Rat strain differences in brain structure and neurochemistry in response to binge alcohol

RATIONALE: Ventricular enlargement is a robust phenotype of the chronically dependent alcoholic human brain, yet the mechanism of ventriculomegaly is unestablished. Heterogeneous stock Wistar rats administered binge EtOH (3 g/kg intragastrically every 8 h for 4 days to average blood alcohol levels (BALs) of 250 mg/dL) demonstrate profound but reversible ventricular enlargement and changes in brain metabolites (e.g., N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and choline-containing compounds (Cho)). OBJECTIVES: Here, alcohol-preferring (P) and alcohol-nonpreferring (NP) rats systematically bred from heterogeneous stock Wistar rats for differential alcohol drinking behavior were compared with Wistar rats to determine whether genetic divergence and consequent morphological and neurochemical variation affect the brain's response to binge EtOH treatment. METHODS: The three rat lines were dosed equivalently and approached similar BALs. Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy evaluated the effects of binge EtOH on brain. RESULTS: As observed in Wistar rats, P and NP rats showed decreases in NAA. Neither P nor NP rats, however, responded to EtOH intoxication with ventricular expansion or increases in Cho levels as previously noted in Wistar rats. Increases in ventricular volume correlated with increases in Cho in Wistar rats. CONCLUSIONS: The latter finding suggests that ventricular volume expansion is related to adaptive changes in brain cell membranes in response to binge EtOH. That P and NP rats responded differently to EtOH argues for intrinsic differences in their brain cell membrane composition. Further, differential metabolite responses to EtOH administration by rat strain implicate selective genetic variation as underlying heterogeneous effects of chronic alcoholism in the human condition

Model Order Reduction for Rotating Electrical Machines

The simulation of electric rotating machines is both computationally expensive and memory intensive. To overcome these costs, model order reduction techniques can be applied. The focus of this contribution is especially on machines that contain non-symmetric components. These are usually introduced during the mass production process and are modeled by small perturbations in the geometry (e.g., eccentricity) or the material parameters. While model order reduction for symmetric machines is clear and does not need special treatment, the non-symmetric setting adds additional challenges. An adaptive strategy based on proper orthogonal decomposition is developed to overcome these difficulties. Equipped with an a posteriori error estimator the obtained solution is certified. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method

Movement Interventions for Children with Autism and Developmental Disabilities: An Evidence-Based Practice Project

This review explored the following question: Are the comprehensive treatment models Makoto Therapy, Brain Gym, and Interactive Metronome effective interventions for improving occupational performance including improving executive function, academic performance, and physical coordination in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)? Because current research on Interactive Metronome, Brain Gym®, and Makoto Therapy fails to address children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, presents multiple flaws in research design, and does not measure occupational outcomes such as occupational performance, we recommend that these interventions should not be used as comprehensive treatment models in occupational therapy. We recommend that more occupational-based, methodologically-sound research involving youth with ASD be conducted before implementing these interventions in occupational therapy practice

Parenting the Premature Infant: Potential Iatrogenesis from the Neonatal Intensive Care Experience

(1) Developmental outcomes of premature infants are associated with the quality of the home environment and the level of parenting skills the family possesses. Successful development of the parenting role may be negatively influenced by the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) environment and nursing practices. Identification of interventions that promote the development of parenting skills in the NICU can potentially improve developmental outcomes for premature infants.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73814/1/j.1524-475X.1996.00046.x.pd

User Evaluation of Neonatology Ward Design: An Application of Focus Group and Semantic Differential

[EN] Objective: The object of this article is to identify the set of affective and emotional factors behind users assessments of a space in a neonatology unit and to propose design guidelines based on these. Background: The importance of the neonatology service and the variety of users place great demands on the space at all levels. Despite the repercussions, the emotional aspects of the environment have received less attention. Methods: To avoid incurring limitations in the user mental scheme, this study uses two complementary methodologies: focus group and semantic differential. The (qualitative) focus group methodology provides exploratory information and concepts. The (quantitative) semantic differential methodology then uses these concepts to extract the conceptual structures that users employ in their assessment of the space. Of the total 175 subjects, 31 took part in focus groups and 144 in semantic differential. Results: Five independent concepts were identified: privacy, functionality and professional nature, spaciousness, lighting, and cleanliness. In relation to the importance of the overall positive assessment of the space, the perception of privacy and sensations of dominance and pleasure are fundamental. Six relevant design aspects were also identified: provide spacious surroundings, facilitate sufficient separation between the different posts or cots, use different colors from those usually found in health-care centers, as some aversion was found to white and especially green, design areas with childhood themes, use warm artificial light, and choose user-friendly equipment. Conclusions: Results provide design recommendations of interest and show the possibilities offered by combining both systems to analyze user response.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain (Project TIN2013-45736-R).Higuera-Trujillo, JL.; Montañana I Aviñó, A.; Llinares Millán, MDC. (2017). User Evaluation of Neonatology Ward Design: An Application of Focus Group and Semantic Differential. HERD Health Environments Research & Design Journal. 10(2):23-48. https://doi.org/10.1177/1937586716641275S234810

Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor is associated with kidney disease and its progression in sickle cell anemia

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Mnemonic function in small vessel disease and associations with white matter tract microstructure.

Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is associated with deficits in working memory, with a relative sparing of long-term memory; function may be influenced by white matter microstructure. Working and long-term memory were examined in 106 patients with SVD and 35 healthy controls. Microstructure was measured in the uncinate fasciculi and cingula. Working memory was more impaired than long-term memory in SVD, but both abilities were reduced compared to controls. Regression analyses found that having SVD explained the variance in memory functions, with additional variance explained by the cingula (working memory) and uncinate (long-term memory). Performance can be explained in terms of integrity loss in specific white matter tract associated with mnemonic functions

Early parenting intervention: Family risk and first-time parenting related to intervention effectiveness

The effects of cumulative risk and parity on the effectiveness of a home based parenting intervention were tested in a randomized controlled trial with 237 families with 1- to 3-year-old children screened for high levels of externalizing behavior. The intervention was aimed at enhancing positive parenting and decreasing externalizing behaviors. The results showed that cumulative risk was not associated with either change in child externalizing behaviors or change in positive parenting. When intervention effectiveness was compared for primiparas (i.e., first-time mothers) versus multiparas (i.e., mothers with more than one child), we found that intervention mothers of first-born children displayed an increase in their use of positive discipline strategies as compared to first-time mothers in the control group, whereas a similar effect for multiparas was absent. Among multiparas we found an intervention effect on sensitivity, with control group mothers showing an increase in sensitivity, whereas the intervention group showed a constant level of sensitivity over time. These results suggest that parity may be a moderator of intervention effectiveness. Implications for investigating moderators of intervention effectiveness are discussed. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC