With mouse age comes wisdom : a review and suggestions of relevant mouse models for age-related conditions

Ageing is a complex multifactorial process that results in many changes in physiological changes processes that ultimately increase susceptibility to a wide range of diseases. As such an ageing population is resulting in a pressing need for more and improved treatments across an assortment of diseases. Such treatments can come from a better understanding of the pathogenic pathways which, in turn, can be derived from models of disease. Therefore the more closely the model resembles the disease situation the more likely relevant the data will be that is generated from them. Here we review the state of knowledge of mouse models of a range of diseases and aspects of an ageing physiology that are all germane to ageing. We also give recommendations on the most common mouse models on their relevance to the clinical situations occurring in aged patients and look forward as to how research in ageing models can be carried out. As we continue to elucidate the pathophysiology of disease, often through mouse models, we also learn what is needed to refine these models. Such factors can include better models, reflecting the ageing patient population, or a better phenotypic understanding of existing models

Mitochondria-Targeted Antioxidants SkQ1 and MitoTEMPO Failed to Exert a Long-Term Beneficial Effect in Murine Polymicrobial Sepsis

Mitochondrial-derived reactive oxygen species have been deemed an important contributor in sepsis pathogenesis. We investigated whether two mitochondria-targeted antioxidants (mtAOX; SkQ1 and MitoTEMPO) improved long-term outcome, lessened inflammation, and improved organ homeostasis in polymicrobial murine sepsis. 3-month-old female CD-1 mice (n = 90) underwent cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) and received SkQ1 (5 nmol/kg), MitoTEMPO (50 nmol/kg), or vehicle 5 times post-CLP. Separately, 52 SkQ1-treated CLP mice were sacrificed at 24 h and 48 h for additional endpoints. Neither MitoTEMPO nor SkQ1 exerted any protracted survival benefit. Conversely, SkQ1 exacerbated 28-day mortality by 29%. CLP induced release of 10 circulating cytokines, increased urea, ALT, and LDH, and decreased glucose but irrespectively of treatment. Similar occurred for CLP-induced lymphopenia/neutrophilia and the NO blood release. At 48 h post-CLP, dying mice had approximately 100-fold more CFUs in the spleen than survivors, but this was not SkQ1 related. At 48 h, macrophage and granulocyte counts increased in the peritoneal lavage but irrespectively of SkQ1. Similarly, hepatic mitophagy was not altered by SkQ1 at 24 h. The absence of survival benefit of mtAOX may be due to the extended treatment and/or a relatively moderate-risk-of-death CLP cohort. Long-term effect of mtAOX in abdominal sepsis appears different to sepsis/inflammation models arising from other body compartments

TEEN PREGNANCY AND PARENTING: ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS OF TEENAGED LONG-TERM HISPANICS IN NORTHERN NEW MEXICO

Teen pregnancy in Hispanic youth is a poorly understood phenomenon, thought to have numerous and overlapping sociocultural influences. Although Hispanics have had the highest teen pregnancy rates in the United States since 1995 and pregnancy rates that have declined much more slowly when compared to every other ethnic group, there is limited literature about Hispanic youth whose families are long-term residents of the United States and the factors that influence the decision-making processes and sexual behaviors of this population. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the attitudes and behaviors related to teen pregnancy and parenting in Hispanic female teens from long-term families in northern New Mexico (NNM) (those with at least three generations of familial residence and termed Long-Term Hispanics [LTH]), whose primary language was English, and who have experienced pregnancy and motherhood in the 12 months prior to participation. A focused ethnographic design was used. The study was conducted in two counties of northern New Mexico known to have high rates of teen pregnancy and where the population is majority Hispanic with long-term residency in the areas. Data were collected using interviews with 10 adolescent LTH mothers (15-17 years old), 10 adults who work with adolescent mothers, and participant observation. Data were analyzed inductively through the process of Immersion and Crystallization, resulting in themes and sub-themes that captured the essence of the issue under study and which were contextualized with the spoken and observed experiences of those studied. Key findings of this study include themes that reveal the chaos and instability which characterized the homes of youth, low levels of communication related to reproductive issues in homes and schools, disappointment expressed by families and the community in response to teen pregnancy, and the role transitions/career choices teens experience when becoming mothers. The results of this study will aid in increasing the knowledge base related to long-term Hispanic youth and the many sociocultural factors affecting their sexual decisions and behaviors

Plakat tradycyjny i interaktywny a partycypacja w sztuce

The poster evolves while being a manifestation of pluralism in art. In the process of change, it is not difficult to see the multitude of direction to which it is subject. Those directions concern visual trends. At the same time, grows the number of works, which draw inspiration, or are being a continuation of many directions and schools. Some still follow the trend of modernism, some of which we would generally define as postmodern posters. The evolution is not only limited to formal differences in visual but also in the media used. The poster is a great example of breaking down barriers and interdisciplinary creation in visual arts. It turns out that this pluralism brings many problems when it comes to defining the criteria; what can be considered a poster. The discussions on the subject do not give specific answers. There are different opinions about the condition and even the function of the poster. It’s not hard to notice that the poster is no longer universally present in public space. Ousted by the commercial and modern mass media, it stopped being street art and became museum art. Thanks to its evolution, it gained the status of a separate genre of visual arts. The poster has always been in the traditional paradigm of art. Nevertheless, it is still trying to transcend its own laws and rules. The artists were able to successively exploit new technological innovations that greatly influenced the evolution of this genre. Lithography, then offsets and digital large format printing, the possibility to print in full colour, aero graphics, photography and finally computers and digital media – All of it shows the creators’ openness to new possibilities in image creation. There are increasingly clearer signals, that some of them are ready to try another transgression. With the development of new technologies and new media, we created works that we can define as transmedia – combining the traditional poster with animation, film or installation. Each recipient’s contact with the work is an act of participation. It is an interaction we can define as cognitive. My dissertation is an attempt to analyze not only the level of participation of the viewer in the artifact-poster but through the transactivity of the viewer to a functional and clearly formulated level. For this to happen I had to fulfill certain conditions. An interface, an instrument to „communicate” with the work, was necessary. The work itself required the development of a strategy, a scenario of action and the preparation of certain proposals for the dispatcher. Through such interactivity, participation in the cognitive, contemplative interpretation of a work, changes into a unique artistic event, and the viewer becomes a cocreator of the work situation. I divided the dissertation into two parts. I created a series of traditional posters, printed in B1 format. The posters are a social theme, pointing to timeless values like decency, honesty or identity. I also referred to current events and issues such as the threatened civil liberties, leadership crisis or globalism. The level of participation is enormously determined by the level of design and the visual means used. Part two is about interactive posters, partially multimedia because in few of them I have used the elements of animation. For obvious reasons, they are in the digital version, displayed on large screens or multimedia projectors. For the purposes of creating that part of my diploma thesis, I have set myself few limitations. The displayed image will not be created by any software algorithm. The posters are supposed to be mine, not computers’. The works are supposed to preserve all the features of a traditional poster. The animations implemented in several projects can not dominate. They are supposed to be just a message-enhancing element, not a way to transform the poster into an animated video. The topic of the interactive posters is social problems as well. Works inspired by famous works of art, The Creation of Adam by Michaelangelo, Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, Henri Matisse’s Dance , Edvard Munch’s The Scream , Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine are touching the theme of creativity, beauty, prudence, the right to voice and violence. With a few other animated posters, I draw attention on human weaknesses, a problem with real democracy and pointing to personal goals. I also created one poster in several sequences pointing to global threats. I have prepared systems that enable the implementation of a project based on the Kinect technology, along with an original system based on motion sensors. Both required writing a dedicated software to handle them. In this form, I created three posters-systems. With some differences in particular solutions, their performance is generally similar. The screen image changes whenever an observer triggers a sensor acting as an interface. This picture is made up of the proposal-disposals I prepared. The ubiquitous digital revolution is knocking on the poster’s door, opening it, actually. This situation is not to be considered a threat to the traditional poster. I am convinced that digital, interactive posters can make a great contribution to the first. It may also be an opportunity for its wider operation in public space

Resolvin D2 is a potent regulator of leukocytes and controls microbial sepsis

National Institutes of Health grants GM-38765 and P50-DE016191 (C.N.S.), Welcome Trust Programme grant 086867/Z/08/Z (R.J.F. and M.P.) and Project grant 085903/Z/08 (R.J.F.) and Arthritis Research Campaign UK fellowships 18445 and 18103 (to L.V.N. and D.C., respectively). M.S. received a National Research Service Award from the NHLBI (HL087526)