Adult rat retinal ganglion cells and glia can be printed by piezoelectric inkjet printing.

We have investigated whether inkjet printing technology can be extended to print cells of the adult rat central nervous system (CNS), retinal ganglion cells (RGC) and glia, and the effects on survival and growth of these cells in culture, which is an important step in the development of tissue grafts for regenerative medicine, and may aid in the cure of blindness. We observed that RGC and glia can be successfully printed using a piezoelectric printer. Whilst inkjet printing reduced the cell population due to sedimentation within the printing system, imaging of the printhead nozzle, which is the area where the cells experience the greatest shear stress and rate, confirmed that there was no evidence of destruction or even significant distortion of the cells during jet ejection and drop formation. Importantly, the viability of the cells was not affected by the printing process. When we cultured the same number of printed and non-printed RGC/glial cells, there was no significant difference in cell survival and RGC neurite outgrowth. In addition, use of a glial substrate significantly increased RGC neurite outgrowth, and this effect was retained when the cells had been printed. In conclusion, printing of RGC and glia using a piezoelectric printhead does not adversely affect viability and survival/growth of the cells in culture. Importantly, printed glial cells retain their growth-promoting properties when used as a substrate, opening new avenues for printed CNS grafts in regenerative medicine

Retinal ganglion cell survival and axon regeneration in WldS transgenic rats after optic nerve crush and lens injury.

BACKGROUND: We have previously shown that the slow Wallerian degeneration mutation, whilst delaying axonal degeneration after optic nerve crush, does not protect retinal ganglion cell (RGC) bodies in adult rats. To test the effects of a combination approach protecting both axons and cell bodies we performed combined optic nerve crush and lens injury, which results in both enhanced RGC survival as well as axon regeneration past the lesion site in wildtype animals. RESULTS: As previously reported we found that the Wld(S) mutation does not protect RGC bodies after optic nerve crush alone. Surprisingly, we found that Wld(S) transgenic rats did not exhibit the enhanced RGC survival response after combined optic nerve crush and lens injury that was observed in wildtype rats. RGC axon regeneration past the optic nerve lesion site was, however, similar in Wld(S) and wildtypes. Furthermore, activation of retinal glia, previously shown to be associated with enhanced RGC survival and axon regeneration after optic nerve crush and lens injury, was unaffected in Wld(S) transgenic rats. CONCLUSIONS: RGC axon regeneration is similar between Wld(S) transgenic and wildtype rats, but Wld(S) transgenic rats do not exhibit enhanced RGC survival after combined optic nerve crush and lens injury suggesting that the neuroprotective effects of lens injury on RGC survival may be limited by the Wld(S) protein.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Retinal glia promote dorsal root ganglion axon regeneration.

Axon regeneration in the adult central nervous system (CNS) is limited by several factors including a lack of neurotrophic support. Recent studies have shown that glia from the adult rat CNS, specifically retinal astrocytes and Müller glia, can promote regeneration of retinal ganglion cell axons. In the present study we investigated whether retinal glia also exert a growth promoting effect outside the visual system. We found that retinal glial conditioned medium significantly enhanced neurite growth and branching of adult rat dorsal root ganglion neurons (DRG) in culture. Furthermore, transplantation of retinal glia significantly enhanced regeneration of DRG axons past the dorsal root entry zone after root crush in adult rats. To identify the factors that mediate the growth promoting effects of retinal glia, mass spectrometric analysis of retinal glial conditioned medium was performed. Apolipoprotein E and secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) were found to be present in high abundance, a finding further confirmed by western blotting. Inhibition of Apolipoprotein E and SPARC significantly reduced the neuritogenic effects of retinal glial conditioned medium on DRG in culture, suggesting that Apolipoprotein E and SPARC are the major mediators of this regenerative response.This work was supported by a van Geest Fight for Sight Early Career Investigator Award, grant number 1868 [BL].This is the final version of the article. It first appeared at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.011599

Impact of Education, Working Conditions, and Interpersonal Relationships on Caregivers’ Job Satisfaction

Aim: To explore relationships between caregivers’ education, healthcare working conditions, interpersonal relationships, and caregivers’ general job satisfaction

Controlled airway pressure therapy, nitric oxide inhalation, prone position, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as components of an integrated approach to ARDS. Anesthesiology

Background: Recent years have seen the introduction of innovative additive therapies for acute respiratory distress syndrome. However, because there are no reliable predictors of response to a particular therapy, potential responders to a specific therapeutic intervention may be lost. Therefore, the authors evaluated the effect of a combined therapeutic approach on the survival of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, when treated according to a strict algorithm. Methods: During a 2.5-yr period, 84 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome were assigned to a standardized treatment protocol. Data analysis was performed by retrospective review of patient charts. Patients were treated using a stepwise treatment algorithm of pressure-controlled ventilation (peak airway pressure < 35 cm H 2 O), positive end-expiratory pres

Fas Signalling Promotes Intercellular Communication in T Cells

Cell-to-cell communication is a fundamental process for development and maintenance of multicellular organisms. Diverse mechanisms for the exchange of molecular information between cells have been documented, such as the exchange of membrane fragments (trogocytosis), formation of tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) and release of microvesicles (MVs). In this study we assign to Fas signalling a pivotal role for intercellular communication in CD4+ T cells. Binding of membrane-bound FasL to Fas expressing target cells triggers a well-characterized pro-apoptotic signalling cascade. However, our results, pairing up flow cytometric studies with confocal microscopy data, highlight a new social dimension for Fas/FasL interactions between CD4+ T cells. Indeed, FasL enhances the formation of cell conjugates (8 fold of increase) in an early time-frame of stimulation (30 min), and this phenomenon appears to be a crucial step to prime intercellular communication. Our findings show that this communication mainly proceeds along a cytosolic material exchange (ratio of exchange >10, calculated as ratio of stimulated cells signal divided by that recorded in control cells) via TNTs and MVs release. In particular, inhibition of TNTs genesis by pharmacological agents (Latruculin A and Nocodazole) markedly reduced this exchange (inhibition percentage: >40% and >50% respectively), suggesting a key role for TNTs in CD4+ T cells communication. Although MVs are present in supernatants from PHA-activated T cells, Fas treatment also leads to a significant increase in the amount of released MVs. In fact, the co-culture performed between MVs and untreated cells highlights a higher presence of MVs in the medium (1.4 fold of increase) and a significant MVs uptake (6 fold of increase) by untreated T lymphocytes. We conclude that Fas signalling induces intercellular communication in CD4+ T cells by different mechanisms that seem to start concomitantly with the main pathway (programmed cell death) promoted by FasL

FUNDING PROBLEMS AT LOCAL LEVEL INVESTMENT

Občina je osnovna lokalna skupnost, ki v okviru zakonodaje samostojno ureja svoje zadeve in izvaja določene zakonske predpise na področjih, ki so ji dodeljena. Občino ureja več zakonov kot so na primer Zakon o lokalni samoupravi, Zakon o financiranju občin, Zakon o izvrševanju proračuna, Zakon o javnih financah ter splošni akt, imenovan Statut, ki ga sprejme vsaka občina. Današnji problem občin je, da se srečujejo s pomanjkanjem sredstev, predvsem za investicije. Po spremembi Zakona o financiranju občin pa država ni več tako radodarna pri dodeljevanju sredstev občinam. Težave pri financiranju občin je prinesla tudi gospodarska kriza, saj država izvaja razne ukrepe, s katerimi občinam le jemlje sredstva. V nalogi smo podrobneje analizirali proračun občine Sveti Jurij v Slov. goricah vse od njene ustanovitve.The municipality is the basic local community under the laws governing their own affairs and carry out certain legal regulations in the areas assigned to it. Municipality governed by several laws such as the Local Government Act, the Law on Financing of Municipalities Act, the implementation of the budget, the Public Finance Act and a general measure, called the Statute, adopted by each municipality. Today\u27s problem is municipalities that are confronted with a lack of funds, primarily for investment. After amending the Law on Financing of Municipalities and the State is not as generous in allocating funds to municipalities. Problems in the financing of municipalities has also brought an economic crisis, the State implemented various measures to be taken only municipal funds. In this work we analyze in detail the budget of St. George in the county workers. hills since its inception

Association between loneliness, well-being, and life satisfaction before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Good psychological well-being contributes to a satisfying life, reduces loneliness, and enables a better quality of life. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people worldwide have faced various challenges, which manifest in mental health problems, dissatisfaction with life and increased loneliness. This study aimed to investigate the influence of loneliness on mental well-being and life satisfaction among the adult population during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2021 and January 2022. A total of 664 participants took part in the survey, of whom 484 (73%) were female and 180 (27%) were male. Our results show that loneliness can explain 48% of the total variability in mental well-being and 52% of the variability in life satisfaction. The results show a higher level of loneliness and use of information and communication technology and a lower level of contact with relatives and friends, life satisfaction, and well-being during COVID-19 than they considered before the time of COVID-19. Study findings can help improve loneliness and mental well-being, and, consequently, life satisfaction