bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chronic Binge Alcohol Consumption Does Not Diminish Effectiveness of Continuous Antiretroviral Suppression of Viral Load in Simian Immunodeficiency Virus‐Infected Macaques
Authors: Molina Patricia E. , Amedee Angela M. , Veazey Ron , Dufour Jason , Volaufova Julia , Bagby Gregory J. , Nelson Steve
Published: September 2014

Background

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are a frequent comorbidity in a large percentage of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). PLWHA with comorbid AUDs are consistently found to perform poorly at most levels of the HIV treatment cascade, resulting in a higher likelihood of virologic nonsuppression. This has been partly attributed to lower rates of persistence with and adherence to antiretroviral therapies (ART). Focus groups of in‐care PLWHA identify the need to suspend ART on drinking days because of the potential for toxicity and/or lack of therapeutic effectiveness. The aim of this study was to examine whether chronic binge alcohol (CBA) consumption decreases the effectiveness of uninterrupted ART, specifically that of nucleoside reverse‐transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) tenofovir and emtricitabine in suppressing viral replication, or results in drug toxicity in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)‐infected rhesus macaques.

Methods

Daily CBA or isocaloric sucrose (SUC) administration was initiated 3 months prior to intrarectal SIVmac251 inoculation and continued throughout the study period. ART was initiated 2.5 months after SIV infection and continued through the study period.

Results

CBA administration did not prevent or delay the ART‐mediated reduction in viral load. Following ART, circulating levels of total protein and creatinine were significantly higher than baseline values in both SUC‐ and CBA‐treated animals, but still within a normal range. No evidence of ART toxicity was observed in either CBA‐ or SUC‐administered macaques.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that CBA does not attenuate effectiveness of NRTI suppression of viral load, nor does it appear to interact with NRTI to produce toxicity during the initial 2 months of treatment. We conclude that while efforts to reduce AUD in PLWHA should be a priority, counseling on the importance of adherence to ART even on drinking days should also be promoted.
Tolcapone Suppresses Ethanol Intake in Alcohol‐Preferring Rats Performing a Novel Cued Access Protocol
Authors: McCane Aqilah M. , Czachowski Cristine L. , Lapish Christopher C.
Published: September 2014

Background

Dopamine (DA) has been shown to play a central role in regulating motivated behavior and encoding reward. Chronic drug abuse elicits a state of hypodopaminergia in the mesocorticolimbic (MCL) system in both humans and preclinical rodent models of addiction, including those modeling alcohol use disorders (AUD).

Methods

Working under the hypothesis that reductions in the bioavailability of DA play an integral role in the expression of the excessive drinking phenotype, the catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor tolcapone was used as a means to amplify cortical DA concentration and drinking behaviors were then assessed. Sucrose and ethanol (EtOH) consumption were measured in P and Wistar rats in both a free choice drinking protocol and a novel cued access protocol.

Results

Tolcapone attenuated the consumption of EtOH, and to a lesser extent sucrose, in P rats in the cued access protocol, while no effect was observed in the free choice drinking protocol. Tolcapone also decreased EtOH consumption in high drinking Wistar rats. A follow‐up experiment using the indirect DA agonist d‐amphetamine showed no change in EtOH consumption.

Conclusions

Collectively, these data suggest that COMT inhibitors may be capable of alleviating the extremely motivating or salient nature of stimuli associated with alcohol. The hypothesis is put forth that the relative specificity of tolcapone for cortical DA systems may mediate the suppression of the high seeking/drinking phenotype.
Tubal ligation and salpingectomy and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer and borderline ovarian tumors: a nationwide case–control study
Authors: Madsen Cecilie , Baandrup Louise , Dehlendorff Christian , Kjær Susanne K.
Published: September 2014

Objective

According to the recent theories on the ovarian cancer origin, any protective effect of tubal ligation may vary with histologic subtype of ovarian cancer. Furthermore, bilateral salpingectomy may represent an opportunity for surgical prevention of serous ovarian cancer.

Design

Nationwide register‐based case–control study.

Setting

Denmark during 1982–2011.

Population

Cases were all Danish women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer (n = 13 241) or borderline ovarian tumor (n = 3605) in the study period. Age‐matched female population controls were randomly selected by risk set sampling. We required that cases and controls have no previous cancer and that controls have no previous bilateral oophorectomy.

Methods

Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals, adjusting for potential confounders.

Main outcome measures

Epithelial ovarian cancer and borderline ovarian tumors stratified according to histology.

Results

Tubal ligation reduced overall epithelial ovarian cancer risk (odds ratios 0.87; 95% confidence interval 0.78–0.98). We observed significant risk variation according to histology (p = 0.003) with the strongest risk reductions associated with endometrioid cancer (odds ratios 0.66; 95% confidence interval 0.47–0.93) and epithelial ovarian cancer of “other” histology (odds ratios 0.60; 95% confidence interval 0.43–0.83). Tubal ligation was not associated with risk of borderline ovarian tumors. Finally, bilateral salpingectomy reduced epithelial ovarian cancer risk by 42% (odds ratios 0.58; 95% confidence interval 0.36–0.95).

Conclusions

We confirmed that tubal ligation reduces the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer and particularly endometrioid cancer. To our knowledge, this is the first observational publication to report on salpingectomy and ovarian cancer risk and our promising findings warrant further investigation.
The history of Portuguese interior plaster coatings: A mineralogical survey using XRD
Authors: Freire M. T. , Santos Silva A. , do Rosário Veiga M. , de Brito J.
Published: September 2014

The evolution of the materials used in Portuguese interior wall coatings since the Roman occupation, namely the binders, is investigated using XRD in order to build a preliminary systematic database to contribute to the design and study of compatible products for conservation and repair. The results show that lime was the main binder until the end of the 18th century, with gypsum overcoming its use in the 19th century. A relationship is established between the results and several influencing aspects, namely other cultures, the neighbouring countries and their traditional construction techniques, the availability of raw materials, the purposes/techniques of application and the geographical location.
The geopolitics of birth
Authors: McKinnon Katharine
Published: September 2014

Birth is usually depicted as a moment of celebration, of love and tenderness. The often sanitised image of birth, however, belies the ways in which birth spaces are spaces of acute geopolitical contestation. At the centre of this contested space is the birthing body. That body is a strange hybrid: it belongs in part to the woman who labours, the becoming‐mother, and in part to the not‐yet‐child she is working to bring forth. In part it belongs to the labouring process, the flood of hormones and waves of contractions that carry a woman off to labour land. Or, it is a body that becomes subject to the tools and technologies of a medicalised birth. What the sanitised images of birth conceal is that a woman's birthing body is overdetermined by competing rationalisations of obstetricians and nurses, midwives and doulas, and her own hopes and expectations about the kind of birth she wants. Here the discursive and the material intermingle in the spaces of birth and in the moment in which both a new child, and his or her new mother, come into being in the world. In this paper I begin to map the networks of human and non‐human actors that shape the space of birth and compete to govern the birthing body. Working with preliminary results from ethnographic research with mothers I argue that a closer examination of the intricacies of birth experiences reveals this as the site of an intimate geopolitics, where women's bodies are the territories contested through multiple and overlapping claims of diverse actants.
Long‐term monitoring, permanent plots and the Heisenberg's uncertainty principle
Authors: Ferretti Marco
Published: September 2014

The value of a monitoring programme for the management of ecological resources, and interpretation of the role of environmental drivers, relies on its ability to detect change. Semboli et al. 2014 (Applied Vegetation Science 17: 737–743, this issue) show that the simple act of repeated measuring significantly affects species composition in permanent tropical forest plots, but not species richness, species evenness or tree demography.
Adverse effects of plant food supplements and botanical preparations: a systematic review with critical evaluation of causality
Authors: Di Lorenzo Chiara , Ceschi Alessandro , Kupferschmidt Hugo , Lüde Saskia , De Souza Nascimento Elizabeth , Dos Santos Ariana , Colombo Francesca , Frigerio Gianfranco , Nørby Karin , Plumb Jenny , Finglas Paul , Restani Patrizia
Published: September 2014

Aims

The objective of this review was to collect available data on the following: (i) adverse effects observed in humans from the intake of plant food supplements or botanical preparations; (ii) the misidentification of poisonous plants; and (iii) interactions between plant food supplements/botanicals and conventional drugs or nutrients.

Methods

PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase were searched from database inception to June 2014, using the terms ‘adverse effect/s’, ‘poisoning/s’, ‘plant food supplement/s’, ‘misidentification/s’ and ‘interaction/s’ in combination with the relevant plant name. All papers were critically evaluated according to the World Health Organization Guidelines for causality assessment.

Results

Data were obtained for 66 plants that are common ingredients of plant food supplements; of the 492 papers selected, 402 (81.7%) dealt with adverse effects directly associated with the botanical and 89 (18.1%) concerned interactions with conventional drugs. Only one case was associated with misidentification. Adverse effects were reported for 39 of the 66 botanical substances searched. Of the total references, 86.6% were associated with 14 plants, including Glycine max/soybean (19.3%), Glycyrrhiza glabra/liquorice (12.2%), Camellia sinensis/green tea ( 8.7%) and Ginkgo biloba/gingko (8.5%).

Conclusions

Considering the length of time examined and the number of plants included in the review, it is remarkable that: (i) the adverse effects due to botanical ingredients were relatively infrequent, if assessed for causality; and (ii) the number of severe clinical reactions was very limited, but some fatal cases have been described. Data presented in this review were assessed for quality in order to make the results maximally useful for clinicians in identifying or excluding deleterious effects of botanicals.
Two Agendas for Bioethics: Critique and Integration
Authors: Garrett Jeremy R.
Published: September 2014

Many bioethicists view the primary task of bioethics as ‘value clarification’. In this article, I argue that the field must embrace two more ambitious agendas that go beyond mere clarification. The first agenda, critique, involves unmasking, interrogating, and challenging the presuppositions that underlie bioethical discourse. These largely unarticulated premises establish the boundaries within which problems can be conceptualized and solutions can be imagined. The function of critique, then, is not merely to clarify these premises but to challenge them and the boundaries they define. The second agenda, integration, involves honoring and unifying what is right in competing values. Integration is the morally ideal response to value conflict, offering the potential for transcending win/lose outcomes. The function of integration, then, is to envision actions or policies that not only resolve conflicts, but that do so by jointly realizing many genuine values in deep and compelling ways.

My argument proceeds in stages. After critically examining the role and dominant status of value clarification in bioethical discourse, I describe the nature and value of the two agendas, identify concrete examples of where each has been and could be successful, and explain why a critical integrative bioethics – one that appreciates the joint necessity and symbiotic potential of the two agendas – is crucial to the future of the field. The ultimate goal of all of this is to offer a more compelling vision for how bioethics might conduct itself within the larger intellectual and social world it seeks to understand and serve.
A Bayesian Approach to Estimate the Biomass of Anchovies Off the Coast of Perú
Authors: Quiroz Zaida C. , Prates Marcos O. , Rue Håvard
Published: September 2014

The Northern Humboldt Current System (NHCS) is the world's most productive ecosystem in terms of fish. In particular, the Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens) is the major prey of the main top predators, like seabirds, fish, humans, and other mammals. In this context, it is important to understand the dynamics of the anchovy distribution to preserve it as well as to exploit its economic capacities. Using the data collected by the “Instituto del Mar del Perú” (IMARPE) during a scientific survey in 2005, we present a statistical analysis that has as main goals: (i) to adapt to the characteristics of the sampled data, such as spatial dependence, high proportions of zeros and big size of samples; (ii) to provide important insights on the dynamics of the anchovy population; and (iii) to propose a model for estimation and prediction of anchovy biomass in the NHCS offshore from Perú. These data were analyzed in a Bayesian framework using the integrated nested Laplace approximation (INLA) method. Further, to select the best model and to study the predictive power of each model, we performed model comparisons and predictive checks, respectively. Finally, we carried out a Bayesian spatial influence diagnostic for the preferred model.
Epidemiology of asthma exacerbations and their relation with environmental factors in theBasqueCountry
Authors: Altzibar J. M. , Tamayo‐Uria I. , De Castro V. , Aginagalde X. , Albizu M. V. , Lertxundi A. , Benito J. , Busca P. , Antepara I. , Landa J. , Mokoroa O. , Dorronsoro M.
Published: September 2014

Background

Asthma is a highly prevalent chronic inflammatory disease characterised by reversible airflow obstruction and hyperreactivity and inflammation of the airways. Factors that cause and/or trigger asthma attacks include host‐related factors (genetic predisposition, obesity and sex) and environmental factors (allergens, infections, occupational sensitisation, smoking status, pollution and diet).

Objective

To describe the epidemiology of asthma exacerbations (AEs) in theBasqueCountry and to explore its relationship with potentially associated environmental variables. We studied a total of 31 579 emergency department(ED)visits and 28 189 hospitalisations due to asthma. We describe the trends, incidence, seasonality and the influence of age and sex, as well as of exposure toNO2,CO,PM,O3, and pollen, temperature, relative humidity and flu status. We calculated the Pearson′sRcorrelation coefficient for the study variables.

Results

The incidence was 486 and 88.9 cases per 100 000 people forEDvisits and hospitalisations, respectively. Slightly over half (53.5%) of theEDcases were male, while females represented 62.6% of the hospital admissions. Hospitalisations are tending to decrease in children and increase in over 64‐year‐olds. Peaks in cases occur at the beginning of autumn in children and in winter in adults.AEs were correlated positively with exposure toNO2,COand to the influenza virus and negatively with temperature and exposure toO3. These relationships vary, however, with age and season.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance

Rates of hospitalisation forAEs and trends in these rates over time are different in adults and children with the patterns varying by sex, season and environmental conditions.
Characterization of anti-P monoclonal antibodies directed against the ribosomal protein–RNA complex antigen and produced using Murphy Roths large autoimmune-prone mice
Authors: Sato H , Onozuka M , Hagiya A , Hoshino S , Narita I , Uchiumi T
Published: September 2014

Autoantibodies, including anti-ribosomal P proteins (anti-P), are thought to be produced by an antigen-driven immune response in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). To test this hypothesis, we reconstituted the ribosomal antigenic complex in vitro using human P0, phosphorylated P1 and P2 and a 28S rRNA fragment covering the P0 binding site, and immunized Murphy Roths large (MRL)/lrp lupus mice with this complex without any added adjuvant to generate anti-P antibodies. Using hybridoma technology, we subsequently obtained 34 clones, each producing an anti-P monoclonal antibody (mAb) that recognized the conserved C-terminal tail sequence common to all three P proteins. We also obtained two P0-specific monoclonal antibodies, but no antibody specific to P1, P2 or rRNA fragment. Two types of mAbs were found among these anti-P antibodies: one type (e.g. 9D5) reacted more strongly with the phosphorylated P1 and P2 than that with their non-phosphorylated forms, whereas the other type (e.g. 4H11) reacted equally with both phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated forms of P1/P2. Both 9D5 and 4H11 inhibited the ribosome/eukaryotic elongation factor-2 (eEF-2)-coupled guanosine triphosphate (GTP)ase activity. However, preincubation with a synthetic peptide corresponding to the C-terminal sequence common to all three P proteins, but not the peptide that lacked the last three C-terminal amino acids, mostly prevented the mAb-induced inhibition of GTPase activity. Thus, at least two types of anti-P were produced preferentially following the immunization of MRL mice with the reconstituted antigenic complex. Presence of multiple copies of the C-termini, particularly that of the last three C-terminal amino acid residues, in the antigenic complex appears to contribute to the immunogenic stimulus.
Household stress and adolescent behaviours in urban families: the mediating roles of parent mental health and social supports
Authors: Reynolds Andrew D. , Crea Thomas M.
Published: September 2014

Using exploratory data analysis techniques, we propose a model of parent psychosocial well‐being that links financial strains and household stressors to adolescents' pro‐social behaviours and vulnerability through parent mental health and social supports. Parents of urban youth (n= 781) who planned to attend a summer camp for at‐risk youth responded to questions surveying household, parent and child factors related to early adolescent development. We expected that the relationship of household stressors – including financial strain and household difficulties – with adolescent behaviours would be mediated by parent depression and anxiety. We also anticipated that parent social supports would have both direct and indirect effects (via parent mental health) on adolescents' pro‐social behaviours. Study findings are consistent with our hypotheses and the model performed similarly for both adolescent males and females. Implications for practice and policy in the context of programmes for urban youth are discussed.
Territories of Concern: Vacant Housing and Perceived Disorder on Three Suburban Blocks
Authors: Benediktsson Mike Owen
Published: September 2014

Social context affects the way disorder is understood, but research is inconclusive about how it does so. Survey analysis highlights the role of neighborhood level conditions, while ethnographic work points toward processes of collective identity construction and out–group stigmatization that typically take place at a smaller scale. This study adopts a comparative approach, investigating reactions to increases in vacant housing on three blocks that varied in median income, racial composition, and other contextual variables of interest to scholars of disorder. Drawing upon 69 semi–structured interviews and qualitative fieldwork undertaken in 2010 and 2011, I identify two types of interpretive frames that emerge from block–level social interaction and influence perceptions of disorder. By directing attention toward specific areas of the block, active neighbors and institutions construct territories of concern that shape definitions of social and physical disorder. By attributing disorder to a morally problematic out–group, residents on all blocks construct disorderly collectivities that frame modes of civic response in terms of collective identity and culpability.
Housing Demolition during Urban Renewal
Authors: Talen Emily
Published: September 2014

While there continues to be much assessment of the enduring, largely negative legacy of urban renewal, there has been very little quantified, nationwide analysis at the neighborhood level. This paper contributes to the literature on urban renewal by investigating one dimension of mid–20th century urban change: housing demolition. During the middle decades of the 20th century, government–backed demolition occurred under a variety of housing and transportation programs. Because during those controversial decades no single agency kept track of what was demolished and where, I use a proxy: net loss of housing units by census tract for each decade between 1940 and 1970. I consider three hypotheses: that substandard housing and percent nonwhite in a census tract predicted its likelihood of urban renewal demolition, that the eventual outcome of urban renewal was an increase in higher–density housing, and that there was an improvement in socioeconomic factors. None of the hypotheses are supported. Quantitative, national level analysis of urban renewal has been rare, and much more is needed.
Contextualizing from Within: Perceptions of Physical Disorder in a South Central L.A. African American Mosque
Authors: Prickett Pamela J.
Published: September 2014

Physical disorder is fundamental to how urban sociologists understand the inner workings of a neighborhood. This article takes advantage of ethnographic and historical research to understand how, over time, participants in an urban mosque in South Central Los Angeles develop patterns of meaning–making and decision–making about physical disorder. I examine how specific negative physical conditions on the property came to exist as well as the varied processes by which they changed—both improving and worsening—over the community's long history. Contrary to dominant “social disorganization” and “broken windows” theories that argue disorder is always a destructive force, I find that members saw specific signs of physical disorder as links to their collective past as well as placeholders for a future they hoped to construct. I then analyze how these shared imaginings shaped the ways members responded to physical problems in the present. The strength of this “contextualizing from within” approach is that attention to context and period allows researchers to better theorize why communities may or may not organize to repair physical disorder.
Foreign Body Reaction to Biomaterials: On Mechanisms for Buildup and Breakdown of Osseointegration
Authors: Trindade Ricardo , Albrektsson Tomas , Tengvall Pentti , Wennerberg Ann
Published: September 2014

Background

The last few decades have seen a progressive shift in paradigm, replacing the notion of body implants as inert biomaterials for that of immune‐modulating interactions with the host.

Purpose

This text represents an attempt at understanding the current knowledge on the healing mechanisms controlling implant–host interactions, thus interpreting osseointegration and the peri‐implant bone loss phenomena also from an immunological point of view.

Materials and Methods

A narrative review approach was taken in the development of this article.

Results

Osseointegration, actually representing a foreign body reaction (FBR) to biomaterials, is an immune‐modulated, multifactorial, and complex healing process where a number of cells and mediators are involved. Thebuildupof osseointegration seems to be an immunologically and inflammatory‐driven process, with the ultimate end to shield off the foreign material placed in the body, triggered by surface protein adsorption, complement activation, and buildup of a fibrin matrix, followed by recruitment of granulocytes, mesenchymal stem cells, and monocytes/macrophages, with the latter largely controlling the longer term response, further fusing into foreign body giant cells (FBGC), while bone cells make and remodel hydroxyl apatite. The above sequence results in theFBRthat we call osseointegration and use for clinical purposes. However, the long‐term clinical function is dependent on a foreign body equilibrium, that if disturbed may lead to impaired clinical function of the implant, through abreakdownprocess where macrophages are again activated and may further fuse intoFBGCs, now seen in much greater numbers, resulting in the start of bone resorption – due to cells such as osteoclasts with different origins and possibly even macrophages degrading more bone than what is formed via osteoblastic activity – and rupture of mucosal seals, through complex mechanisms in need of further understanding. Infection may follow as a secondary event, further complicating the clinical scenario. Implant failure may ensue.

Conclusions

Dentistry is still to embrace the concept of the biomaterials' healing‐ and immune‐modulating effect when in contact with body tissues. The presented knowledge has the potential to open the door for a different interpretation of past, current, and future observations in dental implant science. From a clinical standpoint, it seems recommendable to react as rapidly as possible when facing peri‐implant bone loss, trying to reestablish a foreign body equilibrium if with some bone resorption.
796. ROSA DAVIDII
Authors: Rix Martyn
Published: September 2014

The flowers and ripe hips of Rosa davidii Crépin from western Sichuan are illustrated. The type variety, and var. elongata Rehder & Wilson are compared and their history and relationship with sympatric species are examined.
793. IRIS WALLISIAE
Authors: Hall Tony , Seisums Arnis
Published: September 2014

A new juno iris for the Flora of Lebanon and Syria, Iris wallisiae T. Hall & Seisums, is described and illustrated. Recent work on the systematics and phylogeny of Iris subgenus Scorpiris is reviewed. The relationship of I. wallisiae with related species, and particularly with I. persica L., is discussed.
Serum neuron‐specific enolase is elevated as a novel indicator of diabetic retinopathy including macular oedema
Authors: Li J. , Yan M. , Zhang Y. , Xie M. , Yan L. , Chen J.
Published: September 2014

Aim

Neuron‐specific enolase as a potential biomarker of diabetic retinopathy, a neurovascular disease, had not been fully explored. We aimed to investigate the relationship between NSE and diabetic retinopathy.

Methods

Participants included Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patients and healthy controls (n = 392). In this cross‐sectional study, diabetic retinopathy status was assessed by fundus photographs. Serum neuron‐specific enolase was measured using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Co‐variables for diabetic retinopathy and neuron‐specific enolase were obtained from fasting blood samples and interviewer questionnaires.

Results

Neuron‐specific enolase was slightly elevated in diabetic patients, in contrast to healthy participants, and obviously increased in diabetic patients with retinopathy compared with those without [8.3 (2.0) vs. 7.6 (1.5), P = 0.037 and 8.3 (2.0) vs. 9.5 (2.7), P = 0.004, respectively]. In addition, neuron‐specific enolase levels increased with and were closely correlated to the stages of retinopathy without macular oedema [r = 0.60 (0.50–0.71), P = 0.002] and stages of macular oedema with comparable retinopathy [r = 0.58 (0.46–0.69), P = 0.006]. The association of neuron‐specific enolase with diabetic retinopathy was independent [odds ration (OR): 1.31 (1.12–1.65), P = 0.017], after the diabetic state and other potential confounders affecting NSE levels were considered (e.g., HbA1c, duration, age, gender, renal status and medicines). The optimal cut‐off point for serum neuron‐specific enolase levels for differentiating between participants with diabetic retinopathy including macular oedema and those without was 9.3 μg/l, with a sensitivity of 67.5% and a specificity of 69.8%.

Conclusions

Serum neuron‐specific enolase is elevated in and indicative of diabetic retinopathy. Neuron‐specific enolase may be a potential biomarker of diabetic retinopathy. Future prospective studies are warranted to clarify the relationship.
Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction in Type I Gaucher Disease: An Echo Doppler Study
Authors: Lo Iudice Francesco , Barbato Antonio , Muscariello Riccardo , Di Nardo Carlo , de Stefano Francesco , Sibilio Michelina , Strazzullo Pasquale , de Simone Giovanni , Galderisi Maurizio
Published: September 2014

Type I Gaucher disease (GD1) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease characterized by multiorgan damage. Left ventricular (LV) involvement has been rarely reported. Accordingly, the aim of the study was to evaluate LV geometry and function in a series of patients with GD1. Eighteen patients with GD1, 18 age‐ and sex‐matched normal controls, and 18 age‐ and sex‐matched hypertensive patients (HTN) were compared by standard echo Doppler examination. LV mass index, relative wall thickness and ejection fraction, transmitral E/A ratio, E velocity deceleration time (DT), atrial filling fraction (AFF = time‐velocity integral of A velocity/time‐velocity integral of total diastole × 100), E/e′ ratio, and left atrial volume index were determined. Nine GD1 patients also exhibited arterial hypertension. The intergroup difference of LV mass index and relative wall thickness was not significant. Transmitral E/A ratio was lower in HTN than in normal controls and GD1 (P < 0.05). GD1 exhibited longer DT than NC and HTN (P = 0.009). AFF was higher in GD1 and HTN compared to NC (P = 0.034). After adjustment for heart rate, GD1 was associated with longer DT (P < 0.001) and greater AFF (P = 0.036), while HTN was associated only with AFF (P = 0.013). No interaction was found between GD1 and HTN. In conclusion, GD1 is associated with subclinical LV diastolic dysfunction, which is independent of the coexistence of arterial hypertension. Subclinical LV impaired relaxation in the context of myocardial infiltrative damage could be the mechanism underlying these alterations.
Combining ecological methods and molecular gut‐content analysis to investigate predation of a lepidopteran pest complex of Brassica crops
Authors: Furlong Michael J. , Rowley Daniel L. , Murtiningsih Rini , Greenstone Matthew H.
Published: September 2014

In South East Queensland, Australia, Brassica crops are typically attacked by Crocidolomia pavonana Fabricius (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in late summer and autumn (February to May) and by Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) and Pieris rapae L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) from late autumn to the end of spring (May to November). Physical exclusion studies were used to assess the impact of predators on pest populations in two cabbage [Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata cv. Warrior (Brassicaceae)] crops grown sequentially between April and September 2006. The studies were complemented by molecular gut‐content analysis of predators simultaneously hand‐collected from the study crops by destructive sampling of cabbage plants. In May 2006, exclusion studies showed that 57% (95% CI = 40–74%) of the C. pavonana study cohort was lost to predation. Spiders represented 81% of all predators collected and Lycosidae collected from the soil surface beneath sampled plants dominated (61% of predators); 23% of Lycosidae contained C. pavonana DNA, whereas 5% contained P. xylostella DNA. In August 2006, exclusion studies showed that 88% (95% CI = 83–93%) of the P. xylostella cohort was lost to predation. Spiders represented 99% of all predators collected; soil surface dwelling Lycosidae (51% of predators) dominated, followed by Linyphiidae (20%) and foliar‐dwelling spiders (16%; Theridiidae, Salticidae, Clubionidae/Miturgidae, and Oxyopidae combined); 12% of Lycosidae and 38% of foliar‐dwelling spiders contained P. xylostella DNA. Life tables for P. xylostella that were constructed for cohorts exposed to predators and cohorts from which predators had been physically excluded showed that eggs and neonates suffered the highest rates of predation. In a concurrent study, P. xylostella that were naturally recruited to the field population suffered similar high levels of early‐stage mortality.
How we manage JAK inhibition in allogeneic transplantation for myelofibrosis
Authors: Ballinger Tarah J. , Savani Bipin N. , Gupta Vikas , Kroger Nicolaus , Mohty Mohamad
Published: September 2014

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) is currently the only curative treatment for myelofibrosis (MF), but this option is complicated by high incidences of associated morbidity and mortality. Ruxolitinib, a janus‐activated kinase (JAK) 1/2 inhibitor, has proven to be beneficial in reduction of splenomegaly, improvement of constitutional symptoms, and possibly in overall survival. However, use of JAK inhibitors in the peritransplant period has been complicated by unpredictable response, return of MF symptoms or cytokine storm reaction upon discontinuation, and lack of long‐term response data. This review considers the current limited available data on JAK inhibitor use prior to HCT, including common side effects and possible impact of severe adverse events on discontinuation of the drug. We provide our experience and recommendations regarding use of JAK inhibition in patients undergoing HCT. Additional studies are needed to determine the optimal schedule of JAK inhibitors in the transplant protocols and their impact on engraftment, graft‐versus‐host disease, and survival.
A mineralogical characterization of biogenic calcium carbonates precipitated by heterotrophic bacteria isolated from cryophilic polar regions
Authors: Ronholm J. , Schumann D. , Sapers H. M. , Izawa M. , Applin D. , Berg B. , Mann P. , Vali H. , Flemming R. L. , Cloutis E. A. , Whyte L. G.
Published: September 2014

Precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3(s)) can be driven by microbial activity. Here, a systematic approach is used to identify the morphological and mineralogical characteristics of CaCO3(s)precipitated during the heterotrophic growth of micro‐organisms isolated from polar environments. Focus was placed on establishing mineralogical features that are common in bioliths formed during heterotrophic activity, while in parallel identifying features that are specific to bioliths precipitated by certain microbial phylotypes. Twenty microbial isolates that precipitated macroscopic CaCO3(s)when grown on B4 media supplemented with calcium acetate or calcium citrate were identified. A multimethod approach, including scanning electron microscopy, high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy, and micro‐X‐ray diffraction (μ‐XRD), was used to characterize CaCO3(s)precipitates. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that complete CaCO3(s)crystal encrustation ofArthrobactersp. cells was common, while encrustation ofRhodococcussp. cells did not occur. Several euhedral and anhedral mineral formations including disphenoid‐like epitaxial plates, rhomboid‐like aggregates with epitaxial rhombs, and spherulite aggregates were observed. While phylotype could not be linked to specific mineral formations, isolates tended to precipitate either euhedral or anhedral minerals, but not both. Three anhydrous CaCO3(s)polymorphs (calcite, aragonite, and vaterite) were identified by μ‐XRD, and calcite and aragonite were also identified based onTEMlattice‐fringedvalue measurements. The presence of certain polymorphs was not indicative of biogenic origin, although several mineralogical features such as crystal‐encrusted bacterial cells, or casts of bacterial cells embedded in mesocrystals are an indication of biogenic origin. In addition, some features such as the formation of vaterite and bacterial entombment appear to be linked to certain phylotypes. Identifying phylotypes consistent with certain mineralogical features is the first step toward discovering a link between these crystal features and the precise underlying molecular biology of the organism precipitating them.
Bioenergy futures in Sweden – system effects of CO2 reduction and fossil fuel phase‐out policies
Authors: Börjesson Martin , Athanassiadis Dimitris , Lundmark Robert , Ahlgren Erik O.
Published: September 2014

Bioenergy could contribute both to the reduction of greenhouse gases and to increased energy security, but the extent of this contribution strongly depends on the cost and potential of biomass resources. For Sweden, this study investigates how the implementation of policies for CO2 reduction and for phase out of fossil fuels in road transport affect the future utilization of biomass, in the stationary energy system and in the transport sector, and its price. The analysis is based on the bottom‐up, optimization MARKAL_Sweden model, which includes a comprehensive representation of the national energy system. For the analysis, the biomass supply representation of MARKAL_Sweden is updated and improved by the use of, e.g., forestry forecasting modeling and through construction of detailed biomass supply curves. A time horizon up to 2050 is applied. The results indicate a potential for significantly higher use of bioenergy. In the main analysis scenario, in which CO2 reduction of 80% by 2050 is imposed on the Swedish energy system, the total bioenergy utilization increases by 63% by 2050 compared to 2010. The largest increase occurs in the transport sector, which by 2050 accounts for 43% of the total primary bioenergy use. The high demand and strong competition significantly increase biomass prices and lead to the utilization of higher cost biomass sources such as stumps and cultivated energy forest, as well as use of pulpwood resources for energy purposes.
DEVOTIONAL SONGS AS EVIDENCE OF A WOMEN'S FRIENDSHIP: MAGDALENA SIBYLLA OF WÜRTTEMBERG‐STUTTGART AND AEMILIA JULIANA OF SCHWARZBURG‐RUDOLSTADT
Authors: Aikin Judith P.
Published: September 2014

Devotional song texts, thousands of which were authored and published in seventeenth‐century Lutheran Germany, can provide evidence for otherwise unrecorded friendship networks among women. The songs and publications of two dynastic women, Duchess Magdalena Sibylla of Württemberg‐Stuttgart and Countess Aemilia Juliana of Schwarzburg‐Rudolstadt, offer clear evidence of the nature of their long‐distance relationship, despite the fact that their correspondence has not survived. That their interchanges over a period of three decades offered the opportunity to confide their concerns to a person distanced from the situation and to receive emotional support is clear in the surviving song texts. In particular, the songs written explicitly for Magdalena Sibylla by Aemilia Juliana show that she solaced her correspondent by assuming her persona in a show of empathy, employing a sort of ventriloquism in order to give Magdalena Sibylla the words with which to voice her woes and converse with her deity. The handwritten original songs and published books containing songs sent by Aemilia Juliana to her friend as gifts then served as sources for the devotional books that Magdalena Sibylla compiled and published.
Muscle‐specific calpain‐3 is phosphorylated in its unique insertion region for enrichment in a myofibril fraction
Authors: Ojima Koichi , Ono Yasuko , Hata Shoji , Noguchi Satoru , Nishino Ichizo , Sorimachi Hiroyuki
Published: September 2014

CAPN3 (also called p94/calpain‐3) is a skeletal muscle‐specific calpain, an intracellular cysteine protease. Loss of CAPN3 protease activity and/or structural functions cause limb‐girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A (LGMD2A). However, the precise mechanism of action of CAPN3 in skeletal muscles in vivo remains largely elusive. By studying the protein modifications that regulate CAPN3 activity, we found that CAPN3 was phosphorylated. By performing mutagenesis and mass spectrometry analyses, we identified two Ser residues at positions 629 and 636 in human CAPN3 that are phosphorylated and showed that S629 is a major phosphorylation site. Intriguingly, rapid and exhaustive autolysis of CAPN3 was slightly attenuated by the substitution of S629. In skeletal muscles, phosphorylated CAPN3 was enriched in the myofibril fraction. These results imply that phosphorylated CAPN3 is a myofibril structural component and/or participates in myofibril‐based signaling pathways, rather than functions as a protease. We evaluated the relationship between phosphorylated CAPN3 and the pathology of LGMD2A. The level of phosphorylated CAPN3 was greatly reduced in LGMD2A muscles. Our findings suggest that phosphorylated CAPN3 is involved in the pathology of LGMD2A through defects in myofibril integrity and/or signaling pathways. This is the first report that phosphorylation of CAPN3 may be involved in its physiological function.
The beach: for enthusiasts of sun, surf and unusual geology, this is the place
Authors: Painter Deborah
Published: September 2014

The Carpinteria State Beach is a little known public park in Carpinteria, near Ventura, California, USA. Miocene‐age conglomerates and sandstone bluffs along the Pacific Ocean beachfront have featured continual natural oil seeps since the Pleistocene epoch. While not as famous as the La Brea Tar Pits of downtown Los Angeles, the park is the only public beach in North America where such a geological phenomenon is readily seen. Long used by the Chumash Indians for the asphaltum used to waterproof their seagoing canoes, asphaltum came into general use in the late nineteenth century. The beach is the former site of an industrial plant, devoted to removing and processing the asphaltum to yield many commercial products. Before it became a state park it served as a travel camp and a camp for World War II GIs suffering from battle fatigue.
Sensory study of different sodium chloride substitutes in aqueous solution
Authors: Feltrin Ana Carolina , de Souza Vanessa Rios , Saraiva Carla Gonçalves , Nunes Cleiton Antônio , Pinheiro Ana Carla Marques
Published: September 2014

The reduction of salt (sodium chloride) in food is one of the major challenges facing the food industry today and is motivated by the positive association between dietary salt intake and some diseases. Thus, the objectives of this study were to determine the equivalent amount of different sodium chloride replacements required to promote the same degree of ideal saltiness in aqueous solution and to study the sensory profile of sodium chloride and its substitutes using temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) analysis. The relative potencies of potassium chloride, monosodium glutamate, potassium phosphate, calcium lactate and potassium lactate compared to an aqueous solution with 0.75% sodium chloride were 74.75%, 59.52%, 60.48%, 11.40% and 4.96%, respectively. An evaluation of the sensory profiles of potassium chloride, potassium phosphate, calcium lactate and monosodium glutamate revealed saltiness as well as other tastes, including bitterness, sourness, umami and an unidentified undesirable taste as being dominant. The potassium chloride was the only one which showed temporal sensory profile similar to sodium chloride.
Prevention of excess weight gain in paediatric primary care: beverages only or multiple lifestyle factors. The Smart Step Study, a cluster‐randomized clinical trial
Authors: Stettler N. , Wrotniak B. H. , Hill D. L. , Kumanyika S. K. , Xanthopoulos M. S. , Nihtianova S. , Shults J. , Leff S. S. , Pinto A. , Berkowitz R. I. , Faith M. S.
Published: September 2014

Background

Insufficient evidence exists to support obesity prevention in paediatric primary care.

Objectives

To test a theory‐based behaviour modification intervention delivered by trained paediatric primary care providers for obesity prevention.

Methods

Efficacy trial with cluster randomization (practice level) and a 12‐session 12‐month sweetened beverages decrease intervention or a comprehensive dietary and physical activity intervention, compared with a control intervention among children ages 8–12 years.

Results

A low recruitment rate was observed. The increase in body mass index z‐score (BMIz) for the 139 subjects (11 practices) randomized to any of the two obesity interventions (combined group) was less than that of the 33 subjects (five practices) randomized to the control intervention (−0.089, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.170 to −0.008, P = 0.03) with a −1.44 kg weight difference (95% CI: −2.98 to +0.10 kg, P = 0.095). The incidences of obesity and excess weight gain were lower in the obesity interventions, but the number of subjects was small. Post hoc analyses comparing the beverage only to the control intervention also showed an intervention benefit on BMIz (−0.083, 95% CI: −0.165 to −0.001, P = 0.048).

Conclusions

For participating families, an obesity prevention intervention delivered by paediatric primary care clinicians, who are compensated, trained and continuously supported by behavioural specialists, can impact children's BMIz.
Efficacy and tolerance of one‐third full dose bacillus Calmette–Guérin maintenance therapy every 3 months or 6 months: Two‐year results of URO‐BCG‐4 multicenter study
Authors: Pfister Christian , Kerkeni Walid , Rigaud Jerome , Le Gal Sophie , Saint Fabien , Colombel Marc , Guy Laurent , Wallerand Herve , Irani Jacques , Soulie Michel ,   The Cancer Committee of the French Urological Association
Published: September 2014

Objectives

To assess bacillus Calmette–Guérin maintenance treatment schedule for non‐muscle invasive bladder cancer at 2 years, using one‐third of the full dose and fewer instillations every 3 months or 6 months.

Methods

This was a prospective, randomized, multicenter study. All patients had an intermediate‐ or high‐risk non‐muscle invasive bladder cancer. They received three weekly instillations of one‐third dose bacillus Calmette–Guérin every 6 months (group I) and two weekly instillations every 3 months (group II) during 3 years. In the two schedules we assessed efficacy, tolerance, leukocyturia and prostate‐specific antigen.

Results

No significant difference was observed between the two groups for recurrence at 6, 12 or 18 months. At 2 years, tumor recurrence was observed in 10.9% and muscle invasion in 2.9% of cases. Bacillus Calmette–Guérin tolerance was comparable – the adverse events score was 0.8 in group I and 1 in group II (P = 0.242). No statistical correlation was observed between the adverse events score over 2 years, either for leukocyturia (P = 0.8891) or prostate‐specific antigen level (P = 0.7155). Leukocyturia level was not significantly associated with tumor recurrence or progression.

Conclusion

One‐third dose maintenance bacillus Calmette–Guérin is effective with no impact on tumor recurrence or muscle invasion. Furthermore, there seems to be no difference in tumor response or side‐effects between patients receiving two or three maintenance instillations every 3 months or 6 months. In clinical practice, the use of leukocyturia or total prostate‐specific antigen levels do not appear to be useful in predicting bacillus Calmette–Guérin toxicity.