bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Labeling Hair Cells and Afferent Neurons in the Posterior Lateral-Line System of Zebrafish
Authors: Schuster Kevin , Ghysen Alain
Published: December 2013

The lateral line is a mechanosensory system that comprises a set of discrete sense organs called neuromasts, which are arranged in reproducible patterns on the surface of fish and amphibians. The posterior component of the system, the posterior lateral line, comprises the neuromasts on the body and tail. Each neuromast has a core of mechanosensory hair cells, each of which is depolarized by water motion in one direction and hyperpolarized by motion in the other direction, thereby enabling fish to extract information from the movements of water around their body. Neuromasts are innervated by a few afferent neurons (usually two, but sometimes more), which have their cell bodies clustered in cranial ganglia and project their central axons to the hindbrain, where they extend longitudinally along all rhombomeres. Hair cells are readily labeled by small cationic styryl pyridinium dyes such as DiASP. Afferent fibers are also progressively labeled with this dye, presumably by trans-synaptic uptake. Adjusting the dye concentration and incubation time can lead to the labeling of the entire afferent system, thereby providing a fast and easy method for visualizing the central projection in the hindbrain of live fish. The simplicity of the method makes it potentially useful for screens based on forward or reverse genetic approaches. Here we present protocols for labeling hair cells in live zebrafish and for labeling afferent neurons in zebrafish embryos.
Imaging Microglia in Brain Slices and Slice Cultures
Authors: Dailey Michael E. , Eyo Ukpong , Fuller Leah , Hass John , Kurpius Dana
Published: December 2013

Here we describe a method for imaging fluorescently labeled parenchymal microglia (MG) in excised neonatal or adult rodent brain tissue slices. Using multichannel confocal or two-photon time-lapse imaging, the approach affords real-time analyses of MG behaviors, including motility, migration, chemotaxis, proliferation, and phagocytosis in live brain tissues. The method is applicable to acutely prepared tissue slices from developing and adult rodents and to slice cultures derived from neonatal rodents, including transgenic and green fluorescent protein reporter mice. A variety of fluorescent tags can be used to study the structure and physiology of MG in these preparations. Moreover, bath application of reagents (such as ATP) can establish spatial and temporal gradients that induce chemokinesis- and chemotaxis-like MG migration in tissue slices. Thus, the approach is useful for dissecting the molecular basis of MG behaviors and testing whether candidate reagents alter MG behavior and function in semi-intact central nervous system tissue preparations.
Transgenic Mouse Models—A Seminal Breakthrough in Oncogene Research
Authors: Smith Harvey W. , Muller William J.
Published: December 2013

Transgenic mouse models are an integral part of modern cancer research, providing a versatile and powerful means of studying tumor initiation and progression, metastasis, and therapy. The present repertoire of these models is very diverse, with a wide range of strategies used to induce tumorigenesis by expressing dominant-acting oncogenes or disrupting the function of tumor-suppressor genes, often in a highly tissue-specific manner. Much of the current technology used in the creation and characterization of transgenic mouse models of cancer will be discussed in depth elsewhere. However, to gain a complete appreciation and understanding of these complex models, it is important to review the history of the field. Transgenic mouse models of cancer evolved as a new and, compared with the early cell-culture-based techniques, more physiologically relevant approach for studying the properties and transforming capacities of oncogenes. Here, we will describe early transgenic mouse models of cancer based on tissue-specific expression of oncogenes and discuss their impact on the development of this still rapidly growing field.
Uncaging Calcium in Neurons
Authors: Delaney Kerry R. , Shahrezaei Vahid
Published: December 2013

Changes in intracellular free calcium concentration (Δ[Ca2+]i) driving physiological events such as neurotransmitter release or Ca2+-dependent currents can be monitored using Ca2+-sensitive fluorescent dyes. Although these dyes can correlate Δ[Ca2+]i with a physiological event, they cannot directly test for causality between changes in [Ca2+]i and that event. Photolabile Ca2+ chelators are Ca2+-binding molecules that can alter and, to a certain extent, control [Ca2+]i in an inducible manner and with temporal and spatial resolution that surpasses microinjection or ionophore application. Here we discuss the properties of caged Ca2+ compounds as well as some practical considerations for their use in neuronal cells, where they have proven particularly effective.
The 11th International Conference on Biology and Synchrotron Radiation
Authors: Wilmanns Matthias , Svergun Dmitri I.
Published: December 2013

A report on the 11th International Conference on Biology and Synchrotron Radiation, which took place on 8–11 September 2013, in Hamburg, Germany, is presented.
The ‘robustness’ of vocabulary intervention in the public schools: targets and techniques employed in speech–language therapy
Authors: Justice Laura M. , Schmitt Mary Beth , Murphy Kimberly A. , Pratt Amy , Biancone Tricia
Published: December 2013

This study examined vocabulary intervention—in terms of targets and techniques—for children with language impairment receiving speech–language therapy in public schools (i.e., non‐fee‐paying schools) in the United States. Vocabulary treatments and targets were examined with respect to their alignment with the empirically validated practice of rich vocabulary intervention. Participants were forty‐eight 5–7‐year‐old children participating in kindergarten or the first‐grade year of school, all of whom had vocabulary‐specific goals on their individualized education programmes. Two therapy sessions per child were coded to determine what vocabulary words were being directly targeted and what techniques were used for each. Study findings showed that the majority of words directly targeted during therapy were lower‐level basic vocabulary words (87%) and very few (1%) were academically relevant. On average, three techniques were used per word to promote deep understanding. Interpreting findings against empirical descriptions of rich vocabulary intervention indicates that children were exposed to some but not all aspects of this empirically supported practice.
Cybertaxonomy to accomplish big things in aphid systematics
Authors: Favret Colin
Published: December 2013

Biodiversity sciences have progressed at such a pace that the taxonomic community has been unable to grow concomitantly to keep up with the influx of biological data. This “taxonomic impediment” has led some to suggest that taxonomy is no longer pertinent and to the development of methodologies that circumvent the taxonomic process. This article does not seek to argue for the importance of taxonomy but rather is a call to the aphid taxonomy community to rise to the challenge by dramatically increasing the volume and comprehensiveness of its output without sacrificing quality. Recent informatics technology allows us to mobilize the 2 most important aphid taxonomy resources: experts and specimens, both distributed globally. “Cyberspecimens,” museum specimens digitally rendered at a resolution sufficient for remote identification, and open “cybertaxonomic” tools will allow the international aphid taxonomic community to carry out large, ambitious, projects. The global aphid cybertaxonomy proposed here will serve not only the ends of research aphidologists, but also provide a model for other taxonomic communities to adapt and adopt as we confront both the taxonomic impediment and the taxonomic naysayers.
Family‐Focused Interventions to Prevent Juvenile Delinquency
Authors: Fagan Abigail A.
Published: December 2013

Research Summary

Several criminological theories prioritize the role of the family in influencing juvenile delinquency, and both observational studies (Derzon, ; Hoeve et al., ; Steinberg, ) and experimental evaluations of family‐focused interventions (Farrington and Welsh, ; Sandler, Schoenfelder, Wolchik, and MacKinnon, ) have demonstrated that parenting practices affect the degree to which children and adolescents will engage in substance use, delinquency, and/or violence. Moreover, research regarding the ability of family‐focused interventions to reduce offending when implemented in “real‐world” conditions is mounting.

Policy Implications

Scientific experiments are increasingly being used to identify why, for whom, and under what conditions treatments are most effective, information that Sampson, Winship, and Knight () in the main article of this special issue emphasize is needed to provide assurances that programs will work when replicated in communities. Based on this evidence, should criminologists advocate for policies and practices intended to increase the dissemination of effective family‐based programs? This essay contends that there is sufficient evidence to do so. To ensure that such policies produce desired reductions in juvenile delinquency, however, criminologists also must reach consensus on the evidentiary standards needed to identify “what works,” advocate for increased attention to implementation fidelity during program replication, and increase support for preventive interventions among policy makers and the public.
Evidence and Public Policy
Authors: Nagin Daniel S. , Weisburd David
Published: December 2013

Research Summary

In this paper, we argue that both science and the policy process are well served by research with high evidentiary value. We also argue that experimental research is valuable in the policy domain not only because of its high evidentiary content but also because of its transparency. To exemplify this point, we describe how a decade‐long research program on hot spots policing overturned the conventional wisdom that police could not affect crime and, in so doing, has profoundly altered police practice. Still, we recognize that for a variety of practical and ethical reasons, policy‐relevant research on policing and criminal justice policy more generally cannot be based entirely on experiments. We discuss two key features of randomization—balance in expectation between the treated and the control group on all potential confounders and exogeneity of treatment status—that are the source of the high evidentiary status of randomized experiments. We go on to describe how these same two features can be credibly replicated in quasi‐experimental studies that are not subject to the ethical and practical obstacles that may make experiments impractical in some circumstances.

Policy Implications

We urge criminologists to take greater advantage of quasi‐experimental research opportunities. We also recommend that criminologists go beyond simply identifying such opportunities. They should engage practitioners and policy makers and make clear what is required to allow for strong evidence of program effectiveness.
Radioactive iodine treatment for node negative papillary thyroid cancer with capsular invasion only: Results of a large retrospective study
Authors: Jeon Ye‐Won , Ahn Young‐Ee , Chung Won‐Sang , Choi Hyun‐Joo , Suh Young Jin
Published: December 2013

Aim

With thyroid carcinoma the decision to use radioactive iodine (RAI) ablation depends on the risk of poor outcomes. Although extrathyroid extension (ETE) is well known as a risk of poor outcomes for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), the definition of minimal ETE is too broad, as it encompasses both microscopic invasion of the thyroid capsule (capsular invasion [CI]) and macroscopic invasion of the sternothyroid muscle.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective study to analyze the prognostic benefit of RAI ablation according to the presence of CI in a consecutive series of patients with PTC between October 1997 and December 2008. We studied two groups of patients, including those who received RAI (group I, n = 121) and those who did not (group II, n = 108). During follow‐up, we assessed the locoregional recurrence of all patients.

Results

There were no statistically significant difference between the groups regarding locoregional recurrence at follow‐up (13.2% for group I vs 9.3% for group II, P = 0.441). The association between RAI and locoregional recurrence in PTC patients with CI remained insignificant after adjusting for potential confounders, such as age, tumor size, sex, lymphatic invasion, vascular invasion and tumor multiplicity (P = 0.409, hazard ratio = 0.698, 95% confidence interval, 0.298–1.639).

Conclusions

This retrospective study suggests that RAI treatment is not associated with less locoregional recurrence in PTC patients who only demonstrate CI, although further prospective studies are required to confirm these findings.
Estimating Effects of Tidal Power Projects and Climate Change on Threatened and Endangered Marine Species and Their Food Web
Authors: BUSCH D. SHALLIN , GREENE CORREIGH M. , GOOD THOMAS P.
Published: December 2013

Marine hydrokinetic power projects will operate as marine environments change in response to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. We considered how tidal power development and stressors resulting from climate change may affect Puget Sound species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) and their food web. We used risk tables to assess the singular and combined effects of tidal power development and climate change. Tidal power development and climate change posed risks to ESA‐listed species, and risk increased with incorporation of the effects of these stressors on predators and prey of ESA‐listed species. In contrast, results of a model of strikes on ESA‐listed species from turbine blades suggested that few ESA‐listed species are likely to be killed by a commercial‐scale tidal turbine array. We applied scenarios to a food web model of Puget Sound to explore the effects of tidal power and climate change on ESA‐listed species using more quantitative analytical techniques. To simulate development of tidal power, we applied results of the blade strike model. To simulate environmental changes over the next 50 years, we applied scenarios of change in primary production, plankton community structure, dissolved oxygen, ocean acidification, and freshwater flooding events. No effects of tidal power development on ESA‐listed species were detected from the food web model output, but the effects of climate change on them and other members of the food web were large. Our analyses exemplify how natural resource managers might assess environmental effects of marine technologies in ways that explicitly incorporate climate change and consider multiple ESA‐listed species in the context of their ecological community.

Estimación de los Efectos de Proyectos de Energía de las Mareas y el Cambio Climático sobre Especies Marinas Amenazadas y en Peligro y su Red Alimentaria
Climate Change, Marine Environments, and the U.S. Endangered Species Act
Authors: SENEY ERIN E. , ROWLAND MELANIE J. , LOWERY RUTH ANN , GRIFFIS ROGER B. , McCLURE MICHELLE M.
Published: December 2013

Climate change is expected to be a top driver of global biodiversity loss in the 21st century. It poses new challenges to conserving and managing imperiled species, particularly in marine and estuarine ecosystems. The use of climate‐related science in statutorily driven species management, such as under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), is in its early stages. This article provides an overview of ESA processes, with emphasis on the mandate to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to manage listed marine, estuarine, and anadromous species. Although the ESA is specific to the United States, its requirements are broadly relevant to conservation planning. Under the ESA, species, subspecies, and “distinct population segments” may be listed as either endangered or threatened, and taking of most listed species (harassing, harming, pursuing, wounding, killing, or capturing) is prohibited unless specifically authorized via a case‐by‐case permit process. Government agencies, in addition to avoiding take, must ensure that actions they fund, authorize, or conduct are not likely to jeopardize a listed species’ continued existence or adversely affect designated critical habitat. Decisions for which climate change is likely to be a key factor include: determining whether a species should be listed under the ESA, designating critical habitat areas, developing species recovery plans, and predicting whether effects of proposed human activities will be compatible with ESA‐listed species’ survival and recovery. Scientific analyses that underlie these critical conservation decisions include risk assessment, long‐term recovery planning, defining environmental baselines, predicting distribution, and defining appropriate temporal and spatial scales. Although specific guidance is still evolving, it is clear that the unprecedented changes in global ecosystems brought about by climate change necessitate new information and approaches to conservation of imperiled species.

El Cambio Climático, los Ecosistemas Marinos y el Acta Estadunidense de Especies en Peligro
Combined Effects of Climate Change and Bank Stabilization on Shallow Water Habitats of Chinook Salmon
Authors: JORGENSEN JEFFREY C. , MCCLURE MICHELLE M. , SHEER MINDI B. , MUNN NANCY L.
Published: December 2013

Significant challenges remain in the ability to estimate habitat change under the combined effects of natural variability, climate change, and human activity. We examined anticipated effects on shallow water over low‐sloped beaches to these combined effects in the lower Willamette River, Oregon, an area highly altered by development. A proposal to stabilize some shoreline with large rocks (riprap) would alter shallow water areas, an important habitat for threatened Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), and would be subject to U.S. Endangered Species Act‐mandated oversight. In the mainstem, subyearling Chinook salmon appear to preferentially occupy these areas, which fluctuate with river stages. We estimated effects with a geospatial model and projections of future river flows. Recent (1999–2009) median river stages during peak subyearling occupancy (April–June) maximized beach shallow water area in the lower mainstem. Upstream shallow water area was maximized at lower river stages than have occurred recently. Higher river stages in April–June, resulting from increased flows predicted for the 2080s, decreased beach shallow water area 17–32%. On the basis of projected 2080s flows, more than 15% of beach shallow water area was displaced by the riprap. Beach shallow water area lost to riprap represented up to 1.6% of the total from the mouth to 12.9 km upstream. Reductions in shallow water area could restrict salmon feeding, resting, and refuge from predators and potentially reduce opportunities for the expression of the full range of life‐history strategies. Although climate change analyses provided useful information, detailed analyses are prohibitive at the project scale for the multitude of small projects reviewed annually. The benefits of our approach to resource managers include a wider geographic context for reviewing similar small projects in concert with climate change, an approach to analyze cumulative effects of similar actions, and estimation of the actions’ long‐term effects.

Efectos Combinados del Cambio Climático y la Estabilización de Bordes de Ríos Hábitats de Aguas Poco Profundas del Salmón Chinook
Floodplain Rehabilitation as a Hedge against Hydroclimatic Uncertainty in a Migration Corridor of Threatened Steelhead
Authors: BOUGHTON DAVID A. , PIKE ANDREW S.
Published: December 2013

A strategy for recovering endangered species during climate change is to restore ecosystem processes that moderate effects of climate shifts. In mid‐latitudes, storm patterns may shift their intensity, duration, and frequency. These shifts threaten flooding in human communities and reduce migration windows (conditions suitable for migration after a storm) for fish. Rehabilitation of historic floodplains can in principle reduce these threats via transient storage of storm water, but no one has quantified the benefit of floodplain rehabilitation for migrating fish, a widespread biota with conservation and economic value. We used simple models to quantify migration opportunity for a threatened migratory fish, steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), in an episodic rain‐fed river system, the Pajaro River in central California. We combined flow models, bioenergetic models, and existing climate projections to estimate the sensitivity of migration windows to altered storm patterns under alternate scenarios of floodplain rehabilitation. Generally, migration opportunities were insensitive to warming, weakly sensitive to duration or intensity of storms, and proportionately sensitive to frequency of storms. The rehabilitation strategy expanded migration windows by 16–28% regardless of climate outcomes. Warmer conditions raised the energy cost of migrating, but not enough to matter biologically. Novel findings were that fewer storms appeared to pose a bigger threat to migrating steelhead than warmer or smaller storms and that floodplain rehabilitation lessened the risk from fewer or smaller storms across all plausible hydroclimatic outcomes. It follows that statistical downscaling methods may mischaracterize risk, depending on how they resolve overall precipitation shifts into changes of storm frequency as opposed to storm size. Moreover, anticipating effects of climate shifts that are irreducibly uncertain (here, rainfall) may be more important than anticipating effects of relatively predictable changes such as warming. This highlights a need to credibly identify strategies of ecosystem rehabilitation that are robust to uncertainty.

Rehabilitación de Planicies Inundables como Cerco contra la Incertidumbre Hidroclimática en un Corredor Migratorio de Oncorhynchus mykiss, Especie Amenazada
How many days of accelerometer monitoring predict weekly physical activity behaviour in obese youth?
Authors: Vanhelst Jérémy , Fardy Paul S. , Duhamel Alain , Béghin Laurent
Published: December 2013

The aim of this study was to determine the type and the number of accelerometer monitoring days needed to predict weekly sedentary behaviour and physical activity in obese youth. Fifty‐three obese youth wore a triaxial accelerometer for 7 days to measure physical activity in free‐living conditions. Analyses of variance for repeated measures, Intraclass coefficient (ICC) and regression linear analyses were used. Obese youth spent significantly less time in physical activity on weekends or free days compared with school days. ICC analyses indicated a minimum of 2 days is needed to estimate physical activity behaviour. ICC were 0·80 between weekly physical activity and weekdays and 0·92 between physical activity and weekend days. The model has to include a weekday and a weekend day. Using any combination of one weekday and one weekend day, the percentage of variance explained is >90%. Results indicate that 2 days of monitoring are needed to estimate the weekly physical activity behaviour in obese youth with an accelerometer. Our results also showed the importance of taking into consideration school day versus free day and weekday versus weekend day in assessing physical activity in obese youth.
Highchair philosophers: the impact of seating context‐dependent exploration on children's naming biases
Authors: Perry Lynn K. , Samuelson Larissa K. , Burdinie Johanna B.
Published: December 2013

We examine developmental interactions between context, exploration, and word learning. Infants show an understanding of how nonsolid substances are categorized that does not reliably transfer to learning how these categories are named in laboratory tasks. We argue that what infants learn about naming nonsolid substances is contextually bound – most nonsolids that toddlers are familiar with are foods and thus, typically experienced when sitting in a highchair. We asked whether 16‐month‐old children's naming of nonsolids would improve if they were tested in that typical context. Children tested in the highchair demonstrated better understanding of how nonsolids are named. Furthermore, context‐based differences in exploration drove differences in the properties attended to in real‐time. We discuss what implications this context‐dependency has for understanding the development of an ontological distinction between solids and nonsolids. Together, these results demonstrate a developmental cascade between context, exploration, and word learning.
Low cost labeling with highlighter ink efficiently visualizes developing blood vessels in avian and mouse embryos
Authors: Takase Yuta , Tadokoro Ryosuke , Takahashi Yoshiko
Published: December 2013

To understand how blood vessels form to establish the intricate network during vertebrate development, it is helpful if one can visualize the vasculature in embryos. We here describe a novel labeling method using highlighter ink, easily obtained in stationery stores with a low cost, to visualize embryo‐wide vasculatures in avian and mice. We tested 50 different highlighters for fluorescent microscopy with filter sets equipped in a standard fluorescent microscope. The yellow and violet inks yielded fluorescent signals specifically detected by the filters used for green fluorescent protein (GFP) and red fluorescent protein (RFP) detections, respectively. When the ink solution was infused into chicken/quail and mouse embryos, vasculatures including large vessels and capillaries were labeled both in living and fixed embryos. Ink‐infused embryos were further subjected to histological sections, and double stained with antibodies including QH‐1 (quail), α smooth muscle actin (αSMA), and PECAM‐1 (mouse), revealing that the endothelial cells were specifically labeled by the infused highlighter ink. Highlighter‐labeled signals were detected with a resolution comparable to or higher than signals of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)‐lectin and Rhodamine‐dextran, conventionally used for angiography. Furthermore, macroconfocal microscopic analyses with ink‐infused embryos visualized fine vascular structures of both embryo proper and extra‐embryonic plexus in a Z‐stack image of 2400 μm thick with a markedly high resolution. Together, the low cost highlighter ink serves as an alternative reagent useful for visualization of blood vessels in developing avian and mouse embryos and possibly in other animals.
Traumatic dental injury in permanent teeth of young patients attended at the federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Authors: Rodrigues Campos Soares Thais , de Andrade Risso Patrícia , Cople Maia Lucianne
Published: December 2013

Background/Aim

Risk factors for dental trauma, such as gender and age, have not been studied in much detail in the past. So, this study was to determine the frequency of Traumatic dental injuries (TDI) and the association of gender and age with the different types of injuries in permanent teeth of patients treated at the Dental Trauma Surveillance Center, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Material and Methods

Data from records of 1022 patients were evaluated, and patients with TDI in permanent teeth were included and descriptively analyzed. The Chi‐squared test and logistic regression were also used (P ≤ 0.05).

Results

A total of 352 (34.4%) records from patients (mean age 9.29 ± 1.97) with 676 affected permanent teeth were included in the final sample. Children (55.7%) have a higher frequency of TDI than adolescents (42.9%). Falls (54.3%) was the most common cause, and the street (37.5%) was the most frequent place of occurrence. Enamel and dentin fracture without pulp exposure (69.2%) was the most common TDI for both genders (P = 0.16). Avulsion (29.2%) was the most frequent injury to supportive tissues for both genders; however, this was more numerous in girls (P < 0.001). Intrusive luxation was more common in boys (P = 0.01). According to logistic regression, intrusive luxation affects girls less (OR = 0.394; IC = 0.178–0.875) than boys, while girls have more chance of suffering from avulsion (OR = 1.912; IC = 1.197–3.055) and avulsion was less frequent in children (OR = 0.588; IC = 0.373–0.928).

Conclusions

Enamel and dentin fractures without pulp exposure and avulsion were the most common TDI. Gender (female) and age (adolescent) were considered risk factors for the occurrence of avulsion. However, male gender was a risk factor for the occurrence of intrusive luxation. So public health policies and educational programs aimed at prevention need to be developed, and the differences among groups should be respected.
Clinical significance of nonhabitual seizures during intracranial EEG monitoring
Authors: Kovac Stjepana , Rodionov Roman , Chinnasami Suganthi , Wehner Tim , Scott Catherine A. , McEvoy Andrew W. , Miserocchi Anna , Diehl Beate
Published: December 2013

This study sought to determine the frequency and clinical significance of nonhabitual seizures in 101 consecutive patients undergoing presurgical intracranial electroencephalography intracranial (icEEG) recording. We compared clinical data, recording details, and postsurgical outcome in patients with nonhabitual seizures to those without nonhabitual seizures during icEEG. In patients with nonhabitual seizures we compared icEEG recordings of nonhabitual seizures to recordings of habitual seizures. Nonhabitual seizures were recorded in 10% of patients. Those patients had a significantly higher rate of procedure‐related complications compared to patients without nonhabitual seizures. Ultimate seizure outcome did not differ between the groups. Nonhabitual seizures often occurred within the first 3 days of icEEG recording and had larger seizure‐onset zones compared to the patient's habitual seizures. Nonhabitual seizures have no effect on outcome of epilepsy surgery but may serve as important markers of procedure‐related complications during icEEG.
Clinical characteristics of patients with treated epilepsy in Korea: A nationwide epidemiologic study
Authors: Kim Dong Wook , Lee Seo‐Young , Chung Soo‐Eun , Cheong Hae‐Kwan , Jung Ki‐Young ,   the Korean Epilepsy Society
Published: December 2013

Objective

Although a number of epidemiologic studies have been conducted on the prevalence and incidence of epilepsy around the world, only a few studies have investigated the clinical characteristics of patients with epilepsy in a population‐based sample. The purpose of the present study was to describe the clinical characteristics of treated patients with epilepsy in Korea via a nationwide medical records survey.

Methods

The study population was obtained through a nationwide database registered to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment service. Patients were recruited from clinics and hospitals in each cluster according to region and referral level by random selection from a preallocated sample of patients. All patients were being treated with antiepileptic drug medication with or without a diagnosis code for epilepsy or seizure between January 2009 and December 2009. Among the 6,436 selected patients, 2,150 met the diagnostic criteria for epilepsy and were included in our survey on the clinical characteristics of patients who were with treated epilepsy.

Results

The proportion of male patients with epilepsy in this study was higher (1,226; 57.0%) than that of female patients. In addition, 10.6% of patients were first diagnosed with epilepsy in 2009, and 53.6% of patients experienced at least one seizure over the course of 2009; 78.1% were classified as having localization‐related epilepsy, whereas 7.3% were considered to have generalized epilepsy. Thirty‐five percent of patients were thus classified as idiopathic or cryptogenic cases. The most common cause of symptomatic epilepsy was trauma (10.0%), followed by stroke (9.6%), central nervous system (CNS) infection (5.7%), and hippocampal sclerosis (4.9%).

Significance

This is the first nationwide study of the clinical characteristics of treated epilepsy in Korea using a national database validated by medical records survey. The etiologies of epilepsy and epilepsy syndrome classifications were comparable to those previously reported in other developed countries.
Tribute to Tinbergen: The Place of Animal Behavior in Biology
Authors: Strassmann Joan E.
Published: December 2013

Tinbergen is famous for emphasizing behavioral fieldwork and experimentation under natural circumstances, for founding the field of ethology, for getting a Nobel Prize, and for mentoring Richard Dawkins. He is known for dividing behavior studies into physiology, development, natural selection, and evolutionary history. In the decades since Tinbergen was active, some of the best research in animal behavior fuses Tinbergen's questions, connecting genes to behavioral phenotypes, for example. Behavior is the most synthetic of the life sciences, because observing the actions of an organism can tell us what all those physical and physiological traits are for. Insights from behavior tell us how traits in one individual impact those in another in ways that challenge our definition of an organism. Behavioral conflict and cooperation among animals has led to theory that explains within‐organism conflict and cooperation and human malfunctions of many kinds. Darwin certainly began the evolutionary study of behavior, but Tinbergen brought it forward to the heart of biology. The challenge for the future is to apply concepts from animal behavior across biology with tools that would have amazed Tinbergen.
The way forward in biochar research: targeting trade‐offs between the potential wins
Authors: Jeffery Simon , Bezemer T. Martijn , Cornelissen Gerard , Kuyper Thomas W. , Lehmann Johannes , Mommer Liesje , Sohi Saran P. , van de Voorde Tess F.J. , Wardle David A. , van Groenigen Jan Willem
Published: December 2013

Biochar application to soil is currently widely advocated for a variety of reasons related to sustainability. Typically, soil amelioration with biochar is presented as a multiple‐‘win’ strategy, although it is also associated with potential risks such as environmental contamination. The most often claimed benefits of biochar (i.e. the ‘wins’) include (i) carbon sequestration; (ii) soil fertility enhancement; (iii) biofuel/bioenergy production; (iv) pollutant immobilization; and (v) waste disposal. However, the vast majority of studies ignore possible trade‐offs between them. For example, there is an obvious trade‐off between maximizing biofuel production and maximizing biochar production. Also, relatively little attention has been paid to mechanisms, as opposed to systems impacts, behind observed biochar effects, often leaving open the question as to whether they reflect truly unique properties of biochar as opposed to being simply the short‐term consequences of a fertilization or liming effect. Here, we provide an outline for the future of soil biochar research. We first identify possible trade‐offs between the potential benefits. Second, to be able to better understand and quantify these trade‐offs, we propose guidelines for robust experimental design and selection of appropriate controls that allow both mechanistic and systems assessment of biochar effects and trade‐offs between the wins. Third, we offer a conceptual framework to guide future experiments and suggest guidelines for the standardized reporting of biochar experiments to allow effective between‐site comparisons to quantify trade‐offs. Such a mechanistic and systems framework is required to allow effective comparisons between experiments, across scales and locations, to guide policy and recommendations concerning biochar application to soil.
Two methods to simulate intrapulpal pressure: effects upon bonding performance of self‐etch adhesives
Authors: Feitosa V. P. , Gotti V. B. , Grohmann C. V. , Abuná G. , Correr‐Sobrinho L. , Sinhoreti M. A. C. , Correr A. B.
Published: December 2013

Aim

To evaluate the effects of two methods to simulate physiological pulpal pressure on the dentine bonding performance of two all‐in‐one adhesives and a two‐step self‐etch silorane‐based adhesive by means of microtensile bond strength (μTBS) and nanoleakage surveys.

Methodology

The self‐etch adhesives [G‐Bond Plus (GB), Adper Easy Bond (EB) and silorane adhesive (SIL)] were applied to flat deep dentine surfaces from extracted human molars. The restorations were constructed using resin composites Filtek Silorane or Filtek Z350 (3M ESPE). After 24 h using the two methods of simulated pulpal pressure or no pulpal pressure (control groups), the bonded teeth were cut into specimens and submitted to μTBS and silver uptake examination. Results were analysed with two‐way anova and Tukey's test (P < 0.05).

Results

Both methods of simulated pulpal pressure led statistically similar μTBS for all adhesives. No difference between control and pulpal pressure groups was found for SIL and GB. EB led significant drop (P = 0.002) in bond strength under pulpal pressure. Silver impregnation was increased after both methods of simulated pulpal pressure for all adhesives, and it was similar between the simulated pulpal pressure methods.

Conclusions

The innovative method to simulate pulpal pressure behaved similarly to the classic one and could be used as an alternative. The HEMA‐free one‐step and the two‐step self‐etch adhesives had acceptable resistance against pulpal pressure, unlike the HEMA‐rich adhesive.
Quality in Acute Stroke Care (QASC): Process Evaluation of an Intervention to Improve the Management of Fever, Hyperglycemia, and Swallowing Dysfunction following Acute Stroke
Authors: Drury Peta , Levi Christopher , D'Este Catherine , McElduff Patrick , McInnes Elizabeth , Hardy Jennifer , Dale Simeon , Cheung N Wah , Grimshaw Jeremy M , Quinn Clare , Ward Jeanette , Evans Malcolm , Cadilhac Dominique , Griffiths Rhonda , Middleton Sandy
Published: December 2013

Background

Our randomized controlled trial of a multifaceted evidence-based intervention for improving the inpatient management of fever, hyperglycemia, and swallowing dysfunction in the first three-days following stroke improved outcomes at 90 days by 15%. We designed a quantitative process evaluation to further explain and illuminate this finding.

Methods

Blinded retrospective medical record audits were undertaken for patients from 19 stroke units prior to and following the implementation of three multidisciplinary evidence-based protocols (supported by team-building workshops, and site-based education and support) for the management of fever (temperature ≥37·5°C), hyperglycemia (glucose >11 mmol/l), and swallowing dysfunction in intervention stroke units.

Results

Data from 1804 patients (718 preintervention; 1086 postintervention) showed that significantly more patients admitted to hospitals allocated to the intervention group received care according to the fever ( n = 186 of 603, 31% vs. n = 74 of 483, 15%, P < 0·001), hyperglycemia ( n = 22 of 603, 3·7% vs. n = 3 of 483,0·6%, P = 0·01), and swallowing dysfunction protocols ( n = 241 of 603, 40% vs. n = 19 of 483, 4·0%, P ≤ 0·001). Significantly more patients in these intervention stroke units received four-hourly temperature monitoring ( n = 222 of 603, 37% vs. n = 90 of 483, 19%, P < 0·001) and six-hourly glucose monitoring (194 of 603, 32% vs. 46 of 483, 9·5%, P < 0·001) within 72 hours of admission to a stroke unit, and a swallowing screen (242 of 522, 46% vs. 24 of 350, 6·8%, P ≤ 0·0001) within the first 24 hours of admission to hospital. There was no difference between the groups in the treatment of patients with fever with paracetamol (22 of 105, 21% vs. 38 of 131, 29%, P = 0·78) or their hyperglycemia with insulin (40 of 100, 40% vs. 17 of 57, 30%, P = 0·49).

Interpretation

Our intervention resulted in better protocol adherence in intervention stroke units, which explains our main trial findings of improved patient 90-day outcomes. Although monitoring practices significantly improved, there was no difference between the groups in the treatment of fever and hyperglycemia following acute stroke. A significant link between improved treatment practices and improved outcomes would have explained further the success of our intervention, and we are still unable to explain definitively the large improvements in death and dependency found in the main trial results. One potential explanation is that improved monitoring may have led to better overall surveillance of deteriorating patients and faster initiation of treatments not measured as part of the main trial.
Drug susceptibility surveillance of influenza viruses circulating in the United States in 2011‐2012: application of the WHO antiviral working group criteria
Authors: Okomo‐Adhiambo Margaret , Nguyen Ha T. , Abd Elal Anwar , Sleeman Katrina , Fry Alicia M. , Gubareva Larisa V.
Published: December 2013

Background

Assessing susceptibility of influenza viruses to neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors (NAIs) is primarily done in NA inhibition (NI) assays, supplemented by NA sequence analysis. However, two factors present challenges for NI assay data interpretation: lack of established IC50 values indicative of clinically relevant resistance and insufficient harmonization of NI testing methodologies among surveillance laboratories. In 2012, the WHO working group on influenza antiviral susceptibility (WHO‐AVWG) developed criteria to facilitate consistent interpretation and reporting of NI assay data.

Methods

The WHO‐AVWG classification criteria were applied in interpreting NI assay data for two FDA‐licensed NAIs, oseltamivir and zanamivir, for viruses collected in the United States during the 2011–2012 winter season.

Results

All A (H1N1)pdm09 viruses (n = 449) exhibited normal inhibition by oseltamivir and zanamivir, with the exception of eight viruses (1·8%) with highly reduced inhibition by oseltamivir, which carried the H275Y marker of oseltamivir resistance. A (H3N2) viruses (n = 978) exhibited normal inhibition by both NAIs, except for one virus with highly reduced inhibition by zanamivir due to the cell culture‐selected NA change, Q136K. Type B viruses (n = 343) exhibited normal inhibition by both drugs, except for an isolate with reduced inhibition by both NAIs that had the cell culture‐selected A200T substitution.

Conclusions

WHO‐AVWG classification criteria allowed the detection of viruses carrying the established oseltamivir resistance marker, as well as viruses whose susceptibility was altered during propagation. These criteria were consistent with statistical‐based criteria for detecting outliers and will be useful in harmonizing NI assay data among surveillance laboratories worldwide and in establishing laboratory correlates of clinically relevant resistance.
THE LETTER AS OBJECT: ON THE EXPERIENCE OF ACHAEMENID LETTERS
Authors: ALLEN LINDSAY
Published: December 2013

This paper arises from research undertaken as part of the AHRC-funded project, ‘Communication, Language and Power in the Achaemenid empire: the correspondence of the satrap Arshama’. The project enabled a reengagement with the letters, sealings, and bag purchased in the 1940s by the Bodleian Library from the estate of the archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt. The discussion explores two parallel approaches to reconstructing the three-dimensional function of Achaemenid letters. First, technical variations in letter format and state of preservation reveal a range of physical interactions with letters, both open and closed. Second, Greek prose representations of Persian history imagine letters as objects working with their messengers within Achaemenid (usually royal) communications. This focus on the letter as object prompts us to hypothesize social, performative, and oral elements within the epistolary system.
ON KISSING AND MAKING UP: COURT PROTOCOL AND HISTORIOGRAPHY IN ALEXANDER THE GREAT's ‘EXPERIMENT WITH PROSKYNESIS’
Authors: BOWDEN HUGH
Published: December 2013

It is widely accepted that Alexander attempted to persuade his Macedonian followers to accept the Persian practice of proskynesis (possibly, but not necessarily involving prostration), that this was opposed by members of his court, and that the attempt was given up. This article re-examines the evidence and the assumptions, both ancient and modern, that lie behind the episode as reported. It argues that the words proskynesis and proskynein had a range of meanings in Greek, but were primarily associated with Greek ideas of Persian behaviour; the gestures covered by the term proskynesis were not primarily associated with the gods by Greeks; the depiction of Callisthenes as representing principled opposition to Alexander is fictitious; the objection to the adoption by Alexander of ‘barbarian’ practices reflects Roman prejudices, rather than any concern of Alexander's contemporaries; the surviving literary sources do not provide reliable evidence for any ‘experiment with proskynesis’ by Alexander.
THE DELEGATION OF THE XVIRI TO ENNA CA. 133 BC AND THE MURDER OF TIBERIUS GRACCHUS
Authors: DILLON JOHN NOËL
Published: December 2013

In the Verrine orations, Cicero mentions an unusual delegation of public Roman priests, members of the xviri sacris faciundis, to the Sicilian city of Enna shortly after the death of Tiberius Gracchus. Most historians have traditionally followed Cicero's lead in associating these two events, assuming that the religious mission was orchestrated by the Roman Senate in order to influence the Roman plebs in the aftermath of Gracchus' spectacular murder. An alternative interpretation makes the Sicilians the intended audience. A closer look at the evidence for the delegation, however, and consideration of Roman conceptions of religious territory make both connections unlikely. I argue instead that the delegation of priests was motivated above all by territorial religious concerns raised by recent catastrophes in the Roman province.
TO LIVE IN JOY AND DIE WITH HOPE: EXPERIENTIAL ASPECTS OF ANCIENT GREEK MYSTERY RITES
Authors: USTINOVA YULIA
Published: December 2013

The paper focuses on embodied mystery experiences of initiates in ancient Greek mystery cults. Four main questions are addressed: what kind of experience was considered the core of Greek mystery initiations, how was this experience attained, in what way did it influence the life of the initiates, and what real-life experience could prompt the idea of mystery initiations. Mystery initiation may be defined as ersatz-death, a rehearsal of the real one. Modelled as it seems on near-death experiences, these rites comprised alterations of the initiate's state of consciousness. For trivial events to be remembered by the mystai as revelations, they were brought to a state of heightened sensitivity and perhaps also suggestibility. The knowledge of life and death thus acquired was a holistic and ineffable sensation, rather than a learnt doctrine: in Aristotle's words, the initiates were ‘not to learn anything, but rather to experience and to be inclined’.