways may mediate some functions of the ExEn. These studies represent the first step in the development of XEN cells as a powerful molecular genetic tool to study the endodermal signals that mediate the important developmental functions of the extra-embryonic endoderm. Our data refine our current knowledge of markers that distinguish various subtypes of endoderm. In addition, pathway analysis suggests that the ExEn may mediate some of its functions through a non-classical MAP Kinase signaling pathway downstream of TAK1

Mutations in the Catalytic Loop HRD Motif Alter the Activity and Function of Drosophila Src64

The catalytic loop HRD motif is found in most protein kinases and these amino acids are predicted to perform functions in catalysis, transition to, and stabilization of the active conformation of the kinase domain. We have identified mutations in a Drosophila src gene, src64, that alter the three HRD amino acids. We have analyzed the mutants for both biochemical activity and biological function during development. Mutation of the aspartate to asparagine eliminates biological function in cytoskeletal processes and severely reduces fertility, supporting the amino acid's critical role in enzymatic activity. The arginine to cysteine mutation has little to no effect on kinase activity or cytoskeletal reorganization, suggesting that the HRD arginine may not be critical for coordinating phosphotyrosine in the active conformation. The histidine to leucine mutant retains some kinase activity and biological function, suggesting that this amino acid may have a biochemical function in the active kinase that is independent of its side chain hydrogen bonding interactions in the active site. We also describe the phenotypic effects of other mutations in the SH2 and tyrosine kinase domains of src64, and we compare them to the phenotypic effects of the src64 null allele

Psychological and behavioural factors associated with sexual risk behaviour among Slovak students

Background: Knowledge about the prevalence of sexual risk behaviour (SRB) in adolescence is needed to prevent unwanted health consequences. Studies on SRB among adolescents in Central Europe are rare and mostly rely on a single indicator for SRB. This study aims to assess the association of behavioural and psychological factors with three types of SRB in adolescents in Central Europe. Methods: We obtained data on behavioural factors (having been drunk during previous month, smoking during previous week, early sexual initiation), psychological factors (self-esteem, wellbeing, extroversion, neuroticism, religiousness), and SRB (intercourse under risky conditions, multiple sexual partners, and inconsistent condom use) in 832 Slovak university students (response 94.3%). Results: Among those with sexual experience (62%), inconsistent condom use was the most prevalent risk behaviour (81% in females, 72% in males). With the exception of having been drunk in males, no factor was associated with inconsistent condom use. Regarding the other types of SRB, early sexual initiation was most strongly associated. In addition, other, mostly behavioural, factors were associated, in particular having been drunk. Conclusion: Results suggest that behavioural factors are more closely related to SRB than psychological factors. Associations differ by type of SRB and gender but offer few clues to target risk groups for inconsistent condom use. Results show a high need for health-promotion programmes in early adolescence that target SRB in conjunction with other health risk behaviours such as alcohol abuse

eXtraembryonic ENdoderm (XEN) Stem Cells Produce Factors that Activate Heart Formation

Initial specification of cardiomyocytes in the mouse results from interactions between the extraembryonic anterior visceral endoderm (AVE) and the nascent mesoderm. However the mechanism by which AVE activates cardiogenesis is not well understood, and the identity of specific cardiogenic factors in the endoderm remains elusive. Most mammalian studies of the cardiogenic potential of the endoderm have relied on the use of cell lines that are similar to the heart-inducing AVE. These include the embryonal-carcinoma-derived cell lines, END2 and PYS2. The recent development of protocols to isolate eXtraembryonic ENdoderm (XEN) stem cells, representing the extraembryonic endoderm lineage, from blastocyst stage mouse embryos offers new tools for the genetic dissection of cardiogenesis.Here, we demonstrate that XEN cell-conditioned media (CM) enhances cardiogenesis during Embryoid Body (EB) differentiation of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells in a manner comparable to PYS2-CM and END2-CM. Addition of CM from each of these three cell lines enhanced the percentage of EBs that formed beating areas, but ultimately, only XEN-CM and PYS2-CM increased the total number of cardiomyocytes that formed. Furthermore, our observations revealed that both contact-independent and contact-dependent factors are required to mediate the full cardiogenic potential of the endoderm. Finally, we used gene array comparison to identify factors in these cell lines that could mediate their cardiogenic potential.These studies represent the first step in the use of XEN cells as a molecular genetic tool to study cardiomyocyte differentiation. Not only are XEN cells functionally similar to the heart-inducing AVE, but also can be used for the genetic dissection of the cardiogenic potential of AVE, since they can be isolated from both wild type and mutant blastocysts. These studies further demonstrate the importance of both contact-dependent and contact-independent factors in cardiogenesis and identify potential heart-inducing proteins in the endoderm

Obesity, physical activity, and the urban environment: public health research needs

Persistent trends in overweight and obesity have resulted in a rapid research effort focused on built environment, physical activity, and overweight. Much of the focus of this research has been on the design and form of suburbs. It suggests that several features of the suburban built environment such as low densities, poor street connectivity and the lack of sidewalks are associated with decreased physical activity and an increased risk of being overweight. But compared to suburban residents, inner city populations have higher rates of obesity and inactivity despite living in neighborhoods that are dense, have excellent street connectivity and who's streets are almost universally lined with sidewalks. We suggest that the reasons for this apparent paradox are rooted in the complex interaction of land use, infrastructure and social factors affecting inner city populations. Sometimes seemingly similar features are the result of very different processes, necessitating different policy responses to meet these challenges. For example, in suburbs, lower densities can result from government decision making that leads to restrictive zoning and land use issues. In the inner city, densities may be lowered because of abandonment and disinvestment. In the suburbs, changes in land use regulations could result in a healthier built environment. In inner cities, increasing densities will depend on reversing economic trends and investment decisions that have systematically resulted in distressed housing, abandoned buildings and vacant lots. These varying issues need to be further studied in the context of the totality of urban environments, incorporating what has been learned from other disciplines, such as economics and sociology, as well as highlighting some of the more successful inner city policy interventions, which may provide examples for communities working to improve their health. Certain disparities among urban and suburban populations in obesity and overweight, physical activity and research focus have emerged that are timely to address. Comparable research on the relationship of built environment and health is needed for urban, especially inner city, neighborhoods

Moving beyond Marcuse: gentrification, displacement and the violence of un-homing

Displacement has become one of the most prominent themes in contemporary geographical debates, used to describe processes of dispossession and forced eviction at a diverse range of scales. Given its frequent deployment in studies describing the consequences of gentrification, this paper seeks to better define and conceptualise displacement as a process of un-homing, noting that while gentrification can prompt processes of eviction, expulsion and exclusion operating at different scales and speeds, it always ruptures the connection between people and place. On this basis – and recognising displacement as a form of violence – this paper concludes that the diverse scales and temporalities of displacement need to be better elucidated so that their negative emotional, psychosocial and material impacts can be more fully documented, and resisted