Hypertensive Encephalopathy and Renal Failure in a Young Man

No abstract available

Valuing the bowling alley: Contestations over the preservation of spaces of everyday urban multiculture in London

This paper builds on ‘the convivial, everyday turn’ (Neal et al, 2013) by approaching the workings of complex urban spaces of multiculture as entangled with processes of urban change that are infused with judgments and contestations about what is of value. This paper explores the competing value claims made for a leisure space, a London bowling alley, used by a diverse group of people (in terms of dis/ability, ethnicity, gender, class and age) that has been threatened with demolition. The paper examines how arguments about diversity and inclusivity are deployed in these debates and how official discourses are resisted through the mobilisation of other articulations of social value. The paper argues that the combination of the hollowing out of the concept of diversity and the political and economic context results in a paradox whereby multiculturalism is celebrated as an atmosphere and generator of capital while existing physical spaces of everyday urban multiculture are at best unprotected and at worst not recognised, devalued and demolished

Determination of metals in medicinal plants highly consumed in Brazil

In this work, samples of the medicinal plants: Boldo (Peumus boldus), Castanha da Índia (Aesculus hippocastanum), Chá Verde (Camelia sinensis), Erva Cidreira (Melissa officinalis), Espinheira Santa (Maytenus ilicifolia), Guaraná (Paullinia cupana), Maracujá (Passiflora sp.), Mulungu (Erythrina velutina), Sene (Cassia angustifolia) and Valeriana (Valeriana officinalis) were evaluated BY using the Neutron Activation Analysis technique (NAA- k0) in order to determine the levels of metals and other chemical contaminants. The results showed the presence of non essential elements to the human body. The diversity of chemical impurities found even at low concentration levels, considering the potential for chronic toxicity of these elements, reinforces the need to improve the implementation of good practices by growers and traders, and the hypothesis of lack of quality control in plant products

Effect of Delayed Treatment with Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Neonatal Hypoxic/Ischemic Brain Injury: A Behavioral and Stereological Study

Hypoxia/ischemia is a major cause of acute neonatal brain injury and may lead to the development of neurological disabilities, mainly cerebral palsy. Hypoxic/ischemic (H/I) injury occurs as a result of decreased oxygen level in the brain and/or blood and reduced perfusion of the brain tissue. One of the main sites involved in neonatal H/I brain injury is the striatum. In children, injury to the striatum results in the muscular abnormalities of cerebral palsy. Medium-spiny neurons constitute the major neuronal population of the striatum in both primates and rodents. Hence, the rescue or restoration of the medium-spiny neuron population is a viable aim in treating neonatal H/I injury. Current evidence has shown hypothermia, a neuroprotective strategy, to be effective in treating H/I injury. However, hypothermia and other neuroprotective strategies can only be administered within 2 – 6 hours post-injury. The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of a seven-day delay in treatment with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a neurorestorative strategy, following hypoxia/ischemia in the neonatal rat. Furthermore, the effect of a subcutaneous injection of a high-dose (HD, 7.5 x 10^5 – 1 x 10^6) and of a low-dose (LD, 8.5 x 10^4 – 1.2 x 10^5) of MSCs was investigated. This was the first study to assess the efficacy of the subcutaneous route of delivery in mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy following neonatal H/I injury. On postnatal day (PN) 7, male pups were exposed to H/I injury. After a seven-day delay (i.e. PN 14), pups were weight-matched in pairs or triplets and randomly assigned to either a diluent injection of Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline (DPBS) or a MSC injection. In the LD MSC experiment, five pups were administered the diluent while six pups received a LD MSC injection. In the HD MSC experiment, seven pups were administered the diluent while nine pups received a HD MSC injection. The therapeutic effect was assessed using behavioral testing, and stereological analysis of the absolute total number of striatal medium-spiny neurons. On PN 20, the functional outcome was assessed using the negative geotaxis, cylinder, elevated body swing and foot-fault tests. Each pup was sacrificed on PN 21 and their brain was dissected from the cranium. Injured hemispheres were subsequently embedded in Technovit, serially sectioned and stained. Sections were stereologically analyzed using the Cavalieri method and optical disector method to estimate the absolute number of striatal medium-spiny neurons between diluent- and MSC-receiving pups. To our knowledge, this was the first study that used unbiased modern stereological methods to quantify the absolute number of medium-spiny neurons in the striatum following MSC therapy in neonatal hypoxia/ischemia. A sub-aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of the negative geotaxis test in the study of neonatal H/I injury before the administration of any treatments. As such, pups were tested on the negative geotaxis apparatus on PN 12 and PN 14, prior to MSC and diluent injections on the afternoon of PN 14. The findings of this study showed that a seven-day delay in MSC treatment did not have a statistically significant improvement on the functional outcome following H/I injury. However, a positive trend was observed in the cylinder test in pups receiving MSCs. MSC administration resulted in a higher preference of using the contralateral injured limb over the ipsilateral uninjured limb when compared to the diluent-administered pups. This positive trend was more profound in the HD MSC group compared to the LD MSC pups. The stereological findings showed that delayed MSC therapy was effective in attenuating the loss in striatal medium-spiny neurons compared to diluent-receiving pups. This difference was found to be statistically significant. The HD MSCs were more effective than the LD MSCs and restored the number of striatal medium-spiny neurons to normal levels. The subcutaneous route was also shown to be an effective route in delivering MSCs. Finally, results from the negative geotaxis test showed that this test may not be an effective assessment in evaluating the functional outcome following neonatal H/I brain injury. In conclusion, the findings of this study suggest that delayed MSC therapy can be an effective tool in treating neonatal H/I brain injury. These findings may offer hope to children who have missed the critical period of 2 – 6 hours post-injury, which is limited to neuroprotective interventions

Effect of Delayed Treatment with Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Neonatal Hypoxic/Ischemic Brain Injury: A Behavioral and Stereological Study

Hypoxia/ischemia is a major cause of acute neonatal brain injury and may lead to the development of neurological disabilities, mainly cerebral palsy. Hypoxic/ischemic (H/I) injury occurs as a result of decreased oxygen level in the brain and/or blood and reduced perfusion of the brain tissue. One of the main sites involved in neonatal H/I brain injury is the striatum. In children, injury to the striatum results in the muscular abnormalities of cerebral palsy. Medium-spiny neurons constitute the major neuronal population of the striatum in both primates and rodents. Hence, the rescue or restoration of the medium-spiny neuron population is a viable aim in treating neonatal H/I injury. Current evidence has shown hypothermia, a neuroprotective strategy, to be effective in treating H/I injury. However, hypothermia and other neuroprotective strategies can only be administered within 2 – 6 hours post-injury. The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of a seven-day delay in treatment with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a neurorestorative strategy, following hypoxia/ischemia in the neonatal rat. Furthermore, the effect of a subcutaneous injection of a high-dose (HD, 7.5 x 10^5 – 1 x 10^6) and of a low-dose (LD, 8.5 x 10^4 – 1.2 x 10^5) of MSCs was investigated. This was the first study to assess the efficacy of the subcutaneous route of delivery in mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy following neonatal H/I injury. On postnatal day (PN) 7, male pups were exposed to H/I injury. After a seven-day delay (i.e. PN 14), pups were weight-matched in pairs or triplets and randomly assigned to either a diluent injection of Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline (DPBS) or a MSC injection. In the LD MSC experiment, five pups were administered the diluent while six pups received a LD MSC injection. In the HD MSC experiment, seven pups were administered the diluent while nine pups received a HD MSC injection. The therapeutic effect was assessed using behavioral testing, and stereological analysis of the absolute total number of striatal medium-spiny neurons. On PN 20, the functional outcome was assessed using the negative geotaxis, cylinder, elevated body swing and foot-fault tests. Each pup was sacrificed on PN 21 and their brain was dissected from the cranium. Injured hemispheres were subsequently embedded in Technovit, serially sectioned and stained. Sections were stereologically analyzed using the Cavalieri method and optical disector method to estimate the absolute number of striatal medium-spiny neurons between diluent- and MSC-receiving pups. To our knowledge, this was the first study that used unbiased modern stereological methods to quantify the absolute number of medium-spiny neurons in the striatum following MSC therapy in neonatal hypoxia/ischemia. A sub-aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of the negative geotaxis test in the study of neonatal H/I injury before the administration of any treatments. As such, pups were tested on the negative geotaxis apparatus on PN 12 and PN 14, prior to MSC and diluent injections on the afternoon of PN 14. The findings of this study showed that a seven-day delay in MSC treatment did not have a statistically significant improvement on the functional outcome following H/I injury. However, a positive trend was observed in the cylinder test in pups receiving MSCs. MSC administration resulted in a higher preference of using the contralateral injured limb over the ipsilateral uninjured limb when compared to the diluent-administered pups. This positive trend was more profound in the HD MSC group compared to the LD MSC pups. The stereological findings showed that delayed MSC therapy was effective in attenuating the loss in striatal medium-spiny neurons compared to diluent-receiving pups. This difference was found to be statistically significant. The HD MSCs were more effective than the LD MSCs and restored the number of striatal medium-spiny neurons to normal levels. The subcutaneous route was also shown to be an effective route in delivering MSCs. Finally, results from the negative geotaxis test showed that this test may not be an effective assessment in evaluating the functional outcome following neonatal H/I brain injury. In conclusion, the findings of this study suggest that delayed MSC therapy can be an effective tool in treating neonatal H/I brain injury. These findings may offer hope to children who have missed the critical period of 2 – 6 hours post-injury, which is limited to neuroprotective interventions

Comparison of the effects of three haemodialysis membranes on vancomycin disposition

Polysulfone (PSF) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were recently introduced haemodialysis (HD) membranes. The effect of each on vancomycin disposition was compared with cuprophan (SCE) in 12 chronic HD patients who received 14 infusions. Vancomycin (1 g) was infused over 1 hour, followed by three 4-hour HD sessions over 5 days, beginning 1 hour after the end of infusion. The intradialytic clearances of vancomycin were 73, 54 and 15 ml/min for PSF, PAN and SCE, respectively. At the end of the third HD session, vancomycin concentration dropped to subtherapeutic level (< 7.5 micrograms/ml) only in patients dialysed with PSF and PAN. The corresponding elimination half-lives (t1/2 beta) were 61, 60 and 86 hours for the three membranes, respectively. According to these findings, vancomycin should be given every three HD sessions for PSF and PAN. The dosage interval should be extended up to every 5 HD sessions for patients on SCE. The peak (mean +/- S.D.) obtained one hour after the end of infusion was 34.2 +/- 11.4 micrograms/ml, which is within the therapeutic range

Mobile monitoring application to support sustainable behavioural change towards healthy lifestyle

We describe the development of body area networks (BANs) incorporating sensors and other devices to provide intelligent mobile services in healthcare and well-being. The first BAN applications were designed to simply transmit biosignals and display them remotely. Further developments include analysis and interpretation of biosignals in the light of context data. By including feedback loops, BAN telemonitoring was also augmented with teletreatment services. Recent developments include incorporation of clinical decision support by applying techniques from artificial intelligence. These developments represent a movement towards smart healthcare, making health BAN applications more intelligent by incorporating feedback, context awareness, personalization, and decision support. The element of decision support was first introduced into the BAN health and well-being applications in the Food Valley Eating Advisor (FOVEA) project. Obesity and overweight represent a growing threat to health and well-being in modern society. Physical inactivity has been shown to contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality rates, and this is now a global trend bringing huge costs in terms of human suffering and reduction in life expectancy as well as uncontrolled growth in demand on healthcare services. Part of the solution is to foster healthier lifestyle. A major challenge however is that exercise and dietary programs may work for the individual in the short term, but adherence in the medium and long term is difficult to sustain, making weight management a continuing struggle for individuals and a growing problem for society, governments, and health services. Using ICT to support sustainable behavioral change in relation to healthy exercise and diet is the goal of the FOVEA monitoring and feedback application. We strive to design and develop intelligent BAN-based applications that support motivation and adherence in the long term. We present this healthy lifestyle application and report results of an evaluation conducted by surveying professionals in related disciplines