Craniovertebral and spinal adhesive arachnoiditis: a late complication of ruptured vertebral and posterior inferior cerebellar arteries aneurysms.

Background: Adhesive arachnoiditis is a rare yet serious complication that may occur following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). In this circumstance, it is mainly due to ruptured vertebral artery (VA) or posterior inferior artery (PICA) aneurysms. It disrupts cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow leading to complications such as spinal arachnoiditis, syringomyelia, trapped 4th ventricle, or a combination of these conditions.

Spontaneous intracranial vertebral artery dissections presenting with subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Background: Vertebral artery dissection (VAD) is an infrequent source of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), with a high mortality rate, primarily due to the risk of rebleeding both before and after medical intervention. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the anatomy, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, treatment strategies, and outcomes of intracranial vertebral artery dissections that result in subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Methods: Comprehensive five-year literature review (2018-2022) and a retrospective analysis of patient records from our institution between 2016 and 2022.

"What Services?": Stakeholders' Perceived Unmet Support Needs for Parents With Neurological Disorders.

Knowledge about the needs of parents with neurological disorders who take care of young children is limited. The overall aim of this qualitative study was to explore the perceived unmet parent needs, current supports, and potential solutions to optimize supports of parents with neurological disorders in early childhood in a Canadian setting. Focus groups and individual interviews with parents (  =  8), spouses (  =  5), rehabilitation clinicians (  =  8), community partners (  =  7), and researchers (  =  7) were conducted with a total of 35 participants recruited using convenience sampling.

Babycare Assistance Needs of Parents With Physical Disabilities: An Observational Study.

The assistance needs of parents with physical disabilities have been widely underexamined. This qualitative observational study described the assistance needs of parents with physical disabilities during the performance of in-home babycare activities. Thirty-one parents were assessed by trained occupational therapists using the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Profile adapted for use with parents, an ecological performance-based assessment that considers executive functioning.

Non-persistent exposures from plasticizers or plastic constituents in remote Arctic communities: a case for further research.

Background: Persistent organic pollutant exposures are well-documented in the Arctic, but fewer studies examined non-persistent chemicals, despite increased market food and consumer product consumption.

Objective: To measure phenol, paraben, phthalate, and alternative plasticizer concentrations in Inuit adults.

Methods: The study included 30 pooled urine samples from Qanuilirpitaa? 2017 Nunavik Inuit Health Survey (Q2017) participants.

Exposure to benzene, toluene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Nunavimmiut aged 16 years and over (Nunavik, Canada) - Qanuilirpitaa 2017 survey.

There are numerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that Inuit may be exposed to from combustion, cooking, heating, vehicle exhaust, active and passive smoking and other local sources of contaminants such as oil spills or open-air burning in landfills. To better assess the levels of exposure to these non-persistent chemicals, we measured a suite of benzene, toluene (two VOCs) and PAHs metabolites in pooled urine samples from youth and adults aged 16 years old and over who participated in the Qanuilirpitaa? 2017 Inuit Health Survey (Q2017), a population health survey conducted in Nunavik. A cost-effective pooling strategy was established and 30 different pools from individual urine samples (n = 1266) were created by grouping individual urine samples by sex, age groups and regions.

Stroke knowledge among middle and high school students.

Objective: To determine the awareness of stroke symptoms and risk factors in middle and high school students at a single institution.

Methods: An 11-question multiple-choice stroke awareness survey was administered to students in grades 7 to 12 at City High Middle School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Summary statistics were calculated.

Exploring Acuity-Adaptable Care in a Rural Hospital.

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess benefits of the acuity-adaptable (AA) care model in rural hospitals.

Background: The AA model aims to provide care in the same space from admission to discharge regardless of acuity. Evidence is lacking to support claims that AA care will improve patient safety, increase nurse productivity, and improve patient/staff satisfaction in rural hospitals.

Source Control and Graft Preservation Using Negative Pressure Wound Therapy with Antibiotic Instillation: A Case Report.

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is widely used to treat many types of complex wounds, and the advent of the instillation and dwell time (NPWTi-d) technique has enhanced this system with the addition of automated treatment with topical solutions. In the field of vascular surgery, NPWT is utilized to help close wounds over underlying grafts; however keeping these wounds free of infection and avoiding large reoperation when infection occurs remains a challenge. In this case report we present a patient who required acute intervention for limb ischemia, with a large wound created in the groin for anastomosis of a prosthetic graft bypass.

Npas4 deficiency increases vulnerability to juvenile stress in mice.

During specific windows of postnatal brain development, individuals are particularly susceptible to developing mental illnesses in adulthood. Adolescence is such a window during which environmental stress can have long-lasting consequences on social and cognitive functions. In individuals, highly vulnerable to stress, a relatively mild stressful situation can trigger the onset of psychiatric conditions.

Dynamic expression of the polysialyltransferase in adult rat hippocampus performing an olfactory associative task.

Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is associated with polysialic acid (PSA), and its function is highly dependent on the extent of polysialylation through the activity of two polysialyltransferases, sialyltransferase-X (STX) and polysialyltransferase (PST). PSA-NCAM plays an important role in synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus. The involvement of STX and PST during mnesic processes was assessed in the adult rat hippocampus.

BAMBI regulates angiogenesis and endothelial homeostasis through modulation of alternative TGFβ signaling.

Background: BAMBI is a type I TGFβ receptor antagonist, whose in vivo function remains unclear, as BAMBI(-/-) mice lack an obvious phenotype.

Methodology/principal Findings: Identifying BAMBI's functions requires identification of cell-specific expression of BAMBI. By immunohistology we found BAMBI expression restricted to endothelial cells and by electron microscopy BAMBI(-/-) mice showed prominent and swollen endothelial cells in myocardial and glomerular capillaries.

Myeloid cell-derived hypoxia-inducible factor attenuates inflammation in unilateral ureteral obstruction-induced kidney injury.

Renal fibrosis and inflammation are associated with hypoxia, and tissue pO(2) plays a central role in modulating the progression of chronic kidney disease. Key mediators of cellular adaptation to hypoxia are hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 and -2. In the kidney, they are expressed in a cell type-specific manner; to what degree activation of each homolog modulates renal fibrogenesis and inflammation has not been established.

BAMBI is expressed in endothelial cells and is regulated by lysosomal/autolysosomal degradation.

Background: BAMBI (BMP and Activin Membrane Bound Inhibitor) is considered to influence TGFβ and Wnt signaling, and thereby fibrosis. Surprisingly data on cell type-specific expression of BAMBI are not available. We therefore examined the localization, gene regulation, and protein turnover of BAMBI in kidneys.

The development of the basal ganglia in Capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).

The basal ganglia are subcortical structures involved in the planning, initiation and regulation of movement as well as a variety of non-motor, cognitive and affective functions. Capuchin monkeys share several important characteristics of development with humans, including a prolonged infancy and juvenile period, a long lifespan, and complex manipulative abilities. This makes capuchins important comparative models for understanding age-related neuroanatomical changes in these structures.

Prey capture efficiency in brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) is influenced by sex and corpus callosum morphology.

The diet of capuchin monkeys consists largely of fruits, but these monkeys commonly prey upon insects and other invertebrates as well as vertebrates such as lizards, birds, and fish. Capturing small fast-moving prey requires the ability to process complex visuospatial information such as motion detection, shape, and pursuit. Here we report the results of an experimental investigation into whether capuchins display sex differences in prey capture efficiency, and whether these differences are associated with the morphology of regions of the corpus callosum (CC) involved in visuospatial ability.

Do dogs (Canis familiaris) show contagious yawning?

We report an experimental investigation into whether domesticated dogs display contagious yawning. Fifteen dogs were shown video clips of (1) humans and (2) dogs displaying yawns and open-mouth expressions (not yawns) to investigate whether dogs showed contagious yawning to either of these social stimuli. Only one dog performed significantly more yawns during or shortly after viewing yawning videos than to the open-mouth videos, and most of these yawns occurred to the human videos.

In vivo evaluation of whey protein-based biofilms as scaffolds for cutaneous cell cultures and biomedical applications.

This study evaluated the toxicity, biodegradability and immunogenicity of newly developed whey protein-based biofilms for possible use as biomaterials for medical applications. Biofilms were prepared using (A) a whey protein isolate plasticized with either diethylene glycol (DEG) or glycerol (GLY), and (B) beta-lactoglobulin (betaLGA) plasticized with DEG. The biofilms were implanted subcutaneously into Balb/c mice.

Characterization and evaluation of whey protein-based biofilms as substrates for in vitro cell cultures.

Whey proteins-based biofilms were prepared using different plasticizers in order to obtain a biomaterial for the human keratinocytes and fibroblasts in vitro culture. The film properties were evaluated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) technique and mechanical tests. A relationship was found between the decrease of intermolecular hydrogen bond strength and film mechanical behavior changes, expressed by a breaking stress and Young modulus values diminishing.

Prognostic value of electron-beam computed tomography-derived coronary calcium scores compared with clinical parameters in patients evaluated for coronary artery disease. Prognostic value of EBCT in symptomatic patients.

Objective: The electron-beam computed tomography-(EBCT-)derived calcium score provides a measure of coronary atherosclerotic plaque disease which may allow for more precise risk stratification in symptomatic patients. However, it remains unclear if EBCT can add prognostic information compared with the clinical information derived from risk factor assessment, exercise stress testing, and coronary angiography.

Methods And Results: A cohort of 300 consecutive patients with recent (<3 months) onset of symptoms was retrospectively identified who were examined for possible coronary artery disease (CAD) and who all underwent EBCT.