SRF is required for maintenance of astrocytes in non-reactive state in the mammalian brain

Astrocytes play several critical roles in the normal functioning of the mammalian brain, including ion homeostasis, synapse formation, and synaptic plasticity. Following injury and infection or in the setting of neurodegeneration, astrocytes become hypertrophic and reactive, a process termed astrogliosis. Although acute reactive gliosis is beneficial in limiting further tissue damage, chronic gliosis becomes detrimental for neuronal recovery and regeneration. Several extracellular factors have been identified that generate reactive astrocytes; however, very little is known about the cell-autonomous transcriptional mechanisms that regulate the maintenance of astrocytes in the normal non-reactive state. Here, we show that conditional deletion of the stimulus-dependent transcription factor, serum response factor (SRF) in astrocytes

SRF-deficient astrocytes provide neuroprotection in mouse models of excitotoxicity and neurodegeneration

Reactive astrogliosis is a common pathological hallmark of CNS injury, infection, and neurodegeneration, where reactive astrocytes can be protective or detrimental to normal brain functions. Currently, the mechanisms regulating neuroprotective astrocytes and the extent of neuroprotection are poorly understood. Here, we report that conditional deletion of serum response factor (SRF) in adult astrocytes causes reactive-like hypertrophic astrocytes throughout the mouse brain. Thes

Defining novel functions for cerebrospinal fluid in ALS pathophysiology

Despite the considerable progress made towards understanding ALS pathophysiology, several key features of ALS remain unexplained, from its aetiology to its epidemiological aspects. The glymphatic system, which has recently been recognised as a major clearance pathway for the brain, has received considerable attention in several neurological conditions, particularly Alzheimer's disease. Its significance in ALS has, however, been little addressed. This perspective article therefore aims to assess the possibility of CSF contribution in ALS by considering various lines of evidence, including the abnormal composition of ALS-CSF, its toxicity and the evidence for impaired CSF dynamics in ALS patients. We also describe a potential role for CSF circulation in determining disease spread as well as the importance of CSF dynamics in ALS neurotherapeutics. We propose that a CSF model could potentially offer additional avenues to explore currently unexplained features of ALS, ultimately leading to new treatment options for people with ALS.</p

Comparison of the Amount of Fluoride Release from Nanofilled Resin Modified Glass Ionomer Conventional and Resin Modified Glass Ionomer Cements

Objective: To investigate and compare the amount of fluoride release of conventional, resin modified and nanofilled resin modified glass ionomer cements.Materials and Methods: Tablets of glass-ionomer cements were immersed in deionized water and incubated at 37◦C. After 1, 2, 7, 15 and 30 days, fluoride ion was measured under normal atmospheric conditions by fluoride ion selective electrode. Buffer (TISAB II) was used to decomplex the fluoride ion and to provide a constant background ionic strength and to maintain the pH of water between 5.0 and 5.5 as the fluoride electrode is sensitive to changes in pH. Statistical evaluation was carried out by one way ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) using SPSS 11.0. The significance level was set at p< 0.05.Results: The release of fluoride was highest on day 1 and there was a sudden fall on day 2 in all three groups. Initially fluoride release from conven-tional glass-ionomer cement was highest compared to the other two glass-ionomer cements, but the amount drastically reduced over the period. Although the amount of fluoride release was less than both the resin modified and nanofilled resin modified glass-ionomer cement, the release was sustained consistently for 30 daysConclusion: The cumulative fluoride release of nanofilled resin modified glass ionomer cement was very less compared to the conventional and resin modified glass ionomer cements and Nanofilled resin modified glass ionomer cement released less but steady fluoride as compared to other resin modified glass ionomer cements

Acetabular Implant Alignment

We describe a methodology for evaluating the user interface components of a pre-operative planning system for performing complex 3-D spatial manipulation and reasoning tasks. The design of a pre-operative planning system for the alignment of acetabular implants in total hip replacement (THR) surgery is used as an example. For this application, we have implemented several alternatives to two of the planner &apos;s sub-systems. We report the results of a pilot study which evaluate these alternative components with respect to task and user specific design criteria. Keywords: computer-assisted orthopaedic surgery, pre-operative planning, total hip replacement surgery. Design and Evaluation of 3-D Pre-operative Planning Software: Application to Acetabular Implant Alignment Mike Blackwell 1 , David Simon 2 , Sumitha Rao 1 , Anthony DiGioia 2 December 1996 CMU-TR-RI-96-44 This research was partially supported by a National Challenge grant from the National Science Foundation (award ECS-..

Design and evaluation of 3-d pre-operative planning software: Application to acetabular implant alignment. RI tech report CMU-RI-TR-97-TBD

We describe a methodology for evaluating the user interface components of a pre-operative planning system for performing complex 3-D spatial manipulation and reasoning tasks. The design of a pre-operative planning system for the alignment of acetabular implants in total hip replacement (THR) surgery is used as an example. For this application, we have implemented several alternatives to two of the planner &apos;s sub-systems. We report the results of a pilot study which evaluate these alternative components with respect to task and user specific design criteria. Keywords: computer-assisted orthopaedic surgery, pre-operative planning, total hip replacement surgery. Design and Evaluation of 3-D Pre-operative Planning Software: Application to Acetabular Implant Alignment Mike Blackwell 1 , David Simon 2 , Sumitha Rao 1 , Anthony DiGioia 2 December 1996 CMU-TR-RI-96-44 This research was partially supported by a National Challenge grant from the National Science Foundation (award E..

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Not AvailableThe custard apple fruits packed in low density polyethylene (LDPE) and stored at 12°C had better shelf-life of two weeks. These fruits ripened normally in three days after storage. The fruits packed in LDPE film scored highest sensory characters at all storage intervals when stored at 12°CNot Availabl