De muis; niet voor één gat te vangen?

Het oppakken van laboratoriummuizen heeft een effect op hun stress- en angstgerelateerde reacties. Ook de manier waarop het dier wordt opgepakt kan grote effecten hebben op het gedrag. In (gedrags-)onderzoek is het daarom van groot belang dat de handelingen met de dieren gestandaardiseerd zijn, zodat ieder dier dezelfde handeling ondergaat en dat de dieren gewend zijn aan de ingreep. Er bestaan talloze gedragsopstellingen om allerlei soorten gedragingen bij proefdieren te kunnen meten. Zelfs wanneer we ons beperken tot de muis, zijn er legio gedragstesten beschikbaar (1). Toch hebben de meeste gedragsopstellingen één ding gemeen; de muis moet bij aanvang van de test in de opstelling geplaatst worden, om er na afloop weer uitgehaald te worden (met enige uitzonderingen daargelaten; bijvoorbeeld bij een gedragsopstelling waarbij het de taak van het dier is om zijn thuiskooi te vinden of wanneer er metingen worden verricht in de thuis-kooi). Zowel het dier in de opstelling zetten als het uithalen kan een stress reactie opleveren, evengoed bij dier als mens. Bij één gedragsopstelling geldt dit in het bijzonder, namelijk het dier uit de zogenaamde Elevated Plus Maze halen. Deze opstelling bestaat uit twee open en twee gesloten armen en bevindt zich op een verhoogd platform. Muizen zijn over het algemeen niet voor één gat te vangen, en zullen vrijwel altijd proberen te ontkomen aan de hand van de onderzoeker. Voornamelijk in de nauwe omgeving van de gesloten armen. Echter, er bestaat een relatief simpele, stress verminderende manier om het dier uit de opstelling te halen: door een buis als thuiskooiverrijking te gebruiken. Deze buis kan na de test bij de opstelling gehouden worden zodat het dier op de geur afkomt en in de buis loopt waarna de buis met het dier erin naar de thuiskooi vervoerd kan worden. Deze hanteermethode zorgt voor een minder stressvolle handeling bij het dier

Дифференциально−диагностические нейрофизиологические корреляты эмоционально−личностных и поведенческих расстройств у подростков с мозговой дисфункцией

Представлены результаты исследования функциональной активности головного мозга у подростков с мозговой дисфункцией и эмоциональными, личностными, поведенческими расстройствами. Выявлены нейрофизиологические корреляты изменений характера и поведения больных подростков.The findings of brain functional activity investigation in teenagers with cerebral dysfunction as well as emotional, personality, behavioral disorders are reported. Neurophysiological correlates of the character and behavior changes in teen−agers were revealed

Group based prenatal care in a low-and high risk population in the Netherlands: a study protocol for a stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial

Background. CenteringPregnancy (CP) is a multifaceted group based care-model integrated in routine prenatal care, combining health assessment, education, and support. CP has shown some positive results on perinatal outcomes. However, the effects are less obvious when limited to the results of randomized controlled trials: as there are few trials and there is a variation in reported outcomes. Furthermore, former research was mostly conducted in the United States of America and in specific (often high risk) populations. Our study aims to evaluate the effects of CP in the Netherlands in a general population of pregnant women (low and high risk). Furthermore we aim to explore the mechanisms leading to the eventual effects by measuring potential mediating factors. Design. We will perform a stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial, in a Western region in the Netherlands. Inclusion criteria are <24 weeks of gestation and able to communicate in Dutch (with assistance). Women in the control period will receive individual care, women in the intervention period (starting at the randomized time-point) will be offered the choice between individual care or CP. Primary outcomes are maternal and neonatal morbidity, retrieved from a national routine database. Secondary outcomes are health behavior, psychosocial outcomes, satisfaction, health care utilization and process outcomes, collected through self-administered questionnaires, group-evaluations and individual interviews. We will conduct intention-to-treat analyses. Also a per protocol analysis will be performed comparing the three subgroups: control group, CP-participants and non-CP-participants, using multilevel techniques to account for clustering effects. Discussion. This study contributes to the evidence regarding the effect of CP and gives a first indication of the effect and implementation of CP in both low and high-risk pregnancies in a high-income Western society other than the USA. Also, measuring factors that are hypothesized to mediate the effect of CP will enable to explain the mechanisms that lead to effects on maternal and neonatal outcomes. Trial registration. Dutch Trial Register, NTR4178, registered September 17th 2013

Quasi One-Dimensional Photonic Crystals as Building Block for Compact Integrated Optical Refractometric Sensors

A quasi one-dimensional photonic crystal has been fabricated and the applicability of this strong grating for optical sensing has been investigated by measuring the transmission spectra as a function of the cladding refractive index. The cladding index was varied a small range. By monitoring the transmitted output power the transmission stop-band was found to shift by 1 nm wavelength for either a cladding refractive index change of 0.05 or a temperature change of 120 K

Exendin-4 analogs in insulinoma theranostics

Contains fulltext : 209104.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Insulinomas, neuroendocrine tumors arising from pancreatic beta cells, often show overexpression of the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor. Therefore, imaging with glucagon-like peptide analog exendin-4 can be used for diagnosis and preoperative localization. This review presents an overview of the development and clinical implementation of exendin-based tracers for nuclear imaging, and the potential use of exendin-4 based tracers for optical imaging and therapeutic applications such as peptide receptor radionuclide therapy or targeted photodynamic therapy

Quasi 1-dimensional photonic crystals as building block for compact integrated optical sensors

A quasi one-dimensional photonic crystal has been fabricated and the applicability of this kind of structure for optical sensing has been investigated by measuring the transmission spectra as a function of the cladding refractive index. The cladding index was varied using a liquid flow, of which the index was slowly varied over a small range. The shift with cladding index of the steep stop band edge provides a relatively sensitive detection mechanism in an extremely compact device

Labour and Neonatal Outcome in Small for Gestational Age Babies Delivered Beyond 36+0 Weeks: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Objective. Small for gestational age (SGA) is associated with increased neonatal morbidity and mortality. At present, evidence on whether these pregnancies should be managed expectantly or by induction is lacking. To get insight in current policy we analysed data of the National Dutch Perinatal Registry (PRN). Methods. We used data of all nulliparae between 2000 and 2005 with a singleton in cephalic presentation beyond 36+0 weeks, with a birth weight below the 10th percentile. We analysed two groups of pregnancies: (I) with isolated SGA and (II) with both SGA and hypertensive disorders. Onset of labour was related to route of delivery and neonatal outcome. Results. Induction was associated with a higher risk of emergency caesarean section (CS), without improvement in neonatal outcome. For women with isolated SGA the relative risk of emergency CS after induction was 2.3 (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 2.1 to 2.5) and for women with both SGA and hypertensive disorders the relative risk was 2.7 (95% CI 2.3 to 3.1). Conclusion. Induction in pregnancies complicated by SGA at term is associated with a higher risk of instrumental deliveries without improvement of neonatal outcome. Prospective studies are needed to determine the best strategy in suspected IUGR at term

A developmentally regulated chaperone complex for the endoplasmic reticulum of male haploid germ cells

Glycoprotein folding is mediated by lectin-like chaperones and protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs) in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Calnexin and the PDI homologue ERp57 work together to help fold nascent polypeptides with glycans located toward the N-terminus of a protein, whereas PDI and BiP may engage proteins that lack glycans or have sugars toward the C-terminus. In this study, we show that the PDI homologue PDILT is expressed exclusively in post-meiotic male germ cells, in contrast to the ubiquitous expression of many other PDI family members in the testis. PDILT is induced during puberty and represents the first example of a PDI family member under developmental control. We find that PDILT is not active as an oxido-reductase, but interacts with the model peptide -somatostatin and nonnative BPTI in vitro, indicative of chaperone activity. In vivo, PDILT forms a tissue-specific chaperone complex with the calnexin homologue calmegin. The identification of a redox-inactive chaperone partnership defines a new system of testis-specific protein folding with implications for male fertility