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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

The Function Of The Left Angular Gyrus In Mental Arithmetic: Evidence From The Associative Confusion Effect, Roland H. Grabner, Daniel Ansari, Karl Koschutnig, Gernot Reishofer, Franz Ebner May 2013

The Function Of The Left Angular Gyrus In Mental Arithmetic: Evidence From The Associative Confusion Effect, Roland H. Grabner, Daniel Ansari, Karl Koschutnig, Gernot Reishofer, Franz Ebner

Paediatrics Publications

While the left angular gyrus (lAG) has been repeatedly implicated in mental arithmetic, its precise functional role has not been established. On the one hand, it has been speculated that the lAG is involved in task-specific processes. On the other hand, the observation of relative deactivation during arithmetic has led to the contention that differential lAG activation reflects task-unrelated difficulty effects associated with the default mode network (DMN). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the neural correlates of the associative confusion effect that allowed us to dissociate effects of task difficulty and task-related arithmetic processes on lAG activation. The …


Umbilical Uptakes And Transplacental Concentration Ratios Of Amino Acids In Severe Fetal Growth Restriction, Timothy R.H. Regnault, Barbra De Vrijer, Henry L. Galan, Randall B. Wilkening, Frederick C. Battaglia, Giacomo Meschia May 2013

Umbilical Uptakes And Transplacental Concentration Ratios Of Amino Acids In Severe Fetal Growth Restriction, Timothy R.H. Regnault, Barbra De Vrijer, Henry L. Galan, Randall B. Wilkening, Frederick C. Battaglia, Giacomo Meschia

Paediatrics Publications

Background: This study examines the relationship between placental amino acid (AA) transport and fetal AA demand in an ovine fetal growth restriction (FGR) model in which placental underdevelopment induces fetal hypoxemia and hypoglycemia. Methods: Umbilical uptakes of AA, oxygen, glucose, and lactate were measured near term in eight experimental ewes (FGR group) and in eight controls (C group). Results: The FGR group demonstrated significantly reduced umbilical uptakes of oxygen, glucose, lactate, and 11 AAs per kg fetus. The combined uptake of glucose, lactate, and AAs, expressed as nutrient/oxygen quotients, was reduced almost to 1.00 (FGR: 1.05 vs. C: 1.32, P …


Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Rb Protein Function, Frederick A. Dick, Seth M. Rubin May 2013

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Rb Protein Function, Frederick A. Dick, Seth M. Rubin

Paediatrics Publications

Inactivation of the RB protein is one of the most fundamental events in cancer. Coming to a molecular understanding of its function in normal cells and how it impedes cancer development has been challenging. Historically, the ability of RB to regulate the cell cycle placed it in a central role in proliferative control, and research focused on RB regulation of the E2F family of transcription factors. Remarkably, several recent studies have found additional tumour-suppressor functions of RB, including alternative roles in the cell cycle, maintenance of genome stability and apoptosis. These advances and new structural studies are combining to define …


Governing Occupation Through Constructions Of Risk: The Case Of The Aging Driver, Silke Dennhardt Apr 2013

Governing Occupation Through Constructions Of Risk: The Case Of The Aging Driver, Silke Dennhardt

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Risk and risk-management have become increasingly pervasive features of modern society and governmentality scholars have highlighted various ways risk discourses are taken up to govern citizens and their everyday conduct. Thus, attending to risk is imperative to advance an understanding of how everyday occupation is shaped and governed within contemporary society. Within this study, the example of driving in later life is drawn upon to address two objectives: 1. to advance the understanding of how risk is taken up to govern everyday occupation, and 2. to explicate how risk is taken up in discourses to constitute particular subjectivities and their …


Targeted Sirna Delivery Methods For Rnai-Based Therapies, Di Chen Apr 2013

Targeted Sirna Delivery Methods For Rnai-Based Therapies, Di Chen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

RNAi has great potential in future therapeutics as it has the ability to regulating many disease-related genes. However, many barriers prevent practical applications. To overcome the barriers, the specific targeting, efficient delivery system, the validated gene and the potent siRNA sequence are all vital important. The studies throughout this thesis have been focued on examining the validation of three RNAi therapies for two different disease models: allergic contact dermatitis and melanoma. For allergic contact dermatitis, I developed and tested a novel topical delivery system for siRNAs targeting TNFα (siTNFα) and MyD88 siRNA (siMyD88). While siRNAs applied without the transdermal enhancer …


Microglia-Derived Tnfα Induces Apoptosis In Neural Precursor Cells Via Transcriptional Activation Of The Bcl-2 Family Member Puma, J. Guadagno, X. Xu, M. Karajgikar, A. Brown, S.P. Cregan Mar 2013

Microglia-Derived Tnfα Induces Apoptosis In Neural Precursor Cells Via Transcriptional Activation Of The Bcl-2 Family Member Puma, J. Guadagno, X. Xu, M. Karajgikar, A. Brown, S.P. Cregan

Paediatrics Publications

Neuroinflammation is a common feature of acute neurological conditions such as stroke and spinal cord injury, as well as neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Previous studies have demonstrated that acute neuroinflammation can adversely affect the survival of neural precursor cells (NPCs) and thereby limit the capacity for regeneration and repair. However, the mechanisms by which neuroinflammatory processes induce NPC death remain unclear. Microglia are key mediators of neuroinflammation and when activated to induce a pro-inflammatory state produce a number of factors that could affect NPC survival. Importantly, in the present study we demonstrate …


What Shapes Family Physicians' Patterns Of Care For Community Patients At End Of Life?, Joshua D. Shadd Feb 2013

What Shapes Family Physicians' Patterns Of Care For Community Patients At End Of Life?, Joshua D. Shadd

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Family physicians (FPs) care for the majority of community patients approaching end of life. Variations among FPs in care activities for these patients have potential implications for equitable access to care. This thesis used mixed methods to explore how FPs in southwestern Ontario, Canada care for these patients, and what shapes the variations. In the primary study, using grounded theory based on in-depth interviews, FPs reported differing in the timing, location and purpose of their activities. These variations were shaped by a process of ‘making it fit’, in which FPs weighed the implications of choices in their unique contexts. In …


Conditional Sox9 Ablation Reduces Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan Levels And Improves Motor Function Following Spinal Cord Injury, William M. Mckillop, Magdalena Dragan, Andreas Schedl, Arthur Brown Feb 2013

Conditional Sox9 Ablation Reduces Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan Levels And Improves Motor Function Following Spinal Cord Injury, William M. Mckillop, Magdalena Dragan, Andreas Schedl, Arthur Brown

Paediatrics Publications

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) found in perineuronal nets and in the glial scar after spinal cord injury have been shown to inhibit axonal growth and plasticity. Since we have previously identified SOX9 as a transcription factor that upregulates the expression of a battery of genes associated with glial scar formation in primary astrocyte cultures, we predicted that conditional Sox9 ablation would result in reduced CSPG expression after spinal cord injury and that this would lead to increased neuroplasticity and improved locomotor recovery. Control and Sox9 conditional knock-out mice were subject to a 70 kdyne contusion spinal cord injury at thoracic …


Susceptibility To Fatty Acid-Induced Β-Cell Dysfunction Is Enhanced In Prediabetic Diabetes-Prone Biobreeding Rats: A Potential Link Between Β-Cell Lipotoxicity And Islet Inflammation, Christine Tang, Anthony E. Naassan, Astrid Chamson-Reig, Khajag Koulajian, Tracy T. Goh, Frederick Yoon, Andrei I. Oprescu, Husam Ghanim, Gary F. Lewis, Paresh Dandona, Marc Y. Donath, Jan A. Ehses, Edith Arany, Adria Giacca Jan 2013

Susceptibility To Fatty Acid-Induced Β-Cell Dysfunction Is Enhanced In Prediabetic Diabetes-Prone Biobreeding Rats: A Potential Link Between Β-Cell Lipotoxicity And Islet Inflammation, Christine Tang, Anthony E. Naassan, Astrid Chamson-Reig, Khajag Koulajian, Tracy T. Goh, Frederick Yoon, Andrei I. Oprescu, Husam Ghanim, Gary F. Lewis, Paresh Dandona, Marc Y. Donath, Jan A. Ehses, Edith Arany, Adria Giacca

Paediatrics Publications

β-Cell lipotoxicity is thought to play an important role in the development of type 2 diabetes. However, no study has examined its role in type 1 diabetes, which could be clinically relevant for slow-onset type 1 diabetes. Reports of enhanced cytokine toxicity in fat-laden islets are consistent with the hypothesis that lipid and cytokine toxicity maybe synergistic. Thus, β-cell lipotoxicity could be enhanced in models of autoimmune diabetes. To determine this, we examined the effects of prolonged free fatty acids elevation on β-cell secretory function in the prediabetic diabetes-prone BioBreeding (dp-BB) rat, its diabetes-resistant BioBreeding (dr-BB) control, and normal Wistar-Furth …


Progastrin Stimulates Colonic Cell Proliferation Via Cck2r- And Β-Arrestin-Dependent Suppression Of Bmp2, Guangchun Jin, C. Benedikt Westphalen, Yoku Hayakawa, Daniel L. Worthley, Samuel Asfaha, Xiangdong Yang, Xiaowei Chen, Yiling Si, Hongshan Wang, Yagnesh Tailor, Richard A. Friedman, Timothy C. Wang Jan 2013

Progastrin Stimulates Colonic Cell Proliferation Via Cck2r- And Β-Arrestin-Dependent Suppression Of Bmp2, Guangchun Jin, C. Benedikt Westphalen, Yoku Hayakawa, Daniel L. Worthley, Samuel Asfaha, Xiangdong Yang, Xiaowei Chen, Yiling Si, Hongshan Wang, Yagnesh Tailor, Richard A. Friedman, Timothy C. Wang

Paediatrics Publications

Background & Aims Progastrin stimulates colonic mucosal proliferation and carcinogenesis through the cholecystokinin 2 receptor (CCK2R) - partly by increasing the number of colonic progenitor cells. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which progastrin stimulates colonic cell proliferation. We investigated the role of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) in progastrin induction of colonic cell proliferation via CCK2R. Methods We performed microarray analysis to compare changes in gene expression in the colonic mucosa of mice that express a human progastrin transgene, gastrin knockout mice, and C57BL/6 mice (controls); the effects of progastrin were also determined on in vitro colonic crypt …


Mice That Express Human Interleukin-8 Have Increased Mobilization Of Immature Myeloid Cells, Which Exacerbates Inflammation And Accelerates Colon Carcinogenesis, Samuel Asfaha, Alexander N. Dubeykovskiy, Hiroyuki Tomita, Xiangdong Yang, Sarah Stokes, Wataru Shibata, Richard A. Friedman, Hiroshi Ariyama, Zinaida A. Dubeykovskaya, Sureshkumar Muthupalani, Russell Ericksen, Harold Frucht, James G. Fox, Timothy C. Wang Jan 2013

Mice That Express Human Interleukin-8 Have Increased Mobilization Of Immature Myeloid Cells, Which Exacerbates Inflammation And Accelerates Colon Carcinogenesis, Samuel Asfaha, Alexander N. Dubeykovskiy, Hiroyuki Tomita, Xiangdong Yang, Sarah Stokes, Wataru Shibata, Richard A. Friedman, Hiroshi Ariyama, Zinaida A. Dubeykovskaya, Sureshkumar Muthupalani, Russell Ericksen, Harold Frucht, James G. Fox, Timothy C. Wang

Paediatrics Publications

Background & Aims: Interleukin (IL)-8 has an important role in initiating inflammation in humans, attracting immune cells such as neutrophils through their receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2. IL-8 has been proposed to contribute to chronic inflammation and cancer. However, mice do not have the IL-8 gene, so human cancer cell lines and xenograft studies have been used to study the role of IL-8 in colon and gastric carcinogenesis. We generated mice that carry a bacterial artificial chromosome that encompasses the entire human IL-8 gene, including its regulatory elements (IL-8Tg mice). Methods: We studied the effects of IL-8 expression in APCmin+/- mice …


Dietary Exposures And Allergy Prevention In High-Risk Infants, Edmond S. Chan, Carl Cummings, Mark Feldman, Ruth B. Grimes, Barbara Grueger, Larry B. Pancer, Anne Rowan Legg, Ellen P. Wood, Fabian P. Gorodzinsky, Nestor Cisneros, Janet Roberts, Adelle Atkinson, Zave Chad, Marie Josée Francoeur, Linda Kirste, Douglas Mack, Marie Noel Primeau, Timothy Vander Leek, Wade Watson Jan 2013

Dietary Exposures And Allergy Prevention In High-Risk Infants, Edmond S. Chan, Carl Cummings, Mark Feldman, Ruth B. Grimes, Barbara Grueger, Larry B. Pancer, Anne Rowan Legg, Ellen P. Wood, Fabian P. Gorodzinsky, Nestor Cisneros, Janet Roberts, Adelle Atkinson, Zave Chad, Marie Josée Francoeur, Linda Kirste, Douglas Mack, Marie Noel Primeau, Timothy Vander Leek, Wade Watson

Paediatrics Publications

Allergic conditions in children are a prevalent health concern in Canada. The burden of disease and the societal costs of proper diagnosis and management are considerable, making the primary prevention of allergic conditions a desirable health care objective. This position statement reviews current evidence on dietary exposures and allergy prevention in infants at high risk for developing allergic conditions. It revisits previous dietary recommendations for pregnancy, breastfeeding and formula feeding, and provides an approach for introducing solid foods to high-risk infants. While there is no evidence that delaying the introduction of any specific food beyond six months of age helps …


Localization Of Pain-Related Brain Activation: A Meta-Analysis Of Neuroimaging Data, Emma G. Duerden, Marie Claire Albanese Jan 2013

Localization Of Pain-Related Brain Activation: A Meta-Analysis Of Neuroimaging Data, Emma G. Duerden, Marie Claire Albanese

Paediatrics Publications

A meta-analysis of 140 neuroimaging studies was performed using the activation-likelihood-estimate (ALE) method to explore the location and extent of activation in the brain in response to noxious stimuli in healthy volunteers. The first analysis involved the creation of a likelihood map illustrating brain activation common across studies using noxious stimuli. The left thalamus, right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), bilateral anterior insulae, and left dorsal posterior insula had the highest likelihood of being activated. The second analysis contrasted noxious cold with noxious heat stimulation and revealed higher likelihood of activation to noxious cold in the subgenual ACC and the amygdala. …


Effects Of Age And Symptomatology On Cortical Thickness In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Krissy A.R. Doyle-Thomas, Emma G. Duerden, Margot J. Taylor, Jason P. Lerch, Latha V. Soorya, A. Ting Wang, Jin Fan, Eric Hollander, Evdokia Anagnostou Jan 2013

Effects Of Age And Symptomatology On Cortical Thickness In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Krissy A.R. Doyle-Thomas, Emma G. Duerden, Margot J. Taylor, Jason P. Lerch, Latha V. Soorya, A. Ting Wang, Jin Fan, Eric Hollander, Evdokia Anagnostou

Paediatrics Publications

Several brain regions show structural and functional abnormalities in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but the developmental trajectory of abnormalities in these structures and how they may relate to social and communicative impairments are still unclear. We assessed the effects of age on cortical thickness in individuals with ASD, between the ages of 7 and 39 years in comparison to typically developing controls. Additionally, we examined differences in cortical thickness in relation to symptomatology in the ASD group, and their association with age. Analyses were conducted using a general linear model, controlling for sex. Social and communication scores from …


P38 Mapk Regulates Cavitation And Tight Junction Function In The Mouse Blastocyst., Christine E Bell, Andrew J Watson Jan 2013

P38 Mapk Regulates Cavitation And Tight Junction Function In The Mouse Blastocyst., Christine E Bell, Andrew J Watson

Obstetrics & Gynaecology Publications

UNLABELLED: Blastocyst formation is essential for implantation and maintenance of pregnancy and is dependent on the expression and coordinated function of a series of proteins involved in establishing and maintaining the trans-trophectoderm ion gradient that enables blastocyst expansion. These consist of Na/K-ATPase, adherens junctions, tight junctions (TJ) and aquaporins (AQP). While their role in supporting blastocyst formation is established, the intracellular signaling pathways that coordinate their function is unclear. The p38 MAPK pathway plays a role in regulating these proteins in other cell types and is required for embryo development at the 8-16 cell stage, but its role has not …