Hidden Object Games - Fun and Challenge for the Elderly

Oh, the games we played Nobody should ever get tired of playing games, whether you're five years old or 95 years old. Games stimulate the brain. They may seem like a waste of time to many, but actually, they are the most defective, stimulating and fun way to increase memory, reasoning, math skills and problem solving. Games increase neural activity and development in an aging brain.

Adaptive Immunity to Intracellular Bacteria

The major protective immune response against intracellular bacteria is T cell-mediated immunity. Individuals with deficient cell-mediated immunity, such as patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), are extremely susceptible to infections with intracellular bacteria (and viruses). The mechanisms of cell-mediated immunity were studied in the 1950s in mice, in examining protection against the intracellular bacterium L. monocytogenes.

Basal Cell Carcinoma

Occurs in sites chronically exposed to the sun and increased in frequency from the third decade onward, although they have been reported in children and young adults. Most frequently on the face and scalp, rarely arises on the digits, the back of the hand, dorsum of the foot, or on the ears. Typically are solitary opalescent nodules with telangiectasia (Fig. 18A) or ulceration (Fig. 18B). Common variant is the superficial type (Fig. 18C), which often appears as a thin plaque. Morphea-form may...

Acute Chorioamnionitis

Benirschke and Kaufmann feel that chorioamnionitis (which they use as synonymous with acute chorioamnionitis) is always (their bold) caused by infection (3). Other forms of injury to the placenta, such as infarction, will also illicit an acute inflammatory reaction but will be localized to the area of injury. Acute chorioamnionitis is the most common diagnosis rendered on the placenta. Despite this, no universally accepted definition, grading, or staging system has been developed. Acute...

Root Mean Square Deviation Rmsd

The residual function used to measure the similarity between two protein structures following rigid body superposition is typically the root mean square deviation between the structures (RMSD). The RMSD between two structures is quite simply the square root of the average squared distance between equivalent atoms, defined by the equation The distances (di) can be visualized as manual inspections of the structures or by identifying residues binding common ligands in the active-sites of the two...

The Phase Concept of Drug Metabolism and Its Importance for Toxification versus Detoxification

The phase concept of drug metabolism is described elsewhere in this book (see 5.05 Principles of Drug Metabolism 1 Redox Reactions 5.06 Principles of Drug Metabolism 2 Hydrolysis and Conjugation Reactions). With respect to toxification versus detoxification it is important that depending on their chemical nature the functional groups introduced in the phase I of drug metabolism can be classified as electrophilic or nucleophilic (Figure 1). Functional groups with an electrophilic carbon are, for...

Differentiation of CD4 T Cells into TH1 TH2 and Th17 Effector Cells

Effector cells of the CD4 lineage are characterized by their ability to express surface molecules and to secrete cytokines that activate other cells B lymphocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells . Whereas naive CD4 T cells produce mostly IL-2 on activation, effector CD4 T cells are capable of producing a large number and variety of cytokines that have diverse biologic activities.

PaO2 between 73 kPa and 8 kPa 55 mmHg and 60mmHg

The range of PaO2 between 7.3 and 8 kPa 55 mmHg and 60 mmHg remains a grey area. From the MRC and NOT Trial, it is not clear whether LTOT has a beneficial effect on prognosis for these patients. This question was addressed by a randomized controlled trial in 135 Polish patients with COPD 4 . These patients had a PaO2 between 7.4kPa 55.5 mmHg and 8.7kPa 65.3 mmHg , with mean PaO2 8 kPa 60 mmHg . LTOT, over at least 3 years, was not associated with a survival benefit, and there was no difference...

Duke Health Profile

Originally conceived as a 63-item measure, DUKE has been pared down to 17 questions that profile six domains (physical, mental, social, general, perceived health, and self-esteem), and four dysfunction measures (anxiety, depression, pain and disability). The format is easy to fill out and scoring is simple. Author(s) George R. Parkerson, Jr., MD, MPH Purpose To measure self-reported health-related quality of life and functional health status. Population Adult Age Range 18 to 96 Type of...

The Theory of Natural Selection

In The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin put forth two major ideas the theory of common descent and the theory of natural selection. We discussed the theory of common descent in detail in Chapter 8 and learned that all species living today appear to have descended from a single ancestor that arose in the distant past. Darwin's presentation of this theory was thorough and convincing. Within (a) Variation in coat color (b) Variation in blooming time (a) Variation in coat color (b) Variation in...

Vertebral artery stenosis or occlusion

Most vascular laboratories simply determine the presence and direction of blood flow in the midcervical vertebral artery (VA) without an extensive exploration of the VA origin and its terminal portion. Compared to carotid imaging, fewer validation studies are available for detection and quantification of the VA lesions 152-168 . However, VA stenoses, occlusions and dissections are increasingly being recognized as potential causes or risk factors for posterior circulation ischemia 152,162,169 ,...

Clonal Expansion of T Cells

T cell proliferation in response to antigen recognition is mediated primarily by a combination of signals from the antigen receptor, costimulators, and autocrine growth factors, primarily IL-2. The cells that recognize antigen produce IL-2 and also preferentially respond to it, ensuring that the antigen-specific T cells are the ones that proliferate the most.

Functions of TH1 Cells

The principal function of TH1 cells is to activate macrophages to ingest and destroy microbes Fig. 10-5 . Recall that phagocytosed intracellular microbes are powerful stimuli for the generation of TH1 cells see Chapter 9 . Thus, TH1 effector cells develop in response to the pathogens that these cells are designed to eradicate, an excellent example of the specialization of adaptive immunity. The same reaction of TH1-mediated macrophage activation is involved in injurious delayed-type...

Adaptive Immunity to Extracellular Bacteria

Humoral immunity is a major protective immune response against extracellular bacteria, and it functions to block infection, to eliminate the microbes, and to neutralize their toxins. Antibody responses against extracellular bacteria are directed against cell wall antigens and secreted and cell-associated toxins, which may be polysaccharides or proteins.

Migration And Recirculation Of T Lymphocytes

Lymphocytes are continuously moving through the blood stream, lymphatics, secondary lymphoid tissues, and peripheral nonlymphoid tissues, and functionally distinct populations of lymphocytes show different trafficking patterns through these sites (Fig. 3-4). When a mature naive T cell emerges from the thymus and enters the blood, it homes to lymph nodes, spleen, or mucosal lymphoid tissues and migrates into the T cell zones of these secondary lymphoid tissues. If the T cell does not recognize...

Soluble Recognition And Effector Molecules Of Innate Immunity

Several different kinds of molecules that recognize microbes and promote innate responses exist in soluble form in the blood and extracellular fluids. These molecules provide early defense against pathogens that are present outside host cells at some part of their life cycle. The soluble effector molecules function in two major ways. By binding to microbes, they act as opsonins and enhance the ability of macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells to phagocytose the microbes. This is because...

Removing Gel Spot or Band From the Gel and DeStaining

Ideally, the gel should have been stained with a Coomassie stain preferably a colloidal Coomassie if detection sensitivity is an issue, e.g., (2,3), or one of the commercially available stains. This method is also compatible with Sypro stains (though an ultraviolet transilluminator will be required to visualize the protein bands or spots during excision). Standard silver stains are not compatible, but certain modified silver stains e.g., (4), or one of the commercially available mass...

Intracranial stenosis

Middle cerebral artery (MCA) stenosis Primary findings include a focal significant mean flow velocity increase (MFV 80 cm s), and or peak systolic velocity increase (PSV 140 cm s), and or inter-hemispheric MFV difference of 30 cm s in adults free of abnormal circulatory conditions 14,174-185 . A proximal M2-distal Ml MCA stenosis is present if the velocity increase is found at 40-50 mm 186 . A proximal Ml MCA stenosis is usually found at 55-65-mm depths in adults 187 . Chimowitz et al. in the...

The Specificity Constant

The Michaelis constant KM reflects the affinity of an enzyme for its substrate kcat reflects the catalytic ability of an enzyme. The ratio of these, kcat KM, is the specificity constant, which is a measure of how good the enzyme is at its job. A high specificity constant means that a reaction goes fast kcat is big and the enzyme does not need a high concentration of substrate KM is small.

Artifacts in PA or AP Spine Densitometry

The PA lumbar spine has been, and continues to be, used extensively in densitometry for diagnosis, fracture prediction, and monitoring. Unfortunately, it is also the skeletal site most often affected by structural changes and artifacts that may limit its utility. The BMD of a fractured vertebra will be increased because of the fracture itself. This increase in density could erroneously lead the physician to conclude that the bone strength is better and the risk for fracture, lower, than is the...

Ductions and Versions

With the patient's head held in a fixed position, the examiner observes the limits of movement of each eye during visual pursuit of the examiner's hand finger into all diagnostic gaze positions. First, binocular movements are as- Fig. 10.2. Schematic diagram of motility deficits. The estimates of reduced motility are symbolized by minus signs for each of the diagnostic gaze positions (adduction, abduction, and elevation and depression in abduction and adduction), and over actions are marked by...

The Determination of LSC

The situation then, of one measurement at baseline and one measurement at follow-up effectively changes equation 10 to equation 11, used for the calculation of the 1x1LSC If two measurements are done at baseline and again at follow-up, the sum under the square root sign in equation 9 becomes 1 as shown in equation 12 for the calculation of the 2x2lsc. 2X2LSC Z'( Pr) 1 + 1 Z'(Pr) vT (12) This effectively changes the equation for the calculation of the LSC to Thus, for any level of statistical...

Digestive Downsides

Jerusalem artichoke has beneficial effects on digestion. It is a good source of dietary fiber, for instance, which helps to bulk food and reduce constipation. However, there can be digestive downsides too. Human digestive enzymes do not target inulin. Around 89 (and up to 97 ) of the inulin and fructooligosaccharides that we consume, on average, remain intact in the small intestine (Andersson et al., 1999 Molis et al., 1996). As it is not digested, there tends to be a lot of inulin in the large...

Contingent Responding

Contingent responding is our third principle. In order to talk about contingent responding effectively, we need to discuss it in relation to the concepts of reinforcement, punishment, and shaping. The premise behind our principles is that behaviors may or may not continue to be part of an individual's or couple's repertoire of behavior.

Extrafollicular B Cell Activation

After the initial interaction of B cells with helper T cells at the interface between the follicle and the T cell zone, subsequent activation of B cells by helper T cells can occur at two different locations, one outside the follicles and the other in the follicles, in germinal centers. The nature of the B cell response differs in these locations Table 11-1 . Extrafollicular foci of T-dependent B cell activation are generated relatively early in an immune response. Germinal centers, in which...

The Germinal Center B Cell Reaction and the Function of Follicular Helper T Cells

The characteristic events of helper T cell-dependent antibody responses, including affinity maturation, isotype switching, generation of memory B cells, and long-lived plasma cell differentiation, occur primarily in the germinal centers of lymphoid follicles. Within 4 to 7 days after antigen exposure, some of the activated helper T cells that migrate to meet activated B cells are triggered by these B cells to differentiate into follicular helper T cells (TFH cells), which express high levels of...

Adaptive Immunity to Viruses

Adaptive immunity against viral infections is mediated by antibodies, which block virus binding and entry into FIGURE 15-7 Mechanisms of induction of type I interferons by viruses. Viral nucleic acids and proteins are recognized by several cellular receptor families (TLRs and the family of cytosolic RIG-like receptors, or RLRs, which include MDA-5, RIG-I, DAI and others), which activate transcription factors (the IRF proteins) that stimulate the production of type I interferons, IFN-a and IFN-...

IgVH Mutations

CLL has long been considered a homogeneous disease of CD5 B-cells, which are pregerminal cells that have not been exposed to antigenic stimulation. In 1999, two different groups reported an important breakthrough in CLL 29,88 . These groups clearly showed that the mutational status of the somatic mutations of the variable region of the immunoglobulin genes IgVH correlates with different disease subsets. Thus, those patients with unmutated IgVH genes have a poorer prognosis than those displaying...

Structure Based Drug Design A Historical Perspective and the Future

D J Abraham, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 4.04.1.1 Paul Ehrlich and the Nature of the Receptor 66 4.04.1.2 Theory and Methods 66 4.04.1.2.1 X-ray crystallography 66 4.04.1.2.2 X-ray crystal data collection 66 4.04.1.2.3 Computing advances 67 4.04.1.2.4 Molecular models to molecular graphics to molecular modeling computer-aided 4.04.1.2.5 Nuclear magnetic resonance 69 4.04.1.2.6 Electron diffraction 69 4.04.1.2.7 Structure-based drug...

Treatment of Epilepsy in Ayurveda

Various Ayurvedic treatment modalities that include strong elimination and alleviation therapies, depending upon specific requirements, are useful for epilepsy patients. When epilepsy is associated with extrinsic factors, then mantras (hymns) have been recommended. The physician is advised to first take steps to awaken the heart channels and unblock the mind blocked by the dosas through drastic emesis (Vatika Apasmara), enema (Paittika Apasmara), and purgatives (Slaismika Apasmara). Drug...

Conclusion On Epilepsy

Massage increases well-being and may increase longevity and help prevent some diseases. As the ancient Chinese say start digging a well before you are thirsty In summary, various types and combinations of massage can be a major component of the psychologic and neurophysiologic approaches used in the improvement of seizure control in various types of epilepsy. Massage is especially important in the individual who lacks verbal and introspective skills. Despite examples of a more than 50...

Adjuvant Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy has also been used as an adjuvant treatment after surgery in such patients. One need not review all the studies. However, a 1998 Lancet meta-analysis of nine randomized trials evaluating postoperative radiation vs. surgery alone showed a 7 reduction in overall survival with adjuvant radiation in patients with stage I or II disease (60). Thus, adjuvant radiation appears to decrease survival after surgery.

Fluorinated Functions And Motifs In Medicinal Chemistry

In most of cases, the fluorine atom(s) or the CF3 group(s) is borne by aromatic rings. Synthesis of these compounds for the optimization of hits as well as for parallel synthesis is done using the numerous fluoro aromatic or heterocyclic compounds that are commercially available. These latter compounds generally come from aromatic fluoridation or trifluoromethylation reactions (especially the Balz-Schiemann reaction) and from heterocyclization reactions. However, fluoroaliphatic chains and...

Making Fatty Acids And Glycerides

All cells need fatty acids for membrane lipids. Fat cells make large amounts of fat (triacyl-glycerols) in times of plenty. The basic machinery is a multienzyme complex (in bacteria) or a multidomain protein (in eukaryotes) that uses the substrate acetyl-CoA. In both cases the growing fatty acid chain is not released it swivels from enzyme to enzyme or domain to domain in the array, adding two carbons for each complete cycle until the limiting length of 16 carbons is reached The product,...

Fusion of phagosome with lysosome

Killing of microbes by lysosomal enzymes in phagolysosomes Killing of phagocytosed microbes by ROS and NO FIGURE 4-12 Phagocytosis and intracellular destruction of microbes. Microbes may be ingested by different membrane receptors of phagocytes some directly bind microbes, and others bind opsonized microbes. (Note that the Mac-1 integrin binds microbes opsonized with complement proteins, not shown.) The microbes are internalized into phagosomes, which fuse with lysosomes to form phagolysosomes,...

Overview Of Lymphocyte Development

The maturation of B and T lymphocytes involves a series of events that occur in the generative lymphoid organs Fig. 8-1 . These events include the following The commitment of progenitor cells to the B cell or T cell lineage. Proliferation of progenitors and immature committed cells at specific early stages of development, providing a large pool of cells that can generate useful lymphocytes. The sequential and ordered rearrangement of antigen receptor genes and the expression of antigen receptor...

Stages of T Cell Maturation

During T cell maturation, there is a precise order in which TCR genes are rearranged and in which the TCR and CD4 and CD8 coreceptors are expressed (Fig. 8-20 see also Fig. 8-19). In the mouse, surface expression of the y8 TCR occurs first, 3 to 4 days after precursor cells first arrive in the thymus, and the ap TCR is expressed 2 or 3 days later. In human fetal thymuses, y8 TCR expression begins at about 9 weeks of gestation, followed by expression of the ap TCR at 10 weeks. The most immature...

Dacron Patch Angioplasty

Advantages of this operation include its simplicity, without the need for extensive aortic dissection, and relief of the aortic obstruction is usually successful. This repair is used only as a last resort, when other repairs are not applicable because of the late complication of aneurysm formation in a significant number of patients. aortic arch left subclavian artery Figure 20-29. The pleura is incised and the nerves are reflected medially.

Data Analysis

Measuring Leaf Position by Image Analysis As with the collection of data, the software package MetaMorph is used to analyze the image data. Leaves can be identified in MetaMorph by applying a threshold to the images. The threshold effectively reduces the image from an 8-bit grayscale image to a 1-bit image. Each pixel that was darker than the threshold level in the 8-bit image is set to black all other pixels are white. As the seedlings are relatively darker than the light background...

Generation of Mycelial Disks see also Fig steps

To obtain small pieces of vegetatively growing mycelium of equal size, a floating mat of mycelium (known as a hyphal mat or mycelial mat) is grown in standing liquid culture, from which small disks can be cut for experimental purposes (10,11). Two days prior to the intended start of the experiment 1. Make sure to have one or two fresh slants (3-10 d old) for each Neurospora strain to be used (see Note 4). 2. Add 30 mL of Vogel's minimal medium to a sterile Petri dish or cell culture dish (see...

When Should You Start Dialysis

In my opinion, many people are started on dialysis too early in their kidney failure. Dialysis should be avoided as long as possible. In recent years, doctors have begun starting patients on dialysis earlier and earlier, in the hope of thereby reducing some of the complications of dialysis. Because it has been demonstrated repeatedly that late referral by a primary care doctor to a nephrologist increases the subsequent morbidity and mortality of patients, some doctors have inferred that...

The Changed Set Point Model

The changed set point model of drug addiction has several variants based on the altered neurobiology of the DA neurons in the VTA and of the NA neurons of the LC during the early phases of withdrawal and abstinence. The basic idea is that drug abuse alters a biological or physiological setting or baseline. One variant, by Koob and LeMoal (2001), is based on the idea that neurons of the mesolimbic reward pathways are naturally set to release enough DA in the N-Ac to produce a normal level of...

Graco Commits To Banning Toxic Flame Retardants From Children's Products

We've got great news today Graco, one of the nation's largest children's products manufacturers, has committed to banning four of the most toxic flame retardants from all of their products. Graco car seats, strollers, swings, and more are now free from these hazardous chemicals. To read more about the announcement, see our press release.

Inulin and Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a disease in which blood sugar is not properly taken up into cells. Thus, the level of glucose in the blood remains high. The uptake of glucose into the body's cells is controlled by the hormone insulin, which is produced by the pancreas. Type 1 diabetes is due to the pancreas failing to produce sufficient insulin. It is often caused by genetic factors. Non-insulin-dependent diabetes, or type 2 diabetes, occurs when the body's cells are unable to respond very efficiently to...

Inulin Extraction Isolation Purification Fractionation Drying And Storage

There have been a number of methods developed for the extraction of inulin from Jerusalem artichoke tubers Aravina et al., 2001 Barta, 1993 Ji et al., 2002 Vogel, 1993 , a composite of which is illustrated in Figure 5.3. The specific method selected will depend on the end product desired, resources available, volume, and other factors. Jerusalem artichoke tubers arriving from the field or storage are first washed to remove any soil and extraneous matter, and then mechanically cleaned Barta,...

Jerusalem Artichoke In Infancy And Toddlerhood

Abrams, A.S., Griffin, I.J., Hawthorne, K.M., Liang, L., Gunn, S.K., Darlington, G., and Ellis, K.J., A combination of prebiotic short- and long-chain inulin-type fructans enhances calcium absorption and bone mineralization in young adolescents, Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 82, 471-476, 2005. Aldini, T., Exadissima Descriptio Rariorum Quarundam Plantarum in Horto Farnesiano, Rome, 1625. Alles, M.S., Katan, M.B., Salemans, J.M., Van Laere, K.M., Gerichausen, M.J., Rozendaal, M.J., and Nagengast, F.M.,...

The Secondary Eyes

The salticid's six secondary eyes are smaller than the two principal eyes (figures 1.3 and 1.4A), but each secondary eye covers a much wider field of view than the principal eyes (figure 1.6). The posterior median (PM) eyes of most salticids are regarded as vestigial because they have degenerated retinas incapable of detecting movement (Eakin and Brandenburger, 1971 M. F. Land, 1985a) (figure 1.6A). Degenerated PM eyes are thought to be a derived condition (Wanless, 1984). For instance, a...

Does High BNP Always Mean High Filling Pressure

Because a major stimulus for the release of BNP is increased wall tension, BNP levels might be expected to correlate with elevated LV filling pressures. However, in the clinical setting there are circumstances in which a high level of BNP is not associated with high left heart filling pressures. These situations include right-sided failure secondary to advanced pulmonary disease, PE, or primary pulmonary hypertension acute or chronic renal failure and rapid lowering of the wedge pressure with...

Concept of Chemical Bonding

These notes are designed to give a quick guide to bonding there is a lot more to this subject than is covered here. The forces that hold atoms together within chemical compounds, the chemical bonds, are electrical in nature. Chemical bonds form to lower the energy of the system, the components of the system becomes more stable through the formation of the bonds. This is true even for noncovalent interactions (hydrogen bond, van der Waals interaction, electrostatic interaction, etc.

Identification of Cis Trans Isomers

The identification of isomers is as important as their synthesis and purification. The technique to be used for this purpose depends on the species to be analyzed and if it is in solution or in solid state. Without doubt if there are crystals of the material to be analyzed the best way to do it is by X-ray diffraction, but there are other techniques that can be used, such as infrared and Raman spectroscopy, electronic paramagnetic spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and electronic...

What causes the outside of brinesalted cheese to become slimy and sticky

The root of this defect is an increase in protein hydration, and water uptake, in the surface layer (outer 3-4 mm) of the cheese this layer is normally denoted the rind. This problem is often referred to as soft-rind or rind rot. The symptoms of the problem depend very much on the cheese type, being more pronounced for low-calcium, high-moisture and surface mould-ripened or smear-ripened cheeses. Immediately after brining, the obvious symptoms include a surface that is damp, soft and 'velvety',...

Guidelines from the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and Bone Disease

The European Foundation for Osteoporosis and Bone Disease (EFFO) published in 1996 some of the most practical guidelines yet for the clinical application of bone density measurements (12). Some of the clinical circumstances in which the EFFO believed that bone mass measurements should be considered are shown in Table 7-4. Like AACE, the EFFO was careful to emphasize that bone mass measurements should not be done if the result would not affect the clinical decision-making process.

How To: Make Your Own Baby Lotions And Potions

Your skin may appear to be an impermeable barrier, but it's actually a complex filtering system that blocks some substances and absorbs others. What you put on your skin can end up in your body, so you should choose personal care products with the same attention you give to choosing healthy foods.

Contraction homeostasis

FIGURE 1-6 Phases of adaptive immune responses. Adaptive immune responses consist of distinct phases, the first three being the recognition of antigen, the activation of lymphocytes, and the elimination of antigen (the effector phase). The response contracts (declines) as antigen-stimulated lymphocytes die by apoptosis, restoring homeostasis, and the antigen-specific cells that survive are responsible for memory. The duration of each phase may vary in different immune responses. The y-axis...

SRS Interfaces

Several different interfaces to SRS are available. The C-API facilitates the full use of SRS's capabilities to those interested in accessing function libraries for programming purposes. The second interface is a UNIX based command-line interface named 'getz'. Getz provides a more direct querying mechanism, and also implicitly allows its combination with other computer applications and UNIX commands. This allows powerful retrieval on a larger scale via automation as well as interfacing with...

The Hansch Approach

In the early 1960s, Hansch and co-workers systematically investigated ways of expressing the relationships between structural and physico-chemical properties and activities quantitatively. The traditional QSAR paradigm is often formulated as shown in Eq. (1). More recently, due to the confusion surrounding the term QSAR, Hansch has referred to the science of chemical < -> biological interactions as the unnamed science 28 . Since it is evident that a biological effect seldom depends on just...

Gated Transport Through the Nuclear Pore

In general, a protein has to display a distinct signal for it to be transported through the nuclear pore. Proteins with a nuclear localization signal are transported in, while proteins with a nuclear export signal are transported out. Mobile transporter proteins, usually mediating either export or import, recognize the appropriate targeting sequence and then interact with structural elements of the nuclear pore. This causes the pore to expand, allowing the active transport of the...

The Process of Speciation

According to the theory of common descent discussed in Chapter 8, all modern organisms descended from a common ancestral species. This evolution of one or more species from an ancestral form is called speciation, and the process of speciation is often referred to as macroevolution. For one species to give rise to a new species, most biologists agree that three steps are necessary 1. Isolation of the gene pools of subgroups, or populations, of the species 2. Evolutionary changes in one or both...

Novel Biocompatible Photoresists

As mentioned earlier, the application of conventional photolithography for cellular and biomolecular patterning is greatly hampered due to the fact that organic solvents are normally utilized to dissolve the photoresist in order to reveal the pattern on the surface of the material. Such processes can lead to the denaturation of biomolecules, and thus, it is not suitable for application in biomolecular surface patterning. For example, the commonly used negative photoresist SU8, a multifunctional...

Pulsatile Flow in Large Arteries

Let us begin with the mathematical description of the motion of the fluid elements moving in a flow field. It will be convenient to express the velocity in terms of three Cartesian components so that velocity becomes a function of x, y, and z spatial coordinates, as well as a function of time. Also u, v, and w are the velocity components in the x, y, and z directions, respectively. Written in a concise form V ui + vj 1 wk u(x,y,z,t)i + v(x,y,z,t)j + w(x,y,z,t)k The corresponding expressions for...

How genes make proteins

It becomes difficult at this point in the story to avoid a textbook-like complexity, with descriptions of sections of genes that don't code for amino acids, sections that carry instructions for starting and stopping protein building, sections that overlap with each other, and so on. But although there's much more that can be said about the action of genes, you don't need these additional details in order to make sense of biotechnology. The table below summarizes the history outlined so far....

Requirements For Tissue Engineering Scaffolds And Scaffold Fabrication Techniques

Besides the obvious demands of biocompatibility and biodegradability, an ideal tissue engineering scaffold should exhibit appropriate mechanical properties19,26-30 and a suitable degradation rate.8,19,27,29-31 Furthermore, the scaffold must possess adequate porosity, interconnectivity, and permeability to allow the ingress of cells and nutrients,8,19,29,30 as well as the appropriate surface chemistry for enhanced cell attachment and proliferation.29,30,32,33 For most applications, tissue...

Tolllike Receptors

The Toll-like receptors (TLRs), an evolutionarily conserved family of pattern recognition receptors expressed on many cell types, recognize products of a wide variety of microbes. Toll was originally identified as a Drosophila gene involved in establishing the dorsal-ventral axis during embryogenesis of the fruit fly, but subsequently it was discovered that the Toll protein also mediated antimicrobial responses in these organisms. This discovery led to the identification of mammalian homologues...

11 Worst Sunscreens For Kids

Parents and caregivers know that applying a safe, effective sunscreen to children is one key to protecting them from sun damage. Sunscreen should never be your child's first line of defense against the sun, of course, and the reality is that some products may actually do more harm than good. Here's what to avoid Spray sunscreens They can be inhaled and don't cover skin completely. SPF values above 50+ They try to trick you into believing they'll prevent sun damage. Don't trust them.

Stimulation Of Adaptive Immunity

The innate immune response provides signals that function in concert with antigen to stimulate the proliferation and differentiation of antigen-specific T and B lymphocytes. As the innate immune response is providing the initial defense against microbes, it also sets in motion the adaptive immune response. The activation of lymphocytes requires two distinct signals, the first being antigen and the second being molecules that are produced during innate immune responses to microbes or injured...

Cardinal Features Of Adaptive Immune Responses

All humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to foreign antigens have a number of fundamental properties that reflect the properties of the lymphocytes that mediate these responses (Table 1-3). Specificity and diversity. Immune responses are specific for distinct antigens and, in fact, for different portions of a single complex protein, polysaccharide, or other macromolecule (Fig. 1-4). The parts of such antigens that are specifically recognized by individual lymphocytes are called...

Properties and Overview of Immune Responses

TYPES OF ADAPTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSES, 3 CARDINAL FEATURES OF ADAPTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSES, 6 CELLULAR COMPONENTS OF THE ADAPTIVE IMMUNE SYSTEM, 8 CYTOKINES, SOLUBLE MEDIATORS OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, 8 OVERVIEW OF IMMUNE RESPONSES TO MICROBES, 10 The Early Innate Immune Response to Microbes, 10 The Adaptive Immune Response, 10 The term immunity is derived from the Latin word immu-nitas, which referred to the protection from legal prosecution offered to Roman senators during their tenures in office....

Control Of Eukaryotic Gene Expression

Since most eukaryotes are multicellular organisms with many cell types, gene expression must be controlled so that different cell lineages develop differently and remain different. A brain cell is quite different from a liver cell because it contains different proteins even though the DNA in the two cell types is identical. During development and differentiation, different sets of genes are switched on and off. Hemoglobin, for example, is only expressed in developing red blood cells even though...

Three Modes Of Intracellular Protein Transport

Newly synthesized proteins must be delivered to their appropriate site of function within the cell. The mechanisms and machinery that eukaryotic cells use to accomplish this are highly conserved from yeast to humans. There are three possible ways by which the cell accomplishes the task (Fig. 10.1). First, the protein may fold into its final form as it is synthesized and then move through an aqueous medium to its final destination, remaining folded all the way. Delivery of proteins to the...

There Is No Immune Response to Prions

People die from infectious diseases when their immune systems have not made enough B or T cells to fight off the infection. In some cases, infectious agents carry antigens for which no amount of DNA rearrangement can yield the proper receptor. In other cases, one group of people may be able to rearrange their DNA to produce the right receptors while others do not. This partly explains why some people do not become ill when exposed to an infectious disease, while others die from the same...

Intraepidermal Vesicles

Primary infection usually occurs in childhood and may be subclinical with acute gingivostomatitis Recurrent lesions occur at a similar site each time, usually on the lips, face, or genitalia Initial infection results in a generalized vesicular eruption (chickenpox) Recurrent infection results in an acute, self-limiting, vesicular eruption occurring in a dermatomal distribution Vesicles become pustular, then form crusts that may lead to scarring Pain, tenderness, or paresthesias precede or...

Pros and cons of gene therapy

Should we be altering something as fundamental as people's genes The issue still causes dispute 16 years after the first attempts were made on human patients. There are important distinctions to be made between altering the somatic genes found in most body cells (which affects only the person concerned) and altering germ-line genes found in sperm and egg cells (which affects descendants of the patient). A study published by the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment in 1984 reported a...

Antiserotonergic Therapies Targeting Anorexia and Cachexia

Disease-associated anorexia might be therapeuti-cally approached by interfering with the neuro-chemical events downstream of cytokine activation. Serotonergic hypothalamic neurotransmission represents a suitable example, and it is therefore tempting to speculate that by interfering with hypothalamic serotonin release, food intake might be improved. Hypothalamic serotonin synthesis strictly depends on the brain availability of its precursor, the amino acid tryptophan 10 . An increase of plasma...

Standard Scores on Bone Density Reports

T-scores and z-scores are found on the computer-generated bone densitometry printouts from virtually every manufacturer of bone density equipment. Figure 3-2 is the printout from a spine bone density study performed on an older Lunar DPX device. The individual BMD values for each vertebra are listed as well as the BMD values for each possible combination of contiguous vertebrae. The two columns adjacent to the BMD values reflect z-scores. One column is entitled young-adult z and the other,...

Inflammation leukocyte activation killing of microbes

FIGURE 10-2 The induction and effector phases of cell-mediated immunity. Induction of response CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells recognize peptides that are derived from protein antigens and presented by dendritic cells in peripheral lymphoid organs. The T lymphocytes are stimulated to proliferate and differentiate into effector (and memory) cells, which enter the circulation. Migration of effector T cells and other leukocytes to the site of antigen Effector T cells and other leukocytes migrate...

Safe and Unsafe Medications for Patients with Kidney Failure

Adverse drug reactions and drug interactions are common in renal failure. Since most drugs and drug breakdown products are excreted via the kidneys, even partial loss of kidney function alters the response to a given dose. Kidney disease may change not only drug elimination, but also drug absorption and distribution throughout the body. One such effect often observed is diminished protein binding of drugs in the plasma, owing to low serum albumin level, thereby increasing the concentration of...

Transient Visual Loss

By transient visual loss we mean a drop in visual acuity or a loss of visual field, analogous to the transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) of neurological disease that last no longer than 24 h. This chapter does not discuss transient visual loss for which primary ophthalmic disorders are evident, such as intermittent angle closure glaucoma, vitreous clouding, retinal venous stasis, or the transient obscurations found in papilledema. Patients complaining of transient loss of vision frequently cause...

Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors

The analysis of the human genome has revealed 518 putative protein kinase genes.2 3 Of these genes, a subset of approximately 90 are responsible for protein tyrosine kinases.2 3 Various protein tyrosine kinases have been implicated in the pathophysiology of malignant conditions. Increased activity or deregulation of these kinases results in alterations in normal downstream cellular signaling. Examples of such processes include the bcr-abl fusion protein in chronic myeloid leukemia and HER-2...

Oculomotor Apraxia Definition

Oculomotor apraxia describes an eye movement disorder characterized by loss of or severely diminished volitional saccades with retention of the fast phases of vestibular nystagmus. Reflexive saccades stimulated by objects of interest in the peripheral visual field may be disordered or normal. Congenital oculomotor apraxia Cogan's syndrome manifests in newborn infants. During the first 3 months of life, affected infants are unable to look toward objects held out to them, and may be mistakenly...

Delirium Dementia Amnestic Disorder And Other Cognitive Disorders

In DSM-III-R, delirium, dementia, amnestic disorder, and other cognitive disorders were included in a section called organic mental disorders, which contained disorders that were due to either a general medical condition or substance use. In DSM-IV, the term organic was eliminated because of the implication that disorders not included in that section (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) did not have an organic component. In fact, virtually all mental disorders have both psychological and...

The B Lymphocyte Antigen Receptor Complex

The B lymphocyte antigen receptor is a transmembrane form of an antibody molecule associated with two signaling chains. The structure of antibodies was described in detail in Chapter 5. Here we will focus on some salient features of the membrane forms of Ig and their associated proteins and discuss how they deliver signals to B cells. Because the signaling pathways are similar to those in T cells, we will summarize these without much detail. However, there are both similarities and significant...

Fetal Inflammatory Response Of Umbilical And Chorionic Plate Vessels

Fetal response to infection occurs after the maternal response and usually suggests a more well-established infection. It may be attenuated or absent in midgestation, although I have seen significant funisitis as early as 18 weeks of gestation. Funisitis and Vasculitis Gross and Microscopic Funisitis can rarely be grossly identified. The umbilical cord may be quite edematous. Within the extra fluid within the cord substance, large accumulations of neutrophils may be visible as white rings...

Drug Induced and Toxic Disorders in Neuro Ophthalmology

Signal processing in the retinal photoreceptors, as well as in the cells and synapses of the afferent visual pathways, is controlled by a group of neurotransmitters, proteins, enzymes, and their metabolites that arise in complex cascades of chemical reactions to produce all the necessary functions of normal visual perception. Neurotropic drugs, toxins and some foods can interfere with these processes and their underlying structural components, thereby disturbing visual perception. In addition,...

Encopresis Diagnosis

Encopresis is usually defined as the intentional or involuntary passage of stool in inappropriate places in the absence of any identified physical abnormality in children older than 4 years. The distinction is drawn between encopresis with constipation (retention with overflow) and encopresis without constipation. Other classification schemes include making a primary-secondary distinction (based on having a 1-year period of continence), or soiling with fluid or normal feces. Less than one-third...

Avoid Cold Weather Nightmares! Pick Pajamas Free Of Flame Retardants

Depending on where in the country you live, October's chill means time to break out the pajamas that keep kids warm on winter long nights or risk a very full family bed. Unfortunately, a large amount of children's sleepwear especially the fleecy, fuzzy kind contains toxic flame retardants. It's enough to keep you up at night.

Herbs Containing Caffeine

Caffeine is perhaps the most commonly used stimulant in the world. Several plants produce caffeine and theophylline and theobromine, which are close relatives of caffeine. Most people readily know that coffee (Coffea arabica and C. robusta) and tea (Camellia sinensis) have caffeine in them, but several other herbal medicines also contain caffeine. Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is the main ingredient in chocolate-flavored foods, from candy bars to hot cocoa. There are usually 20 to 60 milligrams of...

Predisposing Factors In Fetal And Neonatal Infection

Despite its presence in 25 of all pregnant women, isolation of Candida from the placenta is rare (12,13). Baley reported an incidence of less than 1 (14). In the presence of chorioamnionitis, fetal infection can occur and presents as congenital cutaneous candidiasis (CCC). Risk factors for congenital infection include early preterm birth, the presence of a foreign body such as an intrauterine device or cervical sutures, and possibly diagnostic amniocentesis (6,12). Factors that do not appear to...

Hallucinatory Palinopsia

Schematic diagram of the most common (pseudo) hallucinations. Upside down inverted objects. Macropsia microp-sia objects seen as too large or small. Telopsia pelopsia objects seen as too far or near. Palinopsia objects seen in correct relation to others (e.g., exclusively situated on horizontal planes) and thus in multiple locations (a subtype of polyopsia). Metamorphopsia objects misshapen. Polyopsia multiple images of a single object (a failure of the extinguishing center )....

Cancer Modelling and Simulation

A CRC Press Company Boca Raton London New York Washington, D.C. Pictured on the cover left, vasculature surrounding a tumour center (top), in vitro vasculogenesis center (bottom), trajectories of some endothelial cells involved in vasculogenesis on a background of the simulated concentration field of chemoattractant produced by the endothelial cells right (top), results of the vasculogenesis simulation right (bottom), comparison of the experimental trajectory of an endothelial cell with the...

Anatomy and Physiology of Blood Vessels

Arteries are the high-pressure blood vessels that transport blood from the heart through increasingly smaller arteries, to arterioles and further to the level of capillaries. Veins conduct the blood from the capillaries back to the heart on the lower pressure side of the cardiovascular system. The structure of arteries and veins as well as their mechanical properties are discussed in this chapter. At any given time, about 13 percent of the total blood volume resides in the arteries and about 7...

Effector and memory T cells

FIGURE 14-3 Mechanisms of peripheral T cell tolerance. The signals involved in a normal immune response (A) and the three major mechanisms of peripheral T cell tolerance (B) are illustrated. FIGURE 14-3 Mechanisms of peripheral T cell tolerance. The signals involved in a normal immune response (A) and the three major mechanisms of peripheral T cell tolerance (B) are illustrated. Recognition of foreign antigen with costimulation Engagement of inhibitory receptors (e.g., CTLA-4) Engagement of...

Innate Immunity in the Gastrointestinal Tract

Intestinal epithelial cells lining the small and large bowel are an integral part of the gastrointestinal innate immune system, involved in responses to pathogens, tolerance to commensal organisms, and antigen sampling for delivery to the adaptive immune system in the gut. There are several different types of intestinal epithelial cells, all derived from a common precursor found in the crypts of intestinal glands. Among these are the mucus-secreting goblet cells, which reside at the top of the...