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The neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) plays a crucial role during development and regeneration of the nervous system, mediating neuronal differentiation, survival and plasticity. Moreover, NCAM regulates learning and memory. A peptide termed P2, corresponding to a 12-amino-acid sequence in the second immunoglobulin (Ig)-like module of NCAM, represents the natural cis-binding site for the first NCAM Ig module. The P2 peptide targets NCAM, thereby inducing a number of intracellular signaling events leading to the stimulation of neurite outgrowth and promotion of neuronal survival in vitro. The present study evaluated the effect of the P2 peptide on functional and histological outcomes following traumatic brain injury inflicted by a cortical cryogenic lesion. Lesioned rats were injected subcutaneously with P2 peptide, 5 mg/kg daily for 15 days beginning 2 h after injury. This treatment significantly improved postlesion recovery of motor and cognitive function, reduced neuronal degeneration, protected cells against oxidative stress, and increased reactive astrogliosis and neuronal plasticity in the sublesional area. P2 appeared rapidly in blood and cerebrospinal fluid after subcutaneous administration and remained detectable in blood for up to 5 h. The results suggest that P2 has therapeutic potential for the treatment of traumatic brain injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) stimulates axonal outgrowth by activation of the Ras-mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and by generation of arachidonic acid. We investigated whether the transcription factors, cyclic-AMP response-element binding protein (CREB) and c-Fos play roles in this process by estimating NCAM-dependent neurite outgrowth from PC12-E2 cells grown in co-culture with NCAM-negative or NCAM-positive fibroblasts. PC12-E2 cells were transiently transfected with expression plasmids encoding wild-type or dominant negative forms of CREB and c-Fos or an activated form of the MAPK kinase, MEK2. Alternatively, PC12-E2 cells were treated with arachidonic acid, the cAMP analogue dBcAMP, or protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitors. The negative forms of CREB and c-Fos inhibited neurite outgrowth mediated by NCAM, arachidonic acid, dBcAMP, or MEK2. Neither CREB nor c-Fos could compensate for the inactivation of the other, indicating that both factors are important in NCAM-mediated neuritogenesis. Treatment of primary hippocampal neurons with a synthetic NCAM peptide ligand known to stimulate neurite outgrowth induced phosphorylation of CREB and expression of c-fos. We thus present evidence that NCAM-mediated neurite outgrowth involves a series of signal transduction pathways, including the cAMP/PKA pathway, targeting c-Fos and CREB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several members of the S100 family of Ca[sup 2+] binding proteins are at present known to be secreted and to have extracellular activities. We have investigated the neurite inducing potential of extracellularly added S100A12. Human recombinant S100A12 was found to dramatically induce neuritogenesis of hippocampal cells isolated from 17 to 19 days old rat embryos. The response to S100A12 was dependent on the dose in a bell-shaped manner. A 10-fold increase in neurite outgrowth was observed upon treatment with S100A12 in concentrations between 0.1 and 2.0 µm already after 24 h. Exposure to S100A12 for only 15 min was enough to induce neuritogenesis when measured after 24 h, but to obtain a maximal response, S100A12 had to be present in the culture for at least 4 h. The response to S100A12 was abolished by inhibitors of phospholipase C (PLC), protein kinase C (PKC), Ca[sup 2+] flux, Ca[sup 2+]/calmodulin dependent kinase II (CaMKII) or mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK). Therefore, we suggest that extracellular S100A12 triggers intracellular signal transduction in neurons, involving the classical mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway and a phospholipase C-generated second messenger pathway leading to an increase in intracellular Ca[sup 2+] and activation of PKC, ultimately resulting in neuronal differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermediate filaments (IFs) compose, together with actin filaments and microtubules, the cytoskeleton and they exhibit a remarkable but still enigmatic cell-type specificity. In a number of cell types, IFs seem to be instrumental in the maintenance of the mechanical integrity of cells and tissues. The function of IFs in astrocytes has so far remained elusive. We have recently reported that glial scar formation following brain or spinal cord injury is impaired in mice deficient in glial fibrillary acidic protein and vimentin. These mice lack IFs in reactive astrocytes that are normally pivotal in the wound repair process. Here we show that reactive astrocytes devoid of IFs exhibit clear morphological changes and profound defects in cell motility thereby revealing a novel function for IFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assesses the relationship between religious heterogamy and the marital happiness of Catholics using data from the National Opinion Research Center General Social Surveys. Social and behavioral scientists have been concerned with relations between the religious and familial institutions virtually since the inception of scientific inquiry into human behavior. Individuals whose spouses are of a different religious persuasion than themselves have been found to report lower levels of marital satisfaction or adjustment and to be more likely to divorce. A frequent explanation for the associations between religious heterogamy and both marital satisfaction and marital stability is that persons who marry heterogamously either are or become less religious than homogamous marriers. It is the low level of religiosity of the spouses in such marriages, rather than the heterogamy itself, that increases marital discord and decreases normative barriers to divorce. Catholics married to non-Catholics, as a class, are not less satisfied with, their marriages than homogamous Catholics.

This paper illustrates how religiosity influences behavior in everyday life by investigating the link between religious change and alcohol consumption. Reference group and socialization theory provide theoretical grounds for understanding this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative importance of variables surrounding (1) illegitimacy and (2) the time interval between unwed motherhood and subsequent marriage. The data were based on responses obtained from 1,625 women in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The factors found to be related significantly to illegitimacy were age at marriage, educational attainment, father's social status, husband's social status, and mobility. Measures of religion were not found to be significant. Social status of women (as measured by father's occupation) appeared to be the most significant background factor related to illegitimacy. Moreover, the data suggested the bearing of an illegitimate child has important consequences for the mother's social mobility, as measured by attained education and, more particularly, as measured by social status of the husband. The variables under consideration appeared to be related to the time lapse before marriage in the same way they were related to illegitimacy. However, since the statistical tests for the time interval were not significant, the results remain merely suggestive for future investigations. The present research suggests cross-cultural comparisons can throw light on the topics of illegitimacy and subsequent marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the significance of bacteria in living trees of Populus nigra L. The bacteria are isolated from discolored zones of the wood from shake zones and in particular from trees showing wetwood formation. The bacteria were found to be present across the whole stem but varying qualitatively and quantitatively between the wood zones. Eleven strains of bacteria were isolated from sapwood and heartwood of living poplar trees and identified mostly as Erwinia, Xanthomonas, Agrobacterium and Acinetobacter. With the exception of one strain the bacteria were capable of metabolizing wood components such as pectin, hemicelluloses, holocellulose and milled wood. The xylem of living poplar trees offers a compatible substrate to the bacteria.

This study examines the relationship between religiosity and alcohol use and perceived misuse. Unlike most past research, we focus on adults rather than adolescents and distinguish among specific Protestant denominations. We also use a more appropriate statistical technique and place the findings in a theoretical context. The analysis shows that religiosity is clearly related to alcohol use, mainly because people's religion serves as a reference group influencing their behavior. The analysis also shows that religiosity is not related to perceived misuse of alcohol, mainly because societal norms are congruent with religious norms and, hence, appear to overwhelm any effect of religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

D2 is a nervous-specific membrane protein enriched in fractions of synaptosomal membranes from rat brain. Recently, an immunochemical relationship between D2 and the chick cell adhesion molecule (CAM) has been demonstrated. There is reason to believe that D2 is involved in adhesion phenomena between neurites. The purpose of the present study was to purify and further characterize the D2 protein from rat brain, in the developed purification procedure synaptosomal membranes from rat brains were prepared and solubilized by means of non-ionic detergent. The subsequent purification steps were hydroxylapatite chromatography, wheat germ lectin affinity chromatography, gel filtration, and lysine affinity chromatography. The purified D2 was found to be enriched 240 times compared with the starting brain homogenate and 120 times compared with the synaptosomal membrane fraction. The recovery of D2 was 26% when the amount of D2 in the synaptasomal membrane fraction was set to 100%. The purified D2 antigen was used for production of monospecific rabbit antisera, and it was found to be composed of two polypeptides of apparent molecular weights 130,000 and 150,000, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article examines the effects on sentencing of a number of variables measuring court actors and their traits. Sentencing patterns were shown to vary substantially from judge to judge but the differences were found to be related more to the types of cases judges received than to sentencing styles of individual judges. Independent of traditional sociodemographic traits of offenders and legal variables, individual judges do not appear to sentence differently. Moreover, when we estimated equations which included judicial background characteristics, there were no discernible independent effects. These findings differ from both informed intuition and inferences one might draw from previous research. Consideration of subcultures of justice and cases on which court officials disagree about sentences may help explain differences between present and past research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relative effects of a number of legal and extralegal factors on (1) the decision to release on recognizance and (2) the decision on amount of money bail. Social science research on these issues has been sparse compared to that on other phases of the criminal justice process. Findings from a regression analysis show that the first step of the bond disposition process, the recognizance decision, is influenced by several factors. The demeanor of defendants in open court is the moss important. Net of other influences, good demeanor Increases the probability of release on recognizance by 34.8% In cases where recognizance is denied, only two variables are related significantly to the amount of money bond. Net of other influences, a felony offense (as opposed to a misdemeanor) Increases predicted bail by $2300. and poor demeanor increases the predicted bail required by $1600. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies two social research questions. The first dealt with the proximate social-psychological factors that predict variations in the migration decisions of Irish rural adolescents. Variation in beliefs as to one's ability to fulfil economic and social mobility aspirations locally was the major determining factor in migration decisions. A minority of adolescents, however, were so highly alienated from their home community that, to a large extent, these beliefs played no role in their decisions. The second question dealt with differentials in migration planning by educational level and sex. Clear cut differentials occurred and were satisfactorily explained as due to the varying extent occupational and income earning opportunities matched aspirations at the different levels of aspiration. It is primarily then an intervening occupational selection, which makes it increasingly difficult to fulfill their aspirations locally, which leads to the excess migration of females, the more highly educated and respondents from or near the centre.

This investigation used data collected in three countries: Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. The data indicate that rural migrants tended to be upwardly mobile in the urban areas, although they might not reach the occupational levels attained by urbanites. Rurality of the communities where migrants were born did not explain their social mobility. Neither the age at migration nor present age accounted for the mobility or lack of mobility of migrants. Education seemed to be the most important variable in the explanation of social mobility, but even this factor had limited value. If, when they first migrated, rural migrants were disadvantaged in comparison with urbanites, they appeared to overcome most of this disadvantage in time. These findings question the degree to which explanations derived from studies of migration in industrial nations are applicable to ’developing nations.’ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the association between widowhood status and suicide has been well documented, the conditions which modify this relationship have not been extensively investigated. The present study of elderly persons uses information obtained from two sources: (1) a representative sample of the aged in Pinellas County, Florida, in 1959; and (2) persons aged 65 and over who committed suicide in that county between 1955 and 1963. The major findings are (1) the widowed exhibit higher suicide rates than the married; (2) this differential is partially explained by the greater social isolation of the widowed, particularly the widowers; (3) the widowed can find in other types of relationships meaningful alternatives to marriage which help prevent suicidal behavior; (4) widowers have greater difficulty than widows in making effective substitutions for the loss of spouse; and (5) there appear to be limits to the effective mitigation of these alternatives for the widowed, especially the widower. These findings, interpreted in terms of cultural expectations and sex-role definitions, suggest the fruitfulness of further research on other types of functional alternatives for the widowed. Programs for suicide prevention among the elderly should give special attention to the precarious position of the aged widower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relative importance of variables surrounding premarital pregnancy. The data were based on responses obtained from 1,520 women in Rio de Janeiro in 1963. The factors found to be related significantly to premarital pregnancy were educational attainment, social status of father, social status of husband, and social mobility. Although age appeared to be operating in the predicted direction, the statistical tests failed to be significant. Measures of religion were not found to be significant. The most prominent feature of the present study was the significance of social class background and social mobility. The data suggest that premarital pregnancy has significance for social mobility through the process of mate selection. Premarital conception may result in middle-class females being downwardly mobile to find mates. Future research can determine whether social mobility of females occurs before or after premarital conception. More cross-cultural comparisons on the dynamics of courtship are needed to ascertain the full significance of premarital pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every society involves many systems of beliefs, symbols and practices, some of which differentiate subpopulations and some of which integrate these subgroups into one society. The society, if it is to remain a society, must express its unity of subpopulations through a commonly held symbol system. The integration of a society is, however, never complete, tension and conflict are constant possibilities and actualities between different subpopulations as well as between different areas of activities. Such tension and conflict between symbol systems have a greater probability of occurring in a relatively differentiated society than in a relatively homogenous society. One area of conflict is that between religious and nonreligious systems. Such conflict is often grounded in the differences of appeal, the one appealing to an absolute, transcendental authority which tends to be sacred and the other appealing to tradition, social relations, expediency, etc. The tension and conflict involving religious systems occur not only between religious and nonreligious systems but also between one religious system and another.

This article presents the response of the authors on comments from David J. Roberts on their article "Effects of Court Officials on Sentence Severity: Do Judges Make a Difference?" As for the minor criticisms, view of the authors is no different. Roberts comments on things that are superfluous. The issue Roberts addresses in his minor criticisms is whether the authors left out information that somehow impedes a reader's ability to comprehend the research or if our decisions regarding what to include fall within acceptable editorial conventions. Another criticism is that the authors failed to provide data on disagreement between probation officer recommendations for incarceration and judicial sentencing practices. As with most of the comment, this criticism is difficult to interpret because the authors do not know how much data Roberts thinks they should have included. A table reporting the regression equation from which the coefficients noted in the text were derived was removed at the urging of the Editor just before publication. They never intended to report more than that table and do not feel now that its absence should create any real problems for readers.

NCAM plays an essential role in neural development and regeneration. We have recently demonstrated a direct interaction between the fibronectin type III modules (F3) of NCAM and the extracellular part of the FGF receptor and also identified a binding site localized in the second F3 module. The corresponding peptide motif (FGL) activated the FGF receptor, promoted neuritogenesis and protected DA neurons in vitro. In a rat model of A-beta (amyloid-beta peptide) induced neurite toxicity, FGL rescued the deficit in learning and improved neuropathology. Thus, small artificial mimetics of NCAM with agonist-like effects are attractive lead-candidates for drug development for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have been used as a bridge to transplantation or as destination therapy to treat patients with heart failure (HF). The inability of control strategy to respond automatically to changes in hemodynamic conditions can impact the patients' quality of life. The developed control system/algorithm consists of a control system that harmoniously adjusts pump speed without additional sensors, considering the patient's clinical condition and his physical activity. The control system consists of three layers: (a) Actuator speed control; (b) LVAD flow control (FwC); and (c) Fuzzy control system (FzC), with the input variables: heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), minimum pump flow, level of physical activity (data from patient), and clinical condition (data from physician, INTERMACS profile). FzC output is the set point for the second LVAD control schemer (FwC) which in turn adjusts the speed. Pump flow, MAP, and HR are estimated from actuator drive parameters (speed and power). Evaluation of control was performed using a centrifugal blood pump in a hybrid cardiovascular simulator, where the left heart function is the mechanical model and right heart function is the computational model. The control system was able to maintain MAP and cardiac output in the physiological level, even under variation of EF. Apart from this, also the rotational pump speed is adjusted following the simulated clinical condition. No backflow from the aorta in the ventricle occurred through LVAD during tests. The control algorithm results were considered satisfactory for simulations, but it still should be confirmed during in vivo tests., (© 2020 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Scientific and technological advances in blood pump developments have been driven by their importance in cardiac patient treatments and in the expansion of life quality in assisted people. To improve and optimize the design and development, numerical tools were incorporated into the analyses of these mechanisms and have become indispensable in their advances. This study analyzes the flow behavior with low impeller Reynolds number, for which there is no consensus on the full development of turbulence in ventricular assist devices (VAD). For supporting analyses, computational numerical simulations were carried out in different scenarios with the same rotation speed. Two modeling approaches were applied: laminar flow and turbulent flow with the standard, RNG and realizable κ - ε; the standard and SST κ - ω models; and Spalart-Allmaras models. The results agree with the literature for VAD and the range for transient flows in stirred tanks with an impeller Reynolds number around 2800 for the tested scenarios. The turbulent models were compared, and it is suggested, based on the expected physical behavior, the use of κ-ε RNG, standard and SST κ-ω, and Spalart-Allmaras models to numerical analyses for low impeller Reynolds numbers according to the tested flow scenarios., (© 2016 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

An implantable centrifugal blood pump (ICBP) is being developed to be used as a ventricular assist device (VAD) in patients with severe cardiovascular diseases. The ICBP system is composed of a centrifugal pump, a motor, a controller, and a power supply. The electricity source provides power to the controller and to a motor that moves the pump's rotor through magnetic coupling. The centrifugal pump is composed of four parts: external conical house, external base, impeller, and impeller base. The rotor is supported by a pivot bearing system, and its impeller base is responsible for sheltering four permanent magnets. A hybrid cardiovascular simulator (HCS) was used to evaluate the ICBP's performance. A heart failure (HF) (when the heart increases beat frequency to compensate for decrease in blood flow) was simulated in the HCS. The main objective of this work is to analyze changes in physiological parameters such as cardiac output, blood pressure, and heart rate in three situations: healthy heart, HF, and HF with left circulatory assistance by ICBP. The results showed that parameters such as aortic pressure and cardiac output affected by the HF situation returned to normal values when the ICBP was connected to the HCS. In conclusion, the test results showed satisfactory performance for the ICBP as a VAD., (© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation.)

A new model of blood pump for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) application has been developed and evaluated in our laboratories. Inside the pump housing is a spiral impeller that is conically shaped and has threads on its surface. Worm gears provide an axial motion of the blood column. Rotational motion of the conical shape generates a centrifugal pumping effect and improves pumping performance. One annular magnet with six poles is inside the impeller, providing magnetic coupling to a brushless direct current motor. In order to study the pumping performance, a mock loop system was assembled. Mock loop was composed of Tygon tubes (Saint-Gobain Corporation, Courbevoie, France), oxygenator, digital flowmeter, pressure monitor, electronic driver, and adjustable clamp for flow control. Experiments were performed on six prototypes with small differences in their design. Each prototype was tested and flow and pressure data were obtained for rotational speed of 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, and 3000 rpm. Hemolysis was studied using pumps with different internal gap sizes (1.35, 1.45, 1.55, and 1.7 mm). Hemolysis tests simulated CPB application with flow rate of 5 L/min against total pressure head of 350 mm Hg. The results from six prototypes were satisfactory, compared to the results from the literature. However, prototype #6 showed the best results. Best hemolysis results were observed with a gap of 1.45 mm, and showed a normalized index of hemolysis of 0.013 g/100 L. When combined, axial and centrifugal pumping principles produce better hydrodynamic performance without increasing hemolysis., (© 2011, Copyright the Authors. Artificial Organs © 2011, International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

One of the most important recent improvements in cardiology is the use of ventricular assist devices (VADs) to help patients with severe heart diseases, especially when they are indicated to heart transplantation. The Institute Dante Pazzanese of Cardiology has been developing an implantable centrifugal blood pump that will be able to help a sick human heart to keep blood flow and pressure at physiological levels. This device will be used as a totally or partially implantable VAD. Therefore, an improvement on device performance is important for the betterment of the level of interaction with patient's behavior or conditions. But some failures may occur if the device's pumping control does not follow the changes in patient's behavior or conditions. The VAD control system must consider tolerance to faults and have a dynamic adaptation according to patient's cardiovascular system changes, and also must attend to changes in patient conditions, behavior, or comportments. This work proposes an application of the mechatronic approach to this class of devices based on advanced techniques for control, instrumentation, and automation to define a method for developing a hierarchical supervisory control system that is able to perform VAD control dynamically, automatically, and securely. For this methodology, we used concepts based on Bayesian network for patients' diagnoses, Petri nets to generate a VAD control algorithm, and Safety Instrumented Systems to ensure VAD system security. Applying these concepts, a VAD control system is being built for method effectiveness confirmation., (© 2011, Copyright the Authors. Artificial Organs © 2011, International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

This article presents improvement on a physical cardiovascular simulator (PCS) system. Intraventricular pressure versus intraventricular volume (PxV) loop was obtained to evaluate performance of a pulsatile chamber mimicking the human left ventricle. PxV loop shows heart contractility and is normally used to evaluate heart performance. In many heart diseases, the stroke volume decreases because of low heart contractility. This pathological situation must be simulated by the PCS in order to evaluate the assistance provided by a ventricular assist device (VAD). The PCS system is automatically controlled by a computer and is an auxiliary tool for VAD control strategies development. This PCS system is according to a Windkessel model where lumped parameters are used for cardiovascular system analysis. Peripheral resistance, arteries compliance, and fluid inertance are simulated. The simulator has an actuator with a roller screw and brushless direct current motor, and the stroke volume is regulated by the actuator displacement. Internal pressure and volume measurements are monitored to obtain the PxV loop. Left chamber internal pressure is directly obtained by pressure transducer; however, internal volume has been obtained indirectly by using a linear variable differential transformer, which senses the diaphragm displacement. Correlations between the internal volume and diaphragm position are made. LabVIEW integrates these signals and shows the pressure versus internal volume loop. The results that have been obtained from the PCS system show PxV loops at different ventricle elastances, making possible the simulation of pathological situations. A preliminary test with a pulsatile VAD attached to PCS system was made., (© 2011, Copyright the Authors. Artificial Organs © 2011, International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

An implantable centrifugal blood pump has been developed with original features for a left ventricular assist device. This pump is part of a multicenter and international study with the objective to offer simple, affordable, and reliable devices to developing countries. Previous computational fluid dynamics investigations and wear evaluation in bearing system were performed followed by prototyping and in vitro tests. In addition, previous blood tests for assessment of normalized index of hemolysis show results of 0.0054±2.46 × 10⁻³ mg/100 L. An electromechanical actuator was tested in order to define the best motor topology and controller configuration. Three different topologies of brushless direct current motor (BLDCM) were analyzed. An electronic driver was tested in different situations, and the BLDCM had its mechanical properties tested in a dynamometer. Prior to evaluation of performance during in vivo animal studies, anatomical studies were necessary to achieve the best configuration and cannulation for left ventricular assistance. The results were considered satisfactory, and the next step is to test the performance of the device in vivo., (© 2011, Copyright the Authors. Artificial Organs © 2011, International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

The neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) plays a pivotal role in brain plasticity. Brain plasticity itself has a crucial role in the development of depression. The aim of this study was to analyze whether NCAM-deficient (NCAM(-/-)) mice exhibit depression-like behaviour and whether a peptide termed FGL, derived from the NCAM binding site for the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor, is able to reverse the depression-like signs in NCAM(-/-) mice. Our study showed that NCAM(-/-) mice demonstrated increased freezing time in the tail-suspension test and reduced preference for sucrose consumption in the sucrose preference test, reduced adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus and reduced levels of the phosphorylated cAMP response element-binding protein (pCREB) in the hippocampus. FGL administered acutely or repeatedly reduced depression-like behaviour in NCAM(-/-) mice without having an effect on their wild-type littermates. Repeated administration of FGL enhanced survival of the newly born neurons in NCAM(-/-) mice and increased the levels of pCREB in both NCAM(+/+) and NCAM(-/-) mice. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that NCAM deficiency in mice results in a depression-like phenotype which can be reversed by the acute or repeated administration of FGL. The results also suggest a role of the deficit in NCAM signalling through the FGF receptor in depression.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) constitute a family of at least 23 structurally related heparin-binding proteins that are involved in regulation of cell growth, survival, differentiation and migration. Sucrose octasulfate (SOS), a chemical analogue of heparin, has been demonstrated to activate FGF signalling pathways. The structure of rat FGF1 crystallized in the presence of SOS has been determined at 2.2 A resolution. SOS-mediated dimerization of FGF1 was observed, which was further supported by gel-filtration experiments. The major contributors to the sulfate-binding sites in rat FGF1 are Lys113, Lys118, Arg122 and Lys128. An arginine at position 116 is a consensus residue in mammalian FGF molecules; however, it is a serine in rat FGF1. This difference may be important for SOS-mediated FGF1 dimerization in rat.

A new dual impeller centrifugal blood pump has been developed as a research collaboration between Baylor College of Medicine and Institute Dante Pazzanese of Cardiology for long-term left ventricle assist device (LVAD). A design feature of this new pump is a dual impeller that aims to minimize a stagnant flow pattern around the inlet port. Several different materials were tested in order to adopt a double pivot bearing design originally developed by Prof. Dr. Yukihiko Nosé from Baylor College of Medicine. Hydraulic performance tests were conducted with two different inlet ports' angle configurations 30 degrees and 45 degrees . Pump with inlet port angle of 45 degrees achieved best values of pressure ahead and flow after 1800 rpm. Preliminary hemolysis tests were conducted using human blood. The pump showed good performance results and no alarming trace of hemolysis, proving to be a feasible long-term LVAD.