Nociceptive neuropeptide increases and periorbital allodynia in a model of traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: This study tests the hypothesis that injury to the somatosensory cortex is associated with periorbital allodynia and increases in nociceptive neuropeptides in the brainstem in a mouse model of controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury. METHODS: Male C57BL/6 mice received either CCI or craniotomy-only followed by weekly periorbital von Frey (mechanical) sensory testing for up to 28 days post-injury. Mice receiving an incision only and naïve mice were included as control groups. Changes in calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP) within the brainstem were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Activation of ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule-1-labeled macrophages/microglia and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive astrocytes were evaluated using immunohistochemistry because of their potential involvement in nociceptor sensitization. RESULTS: Incision-only control mice showed no changes from baseline periorbital von Frey mechanical thresholds. CCI significantly reduced mean periorbital von Frey thresholds (periorbital allodynia) compared with baseline and craniotomy-only at each endpoint, analysis of variance P \u3c .0001. Craniotomy significantly reduced periorbital threshold at 14 days but not 7, 21, or 28 days compared with baseline threshold, P \u3c .01. CCI significantly increased SP immunoreactivity in the brainstem at 7 and 14 days but not 28 days compared with craniotomy-only and controls, P \u3c .001. CGRP levels in brainstem tissues were significantly increased in CCI groups compared with controls (incision-only and naïve mice) or craniotomy-only mice at each endpoint examined, P \u3c .0001. There was a significant correlation between CGRP and periorbital allodynia (P \u3c .0001, r = -0.65) but not for SP (r = 0.20). CCI significantly increased the number of macrophage/microglia in the injured cortex at each endpoint up to 28 days, although cell numbers declined over weeks post-injury, P \u3c .001. GFAP(+) immunoreactivity was significantly increased at 7 but not 14 or 28 days after CCI, P \u3c .001. Craniotomy resulted in transient periorbital allodynia accompanied by transient increases in SP, CGRP, and GFAP immunoreactivity compared with control mice. There was no increase in the number of macrophage/microglia cells compared with controls after craniotomy. CONCLUSION: Injury to the somatosensory cortex results in persistent periorbital allodynia and increases in brainstem nociceptive neuropeptides. Findings suggest that persistent allodynia and increased neuropeptides are maintained by mechanisms other than activation of macrophage/microglia or astrocyte in the injured somatosensory cortex

Is phonophobia associated with cutaneous allodynia in migraine?

ABSTRACT Objective To determine whether phonophobia and dynamic mechanical (brush) allodynia are associated in episodic migraine (EM). Methods Adult patients with EM were prospectively recruited. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain demographic and migraine related data. Phonophobia was tested quantitatively using a real time sound processor and psychoacoustic software. Sound stimuli were pure tones at frequencies of 1000 Hz, 4000 Hz and 8000 Hz, delivered to both ears at increasing intensities, until an aversive level was reached. Allodynia was assessed by brushing the patient’s skin with a gauze pad at different areas. Patients were tested both between and during acute attacks. Sound aversion thresholds (SATs) in allodynic and non-allodynic patients were compared. Results Between attacks, SATs were lower in allodynic compared with non-allodynic patients, with an average difference of 5.7 dB (p¼0.04). During acute attacks, the corresponding average SAT difference (allodynicenon-allodynic) was 15.7 dB (p¼0.0008). There was a significant negative correlation between allodynia scores and SATs, both within and between attacks. Conclusions The results support an association between phonophobia and cutaneous allodynia in migraine

Evidence of Improved Monitoring and Insolvency Resolution after FDICIA

To realign supervisory and market incentives, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (FDICIA) adjusts two principal features of federal banking supervision. First, it requires regulators to examine insured institutions more frequently and makes them accountable for exercising their supervisory powers. Second, the Act empowers regulators to wind up the affairs of troubled institutions before their accounting net worth is exhausted. Using 1984–2003 data on the outcome of individual bank examinations, this paper documents that the frequency of rating transitions and the character of insolvency resolutions have changed substantially under FDICIA. The average interval between bank examinations has dropped for low-rated banks in the post-FDICIA era. Examiner upgrades have become significantly more likely in the post-FDICIA era even after controlling for the state of the economy. However, in recessions managers are slower to correct problems that examiners identify. As a result, during downturns upgrades become less likely and absorptions become more likely. Giving the FDIC authority to wind up troubled banks before their tangible net worth is exhausted has reduced the role of government in the insolvency-resolution process. Consistent with an hypothesis that FDICIA has improved incentives, our data show that a markedly larger percentage of troubled banks now search for a merger partner rather than trying to stay in business until the regulators force them to fail. This greater reliance on quasi-voluntary mergers is observable both within and across various stages of the business cycle. These findings suggest that supervisory interventions became more effective at banks during the post-FDICIA era.

On Pediatric Vaccines and Catholic Social Teaching

Determining whether, and when, to get one\u27s children vaccinated has become an increasingly controversial decision, often leaving parents fearful of making the “wrong” choice. Part of the challenge stems from the fact that what is rationally optimal for an individual is inherently at odds with the best outcome for the community, meaning that if everyone acted out of self-interest with respect to pediatric vaccines, communal health would suffer significantly. Given these tensions, the issue of pediatric vaccines benefits greatly from the nuanced assessment of Catholic social teaching. Specifically, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace\u27s “four permanent principles” of human dignity, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity highlight the issues involved and help parents navigate this significant medical choice with a more informed conscience and a greater sense of their moral responsibilities. The end result is a fruitful alignment between Catholic social teaching and ethics in ordinary life

Antichinismo and the Birth of Modern Mexico

Around the turn of the 20th century, a young man named Wong Fang traveled from Guangdong Province to San Francisco with his uncle. His uncle settled in California, but Wong Fang opted to press on across the southern border to Mexico, eventually taking up root in Pueblo Viejo, Sonora. Upon arrival, Wong Fang became &ldquo;Alfonso Wong Fang,&rdquo; taking a Mexican first name and using his full Chinese name as a surname. Taking a local first name was a common adaptive practice among Chinese migrants to Latin America; as &ldquo;Alfonso,&rdquo; he would begin the process of acculturation, learning Spanish, attending school, and working alongside locals in town.1 Alfonso&rsquo;s uncle had made inroads with the owners of Ching Chong y Compa&ntilde;&iacute;a, a sprawling Chinese-operated retail business in Nogales, a larger city near Pueblo Viejo. Through his uncle&rsquo;s connections, Wong Fang became an associate with the small commerce giant, often traveling to the neighboring state of Sinaloa for business. Later, Wong Fang opened an ice cream and candy shop in Nogales. He would go on to marry one of his employees, a Nogales local named Dolores Campoy Rivera. They named their first child Alfonso Wong Campoy; in traditional Mexican fashion, he took his father&rsquo;s first name, followed by his father&rsquo;s surname, followed by his mother&rsquo;s paternal surname.2 In the subsequent years, the couple had two more children: Mar&iacute;a del Carmen Irma Wong Campoy, born in Hermosillo, Sonora, and H&eacute;ctor Manuel Wong Campoy, born in Culiac&aacute;n, Sinaloa. Wong Fang flourished in Mexico, eagerly adopting the local language and customs, making the transition from laborer to businessman, marrying a Mexican wife, and fathering three children whose names and citizenships testify to his successful assimilation.</p

American Passages: A History of the United States

American Passages places a unique emphasis on time as the defining nature of history, how events lead to other events, actions, changes, and often-unexpected outcomes. Rather than grouping facets of historical change into themes or topics, the authors offer students a complete, compelling narrative with balanced coverage of political, economic, social, cultural, military, religious, and intellectual history.https://scholarship.richmond.edu/bookshelf/1276/thumbnail.jp