Prolonged rote learning produces delayed memory facilitation and metabolic changes in the hippocampus of the ageing human brain.

Background: Repeated rehearsal is one method by which verbal material may be transferred from short- to long-term memory. We hypothesised that extended engagement of memory structures through prolonged rehearsal would result in enhanced efficacy of recall and also of brain structures implicated in new learning. Twenty-four normal participants aged 55-70 (mean = 60.

Extensive mononuclear infiltration and myogenesis characterize recovery of dysferlin-null skeletal muscle from contraction-induced injuries.

We studied the response of dysferlin-null and control skeletal muscle to large- and small-strain injuries to the ankle dorsiflexors in mice. We measured contractile torque and counted fibers retaining 10-kDa fluorescein dextran, necrotic fibers, macrophages, and fibers with central nuclei and expressing developmental myosin heavy chain to assess contractile function, membrane resealing, necrosis, inflammation, and myogenesis. We also studied recovery after blunting myogenesis with X-irradiation.

Stem cells for stress urinary incontinence: the adipose promise.

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI), the most common type of incontinence in women, is a frequent and costly ailment responsible for an alteration in the quality of life. Although medical treatment gives some rather deceiving results, surgical techniques that include colposuspension or tension-free vaginal tape, employed in cases of urethral support defect, give a 5-year cure rate of more than 80%. However, these techniques could lead to complications or recurrence of symptoms.

High-resolution ERP mapping of cortical activation related to implicit object-location memory.

High-density event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during an object recognition task which involved task-irrelevant changes in the location of studied objects. Participants categorised objects as studied or novel while data were analysed to ascertain the effect of the location changes on performance and waveform topography. Our results indicate that humans can classify objects faster and more accurately when using implicit spatial memory.

Using technology to expedite screening and intervention for domestic abuse and neglect.

Objective: In response to escalation of community violence, the U.S. Department of Commerce funded Home Health VNA (HHVNA), serving the Merrimack River valley communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, for a project demonstrating innovative use of technology in screening for abuse and neglect.

Anti-inflammatory effect of palmitoylethanolamide on human adipocytes.

Obesity leads to the appearance of an inflammatory process, which can be initiated even with a moderate weight gain. Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is an endogenous lipid, secreted by human adipocytes, that possesses numerous anti-inflammatory properties. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of PEA on human adipocytes, as well as in a murine model.

Late foliar diseases in wheat crops decrease nitrogen yield through N uptake rather than through variations in N remobilization.

Background And Aims: French wheat grains may be of little value on world markets because they have low and highly variable grain protein concentrations (GPC). This nitrogen-yield to yield ratio depends on crop nitrogen (N) fertilization as well as on crop capacity to use N, which is known to vary with climate and disease severity. Here an examination is made of the respective roles that N remobilization and post-anthesis N uptake play in N yield variations; in particular, when wheat crops (Triticum aestivum) are affected by leaf rust (Puccinia triticina) and Septoria tritici blotch (teleomorph Mycosphaerella graminicola).

High resolution spectroscopy of (lambda)(12)B by electroproduction.

An experiment measuring electroproduction of hypernuclei has been performed in hall A at Jefferson Lab on a 12C target. In order to increase counting rates and provide unambiguous kaon identification two superconducting septum magnets and a ring imaging Cherenkov detector were added to the hall A standard equipment. An unprecedented energy resolution of less than 700 keV FWHM has been achieved.

Mating increases starvation resistance and decreases oxidative stress resistance in Drosophila melanogaster females.

Mating stimulates complex physiological changes in females of Drosophila melanogaster. Long-term effects of mating are manifested in increased fecundity and shortened lifespan. It is not clear how mating affects stress resistance in fly females.

Concurrent task performance enhances low-level visuomotor learning.

Visuomotor association learning involves learning to make a motor response to an arbitrary visual stimulus. This learning is essential for visual search and discrimination performance and is reliant upon a well-defined neural circuit in the brain that includes the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampal formation. In the present study, we investigated the possible role of attentional processes during such learning using dual-task interference.

Role and regulation of acylethanolamides in energy balance: focus on adipocytes and beta-cells.

The endocannabinoid, arachidonoylethanolamide (AEA), and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-alpha ligand, oleylethanolamide (OEA) produce opposite effects on lipogenesis. The regulation of OEA and its anti-inflammatory congener, palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), in adipocytes and pancreatic beta-cells has not been investigated. We report here the results of studies on acylethanolamide regulation in these cells during obesity and hyperglycaemia, and provide an overview of acylethanolamide role in metabolic control.

Chondroitin sulfate modulation of matrix and inflammatory gene expression in IL-1beta-stimulated chondrocytes--study in hypoxic alginate bead cultures.

Objective: To determine the effect of avian chondroitin sulfate (CS) on interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta)-induced expression of genes related to catabolic, anabolic and inflammatory aspects in chondrocytes cultured in hypoxic alginate beads.

Design: Articular chondrocytes from bovine metacarpal joint were isolated and cultured in alginate beads, using low oxygen atmosphere (5% O2). After 1-week exposure to CS (1, 10 and 100microg/ml), they were treated by recIL-1beta (10ng/ml) for 24 or 48h, in the presence of CS.

Adult stem cells for cardiovascular diseases: the adipose tissue potential.

Cardiovascular diseases, as well as cardiac ischemia and lower limb vascularization, are associated with obesity and Type II diabetes, and pose a major public health problem. Recent advances in understanding stem cell biology have prompted the initiation of clinical trials of cardiac and vascular cell therapy. Autologous adult stem cells are generally taken from bone marrow or circulating blood.

Compton-scattering cross section on the proton at high momentum transfer.

Cross-section values for Compton scattering on the proton were measured at 25 kinematic settings over the range s=5-11 and -t=2-7 GeV2 with a statistical accuracy of a few percent. The scaling power for the s dependence of the cross section at fixed center-of-mass angle was found to be 8.0+/-0.

Identification of endocannabinoids and related compounds in human fat cells.

Objective: Recently, an activation of the endocannabinoid system during obesity has been reported. More particularly, it has been demonstrated that hypothalamic levels of both endocannabinoids, 2-arachidonoylglycerol and anandamide (N-arachidonoylethanolamine), are up-regulated in genetically obese rodents. Circulating levels of both endocannabinoids were also shown to be higher in obese compared with lean women.

Reconsolidation revisited: a review and commentary on the phenomenon.

Consolidation and reconsolidation constitute a large proportion of current research into memory formation. The evidence in favour of the Consolidation Theory is widespread, on both the cellular and systems level. Research has indicated that consolidation and reconsolidation employ similar mechanisms; both consolidation and reconsolidation of memory require protein synthesis and glutaminergic input, and both seem to be associated with the hippocampal formation.

Electrophysiological and information processing variability predicts memory decrements associated with normal age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Recent theoretical models of cognitive aging have implicated increased intra-individual variability as a critical marker of decline. The current study examined electrophysiological and information processing variability and memory performance in normal younger and older controls, and older adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD). It was hypothesized that higher levels of variability would be indicative of age-related and disease-related memory deficits.

Presence of functional TLR2 and TLR4 on human adipocytes.

In addition to the well-known role of adipose tissue in energy metabolism, it has recently been demonstrated that this tissue can secrete a large array of molecules, including inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, recent studies suggest that adipose cells can behave as immune cells. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the presence of the two most prominent 'pattern recognition receptors' for bacterial and fungal cell wall components, TLR2 and TLR4 on human adipose cells, as well as to assess their functionality.

Effect of PEA on LPS inflammatory action in human adipocytes.

N-Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is an endogenous lipid secreted by human adipocytes that possesses numerous anti-inflammatory properties. Human adipose tissue can be subjected to modulation of its inflammatory state by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Here we demonstrate that LPS increases the secretion of interleukin-6 (IL-6) by human mature adipocytes via activation of the NFkappaB pathway.

Regulation, function, and dysregulation of endocannabinoids in models of adipose and beta-pancreatic cells and in obesity and hyperglycemia.

Context: Cannabinoid CB(1) receptor blockade decreases weight and hyperinsulinemia in obese animals and humans in a way greatly independent from food intake.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the regulation and function of the endocannabinoid system in adipocytes and pancreatic beta-cells.

Design, Setting, And Patients: Mouse 3T3-F442A adipocytes and rat insulinoma RIN-m5F beta-cells, pancreas and fat from mice with diet-induced obesity, visceral and sc fat from patients with body mass index equal to or greater than 30 kg/m(2), and serum from normoglycemic and type 2 diabetes patients were studied.

Presence of the cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, in human omental and subcutaneous adipocytes.

To investigate the expression of the endocannabinoid 1 and 2 receptors by human adipocyte cells of omental and subcutaneous fat tissue, as well as to determine whether these receptors are functional. The expression of CB1 and CB2 receptors on human adipocytes was analyzed by western blotting, immunohistology and immunocytology. We also investigated intracytoplasmic cyclic AMP level modulation following CB1 and CB2 receptor stimulation by an enzymatic immuno assay.

Q2 dependence of the neutron spin structure function g2(n) at low Q2.

We present the first measurement of the Q2 dependence of the neutron spin structure function g2(n) at five kinematic points covering 0.57 (GeV/c)2 < or = Q2 < or = 1.34 (GeV/c)2 at x approximately = 0.

Recoil polarization for delta excitation in pion electroproduction.

We measured angular distributions of recoil-polarization response functions for neutral pion electroproduction for W = 1.23 GeV at Q(2) = 1.0 (GeV/c)(2), obtaining 14 separated response functions plus 2 Rosenbluth combinations; of these, 12 have been observed for the first time.

Quasielastic 3He(e,e'p)2H reaction at Q2 = 1.5 GeV2 for recoil momenta up to 1 GeV/c.

We have studied the quasielastic 3He(e,e(')p)2H reaction in perpendicular coplanar kinematics, with the energy and the momentum transferred by the electron fixed at 840 MeV and 1502 MeV/c, respectively. The 3He(e,e(')p)2H cross section was measured for missing momenta up to 1000 MeV/c, while the A(TL) asymmetry was extracted for missing momenta up to 660 MeV/c. For missing momenta up to 150 MeV/c, the cross section is described by variational calculations using modern 3He wave functions.

Surface protein expression between human adipose tissue-derived stromal cells and mature adipocytes.

Adipose tissue contains a stroma that can be easily isolated. Thus, human adipose tissue presents an source of multipotent stromal cells. In order to determine the implication of hematopoietic markers in adipocyte biology, we have defined part of the phenotype of the human adipose tissue-derived stromal cells, and compared this to fully differentiated adipocytes.