Home Modification for Aboriginal Housing

Current housing provision for Aboriginal people is inappropriate due to its lack of cultural relevance, incompatibility with the geographic landscape, poor design and state of disrepair, and its inability to cater to the functional impairment of Aboriginal older people and people with disabilities. Inadequate housing supply, inappropriate home environments and a high incidence of disability and long-term health issues has led to compounded disadvantage, which means that many Aboriginal people with disabilities may face heightened difficulties. The complex relationship between inadequate housing supply, poor housing conditions, overcrowding, and health and disability needs to be explored further in order to design the most effective home environments in remote Aboriginal communities. - See more at: http://homemods.info/publications-by-hminfo/occasional/home-modifications-in-aboriginal-housing#main-conten

CD4 T Cell Immunity Is Critical for the Control of Simian Varicella Virus Infection in a Nonhuman Primate Model of VZV Infection

Primary infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV) results in varicella (more commonly known as chickenpox) after which VZV establishes latency in sensory ganglia. VZV can reactivate to cause herpes zoster (shingles), a debilitating disease that affects one million individuals in the US alone annually. Current vaccines against varicella (Varivax) and herpes zoster (Zostavax) are not 100% efficacious. Specifically, studies have shown that 1 dose of varivax can lead to breakthrough varicella, albeit rarely, in children and a 2-dose regimen is now recommended. Similarly, although Zostavax results in a 50% reduction in HZ cases, a significant number of recipients remain at risk. To design more efficacious vaccines, we need a better understanding of the immune response to VZV. Clinical observations suggest that T cell immunity plays a more critical role in the protection against VZV primary infection and reactivation. However, no studies to date have directly tested this hypothesis due to the scarcity of animal models that recapitulate the immune response to VZV. We have recently shown that SVV infection of rhesus macaques models the hallmarks of primary VZV infection in children. In this study, we used this model to experimentally determine the role of CD4, CD8 and B cell responses in the resolution of primary SVV infection in unvaccinated animals. Data presented in this manuscript show that while CD20 depletion leads to a significant delay and decrease in the antibody response to SVV, loss of B cells does not alter the severity of varicella or the kinetics/magnitude of the T cell response. Loss of CD8 T cells resulted in slightly higher viral loads and prolonged viremia. In contrast, CD4 depletion led to higher viral loads, prolonged viremia and disseminated varicella. CD4 depleted animals also had delayed and reduced antibody and CD8 T cell responses. These results are similar to clinical observations that children with agammaglobulinemia have uncomplicated varicella whereas children with T cell deficiencies are at increased risk of progressive varicella with significant complications. Moreover, our studies indicate that CD4 T cell responses to SVV play a more critical role than antibody or CD8 T cell responses in the control of primary SVV infection and suggest that one potential mechanism for enhancing the efficacy of VZV vaccines is by eliciting robust CD4 T cell responses

No evidence for circulating HuD-specific CD8+ T cells in patients with paraneoplastic neurological syndromes and Hu antibodies

Aim: In paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNS) associated with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and Hu antibodies (Hu-PNS), Hu antigens expressed by the tumour hypothetically trigger an immune response that also reacts with Hu antigens in the nervous system, resulting in tumour suppression and neuronal damage. To gain more insight into the hypothesized CD8+T cell-mediated immune pathogenesis of these syndromes, we searched for circulating HuD-specific CD8+T cells in a large cohort of Hu-PNS patients and controls. Patients and methods: Blood was tested from 43 Hu-PNS patients, 31 Hu antibody negativ

DEAR1 Is a Dominant Regulator of Acinar Morphogenesis and an Independent Predictor of Local Recurrence-Free Survival in Early-Onset Breast Cancer

Ann Killary and colleagues describe a new gene that is genetically altered in breast tumors, and that may provide a new breast cancer prognostic marker

Thiol-reactive Derivatives of the Solvatochromic 4-N,N-Dimethylamino-1,8-naphthalimide Fluorophore: A Highly Sensitive Toolset for the Detection of Biomolecular Interactions

The solvatochromic fluorophore 4-N,N-dimethylamino-1,8-naphthalimide (4-DMN) possesses extremely sensitive emission properties due largely to the low intrinsic fluorescence it exhibits in polar protic solvents such as water. This makes it well suited as a probe for the detection of a wide range of biomolecular interactions. Herein we report the development and evaluation of a new series of thiol-reactive agents derived from this fluorophore. The members of this series vary according to linker type and the electrophilic group required for the labeling of proteins and other biologically relevant molecules. Using the calcium-binding protein calmodulin as a model system, we compare the performance of the 4-DMN derivatives to that of several commercially available solvatochromic fluorophores identifying many key factors important to the successful application of such tools. This study also demonstrates the power of this new series of labeling agents by yielding a fluorescent calmodulin construct capable of producing a greater than 100-fold increase in emission intensity upon binding to calcium.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH Cell Migration Consortium (GM064346))National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF CHE-0414243)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Interdepartmental Biotechnology Training Grant T32 GM08334)Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Department of Chemistry Instrumentation Facility (NSF CHE-9808061))Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Department of Chemistry Instrumentation Facility (NSF DBI-9729592))Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Department of Chemistry Instrumentation Facility (NSF CHE-0234877))Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Biophysical Instrumentation Facility for the Study of Complex Macromolecular Systems (NSF-0070319)

Using other minds as a window onto the world: guessing what happened from clues in behaviour

It has been proposed that mentalising involves retrodicting as well as predicting behaviour, by inferring previous mental states of a target. This study investigated whether retrodiction is impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Participants watched videos of real people reacting to the researcher behaving in one of four possible ways. Their task was to decide which of these four “scenarios” each person responded to. Participants’ eye movements were recorded. Participants with ASD were poorer than comparison participants at identifying the scenario to which people in the videos were responding. There were no group differences in time spent looking at the eyes or mouth. The findings imply those with ASD are impaired in using mentalising skills for retrodiction