Physical Exercise Promotes Beneficial Changes on Neurotrophic Factors in Mesolimbic Brain Areas After AMPH Relapse: Involvement of the Endogenous Opioid System.

Addiction is a serious public health problem, and the current pharmacotherapy is unable to prevent drug use reinstatement. Studies have focused on physical exercise as a promising coadjuvant treatment. Our research group recently showed beneficial neuroadaptations in the dopaminergic system related to amphetamine-relapse prevention involving physical exercise-induced endogenous opioid system activation (EXE-OS activation).

A 28-day Sub-acute Genotoxic and Behavioural Assessment of Garcinielliptone FC.

Garcinielliptone FC (GFC) is a polyisoprenylated benzophenone isolated from Platonia insignis Mart (Clusiaceae) with promising anticonvulsant properties. However, its safe use and other effects on the central nervous system require assessment. This study assessed the toxicological effects of GFC using the comet assay and the micronucleus test in mice treated for 28 days.

Genotoxic and biochemical changes in Baccharis trimera induced by coal contamination.

The processing and combustion of coal in thermal power plants release anthropogenic chemicals into the environment. Baccharis trimera is a common plant used in folk medicine that grows readily in soils degraded by coal mining activities. This shrub bioaccumulates metals released into the environment, and thus its consumption may be harmful to health.

Querying temporal clinical databases on granular trends.

This paper focuses on the identification of temporal trends involving different granularities in clinical databases, where data are temporal in nature: for example, while follow-up visit data are usually stored at the granularity of working days, queries on these data could require to consider trends either at the granularity of months ("find patients who had an increase of systolic blood pressure within a single month") or at the granularity of weeks ("find patients who had steady states of diastolic blood pressure for more than 3 weeks"). Representing and reasoning properly on temporal clinical data at different granularities are important both to guarantee the efficacy and the quality of care processes and to detect emergency situations. Temporal sequences of data acquired during a care process provide a significant source of information not only to search for a particular value or an event at a specific time, but also to detect some clinically-relevant patterns for temporal data.

Training in safer and healthier patient handling techniques.

The aim of the project was to educate nursing staff on patient handling techniques to prevent low back pain. Within the framework of a multidisciplinary preventive intervention, a pre-post study design was implemented in a hospital. One hundred and forty nurses and healthcare assistants attended a two-hour lesson and a three-hour practical training session; 48 nurses attended a train-the-trainer programme that was comprised of three-hour classes, two-hour lessons on communication techniques and four hours of practical training.

Fractional diffusion equation in a confined region: surface effects and exact solutions.

Surface effects on a diffusion process governed by a fractional diffusion equation in a confined region with spatial and time dependent boundary conditions are investigated. First, we consider the one-dimensional case with the boundary conditions rho(0,t)=Phi0(t) and rho(a,t)=Phia(t). Subsequently, the two-dimensional case in the cylindrical symmetry with rho(a,theta,t)=Phia(theta,t) and rho(b,theta,t)=Phib(theta,t) is investigated.

Unusually short tandem repeats in the chromosome end structure of Rhynchosciara (Diptera: Sciaridae).

The characterisation of chromosome end (terminal and sub-terminal) sequences of Rhynchosciara americana chromosomes was continued with the screening of a plasmid library made of amplified DNA fragments from a microdissected chromosome tip. An insert chosen for analysis hybridised to two chromosome ends and contains two microsatellite arrays in close vicinity to a sequence (named M-47), part of which is significantly similar to minisatellites of Salmonidae that are frequently present in the vicinity of microsatellite arrays. PCR results using a single primer representative of M-47 elements suggest that they are also repetitive in Rhynchosciara genomes.

Merging multimedia presentations and semistructured temporal data: a graph-based model and its application to clinical information.

Objective: In this paper, we focus on the issue of providing physicians with the capability of representing in a seamless way both temporal aspects of multimedia semistructured data and their temporal presentation requirements.

Background: Semistructured data are data having some structure, that may be irregular or incomplete and does not necessarily conform to a fixed schema. Semistructured data often contain the description of histories of the considered real world.

[Cefepime-induced encephalopathy: clinical and electroencephalographic features in seven patients].

Cefepime, a fourth-generation cephalosporin, with large antibacterial spectrum, is a commonly used antibiotic for the treatment of serious hospital infections. Its security report is considered favourable. Recently, many cases of a severe and reversible cefepime-induced encephalopathy were described.

Preliminary study of shunt related death in paediatric patients.

Hydrocephalus is a condition commonly encountered in paediatric and adult neurosurgery and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunting remains the treatment of choice for many cases. Despite improvements in shunt technology and technique, morbidity and mortality remain. The incidence of early shunt obstruction is high with later failures seen less frequently.

Mesh electrode for peripheral nerve stimulation.

The implanted peripheral nerve stimulator has a role for pain relief in well-selected patients with pain in a peripheral nerve distribution. We describe an electrode to help simplify the surgical implantation of a peripheral nerve stimulator and also to reduce the possibility of electrode migration following implantation. Design details of the electrode are discussed, as are notes on surgical technique.

Spinal schistosomiasis.

A 23 year old female presented to Townsville General Hospital seven months after a positive urine test for Schistosomiasis with conus modularize signs. MRI confirmed a conus medullaris enhancing lesion. Serology was positive for Schistosoma IgG : IgM, 3.

Acute subdural haematomas and enoxaparin.

Townsville General Hospital (TGH) has 285 beds and serves a population of approximately 500,0000 in North Queensland. In the period November 1998 until December 1999 there were three acute subdural haematomas (ASDH) related to therapeutic doses of enoxaparin. These culminated in death or severe neurological disability.