Reflection on the Methodological Aspects of a Critical Ethnographic Approach used to Inform Change for Adolescents with Disabilities

Debate remains about how to effectively obtain information from adolescents with disabilities in marginalized areas and how to apply this knowledge to shape rehabilitation activities. This study explored how to empower adolescents in the urban slums of North India to assume greater control over their rehabilitation within the context of a local community-based rehabilitation program. Participants included 21 adolescents with and 11 adolescents without disability (aged 12 to 18 years), and 10 community-based rehabilitation workers. A critical ethnographic approach was adopted. Fieldwork was conducted from January to May 2005 and October 2006 to March 2007. This paper focuses on the methodological aspects of this study, and how critical ethnography was used to inform positive changes for adolescents with disabilities using their perspectives

An Interdisciplinary Diagnostic Approach to Guide Therapy in C3 Glomerulopathy

Since the re-classification of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis the new disease entity C3 glomerulopathy is diagnosed if C3 deposition is clearly dominant over immunoglobulins in immunohistochemistry or immunofluorescence. Although this new definition is more orientated at the pathophysiology as mediated by activity of the alternative complement pathway C3 glomerulopathy remains a heterogenous group of disorders. Genetic or autoimmune causes are associated in several but not in all patients with this disease. However, prognosis is poorly predictable, and clinicians cannot directly identify patients that might benefit from therapy. Moreover, therapy may range from supportive care alone, unspecific immune suppression, plasma treatment, or plasma exchange to complement inhibition. The current biopsy based diagnostic approaches sometimes combined with complement profiling are not sufficient to guide clinicians neither (i) whether to treat an individual patient, nor (ii) to choose the best therapy. With this perspective, we propose an interdisciplinary diagnostic approach, including detailed analysis of the kidney biopsy for morphological alterations and immunohistochemical staining, for genetic analyses of complement genes, complement activation patterning in plasma, and furthermore for applying novel approaches for convertase typing and complement profiling directly in renal tissue. Such a combined diagnostic approach was used here for a 42-year-old female patient with a novel mutation in the Factor H gene, C3 glomerulopathy and signs of chronic endothelial damage. We present here an approach that might in future help to guide therapy of renal diseases with relevant complement activation, especially since diverse new anti-complement agents are under clinical investigation

The ABC130 barrel module prototyping programme for the ATLAS strip tracker

For the Phase-II Upgrade of the ATLAS Detector, its Inner Detector, consisting of silicon pixel, silicon strip and transition radiation sub-detectors, will be replaced with an all new 100 % silicon tracker, composed of a pixel tracker at inner radii and a strip tracker at outer radii. The future ATLAS strip tracker will include 11,000 silicon sensor modules in the central region (barrel) and 7,000 modules in the forward region (end-caps), which are foreseen to be constructed over a period of 3.5 years. The construction of each module consists of a series of assembly and quality control steps, which were engineered to be identical for all production sites. In order to develop the tooling and procedures for assembly and testing of these modules, two series of major prototyping programs were conducted: an early program using readout chips designed using a 250 nm fabrication process (ABCN-25) and a subsequent program using a follow-up chip set made using 130 nm processing (ABC130 and HCC130 chips). This second generation of readout chips was used for an extensive prototyping program that produced around 100 barrel-type modules and contributed significantly to the development of the final module layout. This paper gives an overview of the components used in ABC130 barrel modules, their assembly procedure and findings resulting from their tests.Comment: 82 pages, 66 figure

Sympathomimetic effects of Scoparia dulcis L and catecholamines isolated from plant extracts

The herb Scoparia dulcis L. is used in Brazilian folk medicine to treat bronchitis, gastric disorders, haemorrhoids, insect bites and skin wounds, and in oriental medicine to treat hypertension. A previous study has shown that extracts of S. dulcis have analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties in this work the sympathomimetic activity of an ethanolic extract of Scoparia dulcis L. has been investigated in rodent preparations in-vivo and in-vitro.Administration of the extract (0.5-2 mg kg(-1), i.v.) to anaesthetized rats produced dose-related hypertension blocked by the alpha-adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin (1 mg kg(-1)). Partition of the extract in chloroform-water yielded an aqueous phase 20 times more potent than the extract; this produced hypertension in either reserpine-treated or pithed rats. in untreated and reserpine-treated rats the same fraction (1-3 x 10(3) mu g mL(-1)) produced concentration-dependent contractions of the vas deferens musculature parallel to those obtained with noradrenaline (10(-8)-10(-4) M). Prazosin (10(-7) M) reduced the maximum contractile effect of the aqueous fraction, and shifted the concentration-response curves for noradrenaline to the right. The aqueous fraction (25 and 50 mu g mL(-1)) increased the inotropism of electrically driven left atria of rats, the effect being blocked by propranolol (0.4 mu g mL(-1)). in preparations of guinea-pig tracheal rings the aqueous fraction (1-3 x 10(3) mu g mL(-1)) relaxed the muscle contraction induced by histamine (10(-4) M) in proportion to the concentration. The effect was antagonized competitively by propranolol (1.5 mu M), High-performance liquid-chromatographic analysis of the aqueous fraction revealed the presence of both noradrenaline and adrenaline in the plant extract.The results indicated that both catecholamines may account for the hypertensive and inotropic effects obtained after parenteral administration of S. dulcis extracts. This sympathomimetic activity is, however, unrelated to the previously reported analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of the plant extract, but may explain its effectiveness upon topical application in the healing of mucosal and skin wounds.UNIV FED SAO PAULO,ESCUELA PAULISTA MED,DEPT PHARMACOL,NAT PROD SECT,BR-04044020 SAO PAULO,BRAZILUNIV FED SAO PAULO,ESCUELA PAULISTA MED,DEPT PHARMACOL,NAT PROD SECT,BR-04044020 SAO PAULO,BRAZILWeb of Scienc

In vivo inhibition of gastric acid secretion by the aqueous extract of Scoparia dulcis L. in rodents

The freeze-dried aqueous extract (AE) from the aerial parts of Scoparia dulcis was tested for its effects on experimental gastric hypersecretion and ulcer in rodents. Administration of AE to animals with 4 h pylorus ligature potently reduced the gastric secretion with ED(50)s of 195 mg/kg (rats) and 306 mg/kg (mice). the AE also inhibited the histamine- or bethanechol-stimulated gastric secretion in pylorus-ligated mice with similar potency suggesting inhibition of the proton pump. Bio-guided purification of the AE yielded a flavonoid-rich fraction (BuF), with a specific activity 4-8 times higher than the AE in the pylorus ligature model. BuF also inhibited the hydrolysis of ATP by H+,K+-ATPase with an IC50 of 500 mu g/ml, indicating that the inhibition of gastric acid secretion of Scoparia dulcis is related to the inhibition of the proton pump. Furthermore, the AE inhibited the establishment of acute gastric lesions induced in rats by indomethacin (ED50 = 313 mg/kg, p.o.) and ethanol (ED50 = 490 mg/kg, p.o.). No influence of the AE on gastrointestinal transit allowed discarding a possible CNS or a cholinergic interaction in the inhibition of gastric secretion by the AE. Collectively, the present data pharmacologically validates the popular use of Scoparia dulcis in gastric disturbances. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Pharmacol, Nat Prod Sect, BR-04044020 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Pharmacol, Nat Prod Sect, BR-04044020 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Analgesic activity of a triterpene isolated from Scoparia dulcis L. (vassourinha)

Analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of water (WE) and ethanolic (EE) extracts of Scoparia dulcis L. were investigated in rats and mice, and compared to the effects induced by Glutinol, a triterpene isolated by purification of EE. Oral adminsitration (p.o.) of either WE or EE (up to 2 g/Kg) did not alter the normal spontaneous activity of mice and rats. The sleeping time induced by sodium pentobarbital (50 mg/Kg, i.p.) was prolonged by 2 fold in mice pretreated with 0.5 g/Kg EE, p.o. Neither extract altered the tail flick response of mice in immersion test, but previous administration of EE (0.5 g/Kg, p.o.) reduced writhings induced by 0.8% acetic acid (0.1 ml/10 g, i.p.) in mice by 47% EE (0.5 and 1 g/Kg, p.o.) inhibited the paw edema induced by carrageenan in rats by respectively 46% and 58% after 2 h, being ineffective on the paw edema induced by dextran. No significant analgesic or anti-edema effects were detected in animals pretreated with WE (1 g/Kg, p.o.). Administration of Glutinol (30 mg/Kg, p.o.) reduced writhing induced by acetic acid in mice by 40% and the carrageenan induced paw edema in rats by 73%. The results indicate that the analgesic activity of S dulcis L. may be explained by explained by an anti-inflammatory activity probably related to the triterpene Glutinol

Changes in markers associated with dendritic cells driving the differentiation of either TH2 cells or regulatory T cells correlate with clinical benefit during allergen immunotherapy

International audienceBackground: Regulatory dendritic cell (DC) markers, such as C1Q, are upregulated in PBMCs of patients with grass pollen allergy exhibiting clinical benefit during allergen immunotherapy (AIT).Objectives: We sought to define markers differentially expressed in human monocyte-derived DCs differentiated toward a proallergic (DCs driving the differentiation of TH2 cells [DC2s]) phenotype and investigate whether changes in such markers in the blood correlate with AIT efficacy.Methods: Transcriptomes and proteomes of monocyte-derived DCs polarized toward DCs driving the differentiation of TH1 cells (DC1s), DC2s, or DCs driving the differentiation of regulatory T cells (DCreg cells) profiles were compared by using genome-wide cDNA microarrays and label-free quantitative proteomics, respectively. Markers differentially regulated in DC2s and DCreg cells were assessed by means of quantitative PCR in PBMCs from 80 patients with grass pollen allergy before and after 2 or 4 months of sublingual AIT in parallel with rhinoconjunctivitis symptom scores.Results: We identified 20 and 26 new genes/proteins overexpressed in DC2s and DCreg cells, respectively. At an individual patient level, DC2-associated markers, such as CD141, GATA3, OX40 ligand, and receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 4 (RIPK4), were downregulated after a 4-month sublingual AIT course concomitantly with an upregulation of DCreg cell-associated markers, including complement C1q subcomponent subunit A (C1QA), FcγRIIIA, ferritin light chain (FTL), and solute carrier organic anion transporter family member 2B1 (SLCO2B1), in the blood of clinical responders as opposed to nonresponders. Changes in such markers were better correlated with clinical benefit than alterations of allergen-specific CD4(+) T-cell or IgG responses.Conclusions: A combination of 5 markers predominantly expressed by blood DCs (ie, C1Q and CD141) or shared with lymphoid cells (ie, FcγRIIIA, GATA3, and RIPK4) reflecting changes in the balance of regulatory/proallergic responses in peripheral blood can be used as early as after 2 months to monitor the early onset of AIT efficacy