A systematic review of the effect of early onset cognitive rehabilitation on acquired brain injury patients from a neural perspective.

Cognitive impairments are a frequent consequence of acquired brain injury (ABI) and highly interfere with daily life functioning and quality of life. Therefore, these cognitive impairments are currently being addressed by compensatory approaches within neuropsychological rehabilitation. However, restoring the cognitive function would be preferred for patients and their surroundings. Several studies support this restorative approach, since they found that a period of increased neural plasticity is seen in the first three months after ABI. Neuropsychological rehabilitation starting within this period could maximize neural plasticity and therefore functional improvement. To examine this hypothesis and to provide guidelines for clinical practice and future research, a systematic review of randomized controlled trials on early onset cognitive rehabilitation programmes for ABI patients has been executed. A total of thirty studies were included from January 1970 till August 2010 studying 1988 patients. Thirty-seven per cent was found to be effective in restoring (partly) multiple domains of cognitive functioning, especially visuospatial functioning and awareness. The influence of intervention onset on cognitive functioning was evaluated by comparing the effectiveness of early onset rehabilitation programmes and late onset rehabilitation programmes. A new theoretical model, the Interplay Model, and guidelines for a more restorative approach in clinical practice and future research are discussed.

Exploring the fear-avoidance model after brain injury

After brain injury people often suffer from various symptoms that impact daily functioning. Specifically for mild traumatic brain injury, these symptoms are known as persistent post-concussion symptoms (PCS). It is still unknown why the extent, duration and impact of these symptoms vary highly across individuals. We showed that a combination of biological (e.g. injury severity), personal (e.g., age), and psychosocial (e.g., anxiety) variables, also known as a biopsychosocial approach, improves our understanding of prolonged recovery after brain injury. Moreover, we showed for the first time that the PCS-related fear-avoidance model, which emphasizes the role of anxiety and thoughts about symptoms, further improves our understanding of PCS-related disability. This model states we should not avoid the mental challenges PCS pose, but confront these challenges by thinking beyond diagnosis: ask about thoughts about symptoms and take these into account when helping patients with brain injury struggling with life’s curveballs

Voltammetric Study of Tin Electrodeposition on Polycrystalline Gold from Sulfuric and Methanesulfonic Acid

In this work, we have studied tin electrodeposition on polycrystalline gold electrodes from two different supporting electrolytes: sulfuric acid (SA) and methanesulfonic acid (MSA), both of them commonly used in the industry. This work aims to understand the effect of the different electrolyte anions on the deposition process. We show at least three different tin deposition mechanisms on gold: irreversible adsorption, underpotential deposition, and overpotential (bulk) deposition. Underpotential deposition leads to the formation of a layer of tin in SA and MSA with a coverage around θSn(H2SO4)=0.45θSn(H2SO4)=0.45 ML (monolayer) and θSn(CH3SO3H)=0.42θSn(CH3SO3H)=0.42 ML, respectively. The UPD Sn layer is however somewhat uncharacteristic as it is associated with island formation and surface alloying. Cyclic voltammograms in an extended potential range showed five distinct peaks: two cathodic peaks associated with tin underpotential and overpotential deposition, and three main anodic peaks, corresponding to the oxidation of the bulk Sn, of the AuSn intermetallic layer, and of the adsorbed Sn(II) to Sn(IV). Both voltammetric and rotating disk electrode measurements show that the kinetics of tin electrodeposition in MSA is slower than in SA, which we ascribe to Sn-MSA complex formation in solution. Slow Sn deposition in MSA promotes AuSn formation, in contrast to SA in which bulk tin deposition is more prominent. Complete Levich-type mass transport control of tin deposition in SA and MSA was only reached at low scan rate due to concurrent HER on the uncovered gold surface during the deposition process at higher scan rates. An unexpected surface-confined passivation process is observed in both electrolytes.Catalysis and Surface Chemistr

MiR-378a-3p Is Critical for Burkitt Lymphoma Cell Growth

Simple Summary MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNAs that regulate expression of specific target genes. We observed elevated levels of miR-378a-3p in Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and studied its role in the pathogenesis of BL. Inhibition of miR-378a-3p reduced growth of BL cells, confirming its significance in BL. Identification of BL specific target genes of miR-378a-3p revealed four candidates. For two of them, MNT and IRAK4, miR-378a-dependent regulation was confirmed at the protein level. Overexpression of MNT and IRAK4 in BL cell lines resulted in a similar effect as observed upon miR-378a-3p inhibition, suggesting their involvement in the growth regulatory role of miR-378a-3p. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNA molecules with important gene regulatory roles in normal and pathophysiological cellular processes. Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is an MYC-driven lymphoma of germinal center B (GC-B) cell origin. To gain further knowledge on the role of miRNAs in the pathogenesis of BL, we performed small RNA sequencing in BL cell lines and normal GC-B cells. This revealed 26 miRNAs with significantly different expression levels. For five miRNAs, the differential expression pattern was confirmed in primary BL tissues compared to GC-B cells. MiR-378a-3p was upregulated in BL, and its inhibition reduced the growth of multiple BL cell lines. RNA immunoprecipitation of Argonaute 2 followed by microarray analysis (Ago2-RIP-Chip) upon inhibition and ectopic overexpression of miR-378a-3p revealed 63 and 20 putative miR-378a-3p targets, respectively. Effective targeting by miR-378a-3p was confirmed by luciferase reporter assays for MAX Network Transcriptional Repressor (MNT), Forkhead Box P1 (FOXP1), Interleukin 1 Receptor Associated Kinase 4 (IRAK4), and lncRNA Just Proximal To XIST (JPX), and by Western blot for IRAK4 and MNT. Overexpression of IRAK4 and MNT phenocopied the effect of miR-378a-3p inhibition. In summary, we identified miR-378a-3p as a miRNA with an oncogenic role in BL and identified IRAK4 and MNT as miR-378a-3p target genes that are involved in its growth regulatory role

The corrosion of chromium based coatings for packaging steel

Chromium/chromium oxide based coatings, cathodically electrodeposited from either Cr (VI) or Cr (III) containing electrolytes are compared with respect to their ability to resist the corrosion driven delamination of an adherent polymer overcoat. Cathodic disbondment rates are determined using an in-situ scanning Kelvin probe technique. Anodic disbondment (filiform corrosion, FFC) rates are determined optically. The Cr (VI) derived coatings were fully resistant to corrosion driven disbondment. The Cr (III) derived coatings exhibited measurable rates of both FFC and cathodic disbondment. Disbondment kinetics are explained in relation to coating morphology, porosity and chemical composition determined using a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and xray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)

Psychological factors after stroke:Are they stable over time?

Objective: Psychological factors influence stroke outcomes, such as participation and quality of life. Although important for clinical practice, not much is known about the temporal stability of these factors. This study explored whether psychological factors are stable post-stroke. Methods: Prospective longitudinal cohort study. The following psychological factors were assessed using self-report questionnaires at 2 months and at 2 years post-stroke: proactive coping, self-efficacy, extraversion, optimism, passive coping, neuroticism and pessimism. Changes over time, associations and dimensions among psychological factors were considered. Results: Data for 324 participants were available. Only passive coping scores showed no change between 2 months and 2 years post-stroke. Participants showed less proactive coping, lower self-efficacy, less extraversion, less optimism, more neuroticism and more pessimism over time. All but one inter-correlation of psychological factors, r = [–0.14; 0.71], and all correlations over time, r = [0.42–0.64], were significant. At both time-points, the psychological factors clustered into an “adaptive psychological factor” (proactive coping, self-efficacy, extraversion) and a “maladaptive psychological factor” (passive coping, neuroticism). Conclusion: Across all psychological factors, changes toward less favourable scores were found. Clinicians should pay attention to adaptive and maladaptive psychological factors among stroke patients during long-term care

Local Enhancement Promotes Cockroach Feeding Aggregations

Communication and learning from each other are part of the success of animal societies. Social insects invest considerable effort into signalling to their nestmates the locations of the most profitable resources in their environment. Growing evidence also indicates that insects glean such information through cues inadvertently provided by their conspecifics. Here, we investigate social information use in the foraging decisions by gregarious cockroaches (Blattella germanica L.). Individual cockroaches given a simultaneous choice in a Y-olfactometer between the odour of feeding conspecifics and the mixed odour of food plus non-feeding conspecifics showed a preference for the arm scented with the odour of feeding conspecifics. Social information (the presence of feeding conspecifics) was produced by cockroaches of all age classes and perceived at short distance in the olfactometer arms, suggesting the use of inadvertently provided cues rather than signals. We discuss the nature of these cues and the role of local enhancement (the selection of a location based on cues associated with the presence of conspecifics) in the formation of feeding aggregations in B. germanica. Similar cue-mediated recruitments could underpin a wide range of collective behaviours in group-living insects

Inter-layer Adhesion Performance of Steel Packaging Materials for Food Cans Under Retort Conditions

The steel packaging industry faces the dual challenge imposed by legislation to eradicate the use of Chrome(VI) from sub- strate manufacture and the removal of Bisphenol-A (BPA) from the organic lacquer at the point of food contact. The paper reports on an experimental investigation into the quality of adhesion between the coatings and substrates as a result of the retort process, typically the harshest conditions to which the materials will be exposed. In terms of adhesion, the novel Chrome(III) substrates show promise when compared with current Chrome(VI) substrate. There is a significant reduction in the adhesion of the polyester-based Bisphenol-A non-intent lacquers compared to the incumbent epoxy-phenolic lacquers. Adhesion performance is lower with an increase in retort temperature and time of exposure. The adhesion further reduces in mild acidic and saline conditions. The reduction in adhesion post-retort is attributed to the sensitivity of the polyester-based BPANI lacquers to water vapour absorption. The process reversible nature of the adhesion loss indicates that, at short time- scales, the adhesion loss is a result of polyester hydrolysis. Acidic and saline solutions also lead to a reduction in adhesion as a result of metal surface corrosion. The paper has impact on producers, fillers and consumers of steel packaging foodstuff