Ambulatory EEG monitoring in the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy and related disorders

Ambulatory EEG recording enables patients with epilepsy and related disorders to be monitored in an unrestricted environment for prolonged periods. Attacks can therefore be recorded and EEG changes at the time can aid diagnosis. The relevant Iiterature is reviewed and a study made of' 250 clinical investigations. A study was also made of the artefacts,encountered during ambulatory recording. Three quarters of referrals were for distinguishing between epileptic and non-epileptic attacks. Over 60% of patients showed no abnormality during attacks. In comparison with the basic EEG the ambulatory EEG provided about ten times as much information. A preliminary follow-up study showed that results, of ambulatory monitoring agreed with the final diagnosis in 8 of 12 patients studied. Of 10 patients referred, for monitoring the occurrence of absence seizures, 8 showed abnormality during the baslcJ EEG .and 10 during the ambulatory EEG. Other patients. were referred: for sleep recording and to clarify the seizure type. An investigation into once daily (OD) versus twice daily administration of sodium valproate in patients with absence seizures showed that an OD regime was equally as effective as a BD regime. Circadian variations in spike and wave activity in patients on and off treatment were also examined. There was significant agreement between subjects on the time of occurrence of abnormality during sleep only, This pattern was not ,affected with treatment nor was there any difference in the daily pattern of occurrence of abnormality between the two regimes. Overall findings suggested that ambulatory monitoring was a valuable tool in the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy which with careful planning and patient selection could be used in any EEG department and would benefit a:wide range of patients

Google Calendar : a single case experimental design study of a man with severe memory problems

A single case experimental design across behaviours was utilised to explore the effectiveness of Google Calendar text alerts delivered to a mobile phone as a memory aid. The participant was a 43-year-old man (JA) with severe memory problems and executive difficulties caused by a traumatic brain injury (TBI). JA was initially very unwilling to use any memory aid and so a detailed assessment of his beliefs about memory aids, his cognitive difficulties and his social context was performed and a set of specifications for an aid was produced collaboratively. Six weeks of baseline data and six weeks of intervention data were collected for three target memory behaviours and three control memory behaviours. Results were analysed using nonoverlap of all pairs (NAP) analysis which showed a reduction in forgetting in the three target behaviours and no change in two of the three control behaviours. A subjective measure (the revised Everyday Memory Questionnaire) also suggested improvement. This study illustrates that Google Calendar is a highly effective memory aid and emphasises the importance of choosing a memory aid to suit the person's lifestyle and beliefs

Pressing intent: printed pamphlets for James I's royal entry into London (1604)

The royal entry of King James I to London in 1604 was a monumental event hosted by the City of London to welcome the ruler ceremoniously to his new realm. The City was primarily responsible for the planning and execution of the event for which they hired some of the foremost dramatists, poets, and artists of the period. Adorned with pageantry and spectacle, the ceremony followed the conventions of the early modern royal entry tradition. Unlike previous English entries, however, the 1604 triumph was memorialized and publicized in three separate printed pamphlets: The Magnificent Entertainment by Thomas Dekker (London: Thomas Man the Younger, 1604); B. Jon: His Part of King James, His Royall and Magnificent Entertainement by Ben Jonson (London: Edward Blount, 1604); and The Arches of Triumph by Stephen Harrison (London: John Sudbury and George Humble, 1604). Through an analysis of the textual and paratextual aspects of the three pamphlets, this thesis examines how the printed records of James I’s London entry communicated politicized messages that are reflective of each writer’s relationship with the City, the Crown, and the Court. The thesis argues that the pamphlets played an instrumental role in the authors’ self-fashioning and in the positioning of their works in the contemporary print market. Moreover, the three pamphlets together reveal the diversification of the pamphlet genre and the emergence and proliferation of new forms of print media at the beginning of the seventeenth century

Paul Horgan : Frank Waters : memorial exhibition

Exhibition catalog. Includes essays by Lawrence Clark Powell and Robert Franklin Gish.This material is made available by University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections. Contact us at [email protected], or (520) 621-6423

Affective, cognitive, and performance consequences of self-selected self-handicaps.

Self-handicapping is defined as the construction of obstacles or impediments to successful performance by an individual to protect or enhance self-esteem or self-image. The purpose of this research study was to explore the consequences of engaging in a behavioral self-handicapping strategy. In addition to positive and negative affect, test performance, test performance attributions, and self-efficacy were measured. Self-esteem and tendency to self-handicap served as covariates. Self-selected handicaps were examined in a quasi-experimental design. Participants chose whether to self-handicap or not by selecting either perceived distracting or enhancing music. Participants completed pre-test measures of positive affect, negative affect, self-esteem, and tendency to self-handicap. A practice test composed of items from the Diagnostic and Spatial Relations Aptitude Test (DSRAT) provided a pre-test measure of performance. After completing the pre-test measure of performance, participants chose to listen to either perceived performance-distracting or perceived performance-enhancing music while completing the DSRAT performance test. Upon completion of the test and receiving false failure feedback, positive and negative affect, performance attributions, self-efficacy, and test performance were measured. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2003 .P69. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 42-02, page: 0382. Adviser: Frank Schneider. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2003

DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS OF METABOLIC DISEASES

Almost 2 billion adults in the world are overweight, and more than half of them are classified as obese, while nearly one-third of children globally experience poor growth and development. Given the vast amount of knowledge that has been gleaned from decades of research on growth and development, a number of questions remain as to why the world is now in the midst of a global epidemic of obesity accompanied by the “double burden of malnutrition,” where overweight coexists with underweight and micronutrient deficiencies. This challenge to the human condition can be attributed to nutritional and environmental exposures during pregnancy that may program a fetus to have a higher risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. To explore this concept, frequently called the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD), this review considers a host of factors and physiological mechanisms that drive a fetus or child toward a higher risk of obesity, fatty liver disease, hypertension, and/or type 2 diabetes (T2D). To that end, this review explores the epidemiology of DOHaD with discussions focused on adaptations to human energetics, placental development, dysmetabolism, and key environmental exposures that act to promote chronic diseases in adulthood. These areas are complementary and additive in understanding how providing the best conditions for optimal growth can create the best possible conditions for lifelong health. Moreover, understanding both physiological as well as epigenetic and molecular mechanisms for DOHaD is vital to most fully address the global issues of obesity and other chronic diseases

Inhibition of mTOR signaling impairs rat embryo organogenesis by affecting folate availability

Mechanistic target of rapamycin (MTOR) is essential for embryo development by acting as a nutrient sensor to regulate cell growth, proliferation and metabolism. Folate is required for normal embryonic development and it was recently reported that MTOR functions as a folate sensor. In this work, we tested the hypothesis that MTOR functions as a folate sensor in the embryo and its inhibition result in embryonic developmental delay affecting neural tube closure and that these effects can be rescued by folate supplementation. Administration of rapamycin (0.5 mg/kg) to rats during early organogenesis inhibited embryonic ribosomal protein S6, a downstream target of MTOR Complex1, markedly reduced embryonic folate incorporation (−84%, P< 0.01) and induced embryo developmental impairments, as shown by an increased resorption rate, reduced embryo somite number and delayed neural tube closure. These alterations were prevented by folic acid administered to the dams. Differently, although an increased rate of embryonic rotation defects was observed in the rapamycin-treated dams, this alteration was not prevented by maternal folic acid supplementation. In conclusion, MTOR inhibition during organogenesis in the rat resulted in decreased folate levels in the embryo, increased embryo resorption rate and impaired embryo development. These data suggest that MTOR signaling influences embryo folate availability, possibly by regulating the transfer of folate across the maternal–embryonic interface.Fil: Higa, Romina Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos; ArgentinaFil: Rosario, Fredrick. University of Colorado; Estados UnidosFil: Powell, Theresa. University of Colorado; Estados UnidosFil: Jansson, Thomas. University of Colorado; Estados UnidosFil: Jawerbaum, Alicia Sandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos; Argentin

mTORC1 Transcriptional Regulation of Ribosome Subunits, Protein Synthesis, and Molecular Transport in Primary Human Trophoblast Cells.

Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (mTORC1) serves as positive regulator of placental nutrient transport and mitochondrial respiration. The role of mTORC1 signaling in modulating other placental functions is largely unexplored. We used gene array following silencing of raptor to identify genes regulated by mTORC1 in primary human trophoblast (PHT) cells. Seven hundred and thirty-nine genes were differentially expressed; 487 genes were down-regulated and 252 up-regulated. Bioinformatic analyses demonstrated that inhibition of mTORC1 resulted in decreased expression of genes encoding ribosomal proteins in the 60S and 40S ribosome subunits. Furthermore, down-regulated genes were functionally enriched in genes involved in eIF2, sirtuin and mTOR signaling, mitochondrial function, and glutamine and zinc transport. Stress response genes were enriched among up-regulated genes following mTORC1 inhibition. The protein expression of ribosomal proteins RPL26 (RPL26) and Ribosomal Protein S10 (RPS10) was decreased and positively correlated to mTORC1 signaling and System A amino acid transport in human placentas collected from pregnancies complicated by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). In conclusion, mTORC1 signaling regulates the expression of trophoblast genes involved in ribosome and protein synthesis, mitochondrial function, lipid metabolism, nutrient transport, and angiogenesis, representing novel links between mTOR signaling and multiple placental functions critical for normal fetal growth and development