Therapeutic potential of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells transplantation in rats with optic nerve injury.

PURPOSE: There are no effective treatments currently available for optic nerve transection injuries. Stem cell therapy represents a feasible future treatment option. This study investigated the therapeutic potential of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell (hUC-MSC) transplantation in rats with optic nerve injury. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into three groups: a no-treatment control group (n = 6), balanced salt solution (BSS) treatment group (n = 6), and hUC-MSCs treatment group (n = 6). Visual functions were assessed by flash visual evoked potential (fVEP) at baseline, Week 3, and Week 6 after optic nerve crush injury. Right eyes were enucleated after 6 weeks for histology. RESULTS: The fVEP showed shortened latency delay and increased amplitude in the hUC-MSCs treated group compared with control and BSS groups. Higher cellular density was detected in the hUC-MSC treated group compared with the BSS and control groups. Co-localized expression of STEM 121 and anti-S100B antibody was observed in areas of higher nuclear density, both in the central and peripheral regions. CONCLUSION: Peribulbar transplantation of hUC-MSCs demonstrated cellular integration that can potentially preserve the optic nerve function with a significant shorter latency delay in fVEP and higher nuclear density on histology, and immunohistochemical studies observed cell migration particularly to the peripheral regions of the optic nerve.

Unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms: think mitochondrial disease.

Defects in mitochondrial function are increasingly recognised as central to the pathogenesis of many diseases, both inherited and acquired. Many of these mitochondrial defects arise from abnormalities in mitochondrial DNA and can result in multisystem disease, with gastrointestinal involvement common. Moreover, mitochondrial disease may present with a range of non-specific symptoms, and thus can be easily misdiagnosed, or even considered to be non-organic. We describe the clinical, histopathological and genetic findings of six patients from three families with gastrointestinal manifestations of mitochondrial disease. In two of the patients, anorexia nervosa was considered as an initial diagnosis. These cases illustrate the challenges of both diagnosing and managing mitochondrial disease and highlight two important but poorly understood aspects, the clinical and the genetic. The pathophysiology of gastrointestinal involvement in mitochondrial disease is discussed and emerging treatments are described. Finally, we provide a checklist of investigations for the gastroenterologist when mitochondrial disease is suspected.

A socio-ecological perspective on behavioural interventions to influence food choice in schools: alternative, complementary or synergistic?

OBJECTIVE: An increasing focus on legislation, policy and guidance on the nutritional content of school food has in part been in response to the limited impact of more behavioural or educational approaches. However, there is a risk that a sole focus on policy-level action may lead to neglect of the important contribution that more behavioural approaches can make as components of effective, coordinated, multilevel action to improve the dietary intake of schoolchildren. The current paper aims to highlight the potential importance of viewing alternative approaches as complementary or synergistic, rather than competing. DESIGN: The socio-ecological and RE-AIM frameworks are used to provide a theoretical rationale and demonstrate the importance of explicitly identifying the interdependence of policies, interventions and contextual structures and processes. School food case study evidence is used to exemplify how understanding and exploiting these interdependencies can maximise impact on dietary outcomes. SETTING: Case studies of trials in schools in the UK (South West England and Wales) and Australia (Victoria). SUBJECTS: Schoolchildren. RESULTS: The case studies provide examples to support the hypothesis that the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance of school food policies and interventions can be maximised by understanding and exploiting the interdependence between levels in the socio-ecological framework. CONCLUSIONS: Rather than being seen as competing alternatives, diverse approaches to improving the diets of schoolchildren should be considered in terms of their potential to be complementary and synergistic, acting at multiple levels to improve acceptability, fidelity, effectiveness and sustainability.

Risk stratification in acute heart failure: rationale and design of the STRATIFY and DECIDE studies.

BACKGROUND: A critical challenge for physicians facing patients presenting with signs and symptoms of acute heart failure (AHF) is how and where to best manage them. Currently, most patients evaluated for AHF are admitted to the hospital, yet not all warrant inpatient care. Up to 50% of admissions could be potentially avoided and many admitted patients could be discharged after a short period of observation and treatment. Methods for identifying patients that can be sent home early are lacking. Improving the physician's ability to identify and safely manage low-risk patients is essential to avoiding unnecessary use of hospital beds. METHODS: Two studies (STRATIFY and DECIDE) have been funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute with the goal of developing prediction rules to facilitate early decision making in AHF. Using prospectively gathered evaluation and treatment data from the acute setting (STRATIFY) and early inpatient stay (DECIDE), rules will be generated to predict risk for death and serious complications. Subsequent studies will be designed to test the external validity, utility, generalizability and cost-effectiveness of these prediction rules in different acute care environments representing racially and socioeconomically diverse patient populations. RESULTS: A major innovation is prediction of 5-day as well as 30-day outcomes, overcoming the limitation that 30-day outcomes are highly dependent on unpredictable, post-visit patient and provider behavior. A novel aspect of the proposed project is the use of a comprehensive cardiology review to correctly assign post-treatment outcomes to the acute presentation. CONCLUSIONS: Finally, a rigorous analysis plan has been developed to construct the prediction rules that will maximally extract both the statistical and clinical properties of every data element. Upon completion of this study we will subsequently externally test the prediction rules in a heterogeneous patient cohort.

Feeding goals sought by mothers of 3-5-year-old children.

OBJECTIVES: One means through which children learn eating behaviours is the feeding strategies used by parents. Although research has studied the effects of parental feeding strategies on consumption, choice, and liking, little is known about the goals parents themselves seek. The study aimed to explore the feeding goals sought by parents of preschool children. DESIGN: An exploratory qualitative study using in-depth, semi-structured interviews was undertaken. Data were analysed using thematic and interpretative techniques. METHODS: A snowballing sample of 12 mothers of children aged 3-5 years was used. Mothers were asked to recall and talk through their feeding experiences with this child. Probe questions were used to explore the reasoning behind the actions described. Data were transcribed and subjected to concurrent coding and interpretation. RESULTS: Mothers spontaneously classified their child as a 'good' or a 'bad' eater. Consumption emerged as the dominant feeding goal. For 'bad' eaters, a short-term goal of consuming any food, rather than no food, was adopted. For 'good' eaters, a long-term goal of consuming a varied, well-balanced diet was favoured. Liking as a feeding goal was not mentioned. CONCLUSIONS: Although the literature suggests that liking is the most appropriate feeding goal for the establishment of long-term healthy eating behaviours, parents do not knowingly, repeatedly and consistently target food likes as a direct outcome of their feeding strategies. Interventions that focus on 'how' parents feed their children, as well as 'what', are recommended.

Feeding strategies used by mothers of 3-5-year-old children.

Appropriate use of parental feeding strategies could help establish healthy childhood eating practices. Research suggests that repeated taste exposure and modelling may be effective, pressuring and restricting may be counterproductive, and rewards may be effective or counterproductive depending on their use. However, little is known about the extent to which parents employ these strategies and within what contexts. The present study explored this using qualitative interviews with twelve mothers of children aged 3-5 years. Common strategies involved modelling, attempts to influence the child's attitudes and norms, and use of moderate pressure. The results are discussed in relation to the literature.

Ordered YAC clone contigs assigned to rice chromosomes 3 and 11.

Yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) clones were arranged on the positions of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and sequence-tagged site (STS) markers already mapped on the high-resolution genetic maps of rice chromosomes 3 and 11. From a total of 416 and 242 YAC clones selected by colony/Southern hybridization and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, 238 and 135 YAC clones were located on chromosomes 3 and 11, respectively. For chromosomes 3 and 11, 24 YAC contigs and islands with total coverage of about 46% and 12 contigs and islands with coverage of about 40%, respectively, were assigned. Although many DNA fragments of multiple copy marker sequences could not be mapped to their original locations on the genetic map by Southern hybridization because of a lack of RFLP, the physical mapping of YAC clones could often assign specific locations of such multiple copy sequences on the genome. The information provided here on contig formation and similar sequence distribution revealed by ordering YAC clones will help to unravel the genome organization of rice as well as being useful in isolation of genes by map-based cloning.

Physical mapping of rice chromosomes 4 and 7 using YAC clones.

Physical maps of rice chromosomes 4 and 7 were constructed by landing yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) along our high-density molecular linkage map. Using 114 DNA markers, 258 individual YACs were located on chromosome 4. Sixty-two out of 258 YACs carried two or more DNA marker positions and formed 16 contigs which covered a total length of 17.1 cM. The other YACs were arranged to 23 positions. On chromosome 7, 203 individual YACs were landed on 109 DNA markers. Sixty-four out of 203 YACs formed 15 contigs which covered a total length of 21.8 cM and 139 YACs were localized to 26 positions. Chromosomes 4 and 7 were covered with minimum tiling paths of 45 and 48 YACs, respectively. Taking the average size of YAC insert DNA to be 350 kb and the entire genome size to be 430 Mb, about 16-18 Mb of each chromosome or an estimated 50% of their total lengths have been covered with YACs. Physical maps of these 2 chromosomes should be of great help in identifying useful trait genes and unraveling genetic and biological characteristics in rice.

A 300 kilobase interval genetic map of rice including 883 expressed sequences.

We have constructed a high resolution rice genetic map containing 1,383 DNA markers at an average interval of 300 kilobases (kb). The markers, distributed along 1,575 cM on 12 linkage groups, comprise 883 cDNAs, 265 genomic DNAs, 147 randomly amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPD) and 88 other DNAs. cDNAs were derived from rice root and callus, analysed by single-run sequencing and searched for similarities with known proteins. Nearly 260 rice genes are newly identified and mapped, and genomic DNA and cloned RAPD fragments were also sequenced to generate STSs. Our map is the first significant gene expression map in plants. It is also the densest genetic map available in plants and the first to be backed up comprehensively by clone sequence data.