Cognitive Impairments in Patients with Bipolar Affective Disorder in Remission

Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology - Objective. To determine the frequency, structure, and severity of cognitive impairments in patients with bipolar affective disorder (BAD) in remission....     

The role of cytokines in determining the Th1/Th2 phenotype of an immune response: Coherence of the T cell response and the Cytokine Implementation Hypothesis

The widely accepted Cytokine Milieu Hypothesis proposes that the cytokine milieu, in which antigen activates CD4 T cells, from a non-T cell source, primarily determines the Th subset to which the ensuing effector Th cells belong. We focus on the generation of Th1 and Th2 cells. We briefly restate the grounds for the Threshold Hypothesis we favour for how the Th1/Th2 phenotype of a response is primarily determined: tentative and robust thresholds of antigen-mediated CD4 T cell interactions lead to the generation of Th1 and Th2 cells. The component antigens of pathogens are present in different amounts. It is expected, within the context of the threshold mechanism that, although there is often an initial predominance of Th1 or Th2 cells, some Th cells of the opposing type are initially generated. An initially somewhat heterogeneous Th response is known to become with time more ‘coherent’ in its Th1/Th2 phenotype. I propose The Cytokine Implementation Hypothesis as a mechanism for how coherence is achieved. Most cytokines made by Th cells of one subset tend to facilitate the further generation of Th cells of this subset and/or inhibit the generation of Th cells of opposing subsets, accounting for how coherence may be achieved. Many observations on which The Cytokine Milieu Hypothesis is based are accounted for by this alternative hypothesis. We outline predictions of the new hypothesis and discuss the importance of coherence of immune responses for their efficacy in protecting against foreign invaders.     

A Mathematical Model of a Thermoelectric Device for the Treatment of Whitlow by Local Hypothermia

Biomedical Engineering - A mathematical model of a thermoelectric device for the treatment of whitlow by local hypothermia is discussed. The model is based on a solution of the heat conduction task...     

Day-level associations of physical activity and sedentary time in mother–child dyads across three years: a multi-wave longitudinal study using accelerometers

Journal of Behavioral Medicine - Understanding associations between mothers’ and children’s physical activity and sedentary behavior on more fine-grained timescales can provide insights...