Exploring Homeless People's Use of Outreach Services: Applying a Social Psychological Perspective

A number of critiques have been published drawing attention to the gaps in research methods applied to issues surrounding homelessness and service utilisation in Britain. This paper discusses the use of social identity, a theory drawn from the field of applied social psychology, and synthesises it with the pathways model, thereby providing a framework to further explore service utilisation. The synthesised framework was used to predict the uptake of outreach services in a prospective study of 121 homeless people in a major UK city. In general, homeless people's use of intervention services was affected by the extent to which they identified with the support services themselves. The study demonstrates the central role of social identity in understanding service utilisation patterns, and shows the importance of applying fresh techniques to fine-tune our understanding of uptake in the long term.     

Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of inhibitors of apoptosis protein delays apoptosis in cerebellar granule neurons

The inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family of antiapoptotic genes, originally discovered in baculovirus, exists in animals ranging from insects to humans. Here, we investigated the ability of IAPs to suppress cell death in both a neuronal model of apoptosis and excitotoxicity. Cerebellar granule neurons undergo apoptosis when switched from 25 to 5 mM potassium, and excitotoxic cell death in response to glutamate. We examined the endogenous expression of four members of the IAP family, X chromosome-linked IAP (XIAP), rat IAP1 (RIAP1), RIAP2, and neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP), by semiquantitative reverse PCR and immunoblot analysis in cultured cerebellar granule neurons. Cerebellar granule neurons express significant levels of RIAP2 mRNA and protein, but expression of RIAP1, NAIP, and XIAP was not detected. RIAP2 mRNA content and protein levels did not change when cells were switched from 25 to 5 mM potassium. To determine whether ectopic expression of IAP influenced neuronal survival after potassium withdrawal or glutamate exposure, we used recombinant adenoviral vectors to target XIAP, human IAP1 (HIAP1), HIAP2, and NAIP into cerebellar granule neurons. We demonstrate that forced expression of IAPs efficiently blocked potassium withdrawal-induced N-acetyl-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-specific caspase activity and reduced DNA fragmentation. However, neurons were only protected from apoptosis up to 24 h after potassium withdrawal, but not at later time points, suggesting that IAPs delay but do not block apoptosis in cerebellar granule neurons. In contrast, treatment with 100 microM or 1 mM glutamate did not induce caspase activity and adenoviral-mediated expression of IAPs had no influence on subsequent excitotoxic cell death.     

The effect of difference oriented communication on the subjective validity of an in-group norm: Doc can treat the group.

The subjective group dynamics model predicts that in-group deviants who violate in-group norms that differentiate between the in-group and the out-group threaten the in-group's public image and its sense of validity. Previous research has shown that, to reduce this threat, group members attempt to symbolically marginalize in-group deviants through negative evaluation. In the current study (N = 107), the effect of another form of symbolic marginalization (difference oriented communication) is investigated. The findings support the subjective group dynamics model by showing that group members whose communications to deviants highlighted differences experienced a subsequent increase in subjective validity of in-group norms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychophysiological studies in the pre-school children

The behavior of 24 children, aged 3-6 years, was recorded on video-tape. Simultaneously the ECG was recorded telemetrically. These observations were made during two pre-school educational programs lasting 90 minutes each: "Didactic games" and "Elementary music and movement program". For each child a scale was developed to show the correlation of mean heart-rate and well defined motor-activity. It was evident that the mean heart-rate was higher during the music program than during the didactic program, corresponding to the higher motor-activity. But it was found that in the didactic program the variation of the heart-rate within short intervals was higher due to the more frequent occurrence of respiratory arrhythmias. It was also seen that during the music program the children showed no signs of exertion as they did towards the end of the didactic program. Respiratory arrhythmias were not seen in children who according to the Schellong-test were classified as stable in their cardiovascular system. The arrhythmias occurred mainly when the children showed signs of fatigue.     

Immobilization of acrylamide-modified oligonucleotides by co-polymerization

A flexible chemistry for solid phase attachment of oligonucleotides is described. Oligonucleotides bearing 5'-terminal acrylamide modifications efficiently co-polymerize with acrylamide monomers to form thermally stable DNA-containing polyacrylamide co-polymers. Co-polymerization attachment is specific for the terminal acrylamide group. Stable probe-containing layers are easily fabricated on supports bearing exposed acrylic groups, including plastic microtiter plates and silanized glass. Attachment can be accomplished using standard polyacrylamide gel recipes and polymerization techniques. Supports having a high surface density of hybridizable oligonucleotide (approximately 200 fmol/mm2) can be produced.     

Flow cytometric analysis of microsporidia belonging to the genus Encephalitozoon

Flow cytometry was used in the identification of human microsporidia belonging to the genus Encephalitozoon. Microsporidian spores of Encephalitozoon hellem, E. cuniculi, and E. intestinalis were propagated in axenic cultures of monkey kidney E6 cells, purified with Percoll, and exposed to homologous and heterologous rabbit antiserum and monoclonal antibody prepared against E. hellem spores. After reaction to goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) or goat anti-mouse IgG conjugated to fluorescein isothiocyanate, fluorescence histograms from gated data on light-scatter profiles showed that rabbit anti-E. hellem serum was reactive to E. hellem spores but also had cross-reactivity to spores of E. cuniculi and E. intestinalis. On the other hand, fluorescence histograms showed that rabbit anti-E. cuniculi and rabbit anti-E. intestinalis sera were reactive with homologous spores only. Monoclonal antibody prepared against E. hellem reacted only with spores of E. hellem. Neither the polyclonal antibodies nor the monoclonal antibodies reacted with Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts. Fluorescence histograms of spores treated with 10% formalin also showed reactivity, but the number of events in the most intense peaks of fluorescence was fewer (7 to 42%, depending on species) than the number of events in the most intense peaks of fluorescence for nontreated spores. By flow cytometry, formalin-treated and nontreated spores of Encephalitozoon were identified to the species level by using gated data on light-scatter profiles and analyzing the fluorescence histograms from the indirect immunofluorescence of the spores. Once a procedure is established for the isolation of Encephalitozoon spores from clinical specimens, identification of spores by flow cytometry may be useful not only for diagnosis but also for epidemiologic studies.     

Wegener's granulomatosis presenting with a renal mass

Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) is a systemic disease characterized by necrotizing granulomatous vasculitis that involves primarily the upper and lower respiratory tracts and, in most cases, the kidneys. Kidney involvement in WG presenting as a mass is recognized, but is very rare. We describe a case of WG presenting with upper and lower respiratory symptoms and a renal mass due to both WG and renal cell carcinoma.     

Radial deformation measurements of isolated pairs of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Interactions between atoms of bound single-walled carbon nanotubes are known to cause measurable distortion to the tube’s original circular cross-section. High-resolution transmission electron microscope investigation was used to directly image and verify these radial deformations. The data obtained provide direct measurements of the deformations due to the interactions between isolated pairs of nanotubes and is compared to previously reported experimental and simulation results.     

Interleukin-1 mediates a rapid inflammatory response after injection of adenoviral vectors into the brain

Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer into the brain is associated with significant inflammation and activation of anti-vector and anti-transgene immune responses that curtail the gene delivery of adenoviruses and therapeutic efficacy. Elucidating the molecular mediators of inflammatory and immune responses to adenoviruses injected into the brain should allow us to inhibit their inflammatory actions, thereby reducing vector clearance and enhance adenoviral-mediated gene transfer into the CNS. Cytokines are primary mediators of the immune response and are released during inflammation. Here we report for the first time that injection of replication-deficient adenovirus vectors into the cerebral ventricles of rats causes a rapid increase in body temperature. This fever response precedes any vector-encoded transgene expression and occurs with vectors encoding no transgene, as well as with vectors encoding a therapeutic transgene i.e., HSV1-thymidine kinase. No fever is detected after infection of the striatum, an important brain target in studies on neurodegeneration. After infection of the brain ventricles, CSF levels of immunoreactive tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-1beta increase significantly (up to 300-fold). In the hypothalamus, the locus of thermoregulation in the brain, only IL-1beta and IL-6 are significantly elevated. A neutralizing TNF-alpha antibody has no effect on adenovirus-induced fever. However, pretreatment with either the IL-1 receptor antagonist or the cyclooxygenase inhibitor flurbiprofen completely abolishes adenovirus-induced fever, suggesting that IL-1 and prostaglandins are direct mediators of this response. These results are the first to demonstrate that IL-1, but not TNF-alpha, is the main mediator of a very early inflammatory response to adenovirus in the brain.