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An organizational feature of neural circuits is the specificity of synaptic connections. A striking example is the direction-selective (DS) circuit of the retina. There are multiple subtypes of DS retinal ganglion cells (DSGCs) that prefer motion along one of four preferred directions. This computation is mediated by selective wiring of a single inhibitory interneuron, the starburst amacrine cell (SAC), with each DSGC subtype preferentially receiving input from a subset of SAC processes. We hypothesize that the molecular basis of this wiring is mediated in part by unique expression profiles of DSGC subtypes. To test this, we first performed paired recordings from isolated mouse retinas of both sexes to determine that postnatal day 10 (P10) represents the age at which asymmetric synapses form. Second, we performed RNA sequencing and differential expression analysis on isolated P10 ON-OFF DSGCs tuned for either nasal or ventral motion and identified candidates which may promote direction-specific wiring. We then used a conditional knock-out strategy to test the role of one candidate, the secreted synaptic organizer cerebellin-4 (Cbln4), in the development of DS tuning. Using two-photon calcium imaging, we observed a small deficit in directional tuning among ventral-preferring DSGCs lacking Cbln4, though whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings did not identify a significant change in inhibitory inputs. This suggests that Cbln4 does not function primarily via a cell-autonomous mechanism to instruct wiring of DS circuits. Nevertheless, our transcriptomic analysis identified unique candidate factors for gaining insights into the molecular mechanisms that instruct wiring specificity in the DS circuit.

PURPOSE: Vaccination with dendritic cell (DC)/multiple myeloma (MM) fusions has been shown to induce the expansion of circulating multiple myeloma-reactive lymphocytes and consolidation of clinical response following autologous hematopoietic cell transplant (auto-HCT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this randomized phase II trial (NCT02728102), we assessed the effect of DC/MM fusion vaccination, GM-CSF, and lenalidomide maintenance as compared with control arms of GM-CSF and lenalidomide or lenalidomide maintenance alone on clinical response rates and induction of multiple myeloma-specific immunity at 1-year posttransplant. RESULTS: The study enrolled 203 patients, with 140 randomized posttransplantation. Vaccine production was successful in 63 of 68 patients. At 1 year, rates of CR were 52.9% (vaccine) and 50% (control; P = 0.37, 80% CI 44.5%, 61.3%, and 41.6%, 58.4%, respectively), and rates of VGPR or better were 85.3% (vaccine) and 77.8% (control; P = 0.2). Conversion to CR at 1 year was 34.8% (vaccine) and 27.3% (control; P = 0.4). Vaccination induced a statistically significant expansion of multiple myeloma-reactive T cells at 1 year compared with before vaccination (P = 0.024) and in contrast to the nonvaccine arm (P = 0.026). Single-cell transcriptomics revealed clonotypic expansion of activated CD8 cells and shared dominant clonotypes between patients at 1-year posttransplant. CONCLUSIONS: DC/MM fusion vaccination with lenalidomide did not result in a statistically significant increase in CR rates at 1 year posttransplant but was associated with a significant increase in circulating multiple myeloma-reactive lymphocytes indicative of tumor-specific immunity. Site-specific production of a personalized cell therapy with centralized product characterization was effectively accomplished in the context of a multicenter cooperative group study. See related commentary by Qazilbash and Kwak, p. 4703.

The conventional lecture has significant limitations in the higher education context, often leading to a passive learning experience for students. This paper reports a process of transforming teaching and learning with active learning strategies in a research-intensive educational context across a faculty of 45 academic staff and more than 1,000 students. A phased approach was used, involving nine staff in a pilot phase during which a common vision and principles were developed. In short, our approach was to mandate a move away from didactic lectures to classes that involved students interacting with content, with each other and with instructors in order to attain domain-specific learning outcomes and generic skills. After refinement, an implementation phase commenced within all first-year subjects, involving 12 staff including three from the pilot group. The staff use of active learning methods in classes increased by sixfold and sevenfold in the pilot and implementation phases, respectively. An analysis of implementation phase exam questions indicated that staff increased their use of questions addressing higher order cognitive skills by 51%. Results of a staff survey indicated that this change in practice was caused by the involvement of staff in the active learning approach. Fifty-six percent of staff respondents indicated that they had maintained constructive alignment as they introduced active learning. After the pilot, only three out of nine staff agreed that they understood what makes for an effective active learning exercise. This rose to seven out of nine staff at the completion of the implementation phase. The development of a common approach with explicit vision and principles and the evaluation and refinement of active learning were effective elements of our transformational change management strategy. Future efforts will focus on ensuring that all staff have the time, skills and pedagogical understanding required to embed constructively aligned active learning within the approach.

Research question : Which anthropometric parameter is correlating highly with birth weight? Can we use this parameter as a screening test for predicting birth weight? What is their cut-off value? Hypothesis: Various anthropometric parameters of newborn correlate each other positively. Objective : To find out the most effective anthropometric parameter in the newborn to assess birth weight so that newborn with LBW can be identified.. Study design: Hospital based cross-sectional study. Participants : Newborn babies born in KIMS, Karad. Results : Relatively highest correlation was observed between birth weight & thigh circumfirence (T.C.) (r = 0.8637) & next with chest circumfirence (C.C.). (r = 0.8247) Cut-off values of T.C. & C.C. had better sensitivity, specificity & predictive value for identifying LBW babies. Conclusion : T.C. is the best effective parameter to predict birth weight. Next to it is C.C.

Silk sericin is a water-soluble macromolecular protein obtained from the raw cocoons of silkworm, Bombyx mori. It comprises of about 25% of the total cocoon shell weight and is categorized as a waste by-product in textile and silk industries after the extraction of silk fibers. This study emphasizes on the extraction of sericin from B. mori by a conventional salt alkaline method and characterized their physico-chemical properties, thermal stability, anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant activities. The extraction yield of the sericin protein from the cocoon was found to be 24%. FTIR spectrum shows the presence of functional groups corresponding to the amino acids of sericin depicting its purity. TGA analysis demonstrates the degradation of sericin at 210°C with a weight loss of 57.69%. Sericin exhibited effective antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus. DPPH assay revealed the antioxidant property of the sericin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about how nurses' personal spirituality and religious (S/R) beliefs impact their spiritual care of patients. An online survey was used to collect data from 445 nurses, assessing facets of religiosity, their opinions about introducing S/R during patient care, demographic, and work-related variables. Findings indicated that even in a sample of Christian nurses who scored high on religiousness measures, spiritual care is infrequent. Nurses' opinions about whether it was appropriate to initiate S/R conversation, self-disclosure, and prayer were associated with aspects of nurse religiosity. Nurses working in a faith-based organization were more likely to believe they could initiate S/R conversation and offer prayer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease which leads to bone and cartilage erosion. Oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokines plays crucial role in the pathophysiology of RA. Cinnamaldehyde and eugenol have a long history of medical use in various inflammatory disorders.Purpose: The drugs available for the treatment of RA are associated with various side effects. The present study was conducted to evaluate the anti-arthritic effects of cinnamaldehyde and eugenol in rat model of arthritis.Methods: Type II collagen was intradermally injected to rats for the induction of arthritis. Cinnamaldehyde (10 and 20 mg/kg/day) and eugenol (10 and 20 mg/kg/day) were given orally for 15 days, starting from day 21 to 35. Dexamethasone treated rats served as positive control. Histological, radiological and scanning electron microscopic analysis were done to monitor the effect of compounds on collagen induced arthritis (CIA). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, nitric oxide and antioxidant status were also determined. The markers of biomolecular oxidation (protein, lipid and DNA) and activities of enzymatic antioxidants (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase and glutathione reductase) were also evaluated in the joint homogenate and plasma of rats. For detecting inflammation, levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10 were monitored by ELISA.Results: Our results showed anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of cinnamaldehyde and eugenol in arthritic rats. Scanning electron microscopy, histopathological and radiological findings also confirmed the anti-arthritic effects of cinnamaldehyde and eugenol. Both the compounds were effective in bringing significant decrease in the levels of ROS, nitric oxide, markers of biomolecular oxidation and increase in enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants. The levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10 were also ameliorated by cinnamaldehyde and eugenol treatment. Between the two phytochemicals used, eugenol was found to be more effective than cinnamaldehyde in reducing the severity of arthritis.Conclusion: Cinnamaldehyde and eugenol were effective in ameliorating oxidative stress and inflammation in arthritic rats. These findings indicate that cinnamaldehdye and eugenol have a great potential to be used as an adjunct in the management of RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall goal of the research was to create interactive educational television technology that customizes instruction to each individual student. Educational TV has long been a fixture in the American educational process. Yet, it predominantly remains a passive medium for learning. The focus of the research was to develop the technology to deliver interactive, web-based TV programming. The technology used a mixture of animation and intelligent tutoring system technology which was converted to a form suitable for embedding within an animated TV show. The educational content chosen was middle school math, specifically finding an individual score that caused an average to change from one value to another. We evaluated the learning effectiveness of the technology by creating both interactive and non-interactive versions of a TV show and testing them in a New Jersey school district. The interactive version allowed students to select different ways of being taught the material, solve a problem step-by-step using the method being taught, receive hints if they got stuck while solving the problem, and receive corrective feedback if they made mistakes while solving the problem. A total of 68 6th graders participated in the study. Of these, 33 were assigned to the interactive TV condition and 35 were assigned to the non-interactive TV condition. Students were first given a pre-test to verify that they did not already know how to do the math taught in the TV show. Then, students were shown their respective TV shows. Finally, students were given a post-test to see if they were able to solve problems similar to the ones taught in the show. Results showed that, on average, students viewing the interactive TV show performed about four times higher on the post-test than did students viewing the non-interactive TV show. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this research was to determine if poor mental health is associated with the intake of specific foods among California children. Design: Secondary data analysis of the 2007 and 2009 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) was conducted. Mental health was measured using a shortened version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Dietary measures were self-reported servings of fruit, vegetables, 100% fruit juice, high sugar foods, soda/sweetened drinks, and French fries/fried potatoes consumed the previous day, as well as frequency of fast food consumed during the past week. Setting: Phone interviews were conducted via the CHIS on households in California. Subjects: Data belonging to children (n = 11,190) ages 5–11 years whose parents completed the CHIS 2007 and 2009 random-dial telephone surveys was investigated. Results: Of an estimated annual population of 3.7 million children, 180,000 (4.9%) had poor mental health. Children with poor mental health consumed more soda/sweetened drinks (0.60 vs 0.45 servings per day, p = 0.024), French fries/fried potatoes (0.27 vs 0.14 servings per day, p = 0.003), and fast food (2.02 vs 1.38 servings per week, p = 0.009) compared to children with good mental health. Mental health was not associated with other dietary measures. Adjusting for relevant socio-demographic characteristics, logistic regression found poor mental health to be significantly associated with any consumption of French fries/fried potatoes (odds ratio (OR) = 2.0, p = 0.001) or vegetables (OR 0.6, p = 0.005) on the previous day, and fast food two or more times in the past week (OR 1.7, p < 0.001). Interaction analysis revealed that an estimated 33% of girls with poor mental health consumed French fries, compared to 12% of girls with good mental health (OR 2.91, p = 0.006). Conclusions: Children with poor mental health are more likely to consume calorie-dense but nutrient-poor foods compared to their counterparts. Intake of such foods may contribute to worse physical health as these children mature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]