The Effects of Music Therapy on Older Adults with Dementia: A Systematic Review

Older adults with dementia experience difficulties throughout the progression of the disease, including decreased quality of life and mental health (Weise et al., 2018). Nonpharmacological interventions, such as music therapy and music listening, may be one solution to affect mental health outcomes in this population. The two authors seek to answer the following PICOT formatted question: In older adults, ages 65 and older, with dementia, how does music therapy, compared with treatment as usual, affect depression and anxiety? Twenty primary sources, published from 2014 to 2019, were reviewed and critically appraised. The sources were diverse with regards to country of origin, design, methods, and results. Across studies, findings were inconsistent with some supporting that music therapy or music listening increased quality of life and decreased depression, anxiety, and agitation

Characteristics and Outcomes of Dementia Patients Who Receive Inpatient Palliative Care Consultation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162727/2/jgs16521_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162727/1/jgs16521.pd

Reactivation of latent HIV-1 provirus via targeting protein phosphatase-1.

BACKGROUND: HIV-1 escapes antiretroviral drugs by integrating into the host DNA and forming a latent transcriptionally silent HIV-1 provirus. This provirus presents the major hurdle in HIV-1 eradication and cure. Transcriptional activation, which is prerequisite for reactivation and the eradication of latent proviruses, is impaired in latently infected T cells due to the lack of host transcription factors, primarily NF-κB and P-TEFb (CDK9/cyclin T1). We and others previously showed that protein phosphatase-1 (PP1) regulates HIV-1 transcription by modulating CDK9 phosphorylation. Recently we have developed a panel of small molecular compounds targeting a non-catalytic site of PP1. RESULTS: Here we generated a new class of sulfonamide-containing compounds that activated HIV-1 in acute and latently infected cells. Among the tested molecules, a small molecule activator of PP1 (SMAPP1) induced both HIV-1 replication and reactivation of latent HIV-1 in chronically infected cultured and primary cells. In vitro, SMAPP1 interacted with PP1 and increased PP1 activity toward a recombinant substrate. Treatment with SMAPP1 increased phosphorylation of CDK9\u27s Ser90 and Thr186 residues, but not Ser175. Proteomic analysis showed upregulation of P-TEFb and PP1 related proteins, including PP1 regulatory subunit Sds22 in SMAPP1-treated T cells. Docking analysis identified a PP1 binding site for SMAPP1 located within the C-terminal binding pocket of PP1. CONCLUSION: We identified a novel class of PP1-targeting compounds that reactivate latent HIV-1 provirus by targeting PP1, increasing CDK9 phosphorylation and enhancing HIV transcription. This compound represents a novel candidate for anti-HIV-1 therapeutics aiming at eradication of latent HIV-1 reservoirs

Credible biodiversity offsetting needs public national registers to confirm no net loss

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The AuthorsIn the face of the ongoing biodiversity crisis, questions are arising regarding the success, or lack thereof, of biodiversity offset schemes, where biodiversity losses from human development are compensated by producing equitable gains elsewhere. The overarching goal of offsetting is to deliver no net loss (NNL) of biodiversity. Assessing whether offsetting does indeed deliver NNL is, however, challenging because of a lack of clear and reliable information about offset schemes. Here we consider barriers in tracking NNL outcomes, outline criteria of public offset registers to enable accessible and credible reporting of NNL, and show how existing registers fail to satisfy those criteria. The lack of accessibility and transparency in existing registers represents a fundamental gap between NNL targets and a valid tracking system, which challenges the impetus to enact the transformative changes needed to reverse biodiversity decline.Peer reviewe

Characterization of metal trace elements accumulation in three species of the genus Atriplex and at Pseudomonas fluorescens and the study of their repercussions on certain biochemical parameters of these species

La révolution industrielle a accéléré de façon spectaculaire la pollution de l'environnement par des métaux toxiques d’où la nécessité de rechercher des modèles biologiques capables de réhabiliter différents milieux contaminés par les métaux. Et c’est dans ce contexte que se situe notre étude.Nous avons consacré une partie de nos travaux à l’étude comparative de la résistance de trois espèces halophytes Atriplex (A. canescens, A. halimus et A. nummularia) au stress en cadmium (Cd). L’autre partie de nos travaux porte sur la caractérisation morphologique de la bactérie Pseudomonas fluorescens avant et après exposition au cadmium à l’aide de plusieurs techniques d’imagerie (microscopie optique, microscopie à force atomique, et par microscopie électronique à balayage) avec une approche comparative (P. fluorescens et E. coli).Les travaux de la 1ère partie ont conduit à la compréhension des mécanismes de défenses antioxydants intervenant dans la restauration de l’homéostasie des cellules (neutralisation de l’excès d’espèces réactives de l’oxygène). Nous avons montré que les trois espèces d'Atriplex étudiées sont capables d'accumuler des quantités importantes de Cd, phénomène amplifié en présence de sel, ce qui fait de ces plantes hyperaccumulateurs de bonnes candidates dans une stratégie de phytoextraction du Cd.Les résultats de la 2ème partie de cette thèse montrent que, lorsque les conditions de croissance sont optimales, P. fluorescens a une forme allongée présentant des invaginations à sa surface et une structuration membranaire assez caractéristique. Les populations bactériennes de P. fluorescens et E. coli sont ensuite fixés sur un substrat solide fonctionnalisé (PEM ou PLL), et/ou traités au glutaraldéhyde qui permet un meilleur attachement au substrat mais n’est pas sans conséquence sur la morphologie bactérienne. Enfin, l’exposition de P. fluorescens au cadmium (à la dose CMI=1g/L) fait évoluer ses caractéristiques morphologiques (forme, taille, …) mais n’est pas suivie (ou très peu) de lyse cellulaire contrairement à E. coli pour laquelle cette même dose de cadmium s’avère être létale. Ces résultats mettent bien en évidence l’effet toxique du cadmium sur E. coli ainsi que la tolérance de P. fluorescens à ce même xénobiotique.The industrial revolution dramatically accelerated the pollution of the environment by toxic metals, hence the need to search for biological models capable of rehabilitating different environments contaminated by metals. It is in this context that our study takes place.We devoted part of our work to the comparative study of the resistance of three Atriplex halophyte species (A. canescens, A. halimus and A. nummularia) to cadmium stress (Cd). The other part of our work concerns the morphological characterization of the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens before and after exposure to cadmium using several imaging techniques (optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy) with a comparative approach (P. fluorescens and E. coli).The work of the 1st part led to the understanding of antioxidant defense mechanisms involved in the restoration of cell homeostasis (neutralization of excess reactive oxygen species). We have shown that the three species of Atriplex studied are capable of accumulating significant amounts of Cd, a phenomenon amplified in the presence of salt, which makes these hyperaccumulator plants good candidates in a Cd phytoextraction strategy.The results of the 2nd part of this thesis show that, when the growth conditions are optimal, P. fluorescens has an elongated shape with invaginations on its surface and a rather characteristic membrane structure. The bacterial populations of P. fluorescens and E. coli are then fixed on a functionalized solid substrate (PEM or PLL), and/or treated with glutaraldehyde which allows better attachment to the substrate but is not without consequence on the bacterial morphology. Finally, exposure of P. fluorescens to cadmium (at the MIC dose=1g/L) changes its morphological characteristics (shape, size, etc.) but is not followed (or very little) by cell lysis unlike E. coli for which this same dose of cadmium proves to be lethal. These results clearly highlight the toxic effect of cadmium on E. coli as well as the tolerance of P. fluorescens to this same xenobiotic

Boundary Integral Method and Applications for Chaotic Optical Microcavities

Optical microcavities offer many application possibilities in addition to being model systems for studying chaotic dynamics in the wave regime. However these systems are only analytically solvable for the simplest geometries. In order to study strongly deformed geometries, numerical methods must be used. The open nature of cavities results in complex wavenumbers for their quasi-bound modes which makes finding resonances more difficult. We discuss the main methods available for understanding these resonances. We implement a numerical package for finding resonances, computing their spatial field patterns and projecting onto surface of section plots via Husimi distributions. This software has been implemented in Julia, a modern programming language with performance and ease of use in mind. This software is available as open source, and is designed to be reusable for arbitrary two dimensional geometries. Using this package we describe a novel phenomenon that can occur in strongly deformed geometries with concavities, which we name folded chaotic whispering-gallery modes. In these cavities, folded chaotic WGMs allow for high-Q modes suitable for spectroscopy or laser applications with an important innovation, the ability to attach waveguides to the cavity. The similarities to WGMs are surprising given a theorem by Mather which rules out their existence in the ray picture. High-Q resonances occur within certain wavelength windows and we investigate the peak structure in the spectrum. The periodic orbits in the corresponding billiard system are unstable and exist within the chaotic region of phase space. The fact that such high-Q modes exist based around these orbits implies a form of wave localization. Another geometry is investigated, deformed boundaries of constant width. These are smooth curves similar to Reuleaux polygons. They have no symmetry axis, and in the ray picture have a unidirectional nature. We investigate these in open optical cavities. We find that nearly degenerate modes of opposite rotational direction can be simultaneously present, but have emission at different boundary locations. This suggests a non-reciprocal process achieved through purely geometric means which may allow for the separation of chiral components of light and applications such as optical microdiodes

Un type d’écrit dans un type de livre : la lettre dans l’album pour enfants

Professorat des écolesLa lettre est un type d’écrit. Son étude proposée par les manuels scolaires apparaît comme trop réductrice, non représentative et surtout peu motivante pour les enfants. Aussi, la possibilité d’étudier la lettre par l’intermédiaire d’albums pour enfants semble plus concrète, moins conventionnelle et beaucoup plus attrayante

Characterization of metal trace elements accumulation in three species of the genus Atriplex and at Pseudomonas fluorescens and the study of their repercussions on certain biochemical parameters of these species

La révolution industrielle a accéléré de façon spectaculaire la pollution de l'environnement par des métaux toxiques d’où la nécessité de rechercher des modèles biologiques capables de réhabiliter différents milieux contaminés par les métaux. Et c’est dans ce contexte que se situe notre étude.Nous avons consacré une partie de nos travaux à l’étude comparative de la résistance de trois espèces halophytes Atriplex (A. canescens, A. halimus et A. nummularia) au stress en cadmium (Cd). L’autre partie de nos travaux porte sur la caractérisation morphologique de la bactérie Pseudomonas fluorescens avant et après exposition au cadmium à l’aide de plusieurs techniques d’imagerie (microscopie optique, microscopie à force atomique, et par microscopie électronique à balayage) avec une approche comparative (P. fluorescens et E. coli).Les travaux de la 1ère partie ont conduit à la compréhension des mécanismes de défenses antioxydants intervenant dans la restauration de l’homéostasie des cellules (neutralisation de l’excès d’espèces réactives de l’oxygène). Nous avons montré que les trois espèces d'Atriplex étudiées sont capables d'accumuler des quantités importantes de Cd, phénomène amplifié en présence de sel, ce qui fait de ces plantes hyperaccumulateurs de bonnes candidates dans une stratégie de phytoextraction du Cd.Les résultats de la 2ème partie de cette thèse montrent que, lorsque les conditions de croissance sont optimales, P. fluorescens a une forme allongée présentant des invaginations à sa surface et une structuration membranaire assez caractéristique. Les populations bactériennes de P. fluorescens et E. coli sont ensuite fixés sur un substrat solide fonctionnalisé (PEM ou PLL), et/ou traités au glutaraldéhyde qui permet un meilleur attachement au substrat mais n’est pas sans conséquence sur la morphologie bactérienne. Enfin, l’exposition de P. fluorescens au cadmium (à la dose CMI=1g/L) fait évoluer ses caractéristiques morphologiques (forme, taille, …) mais n’est pas suivie (ou très peu) de lyse cellulaire contrairement à E. coli pour laquelle cette même dose de cadmium s’avère être létale. Ces résultats mettent bien en évidence l’effet toxique du cadmium sur E. coli ainsi que la tolérance de P. fluorescens à ce même xénobiotique.The industrial revolution dramatically accelerated the pollution of the environment by toxic metals, hence the need to search for biological models capable of rehabilitating different environments contaminated by metals. It is in this context that our study takes place.We devoted part of our work to the comparative study of the resistance of three Atriplex halophyte species (A. canescens, A. halimus and A. nummularia) to cadmium stress (Cd). The other part of our work concerns the morphological characterization of the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens before and after exposure to cadmium using several imaging techniques (optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy) with a comparative approach (P. fluorescens and E. coli).The work of the 1st part led to the understanding of antioxidant defense mechanisms involved in the restoration of cell homeostasis (neutralization of excess reactive oxygen species). We have shown that the three species of Atriplex studied are capable of accumulating significant amounts of Cd, a phenomenon amplified in the presence of salt, which makes these hyperaccumulator plants good candidates in a Cd phytoextraction strategy.The results of the 2nd part of this thesis show that, when the growth conditions are optimal, P. fluorescens has an elongated shape with invaginations on its surface and a rather characteristic membrane structure. The bacterial populations of P. fluorescens and E. coli are then fixed on a functionalized solid substrate (PEM or PLL), and/or treated with glutaraldehyde which allows better attachment to the substrate but is not without consequence on the bacterial morphology. Finally, exposure of P. fluorescens to cadmium (at the MIC dose=1g/L) changes its morphological characteristics (shape, size, etc.) but is not followed (or very little) by cell lysis unlike E. coli for which this same dose of cadmium proves to be lethal. These results clearly highlight the toxic effect of cadmium on E. coli as well as the tolerance of P. fluorescens to this same xenobiotic

Chirurgie cardiaque sous circulation extra-corporelle et ses biomarqueurs : rôle du Growth / Différentiation Factor 15 (GDF 15) : études cliniques

Ischemic cardiac diseases are the most frequent and deleterious pathologies leading to important cardiovascular-related mortality worldwide. One of the alternative therapies consists to treat these patients using cardiac surgery. Cardiopulmonary bypass was developed to greatly improve this surgical procedure. However, some adverse effects can occur during cardiac surgery associated with cardiopulmonary bypass due to the inflammatory response. This phenomenon is the result of various mechanisms including oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines which lead to multi-organ failure and then to myocardial and renal injuries occurring during the peri- and post-operative periods.The first part of this work was designed to evaluate in the context of cardiac surgery the kinetics of plasma GDF-15 levels, an oxidative stress and inflammation related cytokine. Our prospective study demonstrated for the first time the kinetic increase in plasma GDF-15 levels which were associated to postoperative cardiac and renal injuries.Currently, operative risk evaluation is based on score calculation including clinical criteria. These risk scores present some limitations. Concerning other cardiac patients out of surgical fields, the risk assessment is defined using clinical parameters and biomarkers evaluation (cardiac troponin, BNP, Nt-proBNP). Thus, we aimed to determine whether pre-operative GDF-15 as plasma biomarker could help to identify patients at high risk of renal injuries. We found that patients with the highest pre-operative plasma GDF-15 levels are at risk for post-operative acute kidney injury.La circulation extracorporelle compte parmi les progrès techniques majeurs associés à la chirurgie cardiaque. Elle constitue aussi l’une des causes de complications principales car responsable d’une réponse inflammatoire généralisée qui résulte de la conjugaison des effets du stress oxydant et des cytokines libérés, contribuerait à la dysfonction multi-organe aboutissant aux complications myocardiques et rénales survenant au cours des périodes per- et postopératoires. La première partie de notre travail avait pour objectif d’explorer l’évolution des taux circulants du GDF-15, cytokine associée au stress oxydant et à l’inflammation, dans ce contexte de chirurgie cardiaque. Notre étude prospective a démontré pour la première fois que cette procédure est accompagnée de l’augmentation du GDF-15 dont les taux plasmatiques sont associés aux lésions postopératoires cardiaques et rénales.L’évaluation du risque opératoire repose sur un ensemble de scores dont le calcul est basé essentiellement sur des caractéristiques cliniques. Ces scores présentent toutefois un certaines limitations. Chez les patients « médicaux » atteints de pathologies cardiovasculaires la stratification du risque est définie en associant des caractéristiques cliniques à l’évaluation des taux circulants de biomarqueurs. L’objectif de cette seconde partie a donc été de mettre en évidence le pouvoir prédictif du GDF-15 en tant que biomarqueur circulant dans la survenue de complications rénales au cours de la chirurgie cardiaque sous CEC. Nous avons mis en évidence que les patients présentant des taux préopératoires élevés de GDF-15 sont à risque de développer une insuffisance rénale aigue postopératoire