Reproducibility of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale during the Postpartum Period.

Objective: This study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in the immediate postpartum period, which we defined as between 3 and 24 hours postpartum for the purpose of this research. This is such that if it can predict scores obtained at the postpartum visit, it will be an opportunity to access psychiatric services for the patient that may otherwise be more difficult to access in the outpatient setting.

Study Design: Longitudinal observational study, which included an analysis of 848 consecutive participants screened with the EPDS in the hospital and at the 6-week postpartum visit.

Hippocampal Stratum Oriens Somatostatin-Positive Cells Undergo CB1-Dependent Long-Term Potentiation and Express Endocannabinoid Biosynthetic Enzymes.

The hippocampus is thought to encode information by altering synaptic strength via synaptic plasticity. Some forms of synaptic plasticity are induced by lipid-based endocannabinoid signaling molecules that act on cannabinoid receptors (CB1). Endocannabinoids modulate synaptic plasticity of hippocampal pyramidal cells and stratum radiatum interneurons; however, the role of endocannabinoids in mediating synaptic plasticity of stratum oriens interneurons is unclear.

Ventral tegmental area dopamine and GABA neurons: Physiological properties and expression of mRNA for endocannabinoid biosynthetic elements.

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is involved in adaptive reward and motivation processing and is composed of dopamine (DA) and GABA neurons. Defining the elements regulating activity and synaptic plasticity of these cells is critical to understanding mechanisms of reward and addiction. While endocannabinoids (eCBs) that potentially contribute to addiction are known to be involved in synaptic plasticity mechanisms in the VTA, where they are produced is poorly understood.

Gradient fiber electrospinning of layered scaffolds using controlled transitions in fiber diameter.

We characterize layered, delamination resistant, tissue engineering scaffolds produced by gradient electrospinning using computational fluid dynamics, measurements of fiber diameter with respect to dynamic changes in polymer concentration, SEM analysis, and materials testing. Gradient electrospinning delivers a continuously variable concentration of polymer to the electrospinning jet, resulting in scaffolds that exhibit controlled transitions in fiber diameter across the Z-axis. This makes it possible to produce scaffolds that exhibit very different fiber sizes and material properties on opposing surfaces while eliminating the boundary layers that lead to delamination failures.