Can Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment Build Cognitive Reserve and Learn Mindfulness Meditation? Qualitative Theme Analyses from a Small Pilot Study.

Background/objective: High levels of chronic stress negatively impact the hippocampus and are associated with increased incidence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease. While mindfulness meditation may mitigate the effects of chronic stress, it is uncertain if adults with MCI have the capacity to learn mindfulness meditation.

Methods: 14 adults with MCI were randomized 2:1 to Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or a wait-list control group.

Meditation's impact on default mode network and hippocampus in mild cognitive impairment: a pilot study.

Those with high baseline stress levels are more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). While meditation may reduce stress and alter the hippocampus and default mode network (DMN), little is known about its impact in these populations. Our objective was to conduct a "proof of concept" trial to determine whether Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) would improve DMN connectivity and reduce hippocampal atrophy among adults with MCI.

Variation in the genetic environments of bla(CTX-M-15) in Escherichia coli from the faeces of travellers returning to the United Kingdom.

Objective: The genetic surroundings of bla(CTX-M-15) in Escherichia coli recovered from faeces of travellers returning to the UK from overseas were compared with those among established UK strains to provide further insights into the spread of bla(CTX-M-15) in the UK.

Methods: From August 2006 to January 2008, 1031 faecal specimens were collected at the North West London NHS Trust from general practice patients with a clinical history of diarrhoea following recent international travel. Cefuroxime-resistant E.

Brucellosis acquired by eating imported cheese.

Pyrexia of unknown origin is an important clinical presentation in both paediatric and adult medicine. We present a case of pyrexia of unknown origin in a 14 year-old boy which turned out to be due to infection with Brucella melitensis, despite the patient not having left Great Britain - an officially brucellosis-free country - in six years. Repeated history-taking provided a clue to the diagnosis.

Coordinated patterns of gene expressions for adult muscle build-up in transgenic mice expressing myostatin propeptide.

Background: Skeletal muscle growth and maintenance are essential for human health. One of the muscle regulatory genes, namely myostatin, a member of transforming growth factor-beta, plays a dominant role in the genetic control of muscle mass. Myostatin is synthesized as a precursor protein, which generates the N-terminal propeptide and the C-terminal mature myostatin peptide by a post-translational cleavage event.

Rapid molecular detection of rifampicin resistance facilitates early diagnosis and treatment of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis: case control study.

Background: Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a major public health concern since diagnosis is often delayed, increasing the risk of spread to the community and health care workers. Treatment is prolonged, and the total cost of treating a single case is high. Diagnosis has traditionally relied upon clinical suspicion, based on risk factors and culture with sensitivity testing, a process that can take weeks or months.

Teaching Tai Chi with mindfulness-based stress reduction to middle school children in the inner city: a review of the literature and approaches.

Tai Chi (TC) is the focus of a growing body of literature both qualitative and empirical. Yet there is a paucity of literature on teaching TC to either adolescents or children ages 10-13 presumably because of the level of attention and concentration TC requires. In the pediatric setting, TC appears best combined with other practice activities like mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) that complement the practice of TC, sustain interest and synergistically enhance the benefits TC has been shown to produce in older populations.

Prospective study of sputum induction, gastric washing, and bronchoalveolar lavage for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in patients who are unable to expectorate.

Background: Many adults with pulmonary tuberculosis are unable to expectorate. Gastric washing, sputum induction using nebulized hypertonic saline, and bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage have all been used to obtain specimens for diagnosis, but to our knowledge, the timing and volume of induced sputum have not been well studied, and these 3 methods have not been compared.

Methods: The study recruited consecutive adult inpatients with chest radiography findings suggestive of tuberculosis who were unable to expectorate.

Lactation induction as a predictor of post-parturition transgene expression in bovine milk.

The bovine's long generation interval results in a delay of several years when evaluating mammary specific transgenes in genetically engineered animals. This experiment was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of reducing that waiting period. Lactation was induced in prepubertal bull and heifer calves as a means of predicting transgene behaviour during subsequent post-parturient lactations in the heifers themselves, and in daughters sired by the bulls.

Engineering disease resistant cattle.

Mastitis is a disease of the mammary gland caused by pathogens that find their way into the lumen of the gland through the teat canal. Mammary gland infections cost the US dairy industry approximately $2 billion dollars annually and have a similar impact in Europe. In the absence of effective treatments or breeding strategies to enhance mastitis resistance, we have created transgenic dairy cows that express lysostaphin in their mammary epithelium and secrete the antimicrobial peptide into milk.

Transgenic expression of myostatin propeptide prevents diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance.

Obesity and insulin resistance cause serious consequences to human health. To study effects of skeletal muscle growth on obesity prevention, we focused on a key gene of skeletal muscle named myostatin, which plays an inhibitory role in muscle growth and development. We generated transgenic mice through muscle-specific expression of the cDNA sequence (5'-region 886 nucleotides) encoding for the propeptide of myostatin.

Blind and sighted pedestrians' judgments of gaps in traffic at roundabouts.

This paper reports two experiments about street crossing under conditions of free flowing traffic, with a focus on modem roundabout intersections. Experiment 1 was conducted at three roundabouts varying in size and traffic volume. Six totally blind and six sighted adults judged whether gaps in traffic were long enough to permit crossing to the median (splitter) island before the next vehicle arrived.

Tai Chi and mindfulness-based stress reduction in a Boston Public Middle School.

This article provides a description of a clinical project that used combined Tai Chi and mindfulness-based stress reduction as an educational program. The 5-week program demonstrated that sustained interest in this material in middle school-aged boys and girls is possible. Statements the boys and girls made in the process suggested that they experienced well-being, calmness, relaxation, improved sleep, less reactivity, increased self-care, self-awareness, and a sense of interconnection or interdependence with nature.

Comparison of gene expression in individual preimplantation bovine embryos produced by in vitro fertilisation or somatic cell nuclear transfer.

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) have been implicated in a variety of developmental abnormalities. Aberrant gene expression is likely to account for much of the diminished viability and developmental abnormalities observed. In the present study, the expression of multiple genes in IVF and SCNT bovine blastocyst-stage embryos were evaluated and compared with in vivo-produced embryos.

Characterization and management of paradoxical upgrading reactions in HIV-uninfected patients with lymph node tuberculosis.

In a retrospective analysis, paradoxical deterioration of lymph node tuberculosis in human immunodeficiency virus-uninfected patients was common, occurring in 25 (23%) of 109 patients after treatment had been given for a median of 46 days (interquartile range, 21-139 days) and persisting for a median of 67.5 days (interquartile range, 34-111 days). We found no association between the use of steroids and the duration of reaction.

Genetically enhanced cows resist intramammary Staphylococcus aureus infection.

Mastitis, the most consequential disease in dairy cattle, costs the US dairy industry billions of dollars annually. To test the feasibility of protecting animals through genetic engineering, transgenic cows secreting lysostaphin at concentrations ranging from 0.9 to 14 micrograms/ml [corrected] in their milk were produced.

Directional guidance from audible pedestrian signals for street crossing.

Typical audible pedestrian signals indicate when the pedestrian walk interval is in effect but provide little, or even misleading information for directional alignment. In three experiments, blind and blindfolded sighted adults crossed a simulated crossing with recorded traffic noise to approximate street sounds. This was done to investigate how characteristics of signal presentation affected usefulness of the auditory signal for guiding crossing behaviour.

Comparison of bronchoscopy and gastric washings in the investigation of smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis.

This study compares the utility of gastric washings (GWs) and bronchoscopy in the diagnosis of smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). The aim of the study was to identify which investigation or combination of investigations provided the greatest yield of positive Mycobacterium tuberculosis cultures of samples from patients with smear-negative pulmonary TB. We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 180 patients with smear-negative pulmonary TB.

Expression of lysostaphin in milk of transgenic mice affects the growth of neonates.

As an initial step towards enhancing mastitis resistance in dairy animals, we generated BLG-Lys transgenic mice that secrete lysostaphin, a potent antistaphylococcal protein, in their milk. In the current study, we continue our assessment of lysostaphin as a suitable antimicrobial protein for mastitis resistance and have investigated mammary gland development and function in three lines of transgenic mice. As the lines were propagated, there was a tendency for fewer BLG-Lys litters to survive to weaning (51% as compared to 90% for nontransgenic lines, p = 0.

Explaining the output of ensembles in medical decision support on a case by case basis.

The use of ensembles in machine learning (ML) has had a considerable impact in increasing the accuracy and stability of predictors. This increase in accuracy has come at the cost of comprehensibility as, by definition, an ensemble model is considerably more complex than its component models. This is of significance for decision support systems in medicine because of the reluctance to use models that are essentially black boxes.

Molecular characterization of lysozyme type II gene in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): evidence of gene duplication.

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) have two types of lysozyme. Type II lysozyme differs from type I by only one amino acid, but only type II lysozyme has significant bactericidal activity. Due to this novel antibacterial property, lysozyme type II appears to be a candidate gene for enhancing disease resistance in fish as well as livestock species.

Meningococcal disease: treatment and prevention.

Many countries have been experiencing a significant increase in meningococcal disease. With the strains currently circulating, septicaemia is now a more frequent manifestation than meningitis and early recognition of disease manifestations by patient, parent or physician as well as early recognition of disease severity are the most important factors in attempting to reduce mortality and morbidity. Ceftriaxone is the treatment of choice but must be accompanied by aggressive supportive therapy in those with severe disease.

Quantitative aspects of RNA synthesis in normal and lithium-treated embryos ofXenopus laevis.

The treatment ofXenopus early embryos with lithium chloride produces exogastruale - embryos which fail to gastrulate normally and in which the rates of cell division are reduced. In the present study estimations of incorporations of (5-H) uridine and the specific activities of the 5'-ribonucleotide precursor pools showed that exogastrulae have higher rates of RNA synthesis per cell than control neurulae. Sub-cellular fractionations showed that a greater proportion of labelled RNA was retained in the nuclei of exogastrulae than of neurulae, while neurulae showed a greater incorporation into polysomes.

Inducing activity of fractionated microsomal material from theXenopus laevis gastrula stage.

The postmitochondrial supernatant fromXenopus gastrulae has been fractionated on sucrose gradients. Part of the microsomal material was treated with EDTA, which dissociates most of the polysomal and monosomal material into ribosomal subunits. In addition, a series of pooled fractions from the EDTA treated gradients has been applied to discontinuous gradients in more concentrated sucrose to separate membranous material from the remaining microsomal components.