bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Membrane extraction of Rab proteins by GDP dissociation inhibitor characterized using attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy
Authors: Gavriljuk Konstantin , Itzen Aymelt , Goody Roger S. , Gerwert Klaus , Kötting Carsten
Published: July 2013

Membrane trafficking is regulated by small Ras-like GDP/GTP binding proteins of the Rab subfamily (Rab GTPases) that cycle between membranes and cytosol depending on their nucleotide state. The GDP dissociation inhibitor (GDI) solubilizes prenylated Rab GTPases from and shuttles them between membranes in the form of a soluble cytosolic complex. We use attenuated total reflection–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to directly observe extraction of Rab GTPases from model membranes by GDI. In their native form, most Rab GTPases are doubly geranylgeranylated at the C terminus to achieve localization to the membrane. We find that monogeranylgeranylated Rab35 and Rab1b reversibly bind to a negatively charged model membrane. Correct folding and GTPase activity of the membrane-bound protein can be evaluated. The dissociation kinetics depends on the C-terminal sequence and charge of the GTPases. The attenuated total reflection experiments show that GDI genuinely accelerates the intrinsic Rab membrane dissociation. The extraction process is characterized and occurs in a nucleotide-dependent manner. Furthermore, we find that phosphocholination of Rab35, which is catalyzed by the
Legionella pneumophila
protein AnkX, interferes with the ability of GDI to extract Rab35 from the membrane. The attenuated total reflection–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy approach enables label-free investigation of the interaction between GDI and Rab GTPases in a membrane environment. Thereby, GDI is revealed to actively extract monogeranylgeranylated membrane-bound Rab GTPases and, thus, is not merely a solubilization factor.
Male infanticide leads to social monogamy in primates
Authors: Opie Christopher , Atkinson Quentin D. , Dunbar Robin I. M. , Shultz Susanne
Published: July 2013

Although common in birds, social monogamy, or pair-living, is rare among mammals because internal gestation and lactation in mammals makes it advantageous for males to seek additional mating opportunities. A number of hypotheses have been proposed to explain the evolution of social monogamy among mammals: as a male mate-guarding strategy, because of the benefits of biparental care, or as a defense against infanticidal males. However, comparative analyses have been unable to resolve the root causes of monogamy. Primates are unusual among mammals because monogamy has evolved independently in all of the major clades. Here we combine trait data across 230 primate species with a Bayesian likelihood framework to test for correlated evolution between monogamy and a range of traits to evaluate the competing hypotheses. We find evidence of correlated evolution between social monogamy and both female ranging patterns and biparental care, but the most compelling explanation for the appearance of monogamy is male infanticide. It is only the presence of infanticide that reliably increases the probability of a shift to social monogamy, whereas monogamy allows the secondary adoption of paternal care and is associated with a shift to discrete ranges. The origin of social monogamy in primates is best explained by long lactation periods caused by altriciality, making primate infants particularly vulnerable to infanticidal males. We show that biparental care shortens relative lactation length, thereby reducing infanticide risk and increasing reproductive rates. These phylogenetic analyses support a key role for infanticide in the social evolution of primates, and potentially, humans.
Unexpectedly high indoor hydroxyl radical concentrations associated with nitrous acid
Authors: Gómez Alvarez Elena , Amedro Damien , Afif Charbel , Gligorovski Sasho , Schoemaecker Coralie , Fittschen Christa , Doussin Jean-Francois , Wortham Henri
Published: July 2013

The hydroxyl (OH) radical is the most important oxidant in the atmosphere since it controls its self-oxidizing capacity. The main sources of OH radicals are the photolysis of ozone and the photolysis of nitrous acid (HONO). Due to the attenuation of solar radiation in the indoor environment, the possibility of OH formation through photolytic pathways indoors has been ignored up to now. In the indoor air, the ozonolysis of alkenes has been suggested as an alternative route of OH formation. Models and indirect measurements performed up to now according to this hypothesis suggest concentrations of OH radicals on the order of 10
4
–10
5
molecules per cubic centimeter. Here, we present direct measurements of significant amounts of OH radicals of up to 1.8⋅10
6
molecules per cubic centimeter during an experimental campaign carried out in a school classroom in Marseille. This concentration is on the same order of magnitude of outdoor OH levels in the urban scenario. We also show that photolysis of HONO is an important source of OH radicals indoors under certain conditions (i.e., direct solar irradiation inside the room). Additionally, the OH concentrations were found to follow a linear dependence with the product J(HONO)⋅[HONO]. This was also supported by using a simple quasiphotostationary state model on the OH radical budget. These findings force a change in our understanding of indoor air quality because the reactivity linked to OH would involve formation of secondary species through chemical reactions that are potentially more hazardous than the primary pollutants in the indoor air.
The placebo and nocebo effects on peak minute power during incremental arm crank ergometry
Authors: Bottoms Lindsay , Buscombe Richard , Nicholettos Andrew
Published: July 2013

This investigation aimed to explore the effects of inert sugar‐free drinks described as either ‘performance enhancing’ (placebo) or ‘fatigue inducing’ (nocebo) on peak minute power (PMP;W) during incremental arm crank ergometry (ACE). Twelve healthy, non‐specifically trained individuals volunteered to take part. A single‐blind randomised controlled trial with repeated measures was used to assess for differences in PMP;W, oxygen uptake, heart rate (HR), minute ventilation, respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and subjective reports of local ratings of perceived exertion (LRPE) and central ratings of perceived exertion (CRPE), between three separate, but identical ACE tests. Participants were required to drink either 500 ml of a ‘sports performance’ drink (placebo), a ‘fatigue‐inducing’ drink (nocebo) or water prior to exercise. The placebo caused a significant increase in PMP;W, and a significant decrease in LRPE compared to the nocebo (p=0.01; p=0.001) and water trials (p=0.01). No significant differences in PMP;W between the nocebo and water were found. However, the nocebo drink did cause a significant increase in LRPE (p=0.01). These results suggest that the time has come to broaden our understanding of the placebo and nocebo effects and their potential to impact sports performance.
The synaptobrevin homologue Snc2p recruits the exocyst to secretory vesicles by binding to Sec6p
Authors: Shen David , Yuan Hua , Hutagalung Alex , Verma Avani , Kümmel Daniel , Wu Xudong , Reinisch Karin , McNew James A. , Novick Peter
Published: July 2013

A screen for mutations that affect the recruitment of the exocyst to secretory vesicles identified genes encoding clathrin and proteins that associate or colocalize with clathrin at sites of endocytosis. However, no significant colocalization of the exocyst with clathrin was seen, arguing against a direct role in exocyst recruitment. Rather, these components are needed to recycle the exocytic vesicle SNAREs Snc1p and Snc2p from the plasma membrane into new secretory vesicles where they act to recruit the exocyst. We observe a direct interaction between the exocyst subunit Sec6p and the latter half of the SNARE motif of Snc2p. An snc2 mutation that specifically disrupts this interaction led to exocyst mislocalization and a block in exocytosis in vivo without affecting liposome fusion in vitro. Overexpression of Sec4p partially suppressed the exocyst localization defects of mutations in clathrin and clathrin-associated components. We propose that the exocyst is recruited to secretory vesicles by the combinatorial signals of Sec4-GTP and the Snc proteins. This could help to confer both specificity and directionality to vesicular traffic.
Fc-dependent depletion of tumor-infiltrating regulatory T cells co-defines the efficacy of anti–CTLA-4 therapy against melanoma
Authors: Simpson Tyler R. , Li Fubin , Montalvo-Ortiz Welby , Sepulveda Manuel A. , Bergerhoff Katharina , Arce Frederick , Roddie Claire , Henry Jake Y. , Yagita Hideo , Wolchok Jedd D. , Peggs Karl S. , Ravetch Jeffrey V. , Allison James P. , Quezada Sergio A.
Published: July 2013

Treatment with monoclonal antibody specific for cytotoxic T lymphocyte–associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4), an inhibitory receptor expressed by T lymphocytes, has emerged as an effective therapy for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Although subject to debate, current models favor a mechanism of activity involving blockade of the inhibitory activity of CTLA-4 on both effector (T eff) and regulatory (T reg) T cells, resulting in enhanced antitumor effector T cell activity capable of inducing tumor regression. We demonstrate, however, that the activity of anti–CTLA-4 antibody on the T reg cell compartment is mediated via selective depletion of T reg cells within tumor lesions. Importantly, T reg cell depletion is dependent on the presence of Fcγ receptor–expressing macrophages within the tumor microenvironment, indicating that T reg cells are depleted in trans in a context-dependent manner. Our results reveal further mechanistic insight into the activity of anti-CTLA-4–based cancer immunotherapy, and illustrate the importance of specific features of the local tumor environment on the final outcome of antibody-based immunomodulatory therapies.
Inherited human OX40 deficiency underlying classic Kaposi sarcoma of childhood
Authors: Byun Minji , Ma Cindy S. , Akçay Arzu , Pedergnana Vincent , Palendira Umaimainthan , Myoung Jinjong , Avery Danielle T. , Liu Yifang , Abhyankar Avinash , Lorenzo Lazaro , Schmidt Monika , Lim Hye Kyung , Cassar Olivier , Migaud Melanie , Rozenberg Flore , Canpolat Nur , Aydoğan Gönül , Fleckenstein Bernhard , Bustamante Jacinta , Picard Capucine , Gessain Antoine , Jouanguy Emmanuelle , Cesarman Ethel , Olivier Martin , Gros Philippe , Abel Laurent , Croft Michael , Tangye Stuart G. , Casanova Jean-Laurent
Published: July 2013

Kaposi sarcoma (KS), a human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8; also called KSHV)–induced endothelial tumor, develops only in a small fraction of individuals infected with HHV-8. We hypothesized that inborn errors of immunity to HHV-8 might underlie the exceedingly rare development of classic KS in childhood. We report here autosomal recessive OX40 deficiency in an otherwise healthy adult with childhood-onset classic KS. OX40 is a co-stimulatory receptor expressed on activated T cells. Its ligand, OX40L, is expressed on various cell types, including endothelial cells. We found OX40L was abundantly expressed in KS lesions. The mutant OX40 protein was poorly expressed on the cell surface and failed to bind OX40L, resulting in complete functional OX40 deficiency. The patient had a low proportion of effector memory CD4+ T cells in the peripheral blood, consistent with impaired CD4+ T cell responses to recall antigens in vitro. The proportion of effector memory CD8+ T cells was less diminished. The proportion of circulating memory B cells was low, but the antibody response in vivo was intact, including the response to a vaccine boost. Together, these findings suggest that human OX40 is necessary for robust CD4+ T cell memory and confers apparently selective protective immunity against HHV-8 infection in endothelial cells.
Material Culture
Authors: Woodward Sophie
Published: July 2013

The study of material culture centers upon objects, their properties, and the materials that they are made of, and the ways in which these material facets are central to an understanding of culture and social relations. It challenges the historical division between the natural sciences as being the place for the study of the material world and the social sciences as being where society and social relations can be understood. Instead, culture and society are seen as being created and reproduced by the ways in which people make, design, and interact with objects. It also challenges the assumption, perpetuated by disciplinary divisions and also philosophical trajectories, that the object and subject are separate, wherein the latter is assumed to be immaterial, and the former is assumed to be inert and passive. In seeing the material properties of things as central to the meanings an object might have, much work within material culture studies is critical of the idea that objects merely symbolize or represent aspects of a pre-existing culture or identity. A key area of contestation in the literature on material culture is the question of agency and the ways in which objects can produce particular effects or allow and permit certain behaviors or cultural practices. This is developed through the concept of objectification, which is central to many studies of material culture—albeit differently conceived dependent upon the disciplinary and theoretical stance taken—which explores the intertwined, and often dialectic, relationships between people and things. Those who study material culture are situated in a wide range of disciplines such as archaeology, anthropology, geography, history, design, and sociology. Although material culture studies cross many disciplines, there are still theories, methods, and perspectives that are firmly located within particular disciplines. Understandings of material culture have been central to anthropology since its inception; during the late 19th and early 20th century anthropologists primarily collected material culture (Kroeber, Boas) that was displayed in museums in Europe and North America. It was only with the start of ethnographic fieldwork that the study of the material culture became less important. This bibliography of material culture will not focus primarily upon the study of ethnographic museums (with the exception of the section on Display) but more on the so-called new material culture studies that have developed since the 1980s and that are characterized by combining ethnographic fieldwork and anthropological debate. Within this field, empirical research explores specific genres of material culture, such as food or clothing, and empirical and theoretical work extends this to consider categories of objects, such as gifts and commodities, as situated within wider systems of exchange. There is also a concern with how objects “move” between domains and different value systems as the practices and meanings surrounding physically changing objects themselves change.
Human Rights
Authors: Martínez Samuel , Buerger Catherine , Walters Ashley
Published: July 2013

Once considered a topic that held little interest for cultural anthropologists, human rights became a focus of growing anthropological concern over the 1990s and 2000s. Important publications now number in the hundreds, even when limited (as this article is) only to works by cultural anthropologists (and not forensic anthropologists), which directly reference human rights (and not works that are relevant but make no more than a passing mention of human rights). As Annelise Riles aptly summarizes in her article “Anthropology, Human Rights, and Legal Knowledge: Culture in the Iron Cage” (Riles 2006, p. 53, cited under International Legal Epistemology), anthropologists have turned “from treating human rights doctrines, actors, and institutions as instruments to be used (e.g., as a tool of advocacy on behalf of indigenous peoples) to treating them as subjects of ethnographic research, on par with other ethnographic subjects.” What was a discussion of anthropology and human rights has thus evolved into a research subfield, the anthropology of human rights, offering field research–based examinations of place- and time-specific encounters among the promoters of human rights universalism (a term coined by Mark Goodale in Goodale 2009, cited under General Overviews) and diverse communities of sufferers of human-inflicted harms. Whether current scholarship in anthropology focuses on human rights as practice or as discourse, its common signature is to foreground the local, national, and international political and economic processes in which human rights and larger social justice projects are embedded. Two publications that appeared in 1997 marked a watershed in the development of new modes of anthropological engagement with human rights. One, the contributory volume edited by Richard Wilson, Human Rights, Culture and Context (Wilson 1997, cited under General Overviews), anticipated research and writing relating to both the practice and the discourse of human rights. The other, a Journal of Anthropological Research special issue on Human Rights, edited by Carole Nagengast and Terence Turner, articulated a new view of culture’s relationship to human rights, not as an argument against ethical universals but an argument for the embeddedness of ethics within any human group’s encompassing way of life (see Hatch 1997, Messer 1997, and Nagengast 1997, all cited under Pros and Cons of Cultural Relativism; and Turner 1997, cited under Cultural Rights). Even if the year 1997 seems an arbitrary dividing line between the eras of “anthropology and human rights” and the “anthropology of human rights,” there is nonetheless a disciplinary consensus that anthropology’s engagement with human rights has undergone significant changes in its guiding concerns, approaches, orientations, and commitments.
Transnationalism
Authors: Holsey Bayo
Published: July 2013

Over the course of the past few decades, anthropologists have begun to pay increasing attention to the transnational dimensions of many cultural practices and beliefs. Once thought of by some as discrete entities, cultures and societies are now largely viewed to be enmeshed with global webs of exchange and meaning. The literature on transnationalism burgeoned in the 1990s as anthropologists, along with sociologists and cultural studies scholars, began to take serious note of the global transformations occurring around the world. The spread of new forms of global capitalism is responsible for a good deal of the scholarly recognition of transnational connections. Much of this work is rooted in world systems analysis, which understands the interconnected nature of the world to be the result of an international division of labor. The new self-described transnationalism literature was preceded by some early studies of colonialism as well as early work within anthropology on the African diaspora that addressed transnational flows without the benefit of the label of “transnationalism studies.” Within the latest transnationalism scholarship, while some scholars in other fields have celebrated what they see as the opening up of the world and the rise of new opportunities, anthropologists have been quick to recognize the attendant dangers and increased risk of global integration in the late 20th century. Others have noted that globalization is not new, and have pointed to early forms of transnationalism to prove the case. At the same time, anthropologists have extended the insights gained from the analysis of contemporary transnationalism into the study of colonialism. Current transnationalism literature includes works on citizenship; transnational constructions of local identities, capitalism, migration, tourism, and commodity flows; and transnational formations of race.
Understanding the effects of a new grazing policy: the impact of seasonal grazing on shrub demography in the Inner Mongolian steppe
Authors: Li Shou‐Li , Yu Fei‐Hai , Werger Marinus J. A. , Dong Ming , Ramula Satu , Zuidema Pieter A.
Published: July 2013

Grazing by livestock is a common land use in arid and semi‐arid areas. Developing sustainable grazing regimes that conserve vegetation and maintain productivity is therefore important in these ecosystems. To solve environmental problems induced by overgrazing in Chinese semi‐arid regions, the Chinese government has recently implemented a new policy of seasonal grazing, with no grazing from April to July. While this policy has been implemented in huge areas, its consequences for grazed plant populations have not been assessed so far.

We evaluated the demographic consequences of seasonal grazing for Caragana intermedia, a long‐lived dominant shrub serving as a main food source for livestock in Inner Mongolia, China. Controlled seasonally grazed and ungrazed populations were monitored during 2007–2009, and their vital rates were compared. We then constructed integral projection models (IPMs) to analyse the effects of seasonal grazing on population dynamics.

Seasonal grazing negatively affected two vital rates: seedling survival and seedling recruitment were 25–71% and 69–91% lower in the seasonally grazed treatment than in the ungrazed situation, respectively. Seasonal grazing had a minimal effect on adult survival and growth, but improved juvenile survival by 8–31%.

Despite its effects on several vital rates, seasonal grazing did not significantly affect long‐term population growth rates (λ), which remained close to unity in both grazed and ungrazed areas based on deterministic and stochastic analyses. An elasticity analysis showed that population growth rate was mainly governed by the high survival of large adults. Results of Life Table Response Experiments (LTREs) revealed that variation in population growth rates across treatments and years was more strongly governed by temporal differences than by grazing.

Synthesis and applications. Our study showed that the relatively large changes in vital rates induced by seasonal grazing did not affect population growth rates. Caragana intermedia populations can be sustained under the seasonal grazing regime probably because the grazing intensity is moderate and because this species has a high probability of adult survival under grazing. Plant species with similar life‐history traits to C. intermedia are likely to offer good opportunities for sustainable seasonal grazing regimes in arid and semi‐arid inland ecosystems.
Parental environments and interactions with conspecifics alter salinity tolerance of offspring in the annual Medicago truncatula
Authors: Castro Brenna M. , Moriuchi Ken S. , Friesen Maren L. , Badri Mounawer , Nuzhdin Sergey V. , Strauss Sharon Y. , Cook Douglas R. , von Wettberg Eric
Published: July 2013

Based on expectations of the stress‐gradient hypothesis for conspecific interactions, stress‐sensitive genotypes may be able to persist in stressful environments when positive interactions between individuals occur under stressful environments. Additionally, we test how parental environmental effects alter responses to stress and outcomes of conspecific interactions in stress. While the stress‐gradient hypothesis focuses on plant growth, earlier flowering may provide stress avoidance in short‐lived organisms.

We studied responses to soil salinity and conspecific neighbour using genotypes of Medicago truncatula (Fabaceae) originating from saline or non‐saline environments, utilizing seeds from parental plants grown in saline or non‐saline environments. During the early stages of reproduction, we quantified leaf number, as a measure of vegetative growth, and number of flowers, as a measure of early reproduction potential.

Based on leaf counts, non‐saline genotypes were better competitors than saline‐origin genotypes and benefited from neighbouring plants in saline environments. This positive interaction was detected only when seeds were matured on parental plants grown in non‐saline environments. Saline‐origin genotypes displayed greater salinity tolerance in early flowering than non‐saline genotypes. Plants with neighbours had greater early flowering, regardless of origin, consistent with facilitative interactions in stressful environments.

Transgenerational plastic responses influenced neighbouring plant interactions on plant growth, and results suggest that facilitative interactions may be transient only persisting for one generation. However, earlier flowering of non‐saline genotypes when grown with a neighbouring plant is consistent with facilitative interactions resulting in reproductive benefits in saline environments, if earlier flowering is favoured in saline environments.

Synthesis. Adaptation to stressful environments allows tolerant genotypes to persist in these environments. Less appreciated is that stress‐sensitive genotypes lacking such adaptations may persist in stressful environments via positive interactions with other individuals. Thus, positive interactions between individuals may explain the persistence of stress‐sensitive genotypes within a population adapted to stressful environments.
Indocyanine green concentrations used in chromovitrectomy cause a reversible functional alteration in the outer blood–retinal barrier
Authors: Liu Zengping , Meyer Carsten H. , Fimmers Rolf , Stanzel Boris V. ,   International Chromovitrectomy Collaboration
Published: July 2013

Purpose

To assess tight junction integrity in cultured human foetal retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) after exposure to clinically relevant indocyanine green (ICG) concentrations.

Methods

Human foetal RPE was cultured with the Hu & Bok method. The apical compartments of well‐differentiated cultures were exposed to 0.125, 0.05 and 0.025 mg/ml ICG with or without 10‐min illumination. Vehicle and trypsin/EDTA or EDTA alone served as controls. Three minutes was chosen to mimic surgical exposure time, while 3 h was used for toxicity assays, with subsequent wash out. Cell–cell junctions were studied before and after exposure by phase contrast microscopy and immunofluorescence (ZO‐1). Blood–retinal barrier function was measured through transepithelial electrical resistance (TER).

Results

At 6–8 weeks postconfluence, RPE had grown into pigmented hexagonal monolayers with stable TER (435–1227 Ω*cm2). After 3 min ICG exposure, cell morphology remained unchanged, with patchy cell–cell dissociation in positive controls. A continuous ZO‐1 signal was detected in ICG groups, whereas trypsin controls showed patchy loss of the tight junction stain. TER had dropped at 1.5 h after 3 min exposure to 22.8 ± 3.1%, compared with 10.2 ± 3.9% in positive controls. Surgical light illumination did not affect TER. After 3 h exposure to 0.05 mg/ml ICG, TER decreased to 58.1 ± 8.3%, while vehicle controls maintained similar levels as prior to exposure (92.7 ± 2.4%). TER recovered in all ICG groups to prior levels within 3 days.

Conclusion

Indocyanine green (ICG) exposure induced a transient decrease in transepithelial electrical resistance, despite unaltered tight junction structure.
Changing Outcome Expectancies, Drinking Intentions, and Implicit Attitudes toward Alcohol: A Comparison of Positive Expectancy‐Related and Health‐Related Alcohol Warning Labels
Authors: Glock Sabine , Krolak‐Schwerdt Sabine
Published: July 2013

Background: Although alcohol consumption is a leading risk factor for major illnesses, warning labels are still not being used. Alcohol consumption is related to positive and negative outcome expectancies, which both play a crucial role. This study compared the effectiveness of warning labels that contradicted positive outcome expectancies with health‐related warning labels among a college‐aged German sample (N = 40). Method: Half of the participants received health‐related warning labels while half received positive‐related warning labels. Implicit attitudes were assessed before and after warning‐label exposure. Explicit attitudes and outcome expectancies were assessed after exposure. Participants’ usual drinking behavior was assessed before exposure to warning labels, and their drinking intentions were measured afterwards. Results: Participants exposed to positive‐related warning labels had marginally more negative implicit attitudes compared to their own prior attitudes. They tended to perceive lower social and higher negative outcome expectancies than the health‐related warning labels group. Importantly, the positive‐related warning labels group's drinking intentions tended to be lower than those of the health‐related warning labels group. Conclusions: This first test of warning labels that contradict positive alcohol outcome expectancies provided promising results; thus warning labels could be considered as means to influence college‐aged people.
Learning disability: experience of diagnosis
Authors: Kenyon Elinor , Beail Nigel , Jackson Tom
Published: July 2013

Accessible summary

This study asked people with learning disabilities what it was like to find out they had a learning disability.

It found that the experience of finding out they have a learning disability can be a difficult experience which takes time to come to terms with.

This research could help professionals support people better with this.

Studies have focused on the experience of diagnosis from the perspectives of parents of children with learning disabilities, but there has been limited methodologically rigorous investigation into the experience for the person themselves. Eight participants were recruited from a range of different backgrounds. Interviews were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Three main themes emerged. The first concerned awareness of difference. Participants described becoming aware of an unwanted difference at school. Adolescence appeared as a time when an increased understanding of disability developed. In the second theme of ‘the relationship with nondisabled others’, participants described their opinions on labelling and their perspectives on how others viewed them. The final theme explored coping responses to stigma.
Associations Between Child Disabilities and Caregiver Discipline and Violence in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries
Authors: Hendricks Charlene , Lansford Jennifer E. , Deater‐Deckard Kirby , Bornstein Marc H.
Published: July 2013

Using nationally representative samples of 45,964 two‐ to nine‐year‐old children and their primary caregivers in 17 developing countries, this study examined the relations between children's cognitive, language, sensory, and motor disabilities and caregivers' use of discipline and violence. Primary caregivers reported on their child's disabilities and whether they or anyone in their household had used nonviolent discipline, psychological aggression, and physical violence toward the target child and believed that using corporal punishment is necessary. Logistic regression analyses supported the hypothesis that children with disabilities are treated more harshly than children without disabilities. The findings suggest that policies and interventions are needed to work toward the United Nations' goals of ensuring that children with disabilities are protected from abuse and violence.
Genomics and anterior segment dysgenesis: a review
Authors: Ito Yoko A , Walter Michael A
Published: July 2013

Anterior segment dysgenesis refers to a spectrum of disorders affecting structures in the anterior segment of the eye including the iris, cornea and trabecular meshwork. Approximately 50% of patients with anterior segment dysgenesis develop glaucoma. Traditional genetic methods using linkage analysis and family‐based studies have identified numerous disease‐causing genes such as PAX6, FOXC1 and PITX2. Despite these advances, phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity pose continuing challenges to understand the mechanisms underlying the complexity of anterior segment dysgenesis disorders. Genomic methods, such as genome‐wide association studies, are potentially an effective tool to understand anterior segment dysgenesis and the individual susceptibility to the development of glaucoma. In this review, we provide the rationale, as well as the challenges, to utilizing genomic methods to examine anterior segment dysgenesis disorders.
The impact of intravenous fluid administration on complication rates in bowel surgery within an enhanced recovery protocol: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Zakhaleva J. , Tam J. , Denoya P. I. , Bishawi M. , Bergamaschi R.
Published: July 2013

Aim

A randomized controlled trial was conducted to test the hypothesis that there is no difference in complications in patients receiving intravenous (iv) water and electrolyte, based on either stroke volume or clinical indicators at bowel surgery.

Method

Eligible patients were randomized either to intra‐operative iv administration of fluid boluses based on stroke volume measured by oesophageal Doppler (probe arm) or to iv fluid based on clinical indicators (no‐probe arm). The end‐point was the complication rate, defined as deviation from an uneventful postoperative course. Surgery was defined as elective bowel resection with primary anastomosis. All patients were on an enhanced recovery protocol. A randomized controlled trial suggested a sample size of 91 patients.

Results

Ninety‐one patients were randomized. Seventeen were excluded because of withdrawal of consent, failure of the procedure or cancellation of surgery. Patients were comparable for age (P = 0.89), gender (P = 0.14), body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.7), American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) score (P > 0.9), race (P = 0.55), colorectal POSSUM score (P = 0.11), comorbidity (P = 0.4), previous operations (P = 0.45) and diagnosis (P = 0.50). Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the Enumeration of Morbidity and Mortality (POSSUM)‐predicted mortality was higher in the test (probe) arm (P = 0.011). No differences were observed in epidural analgesia (P = 0.16), type of resection (P = 0.43), incision length (P = 0.40), type of incision (P = 0.47), operation time (P = 0.92), estimated blood loss (EBL) (P = 0.56), time to ambulation (P = 0.95), flatus (P = 0.37), diet (P = 0.17), removal of the epidural anaesthesia (P = 0.26) and length of hospital stay (LOS) (P = 0.575). Intra‐operative fluids administered were 3.1 (0.7–77) vs 4 (0.9–6.2) liters (P = 0.53). Postoperative fluids administered were 12.5 (5.5–84.6) vs 11.3 (3.4–49.8) (P = 0.42). Overall and septic complication rates were significantly decreased in the test arm (7/32 (22%) vs 19/40 (49%) (P = 0.022) and 2/32 (6.2%) vs 12/40 (30%) (P = 0.05), respectively).

Conclusion

Intra‐operative administration of iv water and electrolyte during bowel surgery, based on stroke volume measured using oesophageal Doppler, was associated with decreased complication rates.
Selective memories: infants' encoding is enhanced in selection via suppression
Authors: Markant Julie , Amso Dima
Published: July 2013

The present study examined the hypothesis that inhibitory visual selection mechanisms play a vital role in memory by limiting distractor interference during item encoding. In Experiment 1a we used a modified spatial cueing task in which 9‐month‐old infants encoded multiple category exemplars in the contexts of an attention orienting mechanism involving suppression (i.e. inhibition of return, IOR) versus one that does not (i.e. facilitation). At test, infants in the IOR condition showed both item‐specific learning and abstraction of broader category information. In contrast, infants in the facilitation condition did not discriminate across novel and familiar test items. Experiment 1b confirmed that the learning observed in the IOR condition was specific to spatial cueing of attention and was not due to timing differences across the IOR and facilitation conditions. In Experiment 2, we replicated the results of Experiment 1, using a within‐subjects design to explicitly examine learning and memory encoding in the context of concurrent suppression. These data show that developing inhibitory selective attention enhances efficacy of memory encoding for subsequent retrieval. Furthermore, these results highlight the importance of considering interactions between developing attention and memory systems.
New Methodological Approach to Improve Reproducibility of Brachial Artery Flow‐Mediated Dilatation
Authors: Kanahara Masaaki , Harada Haruhito , Katoh Atsushi , Ikeda Hisao
Published: July 2013

Background

Measurement of flow‐mediated dilation (FMD) is well known as a noninvasive method for an assessment of vascular endothelial function. However, the reproducibility is a major issue of FMD measurement. The purpose of this study is to examine the reproducibility of the new FMD measurement with medial epicondyle method.

Methods

First, to evaluate the variability of the brachial artery diameter, 23 volunteers recruited from 32 healthy volunteers were examined for a brachial artery diameter at rest using with FMD equipment. Second, to evaluate the reproducibility of the FMD measurement, all volunteers underwent the FMD measurement, which was repeated at 2‐week interval using the traditional method and the medial epicondyle method. The reproducibility in both methods was evaluated by 2 independent observers who measured on the same subject to assess the inter‐observer reproducibility, and 1 observer who measured the same subject twice to assess the intra‐observer reproducibility regarding the baseline value of arterial diameter and FMD.

Results

The variability of brachial artery diameter was 0.57 ± 0.27 mm in 23 healthy volunteers. In the study of inter‐ and intra‐observer reproducibility, 2 parameters including intra‐class correlation coefficient and Pearson's correlation coefficient by medial epicondyle method are superior to those by traditional method.

Conclusions

These results suggest that medial epicondyle methodological approach to measure FMD is superior to traditional method.
Combination of Real Time Three‐Dimensional Echocardiography with Diagnostic Catheterization to Derive Left Ventricular Pressure‐Volume Relations
Authors: Kutty Shelby , Li Ling , Padiyath Asif , Gribben Paul , Gao Shunji , Lof John , Bidasee Keshore R. , Danford David A. , Kuehne Titus
Published: July 2013

Aims

The aim of this study was to investigate the left ventricular (LV) myocardial contractility index‐Emax using transesophageal real time three‐dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE) combined with catheterization.

Methods

Transesophageal RT3DE (single beat, X7‐2 × matrix, iE33, Philips) was used to obtain real time LV volumes in pigs. Volumes were integrated with LV pressures from conductance catheterization (CC) to create RT3DE pressure‐volume relations. At the same time, CC was used for measuring conventional pressure‐volume relations that served as reference. The slope Emax was determined from RT3DE and CC end‐systolic pressure‐volume relations. All measurements were made at rest and during dobutamine infusion.

Results

In six pigs, the mean ± SD (mmHg/mL) values were Emax‐CC 1.86 ± 1.1 and Emax‐RT3DE 1.78 ± 1.2 (P = 0.502) at baseline. On dobutamine, mean Emax‐CC was 3.43 ± 1.5 and Emax‐RT3DE 3.60 ± 1.23 (P = 0.171). Bland–Altman analysis showed good agreements between the RT3DE‐ and CC‐derived Emax for measurements performed at baseline and on dobutamine.

Conclusions

Emax can be determined from RT3DE integrated with catheterization‐derived pressures. RT3DE is a promising method for enhancing clinical applicability of pressure‐volume relations for assessment of myocardial contractility.
Assessment of Tenascin‐C Levels in Ventricular Noncompaction/Hypertrabeculation Patients: A Cross‐Sectional Study
Authors: Erer Hatice Betul , Guvenc Tolga Sinan , Kemik Ahu Sarbay , Yilmaz Hale , Kul Seref , Altay Servet , Oz Dilaver , Zeren Gonul , Ekmekci Ahmet , Zencirci Aycan Esen , Sayar Nurten , Eren Mehmet
Published: July 2013

Purpose

Ventricular noncompaction/hypertrabeculation (NC/HT) is a rare form of congenital cardiomyopathy. We aimed to investigate the presence of serum tenascin‐C (TN‐C) in adult patients with NC/HT and evaluate its value.

Methods and Results

Serum TN‐C levels were measured by ELISA in 50 NC/HT patients both with/without systolic dysfunction and in 23 normal controls. Systolic dysfunction was defined as ejection fraction (EF) ≤ 40. Mann–Whitney U‐test and ROC curve analysis were done. Of 49 NC/HT patients, 24 (49%) patients had systolic dysfunction (mean age 36 ± 15) and 25 patients (51%) had normal systolic function (mean age 36 ± 17). The ages between groups were not different. The mean levels of serum TN‐C in patients with or without systolic dysfunction were 26 ± 10 ng/mL and 26 ± 8 ng/mL respectively, compared to normal controls, 7 ± 2 ng/mL (P < 0.001). No significance was observed between 2 groups of NC/HT patients regarding TN‐C levels (P = 0.8). The ROC curve analysis revealed that a TN‐C value of 11.7 ng/mL identified patients with NC/HT with 100% sensitivity and specifity.

Conclusion

High serum TN‐C levels are present in adult NC/HT cardiomyopathy even when left ventricular systolic function remains normal. Also, serum TN‐C levels could be regarded as a candidate biomarker in the diagnosis of NC/HT which needs to be tested in larger prospective studies.
In Defence of Proportionalism
Authors: Evers Daan
Published: July 2013

In his book Slaves of the Passions, Mark Schroeder defends a Humean theory of reasons. Humeanism is the view that you have a reason to X only if X‐ing promotes at least one of your desires. But Schroeder rejects a natural companion theory of the weight of reasons, which he calls proportionalism. According to it, the weight of a reason is proportionate to the strength of the desire that grounds it and the extent to which the act promotes the object of that desire. In this paper, I aim to do three things: (1) to show why Schroeder's arguments against proportionalism do not refute it; (2) to identify the real trouble with proportionalism; and (3) to suggest a better way of understanding it (preferentialism). According to this theory, the overall strength of reasons is determined by the agent's preferences.
Epilepsy and risk of death and sudden unexpected death in the young: A nationwide study
Authors: Holst Anders Gaarsdal , Winkel Bo Gregers , Risgaard Bjarke , Nielsen Jonas Bille , Rasmussen Peter Vibe , Haunsø Stig , Sabers Anne , Uldall Peter , Tfelt‐Hansen Jacob
Published: July 2013

Purpose

Patients with epilepsy are at increased risk of premature death from all causes and likely also from sudden unexplained death (SUD). Many patients with epilepsy have significant comorbidity, and it is unclear how much of the increased risk can be explained by epilepsy itself. We aimed to chart the incidence of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) and estimate the risk of death from all causes and SUD conferred by epilepsy independently.

Methods

We conducted a historical cohort study using data from Danish registries and a complete manual review of all death certificates. The population studied consisted of all Danish residents in the age group 1–35 years, in the period 2000–2006 (inclusive), and the main outcome measures were risk of death and SUD.

Key Findings

We identified 33,022 subjects with epilepsy (median follow‐up 3.7 years) and 3,001,952 subjects without (median follow‐up 7.0 years). Among 685 deaths in the population with epilepsy, we identified 50 cases of definite and probable SUDEP corresponding to an incidence rate of 41.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] 31.6–54.9) per 100,000 person‐years. Incidence rates increased with age from 17.6 (95% CI 9.5–32.8) in the age group 1–18 years to 73.8 (95% CI 52.5–103.8) for the age group 24–35 years. Having epilepsy increased the crude risk of death with a hazard ratio (HR) of 11.9 (95% CI 11.0–12.9). When adjusting for sex and comorbidities often encountered in patients with epilepsy (neurologic disease including cerebral palsy, psychiatric disease including mental retardation, and congenital disorders), as well as the Charlson comorbidity score, the HR fell to 5.4 (95% CI 4.9–6.0). The crude HR for SUD was 27.5 (95% CI 18.1–41.8) and fell to 16.3 (95% CI 9.8–26.9) when adjusted for the same covariates as above.

Significance

Epilepsy in and of itself carries a significant risk of premature death and SUD. These findings highlight the potential gains of risk factor modification for the prevention of premature death and SUDEP in patients with epilepsy.
Contribution of Helicobacter hepaticus Cytolethal Distending Toxin Subunits to Human Epithelial Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptotic Death in vitro
Authors: Liyanage Namal P.M. , Dassanayake Rohana P. , Kuszynski Charles A. , Duhamel Gerald E.
Published: July 2013

Background

Cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) is the only known virulence factor found in H. hepaticus, the cause of chronic typhlocolitis and hepatitis leading to colonic and hepatocellular carcinomas in mice. Interaction of the tripartite polypeptide CdtA, CdtB, and CdtC subunits produced by H. hepaticus CDT (HhepCDT) causes cell cycle arrest and apoptotic death of cultured cells; however, the contribution of individual subunit to these processes has not been investigated.

Materials and Methods

The temporal relationship between cell cycle and apoptotic death of human epithelial HeLa and INT407 cells intoxicated with HhepCDT holotoxin or reconstituted recombinant HhepCDT was compared by flow cytometry. The genotoxic activity of individual and combinations of recombinant HhepCDT protein subunits or increasing concentrations of individual recombinant HhepCDT protein subunits transfected into HeLa cells was assessed at 72 hours post‐treatment by flow cytometry.

Results

Similar time course of HhepCDT‐induced G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptotic death was found with both cell lines which reached a maximum at 72 hours. The presence of all three HhepCDT subunits was required for maximum cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of both cell lines. Transfection of HeLa cells with HhepCdtB, but not with HhepCdtA or HhepCdtC, resulted in a dose‐dependent G2/M arrest and apoptotic death.

Conclusion

All three subunits of HhepCDT are required for maximum epithelial cell cycle arrest and progression to apoptotic death, and HhepCdtB subunit alone is necessary and sufficient for epithelial cell genotoxicity.
Jerome on Sinlessness: aVia MediabetweenAugustine andPelagius
Authors: Squires Stuart
Published: July 2013

This article will exploreJerome's understanding of sinlessness and will argue that he saw himself just as opposed toAugustine as toPelagius. I begin by exposing Jerome's context in thePelagianControversy. I then expose his understanding of sinlessness. Next, I turn to his arguments inEp.133 and the first two books of hisDialogi contraPelagianos. In book three of that text, we notice a change in his arguments which indicates that Jerome is no longer arguing only againstPelagius; he now disagrees withAugustine as well. I then examine a variety of issues besides sinlessness in the third book of theDialogithat reveal thatJerome disagreed withAugustine on multiple topics, showing that his opposition toAugustine's position on sinlessness was not exceptional. Finally I turn to statements byJerome that seem to indicate a positive appreciation for theBishop ofHippo, but which on closer inspection are seen to contain latent criticisms.
Short‐distance migration of Wrynecks Jynx torquilla from Central European populations
Authors: van Wijk Rien E. , Schaub Michael , Tolkmitt Dirk , Becker Detlef , Hahn Steffen
Published: July 2013

European Wrynecks Jynx torquilla torquilla have generally been considered to be long‐distance Palaearctic–African migrants that spend the non‐breeding season in Sahelian Africa, where they have been reported regularly. Results from tracking individual birds showed that Wrynecks from two Central European populations migrated only relatively short distances to the Iberian Peninsula and northwestern Africa (c. 1500 km and 3000 km, respectively), compared with a minimum distance of about 4500 km to Sahelian Africa. Additionally, differences in wing lengths of populations from Central and Northern Europe support the idea of leap‐frog migration, populations from Northern Europe being long‐distance migrants with a non‐breeding distribution in Sahelian Africa.