Education Research: Neurologic Education in Physician Assistant Programs.

Background And Objectives: A growing number of advanced practice providers (APPs) are entering neurologic practice, and educational initiatives focused on postgraduate training in neurology for these providers are growing in turn. Neurologic education in APP degree programs is not well defined, which limits the ability to tailor these initiatives to the specific needs of APPs. We aim to describe neurologic education in physician assistant (PA) degree programs to better inform these efforts.

Striatal volumes as potential biomarkers in Eating Disorders: A pilot study.

Introduction: Differences in bulimic and impulsive behaviours in Eating Disorders (ED) have been associated with cortico-striatal circuit dysfunction at a neurobiological level. We sought to investigate neo-striatal volume as a biomarker in ED subgroups as well as the possible relationship with trauma history.

Material And Methods: We studied 24 female patients: Anorexia Nervosa AN (n=8), Bulimia Nervosa BN (n=9), comorbid ED with borderline personality disorder (EDc; n=7), and a group of Healthy Controls (n=19).

Striatal volumes as potential biomarkers in Eating Disorders: A pilot study.

Introduction: Differences in bulimic and impulsive behaviours in Eating Disorders (ED) have been associated with cortico-striatal circuit dysfunction at a neurobiological level. We sought to investigate neo-striatal volume as a biomarker in ED subgroups as well as the possible relationship with trauma history.

Material And Methods: We studied 24 female patients: Anorexia Nervosa AN (n=8), Bulimia Nervosa BN (n=9), comorbid ED with borderline personality disorder (EDc; n=7), and a group of Healthy Controls (n=19).

In Vivo Femtosecond Laser Subsurface Cortical Microtransections Attenuate Acute Rat Focal Seizures.

Recent evidence shows that seizures propagate primarily through supragranular cortical layers. To selectively modify these circuits, we developed a new technique using tightly focused, femtosecond infrared laser pulses to make as small as ~100 µm-wide subsurface cortical incisions surrounding an epileptic focus. We use this "laser scalpel" to produce subsurface cortical incisions selectively to supragranular layers surrounding an epileptic focus in an acute rodent seizure model.

The features of skin inflammation induced by lupus serum.

We recently developed a model of lupus serum-induced skin inflammation, which was used to study the pathogenesis of skin injury in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We further characterized the features of lupus serum-induced skin inflammation. This skin inflammation was evident within 3h and lasted for at least two weeks.

A fully integrated paperfluidic molecular diagnostic chip for the extraction, amplification, and detection of nucleic acids from clinical samples.

Paper diagnostics have successfully been employed to detect the presence of antigens or small molecules in clinical samples through immunoassays; however, the detection of many disease targets relies on the much higher sensitivity and specificity achieved via nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT). The steps involved in NAAT have recently begun to be explored in paper matrices, and our group, among others, has reported on paper-based extraction, amplification, and detection of DNA and RNA targets. Here, we integrate these paper-based NAAT steps into a single paperfluidic chip in a modular, foldable system that allows for fully integrated fluidic handling from sample to result.

Role of G-protein-coupled receptor-related genes in insecticide resistance of the mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus.

G-protein-coupled receptors regulate signal transduction pathways and play diverse and pivotal roles in the physiology of insects, however, the precise function of GPCRs in insecticide resistance remains unclear. Using quantitative RT-PCR and functional genomic methods, we, for the first time, explored the function of GPCRs and GPCR-related genes in insecticide resistance of mosquitoes, Culex quinquefasciatus. A comparison of the expression of 115 GPCR-related genes at a whole genome level between resistant and susceptible Culex mosquitoes identified one and three GPCR-related genes that were up-regulated in highly resistant Culex mosquito strains, HAmCq(G8) and MAmCq(G6), respectively.

A Disposable Microfluidic Virus Concentration Device Based on Evaporation and Interfacial Tension.

We report a disposable and highly effective polymeric microfluidic viral sample concentration device capable of increasing the concentration of virus in a human nasopharyngeal specimen more than one order of magnitude in less than 30 min without the use of a centrifuge. The device is fabricated using 3D maskless xurography method using commercially available polymeric materials, which require no cleanroom operations. The disposable components can be fabricated and assembled in five minutes.

Targeted tumor necrosis factor receptor I preligand assembly domain improves skin lesions in MRL/lpr mice.

Objective: Skin disease is the second most common manifestation in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) preligand assembly domain (PLAD) has been found to block the effect of TNFalpha, and TNFRI PLAD (p60 PLAD) inhibits inflammatory arthritis. This study was undertaken to investigate whether TNFR PLAD limits inflammatory skin injury in a mouse model of SLE.

Lupus serum IgG induces skin inflammation through the TNFR1 signaling pathway.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by high autoantibody levels and multiorgan tissue damage, including kidney and skin. Cutaneous manifestations are frequent in patients with SLE, yet the etiology and pathogenesis of skin injury in SLE remains unclear. We reasoned that lupus serum containing high levels of autoreactive Ig contributes to skin injury.

Suppression of skin and kidney disease by inhibition of spleen tyrosine kinase in lupus-prone mice.

Objective: Spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) is involved in membrane-mediated signaling in various cells, including immune cells. It is overexpressed in T cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and its inhibition has been shown to improve T cell function as well as to improve disease manifestations in (NZB x NZW)F(1) lupus-prone mice and in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. While clinical trials examining Syk inhibition in patients with SLE are being considered, the aim of our experiments was to determine whether the therapeutic effects of Syk inhibition extend to other strains of lupus-prone mice and whether they result in improvement in skin disease and modification of established disease.

Thalamic damage in periventricular leukomalacia: novel pathologic observations relevant to cognitive deficits in survivors of prematurity.

Despite major advances in the long-term survival of premature infants, cognitive deficits occur in 30-50% of very preterm (<32 gestational weeks) survivors. Impaired working memory and attention despite average global intelligence are central to the academic difficulties of the survivors. Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), characterized by periventricular necrosis and diffuse gliosis in the cerebral white matter, is the major brain pathology in preterm infants.

Development of microglia in the cerebral white matter of the human fetus and infant.

Although microglial activation may be an initial beneficial response to a variety of insults, prolonged activation can release toxic substances and lead to cell death. Microglial activation secondary to hypoxia-ischemia and/or infection in immature cerebral white matter is important in the pathogenesis of periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), the major pathological substrate of cerebral palsy in the premature infant. We hypothesize that a transient overexpression in activated microglial density occurs normally in the cerebral white matter of the human fetus during the peak window of vulnerability for PVL.

Axonal development in the cerebral white matter of the human fetus and infant.

After completion of neuronal migration to form the cerebral cortex, axons undergo rapid elongation to their intra- and subcortical targets, from midgestation through infancy. We define axonal development in the human parietal white matter in this critical period. Immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis were performed on 46 normative cases from 20-183 postconceptional (PC) weeks.