Exploring exercise participation and the usability of the adaptive rower and arm crank ergometer through wheelchair users' perspectives.

Purpose: Arm crank ergometry and adaptive rowing are existing exercise options for wheelchairs users, but not commonly available. This study was conducted to explore exercise participation of wheelchair users, as well as the usability of the adaptive rowing ergometer (aROW) and arm crank ergometer (ACE).

Methods: This mixed-methods study used a concurrent triangulation design.

Effects of NGF, NT-3 and GDNF family members on neurite outgrowth and migration from pelvic ganglia from embryonic and newborn mice.

Background: Pelvic ganglia are derived from the sacral neural crest and contain both sympathetic and parasympathetic neurons. Various members of the neurotrophin and GDNF families of neurotrophic factors have been shown to play important roles in the development of a variety of peripheral sympathetic and parasympathetic neurons; however, to date, the role of these factors in the development of pelvic ganglia has been limited to postnatal and older ages. We examined the effects of NGF, NT-3, GDNF, neurturin and artemin on cell migration and neurite outgrowth from explants of the pelvic ganglia from embryonic and newborn mice grown on collagen gels, and correlated the responses with the immunohistochemical localization of the relevant receptors in fixed tissue.

Effects of pharmacological inhibition of small GTPases on axon extension and migration of enteric neural crest-derived cells.

In the developing enteric nervous system, there is a close association between migrating neural crest-derived cells and the axons of early differentiating neurons. We used pharmacological inhibitors of small GTPases to determine if crest cell migration and axon growth could be uncoupled in cultured intact explants of embryonic mouse gut and slices of embryonic gut grown on collagen gels containing GDNF. Inhibition of the Rho effectors, ROCKI/II, or Rac/Cdc42 inhibited both cell migration and neurite growth in intact explants of embryonic gut.

Characterization of lacZ-expressing cells in the gut of embryonic and adult DbetaH-nlacZ mice.

In mice that express lacZ under the control of a human dopamine beta-hydroxylase gene promoter (DbetaH-nlacZ mice), the nuclei of enteric neurons express the transgene, as shown by the presence of beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) staining (Mercer et al. [1991] Neuron 7:703-716). The transgene is also expressed by neural crest-derived cells in the developing gut before their differentiation into neurons or glial cells (Kapur et al.