Possible regeneration of rat medial frontal cortex following neonatal frontal lesions

The experiments described here show that the cavity left by midline frontal cortex removals at 10 days of age (P10) fills in with neural tissue. Similar changes are not found at earlier and later ages. This neuronal filling is blocked by prior pretreatment by administration of Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) on embryonic day 13. Administration of BrdU following the P10 lesion does not interfere with regrowth. Subsequent immunohistochemical staining for BrdU demonstrates the regrown area to be composed of newly generated cells. which include pyramidal and nonpyramidal neurons. Injections of a retrograde tracer into the striatum or posterior parietal cortex shows that the new neurons have connections similar to those of undamaged brains. The regrowth of this tissue is correlated with recovery of function in a test of forelimb use. Thus, the mammalian brain, during some privileged postnatal stages of growth. is capable of extensive reorganization that includes regeneration of lost neurons. These results are discussed in relation to the proximity of the lesion to the stem cells in the lateral ventricle and their postnatal migrational activities.     

Designing Facilities Management Needs into Infrastructure Projects: Case from a Major Hospital

Successful deployment of the facilities management (FM) function for any major development will depend upon the ability to identify, communicate, and manage opportunities to help support an organization’s business objectives at the earliest possible time. This implies a more holistic view for the FM function as reflected by strategic facilities management, and also the ability to address its requirements at an early enough stage of the development process. The paper presents a case from a major hospital development where considerations of such an early role for FM was applied at the design stage and discusses some of the impacts of this approach. Essentially, a shift in the consideration of major developments as construction projects to FM services provision. This orientation makes the development of the scheme one of designing for FM.     

Major Sex Pheromone Components of the Australian Gum Leaf Skeletonizer Uraba lugens: (10E,12Z)-Hexadecadien-1-yl Acetate and (10E,12Z)-Hexadecadien-1-ol

Two sex pheromone components of the gum leaf skeletonizer, Uraba lugens (Lepidoptera: Nolidae), recently established in New Zealand, were identified. Gas chromatography (GC) electroantennographic detection analyses of female pheromone gland extracts gave three compounds that consistently elicited antennal responses. Chemical analyses, using GC and GC-mass spectrometry, in conjunction with 4-methyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione and dimethyldisulfide derivatizations, identified these compounds as (10E,12Z)-hexadecadien-1-yl acetate (E10,Z12-16:Ac), (10E,12Z)-hexadecadien-1-ol (E10,Z12-16:OH), and (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-yl acetate (Z11-16:Ac). A trapping trial in Queensland, Australia, in 2002, indicated that a blend of the two major components E10,Z12-16:Ac and E10,Z12-16:OH could attract gum leaf skeletonizer males. In the same trial, E10,Z12-16:Ac alone trapped large numbers of an unidentified nolid, Nola spp. Further trials in Auckland, New Zealand established that these two components were sufficient and necessary for trap catch of males; adding minor gland components, (10E,12E)-hexadecadien-1-yl acetate (E10,E12-16:Ac), Z11-16:Ac, or octadecan-1-ol (18:OH), to the two-component lure did not result in increased trap catches. Behavioral observations and gland analyses of the Auckland population revealed that female moths begin calling soon after emergence, with peak calling and pheromone production occurring 7 hr into the scotophase. Analysis of gland extract at two-hourly intervals during the first activity period showed that the ratio of E10,Z12-16:Ac to E10,Z12-16:OH (mean of 86: 14, respectively) and pheromone titer were fairly constant. No qualitative or quantitative differences in pheromone components were detected between gland extracts from Tasmanian univoltine and Auckland bivoltine populations of U. lugens.     

Transfers,Contracts and Regulation: A New Institutional Economics Perspective on the Changing Provision of Social Housing in Britain

Social housing policy in the UK mirrors wider processes associated with shifts in broad welfare regimes. Social housing has moved from dominance by state housing provision to the funding of new investment through voluntary sector housing associations to what is now a greater focus on the regulation and private financing of these not-for-profit bodies. If these trends run their course, we are likely to see a range of not-for-profit bodies providing non-market housing in a highly regulated quasi-market. This paper examines these issues through the lens of new institutional economics, which it is believed can provide important insights into the fundamental contractual and regulatory relationships that are coming to dominate social housing from the perspective of the key actors in the sector (not-for-profit housing organisations, their tenants, private lenders and the regulatory state). The paper draws on evidence recently collected from a study evaluating more than 100 stock transfer organisations that inherited ex-public housing in Scotland, including 12 detailed case studies. The paper concludes that social housing stakeholders need to be aware of the risks (and their management) faced across the sector and that the state needs to have clear objectives for social housing and coherent policy instruments to achieve those ends.     

Effective removal of zinc ions from aqueous solutions using crab carapace biosorbent

The carapace of the crab (Cancer pagurus), a waste material disposed of by the seafood industry, has recently been shown to have potential as a biosorbent for the removal of metals from aqueous media. Crab carapace in the particle size ranges 0.25-0.8mm and 0.8-1.5mm were used to investigate the effects of agitation speed, contact time, metal concentration and initial pH on the removal of Zn(2+). In sequential-batch process Zn(2+) uptakes of 105.6 and 67.6 mg/g were recorded for 0.25-0.8 mm and 0.8-1.5 mm particles, respectively, while values of 141.3 and 76.9 mg/g were recorded in fixed-bed column studies. Binary-metal studies showed that the presence of Cu(2+) or Pb(2+) significantly suppressed Zn(2+) uptake. This study confirms that crab carapace may be considered a viable and cost-effective alternative to commercial activated carbon or ion-exchange resins for the removal of metals from aqueous media.     

The interaction between design and occupier behaviour in the safety of new homes

The design of new homes includes many safety features intended to protect occupiers from injury or ill health within the home, however the effectiveness of these primary intervention measures is likely to be affected by user behaviour. This study examined the interaction between user activity and dwelling design and how this might affect health and safety. It aimed to identify how people use features within new homes and how this may limit the protection afforded by building design, codes and regulations. Forty, home-based, semi-structured, in-depth interviews and home inspections were conducted with individuals recently inhabiting a new home. A range of behaviours were reported in relation to building features including fire doors, pipes and cables, and loft access, which may lead to increased risk of injury or ill-health. For example, occupiers described interfering with the self-closing mechanisms on fire doors and drilling into walls without considering the location of services. They also reported knowingly engaging in unsafe behaviour when accessing the loft, increasing their risk of falls. The accounts suggest that designers and builders need to give greater consideration to how occupier behaviour interacts with building features so that improvements in both design and occupier education can lead to improved health and safety.     

Medical grade sterilization affects synthetic polymer film properties intended for peripheral nerve repair: an in vitro study

In vitro characterization of synthetic scaffolds in the laboratory commonly employs sterilization techniques, such as, ultraviolet light or ethanol (EtOH) soaking. These sterilization methods are not sufficient, however, to gain Regulatory approval for therapeutic use. Neglecting the effects medical grade sterilization may have on material properties could lead to years of research never translating to the clinic. The objective of this study was to ascertain whether medical grade gamma irradiation affected the properties of solvent-cast poly(ε-caprolactone)/poly(d, l-lactic acid) blend films for peripheral nerve repair. Scaffolds were sterilized at eight incremental doses of Gamma radiation (0–45 kGy). With increasing radiation dose, tensile testing identified significant reductions in both maximum tensile strength (>40 %) and strain (>90 %); gel permeation chromatography showed a dose-dependent reduction in polymer molecular weight (>46 %) and differential scanning calorimetry highlighted an increase in crystallinity. NG108-15 nerve cells were cultured up to 7 days on gamma irradiated and EtOH soaked films (control). Scanning electron microscopy showed cells proliferated on all films during this time and confirmed cell morphology was unaffected by sterilization method. However, cellular proliferation and number were greater for gamma irradiated films compared to EtOH soaked. Despite material properties being significantly altered, the in vitro response was encouraging and gamma irradiation may prove effective for medical grade sterilization of films intended for peripheral nerve repair.     

Biosorption of Hg from aqueous solutions by crab carapace

Carapace from the edible crab was assessed for the biosorption of Hg from aqueous solutions. Batch adsorption studies were used to determine the effects of contact time, pH, concentration, particle size and Cu(II) as a co-ion. The removal of Hg was fast and efficient, attaining >80.0% from 500 mg/L by 60 min. Specific uptake increased from 0.1 to 13.0mg/g as initial concentration increased from 0.5 to 1000 mg/L while the removal efficiency decreased from 100.0% over the 0.5-10.0mg/L range to 65.0% at 1000 mg/L. As particle size decreases from >2.5 to <0.15 mm, the Hg uptake increased from 1.4 to 8.3mg/g. In binary metal solutions, Cu(II) reduced the Hg removal by 80.0% while the presence of Hg increased Cu(II) removal by approximately 7.0%. Crab carapace is a readily available alkaline waste and easily processed into durable granular forms. Therefore, it offers potential as a low-cost alternative to commercial adsorbents or as a complimentary polishing process for the removal of Hg from acidic solutions.     

Children’s inferential styles, 5-HTTLPR genotype, and maternal expressed emotion-criticism: An integrated model for the intergenerational transmission of depression.

The authors tested a model for the intergenerational transmission of depression integrating specific genetic (5-HTTLPR), cognitive (inferential style), and environmental (mother depressive symptoms and expressed-emotion criticism [EE-Crit]) risk factors. Supporting the hypothesis that maternal depression is associated with elevated levels of stress in children’s lives, mothers with a history of major depressive disorder (MDD) exhibited higher depressive symptoms across a 6-month multiwave follow-up than mothers with no depression history. In addition, partially supporting our hypothesis, levels of maternal criticism during the follow-up were significantly related to mothers’ current depressive symptoms but not to history of MDD. Finally, the authors found support for an integrated Gene × Cognition × Environment model of risk. Specifically, among children with negative inferential styles regarding their self-characteristics, there was a clear dose response of 5-HTTLPR genotype moderating the relation between maternal criticism and children’s depressive symptoms, with the highest depressive symptoms during the follow-up observed among children carrying 2 copies of the 5-HTTLPR lower expressing alleles (short [S] or long [LG]) who also exhibited negative inferential styles for self-characteristics and who experienced high levels of EE-Crit. In contrast, children with positive inferential styles exhibited low depressive symptoms regardless of 5-HTTLPR genotype or level of maternal criticism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supramolecular Assembly and Binding in Aqueous Solution: Useful Tips Regarding the Hofmeister and Hydrophobic Effects

The self-assembly of structurally discrete entities, and supramolecular chemistry in general, continues to expand into the aqueous realm. To do so, however, requires a firm understanding of the properties of aqueous solution, and how these “change the rules” for binding and assembly relative to organic solvents. In this mini-review we highlight the state-of-the-art understanding of the supramolecular properties of water, and how these influence the design of hosts and self-assembling systems.