Κυριακή 8 Ιανουαρίου 2017

Enteric glial activity regulates secretomotor function in the mouse colon but does not acutely affect gut permeability

Abstract

Enteric glial cells are often implicated in the regulation of epithelial barrier and secretomotor functions of the intestines. But whether glial cell activity regulates these functions acutely under physiological conditions is not clear. We addressed this issue by using transgenic animal models to modify the activity of enteric glia, either reducing glial expression of connexin 43 in Sox10::CreERT2+/−/Cx43f/f mice or activating glial calcium responses in GFAP::hM3Dq mice, and tested the effects on colonic barrier function and electrogenic ion transport in Ussing chambers. We assess neuronal dependent and independent contributions by activating or inhibiting neurogenic activity with veratridine and tetrodotoxin, respectively. Our results show that the reduction of glial Cx43 expression in Sox10::CreERT2+/−/Cx43f/f mice significantly reduced neurogenic ion transport. The selective glial activation in tissues from GFAP::hM3Dq mice evoked electrogenic ion transport to an equal extent as the direct activation of neurogenic ion transport with veratridine and glial driven responses consisted of both tetrodotoxin sensitive and insensitive components. The selective glial stimulation did not affect transmural ion conductance or cell-impermeant dye flux but the baseline ion conductance was more variable in Sox10::CreERT2+/−/Cx43f/f tissues. Together, our findings show that glial activity contributes to the regulation of electrogenic ion transport in the intestine through effects on neurons and possibly direct effects on epithelial cells. However, glial activity does not appear to play a major role in the acute regulation of barrier function. These findings provide novel insight into the cellular mechanisms that control fluid transport homeostasis in the intestine.

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Conn. ambulance service celebrates 100-year anniversary

By Lindsay Boyle
The Day

Westerly, Conn. — Times were different in 1917, when Dr. Frank Payne, encouraged by the American Red Cross, set out to establish a group of men who could respond should a shoreline emergency or industrial calamity arise.

Payne used ads in the Westerly Sun and door-to-door canvassing to assemble volunteers. The corps raised funds to help supplement its work by holding Friday night dances. The organization's first ambulance, a Ford Model T-style wagon acquired in 1920, looked a little more like a hearse than a unit meant to transport the sick.

Needless to say, the Westerly Ambulance Corps has come a long way.

"It's to the point now where the back of the ambulance is exactly what you would get in an emergency room, and the skills our paramedics have today equal the skills of nurses and doctors," said Philip Gingerella Sr., chairman of the organization's Anniversary Committee.

Considered one of the oldest, if not the oldest, private, nonprofit, volunteer ambulance organizations in the country, the corps on Friday hosted the first of several events slated to celebrate its 100th birthday.

Friday's event, which started at 6 p.m. at the group's 30 Chestnut St. headquarters, featured the unveiling of Westerly Ambulance's anniversary ambulance, logo and uniforms.

Other events include a memorial service at Payne's Ashaway, R.I., gravesite, an open house with tours and a special appearance in the Westerly-Pawcatuck Columbus Day Parade.

Through it all, the focus will be on highlighting the heritage of the storied organization.

According to Gingerella, the Red Cross chose Westerly to take part in its pilot project — the goal of which was in part to supplement paid hospital and city forces with local volunteer ones — because of its ideal location between Boston and New York City.

Although the Red Cross was unable to immediately verify if Westerly was one of the two towns it first approached — many of its records are at the National Archives rather than in-house — many publications suggest such independent volunteer services didn't flourish until the mid- to late 1920s.

In any event, the Westerly corps faced its first local challenge less than two years into its existence.

As the flu pandemic of 1918 made its way into town, the organization's 30 or so volunteer members, trained only in basic first aid administration, rushed to set up a makeshift 50-bed hospital in the former Beach Street School. Using a donated pickup truck, they transported about 600 people there during a three-month period, according to Gingerella.

"That was the first major test and they came through that with flying colors," said Gingerella, who was an active member of the corps in the 1980s and 1990s.

The next event of notoriety was the Hurricane of 1938, during which the corps was tasked with rescuing the people it could and recovering the bodies of those it couldn't. About 100 people ended up dying.

The 1950s kicked off a trend of forward progress that would continue unabated. The name Westerly Ambulance Corps was born. The rescue squad was established. The corps' first permanent home was built.

More than a half-century later, the group continues to fight off challenges in order to improve each year, according to corps President Ronald MacDonald III.

MacDonald was 14 when he joined at the rank of messenger. He saw advanced life support equipment added to the organization's fleet. He watched as the group established a state-of-the-art regional dispatch center. He helped members make the switch to a new headquarters in 2002. He responded to thousands of calls and climbed the ranks along the way.

For MacDonald, the most striking memory is that of a 16-year-old who had doused himself in gasoline and lit himself on fire.

"I can still remember like it was yesterday," MacDonald wrote in an email. "You can never suppress some of the sights, smells and sounds no matter how much you try."

These days, MacDonald said funding and personnel are the corps' biggest challenges, especially as the number of calls to which the organization responds continues to increase. This year, they had just more than 6,000. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was closer to 1,000.

The lack of volunteers available during the regular workday is part of the reason the group is now quasi-volunteer, with about 12 paid members and 60 volunteers.

As for funding, MacDonald said the amount of fees that aren't paid to the corps and end up in collections "would make your jaw drop."

Still, he pointed to a grant recently awarded to the corps — one that will help it establish a mobile-integrated health program — as a sign of success and continued growth.

"I care deeply for this organization and have put 30 years of my life into it," MacDonald said. "I feel an obligation to do my best to continue the work of our founder, past leaders and the over 1,000 volunteers throughout our history to keep moving the corps forward."

Town Council President Jamie Silvestri, who also has spent time volunteering with the corps, called it "a crown jewel."

"Obviously providing emergency services to all of our townspeople is invaluable, but they also are an organization that operates outside of the town's tax budget," he said, calling that a "huge relief."

"I'm looking forward to the next 100 years," he said.

Copyright 2017 The Day



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Incorporating body-type (apple vs. pear) in STOP-BANG questionnaire improves its validity to detect OSA

The aim of this study is to evaluate whether adding the item of "apple body type" to the STOP-BANG questionnaire enhances diagnostic performance of the questionnaire for detecting obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

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Ill. ambulance transporting patient, car collide

An official said the ambulance had its lights and sirens activated at the time of the crash

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Harnessing the Therapist Effect in Patient-Centered Mental Health Care Decision Making

Abstract

In this commentary, we address the critical importance of the research literature documenting therapist differences in skill and outcomes. In particular, we focus on the implications of therapist differences for patient-centered decision making, including the matching of patients to specific psychotherapists who have empirically-based track records of positive performance. In addition, we present preliminary results from a grant supported study of patients' values and preferences regarding the use of provider performance track records in routine mental health care decision making.



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Brainstem auditory responses to predict literacy

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Publication date: Available online 8 January 2017
Source:Clinical Neurophysiology
Author(s): Jenin El-Sayes, Aimee J. Nelson




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Using transcranial direct current stimulation to enhance performance in balance tasks

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Publication date: Available online 7 January 2017
Source:Clinical Neurophysiology
Author(s): Hanna Pohjola, Tommi Tolmunen, Tuukka Kotilainen, Soili M. Lehto




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Corrigendum to “Intracortical inhibition abnormality during the remission phase of multiple sclerosis is related to upper limb dexterity and lesions” [Clin. Neurophysiol. 127 (2016) 1503–1511]

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Publication date: Available online 7 January 2017
Source:Clinical Neurophysiology
Author(s): Julia C. Nantes, Jidan Zhong, Scott A. Holmes, Benjamin Whatley, Sridar Narayanan, Yves Lapierre, Douglas L. Arnold, Lisa Koski




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Reply to “Using transcranial direct current stimulation to enhance performance in balance tasks”

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Publication date: Available online 7 January 2017
Source:Clinical Neurophysiology
Author(s): Elisabeth Kaminski, Patrick Ragert




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