Role of health, relationships, work and coping on adjustment among people with multiple sclerosis: a longitudinal investigation

The current study was designed to evaluate the impact of health, social relationships, work and coping on the adjustment and self-esteem of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The participants were 251 people with MS (84 men, 167 women) and 184 people from the general population (56 men, 128 women). Data were obtained on the above variables using an anonymous questionnaire. In order to determine the impact of these relationships over time, the questionnaire was completed on two occasions, 18 months apart. The impact of health, social relationships, work and coping at time 1 on adjustment and self-esteem at time 2, was explored. The results indicated that there was a high level of stability in the levels of adjustment and self-esteem among both populations over time. People with MS experienced poorer adjustment and self-esteem, as well as poorer health, lower quality relationships, and lower work capacity than people from the general population. People with MS were also less likely to adopt problem focused or seeking social support coping, and more likely to adopt a detached style of coping. For both the MS and general populations, the most important predictors of adjustment and self-esteem at time 2 were time 1 levels of the same variables, with health, social relationships, work or coping strategies explaining little of the variance in time 2 levels of adjustment. The implications of this level of stability on the psychological adjustment of people with MS are discussed

A ring-like nucleoid is not necessary for radioresistance in the Deinococcaceae

BACKGROUND: Transmission electron microscopy images of Deinococcus radiodurans R1 suggest that the nucleoid of this species exists as a "ring-like" body, and have led to speculation that this structure contributes to the radioresistance of the species. Since extreme radioresistance is characteristic of six other species of Deinococcus, we have attempted to correlate nucleoid morphology and radioresistance by determining whether the genomic DNA of each of these species exhibit similar structures. RESULTS: The nucleoid morphologies of seven recognized species of Deinococcus, the radioresistant bacterium Rubrobacter radiotolerans, and the more radiosensitive deinococcal relative Thermus aquaticus were evaluated using epifluorescence and deconvolution techniques. Although the nucleoids of Deinococcus murrayi, Deinococcus proteolyticus, Deinococcus radiophilus, and Deinococcus grandis have structures similar to D. radiodurans, the majority of nucleoids found in Deinococcus radiopugnans and Deinococcus geothermalis lack any specific organization. The nucleoid of R. radiotolerans consists of multiple highly condensed spheres of DNA scattered throughout the cell. The genomic DNA of Thermus aquaticus is uniformly distributed throughout the cell. CONCLUSION: There is no obvious relationship between the shape of a species' nucleoid and extreme radioresistance. However, the genomes of all extremely radioresistance species examined are highly condensed relative to more radiosensitive species. Whether DNA in this tightly packed configuration contributes to the radioresistance of these bacteria remains unknown, but this common structural feature appears to limit diffusion of fragments generated post-irradiation even in cells incapable of repairing strand breaks

Analytical coordinate time at first post-Newtonian order

In this letter, we exploit the Damour-Deruelle solution to derive the analytical expression of the coordinate time in terms of the polar angle. This formula has advantageous applications in both pulsar timing and gravitational-wave theory.Comment: 5 pages; 4 figures; letter accepted on Europhysics Letters (EPL); corrected some minor typo

Description of the Egyptian tomb, discovered by G. Belzoni

Anteport

Engaging Human-in-the-Loop for Autonomous Vehicle Simulation

Many autonomous vehicles are still in the development phase due to limited research and testing and will take a considerable amount of time to further develop before they are ready for public release. The main objective of this study is to introduce a human-in-the-loop simulation framework for supporting autonomous vehicle research. Our proposed simulation framework aims to facilitate AV assessment by providing a safer and more efficient way. Functionally, it is focused on the understanding of AVs’ operations in the presence of pedestrian users. The developed simulation framework allows a human pedestrian avatar to be integrated into the high-fidelity 3D virtual environment and interact with simulated autonomous vehicles via standard keyboard input methods or virtual reality (VR) methods. This enables safer pedestrian-AV integration research and testing, and the ability to implement a series of risky edge-case scenarios in less time and cost than would be feasible in a real-world setting

A Portable Optical CT Scanner for Interactive Teaching of Medical Imaging Principles

Computed Tomography (CT) is widely used as a diagnostic imaging tool in modern medicine. The traditional method of teaching CT principles involves classroom lectures, with demonstrations on a clinical system that can only be accessed during off-hours. The x-ray and ‘black-box’ nature of a clinical system, and the lag time between lectures and demonstrations severely limit the teaching efficiency. A scaled-down portable imaging system that does not use x-rays would be ideal for an interactive classroom or laboratory session. We therefore developed a system using visible light rays instead of x-rays, so that experiments can be conducted immediately and safely with no high-voltage or radiation hazards. Educators at the University of Western Ontario will collaborate with industry to manufacture the scanner (http://www.deskcat.com/) to meet educational objectives, such as those specified by the Commission on the Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP). The table-top CT imaging device will come with a “kit” of experimental modules and specialized software that demonstrate radiography and CT image reconstruction. Image quality is characterized by \u27live\u27 measurements of spatial resolution, contrast resolution, and optical attenuation coefficients using plastic specimens or liquids. We expect that a low-cost portable system (\u3c $15,000 CDN) will enrich the students\u27 learning experience and improve the long-term retention of fundamental imaging concepts. This teaching package should prove attractive to universities with Physics, Biophysics, or Biomedical Engineering Departments, as well as Medical Schools with residency training programs (Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, Medical Imaging, Radiation Oncology). The scanner will be demonstrated at the poster

Prostaglandin PGE2 at very low concentrations suppresses collagen cleavage in cultured human osteoarthritic articular cartilage: this involves a decrease in expression of proinflammatory genes, collagenases and COL10A1, a gene linked to chondrocyte hypertrophy

Suppression of type II collagen (COL2A1) cleavage by transforming growth factor (TGF)-β2 in cultured human osteoarthritic cartilage has been shown to be associated with decreased expression of collagenases, cytokines, genes associated with chondrocyte hypertrophy, and upregulation of prostaglandin (PG)E2 production. This results in a normalization of chondrocyte phenotypic expression. Here we tested the hypothesis that PGE2 is associated with the suppressive effects of TGF-β2 in osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage and is itself capable of downregulating collagen cleavage and hypertrophy in human OA articular cartilage. Full-depth explants of human OA knee articular cartilage from arthroplasty were cultured with a wide range of concentrations of exogenous PGE2 (1 pg/ml to 10 ng/ml). COL2A1 cleavage was measured by ELISA. Proteoglycan content was determined by a colorimetric assay. Gene expression studies were performed with real-time PCR. In explants from patients with OA, collagenase-mediated COL2A1 cleavage was frequently downregulated at 10 pg/ml (in the range 1 pg/ml to 10 ng/ml) by PGE2 as well as by 5 ng/ml TGF-β2. In control OA cultures (no additions) there was an inverse relationship between PGE2 concentration (range 0 to 70 pg/ml) and collagen cleavage. None of these concentrations of added PGE2 inhibited the degradation of proteoglycan (aggrecan). Real-time PCR analysis of articular cartilage from five patients with OA revealed that PGE2 at 10 pg/ml suppressed the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-13 and to a smaller extent MMP-1, as well as the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α and type X collagen (COL10A1), the last of these being a marker of chondrocyte hypertrophy. These studies show that PGE2 at concentrations much lower than those generated in inflammation is often chondroprotective in that it is frequently capable of selectively suppressing the excessive collagenase-mediated COL2A1 cleavage found in OA cartilage. The results also show that chondrocyte hypertrophy in OA articular cartilage is functionally linked to this increased cleavage and is often suppressed by these low concentrations of added PGE2. Together these initial observations reveal the importance of very low concentrations of PGE2 in maintaining a more normal chondrocyte phenotype

Is it giant cell arteritis? : a retrospective audit on temporal artery biopsy for giant cell arteritis

Background: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the commonest of the vasculitides and should form part of the differential diagnosis of a new-onset headache in patients over 50 years with elevated inflammatory markers. Temporal artery biopsy (TAB) is the gold standard for its diagnoses. Aim: The aim of this audit was to determine whether patients referred for a TAB between 2010 and 2015 at Mater Dei Hospital qualified for a diagnosis of GCA and the significance of the TAB result in affecting management of GCA by correlating the clinical profile and biochemical criteria according to the guidelines based on the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria. Results: The percentage of positive TABs in our cohort of 170 patients was 23%. The ESR (sensitivity - 100%) was shown to be a significant factor associated with a positive TAB when compared to CRP (sensitivity 90%). 79.5% of positive TAB results were patients aged between 70-89 years of age, proving age is also a significant factor. New onset headache was the most common complaint (66%). Only 45.9% of patients were started on steroids prior to TAB despite the clinical suspicion of GCA. This increased to 54.1% of patients on steroids after TAB was performed, pending a histology result. Conclusion:Our findings, which are similar to comparing studies, question the practicality of TAB in the clinical diagnosis of GCA. Clinical symptoms, raised ESR and increasing age proved to be significant factors contributing to the clinical diagnosis and management of GCA. Non-invasive ultrasonography can further confirm the diagnosis and is to replace TAB in the near future.peer-reviewe

Combined use of eDNA metabarcoding and video surveillance for the assessment of fish biodiversity

Monitoring communities of fish is important for the management and sustainability of fisheries and marine ecosystems. Baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVs) are among the most effective nondestructive techniques for sampling bony fishes and elasmobranchs (sharks, rays, and skates). However, BRUVs sample visually conspicuous biota; hence, some taxa are undersampled or not recorded at all. We compared the diversity of fishes characterized using BRUVs with diversity detected via environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding. We sampled seawater and captured BRUVs imagery at 48 locales that included reef and seagrass beds inside and outside a marine reserve (Jurien Bay in Western Australia). Eighty-two fish genera from 13 orders were detected, and the community of fishes described using eDNA and BRUVs combined yielded >30% more generic richness than when either method was used alone. Rather than detecting a homogenous genetic signature, the eDNA assemblages mirrored the BRUVs’ spatial explicitness; differentiation of taxa between seagrass and reef was clear despite the relatively small geographical scale of the study site (~35 km2). Taxa that were not sampled by one approach, due to limitations and biases intrinsic to the method, were often detected with the other. Therefore, using BRUVs and eDNA in concert provides a more holistic view of vertebrate marine communities across habitats. Both methods are noninvasive, which enhances their potential for widespread implementation in the surveillance of marine ecosystems