A Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibitor, 1-trifluoromethoxyphenyl-3-(1-propionylpiperidin-4-yl) Urea,Ameliorates Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential FAs for human health. Cytochrome P450 oxygenates PUFAs to produce anti-inflammatory and pain-resolving epoxy fatty acids (EpFAs) and other oxylipins whose epoxide ring is opened by the soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH/Ephx2), resulting in the formation of toxic and pro-inflammatory vicinal diols (dihydroxy-FAs). Pharmacological inhibition of sEH is a promising strategy for the treatment of pain, inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, and other conditions. We tested the efficacy of a potent, selective sEH inhibitor, 1-trifluoromethoxyphenyl-3-(1-propionylpiperidin-4-yl) urea (TPPU), in an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Prophylactic TPPU treatment significantly ameliorated EAE without affecting circulating white blood cell counts. TPPU accumulated in the spinal cords (SCs), which was correlated with plasma TPPU concentration. Targeted lipidomics in EAE SCs and plasma identified that TPPU blocked production of dihydroxy-FAs efficiently and increased some EpFA species including 12(13)-epoxy-octadecenoic acid (12(13)-EpOME) and 17(18)-epoxy-eicosatrienoic acid (17(18)-EpETE). TPPU did not alter levels of cyclooxygenase (COX-1/2) metabolites, while it increased 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE) and other 12/15-lipoxygenase metabolites. These analytical results are consistent with sEH inhibitors that reduce neuroinflammation and accelerate anti-inflammatory responses, providing the possibility that sEH inhibitors could be used as a disease modifying therapy, as well as for MS-associated pain relief.     

McMaster-Bauer symposium on consciousness.

The McMaster University Brain and Behaviour Research Programme was initiated in 1977 with the purpose of facilitating inter-departmental and inter-faculty discussion and collaborative research concerning brain-behaviour relationships in a broad perspective. It was supported initially, in part, by the John A. Bauer Memorial Fund, which provided resources for guest lectures. In planning the Bauer lecture for 1983, it seemed that a topic in the area of cognitive neuroscience might be suitable, preferably one of a general nature that would be of interest to several disciplines. Consciousness is surely one of the most perplexing of human issues--the question being how the living material of the human brain results in the subjective awareness humankind experiences. It has been a topic considered for centuries by philosophers and psychologists, psychiatrists and physicists, among others. A recent book written by Julian Jaynes, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, embraced many issues from psychology and neurology to archaeology, anthropology, the classics, and religious studies. Jaynes was invited to give the 1983 Bauer lecture. At the same time, Jonathan Miller was invited to discuss some of the anthropological considerations of Jaynes's thesis; Daniel Dennett agreed to present his philosophical views of Jaynes's notion of the nature and origin of consciousness; and George Ojemann discussed the neurological aspects of Jaynes's theory. Included here are Jaynes's original lecture, entitled "Consciousness and the voices of the mind"; an open discussion with questions from the audience; the discussions by Miller, Dennett, and Ojemann; a panel discussion among the four presenters; and finally another open discussion that included questions for all four presenters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

John L. Kennedy (1913–1984).

John Lyon Kennedy received his doctorate in 1937 for his dissertation on the neurological basis of movement perception. His many career steps included psychical research at Stanford; work for the Office of Scientific Research and Development; and cutting edge involvement in the evolution of human engineering from applied experimental psychology, biomechanics, and engineering psychology. He joined the Rand Corporation, where he established the Systems Research Laboratory. He accepted as a challenge the question of how to study the behavior of a total air defense system—as a system. Other accomplishments included being the chair of the Psychology Department at Princeton from 1958 to 1966, while also working with a number of external organizations, including the System Development Corporation, the Peace Corps, the Psychological Corporation, and the National Science Foundation. He finished his teaching career as a professor of management at California State University at Northridge, but continued as a Fulbright Hays Lecturer at the Vienna Institute of Commerce. Kennedy passed away in 1984. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Proteomics of brain extracellular fluid (ECF) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

Mass spectrometry has become the gold standard for the identification of proteins in proteomics. In this review, I will discuss the available literature on proteomic experiments that analyze human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and brain extracellular fluid (ECF), mostly obtained by cerebral microdialysis. Both materials are of high diagnostic value in clinical neurology, for example, in cerebrovascular disorders like stroke, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), traumatic brain injury and cerebral infectious and inflammatory disease, such as multiple sclerosis. Moreover, there are standard procedures for sampling. In a number of studies in recent years, biomarkers have been proposed in CSF and ECF for improved diagnosis or to control therapy, based on proteomics and mass spectrometry. I will also discuss the needs for a transition of research‐based experimental screening with mass spectrometry to fast and reliable diagnostic instrumentation for clinical use. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Mass Spec Rev 29:17–28, 2010     

SPECTRAL DISCRIMINATION FOR TWO GROUPS OF TIME SERIES

Abstract. The problem of discriminating in the frequency domain between two groups of Gaussian stationary time series is examined. A test aimed at detecting differences between the windowed spectra of the two groups is used. The effect of windows on the resulting quadratic discriminant function is considered. Two examples taken from seismology and neurology are given.     

Review of Psychology: The unity of human behavior.

Reviews the book "Psychology: The unity of human behavior," by Timothy J. Gannon (see record 1954-06735-000). This volume is an introductory textbook of psychology for college students. In addition to a somewhat different organization of the material and a different emphasis accorded to various topics Gannon's book introduces certain theoretical considerations which are not ordinarily found in most textbooks. The book is divided into four parts: The first part, the shortest, is a general introduction. The second, entitled "Reception," deals with sensation and perception. The author, in discussing perception, particularly stresses the neural correlates of perception and the localization of functions in the brain. The third, "Response," contains the discussion of reflexes, drives, and emotions. The fourth and last part, "Integration," is the longest, constituting almost half of the book. The principal concern of the author is to present all experiences, and all behavior, as integrated manifestations of a single living person. The entire book is characterized by an effort to present to the student not merely a survey of psychological problems and known facts about man but to provide him at the same time with a concept of man's nature which would serve as a key to the understanding of man as such. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

低温生物技术在神经科学中的应用

低温生物技术的下一个热点之一是它在神经科学中的应用，本文立足于现代低温生物技术，神经科学，混沌分形等现代工程技术理论，探讨低温生物技术在神经科学上的发展趋势和应用前景，提出低温冷脉冲对钙离子通道信息传导的抑制的研究，探索阐明低温对神经调节与止痛的机理是有重要科学意义的。     

Cocoa and Human Health: From Head to Foot—A Review

The cocoa, as part of the wonderful nature, provides the mankind a wide variety of valuable food products and health benefits. The most known and universally relished product derived from this fruit is chocolate, an amazing and unique food for the human nutrition with records of consumption of similar products dating to 1000 years BC. In fact, the cocoa is a complex food that includes over 300 different components. This review is designed to inform scientists, technicians, academicians, farmers, and interested communities of numerous studies that have been conducted worldwide to investigate the properties of various cocoa constituents, their relations to human health, and their potential role in the prevention and treatment of many medical conditions. The general population, for example in Brazil, despite being one of the major producers of cocoa, is poorly informed of the significant and beneficial properties of cocoa. The present review covers important topics linking cocoa to human health and show the state of the art of effect of cocoa in different systems that comprise the human body. The paper is organized based on the main human organ system and includes: cardiovascular/circulatory, neurological/nervous, oral health, endocrine, lymphatic and immunological, respiratory, reproductive, and dermatological systems. Scientific findings tend to confirm the historic designation of cocoa as “food of the Gods.”     

Review of Psychological concepts and biological psychiatry.

Reviews the book, Psychological concepts and biological psychiatry by Peter Zachar (see record 2000-16870-000). Almost from the very beginning of its disciplinary history clinical psychology has sought to align itself philosophically and methodologically with the natural sciences, particularly medicine and neurology. Contradicting the common-place assumption that common sense or folk psychology has been proven uninformative and futile, Zachar provides explicit philosophical and psychological arguments that demonstrate why such accounts are not only vital to proper scientific explanation but inevitable as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)