The Extracellular Matrix Complexome from Skeletal Muscle

The various layers of the extracellular matrix, forming the endomysium, perimysium and epimysium of skeletal muscles, provide essential structural and mechanical support to contractile fibres. Crucial aspects of muscle elasticity and fibre contractility are dependent on proper cell–matrix interactions. A complex network of collagen fibres, non-fibrillar collagens, proteoglycans, matricellular proteins, matrix metalloproteinases, adhesion receptors and signalling molecules maintain the physical structure for force transmission within motor units, embed critical cellular structures such as capillaries and motor neurons, and enable essential sarcolemma-matrix adhesion processes and signalling cascades. The systems biological concept of protein complexomes, which assumes the existence of interconnectivities between large protein assemblies, can be readily applied to the proteins within the extracellular space of muscles. Recent proteomic studies confirm that the extracellular matrix complexome has considerable influence on the integrity and cellular functions of skeletal muscle fibres. Adaptations or changes in the organization of the extracellular matrix play a crucial role during fibre regeneration following injury, extensive neuromuscular activity or pathophysiological insults. This chapter outlines the molecular components of the matrisome from skeletal muscles and discusses the extracellular matrix in relation to myogenesis, maturation of motor units, adaptation to changed functional demands and myofibrosis in muscular disorders

Impact of iron on the room temperature luminescence efficiency of oxygen-containing precipitates in silicon

Oxygen precipitation in silicon has been associated with a weak room temperature sub-bandgap luminescence emission at around 1600 nm. We show that the additional presence of iron impurities enhances this emission by an order of magnitude and results in a red shift of the peak luminescence by approximately 45 nm. We not only observe an increase in the luminescence emission with iron contamination level but also with the density and size of the oxide precipitates. Moreover, we provide evidence that the sub-bandgap luminescence emission increases proportionally with the concentration of iron segregated to oxide precipitates after high temperature (>700 °C) annealing and thus allows evaluation of the gettering efficiency of oxygen-containing precipitates. Annealing of iron-contaminated samples at low temperatures (550 °C) results in a considerable reduction in the interstitial iron concentration without changing the sub-bandgap luminescence, indicating that the sink to which iron diffuses depends upon temperature

Patient and practitioners' views on the most important outcomes arising from primary care consultations:a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Primary care clinicians often address multiple patient problems, with a range of possible outcomes. There is currently no patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) which covers this range of outcomes. Consequently, many researchers use PROMs that do not capture the full impact of primary care services. In order to identify what outcomes a PROM for primary care would need to include, we conducted interviews with patients and practitioners. This paper reports these patient and practitioners’ views on the outcomes arising from primary care consultations. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were held with 30 patients and eight clinicians across five sites in Bristol. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. We used a broad definition of health outcome as ‘the impacts of healthcare on health, or a patient’s ability to impact health’ to identify outcomes through this process. RESULTS: 10 outcome groups were identified. These occupied 3 domains: Health Empowerment: These are the internal and external resources which enable patients to improve their health. This involves 1) patients’ understanding of their illnesses, 2) ability to self-care and stay healthy, 3) agreeing and adhering to a patient-clinician shared plan, 4) confidence in seeking healthcare and 5) access to support. Health Status: This involves 6) reduction of symptoms and 7) reducing the impact of symptoms on patients’ lives. Health Perceptions: This involves 8) patients’ satisfaction with their health, 9) health concerns, and 10) confidence in their future health. The structure, organisation and nature of primary care means it can affect all 3 domains. CONCLUSIONS: No existing PROM captures all these outcomes. For example, many health empowerment PROMs do not consider patient preference on empowerment. Many health status tools are not responsive to changes resulting from primary care. Health perceptions PROMs have generally been designed for measuring personality traits rather than outcomes. This study provides a platform for designing a new PROM containing outcomes that matter to patients and can be influenced by primary care. Such a PROM would greatly enhance the value of primary care research. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12875-015-0323-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

It’s a Family Affair: Parental Configuration, Educational Attainment, and Race

This research explores the impact of parental configuration (mother only vs. father only households) on the educational outcomes of Black and Latinx urban youth. More broadly, this thesis interrogates the relative impact of three domains – student level, home environment, and economic capital variables – on the educational attainment of a national sample of 10 students. The data employed in this study were drawn from the Educational Longitudinal Study, which was conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). This study recognizes the intersectionality of parental structure (mother-only/father-only configurations), which serves to maintain the fundamental importance of the Black and Latinx family. It explores the effects of family composition on economic stability. It weighs the influence of cultural and social factors, as well. To utilize an intersectional approach, all analyses were conducted separately for female and male students. Major findings show that student’s gender, 10th grade test scores, and socioeconomic status are major predictors of educational attainment

Impaired Hyperemic Response to Exercise Post Stroke

Individuals with chronic stroke have reduced perfusion of the paretic lower limb at rest; however, the hyperemic response to graded muscle contractions in this patient population has not been examined. This study quantified blood flow to the paretic and non-paretic lower limbs of subjects with chronic stroke after submaximal contractions of the knee extensor muscles and correlated those measures with limb function and activity. Ten subjects with chronic stroke and ten controls had blood flow through the superficial femoral artery quantified with ultrasonography before and immediately after 10 second contractions of the knee extensor muscles at 20, 40, 60, and 80% of the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of the test limb. Blood flow to the paretic and non-paretic limb of stroke subjects was significantly reduced at all load levels compared to control subjects even after normalization to lean muscle mass. Of variables measured, increased blood flow after an 80% MVC was the single best predictor of paretic limb strength, the symmetry of strength between the paretic and non-paretic limbs, coordination of the paretic limb, and physical activity. The impaired hemodynamic response to high intensity contractions was a better predictor of lower limb function than resting perfusion measures. Stroke-dependent weakness and atrophy of the paretic limb do not explain the reduced hyperemic response to muscle contraction alone as the response is similarly reduced in the non-paretic limb when compared to controls. These data may suggest a role for perfusion therapies to optimize rehabilitation post stroke

Online Tea Cafés: Using Caring Science to Transform Digital Learning Spaces and Advance Nursing Leadership

Given the current trend toward online nursing education and the recent changes to teaching and learning modalities as a result of a global pandemic, developing a distance-learning pedagogy for students that seeks to explore the power of compassion in the digital world is both timely and necessary. Drawing on pedagogical strategies used in an online nursing course including asynchronous online discussions called Tea Cafés, the authors showcase how they advanced knowledge and understanding in relation to nursing leadership and professional formation. By underpinning the authors’ distance-learning pedagogy in caring science, students not only thrived, but created a strong sense of community, developed leadership skills, and evolved their understanding of how to leverage nursing knowledge via compassion, reflexivity, and politicization to advocate for historically underrepresented communities. By way of student feedback and performance in relation to course learning outcomes, the authors concluded that a pedagogical strategy grounded in caring science can create a reflexive, compassionate, and politicized digital space for transformative learning for both student and educator alike. Compte tenu du mouvement vers la formation virtuelle en sciences infirmières et des changements récents aux modalités d’enseignement et d’apprentissage en lien avec la pandémie mondiale, il est aussi opportun que nécessaire de créer une pédagogie de formation à distance permettant aux étudiantes d’explorer le pouvoir de la compassion dans le monde numérique. En s’inspirant de stratégies pédagogiques employées dans un cours de sciences infirmières en ligne, dont les discussions asynchrones appelées « Cafés-rencontres (Tea Cafés) », les auteures décrivent comment ils font progresser le savoir et la compréhension en lien avec le leadership et la formation professionnelle en sciences infirmières. En ancrant leur pédagogie de la formation à distance sur la science du caring, les étudiantes ont non seulement réussi, mais elles ont aussi créé un fort esprit de communauté, développé des habiletés de leadership et progressé dans leur compréhension des stratégies permettant de mobiliser leurs connaissances pour défendre les communautés historiquement sous-représentées, soit à force de compassion, de réflexion et de sens politique. Selon la rétroaction et la performance des étudiantes au regard des objectifs du cours, les auteurs ont conclu qu’une stratégie pédagogique fondée sur la science du caring peut engendrer un espace numérique réflexif, compatissant et politisé d’apprentissage transformationnel tant pour les étudiantes que les enseignantes