Vascular smooth muscle contractility assays for inflammatory and immunological mediators

The blood vessels are one of the important target tissues for the mediators of inflammation and allergy; further cytokines affect them in a number of ways. We review the use of the isolated blood vessel mounted in organ baths as an important source of pharmacological information. While its use in the bioassay of vasoactive substances tends to be replaced with modern analytical techniques, contractility assays are effective to evaluate novel synthetic drugs, generating robust potency and selectivity data about agonists, partial agonists and competitive or insurmountable antagonists. For instance, the human umbilical vein has been used extensively to characterize ligands of the bradykinin B2 receptors. Isolated vascular segments are live tissues that are intensely reactive, notably with the regulated expression of gene products relevant for inflammation (e.g., the kinin B1 receptor and inducible nitric oxide synthase). Further, isolated vessels can be adapted as assays of unconventional proteins (cytokines such as interleukin-1, proteases of physiopathological importance, complement-derived anaphylatoxins and recombinant hemoglobin) and to the gene knockout technology. The well known cross-talks between different cell types, e.g., endothelium-muscle and nerve terminal-muscle, can be extended (smooth muscle cell interaction with resident or infiltrating leukocytes and tumor cells). Drug metabolism and distribution problems can be modeled in a useful manner using the organ bath technology, which, for all these reasons, opens a window on an intermediate level of complexity relative to cellular and molecular pharmacology on one hand, and in vivo studies on the other

Awareness Tool for Safe and Responsible Driving (OSCAR) : A Potential Educational Intervention for Increasing Interest, Openness and Knowledge About the Abilities Required and Compensatory Strategies Among Older Drivers

Abstract : Objective: This pilot study aimed to verify the impact of the awareness tool for safe and responsible driving (OSCAR) on older adults’ (1) interest, openness, and knowledge about the abilities and compensatory strategies required for safe driving; (2) awareness of changes that have occurred in their own driving abilities; and (3) actual utilization of compensatory strategies. Methods: A preexperimental design, including a pretest (T0) and posttest (T1) 8 to 10 weeks after exposure to the intervention, was used with 48 drivers aged between 67 and 84. The participants had a valid driving license and drove at least once a week. Results: Overall, the results demonstrate that OSCAR increased interest, openness, and knowledge about the abilities and compensatory strategies of older drivers (P < .01). After exposure to OSCAR, the majority of the participants confirmed that changes had occurred in at least one of their abilities. Moreover, half of the older drivers reported having started using 6 or more compensatory strategies. Conclusion: In summary, in addition to increasing older adults’ interest, openness, and knowledge to discussion about driving, OSCAR also improved awareness of the changes that could negatively impact safe driving and enhanced utilization of compensatory strategies. While promoting safe driving and the prevention of crashes and injuries, this intervention could ultimately help older adults maintain or increase their transportation mobility. More studies are needed to further evaluate OSCAR and identify ways to improve its effectiveness

Specific impairment in written number name to arabic transcoding : a case study

Within McCloskey's cognitive model of numerical processing, all the transcoding and calculation operations are performed via a unique semantic route. This model has been challenged through several case studies showing for example impaired number transcoding with preserved calculation skills. We present a brain-damaged patient (RR) who showed a specific impairment in a written number name to arabic transcoding task. Other number processing skills, including numeral recognition, numeral comprehension, and calculation, were unimpaired. McCIoskey’s model cannot account for RR’s performance and it is suggested that the number processing system should include semantic and nonsemantic pathways

La douleur chez les personnes ayant des déficits cognitifs : Un double isolement

La douleur ressentie par une personne est une expérience subjective. Le personnel soignant qui s’occupe des personnes souffrantes doit mettre en branle un processus d’inférence puisqu’il existe peu de moyens fiables pour évaluer l’intensité réelle de la douleur. Une douleur mal exprimée engendre une mauvaise évaluation de cette douleur et risque alors d’être mal soulagée. Cette situation est fort susceptible de se produire dans les cas de démence ou dans les cas de déficience intellectuelle, puisque ces personnes ne peuvent exprimer clairement leur douleur. Il faut alors recourir à des outils particuliers pour l’évaluer, sinon l’isolement, que leur confèrent déjà leurs déficits cognitifs, s’accentue, car les comportements difficiles qu’engendre la douleur éloignent d’elles leur entourage.Experiencing pain is a highly subjective feeling. Individuals who attend to persons in pain must often rely on inferences about that pain, since few measures are available to evaluate its real intensity. If pain is not clearly described, it will be incorrectly assessed and, consequently, poorly relieved. This problem is especially likely to arrive in patients with dementia or in patients with mental retardation who have difficulties in expressing clearly their feelings of pain. Special measures should be used to assess pain in these patients, or else their sense of isolation, already present because of their cognitive deficits, might grow deeper since behaviors associated with pain put a barrier between them and their surroundings

Code-dependent pathways for number transcoding : evidence from a case of selective impairment in written verbal numeral to arabic transcoding

This article presents a brain-damaged patient (RR) suffering from cognitive deficits following neurological insults, who showed a selective impairment in number transcoding. Except for written verbal numeral to arabic transcoding, his ability to transcode numerals, including writing arabic numerals to dictation, is largely preserved. Other number processing skills, including numeral recognition, numeral comprehension, and calculation, were unimpaired. Semantic and asemantic models of number processing cannot easily account for the patient's performance and it is suggested that the number transcoding system should include different code-dependent pathways for arabic transcoding from spoken verbal numerals and from written verbal numerals. Since the errors produced in the impaired transcoding rely upon the syntactical structure of numeral stimuli, it is also proposed that transcoding code-dependent pathways should reflect the structure of the verbal numeral system, especially the difference between sum and product relationships

From “cinquante-six” to “5quante-six”: the origin of intrusion errors in a patient with probable Alzheimer disease

This paper presents a detailed single-case study of a patient (BT) with dementia of the Alzheimer's type who showed impairments in number processing. Numeral comprehension and calculation abilities were largely preserved but the patient encountered substantial difficulties in transcoding tasks. In addition to syntactic errors, she produced numerous perseverations and intrusion errors, especially when she had to transcode arabic numerals into written verbal numerals and vice versa. In the present study, we show that these errors are concomitant with but not dependent on the syntactic deficit. We also demonstrate that their production is not exclusive to the numerical domain but clearly depend on the attentional processing load as well as on the familiarity of the transcoding task. To account for these data, we suggest that perseverations and intrusion errors are attentional in nature and originate from a unique impairment in selective attention capacities

Outil de sensibilisation des conducteurs âgés aux capacités requises pour une conduite automobile sécuritaire et responsable (OSCAR) : développement et validation

International audienceThe objective of the study was to develop and validate an intervention tool to sensitize older drivers to safe driving. A scoping study was first conducted to develop an awareness tool for safe and responsible automobile driving (OSCAR). The tool includes a series of 15 questions and 15 educational capsules on aging and driving. A pre‐experimental design, including a pre‐test and post‐test conducted eight to ten weeks after exposure to the intervention, was used with 48 drivers aged between 67 and 84 who drove at least once a week. Overall, the results demonstrate that OSCAR increased the older drivers’ interest, openness and knowledge about the abilities required and compensatory strategies for driving (p < 0.01). After exposure to OSCAR, the majority of the participants confirmed that changes occurred in at least one of their abilities. Moreover, half of the older drivers started using more than five compensatory strategies. In summary, in addition to increasing older adults’ interest, openness and knowledge to discussion about driving, OSCAR also improved awareness of the changes that could negatively impact safe driving and enhanced utilization of compensatory strategies. While promoting safe driving and the prevention of crashes and injuries, this intervention could ultimately help older adults maintain or increase their transportation mobility. More studies are needed to further evaluate OSCAR and improve its effectiveness.L’objectif de cette étude était de développer et de valider un outil d’intervention pour sensibiliser les conducteurs âgés aux capacités requises et aux stratégies compensatoires pour une conduite automobile sécuritaire. Une recension élargie des écrits a d’abord été réalisée pour développer l’Outil de Sensibilisation des conducteurs âgés aux capacités requises et aux stratégies compensatoires pour une conduite automobile sécuritaire et responsable (OSCAR). L’outil comprend une série de 15 questions et 15 capsules éducatives en lien avec le vieillissement et la conduite automobile. Un dispositif expérimental incluant un pré‐test et un post‐test huit à dix semaines après l’intervention a ensuite été utilisé auprès de 48 personnes âgées entre 67 et 84 ans qui conduisaient au moins une fois par semaine. À la suite de la passation de l’OSCAR, les résultats démontrent que l’intérêt, l’ouverture et les connaissances des aînés sur les capacités requises et les stratégies compensatoires ont augmenté de façon significative (p < 0,01). La majorité des participants ont confirmé que des changements se sont produits dans au moins une de leurs capacités. En outre, toujours à la suite de l’OSCAR, la moitié des conducteurs âgés ont commencé à utiliser plus de cinq stratégies compensatoires. Tout en faisant la promotion d’une conduite automobile sécuritaire, cette intervention pourrait aider les personnes âgées à maintenir ou à accroitre leur mobilité lors des déplacements. D’autres études sont nécessaires pour évaluer l’efficacité et l’implantation de l’OSCAR

Réparation de poésie : 15e livre des artistes d'art postal : ...Où les grands esprits se rassemblent = Réparation de poésie : 15e livre des artistes d'art postal : ...Dove I spiriti grandi sincontranno = Réparation de poésie : 15e livre des artistes d'art postal : Where Great Spirits Gather

The 15th edition of this Quebec collective’s annual publication comprises Mail Art projects by 46 artists from six countries. The works, some of which include short poetic texts, employ drawing, collage, silkscreening, photocopying, painting, digital imagery, objects, postcards or recycled materials. Themes addressed include: the passage of time, sexuality, solidarity, reprography, agriculture and aesthetic taste. Texts primarily in French or English