The Egyptian Cardiothoracic Surgeon (ECTS - E-Journal)
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Impact of oral green tea catechins supplementation on the collagenous matrix following acute irradiation
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Failed replications, contributing factors and careful interpretations: Commentary on "A purely confirmatory replication study of structural brain-behaviour correlations" by Boekel et al., 2015.
No full textA Raindrop Unfallen: Innocence and Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint Pierre's 'Paul and Viriginia' (1788)
No full textThe following essay is a creative, and challenging, reflection upon key themes of this special issue. The essay brings Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint Pierre's tragic romance, Paul and Virginia (1788), into conversation with an artistic response, Julia Margaret Cameron's 1865 photograph. Paul and Virginia is the tale of two children on the idyllic Ile de France, whose love encodes an eroticised innocence. Cameron's rendition offers a visual re-imagining of the fairy tale. In her appreciation of text and image, Carol Mavor negotiates a space between critical and poetic writing. Mosaic-like in form, evocative fragments of prose, poetry and images, are brought together to reflect upon the elusive nature of seduction, desire and innocence—especially among women, mothers and children. This experimental work uses artistic expression to enable us to think differently about the Victorians' troubling legacy of eroticised innocence, and explores new ways to describe inner experience
Mechanosensitivity of integrin adhesion complexes: Role of the consensus adhesome
No full textCell and tissue stiffness have been known to contribute to both developmental and pathological signalling for some time, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Integrins and their associated adhesion signalling complexes (IACs), which form a nexus between the cell cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix, act as a key force sensing and transducing unit in cells. Accordingly, there has been much interest in obtaining a systems-level understanding of IAC composition. Proteomic approaches have revealed the complexity of IACs and identified a large number of components that are regulated by cytoskeletal force. Here we review the function of the consensus adhesome, an assembly of core IAC proteins that emerged from a meta-analysis of multiple proteomic datasets, in the context of mechanosensing. As IAC components have been linked to a variety of diseases involved with rigidity sensing, the field is now in a position to define the mechanosensing function of individual IAC proteins and elucidate their mechanisms of action
Developing mainstream resource provision for pupils with autism spectrum disorder: staff perceptions and satisfaction
No full textThe majority of children and young people with autism spectrum disorder are educated in mainstream schools. The diverse needs of this group of pupils has led to a continuum of provision being promoted in the UK and other countries, and developed at a local level. This continuum includes mainstream schools with resource provision which can offer enhanced physical and staffing resources beyond those normally provided in mainstream schools. How teaching staff perceive such provisions and their development over time have not previously been investigated. The current study was designed to explore the perceptions of staff working in five primary and three secondary school resource provisions in one local authority throughout the first year of the provisions and at three-year follow-up. Sixty-six interviews with senior teachers, mainstream teachers and resource provision staff took place during the initial year, with 21 three-year follow-up interviews. Data were analysed using inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Data provide tentative support for Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecosystemic theory as a framework for representing the complex interactions within the resource provision schools, between systems and their development over time. Findings and implications are discussed in relation to theory and practice
District Heating Comes to Ecotown: Zero-Carbon Housing and the Rescaling of UK Energy Provision
No full textAstrocytes: a central element in neurological diseases
No full textThe neurone-centred view of the past disregarded or downplayed the role of astroglia as a primary component in the pathogenesis of neurological diseases. As this concept is changing, so is also the perceived role of astrocytes in the healthy and diseased brain and spinal cord. We have started to unravel the different signalling mechanisms that trigger specific molecular, morphological and functional changes in reactive astrocytes that are critical for repairing tissue and maintaining function in CNS pathologies, such as neurotrauma, stroke, or neurodegenerative diseases. An increasing body of evidence shows that the effects of astrogliosis on the neural tissue and its functions are not uniform or stereotypic, but vary in a context-specific manner from astrogliosis being an adaptive beneficial response under some circumstances to a maladaptive and deleterious process in another context. There is growing support for the concept of astrocytopathies in which the disruption of normal astrocyte functions, astrodegeneration or dysfunctional/maladaptive astrogliosis are the primary cause or the main factor in neurological dysfunction and disease. This review describes the multiple roles of astrocytes in the healthy CNS, discusses the diversity of astroglial responses in neurological disorders and argues that targeting astrocytes may represent an effective therapeutic strategy for Alexander disease, neurotrauma, stroke, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease as well as other neurodegenerative diseases
How comparable are rates of malignancies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis across the world? A comparison of cancer rates, and means to optimise their comparability, in five RA registries.
No full textBACKGROUND: The overall incidence of cancer in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is modestly elevated. The extent to which cancer rates in RA vary across clinical cohorts and patient subsets, as defined by disease activity or treatment is less known but critical for understanding the safety of existing and new antirheumatic therapies. We investigated comparability of, and means to harmonise, malignancy rates in five RA registries from four continents. METHODS: Participating RA registries were Consortium of Rheumatology Researchers of North America (CORRONA) (USA), Swedish Rheumatology Quality of Care Register (SRR) (Sweden), Norfolk Arthritis Register (NOAR) (UK), CORRONA International (several countries) and Institute of Rheumatology, Rheumatoid Arthritis (IORRA) (Japan). Within each registry, we analysed a main cohort of all patients with RA from January 2000 to last available data, and sensitivity analyses of sub-cohorts defined by disease activity, treatment change, prior comorbidities and restricted by calendar time or follow-up, respectively. Malignancy rates with 95% CIs were estimated, and standardised for age and sex, based on the distributions from a typical RA clinical trial programme population (fostamatinib). RESULTS: There was a high consistency in rates for overall malignancy excluding non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), for malignant lymphomas, but not for all skin cancers, across registries, in particular following age/sex standardisation. Standardised rates of overall malignancy excluding NMSC varied from 0.56 to 0.87 per 100 person-years. Within each registry, rates were generally consistent across sensitivity analyses, which differed little from the main analysis. CONCLUSION: In real-world RA populations, rates of both overall malignancy and of lymphomas are consistent
Effect of diphenyliodonium hexafluorphosphate on resin cements containing different concentrations of ethyl 4-(dimethylamino)benzoate and 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate as co-initiators
No full textObjective. The present study evaluated the influence of diphenyliodonium hexafluorphosphate (DPI) combined with two different amines [ethyl 4-(dimethylamino)benzoate (EDAB) and 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA)] on the properties of model resin cements. Methods. A comonomer base containing a 1:1 mass ratio of 2.2-bis[4-(2-hydroxy-3-methacryloxypropoxy)phenyl]propane (bis-GMA) and triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) was obtained, after which 1 mol% of camphorquinone and 0.1 mol% of hydroxyl butyl toluene were added to the comonomer blend. Concentrations of co-initiators varied at 0, 0.5 or 1 mol% for DPI and in 1 or 2 mol% for amines (DMAEMA or EDAB). Silanated Ba-Al-Si glass (60wt%) was added as filler. The combination of each amine and DPI concentration resulted in 12 formulations, which had the following properties analyzed: degree of conversion (DC), water sorption (Wsp) and solubility (Wsl), flexural strength (FS) and flexural modulus (Ef). Data for DC, FS and Ef were analyzed by two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s test (α = 0.05) and Wsp and Wsl by Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn tests (α = 0.05). Results. EDAB promoted a higher DC than did DMAEMA; however, DPI increased DC for all materials with DMAEMA. The physical properties of resin formulations containing EDAB were significantly better than those of groups with DMAEMA; however, DPI had a positive influence on the chemical and physical properties of the model resin cement containing DMAEMA, especially with higher concentrations of amine. Significance. EDAB proved to be more reactive than DMAEMA, being less influenced by DPI. Resins containing a 1:2 CQ/amine ratio had better properties than those with 1:1