Contribution of Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 to Cerebral Edema and Functional Outcome following Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Background: Cerebral edema is an important risk factor for death and poor outcome following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). However, underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 is held responsible for the degradation of microvascular basal lamina proteins leading to blood-brain barrier dysfunction and, thus, formation of vasogenic cerebral edema. The current study was conducted to clarify the role of MMP-9 for the development of cerebral edema and for functional outcome after SAH. Methods: SAH was induced in FVB/N wild-type (WT) or MMP-9 knockout (MMP-9(-/-)) mice by endovascular puncture. Intracranial pressure (ICP), regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) were continuously monitored up to 30 min after SAH. Mortality was quantified for 7 days after SAH. In an additional series neurological function and body weight were assessed for 3 days after SAH. Subsequently, ICP and brain water content were quantified. Results: Acute ICP, rCBF, and MABP did not differ between WT and MMP-9(-/-) mice, while 7 days' mortality was lower in MMP-9(-/-) mice (p = 0.03; 20 vs. 60%). MMP-9(-/-) mice also exhibited better neurological recovery, less brain edema formation, and lower chronic ICP. Conclusions: The results of the current study suggest that MMP-9 contributes to the development of early brain damage after SAH by promoting cerebral edema formation. Hence, MMP-9 may represent a novel molecular target for the treatment of SAH. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

Cytomegalovirus Infection of the Cervix Detected By Cytology and Histology: A Report of Five Cases

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72846/1/j.1365-2303.1993.tb00094.x.pd

Cervelleite, Ag4TeS: solution and description of the crystal structure

Copyright: Springer-Verlag Wien 2015. This is the final, post refereeing version. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it, http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00710-015-0384-

Climate Change and invasibility of the Antarctic benthos

Benthic communities living in shallow-shelf habitats in Antarctica (<100-m depth) are archaic in their structure and function. Modern predators, including fast-moving, durophagous (skeleton-crushing) bony fish, sharks, and crabs, are rare or absent; slow-moving invertebrates are the top predators; and epifaunal suspension feeders dominate many soft substratum communities. Cooling temperatures beginning in the late Eocene excluded durophagous predators, ultimately resulting in the endemic living fauna and its unique food-web structure. Although the Southern Ocean is oceanographically isolated, the barriers to biological invasion are primarily physiological rather than geographic. Cold temperatures impose limits to performance that exclude modern predators. Global warming is now removing those physiological barriers, and crabs are reinvading Antarctica. As sea temperatures continue to rise, the invasion of durophagous predators will modernize the shelf benthos and erode the indigenous character of marine life in Antarctica

Cerebral palsy and placental infection: a case-cohort study

BACKGROUND: The association between cerebral palsy in very preterm infants and clinical, histopathologic and microbiological indicators of chorioamnionitis, including the identification of specific micro-organisms in the placenta, was evaluated in a case-cohort study. METHODS: Children with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy at five years of age were identified from amongst participants in a long-term follow-up program of preterm infants. The comparison group was a subcohort of infants randomly selected from all infants enrolled in the program. The placentas were examined histopathologically for chorioamnionitis and funisitis, and the chorioamnionic interface was aseptically swabbed and comprehensively cultured for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, yeast and genital mycoplasmas. Associations between obstetric and demographic variables, indicators of chorioamnionitis and cerebral palsy status were examined by univariate analysis. RESULTS: Eighty-two infants with cerebral palsy were compared with the subcohort of 207 infants. Threatened preterm labor was nearly twice as common among the cases as in the subcohort (p < 0.01). Recorded clinical choroamnionitis was similar in the two groups and there was no difference in histopathologic evidence of infection between the two groups. E. coli was cultured from the placenta in 6/30 (20%) of cases as compared with 4/85 (5%) of subcohort (p = 0.01). Group B Streptococcus was more frequent among the cases, but the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The association between E. coli in the chorioamnion and cerebral palsy in preterm infants identified in this study requires confirmation in larger multicenter studies which include microbiological study of placentas

Dynamics of Wind Setdown at Suez and the Eastern Nile Delta

BACKGROUND: Wind setdown is the drop in water level caused by wind stress acting on the surface of a body of water for an extended period of time. As the wind blows, water recedes from the upwind shore and exposes terrain that was formerly underwater. Previous researchers have suggested wind setdown as a possible hydrodynamic explanation for Moses crossing the Red Sea, as described in Exodus 14. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study analyzes the hydrodynamic mechanism proposed by earlier studies, focusing on the time needed to reach a steady-state solution. In addition, the authors investigate a site in the eastern Nile delta, where the ancient Pelusiac branch of the Nile once flowed into a coastal lagoon then known as the Lake of Tanis. We conduct a satellite and modeling survey to analyze this location, using geological evidence of the ancient bathymetry and a historical description of a strong wind event in 1882. A suite of model experiments are performed to demonstrate a new hydrodynamic mechanism that can cause an angular body of water to divide under wind stress, and to test the behavior of our study location and reconstructed topography. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Under a uniform 28 m/s easterly wind forcing in the reconstructed model basin, the ocean model produces an area of exposed mud flats where the river mouth opens into the lake. This land bridge is 3-4 km long and 5 km wide, and it remains open for 4 hours. Model results indicate that navigation in shallow-water harbors can be significantly curtailed by wind setdown when strong winds blow offshore

Mitochondrial phylogeography and demographic history of the Vicuña: implications for conservation

The vicuña (Vicugna vicugna; Miller, 1924) is a conservation success story, having recovered from near extinction in the 1960s to current population levels estimated at 275 000. However, lack of information about its demographic history and genetic diversity has limited both our understanding of its recovery and the development of science-based conservation measures. To examine the evolution and recent demographic history of the vicuña across its current range and to assess its genetic variation and population structure, we sequenced mitochondrial DNA from the control region (CR) for 261 individuals from 29 populations across Peru, Chile and Argentina. Our results suggest that populations currently designated as Vicugna vicugna vicugna and Vicugna vicugna mensalis comprise separate mitochondrial lineages. The current population distribution appears to be the result of a recent demographic expansion associated with the last major glacial event of the Pleistocene in the northern (18 to 22°S) dry Andes 14–12 000 years ago and the establishment of an extremely arid belt known as the 'Dry Diagonal' to 29°S. Within the Dry Diagonal, small populations of V. v. vicugna appear to have survived showing the genetic signature of demographic isolation, whereas to the north V. v. mensalis populations underwent a rapid demographic expansion before recent anthropogenic impacts

Validation of the Edinburgh Claudication Questionnaire in 1st generation Black African-Caribbean and South Asian UK migrants: A sub-study to the Ethnic-Echocardiographic Heart of England Screening (E-ECHOES) study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We determined the diagnostic accuracy of the Edinburgh Claudication Questionnaire (ECQ) in 1^stgeneration Black African-Caribbean UK migrants as previous diagnostic questionnaires have been found to be less accurate in this population. We also determined the diagnostic accuracy of translated versions of the ECQ in 1^stgeneration South Asian UK migrants, as this has not been investigated before.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Subjects were recruited from the Ethnic-Echocardiographic Heart of England Screening (E-ECHOES) study, a community based screening survey for heart failure in minority ethnic groups. Translated versions of the ECQ were prepared following a recognised protocol. All participants attending screening between October 2007 and February 2009 were asked to complete the ECQ in the language of their choice (English, Punjabi, Bengali, Urdu, Hindi or Gujarati). Subjects answering positively to experiencing leg pain or discomfort on walking were asked to return to have Ankle Brachial Pressure Index (ABPI) measured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>154 out of 2831 subjects participating in E-ECHOES (5.4%) were eligible to participate in this sub-study, for which 74.3% returned for ABPI assessment. Non-responders were younger than participants (59[9] vs. 65[11] years; p = 0.015). Punjabi, English and Bengali questionnaires identified participants with Intermittent Claudication, so these questionnaires were assessed. The sensitivities (SN), specificities (SP), positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values were calculated. English: SN: 50%; SP: 68%; PPV: 43%; NPV: 74%. Punjabi: SN: 50%; SP: 87%; PPV: 43%; NPV: 90%. Bengali: SN: 33%; SP: 50%; PPV: 13%; NPV: 73%. There were significant differences in diagnostic accuracy between the 3 versions (Punjabi: 83.8%; Bengali: 45%; English: 62.2%; p < 0.0001). No significant differences were found in sensitivity and specificity between illiterate and literate participants in any of the questionnaires and there was no significant different difference between those under and over 60 years of age.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest that the ECQ is not as sensitive or specific a diagnostic tool in 1^stgeneration Black African-Caribbean and South Asian UK migrants than in the Edinburgh Artery Study, reflecting the findings of other diagnostic questionnaires in these minority ethnic groups. However this study is limited by sample size so conclusions should be interpreted with caution.</p

A community-based intervention (Young SMILES) to improve the health-related quality of life of children and young people of parents with serious mental illness: randomised feasibility protocol

Children and young people of parents with mental illness (COPMI) are at risk of poor mental, physical and emotional health, which can persist into adulthood. They also experience poorer social outcomes and wellbeing as well as poorer quality of life than their peers with ‘healthy’ parents. The needs of COPMI are likely to be significant; however, their prevalence is unknown, although estimates suggest over 60% of adults with a serious mental illness have children. Many receive little or no support and remain ‘hidden’, stigmatised or do not regard themselves as ‘in need’. Recent UK policies have identified supporting COPMI as a key priority, but this alone is insufficient and healthrelated quality of life has been neglected as an outcome