A Neuropsychological Approach For Differentiating the Residual Effects of Neonatal Intraventricular Hemorrhage

It is well documented in the literature that low-birth-weight (LBW) and prematurity are associated with a variety of developmental disabilities. Within this population of LBW children it is estimated that at birth, up to 45% of them experience intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). Only recently has pediatric research begun to look at the potentially unique effects of IVH, and attempt to separate these out form the effects of LBW in general. The purpose of this study was to investigate the neuropsychological differences that may occur in children with a history of mild or sever IVH, who are now approaching school age. The main objective was to determine whether children, ages 4 and 5, who were diagnosed with a mild IVH at birth would perform differently on a neuropsychological screening from children who were diagnosed with a severe IVH. Twenty-nine 4- and 5-year-olds born at the University of Utah Medical Center and Primary Children\u27s Medical Center constituted the sample for this study. Potential children were identified through the medical records, where documentation of incident and severity of IVH was obtained. Descriptive medical data and documentation of other common sequelae of LBW was also obtained from the medical records. Parents of potential subjects were contacted from the respective medical centers, and interested parents were then contacted by the research team and included in the study. The children were tested on a variety of neuropsychological functions by trained examiners from the Early Intervention Research Institute at Utah State University and from the Neuropsychological Consultation Services in Salt Lake City, Utah. Analysis of this data was used in determining whether or not there were residual differences in the performance of preschool-age children who have a history of IVH at birth. The results did not indicate significant difference between mild and severe IVH groups in performance on the neuropsychological assessment. Discriminant analysis showed no significant results which did not indicate that group membership could be predicted based upon test performance. Individual subtest analyses also did not indicate a significant difference in performance. Further analysis indicated significant relationships between the presence of other common sequelae of LBW/IVH such as seizure disorder and birth asphyxia, and the neuropsychological test results. Further research is needed to determine the reliability of these findings

Pathogen propagation in cultured three-dimensional tissue mass

A process for propagating a pathogen in a three-dimensional tissue mass cultured at microgravity conditions in a culture vessel containing culture media and a culture matrix is provided. The three-dimensional tissue mass is inoculated with a pathogen and pathogen replication in the cells of the tissue mass achieved

Production of Normal Mammalian Organ Culture Using a Medium Containing Mem-Alpha, Leibovitz L 15, Glucose Galactose Fructose

Normal mammalian tissue and the culturing process has been developed for the three groups of organ, structural and blood tissue. The cells are grown in vitro under micro- gravity culture conditions and form three dimensional cells aggregates with normal cell function. The microgravity culture conditions may be microgravity or simulated microgravity created in a horizontal rotating wall culture vessel. The medium used for culturing the cells, especially a mixture of epithelial and mesenchymal cells contains a mixture of Mem-alpha and Leibovits L15 supplemented with glucose, galactose and fructose

Cultured normal mammalian tissue and process

Normal mammalian tissue and the culturing process has been developed for the three groups of organ, structural and blood tissue. The cells are grown in vitro under microgravity culture conditions and form three dimensional cell aggregates with normal cell function. The microgravity culture conditions may be microgravity or simulated microgravity created in a horizontal rotating wall culture vessel

Recombinant protein production and insect cell culture and process

A process has been developed for recombinant production of selected polypeptides using transformed insect cells cultured in a horizontally rotating culture vessel modulated to create low shear conditions. A metabolically transformed insect cell line is produced using the culture procedure regardless of genetic transformation. The recombinant polypeptide can be produced by an alternative process using the cultured insect cells as host for a virus encoding the described polypeptide such as baculovirus. The insect cells can also be a host for viral production

Recombinant Protein Production and Insect Cell Culture and Process

A process has been developed for recombinant production of selected polypeptides using transformed insect cells cultured in a horizontally rotating culture vessel modulated to create low shear conditions. A metabolically transformed insect cell line is produced using the culture procedure regardless of genetic transformation. The recombinant polypeptide can be produced by an alternative process using virtually infected or stably transformed insect cells containing a gene encoding the described polypeptide. The insect cells can also be a host for viral production

Three dimensional optic tissue culture and process

A process for artificially producing three-dimensional optic tissue has been developed. The optic cells are cultured in a bioreactor at low shear conditions. The tissue forms normal, functional tissue organization and extracellular matrix

Genetics of the Hippocampal Transcriptome in Mouse: A Systematic Survey and Online Neurogenomics Resource

Differences in gene expression in the CNS influence behavior and disease susceptibility. To systematically explore the role of normal variation in expression on hippocampal structure and function, we generated an online microarray database for a diverse panel of strains of mice, including most common inbred strains and numerous recombinant inbred lines (www.genenetwork.org). Using this resource, coexpression networks for families of genes can be generated rapidly to test causal models related to function. The data set is optimized for quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping and was used to identify over 5500 QTLs that modulate mRNA levels. We describe a wide variety of analyses and novel synthetic approaches that take advantage of this resource, and demonstrate how both the data and associated tools can be applied to the study of gene regulation in the hippocampus and relations to structure and function

Clinical outcomes and response to treatment of patients receiving topical treatments for pyoderma gangrenosum: a prospective cohort study

Background: pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an uncommon dermatosis with a limited evidence base for treatment. Objective: to estimate the effectiveness of topical therapies in the treatment of PG. Methods: prospective cohort study of UK secondary care patients with a clinical diagnosis of PG suitable for topical treatment (recruited July 2009 to June 2012). Participants received topical therapy following normal clinical practice (mainly Class I-III topical corticosteroids, tacrolimus 0.03% or 0.1%). Primary outcome: speed of healing at 6 weeks. Secondary outcomes: proportion healed by 6 months; time to healing; global assessment; inflammation; pain; quality-of-life; treatment failure and recurrence. Results: Sixty-six patients (22 to 85 years) were enrolled. Clobetasol propionate 0.05% was the most commonly prescribed therapy. Overall, 28/66 (43.8%) of ulcers healed by 6 months. Median time-to-healing was 145 days (95% CI: 96 days, ∞). Initial ulcer size was a significant predictor of time-to-healing (hazard ratio 0.94 (0.88;80 1.00); p = 0.043). Four patients (15%) had a recurrence. Limitations: No randomised comparator Conclusion: Topical therapy is potentially an effective first-line treatment for PG that avoids possible side effects associated with systemic therapy. It remains unclear whether more severe disease will respond adequately to topical therapy alone