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Objectives: This explorative cross-country qualitative study aims to describe experiences of receiving a dementia diagnosis and experiences of support following a diagnosis in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Poland. Method: Qualitative study using projective techniques during online focus groups, online and telephone interviews with people with dementia and caregivers. Results: Twenty-three people with dementia and 53 caregivers participated. Qualitative content analysis revealed five themes; (1) 'Coming to terms with dementia' helped people deal with complex emotions to move forward. (3) 'The social network as a source of support' and (4) 'The challenges and realities of formal support' and impacted 'Coming to terms with dementia'. (2) 'Navigating life with dementia as a caregiver' highlights caregiver burden and was impacted by (4) 'The challenges and realities of formal support'. People were (5) 'Self-caring and preparing for tomorrow' as they focused on maintaining current health whilst planning the future. Despite differences in healthcare and post-diagnostic support systems, there were more similarities across countries than differences. Conclusion: Across countries, formal support and support from friends and family are crucial for people with dementia and caregivers to come to terms with dementia and maintain carer wellbeing to ultimately live well with dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim is to assess the level of stigmatization and knowledge of dementia among university students of medical, rehabilitation and social faculties in Poland. Possible correlates of these concepts and group differences are also investigated. Methods: We applied quantitative methods using an online questionnaire comprising sociodemographics, the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale, a vignette of a person with dementia and the modified Family Stigma in Alzheimer's Disease Scale. Results: Students had low levels of dementia knowledge and moderate levels of stigma. Medical science students had significantly better knowledge than the other groups but did not differ in their level of stigma. Relationships between the main variables were complex. Emotional and cognitive stigmatizing attributions were negatively correlated with knowledge about communication and behaviors of people with dementia. Better knowledge on causes and characteristics, as well as on risks and health promotion of the disease also triggered fewer negative attributions toward people with dementia. Conclusions: If health-related programs are to be effective, they should provide opportunities for the acquisition of relevant knowledge and skills that also address the stigmatization of people living with dementia. Well-established biomedical knowledge on dementia must be supplemented with a person-centered approach and proper communication skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terry Pratchett's novel Nation (2008) offers potential interpretative reversals of the motifs of island and shipwreck. The novel's plot is dominated by two islands and three shipwrecks, the importance of which depends on the perspective imposed by the cartographic representation, which becomes only apparent with the reversal of cardinal directions on a map placed on the book's last page. One island, Great Britain, belonging to the political centre of the world, is juxtaposed with the tiny island of Nation which, as a result of a momentous reversal of fortune of both the heroes and the nations they represent, becomes the world's centre of science, incidentally occasioning a partial destruction of the traditional dichotomy of science and religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The actin family consists of highly conservative proteins, abundant in all eukaryotic cells. Actin plays different roles in cell functioning including cell motility, maintenance of cell shape, signal transduction and transcription. The beta and y cytoplasmic actins are ubiquitously present in all cell types and are essential for cell survival. They differ only by four amino acids located at the N-terminus of the polypeptide chain. The proportion of cytoplasmic actins varies and depends on the cell type. In addition, it changes in pathological conditions. There is also some evidence that beta and gamma actins are located in different cytoplasmic areas, what suggests functional differences between them. Studies conducted in recent years, demonstrating the increase or reduction of cytoplasmic actin isoforms expression allow for better understanding of the role of these proteins in cell functioning. In this article, we present contemporary view on this subject.

Problems in successful cancer therapy result from an adaptive character and high plasticity in tumor cells behaviour. Their accommodation to a differentiated environment is preceded by an alteration in expression profile of several proteins. Three types of tumor cell migration were characterized so far: mezenchymal, ameboid and collective. In mezechymal and ameboid types of tumor cell migration, cells move individually. Collective type of migration to a bigger extend presents characteristics of the mezenchymal one. Diverse types of tumor cell locomotion differ with cell protrutions and signaling pathways that control those processes. Mezenchymal type of movement is regulated by Cdc42 kinase. Cells that move in this manner present elongated shape with distinctly exposed lamellipodium and adhere to ECM proteins. Cellular membrane blebbing of pseudopodial character appear in ameboid type of movement. This one is under Rho/ROCK signal transduction cascade control. Our review focuses on description of different movement types and mechanisms of their regulation.

Actin is multifunctional protein occurring in all eukaryotic cells. It appears in cytoplasm and in nucleus. Organization and functions of nuclear actin are not well recognized to distinguish from cytoplasmic actin. Actin monomers are shuttling between cytoplasm and nucleus, integrating both of those compartments. Monomers, oligomers and short polimers are observed as the result of the limited space within the nucleus. Actin participates in nuclear structure organization, chromatin remodeling, transcription and signal transduction. Nuclear actin level, organization and functions are under control of ABPs (similarly as it takes place in cytoplasm), including some proteins appearing only in the nucleus.

Wound healing is an important biological process of crucial value for organisms survival and retention of its proper functions. The recognition of molecular mechanisms of these phenomenon is still under investigation. The transition of mesenchymal fibroblasts to myofibroblasts is a key point in wound healing. The contraction ability of myofibroblast enables the shrinkage of a wound and closes its edges. Alpha smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), one of six actin isoforms, is a marker of compeletely differentiated myofibroblast. The regulation of differentiation process depends on many growth factors (especially TGF beta 1), the level of active thymosin beta 4, extracellular matrix proteins--including fibronectin, and also on specificity of microenvironment. Thymosin beta 4 is responsible for maintenance of pool of monomeric actin and actin filaments depolymerization. It can also act as a transcription factor, migration stimulator and immunomodulator, so this protein deserves for more attention in wound healing research field.