The thalamus as a putative biomarker in neurodegenerative disorders

Objective: This review provides a brief account of the clinically relevant functional neuroanatomy of the thalamus, before considering the utility of various modalities utilised to image the thalamus and technical challenges therein, and going on to provide an overview of studies utilising structural imaging techniques to map thalamic morphology in the spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders. Methods: A systematic search was conducted for peer-reviewed studies involving structural neuroimaging modalities investigating the morphology (shape and/ or size) of the thalamus in the spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders. Results: Whilst the precise role of the thalamus in the healthy brain remains unclear, there is a large body of knowledge accumulating which defines more precisely its functional connectivity within the connectome, and a burgeoning literature implicating its involvement in neurodegenerative disorders. It is proposed that correlation of clinical features with thalamic morphology (as a component of a quantifiable subcortical connectome) will provide a better understanding of neuropsychiatric dysfunction in various neurodegenerative disorders, potentially yielding clinically useful endophenotypes and disease biomarkers. Conclusions: Thalamic biomarkers in the neurodegenerative disorders have great potential to provide clinically meaningful knowledge regarding not only disease onset and progression, but may yield targets of and perhaps a way of gauging response to future disease-modifying modalities

Toxicological screening and DNA sequencing detects contamination and adulteration in regulated herbal medicines and supplements for diet, weight loss and cardiovascular health

Use of herbal medicines and supplements by consumers to prevent or treat disease, particularly chronic conditions continues to grow, leading to increased awareness of the minimal regulation standards in many countries. Fraudulent, adulterated and contaminated herbal and traditional medicines and dietary supplements are a risk to consumer health, with adverse effects and events including overdose, drug-herb interactions and hospitalisation. The scope of the risk has been difficult to determine, prompting calls for new approaches, such as the combination of DNA metabarcoding and mass spectrometry used in this study. Here we show that nearly 50% of products tested had contamination issues, in terms of DNA, chemical composition or both. Two samples were clear cases of pharmaceutical adulteration, including a combination of paracetamol and chlorpheniramine in one product and trace amounts of buclizine, a drug no longer in use in Australia, in another. Other issues include the undeclared presence of stimulants such as caffeine, synephrine or ephedrine. DNA data highlighted potential allergy concerns (nuts, wheat), presence of potential toxins (Neem oil) and animal ingredients (reindeer, frog, shrew), and possible substitution of bird cartilage in place of shark. Only 21% of the tested products were able to have at least one ingredient corroborated by DNA sequencing. This study demonstrates that, despite current monitoring approaches, contaminated and adulterated products are still reaching the consumer. We suggest that a better solution is stronger pre-market evaluation, using techniques such as that outlined in this study

Toxicological screening and DNA sequencing detects contamination and adulteration in regulated herbal medicines and supplements for diet, weight loss and cardiovascular health

Use of herbal medicines and supplements by consumers to prevent or treat disease, particularly chronic conditions continues to grow, leading to increased awareness of the minimal regulation standards in many countries. Fraudulent, adulterated and contaminated herbal and traditional medicines and dietary supplements are a risk to consumer health, with adverse effects and events including overdose, drug-herb interactions and hospitalisation. The scope of the risk has been difficult to determine, prompting calls for new approaches, such as the combination of DNA metabarcoding and mass spectrometry used in this study. Here we show that nearly 50% of products tested had contamination issues, in terms of DNA, chemical composition or both. Two samples were clear cases of pharmaceutical adulteration, including a combination of paracetamol and chlorpheniramine in one product and trace amounts of buclizine, a drug no longer in use in Australia, in another. Other issues include the undeclared presence of stimulants such as caffeine, synephrine or ephedrine. DNA data highlighted potential allergy concerns (nuts, wheat), presence of potential toxins (Neem oil) and animal ingredients (reindeer, frog, shrew), and possible substitution of bird cartilage in place of shark. Only 21% of the tested products were able to have at least one ingredient corroborated by DNA sequencing. This study demonstrates that, despite current monitoring approaches, contaminated and adulterated products are still reaching the consumer. We suggest that a better solution is stronger pre-market evaluation, using techniques such as that outlined in this study

Are wildcard events on infrastructure systems opportunities for transformational change?

Infrastructure systems face a number of pressing challenges relating to demographics, environment, finance and governance pressures. Furthermore, infrastructure mediates the way in which everyday lives are conducted; their form and function creating a persistence of unsustainable practice and behaviour that cannot be changed even if change is desired. There is a need to find means by which this obduracy can be broken so that new, more sustainable futures can be planned. This paper develops a methodology, taking concepts from both engineering and social science. Wild cards, or physical disruptions, are used to ‘destructively test’ complex infrastructure systems and the multi-level perspective is used as a framework for analysing the resulting data. This methodology was used to examine a number of case studies, and with focus groups consisting of a range of different infrastructure providers and managers, to gain a better understanding of systems’ sociotechnical characteristics and behaviours. A number of impactful ‘intervention points’ emerged that offered the opportunity to promote radical changes towards configurations of infrastructure systems that provide for ‘less’ physical infrastructure. This paper also examines the utility of wild cards as enablers of transition to these ‘less’ configurations and demonstrates how a ‘wild card scenario’ can be used to co-design infrastructure adaptation from with both infrastructure providers and users

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Predominant expression of murine Bmx tyrosine kinase in the granulo-monocytic lineage.

International audienceIn the course of systematic cloning of protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) expressed in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, we have identified the murine homologue of human Bmx. It encodes a protein containing the five domains characteristic of the Tec family of cytoplasmic src-related PTKs: pleckstrin homology (PH), Tec homology (TH), src homology 3 and 2 (SH3 and SH2), and tyrosine kinase (TK). In adults, Bmx expression was found primarily in bone marrow and at a lower level in lung and heart. During fetal development it was also found in the spleen at late stage of gestation and in neonates. Analysis of bone marrow subpopulations showed that Bmx was expressed in the progenitor cell population and maturing hematopoietic cells of the granulo/monocytic lineage where expression increased with maturation and differentiation. At the periphery, a high level of Bmx expression was also found in neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages. Bmx expression was not detected in the primitive hematopoietic stem cell population, and cells of the B-, T-, and erythroid-lineages. It was also not detected in most of the cell lines examined. Our results indicate that Bmx is another member of the Btk/Itk/Tec PTK family, which is predominantly expressed in the granulo-monocytic lineage within the hematopoietic system

An improved characterization of horse ( Equus caballus

Abstract Peripheral blood lymphocytes were cultured and treated for early- and late-BrdU incorporation to perform replicating G- and R-banding patterns, respectively. Slides were treated for GBG-, RBA- and RBG-banding techniques. Improved banded karyotypes at early- (350 bands) and pro-metaphase (500 bands) stage were performed and GBG- and RBA-banded prometaphase karyotypes were presented for the first time on this species. All chromosomes, including the small acrocentrics, show clear and distinguishable G- and R-banding patterns. Chromosome identification followed the latest chromosome standard nomenclature (ISCNH 1997). This study is also our contribution to further standard karyotype attempts at the prometaphase stage

Fear of bullying among adult, young and juvenile prisoners: Its association with perpetration, victimisation and behavioural predictors

The current study examines the association between fear of bullying and actual behaviour among male prisoners (n = 234: 84 adult, 86 young and 66 juvenile). It explores if developmental models of aggression can assist with understanding fear and if there is evidence to support an application of the Applied Fear Response model. Participants completed the Direct and Indirect Prisoner Checklist-Scaled Revised and the Threat Appraisal Bullying measure. Fear of bullying did not differ across age. There were no significant relationships between fear and actual victimisation or perpetration for juveniles. Fear was a significant predictor of increased emotional and help-seeking behaviours in juveniles, and inhibited negative behaviours in adults. Fear of bullying was highest among young and juvenile 'bully-victims'. The need to account for fear of victimisation as opposed to focusing solely on victimisation experience is outlined, particularly in relation to younger prisoners (i.e. young adults and juvenile offenders). The value of developmental and environmental models in understanding aggression and victim reactions are discussed