Visualizing the electron's quantization with a ruler.

More than 100 years ago, Robert Millikan demonstrated the quantization of the electron using charged, falling droplets, but the statistical analysis on many falling droplets did not allow a direct visualization of the quantization of charge. Instead of letting the droplets fall, we have used optical levitation to create a single droplet version of Millikan's experiment where the effects of a single electron removal can be observed by the naked eye and measured with a ruler. As we added charges to the levitated droplet, we observed that its equilibrium position jumped vertically in quantized steps. The discrete nature of the droplet's jumps is a direct consequence of the single-electron changes in the charge on the droplet, and therefore clearly demonstrates the quantization of charge. The steps were optically magnified onto a wall and filmed. We anticipate that the video of these single electron additions can become a straightforward demonstration of the quantization of charge for a general audience.

Neuropsychological feedback services improve quality of life and social adjustment.

OBJECTIVE: In more recent years, studies have begun to examine levels of satisfaction of individuals or family members of individuals who undergo neuropsychological evaluation. However, to date there have been only a handful of formal studies that have specifically examined the role and contribution of neuropsychological assessment in patient care and management. This study sought to examine one specific component of neuropsychological assessment, namely the impact of patient feedback regarding neuropsychological testing on patient outcome. METHOD: Participants included 218 patients who were recruited from a neuropsychological outpatient clinic at a Midwest academic medical center. This study examined potential differences between outcome measures for patients who attended feedback sessions versus those who did not receive direct feedback. RESULTS: Results indicated that compared with the No Feedback group, the Feedback group reported greater improvement in quality of life, increased understanding of their condition, and an increased ability to cope with their condition at follow-up. There were no significant demographic differences between the Feedback and No Feedback group. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that there is benefit for the individuals who chose to engage in feedback sessions. Feedback sessions can be utilized to assist with integral decision-making processes and assisting in treatment planning among other areas. It also allows time for patients and family members to discuss their concerns regarding important test findings and recommendations. Given the current climate of value-based services and clinical outcomes, the findings from this study lend support to the utility of neuropsychological assessments and, in particular, the role of feedback within neuropsychological evaluations.

Loperamide Restricts Intracellular Growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Lung Macrophages.

New approaches for improving tuberculosis (TB) control using adjunct host-directed cellular and repurposed drug therapies are needed. Autophagy plays a crucial role in the response to TB, and a variety of autophagy-inducing drugs that are currently available for various medical conditions may serve as an adjunct treatment in pulmonary TB. Here, we evaluated the potential of loperamide, carbamazepine, valproic acid, verapamil, and rapamycin to enhance the antimicrobial immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) and murine alveolar cells (MACs) were infected with Mtb and treated with loperamide, carbamazepine, valproic acid, verapamil, and rapamycin in vitro. Balb/c mice were intraperitoneally administered loperamide, valproic acid, and verapamil, and MACs were infected in vitro with Mtb. The induction of autophagy, the containment of Mtb within autophagosomes and the intracellular Mtb burden were determined. Autophagy was induced by all of the drugs in human and mouse macrophages, and loperamide significantly increased the colocalization of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 with Mtb in MDMs. Carbamazepine, loperamide, and valproic acid induced microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 and autophagy related 16- like protein 1 gene expression in MDMs and in MACs. Loperamide also induced a reduction in TNF-α production. Loperamide and verapamil induced autophagy, which was associated with a significant reduction in the intracellular growth of Mtb in MACs and alveolar macrophages. The intraperitoneal administration of loperamide and valproic acid induced autophagy in freshly isolated MACs. The antimycobacterial activity in MACs was higher after loperamide treatment and was associated with the degradation of p62. In conclusion, loperamide shows potential as an adjunctive therapy for the treatment of TB.

[C0 vs C2 levels and their implications in kidney transplantation]. / CO vs C2 y sus implicaciones en trasplante renal.

We present a trial consisting of 52 kidney transplant patients with stable function, following a transplantation period of 3-6 months (group1), 6-12 months (group2) and more than 12 months (group3) and monitored by CO, C2 and Cyclosporine levels in blood. Mean serum creatinine level were in 1.1, 1.3 and 1.4 Mg/dl for group 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Mean Neoral doses (mg/kg/day) were 5.5, 4.4 and 3.0 for each group respectively. Mean CO (ng/ml) was 347.6 (group 1), 265.6 (group 2) and 207.6 (group 3), and mean C2 was 1353.5, 1098 and 904.2 for each group. 40% (2/5patients) from group2 and 41% (17/41patients) for group 3, had overexposure of the graft to Neoral; meantime 24% (10/41 patients) from group 3 shown C2 levels of underexposure. We conclude CO is a poor predictor of graft exposition to cyclosporine and C2 reflect more exactly this exposure.