The paper outlines an approach to CSCW systems design based on the concept of 'coordination mechanisms.' The concept of coordination mechanisms has been developed as a generalization of phenomena described in empirical investigations of the use of artifacts for the purpose of coordinating cooperative activities in different work domains. On the basis of the evidence of this corpus of empirical studies, the paper outlines a theory of the use of artifacts for coordination purposes in cooperative work settings, derives a set of general requirements for computational coordination mechanisms, and sketches the architecture of Ariadne, a CSCW infrastructure for constructing and running such malleable and linkable computational coordination mechanisms.A major research issue in CSCW is to understand how computer systems can be instrumental in reducing the complexity of coordinating cooperative activities, individually conducted and yet interdependent.In fact, the issue was identified and defined with admirable precision quite early in the history of CSCW, by Anatol Holt: 'The new capabilities at which coordination technology aims depend on finding and installing appropriate conceptual and structural units with which to express tasks, their diverse relations to each other and to the people who ultimately bear responsibility for them.' 'To be useful, this must be done in a flexible yet well-integrated manner, with plenty of leeway for the unpredictability of real life.' (Holt, 1985, p. 281).Since then, this issue has been investigated by a range of eminent CSCW researchers. The initial results were not encouraging, however, in that coordination facilities were experienced as excessively rigid, either because the underlying protocol was not accessible and could not be modified (e.g., The Coordinator, cf. Winograd, 1986;Winograd and Flores, 1986;Flores et al., 1988), or because the facilities for changing the protocol did not support actors in modifying the protocol (e.g., DOMINO, cf. Kreifelts et al., 1991a;Kreifelts et al., 1991b).

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is among the most common genetic neurological diseases that cause infant mortality. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated from skin fibroblasts from SMA patients and genetically corrected have been proposed to be useful for autologous cell therapy. We generated iPSCs from SMA patients (SMA-iPSCs) using nonviral, nonintegrating episomal vectors and used a targeted gene correction approach based on single-stranded oligonucleotides to convert the survival motor neuron 2 (SMN2) gene into an SMN1-like gene. Corrected iPSC lines contained no exogenous sequences. Motor neurons formed by differentiation of uncorrected SMA-iPSCs reproduced disease-specific features. These features were ameliorated in motor neurons derived from genetically corrected SMA-iPSCs. The different gene splicing profile in SMA-iPSC motor neurons was rescued after genetic correction. The transplantation of corrected motor neurons derived from SMA-iPSCs into an SMA mouse model extended the life span of the animals and improved the disease phenotype. These results suggest that generating genetically corrected SMA-iPSCs and differentiating them into motor neurons may provide a source of motor neurons for therapeutic transplantation for SMA.

Generating neural stem cells and neurons from reprogrammed human astrocytes is a potential strategy for neurological repair. Here we show dedifferentiation of human cortical astrocytes into the neural stem/progenitor phenotype to obtain progenitor and mature cells with a neural fate. Ectopic expression of the reprogramming factors OCT4, SOX2, or NANOG into astrocytes in specific cytokine/culture conditions activated the neural stem gene program and induced generation of cells expressing neural stem/precursor markers. Pure CD44 + mature astrocytes also exhibited this lineage commitment change and did not require passing through a pluripotent state. These astrocyte-derived neural stem cells gave rise to neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes and showed in vivo engraftment properties. ASCL1 expression further promoted neuronal phenotype acquisition in vitro and in vivo. Methylation analysis showed that epigenetic modifications underlie this process. The restoration of multipotency from human astrocytes has potential in cellular reprogramming of endogenous central nervous system cells in neurological disorders.

The fatal disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterized by the loss of somatic motor neurons leading to muscle wasting and paralysis. However, motor neurons in the oculomotor nucleus, controlling eye movement, are for unknown reasons spared. We found that insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2) was maintained in oculomotor neurons in ALS and thus could play a role in oculomotor resistance in this disease. We also showed that IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R), which mediates survival pathways upon IGF binding, was highly expressed in oculomotor neurons and on extraocular muscle endplate. The addition of IGF-2 induced Akt phosphorylation, glycogen synthase kinase-3β phosphorylation and β-catenin levels while protecting ALS patient motor neurons. IGF-2 also rescued motor neurons derived from spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) patients from degeneration. Finally, AAV9::IGF-2 delivery to muscles of SOD1G93A ALS mice extended life-span by 10%, while preserving motor neurons and inducing motor axon regeneration. Thus, our studies demonstrate that oculomotor-specific expression can be utilized to identify candidates that protect vulnerable motor neurons from degeneration.

No abstract

The original observation that retinal ischemia-reperfusion reduces endogenous AEA via enhanced expression of FAAH supports the deduction that this is implicated in retinal cell loss caused by high IOP in the RGC layer.

The cellular uptake and the intracellular synthesis/degradation of anandamide are crucial steps for controlling its extracellular level and the duration of its activity. Although the biosynthesis and breakdown of anandamide are well understood, little is known about the mechanisms underlying its intracellular transport. Here, we investigated the presence of a potential carrier-mediated trafficking of anandamide within the cytosol, using a biotinylated analog as a tool to catch by affinity chromatography anandamide-interacting proteins. The identity of two of these anandamide-binding proteins, Hsp70 and serum albumin, was determined by mass spectrometry, confirmed by western blotting and confocal microscopy, and further validated through an anandamide-binding assay. These findings suggest that the trafficking of anandamide from the plasma membrane to the internal compartments of a cell occur via a nonvesicular mechanism mediated by cytosolic carriers.

The lethal disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterized by the loss of somatic motor neurons. However, not all motor neurons are equally vulnerable to disease; certain groups are spared, including those in the oculomotor nucleus controlling eye movement. The reasons for this differential vulnerability remain unknown. Here we have identified a protein signature for resistant oculomotor motor neurons and vulnerable hypoglossal and spinal motor neurons in mouse and man and in health and ALS with the aim of understanding motor neuron resistance. Several proteins with implications for motor neuron resistance, including GABAA receptor α1, guanylate cyclase soluble subunit alpha-3 and parvalbumin were persistently expressed in oculomotor neurons in man and mouse. Vulnerable motor neurons displayed higher protein levels of dynein, peripherin and GABAA receptor α2, which play roles in retrograde transport and excitability, respectively. These were dynamically regulated during disease and thus could place motor neurons at an increased risk. From our analysis is it evident that oculomotor motor neurons have a distinct protein signature compared to vulnerable motor neurons in brain stem and spinal cord, which could in part explain their resistance to degeneration in ALS. Our comparison of human and mouse shows the relative conservation of signals across species and infers that transgenic SOD1G93A mice could be used to predict mechanisms of neuronal vulnerability in man.