Involvement of the Cav3.2 T-type calcium channel in thalamic neuron discharge patterns

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mice that have defects in their low-threshold T-type calcium channel (T-channel) genes show altered pain behaviors. The changes in the ratio of nociceptive neurons and the burst firing property of reticular thalamic (RT) and ventroposterior (VP) neurons in Cav3.2 knockout (KO) mice were studied to test the involvement of thalamic T-channel and burst firing activity in pain function.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Under pentobarbital or urethane anesthesia, the patterns of tonic and burst firings were recorded in functionally characterized RT and VPL neurons of Cav3.2 KO mice. Many RT neurons were nociceptive (64% under pentobarbital anesthesia and 50% under urethane anesthesia). Compared to their wild-type (WT) controls, fewer nociceptive RT neurons were found in Cav3.2 KO mice. Both nociceptive and tactile RT neurons showed fewer bursts in Cav3.2 KO mice. Within a burst, RT neurons of Cav3.2 KO mice had a lower spike frequency and less-prominent accelerando-decelerando change. In contrast, VP neurons of Cav3.2 KO mice showed a higher ratio of bursts and a higher discharge rate within a burst than those of the WT control. In addition, the long-lasting tonic firing episodes in RT neurons of the Cav3.2 KO had less stereotypic regularity than their counterparts in WT mice.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>RT might be important in nociception of the mouse. In addition, we showed an important role of Cav3.2 subtype of T-channel in RT burst firing pattern. The decreased occurrence and slowing of the bursts in RT neurons might cause the increased VP bursts. These changes would be factors contributing to alternation of pain behavior in the Cav3.2 KO mice.</p

Performance indicators for clinical practice management in primary care in Portugal : consensus from a Delphi study

Early OnlineBackground: Performance indicators assessing the quality of medical care and linked to pay for performance may cause disagreement. Portuguese indicators included in recent health care reform are controversial. Objectives: To obtain consensus from opinion leaders in family medicine regarding the performance indicators for practice management used in the evaluation of Family Health Units in Portugal. Methods: Eighty-nine specialists in primary care were invited to answer the following question in an online Delphi study: 'Which performance indicators should be assessed regarding the organization and management of clinical practice in primary care in Portugal?' A Likert scale was used to evaluate validity, reliability, feasibility and sensitivity to change. Twenty-seven experts participated in the second round and achieved a high degree of consensus. Eight categories were created for analysis. Results: The experts suggested the use of existing indicators as well as new indicators. Thirty-nine indicators suggested by the experts are currently in use in Portugal. The assessment of the number of clinical acts performed, the number of administrative acts, and evaluation of the clinical demographic profile achieved a high degree of consensus. The expert panel suggested fifty new indicators. Five categories of these new indicators had a high degree of consensus, and three categories had a low degree of consensus. Conclusion: The expert panel recommended that performance indicators of practice management should first assess the quantity of clinical and administrative activities undertaken. These indicators must take into account the human and financial resources available to the clinic and its demographic context

Association between amebic liver abscess and Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection in Taiwanese subjects

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Purpose</p> <p>Invasive amebiasis is an emerging parasitic disorder in Taiwan, especially in patients diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Thirty-three Taiwanese subjects with amebic liver abscess (ALA) were examined and a possible correlation between ALA and HIV infection was investigated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among ALA patients, the proportion of HIV-positive individuals increased during the study period. ALA was the first major clinical presentation in 54% of HIV patients with ALA. Overall, 58% (14/24) of HIV-infected patients had a CD4+ count > 200 cells/μL and 82.1% (23/28) had no concurrent opportunistic infection or other evidence of HIV infection. There was no marked difference in clinical characteristics between HIV-positive and HIV-negative ALA patients except the level of leukocytosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>While the clinical characteristics described herein cannot be used to determine whether ALA patients have HIV infection, routine HIV testing is recommended in patients with ALA, even in the absence of HIV symptoms.</p

On the renormalization of multiparton webs

We consider the recently developed diagrammatic approach to soft-gluon exponentiation in multiparton scattering amplitudes, where the exponent is written as a sum of webs - closed sets of diagrams whose colour and kinematic parts are entangled via mixing matrices. A complementary approach to exponentiation is based on the multiplicative renormalizability of intersecting Wilson lines, and their subsequent finite anomalous dimension. Relating this framework to that of webs, we derive renormalization constraints expressing all multiple poles of any given web in terms of lower-order webs. We examine these constraints explicitly up to four loops, and find that they are realised through the action of the web mixing matrices in conjunction with the fact that multiple pole terms in each diagram reduce to sums of products of lower-loop integrals. Relevant singularities of multi-eikonal amplitudes up to three loops are calculated in dimensional regularization using an exponential infrared regulator. Finally, we formulate a new conjecture for web mixing matrices, involving a weighted sum over column entries. Our results form an important step in understanding non-Abelian exponentiation in multiparton amplitudes, and pave the way for higher-loop computations of the soft anomalous dimension.Comment: 60 pages, 15 figure

Structural parameters of galaxies in CANDELS

We present global structural parameter measurements of 109,533 unique, H-F160W-selected objects from the CANDELS multi-cycle treasury program. Sersic model fits for these objects are produced with GALFIT in all available near-infrared filters (H-F160W, J(F125W) and, for a subset, Y-F105W). The parameters of the best-fitting Sersic models (total magnitude, half-light radius, Sersic index, axis ratio, and position angle) are made public, along with newly constructed point-spread functions for each field and filter. Random uncertainties in the measured parameters are estimated for each individual object based on a comparison between multiple, independent measurements of the same set of objects. To quantify systematic uncertainties, we create a mosaic with simulated galaxy images with a realistic distribution of input parameters and then process and analyze the mosaic in an identical manner as the real data. We find that accurate and precise measurements-to 10% or better-of all structural parameters can typically be obtained for galaxies with H-F160W < 23, with comparable fidelity for basic size and shape measurements for galaxies to H-F160W similar to 24.5

The unmasking of Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia during reversal of immunosuppression: Case reports and literature review

Background: Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PCP) is an important opportunistic infection among immunosuppressed patients, especially in those infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The clinical presentation of PCP in immunosuppressed patients have been well-reported in the literature. However, the clinical importance of PCP manifesting in the setting of an immunorestitution disease (IRD), defined as an acute symptomatic or paradoxical deterioration of a (presumably) preexisting infection, which is temporally related to the recovery of the immune system and is due to immunopathological damage associated with the reversal of immunosuppressive processes, has received relatively little attention until recently. Case presentation: We aim to better define this unique clinical syndrome by reporting two cases of PCP manifesting acutely with respiratory failure during reversal of immunosuppression in non-HIV infected patients, and reviewed the relevant literature. We searched our databases for PCP cases manifesting in the context of IRD according to our predefined case definition, and reviewed the case notes retrospectively. A comprehensive search was performed using the Medline database of the National Library of Medicine for similar cases reported previously in the English literature in October 2003. A total of 28 non-HIV (excluding our present case) and 13 HIV-positive patients with PCP manifesting as immunorestitution disease (IRD) have been reported previously in the literature. During immunorestitution, a consistent rise in the median CD4 lymphocyte count (28/μL to 125/μL), with a concomitant fall in the median HIV viral load (5.5 log10 copies/ml to 3.1 log10 copies/ml) was observed in HIV-positive patients who developed PCP. A similar upsurge in peripheral lymphocyte count was observed in our patients preceding the development of PCP, as well as in other non-HIV immunosuppressed patients reported in the literature. Conclusions: PCP manifesting as IRD may be more common than is generally appreciated. Serial monitoring of total lymphocyte or CD4 count could serve as a useful adjunct to facilitate the early diagnosis and pre-emptive treatment of this condition in a wide range of immunosuppressed hosts, especially in the presence of new pulmonary symptoms and/or radiographic abnormalities compatible with the diagnosis. © 2004 Wu et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.published_or_final_versio

A randomized clinical trial of auricular point acupressure for chronic low back pain : a feasibility study

Author name used in this publication: Lorna Kwai-Ping Suen2012-2013 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

The effect of spiritual healing on in vitro tumour cell proliferation and viability – an experimental study

Alternative treatments such as spiritual healing and prayer are increasingly popular, especially among patients with life-threatening diseases such as cancer. According to theories of spiritual healing, this intervention is thought to influence living cells and organisms independently of the recipient's conscious awareness of the healer's intention. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that spiritual healing will reduce proliferation and viability of two cancer cell lines in vitro. Three controlled experiments were conducted with three different healers and randomised allocation of cells to five different doses of healing or control. Researchers conducting the assays and statistical analyses were blinded to the experimental conditions. Main outcome measures were MTT viability, 3H-thymidine incorporation and counts of an adherent human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7), and a nonadherent mouse B-lymphoid cell line (HB-94). Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) revealed no significant main or dose-related effects of spiritual healing compared to controls for either of the two cell lines or any of the assays (P-values between 0.09 and 0.96). When comparing healing and control across all three experimental days, doses, assays, and cells, 34 (51.6%) of 66 independent comparisons showed differences in the hypothesised direction (P=0.90). The average effect size across cell lines, days, assays, and doses approached zero (Cohen's d=−0.01). The results do not support previous reports of beneficial effects of spiritual healing on malignant cell growth in vitro. Reported beneficial effects of spiritual healing on the well-being of cancer patients seem more likely to be mediated by psychosocial and psychophysiological effects of the healer–patient relationship