Proceedings of the second "international Traveling Workshop on Interactions between Sparse models and Technology" (iTWIST'14)

The implicit objective of the biennial "international - Traveling Workshop on Interactions between Sparse models and Technology" (iTWIST) is to foster collaboration between international scientific teams by disseminating ideas through both specific oral/poster presentations and free discussions. For its second edition, the iTWIST workshop took place in the medieval and picturesque town of Namur in Belgium, from Wednesday August 27th till Friday August 29th, 2014. The workshop was conveniently located in "The Arsenal" building within walking distance of both hotels and town center. iTWIST'14 has gathered about 70 international participants and has featured 9 invited talks, 10 oral presentations, and 14 posters on the following themes, all related to the theory, application and generalization of the "sparsity paradigm": Sparsity-driven data sensing and processing; Union of low dimensional subspaces; Beyond linear and convex inverse problem; Matrix/manifold/graph sensing/processing; Blind inverse problems and dictionary learning; Sparsity and computational neuroscience; Information theory, geometry and randomness; Complexity/accuracy tradeoffs in numerical methods; Sparsity? What's next?; Sparse machine learning and inference.Comment: 69 pages, 24 extended abstracts, iTWIST'14 website: http://sites.google.com/site/itwist1

Maternal neurofascin-specific autoantibodies bind to structures of the fetal nervous system during pregnancy, but have no long term effect on development in the rat

Neurofascin was recently reported as a target for axopathic autoantibodies in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a response that will exacerbate axonal pathology and disease severity in an animal model of multiple sclerosis. As transplacental transfer of maternal autoantibodies can permanently damage the developing nervous system we investigated whether intrauterine exposure to this neurofascin-specific response had any detrimental effect on white matter tract development. To address this question we intravenously injected pregnant rats with either a pathogenic anti-neurofascin monoclonal antibody or an appropriate isotype control on days 15 and 18 of pregnancy, respectively, to mimic the physiological concentration of maternal antibodies in the circulation of the fetus towards the end of pregnancy. Pups were monitored daily with respect to litter size, birth weight, growth and motor development. Histological studies were performed on E20 embryos and pups sacrificed on days 2, 10, 21, 32 and 45 days post partum. Results: Immunohistochemistry for light and confocal microscopy confirmed passively transferred anti-neurofascin antibody had crossed the placenta to bind to distinct structures in the developing cortex and cerebellum. However, this did not result in any significant differences in litter size, birth weight, or general physical development between litters from control mothers or those treated with the neurofascin-specific antibody. Histological analysis also failed to identify any neuronal or white matter tract abnormalities induced by the neurofascin-specific antibody. Conclusions: We show that transplacental transfer of circulating anti-neurofascin antibodies can occur and targets specific structures in the CNS of the developing fetus. However, this did not result in any pre- or post-natal abnormalities in the offspring of the treated mothers. These results assure that even if anti-neurofascin responses are detected in pregnant women with multiple sclerosis these are unlikely to have a negative effect on their children

Consensus statement immunonutrition and exercise

In this consensus statement on immunonutrition and exercise, a panel of knowledgeable contributors from across the globe provides a consensus of updated science, including the background, the aspects for which a consensus actually exists, the controversies and, when possible, suggested directions for future research

Pathogenic T cell responses against aquaporin 4

Inflammatory lesions in the central nervous system of patients with neuromyelitis optica are characterized by infiltration of T cells and deposition of aquaporin-4-specific antibodies and complement on astrocytes at the glia limitans. Although the contribution of aquaporin-4-specific autoantibodies to the disease process has been recently elucidated, a potential role of aquaporin-4-specific T cells in lesion formation is unresolved. To address this issue, we raised aquaporin-4-specific T cell lines in Lewis rats and characterized their pathogenic potential in the presence and absence of aquaporin-4-specific autoantibodies of neuromyelitis optica patients. We show that aquaporin-4-specific T cells induce brain inflammation with particular targeting of the astrocytic glia limitans and permit the entry of pathogenic anti-aquaporin-4-specific antibodies to induce NMO-like lesions in spinal cord and brain. In addition, transfer of aquaporin-4-specific T cells provoked mild (subclinical) myositis and interstitial nephritis. We further show that the expression of the conformational epitope, recognized by NMO patient-derived aquaporin-4-specific antibodies is induced in kidney cells by the pro-inflammatory cytokine gamma-interferon. Our data provide further support for the view that NMO lesions may be induced by a complex interplay of T cell mediated and humoral immune responses against aquaporin-4

Systematic review: exercise-induced gastrointestinal syndrome - implications for health and intestinal disease

Background: “Exercise-induced gastrointestinal syndrome” refers to disturbances of gastrointestinal integrity and function that are common features of strenuous exercise.Aim: To systematically review the literature to establish the impact of acute exercise on markers of gastrointestinal integrity and function in healthy populations and those with chronic gastrointestinal conditions.Methods: Search literature using five databases (PubMed, EBSCO, Web of Science, SPORTSdiscus, and Ovid Medline) to review publications that focused on the impact of acute exercise on markers of gastrointestinal injury, permeability, endotoxaemia, motility and malabsorption in healthy populations and populations with gastrointestinal diseases/disorders.Results: As exercise intensity and duration increases, there is considerable evidence for increases in indices of intestinal injury, permeability and endotoxaemia, together with impairment of gastric emptying, slowing of small intestinal transit and malabsorption. The addition of heat stress and running mode appears to exacerbate these markers of gastrointestinal disturbance. Exercise stress of ≥2 hours at 60% VO2max appears to be the threshold whereby significant gastrointestinal perturbations manifest, irrespective of fitness status. Gastrointestinal symptoms, referable to upper- and lower-gastrointestinal tract, are common and a limiting factor in prolonged strenuous exercise. While there is evidence for health benefits of moderate exercise in patients with inflammatory bowel disease or functional gastrointestinal disorders, the safety of more strenuous exercise has not been established.Conclusions: Strenuous exercise has a major reversible impact on gastrointestinal integrity and function of healthy populations. The safety and health implications of prolonged strenuous exercise in patients with chronic gastrointestinal diseases/disorders, while hypothetically worrying, has not been elucidated and requires further investigation

Acquired and genetic thrombotic risk factors in the athlete

While athletes are often considered the epitome of health due to their physique and lowered potential for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, they may also be at risk for the onset and development of venous thromboembolism (VTE). In an attempt to achieve and remain competitive, athletes are frequently exposed to numerous athlete-specific risk factors, which may predispose them to VTE through the disruption of factors associated with Virchow's triad (i.e., hypercoagulability, venous stasis, and vessel wall injury). Indeed, hypercoagulability within an athletic population has been well documented to occur due to a combination of multiple factors including exercise, dehydration, and polycythemia. Furthermore, venous stasis within an athletic population may occur as a direct result of prolonged periods of immobilization experienced when undertaking long-distance travels for training and competition, recovery from injury, and overdevelopment of musculature. While all components of Virchow's triad are disrupted, injury to the vessel wall has emerged as the most important factor contributing to thrombosis formation within an athletic population, due to its ability to influence multiple hemostatic mechanisms. Vessel wall injury within an athletic population is often related to repetitive microtrauma to the venous and arterial walls as a direct result of sport-dependent trauma, in addition to high metabolic rates and repetitive blood monitoring. Although disturbances to Virchow's triad may not be detrimental to most individuals, approximately 1 in 1,000 athletes will experience a potentially fatal post-exercise thrombotic incidence. When acquired factors are considered in conjunction with genetic predispositions to hypercoagulability present in some athletes, an overall increased risk for VTE is present

Possible hormone predictors of physical performance in adolescent team sport athletes

The research aim of this study was to determine possible hormone predictors of physical performance in adolescent team sport athletes. Saliva samples were collected immediately before performance testing sessions from 114 state squad athletes (77 males, 37 females) participating in either Australian football, basketball, hockey, or netball. Participants completed tests of aerobic and anaerobic capacity, agility, power, and speed. Samples were collected over 22 months at quarterly, six-monthly, and/or yearly intervals depending on the testing schedule of the athlete. Saliva was analyzed for testosterone (T), cortisol (C), estradiol (E), and progesterone (P) levels. A strong negative correlation existed between multistage fitness test performance and T:E ratio (r = −0.76, p = 0.01) in females not taking oral contraceptives, and a strong positive correlation existed between repeat agility total time and estradiol levels (r = −0.71, p = 0.001) in females taking oral contraceptives. In males, strong negative correlations were evident for individual changes in planned agility time and estradiol levels (r = 0.87, p = 0.02), and countermovement jump (CMJ) height and T:C (r = −0.88, p = 0.01). In females taking oral contraceptives, a strong positive correlation was noted between individual change in yo-yo intermittent recovery test performance and T:E (r = 0.74, p = 0.01) and a strong negative correlation was noted between 20-m speed and T:P (r = 0.73, p = 0.01). In females not taking oral contraceptives, a strong negative correlation was found between individual change in CMJ height and T:P (r = −0.72, p = 0.02). The findings show that in adolescent team sport athletes, the P:E, T:E, and the T:P ratios are important predictors of performance in tests of physical capacity. The findings also indicate that estradiol and progesterone have a predictive function in the physical performance of adolescent male team sport athletes