1,890 research outputs found
Zebrafish as a tool in Alzheimer's disease research
No full textAlzheimer's disease is the most prevalent form of neurodegenerative disease. Despite many years of intensive research our understanding of the molecular events leading to this pathology is far from complete. No effective treatments have been defined and questions surround the validity and utility of existing animal models. The zebrafish (and, in particular, its embryos) is a malleable and accessible model possessing a vertebrate neural structure and genome. Zebrafish genes orthologous to those mutated in human familial Alzheimer's disease have been defined. Work in zebrafish has permitted discovery of unique characteristics of these genes that would have been difficult to observe with other models. In this brief review we give an overview of Alzheimer's disease and transgenic animal models before examining the current contribution of zebrafish to this research area. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Zebrafish Models of Neurological Diseases.Morgan Newman, Giuseppe Verdile, Ralph N. Martins and Michael Lardellihttp://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/506068/description#descriptio
The Link Between Diabetes, Glucose Control, and Alzheimer's Disease and Neurodegenerative Diseases
No full textLargely as a result of increases in life expectancy in most countries, as well as changes in lifestyle over the last few decades, chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and dementia are increasing in prevalence. A wealth of evidence indicates a strong link between T2D and the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although the precise mechanisms remain unclear, there is now strong evidence T2D and AD have many aspects in common, and that T2D can exacerbate neurodegenerative processes. Brain atrophy, reduced cerebral glucose metabolism, and central nervous system (CNS) insulin resistance are features of both AD and T2D. The T2D phenotype (glucose dyshomeostasis, insulin resistance, impaired insulin signalling) also promotes AD pathology, namely the accumulation of Aβ and hyperphosphorylated tau, and can induce other aspects of neuronal degeneration including inflammatory and oxidative processes. This chapter discusses the evidence and potential underlying mechanisms that link these two chronic diseases of ageing. The potential of common treatments for the management of diabetes as therapies for AD are also discussed
A follow-up study on mild memory disturbance
No full textDr Ralph N Martins$AUD 127,227.31NHMRC Project GrantsStandard Project Gran
Complex splicing and neural expression of duplicated Tau genes in zebrafish embryos
No full textMicrotubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) is the major component of the neurofibrillary tangles found in the brains of those suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Various forms of tau lesions are found in other neurodegenerative diseases (tauopathies). We report identification of two MAPT paralogous genes in zebrafish, mapta and maptb, and analysis of their expression patterns during embryonic development. The two paralogues appear to have arisen by duplication of an ancestral teleost MAPT orthologue. Analysis of the splicing of transcripts from both genes during embryogenesis showed that mapta can be spliced into isoforms with between four and six tubulin-binding repeats (4R-6R), while maptb is mainly spliced into 3R isoforms. Expression of both genes is observed predominantly in the developing central nervous system. A particularly large isoform of maptb is specifically expressed in the trigeminal ganglion and in dorsal sensory neurons of the spinal cord. Changes in the subcellular ratio of 3R and 4R isoforms can have pathological consequences in mammals. The predominant production of 4R-6R isoforms from mapta and of 3R isoforms from maptb suggests that zebrafish embryos will be a useful tool with which to study the discrete functions and interactions of the 3R and 4R MAPT isoforms.Mengqi Chen, Ralph N. Martins & Michael Lardell
Carbohydrate and Protein Metabolism: Influences on Cognition and Alzheimer's Disease
No full textResearch into understanding the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been ongoing for over a century, yet there is no cure, and current treatments are only effective temporarily. In the last two decades, the influence of diet and lifestyle on AD risk have been studied, and research into the effect of individual dietary components (such as macronutrients) on AD risk is gaining momentum. A number of cross*sectional and epidemiological research studies indicate that nutritional parameters influence cognitive performance in humans. Furthermore, chronic diseases and conditions such as type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension, which are all risk factors for dementia, have dietary risk factors which are also proving to be risk factors for cognitive impairment and AD. Evidence from mechanistic studies and animal models suggests that certain dietary nutrients are essential for maintaining brain function and cognition. The consumption of a good balance of macronutrients enhances cognitive performance, whereas too high an intake of certain foods has sometimes been shown to lead to metabolic disruptions and chronic diseases. In this chapter we discuss the metabolism of carbohydrates and proteins in relation to cognition and AD. Other topics include the effects of glucose on cognition and memory, and the requirements for specific amino acids in brain function
A Political Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson
No full textFrom before the Civil War until his death in 1882, Ralph Waldo Emerson was renowned—and renounced—as one of the United States’ most prominent abolitionists and as a leading visionary of the nation’s liberal democratic future. Following his death, however, both Emerson’s political activism and his political thought faded from public memory, replaced by the myth of the genteel man of letters and the detached sage of individualism. In the 1990s, scholars rediscovered Emerson’s antislavery writings and began reviving his legacy as a political activist. A Political Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson is the first collection to evaluate Emerson’s political thought in light of his recently rediscovered political activism.
What were Emerson’s politics? A Political Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson authoritatively answers this question with seminal essays by some of the most prominent thinkers ever to write about Emerson—Stanley Cavell, George Kateb, Judith N. Shklar, and Wilson Carey McWilliams—as well as many of today’s leading Emerson scholars. With an introduction that effectively destroys the “pernicious myth about Emerson’s apolitical individualism” by editors Alan M. Levine and Daniel S. Malachuk, this volume reassesses Emerson’s famous theory of self-reliance in light of his antislavery politics, demonstrates the importance of transcendentalism to his politics, and explores the enduring significance of his thought for liberal democracy.
Including a substantial bibliography of work on Emerson’s politics over the last century, A Political Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson is an indispensable resource for students of Emerson, American literature, and American political thought, as well as for those who wrestle with the fundamental challenges of democracy and liberalism.
Alan M. Levine, associate professor of political theory at American University, is the author of Sensual Philosophy: Toleration, Skepticism, and Montaigne’s Politics of the Self.
Daniel S. Malachuk, associate professor of English at Western Illinois University, is the author of Perfection, the State, and Victorian Liberalism.
This volume will quickly become indispensible for anyone writing about Emerson as a political thinker. -- Alex Zakaras, author of Mass Democracy: Mill, Emerson, and the Burdens of Citizenship
An important and timely corrective to the political inheritance of Emerson’s thinking—especially to the long-standing ‘pernicious myth’ of Emerson’s apolitical individualism. This collection demonstrates how Emerson is, and always has been, essential to our understanding and theorizing of American politics. -- David LaRocca, author of On Emerson and editor of Emerson’s Transcendental Etudes
A pathbreaking set of essays on the politics of Emerson. . . . Highly recommended. -- Choice
Makes a compelling case for reassessing Emerson\u27s political thought. -- Colloquyhttps://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_english_language_and_literature_north_america/1072/thumbnail.jp
Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases
No full textNeurodegenerative diseases are a heterogeneous group of disorders or conditions characterised by the progressive degeneration of the structure and function of the central nervous system or the peripheral nervous system. Some are considered to be caused by protein misfolding, some involve disruptions to intracellular processes such as mitochondrial function or protein degradation pathways, and some are genetic in origin. Whatever the original cause of the disease, the greatest risk factor for most of these diseases is increasing age. This book is mostly focused on Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet in this chapter we describe Alzheimer's as well as other major neurodegenerative conditions to demonstrate both similarities and differences
Concepções de orientadores acadêmicos e estudantes dos cursos de pedagogia a distância da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso sobre ensino e aprendizagem
No full textTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências da Educação. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação.Essa pesquisa é resultante de uma análise sobre as concepções de orientadores acadêmicos e estudantes dos cursos de pedagogia a distância da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso sobre ensino e aprendizagem. O objetivo era verificar se, nas concepções sobre ensino e aprendizagem, emergeriam elementos pertencentes aos conceitos estruturantes da Epistemologia Genética de Jean Piaget. A escolha da UFMT para a realização desta pesquisa ocorreu porque nosso objeto de estudo é resultante de uma observação/problematização de nossa experiência como coordenadora de um dos pólos do Curso de Pedagogia na modalidade Licenciatura para os Anos Iniciais do Ensino Fundamental nessa instituição. Além disso, a UFMT foi a primeira instituição a implantar um Curso de Graduação/Formação de professores a distância no Brasil, ou seja, o Curso de Pedagogia na modalidade Licenciatura para os Anos Iniciais do Ensino Fundamental, implantado em 1995 e em fase de conclusão das últimas turmas, já tendo formado duas turmas. E foi também a primeira em implantar o Curso de Licenciatura em Pedagogia para Educação Infantil - modalidade a distância, em 2006. Por isso, os participantes desta pesquisa são orientadores acadêmicos/tutores e estudantes dos dois cursos de formação de professores acima citados. A metodologia utilizada foi a análise de conteúdo das representações sociais, obtidas por meio de questionários abertos e evocações livres. Os dados foram tabulados e processados em planilhas eletrônicas elaboradas no Excel da Microsoft e no SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) para Windows-Microsoft que oferece possibilidades de cálculo estatístico e informes científicos. Os resultados, obtidos por meio de tais programas foram interpretados mediante análise qualitativa. Na análise de conteúdo das concepções sobre ensino e aprendizagem, etapa de tabulação dos dados da pesquisa por meio de planilhas e programas estatísticos obtivemos dos questionários: categorias e subcategorias de análise do conteúdo das respostas dos participantes da pesquisa; das evocações livres: a ordem e a freqüência dos termos evocados. As categorias e subcategorias obtidas por meio dos questionários constituem dados que foram complementados e comparados com termos evocados nas evocações livres. As concepções resultantes dessa pesquisa apresentaram uma estrutura não convencional, ou seja, uma estrutura formada por elementos periféricos, sem elementos no núcleo central, tomando por base as análises de conteúdo das representações sociais, conforme a Teoria do Núcleo Central. Sobre ensino, as concepções evidenciaram uma zona muda e, sobre aprendizagem elas apresentaram um início de familiarização com a Epistemologia Genética. Em comparação com os Projetos Político Pedagógicos dos Cursos, as concepções revelaram um conhecimento estruturado sobre a parte prática do curso, especificamente quanto à avaliação dos estudantes e capacitação dos orientadores acadêmicos, mas não apresentaram conteúdo estruturado sobre a parte teórica, não revelaram elementos das teorias construtivistas, nem possibilitaram um núcleo de representação. Portanto, não podemos considerar que os participantes da pesquisa construíram conhecimentos sobre os conceitos de ensino e aprendizagem, pois se assim o fizeram, nessa pesquisa não os verbalizaram. Nesse sentido, esperamos ter contribuído com referenciais para a avaliação de cursos de formação de professores a distância, para a formação de pessoal na área da Educação a distância e para a proposição da política nacional de formação a distância, mediante o crescimento da demanda a ser formada por meio dessa modalidade e do aumento do número de instituições que estão ou irão formar professores a distância
- …
