Current analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is hindered by sub-optimal sensitivity and specificity of devices or assays as well as lack of capability of characterization of CTCs with clinical ...biomarkers. Here, we validate a novel technology to enrich and characterize CTCs from blood samples of patients with metastatic breast, prostate and colorectal cancers using a microfluidic chip which is processed by using an automated staining and scanning system from sample preparation to image processing. The Celsee system allowed for the detection of CTCs with apparent high sensitivity and specificity (94% sensitivity and 100% specificity). Moreover, the system facilitated rapid capture of CTCs from blood samples and also allowed for downstream characterization of the captured cells by immunohistochemistry, DNA and mRNA fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH). In a subset of patients with prostate cancer we compared the technology with a FDA-approved CTC device, CellSearch and found a higher degree of sensitivity with the Celsee instrument. In conclusion, the integrated Celsee system represents a promising CTC technology for enumeration and molecular characterization.
Neurological diseases account for the leading cause of disability and second leading cause of death, worldwide; however, treatments remain severely limited. Despite preclinical success, very few have ...been successfully translated for clinical use. Here, we discuss strategies to overcome this in two major categories: improved therapeutics and improved preclinical disease models.Perhaps an obvious – if not simple – approach is to develop improved therapeutics that more effectively treat neurological disorders. Recently, extracellular vesicles (EVs), nanoscale particles secreted by cells containing proteins and genetic material, have been recognized for their role in intercellular communication. As many benefits of cell therapies appear to be due to paracrine factors and signaling – known as the “bystander effect” –EVs appear to recapitulate some, if not most, of these effects, without associated drawbacks (e.g., tumorigenicity, ability to cross the blood-brain barrier). Here, we examine the therapeutic potential of neural stem cell-derived EVs to treat traumatic brain injury, demonstrating improved structural protection and functional recovery 4 weeks post-injury.Additionally, more physiologically relevant disease models and assays are needed to study neurological disorders and evaluate novel therapeutics. Electrophysiology is a key endpoint to assess neural health in vitro, and improved technologies (i.e., microelectrode arrays; MEAs) allow for higher throughput and detailed network analysis. While these are useful tools, data analysis can be complicated and hinder efficacy. We developed a novel index to improve interpretation of MEA and electrophysiological data by condensing high dimensional data into a single score, allowing culture health and effects of potential therapeutics to be assessed more effectively, significantly improving the applicability of MEAs to evaluate disease phenotypes and treatments.Finally, we discuss implementation of electrophysiology in brain organoids to bridge the gap between traditional in vitro and in vivo models. While organoids have provided considerable insight into neural development and pathologies, functional analysis is needed to reach their full modeling potential. We highlight and propose the application of novel electrophysiological methods to study brain organoids and their improvements over current methods.Together, these studies support several strategies to improve therapeutic development for neurological disorders, including both improved treatments and more effective modeling approaches and evaluation.
This paper investigates the relationship between care staff perceptions' of self-harm behaviours presented by adult and adolescent inpatients and the emotional responses and helping behaviours of the ...staff.
Seventy-six nursing staff participated, including qualified and unqualified staff, who worked in either adolescent or adult secure inpatient settings within a single organization. Participants completed vignette, knowledge, and attitudes questionnaires, related to working with patients who display deliberate self-harm.
Further support was found for attributional theories suggesting that views on deliberate self-harm are linked to propensity to help, and that emotional responses can be a mediating factor. Staff who reported feeling more negative about patients who self-harm reported more worry about working with this patient group. Unqualified nursing staff reported more negativity and worry than qualified staff. Neither gender nor length of work experience was found to be significant factors.
These findings indicate that training and support should be aimed at helping nursing staff, particularly unqualified staff working in inpatient settings where self-harm is frequent, feel more positive and less concerned about working with patients who self-harm. Such needs of unqualified nursing staff have not been highlighted in previous research.
Body checking (BC) is a behavioral feature of anorexia nervosa (AN), which is also present in obsessive–compulsive (OC) disorders. This study assessed whether increased body checking in AN patients ...correlated with deficits in cognitive inhibition. A battery of neuropsychological tests (the Ravello Profile), OC disorder measures, and the Body Checking Questionnaire (BCQ) were administered to nine adolescent females being treated for AN at an in-patient hospital in Scotland, UK. Neuropsychological measures were assessed using composite variables. Body Checking prevalence was split into high and low category to compare across groups. A negative relationship between cognitive inhibition and idiosyncratic body checking was evident. Clinically, increased body-checking symptoms were related to OC symptoms. These findings provide preliminary evidence that idiosyncratic body checking in AN patients may indicate a similar neuropsychological profile found in those with checking behaviors in OCD patients.
•Evidence for a relationship between idiosyncratic body checking and deficits in cognitive inhibition in AN.•Behavioral linkage between AN neuropsychological profiles and OCD neuropsychological profiles.•Confirms previous literature showing that patients with AN have difficulty with executive function.
We present a collaborative immersive technology effort, InNervate AR and InNervate VR. These applications meet the need to expand on existing anatomy education platforms by implementing a more ...dynamic and interactive user interface. This user interface allows for exploration of the complex relationship between motor nerve deficits and their effects upon the canine anatomy's ability to produce movement. Preliminary AR user studies provided us with positive feedback in the quality of learning. The studies show that the dynamic touch interactions in AR definitely benefit students' critical reasoning and spatial visualization in learning motor nerve and muscle relationships. However, users seek a more immersive VR-based learning environment, without the distractions that an AR experience may offer. Based on this feedback, a VR version of this learning experience was created. Preliminary responses show that users are satisfied with this VR environment which allows them to manipulate and control the anatomical content with full-body interactions.
Muscle action VR Seo, Jinsil Hwaryoung; Smith, Brian Michael; Bruner, Michael ...
SIGGRAPH Asia 2018 Virtual & Augmented Reality,
12/2018
Conference Proceeding
Traditional anatomy education has struggled with teaching students muscle movements in the mindset of three-dimensional anatomical structure. We present Muscle Action VR, an embodied learning virtual ...reality system that allows students to explore the effects that muscles have on the body. This application was created for studying musculoskeletal structures through playful and creative engagement, while staying accurate to anatomical structures and terminology. Users learn the basics of the biomechanics of human anatomy by either moving their own body with VIVE trackers, or directly manipulating specific muscles using VIVE controllers. We believe this application contributes to teach three-dimensional spatial awareness and foundational biomechanics in anatomy education.
Deliberate self-harm is a significant phenomenon amongst people in the general community, and is particularly prevalent amongst patients being treated in mental health inpatient settings. Views that ...staff hold towards patients who self-harm could have an impact upon the care and interventions that are delivered. The focus of this thesis was deliberate self-harm within inpatient mental health settings. The literature review presented in Chapter I provides an overview of previous reviews of studies that have evaluated psychological interventions for deliberate self-harm. All recent relevant evaluative studies of psychological interventions predominantly aimed at reducing deliberate self-harm, or treating self-harm as part of the symptomatology of Borderline Personality Disorder, arnongst inpatient enviromnents are then critically reviewed. The results of this are discussed along with clinical implications for practitioners working in mental health inpatient settings and recommendations for future research. The focus moves to staff attributions towards deliberate self-hann in inpatient settings in Chapter 2. This chapter presents empirical findings, reporting on adaptations of attributional and knowledge measures, and analyses of responses to these measures provided by qualified and unqualified nursing staff participants working in an inpatient setting. Questions regarding training needs were also posed, and participants were given the opportunity to comment on working with people who self-harm. Chapter 3 presents a reflective paper, incorporating references from literature, poetry and music, providing reflections on producing the first two chapters of the thesis, and on the overall experience of completing research for the clinical psychology doctorate course.
Deliberate self-harm is a significant phenomenon amongst people in the general community, and is particularly prevalent amongst patients being treated in mental health inpatient settings. Views that ...staff hold towards patients who self-harm could have an impact upon the care and interventions that are delivered. The focus of this thesis was deliberate self-harm within inpatient mental health settings. The literature review presented in Chapter I provides an overview of previous reviews of studies that have evaluated psychological interventions for deliberate self-harm. All recent relevant evaluative studies of psychological interventions predominantly aimed at reducing deliberate self-harm, or treating self-harm as part of the symptomatology of Borderline Personality Disorder, arnongst inpatient enviromnents are then critically reviewed. The results of this are discussed along with clinical implications for practitioners working in mental health inpatient settings and recommendations for future research. The focus moves to staff attributions towards deliberate self-hann in inpatient settings in Chapter 2. This chapter presents empirical findings, reporting on adaptations of attributional and knowledge measures, and analyses of responses to these measures provided by qualified and unqualified nursing staff participants working in an inpatient setting. Questions regarding training needs were also posed, and participants were given the opportunity to comment on working with people who self-harm. Chapter 3 presents a reflective paper, incorporating references from literature, poetry and music, providing reflections on producing the first two chapters of the thesis, and on the overall experience of completing research for the clinical psychology doctorate course.
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