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Growth hormone promotes motor function after experimental stroke and enhances recovery-promoting mechanisms within the peri-infarct Area
No full textMotor impairment is the most common and widely recognised clinical outcome after stroke. Current clinical practice in stroke rehabilitation focuses mainly on physical therapy, with no pharmacological intervention approved to facilitate functional recovery. Several studies have documented positive effects of growth hormone (GH) on cognitive function after stroke, but surprisingly, the effects on motor function remain unclear. In this study, photothrombotic occlusion targeting the motor and sensory cortex was induced in adult male mice. Two days post-stroke, mice were administered with recombinant human GH or saline, continuing for 28 days, followed by evaluation of motor function. Three days after initiation of the treatment, bromodeoxyuridine was administered for subsequent assessment of cell proliferation. Known neurorestorative processes within the peri-infarct area were evaluated by histological and biochemical analyses at 30 days post-stroke. This study demonstrated that GH treatment improves motor function after stroke by 50%–60%, as assessed using the cylinder and grid walk tests. Furthermore, the observed functional improvements occurred in parallel with a reduction in brain tissue loss, as well as increased cell proliferation, neurogenesis, increased synaptic plasticity and angiogenesis within the peri-infarct area. These findings provide new evidence about the potential therapeutic effects of GH in stroke recovery
Eliminating morality: methods and reasons
No full textThis thesis examines the practical implications presented by moral scepticism and moral error theory, and asks the question recently coined by Matt Lutz (2014) – ‘Now What?’. In other words, assuming that moral statements are false or unjustifiable, what should our response be? The thesis examines the prospects for eliminating morality from our lives, for becoming moral abolitionists. In Part 1, we motivate our question and examine the main alternatives to abolitionism. We begin by introducing reasons for moral scepticism, focusing primarily on moral error theory. We follow this up by examining two of the most discussed answers to the Now What? question. These are ‘insulationism’, the idea that we should insulate ourselves from the truth of moral error theory and carry on acting in accordance with morality, and ‘fictionalism’, the idea that we should continue by pretending to believe in morality. In Part 2, we turn to the primary focus of the thesis. We introduce the idea that, in contrast to these other two suggestions, we should eliminate or abolish morality, which is to cease doing either of the following: 1. Acting on moral reasons (that is, we no longer do things because we, or others, think they are ‘right’ or ‘wrong’); or 2. Making genuine moral judgements (that is, we no longer think things like ‘killing is wrong’ as an expression of our own beliefs/attitudes). While this suggestion is simple enough to state, there are a number of issues that we need to address. The first, examined in Part 2, are issues in application – that is, what eliminating morality actually implies and the methods of doing so. The second, examined in Part 3, are issues with motivation – that is, since many philosophers have rejected eliminating morality, what reasons do we have for eliminating morality? The thesis aims to address these issues
Depolarization-associated CircRNA regulate neural gene expression and in some cases may function as templates for translation
No full textCircular RNAs (circRNAs) are a relatively new class of RNA transcript with high abundance in the mammalian brain. Here, we show that circRNAs expression in dierentiated neuroblastoma cells were significantly altered after depolarization with 107 upregulated and 47 downregulated circRNAs. This coincided with a global alteration in the expression of microRNA (miRNA) (n = 269)and mRNA (n = 1511) in depolarized cells, suggesting a regulatory axis of circRNA–miRNA–mRNA is involved in the cellular response to neural activity. In support of this, our in silico analysis revealed that the circular transcripts had the capacity to influence mRNA expression through interaction with common miRNAs. Loss-of-function of a highly expressed circRNA, circ-EXOC6B, resulted in altered expression of numerous mRNAs enriched in processes related to the EXOC6B function,suggesting that circRNAs may specifically regulate the genes acting in relation to their host genes. We also found that a subset of circRNAs, particularly in depolarized cells, were associated with ribosomes, suggesting they may be translated into protein. Overall, these data support a role for circRNAs in the modification of gene regulation associated with neuronal activity
Personality as a conservation translocation tool
No full textIn the UK, if you visited a local Zoo the chances are that European pine marten (Martes martes) would not be on display. This is because there are only a handful of captive animals within the entire national captive collection. Despite their rarity though, captive individuals have offered research opportunities that have benefited wild populations. For example, the Vincent Wildlife Trust den box was developed following observations of a prototype used by animals within a woodland enclosure at the Welsh Mountain Zoo. Elsewhere, feeding trials involving measured volumes of food items and analysis of associated scat samples have offered an opportunity to better calibrate wild diets from scat analysis
LncRNA REG1CP promotes tumorigenesis through an enhancer complex to recruit FANCJ helicase for REG3A transcription
No full textProtein products of the regenerating islet-derived (REG) gene family are important regulators of many cellular processes. Here we functionally characterise a non-protein coding product of the family, the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) REG1CP that is transcribed from a DNA fragment at the family locus previously thought to be a pseudogene. REG1CP forms an RNA–DNA triplex with a homopurine stretch at the distal promoter of the REG3A gene, through which the DNA helicase FANCJ is tethered to the core promoter of REG3A where it unwinds double stranded DNA and facilitates a permissive state for glucocorticoid receptor α (GRα)-mediated REG3A transcription. As such, REG1CP promotes cancer cell proliferation and tumorigenicity and its upregulation is associated with poor outcome of patients. REG1CP is also transcriptionally inducible by GRα, indicative of feedforward regulation. These results reveal the function and regulation of REG1CP and suggest that REG1CP may constitute a target for cancer treatment
Improving person-centredness in integrated care for older people: experiences from thirteen integrated care sites in Europe
No full textIntroduction: Although person-centredness is a key principle of integrated care, successfully embedding and improving person-centred care for older people remains a challenge. In the context of a cross-European project on integrated care for older people living at home, the objective of this paper is to provide insight at an overarching level, into activities aimed at improving person-centredness within the participating integrated care sites. The paper describes experiences with these activities from the service providers' and service users' perspectives. Methods: A multiple embedded case study design was conducted that included thirteen integrated care sites for older people living at home. Results: Service providers were positive about the activities that aimed to promote person-centred care and thought that most activities (e.g. comprehensive needs assessment) positively influenced personcentredness. Experiences of service users were mixed. For some activities (e.g. enablement services), discrepancies were identified between the views of service providers and those of service users. Discussion and conclusion: Evaluating activities aimed at promoting person-centredness from both the service providers' and service users' perspectives showed that not all efforts were successful or had the intended consequences for older people. Involvement of older people in designing improvement activities could ensure that care and support reflect their needs and preferences, and build positive experiences of care and support
Psychosocial influences on patient presentations: considerations for research and evaluation at mass-gathering events
No full textAim: This review discusses the need for consistency in mass-gathering research and evaluation from a psychosocial perspective. Background: Mass gatherings occur frequently throughout the world. Having an understanding of the complexities of mass gatherings is important to determine required health resources. Factors within the environmental, psychosocial, and biomedical domains influence the usage of health services at mass gatherings. A standardized approach to data collection is important to identify a consistent reporting standard for the psychosocial domain. Method: This research used an integrative literature review design. Manuscripts were collected using keyword searches from databases and journal content pages from 2003 through 2018. Data were analyzed and categorized using the existing minimum data set as a framework. Results: In total, 31 manuscripts met the inclusion criteria. The main variables identified were use of alcohol or drugs, crowd behavior, crowd mood, rationale, and length of stay. Conclusion: Upon interrogating the literature, the authors have determined that the variables fall under the categories of alcohol or drugs; maladaptive and adaptive behaviors; crowd behavior, crowd culture, and crowd mood; reason for attending event (motivation); duration; and crowd demographics. In collecting psychosocial data from mass gatherings, an agreed-upon set of variables that can be used to collect de-identified psychosocial variables for the purpose of making comparisons across societies for mass-gathering events (MGEs) would be invaluable to researchers and event clinicians
Sink-Hole fluidization for dry separation of mineral particles
No full textAbstract: A novel Sink-Hole fluidization method was investigated for dry separation of mineral particles (1 to 10 mm in size) using a combination of dense medium fluidization and vibration. The device referred to as a Sink-Hole fluidizer consisted of a 200 mm diameter fluidized bed, a 1 mm aperture mesh mounted on top of the fluidized bed with a centrally-located large hole (compared to the mesh aperture) referred to as a Sink-Hole, and a 1 mm aperture mesh underneath to capture the denser particles. The unit was mounted on top of a Kason vibrating device. Experiments were conducted using 2.0-8.0 mm tracer particles of density varying from 2400 to 4800 kg/m3. The fluidized sand medium, subjected to vibration, expanded towards the upper screen, permeating strongly through the large Sink-Hole, and to a lesser extent through the finer apertures. In fact, the excess sand on the upper screen then returned back to the lower fluidized bed via the fine screen apertures. The upward movement of the suspension through the Sink-Hole produced a strong density based separation of the larger tracer particles. It was possible to achieve sharp separation at different separation densities under batch conditions. This paper reports the effect of varying air rate and bed mass on the separation performance. Density cut points in the range 2500 to 3200 kg/m3 were obtained, which are significantly higher than the density of fluidised media, at separation efficiency (Ep) values of around 0.15
China's new cooperative medical scheme's impact on the medical expenses of elderly rural migrants
No full textBackground: With rapid urbanization in China, the scale of elderly migrants from rural areas to urban cities has increased rapidly from 5.03 million in 2000 to 13.4 million people in 2015. Methods: Based on the unbalanced panel data obtained from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, this study investigates the impact of changes to the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) on the medical expenditure of Chinese elderly rural migrants by using seemingly
unrelated regression models. Results: NCMS coverage for elderly rural migrants rose from 11.83% in 2005 to 87.33% in 2014. The effective reimbursement rate increased significantly from 4.53% in 2005 to 36.44% in 2014, and out-of-pocket/income fell by 50% between 2005 and 2014. The NCMS significantly increased the effective reimbursement rate by 12.4% and out-of-pocket medical expenditure/income by 7.5% during this decade but played an insignificant role in reducing out-of-pocket payments. Conclusions: Policy makers need to promote a two-pronged strategy, which involves controlling the excessive growth of urban medical expenses and continuing to reform NCMS reimbursements for medical treatment, so non-urban resident elderly rural migrants can fully enjoy the welfare benefits of migration and urbanization
Very useful, but do carefully: mental health researcher views on establishing a mental health expert consumer researcher group
No full textIntroduction: Contemporary mental health policy identifies consumers as active participants in all aspects of mental health services from design to evaluation. Consumer researchers should be actively involved in mental health research and contribute to quality service delivery. Aim: To gain a snapshot of mental health researcher views on strategies for increasing research by or with consumers in mental health through the establishment of an Expert Consumer Researcher Group (ECRG). Methods: Cross-sectional survey of 41 non-consumer mental health researchers from Australia or New Zealand. Results: The introduction of an ECRG was considered an effective strategy for linking consumer and non-consumer researchers and providing specialist advice on research design and methodology. The most suitable location for this group was identified as within consumer advocacy agencies (71%), universities (66%) or research funding bodies (66%). Participants rated their likelihood of seeking advice from the ECRG as high. Discussion: Research participants supported the value of an ECRG. They emphasized the importance of ensuring the group reflected a diversity of views and offered specialized expertise related to the specific topic. The ECRG could benefit both individual researchers and larger research organizations. Implications for practice: An ECRG could facilitate collaborations with consumer researchers and in turn enhance the quality of mental health research