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A balanced redox state is critical for proper healing. Although human chronic wounds are characterized by high levels of oxidative stress (OS), whether OS levels are critical for chronic wound development is not known. For these studies, we used our chronic wound model in diabetic mice that has similar characteristics as human chronic wounds, including naturally developed biofilm. We hypothesize that OS levels in wound tissues are critical for chronic wound initiation and development. We show that increased OS levels in the wound correlate with increased chronicity. Moreover, without increased OS levels, biofilm taken from chronic wounds and placed in new excision wounds do not create chronic wounds. Similarly, high OS levels in the wound tissue in the absence of the skin microbiome do not lead to chronic wounds. These findings show that both high OS levels and bacteria are needed for chronic wound initiation and development. In conclusion, OS levels in the wound at time of injury are critical for biofilm formation and chronic wound development and may be a good predictor of the degree of wound chronicity. Treating such wounds might be accomplished by managing OS levels with antioxidants combined with manipulation of the skin microbiome after debridement.

Adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D) at a younger age are at increased risk for poor outcomes. We examined how family history of diabetes shaped the experiences and self-management perspectives of younger-onset individuals newly diagnosed with T2D. We conducted six focus groups between Nov 2017 and May 2018. Participants (n=41) were members of an integrated healthcare delivery system, had been diagnosed with T2D during the prior two years, and were 21-44 years old at the time of diagnosis. Each group met twice for 60-90 minutes, two weeks apart. Groups were led by an experienced facilitator, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded by two reviewers using thematic analysis. The average age of participants was 38.4 years (±5.8 years); 20 were women, 10 self-identified as Latinx, 12 as Black, 12 as White and 7 as multiple or other races. Over 65% had a family history of T2D. Having a family member with T2D facilitated self-management in several ways. First, personal familiarity with T2D and related lifestyle changes, as well as advice from older relatives, led individuals to feel that they were capable of modifying behaviors and made adjusting to the diagnosis easier. In addition, family members with T2D served as both positive and negative role models that motivated individuals to adapt relatives’ health-promoting behaviors and take steps to avoid adverse outcomes. Conversely, for some, the perception that T2D diagnosis was inevitable was a barrier to initial self-care. Perceived lack of control over developing T2D due to family history of the disease led to feelings of self-blame and futility regarding self-management efforts. Our results highlight the importance of recognizing how familial experiences impact patients’ ability to navigate a new T2D diagnosis. Proactively addressing perceived barriers to and facilitators of self-management in the context of family T2D history may aid in efforts to educate and support high-risk, younger patients establish a trajectory towards improved health. Disclosure M. A. Blatchins: None. K. Xu: None. A. Altschuler: None. R. W. Grant: None. A. Gopalan: None. Funding National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (K23DK116968); Kaiser Permanente Northern California

Bagrada hilaris (Burmeister) is a serious pest on brassica crops in many regions throughout the world. As part of our efforts to enhance biological control, we have been studying an egg parasitoid that was collected from B. hilaris eggs found on brassica plant debris in Pakistan. This species has recently been described as Ooencyrtus mirus Triapitsyn & Power. A major component of rearing biological control agents is understanding the relationship among host egg age, parasitoid age, and reproductive success. To this end, we used a factorial design to evaluate all combinations of host egg ages 0–5 d and parasitoid ages 0–11 d. The results showed that the best combinations are 0- to 1-d-old host eggs with 3- to 10-d-old parasitoids. A further study using frozen host eggs showed that O. mirus can reproduce as successfully on frozen B. hilaris eggs as on fresh ones.

Introduction With severe burn injury, there is systemic fluid loss due to inflammatory responses in damaged tissue, leading to disruption of cellular processes. Patient fluid levels are restored with the calculation of total body surface area (TBSA). Clinically used TBSA equations are often outdated and inaccurate with error up to 20%, resulting in misinformed treatment and subsequent sequelae including prolonged hospital length of stay and increased mortality. Our objective, therefore, was to create a point-of-care (POC) system employing 3D imaging technology to accurately calculate TBSA for all patient population varieties. Methods Our team employed an iPad attachable, infrared scanner to create 3D models of the human body. From these models, TBSA can be extrapolated using scan processing software. Subject scans were collected on our device and on a gold standard scanner for comparison of TBSA output. Clinical testing on burn patients is occurring at present to establish scanning precision of TBSA in the burn care environment. Results Non-clinical verification tests of the 3D scanned TBSA revealed a 4.05% error when compared to the gold standard, and precision error of 3.8%. Additionally, we introduced the device into the burn unit for preliminary testing with a physician user and non-patient subjects. The subjects were scanned in a prone position to mimic burn care workflow. Clinician scanning error was 1.41% when compared to the gold standard scan of the same subject. Clinical precision study results are on-going in collection. Conclusions Our device introduces an improved method of TBSA estimation to assist clinicians in making accurate burn care decisions and further precision medicine with greater anthropomteric data, notably for children. This device is one of the first POC-3D scanning technologies to be used in a burn setting and may also be employed at outlying medical facilities. Destructive wildfires and combat burn injuries highlight the need for such a device to standardize the triage of burn victims with and away from experienced medical staff. Applicability of Research to Practice 3D body mapping points to an enhanced method of TBSA calculation and minimally disruptive to the burn workflow. Future developments of 3D scanning include deep learning algorithms to identify and better assess burned surface area. Additionally, further automation of TBSA scan processing to reduce user error in calculation and improve burn injury outcomes.

Although the use of ionizing radiation in malignant conditions has been well established, its application in benign conditions has not been fully accepted and has been inadequately recognized by health care providers outside of radiation therapy. Most frequently, radiation therapy in these benign conditions is used along with other treatment modalities, such as surgery, in instances where the condition causes significant disability or could even lead to death. Radiation therapy can be helpful for inflammatory/proliferative disorders. This article discusses the current use of radiation therapy in some of the more common benign conditions.

Although the use of ionizing radiation on malignant conditions has been well established, its application on benign conditions has not been fully accepted and has been inadequately recognized by health care providers outside of radiation therapy. Most frequently, radiation therapy in these benign conditions is used along with other treatment modalities, such as surgery, when the condition causes significant disability or could even lead to death. Radiation therapy can be helpful for inflammatory/proliferative disorders. This article discusses the present use of radiation therapy for some of the most common benign conditions.

Total body surface area (TBSA) is a critical biometric for accurate body fluid restoration and drug dosing in medical treatments. However, current clinical equation calculations of TBSA are highly inaccurate, resulting in error up to 25%. Within burn care, this error leads to misinformed fluid resuscitation that result in increased medical complications. Our team sought to combine recently developed mathematical equations that are clinically unutilized with 3D scanning methods to better the accuracy of TBSA calculations in treatment. To bridge the gap between modern TBSA equations and the clinic, we developed an algorithm that indexes an equation best suited to a patient according to inputs such as age, height and weight. For patients that cannot be matched to an appropriate equation, our team developed a time-of-flight scanning protocol to capture 3D models of the human body. From these models, TBSA can be extrapolated finite analysis deconstruction and image processing tools. Our scanning device reduced error of TBSA to an average of 4% across all scanned subjects and it proved to be one of the first 3D scanning devices compatible to the clinic workflow.

Using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip and exome sequence data from individuals participating in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Undiagnosed Diseases Program (UDP), we evaluated the number and therapeutic informativeness of incidental pharmacogenetic variants. Pharmacogenomics Knowledgebase (PharmGKB) annotated sequence variants were identified in 1,101 individuals. Medication records of participants were used to identify individuals prescribed medications with a genetic variant that might alter efficacy. A total of 395 sequence variants, including 19 PharmGKB 1A and 1B variants, were identified in SNP chip sequence data, and 388 variants, including 21 PharmGKB 1A and 1B variants, were identified in the exome sequence data. Nine participants had incidental pharmacogenetic variants associated with altered efficacy of a prescribed medication. Despite the small size of the NIH UDP patient cohort, we identified pharmacogenetic incidental findings potentially useful for guiding therapy. Consequently, groups conducting clinical genomic studies might consider reporting of pharmacogenetic incidental findings. Genet Med 18 12, 1303–1307.

Background: Cardiorespiratory fitness is a distinct health characteristic that relates to the ability to perform physical activity. Higher cardiorespiratory fitness was reported to have reverse relationship with overall mortality and morbidity rates due to various chronic disease. The assessment of cardiorespiratory fitness was measured by maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max; mL/kg/minute) on a submaximal treadmill test. This study was aimed to examine cardiorespiratory fitness among U.S. adults 20-49 years of age, to describe the distribution of cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiovascular risk factors depends on different ethnicity for without physical limitations or indications of cardiovascular disease. Method: Data from the 1999-2004, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used to describe the distribution of cardiorespiratory fitness for adults 20-49 years of age. 8324 out of 31126 subjects have valid values of cardiopulmonary fitness in the dataset with 5391 in low category of cardiorespiratory fitness (VO 2 max < 27), 2606 in medium category (37.1 > VO 2 max ≥27) and 327 in high category (37.1 ≥ VO 2 max). The risk factors for cardiopulmonary fitness was assessed by using logistic regression after adjusting all cardiovascular risk factors. All data were analyzed using SAS Ver. 9.4. Result: Overall, there is no significant association of cardiorespiratory fitness with ethnicity ( P =0.08). 65.9% of study population was male in all races. Among, non-Hispanic whites, those with 25 m 2 /kg > BMI had better cardiorespiratory fitness (more than 37.1 mL/kg/minute) than those with BMI ≥ 35 [Odds ratio (OR): 0.496, Confidence Interval (CI): 0.258-0.957]. A similar pattern was observed for Mexican Americans. Non-Hispanic black with 25 m 2 /kg > BMI had better cardiorespiratory fitness than ones with BMI ≥ 35 m 2 /kg [OR:0.137, CI:0.059-0.318], 35 m 2 /kg > BMI≥30 m 2 /kg [OR:0.269, CI:0.124-0.583], 30 m 2 /kg > BMI≥25 m 2 /kg [OR: 0.241,0.123-0.318]. Non-Hispanic white with higher diastolic blood pressure over 90 mmHg had tendency to have lower cardiorespiratory fitness. Among metabolic panel, only Mexican American with LDL Discussion: Our findings on cardiorespiratory fitness level among non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic whites and Mexican Americans are similar to previously reported studies, however, non-Hispanic black had different risk factors related to cardiorespiratory fitness, especially significant benefit from lower BMI less than 25 m 2 /kg since other ethnicities with BMI less than 25 m 2 /kg had benefit only compared to BMI> 35 m 2 /kg. These results can be used to improve cardiorespiratory fitness level for future population based on ethnicities. The different risk factors in fitness status can also be used to develop health policies and targeted educational campaigns.

Pesticides are commonly applied around residential homes, but their occurrence on exterior surfaces (e.g., pavement) has not been thoroughly evaluated. We collected 360 dust samples from curbside gutters, sidewalks, and street surfaces at 40 houses in southern California to evaluate pesticide occurrence on urban paved surfaces as well as their spatial and temporal distributions. Pesticides and select degradates were ubiquitously detected in dust, with the median concentration of total target analytes at 85 μg kg–1. A total of 75% of samples contained at least five pesticides. As a result of recurring pesticide applications, concentrations increased throughout the summer. The pyrethroids bifenthrin and permethrin accounted for 55% of total pesticides detected in the dust. The highest concentrations in dust were found on the sidewalk and in the gutter. Relative to indoor environments, human exposure risk to pesticides on paved surfaces was estimated to be lower, with the highest potential oral and dermal ex...

Summary To achieve simultaneous measurement of multiple cellular events in molecularly defined groups of neurons in vivo , we designed a spectrometer-based fiber photometry system that allows for spectral unmixing of multiple fluorescence signals recorded from deep brain structures in behaving animals. Using green and red Ca 2+ indicators differentially expressed in striatal direct- and indirect-pathway neurons, we were able to simultaneously monitor the neural activity in these two pathways in freely moving animals. We found that the activities were highly synchronized between the direct and indirect pathways within one hemisphere and were desynchronized between the two hemispheres. We further analyzed the relationship between the movement patterns and the magnitude of activation in direct- and indirect-pathway neurons and found that the striatal direct and indirect pathways coordinately control the dynamics and fate of movement. Video Abstract

The likelihood ratio test (LRT) for the equality of EC50 values using a probit model that has parallel slopes is implemented in a variety of software packages. A preliminary LRT can be used to ascertain the plausibility of parallel slopes. Testing for equal EC50 values is not as straightforward if the preliminary test rejects that the slopes are equal or, equivalently, if a practitioner would rather not deal with the implications on the size of the test in the presence of the preliminary test. An LRT for testing equal EC50 values is not available in software packages for the case of arbitrary slopes. In this article, we describe a simple and effective algorithm for implementing the LRT procedure in this case. We also derive a quadratic form test procedure for the same hypothesis and compare the two tests (size and power) in the context of our application that deals with comparing the toxicity of four different types of selenium. The R-code is available as supplemental material online.

The teneurin C-terminal associated peptides (TCAP) are a recently discovered family of peptides encoded by a bioactive neuropeptide-like gene sequence found at the carboxy terminus of the teneurin transmembrane proteins. TCAP is structurally related to the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) family of peptides. Synthetic TCAP-3 and TCAP-1 are active in vitro in stimulating cAMP and proliferation in neuronal lines. TCAP-1 mRNA is expressed in limbic brain regions and modulates acoustic startle behavior in rats when injected into the basolateral amygdala. In the current study, TCAP-1 was administered into the cerebral ventricles once per day for 5 days to rats. At 1-3 weeks after the last TCAP-1 treatment, the rats were tested in the elevated plus maze, open field test, or the acoustic startle test, with or without an acute CRF injection 30 min prior to the test. The results show a difference in behavioral response between TCAP-treated and saline-treated rats, but only when an acute CRF challenge is delivered prior to testing. In the plus maze and open field tests, acute CRF effects were enhanced by prior TCAP-1 treatment, whereas in the acoustic startle test, the acute CRF effects were diminished by prior TCAP-1 administration.

The teneurin C-terminal associated peptides (TCAP) are a recently discovered family of bioactive peptides that can attenuate aspects of the behavioral stress responses of rats. Because TCAP has some structural similarity to the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) family of peptides, and modulates elements of the stress response, TCAP may act to modulate CRF actions in vivo. This hypothesis was tested by investigating anxiety-related behaviors in male rats following repeated intravenous (IV) TCAP-1 administration with either an acute intracerebroventricular (ICV) or IV CRF challenge. TCAP-1 alone did not affect behavioral responses significantly, however did significantly affect CRF-regulated behaviors depending on CRF's mode of injection. In both the elevated plus-maze and the open field tests, TCAP-1 had an anxiolytic effect on ICV CRF responses as indicated by decreased stretched-attend postures in the elevated plus maze (p

The layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly technique was applied to deposit organized multilayers of TiO2 or SiO2 nanoparticles of 30–80 nm diameter, and 50-nm diameter halloysite clay nanotubes on softwood fibers. Fluorescent and scanning electron microscopy images showed complete nanoparticle coating on these fibers. The thickness of the two-layer coating was estimated as 46, 58, and 115 nm for TiO2, SiO2, and halloysite tubules, respectively, which corresponds to ca. 1 wt% nanoparticle loading of the fibers. The brightness test of paper handsheets prepared from nanocoated fibers showed that TiO2 nanoparticle coating gave handsheet reflectance of 84% at 450 nm, which is 4% higher than the brightness of the control sample from virgin fibers. The paper handsheets prepared with nanoparticle-coated fibers had 30–50% higher porosity with tensile strength index retained close to the control sample.

Hardware security has emerged as an important field of study aimed at mitigating issues such as piracy, counterfeiting, and side channel attacks. One popular solution for such hardware security attacks are physical unclonable functions (PUF) which provide a hardware specific unique signature or identification. The uniqueness of a PUF depends on intrinsic process variations within individual integrated circuits. As process variations become more prevalent due to technology scaling into the nanometer regime, novel nanoelectronic technologies such as memristors become viable options for improved security in emerging integrated circuits. In this paper, we provide an overview of memristor-based PUF structures and circuits that illustrate the potential for nanoelectronic hardware security solutions.

China is the largest emerging market and attracts a great deal of attention from investors and researchers worldwide. The Fama-French three-factor model is the outcome of decades of research on U.S. stock returns. To what extent the three factors explain the variation in Chinese stock returns is an intriguing question. This paper documents empirical evidence on this issue and identifies some pitfalls that arise in the application of the three-factor model to Chinese stock returns. We find that several special features in China affect the three factors considerably and also influence the explanatory power of the three-factor model.

The teneurin C-terminal associated peptides (TCAPs) are a novel family of four endogenous peptides that have previously shown bioactive properties both in vitro and in vivo. Previously we have shown that repeated intracerebral injections of synthetic TCAP-1 modulate anxiety-like behaviors in three tests of anxiety, although the neural substrates responsible for these effects were previously unknown. In the current study, we examined both c-Fos induction and behavioral responses in the elevated plus maze and open field tests after a single intracerebroventricular dose of TCAP-1 followed by an intracerebroventricular injection of CRF in male Wistar rats. The results indicate that TCAP-1 injection attenuated the CRF-induced increase in c-Fos expression in the limbic system and many of the areas associated with the behavioral responses to stress, including the hippocampus, central and basolateral nuclei of the amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, and dorsal raphe nucleus. Other areas, such as the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, medial nucleus of the amygdala, and locus coeruleus, displayed CRF-induced c-Fos levels that were unaffected by TCAP-1. Furthermore, TCAP-1 administration increased stretched-attend postures, a type of risk-assessment behavior, on the elevated plus maze. These results indicate that TCAP-1 may play a potential role in the regulation of stress by blocking CRF-mediated activity in specific stress-sensitive areas of the brain.

We report a novel enzyme-based microcantilever sensor by using layer-by-layer nanoassembly modification. A glucose oxidase (GOx) functionalized microcantilever underwent bending when it was exposed to glucose solutions. The magnitudes of bending were proportional to the concentrations of glucose. The cantilever bending was specific toward glucose, but not to other sugars such as mannose, fructose, or galactose. The flow rate effect on the cantilever bending response is also discussed. The bending mechanism was investigated, and the kinetic and thermodynamic analysis and experimental results showed that the conformational change of GOx and gluconic formation were the origin of cantilever deflection.

the physician, for the nine CT sets. The dice coefficient (DC) is used as the similarity metric. The resulting DCs range from 0.89 to 0.94, with a mean value of 0.9233, which indicates that the proposed segmentation scheme can accurately segment different types of applicator region in HDR images. DIR between two HDR fractions for one patient is shown in Figure 1. Visual inspection in all the cases indicates that our proposed method can suppress the interference of the applicator with the DIR algorithm, and successfully and accurately register the HDR images, as well as deforming and adding doses between HDR fractions. Conclusions: We have developed a novel and robust DIR scheme that can perform registration between HDR gynecological CT images and yield accurate registration results. This new DIR scheme has potential for accurate interfractional HDR dose accumulation.

In situ carcinomas must penetrate their own basement membrane to be classified as invasive, and subsequently infiltrate surrounding connective tissue and cross vascular basement membranes to metastasize hematogenously. Accordingly, in many studies, integral basement membrane components, including type IV collagen, laminin, and heparan sulfate proteoglycan, have been localized in a spectrum of tumors to gain insight into their role in neoplasia. A number of recently identified extracellular matrix molecules and isoforms of the aforementioned proteins have been localized to the basement membrane zone, illustrating another level of biochemical heterogeneity in these structures. As the complexity of these matrices becomes more apparent, their roles in maintaining homeostasis and in tumor biology falls into question. Of the new group of collagens localized to the basement membrane zone, type XV was the first to be characterized (Cell Tissue Res, 286:493-505, 1996). This nonfibrillar collagen has a nearly ubiquitous distribution in normal human tissues via a strong association with basement membrane zones, suggesting that it functions to adhere basement membrane to the underlying stroma. To begin investigation of this protein in malignant tumors, we have localized type XV in human colonic adenocarcinomas and compared its distribution with that of type IV collagen and laminin. Collagens XV and IV and laminin were found in all normal and colonic epithelial, muscle, fat, neural, and vascular basement membrane zones, as shown previously. In moderately differentiated, invasive adenocarcinomas, laminin and type IV collagen were sometimes observed as continuous, linear deposits around some of the malignant glands, but more often they were seen in either discontinuous deposits or were completely absent. In contrast, type XV collagen was characterized as virtually absent from the basement membrane zones of malignant glandular elements in moderately differentiated tumors. Nevertheless there were also similarities; all 3 proteins were usually present in the stroma and adjacent vascular basement membrane zones surrounding invasive glands. The loss of type XV collagen from these malignant epithelial basement membrane zones and its increased interstitial expression suggests a role for this protein in the invasive process and the possibility that it may provide a sensitive indicator of tumor invasion.

s / Neuropeptides 40 (2006) 417–445 443 are known to correlate negatively with body mass index (BMI) so that ghrelin is elevated in anorexia nervosa and decreased in obesity. In patients with cancer cachexia, it has been postulated that lack of appetite and weight loss, despite elevated ghrelin levels, results from partial ghrelin resistance. Exogenous ghrelin administered to these patients has been shown to increase caloric intake by 31%. In this study, we have shown that increased endogenous release of ghrelin from neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) can overcome the partial ghrelin resistance seen in cancer cachexia. Methods: The study was conducted as a single-center, prospective trial enrolling 35 patients with NETs. Total ghrelin levels and chromogranin A (CgA) values were measured and analyzed for differences by t test (p < 0.05). Subgroups examined included patients with and without hepatic metastases, carcinoid versus pancreatic NETs, and patients with and without hypergastrinemia due either to prolonged proton pump inhibitor use or due to Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome (ZES). Results: Mean total ghrelin levels in patients with NET and hepatic metastases (589 pg/ml) were significantly elevated compared to the group of NET patients without hepatic metastases (411 pg/ml). The former had a mean BMI of 27.2 compared to a mean of 26.3 for the latter. These higher ghrelin levels correlated with higher serum chromogranin A levels. Mean total ghrelin in patients with hypergastrinemia due to prolonged proton pump inhibitor therapy (591 pg/ml) differed significantly from untreated patients (418 pg/ml). No significant differences in ghrelin levels were seen in patients with carcinoid tumors compared to those with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors nor between patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome versus those without. All patients with neuroendocrine tumors had elevated levels of ghrelin compared to the standard reference range. Conclusions: We report that in all subgroups analyzed, patients with NETs had levels of ghrelin that positively correlated with BMI suggesting that any partial ghrelin resistance may be overcome with increased endogenous ghrelin. This data supports the possibility that ghrelin is co-released from NETs and exerts an orexigenic effect in these patients, helping to maintain weight preservation despite widely disseminated disease. doi:10.1016/j.npep.2006.09.044 P-8: INVOLVEMENT OF PROTEOGLYCANCONTAINING CELLS AND/OR THE PROTEOGLYCAN EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX IN SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION Yu.S. Garkun , A.A. Denisov , P.G. Molchanov , N.V. Yakubovich , V.A. Kulchitsky ; a Institute of Physiology, National Academy of Sciences, 28 Akademicheskaya Str., 220072, Minsk, Belarus; b Belarus State University, 4 Nezavisemosty Ave., 220050, Minsk, Belarus In many respects cell-to-cell communications are determined by interaction between cells and extracellular matrix. We attempted to change the functional state of the extracellular matrix by applying chondroitin sulfate to test the hypothesis that proteoglycans can influence synaptic transmission in brain slices by transforming extracellular matrix. Experimental series were performed on 400 lm-thick hippocampal slices from 3–4-week old rats. Population spikes (PS) and field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) in the CA1 area were recorded under electrical stimulation of the Schaffer collaterals in a series of 48 hippocampal slices taken from 16 young rats under perfusion with 0.001– 1.0% chondroitin sulfate. Beginning at 60s after application of 0.01% chondroitin sulfate, an increase in the amplitude of the fEPSPs in response to both paired pulse stimuli was induced and persisted until 90s. Following this, the fEPSPs in response to both pulses declined rapidly over 60s, to an extent whereby fEPSPs were almost abolished. The initial facilitation of fEPSPs and PSs amplitudes following chondroitin sulfate may result from either an increase in net excitatory post-synaptic current or an increase in post-synaptic impedance. Similarly, the subsequent impairment of fEPSPs and PSs amplitude in the period 90 to 150s after chondroitin application presumably reflects a reduction in excitatory post-synaptic current or a large fall in postsynaptic impedance. All these processes can be initiated by structural shifts in perineuronal nets including changes of a configuration of active zones and receptor ratio. Thus, proteoglycans may influence interneuronal communications in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. doi:10.1016/j.npep.2006.09.045 P-9: VASOACTIVE INTESTINAL PEPTIDE MODULATES PLASMACYTOID DENDRITIC CELL FUNCTION BY ALTERATION OF THE IMMUNE PHENOTYPE AND INHIBITION OF IFNA SECRETION D. Fabricius , M. Sue O’Dorisio , Sue Blackwell , Bernd Jahrsdoerfer ; a Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA; b Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA; c Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) are thought to be the main sentinels for viral infections, to which they