Chronic Granulomatous Disease; fundamental stages in our understanding of CGD

It has been 50 years since chronic granulomatous disease was first reported as a disease which fatally affected the ability of children to survive infections. Various milestone discoveries from the insufficient ability of patients' leucocytes to destroy microbial particles to the underlying genetic predispositions through which the disease is inherited have had important consequences. Longterm antibiotic prophylaxis has helped to fight infections associated with chronic granulomatous disease while the steady progress in bone marrow transplantation and the prospect of gene therapy are hailed as long awaited permanent treatment options. This review unearths the important findings by scientists that have led to our current understanding of the disease

The effects of coaches’ emotional expressions on players’ performance: Experimental evidence in a football context

Objectives Across two experiments, we examined the effects of coaches' nonverbal expressions of pride, shame, and happiness on players' emotions and performance. Design Both experiments employed a between (emotional expression manipulation) within (pre- and post-manipulation) subjects design. Method An expert male football coach was scripted to deliver performance feedback randomly displaying a specified emotion to skilled players who had just performed a passing test. In Experiment 1 (n = 28), players' actual coach displayed pride or shame. In Experiment 2 (n = 60), a confederate displayed pride, shame, happiness, or a neutral expression. Players then performed the passing test for a second time. In both experiments, players reported their emotions and perceptions of the coach. Results The results showed that coaches' emotional expressions influenced players' emotions especially when players held a close relationship with the coach. Regardless, coaches' display of pride and happiness benefitted players' performance while the display of shame did not. Conclusion These findings provide the first experimental evidence for the effects of coaches' emotional expressions on players' emotions and performance. These findings have important practical implications and advance the literature on how coaches' emotional expressions may influence players' emotions and performance

Neutrophil elastase and neurovascular injury following focal stroke and reperfusion

Neutrophil elastase (NE) degrades basal lamina and extracellular matrix molecules, and recruits leukocytes during inflammation; however, a basic understanding of the role of NE in stroke pathology is lacking. We measured an increased number of extravascular NE-positive cells, as well as increased levels of tissue elastase protein and activity, following transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAo). Both pharmacologic inhibition of NE with ZN200355 (ZN), and genetic deletion of NE, significantly reduced infarct volume, blood-brain barrier disruption, vasogenic edema, and leukocyte-endothelial adherence 24 h after tMCAo. ZN also reduced infarct volume in MMP9-null mice following tMCAo. There were, however, no reductions in infarct volume or vasogenic edema in NE-null mice in two models of permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion. Our findings confirm the involvement of NE in neurovascular stroke pathology, when reperfusion allows neutrophils access to vulnerable brain, with pharmacologic or genetic inhibition of NE being both neuro- and vasculo-protective in this settin