Gap junction expression is required for normal chemical synapse formation.

Electrical and chemical synapses provide two distinct modes of direct communication between neurons, and the embryonic development of the two is typically not simultaneous. Instead, in both vertebrates and invertebrates, gap junction-based electrical synapses arise before chemical synaptogenesis, and the early circuits composed of gap junction-based electrical synapses resemble those produced later by chemical synapses. This developmental sequence from electrical to chemical synapses has led to the hypothesis that, in developing neuronal circuits, electrical junctions are necessary forerunners of chemical synapses.

NIH Roundtable on Opportunities to Advance Research on Neurologic and Psychiatric Emergencies.

Study Objective: The Institute of Medicine Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System (2003) identified a need to enhance the research base for emergency care. As a result, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Task Force on Research in Emergency Medicine was formed to enhance NIH support for emergency care research. Members of the NIH Task Force and academic leaders in emergency care participated in 3 Roundtable discussions to prioritize current opportunities for enhancing and conducting emergency care research.

Transmission of influenza A viruses between pigs and people, Iowa, 2002-2004.

Background: Triple-reassortant (tr) viruses of human, avian, and swine origin, including H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2 subtypes, emerged in North American swine herds in 1998 and have become predominant. While sporadic human infections with classical influenza A (H1N1) and with tr-swine influenza viruses have been reported, relatively few have been documented in occupationally exposed swine workers (SW).

Methods: We conducted a 2-year (2002-2004) prospective cohort study of transmission of influenza viruses between pigs and SW from a single pork production company in Iowa.

Neonatal exposure to genistein adversely impacts the ontogeny of hypothalamic kisspeptin signaling pathways and ovarian development in the peripubertal female rat.

Neonatal exposure to estrogenic endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) can advance pubertal onset and induce premature anestrous in female rats. It was recently discovered that hypothalamic kisspeptin (KISS) signaling pathways are sexually dimorphic and regulate both the timing of pubertal onset and estrous cyclicity. Thus we hypothesized that disrupted sex specific ontogeny of KISS signaling pathways might be a mechanism underlying these EDC effects.

Perisynaptic glia discriminate patterns of motor nerve activity and influence plasticity at the neuromuscular junction.

In the nervous system, the induction of plasticity is coded by patterns of synaptic activity. Glial cells are now recognized as dynamic partners in a wide variety of brain functions, including the induction and modulation of various forms of synaptic plasticity. However, it appears that glial cells are usually activated by stereotyped, sustained neuronal activity, and little attention has been given to more subtle changes in the patterns of synaptic activation.

The impact of neonatal bisphenol-A exposure on sexually dimorphic hypothalamic nuclei in the female rat.

Now under intense scrutiny, due to its endocrine disrupting properties, the potential threat the plastics component bisphenol-A (BPA) poses to human health remains unclear. Found in a multitude of polycarbonate plastics, food and beverage containers, and medical equipment, BPA is thought to bind to estrogen receptors (ERs), thereby interfering with estrogen-dependent processes. Our lab has previously shown that exposure to BPA (50mg/kg bw or 50μg/kg bw) during the neonatal critical period is associated with advancement of puberty, early reproductive senescence and ovarian malformations in female Long Evans rats.

Emergency Department Sickle Cell Assessment of Needs and Strengths (ED-SCANS), a focus group and decision support tool development project.

Objectives: A decision support tool may guide emergency clinicians in recognizing assessment, analgesic and overall management, and health service delivery needs for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) in the emergency department (ED). We aimed to identify data and process elements important in making decisions regarding evaluation and management of adult patients in the ED with painful episodes of SCD.

Methods: Qualitative methods using a series of focus groups and grounded theory were used.

The antidepressant phenelzine protects neurons and astrocytes against formaldehyde-induced toxicity.

Reactive aldehydes have been implicated in the etiology of several neurological and psychiatric disorders, and there is considerable interest in drugs to counteract the actions of these aldehydes. Increased formaldehyde (FA) and up-regulation of semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase, which forms FA from methylamine, have been implicated in disorders such as cerebrovascular disorders, alcohol abuse, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Phenelzine (PLZ), a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, is an antidepressant that has recently received attention for its neuroprotective/neurorescue properties.

Laser speckle contrast imaging of collateral blood flow during acute ischemic stroke.

Collateral vasculature may provide an alternative route for blood flow to reach the ischemic tissue and partially maintain oxygen and nutrient support during ischemic stroke. However, much about the dynamics of stroke-induced collateralization remains unknown. In this study, we used laser speckle contrast imaging to map dynamic changes in collateral blood flow after middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats.

The effects of intraspinal microstimulation on spinal cord tissue in the rat.

Intraspinal microstimulation (ISMS) involves the implantation of microwires into the spinal cord below the level of an injury to excite neural networks involved in the control of locomotion in the lower limbs. The goal of this study was to examine the potential spinal cord damage that might occur with chronic ISMS. We employed functional measures of force recruitment and immunohistochemical processing of serial spinal cord sections to evaluate any damage induced by spinal transection, implantation of ISMS arrays, and electrical stimulation of 4h/day for 30 days.

Calnexin deficiency leads to dysmyelination.

Calnexin is a molecular chaperone and a component of the quality control of the secretory pathway. We have generated calnexin gene-deficient mice (cnx(-/-)) and showed that calnexin deficiency leads to myelinopathy. Calnexin-deficient mice were viable with no discernible effects on other systems, including immune function, and instead they demonstrated dysmyelination as documented by reduced conductive velocity of nerve fibers and electron microscopy analysis of sciatic nerve and spinal cord.

Physician race/ethnicity predicts successful emergency department analgesia.

Unlabelled: This study investigated the association between effectiveness of ED pain treatment and race of patients, race of providers, and the concordance of patient and provider race, with a prospective, multicenter study of patients presenting to 1 of 20 US and Canadian EDs with moderate to severe pain. Primary outcome is a 2-point or greater reduction in pain intensity, measured with an 11-point verbal scale, considered the minimum clinically important reduction in pain intensity. A total of 776 patients were enrolled.

Obstructive sleep apnea and atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia. The clinical impact of AF results primarily from its association with stroke, heart failure, and increased overall mortality. Recently there has been increasing evidence of an important association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and AF.

Doxycycline inhibits proinflammatory cytokines but not acute cerebral cytogenesis after hypoxia-ischemia in neonatal rats.

Background: Neonatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI) is a major cause of perinatal brain injury and is associated with a spectrum of neuropsychiatric disorders. Although very few treatment options are currently available, doxycycline (DOXY) has been reported to be neuroprotective in neontatal HI. Our objective was to investigate the effects of DOXY on neonatal brain development in normal and HI rat pups.

Partial intra-aortic occlusion improves perfusion deficits and infarct size following focal cerebral ischemia.

Reperfusion with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) has been the goal of therapy for acute ischemic stroke; however, tPA is contraindicated in many patients, has low recanalization rates in major occlusions, and carries a substantial risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage. In the present study, we hypothesized that partial intra-aortic occlusion of the abdominal aorta would increase salvage of ischemic penumbra and reduce infarct volume after focal embolic stroke in rats. We examined the effects of aortic occlusion on infarct volume, expression and activation of matrix metalloprotease-9, and hemorrhagic transformation with or without treatment with tPA.

Cerebral amino acid profiles after hypoxia-reoxygenation and N-acetylcysteine treatment in the newborn piglet.

Background: Neonatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI) is a common clinical occurrence. Recently, much evidence has been gathered to suggest that oxygen free radicals are implicated in the pathogenesis of hypoxia-reoxygenation injury through the initiation and propagation of toxic cascades including glutamate excitotoxicity and the manifestation of post-HI neurologic disorders. Following HI, excessive free radicals are formed and antioxidant defenses are diminished.

Effects of sciatic nerve axotomy on excitatory synaptic transmission in rat substantia gelatinosa.

Injury or section of a peripheral nerve can promote chronic neuropathic pain. This is initiated by the appearance and persistence of ectopic spontaneous activity in primary afferent neurons that promotes a secondary, enduring increase in excitability of sensory circuits in the spinal dorsal horn ("central sensitization"). We have previously shown that 10-20 days of chronic constriction injury (CCI) of rat sciatic nerve produce a characteristic "electrophysiological signature" or pattern of changes in synaptic excitation of five different electrophysiologically defined neuronal phenotypes in the substantia gelatinosa of the dorsal horn.

White rice sold in Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan often lacks nutrient enrichment.

Rice is a commonly consumed food staple for many Asian and Pacific cultures thus, nutrient enrichment of rice has the potential to increase nutrient intakes for these populations. The objective of this study was to determine the levels of enrichment nutrients (ie, thiamin, niacin, iron, and folic acid) in white rice found in Guam, Saipan (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), and Oahu (Hawaii). The proportion of white rice that was labeled "enriched" varied by type, bag size, and location.

ECG for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism when conventional imaging cannot be utilized: a case report and review of the literature.

The diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism has always been challenging. However, it has recently been greatly assisted through advances in radiological imaging. While imaging techniques are widely available, they cannot always be utilized.

Impact of neonatal exposure to the ERalpha agonist PPT, bisphenol-A or phytoestrogens on hypothalamic kisspeptin fiber density in male and female rats.

Neonatal exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) can impair reproductive physiology, but the specific mechanisms by which this occurs remain largely unknown. Growing evidence suggests that kisspeptin (KISS) neurons play a significant role in the regulation of pubertal onset and ovulation, therefore disruption of KISS signaling could be a mechanism by which EDCs impair reproductive maturation and function. We have previously demonstrated that neonatal exposure to phytoestrogens decreases KISS fiber density in the anterior hypothalamus of female rats, an effect which was associated with early persistent estrus and the impaired activation gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons.

Neurochemical effects of the monoamine oxidase inhibitor phenelzine on brain GABA and alanine: A comparison with vigabatrin.

Purpose: To compare phenelzine (PLZ), an antidepressant drug with anxiolytic properties which inhibits monoamine oxidase (MAO) but also elevates rat brain levels of the amino acids ?-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and alanine (ALA), with vigabatrin (VIG), an anticonvulsant which elevates brain GABA by inhibition of GABA transaminase (GABA-T), with regard to their actions on brain levels of GABA and ALA and on activities of MAO, GABA-T and ALA transaminase (ALA-T).

Methods: Male rats were administered PLZ (10 mg/kg) or VIG (1,000 mg/kg) i.p.