Activity of protease-activated receptors in the human submucous plexus.

Background & Aims: Protease-activated receptors (PARs) are expressed in the enteric nervous system. Excessive release of proteases has been reported in functional and inflammatory bowel diseases. Studies in several animal models indicate the involvement of neural PARs.

Enterococcus faecalis metalloprotease compromises epithelial barrier and contributes to intestinal inflammation.

Background & Aims: Matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) mediate pathogenesis of chronic intestinal inflammation. We characterized the role of the gelatinase (GelE), a metalloprotease from Enterococcus faecalis, in the development of colitis in mice.

Methods: Germ-free, interleukin-10-deficient (IL-10(-/-)) mice were monoassociated with the colitogenic E faecalis strain OG1RF and isogenic, GelE-mutant strains.

'Benign' ovarian teratoma and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis in a child.

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is a life-threatening paraneoplastic neuropsychiatric encephalitis that predominantly affects young women and has a strong association with ovarian teratomas. Removal of the ovarian teratomas improves the prognosis and decreases the risk of recurrence. We present an 11-year-old girl with NMDAR encephalitis with small bilateral teratomas not initially appreciated on abdominal CT or pelvic MRI.

Nurses' experiences, expectations, and preferences for mind-body practices to reduce stress.

Background: Most research on the impact of mind-body training does not ask about participants' baseline experience, expectations, or preferences for training. To better plan participant-centered mind-body intervention trials for nurses to reduce occupational stress, such descriptive information would be valuable.

Methods: We conducted an anonymous email survey between April and June, 2010 of North American nurses interested in mind-body training to reduce stress.

Evaluation of ergocalciferol or cholecalciferol dosing, 1,600 IU daily or 50,000 IU monthly in older adults.

Context: Whether ergocalciferol (D(2)) and cholecalciferol (D(3)) are equally effective to increase and maintain serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration is controversial.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of daily and once monthly dosing of D(2) or D(3) on circulating 25(OH)D and serum and urinary calcium.

Design, Setting And Participants: In a university clinical research setting, 64 community dwelling adults age 65+ were randomly assigned to receive daily (1,600 IU) or once-monthly (50,000 IU) D(2) or D(3) for 1 yr.

Cognitive dysfunction and prefrontal synaptic abnormalities in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome.

Among the hallmark phenotypes reported in individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS) are deficits in attentional function, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility, a set of cognitive skills thought to be associated with the prefrontal cortex (PFC). However, despite substantial clinical research into these core deficits, the PFC has received surprisingly little attention in preclinical research, particularly in animal models of FXS. In this study, we sought to investigate the molecular, cellular, and behavioral consequences of the loss of the fragile X mental retardation protein in the PFC of Fmr1 KO mice, a mouse model of FXS.

Leptin excites enteric neurons of guinea-pig submucous and myenteric plexus.

Background: Leptin, one of the most prominent mediators released from adipocytes, influences neuronal activity in the central nervous system. The enteric nervous system (ENS) expresses leptin receptors but consequence of activation of these receptors on enteric neuron activity has not been systematically studied. An adipocyte-ENS axis is suggested by close apposition between enteric nerves and adipocytes.

Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis presenting with imaging findings and clinical features mimicking Rasmussen syndrome.

Background: Antibody mediated anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor encephalitis is a recently reported diagnosis of clinical importance. Recognition of the syndrome, especially in pediatric populations, is difficult and often undiagnosed and/or confused with neurological disorders with similar clinical features.

Results: We report a case of an 11 year old female with explosive-onset epilepsy and predominantly unilateral frontal lobe abnormalities on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) neuroimaging.

Toward fulfilling the promise of molecular medicine in fragile X syndrome.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited form of mental retardation and a leading known cause of autism. It is caused by loss of expression of the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), an RNA-binding protein that negatively regulates protein synthesis. In neurons, multiple lines of evidence suggest that protein synthesis at synapses is triggered by activation of group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptors (Gp1 mGluRs) and that many functional consequences of activating these receptors are altered in the absence of FMRP.

Agonists at the serotonin receptor (5-HT(1A)) protect the retina from severe photo-oxidative stress.

Purpose: 5-HT(1A) agonists are neuroprotective in CNS injury models. The authors evaluated the efficacy of 5-HT(1A) agonists to protect the retina from severe blue light-induced photo-oxidative damage.

Methods: Albino rats were dosed (subcutaneously) with AL-8309A, 8-OH DPAT, or buspirone once or three times before 6-hour exposure to blue light.

Hypersensitivity to mGluR5 and ERK1/2 leads to excessive protein synthesis in the hippocampus of a mouse model of fragile X syndrome.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is caused by loss of the FMR1 gene product FMRP (fragile X mental retardation protein), a repressor of mRNA translation. According to the metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) theory of FXS, excessive protein synthesis downstream of mGluR5 activation causes the synaptic pathophysiology that underlies multiple aspects of FXS. Here, we use an in vitro assay of protein synthesis in the hippocampus of male Fmr1 knock-out (KO) mice to explore the molecular mechanisms involved in this core biochemical phenotype under conditions where aberrant synaptic physiology has been observed.

Everolimus for subependymal giant-cell astrocytomas in tuberous sclerosis.

Background: Neurosurgical resection is the standard treatment for subependymal giant-cell astrocytomas in patients with the tuberous sclerosis complex. An alternative may be the use of everolimus, which inhibits the mammalian target of rapamycin, a protein regulated by gene products involved in the tuberous sclerosis complex.

Methods: Patients 3 years of age or older with serial growth of subependymal giant-cell astrocytomas were eligible for this open-label study.

Subjective and objective outcome after revision arthroscopic stabilization for recurrent anterior instability versus initial shoulder stabilization.

Background: The value of arthroscopic revision shoulder stabilization after failed instability repair is still a matter of debate.

Hypothesis: Arthroscopic revision shoulder stabilization using suture anchors provides equivalent subjective and objective results compared with initial arthroscopic instability repair.

Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Current status of clinical 25-hydroxyvitamin D measurement: an assessment of between-laboratory agreement.

Background: Historically, methodological differences and lack of standardization led to between-laboratory variability in 25(OH)D results. Recent observations raised concern about persisting variability. This quality assurance exercise investigated 25(OH)D result comparability between laboratories.

Signaling mechanisms involved in the intestinal pro-secretory actions of hydrogen sulfide.

Background: H(2) S actions in the gut involve neural activation. This study aimed to reveal the signaling mechanisms responsible for the pro-secretory effect of H(2) S by using TRPV1 and unselective TRP blockers and inhibitors of other signaling cascades hitherto described to be targeted by H(2) S elsewhere.

Methods: Ussing chamber voltage clamp technique was used to study actions of the H(2) S donor NaHS on secretion in guinea-pig and human colon.

Acoustical and vibrometry analysis of a large Balinese gamelan gong.

The Balinese gamelan gong ageng wadon produces distinct acoustic beating (called ombak) when struck. This phenomenon is explored using both acoustical and vibrometry measurements. The measurements have revealed the beating has two sources.

Jumping mechanography: a potential tool for sarcopenia evaluation in older individuals.

Muscular function declines with advancing age and is associated with increased risk for falls and fragility fractures. No single methodology ideally quantitatively evaluates this decline. Jumping mechanography (JM) may prove useful to quantitatively measure muscular function in older adults.

Low vitamin D status: definition, prevalence, consequences, and correction.

Vitamin D is obtained from cutaneous production when 7-dehydrocholesterol is converted to vitamin D(3) (cholecalciferol) by ultraviolet B radiation or by oral intake of vitamin D(2) (ergocalciferol) and D(3). An individual's vitamin D status is best evaluated by measuring the circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration. Although controversy surrounds the definition of low vitamin D status, there is increasing agreement that the optimal circulating 25(OH)D level should be approximately 30 to 32 ng/mL or above.

Activation of mGluR5 induces rapid and long-lasting protein kinase D phosphorylation in hippocampal neurons.

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs), including mGluR5, play a central role in regulating the strength and plasticity of synaptic connections in the brain. However, the signaling pathways that connect mGluRs to their downstream effectors are not yet fully understood. Here, we report that stimulation of mGluR5 in hippocampal cultures and slices results in phosphorylation of protein kinase D (PKD) at the autophosphorylation site Ser-916.

Slight abduction/adduction deviations in femur positioning for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry are inconsequential.

Straight femur alignment during dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) acquisition is assumed to help ensure accurate bone mineral density (BMD) measurement. Use of bilateral femur positioners may not result in straight femur alignment. To assess the effect of a bilateral femur positioner on DXA results, we compared a standard fixed-width bilateral femur positioner with an adjustable-width positioner that allowed for straight femur alignment.

Prior chronic cocaine exposure in mice induces persistent alterations in cognitive function.

Chronic cocaine use has been proposed to induce long-lasting alterations in cognitive functions dependent on the prefrontal cortex, and these alterations may contribute to the development of addiction. However, the underlying cellular mechanisms remain largely unknown, in part because of the lack of suitable animal models of cocaine-induced cognitive dysfunction that are amenable to molecular manipulations. Here, we characterized the effects of repeated cocaine administration on multiple aspects of cognitive function in C57BL/6 mice.

25-hydroxyvitamin D measurement, 2009: a review for clinicians.

As clinicians are more widely appreciating the endemic nature of low vitamin D status, measurement of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), the accepted measure of vitamin D status, has increased. Challenges to 25(OH)D measurement include the presence of 2 forms of vitamin D-ergocalciferol and cholecalciferol (vitamin D(2) and vitamin D(3), respectively)- and the hydrophobic nature of vitamin D. The current state of 25(OH)D measurement is reviewed; modest differences between methodologies persist and confound the application of a single cut point (e.

Wind-bias correction method for narrowband sodium Doppler lidars using iodine absorption spectroscopy.

We present a technique to measure the frequency chirp introduced by the laser pulse amplification process in the transmitter of the Colorado State University sodium lidar system. This chirp causes a systematic radial wind bias that must be removed from the reported wind measurements. An iodine absorption line located near the lidar operating wavelength of 589.