MFGE8 does not influence chorio-retinal homeostasis or choroidal neovascularization in vivo

Purpose: Milk fat globule-epidermal growth factor-factor VIII (MFGE8) is necessary for diurnal outer segment phagocytosis and promotes VEGF-dependent neovascularization. The prevalence of two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in MFGE8 was studied in two exsudative or “wet” Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) groups and two corresponding control groups. We studied the effect of MFGE8 deficiency on retinal homeostasis with age and on choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in mice. Methods: The distribution of the SNP (rs4945 and rs1878326) of MFGE8 was analyzed in two groups of patients with “wet” AMD and their age-matched controls from Germany and France. MFGE8-expressing cells were identified in Mfge8+/− mice expressing ß-galactosidase. Aged Mfge8+/− and Mfge8−/− mice were studied by funduscopy, histology, electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy of vascular corrosion casts of the choroid, and after laser-induced CNV. Results: rs1878326 was associated with AMD in the French and German group. The Mfge8 promoter is highly active in photoreceptors but not in retinal pigment epithelium cells. Mfge8−/− mice did not differ from controls in terms of fundus appearance, photoreceptor cell layers, choroidal architecture or laser-induced CNV. In contrast, the Bruch's membrane (BM) was slightly but significantly thicker in Mfge8−/− mice as compared to controls. Conclusions: Despite a reproducible minor increase of rs1878326 in AMD patients and a very modest increase in BM in Mfge8−/− mice, our data suggests that MFGE8 dysfunction does not play a critical role in the pathogenesis of AMD

Representations of sport in the revolutionary socialist press in Britain, 1988–2012

This paper considers how sport presents a dualism to those on the far left of the political spectrum. A long-standing, passionate debate has existed on the contradictory role played by sport, polarised between those who reject it as a bourgeois capitalist plague and those who argue for its reclamation and reformation. A case study is offered of a political party that has consistently used revolutionary Marxism as the basis for its activity and how this party, the largest in Britain, addresses sport in its publications. The study draws on empirical data to illustrate this debate by reporting findings from three socialist publications. When sport did feature it was often in relation to high profile sporting events with a critical tone adopted and typically focused on issues of commodification, exploitation and alienation of athletes and supporters. However, readers’ letters, printed in the same publications, revealed how this interpretation was not universally accepted, thus illustrating the contradictory nature of sport for those on the far left

Immunohistochemical Evaluation of Idiopathic Epiretinal Membranes and In Vitro Studies on the Effect of TGF-beta on Müller Cells

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of type VI collagen and glial cells in idiopathic epiretinal membrane (iERM) and the role of TGF-beta in the expression of collagens and alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) in retinal Muller cells. METHODS. Idiopathic ERM samples from vitrectomy were analyzed for glial acidic fibrillary protein (GFAP), cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein (CRALBP), alpha-SMA, and type VI collagen using flat-mount immunohistochemistry. To study intracellular collagen expression in relation to cellular phenotype, spontaneously immortalized human Muller cells (MIO-M1) were treated with TGF-beta 1 for 48 hours, and the expression of alpha-SMA and intracellular type I, II, IV, and VI collagens was studied by using immunocytology. Findings in Muller cells were compared with those in fetal lung fibroblasts and newborn skin fibroblasts. RESULTS. A colocalization of GFAP/CRALBP and GFAP/alpha-SMA was found in iERM, indicating a dynamic process of activation of retinal Muller cells in vivo. Transforming growth factor-beta 1 induced up-regulation of alpha-SMA stress fibers in retinal Muller cells and both types of fibroblasts in vitro. The intracellular staining intensity of type I, II, and VI collagens was decreased in retinal Muller cells containing alpha-SMA stress fibers, whereas the intracellular staining intensity of type I and VI collagens in both types of fibroblasts was not affected. CONCLUSIONS. Type VI collagen and activated retinal Muller cells are present in iERM. Transforming growth factor-beta 1 induces an up-regulation of alpha-SMA stress fibers in retinal Muller cells and fibroblasts and appears to have a cell-specific effect on intracellular collagen expression

Road users rarely use explicit communication when interacting in today’s traffic: Implications for Automated Vehicles

To be successful, automated vehicles (AVs) need to be able to manoeuvre in mixed traffic in a way that will be accepted by road users, and maximises traffic safety and efficiency. A likely prerequisite for this success is for AVs to be able to communicate effectively with other road users in a complex traffic environment. The current study, conducted as part of the European project interACT, investigates the communication strategies used by drivers and pedestrians while crossing the road at six observed locations, across three European countries. In total, 701 road user interactions were observed and annotated, using an observation protocol developed for this purpose. The observation protocols identified 20 event categories, observed from the approaching vehicles/drivers and pedestrians. These included information about movement, looking behaviour, hand gestures, and signals used, as well as some demographic data. These observations illustrated that explicit communication techniques, such as honking, flashing headlights by drivers, or hand gestures by drivers and pedestrians, rarely occurred. This observation was consistent across sites. In addition, a follow-on questionnaire, administered to a sub-set of the observed pedestrians after crossing the road, found that when contemplating a crossing, pedestrians were more likely to use vehicle-based behaviour, rather than communication cues from the driver. Overall, the findings suggest that vehicle-based movement information such as yielding cues are more likely to be used by pedestrians while crossing the road, compared to explicit communication cues from drivers, although some cultural differences were observed. The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to design of suitable external interfaces and communication of intent by future automated vehicles

Changes in the ornithine cycle following ionising radiation cause a cytotoxic conditioning of the culture medium of H35 hepatoma cells

Cultured H35 hepatoma cells release a cytotoxic factor in response to irradiation with X-rays. When the conditioned medium from irradiated cells is given to nonirradiated cells, growth is inhibited and followed by cell death, possibly apoptosis, Analysis of the conditioned medium reveals a dramatic change in the ornithine (urea) cycle components after the irradiation. A strong decrease in medium arginine is accompanied with parallel increases in ornithine, citrulline and ammonia. The high level of ammonia appears to be largely responsible for the observed cytotoxicity. The development of hyperammonia by irradiated cells and the related toxicity depend on the radiation dose and the number of cells seeded thereafter for the medium conditioning. Development of cytotoxicity by irradiated cells is completely prevented with the arginase inhibitor L-norvaline, in arginine-deficient medium or when citrulline replaces arginine. These preventive measures result in subtoxic ammonia levels

What do we know the experiences and outcomes of anti-racist social work education? An empirical case study evidencing contested engagement and transformative learning

In social work education there have been very few attempts to empirically capture and measure how professional training programmes prepare students to work with ‘race’ equality and cultural diversity issues. This paper interrogates the experiences and outcomes of anti-racist social work education and evaluates the pedagogic relevance and practice utility of teaching social work students about ‘race’, racism and anti-racism. The data presented in this paper suggests that it is possible to discover the situated experiences of learning about anti-racism and measure how this teaching can affect and lead to knowledge, skills and attitudinal change. The triangulated mixed methods evidence presented in this paper combines nomothetic and idiographic approaches with quantitative data for a matched pair sample of 36 social work students and uses non-parametric statistical tests to measure at two time intervals (before and after teaching); knowledge, skills and attitudinal change. The paper explores how anti-racist social work education enables students to move from ‘magical consciousness ’, where racism and racial oppression is invisible and thereby left unchallenged and maintained, to more critical and reflexive level of awareness where it is named, challenged and no longer shrouded in a culture of professional denial and silencing

Photosynthetic growth despite a broken Q-cycle

Central in respiration or photosynthesis, the cytochrome bc1 and b6f complexes are regarded as functionally similar quinol oxidoreductases. They both catalyse a redox loop, the Q-cycle, which couples electron and proton transfer. This loop involves a bifurcated electron transfer step considered as being mechanistically mandatory, making the Q-cycle indispensable for growth. Attempts to falsify this paradigm in the case of cytochrome bc1 have failed. The rapid proteolytic degradation of b6f complexes bearing mutations aimed at hindering the Q-cycle has precluded so far the experimental assessment of this model in the photosynthetic chain. Here we combine mutations in Chlamydomonas that inactivate the redox loop but preserve high accumulation levels of b6f complexes. The oxidoreductase activity of these crippled complexes is sufficient to sustain photosynthetic growth, which demonstrates that the Q-cycle is dispensable for oxygenic photosynthesis