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Polyneuropathy is a disease involving multiple peripheral nerves injuries. Axon regrowth remains the major prerequisite for plasticity, regeneration, circuit formation, and eventually functional recovery and therefore, regulation of neurite outgrowth might be a candidate for treating polyneuropathies. In a recent study, we synthesized and established the methylene-cycloalkylacetate (MCAs) pharmacophore as a lead for the development of a neurotropic drug (inducing neurite/axonal outgrowth) using the PC12 neuronal model. In the present study we extended the characterizations of the in vitro neurotropic effect of the derivative 3-(3-allyl-2-methylenecyclohexyl) propanoic acid (MCA-13) on dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord neuronal cultures and analyzed its safety properties using blood biochemistry and cell counting, acute toxicity evaluation in mice and different in vitro "off-target" pharmacological evaluations. This MCA derivative deserves further preclinical mechanistic pharmacological characterizations including therapeutic efficacy in in vivo animal models of polyneuropathies, toward development of a clinically relevant neurotropic drug.

In the Netherlands, more than 80% of the highways are surfaced by porous asphalt (PA) mixes. The benefits of using PA mixes include, among others, the reduction of noise and the improvement of skid resistance. However, pavements with PA mixes are known to have a shorter lifetime and higher maintenance costs as compared with traditional dense asphalt mixes. Raveling is one of the most prominent distresses that occur on PA mix pavements. To analyze the raveling distress of a PA mix pavement, the stress and strain fields at the component level are required. Computational models based on finite element methods (FEM), discrete element methods (DEM), or both, can be used to compute local stress and strain fields. However, they require the development of large FEM meshes and large-scale computational facilities. As an alternative, the homogenization technique provides a way to calculate the stress and strain fields at the component level without the need for much computation power. This study aims to propose a new approach to analyze the raveling distress of a PA mix pavement by using the homogenization technique. To demonstrate the application of the proposed approach, a real field-like example was presented. In the real field-like example, the Mori–Tanaka model was used as a homogenization technique. The commonly available pavement analysis tool 3D-MOVE was used to compute the response of the analyzed pavement. In general, it was concluded that the homogenization technique could be a reliable and effective way to analyze the raveling distress of a PA mix pavement.

Cholesterol crystallization from mixtures of unesterified cholesterol with phospholipids and cholesterol esters is believed to be a key event in atherosclerosis progression. Not much is understood, however, about the influence of the lipid environment on cholesterol crystallization. Here we study cholesterol monohydrate crystal formation from mixed bilayers with palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine (POPC), dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and sphingomyelin. We show that disordered phospholipids and sphingomyelin stabilize the formation of crystal plates of the triclinic cholesterol monohydrate polymorph, whereas saturated glycerolipids stabilize helical and tubular crystals of the metastable monoclinic polymorph. We followed the subsequent transformation of these helical crystals into the stable triclinic plates. Discovering the relations between membrane lipid composition and cholesterol crystal polymorphism may provide important clues to the understanding of cholesterol crystal formation in atherosclerosis.

Abstract Background Changes in transcranial magnetic stimulation motor map parameters can be used to quantify plasticity in the human motor cortex. The golden standard uses a counting analysis of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) acquired with a predefined grid. Recently, digital reconstruction methods have been proposed, allowing MEPs to be acquired with a faster pseudorandom procedure. However, the reliability of these reconstruction methods has never been compared to the golden standard. Objective To compare the absolute reliability of the reconstruction methods with the golden standard. Methods In 21 healthy subjects, both grid and pseudorandom acquisition were performed twice on the first day and once on the second day. The standard error of measurement was calculated for the counting analysis and the digital reconstructions. Results The standard error of measurement was at least equal using digital reconstructions. Conclusion Pseudorandom acquisition and digital reconstruction can be used in intervention studies without sacrificing reliability.

Abstract Objectives It has been previously demonstrated that healthcare professionals would like additional education on medical cannabis. However, there has not yet been a review of the status of medical cannabis curriculum for medical and allied healthcare trainees worldwide, even though future healthcare workers will be placed on the forefront of patient care and must be prepared to counsel patients. This study was designed to address this gap in knowledge. Design A search syntax was generated and databases PubMed, ERIC, CINAHL, and Web of Science were searched for relevant articles. A grey literature search of Google Scholar, MedEd, Medline, and the Proquest Dissertations and Theses section was also performed. All titles and abstracts were screened. Selected articles were subsequently screened using predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results Allied healthcare trainees lacked sufficient knowledge about medical cannabis and did not feel prepared to counsel patients on this subject. Additionally, they expressed a growing interest in medical cannabis and would like more standardized education on the topic. Finally, faculty and deans in various institutions agreed on the need to educate students on the subject, and aimed to implement courses on medical cannabis or expand their existing curricula. Conclusions While the medical cannabis landscape is developing, medical and allied health students are not properly educated and knowledgeable on this emerging field of clinical care. The findings suggest that the implementation of competencies-based curricula on medical cannabis is essential for medical and allied healthcare trainees to have the appropriate level of knowledge to counsel and educate their patients.

Electrical and thermal transport on a fractional quantum Hall edge are determined by topological quantities inherited from the corresponding bulk state. While electrical transport is the standard method for studying edges, thermal transport appears more challenging. Here, we show that the shot noise generated on the edge provides a fully electrical method to probe the edge structure. In the incoherent regime, the noise falls into three topologically distinct universality classes: charge transport is always ballistic while thermal transport is either ballistic, diffusive, or "antiballistic". Correspondingly, the noise either vanishes, decays algebraically or is constant up to exponentially small corrections in the edge length. Published version: 6+7 pages, 3+3 figures

Different accessions of Sporobolus spicatus were tested for the possible use in the landscaping sector of United Arab Emirates. In this regards, fifty accessions of S. spicatus were screened against five salinity levels of 15, 30, 45, 60 and 75dSm-1 at 3cm mowing height. Significant variations were found among the treatment for various characters of leaf colour, fresh and dry weight. Most of the accessions of the grass tolerated up to 45 dSm-1, without compromising on quality. Further increase in salinity, most of the accessions ceased to grow, except a few accessions which survived even at salinity levels of 75dSm-1. Many of the grasses exhibit better performance than Paspalam vaginatum, the prevailing commercial turf grass in UAE (used as control in this instance). As a whole accessions 45S, 18S, 35S and 37S showed salinity tolerance at 3cm mowing height and maintaining quality up to the acceptable level. Based on their tolerance to salinity and better performance, these accessions are recommended for turf use in public landscaping.

Kaempferol (KMP), a dietary flavonoid, has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic effects. Hence, we investigated the effect of KMP in ischemia-reperfusion (IR) model of myocardial injury in rats. We studied male albino Wistar rats that were divided into sham, IR-control, KMP-20 + IR, and KMP 20 per se groups. KMP (20 mg/kg; i.p.) was administered daily to rats for the period of 15 days, and, on the 15th day, ischemia was produced by one-stage ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery for 45 min followed by reperfusion for 60 min. After completion of surgery, rats were sacrificed; heart was removed and processed for biochemical, morphological, and molecular studies. KMP pretreatment significantly ameliorated IR injury by maintaining cardiac function, normalizing oxidative stress, and preserving morphological alterations. Furthermore, there was a decrease in the level of inflammatory markers (TNF-α, IL-6, and NFκB), inhibition of active JNK and p38 proteins, and activation of ERK1/ERK2, a prosurvival kinase. Additionally, it also attenuated apoptosis by reducing the expression of proapoptotic proteins (Bax and Caspase-3), TUNEL positive cells, and increased level of antiapoptotic proteins (Bcl-2). In conclusion, KMP protected against IR injury by attenuating inflammation and apoptosis through the modulation of MAPK pathway.