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Phosphatidylcholine (PC) is made in all nucleated mammalian cells via the CDP-choline pathway. Another major pathway for PC biosynthesis in liver is catalyzed by phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT). We have identified 3T3-L1 adipocytes as a cell culture model that expresses PEMT endogenously. Analysis of the proximal PEMT promoter in 3T3-L1 adipocytes revealed an important regulatory region. Sp1 binds to a GC-rich site within this section of the promoter and inhibits PEMT transcriptional activity. Tamoxifen is an anti-estrogen drug widely used for the treatment of hormone-responsive breast cancer but has a frequent side-effect of increasing accumulation of lipid in the liver (hepatic steatosis). Tamoxifen represses PEMT gene expression by promoting Sp1 binding to the promoter. However, decreased catalytic activity of PEMT was not a major initial contributor to tamoxifen-mediated hepatic steatosis. We found that increased de novo fatty acid synthesis is the primary event which leads to tamoxifen-induced steatosis in mouse liver. Tamoxifen did not significantly alter hepatic fatty acid uptake, triacylglycerol secretion or fatty acid oxidation. Finally, we provide evidence that deletion of the PEMT gene in a well-established mouse model of atherosclerosis (apolipoprotein E deficient) reduces the formation of aortic lesions and prevents the associated development of dilated cardiomyopathy. This beneficial effect is likely due a reduction of atherogenic lipoproteins. These results indicate that treatment strategies aimed at the inhibition of PEMT could prevent the development of atherosclerosis that predisposes individuals to heart failure.

Thesis--Wisconsin. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-57).

Thesis (doctoral)--University of Göteborg, Sweden, 1981. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 29-33).

Thesis (doctoral)--University of Göteborg, Sweden, 1981. / Bibliography: p. 29-33.

In children with confirmed brain damage, neuropsychological research has established that evidence of lateralized (right or left hand) impairment on fine motor tests can be used to help infer dysfunction of the contralateral (opposite) cerebral hemisphere and its associated cognitive skills (e.g., verbal and visuospatial skills). In neuropsychological assessments of children with subjected brain dysfunction (such as learning disabilities and/or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder), fine motor tests are often used for much the same purpose. This constitutes an example of what is referred to in neuropsychology as the "Comparison of the Left and Right Sides of the Body" inferential method. However, its use for children with suspected brain dysfunction is not supported by the existing research literature. Furthermore, a recent series of studies on children with left hand motor impairment ("extreme right-handers") and no confirmed brain damage has produced results which are inconsistent with those that would be predicted based on traditional neuropsychological theory. It appears possible that previous studies found little relationship between lateralized motor impairment and distinctive cognitive deficits in children with suspected brain dysfunction largely due to the specific motor tests that they used (i.e., ones that rely more heavily on visuospatial/right hemisphere skills than verbal/left hemisphere skills). The Name Printing Test (Joschko & Bailey, 1996) was proposed to be a motor test that involves the skills of both cerebral hemispheres. It was therefore hypothesized to account for a significant amount of unique variance in performance on measures of both verbal and visuospatial cognitive skill, above and beyond that accounted for by the Grooved Pegboard and Finger Tapping Tests, in a sample of 77 right-handed children with suspected brain dysfunction. Left hand motor test scores were hypothesized to account for the greatest amount of variance in visuospatial cognitive skill, while right hand scores were hypothesized to account for the greatest amount of variance in verbal cognitive skill. The WlSC-III Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Organization 6ctor scores were used as the measures of verbal and visuospatial cognitive skill, respectively. Hierarchical multiple regression was the primary method of analysis used to test the research hypotheses. The results provided little support for these hypotheses. Specifically, right and left hand motor test scores were found to be about equal in predicting verbal and visuospatial cognitive skills. Furthermore, only Grooved Pegboard scores accounted for a significant amount of unique variance in visuospatial cognitive skill, while no motor test score was a significant predictor of verbal cognitive ability. Little support was found for the use of the "Comparison of the Left and Right Sides of the Body" inferential method in this clinical group, and it was suggested that such methods of inference require more extensive validation. The Name Printing Test and Grooved Pegboard were found to be sensitive indicators of psychomotor impairment in children with suspected brain dysfunction, while the Finger Tapping Test was not. / Graduate

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-02-18Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:30:23Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 heckler_mct_me_botfmvz.pdf: 419721 bytes, checksum: ca827eb861ab5e1b806340c29480f90f (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O estudo avaliou o desempenho de cães adultos em testes cognitivos, para posteriormente identificar e monitorar alterações cognitivas em cães idosos, além de verificar a viabilidade e selecionar um dos testes para utilização na rotina clínica. Foram utilizados 15 cães adultos hígidos para os testes cognitivos de abordagem à recompensa, abordagem ao objeto, discriminação do objeto, aprendizado reverso, atraso não ligado à posição e atraso não ligado à amostra. Não houve diferença significativa no desempenho quanto ao número de dias quando comparados machos com fêmeas, cães de idade inferior ou superior a quatro anos, cães de peso inferior ou superior a 20 kg, e ainda cães treinados no ambulatório ou em sua própria casa em nenhum dos testes realizados. Os testes de atraso não ligado à posição (DNMP) e de atraso não ligado à amostra (DNMS) não apresentaram diferença significativa entre si. Já a comparação dos testes de discriminação do objeto com o aprendizado reverso apresentou diferença significativa. Conclui-se que o sexo, a idade analisada, o porte e o ambiente do animal não tiveram influência significativa no desempenho dos cães nos testes realizados. O teste de discriminação do objeto foi mais fácil aos cães do que o aprendizado reverso e os testes de DNMP e de DNMS apresentaram dificuldade semelhante aos cães. Sugere-se o teste de DNMP para ser utilizado na rotina clínica para avaliação de cães com alterações cognitivas por ser sensível e de rápido aprendizado / This paper evaluated the performance of adult dogs in cognitive tests, to after identify and monitor cognitive changes in older dogs, to verify viability and select one of the tests to use in clinical practice. 15 healthy adult dogs were used for the cognitive tests of reward approach learning, object approach learning, object discrimination learning, reversal learning, delay non-matched to position and delay non-matched to sample. There was no significant difference on number of days in performance when compared males with females, dogs younger or older than four years, dogs weighing less or more than 20 kg, and still trained dogs in the clinic or at home in any of the tests. The tests of delay non-matched to position (DNMP) and delay non-matched to sample (DNMS) showed no significant difference between them. The comparison between object discrimination test and reversal learning showed significant difference. We conclude that sex, age, size and environment of the animal had no significant influence on the performance of dogs in tests. The object discrimination test was easier to dogs than reversal learning and DNMP and DNMS had similar difficulty to the dogs. DNMP test is suggested to be used for routine clinical evaluation of dogs with cognitive impairments since it is sensitive and quickly learned

O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar um intervalo de pressão capaz de estimular resposta dolorosa em pacientes com sinais e sintomas compatíveis com Disfunção Temporomandibular (DTM), quando comparado a um grupo controle. Para isso, foram selecionados 77 pacientes com sinais e sintomas de DTM de origem miogênica concomitante ou não com alguma patologia articular. Para o grupo controle, foram selecionados 75 indivíduos livres de qualquer queixa dolorosa compatível com DTM. Os indivíduos dos dois grupos foram palpados por um único examinador nos seguintes pontos: corpo do masséter, temporal anterior, temporal médio e temporal posterior. Os dados obtidos foram analisados estatisticamente num nível de significância de 5%. O grupo sintomático apresentou limiar de dor à pressão (LDP) significativamente menor em comparação ao grupo controle (p < 0,001). O masséter apresentou LDP significativamente menor, seguido pelo temporal anterior, médio e posterior (p < 0,001). O lado direito apresentou LDP significativamente menor que o lado esquerdo (p=0,033). Obteve-se uma correlação negativa significativa entre o LDP obtido e a Escala de Análise Visual (p < 0,001). Não foi encontrada correlação entre o LDP obtido e o tempo de experiência com a dor (p=0,310). Foi verificado que o intervalo de pressão mais confiável para o masséter foi de 1,01 - 1,5 kg/cm2, para o temporal anterior e médio foi de 1,51 - 2 kg/cm2 e para o temporal posterior foi de 2,01 - 3 kg/cm2. Os autores concluíram que a palpação mostrou ser um exame confiável para se detectar sensibilidade muscular em pacientes de DTM / The aim of this study was to determine a digital pressure interval able to elicit painful response in patients with signs and symptoms of Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) when compared to a comparison group. Seventy-seven individuals with myogenic TMD comprised the symptomatic group, while seventy-five TMD symptom-free individuals were selected as controls. The pressure pain thresholds (PPT) were obtained with the aid of an algometer by pressuring the following muscles: masseter and anterior, medium and posterior temporalis. Values of sensitivity and specificity were determined for different pressure intervals. A lower PPT was found for all muscles in the symptomatic group (p < 0,001). The lowest PPT was found for the masseter muscle, followed by the anterior, medium and posterior temporalis. The left side has shown higher PPT than the right side (p < 0,05). A significant negative correlation was found between the PPT and the Visual Analogue Scale (p < 0,001). However, a significant correlation between the PPT and the time of pain experience was not found (p < 0,05). The authors concluded that, within the limitations of this study, the most appropriate pressure interval was 1,01 - 1,5 kg/cm2 for the masseter, 1,51 - 2 kg/cm2 for the anterior and medium temporalis, and 2,01 - 3 kg/cm2 for the posterior temporalis. Yet, according to the above figures, a standardized palpation can be considered a reliable technique in the examination of TMD patients

Case studies and a small number of group studies in the neuropsychological literature on adults and children with brain dysfunction suggest that certain cognitive skills are important determinants of social skills. However, standardised measures of social skills designed expressly to measure this construct have not been used previously in the neuropsychological field. The goal of this study was to determine neuropsychological correlates of social skills in children referred for neuropsychological assessment, and compare the findings to the cognitive skills identified in social information processing models from developmental and clinical psychology. In younger children (6 to 9 years), only a measure of conceptual ability was related to social skills. However, from a clinical standpoint, differences in conceptual skills between socially impaired and socially skilled children were minimal. In older children (10 to 13 years), sustained attention and verbal reasoning were strong, unique predictors of social skills. However, only differences in sustained attention between socially skilled and unskilled children were clinically significant. Results were discussed with regards to 1) social information processing models, 2) the effect of age on the cognitive correlates of social skills; and 3) the relationship between insight and social skills. / Graduate