AAV2-mediated gene transfer of GDNF to the striatum of MPTP monkeys enhances the survival and outgrowth of co-implanted fetal dopamine neurons

Neural transplantation offers the potential of treating Parkinson’s disease by grafting fetal dopamine neurons to depleted regions of the brain. However, clinical studies of neural grafting in Parkinson’s disease have produced only modest improvements. One of the main reasons for this is the low survival rate of transplanted neurons. The inadequate supply of critical neurotrophic factors in the adult brain is likely to be a major cause of early cell death and restricted outgrowth of fetal grafts placed into the mature striatum. Glial derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a potent neurotrophic factor that is crucial to the survival, outgrowth and maintenance of dopamine neurons, and so is a candidate for protecting grafted fetal dopamine neurons in the adult brain. We found that implantation of adeno-associated virus type 2 encoding GDNF (AAV2-GDNF) in the normal monkey caudate nucleus induced over-expression of GDNF that persisted for at least 6 months after injection. In a 6-month within-animal controlled study, AAV2-GDNF enhanced the survival of fetal dopamine neurons by 4-fold, and increased the outgrowth of grafted fetal dopamine neurons by almost 3-fold in the caudate nucleus of MPTP-treated monkeys, compared with control grafts in the other caudate nucleus. Thus, the addition of GDNF gene therapy to neural transplantation may be a useful strategy to improve treatment for Parkinson’s disease

Social gain: is corporate social responsibility enough?

This paper considers whether the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is sufficient for social behavioural change. Two data sources are used to consider whether alcohol is enjoyed responsibly in Australia by informed adults. First, 582 surveys were analysed to consider whether respondents were adequately informed about alcohol. Second, covert observations were used to record what people actually drink to understand whether alcohol is always enjoyed responsibly. Taken together, the results suggest many adults are not adequately informed and many Australian adults do not enjoy alcohol responsibly. A more rigorous social responsibility approach may be warranted. To achieve sustained behavioural change companies need to move towards corporate social performance (CSP). CSP requires CSR interventions to be evaluated to determine their contribution towards real social gains. CSR is not enough to reach the social goals required by society. The concept of CSP takes away the lip service around CSR by requiring companies to document sustained behavioural change

Fatores e procedimentos determinantes da qualidade do projeto de produtos visando a competitividade Factors and procedures to determine quality in product design for competitivity

A influência da qualidade do projeto sobre a competitividade de um produto se exerce em todos os estágios do seu ciclo de vida. Este artigo apresenta uma maneira sistematizada de relacionar a qualidade do projeto do produto e a competitividade das empresas por meio dos fatores influentes nessa relação, procurando salientar sua importância. Os diferentes procedimentos usados para agregar qualidade são abordados de maneira que se possa orientar as empresas na organização de suas equipes de projeto. A fase conceitual do projeto é destacada como o foco dos esforços de qualificação do produto.<br>The influence of the design quality on product competitivity takes place throughout the stages of its life-cycle. This work deals with a systematic approach in order to relate the product design quality to enterprise competitivity by means of the influential factors in that relation, seeking to emphasize its importance. The different ways available to aggregate quality are discussed aiming to orientate the teamwork organization in product design environments. The conceptual phase of the product design is emphasized as the focus of the efforts to qualify the product