A Comparative Characterization of Smart Textile Pressure Sensors.

This research study investigates the impact of various insulating textile materials on the performance of smart textile pressure sensors made of conductive threads and piezo resistive material. We designed four sets of identical textile-based pressure sensors each of them integrating a different insulating textile substrate material. Each of these sensors underwent a series of tests that linearly increased and decreased a uniform pressure perpendicular to the surface of the sensors. The controlled change of the integration layer altered the characteristics of the pressure sensors including both the sensitivity and pressure ranges. Our experiments highlighted that the manufacturing design technique of textile material has a significant impact on the sensor; with evidence of reproducibility values directly relating to fabric dimensional stability and elasticity.

Partnering for Patti: Shaping future healthcare teams through simulation-enhanced interprofessional education.

BACKGROUND: Simulation-enhanced interprofessional education (sim-IPE) is a growing component of undergraduate health curricula, preparing learners for the practice environment and, in doing so, redefining practice culture. The Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative (CIHC) has established a national competency framework of integrative competency domains focused on fostering core skills, attitudes, and values in an effort to evolve interprofessional collaboration (IPC). This framework serves as the foundational underpinning for IPE within all health professions. Partnering for Patti is a sim-IPE experience collaboratively developed by faculty from Bachelor of Nursing and Respiratory Therapy programs within two Atlantic institutions leveled for third-year nursing and respiratory therapy students. This event provides an opportunity for participants to enhance their knowledge of the six CIHC IPE domains, and improve their understanding of and appreciation for IPC. Within this context learners must work together, and rely on the expertise of both professional groups to critically think through and improve a declining client scenario. Once complete, debriefing and reflective journaling help participants solidify learning and deduce new frames of understanding. It has been hypothesized that this event enhances student knowledge of CIHC IPE domains, and creates a deeper appreciation for, and understanding of IPC. The primary objective of this research was to determine if participants' understanding of CIHC IPE domains improved, and if perceptions of their own and the other profession were reframed as a result of this innovation. METHODS: This article describes the educators' approach in setting up and delivering this learning experience and the results of this event through students' perceptions. This cross-sectional study used a descriptive mixed-methods design. Two data collection tools were used to explore changes in participants' perceptions and event feedback. RESULTS: Data analysis found that the majority of participants identified value in this IPE learning experience. Qualitative and quantitative findings suggest participants developed a deepened appreciation for IPC and an improved understanding of the CIHC IPE competency domains. DISCUSSION: The evaluative findings of this study support the value of Partnering for Patti as a novel IPE learning experience. Although it is unclear to what degree objectives were met, findings strongly support continued integration of this learning experience.

Stem cell-based therapy for Huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a late-onset neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive loss of medium spiny neurons in the basal ganglia. The development of stem cell-based therapies for HD aims to replace lost neurons and/or to prevent cell death. This review will discuss pre-clinical studies which have utilized stem or progenitor cells for transplantation therapy using HD animal models. In several studies, neural stem and progenitor cells used as allotransplants and xenografts have been shown to be capable of surviving transplantation and differentiating into mature GABAergic neurons, resulting in behavioral improvements. Beneficial effects have also been reported for transplantation of stem cells derived from non-neural tissue, for example, mesenchymal- and adipose-derived stem cells, which have mainly been attributed to their secretion of growth and neurotrophic factors. Finally, we review studies using stem cells genetically engineered to over-express defined neurotrophic factors. While these studies prove the potential of stem cells for transplantation therapy in HD, it also becomes clear that technical and ethical issues regarding the availability of stem cells must be solved before human trials can be conducted.

Deviating from the well travelled path: precursor cell migration in the pathological adult mammalian brain.

The presence of both neural and glial precursor cells in the adult central nervous system (CNS) and the capacity of these cells to migrate through this mature structure to areas of pathological damage and injury raises hope for the development of new therapeutic strategies to treat brain injury and disease. Although at present time, the compensatory neurogenesis described after various types of brain pathologies appears to be modest, the development of a strategy promoting the directed mobilization and phenotypic induction of endogenous precursor cells to areas of neural cell loss remains of high interest. The development of such a strategy however is currently thwarted by a limited understanding of the process and factors influencing precursor cell migration. In this review, we will discuss the current knowledge around precursor cell migration in the pathological adult brain with particular focus on the response and fate of precursor sub-populations to neural cell loss and the role of the inflammatory system in mediating precursor cell migration. Through this discussion we will identify particular areas in which further detailed research is required in order to expand our current understanding and aid in the eventual development of a novel therapeutic application.

Chemokines direct neural progenitor cell migration following striatal cell loss.

In this study we demonstrate the chemokines MCP-1, MIP-1alpha and GRO-alpha play a role in directing adult subventricular zone (SVZ)-derived progenitor cell migration following striatal cell death. MCP-1, MIP-1alpha and GRO-alpha were significantly upregulated in the striatum 2-3 days following QA-induced lesioning, correlating with maximum SVZ-derived progenitor cell recruitment into the lesioned striatum. We established that SVZ-derived progenitor cells express receptors for each chemokine, and demonstrated MCP-1, MIP-1alpha and GRO-alpha to be potent chemoattractants for SVZ-derived progenitor cells in vitro. Immunofluorescence revealed MCP-1, MIP-1alpha and GRO-alpha are predominantly expressed in the striatum by NG2-positive cells that appear to infiltrate from the bloodstream 6 h following QA lesioning. These results indicate that upregulation of MCP-1, MIP-1alpha and GRO-alpha following striatal cell death leads to chemoattraction of SVZ-derived progenitor cells into the damaged striatum and raises a potential role for blood-derived cells in directing the recruitment of SVZ-derived progenitors following brain injury.